No penalty this time!

Good news, everyone! The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya is better than Ordinary Life!

Well, I'd hope so. Even Endless Eight was better than Ordinary Life.

Short version, Disappearance is as good as the better episodes of the first season of Haruhi. It was a worthwhile purchase.

I also saw it in English. You know what's weird? It's actually been a while since I've seen Crispin Freeman, Johnny Yong Bosch, Sam Reigal, Wendee Lee, Bridget Hoffman, and Kari Wahlgren in anything new, so it was good to hear their voices again. And as you know, I've remarked how pleasant Bridget Hoffman's voice is whenever she's not playing KOS-MOS in Xenosaga (which she was also godly in), but . . . you know something else? I also find Stephanie Sheh's version of Adult Mikuru to sound really pretty too. I guess it's probably just from years of hearing her imitate a moe girl, but I've become so conditioned to it that I . . . I . . .

(imitating Kyon) That just the sound of her voice is so moe, I can't help but perk up my ears whenever she speaks! Oh, tell me of your day, you beauteous angel from the future!

(normal voice) Eh, what the hell? Why am I thinking like Kyon right now? That can't be right!

Oh whatever. Here's hoping that Kyoto Animation continues to adapt the Haruhi novels.

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I'm getting closer to the next phase of my life. All of that behind the scenes stuff is essentially me laying down the foundations for an empire. In as early as one week, I may already be starting up my new profiles under my real name. Of course, it may take longer that, remember, Rome wasn't built in a day after all, but yeah. Oh, get this; I'm also getting a Google Plus. Hey, why not? It's free advertising for me!

But you see, once I start one of these new profiles, the internet will then know my true name and face, and by then, I will no longer be anonymous. Shortly before I do that, I'll make a second to last post here, a penultimate entry if you will. After that, the last entry I make here on xm0123's Domain will be a link to my first ebook, as well as all of my new profiles. Then after that, this account will be a testament to a time in my life when I interacted on the web under a pseudonym. Of course, I may make make more entries before these last two, but depending on how things work out in the real world, it may come sooner than you think.

Oh, speaking of that progress, you wanna how it's all going? It's not going super duper fast, but so far, things have progressed without a hitch. In short, everything for me is going . . . . . .

Exactly as planned.

Man, remember when I used to print Death Note quotes left and right?

RAH! Sucky anime!

This title should warn you what's ahead.

So, Crunchyroll. Got a lot of foreign made shows there; even live-action Japanese soap operas. Well, lately, I've been hearing some hype for an anime series made by Kyoto Animation. Based off a manga called Nichijou, AKA Ordinary Life. Seen some hype, and it's made by a studio I like. So I checked it out.

And the music, my god, the music! It's with a full orchestra! It's beautiful! And it fits the scenes so wonderfully! Oh, if only I could acquire the soundtrack separately!

As for Ordinary Life itself? Um, I think it's best I start off with a comparison.

Okay, Ordinary Life is a comedy series, a high school comedy series. Sure, these days, it seems like every anime is either that or a shounen action tale, but I'm willing to try. After all, Gintama is a comedy series, and I like it very much. Do you know why I like Gintama so much?

BECAUSE IT'S NOT COMPLETELY FUCKING RANDOM ALL THE GODDAMNED TIME!!!!!

How many times do I have to say this? Complete randomness does not translate to good entertainment. Randomness is what ruined FLCL for me, and it's what ruined Ordinary Life as well!

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Although there's an anime coming to my house soon, also from Kyoto Animation, that I have high hopes for.

I'm of course referring to the blu-ray version of The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya.

A lot of fans, (or at least the ones who didn't abandon the franchise after 2009) act like Disappearance is The Best Movie Ever(tm). I don't know if that's true or not, but when I find out, I'll be sure to let everyone know by writing a review on MAL. However, that will be the last written review I do. The next anime I review after that . . . will be a video review.

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I . . . I can't wait any longer. The entire thing's out on blu-ray now. And besides, I play plenty of video games fansubbed, can't I see anime fansubbed occasionally? Once the last two eps get subbed, I'm gonna go ahead and watch Madoka.

Sometime between now and after I get established, I'm gonna watch Madoka in the background. Hey, I should at least make sure the future North American release is worth buying first. And also, well, I signed a contract, a contract stipulating that I write a fanfic that's Madoka related in the future, regardless of whether I like it or not. Might as well get my research started now rather than later.

But I also wanna make a review of it. Not a text review, but a video review. However, I don't want to violate any copyrights, so it won't be like a That Guy With The Glasses review. It will be a slideshow, with my voiceover reviewing the show. The review should be out . . . sometime after I get established, so Mid-October hopefully.

