Seiyuu appreciation post: Free! boys part 2

Found some high res. scans of the magazine that interviewed the Free! boys (in half-cosplay). Thought I'd like to share them. Note that Hirain and Yonaga's mine.

Game Day blog #5

Hey all! Rhycen here, back with another edition of the Game Day blog.

So, last Friday, I finally received my copy of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky, and I've been having a ton of fun with it. I started as a Shinx named Cooper, with my parter as a Squirtle named Tanks. It's a great game, and there's not much more to say about that.

Over the past few days I've been slowly hyping myself up to pick up Monster Hunter again, and also to start playing The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, which I recently purchased on Steam. Due to uni work and the such, I haven't been able to game as much, but I do what I can. I have actually played Skyrim before, and I got about halfway through the game. The copy I had was not entirely legitimate, so I'm happy to pay for it now. Hopefully it'll be much more of a pleasant experience with bug fixes and the like. I'm eager to install some awesome mods.

TTYL
Rhycen

Karneval anime OST

Finally I have time to listen to the Karneval anime OST (download available here). I'm in love!! This is amazing music. Why did I not notice it while watching the anime? Oh right, I was too absorbed listening to OnoD and Hirarin's voice (lol). I can't wait for the next set of character singles, #4 is by Karoku and Uro (aka Suwabe!) and #5 is Gareki (aka HiroC). My favourite character single is definitely #3 with Hirato and Akari, aka OnoD and Hirarin, with both of them singing in their low smexy voices! You can download their single here.

Brothers Conflict - Episode 7 [v.P]

Hey Bro! It's that time of the week again! Conflict 7: Limit.
I am drooling and kissing my computer screen right now thanks to this week's endcard! I've already set it as my wallpaper.

That kiss mark!!

Audio samples released for the remaining Free! character singles

The official Lantis YouTube channel posted today the audio samples for Rin, Rei and Nagisa's character singles, to be released September 4th, 2013.
Check them out below!
Rin sounds exactly like Tokiya... ORZ
Nagisa is too shouta! -nosebleeds-
I...uhh...wasn't expecting that voice Hirarin.... I don't think these songs suit Hirarin's voice, it's too low for him.

Hatsune Miku V3 English to be released on August 31, 2013

Crypton Future Media has finally announced an official release date for the Hatsune Miku V3 English Vocaloid software: August 31, 2013.

August 31 was the exact same date six years ago (2007) when the Japanese version of the Hatsune Miku Vocaloid software was released. The date is widely acknowledged by fans to be the birthdate of Hatsune Miku.

Hatsune Miku V3 English is an all-in-one package that comes bundled with everything you need to start creating songs with the virtual diva right away. It includes:

• Piapro Studio VSTI vocal editor
• PreSonus Studio One Artist Piapro Edition
• Over 200 virtual instruments for your immediate music production

The entire software package, which supports both Windows and Mac operating systems, will be sold for US$149 (excluding tax), and available digitally online through the Crypton online store service, Sonicwire.

For more information check out the official website here.

Source: SGcafe

Latest Pokemon news: Mega Forms?!?

That's right kids. Mega Forms!

Today, Japanese magazine CoroCoro has revealed that the newest instalment in the Pokemon series will feature the ability to transform your pokemon into super powered Mega Forms in battle.

The Mega Pokemon revealed so far

This is what we know so far:

• An item called a Mega Stone is required to transform your Pokemon.
• Different Mega Stones are required to Mega-Evolve different Pokemon.
• Mega Stones are only available through special events.
• Mega Evolutions are temporary, only activated in battles.
• Fully evolved Pokemon are able to Mega Evolve.
• Pokemon can change types in Mega Form.

Personally, I don't really like this new feature. It doesn't fit my description of what Pokemon is. But alas, that is not my decision to make.

