Thanks to Randall for the free hosting and for setting up everything for me. Yes this is a bit sudden but it’s for the best *sniffs*. I might as well fix everything on the new site. I’ve migrated everything there, still need to fix the blogroll but the posts & comments are functional.

So friends kindly update your links and see you all there. Arigatou! ^^

Shinji

Yay, after 3 long weeks the project is finally done. A normal person could have actually done it in 5 hours but you know, I have other stuff to take care of. Anyway, here it is, the product of my boredom and false belief that I’m an anime artist lol. So some stat about the VN: it has 2526 words and about 149 screens of dialogue. I used about 15 BG images, 2 sprites, 5 BGM, and 5 SFX. Of course full credits were given to my resources. It was a wonderful experience for me. I used to just leech around for free VNs (I still do) and now I’ve finally made my own.

It isn’t perfect though, half-baked you may call it, but I think the structure is already there. I’ve realized that I’ve focused more on the technical stuff of the VN. While it is equally important, I think I neglected the very backbone of the VN which is the story. I think my story is still too weak. Thanks to my editor, I was able make it a bit readable. Then again this is my first time so I hope that excuses me lol.

I’ve said before that I have no intention of distributing this over the net, so friends if you want to check this out, just drop me a comment and I’ll email you the link. Don’t forget to indicate the OS you’re using. I made files for win, mac & linux.

PS. I already sent copies to Coeli, AS, Lanie-emon, & Setsuna-san who all requested a copy earlier.

Edit 2/28/08: I just thought I should post some comments I received thru email from blogger friends. Hope AS doesn’t mind^^:

AS said: I finished the game, pretty interesting and something we otaku can relate to for the main character K ^^. The only thing that I would change is being able to pick the main characters name, but I assume that you will work on it and just made it K to make it easier for you while you finish the game. Interesting twist and good sound effects ^^. Send me more when you get more done lol ^^

Summary:
After having a strange dream, a character named ‘K’ decided to return to his hometown.

Status:
- done with scripting
- editing on-going
- sampling some BGM and SFX
- reconfiguring menu defaults

If I’ll have more spare time this week and if I don’t get too lazy I think I can finish it by Friday ^^

El Hazard: The Magnificent World: When Makoto Mizuhara discovers an old monument in his school and awakens a beautiful woman, he, his teacher, his worst enemy and one of his female friends were transported to the magnificent world of El Hazard. There they discovered that they have received some special powers. Makoto and his teacher Fujisawa land in a jungle and save a princess from some large bugs. Makoto’s friend Nanami lands in a desert. And Makotos rival, Jinnai lands in the middle of the bug’s kingdom and becomes their general, plotting to destroy Makoto and his new friends. After having his attacks repelled by Makoto several times, Jinnai learns about an ultimate weapon, the demon Ifurita. And so everyone sets of to find Ifurita, and when she’s found Makoto learns that she is the same woman that sent them to El Hazard. But the one gaining control of her is Jinnai.

Thoughts: This is one of those early other-world-adventures I enjoyed watching. Artwork, storyline and music are really good. Visible harem element to spice things up but the series has a strong plot to begin with. Two to three sequels followed which are equally good. If you’re looking for a light, entertaining, adventure anime with a dose of Fujisawa kick, you may want to try this one.

Tenchi in Tokyo: Tenchi decides to move to Tokyo in order to lead a normal life in the big city. While in Tokyo Tenchi meets a girl named Sakuyo. They soon fall in love but as it turns out a dark sinister force has created Sakuyo to get at Tenchi and rule the earth. Now Tenchi must balance love, friends, and life while defending the earth one last time.

Thoughts: This is my favorite among the Tenchi series; perhaps because it set aside, for a change, the harem elements (for which Tenchi is popular) by focusing on the relationship of Tenchi and the new character Sakuya. It was really fun to watch how their relationship develop and see the mature side of Tenchi. The characters were also drawn much prettier than the old series so you’ll really get to feel the story.

Video Girl Ai (OAV): Because Youta worried for another instead of dwelling on his own broken heart, he happened upon a very special video store that only the pure of heart can see. There, he buys what he thinks is a normal erotic video – until a girl climbs out of his television set. Her name is Ai, and thanks to a broken VCR, her personality is a little glitchy. Still, it’s her job to help Youta feel better, and perhaps even help him get the girl of his dreams, even if Ai herself might be falling for him as well.

Thoughts: This is an OAV I can never forget and still one of my faves. The anime reminds us that those with good hearts will always be blessed. The story is very touching and quite immersive as it effectively fuses the elements of friendship, sacrifice and true love in such a short series. Characters are consistent until the end, which I believe makes it more compelling. OP, ED and BGM are melancholic and suit the mood of every scene. Most recommendable in this list.

(images and summaries from ANN)

As part of my journey through modern visual culture, I am now officially starting this personal project of mine. That’s right, I’m gonna make my own Short Visual Novel (SVN) lol^^. I already have some background and character images to work on. I’ve also written a couple of short fictions ages ago which are more than enough to form a base story for the novel. In the tradition of Narcissu and since I suck at programming, I’m gonna make something simple, straightforward and linear.