However, before I put my review out, do not ask me anything about Madoka. Do not ask if I like it or not, do not ask who my favorite character is, do not ask if I dropped the series or not, do not discuss plot details with me. The review will explain everything once it comes out. Same goes for Disappearance.

However, I'll say this about both Haruhi and Madoka; they both better be better than Ordinary Life, cuz if not . . . . . . . there will be Hell to pay.

I'm gonna out-indie all you indies!

Hey guess what? The first ebook I plan to self-publish? I already finished it! Completely! Written, edited, formatted, it's all set to go!

The text, anyway.

At Smashwords.com, there's a policy that if your ebook satisfies certain conditions, it will be put on a so-called "Premium catalog." When this happens, your ebook will not only be available for sale at Smashwords, but on other websites that sell ebooks, such as Amazon, iKindle, Barnes & Noble, Sony Reader, and so on. As a soon-to-be marketer, I can tell you that having your products for sale in multiple markets is good for business, especially a business like this.

One of the conditions you need to satisfy is your book needs a cover. You can upload an ebook without a cover, but you won't go premium, and in the site founder's words, it also looks unprofessional. So I'm now working on a cover for my first ebook.

Too bad I can't draw worth shit.

Most ebook writers commission other people to draw covers. Smashwords does have people dedicated to this, and they charge pretty good prices. I imagine for my later books, I will pay an artist to draw the covers for me. However, I wanna get this product out as soon as I set up my Smashwords profile . . . which I will gladly do after I set up my new Blogspot with Google ads . . . and my Youtube . . . and my Facebook . . . and my Twitter . . . and whatever else I need to do behind the scenes before I get started.

But my cover man . . . it'll probably just be text on a blank background, but it's still a while before October, so maybe I'll have something not too unbearable by then. However, I will warn you right now, my first cover will be the most indie book cover ever. Not the worst, but definitely the biggest indicator that I'm a one-man writer, publisher, and editor that you can conceive of. I'm gonna do book one Robert Rodriguez style. And even after I start hiring people to draw covers, everything else about my stories will still be done entirely by me: no agents to impress, no publishers to persuade that my manuscript will be the next Harry Potter, no editors to attempt to censor me, no release delays for marketing and printing of books (Ebooks are eco-friendly!). I figure if people like my fanfics, imagine how much they'll like my original stories, where I don't have to worry about canonicity and OOC, since I invented the canon and characters.

Wave of the future, Dude! One hundred percent electronic!

Fanfic posting

You all probably wanna know what the status is of my fanfics, don'tcha? Well, like I said, even though I'm now focusing on original stories, I will not abandon fanfiction just yet. Now that Eternal Blossom is finished, that just leaves four active series.

Help Us, Professor Kokonoe. It's not going away anytime soon. The next piece has been started. Of course, it's far from finished, but it's getting along. I don't have plans of retiring HUPK anytime soon, either.

Gensokyan Backstories. I've been writing the fourth story. I still can't tell you who it's about. I've decided who part 5 and 6 will be about, but I still can't tell you who they are either. Only that part 5 will be about somebody from the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Who that is, you're just gonna have to wait. Only problem is these stories take loooooooooong to write.

Touhou Omake. I started part 4. I'm bringing back a character I haven't written in a long time, someone that I really wanna bring back, even if it's only in omake form. Also, Touhou characters I have yet to feature in a fanfic will show up. I got two other solid ideas for the omake series, and I may come up with more in due time.

Curse of the Tohno Clan, AKA, why are Type-Moon Characters Acting Like Umineko Characters? This will probably be my next update. I would estimate part 3 is 80 to 85 percent complete right now. Part 4, the conclusion, is 20 to 30 percent complete right now. The ending will explain everything, and I'm pretty certain some of my readers will like the ending.

After that, another interlude in the "real" world will ensue, then someone will ask another question . . . a question involving the Good Doctor Zel!

Then we'll see The New Adventures of Doctor Zel, in three parts and in three universes. (And no, I'm not doing another Code Geass cop out; these will be explored settings, I assure you.) I already decided what three universes they're gonna be, and it's none of the ones I've already done.

Of course, keep in mind, between this and my other projects, it may take me months before I write all of these out, if not a year.

"Hey wait, xm . . . where does Madoka fit into all of this?"

Good question! Where does Madoka fit into all of this . . . well, seeing as how I still know nothing beyond trailers and what have you, I . . . haven't really decided what to do about that yet. But fear not! Something will come . . . eventually . . . after I have experienced Madoka, for obvious reasons . . . yeah, don't expect to see anything Madoka related from me this year. You'll definitely have to wait on that one, but it'll be a worthwhile wait.

