December 31, 2013

[Life] Building my Valvrave - Progress report: Night 1+2

Not so long ago, I bought Haruto's Valvrave kit. Two nights ago, I decided it was about time I started building it.
I'll log my VVV building progress.
Night 1: This took me one.whole.hour. Wow. There's so much detail to take care of.

Day 2: Why you can't breath when building a Valvrave. This (the green piece) is one of the numerous minuscule parts that you have to cut out from the mould (with scissors), then polish off (with sandpaper or a stanley knife - I use the latter) the plastic tubings so that it will fit nice and snug in the designated place (see picture 2).

Night 2: I completed the central body part and the right forearm. 
The instructions manual has a total of 7 pages, and as of tonight I have completed the first page. Building models takes a lot of concentration.
I'm going to call it a night and go play some Otome game on my PSP.

Gintama: The Final Chapter - Be Forever Yorozuya

I love Gintama. This was a very beautiful, sad and hilarious movie. My rating: 9/10!
There were many moments where I was crying and laughing at the same time.
 5 years later Okita becomes a full fledged bishie samurai!
 Another laugh and cry moment.
 The moment when you got trolled by the storyline.
 Gintoki had to pull a stupid face at the end of the movie.
Just throwing this picture of Tomozaku (voices Gintoki) that I saw on twitter right after watching the movie (I'm crying from laughter right now). He's a ridiculous yet talented man.

December 30, 2013

December 29, 2013

Seiyuu appreciation post - Ta_2, OnoKenshou+Kishow

I was watching the KuroBasu Cup 2013.

Piyo Piyo Piyo Piyo Piyo Chan~

I found this yesterday and it is too funny. Gotta love Mamoru Miyano, along with the other Uta-Puri seiyuus.

December 28, 2013

Valvrave - Episode 24 [v.P]

Tissues. I need a whole box of them.
All my favourite characters dies. Everyone dies. Why do you do this to my poor weak heart Sunrise?
 First off, it was X-eins. He died in vain.
 I love this pair.
 Then Q-vier dies in his friend's hand.
 Sometimes you just need to face the truth.
 While Cain was a baddie, I still liked him.
 This scene totally broke my heart when Haruto used up all his runes and cannot remember anything at all.
 Well, good bye Haruto. Goodbye to all the Valvrave pilots.
 Marry me you two!
 Last bit of confusion: Who does this love-child belong to then?

Unbreakable Machine Dolls - Episode 12 [v.P]

One of the best harem animes I've watched. There needs to be a second season! There needs to be more Yaya!!!

How to combine split files in Linux

If you're a Linux user like me and are looking for simple methods to combine split files or split large files then look no further than lxsplit (http://lxsplit.sourceforge.net/).

Step 1: Open terminal
Step 2: Install lxsplit, i.e. type 'sudo apt-get install lxsplit'
Step 3: Type 'lxsplit -j filename.mp4.001'
And you're done!

December 27, 2013

Kuroko no Basuke - Episode 37 [v.P]

Almost a week late, and I've still got a huge backlog of anime to catch up on.

Anime Review - Coppelion

Synopsis: In 2016, a meltdown of a nuclear power plant creates a big catastrophe in Tokyo. 20 years later, the city has become a ghost town due to the high levels of radiation. From that area a distress signal is received. The Self Defense forces dispatch three girls from the special unit Coppelion to search for survivors. But why aren't they wearing any protection against radiation?
(Source: MU, edited)

Disappointing Story : 4
Coppelion started off as a good story. Post-nuclear disaster, no one can live there, and dolls, who have been created to withstand even the highest level of radiation, explore the broken city to rescue survivors. While I was watching, I expected to see these dolls, called Coppelion, to be emotionless artificial humans with unnatural powers going around and saving lives. Instead, this show features high school girls who have been ill-trained and are emotionally unstable. Sure, I do not mind if you cry due to frustration, or if someone close to you died, but after every single crisis, these girls burst into tears. This is so repetitive that it becomes irritating to watch them. This potentially wonderful story becomes nothing but a tear-fest with poor action scenes.

