The uploading is complete

My Nasuverse project is complete enough to not only upload on Beast's lair, but also on FF.net! Surprisingly enough, people from both sites like it! I must be doing something right, since I wrote that for the lolz.

I do have ideas circulating in my head for Endless Number of Possibilities. Besides a high school AU version of Tsukihime, here's a couple of teasers.

-One story will be inspired by the Heaven's Feel route from Fate/Stay Night. One of the featured characters will be a girl with nice legs.

-Another concept is a story that transforms the entire Nasuverse into . . . something. I won't say what that something is, but it'll be something.

-One idea is an entire chapter set in the "real" world.

In ENOP, there are two realities, the real world, and the imaginary worlds constructed by Kohaku's totally-not-ripping-off-Futurama doohickey. The real reality is based on the actual series. However, since this is a fanfiction and not an interactive video game, the "real" world can only follow one path. That one path is not entirely just one route from Fate and just one route from Tsukihime. Elements from all the different routes have mixed together, creating something not exactly like the actual canon, so that way, if you have played the games, they'll be something new for you, what-if scenarios or not.

However, my limited experience in Nasuversery is somewhat hampering my ability. Being unfamiliar with F/HA, F/Z, Kara no Kyoukai, and some of the background material, this . . . yeah, will be a detriment for those who are familiar with those subjects. (But hey! If the Fate/Zero anime turns out as good as the novels, and gets released in North America, who knows?) Also, Aoko's game still isn't out yet. (Stop denying me my research material, Nasu!) But this will not stop me! I have been accepted by the Nasuverse fanfic circle! . . . I think.

Anyways, updates on my other fanfic projects:

Mentor and Protege: Chapter 19 is taking longer than I thought. But considering that there are only two chapters left, this shouldn't take too long.

Sequel to Eternal Blossom: Have not started writing this one yet. I've got ideas circulating in my head, but it's not enough to get me started writing it just yet.

Unnamed Drama Series: I started writing the first chapter. It's not completed yet, though. I won't even start uploading this until Mentor and Protege is finished.

A Touhou Fanfiction About Nothing: I only have one more chapter planned at the moment. It's in the early stages of construction, but should be finished . . . maybe before the end of the year. After that though . . . I'm not sure, to be honest.

Ask Rachel Alucard: The next two chapters are in the making. The next thing I upload will probably be this one, if I had to make a guess.

Help Us, Professor Kokonoe: The next two chapters of this are in the making.

But enough talk. I have more fanfics to write. Man, if only I got paid doing this . . .

It's been a year

I first wrote about my playing of Tsukihime on January 30th of last year. However, it took me about two weeks to finish the game, and I couldn't write about it for the longest time because of the Semester of Hell. So really, I already missed my first anniversary of my introduction into the world of Nasu and Takeuchi.

I had no experience with visual novels until then. I had heard about them, but never played one. Well I'm glad I started with Tsukihime. I know I have a few issues with it, but that doesn't matter, given how mature its story is, how fleshed-out its characters are, how it could be disturbing yet heartwarming at the same time, and (in Nago's voice) how luscious its women are. (Normal voice) Although the official character designs didn't get really good until the first Melty Blood came out.

I played Fate some time after that, and I liked it too, but, as I've said before, it just can't compare to Tsukihime in terms of raw narrative punch. And a few other things:

-I looked up some information on the supposedly non-existent anime. In the English version, Arcueid is voiced by my favorite voice actress, Michelle Ruff. Now you might think that would be like some sort of match made in Heaven for me, but I don't picture Arc sounding like her in my mind. Weird. On the other hand, Chaos is played by Jouji Nataka and Jamieson Price, both of whom sound exactly like how I picture Chaos. How amusing.

-In Melty Blood: Act Cadenza, Ciel is my main, and Kohaku and Mecha-Hisui are my subs. Why? I don't really know why, they just are. I also like the music from the Melty Blood games.

-I re-installed both Tsukihime and Kagetsu Tohya on my PC, this time with the H scenes on. Dear God help me, if I do replay either of them, I'm going to end up going down the rabbit hole of unintentionally funny scenes of poontang. (Hey, after suffering the H scenes of Fate, I could take on anything now . . . although the first H scene in the HF route was great . . . not because of what you think, god damn it! It was funny as well! That's why!)

