The opening for the latest work by KeyAni. Clannad starts on Oct 4th and expectations are high. I get the same vibe that I did watching the Kanon (2006) opening, and I hardly know a thing about the original game. Should be a great run though, given their track record in these collaborations~

A brief news post is here~

http://lycee.omoshiroi.info is currently down for hardware maintenance. Hopefully it'll be back up in a day or two.

As for me, I'm still alive, but have been highly busy plotting an expedition to...Japan! Hopefully this will result in more updates and content. Hopefully. Stay tuned loyal readers...

At the beginning of Lucky Star 16, we get to see Konata playing around with her keitai. It's almost certainly the Sharp SH903iTV. TV, of course, stands for television (hence the swiveling screen). Apparently, watching wireless digital broadcasts while commuting has become popular recently.

Rundown of the basic specs:

Width: 50mm
Length: 111mm
Weight: 143g
Displays: 3.0" Main LCD, 0.8" Sub LCD
Cameras: 2.0MP main camera, 0.1MP secondary camera (video conferencing)

It also has a built in FM transmitter (for the car), a DVR mode for recording broadcasts, and a whole list of neat features that are pretty much standard on Japanese phones these days. Meanwhile, my phone is 4 years old and was obsolete when I got it. It can hardly make calls these days. I need a new one...

More Details (Japanese)

A regular day in the world of Lycee...

Spring cherry blossoms flutter softly in the afternoon wind, as students file cheerfully out of the school courtyard. White skies spotted with blue clouds complete the end of a perfect day. And so it begins...

A small white-haired girl walks against the flow of students leaving; a simple purple garb among red & pink uniforms. Standing in front of a particularly slow-moving school girl, she politely asks. "You are Kamishigi Akari, correct?"

"Yes, that's me." Akari politely bows.

The small girl claps her hands together triumphantly, and smirks. "Eheh... that's great!"

The schoolyard is almost empty now. Almost to emphasize the void, the skies fill with dark and dreary shadows as black mist creeps across the ground. Lifting a single finger to point at the confused student, the child's voice triumphantly commands:

"I can sense your magi powers, and I dislike competition in the Holy Grail War. You won't escape today; BERSERKER! GO!!"

=> Read more!

UPDATE [11/25/08]: Revised script can be found here.

While pondering a means by which I could enjoy Key's latest work, Little Busters, with my limited Japanese language ability, I discovered a lack of resources available to assist low-intermediate readers. Machine translation does naught to improve one's interpretation skill (except perhaps of "Engrish"), and those with literate reading capability don't require aids.

Thus, I have hacked together what is essentially a glorified (if even that) macro for automating the transferal of text from AGTH to Wakan and Firefox (rikaichan). All the software required to implement it is freely available on the internet. It's very simple, essentially shuffling clipboard contents around, but I hadn't really seen any discussion regarding this sort of technique in the usual places.

More details after the jump:

=> Read more!

Continuing the recent trend of content in the form of posting random videos that I find to be amsuing:

Footage from Lucky Star Episode 16, with a segment dubbed from an animated film called My Life as McDull. Doubly hilarious if you understand cantonese! Everytime I hear 魚香茄子 I start to salivate :D~

Found this on a random Japanese uploader, and cleaned it up a bit (key signatures! yay). It's a piano version for the niconico medley~

[PDF] [MID]

The unofficial Nico Video anthem? 30+ songs popularized by memes, mixed together. Catchy? Excessively so!

EDIT: isaji ver. as found on youtube:

Romaji lyrics and Karaoke version:

Romaji Lyrics (opens in new window)

(I wish I drew this :P)

Finally finished one of many side projects; this particular one I've been hacking away at intermittently for almost 2 years ^^;

It's a transcription of "yoake no sora, chiisana negai" (Dawn's sky, a small wish). The song is an arrange of Perfect Cherry Blossom's 2nd stage theme, from the Touhou piano CD "Reverie". Enjoy! I lack a proper piano, so the MP3 is purely software generated. I might submit this to josh's anime sheet music collection since he loves submissions~

[PDF] [MID] [MP3]

Ah, the wonders of gashapon and statistical analysis.

Me (Vesper), Blitz, and Akuun decided to meet at a mall one day, since Blitz doesn't swing in the area very often. I arrive first; I never have anything to do anyways. XD

I found a gashapon machine for Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu keychains, and I dispensed a Tsuruya. I was a bit disappointed that I didn't draw a Nagato Yuki, but Tsuruya quickly grew on me. (I started laughing uncontrollably soon after. )

Blitz shows up, then he pulls a Tsuruya too. We're slightly disappointed that the figures weren't unique, and we conclude that 50% of all figures are probably Tsuruya's (with a hefty 25% being Koizumi).

Eventually, we wander around and find Akuun. Much conversation of Shin Moe Drill's lack of local wireless play commences, followed by a discussion about Japanese cutlery.

Several hours later, we defy logic and go for another pull at the machine. The principle was that drawing the same figure three times in a row is highly unlikely...

Akuun gets Haruhi, Cheergirl version! =o

After heated debate, Blitz trades Tsuruya for said Haruhi, stating that Haruhi goes better with his Yuki keychain (schoolgirl version) which he bought in a period of spell-caster withdrawal. Akuun didn't mind either way.

I get curious, and decide to pop coins into the machine again. I figure that even if I did get a third Tsuruya, there were three people there, so no one would have to go home with duplicates. *Turns the knob with baited breath...* I get a Yuki, magical witch version. X3

Blitz trades Haruhi for said Yuki. XD

---

The importance of this relates to the Anime North we had attended this year. Blitz raided a figure store in the first minutes of the con's opening, and fell in love with a Nagato Yuki keychain (magical witch version), for $15. After walking away to decide, he returns to find the entire figure set -gone-!

The gashapon machine from today dispensed that exact keychain series. We got Yuki, plus 3 others we liked, for $16. Only a dollar more!

"My Best Friend" from The Idolm@ster XBOX360 version, at a friend's request!
Enjoy~

It's been a while since I've posted anything; here's "The Idolm@ster" from the XBOX360 Idolm@ster game!

もう伏目がちな昨日なんていらない
今日これから始まる私の伝説
きっと男が見れば
他愛のない過ち
繰り返してでも
Another dreary yesterday won't be coming this time.
After today is the beginning of my legend.
Surely if guys watch
It's a non-altruistic fault!
But I'll do it again.

うぬぼれとかしたたかさも必要
そう　恥じらいなんて時には邪魔なだけ
清く正しく生きる
それだけでは退屈
一歩を大きく
Lended me some conceit, for fame it's essential.
Yes, shy moments are just a hindrance.
A noble, righteous existence.
Just that is boring!
Take each step in a grand way!

進もう毎日
夢に向かって
漠然とじゃない
意図的に
泣きたいときには
涙流して
ストレス溜めない
Advancing every day
Heading for that dream
Shaking uncertainty
With intention
When wanting to cry
Shed those tears
Don't accumulate that stress!

ほんの些細な言葉に傷付いた
だけど甘い物食べて幸せよ
気まぐれに付き合うのも大変ね
悪いとは思うけどやめられない
Those mere, trivial words, caused hurt.
But eating sweet food is happiness!
On a whim, getting along is difficult.
But "bad" is just a feeling, don't forget.

新しい物大好き　詳しいの
機嫌取るには何よりプレセント
男では耐えられない痛みでも
女なら耐えられます 強いから
New things, I really love. Knowing every part.
To choose humor, is the best present.
Man might not be able to endure the pain, but
Woman then, will endure, with strength.