Finally, a Mawile evolution!...Technically

The mega Evos are only available through events. This means that there may be many people who won't have access this feature in the game until an event occurs. If they're going to put this feature into the game, why restrict it? It seems kind of a half-baked feature at the moment.
I'm assuming that it works by activating it during a battle, possibly using up a turn. If this is in fact the way it works, then I can see how it would add a new level of complexity into battles.
Of course, we don't know all the facts yet. I hope it turns out ok in the end. At least the forms look pretty cool.

New information is still being released! Check back soon for updates.

Rhycen out.

images from serebii.net

Seiyuu appreciation post: GRANRODEO

I'm too tired to scroll through walls of missed Twitter, blogs and forums to catch up with anime and music news for today. So just gonna be lazy and post a photo of GRANRODEO, the duo band created by seiyuu Taniyama Kishow (left: vocals) and e-Zuka (right: guitarist).

Anime Review: Mawaru Penguindrum - A Hidden Gem

Hello World, a new face appears. Let’s start off with a brief introduction.

My name is Henna Salim, and I am Canadian, a female and a lover of anime. I will be posting reviews on various animes. I will try my best, so look forward to it!

Note: I am Canadian, so the spelling of some words may be different. Example: colour, favourite, etc.

Synopsis:

Takakura Himari has an illness, one that gives her just months to live with her older twin brothers, Kanba and Shouma. In order to create lasting memories with Himari, the siblings go on a trip to a penguin aquarium. Shouma decides to buy a penguin hat as a souvenir for Himari, but she disappears, and is found on the ground, dead. In the midst of the twins’ despair, she is miraculously revived by a spirit possessing the penguin hat. In exchange for extending Himari’s life, the spirit demands for an item: a Penguindrum. Unaware its significance, the twins desperately begin their search, while unraveling hidden secrets and broken pasts.

A heart-warming and thought-provoking story:

Mawaru Penguindrum starts off simple: find the Penguindrum or else your sister will die. However, the viewer quickly learns that is not the case. There are several elements that are crucial to developing and advancing the story. Fate is the first and it is constantly referred to. Does everything happen by fate? Is there even such a thing as fate? Some question its purpose while others embrace it wholeheartedly. Symbolism is the second important element in this anime. Every detail, picture, or object has a purpose. Nothing shown in the anime is unnecessary, which is a bonus for viewers, like myself, who hate meaningless scenes.

From there, the story unfolds rather slowly at first, focusing on character relationships, often using consistent and natural comedic relief that really draws you into the anime. This slow pace is essential, because once the true motives are discovered, the plot escalates towards a dark and violent end. Several plot twists occur, leaving you edge with questions and longing for answers. Hurdling towards the end, this anime drills one question into your mind: how far would you go for someone you love?

Unlike Angel Beats, which concluded with its sad scene, Mawaru Penguindrum’s perfect execution continues until the very end, leaving the viewer in tears and their hearts shattered. Though the painful ending is hard to accept, it completes the masterpiece that Mawaru Penguindrum is.  

Highlights of tonight's Suwabe radio show

Picture not entirely related
 to tonight's show.
I just randomly selected a pic
from my Suwabe folder.

Suwabe Junichi hosts a radio show on the first Wednesday of every month (at 10pm JPN). Tonight his guest was Satou Rina, who voices Ema, the main female in Brothers Conflict. 

Of course the topic of BroConf was brought up in their conversation, but only after Suwabe blabbered about whether they like bananas or not (and why).

The following is a list of nicknames that Suwabe gave the Asahina bro's + Juli:

Masaomi - Lolicon Doctor
Ukyo - Mama Lawyer
Kaname - Perverted Monk
Hikaru - Business(wo)man-crossdresser
Tsubaki - "Fantastic" Seiyuu (I guess 'fantastic' in the sense that he's self-centered?)
Azusa - Glasses-Seiyuu
Natsume - Gamer
Louis - Beautician
Subaru - Basketball
Iori - Murderer
Yuusuke - Delinquent
Fuuto - Idol
Wataru - Child
Juli - Rat

They then held their usual discussion of the guest's wikipedia page (at which point I started zoning out), including Satou's thoughts of having Suwabe-san as senpai, since they both belong to the same voice acting managing company; about her pets and hobbies; and then about cars.

