Similar timing as the year before, 2009 will be closing in just about 60 days. Isn’t it fun! I’m doubting Lawson will write a set of wrap up posts, but if such a thing occurs, it’ll be a Happy Christmas.

I do plan to assess my own experience through 2009 in year-end entries, but as usual, December is my animu-gold month.

December is love, and what better way to express some love and peace appreciation of 2009 anime than in batch marathoning. Devotion will be tough this year because I’ve been an inattentive seasonal watcher and the marathon list is hefty. but it’s nothing new and I quite enjoy it.

Unlike the previous years, where I reflected episodically on melative (auuu~ poor reflections are stuck without a view), I am debating whether I should revive reflections, use an excluded category here, or simply rely on liveblogging. O.o We will see.

To the various new blogs around the sphere, I encourage both annual perspectives and the December marathons for seasonal cheer. To those in the far North, enjoy your pre-Winter flurries. To my tropical and southern hemisphere pals, may December at least be cool T_T. I’ll be wishing upon BK-201 for chilly weeks to come.

So don’t forget the oranges and fresh brewed green tea on those cool days nor a good sake for those cold nights. It’ll all be over soon.

Hearts and stars to closing time.

Standing affectionately, face-to-face, one would think it were Spring.

There is nothing here, or rather, there is nothing extraordinary. From Me To You is a simple beauty¹. I am amused by the generic shoujo exposition; girl thinks about boy, boy silently thinks about girl, a tender relation begins. Given typical roots, why is this series particularly special?

Production… no, this isn’t the answer. While the production values are particularly appealing, I beg to differ that this is a specialized attribute which brings the series to another level². It cannot be said that the same experience would be achieved with less production, so I do consider it essential, but there is more, or less to this blossoming experience.

Subtle, is that which renders From Me To You my season gem.

Given all attributes of composition, I feel it is the little notions which bring an array of shifts and feelings to the viewer. The amount of effort is not excessive, and the resulting atmosphere is coupled with a completely natural tone. Fluent in human.

While I highly enjoyed the first episode, this realization of the smaller pieces did not occur until the second episode, where I was taken by surprise at how a minor event of ‘Changing Seats’ could manifest such a compelling presence of heartwarming emotion.

Shocked. It was safe to smile, and so I did. Perhaps I shed a tear as well, I don’t remember³.

Do you remember their faces?

Expression Bump 2

watched 君に届け (episode 02)

I has been touched! Poked right in the heart. Again, subtle, and the presentation is just brilliant. Emote! Quite possibly my season pick, just as Nodame Cantabile was in Winter '07.

on 君に届け 15d ago

I stand by that micro reflection, and with that I feel From Me To You is the series of the season⁴. While the premise is simple and perhaps childish, the presentation thus far is practically perfect; there is no excess, and the composure is brilliant.

Enjoy. Small. Things.

Liveblogging on Melative

Notes

1. I do not mean the production values, though it is very well done once acquainted with the character designs.
2. We should expect this quality of production, why not? It is being done right in front of our eyes.
3. w-w-why would I remember something like that?
4. The second installment of Darker than Black is quite massive, but being an already accomplished series in my book, the sequel needs no extra attention.
5. Choux confirms ‘Best Series of the Season’.
6. ETERNAL sees something else in expectation.

Starfish Bankai comes later

It is quite cute, but at the same time, there is fluff and retarded moe. Let’s face it, Kobato has starfish powers, and I am fine with that. Personally, Kobato’s disposition isn’t a detractor, and I feels her follies and expressions are a simple pleasure to enjoy, especially her expressions <3.

Of course, there is little reward in the experience thus far, except for the bite-size pieces of kyaa, but with the character-chemistry and hitsuzen of the first two episodes, I think something slightly more meaningful is brewing¹. I won’t go so far as to suggest the series as an “Autumn essential”, or even suggest giving it a chance, but I feel that the viewers aboard after two episodes aren’t going to be displeased; easy to enjoy one episode at a time².

Smiles are healthy.

Liveblogging on Melative

Notes

1 - Not expecting massive revelations, there is a lightness to it after all. I do expect good development between Fujimoto and Kobato, naturally XD, but that’s about where my expectations end.
2 - I don’t find this a good marathon, so I’ll likely be minimizing batches.

Cat Service

Super quick impression:

watched Nyan Koi! (episode 01)

Nyaa~! Amusing ^^ Premise is w/e, but the cat chatter is a nice element. Slight harem? Can deal. Mizuno's infatuation is just peachy xD

on Nyan Koi! 24d ago

Enjoyable enough. No issues. Moving along.

