I choose to buy figures. But here’s the thing, figure purchasing is a very expensive hobby so I warn you to watch out if you buy it. But I recently checked out a pretty cool place to buy figures for a pretty cheap price, if you live in the U.S. anyways. Figures I buy are about 50-70 USD which is pretty steep, but this site, Kidnemocompany, gives you 20% off if its an import figure that hasn’t come to the U.S. yet. I plan to buy quite a few figures and do reviews on them too. Now I need to buy a better camera…btw sorry for the late post, internet went down.
Archive for May, 2007
Wacky Commercials from Japan…Boo Hoo for Pocky
May 29th, 07
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I always liked Japanese commercials more compared to American commercials for they go straight to the point after a very short demonstration or information about the product. I saw a rice au gratin commercial while I was in Japan that showed a woman eating the rice for about four to five seconds then straight to a picture of the product. In America its a commercial about 20 seconds long on demonstration that sometimes has no true relation that will direct you to the product, then they show the product.
I think the Japanese are sadly picking up on this as they show these strange commercials that are exceedingly long, especially the pocky commercial that has almost no hint to the new “Pocky G,” but interesting nonetheless due to the kid head butting the dude that smashed his sand castle. I thought the “Boo Hoo For You” commercial was a bit discriminatory to those who’s phone isn’t as “functional” as those in Japan. I admit though that the English was great as the commercial was done by an English company I believe.
Manabi Straight-Final Episode (SPOLIER)
May 28th, 07
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Well another end to another anime has come to pass. Manabi Straight was a pretty good anime that is about high school girls that is more of a serious anime about friendship. I really enjoyed the animation in this anime which made me interested in watching it. Well the school year is ending for the girls and they are graduating and going off into the real world.
My View on Hong Kong
May 27th, 07
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Well this will be my last post on my first but hopefully not last trip to Hong Kong. My final reflections will be in this post. Hong Kong is a great place to travel to, if you don’t mind the humidity and really chemically induced air from garbage, cigarette smoke, and car fumes. My cousin told me it might be best to visit Hong Kong from November-February which is the winter season that will help with the humidity which is on the extreme side when I visited Hong Kong, worst in the summer.
It’s a great place to shop, eat, play tourist, and more….did I mention eat? Yes, food…that was one of the highlights of the trip, to me anyways, for everything is super cheap when you eat there. About 3-8 USD will get you a great meal that will leave you feeling like you don’t have to eat for the rest of the day and most likely a drink to go along with it, usually tea or coffee. They have tons of food everywhere, expect most to be Chinese related though lol, but its definitely better than the Chinese I eat here in the U.S. lol. Here’s the interesting thing, you can eat like an American in Hong Kong with all the big meals but you burn it off walking everywhere that will leave you hungry for another great meal.
Hong Kong’s Building’s or Why My Neck Hurts
May 26th, 07
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First of all big shout out to my cousin for showing me around Hong Kong. If it weren’t for him I would probably be lost in Hong Kong during my visit. He taught me the basics like riding the different transportation, showed me the landmarks, and of course where to shop in Hong Kong. Same goes to his family, my relatives, who also was there to take me to places to eat and such.
Hong Kong is a place of real economic development compared to its mainland, China. But China itself is currently going through an economic boom itself and might emerge as a super power country. But enough about economics, I have to deal with it when I go back to school…now about why my neck hurts. Due to Hong Kong also being a major port for imports and exports, it also became a mecca for really tall buildings due to all the businesses that work there, so this resulted in me being the dumb tourist craning my neck to look at them while standing in the middle of the sidewalk blocking people while taking pics. But its not just buildings…apparently Buddha is up there as well as I visited the biggest Buddha statue in all of China (btw I am a non-religious person but Buddhism is a religion that I practice but only during those times of the year like Chinese New Year’s and when I visit my deceased relatives).
Back with PICS!!!
May 25th, 07
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Well I kind of just came back from Hong Kong, fell asleep due to jet lag ^-^;. Well first of all, I went to JAPAN (pumps fist in air), which this post is going to be about. I finally made it, I was in the Osaka airport the whole time though lol. I went first class to Japan, the only way to go…they stuffed me so much I was afraid of going to the bathroom constantly, turns out it was only a few times. Even though it was just an airport there were many different things for me there. I’ll explain with the pics.
This was just awesome, the ground toilet, I never used it though, never know what kind of weirdos are out there lol.
