...and then it hit me.

So the other night I was looking at Vocaloid videos, many of which had several less well known members of the Vocaloid pantheon.  In the process, I blundered into this one and was curious which particular Vocaloids these...
...Vocaloi..
...loi..
.....Oh no.
Oh dear God no...

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Sword Art Online Continues (eps 16 & 17)

After the low key but interesting episode that was 15 the show hits the ground running.

more...

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Recursions

I thought that the Gangnam meme was pretty played out, but via Ace  comes this...which is truly a thing of beauty, (unless you are sufficiently deprived and pitiful as to be unaware of Jack Burton)

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There is no point in anime-blogging anymore...

... because with this screencap and caption, Sea Slugs has won.

 Chizumatic has a roundup of reactions to Girls und Panzer and the consensus seems to be "WIN!"

I may have to check this silly show out (as soon as I'm no longer swamped).

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TANSTAFAAFL (Otaku edition)

A few weeks ago (on Drudge I think) there was a story about how Internet service providers were getting astoundingly efficient at tracking people who log into sketchy download sites like Mediafire and the sites that link to them heavily, but that they didn't seem to be doing anything about it and it was unclear what they were up to. I'll be damned if I can find it now, but I thought of it when I read this.

Under the new copyright alert system, Internet service providers (ISPs) will send a series of alerts to subscribers whose accounts may have been used to illegally distribute music, movies or other entertainment content via file-sharing. If the subscriber does not respond to the first set of alerts, which will include educational material on protecting copyrights and the consequences of illegal file-sharing, the Internet service provider may temporarily slow down their Internet speeds, direct them to an online tutorial when they try to access popular websites or implement other penalties--called "mitigation measures."

This is to be implemented over the "next couple of weeks" so those of you who are torrenting be aware that now might be a good time to go straight.

If you're reading this in Japan then there is a little extra incentive...

Internet users in Japan who illegally download copyright content will face new penalties after a change to the law. They will now face up to two years in jail or up fines to two million yen (US$25,700).

 This might explain any slowness in torrents appearing.

Now, it is true that the Japanese AV media model is indeed made of fail and unsustainability. It is also true that these rather non-proportional penalties indicate a desperate attempt to keep that moribund business plan afloat. But something needs to be done, and especially given the  sense of entitlement to free downloads expressed by many fans and the state of the US anime industry (which is due at least in part to piracy) my first instinct is to be OK with this despite the crazy penalties.

However, the lack of proportionality in the penalties would seem to indicate a very heavy handed approach, that might not recognize things like fair use or parody.... or image macros.

UPDATE: Japan has had US style fair use exceptions since 2008 so that final paragraph was inaccurate.

It should also be noted that the penalties for UP-loaders are rather more severe..

...uploaders of copyright infringing music and videos face a maximum penalty of a 10-year prison sentence and a 10 million yen fine (US$128, 318 ), said BBC news.

..so what I meant by " This might explain any slowness in torrents appearing." is those of you who depend upon Anime gods in Japan uploading shows to torrent may find the torrents slow to appear for download as said anime gods ability to do so may be somewhat inhibited in the near future.

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Sword Art Online 15

Following on the footsteps of last episodes  high stakes action and surprises, episode 15 provides a bit of a breather with a very touching, low key episode...

...that is full of surprises.

more...

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Wow. W.O.W. Went "Pow!".

Someone REALLY didn't like episode 14 of Sword Art Online and decided take out a real virtual realm.
Or its just a random hacker.
Or Blizzard screwed up.

Entire cities in the World of Warcraft have been reportedly destroyed with no one spared, not even the NPCs.

Via Instapundit. More here, here and here.

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Even in English

...the damn song makes no sense.

Oh hell with it. Lets just do this then. It was inevitable anyway.



...but not as inevitable as this.

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Game Over

 That was unexpected.

more...

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Yamato 2199 Third Movie Clip

As with the first two films,  a promo clip with the first 10 minutes of the third Yamato 2199 movie has aired on Japanese TV.

As the third movie starts the ship is finally leaving the solar system. However, it seems their FTL communications can't punch through the heliopause, so, for morale purposes the Admiral arranges for everyone to have 1 minute to talk to their families back home one last time.

...and the nurse is in a french maid outfit for some reason.
^{( WTF)}

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SALE SALE SALE

Colleen Doran is having an art sale.


From the artists mouth...

For collectors, we have a limited number of first edition GN’s still available. My BOOKSTORE IS HERE. We only have about a half dozen of the original Volume I left. They will be gone by NYCC, I am sure. First come, first served.

My previous edition covers are now for sale HERE. Volume II cover has already sold. These are already reduced prices, but I accept payment plans. I will also consider a reduced price if you buy more than one painting.

NVCC is New York Comic Con so it's all over by the 11th.

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More Sword Art Online

Sword Art Online, despite its stupid premise, continues to impress me.

Asuna, the female lead, is particularly well realized. She's not a shrinking violet. She does not exist to show how awesome the male lead is. Asuna is a full fledged hero in her own right who at this point has unambiguously saved the heroes ass once more than he's saved hers. Unlike Kirito, Asuna was not an experienced gamer and certainly not one of this games Beta Testers, yet she has through sheer determination become at least his equal. She helped form and is now second in command of a guild that is fighting its way through the upper levels, she is however quite close to burnout when she meets Kirito for the second time.

