Well, I'm busy with things like applying for jobs, working my current job, and just all-around trying not to die horribly in this crazy world, but it's the fall anime season and I gotta check to see if there's anything good!

There's not. Well, that makes it easy.

No, wait...there's nothing "OMG I MUST WATCH THIS" right now as far as I can see, which is okay, since I still have my weekly Soul Eater to watch. That being said, I usually at least try to hit up the slice-of-life series each season, since those are my favorite. I am always on the lookout for another Azumanga Daioh, and I've been lucky enough to find gems like Sketchbook and Hidamari Sketch and Minami-ke because of it. Here's hoping for this season as well!

Kannagi
-Um, this starts with a hapless male high schooler making a wooden statue and then it explodes and turns into a girl. She is some sort of forest spirit and needs his help saving nature from inky bugs. The girl is funny because she seems to know about things like TVs, but is fascinated by them. Hapless male lead is hapless, but not really to a hateable level. I guess episode two is needed to see whether this is going anywhere.

Verdict: Not deleted, but didn't wow. Give it a couple eps, I guess.

Toradora!
-Okay, so there's this hapless male high schooler who looks like a delinquent, but isn't. People are afraid of him at school because he looks evil, but people are also his friends because they know he is not evil. I don't know, it's confusing. There is a TINY GIRL in the school who looks like Chiaki from Minami-ke. Like, exactly. She is hyper-violent and bossy, so I think I'm really just riding the Chiaki vibe in enjoying her at all. She likes the hapless male lead's best friend, and hapless male lead likes her best friend. They decide to work together to get their targets...which sounds like a decent enough start to a romantic comedy, but it just seems to be an excuse for hyper-Chiaki to be a bitch and hapless male lead to get "I am boss"-ed around and then smile ruefully and shake his head, saying "that's our hyper-Chiaki."
This thing's had, like, eight light novels in Japan, so maybe it's good or something, but it just doesn't seem to add much to any of the conventions it's going with. Basic high school setting, basic loser male, wrathful loli, the end. I guess we are supposed to root for this mismatched pair learning to coexist or something, or maybe learning to...love? I have no idea.

Verdict: Chiaki-vibe makes me remember the awesomeness of Minami-ke, but so far it's really not funny or good enough. I may give it another episode.

That's all for now, here's hoping a couple more show up this week that are worth checking out.

-Myi

[link]

Dofus was a fun little French-made online tactical flash RPG, and now it is gonna be really pretty. I am somewhat excited, due to my Tactics-lovin' nature.

Figured some of my compatriots may be interested as well. This may be good enough to tide us over until...Wakfu.

In other news, some delightful ladies and I will be starting a blog. A blog, for writing. Because we are all English majors and somewhat masochistic, you see. Link forthcoming once we get things going.

-Myui

Mes amies

Naruto Chapter 408. Thanks, Kishi, I actually care again! What can beat Sasuke''s god-like pretty boy powers? JIRAIYA POWERS! Yes, very yes.

And I'm sure One Piece will also be another chapter of win, but it doesn't fill me with pleasant surprise like every so often when a good chapter of Naruto comes along.

In other news, Speed Racer was awesome. Cool beans.

-Myui

So last night we celebrated at the pub since a few of our dear friends are leaving. About 3 pints is enough for me to alternate between tipsy and super talkative, so I went off on some random tangents last night.

Honestly, I don't remember much of any of 'em. Something about being kings and having a more interesting life by having so many failed relationships.

I don't think I made much of any sense, but when I got home and played a little bit of The World Ends With You I kinda figured out what I was trying to say. A big part of TWEWY is the characters' trying to expand their individual worlds. I thought it was a really neat idea, I mean, the title sounded like some sort of doomsday thing where you're the only kid who can save the world...but it's really more of a personal view. The World Ends With You, which is to say that your world is only as big as you make it. If you're bored of the same old places, tired of the same old people, or yearning for something more...YOU have the power to change it. Your world is as big as you want it to be, only limited by how far you go.