The main theme/questionnaire for tonight was "What kind of siblings do you want the most?", where the audience mails in their answers. The results were:

1) Older sis - 21%

2) Older bro - 58%

3) Younger sis - 10%

4) Younger bro - 7%

5) None-only child is the best! - 4%

(I'm not surprised at the results, pretty sure most of the audience are females lol)

At this point in time, I'm pretty much close to dozing off, but I think I heard Suwabe say that Eguchi will be guest at his next Battle Spirits radio show, and that Hirakawa Daisuke (Ukyo) will be guest on his next Suwabe radio show. (I'll correct myself on this once the official guest list is announced)

Splash Free gets rank #12 on Oricon charts

Oricon's daily ranking results are out!! Splash Free - #12, Mako's single - #16 and Haru's single - #18. Guess Ta_2's more popular huh.

Seiyuu appreciation post: Suzuki Tatsuhisa

It just struck me how amazing Ta_2's (Tatsuhisa's preferred nickname) voice is, you seriously can't tell that the guy who sang the Free! OP is the same guy that sang Makoto's character songs.

Left to right: Hirarin, Mamo, Nobunaga, Ta_2, Yonaga.

Dengeki Daisy manga to end in September

The September issue of Shogakukan's Betsucomi magazine revealed that Kyousuke Motomi's Dengeki Daisy shoujo manga will end in the magazine's October issue.
Source: ANN

When seiyuus "cosplay" their characters

In the last few days anime forums have been going hype over the September cover of the Seiyuu Grand Prix magazine which features the 5 main seiyuus of Free! cosplaying as the characters that they voiced. @nanaya1974 compared past magazine cover photos that featured seiyuus "cosplaying" (or at least holding the same pose) as their characters of their respective anime.

学園ヘブン(2006年)、うたプリ(2011年)、Free!(2013年)
Gakuen Heaven (2006), UtaPri (2011) and Free! (2013)

An extra bonus photo for Tiger & Bunny fans. Here's Hirata Hiroaki cosplaying as Kotetsu, the character that he voiced.

Lastly, let's not forget our comical Sugita Tomokazu cosplaying as Gintoki from Gintama.

Brothers Conflict - Episode 6 [v.P]

HEY BRO! It's that time of the week again. Things are finally heating up in Conflict 6: Photograph.

My heart is beating out of my chest right now, and I'm slightly out of breath, thanks to Tsubaki!

There's more confessions, teasing and kissing in this week's ep! See more 'action scenes' and script summaries below.

Me after watching Conflict 6.

Serah's Sweets #1

Its been a while since I last baked, ever since I discovered my allergies to all things delicious in fact. So this is actually a recipe from waay back. I used to love making Pandan cake and it was kind of my signature dish this post actually comes from my old blog.

But today (edit: last year) I made Pandan chiffon cake today for a friend who had just left hospital. I have to say its been awhile since I made Pandan cake, probably about a year (edit: another year =="). I lost the original recipe that I has previously been successful with but I found this fabulous recipe that apparently belongs to Masterchef contestant Poh.

Mmmmmm So good.

SO here it is~

Look at that fabulous greenness

Pandan Chiffon Cake

Pumpkin's Palette: Miyano Mamoru@Free!

I throw my hands up in the air sometimes saying "Free-oh, it's Mamo"~
I have no idea what I was thinking when I started this piece. I really need to learn how to draw better backgrounds.

No seriously, what did I just draw? O.o
My brain cannot comprehend.

Seiyuu appreciation post: Kamiya Hiroshi and Ono Daisuke

They look so cool! XD

Game Day blog #4

Today, I got my IP issues fixed, and played Cube World with your old pal Diluen (MegaBubbletea). We only played for a brief amount of time, but we had fun running around the cube world, getting attacked by enemies everywhere.

