Play this one and no other: Idolmaster Live For You with Miki Hoshii doll

(tags game, Xbox 360, Idolmaster, failure, figure, ToHeart2)

Like Mr. Alvin, I got my Idolm@ster Live For You with the Miki Hoshii figure today. It looks like this:

This package is the tenth part of the "Birthday Goods" series. When I saw the figure's eyes, the green was more emerald than muted black. I was a little disappointed because the combination of green and yellow paint on a real-life figure doesn't look so great, but at least the face is just as attractive as the picture in the original advertisement. There are a lot of hand attachments, too, great.

The 26000 yen set came a scratch off card (pictured middle) so that you can download the first DLC song for free. Also I picked up my pre-ordered Idolm@ster branded Xbox 360 Live Point cards. This is card type B (pictured right). I picked up card type A yesterday. Lastly, (pictured left) Geemaga Magazine issue 2008/04 had a bunch of special Idolm@ster goods bundled in, a DVD introducing the radio show featuring Chiaki Takahashi (たかはし智秋 voicing Azusa) and Asami Imai (今井麻美 voicing Chihaya) and a pencil card:

ゲーマガ 4月号 発売日：2008/02/29　価格：980円(税込)
内容省略
アイドルマスターL4U! [全力応援号!] 特製下敷き＆激レア映像収録DVDつき！
【注目作】アイドルマスター　ライブフォーユー！
【ふろく】☆「アイドルマスター ライブフォーユー！」特製下敷き
【DVD収録タイトルリスト】
■ゲーマガ・オリジナル映像アイマスレイディオ出張版

So I was in Nipponbashi early this evening, trying to avoid the otaku purchase crowds. Today was the release of ToHeart2 Another Days PC ecchi game. Some stores were open till 21:00 instead of 20:00 because of this and other major product releases. Man there were some long lines (thanks foo bar baz). I was riding up an Sofmap elevator and the otaku-like guy in front of me had 8 or 10 copies of the game. He pressed the button for the buy-back floor (買取の階). Hm, how did this guy get 10 copies of a 10000 yen game and why would he sell them back?

I didn't get a copy of the game myself, but it reminded me that I need to play the PS2 version I bought off a friend. Uh.

I did double check the games I wanted (BioShock in English for 3500 yen used, Burnout Paradise in English used for 6000 yen, Contra 4 DS in English used for 3500 yen, Halo 3 NTSC-JP version in English (!) for 8000 yen used), but I will (must) play Im@s L4U first. My bleeding wallet demands it. That means no new XBLA games, either. Sorry N+ and Trigger Heart Exelica. Sure, good luck with the abstinence.

You lose, part 2: Idolm@ster Live For You themed Xbox 360 Point Card

(tags game, Idolmaster, collectable, failure, Trigger Heart Exelica)

Let's try this again.

Today was the release of Idolm@ster Live For You. I could have got it today if I stayed at home for the delivery.

Let's open it to redeem some point in order to play the Xbox Live Arcade Trigger Heart Exelica.

What!?! orz orz orz roz roz zro zor rozzoroz :-/ Xbox live is "down" for redeeming. Okay now I'm mad. >:-[

I was going to post more pictures of me opening the card case. The packaging is sturdy, but its hard to open. It's the perfect collectable. The card itself is the same stock as the regular XBLP cards, though. The character design itself is from the it-didn't-happen anime, ie, it sucks.

Blah blah blah, I'm going to sleep, but before that I'm going to level up my persons in FFTA.

You lose: Lumines, version 3.51

(tags game, PlayStation Portable, failure, firmware, crack)

Thursday is a fine day for used goods, like Lumines.

OMG, iz it ze h4xx0r rUm1n3z?

No.

orz orz orz orz orz orz orz orz orz orz orz :-/

I can't even play the game because it requires the firmware upgrade, so it's pretty much useless. Plus the cover isn't the original, so I am meh.

orz...

How much more do I have to do this: Earth Defense Forces 3

(tags game, action, Earth Defense Force, Xbox 360)

Just one more thing tonight then I'll sleep...

I played Earth Defense Forces (地球防衛軍3) yesterday for a total of 3 hours but it wasn't very much fun. I mean sure, shooting buildings and giant enemies is killer for a while until diminishing returns sets in. Graphics are great? I don't know anymore. I turned off camera shake with the quickness. And I'm playing at Normal difficulty because Hard requires more effort than I want to put in now.

WhoTF designed the HUD!?! The reload shouldn't cover the crosshairs. What is up with the heli controls!? Pickups animate like in Doom 1, ie 2d icons that rotate toward you. The variety of weapons don't make sense. I just use the automatic rifle and bazooka all the time. Whine whine whine. :-/

It's not all bad. I have to admit, it reminds me of how Japan really looks like. And it really is satisfying to shoot things, lots of things. The dialog from your comrades is funny too. "E! D! F!"

I am on track to playing this more until I get my Im@s L4U.

