Re-Visiting My Old Fandoms

Over the past couple of days, I've been re-watching two of my old favorite series, Outlaw Star and Candidate for Goddess. God, watching those brings back so many memories. Not just pertaining to the series at hand, but also memories of my normal life, as well. Ah, nostalgia!

Outlaw Star was the series that really got me into anime in the first place. Sailor Moon was my "gateway", but OS pulled me in. It was fun, had some great characters (In my second-year French class, I went by the name of "Aisha"!), and it had a great dub, among other things. Sure, I've noticed that it's aged, compared to the animation of today, but it still has it's charm. One thing that still gets to me is the fact that Harry, who I tend to hate on a lot, was voiced by the same seiyuu as Ernest-who I'll be getting to in a minute. I still remember looking up information, seeing that, and thinking, "Are you kidding me?! He had the same seiyuu as my Ernest-sama?!" -laughs to self- Yeah, that was...something.

Okay, now what to say about Goddess...I don't even know where to begin. I guess I'll start out by saying that I've been trying to avoid touching the series again for a while now. If Sugisaki won't give it an ending, then I probably shouldn't waste my time. However, I can't seem to forget about it, or get over things for that matter. Let me tell you just how pathetic I am. I couldn't even get through more than half of the first episode without an emotional breakdown. It might have had something to do with this despair that college has left me in -heh-, but the emotional baggage I have with MK still comes back to haunt me. Hell, I ended up sleeping with my Ernest plushie, for the first time in a long time last night, for comfort! That's how pathetic I am!

Anyway, back on the subject...while I was watching last night, I still remember my intial reactions to the first episode. It was a mix of , "Wow! I'm a beginner, and even I can tell the dubbing's bad!", "Main character's a dork, but I like him and the glasses guy.", "Ah, Teela's so pretty!", -blush- "Ah~That boy! He's so bishounen!", "Ack! You green-haired bitch (Yeah, I actually referred to Garu as a green-haired bitch!)! What the hell are you doing to him?!", and "Ernest? His name is Ernest?", among other things. Another little thing I add to that, is Yu's "You are being called." line. I have a tendency to say that everytime someone's cell phone rings and they don't pick it up. I'm such a dork like that! Come to think of it, I had a real problem deciphering Yu's gender due to his feminine voice in the dub. I actually thought he looked more like a girl than Ernest did! XD...He'd probably kill me for that.

God, I wish I could get an actual ending to that series! I feel like she owes it to me, for killing my angel. (While Ernest was not my first character crush, I consider him my "first love". In other words, my first character obsession.) And while I know that if she finishes MK, I know won't see him again. Flashbacks could be helpful, though. After all, he did have a major impact on Garu and Tune, and was Ert's older brother. But I just know that when she finishes DN Angel, she'll go back to Lagoon Engine. Maybe if she transfers MK to Asuka from Comic Gum, it would be more accepted. Seriously, what was she thinking putting a bishounen-filled series in a moe magazine? -_-'

Anyhow I'm going to stop for now. I'd rather not go on about how Sugisaki has left me in despair anymore today. I'm saving that for a specific, later date.

Gah! Why Must They Do This To Me?!

This is going to be minor, but we seem to have more Code Geass Chara Fortune clips coming. This time, it's a zodiac theme. I have to say this now, this set has me highly amused. I'll have to get Nunnally because we have the same sign, Scorpio. And naturally, I'm getting Lloyd, who's poking his head and hands out of a water urn (Aquarius)! LOL! And there's Cecile as an angel (Virgo)! (I'm so glad she's getting some character goods made of her now!) I'll also have to get Schneizel, who's dressed as a cow (Taurus). WTF?! XD

Unfortunately, it'll be a while until I get these. They'll be released in June, and it could be a while until the House of Anime gets them. That's where I got my original Chara Fortune Lloyd, by the way. Ah, great! I need something that I can clip all of those onto, now. And you can bet that Lloyd, Cecile, and Schneizel are all going to be together!