In other news, I finally decided to buy Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky from ebay. After Looking all over the Gold Coast for a copy, but finding none, I turned towards ebay to aid in my quest. However, not a single person in Australia was selling this game! I anxiously checked the page again and again for days, and, lo and behold, a listing appeared, selling exactly what I desired.
So it should arrive at my doorstep by Wednesday or Thursday. I can't wait to get my rescue team started!


In other, other news, I HATE TIFA!!!!!!

SO...FRUSTRATE...AARGH!!

As you know, I've been playing Dissidia for the past couple of days. However, I've hit quite a wall. I'm just playing the campaign, smashing through all my foes as Lightning, pretty much neglecting the rest of my party. So I'm pretty much at the end of the campaign, and the boss fight requires my party to duel the opponent party However, each of my party members are required to face an enemy. Vaan's fight was simple enough. No worries there. Then comes Tifa's round. WHY!? Not only is she under levelled for the fight, her entire fighting style just does not suit me! I generally play by dodging all attacks, waiting for the choice moments to dash in and strike. I gather enough bravery to 1HKO the opponent, and I go in for the execution. However, Tifa's attack don't generate enough bravery for my liking, as well as having to get ultra close to use her attacks. I've found that using my HP attacks more often does improve my performance, but It's still incredibly frustrating. I gave up in the story fight, and decided to grind my characters to level them up in custom matches. Playing Tifa, I choose the same opponent on average difficulty, a difficulty level I am generally very comfortable with, but I still have a very hard time. I guess all I can do now is just grind and practice and grind some more!
Sorry about the long rant. I needed to blow off some steam!

Till next time ~
Rhycen

Seiyuu appreciation post: Free! boys

The September issue of seiyuu magazine, Seiyuu grand prix 「声優グランプリ」, features an exclusive interview with the 5 main characters of Free!, Nanase Haruka (CV: Nobunaga),  Tachibana Makoto (CV: Ta_2), Nagisa (CV: Yonaga), Rei (CV: Hirarin) and Matsuouka Rin (CV: Mamo).
How adorable are the boys(/men) in half-cosplay!

Serah's Basic Cosplay Makeup

Finally! We get to what I'mm actually here for! Cosplay makeup! Welps people, I have been searching and watching tutorials and everything and this is the fruits of my labor! My basic cosplay makeup is especially for cosplay noobs and people who want and easily adaptable base so here goes!

Stuff you'll definitely need:
- eyelid tape if you don't have double eyelids (though there is actually a way to get around this, guess you'll just have to stay tuned for my next tutorial ;))
 - brown eyeshadow
 - a black eyeliner that DOESN'T SMUDGE <-- Super Important
 - A white eyeliner
 - upper fake eyelashes
 - lower fake eyelashes
 - concealer
 - a decent water soluble glue stick ( I used elmer's)
 - foundation (want a guide to picking your foundation? Stay tuned :P)
 - bronzer ( once again, there's a way to get around this one as well but you'll need some brown eyeshadow which you should probably already have if you're actually paying attention to this guide at all)

 

Game Day blog #3

Dear diary...

Today, I was playing Minecraft with a bunch of friends. I haven't played Minecraft in a while so I was eager to hop in and muck around. We had a Minecraft Hunger Games tournament, where we were thrown into an arena to duke it out, with hidden chests containing equipment and items dotted around. Fun times were had!

You could imagine the anticipation of coming across another player, hoping they don't have some godly equipment. When night time came about, the other players are the least of your problems. In the first game, I was taken out by a skeleton archer. Upon death, players respawn back at base as a sponsor. They climb the staircase all the way to the top of the arena, and drop loot onto the remaining tributes.
I managed to win the third round, with my sneaking around, and finally being able to shoot down my last opponent.