Dated sci-fi but it's not too bad: Anything You Can Do by Randall Garrett

(tags science fiction, free, English)

I just wanna say right now that I'm reading more Free Speculative Fiction Online. One of the stories that stuck in my mind is Anything You Can Do by Randall Garrett (1963). I expect some antiquated plot devices and theories but there are always surprises.

Sweet chocolate, Sweet TV: DS One-Seg TV tuner adapter

(tags Dual Screen, television, hardware)

So I got the 1400 XBLA point card for this month's Idolm@ster DLC sale. My habit of scoping the Sofmap shop sometimes (always?) makes me regret. It led me to a used Nintendo DS One-Seg TV tuner adapter (ワンセグ受信アダプタ DSテレビ).

It retails for 6800 yen and is only available directly from Nintendo's online store. I heard it was hard to obtain back in November 2007, but since I bought this one used, it must be in supply now.

I completely forgot that I wanted it. Well, I don't really want to watch TV, but I need to learn Japanese. Real Japanese, not anime Japanese. (Yeah right). I will learn CM (commercial) Japanese. It will be epic zany. (Maximum risky?!?) "FRISK! FRESHENS YOU UP!" :-)

It's pretty large, isn't it. It always surprises me about the quality of the used goods from Sofmap. They're sparkling clean and if there's a scratch or something missing, the handy red seal has the description. It seemed to me that this particular unit was unused (opened). In comparison, Book Off is pretty scary because the goods are really in crappy condition. I never go there for anything, even manga.

I haven't used my DS in a long while, and I though I'd be using my Pikachu DS Lite by now. Darn Rubik's Cube hobby. So I'm still slinging the Love and Berry DS Lite with Pikachu skin. The clear plastic tabs here seem to fit snugly even though there's a yellow skin in the way.

I need to use the antennas, even though I'm only about a meter away from the outside. It's really big, huh.

Here's one of the intended uses, watching a Japanese drama/mystery with subtitles. Vertical mode works just as well as horizontal mode. Obviously the TV display is smaller, but the subtitles are crisp and clear (thereis normal size and big size). Not all programs have subtitles, though.

I'm learning through osmosis, really. The program shown above is 「佐々木夫妻の仁義なき戦い」. I though the lead female character here was famous actress Kyoka Suzuki (鈴木京香, picture) who I think is super-fine. At least, she was super-fine in the 1990s. But it was that Last Samurai hotness with the one word name, Koyuki (小雪, picture). Meh. The picture shows someone else, though. It's ... it's someone I don't know but she looks familiar.

Horizontal mode with the dialog log feature. I am amazed that there is a log feature at all (instant win) and that it takes pictures automatically as well. Very nice.

Mmmpht, Johnny Depp. He's dreamy. Well I mean he's a great actor. He's like a leading actor of our time, IMHO. I would watch his movies because he's in it, just like I would for Denzel Washington. But I don't actively watch movies. :-/ Anyways, this movie is supposed to be "bilingual" but even though I set it to alternate audio channel, it's still in Japanese.

I just figured out that I can magnetically attach my DS TV to my rack. I think I need to buy the licensed accessory though, because this 100 yen magnet seems a bit flimsy. Now I want a remote control for this thing, hehe. Touching the screen with my finger makes me feel like I'm Star Trek or Knight Rider. Sweet.

Ouch, the battery is already dying. I started watching at 21:45, and now it's about 24:12. Two hours and counting. (It finally conked out at 24:21, so about 2.5 hours).

There are some deficiencies with this DS TV. The screen is small (compared to the PSP One-Seg TV, but I don't have that yet). The on-screen buttons are quick but not quick enough for my lighting reflexes. The shoulder and XYBA buttons don't seem to do anything, which is a shame. They should be remappable to functions like Show Log, Toggle Subtitles, Change Channel. That would be cool. I was expecting an on-screen program display for all the channels, but perhaps that's too much. Oh, okay, Yahoo TV has me covered. And of course, no recording. I need a PSP for that.

There is a port to add your own antenna. I need lay an antenna wire (unused from my PC's One-Seg adapter) and a charging wire on my rack. I won't move this DS any more, heh.

This is sweet. In fact, maybe I should buy another one. Damn, get me an IV and change my seat to a toilet. I'm never leaving my computer desk/rack now. :-)

Idolm@ster DLC sale part 4

(tags game, Xbox 360, cosplay, bishoujo, purchase, Idolmaster, shmup, Trigger Heart Exelica)

Another month, another Idolm@ster sale. Is this the last one? This time the goodies are mainly audio, although there is a slight price cut on the school swimsuit. This is the first month where there are no additions.

I'm a little late with this kind of post. Only 3 more days.

See my posts on the previous sales, part 1 and part 2 and part 3.

I have a slight dilemma this time. I have 2000 XBLA points right now, and this sale requires 3100 points. I am going to buy the two Idolm@ster Live For You XBLA cards, but those 7000 points won't be in my account in time for the sale.

Huh? Where's the dilemma? Get the 1400 point card. Done.

