A Childhood Friend: A VN review

This is the first time I’ve played a doujin visual novel and honestly, I didn’t really know what to expect from it. But it my faith in shinji’s work was justified when I played it.

SUMMARY

This is the story of K, a disillusioned otaku salaryman(well sort of) who is tired and fatigued from the daily grinds of life. One day, he wakes up from a dream about his childhood friend, Little Hisa(or as I prefer to call her, Hisa-chan) whom he has not met for nearly a decade.(based on the assumption that he is now a working man)

K then decides to take a couple of days of from work to return to his old hometown to relieve himself of the daily grind of life. When he arrives in his hometown, he notices that much has changed and his old house was no longer where it used to stand. K then decides to go to a local café and get a drink where he meets a mysterious girl whom he feels a connection with. After a brief conversation they promised to meet each other in the same place again the next day, After awhile, Hisa-chan in her loli form came into the café and began to talk to K in earnest about life and how people are too preoccupied and fail to appreciate the simple things in life. Hisa-chan then disappears after walking out of the café.

The next day, the girl whom K made the promise with did not turn up and it was beginning to rain so he decided run through it and fell face first when he hit a trashcan. The girl then appeared and helped him to a nearby bus station. K was clearly in awe of the girl but somehow he could not string together a coherent conversation with her and ended up making himself look even weirder. Finally K manages to get the girl’s name before she departs to the next city. Her name was Hisa.

A grown up Hisa-chan is fine too.

Back from his refreshing trip, K gets ready for his daily commute to work but on trai station platform he saw Hisa on the opposite platform when a train sped by and all he could see was his own reflection.

It seemed endless.

IMPRESSIONS

First off, congrats to shinji and his team for even managing to complete this VN. (This is still in beta phase I presume?)

The story in itself is rather simple, boy thinks of girl, boy goes back to find girl and boy meets girl again and falls in love. It kind of reminds me of Kanon where Yuuichi has ties to Ayu through a shared memory. I personally think the story could use some extra details such as why was K forced to leave the city 10 years ago? It also seemed too short for a full novel.

Character wise, this story’s main characters are rather interesting. K is portrayed quite well as the world-weary otaku salary man. He even throws a few otaku references. (Watch out for it, really had me LOLed) Hisa in loli form was also quite interesting as I take that she is K’s inner conscience and innocence. The adult Hisa on the other hand projects the perfect image of a woman of Mystery, never giving up information unless asked to do so.

A few suggestions I might like to add though is to extend the story and add in an arc for when they meet in the city again as adults and add in some romance ala Hachikuro and I think you will have a recipe for pure win.

P.S. if you want a copy of this just drop shinji a line at hi blog here.

Wonfest 2008: Wishlist

Just a short pic post about my Wonfest 2008 wishlist. Currently mustering the financial power to make most of it come true. ie, asking for allowance raises, working part time(possibly), scrooging, skipping meals, etc.

I think ill focus more on the Figmas and Revoltechs. Master Chief is way too expensive and Erika is a limited Edition piece. T-T

ALTER

KOTOBUKIYA

MAX FACTORY

KAIYODO

God knows how long i have been waotong for an Arm Slave figure or kit.

LET THE STRUGGLES BEGIN!!!!

EDIT:Added Miki to the wishlist. Priority: high.

Pics stolen from DannyChoo.

ACF(Anime Comic Fair) 2008: A brief coverage.

This would be the second con(can it be called such?) i attended this year. The first one being the MAGe Festa in Nilai. The location for the event was better this time as it was located in Berjaya Times Square right smack in the middle of Kuala Lumpur and i expected attendance and the cosplayers to be of better quality. The guys of The Figure Mall also had a figure exhibit on both days of the event. Too bad i could only attend today and i couldn't stay for long as well so don't expect too much detail from me.

I arrived at the scene at about 11.30 a.m. didnt look too lively so i decided to come back later.

The main attraction of the day for me was The Figure Mall's display because it gives me the chance to shoot figures i don't own but am interested in nonetheless. It was also great practice for a fledgling photographer such as myself.

The cosplay scene was rather dead though with quite a few familiar faces and costumes that were recycled from MAGe Festa. Guess there just arent that many cosplayers around these days.(i dearly wish i am wrong about this)

More doujin booth present this time around and the event itself was definitely commercialized with retailers setting up anime , computer games , and cosplay booth.(i spotted a Haruhi school uniform but didn't dare try it on.

I now leave you with the pics of the day.

Online games booth.

Doujin booths and souvenirs get the Laughing Man seal of Approval.
Wall of Gashapons

Next up The Figure Mall's display.