-WHERE'S MY REMAKE!?!?!?!?! And also, since it's connected to the same canon, where's the Aoko VN already!?!?!?!? I don't care if they never see an official English release! YOU CAN'T STOP ME!

-The Tsukihime manga has a different ending than the Arc route endings from the VN. I looked it up. The manga ending totally rips off a doujin from Crazy Clover Club, but you what? I like the manga ending the best.

Hey, I still have my own Nasuverse fanfic to finish, huh? I'm gonna publish that on FF.net eventually. Surprisingly enough, there's not very many Tsukihime/Fate crossovers on there. Well then, looks like I'll have to remedy that.

A final thought on Princess Tutu

(Sees the last episode of Princess Tutu)



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...........





I am not worthy.








Well then, next chance I'm on Amazon, I'll be sure to purchase this entire series on DVD. This is one for posterity, that's for certain!

You just got pwned by a waterfowl

I just remembered another anime I tried to watch before I discovered Princess Tutu. That show was Hidamari Sketch. That show was so bland, so mediocre, so . . . utterly forgettable, that not only did I drop it after the first episode, I completely forgot about it until now. That's how bland it was.

Oh, but Princess Tutu is anything but bland. It is grand. It is moving. It is powerful. I'm not done watching it yet, but I should be finished soon.

But what amazes me is . . . how can ADV swing between producing some of the worst dubs in existence, and yet . . . produce this!? You know, it's funny; 13 months ago, I had absolutely no idea who Chris Patton, Greg Ayres, Jay Hickman, Luci Christian, Jessica Boone, and Stephanie Wittels were, and yet, now, my eyes light up whenever I see their names in the credits. And funny how four of those six individuals should be in the Princess Tutu dub. Ahhh . . . everyone comes together so beautifully in Princess Tutu. It's almost like Hans Christian Andersen himself came back from the grave to create an animated tale of wonder.

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New chapter of Mentor and Protege is up. The Mystic Square arc is complete. And something I have been planning since I started M & P has finally come to fruition. There is one arc left, and it will only be three chapters in length. And I have already written a good chunk of all three chapters before coming to this point.

I publish what I had been planning from the start, and I discovered Princess Tutu. Yes, everything truly is going just as planned . . .

When in doubt, play public domain music

I have a confession, peoples. I actually tried to watch an anime fansubbed. It . . . it didn't go well.

Anyone who's anyone won't shut up about Angel Beats. Well guess what, everybody? I saw the first episode of Angel Beats! Here was my reaction:

" . . . what the fuck did I just watch? Was that even an anime? It looked like I was watching someone screwing around in a team deathmatch video game."

Please stick to visual novels and music composition, Jun Maeda, for everyone's sake.

And so, I moved on to the Anime Network and watched Canaan. That's gotta be good, right!? It was partially made by Nasu and Takeuchi!

Two episodes in . . . and I was completely lost. The entire plot is a clusterfuck. Nothing flows, nothing makes sense! Also, I cannot, cannot, tolerate that blonde woman's voice, in both English, and Japanese. Oh wait, haven't I already complained about Canaan before? Well, it gets another rant from me! It was so disappointing!

I then learned that the creators of Bacanno made another series, one called Durarara. Four episodes into that on youtube, and I was bored out of my mind. It's just like Bacanno . . . except not entertaining at all.

I became so dismayed . . . was I fated to only watch the movies of Eden of the East, Haruhi, and Rebuild of Evangelion this year? Would no anime series besides those satisfy me? Had I already found all there was to be found in Japanese animation?

But then, a glimmer. A light shone in my eyes, and it said the following:

"Real men watch Princess Tutu."

What!? Princess Tutu!? But . . . that's a shoujo series! Surely you jest! But . . . it couldn't be as bad as Fruits Basket, could it? I mean, it's not like I have anything better to do other than finish my fanfics. And so I saw that Princess Tutu was available in its entirety on Anime Network in English. I watched the first episode.

Such an outpouring of emotion! Such a fascinating setup! Such graceful music! And such beautiful voices, too! Never have I seen a shoujo series this gripping . . . this . ..  powerful! This . . . wonderful! I have finally found a shoujo product better than Cardcaptor Sakura!