Going that route, I'll have to wait a little while to get next week's XBLA shmup game, Trigger Heart Exelica (トリガーハートエグゼリカ). I did bothered to get it on the Dreamcast almost one year ago, meh. I am one of the do-not-open Dreamcast game (shmup) fools. The review by racketboy makes me want to play it though.

Tora No Ana expansion as well

(tags ECsite, doujin, Kobe)

I wasn't paying attention, but the doujin shop Tora no Ana Sannomiya (Kobe) closed its doors for a week to prep for a big renewal. They are expanding their space by incorporating the truly massive adjoining room. It opens today. I thought I could get more information from a web page, so I didn't snap any pictures. But here's a map:

image originally from Center Plaza West Building 3rd floor

The previous configuration was pretty much male-oriented (or in the parlance of the new meme now, MAXIMUM RISKY, which is great re-purposed Japlish BTW). I'd see some women try to enter the store, probably from the overflow of the more women-friendly Animate, but pretty much leave without anything in hand. The new space will hopefully hold more all-ages goods (yeah right) and dedicate some space to fujoshi (that's more like it).

I can't recall what the space was before. Perhaps it was a blood donation center or an anime trade school? Hm.

This expansion and similiarly the recent Melonbooks Sannomiya expansion recent and Books Lashinbang new store, already strengthens Kobe-Sannomiya Center shopping area as the otaku epicenter for the Hyogo prefecture. Of course we've had Hobby Base Yellow Submarine, Animate, Gamers, and even a maid cafe. Now all we need is Mandarake and K-Books and there'll be no stopping the funk. Eew.

You will not give me a yellow card.

(tags Final Fantasy, Gameboy Advance, game, failure)

Like I've been postscripting on the other posts, I've been playing FFTA. 60 hours in-game, wow, the GBA Micro is convenient. But the Laws are getting tougher now and whenever I get a yellow card (which really isn't a bad thing), I just turn off the game. So much for rolling with the punches.

Is strategy ever going to become necessary in FFTA? I've just been pushing around my "tanks" and mowing down the enemies sloppily.

Resume purchasing: Kimi Kiss, EDF, TCs

(tags game, PlayStation 2, gal game, Kimi Kiss, Xbox 360, action, Earth Defense Force, telephone card)

I couldn't stop purchasing a game before Idolm@ster Live For You. I'm sorry. :-/ :-)

Friday rolled around and I was like omg Kimi Kiss (キミキス), okay, yeah I want it but I'm not in a PS2 mood. But then I somehow went back to Sofmap Kobe again because I couldn't resist the telephone card. The set was only 4000 yen (3500 yen without TC), and I've been meaning to get it ever since it came out (2006?!). I didn't know it also came with a DVD-ROM which collects various radio shows and some software. On Friday there were 3 TC-sets, but on Saturday I nabbed the last TC-set. Bah.

I suppose I was enthralled by the currently running anime, which I give five star ratings on each episode. It's the only torrented anime I'm watching live now besides Hayate no Gotoku. I am apprehensive though because the game is a different thing, right? Also I've also been reading some of the manga in Champion Red Ichigo semi-monthly magazine, and the manga there ranges from meh to greatest. I skipped one of the stories because it was too close to the anime, though.

I hooked up my PlayStation 2 previously for Street Fighter 3 Third Strike, but I've got guys in FFTA to level up, so...

And today was the release of Burnout Paradise (with announcer Ryu, who is pretty entertaining actually) and Space Invaders Extreme, but I resisted! Yeah me! Except, Earth Defense Forces 3 was sitting there used at around 2000 yen with the original cover, um. One Xbox 360 pal recommended it, and I know he digs action, so this can't be a bad purchase. I do want him to sell me his copy of the English (Asia region?) Burnout Paradise. How can I pursuade him. Oh wait, I need to play Im@s L4U first.

Also every 21st of the month, the Gamers point exchange Di Gi Charat/Koge Donbo telephone card comes out, so I picked it up. Somehow zettai ryoiki doesn't work with Dijiko, but the red iris scheme is looking better and better because of the red wine fashion.

No magic

(tags Rubik's Magic)

There was no (Rubik's) Magic to be bought at Tokyu Hands. :-/

After explaining the novelty of this toy to my Japanese teacher she told she had one and she could loan it to me. I at first refused but after thinking about it, the RM isn't really a long lasting puzzle. So maybe next week she'll bring it and I'll be like, oh yeah nostalgic for about a week and then I can give it back to her so that's one less thing to carry.

But wait, isn't there a bigger version of the RM with more pieces? I wanna try that one out.