Woe is me for i have failed to get Tsuruya-san.

Konomi maid looks Moelicious.

I decided to get Rin after all. Will order her soon. Any Odeko(forehead) Fetishist out there?
Mirror mirror on the wall. Who's the most moe of them all?
Maid + Scythe= one heck of a killing machine.
Wish Max Factory will quickly produce a Mai and Shiori figure.
Nijihara Ink. Before and after. Which do you prefer?
Ok Kev, how you found such a cute promoter i do not know but you have got to introduce me to her. LOL. And do i spy Megami's there?( do inform me when you are going to order in bulk, i'll gladly join you)


COSPLAYERS
IT'S A TRAP !!!!!!
OMG not more Naruto. *facepalms*
More Naruto. *facepalms*
The Emcee himself breaking out a few moves.
Goth Lolis saved my day.

Wall of self expression.^^
Dango Daikazoku. courtesy of yours truly.

PROS AND CONS OF THE EVENT

PROS
1. Good Location
2. Music wasnt too loud
3. Better turnout than the last event.
4. Met fellow Otakus. (hope to see more of you all next time)

CONS
1. Cosplayers fail to impress me much. (too much Naruto. For heaven's sake try some other themes please)
2. The location looked a little too dull for me.
3. Turnout wasn't as large as i expected.

CONCLUSION
An interesting outing but not really what i had expected.

More Coverage: e-jump, Kurogane

Caramelldansen

Had absolutely no idea what this is until Danny made a post about it. Am currently hopelessly addicted to it. below are a few of my favourites out of the lot.


As AS said Fang= Moe.


Minami-ke version is best for Chiaki appreciation.


I LOLed.


Added for good measure.


I still prefer the Yuki version the best!!

1/7 Suzu Figure (Nagasarete Airantou)

Maker: Kotobukiya
Scale: 1/7
Price: 6090 yen
Release Date: June

Thoughts:
Looks like a rather good figure by Kotobukiya but i would have preferred if they had sticked to her normal clothes instead.

source: Alafista, Dannychoo

CNY loot.

CNY = Money = Spending
simple enough? >.<
well, i decided to use a portion of my CNY money to purchase some backlog titles in my list from Kinokuniya.

The loot.^^

1. Negima vol.16:
Finally, the school festival arc is coming to an end. I personally thought Akamatsu sensei dragged it for a few volumes too long.

2. Genshiken vol.6
Ogiues cosplay!!!!!

3. Genshiken vol.7
The gaijins are coming!!! The gaijins are coming!!!!

4. Gaunt's Ghosts: Traitor General.
Colonel Commissar Ibram Gaunt and his team of specialist are sent behind enemy lines to assassinate a captured and compromised Imperial General in the Chaos held world of Gereon.
Great writing once again by Dan Abnett who expertly depicts the desperation of a mission deep behind enemy lines in the most hostile environment imaginable.

5. Gaunt's Ghosts: His Last Command
Ibram Gaunts returns from his mission behind enemy lines but the experiences on Gereon has profoundly changed him and his team. Could he brush of accusations of taint and change the tide of the second front of the crusade?

6. Gaunt's Ghosts: The Armour of Contempt
Colonel Commissar Ibram Gaunt returns with the Imperial army to liberate the Chaos held world of Gereon but there are others who have plans for Gereon as well.

7.Gaunts Ghosts: Only In Death
The final book in The Lost arc.
"Only in death does duty end"
-Imperial Proverb-

Would write a proper review for the novel when i have time on my hands. I highly recommend the Gaunt's Ghost series. It is one of the best SF novels out there IMO it is filled with GAR characters and stories, a must have in fact for any Warhammer 40K aficionados.

Charms. Myths or facts???

After watching Clannad 17 and looking at other bloggers trying to replicate The charm from Yukine's book. I decided to give it a try myself.

Materials: 2 coins (any type will do i guess)

Methodology: Balance one of the coins in the upright position and repeat with the second coin on top of the first coin. Then chant "Ritafuni Kousoku Iita" 3 times. Then think of a girl whom you want to be trapped with in the gym storage room.

Results:

As you can see quite clearly the coins must be shaped and not totally round or else it would be impossible to balance it properly.

Conclusion: The charm itself is doable but results are unclear and further observation will be needed.


But enough with the charms. Lets just bask in the glory and beauty of Saint Kyou(who has officially replaced saint Valentine).

Admit it. You all want it.

A glimpse of heaven.

And a happy valentines as well to all you folks out there!!!!!