I used to get rather depressed about the fact that my relationships have all ended in shitty ways while I see others getting married or at least having real long-term success with their significant others. But if you think about it, I can consider myself lucky in a way, too. At the risk of sounding risqué, you learn a lot about someone when you date them. I'm not talkin' about sluttering about from person to person so you can say who's the best in bed, it's just true that people usually tell their significant other a lot more than they would tell just any ole' friend. So I've learned a lot about a few people, their likes and dislikes, hopes and dreams, about their family, or their childhood, what makes them laugh or cry, angry or scared.

And you can say that it sucked that those relationships all ended, but if the first hadn't then the second would never have happened, or the third, the fourth, etc. Your world is only as big as you make it, and when your world is set, fixed on just ONE other person, maybe you lose some of that freedom to expand your world. Sure you get the benefit of knowing another person even more expertly, and maybe you're still good at expanding your world through friends, but I think you still lose some of that freedom of discovery, some of that ability to find out "how" and "why" another person is who he or she is.

And in the end, I can't really say I have regrets from it all, ya know? I got the highs as well as the lows, and I met a lot of amazing people and learned amazing things about their amazing lives. Broke some hearts and had mine broke in return, but I've also had the joy of being an important piece in a number of other peoples' lives, and had them in return be an important piece in mine, for at least a few paragraphs in the ole' autobiography, I'm sure. My world was definitely expanded, and sometimes it happens when you don't want it to, or you weren't expecting it, and maybe when it's all over your world was greater...but empty. Your world doesn't shrink while you have memories, or little trinkets that connect you to the past, even though some of those who expanded your world are nothing more than such remembrances.

So to all of you, expand your horizons because the world ends with you. You'll meet people who will change your life and show you the world, but they may be gone just as suddenly as they arrived. And that's okay, because you can hold on to what you learned...and your world will only become greater. If you've had luck like mine, be glad you had the opportunity to meet amazing people and learn amazing things about them that you wouldn't have if your world was fixed, and if you're on top of the world, don't forget to still seek out new people and learn about them too. If nothing else, don't be afraid to get close to people, friend or more, because you only get one chance through this world, and the people you meet and the experiences you have will make sure your world is as grand as you want it to be.

-Myui

Holy crap is this an amazing game.

I've been wanting it for awhile now, but the $40 price tag was kind of annoying. A friend of mine was pretty set on getting it, so I said "what the hell" and decided I'd grab it as well. More fun to play through with a friend than by yourself. Sadly, neither of us could find it. SAD. Then by chance when I went to the bank I decided to stop by the nearby GameStop and they had one, like, buried on the shelf. Random success!

So anyway, the game is pretty powerful. The KH-ish style is on full display, but the artwork really takes things to the next level. It's like Kingdom Hearts mixed with Jet Grind Radio. BOSS. Combine that with the randomly shifting soundtrack and modern Japan setting and you really feel the JGR. Together, the art and music really move the story along, and all the little cutscenes (Square, remember?) are really pretty fun and involving.

I also love all the little things to do. Like, micro-management to the extreme. It can be a bit overwhelming, but it also makes things pretty hectic/fun most of the time.

Battles are the most difficult thing to get used to. I'm still not entirely sure on what I'm doing. You control both the kid on the top and the kid on the bottom of the two screens at once. The girl, Shiki, requires you to shift her move along a little, uh, dance pad thing. Left right left left down etc. Not too bad, although I haven't really been able to tell the difference between the attacks that well. Meanwhile, Neku on the bottom screen needs you to twirl the stylus around to attack. You assign pins and then have to memorize how to draw the attack.

Doing one at a time while enemies are rushing at you isn't bad. I've gotten pretty good at 30+ combos with Neku. But trying to remember stylus moves and crap with Neku while also following the dance moves for Shiki is totally difficult. I can usually pull some stuff off and everything, but I always do better just controlling Neku while leaving Shiki on automatic. It's not too bad, but Shiki's auto AI is pretty damn stupid. They really make you want to run both characters, but hell if I know how to get such power.

Oh well, I've only had it for a day but I am impressed. I'm not sure how lasting it is, but the game has style and is a lot of fun. They know they put a ton of crap in here, so they kind of give you a new thing or two every so often so you don't get too overwhelmed. I'd say this is pretty must-have for DS, though. Good Times.