Cue the crying . . . now.
Wonderful Scenery But Terribly Drawn Characters : 7
This is an post-apocalyptic anime, so dull and simple colours for the background are to be expected. At the start of this anime, the scenery leads to a very promising horror and mysterious anime. Sadly, this is not the case and the backgrounds' effectiveness is diminished. 
The characters in Coppelion are terribly drawn. There is nothing unique about these characters; they all look the same. Yes, I know that people need to wear protective suits and the girls have their uniforms, but they shouldn't be a copy-and-paste of each other.

I love that background :D
Great Soundtrack : 8
The opening and ending songs by angela were terrific. The upbeat, fast-paced rhythm, along with her rapping made an excellent combination. Throughout the anime there was generally silence, which is understandable because the setting is a ghost town. In the action scenes, there is background music but it does nothing to add to the scene, and it is something I like to call "dead music". Be prepared: Coppelion has a lot of dead music.

Unmemorable Characters : 3
More like character. Ibara Naruse is pretty much the only character that is focused upon in this anime. She has almost no character development. Although she is the strong leader of her trio, she gets emotional and depressed very easily. Not to mention, she cries, a lot. And has a lot of pointless, "I want to save everyone and make sure everyone is happy" speeches. It is these types of optimistic characters that I truly dislike.

Everyone else is just there to take up space. The other two "main" girls have their tiny moments of fame, maybe three times in the overall show. These moments of fame do not really add to the story and seem completely unnecessary except to show the viewer that these characters exist. Different survivors are introduced in each episode and are almost never mentioned again. It is kind of disappointing because I was expecting at least a scene or two of these survivors and how they adapt to their new environment. 

Aoi Fukasaku's moment of fame. Why she can do this is
never explained, nor is it ever brought up again.
Watched for the Music and Backgrounds : 5
After the fourth episode, I really wanted to stop watching this anime. The terrible path of a promising story was a major disappointment for me, along with the weak characters. The cycle of attempting to rescue survivors, then crying because it is too difficult, then crying because one person is sacrificed and finally laughter because everyone is just so happy to be alive was dreadfully annoying and too damn repetitive. I think after I realize how terrible this anime was, I continued watching simply for the opening and ending songs, as well as the scenery. Honestly, I paid more attention to the opening song and ending song than the actual anime.

Overall: Average (5)
I usually try not to bash on an anime series, but Coppelion deserved it. Even writing this review was painful because I wanted to rant about every little mistake. This show had so much potential at the beginning, and by the end, it was a disaster. Instead of watching Coppelion, I would recommend Tokyo Magnitude 8.0. It has a similar concept with a better storyline and characters, and the artwork is not that bad. 

He is just playing with a grenade. No big deal.

Remember, time waits for no one,
sana_salim

December 25, 2013

[Life] Bushwalking + Dinner

Today I went to Mt. Glorious with many friends and we enjoyed ourselves with the beautiful weather, soothing scenery, amazing food and up-building association.
The original plan was to eat and then go bushwalking, but I swapped the bushwalking with frisbee playing.
Afterwards, I went to a family friend's place to have dinner and after dinner we dug out some treasures - photos of when we were young!
Can you spot some of the authors of this blog?
With this I bid thee good night!

December 24, 2013

Meganebu ended

Meganbu was one of the best animes of the season. I loved it so much.

December 23, 2013

December 21, 2013

[Life] Beach day!

