Tasunke's Random Ramblings

So, after some sleep, I have some additional notes on the Haruhi movie. Some things I forgot to mention in my last post. The above image is from a set of postcards given out as a free gift to those attending the film.

The opening theme for the movie was the same as the TV series, 冒険でしょうでしょう？ (Bouken Deshou Deshou?) Which was quite nostalgic and I had to supress the urge to sing along in the theater. XD It didn’t use the original TV opening animation sequence, of course, but it was still nice to hear and beautiful in the theater’s surround sound system. ^_^

The ending theme was a very slow song sung by (I believe) Yuki’s VA, and it was vocal only. No music, no backup at all, just the one beautiful female voice singing. n.n More pictures of the postcard set after the jump. (more…)

So I finally went and saw 涼宮ハルヒの消失, or The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya today, Saturday, the 27th of March, 2010. I went to a late showing, which is why I’m posting this after midnight Japan time on the 28th. Wow, what an incredible movie. If you’re a fan of the Haruhi franchise at all, you’ll love this movie, IMHO. Wonderful, wonderful film. The above image is of the movie’s program book, called a “pamphlet,” that you can purchase at the theater, along with other goods related to the movies they are currently showing. (Oh and just for the record, it’s “Disappearance” not “Vanishment.” The name even shows up at the bottom of the screen in English as “The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya” at the beginning of the film.)

This film does a really great job continuing where the TV series left off, and manages to also tie up some loose ends that I had forgotten about. Something I found very interesting though was the product placement in the film. Instead of your standard slight spelling change so that it’s similar to the brand you’re trying to portray but different enough that you won’t get in trouble, the actual brands show up. For instance, Kyon buys some stuff at a Family Mart (a convenience store chain here in Japan), and when a computer gets booted up in the film, there’s the actual Microsoft Windows startup screen, with correct spelling and everything.

The background visuals, especially in certain parts of the movie, where this effect seemed more pronounced than others, seemed like they could have just been rotoscoped video. The cars and the buildings had a more real feel to them than the actual characters did, at times. Don’t get me wrong, I dearly love the movie, and this certainly doesn’t ruin it for me. However, it was slightly distracting at times, with the characters almost seeming like they didn’t belong in those scenes, like they were actually just characters drawn onto real-life video footage.

Overall, though, I must say that I quite enjoyed the movie, and was pleasantly suprised how much of the dialog I actually understood. I didn’t get alot of the stuff when they started talking all technical and using alot of sci-fi jargon, but then again, some of that stuff’s hard enough to follow along with when I do have subtitles. ;)

Well, that’s the spoiler-free version. More pictures, followed by spoilers, are after the jump. (more…)

So, much like Konata did in Lucky Star, today I went to Kyoto and visited the outside of Kyoto Animation’s offices to take pictures. I believe some would call this a “pilgrimage.” ;) Pictured above is the sign on the front of KyoAni’s main office building. (more…)

In Japanese supermarkets you can find all manner of licensed foodstuffs, everything from candy, to gum, to “candy toys,” even licensed stuff to sprinkle on your rice. This naturally extends to curry as well. ;)
I picked up this package of Fresh Precure curry at the end of February, when Fresh Precure was just wrapping up.
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So I went and saw the Nanoha movie, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha (魔法少女リリカルなのは) The MOVIE 1st, today with some friends. The theater was packed, and we had standing room only tickets, basically. This is my first time watching a movie in a Japanese theater… and also the first time watching one in any theater while standing the entire time. ^^; Though being as tall as I am and standing in the back, I had no trouble at all seeing the entire screen, so it was a blessing in that regard, at least. ;)

For those unfamiliar with the movie, it’s a retelling of the events of the first season of the anime of the same name. Basically, they took a 13-episode anime series, and condensed it down into a movie. They seemed to do a good job at it too. They manage to hit the major plot points and even give us glimpses into parts of the backstory that had only been hinted at in the original anime, though at least one such revelation actually didn’t happen until the 3rd season, originally, if I remember correctly.

The movie was just as touching and moving to me as the original series was, so it definitely scores points there. Also, there was a scene that surprised and amused me, where Nanoha and her friends are playing Wii Sports Tennis. ;) I really didn’t expect to see them inserting that into Nanoha. Of course, it’s not directly Wii Sports, but you can tell that’s what it’s supposed to be. n.n;
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So, up on Toei Animation’s website, they have an introductory synopsis of Heartcatch Pretty Cure. I was notified of this in IRC, and proceeded to translate it on the spot in IRC. I then put it up on the Wikipedia article and decided to publish it here as well. Translation is after the jump for those who don’t wish to have (what’s likely to be) parts of the first episode of the series spoiled for them.
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Someone pointed this blog post out to me on IRC. Apparently, Nana Mizuki was featured in a Daily Yomiuri section called “Pop Style.” There was a blog post about it, and I’ve done my best to translate the relevant segments of it, which are after the jump.
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So, I saw the first episode of the new series Durarara!! tonight. I knew absolutely nothing about it beforehand, but I was pleased with what I saw. For those that don’t know, Durarara!! is based on a light novel series by the same author who wrote the Baccano! series.

Keeping in mind that I’ve only seen the first few episodes of Baccano, the opening sequence for Durarara does seem as frenetic as Baccano’s, with each character of the main cast having their own little introduction with them being isolated in the frame while their name is splashed up on the screen in handwritten kanji I can’t read. ;) The art style in Durarara is also quite interesting, in that only the characters you are meant to focus on. In other words, the main characters, are rendered in color. Everyone else is black and white.

(SPOILER ALERT: Review continues after the jump. Though there’s not much to spoil considering this is the first episode.)
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The new Pretty Cure series, Heartcatch Pretty Cure, is coming up soon, and the seiyuu have been announced for the lead roles of Cure Blossom and Cure Marine. They are Nana Mizuki, and Fumie Mizusawa, respectively. Each of the two seiyuu have created a personal message for the fans. The actual messages and their translations follow after the jump.
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So I went to the bookstore today and picked up a few magazines. I was scanning over the magazines, not really knowing what to look for when I noticed that this one was including a free figure with it. This one happened to be Dengeki Bunko Magazine (電撃文庫MAGAZINE). Having a significant lack of figures here, and curious about this magazine, I decided to pick up a copy.

This figure appears to be an exclusive to Dengeki Bunko, and this is affirmed by the figure holding a copy of Dengeki Bunko in her hands. More pictures after the jump.
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