June 30, 2008

  • been playing metroid prime 3 like it's going out of style.  in terms of number of days, i have exceeded my first run (started it about a week ago), but i'm playing it on Veteran mode, so it's harder to make long runs since boss battles take forever.  i was tempted to go back and start over on Hypermode, but the first boss battle was just challenging enough to keep me on veteran.  found some new stuff, too.  satellite thing in Skytown that will download data on the location of suit expansions for the various planets.

    picked up ichimashi 5 and AiAo 17 a while back.  IM 5 was exactly what i was expecting, and i'm glad i read it.  it's always just funny enough and just soothing enough to make me relax just thinking about it.  AiAo 17 was...a bit of a letdown.  the previous two volumes spent a lot of time building up a huge stockpile of dramatic tension.  and this one came shrinkwrapped, with an Explicit Content label and a 17+ age rating.  i had no idea what i was getting into.  unfortunately the situation that the dramatic tension had been leading you into was resolved in the first chapter of the volume, and the rest of the volume was spent tying up all the loose ends.  all the warnings and the shrinkwrap was for a "about as explicit as it gets without being called porn" sex scene about halfway through the volume, which i kind of felt was out of place.  it's like Type-Moon games.  the ero scenes are in there somewhere, you know they're going to appear eventually, you don't feel any different after they're done (with the exception of Rin's ero scene in Unlimited Blade Works.  i hurt myself i was laughing so hard.  I'M GONNA POKE IT), and if they had been completely omitted the story wouldn't change a bit.  if those 10 or so pages had been stuck together and i skipped them, nothing on the other side would have been different, except i would have gone "ohhhh" when i saw them both sleeping naked.  on the opposite side of the coin, however, it was nice for a change to read a romance manga that doesn't pussyfoot around this situation.  but i digress.

    i also picked up Rozen Maiden 4, which i was kind of hesitant to do because i thought i already had it.  not surprisingly, i not only had volume 4 but 5 as well.  the next day i returned it and picked up Genshiken 1.  Genshiken 1 was a dollar more than Rozen Maiden 4, so i figured i might as well splurge a bit and picked up GitS SAC 4.  SAC is really building up, i'm glad i got into it.  Genshiken surprised me.  i watched the first episode of the anime way back when it premiered, and it did little for me.  but now, almost four years and many hundreds of anime episodes and many thousands of manga pages later, i'm not only catching more references but i'm enjoying the series more.  i guess it really is a series that you have to "level up" for.  it's got a big backlog of english releases so i'm looking forward to reading more.

    i was sad to see border's was completely sold out of Aria and Aqua, save the first volume of Aqua, which i already have.  and with ADV putting its manga on hold once again, i'm sort of running dry on slice-of-life stuff.

    in other anime news, i watched the two subbed Kara no Kyoukai movies.  i had to rewatch a few parts to pick up on minor points, but all in all i'm loving every minute of them.  ufotable is really putting money into this one, as the production values are pretty high even by movie standards (and so help me, when Shiki activates her power i can't help but see Manabi).  the storyline is engaging, and the anachronistic ordering adds a bit of intrigue to the story at the expense of making it harder to follow.  but then again Nasu isn't the easiest of writers to follow in the first place.  the music is absolutely fantastic, and with a different composer for each movie you get a different flavor of ear candy each time.  the voice acting is spot on, Shiki's seiyuu in particular shines because of her (Shiki's) unique traits.  i rewatched the second movie a few nights ago, this time more attuned to her tone of voice, and i picked up on the subtle pitch and inflection changes as she switched between Shiki and SHIKI, in particular i picked up the "ore" and "watashi" which i glossed over the first time (probably not a spoiler, but since that isn't revealed until the second movie i figure why not).  i can't wait for 3 to come out.  also Shiki eating ice cream.

    i finished off Haibane Renmei during my bout of insomnia yesterday.  i had forgotten how much the characters struggled to get to where they did, and i also forgot how well that series concluded.  the more i think about it, the more i am very, very glad i decided to pick that box set up.

    i only intended for this to be a short little update on my gaming habits and it ended up being a dump for the anime and manga i've been reading over the past few weeks.  well at least i got it out of my system :3