And so it was, I discovered the greatest shoujo series I had ever seen, backed up by the best English dub I have ever heard from ADV. I cannot stop. I must watch more!








Well yeah, any show that features Mursorgsky, my favorite classical composer, deserves a second look.

The conspiracy deepens

The next Rebuild of Evangelion movie is slated to come out on blu-ray in about three months from now, assuming there are no delays.

However, it's happened again. I've had more dreams at night wherein I become an Eva otaku in the future because of the Rebuild films. For those not keeping score:

1: In the first of these dreams, my mom is watching by blu-ray of Rebuild 1.11. However, she is watching it in English. I snap and say she's supposed to see it in Japanese. She complains that her eyes can't focus on subtitles. I say something like, "FOOL! You dare deny the greatness of Megumi Ogata!?"

2: In the second, some friends and I are playing video games. I start comparing something I see in the game to a scene in Rebuild 2.22, since, this being the future, I had seen that. My friends complain about my Eva obsession. I respond by acting like a male version of Asuka, chasing them all out of the house.

Well guess what? Two more dreams have happened since then! One of which I actually talked about on Beast's Lair. Here's dream number 3.

3: My family and I are walking out of a restaurant. It's late in the day, and the setting sun is giving off an orange glow. Someone stood in front of a car that made it look like they and the car were a black silhouette in front of the orange sky. All of a sudden, I was reminded of something I saw somewhere, and the something I imagined replaced the vision I saw. I said aloud, "Yes, that's perfect. You're standing in the same exact manner Rei Ayanami did in the last Rebuild of Eva film. Just herself, in her plugsuit, standing on the shoulder of Eva-00, overlooking the LCL ocean. Beautiful." And then my brother interrupts me by saying, "Dude, shut up about that Japanese cartoon series already! Don't you have something better to obsess over?" I then retort, "You don't understand! Eva captures the essence of humanity like no other work of fiction has! It is you who is blind to the truth!"

So in this one, I've seen all of them, and apparently they'll be a scene like that one in the last film. I can see Film Brain now shouting, "SYMBOLISM!"

But now, I had another dream, which I will describe for the first time now.

4: I was watching Rebuild 3 (3.33?) On blu-ray, with my headphones on. It was my first time seeing it. I see a scene wherein the setting was not NERV, but rather, a beautiful dance hall of sorts. (It's kinda hard for me to describe.) I see two characters I recognize; Asuka and Rei. (SHUT UP! It's not going to proceed how you think it's going to proceed! God, just describing this is making me feel like Asuka already!) The both of them were wearing elegant, Touhou-like dresses. Rei had her hair in short pigtails a la Sakura Kinomoto. The two of them were dancing together, (strictly platonically, mind you!) giggling, talking about girly things. I then take my headphones off and throw them on the ground. I shot "God damn it! Now I have to buy merchandise of the two of them! THEY ARE JUST SO KEE-YEUTE!" That's all I can remember.

Okay, so the two girls were blatantly OOC, in a setting not even remotely like Eva's. If this really is a scene from the movies, it has to be a trippy dream sequence . . . maybe Shinji imagining Asuka and Rei getting along for once? Whatever. It alludes to the bet that I made on this very blog that if I found the Rebuild version of Asuka to be cute, that, in my own words, I would break down like everybody else and waste money on Eva merch. In fact, there probably really are figurines of Asuka and Rei looking like how they did in my dream. On the other hand, maybe I planned to buy merch not because of a bet, but because I finally found the First and Second Child to be legitimately cute, and that I wanted figurines to ogle every time I was home.

Okay, so you're probably wondering why I'm talking about Eva again. Well, I just saw the trailer for Eva 2.22. I think I just witnessed the beautiful animation I've ever seen in my life. And, if these dreams of mine are true, that I really do become an Evangelion otaku in the future, then that means . . . there is a side of me right now, in the present, that is an Evangelion otaku. He has not taken over, because he is still in an embryonic state, but he's waiting, gestating, developing, until the time is right, and he takes over. I'm going to see if he can take over. I think he has a few other things to say.







