I tire of this…

I think DrmChsr0 got it absolutely right: I don’t particularly enjoy this anymore. DS said a little more than I wanted him to. I don’t like to blame just a single person, but maybe that’s all it really was — a one Owen Saturnine. At least that’s what I think the S stands for; I never got a chance to know.

First CJ gets booted without too much reason, and I was left in an awkward state being able to access things and read stressful discussions in a community my admin could no longer enter. But I wasn’t just going to quit right away and succumb to the pressure and abuse. I’m optimistic on the surface; I thought it could resolve in a few days, especially with the outcries of other ABCers.

But there was nothing but silence in response. I finally found the courage to say something to Owen, but it was like shouting to the air without anybody around to acknowledge. Trees falling in a forest but no one around to hear them, and so I had no voice.

It didn’t get better over time, and with all the other blog posts floating around, I finally told myself (with some encouragement from CJ, too, which surprised me since she didn’t want everything just to end … but she understood what paths were best) that this just won’t ever work out. And I’m far too busy with the end of the semester approaching not to have any fun when I try to write about what I love and enjoy.

So it’s off to research paper and final exam land and goodbye ABC and blogging. Maybe I’ll come back when this all blows over. (And I get some A’s.)

~Crisu

New D.Gray-man Opening Theme?

According to Anime Banzai!, an official video has been leaked with a new UVERworld song set to recent D.Gray-man footage. The footage in question appears to be a promo of some sort, since it’s only 15 seconds long. But more importantly, the song is allegedly called “Gekidou” (Agitated) and it should be premiering as an opening theme for episode 76 or 77.

[Impressions] true tears

So my boycott lasted half a day. Well good job by w.0.0.f in getting a sub out fast. Another great series has reached its end, and I do hope P.A. Works continues with beautiful projects in the future. You’ve got KyoAni on the run, potentially. Or at least your writing staff does. I await the American release of this series’ DVDs, because I really need to share true tears’s excellence.

Season 2 of Hayate no Gotoku + Kodomo no Jikan in production

Nothing out of the spring 2008 lineup still appeals to me yet, so I’m happy to hear about sequel announcements of already-existing great series. First we know about CLANNAD AFTER STORY, but now we get a treat with second seasons of Hayate no Gotoku! and Kodomo no Jikan.

Hayate impresses me already as its first run is 52 episodes long. That’s already at least two “standard” seasons, and the momentum continues with all otaku’s love for tsundere-loli-Nagi, tsundere-girlfriend-material-Hinagiku, androgynous-Hayate, tsukkomi-Sakuya, and many other awesome characters. The series has had only minimal plot, tons of cultural and media references, even a mild amount of fanservice, but nobody’s tired of it. Does this series have the perfect formula for profitability?

Quoth ANN, the official announcement will be in Shogakukan’s Weekly Shonen Sunday magazine.

I’m still stuck at episode 48 as I’m dependent on SS-Eclipse’s releases, but it’s good to know that this series won’t be ending completely once I finally get to watch ep52.

Kojika is very sweet news for me, as the series does have tons of potential. Its outward lolicon appearance is the only thing stirring up controversy I think. Other than that, the plot gets rather intricate, focusing on how people would deal with such a societal taboo. And the production quality is fantastic; the TV series did not deviate from the OVA in terms of brightness and character motion. I expect the same artwork out of the second season, fearless of censorship. The TV release can block whatever it wants, but that makes anticipation for the DVDs all the better.

Says the official website (and according to moetron), the release of the fifth manga volume will include a bonus DVD promoting this new season.

In other news, I just noticed Random Curiosity putting up screencaps and a review of true tears 13, so I am officially boycotting AB.net for the next few days until a sub is released and I can watch this episode spoiler-free (I won’t pick on anybody, but I don’t want to see a “Hiromi/Noe/Ai WINS!” in anybody’s subject header or first few lines of his/her entry). I should still write a few things here, but I won’t be looking to the other blogs for news and information references until then.

~Crisu

Clannad 23 – Mei-chan kawaii~

Nagisa and Tomoya? Whatever. This one’ll be all about Mei-chan. She made this episode great and totally stole my heart. Although I guess Nagisa and Tomoya did have lots of cute stuff going on. It was almost stereotypical romance all over again from the shy handholding to everyone else playing matchmaker for them. But I did enjoy the cinnamon scene as well.

Shakugan no Shana II 23 – Epic buildup

I’ve said this before: any episode that has to cut into OP and/or ED time for content is a really, really great one. The director just couldn’t cut it short; those extra 90 seconds were necessary. Plus, in this case, the song fit the scene. And we get a suspenseful buildup to the finale. Awesome fun.

School Days Magical Heart Kokoro-chan OVA

Oh man, what a riot. This OVA is perfect down to every little detail. Rated 17+ though, in my opinion, but you’d know that already if you had watched any of the regular School Days episodes. Where there was lots of drama and a very surprising conclusion in the original series, this OVA totally puts a sentai spin on it and gives you an awesome ending that parodizes what would have been shocking.

Clannad After Story – for real!

UPDATE 1: Omni has beat us all with a post about a 15-second commercial for After Story. Links available there; get excited!

KyoAni will produce CLANNAD After Story! At first Kurogane found out, but it was only information from Moonphase, which is a credible source, yes, but I wanted to wait for something a little more concrete.

Which Ascaloth then found in the form of a magazine spread .. and then I see Kurogane followed up on his entry with an update, too, with the same image (moetron, too). I’m personally trying to find a high-res of it or at least the identity of the magazine in which it’s published (I’m assuming Dengeki G’s), but this is great enough to start. I expect to be updating this entry as the next few days pass, too.

Anyway, the general part of the announcement includes the fact that all the cast and staff will remain the same. Kurogane adds a mention (from the article) about KyoAni taking only the Nagisa route at first, but then deciding on ‘this’ instead. If my assumptions are correct, After Story has more than just Nagisa in it (even though she’s the primary focus), so that means I’ll get to see more Kyou and the other girls in this next season? I sure hope so!

More news as the blogosphere continues erupting with it!

~Crisu

[Follow-up] ABC Drama: Owen’s email

I don’t particularly enjoy posting about drama like this (trust me, I’d rather be finishing my D.Gray-man review) but since I said I’d post the email from Owen, here it is. I took the screencap yesterday but got busy and didn’t get to post it.

The last sentence in the first paragraph especially annoys me. “Even female anime bloggers need to be open-minded”?!? That’s ridiculously sexist if you ask me.

And now he’s clamming up about it. >_>; This isn’t funny anymore, Owen.

~CJ

EDIT: Other bloggers are making statements about this too. They’re popping up at a fairly high rate; just search antenna.animeblogger.net for ‘ABC’ or ‘owen’…

Dead Fantasy II: girls fighting girls!

The long wait since Part I is over! Get your fill of Final Fantasy girls in an all-out brawl against Dead or Alive girls! Created completely by fans and therefore has all the eye candy that fans would want out of a massive fight.