Spelunkering my own things: Bottle Fairy DVD-Box

(tags DVD Region 2, anime, Bottle Fairy, failure)

While perusing the Yahoo Japan Auctions I usually skip items I have but I clicked on this "Bottle Fairy DVD-Box (domestic version)". (I recently re-watched the English version.) There I read the description: "includes Desktop Accessory CD-ROM". Buh-wha? *sputter* There's PC installable goodies with that box? I didn't even open my copy! I need to find my DVD-Box and install the goodies into my computer now! :-/

Somewhat related, I bought (won an auction of) another set of those four small Bottle Fairy figurines. I brought them to work. They sit right beside my Beavis and Butthead clear trading card and my Pikachu pencil cover. I want to say I don't have more personal crap at my desk, but I can't.

Okay, time to go to sleep but before that let's level up my gals in FFTA.

But without the missile fratricide: Project Sylpheed

(tags game, Xbox 360, Project Sylpheed, shmup)

I am surprised but I really enjoyed playing Project Sylpheed. It makes me feel good flying in space. I completed it two more times. In game clock says I played for 11 hours, but I kept dying on some missions and auto-save didn't pick those up. I think the epiphany came when I figure out not to rely on my lock-on missiles for everything. Duh, right?

The part I enjoyed the most was unlocking all of the weapons. I saved up the 350_000 credits for one of the ultimate ones. A single mission give you about 8_000 creds, so it's gotta be good. :-) Imagine Raystorm's 12 lock homing laser, but with 60 locks and almost instantaneous lock-on time. Not only that, the beams are purple. Sweet. Except it doesn't do much damage but that's what your alt 2 and 3 weapons are for, right?

Other similar all-axis space action games that I've played are Descent (PC), Colony Wars (PS1), and Wing Commander (PC), and Star Raiders (Atari 2600 with keypad!) so I'm not really that experienced in this genre.

I checked online for any interesting PSy DLC and it seems there's a free "challenge" mission pack weighing 500 MB. Definately I'm going to try it. I'm also going to research the Achievement Points. I got 510 out of 1000 without much hassle. Also I collected the official wallpapers, nice.

Seiyuu hobbies: Kana Ueda's Halo 3, etc.

(tags seiyuu, game, Halo 3)

So Microsoft Japan is a making a smooth promotional move by inviting self-proclaimed Halo 3 fanatic and sometimes seiyuu Kana Ueda (植田 佳奈) to play in a online event, and you're invited! (Thanks seiyuu3)

If she really does play up to 16 hour marathon sessions, she must be really good with the sniping and the elbow-shotgun. Ph33r.

I also recently read j1m0ne's seiyuu profile for Shizuka Ito (伊藤 静). I know her voice from Hayate no Gotoku as Hinagiku. It's interesting to learn about the people behind the voices and to ponder how seperate their lives are from their roles. "Groping"?! Naw, she couldn't be... Never mind. Anyways, Kana Ueda seems to be her regular drinking partner. I wonder if Ito plays games.

It's out now? Rubik's Magic

(tags game, Rubik's Magic)

Already the Rubik's Magic puzzle came out in Japan last week, according to Rubik's Cube Diary (ルービックキューブ日記). I'm going to check Tokyo Hands Sannomiya store tomorrow. I hope they have some. "It's been 20 years since I've held one of these."

ho-e! Card Captor Sakura TV series DVD box 1

(tags anime, DVD region 2, Card Captor Sakura)

Recently I haven't been watching much downloaded anime stuff, shifting rather to DVDs I got. I've been making fine viewing progress with the Card Captor Sakura TV series on DVD (カードキャプターさくら). In fact, today I finished the first box of three, which is 24 episodes.

Every episode is very kawaii, while supplying lots of action. Dresses are of course very nice, while having no magic-girl-change scene is great, unlike Nanoha, Yumeria, and other anime I've admitted to buying. Kero-chan is totally cute (or maybe I just like small yellow animal-like things), and I totally respect (久川綾) Aya Hisakawa's vocal chops. (岩男潤子) Junko Iwao's Tomoyo is also the greatest. Iwao had a CD release recently according to j1mOne and my own store observations but I haven't yet checked it out. I'll buy it at Gamers if they have it, I need the points.

Coming back to the anime, there is also some mystery and innuendo about alternative sexual orientations. I keep wondering if this is to capture the fans who like yuri and "boys' love", ie. yaoi, no I mean shonen-ai. (I had to look those up...) Maybe it's best to imagine it as one-sided puppy love interest, irrespective of gender. Yes, concentrate of the blushing and the emotions, that's the kawaii part, and not the physical part.

Anyways, I rather not think that the first 24 episodes/5 discs cost me about 3_5000 yen, but that's two years ago and a different me (hahaha). Wait a minute, that's only 1500 yen an episode, more recent purchases have been around the 3000 yen range. *boggle* Eventually this anime will be sold in better formats and it will look better because the source is analog not digital. 1998. When you could actually buy cels. However, I continually consider that I won't move towards a Blu-ray or better media edition of anything. DVDs, the last type of media I will ever buy, just like my parents with their vinyl and cassette tapes. (yeah right) Oh wait, my dad has been collecting DVDs recently. Maybe there's no hope for me at all? :-]

I still haven't figure out which episode the cel that I bought long ago comes from. I have a sinking feeling that I passed it already. I put it away for some reason, but now it's in an accessable place for instant reviewing. When I find it, up goes the picture and the "boasting".

