Learning Japanese

Oha

It's been quite some time since I first realised just how many Otaku are able to speak, read and write Japanese.
Perhaps the enthusiasm stems from the love of anime or manga but, that alone won't help one to learn another language, especially Japanese.

So, I wondered...

Why do we want to learn Japanese? What keeps us motivated?

Let's share our reason for learning this wonderful language and how we overcome the obstacles that stand in our way.

'Til we next meet,
~suki

Site Cleaning | Air Show | Presidential Resignation

Oha

As you may have noticed, the banner has been changed! It features Takaze Mizuki from the Comic Party game made by Leaf (Leaf-fangirl here)
The banner may rotate every now and then; it's a bit hard to say right now though. The text on the banner hurts my eyes but, for the life of me, I can't seem to get rid of it ^^;
There are simply too many adorable characters out there, don't you think?

How were you able to choose your banner mascot?

The weekend presented a lovely event, the International Air Show!
A full write up as well as a Flickr link is being prepared, though the size of the pictures is a bit concerning ^^;
Please look forward to it!

Not really relating to the site or hobbies...
The president of South Africa has resigned.
Normally local politics would simply tire me out and I'd lose interest but, this is big news.
The elections will most probably be moved closer and this would move my first time of voting nearer.
A daunting task, I think.

Have you had the opportunity to vote? Do you follow the politics of your country?

T_T Been double-checking myblogroll list and somehow, with the changes added... my blogrolls have disappeared! Will add what I can but, otherwise, please comment if you would like to be added m(_ _)m

That ends this post.
'Til we next meet,

~suki

Otaku battle: Manga, novels & anime

Oha!
Just a short little post today. This was inspired after I realised just how much time I spent reading manga this week ^^;

Among Otaku, there are preferences between favoured things, such as anime, novels and manga. There are many debates as to what may be the superior between them but, one rule is imminent. A beautiful, undiscovered world can be found in all of them.

Which do you prefer between those and why?

'Til we next meet,
~suki

Good Smile Company English Site Launched!

Oha!

A joyous announcement, fellow figure-taku! Finally, Good Smile Company has become accessible for the English-speaking community.
A great thanks to everyone at GSC, Danny Choo, Danny Choo translating team and other parties involved.

The English GSC site runs on the same setup as the DC site, not only allowing the DC members to take kindly to the familiar, It also provides a user-friendly layout to newcomers.
The provisions does not stop there, GSC English site provides detailed reviews, archives of older figures, overseas ordering and thanks to Danny's corner, a closer look at the wonderful world of figure-making.

Surely, with all this goodies, even non-figure-takus’ are sure to be interested.
Please check the site out HERE

> I am in no way commissioned to write this. This is merely an article to show my appreciation and spread the word of this event.
Pic is taken by Danny Choo

Till we next meet,
~suki

Otaku are often misunderstood

Oha!

I just finished lucky Star a while back and I often find myself comparing situations in anime to real life, especially if it involves Otaku.

The scene pictured above, is from Lucky Star. I recall on Danny Choo's member news, there are often threads of people discussing experiences of Otaku facing the opinions of 'normal folks'.
Otaku is normally used as a degenerative word but, among those who are hobbyists, it's more like a title of some sort (like a name tag).
Most people refer to problems they experience just because they enjoy their hobby but, has anyone experienced other forms of prejudice?
(Being criticised for liking anime and being a certain race, religion, gender or nationality).

It's quite depressing to read that even among Otaku, there are those who are shunned for being 'DEEP' or uncommon Otaku hobbies.
Stereotypes are probably another bad habit among certain Otaku. As a female Otaku, I don't enjoy Yaoi or Shounen-ai but, if one is stereotypical, I would be a Fujoshi ^^;

There are more stereotypes and bad habits but, listing all of them would allow this post to become far too depressing.
Instead, let's think of ways to avoid stereotypes and bad habits.

How would you educate others about Otakuism and avoid stereotypes?

