(Image) "Wish you out, out the west trail."

Current Wallpaper, though Moyism's latest post has given me new goals to strive for. I definately have some nice Kenji artwork lying around too.

I spent awhile debating between Marona and Ash's quotes (in case you don't know, the prior post is Walnut's battle phrase from Phantom Brave) but eventually decided that neither really has the ring of Psycho Burgundy.

Lots of cool stuff for the PSP sorta in the wings, so I'm thinking I might spend the tax refund + Christmas money pick one up (or maybe even a 60g PS3 depending on price drops). Definately going to put the first new paycheck towards a working computer, though the job will probably axe a fair chunk of my WoW time, so I may have to spend a portion on Command and Conquer as well (what a horror that would be, buying an awesome game).

As for the Title this week, that's what the fansubs (Umai specifically) are trying to convince me is the lyrics to Romeo x Juliet's Ending. Given that, I figure you all can guess today's topic. I think I've seen enough of the new stuff to lay down at least initial thoughts.

Before we get back into stuff I did watch, I did want to touch on something I'm following but not watching. Welcome back Ichimaru!

Got Shinsen's chunk of Venus Versus Virus (5 - 11), but haven't given it a watch, on the docket for the weekend though. Scanned a bit of it, looks relatively interesting, finally some forward moving plot. Didn't watch Ergo Proxy 18 yet though, I think I've lost hope. There's just not enough there to keep me watching, it was unique to begin with but now that's sorta gone.

Tokyo Majin GK is just all kinds of everywhere with the awesome. I'm sorta hoping that they bring in the 9th vein recovered and sane, though it'd help if I didn't think she was a Keroro Gunso character redrawn by a different Studio. The cutaway during Aoi's disrobing was particularly disturbing, since it give the implication that she wasn't stopping just to reveal the burn-scar. Here's to hoping we see some more action out of the one I thought was going to be the main character. He's cooler than the Golden Dragon anyways. I do wonder about the "Dark Law Chapter" stuff though, exactly how many episodes should I be looking forward to, given that the Chapter hasn't changed for 11 eps.

Hayate the Combat Butler -- I didn't finish Shana (Will watch it for second season though) and I didn't watch all of Zero no Tsukaima either, so that bodes sorta ill for Hayate and Nagi. That said, Nagi is incredible, and the show has a ton going for it on the humor side, plus the semi-competitive female with the lead isn't so much in the way (Unlike, say, Siesta et al). On top of that, I've got a plot that's unexpected and creative (if you overlook the Ouran similiarities. The parodies and sheer boggle randomness might be enough to keep my attentions. Good OP and an Excellent ED sorta seal the deal. Lose the stupid censoring of things that aren't even really drawn there though, keep the verbal blocks though, ***dam is funny. Also, the Narrator owns.

Heroic Age -- Okay, I'll admit I'm not a fan of the Soukyou no Fafnir animation team, the gundam-esce characters always feel a little "off" in my book. Can't explain it, just a nuance of my being I'm sure. The show had me fairly engaged, as a sort of Starcraft venue with Hercules themes, but the 12 Labors were fairly stupid. I mean, it's a stretch to get those to reach 12, and they basically boil down to make Mankind the rulers of the universe, and we'll grant you 1 wish. Seriously, there are easier ways to get a wish granted (Binding a contract C.C. style) than doing war with the Bronze and Silver Races. The Bronze are totally zerg though, right down to the Hydralisk armies. The Silver have Protoss-esce technologies from what I've seen so far, which is limited. The feral-boy as a savior and repositorie of ancient power sorta got used by Aquarion though, so I'm not really digging rewatching it again here. If they don't refine Age quickly, I think I just won't be able to stick with the show. The 4 way relationship with the Princess and her helper plus Age and the Captain's son being developed would a good way to go. Though I think that Iolas is doomed given that the Princess faints in the presence of any male other than Age. The OP was alot better than I expected, the ED is reasonable though not a standout against the rest of shows this season.

Claymore -- Another show where the art has me a little off, but still solid. The concept of half-demon, half-humans sorta has me wondering about origins, and the random male that plays doctor is sorta creepy. It's an unusual pairing but I can see it developping into something worth watching. Claire is complete and total awesomeness though, so I'll stick with it. OP and ED are nothing to write home about, but not every show can be a winner.

Romeo x Juliet -- I'm with Jiaz on this one. This show is fantastic. If you're getting hung up on the fact that it's a altered, reversed, fantasy world variant on the original story you need to get past that and see just how awesome this story of star-crossed lovers can be. The OP hints at great and tragic things while the ED just plain rocks. Alot of blood is going to be spilled in Neo-Verona and I expect to enjoy every last drop.