Japan is pretty strict about recycling which I think is very cool, as we are destroying our ozone layer with our chemicals. I noticed a lot of umbrellas in the other portion while I was there.
Ahhh, the infamous vending machines…just awesome as they bask in their glory.
What’s even more awesome, beer in vending machines. I am not a drinker though, actually not at all if I can help it, but awesome nonetheless. Btw, don’t mind the shadow, it’s some kind of ghost or something….
Ahhh, plastic food so real you might eat it. Sometimes the food was real so when I touched it I had to quickly dispose of the evidence (aka lick my fingers).
This food is real and tasted excellent for something simple. Osaka is famous for takoyaki, so I had some and it was delicious. The takoyaki here in the U.S. where I live is kind of runny so I enjoyed the more “cooked” version in Osaka.
What I didn’t enjoy was the price. That meal cost me 17 USD which is a pretty hefty sum compared to the food at Hong Kong. I could get like 5-8 meals for that kind of price in Hong Kong but thats for later. What was interesting though was the international boarding areas accepting USD but every where else in the airport only accepted yen or credit card, guess its to be expected. I had a nice time using my Japanese though getting around the airport.
From the land of kawaii comes kawaii phone cards, the penguin is my favorite.
A shower,lounge, and massage in the airport. A shower now, thats pretty interesting as no where in the U.S. which I have traveled to offered this.
This is one of those infamous multiple mangas in one book that I have heard so much about…
They weren’t kidding, this was all over the airport in this size. There were a ton of other books and magazines there, including “unmentionable ones” that were just out there for the public, but were mostly taped to prevent viewing, mostly….
Lastly is my first Japanese vending drink, which was pretty good. It tasted like a slightly sugary and light orange juice. I hope Brent from Konbini Life doesn’t consider this copying him as this pic is how he starts most of his reviews with. It had a lot of amino acids, which incidentally is good. I hope I got the most out of it though and maybe I did as I never became sick in the seriously chemically induced air in Hong Kong.
Tomorrow I will talk about Hong Kong.
Tan Overload
May 19th, 07
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Apparently there are more tans out there than I thought, not just OS-tans but platform and even browsers. I was checking out Dark Diamond where I found out more about the different tans which they post about every Tuesday. Tans are inanimate objects like the PS3, XBOX 360, Windows, etc that people draw into into life, usually cute girls.
Just to let you know, this is my last post for a week. I am going on vacation to Hong Kong and will post pics up later of my travel which will mainly consist of shopping and eating. Enjoy the tans ^-^.
PSP-Tan, very cute but a bit on the “perverted” side.
WindowsNT-tan, I love her claws.
Opera-tan, she represents the opera browser, a very proper girl.
PS3-tan, I love the hair and the outfit, but could be better, especially the giant syntax controller which is a huge fashion accessory.
The twin Wii-mote-tans, very cute how they go together.
XBOX 360-tan, very mature look, I love the double controller accesorries on her head.
There goes my sushi diet plans….
May 18th, 07
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Apparently studies have shown that sushi in the U.S. isn’t all that healthy. In this article is a short summary of how U.S. sushi is bad due to the process of “Americanization” where we in the U.S. take items from other countries and make them supposedly to “our” style, case in point those heavily mayoed California rolls and some unagi rolls I have eaten lathered in that sweet sauce.
In this case its a food item so you know we got to make it fattier, sweeter, whatever to appease our appetites. I don’t really have anything against this method but apparently its already well-known, just ignored, like how the U.S. moon landing is fake (just kidding, I know Martians video-taped themselves with U.S. astro suits and sent it down to us as a joke lol ;p). Japan’s sushi is supposedly healthier than ours in America which is why theres isn’t as bad, although too much rice which is carbs will result in weight gain if you sit around and do nothing. Well we in America just accept our ways and live life according to the “freedom” granted to us. So, I will continue eating sushi and be happy about it because it is sushi, which is one of my favorite foods, maybe I just won’t eat as much, maybe….
The happy, sushi eating American (Me, I am actually fit and work out at least once a week, don’t let my flabdominals fool you, for they are protecting the actual abdominals from harm).
Rise My Fellow Otaku and FIGHT!!!
May 18th, 07
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No, I am not some otaku dictator. I recently watched a couple vids on Japansugoi where they were conducting a test to see how much male otaku’s would help a girl out if she was in a situation where another guy was harassing her like in the show Densha Otoko.
