Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii

Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii

Wednesday, May 23, 2018 / No Comments

Ignorance isn't necessarily bliss, though I suppose that would still make an effective excuse for not doing certain stuff, like watching the anime adaptation of Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii. Believe it or not, I have read the manga before, but have since conveniently swept that memory under the carpet. Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike the manga. I just wish I could relate more to it.

The glaring question is, would a non-otaku like myself be able to happily immerse in the anime then? Yes and no. Really, it depends on how one approaches the series from its beginning. My suggestion is to simply focus on what plays on the surface, and not dwell much on the many references and such that could easily overwhelm a non-otaku. The anime is thankfully rather digestible compared to the manga.

Naturally, the narrative brings together a bunch of characters who identify as otaku though their interests vary. There is a fujoshi slash BL doujinshi artist, a hardcore gamer, a cosplayer, and a hero slash bishoujo fanatic. The idea of finding romance from an otaku's perspective shapes the gist of the story, as these characters bring with them the struggles of balancing their 'normal' lives and 'not so normal' interests.

I think I actually appreciate the anime more, maybe because it feels milder yet still colourful enough to please most people. There is an overall feel-good vibe to it, and I find myself laughing quite heartily at several scenes. Unfortunately, the anime will only run for 11 episodes. I don't know if it is a one-season thing, but a continuation would be nice!

Eccentrically Yours.

Written by J.Fluffysheep ♪

「Ani-summary」Introduction to Mahou Shoujo Site - Episode 3

「Ani-summary」Introduction to Mahou Shoujo Site - Episode 3

Tuesday, May 15, 2018 / No Comments

There are three main parts to this episode and I'll highlight them separately. The first would be following the main team comprising of only Aya and Tsuyuno at this point. Due to Shioi Rina using too many sticks consecutively and at once, she has suffered severe internal injuries and is now in a coma. Due to this, Aya and Tsuyuno are unable to get any crucial information from her regarding the Tempest.

This is when it daws on Aya that that they could just cooperate with a Mahou Shoujo with the power to wake Shioi up and get the information regarding the Tempest from her. To identify the abilities matching what they needed, they referred to Shioi's  "Murder Book" and found the photo of a girl who looks familiar.

At the exact same time, the TV in the hospital turns on to an idol show and the same girl appears on the screen. She is Anazawa Nijimi, appearing in the idol group Dog's Play as Nijimin.

Nijimin has numerous fans and the main fan which they focused on in this series is this dark-haired man in the image below.

Aya and Tsuyuno managed to infiltrate at this particular meet-and-greet session, and by using their powers, managed to freeze time and teleport Nijimin away from the meet-and-greet location so they had some time to speak. This makes the remaining hall go into a frenzy when Tsuyuno unfreezes time as Nijimin is missing. They start looking for her which cuts the time they had to speak to Nijimin to an incredibly short interval.

Ignoring the fact that it would be definitely more beneficial if they allowed Nijimin to move while still pausing time, they managed to identify each other as Mahou Shoujo and confirm a meeting time that same day.

At that same time, Nijimin meets them at the lobby and appears to be overly excited that she has made new friends. It then strikes Tsuyuno as weird that even with the rumors of Magical Hunter loitering around, Nijimin was so defenceless around them.

This quickly makes sense to Tsuyuno when Nijimin reveals that her stick could help her control other people's minds. This was effectively one of the most powerful skills as she could literally command another person to do anything with just her voice alone. She also uses her powers frequently for trivial things such as getting her fans to do her cleaning and laundry for her.

   

Noting the dangers of falling on Nijimin's bad side, Tsuyuno quickly steered the conversation to how Nijimin was able to keep her identity as a Mahou Shoujo hidden, especially from other Mahou Shoujo. Nijimin then acknowledges that her stick is actually underwear which makes it easier to hide from other, as compared to bulky items such as Aya's gun. She also dyes her hair and wears colored contacts to prevent the change in her hair and eye color from being known when she uses her powers. She also uses a concealer to conceal the mark on her wrist.

They then moved on to the question if Nijimin knows of any other Mahou Shoujo before meeting them. This was obviously a landmine as she immediately sinks into her other personality.

Nijimin had a fellow Mahou Shoujo named Mikado that was murdered by Shioi Rina. Shioi had a firsthand experience with Nijimin's power and was commanded to rip herself to shreds, and barely managed to escape only due to Mikado's own stick, which helped to cancel out all magic and physical attacks from outside the box.

It isn't revealed in Nijimin's flashback as to how Shioi managed to escape after, but the power of the flashback causes Nijimin to go all insane as she sketches out Shioi's "changed" appearance angrily out on a piece of paper while screaming about her urge to murder Shioi.

The scary part about Nijimin here is how quickly she switches back to her neutral jolly mood after that whole episode. But despite the quick switch, Aya and Tsuyuno understands that it would be impossible to try and enlists Nijimin's help, thus they tried to evade the topic and find a suitable time to leave, which they succeeded in doing.

