Difference between revisions of "2007-2008 Emails"

No manga news/reviews/chatting today, I'll get that started next week.

~Annaliese

5:00 Fansub o' the Week
5:25 Dokkoida?! (1): Enter Dokkoida!
5:50 Break
5:55 The Law of Ueki (1): Kosuke Ueki - The Law of Justice
6:20 GUNxSWORD (1): Tuxedo Blowing in the Wind
6:45 Break
6:50 Master Keaton (1): Man in a Maze
7:15 Mushishi (1): Green Seat
7:40 Dinner Break: Announcements, Introductions, and the Yugioh Abridged Movie
8:10 Otogi Zoshi (1): Raikou
8:35 Noein - To Your Other Self (1): Blue Snow
9:00 Break
9:05 Le Chevalier D'Eon (1): D'Eon .:. Lia
9:30 Ergo Proxy (1): Awakening

Note: Dinner Break (and therefore the whole meeting) is likely to run late this weekend due to the sheer number of announcements and introductions and usual new year hooplah.

[random babbling]
Whoa. It's a new year. Not only is it a new year, it's my LAST year.

If all goes well.

How are everyone's classes going? Mine are okay so far. Actually, they're REALLY NICE. I get all my classes and work done Monday through Thursday, which means I have nothing to do on Fridays! Oh the joy! Oh the happiness! ...you're all going to lynch me on Saturday, aren't you? D:

Anyway, for those of you who don't know me, my name is Jennifer (Jenn for short) and I'm Minna no Anime's secretary. This is mainly for the sake of the Freshmen who, of course, don't know me yet. This is also for the sake of any returning members who are just as bad as I am with names. This is my third year as the club secretary, though last year I was vice president. Yes, I've been here for quite some time, though I'm not the only one. Our president is also an oldtimer. Don't worry about that just yet, you'll learn it all soon enough. We officers will all be introducing ourselves in the first meeting.

Hm. I'm having a little trouble concentrating. Mainly because I'm right in the middle of Minna no Manga right now and the people around me are loud. VERY loud. So I may be a little more random than I usually am. Quake in fear.

As a side note, because it's awesome, you should all know that this summer a group of people from our club competed and won (first prize, not quite grand prize) the Haruhi dance contest at this year's Anime Expo. They were awesome. For anyone interested, here's a link to our YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quYZ5rHTFY4

Eh. Anyway, I think I used up all my happy creative weird energy on the Freshman manga email. I only get so much of it per week. Gotta save some for the actual meeting on Saturday.

I'll need it to escape my lynching, after all.
[/random babbling]

Jenn, dancing.serpent@<removed>.com
Minna no Anime Secretary

"Is it over, Caim"?
"It's over. We're together now."

~Review of the Week: Detective Conan by Gosho Aoyama

When high school detective Shinichi Kudo runs across illegal dealings between a business man and two men in black he ends up being forced to take their new poison. Thankfully, the poison doesn't kill him, but instead reverts his body to that of a six-year-old! Now, in order to find the men in black and regain his regular form, he must secretly assist his childhood (girl) friend's father in his detective work under the guise of Conan Edogawa.

Have I talked about Conan before? Probably. But this series deserves another mention. Currently at 58 volumes (with 59 out in October), Detective Conan is one of the longest running series available. If you're new to the series, it can be quite daunting, but it's a task worth taking on.

Detective Conan has been a special series for me for a long time. I first discovered it when I was in high school after someone on a Pokémon forum I belonged to mentioned how good it was. I trusted her opinions in most other things, so I thought I would give this series a chance. I'm a big detective fan, a good portion of my manga collection is detective or mystery related, so this was right up my alley. The cases are generally realistic, so everything, save the mysterious drug that shrinks our hero, makes sense. It's fun and exciting to try to figure out whodunit for each case and how they did it. Basically, if you like detective stories, you'll like Conan.

The characters seem a little worn and plain at first, but they grow on you fast as you learn more about their personality and quirks. At first, I thought the bumbling detective Conan always helps, Mouri, was a fool, but he's really grown on me and I look forward to his parts in cases. The art isn't spectacular, but it isn't bad. Gosho, as all artists, improves as time goes on. His style is not super-detailed, but it is very polished. One of my favorite things about the art is that every one of his hundreds of characters looks different (unless they are supposed to look similar, of course). I find that extremely impressive.

I highly recommend this series to anyone who is looking for something fun to read. The cases are usually three to five chapters long, so it's really easy to get through a case or two in one sitting. Detective Conan has fun characters, nice polished art, and an interesting story that keeps getting more and more involved. This is good stuff.

As I said before, 58 volumes of the manga are available in Japanese. The first nineteen volumes are available in English from Viz Media under the title "Case Closed." One word of warning on the English volumes: the names have been changed to fit the English version of the anime. The anime is out to episode 486 in Japan. The first three or so seasons are available in the US from Funimation under the title "Case Closed." Again, beware of name changes in the dub. The subbed version keeps all original names.

~Enter Rant:

Whoa. I feel like that review went all over the place. Sorry.

I hope everyone enjoyed our lineup on Saturday! We've taken action to try to fix at least some of the video problems. I'm really happy with the lineup, I think it's fantastic.

This week in MnM, let's start talking about the Cosplay Game. I think the earlier we get started on it, the better it will be. If you are curious about the Cosplay Game and cannot make it to MnM, post something on our Cosplay Yahoo Group ( http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MnACosplay/ ) and I'll post about it after Thursday.

Not much to say today. I hope everyone is still surviving classes!

~Annaliese
"...just howling in the shadows..."

5:00 Fansub o' the Week
5:25 Dokkoida?! (2): Purple Hair, How Hip Can Ya Get?
5:50 Break
5:55 The Law of Ueki (2): Law of "Battle Start!!"
6:20 GUNxSWORD (2): Funny Stream
6:45 Break
6:50 Master Keaton (2): Little Giant
7:15 Mushishi (2): Eyelids' Light
7:40 Dinner Break
8:10 Otogi Zoshi (2): Sadamitsu
8:35 Noein - To Your Other Self (2): Runaway
9:00 Break
9:05 Le Chevalier D'Eon (2): The Four Musketeers
9:30 Ergo Proxy (2): Confession

[random babbling]
I'm going to have to find a set time to actually sit down and write these things. The problem, really, is that I'm really busy from Monday morning to late Thursday night. Still, I don't think Friday afternoon is an acceptable time to get the weekly email out, so I'll see if I can find some time earlier next week.

Of course, even when I FIND the time, it's only when I'm surrounded by people and getting severely distracted. Case in point, last week I wrote the weekly email at Minna no Manga. This week, I'm in the living room with Annaliese and Nat. And they're talking about Baccano! at the moment...to the surprise of NO ONE. XD For those of you not yet acquainted with Baccano!, have no fear. Within a couple of weeks it'll be fansub o'. It and a lot of other totally awesome shows. We seriously have an awesome fansub lineup planned.

Let's see. In other news, those of you who were at MnM last night know all about Cosplay Game. If you're interested in joining our cosplay YahooGroup, go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MnACosplay/ and request that you be allowed in. We're going to start seriously kicking off our preparations soon.

In other-other news, some of you may or may not know that my brother is a film major at Long Beach. He's made a lot of short films, most of which you can find here: http://www.youtube.com/user/NinjaRisu . His newest (and I think best) video is too long for YouTube and can be found here: http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=17597100 . Sorry guys, I just have to pimp my little bro's stuff. XD

Hm. I don't think I have other-other-other news. Also, I need to go get a shower so I can go into town with Annaliese and Nat and watch them take pictures of themselves doing things with nothing. This doesn't make much sense unless you've seen Dennou Coil and think Photoshop. See ya tomorrow!
[/random babbling]

Jenn, dancing.serpent@<removed>.com
Minna no Anime Secretary

"Boku Satcchi!"

~Review of the Week: Zelda ~Wind Waker - Link's Logbook~ by ???

Each Legend of Zelda game follows the same basic plot. Ganondorf=evil, and you as the hero have to defeat him and his minions to save the world. Wind Waker takes place in a sea-covered land where you sail around in your awesome talking boat and collect various items that will be used against Ganondorf.

Link's Logbook is a series of four-panel comics revolving around various parts of the story. The art is adorable, it looks like the game was pressed onto paper. The comic captures Link's wide variety of expressions with absolute perfection. Not all the comics are great, but each chapter has at least three comics that made me die with laughter. If you've played the game, I think it is easy to relate to the comics since they follow the story and touch on a number of things I wondered about or had trouble with.

Since the comics are four panels, it's really easy to whip through a chapter in five or ten minutes. I highly recommend this comic if you want a quick smile. =D

The first three chapters have been scanlated by Anime-Council. You can get it from their website (google it), or from me if you bring a flashdrive.

~Enter Rant

Oh! Edo Rocket and Dennou Coil are excellent anime series that do not get the love they deserve. I think you should go watch them and love them like I do. They are so very, very good.

Remember to request songs for karaoke! I can't promise I will be able to get the song unless you bring me an episode of the show or you rip it yourself. If you would like to bring an episode so I can rip the song off of it, just bring it to club on a flashdrive! I bring my laptop to both meetings, so I can do it right there!

I hope we have some Detective Conan fans in club... well other than the... three that I know about. I hope at least someone checked it out after that ginormous review I wrote about it last week. It seemed ginormous to me. Even if you're not a Conan fan, you may like this: http://community.livejournal.com/detective_conan/271798.html

~Annaliese
"L button plus C-stick plus A = SIDESTEP!"

This week's schedule:

5:00 Fansub o' the Week
5:25 Dokkoida?! (3): Dokkoida vs. Edelweiss!
5:50 Break
5:55 The Law of Ueki (3): The Law of the Zai
6:20 GUNxSWORD (3): Heroes One More Time
6:45 Break
6:50 Master Keaton (3): Strange Tales of Lasagna
7:15 Mushishi (3): Tender Horns
7:40 Dinner Break
8:10 Otogi Zoshi (3): Tsuchigumo
8:35 Noein - To Your Other Self (3): Hunted
9:00 Break
9:05 Le Chevalier D'Eon (3): The Sword Of Resentment
9:30 Ergo Proxy (3): Mazecity

Notes: If you're at all interested in the Halloween party AMV contest, pumpkin carving contest, cosplay, or fanart contest, you had probably better get cracking on your submission(s). If you have any questions, check the YahooGroup or ask an officer!

[random babbling]
Look! It's Thursday morning and the email is being sent! Oh the joy! Oh the glee!

...okay, really the only reason it's going out this early is because I emailed my boss last night around 1am and said I wasn't coming into work until noon today and I'd make up the extra two hours tomorrow. But hey, my laziness works out well for you, so I don't expect any complaints.

You know that flu thing that's been going around? Yeah, I got that. Me and goodness knows how many dozens more people. Oddly enough, no one else I've talked to (besides Annaliese and the guy I share my office with) has been sick. Bah. This makes me feel like a weakling. XD

As for why I was up past 1am last night, I suddenly realized that I wanted to find a certain picture. And I could not find this image ANYWHERE. And then I thought to myself, some time around the middle of the night, "Where are there thousands of people who like really weird things and like to prove it?" It came to me then: 4chan! So off I went and, for the first time in my life, I made a request there. By the time I went to bed, there were no responses, but lo and behold I woke up this morning and checked and there was a reply with a SendSpace link!

You can imagine my delight, I'm sure. So now I have not only the picture I was looking for, but the entire CG set that it's from. Woot.

Of course, now you're all bored stiff, because I am a THRILLING storyteller (and for those of you who aren't so great at translating internet -> real life, that was sarcasm). So let's see if I can't find you a friendly little link to actually make all this reading worthwhile for you.

This article ( http://www.i-mockery.com/comics/longbox7/default.php ) is old, yes. It is also hilarious and I go and reread it every time I'm having a bad day. It might also be fun to browse around some of the more recent articles; every once in a while, I spot one that sets me snickering for several minutes. Hope you enjoy this site as much as I do!
[/random babbling]

Jenn, dancing.serpent@<removed>.com
Minna no Anime Secretary

"I'm the goddamn Batman!"

~Review of the Week: Historie by Hitoshi Iwaaki

"This story is about the boyhood of Eumenes, who would later become Alexander the Great's secretarial officer. Eumenes was present at countless famous battles found in the annals of history... he also planned many battle strategies. So why isn't his name found carved alongside those of Kings and Generals? Perhaps it's because this man was one of the "who recorded" the exploits of others? ...but one day he stopped recording things. At that moment the recorded became "one of those recorded," and stepped out onto the stage of history." (From the back and inside cover of the first volume)

I won't hide it, I love history. I also love manga. When I find a series that takes these two of my great passions, I get very excited. I'll admit that at first I was pretty weary. Some may recognize the style of the art since Hitoshi Iwaaki also created Parasyte, one of Tokyopop's early titles (now being published by Del Rey and very exciting read). I was pretty worried some of the fantasy elements may have snuck into a historical-based manga. It took a little while to separate Historie from Parasyte, but once I did, Historie began to really shine.

The art is really hit or miss. It's great if you like the style, but if you don't, you'll probably have a hard time reading the series. I like the art a lot, but I must confess that the cover scared me at first. Even looking at it now frightens me. Eumenes looks like he may beat the viewer with his globe. :(

Eumenes of Cardia was a real historical figure, and Wikipedia has a very interesting article on him. Is the manga an accurate telling of his life? Probably not. Does that effect the enjoyment of the series? Not one bit. Eumenes's exciting but simple adventures are very interesting and help build a fantastic character. He is a scholar whose brains are constantly used to get himself and others out of tough spots.

Historie began in 2004 and is currently at 4 volumes. The manga has been nominated for the Tezuka Cultural Awards twice and has made it to the finals both times. Kotohona has begun scanlating the series and has released the first 11 chapters.

~Enter Rant:

Historie is really good guys. Really, really good. Historical manga really gets no love. Give it some love. Parasyte is really good too. Del Rey's new release of it looks really nice. They are releasing the larger volumes, so instead of ten volumes, it will only be eight volumes. Maybe I'll talk more about Parasyte in the future.

So I finished lettering the latest volume of work, and I don't have either of the scripts I need to start the next volumes. I guess I'm so used to waking up and going straight to work, it just feels so strange to have extra time like this. Luckily, this is a really time to get a bit of a break from work... I have a website due in a couple weeks and I (like the majority of my class it seems) am completely feeling around in the dark for it. My site is about a company that sells robots. All sorts of robots. The concept is fun, but the coding is not.