Unfortunately, the action was so intense I didn't get any screenshots in game. Your imagination will have to suffice.

Rhycen has disconnected

Free!XChuunibyou crossover gif

Too adorable RinRin!

Free! Parody clip

I do enjoy the occasional anime parody film clip, especially those that give me a good chuckle.
Now I'm not sure whether to class this under the "Terrible" tag or flag it as a "Don't go there" link. It did give me a good chuckle... and a facepalm.

Free! Character Single vol 1 - Nanase Haruka download

So guys I heard that you also wanted this?
DL Link: http://dl.vmall.com/c0v1zfm3te
Instructions: Click on the "下載", first blue button on the left.

Free! Character Single vol 2 - Tachibana Makoto download

So guys I heard that you wanted more Free! tonight? Well here's Makoto's character single!

[Still trying to dig out Haruka's character single.]
DL Link: http://pan.baidu.com/share/link?shareid=2336640432&uk=422883633
P/w: j2kd
Click on the "下載" button (the middle one)

Splash Free - Free! ED single download

Guys guys guys!! It's here!! The full single of Free! ending song - Splash free by Style five.
Unfortunately it's only 128Kbps (not 320Kbps). I will update when I get the link for 320K.
[Water Surprise! is so cheerful and fun! Feel kind of cheated (in relation to UtaPri) with the "Are you ready" line though lol. Splash Free Remix is also very good!]

DL Link: http://pan.baidu.com/share/link?shareid=604186752&uk=3071022728

Click on the "下載" button (the middle one)

Game Day blog #2

Yesterday I happened upon a Pokemon ROM-hack called Pokemon Light Platinum. It was created from a Pokemon Ruby ROM, by WesleyFG. Due to its heightened difficulty level and well designed environment, it has become one of the most popular ROM-hacks at the moment. Hopefully it provides me the Pokemon experience I've been waiting for all these years. I have a feeling it will.

It features a large selection of Pokemon from all games up to gen 5. WesleyFG has implemented many custom tiles and sprites, giving the game a unique feel overall. So far, I haven't encountered any custom background music, only the music from Pokemon Ruby.

From the very beginning, this game already had me fainting again and again. The very first trainer you meet has 5 Pokemon in his party, and with no healer in your home town, you’re limited to grinding in grass before you can move on. I can’t wait to see how this game will continue to pummel me!

Of course, being a fan-made ROM hack, it’s far from perfect. There are many issues with game tiles and, as the game was originally made in Spanish, the translation is very patchy and as imperfect as it can get (Edit: I managed to fins a better translated version of the game so that’s all good now). However I find that I can overlook these things and the game is still thoroughly enjoyable.

I apologise about my lack of details about the game, but I want to play through this game blind so I can have the best experience possible. I recommend anyone who wants a truly challenging Pokemon experience to give this ROM-hack a go.

It is possible to run this ROM on an emulator on your mobile device, or you can use an emulator on your PC to play it.

WesleyFG website

Light Platinum website

Game on!
Rhycen

Seiyuu appreciation post: Toriumi Kousuke, Suwabe Junichi and Hirakawa Daisuke

My three beloved husbands seiyuus! I love Tori-chan's versatile voice, Suwababy's sexy voice and Hirarin's gentle but teasing voice.

Seiyuu appreciation post: Toriumi Kousuke

In case Makai Ouji fans didn't know, they're holding another Nico Live Event tonight at 9:30pm (JPN) at http://live.nicovideo.jp/gate/lv146463292. The hosts include: Terashima, Matsuouka, Toriumi and Yatsumoto. Be sure to tune in!

Game Day blog #1

My bus rides to Uni are fairly long, often taking over an hour. So today I decided to pick up the old PSP 3K and play some Dissidia 012. I've yet to finish the campaign, but I've been casually completing it chapter by chapter.