Till we next meet,
~suki

Tiredness ~_~

Oha!

This is not much of a post, sadly. I have planned and scheduled future posts but, have not made the time to type them up ^^;
The last meetup I had is partially to blame, as I've gotten hold of many anime series. Watching anime til the early hours of the morning may be fun but, sooner or later... those late nights catch up to you.
There's the issue of other tasks as well.. so, essentially this tiredness is my own responsiblity...

On a lighter note, I hope to attend a local Air Show on the 20 September! I have not been able to attend since two years ago and I'm quite excited to see what will be on display. I hope to take pics but, I still can't find my battery charger... I feel like Osaka T___T

Finally, I'm thinking of giving the site a change! since I've been invited ot do a banner exchange, I wanted to change it but, I've been a bit lost.
I hope to find a banner that you'll all like ^-^

Until we next meet,
~suki

Figures | meetups | weird dreams

Oha!
It certainly has been a while since my last post. Sorry about that.
This is simple, life/otaku post but, please enjoy it.

Finally, my figure count of 8 has grown to 12 last week Friday. I placed an order for more Mecha Musume and Strike Witches trading figures, though I failed to mention this on my blog ^^;
Expect pics soon!

The day after, I hosted a little Otaku meet at my house. It was my first tie hosting one and needless to say, I was rather nervous. My parents weren't upset, they seemed to support the idea and even went as far as to buy food and related supplies for the event.
I really appreciate their ability to accept my hobby, even though they didn't at first XD
From the anticipated amount of 9, a total of 4 people were able to make it.
Sometimes smaller events are better. This proved to be true as between all the chatting; eating, trading... a smaller group is able to manage efficiently.
In short, the meetup was a success and hopefully, in future I shall blog our events in more depth.

A more random note, a dream that I had last night. I suspect that this dream is the result of being away form the internet for a while and my thoughts were occupied by it in my dreams XD
In short, the dream revolved around a party held by Danny Choo and all the members were invited, including myself. Here we bought Star Wars models, played Metal Gear Solid 4, solved paths for certain eroge...

A strange dream indeed ^^;

Do any of you get dreams like that? Have you had any strange anime-related dreams?

Till we next meet,
~suki

Anime Oops! part.2 | Preorder confusion

Oha!

Today, I present another 'Anime Oops!' entry. As I was not feeling very well this weekend, I decided to catch up on some anime. Strange enough, I discovered that I haven't seen before... I just had to share it!

The following scenes are taken from: Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid, episode 6.
[Clicking on images allows you to enlarge them]

Picture 1



As you can see, Both Misa and L from the Death Note series appear on screen briefly. Intentional or Error?
Either way, animators certainly have a lot of fun while they work.

Picture 2



In this case, I belive that the spelling error noted here is an actual 'oops!' as opposed to it being intentional. The subtitles clearly indicates the correct word, while the anime does not.
Anime Oops, discovered and caught!

On another note.
Preorders have been made and with the wait, is an urge to buy even more figurines... T_T
It's so hard to choose...

How do you choose which figurines to order next?

That ends this post.
Until we next meet,
~suki

Strike Witches

Oha!

A long overdue posting from me, I apologise for that. Below is a review of sorts, the focus being Strike Witches.

Spawning from the creative drawings of Shimada Humikane (Webpage), Strike Witches began as a manga in Comp Ace in 2006. The manga was cancelled after three chapters.
Later, in October 2006, a light novel was born and is still running today.
With an interest still held, an OVA running at 9 minutes was released in Januray 2007, foreshadowing a longer, story-driven series.
As promised, the Strike Witches anime started it's run in July this year.

If anything could be based off the 9 minute OVA, Strike Witches promised to be warm, miltary/mecha anime. Character bonds like those of family, action packed scenes of the 501st squad raging against the Neuroi...
What has been presented for now, however, is a light-hearted, military/mecha anime with fanservice.

