anime: Melody of Oblivion eps 1-2

MoO is about...uhm...ok, I think this is what it's about:  In a near future Japan, monsters who look like humans rule the world, but most people don't realize it.  The monsters leave the humans alone as long as they're regularly offered sacrifices in the form of children.  There are warriors known as Meros who want to overthrow them, and they ride what appear to be sentient motorcycles and shoot magic arrows.  Apparently, the world will be saved if everyone can hear a melody they've forgotten, which seems to be a girl with red hair.  Our hero is Bocca, a boy with strange hair and eyes who wants to be a Meros(I think) and whose childhood friend disappeared one day, having been made a sacrifice.  When he learns a mechanic he's friends with knows the Meros, he meets a Meros named Kurofune, and watches Kurofune fight a monster, who is also the local mayor.  Leter, the mechanic makes Bocca a Meros, just in time for him and Kurofune to rescue Bocca's friend/girlfriend from becoming the monster's victim.  Later, Kurofune gives him the "you aren't cut out for this" speech and takes off, and bocca and Sayoko, a young runaway with some connection to Kurofune set off to find him, leaving best friend/girlfriend pining for him.

This, as near as I can tell, is the plot.  But between the crack and the "WTF?  Did you just do what I think you just did?" I kinda kept forgetting to pay attention to it.

( clicky )

I have caps, but no time to upload them.

This has the potential to surpass Gundam Wing in certain regards.

anime: Melody of Oblivion eps 1-2

MoO is about...uhm...ok, I think this is what it's about:  In a near future Japan, monsters who look like humans rule the world, but most people don't realize it.  The monsters leave the humans alone as long as they're regularly offered sacrifices in the form of children.  There are warriors known as Meros who want to overthrow them, and they ride what appear to be sentient motorcycles and shoot magic arrows.  Apparently, the world will be saved if everyone can hear a melody they've forgotten, which seems to be a girl with red hair.  Our hero is Bocca, a boy with strange hair and eyes who wants to be a Meros(I think) and whose childhood friend disappeared one day, having been made a sacrifice.  When he learns a mechanic he's friends with knows the Meros, he meets a Meros named Kurofune, and watches Kurofune fight a monster, who is also the local mayor.  Leter, the mechanic makes Bocca a Meros, just in time for him and Kurofune to rescue Bocca's friend/girlfriend from becoming the monster's victim.  Later, Kurofune gives him the "you aren't cut out for this" speech and takes off, and bocca and Sayoko, a young runaway with some connection to Kurofune set off to find him, leaving best friend/girlfriend pining for him.

This, as near as I can tell, is the plot.  But between the crack and the "WTF?  Did you just do what I think you just did?" I kinda kept forgetting to pay attention to it.

( clicky )

I have caps, but no time to upload them.

This has the potential to surpass Gundam Wing in certain regards.

(no subject)

 telophase's latest a-kon cosplay post has me in my natural habitat.  For those of you who keep saying there should be more pictures of me.

(no subject)

 telophase's latest a-kon cosplay post has me in my natural habitat.  For those of you who keep saying there should be more pictures of me.

Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith

In some ways, the plot of this book (originally released as two books) is the most generic of generic fantasy plots. Countess Meliara of Tlanth (we shall call her Mel, as the book calls her Meliara so rarely that I blinked when it did) and her brother, Branaric (Bran) are descended from the royal line through their mother. Their mother was murdered years earlier by the current rulers of the country, and they swear revenge, eventually starting a rebellion. Things do not, of course, go exactly as planned and Meliara is captured and used to attempt to force Bran to surrender. Later, she escapes with the aid of a nobleman named Shevraeth, whose loyalty she has cause to doubt, and she makes her way across the countryside to rejoin Bran. Along the way, she gains a reputation as being the only noble involved in the whole mess who cares about the common folk.