I want to make historical manga now. =\

~Annaliese
"HISTORY HISTORY HISTORY HISTORY"

This week's schedule:

5:00 Fansub o' the Week
5:25 Dokkoida?! (4): The Strange Neighbor, Sayuri
5:50 Break
5:55 The Law of Ueki (4): The Law of Li Ho, the Flexible Man
6:20 GUNxSWORD (4): And the Rain Kept Falling
6:45 Break
6:50 Master Keaton (4): Immortal Man
7:15 Mushishi (4): Pillow Lane
7:40 Dinner Break
8:10 Otogi Zoshi (4): Rashomon
8:35 Noein - To Your Other Self (4): Friends
9:00 Break
9:05 Le Chevalier D'Eon (4): Followers Of The Revolution
9:30 Ergo Proxy (4): Futu-risk

Notes: If you're at all interested in the Halloween party AMV contest, pumpkin carving contest, cosplay, or fanart contest, you had probably better get cracking on your submission(s). If you have any questions, check the YahooGroup or ask an officer!

[random babbling]
Look, it's Thursday morning again. I AM getting better at this.

Of course, it only occurred to me to send the email because I was desperately searching for something productive to do until it's time for me to leave for the job fair. Still, at least I thought of it.

The job fair seriously has me wondering what I've actually learned in the past four years I've been here, though. I mean, I know there's an awful lot of information in my head, but every time I try to think of something specific, it all just kind of floats away. This is not comforting, since I'll have to answer questions during my interviews.

I spent the last five or six days working on my resume, though, so at least that looks nice and professional. And I'm dressed up today, so at least *I* look nice and professional. Yeah, I know. Me in work clothes is a scary thought for me, too. Although of course, since I've been stressed, my face broke out into spots this week. *facepalm* It figures.

Hm, what shall I give you as an interesting link this week? How about the page that displays all of the top CSC471: Intro to Computer Graphics final projects?

http://www.csc.calpoly.edu/~zwood/teaching/csc471/top_final.html

The first one on the page, the Zen Garden, is mine from last year. Each of the projects should have a download available and most likely a README file in the download telling me what you need to do to run it and the controls. Makes for good fun if you're bored.

Wish me luck at the job fair!
[/random babbling]

Jenn, dancing.serpent@<removed>.com
Minna no Anime Secretary

"Please could you stop the noise I'm trying to get some rest
From all the unborn chicken voices in my head."

~Review of the Week: Material Puzzle by Masahiro Totsuka

When Mikaze's village is threatened by a mountain-eating mushroom, it is up to him to retrieve a magician to destroy the dangerous fungus. After a grueling test, Mikaze is able to strike a deal with Agua, the magician he finds. As long as he protects her and returns her back to her home, she will go with him. To make sure he does not abandon his promise, she forces him to wear a mask that only she can take off. All is well until she ends up dying on the road back to Mikaze's village! What will happen to his hometown now? Will he ever get that ugly mask off?

Material Puzzle is a hideous series. Really hideous. But it's a great series at the same time. The characters are absolutely terrific. Mikaze grudgingly accepts his horrible fate to deal with Aqua and to wear all these horrible masks (they get drawn on often, so they get changed quite a bit). Tito has a great passion for art, but sucks at it. Everyone has strange little quirks and continue to get deeper and deeper as the story progresses. While the story may seem to be on Mikaze at first, it really focuses on the three magicians; Aqua, Tito, and Prisera. Each of them can use one specific type of magic, and so aren't really all that useful in many situations.

The series might not be eye-candy, but if you want something fun to check out, try Material Puzzle. The series runs in Shounen GanGan and is 13+ volumes long. AT-Translations has released the first 3 chapters (and chapter 0).

~Enter Rant:

You know, even though I said Material Puzzle is hideous, it's still a bajillion times better than anything I could ever draw. It makes me feel bad for calling it ugly. D=

Man, I hate it when I sleep poorly and wake up early whenever I don't have early class, but then I actually can sleep well but have to wake up early when I do have early class. What's up with that? I blame it on Murphy's Law.

~Annaliese
"If you eat cow, it's the same as eating grass and meat together!"

This week's schedule:

5:00 Fansub o' the Week
5:25 Dokkoida?! (5): Mission: Allowance Increase
5:50 Break
5:55 The Law of Ueki (5): The Law of Robert Haydn
6:20 GUNxSWORD (5): Twin's Guards
6:45 Break
6:50 Master Keaton (5): Paris Under the Roof
7:15 Mushishi (5): The Traveling Swamp
7:40 Dinner Break
8:10 Otogi Zoshi (5): Urabe
8:35 Noein - To Your Other Self (5): And Then...
9:00 Break
9:05 Le Chevalier D'Eon (5): Palais Royal
9:30 Ergo Proxy (5): TASOGARE

Notes: If you're at all interested in the Halloween party AMV contest, pumpkin carving contest, cosplay, or fanart contest, you had probably better get cracking on your submission(s). If you have any questions, check the YahooGroup or ask an officer!

[random babbling]
Yay, Thursday! The end of my week! The end of my suffering!

...or is it?

Gah, I have no much crap to do this weekend. My jerk of a graphics professor just assigned us a new program with only one week to work on it. Normally, this wouldn't faze me much. However, when the instructor essentially uses all 1.5 hours of lecture to talk to himself and change his mind and contradict himself constantly, you tend to have to self-teach. Which is frustrating, not to mention time-consuming. This on top of all the books I have to read for architecture, the synopsis I have to write for English, and all the textbook reading I have to do for both of those classes.

Oh, and let's not forget the not-so-clearly-defined webmaster position I ended up taking for the CSC student fee committee. I'm more of a...liaison...to the webmaster? Gah. Curses. Confusion!

Also, it's sad that I've only been job hunting for a couple of weeks and I'm already utterly sick of it. I just want to know I'll be employed when I get out of here. And I want to know it now. Because I'm impatient and hate stressing over these things. D:

I should give you guys a link, shouldn't I? It's becoming a habit. And generally I like sharing. When I have things to share.

...well, I DO have this: http://ayumisaki.deviantart.com/art/Sleep-Cat-67627165

Can you feel the cavities forming as we speak? Okay, so that was kind of a cop-out I guess. Here, for those of you who don't already know about the awesomeness that is Jim Breen...

http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/wwwjdic.html

See you guys on Saturday.
[/random babbling]

Jenn, dancing.serpent@<removed>.com
Minna no Anime Secretary

"A drowning man knows not the vastness of the sea, only its depth."

~Review of the Week: The Enchanted Spiritual Beast [Ga-Rei] by Hajime Segawa

"Boo! While many of us will probably scream at even the thought of a ghost being near us, Freshman Nimura Kensuke just thinks of it as a common everyday thing, seeing as how he has the uncanny ability to see so many of them on a daily basis. Things soon heat up for him when he meets a girl who changes his life from then on. Her name’s Kagura, and she has the power to summon a mighty “spirit devourer”–otherwise known as a “Ga-rei”–called Byakuei. So, what’s Nimura to do? Chase down the evil spirits and and have Kagura summon the Ga-rei to devour them, of course! Now, come feast on their adventures like some ravenous Ga-rei!"-Entropy's Ga-Rei project page

Ga-Rei is a fun story with fun characters. I really like the story and the characters, and the art is pretty dang awesome as well. I only have one complaint about the series. It's too light-hearted sometimes. For a series that eventually deals with world destruction and the destruction of a person's soul, it makes light of the whole situation far too often for my tastes. Don't get me wrong, I like the light hearted aspects, but it feels like the series wants to be serious and funny at the same time, and it doesn't quite work.

Otherwise, the series is great. I recommend it to anyone who likes series with demons and other big beasties!

Oh, I lied. There are two complaints. I don't like that ...there are only four volumes out so far. D=

The first four full volumes are available scanlated from Entropy.

~Enter Rant:

Arg, I've just had one of those days where everything just frustrates me! Man, sometimes life just angers me so much.

But otherwise, life is pretty cool. =D

Have a great week at club, everyone.

~Annaliese
"Cha-gi-ra-chi-cha!"

This week's schedule:

5:00 Fansub o' the Week
5:25 Dokkoida?! (6): The Pool Cycle Race
5:50 Break
5:55 The Law of Ueki (6): The Law of Farewell
6:20 GUNxSWORD (6): Light My Fire
6:45 Break
6:50 Master Keaton (6): White Goddess
7:15 Mushishi (6): Those Who Inhale the Dew
7:40 Dinner Break
8:10 Otogi Zoshi (6): Noroi-Jima
8:35 Noein - To Your Other Self (6): Dimension of Tears
9:00 Break
9:05 Ergo Proxy (5): TASOGARE
9:30 Ergo Proxy (6): Domecoming

There are two episodes of Ergo Proxy to make up for least week's two episodes of D'eon.

Notes: If you're at all interested in the Halloween party AMV contest, pumpkin carving contest, cosplay, or fanart contest, you had probably better get cracking on your submission(s). If you have any questions, check the YahooGroup or ask an officer!

[random babbling]
Okay, so I'm sitting in the hallway waiting for manga club, and I realized a moment ago that the lady in the class in front of me is teaching French to a room full of girls...while the guy in the classroom behind me is lecturing about sex and power, presumably in literature, to a room full of men. For some reason, this tickles my funny bone. Perhaps I'm tired, or the sugar-filled coffee is starting to go to my head. Perhaps insanity finally has me in its grip. Perhaps...brace yourself, dear reader...the truth is a combination of ALL THREE.

And perhaps I enjoy being overdramatic for melodrama's sake. Anyone who's known me for any significant period of time is aware of THAT particular quirk. Sometimes I start to act like a stereotypical flaming gay drag queen...not in terms of wearing a dress or make-up, of course, but in the way I like to overact and carry on like the world's worst actor.

My mind is a little erratic at the moment, in case you couldn't tell. My most hated class got cancelled today, and my brain is enjoying a pleasant--if slightly inhibiting--half-coma. I'm probably going to stare and drool a lot in MnM (and won't THAT be a lovely sight) in between trying to think up more trivia questions for Halloween.

And by the way, almost all of the officers will be gone this week. Most of them are going to YaoiCon. I'M going to visit my dad for his birthday. I'm not terribly displeased about this. Conventions always stress me out, anyway.

Which, for some strange reason, brings me to the abrupt and rather precipitated end of my little "rant". I should give you a link to keep you happy, shouldn't I? Since I'm sure I've gone and spoiled you lot and if I DIDN'T include a link, someone would probably hunt me down and complain and perhaps cast rotten fruit (and possibly far less savory and sanitary things) in my direction. Here, and be grateful!

http://www.travian.com/
[/random babbling]

Jenn, dancing.serpent@<removed>.com
Minna no Anime Secretary

"Vampires in MY Vatican?"
"It's more likely than you think."

~Review of the Week: ....Spooky Recommendations!

In the holiday spirit, let's skip the usual review this week for recommendations of some Halloween-ish titles!

Pet Shop of Horrors by Matsuri Akino
This series is about Count D, the owner of a pet shop in San Francisco's Chinatown, the detective who suspects him of everything and anything, and the many customers that visit his shop. I was a bit weary of this series, but I have no idea why. The art is great and the story is highly addicting. I had to limit myself to reading a volume a day just so I wouldn't run out too quickly! All ten volumes are available in english from Tokyopop, and the sequel, Pet Shop of Horrors - Tokyo -, will be coming out stating in February.

Darren Shan by Takahiro Arai and Darren Shan
Darren Shan is about a young boy who becomes a vampire and must learn about becoming a creature of the night and dealing with the other creepy-crawlies of the world. The manga is based on a series of english novels. Each volume of the manga roughly equals one book, so it's nice and easy to compare the two. The manga isn't the best adaptation, but I like the art a lot and being able to go through an entire books worth of material in one volume of manga. The series is not available in the states yet, but there are five volumes out in Japan.

Vampire Knight by Matsuri Hino
Vampire Knight is a story about a school with two classes: a night class and a day class. The night class is made up of beautiful vampires, but very few know their secret. Yuki Cross is one of those people, and she acts as a guardian that protects the coexistence between the classes. I haven't read much of this series, but it's pretty popular. Viz Media has released the first two volumes in english.

~Enter Rant:

Sooooo, Halloween party this weekend! I hope you are all as excited as me!

Lord of V-Neck Sweaters,
~Annaliese
"Tonight, class, we'll be making snowflakes..."

Minna no Anime meets this Saturday from 12:30pm-midnight in 3-213 (the Silo), 02-203, 02-204, and 02-210.

This week's schedule:

12:30pm - Anime Showings
03:00pm - Anime Eyes Initial Rounds
04:30pm - Trivia Initial Rounds
06:00pm - Anime Eyes Finals
06:30pm - Trivia Finals
07:30pm - SILO: Dinner, AMVs, Art Show
08:00pm - Karaoke until 10pm
10:00pm - Pumpkin Carving, Cosplay, Winner Announcements, then Karaoke
       until midnight or Anime Showings, depending on what people want

Note that this schedule isn't exactly set in stone...but we'll try to stick to it as closely as possible. Although most events don't start until 3:00pm due to lack of room, if you want to show up early we will be there and doing random awesome stuff!

[random babbling]
Oh man. So. Stuff.

Sadly, I have nothing intelligent, cool, or otherwise interesting to say. Mainly because I am completely scatterbrained at the moment.

However, I would like to point out that you should definitely come to the Halloween Party this weekend. Every event has prizes and even if you don't win anything, it's terribly fun! We'll have pizza and soda for dinner; $1.50 per slice of pizza and $.50 per soda. There will also be a Guilty Gear tournament and a room for Bemani gaming starting at 3:00pm.

Since I am tired and have nothing thrilling to add, I shall leave you with a link or two and shut up.

For anyone who wants to see Yugioh season 0, this person has most of the episodes, I think: http://www.youtube.com/user/nycaz10

And since the internet refuses to cooperate, that's all you get for the week. D:
[/random babbling]

Jennifer, dancing.serpent@<removed>.com
Minna no Anime Secretary

"Pinecone!"

~Review of the Week: Space Traveler Robo and Usakichi by Kazue Katoh

Robo and Usakichi tells the story of a small robot named Robin and the adventures he has with a rabbit-like person named Usakichi. Robin is a sort of bio-robot who grows the more he eats, so it's interesting to see him grow up and watch his mannerisms change as he encounters new people.

I first found out about this series when Nur happened to pick up the magazine is ran in. It looked pretty interesting, but I didn't think much about it. This summer I found a couple chapters online that were simply blew me away, and was prompted to search for more. Unfortunately, the volumes aren't exactly easy to find.

Anyway, I was initially attracted to this series for the art, but the story is what really impresses me. Not many series make me spontaneously cry, but this is one of them. It's not that the series is sad, it's that I find it so emotionally powerful. Robin's blind faith in his friends and his struggle with himself brought me to tears on several cases. Now, I doubt this series is a tear-jerker for most people, I just cry over very strange things. Simply put, in my opinion, the story is very powerful and very moving. The characters are intensely interesting and it's fun to figure out the connections between everyone.

And if you really aren't moved by the story, there is the art! The first few volumes have a sketchy-look to them, which may make it difficult to focus on single panels, but as the series goes on, the art cleans up nicely. Especially impressive are the color pages, which are filled with vibrant contrasting colors that really set the mood of the chapters well.