The appeal of moe anthropomorphizations of military planes and cute characters proves to be an interesting combination. There have been many takes on which Strike Witches release to follow (manga, novel or anime) but, it really depends on what you find interesting.

Here is a list of what each release contains, a slightly biased view, if you would like:

Novel: Strike Witches Suomus Iran-ko [Chuutai Ganbaru (1), Koisuru (2), Hajimeru (3)] - Ongoing
Set after the Karlsland invasion, this book focuses on the 'troublemakers' that are sent to Suomus to assist in their fight against the Neuroi.
More action packed than the manga, so you can't go wrong.

Manga: Strike Witches Soukuu no Majo-tachi - Cancelled

Strike Witches Tenkuu no Otome-tachi - Ongoing
Similar take on the anime storyline, Yutaka gets drafted into the Strike Witches unit but, instead of Sakamoto Mio being in charge of the decision, F/L Takei is in charge of this decision.
The pace of the story is quicker than the anime, but not as action packed just yet.

Anime: Strike Witches (tv anime) - Ongoing
Focusing on the 501st squad at the frontline, Britannia. Each episode highlights a character, their past, goals, life and interaction with the rest of the squad.
Filled with action, fanservice and moe anthropomorphizations of military planes, not much to hate there.

Other merchandise:
Today marks the release of the Strike Witches Opening and Ending cd. The famed 'uncut dvds' are set to release on these dates:

~Strike Witches Original Soundtrack
Release: 2008/09/24
~Strike Witches Character Song Collection
Release: 2008/10/08
~Strike Witches 1 [w/ CD, Limited Edition]
Release: 2008/09/26
~Strike Witches 2 [w/ CD, Limited Edition]
Release: 2008/10/24
~Strike Witches 3 [w/ CD, Limited Edition]
Release: 2008/11/28
~Strike Witches 4 [w/ CD, Limited Edition]
Release: 2008/12/26
~Strike Witches 5 [w/ CD, Limited Edition]
Release: 2009/01/22
~Strike Witches 6 [w/ CD, Limited Edition]
Release: 2009/02/27

Both the limited edition dvd and regular dvds are to be released on the same day.
Each Limited edition box includes: 2 episodes, music cd and a colour illustration booklet.

[Information from CD Japan - Strike Witches listing and Strike Witches Wiki]

That ends this post; I do hope that it was informative. Do expect 'reviews' like this in future, if there is room for improvement in this post, please let me know.

Till we next meet,
~suki

Figures | Preorders | Heavy Metal

Oha!
A simple and unplanned post for today.

After reading several blogs (which includes Danny Choo's page, perhaps the most XD), I have embraced my figure-otaku side.
Truth be told, Figures did not entice me as much before but, then I did not know much about anime or manga at the time.
Now that I am more aware of certain matters, I am willing to spend money on figurines as their value means a lot to me.
The time and effort needed to create a figurine is not realised by many. Figurines and Plamo are shunned as simple 'kids toys'.

There is a certain charm and value that a figurine and gunpla has that a toy will never attain.
For those interested, I have preordered these two figurines:

~ Fate/Stay Night: Rin Figma (Max Factory)
~ Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu: Nagato Yuki Guitar-Wizard version (Max Factory)

I am counting the days before the arrival... it is oh-so-painful to wait ;_;

Deviating from the above content slightly, last night I took time out to enjoy an interesting animated film. The title was "Heavy Metal". As a Metal fan, I thoroughly enjoyed the addition of names such as Black Sabbath, Devo, Riggs...
The animation was brilliant, a gem for it's time. Featuring the first animated scenes of perspective flying, incorporating multimation, challenging the norms, metal music as the score, staying true to the original illustrators’ works...

Truly, a great movie.
I do recommend this title to anyone who can appreciate the above.

That ends this post. I do hope that this can be informative and enjoyable to those reading, I try to have variety in my posts.
Though, even If I am the only one reading this, I do enjoy the experience of blogging and I shall continue as long as I am inspired.

Till we next meet,
~suki