Taking statistics keeps me on track. I have been rating each episode. In fact I've been quantitatively rating almost all forms of content. Call it the iTunes syndrome.

The "days since last" line means that there are x days between watching episodes. Consider that I started again from episode 1 on 2007-11-24, it's been slow going. But I've been picking up speed ever since the start of the year, even watching a couple of episodes in one day. It must be because I'm not watching enough downloaded stuff this cours or the raws providers getting arrested. Heh. Danger. :-/

As for the ratings, I have no idea what my metric is. Kawaii? Cuteness? Tear-jerkin' factor? Would watch it again? Would buy it? Felt good about it? What would a 2 or 1 star mean? In any case I don't see much correlation between the ratings and my own mood to continuously watch the episodes. I love line graphs, though. Dig it.

Completed Project Slypheed: HIT HIT KILL HIT HIT HIT...

(tags game, Xbox 360, shmup, Project Sylpheed)

I returned to Project Slypheed because I didn't know how to proceed in Rez. Hurray for me for not leaving a game unfinished. Now that I figured out how to use my spacecraft (totally non-simulation-like), the game is a breeze. I even finished the story mode, double wow. Five, count 'em, 5 in-game hours. :-/

I started again with all accumulated items still in stock. It feels euphoric to wipe out Stage 1 baddies with overkill missiles. HIT HIT KILL HIT HIT HIT HIT HIT :-) Now I have enough development points to get that nice shiny bomb I've always wanted. Fire and forget kiss-'o-death is very nice, except I keep killing my wingman (woman) with it.

Why do game stories suck? PSy's story just does not deliver satisfaction. The trailer looks good, though. The unbalance between them is... typical, I suppose. Still I'm glad I played this game. 3D 360 degree space flying has got to be one of my dreams, and the beautiful background graphics make it worthwhile. Lovely lovely rocket trails.

I'm going to try to not buy any games before Idolm@ster Live for You comes out on the 2008-02-28 (two weeks). Perhaps Rez and PSy will keep me. But Burnout Paradise, Space Invaders Extreme for DS come out in one week. :-/

Alright, time to sleep but let's not forget to level up our guys in FFTA.

I remember the silence more: Halo 3 OST

(tags game, music, Halo, telephone card)

I wanted the Halo 3 original soundtrack, and now I got it with no effort at all:

The CD is the same as the one released in the States I think, since it has the same plastic seal on the top of the CD case and labelling in English. But it was wrapped in the traditional "obi" (帯、たすき, not pictured) that defines the CD experience in Japan. Also Halo 3 and Bungie stickers. *dies*. Not. :-)

I bought the Halo 3 CD at Sofmap, but opted to get Yuu Mao's Someday (below in picture, also my "2006 best music artist (vocal)") at Gamers. I need the Gamers exchange points. For example, the Dijiko and True Tears character telephone card shown in the middle is one of those cards only exclusively obtainable starting today. In other words, I almost missed out. I hating missing out on free stuff at Gamers, because they are so expensive, and plus I have too many points.

Anyways, this telephone card is probably because of Valentine's Day. I heard that elementary boys here will run away from gals who give out chocolate, because of a new tradition. When White Day (March 15?) comes around, the guys have to give back a gift three times as expensive! I am thinking "engagement ring" crisis.

Code philosophy review

(tags programming, Ruby, Lisp, failure)

After the disappointment that was Paul Graham's Arc and the bewildering "Portrait of a Noob" by Steve Yegge, which insisted that comments and static typing are useless metadata, I found Planet Emacsen contributor Bryan Murdock's pointer to the discipline and punish blog a refreshing change.

No scratch that. I am questioning my reality now. That programming blog, which takes a practical and weathered engineer tone, has great links about questioning recent programmer fads, especially the current whipping boy (and my favorite comfort squeeze), Ruby.

• "Growth, Syntax, Ruby 1.9, and That Bad Smell You Smell".
• Ruby's Domain Specific Language features are anemic? And I thought Rake was pretty damn cool.
• Steve Yegge is a newbie programmer?
• "The problem with languages like Ruby and Java is that everything is an object and every action is a message, except when it isn’t."
• How could a ex-Jet Propulsion Labs and current Google employee lose faith in Lisp?
• "The Problem with Problems with Patterns".
• "In Defence of (0/:l)(_+_) in Scala" WTF?

All of these great posts I got from discipline and punish blog. Suffice it to say I subscribed.

I am afraid to post anything now about programming now. Best to just keep quiet and fap to Emacs.

Did not get a Stylish: various Xbox 360 demos

(tags game, Xbox 360, action)

I'm not a Devil May Cry follower. I remember trying to level up in DMC1, but it was taking forever so I didn't finish. Plus it was really visually dark. Still, seeing the demo at a store made try it out at home. I like how you can just mash buttons without thinking. Of course, doing just that doesn't get me a "Stylish" rank combo. I really like the "badass" acting, but what's happened to Dante and his arm? Or is this another guy?