Back at the hospital, Aya comes out with another plan that consists of stealing Nijimin's wand and simply using it but this was shot down quickly by Tsuyino as she refused to shorten her lifespan for this. This could perhaps also be the same reason as to why she doesn't use the other wands to change Shioi's appearance back to normal as well.

Meanwhile in the same hospital, the second important part in this episode moves. Sarina has her gripes over the scar on her neck and how she was going to make Aya pay for it. Upon leaving her ward, she hears Aya's voice and by following it, she hears about Mahou Shoujo and also finds the ward which Shioi is in.

Upon entering the room she finds the site admin who mentions that Shioi Rina is disqualified. And in her place, the unfortunate soul, Sarina, was invited to become the new Magical Hunter.

The third important part to this plot would be Aya's brother, Kaname. Kaname notices that Aya has changed recently and is extremely unhappy with that as he thinks of Aya as his punching bag and for such an object, friends are not necessary.

Hence he decides to do a little snooping around and realizes that Aya has been on a "Mahou Shoujo Site" due to her computer's history.

Despite being unable to find and enter the said site, it still piques his interest and it's almost certain that he would be snooping around even more in episodes to come!

If my brief summary of the first three episodes of Mahou Shoujo Site has piqued your interest, be sure to set aside some time to watch the anime and read the manga :)

~ Reina-rin

Figure Unboxing and Review: Nendoroid Kagari Atsuko (Little Witch Academia)

Figure Unboxing and Review: Nendoroid Kagari Atsuko (Little Witch Academia)

Saturday, May 12, 2018 / No Comments

The joys of having two Nendoroids of the same character would be that you can see two sides of your favorite character at the same time. At the point of getting this Nendoroid, I was taken by Akko and I loved how she had a clumsy incompetent side while still retaining her love for witches despite failing to master magic. I wanted to display these two sides of her, and the number of accessories she came with allowed me to do so, hence I got an additional body for Akko to display her as such!

Packaging

Here are some poses which Akko can pull off and just by looking here, you'll notice that she can do many different poses. I also like how diverse her facial expressions are.

She comes with three faceplates, with very different expressions as I mentioned before, and all of them actually show different sides of Akko, making it difficult for a fan to choose only one way to display her. She also comes with a lot of exchangeable limbs to use the huge number of accessories she comes with.

Akko also has her witch hat, a much needed accessory for any witch-to-be, as well as a broom and two different wands, both of which are extremely important to the plot and LWA.

Posing and Sculpting

Akko comes with a lot of room for posing due to the different accessories she comes with. So for now, we will look at the sculpting and painting of Akko's attire and hair. Her attire is fairly simple, a purple one-piece with minimal design save for the clasp on her chest. Her uniform inside only shows at the collar which is adequately sculpted. The belt at her waist is in red and yellow, which is quite reminiscent of  the belts on American superheroes but that is a story for another day. This belt is loose on the Nendoroid but there is no way of removing it without damaging the belt.

Due to the nature of the one-piece attire, only Akko's legs can be pulled out for exchanging limbs. Do note that due to how her coat is flared out, you can still out her bent legs in  and position them relatively easily wiht low risk for any damage.

I love how Akko's hair is sculpted really well and actually looks combed and tied. The shading along the sculpt lines really add to the depth and create the impression that her hair is thick and luscious.

On the other side of her head, Akko has her fringe completely combed back. I love how they took the extra effort to ensure that the two sculpted lines are on the front hair part as well and the sculpt lines and shading actually adds up. It would be quite jarring otherwise and thankfully, GSC did take the additional step for this.

As I have two copies of the Nendoroid, I'll take this time to showcase how I posed them. I wanted to use as many of her accessories as possible (broom and both wands). For the Akko in the image above, I posed her as she was using the Shiny Rod but lost control of it. This results in her broom flipping over and she is clinging on to it for dear life while trying to get Shiny Rod to help right herself again.

The shocked expression works well with this pose. Her bent legs can also create the impression that she is clinging on to the broom although it may come loose during posing (like in the image above). Due to the weight of the head and hat, neither the GSC base (image above) or normal base (image below) can support this. She is propped up in this pose with both her stand and her hair as well as ponytail that's resting on the base as well.

However as I wanted to display her hat, I had no choice but to place it beside her. Balancing the hat upside-down would help to create the feel that the hat is falling off but the problems with it would be that you can't see the design and dust will collect inside the hat which is difficult to clean.

For this second pose, I wanted to use her rabbit ears (which are slanted in the picture) and showcase how she is enamored with her first magic spell. To complete the image, I have slanted her legs inwards for a cuter feel, and using a clenched left fist to show a "yes, I did it!" impression. To complete this, I also made use of her usual wand that she uses in school.

Enjoyment
Whether you are a fan of Akko or not, there are many accessories that you gain from this Nendoroid for others as well. More everyday items such as the broom are not commonly featured in other Nendoroids and hence can be a great use for other Nendoroids as well. Based on the number of accessories that come with this Nendoroid as well as the sculpting and painting quality, and number of poses she can use, this Nendoroid is definitely worth-it!

~ Reina-rin