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Good day, Eva Geeks! Glory be to those who have witnessed the rapture that is Rebuild 2.22! Alas, I, an American who prefers not to view fansubs when he can help it, must wait for the rapture to arrive at my shores, but that does not mean I can't salivate over what is to come! Thanks to youtube dot com, I have been preparing myself . . . with music from Rebuild 2.22. I can't listen to anything that could be a plot spoiler, but rest assured, Shiro Sagisa-sama will not let us down when the rapture finally arrives.

Take for instance the score entitled "The Red Ambassadress". A more appropriate name for Asuka I cannot imagine. This can be thought of as her entrance theme, how she views herself in the world of Eva.

REVEL IN THE GRACE OF THE GREAT ASUKA! I am a voice in her choir.

Oh, if only I had a Wii

But I don't. There's a game out for it that I'd actually like to play . . . besides the usual Mario, Zelda, and Metroid offerings. Something that reminds me of my past. In a good way. My FF.net partner Heraklinios alerted me to Sonic Colors.

I decided to do some digging around on SC. Some of the music was orchestrated. The storyline stopped taking itself seriously, and actually has clever dialog for once. And the English voices . . . are now done by Bang Zoom. AND TROY BAKER IS ESPIO!

A development like this cannot avoid my notice.

Even though I haven't played a "new" Sonic game since the release of Sonic Advance 3, truth be told, I'm still a fan of Sonic at heart. Sure, I could scoff at the simplicity of the premise, the ridiculousness of animal people beating up a mad scientist, the Super forms being a ripoff of both the Super Saiyans and Superman, as well as the animated adaptations, but . . . on the other hand, some of the games are classics, the characters (most of them, anyways) are charming, and I still love the music of the Sonic games, including the music from Sonic Colors. If there's one thing I've always appreciated about Sega, it's that they don't treat music production as a secondary task. As such, the Sonic Adventure games, for all of their flaws, have top-notch music. (I would know, I'm blasting music from the first Sonic Adventure as I write this.)

But fear not, for not all hope is lost. I do know people who own a Wii, including my older brother. I'll see if I can talk him into lending me his Wi-STOP LAUGHING! I'll see if I can borrow his console, then try out SC, as well as all the other Wii exclusives, Chaos willing. (See? I have knowledge of Sonic lore.)

Since Sonic is on my mind again, a few random opinions of mine, ones I haven't already disclosed.

-I actually liked the English voices of Sonic, Tails, and Eggman in the Sonic Adventure games. Never liked the other voices, though. Tikal and Gamma sounded good in Japanese. Never cared for the 4Kids voices, even if some of them are decent performers. (Mike Pollock is a worthy substitute for the late Deem Bristow, though. Must be how he carried on to the Bang Zoom transfer.)

-The first Sonic Adventure's story wasn't Oscar worthy, but there were some genuinely well-written scenes in it. Gamma's story, Tails not having to rely on Sonic, Chaos' past, Amy Rose not being entirely useless for once.

-Sonic Adventure 2 on the other hand? About the only scene that wasn't plot-hole-a-riffic was Shadow's past, and his connection to Maria and Gerald Robotnik. Everything else . . . makes fanfics look good in comparison.

-Sonic Heroes wasn't a terrible game by any means, but it was definitely flawed. First of all, the levels for Teams Sonic, Dark, and Rose were virtually identical. It should've just been Sonic and Chaotix, since at least the Chaotix levels had different goals.

-I still don't get the hype for Sonic CD. It's only about as good as the first Sonic game on the Genesis, which I only consider above-average at best. I do like the soundtracks, (yes, both the Japanese and American soundtracks kick ass) especially for how old they are. On the plus side, it did introduce my second favorite Sonic character; Metal Sonic!

-I still see debates for "Sonic is set on Mobius!" "No, it's set on Earth!" Here's what I think: it is set on Earth, but in the far future, after all the animals evolved the intellect that humans have. Of course, by then, people probably renamed the world Mobius. Or maybe I'm just fan wanking right now.

-You know, I never did list her on my cute anime girl list, probably because she doesn't look anime-like enough, but Cream, for all of her fan hate, is Absurdly Cute! Tell me she is not kawaii to the max!