Because of that Burnout Paradise demo I also played some Burnout Revenge for the Xbox 360. The load times are heinous and the graphics aren't a step up, just competent. I don't see myself playing this unless I'm desperate for Achievement Points. I really want to play BP now, though.

Blindsight by Peter Watts, other noteworthy SF

(tags book, science fiction, free)

I read another excellent free book through Free Speculative Fiction Online, called Blindsight by Peter Watts. It's a near future space fiction about what to do after first contact, although a bit more psychological than technological. There is a long bibliography which makes this fiction more rooted in fact and logical speculation than others.

Spoilers below in ROT-13. SPOILERS

Vg vf nznmvat gb vzntvar fbzrguvat yvxr gur Ebfpunpg. V fgvyy qba'g haqrefgnaq ubj gur fpenzoyref ner gur ubarlpbzo naq gur Ebfpunepg ner gur orrf, ohg ersyrpgvat ba vg vg znxrf n yvggyr frafr. Vg vf nyfb nznmvat gung gurfr nyvraf geniry fho-yvtug jvgu n oebja qjnes, naq gurl xabj ubj gb hfr vg.

END SPOILERS

Speaking of FSFO, I've read the other shorter stories and they are great. "Stars Seen Through Stone" by Lucius Shepard has great contemporary style and a knockout theme to boot. I am also glad that Ted Chiang is back to writing, with a award nomination as well: "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate".

Rez nightmare

(tags game, Xbox 360, Rez, shmup)

I had a dream, nay, a nightmare about Rez. Something about not being able to shoot down the targets fast enough, over and over again. I woke up with a start, throwing off my covers, but that part of the dream wasn't about Rez. :-)

I'm still playing Rez HD, but now it seems like I'm just milking blood from a stone. I've unlocked all of the beyond forms and character forms, but still there is an annoying amount that is still locked. I'm back to square one trying to figure out what I need to do to unlock more. As far as I know, I don't get anything for doing direct assault with "invincibility" turned on.

I discovered the pretty visual effect that is "glare". "bloom" is good too, but sometimes I can't see the targets.

Oh wait there is a nightmare. Try completing the game without getting hit. I hate putting 30 minutes into a session and seeing it go down the drain on drive by bullet. Ugh.

National Pride 2008: a Den Den Town TC holiday

(tags telephone card, game, collectable, Yuiko Tokumi, Di Gi Charat, Nana Mizuki)

I took the Friday off, so that I have a four day weekend. Monday is the Japan's National Foundation Day holiday, 建国記念日. I have my cheep Japanese flag to celebrate the day, yeah. Who would pay 2100 yen for a indoor flag from Tokyo Hands? 100 yen shop FTW.

However I shouldn't dawdle on a weekdays like Friday, because it's the only chance to do personal business at places like banks. For example, I haven't updated my account statment booklet (口座記帳) since last August. o_O; Luckily they keep records for the last twelve months. The online banking however only shows the last month. WTF. BTW, GnuCash is working like a charm for me now.

With business out of the way, it was time for play. :-) Today seemed like a major telephone card (TC) day. I made preparations to buy three anime-related magazines' mail-order TCs. I also went to Den Den Town just to get it over with for the weekend. I picked up some odd ball TCs there, including a original illustrator (つだみきよ) Mikiyo Tsuda's Princess Princess Quo card set. Mmh, cross-dressing guys in meido outfits. Di Gi Charat (will I ever spell this name right?): two 2008 ones because of the red eyes and the other something Akihabara related, Iris TC from illustrator Yuiko Tokumi (篤見唯子), and Youchi na My Angel TC from illustrator Yuki Azuma (あづまゆき) via E2 Magazine are other purchases for the day. Rounding the photo out, the TC I ordered from Megami Magazine's 2007-12 issue came in the mail today. It's a something something Gurren, but I haven't watched this 2007 anime.

Also I keep my eye out for (桜野みねね) Minene Sakurano's TCs. There are a gangload of cheep ones (about 500 yen) because of old her breakaway hit, Guardian Angel Getten (まもって守護月天!), but they don't appeal to me. I like her drawing style now, but GAG stuff circa 1998-2002 seems a bit rough.

I also got a Iris clear file collectable. I like clear files, because they are not very valuable, despite their rarity. This one was 100 yen, heh. Anyways, I have yet to play this old game (2002?), and I forgot which version I got, the Dreamcast or the PS2?