Edit Addendum: GEROOOOO!!! I'm in despair! Apparently, the Animazement convention in North Carolina has Kumiko Watanabe coming! For those of you who don't know who that is, she's Keroro's seiyuu. Not only did that con host Takeshi Kusao (Dororo) last year, but now they have Keroro this year! And they've had Kikuko Inoue in the past, as well.

-sigh- I keep asking myself, "Why can't we get guests like that, down here?" I mean, Texas is closer than North Carolina, ya know? I guess they have a larger budget than the conventions out here, I don't know. Still, I wish that A-Kon or A-FEST could get a really awesome guest, American or Japanese.

A-Kon especially needs someone awesome, because I still think their guest list has sucked the past few years. Sorry, but it's true. They've been getting further away from anime and more into sci-fi/fantasy, along with music groups that I've never even heard of half the time! (Don't get me wrong, I'm still going this year; but as it is right now, I'm going only for merchandise.)

Aww, whatever!

3-2-1, Let's Jam!

Oh man! I'm like so dizzy from happiness right now, that I don't even know where to begin! Okay, so Right Stuf is having a Bandai sale going on, right now. And if you couldn't tell by the title, I got the Cowboy Bebop Remix box set, along with Knockin' On Heaven's Door. The downside was that the movie wasn't in stock, but I did get the discount on the box set. I saved fifteen freakin' dollars on that box set! It was about $45 for normal pricing, but I got it for $30. That's enough for one DVD on the market, these days, but we all know that, by now.

WAH! I've missed watching that series for soooo long! Yeah, I know that Adult Swim's been airing it on and off, but I've been needing sleep, ya know? Plus, I've always found that over-playing a series can cheapen the value on it. I actually take breaks between re-watching anime, yes even Geass. Though, I will watch select episodes every once in a while. And I will admit to liking episode 18 of CG a little too much. Sorry, but that scene of Rivalz getting owned by Lloyd never ceases to amuse the hell out of me.

Well, I'll close for now. I really need to get to work on that paper for Government. So, with that said, I'll end by quoting my favorite line from Asteroid Blues (and one of my favorite lines from Bebop, period).

"This again?! Goddamn son of a bitch!"

Procrastination Again!

Okay, so I'm supposed to be working on a review and paper for Government, but I really don't feel like it. I know I've gotta do it, but later. The review isn't going to be hard, and the paper isn't due until Friday. So, with that said, I'm going to do a frog-related post to pass time.

This weekend, I got caught up with the Keroro raws. I have to say, the past three episodes have been..."interesting" to say the least. Two Chibi-Kero episodes, a Setsubun episode (more on that in a minute!), the reappearance of the awesome Kururuko, and an episode of the platoon trying to act evil.

I'm going to start out with the Setsubun episode, and this is going to be a rather long summary. It starts out with a bunch of holes, which were dug by Keroro. When everyone goes to confront him, he's sitting there with this Putata-like look on his face. After analysis done by Kururu, it's found out that Keroro was posessed by some digging demon, or something like that. Anyways, he ends up with a drill growing out of his head. I started thinking, "Is this going to be a Gurenn Lagann parody?" Note that I've never watched GL, but I've heard plenty about it. Well, Natsumi grabs a box of soybeans and starts throwing them at Keroro, thus starting the standard Keroro-Setsubun episode.

Now, this is where it gets into "WTF?! Mode". They corner Drill-Keroro, and Tamama drops some of his soybeans. He bends down to pick them up, and Keroro stares at his butt. "Ana...horu..." Oh yes, they went there. The Setsubun episode just became a Sex-ubun episode! Tamama, of course, is like "OH YESU!!!", and grows a drill on his head. He promptly drills both Giroro and Kururu (He has eye-drills!). The looks on their faces upon getting drilled are priceless, along with flowery imagery. While Moa allows Keroro to drill her, Giroro is thinking of drilling Natsumi, of course. And while he's thinking of this...his drill enlarges! (I'm thinking, "Oh my God! I'm watching softcore frog pr0n!") But, in true Keroro-fashion, Giroro ends up drilling Fuyuki, who drills Dororo; then Kogoro, who I believe drills Lavie?