Space Traveller Robo and Usakichi is complete in Japan at five volumes. There are currently no plans for an English release, and no groups have begun scanlating the series. A sequel, Star Gazers, started during the summer, but no volumes have been released yet.

~Enter Rant:

If you were wondering, the other series that make me spontaneously cry are Eyeshield 21 and Pluto.

Sorry to those people who didn't get the songs they wanted at the Halloween! I forgot to go through the list again to make sure I had the right songs and lyrics and everything. Please forgive me for not make sure that everything was in order for that.

Lord of Lack of Patience,
~Annaliese
"I'M TOO YOUNG TO BECOME A SCIENCE!"

NOTE: This is different than normal! Don't show up at the Silo; we won't be there!

This week's schedule:

5:00 Fansub o' the Week
5:25 Dokkoida?! (7): Kurika's Dream
5:50 Break
5:55 The Law of Ueki (7): The Law of Mr. K
6:20 GUNxSWORD (7): Vengeance Within
6:45 Break
6:50 Master Keaton (7): Memories of Summer Pudding
7:15 Mushishi (7): The Rain Comes, A Rainbow Forms
7:40 Dinner Break
8:10 Otogi Zoshi (7): Mansairaku
8:35 Noein - To Your Other Self (7): Precious Person
9:00 Break
9:05 Le Chevalier D'eon (7): Gargoyle
9:30 Ergo Proxy (7): re-1124c41+

[random babbling]
First of all, no, the title to this week's Ergo Proxy episode is not a mistake. I'm sure it has some meaning. I'm sure if you're possessed of about two brain cells and a modicum of common sense, you can probably make a decent guess as to what that is. I know I have.

I'm a bit grumpy at the moment. For a lot of reasons. I'm a bit stressed out and disappointed and listening to Counting Crows. ...you know what, I'm gonna switch to some Moxy Fruvous or They Might Be Giants or OK Go or...something.

There we go. Nothing quite like "King of Spain" by Moxy Fruvous to make you feel a little better about life.

I discovered that being a computer scientist is ruining my enjoyment of certain songs. I was listening to "A Long December" and heard the line "All at once you look across a crowded room to see the way that light attaches to a girl". The first thing my brain did was go, "Wait a minute, light doesn't ATTACH to things. Based on the angle between the light and the normal vector...(etcetc long dissertation on physics that no one wants to hear me talk about)...so that line is stupid."

...I think I need help. >_o

Unfortunately, my knowledge of the workings of light didn't help my pictures last weekend. ~_~

http://www.mediafire.com/?9nlxtw2jimp
http://www.mediafire.com/?c9lsxemilea

And I have new YouTube videos up.

http://youtube.com/profile?user=TayledrasAdept

Anyway, here's a Korean MMO; see you guys on Saturday.

http://corum.gpotato.com/ (I'm on the Poseidon server.)
[/random babbling]

Jenn, dancing.serpent@<removed>.com
Minna no Anime Secretary

"Once I was the king of Spain!"

~Review of the Week: Angel Densetsu by Norihiro Yagi

"The story is of Kitano Seiichirou, a very kind and pure-hearted young man, with a horrifying, monstrous face. People being what they are, they think he's a terrifying delinquent, and there are plenty of chance misunderstandings (coupled with Kitano's convenient inability to understand what's happening around him) that propel him into the position of "school guardian", a.k.a. head thug on campus." (From Manga-Sketchbook's project page)

If you just glance at this series, it's really easy to throw in a corner and never look at again. The art is pretty crude and definitely could use some improvement (which definitely comes as the series goes on), and the characters all look sort of frightening. Luckily, you don't need pretty pictures to tell a good story.

I began reading this series because it was recommended by someone whose tastes I hold in high regard. The story starts out with a bang and keeps running until the end. I can't remember the last time a series made me laugh as much as Angel Densetsu does. Jokes generally come from the same small handful of situations, but somehow they are hilarious every time.

Like I said, the art does get better, so don't let it turn you off. If you're looking for a laugh, check this series out.

Angel Densetsu is 15 volumes long, and the first 14 are available scanlated from Manga-Sketchbook.

~Enter Rant:

Blah. Projects suck. Papers suck. Finals suck. But the vacation will be awesome.

Oh, the mangaka for Angel Densetsu went on to create Claymore. But Claymore isn't funny like Angel Densetsu. Actually, Claymore makes me sad. What a change between series!

Lord of Mail Delivery Madness,
~Annaliese
"I can't text with bread!"

This week's schedule:

5:00 Fansub o' the Week
5:25 Dokkoida?! (8): Little Sister Love
5:50 Break
5:55 The Law of Ueki (7): The Law of Mr. K
6:20 The Law of Ueki (8): The Law of Onimon
6:45 Break
6:50 Master Keaton (8): The Negotiator's Rule
7:15 Mushishi (8): From the Sea Border
7:40 Dinner Break
8:10 Otogi Zoshi (8): Red Demon
8:35 Noein - To Your Other Self (8): Secrets
9:00 Break
9:05 Le Chevalier D'eon (8): An Audience with the Empress
9:30 Ergo Proxy (8): Shining Sign

We watched two episodes of GUNxSWORD last week because the replacement disc for Ueki wasn't in yet. Hence, two episodes of Ueki this week.

[random babbling]
You know, I was typing "The Negotiator's Rule" right after typing those two Ueki titles and my fingers almost typed "The Law of Negotiator" without my consent.

Anyway, we're back in the Silo this week. So don't show up at Fisher Science, even if it IS more convenient for you dorm people. I hope everyone liked the episode of Ayakashi we watched last week. I'm terribly in love with it, myself. Oh, Medicine Seller. ...why don't you have a name? XD

So I finished my paper for Japanese Architecture. It is the most awful paper I've written in a long, long time. I am ashamed of it. Thank goodness I still have about three weeks to beat it into not-sucking. I only have until Monday to prepare my presentation for it, though. *sigh* I hate presenting. At least I get to talk about love hotels and capsule hotels and stuff like that, though. Could be worse. I could have chosen dry gardens. Pretty as they are, there aren't a lot of interesting things you can say about them.

Bleh. I register for classes at 7am tomorrow. And then I have a phone interview at noon. I'm going to have to decide if it's worth it to go back to sleep after registering. The answer is, of course, probably "yes", but that doesn't mean I'll do it. I have a terrible time trying to fall back asleep after I'm awake, especially if it's light out. Wish me luck on that interview, by the way. It's with my number one choice and I really, REALLY need to not blow it.

I don't know how many of you roleplay, but if you're looking for a good place to do so over forums, this place has almost any fandom you can think of. As long as it isn't, you know, Loom. But damn, a Loom roleplay would be so awesome. I would cry. And if you not only know what Loom is but have played it, you are my new Favorite Person for the week.

http://www.acornrack.com/
[/random babbling]

Jenn, dancing.serpent@<removed>.com
Minna no Anime Secretary

"Destiny shall draw the Lightning down from Heaven; roll its thunder far across the Sea, to where I wait upon the Shore of Wonder, on the day the Sky is Opened, and the Tree is split asunder."

~Review of the Week: 07-Ghost by Yuki Amemiya and Yukino Ichihara

"An elite is being trained. The "zaiphon" ability is being developed. Everyone's capabilities are different, and in many cases, reflect their nature... Shrouded in darkness, seven ghosts wait." (From Baka-Updates Manga)

What do you look for in a manga? Good art? Good story? Interesting characters? 07-Ghost has all of those. The art is fantastic, the story is interesting, and the characters are fun and engaging. But... it still feels like it is lacking somewhere. I think the creators are so focused on telling this story that they try to cram so much into every page the reader can easily get lost. Explanations don't explain much, and actions are often confusing. Still, the series stays pretty strong and each chapter leaves me anxious for more.

Nine chapters have been scanlated by Timcanpi and Supreme Sugar. There are five volumes available in Japan, and the series is still going.

~Enter Rant:

Okay, first let me apologize for the messy Baccano character selecting stuff I put on the Yahoo group. The following list should be the complete list of reserved characters as of the moment I am writing this. By request, I'm including the names of the cosplayers with the character they have selected. Please forgive any name spelling errors!

(Character - Cosplayer)

Issac - Jesse

Miria - Erika

Jacuzzi - Annaliese

Nice - Audrey

Ladd - David

Eve - Shannon

Rachel - Jenn

Czeslaw - James

Young Conductor - Brandon

Chane - Daniella

Ennis - (tentative?) Nat

Firo - (tentative) Andrew

• phew* I hope that's everyone that has talked to me!

So, I hope everyone is surviving dead week! I'm doing alright myself! Two project down, two to go! Finals will (hopefully) be a cinch after the other two are in! We won't have a meeting during finals week, and our room is changing for next quarter, so remind me to give out that info at this week's meeting!

Lord of Paperclip Masterpieces,

~Annaliese

"I will never destroy the world that you have believed in." -Claire Stanfield

This week's schedule:

5:00 The Law of Ueki (9): The Law of Onimon's Training
5:25 GUNxSWORD (9): Carmen Goes Home
5:50 Break
5:55 Mushishi (9): The Heavy Seed
6:20 Otogi Zoshi (9): Darkness
6:45 Break
6:50 Noein - To Your Other Self (9): Beyond Time
7:15 Ergo Proxy (9): Angel's Share
7:40 Dinner Break
8:10 Quarterly Movie: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

[random babbling]
Argh, tired! I turned in my senior project proposal today and just now registered for the class. I have to say, I'm definitely looking forward to the end of this quarter. Mostly. I'm not looking forward to several weeks without MnA. I hate leaving shows hanging for a month. Let's hope there aren't too many cliffhanger episodes, shall we?

We have our quarterly movie this Saturday and our quarterly Tsurugi trip on Sunday. Both will be fun! You should show up. But if you're going to come on the Tsurugi trip, LET US KNOW IN ADVANCE. We have to alter the reservation and can't do that without a couple of days' notice.

Sadly, I have nothing interesting to say. I am a sad, sad human being, I know. Actually, I'm just a tired, tired human being. And so I leave you, and drag my tired self to MnM. After leaving you with a slice of pure awesome.

http://www.songstowearpantsto.com/
[/random babbling]

Jenn, dancing.serpent@<removed>.com
Minna no Anime Secretary

"Something is rotten in the state of Denmark."

~Review of the Week: Akuma to Dolce by Suzuki Julietta

Ogura Mayuri is a loner in high school, with a pendant for cooking and magic that her mother taught her. She’s already summoned a little demon familiar to help her with baking and other small chores. But when she accidentally summons a high level demon named Beaut upon spilling tea on her skirt, he allows her to make one wish that he will grant. Mayuri wishes for the stain on her skirt to disappear in exchange for candy. The demon Beaut is outraged by the simple request, but the gets distracted by the smell of sweets - Beaut’s weakness. Mayuri now uses Beaut’s weakness to bind him to her and do her bidding. (From Aerandria)

Honestly, the art in this series is nothing new. It's quite reminiscent of Ouran High School Club with some Fruits Basket mixed in. That said, the art is definitely not bad, it's just not exactly incredible. The story isn't deep or all that engaging, but it has one incredible strength; it's amazingly adorable. I found my self being drawn into the characters and their lives and wishing for events to happen even though there was little possibility that they would. Sometimes I think it's important to get away from the series that are just awe-inspiring and leave you breathless with their sure brilliance and tuck yourself in with something fun and cute. And Akuma to Dolce is just the series for times like that.

The first three chapters have been scanlated and are available from Serenus Dreamers and Aerandria.

~Enter Rant:

I hope everyone had a nice break!

After four years and one quarter, my luck ran out. This quarter I have a class on Thursday nights. Alas, there is no way I can wriggle my way out of this one. Luckily, it only goes to 7:30. I wish it were a class that was interesting, but no. It's Human Resource Management. My lab teacher described it as the "warm fuzzy" class. Hmm, somehow I don't think that's a good description for the class. We'll see as the quarter goes on.

Don't forget that t-shirt designs are due a week from this Saturday!

Lord of the Duelfield,
~Annaliese
"I'm really good at playing card games, and that's what life is really all about anyway!" -Chazz Princeton, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX

This week's schedule:

5:00 Fansub o' the Week
5:25 Dokkoida?! (9): I Like it Hot
5:50 Break
5:55 The Law of Ueki (10): The Law of Justice That Never Comes
6:20 GUNxSWORD (10): Thank You Ocean
6:45 Break
6:50 Master Keaton (9): Traveling with a Lady
7:15 Mushishi (10): White In The Ink Slab
7:40 Dinner Break
8:10 Otogi Zoshi (10): Shuten
8:35 Noein - To Your Other Self (10): A Stormy Night
9:00 Break
9:05 Le Chevalier D'eon (9): Lovers
9:30 Ergo Proxy (10): Cytotropism

[random babbling]
Argh, yes, I know. It's a bit later than usual. I meant to do it earlier, but my life is a wee bit hectic right now and I was too exhausted to do this last night.

How was everyone's break? Mine was mostly ok. Still offerless as far as jobs go, but I have my hopes. I'm going to Phoenix next weekend, so you won't see me then, but you will see me at club tomorrow if you come! ...you know. Just in case any of you...I dunno...missed me. I shall now give you the puppy eyes. See? I'm giving you the--oh wait...that doesn't work over email. Curses.

Well, I finally broke down and bought Samurai Champloo over break. And I am SO glad I did. Seriously. That show is so good. I would buy it again if I had to. I suggest you all get it while you can still find Geneon products.

Sadly, I really don't have a lot of other stuff to say. My life is busy, but not busy-interesting. So I shall leave you with these little gems in a two for one deal as my...er...Christmas gift to you! >_>;

First, for French hilarity:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=1NhSQARojp0

Remember that Batman comic mockery? Here's part 2:
http://www.i-mockery.com/comics/longbox20/default.php
[/random babbling]

Jenn, dancing.serpent@<removed>.com
Minna no Anime Secretary

"You don't KNOW from SCREWED, you losers!"

~Review of the Week: Majin Devil by Oh! Great "The creature standing on top of the evolution system aren't human, but a creature named as Majin. Majin Devil is a story about a young nerd who fights against monsters of all sort, and eventually faces Majin who wants to take his body." (From Baka-Updates Manga)

Many people know Oh! Great from his series Tenjou Tenge and Air Gear, but Majin Devil seems to be often overlooked. The art is just as good and in my opinion is drawn with more imagination, which makes it more interesting for me. I like stories about demons and devils, so I'm probably biased, but this is my favorite and the most interesting of Oh! Great's works. I'm a sucker for strong yet smart characters, and Dekoppa is one of the greatest models for this type of character. Instead of fights based on physical strength, most fights are based on science and math. Still, the fights aren't difficult to understand, the characters clearly and smoothly explain how things are working and why they work.

So, if you could pull yourself through that muddy paragraph, Majin Devil is an extremely well-drawn series with an interesting storyline, an impressive main character, and creative battles. And hey, if you just read Oh! Great's works for the fanservice, don't worry, there's still lots in there.

The entire series is only two volumes long (alas), and has all been scanlated by SnoopyCool. The scans are pretty easy to find online.