Dissidia is one of those games that just doesn't get old. I love the style of the combat and just the way the battle flows around the stage. For those unfamiliar with the Dissidia games, Dissidia is a action based fighting game featuring various characters from games of the Final Fantasy Franchise. Many references to those games are featured in attack animations and dialogue within the game. The combat is flashy and fast, and they can get very tense. Dodging and blocking attacks becomes second nature while playing this game, as it requires fast reflexes in order to best your opponent. In combat, damage is determined by the amount of bravery points, which you accumulate by having your "bravery attacks" connect with the opponent. You can then use a HP attack, which are generally slower and need to be timed just right, to deal damage to your opponent equalling the amount of bravery you have at the time. Using a HP attack, however, consumes all your bravery and it will take a while for it to recharge back to its base amount. This combat system allows for a wide range of strategies and combos, making each fight just as engaging as the last.

LIGHTNING!

My favourite characters would have to be Lightning, Garland, and Gabranth. Lighting is actually quite overpowered, with really quick dashing attacks that are followed by devastating combo attacks. Almost all of her attacks send her opponents flying, which allows her to sit back and wait for her next opportunity to strike. Garland's sword is amazing. His attacks have a nice weight to them that I like. Gabranth is both gimmicky and awesome at the same time. His special tactic is to quickly charge up his EX gauge and go into EX mode frequently. In fact, he can only really do damage in EX mode. Outside of EX mode, his moveset is pretty much limited to only bravery attacks. Being able to use my special attack constantly is a ton of fun.

Well that's all I got for now.
Rhycen

No Free! episode but something else special...?

I woke up early (as usual) to watch Free! only to remember that there is no Free! this week. :(
However the Free! website updated with something special, birthday messages from all the boys to Nagisa!
Since there's no Free!, enjoy some Free! cosplay instead.

Cosers: 青春 + Sun Cho

Cosers:淺倉 燿+梓官 

Coser: 奈琴

Taking a look at the Nvidia Shield

Hey all!

I was just browsing around the webs and I came across this IGN article about the Nvidia Shield. As it is, the Shield is more of a prototype for what I hope is the future for gaming. I'd love to one day be able to play my Steam games while sitting on the bus.

That's all for now.
Rhycen

Links: http://au.ign.com/articles/2013/07/31/nvidia-shield-review

[Lyrics] 14 to 1 (Full) - Brothers Conflict ED song

I promised I would translate the full lyrics of 「14 to 1」 when the full song is released and when I got my (fangirl) hands on the lyrics booklet. So here it is!

I still wince at the "Ohayou, Oyasumi, Arigatou" section every time I listen to this song; the lyrics are so silly and out of place - Why are my onii-chan's greeting me Good morning, Good night and Thank you? Also, I think that the key change was unnecessary. They could've just ended the song at the 4:38 mark. But this song does have a pretty funky piano accompaniment.

Edit: OMG I just realised what the "Ohayou, Oyasumi and Arigatou" section mean!! In the chorus they've always been singing/repeating "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" (only THREE kisses) and then they sing "Good morning, good night, thank you", giving the THREE reasons for the kisses - a good morning kiss, a good night kiss and a thank you kiss.

What I did enjoy from this CD is the cast comments, each of the 14 males spoke (in character) the first line of the the chorus [My sister めちゃくちゃにアイシテル！ やさしいだけの　キスならいいのかい？// My sister, I've fallen madly in love with you. Is it alright to give you a gentle kiss?], and then they proceeded to thank you for listening to this CD. Suwabe (Kaname) is cheeky and added a kiss to his message, which he also did for his Jinguuji Ren cast comment for UtaPri. *faints*

Description: Kanji lyrics, Romaji lyrics and English translated lyrics of 14 to 1 (full), the ending song of the Brothers Conflict anime.

Note: Any lines not colour coded means that all the bro's sing. I deciphered the colour code by ear; they never specified who sang which line in the lyrics booklet. The parts in brackets ( ) in the English translation are there to help the meaning flow smoother.