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Days

Tuesday, July 12, 2016 / No Comments
As a kid, I hardly had anything to do with sports. The occasional Physical Education lesson was barely a representation, even though we did laps around the field, played ball games and tried not to kill one another in the process. Well, we never had much say in anything anyway. If anybody wished to be excused, they had to be too sick to do anything. In the first place, who would even think of attending school if they were unwell? Apparently, the school had believed that one of the methods to nurture its future stars was to drill them during Physical Education.




When it came to ball games, the boys had mostly picked soccer before the school decided that the balding field wasn't suitable for it because anybody could just decapitate anybody right in the middle of the game or something. Okay, our school never had a proper field for sport activities. The basketball courts were worn out and had fraying nets. The neighbouring school was way better off than us. But we still played anyway, no matter how bad everything was.




Naturally, the boys devised new ways to satisfy their soccer addiction. They used the old basketball courts for kicking the ball. Small plastic cones were placed at both ends to mark each goalkeeper. It was a lot crazier. Funnily, the teachers didn't think that playing soccer on the basketball court would pose any danger at all.




Anyway, since soccer was merely a form of passing time during those dreadful Physical Education lessons, it was more of the fun and fooling around that mattered than the sport itself. None of us had actually played in a tournament or a sport club. Neither had anybody expressed a desire to be involved in one. But I used to know a fellow student from another class who fought against the odds to play soccer competitively. He reminded me of Tsukamoto Tsukushi, a high-schooler who wasn't even athletic to begin with, yet had the determination to play the sport alongside others.




Joining the soccer club was quite the decision for Tsukushi, who had almost killed himself while trying to keep up with everybody else. An invitation to play casually with some strangers at the beginning became the trigger for Tsukushi to become a member of his school's soccer club later on. His fellow classmate, a blond head named Kazama Jin, was initially surprised and eventually motivated to do his best in the sport as well, despite being extremely talented and such.




Of course, just like how every other newbie would, Tsukushi had an extremely painful start with the physically and mentally demanding aspects of the sport, which were in fact a huge leap off the ground. Jin was worried about Tsukushi wearing himself out excessively, as the latter was rather clumsy and had no gauge whatsoever when it came to endurance and such. But an incident would change his perception, and Jin was more than willing to look out for his team-mate and newfound friend. 






Tsukushi's extraordinary growth as a soccer player had also influenced the rest of his team-mates and opponents. I have to say that watching Tsukushi is like revisiting another anime with a different yet still similar get-up. Yeah, Tsukushi is rather similar to Sakamichi from Yowamushi Pedal in some ways. Even though the former plays soccer, and the latter competes in road racing, both had started their respective roles from scratch.





Well, it would be fun to see where Tsukushi would end up in this anime. It has been a while since I followed a sports-themed anime. Yeah, I'm not really that fond of sports in the first place, but you know, there are exceptions to a lot of things. This is one, and then some.



This is Days.

Eccentrically Yours.


Written by J.Fluffysheep ♪

Figure Unboxing and Review: Nendoroid Kousaka Honoka Stage Version (Good Smile Company)

Monday, July 11, 2016 / No Comments
To All,


Finally I'm going to take a look at the leader of everyone's favorite idol group! Kousaka Honoka is an energetic girl who may seem rash and selfish sometimes, but that only makes her more human and in that aspect, more endearing to fans.

Here I have all three of them in their infamous Bokura wa Ima no Naka de poses, as if they are in a performance mid-song. Sadly, I didn't order any of the Love Live! Nendoroids from Good Smile Company and hence don't have any of their exclusive bases to make my display appear more stage-like.

Packaging
Orange is Honoka's image color and Good Smile Company plays well by making this her main color. In addition, they have contrasting colors like pink and blue to help add more life to this box.
Honoka comes with simple parts. She has several exchanges of hands -- one to pose her with her hand on her hip, a bent arm with a gun pose, and another arm without a hand -- a bent leg, and an additional face-plate. Sadly, the main difference between the two face-plates is that one has a closed smiling mouth while the other has it wide-open.

Base
It's another normal Nendoroid base. Fortunately for mine, it fit Honoka well, albeit a bit tightly, so I had no fear that I needed to file the stand to fit or that the Nendoroid would fall off the stand if moved.

Posing and Assembly
The lights from this make it seem like Honoka is right on stage and the spotlights are all focused right on her! Sadly, Honoka doesn't come with a lot of parts, or parts that have much variation. This clearly restricts her freedom of posing and leaves her looking pretty tame no matter which pose you put her in. Maybe that would be different if you match her with her Training Outfit Version parts, but that doesn't change how bland she is as a Stage Nendoroid alone.

Perhaps because she came with so few parts, assembly is much easier than expected. I could also easily decide on a pose to put her in because there aren't that many choices in the first place.