Apparently 69/100 decided to help the poor girl out which is not bad considering its more than 1/2 and nearly 3/4. While I was watching the vids in my mind I was saying “Go Otaku, fight fight fight”. Of course I am in America and I go into the stereotype of enjoying fights. I know the crime rate is really low in Japan compared to the rest of the world, especially the U.S. for just last night I watched a news report of a burglary leading to the death of the one being burglarized, but I believe all of those otaku’s should have tried to stop what they were seeing, especially that kind of buff guy in the second vid that fled.
How do I know its otaku’s you might ask, well they were all going to a supposed maid cafe down the alley where they were tested. The vids are subtitled so you can understand whats happening if you know English/Japanese/both. Honestly I would have tried to stop the guy, especially analyzing the situation where he looked like a drunk and I know people can do stupid things when they are drunk.
So fellow otaku’s out there, if you see something wrong and there is something you can do about it please do, especially if it means helping others out of a dangerous situation, you never know what kind of “rewards” you might get. Be brave like that one guy in the second vid who kept chanting “be brave” in his mind. Now I just made it wrong and maybe more of an incentive.
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
May 17th, 07
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Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann also known as “Break-Through Heaven Gurren Lagann,” from now on is known as TTGL, is the newest anime project released by Gainex, the company also known for releasing Furi Kuri, a review on that later.
TTGL is about a kid named Simon who, like everyone human it seems, lives underground for a reason not really clear except for constant earthquakes, which shakes the underground too, maybe its safer underground. He, along with his “older brother” Kamina (Note: In Japan, if you are close to someone who you no blood relations to, like Simon and Kamina, and they are older than you then you can call them older brother/sister) live underground, with Simon preferring it as his villages best digger while Kamina longs to go above the forbidden and sometimes other worldly above ground.
All is nice and dandy after another escape attempt by Kamina that involved Simon when a Ganmen, the enemy to humans, attacks. Ganmen are giant robots, which Gainax seems to live, who are controlled by beastmen, probably called that because they are hairy and walk up on two legs, that seem to like killing humans, who doesn’t in the anime world. While Kamina tries to attack the giant metallic robot with a puny sword, a very voluptuous girl named Yoko pops in who knocks the ganmen down with electric shells from her gigantic rifle.
Simon took Kamina and Yoko to see a robot he found which they used to defeat the ganmen and escape to the very bleak surface world which is a gigantic dry desert. With this victory comes Kamina’s resolve to defeat all the beastmen and drags Simon along who would rather stay underground digging all his life, for it is his passion. Yoko comes along to keep them safe. With their travels they meet all kinds of people and challenges.
I like this anime, it has a bunch of action in it for the man in me, some eroness for my perverted side, comedy for my funny bone, and art for my eyes. I would recommend watching it for it holds quite the interest and suspense that good animes represent.
The only thing that irritates me is the recap in the middle of episode 6 which they really didn’t need. Also the part when Kamina’s ganmen combines with Simon’s, for Simon’s ganmen is the head whose bottom half turns into a drill to combine with Kamina’s ganmen which is the body and the drill passes centimeters from Kamina’s head or actually hits him during combination which should have led to his death numerous times. Also the time which they show the anime in the top left hand corner during the show which isn’t necessary unless its hard to tell the time in Japan to the otakus watching. But other than that I’m pretty much satisfied. I give TTGL a B, needs room for improvement, especially on Kamina’s part, but pretty good.
The gun-ho Kamina, btw that gun in his hand is the first one he ever used and he almost shot himself using it as a bludgeoning device.
The cute and busty Yoko, who is actually 14 which I do not believe.
In case you were wondering, what that mole thing is above with Simon and below in-between Yoko’s breast, it is a very lucky mole/pig named Boota.
Speaking of Boota, I never really took notice that characters like Boota that wears glasses and takes them off have lips for eyes which Konata mentioned.
Here is the ganmen Simon and Kamina control, known as Gurren Langann, hence the name of the anime.
In between episodes is commercials, to let you know a commercial is coming or going they usually put art of the anime up for a few seconds. I love the art, its a mix of graffitti and anime which coincides with the current episode its in. It shows the good guys before the break and the bad guys after the break. I love how Yoko is depicted in the pic below.
The stupid drill part, which should have actually killed him or at least given him a serious burn from the friction heating the drill as it came across his head.
