Mosaic Fragments

WTF?

So they decided the three-part division of season 1 wasn't good enough and decided to try to grub more money out of people? I am annoying just by the lack of symmetry.

Good thing I wasn't collecting their individual releases anyway.

(I already got screwed over once, with PLANETES.)

*waits patiently for boxset*

Ze computer . . . is still dead. We thought we had it fixed, but apparently it is just unreliable, and it died after I sent my computer-fixer to the airport. :( I tried a few things, but the chances of it being resurrected before he gets back is pretty much nil. So any ambitious plans to skin, translate, or web design this winter break are out the window. *sigh*

Like I said before, it would be a good thing, if it kept me off the computer this break, so my limbs can recover before another semester, and then forever of being chained to a computer at a law firm. But more likely it will just lead me to do other wrist-bad activities on the laptop that are less productive because I don't have all of my workfiles.

So I think the thing that has the most potential for salvaging this break is excessive gaming. I ordered Eternal Sonata and Disgaea 3, and in the meantime I'm going to go back to Disgaea 1 for a bit. (I never completed the game a second time, so I still haven't seen the good ending -- I managed to forget a few times my first run through that thrown Prinnies explode, so I lost the good ending, for which you need to avoid killing any of your own people.) Item World, here I come! At 295 hours and level 1056, I think I still have quite a ways to go before I get an ultimate weapon, which is my current goal.

I hope Eternal Sonata allows for copious saving, because I've died a lot of times trying the demo. I think I'm starting to get the hang of it -- except the craptastic battle camera -- but once I no longer have the wait before my action timer goes down, I am so screwed. Shoulda practiced more on Kingdom Hearts...

I also ordered the Microsoft Natural Mouse I was going on about. I saw that it shipped today and was all excited about using it with my resurrected computer until I discovered that the computer was not-so-resurrected. :( But maybe it will help with wrist-death on my laptop.

[Yeah, I am still kind of recovering from the emotional roller coaster of thinking my computer was fixed only to hook everything up and discover otherwise. I am very attached to my electronics, yes, it is very pathetic. I am trying to make myself feel better by installing more crap on my laptop that I will probably be too lazy to uninstall when I start needing it again for class in January.]

In happier news, I am waiting for my sister to come home next Monday so we can go to Kinokuniya and pick up our special orders and (hopefully!) the new Geass artbooks. I went there last Friday to get a furoshiki to wrap the bottle of wine I'm giving my supervisor from clinic . . . and when I got home, I saw the postcard saying our special orders had come in. D'oh! But it works out because (1) they didn't have the Geass artbooks yet, so I have to go back anyway and (2) I forgot that I have 10%-off coupons for December and January. So, assuming they have the artbooks when we go back, I can pay for everything in one big purchase, and use the coupon, and it will be good. Previews of Mutuality, the CLAMP art one, make me piss my pants. So does just the cover image of Illustrations Relation.

And... well, someday, when I have a desktop computer again, and maybe a more ergonomic setup, I will make that skin, dammit.

GEASS HAS EATEN MY FLIST.

Okay, so it's just because code_geass is being super-active, unsurprisingly, but still. That'll teach me to check LJ when I have class 45 minutes and still have to drive to campus.

On an unrelated note, I am addicted to Rolo's image song. Which is weird because (1) I hate Rolo and (2) there was a Kyou Kara Maou image song that sounded similar (probably Wolfram's), and I hated it. If only he didn't whisper "Nii-san" in the middle -- that one part grates on me like you wouldn't believe.

Anyways, off to class. Maybe someday soon I will make a post that is not about Geass. :o

In case you ever doubted that Code Geass involves CLAMP. It's like X and Tsubasa at the same time!

Oh, I was so naive. Of course the Sound Episode would be dubbed. Didn't quite expect that of the Picture Book, or at least expected that they would keep the Japanese track, too, but, well. (Or did they? I could have sworn the last time I read the AnimeOnDVD Mania review, it said they were dubbed only. I guess I'll have to wait for the Netflix DVD to come to find out.) And then they took out the image song? *shakes head* At least it spares my wallet. I would still kind of want the box, but that alone is not worth the premium for the LE collection.

Make it a good boxset, okay, Bandai?

Do Bandai boxsets usually include the extras? Because I want the cast commentaries. And, if with the original voices, the Pictures Books would be nice to have, too.

I will make this skin as soon as I name it. Suggestions?



I have some ideas as to what I'd like the title to evoke, but I'm not finding anything appropriate. Maybe I'm being too locked into this name-skins-after-songs thing, after I was finally converted.

For those who recognize the image: yes, I just spent several hours editing out the godawful red background. Doesn't the color scheme look so much more Geass-y now? C/Lulu OTP SQUEE.

I got two artbooks over the weekend: Angel Text, the Hatenkou Yuugi artbook, and Illustrations Rebels, the Code Geass artbook. They're both really, really sweet as far as artbooks go. [I suppose Illustrations Rebels could have used a little more Lulu x Kallen, but hey.]