Just when everyone turns to gang-drill Natsumi, Pururu comes out and shoots long-rolled sushi into their mouths. My mind was already in the gutter by this time, and I really don't think I need to go into detail about this. So everyone is cured, has long-rolled sushi protruding from their mouths (sans Dororo, due to face mask), and Natsumi is the only one who gets away, unscathed, yet again. -rolls eyes-

Now, for random notes on the other episodes. I didn't really care for the first Chibi-Kero episode, but the second one was way too cute! I think it may have had something to do with a cameo appearance by Chibi Kururu. When he showed up, I was like, "KYAAA!!! I want to hug him!!!" Even though he'd probably be plotting my destruction, afterwards. If I ever find a Chibi Kururu plushie, I'm getting it for sure!

Then, there was the Kururuko episode. If I haven't said so by now, I freaking love Kururuko! She's probably one of the only female characters that I'd be able to cosplay with ease. If I ever really wanted to cosplay, that is. Well, she ends up becoming an idol, with Keroro as her father and manager. By the way, Keroro looks like Hitler in this episode. It ends up with Kururuko acting like a spoiled idol to piss the others off, which tends to happen in real life as we all know. Then, right before she is supposed to go onstage, Kururu detransforms and walks out. Wait a minute, I thought Kururuko was a full-body Pekoponian suit! Did Kururu have to go through a magical girl transformation or something? Now that's a scary thought!

Anyhow, I should stop for now. I have to go up to the college to attempt to start my Sociology project. There was an error on the paper that I was given, saying that I was supposed to show up on Thursday. I showed up, and no one else did. I told my instructor about this, and apparently I was supposed to show up on Tuesday. If this doesn't work out for me today, I'm going to drop this one and opt for a book report instead.

Gah! Spring Break just can't get here soon enough! T_T

Gundam 00 Episode 18/Daily Life Rantage

Today's post will contain spoilers for episode 18 of G00; and a small rant about today. I'll do the latter first, just to get it out of the way.

Okay. *sigh* I don't know why this has happened, but for some reason I seem to be getting nervous around people again. I was out shopping today, and I started getting scared. I'm guessing it's a set-back from my recent job. I just need a few days to get myself back together, I guess. God, I better not give into the hikkikomori-ism again! >_<


Next, the main reason for today's posting. If I didn't make myself clear that I hated Nena, last week, then I'll say it now. Nena Trinity must die! Yes, I hate Louise (I'll get to her more, in a minute.), but that was completely uncalled for. Blowing up a wedding party just because people are having fun while you're working does not earn big points with me. I knew right away from the scans that she was going to be a royal pain in the ass. Yah! And to think that her seiyuu was once shy and quiet Ikhny Allecto...until she went psychotic in the anime. Nonetheless, I'll be looking forward to her oncoming death. And don't try to convince me that she isn't going to die! The same goes for her brothers, as well. Yes, even Johann.

Now for Louise. I've been pretty vocal about my hatred for her. And I've been expecting something bad to happen to her or her family. Well, she ended up with both. Nena kills off her entire family, and she ends up losing her left hand. Ah, it's so ironic that Saji finally got enough money to buy that set of rings for her, and she no longer has her wedding ring finger. I will say this; I am satisfied by this development. She has been put through a traumatic enough experience that will change her outlook on things. However, I really can't bring myself to sympathize with her. I might feel a slight twinge, but that's about it. Still, I now forgive Sunrise for letting Shirley off so easily. Losing your father and having your memories erased of a certain person by that person are very minor, compared to this.

Now it's time for me to fangirl over the Union. Graham totally impressed me, today. He took on Johann in a Beam Saber fight, tossed his own sabers aside and took Johann's one saber, and sliced Throne Eins' arm off. Sure, he coughed up blood as a result, but still that was freaking awesome! I literally threw my arms up shouting, "Go, Graham!"

