Sorry for being inactive for so long for posting, but recently work (and to some degree WoW) has been consuming a lot of my time...it seems that the workload has actually lessened now and I'll be trying to post more consistently (at least ONCE a week) on the new and interesting things that I'm wrapped up in otaku-wise!

Just to start off my blogging, I'd like to talk about this season's new anime which I've watched in the one word (followed by a lengthy commentary) structure:

Macross Frontier: Faithful
Reasoning: As influential a series as Macross is, this new addition to the Macross canon has brought back nostalgia from the gorgeously designed ships, background, and storyline. This is, without doubt, a very worthy successor to the original Macross and Macross Plus. The problem is...there seems to be a severe budget prioritization problem for the series as a whole; they are spending a lot on the mechs and not enough on the character animations, which account for a large portion of the series. Some extra money being funneled into improving character art would not only make the series better, but would make it easier to like the characters as a whole.

Kanokon: Boobies
Reasoning: Looking at the size of things, Chizuru's boobies are the star of this entiiiiiiiireeeee SHOW. Comparing against the manga, the degree of shotakon-ism in the anime is magnified in the 1000s and directs the anime very much into a 2-dimensional Tits & Ass genre. The quality of the production isn't much to look at either...this anime should be watched with only one thing in mind: fan service. If you're looking for anything else, it's probably a good idea to search elsewhere.

Druaga: Hillarious
Reasoning: This series pokes fun of many common archetypes found in MMORPGs in a such an interesting way (such as traps changing the cast to 2D sprite models) and keeps high production values throughout its run so far such that it really should be on the must-watch list of any anime watcher this season. GONZO doesn't have a good reputation ending anime series well, but here's to hoping that Druaga's finale will turn out as flourished and well-done as its opening.

Itazura na kiss: Spunky
Reasoning: This will probably be as close to a reincarnation of Marmalade Boy for anime that we will see anytime soon; it has a very strong cast and workable chemistry that keeps the lopsided relationship story going. This is definitely the love-comedy series I would recommend for this season.

Special A: Deceptive
Reasoning: Honestly, this anime plays out more like a shounen anime rather than a love-comedy anime, considering how physically competitive the protagonists are. My roommate likes this series a lot, so I'd say this is definitely aimed to people that like shounen anime like Greatest Disciple Kenichi, One Piece, and so on. The romance factor is quite light and wouldn't gross out these manly men watchers XD.

Code Geass Season 2: Overwhelming
Reasoning: Season 2 proved to be no different than Season 1 in being unpredictable for twists and being very creative in how many of the obstacles found in the series get solved. I'm personally quite impressed at how they managed to bring Kallen back to the playing field in the rivalry for Lelouch's heart when by the end of season 1 it seemed like C.C. has completely dominated by the very end. The yaoi-ness for the series did spike up for the initial few episodes with the introduction of Lolo, but it seems that the series going back in-tempo with what made it attractive in season 1.

That's all for now, and hopefully I'll remember to come back and blog more often......SOON! Until then, have fun..and take care!

I found this off Warren Ellis' blog last week. Far East Recording has been doing electronic music since 1989, and has recently started the OMODAKA project.

From the YouTube description:

Check out the video after the break.

Watch out Danny Choo!

According to the BBC, members of the Jedi Church in Holyhead were attacked by a man posing as Darth Vader. Apparently the guy was so drunk that he didn't remember anything after the incident. Reports state that the fellow vaulted over a wall and chased after church members while brandishing a metal crutch, wearing a black bin bag, and screaming "Darth Vader!" at the top of his lungs.

Read more at the BBC.

Hi all, sorry the site's been pretty inactive lately, we've all been busy with various IRL things. For the time being, I've disabled trackbacks. We were getting nothing but spam, and I just finished clearing about 20,000 of those. Until we can find a reliable spam filter for it, we're not going to be allowing any for the time being.

The reason for this decision is also partially influenced by this article, which was brought to my attention this morning by GarbledOne. It seems spammers are getting more and more creative in their methods, ruining it for everyone. I won't rant more than that--I'm sure you all have your fair share of spam to deal with.

Anyway, I have some new material to talk about, so expect to see posts from me this week.

Not content with only destroying lolicon, the Japanese cops seem to be striking Akihabara where it hurts the most: their street meido (Source: Mainichi Shinbun Wai Wai).
Loli-shota kei?

Right on the tail of Kadokawa Shoten canning the distribution of doujin games featuring their characters, Crypton Future Media has relented upon the doujin game community.
Robots make everything better!
According to Ejin Kenkyuusho, the developer of the doujin game that received a cease and desist from Crypton, they received an approval from the company to resume distribution the game. The catch? The name of the game has been changed from "Tatakae! Ore no Hatsune Miku!"(戦え！オレの初音ミク; Fight! My Hatsune Miku) to "Ike! Miku to Miku Robo no Kenkyuusho" (行け！ミクとミクロボの研究所; Go! Miku and Miku Robos Laboratory).

From the information provided and the letter that Ejin Kenkyuusho received, it seems like the original cease and desist was an attempt to prevent the doujin game producer from diluting and misrepresenting Cryptons properties. The letter states that Crypton had reviewed the game and found no problems with it. They only requested that the name be changed so that there is no misunderstanding with consumers that this is an unofficial title.

In addition to this, Crypton has made changes to their Piapro FAQ such that they no longer explicitly forbid the release of fan made games using their products. It now states that unofficial doujin games based off the Hatsune Miku family set of characters have no specific restrictions other than that the game does not damage the image of Cryptons products and follows their EULA.

However, the restrictions on the ero dakimakura still stand. orz

Via Anime News Network

Japanese doujin circle souvenier circ. has ceased distribution of their Suzumiya Haruhi doujin game titled "The Fierce Fighting of Haruhi Suzumiya" (「涼宮ハルヒの激闘」) due to a request from Kadokawa Shoten.

A happy Valentines day from all of us at Otakugen to you!
Stolen from Cafe Log

Sorry everyone for the lack of posts but for the past few days I've been feeling like Len will feel like in 30 seconds if he doesn't notice that road roller.

Anyway, hopefully get back into the swing of posts by next week. In the meantime, accept my bribe of random cheesecake and/or moe images after the break.

As I promised in my previous post, I have started the first of what I hope to be many Compilation Projects. The theme of Compilation Project 1 is "Yuki Kajiura vocal mix." This covers any vocal track she has composed for (herself included): See-Saw (and Chiaki Ishikawa), FictionJunction, Chiba Saeko, etc.

Yuki Kajiura: Fiction
In order to make my information gathering and tracking a little easier, I have also installed and launched the official OtakuGen.com wiki. It can be accessed at wiki.otakugen.com. (More info about the wiki after the break.)