~Enter Rant:

I hope all you Baccano! dancers are practicing. I know I am. Well, attempting to practice, at least. I'm having a lot of trouble at parts, but I'm looking forward to practice on Thursday!

I hope everyone is doing alright during this second week of the quarter!

Lord of Fingerless Gloves,
~Annaliese
"Crispin Freeman, get out of my bedroom!"

This week's schedule:

5:00 Fansub o' the Week
5:25 Dokkoida?! (10): Mogumokkuru's Make-Over
5:50 Break
5:55 The Law of Ueki (11): The Law of Robert's Ten
6:20 GUNxSWORD (11): Where the Goodbyes Are
6:45 Break
6:50 Master Keaton (10): Charlie
7:15 Mushishi (11): The Mountain Sleeps
7:40 Dinner Break
8:10 Otogi Zoshi (11): Relationship of Enmity
8:35 Noein - To Your Other Self (11): Out of Sync
9:00 Break
9:05 Le Chevalier D'eon (10): Poetry of the Royal Family
9:30 Ergo Proxy (11): Anamnesis

[random babbling]
Ok, everyone, this is big news. Big, scary, amazing news! For the first time in my Cal Poly career...I am missing a meeting for a reason other than con attendance. That's right. I, Jenn, am going to miss this week's meeting of Minna no Anime. I'm sure all of you will find this very sad. It fact, I doubt you will be able to enjoy the meeting at all without my presence. I am just that Awesome. I am just that Cool. I...am just that Necessary.

...or not. I'm sure most of you wouldn't have even realized I was missing if I hadn't just said something. lol Especially since so many of the people on this list are alumni who don't even go to club anymore.

What's that? "Where are you going, Jenn?" you ask? Well my friends, I am going to Phoenix, Arizona for an interview. Yep. They're flying me out there and everything. I'm 1/2 psyched and 1/2 terrified. Hahahaha.

Anyway, wish me luck with that. I need all of it that I can possibly get!

Oh, crap, almost forgot about this! Tsk, tsk.

So some of you may be wondering what webcomics I read to waste my time. Well, wonder no more, because here's the current list:
http://lackadaisycats.com/
http://xkcd.com/
http://www.penny-arcade.com/
http://www.qwantz.com/

And there you go. If I forgot any, I'll pick 'em up in next week's email, but for now, I'm too tired.
[/random babbling]

Jenn, dancing.serpent@<removed>.com
Minna no Anime Secretary

"Some sort of freak high-velocity ballistic goose-related accident!"

~Review of the Week: Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O'Malley

"Scott Pilgrim is about a loser (Scott Pilgrim) who plays in a band (Sex Bombomb) while he lives with his gay roommate. His luck changes when he meets a beautiful delivery girl skating through his dreams (literally). His problems start when he learns that the condition for dating this girl is that he must defeat all seven of her evil ex-boyfriends. Stupidly (of course) he accepts the challenge."(By Nur)

Just about when I had lost all faith in North American comics, Nur recommended Scott Pilgrim. At first glance, the books don't look very impressive. They utilize a simple yet bold style that would be easy to pass up if the covers didn't radiate with bright colors. Those who can get over their initial impressions of the art are in for a real treat. It's been a long time since I read something that made me feel good to be such a dork. It's sort of like Genshiken, except a little less believable. The books are filled with geek-culture references, if it's not American comics, it's games or anime. The characters are interesting and easy to relate to, and it's always interesting to see them interact. The cast is filled with incredibly interesting people... from the professional skateboarder, to the obsessive Chinese girl, to the biomechanically-armed drummer and the super-powered vegan.The style really grows on you after a while and as you finish each volume you'll find yourself salivating for the next one. Really, the only thing I don't like about the series is that one volume comes out each year.

Preview (first 25 pages of volume 1): http://www.scottpilgrim.com/index.php?id=previews

There are currently four volumes available from Oni Press. Nur will be bringing the volumes to club tomorrow, as long as we can find them.

~Enter Rant:

I like the rain. Being out in it is a bit of a drag, but I like being inside, wrapped in blankets. It's a good feeling.

You know what I've been marathoning? Hana Yori Dango. MnA was showing the second season my first year, and I finally got my hands on the series (thank-you RightStuf sales). I swear, this show is such a soap opera... but I can't stop watching it. I find myself yelling at most of the characters and pulling my hair out because they can't see how stupid they are being, but I keep putting the next disc in. I wish there were more "epic shoujo" series like this. I have to admit I'm not a fan of the H-game-turned-series stuff that seems so popular these days. =(

Lord of the Subspace Highway,
Annaliese
"Ssssccccoooooottttttt!"

This week's schedule:

5:00 Fansub o' the Week
5:25 Dokkoida?! (11): Cosmos House's Last Hour?
5:50 Break
5:55 The Law of Ueki (12): The Law of Heavenly Beings
6:20 GUNxSWORD (12): The Days of No Return
6:45 Break
6:50 Master Keaton (11): Special Menu
7:15 Mushishi (12): One-Eyed Fish
7:40 Dinner Break
8:10 Otogi Zoshi (12): Seimei
8:35 Noein - To Your Other Self (12): The Battle
9:00 Break
9:05 Le Chevalier D'eon (11): Rain in Holy City
9:30 Ergo Proxy (12): Hideout

[random babbling]
Oh man, guys, remember that interview I went to this last weekend? Well, apparently I did really well and Lockheed Martin is going to offer me a job. I'm...I'm so happy. Seriously, this job sounds awesome. >_> I don't have the actual physical offer yet (I just know that I should expect it), but I'm fairly certain at this point that I'll be accepting. Feel free to talk to me about it and let me spew my glee at you. XD

I'm writing this in class, by the way. Yep, back to bad habits. With any luck, I won't hit you with poetry. Yes, I've done that before. Once. A couple of years back. I think I might have promised I'd never do it again. ...and here's a funny story. I'm in this architectural history class and my professor is talking about...ah...well, to put it gently, "man parts".

...he's doing it again. O_o

Didn't see that coming. Hm.

Anyway, I'm seriously running out of cool/interesting links. Here, have something random. Here are some sites I studied for my interview:

http://maxnoy.com/interviews.html
http://www.allapplabs.com/interview_questions/java_interview_questions.htm
[/random babbling]

Jenn, dancing.serpent@<removed>.com
Minna no Anime Secretary

"Stop trying to control everything and just let go."

~Review of the Week: Eensy-Weensy Monster

EWM is about a young plain girl with two extraordinary friends. She's a very kind and happy person who gets along well with those around her... until she she meets the prince of the school and something inside her snaps.

Mmmm, what can I say about this series? It's by the same artist who did Kare Kano (His and Her Circumstances), so if you liked that series, you will probably enjoy this one. I can't say I'm a big fan of the character designs or even overly impressed with the artwork, but the story-telling is top-notch, and that's what really keeps me coming back.

The first three chapters of Eensy-Weensy Monster are available from en.tro.py.

~Enter Rant:

I hate it when I sleep horribly the night before an early class, but right before my alarm I'll fade into wondrously deep sleep. So, when I wake up, I'm exhausted. Then, when I don't have early class, I wake up early. Blah.

Lord of Spark Plugs,
~Annaliese
"They work hard to blend in, just a few to mention"

This week's schedule:

5:00 Fansub o' the Week
5:25 Dokkoida?! (12): Battle of Zealousness!
5:50 Break
5:55 The Law of Ueki (13): The Law of the Heavenly Beast
6:20 GUNxSWORD (13): Dream in Progress
6:45 Break
6:50 Master Keaton (12): A Case for Ladies
7:15 Mushishi (13): One-Night Bridge
7:40 Dinner Break
8:10 Otogi Zoshi (13): Hikaru
8:35 Noein - To Your Other Self (13): The Wish
9:00 Break
9:05 Le Chevalier D'eon (12): Rest in Thy Country
9:30 Ergo Proxy (13): Wrong Way Home

[random babbling]
So here I sit in the hallway of the education building, wondering exactly WHY the internet in this building sucks so hard. Anyone who's ever tried to connect to the internet in the Silo knows what I'm talking about. No connection, right guys? Or, frustratingly, you can see the MustangWireless network but you can't connect? Or even MORE frustratingly, you can connect, but only for about 10 seconds at a time?

Yeah. Sucks, huh? I don't want to leave and go to another building, because I have class in the room right behind me in about 35 minutes and I wouldn't be able to get anything done anyway; I'd just be more tired. And I AM tired, by the way. I don't normally write fanfiction, but a friend of mine was kind of unhappy yesterday and I wanted to cheer her up, so it turns out I was up 'til 1am last night writing her something. Between that and leaving myself time to shower and such, I got about 5.5 hours of sleep.

Bah. No regret, though. I'm glad I made her feel better.

Anyway, for anyone who's following the not-so-epic tale of Jenn's Impending Career, I accepted my job offer from Lockheed Martin yesterday. The final offer that says I'm graduating in June, not the original one with the typo that said "January". I was a nervous wreck all day Monday due to THAT little oopsy. Anyway, there's this little stipulation that says I have to have a drug test within three days of accepting, so I'm gonna go do a walk-in appointment on Friday at this place by Carl's Jr (nope, I didn't know there was something like that there, either).

So now I just need to graduate. Yeah, there's a lot of other stuff in between, but that's the big one: get out of this place with a diploma.

...I really should work more on my senior project, huh?

Game...taking over...mind...
http://rfshq.com/forum/games/virus2.swf
[/random babbling]

Jenn, dancing.serpent@<removed>.com
Minna no Anime Secretary

"Even though the ones who turned you into a demon are humans, demons that exist in the human world must be destroyed."

House of Awesome 8-10pm
-Annaliese
-Nur
-Joel
-Daniella
-Rachel

House of Doom 6-10pm
-David
-James
-Andy
-Jewels
-Kieth
-Craig

House of Yaoi 6-10pm
-Erika
-Shannon
-Andrew
-Jesse
-Brandon

If you do not know where your location is, leave a message on the yahoo group!

~Review of the Week: Detroit Metal City by

"Souichi Negishi is a shy young man who came from the rural Ota Prefecture to Tokyo for college and wished to become a kindergarten teacher. However, for some reason he became the singer and songwriter of a metal band named "Detroit Metal City," with a stage name "Johannes Krauser II." Whenever he wears the heavy makeup, Negishi becomes a completely different person, shouting the most vulgar profanities beyond anyone's imagination. With the popularity of DMC increases, Negishi starts worrying his double personalities can have negative effects on his (romantic) life off stage." -From ANN

I won't lie to you. This manga is pretty hideous. But if you can look past that, you'll be rewarded with one of the most entertaining music manga series I've ever read. Krauser's antics always crack me up, whether it is the strange attacks he launches onto his enemies or the schooling he does from the hood of a tractor. Or even when he's revealing the secret methods of grass cutting or cow care. Johann Krauser II is so incredible, he's is pitted against Guts of Berserk. GUTS. No kidding, there is an ad in the magazine they both run in. There is a lot of profanity and er... adult themes, but if you're alright with those, you'll most likely have a blast out of reading this series. And then, who knows? You may want to get a the high-class death metal hairstyle known as the "Public Obscenity Cut." And that would rock.

~Enter Rant:

I hate it when I get into those slumps where I know what I have to get done, but I just can't find the drive to get it done. Bleh. I've been working on illustrations for a project in my book design class, but there is only so much enjoyment I can reap from drawing ordinary objects! I sort of wish the book I chose to work on had more interesting creatures. I guess I can't complain though, I got to draw a dragon for the last project, and that was fun!

~Annaliese
"I also reign over all tests and colleges! Being the Emperor, there must be no knowledge that is out of my grasp!"

This week's schedule:

5:00 Fansub o' the Week
5:25 L/R: Licensed by Royalty (1): Be Traced
5:50 Break
5:55 The Law of Ueki (14): The Law of the Awakening Organ
6:20 GUNxSWORD (14): Swift Brownie
6:45 Break
6:50 Master Keaton (13): A Peaceful Death
7:15 Mushishi (14): Inside The Cage
7:40 Dinner Break
8:10 Otogi Zoshi (14): Tokyo
8:35 Noein - To Your Other Self (14): Memories
9:00 Break
9:05 Le Chevalier D'eon (13): Omen
9:30 Ergo Proxy (14): Ophelia

[random babbling]
Argh. Tired. Worked on senior project a bunch, worked on databases a bunch. Came home, ate food, watched people cut cardboard. Whee.

Honestly, I don't have a lot to say. I spent four hours on Monday night filling out paperwork for my security clearance. The week really didn't get any less stressful after that.

See you guys on Saturday.

Here, have a cat-breeding game. http://purefelinity.com/
[/random babbling]

Jenn, dancing.serpent@<removed>.com
Minna no Anime Secretary

"One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back."

~Review of the Week: Kazan by Gaku*Miyao

"Kazan, the only survivor of the Red Sand clan, embarks on a journey to find the water demon that destroyed his people and kidnapped his best friend Elsie. Accompanied by his eagle companion and helper, Kazan meets a mysterious girl by the name of Fawna who has the power to create water from her hands."-ANN

Kazan is a mini-epic. It's like the Lord of the Rings, only with less characters and not quite as good. The seven-volume series carries the characters through trial after trial, some physical, some mental. The characters grow and adapt throughout their experiences. The cast starts out relatively small but by the end has a cast the size of an army. It's interesting to see how the author works with so many characters and nearly-seemlessly weaves their stories together. The artwork is double-shaded at time, using both hatching and screentones.

I'd say the series is quite good but unfortunately overlooked. The only thing I do not like about the series is that English releases are all flipped. Alas. I think these were printed before fans expected comics to be in their original right to left format, so I won't complain too much.

Kazan is all out from Comics One. Unfortunately, it (along with all other Comics One titles) is out of print. The volumes are pretty easy to come by online and through used bookstores though, and you'd probably be able to get them for pretty cheap.

~Enter Rant

I feel like I say the same things every time I talk about a series. I really don't mean to, it just sort of happens. Maybe it is because I usually only review series I like. Hmmmmmm...

Happy Valentines Day, everyone!

Lord of Heart-Tipped Arrows,
~Annaliese
"The bravest story ever told..."

This week's schedule:

5:00 Fansub o' the Week
5:25 L/R: Licensed by Royalty (2): A Taste of Secret
5:50 Break
5:55 The Law of Ueki (15): The Law of Rinko
6:20 GUNxSWORD (15): Neo Originals
6:45 Break
6:50 Master Keaton (14): Wall in One's Heart
7:15 Mushishi (15): The Exaggerated Spring
7:40 Dinner Break
8:10 Otogi Zoshi (15): Shinjuku
8:35 Noein - To Your Other Self (15): Shangri-La
9:00 Break
9:05 Le Chevalier D'eon (14): Robert Wood's Briefcase
9:30 Ergo Proxy (15): Who Wants to be in Jeopardy!