Sculpting and Painting
Honoka's sculpt is pretty amazing in its own way and it does make up for her lack of parts. Ill start from her hair sculpt first. Her hair seam is well-hidden and doesn't look out of place. It also merges well with her hair shape, along with the side parting. The criss-cross parting likes on the top of her head is a cool detail to add as well.

My only gripe would be the white spot on the right side of her bangs, but slight mess-ups like this when you are producing on a huge scale is imminent.
Of course, Good Smile Company hasn't forgotten to add in the her trademark parting hairline above her left eye. Her earrings are also in place and the large circular part with golden shade makes them look slightly comical, which is perfect for a Nendoroid (chibi!).

The painting for her glove is well done as well, with no paint spills over to her fingers. I admire and at the same time, wonder how Good Smile Company is able to accomplish that, especially with the thin line of red going in between her thumb and index finger.
Her outfit is done pretty crisp and clean as well. The colors are spot-on and Honoka's yellow ribbon, with stripes of orange going down it gives a slightly different feel from the flat black ribbon on her skirt. This actually adds dimension and prevents the two large ribbons, which are situated so close together, from overwhelming the figure.
I would also like to take this chance to mention about her earrings as well! I like how detailed the red tassel-like object is! Her glove is also well-painted, with reference to the lack of paint spills from the red glove to the back of her hand in the heart-shaped cutout.

But more importantly, I'll like to mention how the black layers of her skirt reflects the light! It catches the light at the right spots, giving the flat black more life by making the light and shadows give it more depth! This also helps in enabling the skirt to appear more lightweight even though the piece has at least 4 layers (2 red, 2 black)!

Enjoyment
Being an expressive individual, it's disappointing that Good Smile Company failed to have more varied expressions to show all those other sides of her. Thankfully, her sculpt seems to be better than the other Love Live! Nendoroids, which makes her amazing to pose right in the midst of that amazing group of nine ^^

From Your Fellow Collector,

My Hero Academia

Sunday, July 10, 2016 / No Comments

Adolescent superheroes certainly aren’t unique anymore, being used a theme countless times through the years, from Disney’s The Incredibles and Sky High to Marvel’s X-Men. Although this isn’t a unique theme by now, it’s still entertaining to see these teenage heroes struggle with their powers and the usual host of growing pains one goes through. 

Unfortunately, I’m unable to think of any anime or manga off the top of my head that uses the ‘superhero-in-training’ theme to great success. An unpleasant surprise considering all the ninjas, samurai, pirates and even shinigami I’ve seen through the years.


Enter My Hero Academia. The manga made its debut two years ago in Shonen Jump and has already received a 13 episode-long anime adaptation by Studio Bones with a second season currently in production; a testament to its popularity. It revolves around Midoriya Izuku, his enrolment into U.A High School, a prestigious training institute for superheroes and his growth as a hero.


One small catch: he doesn’t have any superpowers in a world teeming with heroes and villains. However, as one would expect, he does develop a superpower, hence his successful enrolment, but in an unusual way.

Before anything else, I would like to commend Studio Bones for faithfully adapting the manga, taking 13 episodes to adapt 21 chapters. They’ve even managed to include minute details, such as the supporting characters’ antics in the background and the studio’s own take on several key scenes ended up improving the viewing experience. An example would be the scene where superstar hero All Might takes on Nomu, a villain that is essentially a humanoid bird on steroids.


My Hero Academia’s cast of characters was the highlight of the anime for me. Each one of them has a unique superpower, or ‘Quirk’, as the series calls it. From your usual super speed and super strength to more outlandish ones such as the ability to fire lasers from one’s belly button and the creation of cellophane tape from one’s elbows. 

For the main cast comprising of Izuku’s class in U.A High School, they aren’t seasoned heroes yet so expect mistakes to be made throughout the series, with the most common one being the students overusing their powers. Hilarity ensues, even in dire situations.


The fight scenes were top notch as well and I’m glad the anime resisted the urge to turn every battle or trial into a bare-knuckled brawl. Izuku’s battles were especially entertaining, with the young high schooler being required to use his extensive knowledge of heroes and quick wit to overcome the lack of control over his own Quirk. He even manages to minimise the disadvantages of using his Quirk almost immediately after enrolling into U.A High School.


I’m definitely looking forward to the second season of My Hero Academia, where the pace ramps up, new villains get introduced and character development is increased for Izuku’s class. Fortunately, there’s even enough source material for a third season but I’m getting ahead of myself here.

Written by ET


3DS: AC Happy Home Designer

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Hello fellas and welcome back to another 3DS review!

This time round, I'll be talking about Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer. It's quite different from the usual ACs, in the sense that you literally do nothing but design homes over and over and over again.


So, from the beginning, you come in as a Nook's Homes employee, and right after you pick a avatar design that you like, you head straight in and design one of your colleague's home. The client will provide several items that must be used, along with a theme for the house design.