And I have to mention how happy I was to see Katagiri alive and working on Graham's Flag. He's a little banged up, but it's all right. (Random note: Why is it that if a scientist gets hurt, he always manages to look good in bandages? This is obviously not only exclusive to Kata-yan, by the way!) I also thought that the little scene of him and Graham talking was really cute. Even though it isn't canon nor will it ever be, I still like to ship them. Heck, there's enough subtext, at least. Poor Katagiri, if only he could get over Sumeragi. Anyway, putting that aside, he should be protected from dying now. I've always found that if a character is injured, they have an increased chance of survival. It's not always true, but for the most part, yeah.

In any case, G00's really starting to get interesting. Though, we only have about seven more episodes until the season finale. Then, it's hiatus time until the fall. But don't worry! We have that "other" mecha series to tide us over until then! ^__^

Exhausted, But Happy

Ah! I feel as though a large weight has been lifted off of my shoulders! In other words, I'm jobless again. However, it was a mutual agreement between me and the owners. They could tell that it was too much for me. I'm still going to eat there, every now and then. And I did get over $140 richer. It was about $160, but I spent $20 on the December issue of Animage. Yeah, I finally gave in and bought it, just for the Lloyd-related interview with Shiratori. And I got it in the mail today! ^_^

And speaking of which, my thoughts on the recent scans for R2. The new characters-I'm kind of so-so on. I'm thinking it's getting to be like G 00, where the cast is getting too large. I'll try to keep an open mind about them, and reserve my judgement for later. Though, I am highly amused that the Chinese guy, Li, is voiced by Midorikawa Hikaru; whereas one of the Knights of the Rounds, Gino, is voiced by Hoshi Soichiro. Since when did Code Geass become Scryed? And if Gino and Lloyd ever meet, will we see a "Vital Guarder Punch!"? <- That's one of my favorite jokes in the Ryvius Illusion extras. There's also a new pink-haired loli-esque girl named Anya, who's voiced by Yuko Goto. While I didn't watch much of Haruhi Suzumiya, I liked her as Machina from Dragonaut. (T_T) I think she looks like someone from C.C and V.V's race. Others in the Knights include a guy who looks like Orange-kun crossed with Diethard, a Straight Cougar-looking guy, Nonette Ennagram from the Lost Colors game, and a shy-looking girl. And we still have Rollo, as well. Another note about Gino: if Clovis didn't remind me of Tamaki from Ouran, this guy does.

And yes, I'm glad that it is confirmed that Lloyd is still around. You just can't kill off the cute comedic side character that easily! Plus, he's still got some character development to go through. Though, seeing him on the same page as Schneizel and the Emperor has me worried. Then again, Odysseus was on the same page as well, and he sure doesn't seem like the evil type...at least not yet. And what about Cecile?! I still haven't seen anything on her, scans or in the trailers.

Anyway, that's about it for now. I'm tired, so I think I'll go take a nap.

I'm So Greatful For Having An Understanding Mother

I ended up talking to Mom about my "job", last night. We appear to agree that it isn't right for me, and gave me the "okay" to stop. I'm still going in on Tuesday and Thursday, nonetheless. Thank God that it's just a trial job! Yes, I do feel bad about leaving the owners like this, but I really don't think it's going to work out. I've already talked about this enough, but I really don't have good communication skills. I tend to get flustered easily, I've never used a cash register before last week, they should've trained me before my first day, and I can barely understand them. Damn, I really am pathetic. T_T

But, I'll be all right. I'm still planning on looking for office jobs, starting around April 14th. I want to get a heads up on jobs, before college gets let out. I think I'd do better in an office setting, anyway. Set hours, structured environment, it would be more quiet, and I'd be doing typing for the most part. If I get one by the end of May, I might have to miss day one of A-Kon, though. We'll see when it happens.