[random babbling]
Is it just me or does it sound like this week's Ergo Proxy is going to be a crack episode? I don't think it's just me. I'm not as crazy as I look. I think.

How is everyone's Valentine's Day going? Good? Bad? I don't really care that much. About Valentine's Day, not about you guys. Right.

Bleh. Stuff to do. Don't want to do anything. Is it naptime yet? Hn.

...argh, I have nothing cool left to show you guys! I fail! *sob* *emo tear* I'm sure you were all looking forward to seeing what I have to send you! I'm sure it's the highlight of your week! I'm sure I'm not overreacting and displaying an inflated sense of self-worth!

Seriously, though. I'm out. Maybe I'll have something for you next week.
[/random babbling]

Jenn, dancing.serpent@<removed>.com
Minna no Anime Secretary

"As for you and the things you said and didn't say, she will remember them all, when men are fairy tales in books written by rabbits."

Remember to bring your blank black t-shirts to club on Thursday or Friday if you'd like a Berserk curse seal shirt!

~Review of the Week: Rookies by Morita Masanori
"Professor Kawato is the new japanese teacher in the ill-famed Futagotamaga high school, whose baseball club is composed by thugs and bullies who have been suspended for a year from all school competitions for causing a brawl during an official match. Now that the suspension is over, the only club's members left are interested only in women, smoking and doing nothing until, under professor Kawato guidance, they discover a new dream called Koshien. The road to Koshien is far from easy, as they have to get back in shape, to learn how to play baseball and to win everyone else mistrust, including the principals and other professor's one, with only a few months available. Sweating and fighting, the baseball club will find his determination and strength, as they proceed towards their dreams, while Kawato's enthusiastic and non-conventional ways slowly change the attitude of everyone near them." -Ovendoor @ Livejournal

Think Ookiku Furikabutte crossed with GTO. Seriously. If you like GTO, you'll probably like Rookies. If you like Ookiku... well, it's more like the Anti-Ookiku, I guess. If Ookiku is the super cute baseball series, Rookies is the "I will throw you out the window then drag you down the street" baseball series. Nonetheless, it's inspiring and uplifting to see a group of delinquents overcome what people think about them and what they believe they are personally possible. It's good stuff.

Many groups have been working on this series, so it's pretty easy to find. The first 67 chapters are currently available.

~Enter Rant:

I'm having a fabulous time on our Role Play community. Are you? There are lots of characters still available!

Andy, I am highly disappointed in a specific choice you have made recently and am curious to hear your reasoning behind it. And if that reasoning is not good enough, the hammer of GAR shall fall upon you. DUN DUN DUUUUUN. You know what I'm talking about.

Lord of Poofy Pants,
~Annaliese
Okay, so some say Rookies is more like Slam Dunk plus GTO plus Baseball minus Basketball... I agree.

This week's schedule:

5:00 Fansub o' the Week
5:25 L/R: Licensed by Royalty (3): A Girl Goes to the City
5:50 Break
5:55 The Law of Ueki (16): The Law of Neo
6:20 GUNxSWORD (16): Electric Fireworks
6:45 Break
6:50 Master Keaton (15): A Long and Hot Day
7:15 Mushishi (16): Daybreak's Snake
7:40 Dinner Break
8:10 Otogi Zoshi (16): Shibakouen
8:35 Noein - To Your Other Self (16): Repetition
9:00 Break
9:05 Le Chevalier D'eon (15): Final Secret Orders
9:30 Ergo Proxy (16): Busy Doing Nothing

[random babbling]
Aw geez, I almost forgot about this. >_o

I hope Noein isn't just a recap episode. Because I haaaaate recap episodes. lol

Argh. It's rainy, it's morning, and I have stuff to do! Here, have a weather site, I have to go to work! (And no complaining that it's lame, I could have dropped another virtual pet breeding site on you. XD)

http://www.accuweather.com/
[/random babbling]

Jenn, dancing.serpent@<removed>.com
Minna no Anime Secretary

"If I gave you your arm back, what would you do with it?"
"I'd terrorize the South Seas! I'd torture the living! I'd demolish the...er... What I meant to say was, I'd use it to pet kittens." "Nope. You blew it."
"Drat."

~Review of the Week: Penguin Revolution by Tsukuraba Sakura

"Fujimaru Yukari is a high school girl with the ability to see star-potential auras in the shape of birds' wings. Yukari sees small wings on the back of Katsuragi Ryouko, the vice president of the student body. But Ryouko is actually a boy, a talent from the showbiz company, PEACOCK. What kind of secrets does Yukari uncover?" -From the back of the first volume

Where should I start? Penguin Revolution is a very touching series that never fails to bring a smile to my face. I get overjoyed by the characters' accomplishments and development and every chapter brings new excitement. I find myself falling into the story and not wanting to leave it. I love the characters, they're interesting and fun. The main character is a girl, but she's not your stereotypical shoujo heroine. She's strong-willed, skilled, smart, but still maintains a feminine feel. She takes things in strides and looks out for the other characters.

The art in the series is very nice. I love seeing the characters' expressions, especially when they're happy. Their expressions fill me with a warmth that simply makes me feel good. I want to be able to convey expressions as well as Tsukuraba does in her artwork. If the art looks familiar, that's probably because the mangaka also created "Land of the Blindfolded," which is all available from CMX.

There are five volumes of Penguin Revolution available in english from CMX. I recommend buying it, but honestly, they use some sort of newsprint for the paper and that makes be angry. Why, CMX? Why? Use paper that will last a bit longer. So my true suggestion is to buy the Japanese volumes to support the series and find the scanlations that are readily available online (although they are actually behind the official release). Most of the time I'm all for buying the official english releases and supporting the company, but CMX does some strange stuff that I don't really want to promote.

~Enter Rant:

I've seriously reread all of Penguin Revolution that is out twice in the last week. It's been a bit of a bleh week, so it's been really useful in cheering me up.

You know what else cheers me up? Volume 5 of Baccano! arrived today. It's the first disc with a bonus episode on it, and the episode is fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. It'll be available online within the next day, if you know where to look. I love this series so very, very much.

Lord of Pointless Blathering,
~Annaliese
"Shout it out in your own unique style!"

This week's schedule:

5:00 Fansub o' the Week
5:25 L/R: Licensed by Royalty (4): Sweet Enemies in the Same Desert
5:50 Break
5:55 The Law of Ueki (17): The Law of the Two Powers
6:20 GUNxSWORD (17): Follow the X Spot
6:45 Break
6:50 Master Keaton (16): The Elm Tree Forever
7:15 Mushishi (17): Picking the Fake Cocoon
7:40 Dinner Break
8:10 Otogi Zoshi (17): Kourakuen
8:35 Noein - To Your Other Self (17): Dilemma
9:00 Break
9:05 Le Chevalier D'eon (16): Where the Soul Goes
9:30 Ergo Proxy (17): Terra Incognita

[random babbling]
ARGH. Must. Send. Email. Before. Work!

I was on campus yesterday from 8am to 11pm. Oh joy. I HATE school. lol Seriously though, the last 5 hours of that was me in the library, working on the same project. And now it's Friday and I have a senior project meeting at 1pm and I have to do at least 3 hours of work on it before then, between actually doing the work I'm SUPPOSED to be doing.

I cannot wait for next quarter when this all calms down.

Here, have a highly addicting flower game.

http://www.addictinggames.com/seed.html
[/random babbling]

Jenn, dancing.serpent@<removed>.com
Minna no Anime Secretary

"Consider the common graveyard. There, the boundary between the living and the dead, is...indistinct."

~Review of the Week: Hyakkiyakou Shou by Ima Ichiko

"This is a series of stories dealing with ghosts, demons, monsters, and things that go bump in the night. Ritsu inherited his sixth sense from his grandfather, along with a demon guardian named Blue Storm. Strange things just seem to happen around these two, and it's left to them to get to the bottom of all these mysterious events. Each story is independent but features recurring characters you'll come to know and appreciate as they, each in his own way, try to deal with things 'not of this world'. "- Etc

I could go on an on for paragraphs about what makes this series awesome, but let me make this short. It's like Mushishi with a more shoujo-like style, set in a more urban place, and with gods and demons instead of mushi. So, it's pretty sweet.

The first 12 chapters are available from Etc.

~Enter Rant:

Fruits Basket is one of the best healing series ever.

Thursday is Jenn's birthday.

Lord of Pancakes and Syrup,
~Annaliese
"What becomes of snow?"

This week's schedule:

5:00 Fansub o' the Week
5:25 L/R: Licensed by Royalty (5): Tear Drop
5:50 Break
5:55 The Law of Ueki (18): The Law of Dogura Mansion
6:20 GUNxSWORD (18): Prayers are for Saudade
6:45 Break
6:50 Master Keaton (17): A Mansion of Roses
7:15 Mushishi (18): Clothes to Embrace the Mountain
7:40 Dinner Break
8:10 Otogi Zoshi (18): Ueno
8:35 Noein - To Your Other Self (18): Nightmare
9:00 Break
9:05 Le Chevalier D'eon (17): Medmenham
9:30 Ergo Proxy (18): Life After God

[random babbling]
%$^*^&*#%&#%^& GROUP WORK

...

Ok, got that out of my system. I feel better now.

In other news, today is my birthday. I am 23. Woohoo. I'm sure there are people on this list that remember me as I was when I first entered Cal Poly: a shy, quiet little Freshman 18 years of age, sitting silently in my same spot week after week and never interacting with anyone unless they started it. ...ha. How times have changed. I bet some of you wish I would shut up now, eh? Well too bad! I like talking. A lot. Because I have cool opinions, as you all know.

Well, anyway, the point I was trying to make with that bit of arrogance-laced prose up above is that I'm not the same person I was and that I have, in fact, improved quite a bit. Mostly. But we all have our character flaws.

I have no idea why I was even making this point, but meh. You write the weekly emails for long enough and they just sort of tend to become stream-of-consciousness babbling. I've learned not to scrutinize it. Much to your collective woe, I'm sure.

Anywho! Here's a site that, though it's currently down for maintenance at the time of this writing, is actually quite enjoyable.

http://www.wajas.com/

Yeah, it's another animal-breeding site. This one is for dog-like creatures called wajas. They come in all sorts of breeds, crazy colors, and mutations (like bird wings). If you join when the site's back up, either message me on the site at ID 67747 or email me with your ID and I'll send you a puppy. I'm having a litter explosion over the next few days.

See you guys at club!
[/random babbling]

Jenn, dancing.serpent@<removed>.com
Minna no Anime Secretary

"It's been over a decade since Jurassic Park opened, and I still size up buildings for their potential as shelter against velociraptor attacks."

~Review of the Week: Lapras Makes a Friend by Kunimi Kawamura and Toshinao Aoki

SPOILER ALERT!

"Lonely Lapras befriends a little boy and his Pokémon pals." -From the back of the book.

What? WHAT? They totally spoiled the book for me. Well, it's a good thing I read the book before reading the back. "Lapras Makes a Friend" is one of the books in the "Pokémon Tales" series, from which other greats such as "Come Out, Squirtle!" "Meet Mew!" and "Diglett's Birthday Party" are part of. These compact books tell gripping tales and teach life lessons. Their stunning full-color illustrations fill the reader's heart with passion and awe as you dive deep in the wonderful world of Pokémon. At sixteen pages, it's a quick read, but one you'll enjoy and always remember.

All the "Pokémon Tales" books were once available from VizKids, but I believe they are all now out of print. If you want to read the incredible adventure of Lapras, you can always borrow my copy.

...what? you didn't enjoy my awesome review? Okay, okay, I'll do another quick one.

~Enter Review #2: Alive by Kawashima Tadashi and Adachitoka

"A high schooler named Taisuke Kanou is living with his older sister, Youko, after the death of his parents. He lives a relatively quiet life until a massive surge of suicides around the world known as the "Nightmare Week" begins.

From that moment on, weird phenomena begin to occur around Taisuke. He is victim of space travelling illusions. He sees a smiling girl who jumps to her death from atop a building. His best friend, Hirose, is framed for murder. His classmates are killing themselves for no apparent reason. Furthermore, the police always seem to keep an eye on Taisuke while investigating Hirose's case. At the same time, a psychotic murderer appears, and he sees our protagonist as his "comrade". Will Taisuke succumb to all of these crazy incidents? Or will he be able to someday return to his old peaceful lifestyle that he yearns for?" - From Dynasty Scans

Alive, also know as Alive: The Final Evolution, is one of those series that gives me mixed feelings. Not "is this good or bad? I cannot tell" sort of thing, but I can't figure out whether I should be happy or sad. The book jumps from depressing to jolly within panels that leaves me feeling both and very confused. I don't think this is bad thing, on the contrary, I think it takes a lot of skill to do something like that and have it feel right. Nothing in this series feel out of place. Nothing feels forced. The flow and the character's actions just feel so right that when the mood changes, it's so well done, it's scary.

I can't really find anything I don't like about this series. The art is really nice, the characters are interesting, and the story is intensely interesting. I even like the minor characters. The team that works on Alive will skillfully introduce a character and have you nearly bawling for them later. Oh, and the covers! I wasn't really attracted to the cover of the first volume, but the cover for the third volume is simply incredible! Ever so often I'll open the scan I have of it to get inspired.

So so so, Alive is really cool. I think you all should read it.

Alive is still running in Japan and is currently at 13 volumes. It is currently being released by Del Rey (they're doing a really nice job on it), but scanlations are easy to find online. The scanlations and official releases are pretty much at the same point as of writing this, so I recommend buying the volumes because you'll probably get a cleaner version that way. =D

~Enter Rant:

I will be so happy when this quarter is done. I am going to throw myself a party. You know, a geek party. Put some anime on, eat some junk food, play on my DS. It's going to be a blast.

There should be an article about us in Thursday's paper. Huzzah!

~Annaliese
"To catch them is my real test, to train them is my cause!"

This week's schedule:

5:00 L/R: Licensed by Royalty (6): Lost Recognition
5:25 GUNxSWORD (19): Prayer's End
5:50 Break
5:55 Mushishi (19): String of Heaven
6:20 Otogi Zoshi (19): Shibuya
6:45 Break
6:50 Noein - To Your Other Self (19): Reminiscence
7:15 Le Chevalier D'eon (17): Medmenham
7:40 Dinner Break
8:10 Quarterly Movie: Paprika

[random babbling]
Ugh. I'm starting to go crazy. I hate group projects. HATE. Especially when those group projects start to take time away from my senior project. -_-

Well, no rest for the wicked, I suppose.

For those of you who signed up, remember that our quarterly Tsurugi trip is happening on Sunday at (I believe) 7pm. Also, as I'm sure you've noticed, the schedule is weird this week because we're watching the quarterly movie. We're dropping Fansub, Law of Ueki, Master Keaton, and Ergo Proxy this week. Yes, I know, I can hear the moans of pain over dropping Ergo from here, but it has to be done. It's a short, short series and hey, we're running out of episodes. At least the last one didn't stop on a cliffhanger, right? And this way we won't be out of Ergo halfway through spring quarter.