For example, the first was to design something with a lovely atmosphere (if i remember correctly), and you literally do not need any brains to go about it. You can just pick any furniture you like, and as long as you use the required furniture that the client provided, you pass! Of course, if you wish to follow the theme, it's still easy as pie because everything you need is already labeled.



My third client wanted a Rococo themed design, and I didn't even need to think hard because there was already a selection titled Rococo wallpaper, Rococo flooring, Rococo bed, etc.

After designing a few homes, you'll be upgraded, and will be able to start designing facilities. The first will be a school, and you'll get to pick the external paint color (although only three choices). You'll proceed to design a classroom, and only one classroom.


Further through the game, you'll get to pick plots of land for your clients, and you can actually just pile all of them on one plot of land without repercussions. You'll also be able to start design their gardens and facade.



This goes on and on and on, though you'll be able to upgrade houses from one room to three rooms, and the same goes for the facilities. You'll also be able to change your avatar style after the tenth design.

There really is nothing much to do but to design and redesign your neighbor's houses over and over, and after a while, I had to give up because I felt so bored and stale.

Of course there are smaller details, like being able to take photos of your designs, and using the amiibo feature to get several other neighbors, but ACHHD doesn't pose much of a challenge. In fact, as a designer, I'd say the only challenge I've faced is trying to fit all my furniture into the small room early game, but once I've given up on fitting a toilet/bathroom in, I'm all settled.



Overall, ACHHD is a great game for designers, and especially so if you're a bored designer who has too much time on their hands. However, as someone who constantly need new things and new challenges, this is a no-go for me.

I'll probably set this aside and play something else. Well that's all for now,

Nerd out! (None of the photos belong to me!)

Written by: ninetylives




Amaama to Inazuma

Friday, July 8, 2016 / No Comments
Summer is about quite a lot of things, like the watermelon that is still very expensive even after a discount. Okay, that is random. I can only imagine what the season is like for anybody in Japan, and be contented with my own imagination. But for those who are attending C3 CharaExpo 2016, have a lot of fun. Nope, I have long passed that stage of downright envy. Then again, the location is really far.




Recently, I got to know this pair of father and daughter which is just glowing with a strong, unstoppable energy, in particular the little girl. They are the Inuzuka family; the father is Inuzuka Kouhei, a Math teacher in high school. He becomes the sole caretaker of his daughter Tsumugi, following his wife's death from an unknown illness. Tsumugi goes to kindergarten, loves watching anime shows that feature magical girls, and stands out pretty easily with her big, fluffy hair.





Due to his wife's passing, Kouhei has to juggle household chores with his teaching job and Tsumugi. Unfortunately, cooking is something which he is not too good at. Preparing his daughter's meals is limited to using the instant stuff, or simply takeaway bento boxes. His hectic work schedule prevents him from taking out more time than he could, though Tsumugi is generally very understanding as she is rarely seen throwing a tantrum or anything like that.






One day, Kouhei decides to spend some quality time with Tsumugi by taking her to Hanami. After joining forces to complete the housework, they set off excitedly to see the cherry blossoms. Over at the park, the pair will meet Iida Kotori, a lonely high school girl who happens to be Kouhei's student but he fails to realise that at the first glance. A humourous exchange between Kotori and Tsumugi leads to the former handing out the business card of her mother's restaurant.




Kouhei feels guilty towards Tsumugi for not making proper meals for her, and the lack of quality time between them frustrates him further. After he catches Tsumugi watching a cooking show in quite an exaggerated pose, Kouhei is determined to have a good meal with his daughter. He calls up the Iida restaurant and pleads for the chance to eat something wholesome with Tsumugi. 




The other voice turns out to be Kotori's, and to Kouhei's surprise Kotori's mother is nowhere to be seen, leaving a rather helpless Kotori manning the place. Just when Kouhei decides to take Tsumugi elsewhere, a frantic Kotori explains that she is able to cook rice. A bewildered Kouhei relents and stays with Tsumugi while Kotori attempts to cook something edible without setting anything or anybody on fire. Kouhei discovers that Kotori is like himself, not good at cooking but is still willing to give it a go anyway.




After what feels like a really long time, Kotori is relieved that the pot of rice has turned out just fine. By then, everybody has become so hungry. Kouhei notices that Tsumugi's expression is way different from what she usually has while eating meals at home. He is overwhelmed with emotion and tears up, which Kotori is quick to observe. Kouhei promises Tsumugi that he will make an effort to prepare delicious meals for the both of them. A shy Kotori pops a rather peculiar question to Kouhei, which sets the foundation for their future cooking adventures. With that, an interesting relationship is forged.



This is Amaama to Inazuma, or Sweetness and Lightning.

Eccentrically Yours.


Written by J.Fluffysheep ♪