I must be a sucker for "promides" (a Japanese term for "commerical photo portrait of celebrities"), because it was the only reason I bought (水樹奈々) Nana Mizuki's latest CD single. Rawr, twin tails and skirt. Nana-sama! Haa haa *vomits blood* Yer right, obviously airbrushed and photoshopped, but I wanna deny it. :-p

On those Microsoft Xbox Live 3500 point Idolm@ster cards, at my preferred shop, Sofmap, there was a pre-order limit of one to a customer. I was set on getting both designs (two cards) there but they refused my request. So I went to another store in Osaka to pre-order the other card. That Sofmap store didn't have any limitation. WTF. Oh yeah, playing in-store was a new demo video of Idolm@ster Live For You with a song I've never heard. February 28 will be a happy time. :-)

I was hoping to pick up any English voice version of Burnout Paradise (see flyer in photo above) but my go-to store at Den Den Town didn't have any stock. Did they ever have stock? The game is officially coming here on 2008-02-22, but I prefer to laugh at the announcer's English.

On other game stuff, there are no Xbox 360 arcade joysticks, as usual. There are lots of Super Smash Bros for the Wii in stock everywhere, and Sofmap is stocking up the old style GameCube controllers (but they are third party) for 2500 yen. Alas SSB for the GC is still 5000 yen or more, sigh. I frequented the GBA or PSP aisles , but nothing piqued my interest. Still I am currently tuned to aquiring Clu Clu Land (GBA), Guilty Gear's side scrolling beat-em-up (PSP), Contra 4 (DS, US), BioShock and Mass Effect (X360, Asia), Red Star (PS2, US), etc.

No game purchases this time around, though. Let's finish up Rez and Project Slypheed and Omega Five and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and Idolm@ster and...

The second goodbye: closing arcades in japan

(tags game, arcade, failure)

I hear the news about some Japanese arcades closing through Internet, namely through Subatomic Brainfreeze. Obviously I don't go to arcades and I don't buy the monthly magazine Arcadia.

I doubt very much that flagship sites like Taito's HEY or Akihabara's Club Sega are going to go down, so go to Tokyo or Osaka for your hardcore/midcore arcade fix. But I expect little rinky dink or remote arcades in my neck of the woods will be drying up. It seems silly to attribute the arcade downturn to the Wii, because they provide different experiences and cater to different audiences.

Will this mean more experiments in arcade gaming like Idolm@ster, those card-based soccer/action games (the sit-down type for adults), those crazy hardware games like walking the dog or riding a bicycle or using a sword, and gun games dry up too? And what of those get-em-while-they're-young mini-arcade games like Mushi King and Love and Berry that are nested in family-friendly malls and Toys R Us? Never mind the hardcore games from the likes of Cave and SNK.

Consumer home game consoles and high gas prices are taking their toll on Japanese arcades, according to the Namco-Bandai spokesperson. Stay at home is the mantra this recession.

Bus pop

(tags Rubik's Cube, failure, video)

Well it finally happened. I POP'd my Rubik's Cube on the bus. One of the edge pieces fell out of sight, at least for a short while. It's kinda hard to hear myself laugh with my headphones on. Anyways, I found the edge piece after no help from the other passengers. Now my Cube feels really loose. I wonder if I need to tighten it.

Speaking of loose, what are these clamps for? Why does pushing the center facelet away from the center make it loose?

Speaking of Rubik's Cube, rubiccubist linked to a recent Honda UK commercial video involving Rubik's Cubes on a grand scale. Nice.

Second floor is for otaku too: Books Lashinbang Sannomiya

(tags ecsite, doujin, Kobe, anime, manga, goods)

Passing through Animate, I got my copy of Comic Blade and I'm going to read Fairial Garden as soon as I log off. Oh wait how do I segue into the main theme of this blog post. Uh:

My stroll from Animate on the third floor of the adjacent building goes through the second story of Sun Center Plaza. Of course I'm heading for Melon Books on the way to my bus stop. But the new store right next door caught my eye. Books Lashinbang will be opening a Sannomiya branch. I was so enthusiastic that I took pictures with my own camera. Melon Books in Sannomiya is strictly retail and new doujin stuff, and Books Lashinbang is pre-owned reselling of character goods, doujin and stuff, in other words, used sales, so I don't think they'll be stepping on each other's toes.

image originally from Center Plaza 2nd floor

Lashinbang is more interesting to me. I always go to the Osaka branch to check out the "premium" telephone cards. I hope they carry some here. Oh yeah they will. The only place to buy collectable telephone cards is at a store beneath Animate on the second floor, but they have some skanky ones. 840 yen for a card? Where has it been? :-)

Frankly I need to sell off some doujinshi that I just don't need. I didn't have a good place to do it in Kobe, but now with Lashinbang I don't have to haul it all to Osaka. Guess who's going to be there on opening day? (2008-03-01 Saturday) :^)

edit: added map. I like maps and editting with Paint.NET.

Buy confident: Fairial Garden

(tags manga, character goods, Fairial Garden, magazine)

Fairial Garden (FG) has got a hold on me. I've been looking for FG stuff on the net. I even prepped a RSS feed on the search words at Yahoo Auction JP (keyword: 「フェアリアル ガーデン」), which currently returns nothing. Only a few weeks back did I spot this in Den Den Town:

It's Comic Blade (bishoujo) and Comic Blade Avarus (boys life) magazine's informal tribute to Comic Market 73 (Winter 2007). It comes with a flimsy cloth bag and I paid too much for the set. :-/ FG's Claire graces the cover in a Santa outfit. Unfortunately Sakurano's illustrations only gets the cover and one page.