In other news, I finally broke down and ordered Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan. That game is just too darn good NOT to own. I'm ashamed of myself for having not bought it before. Although I have to admit that it might have been the near-simultaneous influx of paycheck, tax return, and birthday money that tipped the scales. ...ok, not "might have been". It was.

Er. I can't believe I didn't share this link before. It totally skipped my mind. Here, welcome to imeem, a site like youtube but primarily for music:
http://imeem.com/

Yes, you need to have an account to use it, but signing up for one is a remarkably fast and painless process. I think that there have been maybe two songs that I've looked for that that site doesn't have. Granted, you have to be online to listen, but that's not exactly a huge handicap. Plus you don't have to worry about having gigs of mp3s on your machine, taking up zee spacez. (some of us are still using laptops with 20 GB harddrives, lawl)

See you guys at club.
[/random babbling]

Jenn, dancing.serpent@<removed>.com
Minna no Anime Secretary

"Permission to speak freely, sir? I'm not sure you know what you're doing."

This quarter, instead of doing my usual manga suggestions, I thought I'd try something different. As manga fans, I believe there are certain artists it is important to know. Every week I'll pick a person who I believe is or was a prominent figure in the development of manga and say why I believe they should be known.

~Those You Should Know - Osamu Tezuka

Why You Should Know Him:
Osamu Tezuka is a god. He is the father of modern manga and anime. If you don't at least recognize his name, you should be ashamed of yourself!

Trained as a doctor, he decided after World War II that he could use manga to help convince the population to care for the world. Tezuka had always loved the environment and had a great fondness for insects, eventually naming his animation studio Mushi Production (mushi is insect in Japanese). He also used the kanji for insect in his pen name.

Tezuka was the one that made the large eye-style of drawing popular in Japan. He based it off of Betty Boop, Mickey Mouse, and Bambi. So next time you hear someone complain about large eyes in anime, you can tell them that it all comes from America.

Through out his life, Tezuka created 700 volumes or 150,000 pages of manga. His works vary wildly from children's tales to dark stories of deception and sexual awakening. His career was a series of firsts, he wrote the first shoujo, the first yaoi, the first yuri, and the first biographical manga. Some like to say that he invented everything worth anything, like ropes, chairs, and cats. This is, of course, not true, but it just goes to show the awe he put into his fans. His work became the basis for all manga and anime today.

Important Titles:
Astro Boy - My mother knows Astro Boy. My mother. Come on. It is a story about a robot boy in a time where robots co-exist with humans. Some is available in English from Dark Horse. A CG movie is in the works and scheduled to be released in 2009.

Jungle Emperor Leo (Kimba the White Lion) - My mom knows Kimba too. It is a story about three generations of lions that revolves around the interactions of wild creatures and mankind.

Ribon no Kishi (Princess Knight) - The first shoujo series. Princess Knight is about Princess Sapphire, a girl who pretends to be a boy and must straddle a male's and a female's life. One chapter was released by Viz as a celebration of Shoujo Beat's second anniversary, but there are currently no plans for a full release.

Phoenix - Said to be Tezuka's more profound and ambitious work, Phoenix was published from 1956 to Tezuka's death in 1989. It is an unfinished work that includes stories about immortality and reincarnation that range from the distant past to the distant future. Viz is bringing out Phoenix.

Ode to Kirihito - This work deals with despair, rampant racism, acceptance, and corruption. A young doctor, Kirihito, is infected with a strange disease that mutates his body to become almost dog-like and searches for the cure. Vertical released a gorgeous edition of Kirihito last year.

Black Jack - Along with Astro Boy and Kimba, Black Jack is the series that most people recall when Tezuka is brought up. Tezuka used his medical knowledge to help him create the story of Black Jack, a skilled but unlicensed surgeon who charges enormous amounts of money for his work. This is the longest of Tezuka's works. Viz published two volumes in the 90s, but Vertical will be bringing handcover versions starting in September. This is my personal favorite of Tezuka's works.

Buddha - An epic work which interprets Buddha's life. The 8-volume series is all available from Vertical in both hardcover and softcover editions.

MW - This is Tezuka's Anti-Tezuka work. In the seventies, many artists were striving to become anti-Tezuka. They were not against Tezuka, but they wanted to create works that were far from his usual style themes. Tezuka himself wanted to get away from the name he created for himself and so created MW, the story of a brutal unredeemable man who driven crazy after witnessing a chemical leak of the gas MW on an Okinawan island. This story has what is quite possibly the first occurrence of gay sex in manga and is ultimately a disturbingly moving tale of the darkest side of a person. It is available from Vertical

Also:
Pluto - This one isn't by Tezuka, but it is still well worth the read. Pluto takes one storyline from Astro Boy ("The World's Strongest Robot") and expands it into a 5+ volume tale. The main character is not Atom, but instead the robot detective Gesicht. If the retelling doesn't interest you, the artist should. Pluto is by Naoki Urasawa, the absolute genius behind Monster, 20th Century Boys, and Master Keaton (art only).

All in All:
If you enjoy anime or manga, Tezuka is a name to know. Even if you do not like his works, you should at least appreciate his contribution to today's manga and anime. His stories aren't widely available in the United States yet, but keep your eyes open, Vertical has been doing a spectacular job of releasing Tezuka's works and hopes are high that they will continue to allow us English-speakers to enjoy more and more of these works.

~ENTER RANT:

Hi guys, hope you had a good break. Mine was busy, but I got a lot done. This next part is a lot of rambling, so I suggest you don't read it.

I recently picked up a volume of the Darren Shan manga. It's a series that I've been collecting off and on. The manga is based off of the Darren Shan novel series about a young half-vampire. After finding out it was going to be adapted into a manga series, I read the first two volumes a year or so ago. Overall, I liked them (first book was pretty cool, the second one was not so cool), but the second book was such a let down, I didn't continue. The manga looked pretty cool (I love the style), so if I had a bit of extra money I would pick up a random volume. The system with the manga is really neat, one volume of manga equals one book in the series. It makes it really easy to figure out what part of the series I have when I buy a volume.

Anyway, that volume I picked up was volume 6, the last book of Vampire Rites, the second trilogy in the series. I had bought volume 5 some time ago, so I sort of knew what was going on, but I was completely blown away. This series is SO COOL. I knew I had to read more. Unfortunately, the SLO and Cal Poly libraries don't carry the books, and none of the used bookstores had copies, so I had to go to Barnes and Noble, but IT'S OKAY. I HAVE MORE DARREN SHAN TO READ. Now, this is a little embarrassing, I mean, the font size is huge and the covers are totally aimed at fifth graders! But I can't help myself. It's not even that these books are fantastic, they're just fun. Well, I think I'm done rambling. I think I can read another chapter before my next class starts!

Lord of Books Meant for Grade-Schoolers,
~Annaliese
"You should work doing the thing you like most of all." -Tezuka's Mother

This week's schedule:

5:00 Fansub o' the Week
5:25 L/R: Licensed by Royalty (7): Ivory
5:50 Break
5:55 The Law of Ueki (20): The Law of Cat and Mouse
6:20 GUNxSWORD (20): Wonderful Universe
6:45 Break
6:50 Master Keaton (24): The Day the Op Was Born
7:15 Mushishi (20): The Sea of Brushes
7:40 Dinner Break
8:10 Otogi Zoshi (20): Azabu
8:35 Noein - To Your Other Self (20): Once More
9:00 Break
9:05 Le Chevalier D'eon (17): Medmenham
9:30 Ergo Proxy (19): Eternal Smile

[random babbling]
Welcome to the last quarter of the year! My last quarter ever! Soon you will be rid of me! Don't cheer too loudly now. For anyone who's wondering I ALMOST got another 4.0 last quarter. Got an A- in ONE CLASS that dragged me down. I shall now flee before you all get the pitchforks.

Anyway, you might notice that the Keaton episodes will no longer be following a sequential order. Annaliese is just going to start picking the ones that she thinks are the best for the rest of the year. This should result in more enjoyment for all of us.

I'm pretty tired over here. See you guys on Saturday.
[/random babbling]

Jenn, dancing.serpent@<removed>.com
Minna no Anime Secretary

"Now, my blind eyes see what others cannot. That sometimes the hand of fate must be forced."

Those You Should Know: Shotaro Ishinomori

Ishinomori was a pioneer of the manga world, right after Tezuka. His series were incredibly long-running and popularized many themes still common in manga today. Some series have received multiple revivals in the forms of new anime, manga, and live-action shows.

Common themes in his series include heroes with totally awesome scarves (I kid you not) and characters torn between humanity and inhumanity.

Notable Series:
Cyborg 009 - If you don't know 009, you make me sad. Nine people are taken by the evil Black Ghost and turned into super-powered cyborgs. They escape and fight against Black Ghost. This is the first manga series with a superhero team. There are three anime series, and four movies, with a possible live-action movie in the future.

Kikaider - A robot with a soul fights against those who try to control him. There have been three anime series and three live action series.

Skull Man - A series about mass murderers in Japan committed by Skull Man and his shape-shifting assistant Garo. These are investigated by a certain detective agency. The original series was adapted by a different mangaka under the guidance of Ishinorimori in 1990 with a slightly different storyline. Both of these have cameos by other Ishinomori characters. Last year an anime series aired with a different story than all the previous ones.

Kamen Rider - Oh yes. He created Kamen Rider. There are about a million Kamen Rider series now (I think they're all live action), so the story varies with each one. Basically, most of the Riders are altered humans that rider cool motorcycles.

If you're interested...
...Check out Kamen Rider Spirits. This series has a couple chapters devoted to each of the Riders. The series is drawn by Kenichi Muraeda, and maintains a old-school feel. It's a really neat and well-drawn series, enjoyable even if you're not a Kamen Rider fan.

Okay, okay, one more thing. Does anyone remember the old Legend of Zelda comics that ran in Nintendo Power in the early 90s? The one with the first appearance of Wolf Link? Yes, you guessed it, Ishinomori's work.

~Enter Rant:

Wow is this late. I mean, jeez, so late. Sorry, I've been stuck between a mountain of work and a horrible streak of laziness. Not a good combination.

I've been watching Batman Beyond as I work this week. This show was SO COOL. It's a shame I only have seasons one and three... all my favorite episodes are in season two! Alas!

Lord of Dusty Shelves,
~Annaliese
"Eccentric Shonen Boy!"

This week's schedule:

5:00 Fansub o' the Week
5:25 L/R: Licensed by Royalty (8): Out of Phase
5:50 Break
5:55 The Law of Ueki (21): The Law of Seiichiro Sano
6:20 GUNxSWORD (21): Prayers to Heaven and Peace on Earth
6:45 Break
6:50 Master Keaton (25): Kalihman of the Desert
7:15 Mushishi (21): The Cotton Spore
7:40 Dinner Break
8:10 Otogi Zoshi (21): Ikebukuro
8:35 Noein - To Your Other Self (21): Illusion
9:00 Break
9:05 Le Chevalier D'eon (18): New World
9:30 Ergo Proxy (20): Goodbye Vincent

[random babbling]
Whew! Last quarter! Here we go!

Well, mine and Annaliese's last quarter, anyway. And webmaster Brian's as well!

For those of you who somehow managed to forget, we're having elections this week! Keep in mind that to run or vote, you need to be a paid member of club for this year. Bring $2 to become a member for this last quarter if you aren't a member and you'll be able to vote/run!

In other news, Batman Beyond is awesome and if you haven't seen any of it? You totally should. Especially the episode with the Batman Musical, where Robin is totally played by a girl. I almost died.

Guess what I got back into.

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com
[/random babbling]

Jenn, dancing.serpent@<removed>.com
Minna no Anime Secretary

"You hate me, don't you?
Lighten up, it's your birthday!"

Thursday, 6-10pm: Food Prep Practice @ Erika's Church (SLO SDA). Bring knives and cutting boards!

Map: http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/4559/churchmaptl7.jpg
(Sorry about the orientation, I must have forgotten to save after I rotated it!)

Friday, 5-?pm: Booth Set-up. We will be between the Library and the Math and Science building. This shouldn't take too long, especially if we have a good number of people helping!

Saturday, 5am-5pm: THE BIG DAY. We will be meeting at James, Eric, and David's apartment to lug parts of the train over. If you do not know where they live, come to my apartment (we'll have to move all of the food and cooking equipment from here anyway). If you do not know where I live, e-mail the list and I shall inform you. We will be spending from about 5am-10am setting up the train around our booth and prepping food. We start selling at 10:30. We will sell until 4:30ish or until we sell out. Whichever comes first. If you can come and help out, it would be greatly appreciated. You'll get a free meal if you work for an hour (no, you won't get a meal for each hour you work). The dance group will be performing at 1:40-1:50pm. Our time was changed, please make a note of them.

Please remember to bring sunscreen! I don't want anyone getting burned.

Cosplayers: You may want to bring a change of clothes and comfortable shoes. Even if you're cosplaying you'll need to work, so you may want to change into your costume after you work for a while. And I don't know about you guys, but I can only wear my Jacuzzi shoes for so long before they make my feet ache. =\

Let's all work hard to make this a successful Open House!

~Those You Should Know: Go Nagai

I'll keep this one short.

Wow, this is the first mangaka I've written about who is still alive. Huzzah, Go Nagai! Go Nagai was the person that created the concept of a giant robot with a pilot, sexual elements in manga, and transforming magical girl. Pretty neat.

Devilman - A mild-mannered man gains the power of a devil and fights against the other devils.

Mazinger Z - A piloted super robot is created as a weapon against evil.

Cutey Honey - The plot varies depending on the version, but basically Honey fights against evil by transforming into many different versions or herself, being able to change into anything from a biker to a camerawomen to a singer.

Violence Jack - Jack, a half-human, half-giant who is found in the ruins of a earthquake-wrecked city and is released upon the inhabitants. It's violent. I mean, the series is called VIOLENCE JACK.

Also:
Amon: The Darkside of the Devil - Based on Devilman, this series is illustrated by the incredibly skilled artist of Leviathan. The story is pretty strange and very gory, but it's absolutely gorgeous, completely worth the read.

~Enter Rant:

Wow, this week is buuuussssyyy. Next week regular MnM meetings start. WOOOO!

I'm watching Gargoyles right now. Freaking awesome series.

Lord of 90s Cartoons that ROCK
~Annaliese
"Shwaaaaay."

~Those You Should Know: Rumiko Takahashi

Honestly, we're talking about Takahashi. Please tell me you know her.

Rumiko Takahashi is one of the richest women in Japan. With series as popular as her's are, it's small wonder. Her series were not only hits in Japan, but also some of the first big series to be translated into English. She is the said to be the best-selling female comic artist ever, having sold over 100 million books. Trained under Kazuo Koike (Lone Wolf and Cub), she first started publishing in 1975 with doujin. It wasn't until shortly before 1980, when she started work on Urusei Yatsura and later Maison Ikkoku when her career really took off. She has won the prestegious Shogakukan Manga Award twice, once for Urusei Yatsura, and once for InuYasha.