Darker than Black -- Ep 2 proved that they're willing to take the powers they're granting to the Contractors and make them unique and powerful. Tag on the program requirements as part of the contract granted and we've got a serious foundation for a show that could go several ways already. Add in a crap ton of mystery, the power to alter and erase memories, and a small cast of powerful characters and that's a recipe for success. As soon as they proved that Jean's power wasn't rock-based teleportation but instead matter transposition the inner-geek in me started pondering just how cool that could be, and when he used that power to rip someone's heart out of their chest, the writer's proved they could be just an devious and ingenious as I was hoping. Yin is awesome, Hwang probably is packing some serious power, the cat just speaks of the power of Yoruicihi, and now all I want to know is BK201's exact power and contract (the apartment number was a nice touch though). The OP is excellent and I'm extraordinarily intrigued by the C.C.-esce character at the end.

The question now is whether or not there is anything else I want to give a try. And Gurren Lagoon, while looking promising, I'm not sure I can handle a Head-only Mech.

Fires of Battle, Reveal my Heart

Psycho Burgundy!

Had to get that out of the way, too much fun.

The Good: Filing my Taxes for last year and realizing that the new job has slightly over triple the annual income.

The Bad: Also realizing that said new job will involve at lot more work, a lot harder (intellectually, not phyisically) work, and a commute.

The Ugly: Posting on the World of Warcraft Forums to not only indentify Popotan characters, but also to distinguish Lucky Star from The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi for those less eductated on the matter.

As a parting note. Tokyo Majin GK is incredible. I haven't been this addicted to full-blown awesome shounen in awhile. Gattai level awesomeness at times. Perhaps I shout too many Guilty Gear quotes while watching it though.

(Image Overload) And out like a Lamb

Happy Year of the Boar (Yeah, sure belated I know but I had to upload the next album to Photobucket before I could say it -- this one is sorta more impuslive, which means that more borderline NSFW images ended up in the batch, as well as some pictures that are more random than background worthy (though the arguement swings both ways for pedophile Link who is mutually creepy and awesome in his image))

Not my current background however, I've got a quaint Ashley (from Wario Ware) with a Wii Mote wallpaper instead at the moment.

Hmm, seems I managed to leave the prior post untitled, which I may literally edit in as the title, as much as that wasn't the intended title in the first place it's the befittingest title now.

So, Grandparents paid a visit for the Sunday dinner (Note the lack of a Holiday term, while that may be a pretext it's genuinely unspoked in the context of a non-theistic household) and we had a few rounds of "Is that new", my Grandmother's favorite game, you'll have to press David for details, he's much more enthusiastic in his description. If I haven't stressed it enough before, anything that ever gets said in my house can get taken, twisted, and run for a touchdown pretty easily (ie: Thanksgiving away or any of the various usages of my family embracing the fact that I'm not homosexual but would support it anyways). So the following (which actually continued for another dozen or so lines of equal build) conversation broke out after I spent a good minute solid trying to find a way to extract a cupcake from it's plastic container (the standard grocery store 6-pack) without having to get my hands covered in the butter cream frosting:

"In the land of the blind, you're still handicapped."
"Ooh, handicapped, does that mean I get a parking spot?"
"Sure, there's tons of them, no one else is using them."
"So, as empty parking spaces as far as the eye can see, or not as the case may be, then?"

Secured the new job, start it in two weeks with a full day orientation opener. Going to be looking into Night School to finish the education as a result, here's hoping this is the start of something good and at least survivably enjoyable. I'm daunted, but that's true of me and anything new, I need to do something celebratory, but I've not got the foggiest clue what. I figure the combo of work + commute, let alone the prospect of night school, will probably crush my WoW time and then I'll have need to find something else to play. Hopefully the PSP or PS3 will be down in price by then.

And a bit more talk of Anime, as time permits:

Venus Versus Virus-



The jury is still out on this one, after a mere 4 episodes. I've called it a Pokemon meets Bleach thing, since the Viruses seem to have "types" like "earth" which grant them various immunities, weakness, and abilities, but otherwise have pretty much the exact description that Bleach gives to Hollows. The OP/ED speak of a much stronger relationship than I think is going to be evidenced in the show, at least prior to the very end. I'm curious as to where they'll be taking this one, I figure they're gonna go destroy the source of all Viruses to save each other. Shinsen just put out 5 more episodes though, so I'll probably have something more concrete to say in a few weeks. Until then I think I'll just lament the fact that they choose should a quasi-loli age/appearance for the primary cast and hope for some new gimmicks for the battles beyond anti-body beserking.


Negima-



This is probably the cutest of the Negima images I could find, isn't it nice? I don't think I quite agree with the extraneous random that gets into the show (Chupacabra, Mots and company), but it's a very cute and very amusing romp in the Magical Academy genre with touches of dark. Suffice to say all solid points in my book. There's still quite abit of drama and whatnot to pass through before the end, but with the lovely ladies, and the generally high quality art of the show, I think I'll keep watching till that end happens.

And just a set of images to polish off this belatedly belated post, I'll give the remained a fresh hit in a new post, perhaps alongside thoughts on the new season.

Black Lagoon-




Otome / Otome Zwei-

To go, Lagoon, Zwei, Geass, FMP:TSR, Tokyo Majin GK.