_{(She's so buff that she could even afford to buy up her cooking skill to the max...my God, she's perfect!)}

On the other hand, Kirito, the male lead WAS a Beta Tester and as such is something of a pariah. The beta testers were deeply resented by the other gamers because they knew where everything on the lower levels was, and they did not share with the other players or train them.  Kirito did do a bit of mentoring, but is haunted by the mistakes he made early on and at one point early in the series he abandons clearing the game to schlep amongst the lower levels where his skill levels (about 3 times what is common in those regions) make him almost godlike. He spends several episodes doing good deeds and trying to be a hero with decidedly mixed results before realizing that his place is on the "front lines" and heading back.
At this point he's far past any areas he covered in Beta and so has no innate advantages. Though far from perfect he's an interesting and decent person, however he is weary and close to dispair when he by chance, encounters Asuna for the second time.

Kirito has developed as a character quite a lot over the course of the series but its the relationship between the two that is most interesting.

These two people really complement and complete each other. They have one of the more realistic and mature relationships I've seen on TV. This is a sad commentary on something since it is a...cartoon...about a virtual relationship...in a video game... but its damned nice to see.

The honeymoon episodes were cute too.
I do like the way the game handles marriage..." Wait!" "We have access to each others whole inventory? I can use his +6 sword!"   

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Bakemonogatari Continues.

Episode 3 almost entirely consists of a quiet conversation in a park. The dialog is interesting, though I'm not sure the subtitles are doing it justice. While intriguing, the episode really reinforces my belief that this show cries out for a good dub.

Compared to the previous episodes the character designs are occasionally off model in this one...

While mostly a character episode they did manage to work in some completely unexpected Kung-Fu fighting.


One thing that did not come out in the first two episodes is that our hero, while quite smart and well intentioned, is a bit of a doofus.

This is a seriously odd show.

I'm not sure that it's good.

But it is quite clever and I'm liking it.

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Comics Can Have a Positive Impact

Wonderduck has a poignant post on the impact a well written comic can have. Go read the whole thing.


...then go buy Yotsuba@!.

It really is that good.

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Ninjas Needed!

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Sword Art Online

Its the year 2022, and a new MMORPG is coming online. This one has the latest in interface technology. namely a VR headset that operates through direct neural stimulation. The game is from a well regarded developer and highly anticipated. Our hero, who goes by the online handle of Kirito was one of the games Beta Testers. He logs on and mucks about for a bit, gives pointers to a new player and then tries to help the new player log out...but he can't.
There is no log-out option.
Enter the godlike online Avatar of the games developer who informs the 10,000 odd players that this is by design, and that he is informing the world of his deed. Oh....and if they die in-game their interface helmets will fry their brains. If anyone tries to unhook them, the helmets fail safe will kill them (which happens immediately to over 200 players as frantic loved ones watching his broadcast fail to heed his warning).

Now about 9800 people are stuck in a virtual Tolkienesque world. before he logs himself out, the madman leaves them with one tenuous hope...his assurance that they can escape if they clear all 100 levels.
OK let's say right up front that the premise of this show does not inspire confidence.

Sword Art Online greatly exceeded my expectations however, and at 11 episodes in, I'm going to recommend it.

This show has exceptional character development, not only of the male lead but also of Asuna, the heroine, who is smart, tough and genuinely heroic. Although she's not present for a good portion of the show she is surprisingly well realized and has grown noticeably as a person during the course of the series. Asuna  is one of the best female action leads in years.

Kirito, the male lead, is the main focus of the story early on and develops noticeably in the first few episodes. He is run through the ringer, but Kirito, while far from perfect learns from his mistakes and does evolve as a person.  His development is actually quite believable. Kirito is also smart which is always a pleasant surprise in these shows.

The show can be grim. The premise means that there will be a body count, but it is not gory and there is an optimism that runs through the whole thing.  The show  touches on things like ostracization, survivors guilt, ethics, love, the definition of happiness, and the difference between bravado and courage far better than one has any business to expect from a cartoon...let alone one about being stuck in a video game.

I am astonished to be so thoroughly enjoying this show. I just hope that they don't completely bollox it toward the end, as is the fate of so many initially good shows.

^{However, with much of the staff of Moretsu Pirates involved, I'm allowing myself a bit of optimism here.}

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Grrrlzz

It seems there really are none on teh internets.


From Sword Art Online episode one, which, despite its uninspiring premise, is actually turning out to be kind of interesting.

UPDATE:
OK maybe a few.
Also: Why haven't they starved?

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Oh So THAT'S How It's Done

I noted this in passing the other day on YouTube and I wondered..."How?"
The second opening credits song to Nichijou simply does not seem to lend itself to a trance version in any way shape or form.

Turns out, it's easy as pie...

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Bakemonogatari EP 1

Crunchyroll has now started streaming Bakemonogatari in a possibly futile attempt to have its sequel (Nisemonogatari) make sense.

I'd heard generally good things about this series so I'm giving it a shot. I must say I was unprepared for the sheer SHAFTacular SHAFTieness of this SHAFT production.

How SHAFTy is it?

This is the staircase at the school....
This is a hallway in the same school...
Yes, SHAFT tends to be aggressively surrealist in its art direction and this show rather maxes that out. It's quirky look accentuates the otherworldly feel of the story. The use of "lighting" is particularly effective.

Despite its striking visuals this is not a show that relies on imagery to tell a tale. It is VERY dialog heavy...and text heavy...with episode one having several flashes of 'textposition' that are onscreen for such a short period of time that they frequently defy even the pause button. Despite this one annoyance and opening with one of the most gratuitous panty-shots I have ever seen this is a pretty intelligent and intriguing show.

Our hero, Kyomi Araragi...
 ...is a senior at the academically challenging and architecturally improbable Naoetsu High School. He's your typical high school senior with the minor exceptions that he's smart and organized enough to be vice president of the student council and he's a former vampire, having spent much of his junior/senior vacation as a blood sucking creature of the night. He's better now, but struggles with lingering eosophobia which frequently makes getting to first period on time a challenge. 
His closest thing to a friend in school is...

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Golly...

I guess it HAS been that long.

Lord, I'm old.

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