-I've actually played Sonic Shuffle on the Dreamcast. It was . . . not as good as the Sonic Adventure games. Let us not speak of this any further.

-Okay, you wanna know my favorite characters from Sonic? Here ya go: 1st: Knuckles. 2nd: Metal Sonic. 3rd: Espio. 4th: Miles "Tails" Prower.

-I used to not like Shadow, but after reading some of his backstory in the Sonic games I haven't played, he's . . . warmed up to me. He's like a reverse of Sasuke. He started off somewhat villainous, then became heroic, in spite of his past angst. Sasuke started off somewhat heroic, in spite of his past angst, then became villainous . . . and also partially ruined Naruto for me. Nice goin', dickhead. You just got pwned by a hedgehog from space.

And as much as I dislike the fanbase, I'm gonna point you to my favorite Sonic fansite: Shadow of a Hedgehog City. Look around there long enough, and you'll see why I like it so much.

Link to something new and something old

First, the new. This. Well, it was bound to happen, so I might as well do them all at once.

(deep breath)

OH NO! NOT MIKU, RIN, LUKA, AND GUMI!

No wonder the Vocaloids are so beloved! They are just so cute! (But please, for the love of Kanako, if you're going to read that on Danbooru, make sure you have adblock . . . assuming hentai ads don't bother you.)

And now for something old. Do you all remember about six months ago, I revisited Vocaloids, but it was a work in progress? Well guess what? I finally made more progress on it. Go back here. I've had to make quite a few edits, but it was worth it. Vocaloids are cool.

2010: A Year In Review

I didn't post as frequently last year, but things still happened in my life. Let's go over the big things, shall we?

January 2010:

-I finish Darker Than Black. It had been over a year since I finished Eureka Seven, and I feared that I would never come close to an anime as enjoyable as E7. DTB proved me wrong.

-I finished Tsukihime, my first ever visual novel. I am now a huge fan of Arcueid and Akiha now.

February 2010:

-I finish Welcome to the NHK. I have learned an important piece of information regarding relationships, namely, DO NOT BEHAVE LIKE SATOU IN REAL LIFE.

March 2010:

-I finish Kanon. Insert stock gushing of Makoto-chan.

-I got the first Rebuild film on blu-ray. The dreams about me becoming an Evangelion otaku in the future begins. I also start the theory that Funimation is conspiring to turn me into an otaku. If my dreams do come true, then I'll have all the evidence I need!

April 2010:

-I finish the visual novel version of Fate/Stay Night. I will never look at teenage girls the same way ever again.

May 2010:

-I watch Avatar. I like it a lot.

-After a six month hiatus, I finally publish a new chapter of Mentor and Protege. I haven't experienced a schedule slip that bad since. Just a few more chapters, I promise.

June 2010:

-Uhh . . . oh yeah, I wrote an article about Soul Eater. Why aren't more people gushing about SE!? It's absolutely radical and cool to the max! Also, Kid is my new homeboy.

July 2010:

-Uhh . . . you mean aside from writing fanfics and gushing about cute girls? Not a whole lot, unless if you count playing Planetarian.

August 2010:

-I GOT BLAZ BLUE: CONTINUUM SHIFT!!!!!! Hell yeah!!

-AND I ALSO GOT STARCRAFT II! Damn, it feels good to be a gamer.

September 2010:

-I played Halo: Reach. I stop bashing Bungie and Microsoft.

October 2010:

-I finished the anime version of Clannad. Even though its lessons were lessons I already knew, it was still worthwhile to watch. Also, Kotomi-chan is the ultimate in moe.

-I played Fallout: New Vegas. I love the fact that there's a gang of Elvis impersonators in the game. Only in Vegas, baby; only in Vegas.

November 2010:

-I finally publish Eternal Blossom. Hearts were broken that month.

December 2010:

-I finished collecting the manga version of Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle. Say what you will, it's still a lot better than the anime version.

-I published . . . a Nasuverse fanfic . . . but the world refused to change. (Also, it's far from complete. Where can I get the inspiration to finish that?)

I'm still in the process of editing one of my better articles, and I have something else I want to write about come 2011. And also . . . something else to write about, but in due time, dear readers. In due time.