Important Works:
Urusei Yatsura - A normal but perverted guy accidently proposes to an alien girl. The girl becomes obsessed with him, the poor guy loses interest and is shocked over and over again. Poor, poor guy.

Maison Ikkoku - The beautiful Kyoko takes over landlord duties at a broken-down boarding house and Yusaku, a student studying to get into college, falls head over heels for her. Unfortunately, he's not very good at confessing and he's not being helped by the meddlesome residents of the building.

Mermaid Saga - Eating mermaids' flesh really sucks after a while, because dying over and over again hurts a lot and is pretty lonely.

One-Pound Gospel - A boxer can't control his eating habits and is taken under the wing of Sister Angela, who is determined to break him from his gluttony.

Ranma 1/2 - A guy that turns into a girl when he gets hit by water. Oh come now, it's classic. You should know about it.

InuYasha - Time-travelling through a well, collecting Shikon shards, demons, romance?, action, you know what it's about.

So much awesome:
All of the previously mentioned series are available in the states from Viz Media. Unfortunately, I do not believe Urusei Yastura was fully released here, so I think you should tell Viz to finish putting it out. While you're at it, tell them to finish putting out Guyver too. =3

~Enter Rant:

I am so, so, SO proud of everyone that came out to help last weekend. We did very well and got many very nice compliments. You guys are really awesome.

I'll be announcing a bunch of upcoming contests this weekend, so make sure you show up. There will be some cool prizes for the contests!!

Lord of 'Why am I reading This Fanfiction?',
~Annaliese
"Out among the stars I sailed, way beyond the mood
In my silver ship I sailed, in a dream that ended too soon"

This week's schedule:

5:00 Fansub o' the Week
5:25 L/R: Licensed by Royalty (9): Suspended Game
5:50 Break
5:55 The Law of Ueki (22): The Law of Inumaru
6:20 GUNxSWORD (22): For Whose Sake?
6:45 Break
6:50 Master Keaton (30): The Highlands in Your Eyes
7:15 Mushishi (22): Underwater Shrine
7:40 Dinner Break
8:10 Otogi Zoshi (22): Ookubo
8:35 Noein - To Your Other Self (22): To the Future
9:00 Break
9:05 Le Chevalier D'eon (19): Until It's Colored in Crimson
9:30 Ergo Proxy (21): Shampoo Planet

[random babbling]
Oh man. I started feeling sick-ish last night and felt like crap all through the morning, too. I'm starting to feel a bit better now, which is good because I want to actually make sense during my senior project meeting.

Congratulations are in order for all of the new officers and thanks should be given to everyone who helped out last Saturday during Open House. You guys are awesome, we did well, and club survives yet another year.

Anyway, off I go to meet with my advisor. Hopefully she'll agree with my analysis: that I did WAY too much work this week.
[/random babbling]

Jenn, dancing.serpent@<removed>.com
Minna no Anime Secretary

"So, you're not upset about me killing you that one time?"

~Those you should know: Naoki Urasawa

If Tezuka is God, then in my opinion, Urasawa is Jesus. I don't believe there are many people out there as skilled in both art and storytelling.

Naoki Urasawa debuted in 1983 with the one-shot Beta!! His first breakthrough came in 1986 with Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl. Yawara won Urasawa his first of three Shogakukan Manga awards. In 1988, Urasawa began work on a work you should all know now, Master Keaton. From there his popularity grew and he slowly became the extremely talented mangaka he is today.

Urasawa's works have received nine prestigious awards; three Shogakukan Manga Awards, a Kodansha Manga Award, two Excellence Prizes at Japan's Media Arts Festival, and three Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prizes. His stories are very deep, bulking one running narrative with another and another and another. As the covers of Monster say, he is the "master of suspense," surprising and teasing readers at every twist and turn. It is also interesting to note that many of his series have ties with Germany (Keaton, Monster, Pluto...).

Important Works:

Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl - A skilled female judo champion is forced to compete when all she wants to do be a normal girl and have fun. The anime will be available shortly from AnimEigo.

Master Keaton - McGuyver + James Bond + Indiana Jones = Taichi Hiraga Keaton. Not only are the stories absolutely fascinating, but it's interesting to see the history woven in. I have yet to find a flaw in the accuracy of this series. The anime is available from the now-defunct Geneon.

Monster - A gifted surgeon, Tenma, is accused of murder and flees, trying to locate the true killer, a young man whose life he once saved. Now, Tenma is really awesome, but you know who my favorite character is? Grimmer. And Grimmer isn't even in most of the series! His story line is so touching and deep and just so amazing, it's mind-blowing to know that there is so much thought put into a minor character. Just think of the depth of the main characters! Monster won Urasawa his second Shogakukan Manga Award and his first Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize. The manga is slowly (way too slowly) becoming available from Viz Media. They recently released volume 14 (of 18). With some good fortune, they may also bring out the anime.

20th Century Boys - Kenji's simple life fades away as he encounters a mysterious conspiracy tied to his childhood. Now he must rise up against this enemy to prevent a world-wide disaster. 20th Century Boys may just be the best thing I've ever read. No, not manga. Best thing. It has such incredible writing, such fantastic characters, and such a remarkable story, I found myself in tears over the genius of it. I've never read anything quite that amazing. 20th CB has won a slew of awards: the Kodansha Manga Award, the Shogakukan Manga Award, and an Excellence Prize at the Japanese Media Arts Festival. Rumors are Viz Media will be publishing 20th CB after they finish Monster, but even the editor for Monster doesn't know for sure. That, or he's lying to me.

Pluto - Based on a story from Tezuka's Astro Boy, Pluto follows the robot detective Gesicht as he tries to unravel a series of murders on robots and humans alike. The series constantly asks the question, "Have robots become too human?" Now, I absolutely adore everything I've read by Urasawa, but I think Pluto is my favorite. To see Urasawa humanize these robots hits a soft spot in my heart. There is a scene very early on in which Geischt gives a mass-produced robot her husband's memory chip after he has been destroyed, and although her face never changes, you can feel the sadness she feels. It gets me every time. Every single time I read that scene, I cry. Pluto has won its share of awards, including the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize and an Excellence Prize from Japan Media Arts Festival. Also, one of my professors thinks Geischt is hot. I have to agree.

Naoki Urasawa is one of my favorite, if not my absolute favorite mangaka. Every work he has created has charmed and moved me, and it encourages me to improve my own work. I highly recommend checking out any one of his series, you won't regret it.

~Enter Rant:

Yay Urasawa! I really think the guy needs some more attention state-side. I knew I was going to write about him today, so I decided to watch some Monster as I worked on m senior project. I hadn't watched anything except the first episode, but since I'm reading the manga as it is released, I thought it would be fine to skip ahead a bit. I watched the episodes where Grimmer is introduced. For some reason, that put me in an incredibly good mood. So now I'm super freaking happy and it feels great.

And my senior project is nearly complete! I just have to tone two pages and letter three, and then my comic will be done! Words cannot express the happiness I'm feeling right now.

Life rocks.

Lord of the Reward System,
~Annaliese
"The Amazing Steiner!"

~Those You Should Know: Masakazu Katsura

While he didn't really break new ground with his method or win a million awards, Masakazu Katsura is an artist not to be missed. His work has long been eye-catching, but his recent series have been eye-popping incredible.

He s a big fan of super heroes, especially Batman, and it's obvious in his works.

Important Works:

Wingman - A story about a boy who creates a superhero and is given the opportunity to become that superhero to protect people.

Shadow Lady - Aimi leads a normal life until a demon named De-mo attacks her by brushing eyeshadow on her. This turns her into the thief "Shadow Lady!"

DNA^2 - Junta has an unusual allergy. He's allergic to women. One day he encounters Karin Aoi, who claims to be from the future and has come to his time in order to prevent the original "Mega-Playboy" from starting the world on a cycle of overpopulation. Unfortunately, she activates Junta's playboy tendencies and must get him together with his childhood friend in order to prevent the futue overpopulation.

Video Girl Ai - Yota Moteuchi checks out a video that somehow makes a girl come out of the TV! But Yota plays this tape on a broken VCR, causing this girl, Ai, to have emotions. This is a default, and the video store comes to take away the defective merchandise.

I"s - Boy has crush on girl, tries to tell her, but things always get in the way.

Zetman - This series talks about the origins of two heroes. Zetman (or Zet) is an awesome kid named Jin who can change into a powerful but slightly monstrous form. Kouga is a annoying twit whose family has the big bucks and creates him special suits to fight in. Obviously, Jin is better. Anyway, Jin grows up in three separate homes because tragedy keeps striking. He learns that he has been created to kill creatures named "players." His "creature form" is actually based off of an anime character created by the company that made him.

Read Zetman guys. Read it. It's really good. Kouga is pretty annoying, but Jin makes up for Kouga's fail.

~Enter Rant:

Two weeks to Fanime! I hope I'll be ready for it!

Lord of a Little Bit of Motivation,
~Annaliese
"I'm the king of the world, and to think, it's only May!"

This week's schedule:

5:00 Fansub o' the Week
5:25 L/R: Licensed by Royalty (11): Tug of War
5:50 Break
5:55 The Law of Ueki (24): The Law of Young Robert
6:20 GUNxSWORD (24): End of a Dream
6:45 Break
6:50 Master Keaton (21): The Thistle Emblem
7:15 Mushishi (24): The Journey to the Field of Fire
7:40 Dinner Break
8:10 Otogi Zoshi (24): Manseibashi
8:35 Noein - To Your Other Self (24): The Beginning (LAST EP)
9:00 Break
9:05 Le Chevalier D'eon (21): Honor's Compensation
9:30 Ergo Proxy (23): Deus Ex Machina (LAST EP)

[random babbling]
Wow, so how much do I suck? Somehow I totally, completely forgot about the email last week. I remember RIGHT as I was walking out the door for club. I'm...uh...kind of surprised no one reminded me on, say, Friday? You'd think someone might have gone, "Oh hey, that weekly email thing. You gonna do that?" and then I could have said "Frig!" and whipped up a quick email to please the masses.

In other news, I've already watched all the shows this week, so I know how they end! No, I didn't do that just because I simply couldn't wait. This weekend, for those of you who've forgotten, plays host to Mother's Day. I'm going to go visit my mom, because she sounded all sad over the phone. And sad moms are not a good thing! So yeah, no Jenn on Saturday. Be strong. I shall return the next weekend! Of course, by that time, we'll no longer be watching Noein or Ergo Proxy. Yes, it's true! Both shows are ending this week! In a way, Otogi Zoshi is ending too. This week is the "last episode" plot-wise, but there are (I think) two more episodes in a "special arc" after this week's episode.

So yeah, lots of endings. Speaking of which, senior project is coming right along. I might actually finish early. Of course, putting ~20 hours per week into it recently means that it's not like I've been slacking off. What about you guys? I'm curious: how many hours do you guys who've graduated think you put into senior project? I'm well over 100 hours total at this point.

Hm...must...think...of good website...

Bah. Forget it. Here's where I've been spending MY internet time lately:
http://www.move.com/
http://www.apartments.com/
http://www.apartmentratings.com/
[/random babbling]

Jenn, dancing.serpent@<removed>.com
Minna no Anime Secretary

"When the forces of darkness descend, in the name of justice, this fist! In the name of truth, these muscles! In the name of honor, this blood! Ha ha! Champion of truth and justice, Grand Papillon! Ready to fight all evil-doers!"

Those you should know: Hirohiko Araki

Araki is the king of Fabulous. Don't trust me? First, you should. I'm God. (Kidding, kidding). Second, have you seen any of his recent series? The homosexual vibes coming off of them can be spotted from miles off. Not that this is a bad thing, of course. And anyway, I can't think of any characters that he's created that are gay. Moving on...

Araki is famous for his unusual sense of fashion and style which has inspired multitudes of artists, designers, and even those in the fashion industry. His most popular work is truly an epic. Currently at 92 volumes, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure spans at least seven generations with a new JoJo in staring each one. The story mainly revolves around the Joestar family and their connection to the vampire Dio. Besides that, each arc (each arc is actually referred to as different series) vary quite a bit. The latest series, series 7 (Steel Ball Run), is about a cross-country horse race. Sorry, sorry, a FABULOUS cross-country horse race. I've never seen such fabulous jockeys!

JoJo isn't Araki's first work. He debuted in 1980 with Buso Poker. A few other short series followed, but none lasted more than a few years. In 1987 he began JoJo. Since then he has done a few one-shots, as well as covers and illustrations for magazines. Last September he drew the cover to Cell, a scientific journal.

Araki's work appeals to all ages. Early JoJo is filled with manly-men drawn in a very traditional style, and as time went on, his art style changed to fit (or perhaps inspire) the times. Don't worry, Steel Ball Run still has manly men, they're just fabulous.

If you pass up Araki's works, you're really missing out on a treat. He's a fine storyteller with a lot of artistic talent. Not many people can make a character wildly flamboyant but incredibly blood-chllingly badass at the same time.

Important Works:
Baoh - A young man has a parasite implanted in his brain by an evil organization. The parasite makes him immortal and allows him to transform into a beast. The organization plans to use him or world domination, but he has other plans... (This was available from Viz Media, but it now out of print.)

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure - I think I already gave the basics of JoJo. It's available in the states from Viz Media, but has only begun to release series three. It is currently unknown whether the earlier JoJo will or will not be released.

~Enter Rant:

Araki is fabulous~ FAAAAAABULOUS~! I have to say, out of the series I've read (only 1-3), my favorite has to be the latest, Steel Ball Run. It's so freaking awesome.

Here is a really cool lecture Araki gave a short while ago:
http://comipress.com/article/2006/06/30/387

I'm really, really, really sorry about not being able to show the rest of Giant Robo. I highly recommend buying it... you can buy it really cheap! In a poor attempt to make it up to you guys, I'll share the two OSTs with you guys. Just bring a CD or a flash drive to MnA or MnM, and I'll give them to you. If you like them though, please try to purchase them. They're also very cheap. =D

Lord of the Cosplay Gods' Scorn,
~Annaliese
"DIO DIO DIO DIO DIO DIO DIO DIO DIO"

This week's schedule:

5:00 Fansub o' the Week
5:25 L/R: Licensed by Royalty (12): A Day in the Life
5:50 Break
5:55 The Law of Ueki (25): Resurrection! The Law of Mr. K
6:20 GUNxSWORD (25): Fool Comes by Armor
6:45 Break
6:50 Master Keaton (19): The Forbidden Fruit
7:15 Mushishi (25): Eye of Fortune, Eye of Calamity
7:40 Dinner Break
8:10 Otogi Zoshi (25): Kimon
8:35 Le Chevalier D'eon (22): NQM
9:00 Break
9:05 Birdy the Mighty (1): Double Trouble: Part 1
9:30 Birdy the Mighty (2): Double Trouble: Part 2
9:55 Break
10:00 Birdy the Mighty (3): Final Force: Part 1
10:25 Birdy the Mighty (4): Final Force: Part 2

[random babbling]
So...yeah. One week I forget the email entirely and the next I CC the list instead of BCCing it. Sorry guys, didn't mean for you to end up with the big clump of email addresses at the top of last week's email.