I feel like Kinokuniya has come full circle and gone back to big, flashy artbook displays as the best way to turn a profit on silly otaku. Back in the day, that was what they did, too, I think. Then for a while they tried to capitalize on slightly more delusional savvier otaku who might actually buy, y'know, raw manga and even *gasp* light novels! Since the peak days when light novels got about 3 full shelves, they've gradually been cutting back on that, as well as on certain manga titles (like Akino Matsuri's *sob*). Even then, though, they weren't necessarily stocking more artbooks yet. When I got Akino Matsuri's artbook, it was the only copy they had, and I got the sense that it was so not because they'd sold out of all the others, but that they'd only ever stocked one copy. [The San Francisco branch probably had more.] But now it's back to artbooks getting almost an entire mid-floor shelf unit thing to themselves. I guess they're relatively big-ticket items, so moving one artbook is worth moving up to six shoujo manga.

Anyhow, shiny artbooks induced me to attempt to scan a few pages as best I could with my obsession of absolutely not hurting the books in any way. By closing the books gently around the scanner bed, I could get pretty good scans of the pages, although missing an inch or two from the spine. Expect skins when I have time. [Considering work is keeping me so busy I barely update anymore, that might be a while.]

In the meantime, I'd like to share two images:

1. I really want a full-size, non-pagefold version of this image. (It has Suzaku and Kallen on the other page, which I'm less worried about than the fact that Lelouch goes across the pagefold and I need all of him for a skin. Though Kallen is pretty hot in the picture, too.)

2. I swear I'm not a Schneiser fangirl, even after that doujinshi, but put him with Lelouch and get a black/white chess theme going, and it's hard to resist.

I was going to include the cover of Illustrations Rebels, too, but you can see that well enough at jpqueen.

I'm not sharing the Hatenkou images because I'm too lazy to resize and upload them to Photobucket. Most of you probably haven't seen the series anyway. But you should.

[This is sort of the "everything else" post -- everything besides some extended babbling I will be doing about fandom, using my convention purchases as a springboard.]

So, general thoughts: as always, Fanime is a nice opportunity for Bay Area fans to gather, show off their cosplay, buy some official goods and fanart, and not spend 50% of the con waiting in lines. Unfortunately, it is still very weak on structured programming, especially guests. I only sat through one panel in its entirety, and even that one was only so-so. I probably should have gone to see Kiuchi Hidenobu, but even he can't compare with the big big-name seiyuu that show up at AX. Still, since it's a local con, on a holiday weekend that doesn't typically find me busy, it's worth the while.

( Short, specific thoughts. )

Pictures soon, I hope. And last year's pictures. (Yes, I know, I suck.) Also, a Scrapblog. :]

This season is going to be the death of me. o_O So many second seasons coming out that I am almost definitely going to follow, plus so many interesting-looking new shows, some of which I've always been curious about.

Definitely on the watch list:

Code Geass R2 - First ep was gooood. I had been getting frustrated with things toward the end of season 1, but it feels like everything's gone back to when I still liked it. (Except Suzaku. He still needs to die.) Some of my more spoilery thoughts are here. In general, though, consider me in a state of excited anticipation for what's to come.

Kyou Kara Maou! 3rd Series (At least once I finish the OVA. ^^;;)

xxxHOLiC: Kei

[BTW, what's up with people trying to be clever with the title of second seasons? I thought Code Geass R2 was a way to talk refer to Region 2 DVDs or something. D: And Hidamari Sketch x 365? What's wrong with a straight-up "Second Season" like Saiunkoku?]

Other things that look interesting:

Tower of Druaga: the Aegis of Uruk - Like I said, it's going to take at least the second episode to really figure out what this series is going to be like, but it seems promising. Though I don't have a good history with fantasy-comedies. [ETA: Okay, after the second episode, I guess it's not really a fantasy-comedy. It does, however, have an annoying idealistic clueless main character. But Neeba. D: I'll wait and see how it develops, I think.]

Nabari no Ou - It looks promising from the trailer. Since I've avoided Naruto, I've never really watched a pure shounen-style ninja series, even though I think ninjas are cool. So I'm hoping this is the show.

Wagaya no Oinari-sama - Actually, this is on the list almost entirely because I liked the art on its AniDB page. ^^;; (That's a major way I screen shows, actually. ^^;;) Plus, I've had good luck with shows based on light novels lately.

Vampire Knight - I've always been curious about the manga. I'm kind of put off by how much it looks like Zombie Loan in its promotional art and stuff, but I doubt they're actually similar in very many ways.

Real Drive - I always try out these mindbending sci-fi type shows, but don't generally take to them. But just sound so interesting...