Today was a wonderful day for the beach. A group of friends and I hung out at Coolangatta beach. Got a little tanned, but the sea breeze and sun felt so good. Feeling really tired now and absolutely ready for bed, so please pardon the mushed up sentences.
Enjoy some of the photos below.
Woke up bright and early at 6am to prepare to go out.
Didn't slack off too much; Did some morning witnessing with the Gold Coast Chinese Congregation. Of course we stopped for an ice-cream break, and with fruitful results as we witnessed to the Korean shop attendant.
 Lunch time and beach time!
 A funky tree at the beach! Sand! Water!!
 Clear blue skies. Perfect beach weather.
 More beach.
 The girls (excluding me, since I was taking the photo).
We were just setting up and getting ready to hit the water.
We swam for about an hour, then sunbathed for another 40 or so minutes, then came back up to restock our energy (i.e. eat), then some beach volleyball, guitar+singing, making a human pyramid and kicking sand.
 Time to leave at 6:30pm. Beautiful sunset colours.
 Good bye beach~
Drove to Robina, had some really lovely Thai food.
Then headed back home.
It was a really fun day. I feel like glowing. It was a really good recharge. The beach is so relaxing. I'd love to come back.

December 20, 2013

Anime Review - Kyoukai No Kanata (Beyond the Horizon)

Synopsis: The dark fantasy follows a high school sophomore named Akihito Kanbara. Although the boy appears human, he is half youmu and invulnerable to wounds because he can heal quickly. One day, Akihito meets freshman Mirai Kuriyama when it seems she is about to jump from the school rooftop. Mirai is isolated because of her ability to manipulate blood, which is unique even among members of the spirit world. Disturbing events begin to unfold after Akihito saves Mirai.
Source : ANN and MAL

Twisty Story (6)
Kyoukai No Kanata (Knk for short here) starts off as your typical slice-of-life anime. Except the fact that demons coexist with humans. Somewhat unoriginal, but it is still a good show. That being said, there were several moments throughout the series were I was genuinely confused as to what was happening. Who is Izumi Nase? Why is Akihito's mother so special? What is the "Beyond the Boundary"? None of these questions are addressed. This becomes more frustrating as the anime continues, because the story unravels into a complex and twisted story line. Even after re-watching the later episodes, I still didn't completely understand what happened. With this confusion and lack of details, the overall anime, unfortunately, suffered. 

Nothing Less Than Expected (10)
It is Kyoto Animation. No matter what they produce, the art and animation will always be stunningly remarkable. I personally loved the character designs for Mirai and Hiromi. As well, the animation and skill it took to produce that dance scene. . . I think I watched that episode four or five times simply for the animation.

KyoAni just wants to brag about
how good their animation skills are.
Light-hearted and well-selected music (9)
The opening song was okay, but the ending song was terrific. Something about the singer's voice and the meaning of the song really moved me, especially the line, "I never say goodbye." It fits so well with the anime's overall theme.
The soundtrack throughout the action scenes blend well and does not disturb the fluidity of the scene, which is something I find rare.

Likeable Characters (9)
The main group is well-knit together and are a humourous bunch. They seem so realistic and innocent that it would be heartbreaking to see anything bad happen to them. And, halfway through, I can almost guarantee you that will continue watching to see Mirai and Akkey get together. Whether that happens or not, I cannot say. You will have to watch in order to find out.

Going into a little bit of detail, Mirai's character is very interesting. Her care for others at her own expense is admirable and, later on, requires a lot of bravery. She thinks that she will not benefit in life because of her cursed blood, so she gambles her own life in order to keep her friends alive. As well, her kind nature and complete innocence is so adorable that I felt very protective of her.

Ahhh that smile :D
Enjoyable Journey (8)
Aside from the earlier criticism about the storyline, Knk was a great anime to watch. The slow and comedic beginning was pleasant, until the darker and more confusing side of the show was revealed. Of course, if you include demons into an anime, things get confusing, but the execution of the later episodes was a major disappointment. Though the art, comedic relief and romance-in-the-air helped heal those wounds.

Overall: Very Good (8)
I recommend this anime, but be prepared for the surprises in store. I suggest that you know a few people who have also watched the anime, so you can ask for clarification as to what is going on. Trust me, you will explanations and clarifications if you actually watch this anime for plot.

Dat hair flip O.o
Remember, time waits for no one,
sana_salim

Pumpkin's Palette: Naruko

This is a gift for a dear friend of mine. She loves Naruko from Yowamushi Pedal.
I changed my colouring style again. I really like this colouring method because it's more efficient than my old styles.

Here's a 1366x768 wallpaper version.