Once things have settled down, she retires to the country to rebuild her estates, but is persuaded to enter society by Bran’s new fiancee, Nimiar. There, she finds herself clashing again with Shevraeth, who she still does not trust, and encountering a potential plot against the crown. She also finds herself face-to-face with court intrigues she has no training for, potential suitors, and possible rivals, as well as a secret admirer who guides her through the court with his letters.

All the above fits the basic description of far too many fantasy novels to name. What sets Crown Duel apart from the rest is not the story it tells, but how it tells the story. 

( more )

Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith

In some ways, the plot of this book (originally released as two books) is the most generic of generic fantasy plots. Countess Meliara of Tlanth (we shall call her Mel, as the book calls her Meliara so rarely that I blinked when it did) and her brother, Branaric (Bran) are descended from the royal line through their mother. Their mother was murdered years earlier by the current rulers of the country, and they swear revenge, eventually starting a rebellion. Things do not, of course, go exactly as planned and Meliara is captured and used to attempt to force Bran to surrender. Later, she escapes with the aid of a nobleman named Shevraeth, whose loyalty she has cause to doubt, and she makes her way across the countryside to rejoin Bran. Along the way, she gains a reputation as being the only noble involved in the whole mess who cares about the common folk.

Once things have settled down, she retires to the country to rebuild her estates, but is persuaded to enter society by Bran’s new fiancee, Nimiar. There, she finds herself clashing again with Shevraeth, who she still does not trust, and encountering a potential plot against the crown. She also finds herself face-to-face with court intrigues she has no training for, potential suitors, and possible rivals, as well as a secret admirer who guides her through the court with his letters.

All the above fits the basic description of far too many fantasy novels to name. What sets Crown Duel apart from the rest is not the story it tells, but how it tells the story. 

( more )

*frets more*

Rightstuf, still you do not show my order.

Please do not be denying me my Haibane Renmei and Onmyouji DVDs!

*frets more*

Rightstuf, still you do not show my order.

Please do not be denying me my Haibane Renmei and Onmyouji DVDs!

Fairy Tail Vol 2

Dear Hiro Mashima: You just wanted to make sure I loved Lucy, didn’t you? First you have her turn into a fangirl when presented with a library. Then you have her reading during battle, and then leaving the battle because the book is verra verra important, and she can’t be interrupted. Then you reveal that she just happens to carry around a pair of glasses that can make a person read up to 32 times their normal speed (want!) and declaring people to be enemies of literature. We approve. Yes, yes we do.

Actually, the mangaka is being much smarter about Lucy than most shounen mangakas are. Instead of building her up to be a fighter and then sidelining her and making her be there to be protected, she’s introduced as being useful in a fight, but definitely a non-combatant, with her main usefulness being common sense and a solid head on her shoulders, and then backing it up. Not the best solution, but much less frustrating than the norm. Actually, I think she’s the only person in the book to display any common sense so far. Just like I wonder how Gourry in Slayers survived before he met Lina, I wonder how Natsu survived before he met Lucy. Probably, both just fought their way through anything that got in their way.

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Fairy Tail Vol 2

Dear Hiro Mashima: You just wanted to make sure I loved Lucy, didn’t you? First you have her turn into a fangirl when presented with a library. Then you have her reading during battle, and then leaving the battle because the book is verra verra important, and she can’t be interrupted. Then you reveal that she just happens to carry around a pair of glasses that can make a person read up to 32 times their normal speed (want!) and declaring people to be enemies of literature. We approve. Yes, yes we do.

Actually, the mangaka is being much smarter about Lucy than most shounen mangakas are. Instead of building her up to be a fighter and then sidelining her and making her be there to be protected, she’s introduced as being useful in a fight, but definitely a non-combatant, with her main usefulness being common sense and a solid head on her shoulders, and then backing it up. Not the best solution, but much less frustrating than the norm. Actually, I think she’s the only person in the book to display any common sense so far. Just like I wonder how Gourry in Slayers survived before he met Lina, I wonder how Natsu survived before he met Lucy. Probably, both just fought their way through anything that got in their way.

( more )