Also yes, I listed after hours this time. We're watching all of Birdy the Mighty this week.

Ugh, it's hot. Hooooooot. Sun, go awaaaaaay. It's so utterly ridiculous to be sitting in your apartment, DOING NOTHING, and sweating like a pig.

Anyway, weekend with my mom was fun. I picked up an audiobook of Dune and listened to the first three CDs while I drove home on Sunday night. Good thing too, because I didn't make it home until about 11pm and I was exhausted. I daresay that audiobook kept me awake and therefore kept me alive. It was especially bad because the 166 was PITCH BLACK. No moon, no stars, no nothing beyond my headlights. Scary.

In other news, whee, my senior project is pretty much done. I just have two half-hour demonstrations to do and that's it. I just finished the paper of doom today. What's that? You want to know how long it is? No? Well, I feel like bragging. Counting the cover page, TOC, bibliography, appendices, etcetc...64 pages.

Yes. You read right and I did not mistype.

Sixty. Four. Pages.

I'm tired.
[/random babbling]

Jenn, dancing.serpent@<removed>.com
Minna no Anime Secretary

"Never measure the height of a mountain until you have reached the top. Then you will see how low it was."

~Those You Should Know: CLAMP

CLAMP began in 1989 as a twelve-person doujinshi (fan comic) group, but is now only four members. They first got their big start with RG Veda and have since published an incredible number of series.

Personally, I don't believe CLAMP has contributed much to the manga industry. I also think the quality of their works vary; some are truly breathtaking, some are recyclable material. I think that CLAMP's skill does not lie in their story telling or their art (which is often quite lovely), but their ability to create such a wide range of stories. Clamp School Detectives is bright and cheerful, while xxxHolic is dark and occasionally depressing. It's quite amazing that their artistic styles and storytelling styles can vary so much depending on the type of story they want to tell. That said, CLAMP's works are always popular and they have a enormous fanbase.

Important Works:
Card Captor Sakura - Probably the series that introduced most english-speaking manga fans to CLAMP, CCS tells the story of a girl who accidently releases a set of magical cards and has to capture them all. I have a crush on Yue.

Magic Knight Rayearth - Three girls get transported to a magical world where they must fight to protect it. I still have a crush on Eagle Vision. Oh, and don't watch the anime version. Please. Don't watch it.

Chobits - Appealing to a more male audience, Chobits is the tale of one man and the robotic girl he finds and falls in love with. I had a crush on— no, just kidding, in CLAMP's works, I only have crushes on Eagle and Yue.

X/1999 - The world as we know it will end in 1999. Kamui must decide which group to join, the Dragons of Earth or the Dragons of Heaven. One will protect the land, the other will protect the people.

Tsubasa-RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE - A group travels through different worlds in order to recover Sakura's memories, which are in the form of feathers. Each character has their issues, and has to overcome them to raise to the challenges presented throughout the series. Occasionally crosses over with xxxHolic and often involves CLAMP characters from other series.

xxxHolic - Watanuki attracts spirits and hates it. One day he stumbles into a strange shop where the shop owner offers to get rid of Watanuki's problem for a price—he basically becomes her housekeeper! Watanuki goes on missions for her, all the while encountering learning about different demons, spirits, and types of magic. Occasionally crosses over with Tsubasa-RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE.

My favorites (and the series I think are best) are xxxHolic and Legal Drug. xxxHolic, by far, I believe is CLAMP's most impressive work. The storytelling is very good and the art is breathtaking. Plus, I like demons and spirits, so it's a big bonus for me. Legal Drug isn't quite as good, but it has the same sort of feeling that xxxHolic does; a darker, slightly suspenseful touch with art that is very saturated in ink... many pages are soaked in black. I highly recommend both.

~Enter Rant:

FANIME! It was great! Minna no Nur-Puppy did very well and took Best Group Performance in the Masquerade. Thank-you to everyone who supported us!

We'll be signing up for our Tsurugi dinner this week. Remember, it's on June 8th at 7pm. Also remember that the Ergo Proxy contest and Law of Ueki contest entries are due on June 7th. That'll be a week from this upcoming Saturday.

[SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION] I'll be bringing Orichalcum, a comic anthology Nat and I created for our senior projects this week to Minna no Anime. It's an A5 size book, 151 pages, color cover with black and white interior pages. If anyone would like a copy, they'll be $10. Please don't try to get one for free, it'll make me feel bad, and I would really like to earn enough from this book to pay for its printing, because it cost me quite a bit of money. [OKAY IT IS OVER]

Lord of Shortly After Fanime is Finals? Oh Maaaaan!!,
~Annaliese
"China Dress Recognition System???"

This week's schedule:

5:00 Fansub o' the Week
5:25 L/R: Licensed by Royalty (13): Two Of Us
5:50 Break
5:55 The Law of Ueki (26): Terror! The Law of Anon
6:20 GUNxSWORD (26): Tuxedo Blowing in Tomorrow
6:45 Break
6:50 Mushishi (26): Sound of Stepping Grass
7:15 Otogi Zoshi (26): Minato
7:40 Dinner Break
8:10 Le Chevalier D'eon (23): Extremely Loved - Consequently
8:35 Break
8:40 Karas Disc 1: Karas Opens Its Eyes, Wheels of Flame, Destruction's Awakening

[random babbling]
Well, Fanime was pretty fun. Mostly. Some parts were almost unbearably annoying, but that's the story of my life.

School is winding down. Quickly. I'm really actually kind of swept away by the whole thing and I have a million tiny things I need to do, like calling the utilities and letting them know we're moving.

Schedule's all funky again this week. No Keaton and we're watching the first disc of Karas. The reason there's a break after D'eon is because the two discs of Karas are kind of more like tiny movies in their own right. There really aren't any episode delineations that you can easily spot; the episodes just run right into each other without a break. But yeah, Karas is truly awesome. You should all stay to watch it. ^_^

Geh. I have to go to my senior project meeting soon. and then I have to go home and finish my lab for class. >_o I am not looking forward to this. At all.
[/random babbling]

Jenn, dancing.serpent@<removed>.com
Minna no Anime Secretary

"You look like a bear wearing a marshmallow."

Don't forget! This week in Minna no Anime we'll be having our "Bring Your Buddy to Minna" day with fabulous prizes. We'll also be collecting entries and announcing the winners of the Law of Ueki and Ergo Proxy contests, which have even more fabulous prizes. Trust me, they're worth it.

~Those You Should Know:

This week, I'm just going to list a bunch of random series that I think are cool and you should read. I don't think I've talked about these before, but who knows?

-Violinist of Hameln by Watanabe Michiake - A group of travelers head northward to defeat the demon armies in the north. Only... the main character, Hamel is a jerk, another character, Raiel, has major problems around girls, and the main female character is ruthlessly used by Hamel. I'd say the character with the most sense is the Oboe, the crow. Oh, did I mention that Hamel and Raiel fight with magic music? The series gives out heavy doses of crack while still managing to keep up with a dramatic story line. Protip: Don't watch the anime.

-Verdant Lord (Midori no Ou) by Takashige Hiroshi and Soga Atsushi - In the future, we don't have to worry about deforestation, because Mother Nature is fighting back. Flora have taken over cities and huge plant creatures named Arethusa rampage through the lands while scientists race to find some way to defeat the onslaught of nature. When Shin Souma visits his brother, he discovers a group of children being held for military means. He frees the children when an Arethusa attacks the base, but is severely injured in the process. His brother injects him with some DNA from an Arethusa and forces Shin down a long and hard path of slowly losing his humanity as he becomes a plant creature himself. Oh man, it's so good. So freaking good. There are any scanlations and it's not licensed, but it's worth it to read the raw Japanese volumes. The artist pays such incredible attention to Shin's slow transformation, you can see little tiny parts of him change from page to page. It's really neat. The art is gorgeous and (as far as I can understand the raws,) the story is interesting. Protip: If you're a plant person, don't stand in one place too long. You'll grow roots.

-Darren Shan by Darren Shan and Arai Takahiro - Darren Shan is a manga series based off of the popular english book series by the same title. It follows, that's right, Darren Shan through his life as a human and part of his life as a vampire. The original books are a lot of fun (I know I've talked about them before), and the manga have entertained me just as much. They're really nothing spectacular, but lots of fun. The way the manga is plotted makes it very easy to figure out what part of the books it is in. Every volume of manga is one book of the series. So, because the Darren Shan series is twelve books, the manga should be twelve volumes. Protip: "The Purge" is not some disgusting bodily function, it transforms shotaish boys into legal boys. And makes me feel less guilty.

-Tegami Bachi (Letter Bee) by Asada Hiroyuki - Letter Bees are couriers who deliver letters and packages all over the dangerous land, Amber Ground, a land of eternal night. The story follows Lag in his quest to become a Letter Bee and find Guche, the Letter Bee who saved and inspired him. First off, dear gods, this series is gorgeous. Second, dear gods, Lag is so cute (he sort of reminds me of Jacuzzi too!). Third, dear gods, this is a series about couriers so it's not wonder I love it so much. Letter Bees get partners called Dingos that help them in their missions. It's really fun to see all the different Dingos. But, I like Lag's best. Guche's Dingo was cool too. Protip: Guns are useless without the right emotions to fire them.

-Banya: The Explosive Delivery Man by Kim Young Oh - Thinking of good courier series, let's talk about Banya. The world is filled with monsters, but never fear, even through the deadliest forests, your mail will be delivered. The story revolves around Banya, his past, and his deliveries. I can't go into much detail without spoiling anything, so I'll let you read it to find out more. I will say this though, if you're thinking that this is just some peaceful little story about couriers, you're dead wrong. Banya is probably one of the bloodiest series to sit on my shelves. Also on that note, if you can't handle bloody series, this is not one for you. Protip: The mail will always be delivered.

-The Bride of the Water God by Yoon Mi-Kyung - Following the manwha trail, let's talk about gods. In order to bring an end to a long drought, Soah is sacrificed to the Water God Habaek. She's in for quite a surprise when the Water God not only saves her, but takes care of her. Now Soah's new life begins in the Water Kingdom. Not only is the art amazing and the story incredible, but Dark Horse has a beautiful release of the first volume out now (Dark Horse also had nice releases of Banya). Protip: Don't anger gods.

-Karakuri Circus by Fujita Kazuhiro - Okay, sorry, I'm getting tired. Here's a copied description from Blackout. "The protagonist, Masaru, has just inherited a big fortune after the death of his father. However, people are trying to get their hands on it by any means necessary, even if it means killing him. Narumi helped Masaru from being kidnapped after fighting some weird guys. He found out that they're not humans but wooden puppets with amazing strength. After a hard fight, Narumi was forced to admit that he's no opponent for them; and just when he started to think that Masaru would be captured, Shirogane, Masaru's watcher arrives from France with a weapon, the puppet Arlequin. Here, begins the story of Karakuri Circus." What can I say? I really like clockwork/puppet/geared things. I was familiar with this mangaka because he is the creator of Ushio and Tora, but Karakuri Circus blew me away. Like Ushio and Tora, Karakuri CIrcus is drawn with a very rough, almost scattered style. It really helps portray the heavy emotions throughout the series. The story is very, very strange. The description above is just the tip of the iceberg. Throughout the 43 volume series, so much happens to each of the characters, it might take a quarter's worth of MnM e-mails just to explain it all. If you have the time, definitely give this one a shot. It may not grab you at first, but give it a little time and I'm sure it'll grow on you. Protip: Maybe replacing you arm with puppet's arm isn't the best idea.

Well, I think that's good. I'm sure I could find many more series to talk about, but I've blathered on long enough, Frankly, if you've read all the way through to here I'm quite impressed.

~Enter Rant:

So, this is my last Minna no Manga e-mail. I'm quite saddened by this. I hope you guys enjoyed my rambling for the last four years! I wish I could go on for another four, but it's time to pass the baton and for me to face that scary thing called "the real world."

I wish you all the best of luck! Have a great summer! (I'll be back to bug everyone soon enough, heh heh heh...)

Lord of Nightly Dances and Ghostly Shadows,
~Annaliese
"Provoke the new era, become a big terror, but my only rival is my shadow"

This week's schedule:

5:00 Le Chevalier D'eon (24): Origin of the Word
5:25 Break
5:30 Master Keaton (38): Hunting Season Part 1
5:55 Master Keaton (39): Hunting Season Part 2
6:20 Break
6:25 Karas Disc 2: The Human Otoha, The Fantastic District, The True Legend
7:55 Dinner Break
8:25 Tales From Earthsea

Other announcements:

• Don't forget the Tsurugi dinner this Sunday! If you are not on the list, then please DO NOT show up. Sorry, but that's the way it goes, guys.
  
• Also don't forget the Ueki and Ergo Proxy contests; all entries must be submitted BEFORE the dinner break!
  
• Ueki contest: What is your power and limiter, and what are your last two zai/talent?
  
• Ergo Proxy contest: What are you the Emissary of? What is/was your city like? How did/will you get rid of the people? Finally, what will you do when Ergo comes a'knocking?
  
• FINALLY, don't forget Bring a Buddy to Club Day. Bringing buddies will get you entered into a raffle for free stuff!
  

[random babbling]
Wow. It feels...really weird to say it guys, but this is my last weekly email. Ever.

I'm really looking forward to graduating. I've been looking forward to it for a while, actually. I think the appeal of school finally wore off to the point that going to classes was just painful. But even if it was distinctly un-fun at times, I always had club.

I've been coming to Minna no Anime for the past five years of my life, which is really pretty much longer than I've ever dedicated myself to anything other than breathing and writing. I've met a lot of really cool people in those five years, and a lot of them were through club. The people you meet shape who you are, I think, more than anything else except total catastrophes. I feel like I've really become a very different person because of club than I ever would have been if I hadn't started attending.

I want to thank you guys for being fun, interesting, and most of all for being my friends. For those of you who met me when I first started coming to club: thanks for talking to me when I was a shy little freshman huddled silently in a chair by myself. And when sophomore year hit and I started coming out of my shell, thanks to everyone who encouraged me and helped me figure out who I was and what, exactly, I had to say.

Now, at the risk of becoming all teary-eyed, I should probably stop there. I'll be at the meeting Saturday, of course, and at Tsurugi on Sunday. I'll see you guys there. And even though I'm heading off to Phoenix to join the world of life after college, I'll make sure to keep in touch.

Take care of yourselves; I wish you all the best of luck in everything you do.
[/random babbling]

Jenn, dancing.serpent@<removed>.com
Minna no Anime Secretary

"Closing time
Time for you to go out to the places you will be from.
Closing time
This room won't be open 'til your brothers or your sisters come.
So gather up your jackets, move it to the exits
I hope you have found a friend.
Closing time
Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."