*Thinks for a moment* I've been posting more frequently over the past week, haven't I? And I expect to have another entry by the end of the week. Probably about how things ended, but there's something else I have in mind. We should be getting new information on Code Geass R2 in a few days. I've already heard that it's quite possible that it'll start airing on April 6th. It still isn't confirmed yet, but I'm hoping that it's correct. Yah, just about two months away! And I hope we get information on when the dub will start airing, as well as a release date for the first DVD, pretty soon.

Gundam 00-Related Rants

Okay, now how to start this. I'll go ahead and talk about the Trinity siblings. I'm not that keen on them, at the moment. I might be able to handle Johann, but Micheal and Nena are really annoying me. Nena is especially getting on my nerves. I keep thinking, "As if Gundam 00 doesn't have enough bitches in it already." -_-' While the kiss might have something to do with it, I don't ship Setsuna with anyone at the moment. However, I will say that I liked that he pushed her away like that. And then she went into Tieria's Veda chamber. I'm surprised that Tieria didn't threaten or try to kill her right there.

Speaking of Tieria, I think I've actually warmed up to him. I really didn't like him for a while, seeing as how he's Veda's bitch and all. Emphasis on the "bitch", actually.

Next, let me just say that I love the Union. Kata-yan (That's my nickname for Katagiri, by the way.) and Graham are two of my favorite characters. Anyways, Eifman and Howard were killed in an attack on the base by the siblings. And it sounds like Kata-yan is injured. Let me say this right now; if Kata-yan is anywhere near his deathbed, heads are gonna roll!

And the on-going saga of Saji and Louise...Louise has left for Spain to attend her cousin's wedding, and from the preview, it looks like people are killed. Except she's in the hospital, looking somewhat fine. Keh! She's like a cockroach, I swear! However, maybe this will get her to open her eyes to things. Then again, I could be wrong. It didn't really happen with Shirley in Code Geass-she became even more of an interference. "Oh, I wonder if Lulu really is Zero. I'm going to be an idiot and walk into a battlezone to find out." But, I digress.

Other than that, I'm still watching G00. I've already come this far, and I'm not going to stop.

Miscellanious Ramblings

I'll start off with something positive, tonight. The Tag Battle dub was great. Though I have to laugh at Kouhei's dub name. "Conway"...*snickers* It does kind of make sense, though. A dorky name for a dorky (and somewhat creepy) character. I still say he looks like a pre-teen caracature of Jun Fukuyama. They have the same hair style and glasses! Heck, I even thought he voiced him, at first. This wasn't the case, however. His dub voice sounded familiar, but I didn't know who it was. However, I just found out that he was voiced by the same guy who did Madarame in the Genshiken dub. Great! Now I need to pull out my Genshiken DVD and watch the dub for laughs! XD But still, I wish that he'd appear again; he's awesome.

Next up, it finally happened. I didn't know about this until this evening, but grandma got put into the home today. I'm fine with it, but it really bothers me that I'm always the last to know about these things! No, I haven't cried, but I'm seriously lacking emotions about it. I'm actually glad that they finally did it. We'll probably visit her every now and then, but I'm really scared to. I have this thing about hospitals, nursing homes, etc. I get really uneasy at places like that, ya know? I'll have to swallow my fear and do it, though. I may not get to see her again, if I don't.

Now, about work. I actually got paid, yesterday. Nice sum for the hours that I put in. It'll be the same as next week, as I have the same hours again. Also, my trial period ends on Thursday. As it stands right now, I'm seriously doubting that I can pull through with this. It is interfering with school, and it's really taking a toll on my mind and body. Thinking back on all of my jobs, I probably shouldn't accept anymore jobs that deal with physical labor and fast-pacing. I tend to break easily, you see. And I'd rather not deal with people anymore than I have to. I'm not a people person, if you couldn't tell. So, when all's said and done, I'm going to go ahead with my office plan. Yet another reason for wanting April to get here, ne?