........

Just think; one month from now, this blog will be retired.

The things I do for you all

I just finished revising this blog; took me all week. In case you forgot, I'm getting a new Blogspot (Hey! I'm familair with its format!) later this year, and under my true name so that I can promote my ebooks. This blog will still be accessible, but it'll no longer be updating once I finally get off the ground. (And besides, you're gonna like the new Blogspot; I'll have comments enabled!)

However, I had to correct a lot of typos, edit some things, add some stuff, and even outright delete some entries for the sake of my future. I still have to do a lot of other things to do behind the scenes before I can finally become a freelance writer, hence the title of today's blog.

But you don't wanna read about that. That would bore you. I know what you really wanna read.

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I've been doing some more . . . research, on something. I think you know what I'm referring to.

There's a superstar of Madoka's staff I neglected to mention; Akiyuki Shinbo. Apparently, he was the one who came up with the concept initially.

He directed the first season of Nanoha . . . which I did not like. He also directed (and is still directing) the anime version of Hidamari Sketch . . . which I also did not like. (Although that would explain why HS' artist contributed to Madoka.) Somehow, I get the feeling that if Madoka is as good as everyone says it is, that it will basically be what Nanoha should have been. Here's hoping.

Cuz if not . . . well, I should be on Youtube by the time I finally get to see Madoka . . . imagine me ranting about something I hate . . . in person. But hopefully, I shouldn't have to do that with PMMM.

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Oh yeah, today's also Cirno Day, 9/9. On this days 16 years ago, the PS1 came out in America. On this day 12 years ago, the Sega Dreamcast came out in America, on 9/9/99, no less. Whee.

more magical girls

Did you know Japanese blu-rays sometimes have English subtitles? It eliminates the need for fansubs. In fact, if I didn't mind paying for an expensive import, I could own the first Nanoha movie and still be able to understand it!

Oh wait, did I just give away the newest anime I reviewed on MAL?

Yeah, I revisited Nanoha. Even though it's really Fate Testarossa's series. The movie is definitely better than the tv series, but it falls short of masterpiece. My review on MAL goes into more detail.

Naturally, this caught the ear of Archon Wing. Now he and I are waiting for the second Nanoha movie. At the very least, I only found one typo on the subs for the movie; good job!

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But while AW and I chatted, guess what we brought up? Madoka. And listen to what he told me:

"Madoka I'd say was a wave of fresh air to this genre, keeping with a small cast and trying to get each character to have some purpose and meaning. Plot events are like that too, not just to throw in there for the hell of that and look cool."

Wait, are you saying . . . that Madoka obeys . . . The Almighty Narrative!?

Now I'm more hyped than ever! AW also has more detailed reviews on Animesuki. They contain spoilers, provided you read more than the numerical scores. Check his scores for Madoka:

Visuals: 7/10. (I can live with that. Just look at Castle in the Sky; okay visuals, amazing film.)

Audio: 10/10. (The Japanese voices sounded pretty good in the Aniplex trailer.)

Story: 9/10. (YOU GUYS BETTER BE RIGHT ABOUT THIS!)

Characterization: 10/10. (Remember, he has Homura on his favorite characters list . . . whoever that is.)

Enjoyment: 10/10. (Definitely higher than my enjoyment score for Nanoha.)

Overall: 10/10. (Wait, this is at least as good as Eden of the East, if you go by my reviews? Whoa.)

Oh yeah, I also know of a Madoka doujin game out (that didn't take long!) called Grief Syndrome. I saw playthroughs of the first level on Youtube. It looks like a pretty basic game; you just run around on a 2D plane and kill things. But I think I discovered why people say Madoka is a subversion; that same girl, Homura, uses firearms. Since when did magical girls use guns!? Huh, I wonder why no one ever thought of that before. I mean, how long have Sailor Moon-styled magical girls have been around? Nearly twenty years now? And only now are you finally realizing the technological wonders of the gun? More hype for me, that's for sure.

Say, I wonder if those girls will appear in Magical Battle Arena eventually . . .

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.... 'Cause those chicks from Magic Knight Rayearth now did.

Yes, a patch came out . . . . after I deleted the game. Too bad my interest is dead for that game. No matter, I saw a video for them. (I don't know their names; bear with me.) There's three of them, but they're all one character; you switch between them during the fight.

Also. THANK. GOOOOOOD. they don't look like how they do in the manga and older MKR anime. They look like how they do in the OVA and their brief cameo in Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle. (Oh yeah, I figured out which one I said was cute; it was the one with red hair in a braid.) Well, nice to see some more content for fans to enjoy.