Toshokan Sensou ("Library Wars") - Libraries standing up against government censorship in 2019... Wouldn't it be awesome if this was like Read or Die? Or it could be like Fahrenheit 451. :x

Junjou Romantica - A BL series! I feel like there hasn't been one since, like, Princess Princess and Gakuen Heaven or something. It's been way too long. :3

Nijuu-Mensou no Musume - Something about a thief girl. Dunno, it sounded interesting and Lupin-esque.

So yeah... I'm going to have to pare that list way down, or be backlogged forever. In the meantime, I've been trying to finish off what's already on my plate. As I've alluded several times, I finished CLANNAD and loved it, but there is canon that they left out of the anime that I object to strongly. I also finished Spice and Wolf and adored it. I hope they continue with it as more novels come out, because Horo and Lawrence's relationship was really cute, and I really want to know more about Horo's history and what happens when she makes it back home. Though at times it was kind of funny because the novels focus on sort of ordinary merchant life in medieval times, so they have to play up the tension in moments that in other series would be really pedestrian. Like, in other series you'd have the hero facing off with his enemy with swords or something, and in Spice and Wolf it's "We're going to defy the church and smuggle gold! OMG, how daring!" XD

Now it's just Hatenkou Yuugi, Rental Magica, and Saiunkoku left. I dunno, I haven't been in the Saiunkoku mood lately. Maybe it's because I'm in a part without a driving plot (around episode 25), just Shuurei running around trying to save her job. I could feign interest in counterfeit paintings for a while, but not cutting salt. D: Also, I just couldn't care less about any of the new characters. Bring back Kouyuu! Meh.

I don't usually follow anime news, so I didn't find out until just now that apparently they're making a new season of Code Geass. They're also pushing off the airing of episodes 24 and 25 of the current season to summer. T_T

Because I first heard about this today, I've been trying to find more reliable sources of information. The official blog confirms the postponed airing of 24&25 and the creation of a sequel, but the latter post says it hasn't been decided whether that will be a TV broadcast, an OVA, or a movie, and I can't find anything newer. ANN uses the word "season", but I wonder if everyone's just assuming things? Delaying 24&25 makes the most sense if they're using it to "bridge" people into the new season, but I could also see it as a marketing ploy for an OVA or movie. Or, maybe it's just because they need to remake the episodes to allow for any kind of sequel, and it says nothing at all about what kind it will be.

On one hand, it's not all that surprising that they'd make a sequel given how apparently popular the show is. On the other hand, it kind of disappoints me that I won't get closure anytime soon. Even more disappointing is that they either didn't have a conclusive ending in mind or that they've changed it, but perhaps it's naïve of me to think producers ever think these things through.

The best case, which has maybe 0.01% chance of happening, is that they had had an ending in mind, of the "and thus the protagonists struggle onwards" variety (think Melody of Oblivion), and they can use that to segue neatly into a sequel that has a chance of resolving more.

...bah. This kind of ruins what has thus far been an amazing anime series. I did want more depth, but I didn't want things to drag out -- like jyasu mentioned, one of the refreshing things about Code Geass is its brisk pacing -- or become weird -- the stuff about the thought elevator is beginning to worry me already. And I can't think of any show, much less one so story-driven, for which an unanticipated sequel has ever been a good thing. :(

I think, if they have to make a sequel, that I want it to be another season. But I really don't know.

Well, if I'm not going to get any more until summer, there's no reason for me to sit on the episodes I still haven't watched. Here's to the end of spring break. D:

[On a related note, why don't people like episode 20? I thought it was great. Is it because it dealt with, ewww, feelings? Too much angst, not enough action? Too strong on the BL subtexts? (But all the overt romance was het!) Well, the last 2 ratings have pulled its score up somewhat -- when I last checked, it was around 6.00. I mean, all those sexy shots of Lelouch didn't bias me that much, did they? ._.]

ETA: Ahh, how I wish that moment in episode 22 had been the end. And yet I know that it was never the "real" ending. But the cliffhanger in 23 doesn't really bother me, actually. I'll wait patiently until summer . . . and then grab the first raw I see. ;)

I think I can't completely like series that forever circle around a single plot idea, spiraling outwards until events consume the entire world. [World being whatever is the scope of the series -- household, school, kingdom, planet, universe, etc.] I guess that's why I like series like Saiunkoku Monogatari, which move forward and change focus every now and then, maintaining both continuity and perspective. [I don't know how to describe the image . . . it's like drawing little loops, if that helps.] Maybe this is related to my dislike of things actually ending -- often I just want them to continue forever the way they are. Of course, I can tell from the start which category a series like Code Geass falls into, and it isn't to say I never like stories like that, but . . . well, that's what underlies why I wanted it to be only 25 episodes, I guess. Now they won't be satisfied until there's a worldwide revolution, probably involving some supernatural events and maybe a thousand years of history or so. =/ It's kind of like RPGs that start with you going on a hunting trip and running into some soldiers, and end with you destroying an ancient evil that threatens the world but also happens to be the source of all magic, thus forcing all of civilization to rebuild itself.