I’m not going to sell it nor widely distribute it. I just want to try it and show it to my friends and perhaps to my blogger friends as well ^^

So wish me luck! ^^

Blood-Over is a side-scrolling game from 9thNight. It is a 3D game way back in Comiket 70, focusing on Shou, a female “Free Hunter” and her Maid Akari as they battle skeletons and monsters. This game is quite popular among doujin gamers. I think I know why – a trigger-happy ojousama, a cute maid with a gatling gun and a lot of monster-shooting action. 

Shou’s gun tricks are sloppy compared to Dante’s in Devil May Cry but she has some moves of her own that are easy to execute and fun to do. This variation in moves and possibility of combos help increase the game’s replay value. There is nothing special about the background images but the character designs are nice to look at. They lack detail but attractive just the same. Boss fights are not so difficult but still challenging. You can easily think of a good combo when the boss reveals his/her ability. I had the hardest time with that boss with a samurai who does some kind of Hiten Mitsurugi moves.^^

The game is not the best action/adventure game I’ve played but still fun to play. I really enjoy summoning Akari and watch her pulverize everyone with her big gatling gun. Cool!^^

Narcissu, a visual novel by Stage-Nana, tells a story of two young people who are both terminally ill. Not wanting to die in the hospital or in their homes, they ran away together. They drove all over Japan without any particular destination until they decided to go to Awaji Island – to the narcissu fields.

While the setting of the novel is reminiscent of Hantsuki, it takes a totally different plot. The story is solid and quite unpredictable. It felt like reading a good short fiction or watching a good movie on a Saturday night. It in fact reminds me of Haruki Murakami novels. The overall feel of it is sad but not taxing to read. The background images are beautifully drawn employing minimal graphics rendered on a cinematic screen. It has voiced and unvoiced tracks. Setsumi’s voice is soft and indifferent effectively depicting her character. There are also two translations which are both good capturing good monologues and intelligent exchange of thoughts between the two characters. Background music is relaxing and I swear I heard some bossa nova tunes there.

I’m glad I’ve come across this novel – a lovely story of two people who at the point of giving up found each other and made their lives more meaningful/memorable before it finally ended. Definitely one of the good free visual novels out there.

I feel lazy and tired this past few days so let me just share with you this cute video. Those kids are so adorable especially the second one. Enjoy!^^

IT’S NOT WHAT YOU THINK IT IS!!^^ Today in Class 5-2 is a 4-episode comedy OAV based on the manga from the same author of Minami-ke. It’s about the everyday life of a fifth grade class focusing on Ryota Satou, his childhood sweetheart Chika Koizumi, and their friends.

Each episode is divided into 5 unrelated mini-episodes called “period.” It doesn’t follow any single plot and merely presents the small things the students do in school – from doing homework, playing outside, to simply lounging inside their classroom. What makes this anime really funny are the situations the characters get into, which seem ecchi in the beginning but turn out to be innocent and silly in the end. Adult humor on young characters may be weird for some but the anime made me laugh and I enjoyed it a lot. Perhaps it just kinda reminds me of my fun gradeschool days. ^^

1. Ponyo on a Cliff: Another film from Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki this year. The movie is about a goldfish princess named Ponyo who desperately wants to be a human. In pursuing her goal, she befriends a five-year-old human boy, Sosuke (wikipedia). Knowing it’s from Ghibli and Miyazaki, I’d expect that this will be good. The story might go in the line of Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro – simple but with much deeper plot, consistent characters, and good story development. I always feel that Ghibli’s usual watercolor-like animation adds nostalgia and a general feeling of happiness to the whole film. I don’t know why but I always feel happy after watching a Ghibli film regardless of the story/plot.

 2. Persona -Trinity Soul- : This anime takes place 10 years after the events in the PS2 game Persona 3. High school student Shin Kanzato with his little brother Jun, meet with their elder brother Ryō, who is the chief of the Ayanagi City Police, again after ten years. At that time, a series of strange incidents happen in Ayanagi City such as the crew of a submarine that suddenly disappears while in their submarine, or a spiritless symptom which disturbs the world after ten years, or the case of the inside out corpse where a student took on a cruel appearance. Ryō tracks down the organization behind the string of incidents, and having become involved in the incidents, Shin awakens the “Persona”. (wikipedia)

I’m currently playing the PS2 game and like it a lot. The act of shooting one’s head to summon a persona is kinda silly but the characters look cool while doing it. Looking at the promo images and trailer, it seems that the characters in the PS2 game are better looking than in this anime. I just hope they can keep the plot interesting.

 3. Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei 2: The sequel to the misadventures of Mr. Despair. Two more episodes and I’m done with season 1. I love this anime, it’s weird and uniquely entertaining. The series is more than your usual anime highschool flick as it focuses more on the eccentric beliefs of the characters rather than presenting a straightforward plot. I definitely look forward to the next season.

 4. Honey and Clover Live Action (TV Drama): Finally a TV series which might be better than the Movie which was very disappointing. I guess it was really hard to digest all the Honey and Clover story in 2-3 hours. I hope that TV Drama will capture the great and important parts of the anime. I don’t know much about the celebrities who will play the roles but I hope they’ll retain the one who plays Hagu coz she really looks like Hagu and she’s cute^^

Well that’s my list for now, I hope I’ll encounter some more good shows along the way.^^