I assume this is supposed to be a blending of FG and a neko theme. Notice there are only cat ears, not the regular ears. Four ears looks strange?

I really wanted to read the next episode of this story. But I didn't know what episode was available in the current Comic Blade. I contemplated buying a back issue at one local used book store, but they didn't have it. So I took a chance and bought the 2008-02 (January) monthly issue.

Yokatta. Lucky for me it is the next episode, so there are no story breaks. Here I am cutting up the thick magazine so I save the manga that I want to keep.

I also clipped some seperate color illustrations and ads. The right most clipping shows a pink-themed illustration, nice. The original illustration is a green background on the manga. The middle clipping shows a raffle telephone card for 20 winners. Argh, want.

BTW, the issue held the last manga episode of Akazukin. I don't follow it, though. I did try to get into the DVDs because of the POP illustrations. With this issue, I just clipped the color parts. Talk about levelled up armor, the antithesis of kawaii. Heh.

Comic Blade is a monthly magazine that distributes every 30th. So next time I go out I'm gonna pick it up and clip it.

Screech, screech: recent seiyuu cd buys

(tags seiyuu, anime, music, CD, failure, manga)

I've always had a stack of CDs I haven't ripped, and I can't figure out how to motivate myself to get through them all. Mostly they consist of anime/manga drama CDs and character song CDs. But if it's purely music, rippin' is totally effortless.

I watched (田村ゆかり) Yukari Tamura's recent live concert DVD at a shop. It is really annoying to see her look down at her feet every few seconds. Anyway, I happened to find a song I liked from her. I couldn't figure out the name of the song though. So (therefore?) I got her "best album" Sincerly Dears, but still a sucker for completeness so it's the DVD + CD version. This is not a recent release, however. After listening to the CD, the only song I liked was "douwa meikyuu" (「童話迷宮」, lit. fairy tale maze), the song from the anime Akazukin (おとぎ銃士 赤ずきん), which I already had. I like her deeper "grown woman" voice than her "Nanoha" voice, when singing. Another example is "kagayaki no kisetsu" (「輝きの季節」, lit. bright season) and "fukashoku-na ai" (「不可触な愛」, lit. untouchable love). Perhaps I need to give the new songs a chance, because my other 5 star songs from her are "Nanoha" like.

The blind-sided release this time around was (高橋美佳子) Mikako Takahashi's Sweet CD, pictured middle. I like for her parts in Honey and Clover and probably other animes I can't remember. And I thought she was totally hot in one of those H&C interviews. Unfortunately, apart from the up tempo rhythm and the zettai ryoiki front cover, I don't like this CD. :-/ It must be her wavering, quick to clip voice. According to Wikipedia, this is her self produced album, taking about three years to create. On a related note, ever since her character in Hayate no Gotoku was associated with a hamster, I've had a hard time seperating her voice from that image. :-)

I wasn't expecting more than a couple of good songs from (堀江由衣) Yui Horie's latest CD release (pictured right), but at the last count I've five-starred 6 out of 14 songs, with the rest at four stars. It must be the upbeat rhythm and the way she hits those high notes, which sounds so pure. "zutto" (「ずっと」, lit. always) and "lovely everyday" (「ラブリエビリデイ」) stick in my mind. Instead of buying it at Gamers (for a poster and point card exchange) I bought it at Animate (the one pictured below) because B5 paper holder takes up less space (above pictured bottom right).

I also recently bought (茅原美里) Minori Chihara's Message 01 DVD + CD. I couldn't stomach finishing this DVD. She sounds like an dumbass! :-/ Some of her answers to an interview are truly WTF. The above picture is her shop tour at the major Animates. Okay, I'm going to fast forward to the part where she's street singing in Akihabara, according to houkoholic. Oh yeah, it starts at 37:05, all 20 seconds of it, and at 38:42, for a little more than a minute . She sounded so good with her solo rendition of "hare hare yukai" (「ハレ晴レユカイ」, lit. sunny sunny happiness), but the other songs I have of her just don't deserve more than 4 stars.

edit: added Chihara picture

Grinding Rez HD

(tags game, Rez, Xbox 360, shmup)

I've been through the Rez HD three times now. There's this Xbox 360 exclusive mode (or so I assume) called "direct assault", which as far as I can tell, is just the full game with faster (?) bullets and different background colors. Maybe the music is different, but I can't tell. There are six variations on this theme, and it takes about 60 minutes to complete a full game, so we're looking at some more hours at the Rez.

I have yet to try the three "lost area" levels. I wonder how to unlock the "beyond options".

I now put my "trance vibration" controller under my shirt. My abs need massaging.

Oh yeah I got a different text ending. But basically it was saying "Our princess is in another castle."