This series premiered over the weekend. I watched the first 15 minutes late one evening, and finally watched the full episode very late last night (two nights ago). I haven’t said anything proper about this episode, other than ‘lol’ or ‘it was quite funny’. I did have a few good chuckles, and within the abyssal depths of Google Reader Shared Items (GRSI), I did make a statement that the series wasn’t on the level to grasp the hearts of the ye diverse blogosphere. I stand by it.

Personally, I found the episode to be illegitimate, an episode 0. For the majority of the first 15 minutes, the viewer is presented with a number of anime references and source material references, while the characters trot along the fourth wall. The latter half of the episode felt more reasonable and less like it was dare I say, servicing itself.

As for the elements, comically it was fine, though I don’t think the references were hilarious. However, I question if the early part of the episode was even in the source material, or was this perhaps the adaptation’s way of saying “Hello, let’s be friends.” What do we know?

First, the episode was trying to break the ice with viewers by referencing franchises most up-to-date viewers would acknowledge. Second, it was totally servicing itself. Third, it displayed popular elements like harem, moe, and fan-service.

Intimacy is a concept rooted in closeness and familiarity, and this is precisely where I see the “bad” part of this episode trying to connect. I see nothing wrong here. While I did find illegitimacy, I found enjoyment as well.

Bishis, so what?

My enjoyment came mostly from the energy, lightness, tone, and the glimpse of a school life series that might have tried too hard early on. It was cute, with cookie-cutterish characters I was able to smile at here and there.

I have no doubt this ship is definitely sinking could capsize, but at episode 0 1, my foresight is shot. No, this is definitely not “the next best thing,” but for now, I’ll be modestly optimistic.

Notes

Why the hell do I write 80% of my posts in HTML mode D:?

Seinime asked about how to integrate the Melative microblog with Wordpress. There was a proper hook for this sort of thing, so I started a plugin which outputs Melative updates based on a given HTML comment (<!– URL –>). I’ve made some pages on this blog for Recently Watch and Recently Read titles. First, the  plugin.

The plugin currently supports two URL types using the format <!– http://melative.com/username/category/title –> or <!– http://melative.com/username/item# –> Note: The examples below are fully dynamic (the content is not in the database, rendered on display).

Single Update

<!– http://melative.com/RyanA/13233 –>

Multiple Updates

<!– http://melative.com/RyanA/anime/Hayate+no+Gotoku!! –>

completed Hayate no Gotoku!!

Great lovecom in a number of episodes, damn. Over until more seasons are revealed. Good news is that I still have 20+ episodes of S1, but S2 is more focused than S1. D:

on Hayate no Gotoku!! 2mo ago

watched Hayate no Gotoku!! (episode 25)

The epic adventures, a day in the life of Hayate. PACKYVENTURES. The comedy of misfortune. Last episode of S2 D:

on Hayate no Gotoku!! 2mo ago

watching Hayate no Gotoku!! (episode 25)

Hina in Wonderland. lolstyle~ and Candy Charas... USAGEE word.

on Hayate no Gotoku!! 2mo ago

watched Hayate no Gotoku!! (episode 24)

Sakuya and Hina totally stole this one; both #amazing. Past two episodes have been really nice high points, feeling the quality lovecom, and it's so distinct from S1-type episodes.

on Hayate no Gotoku!! 2mo ago

watched Hayate no Gotoku!! (episode 23)

Splendid combination of LOL and DOKI. Blend was just #awesome, Sakuya mo!

on Hayate no Gotoku!! 2mo ago

watching Hayate no Gotoku!! (episode 23)

That OP is so fab. KOTOKO FTW.

on Hayate no Gotoku!! 2mo ago

watched Hayate no Gotoku!! (episode 22)

Seriously #hilarious, servicey, and even manages to accentuate 1<3Triangle, but Maria, oh Maria. Nice covering of bases to amp the laughs and enjoyment. More of this or haremette focus please.

on Hayate no Gotoku!! 3mo ago

watched Hayate no Gotoku!! (episode 21)

Tama! Pretty funny, though episodic. The main problem when this series goes episodic is that the underlying threads usually go untouched. Maybe that's a benefit, who knows?

on Hayate no Gotoku!! 3mo ago

watching Hayate no Gotoku!! (episode 21)

Nagi's definition of ninja is super-ultra-gorgeous GOKAI! FFFF. The reaction is floorworthy. XD

on Hayate no Gotoku!! 3mo ago

watched Hayate no Gotoku!! (episode 20)

Maids. Poor Maria. The ultimate joke was alright; expected. Perhaps it's just me, but the content is getting a little less juice, and coming off more like S1.

on Hayate no Gotoku!! 3mo ago

watching Hayate no Gotoku!! (episode 20)

Maria. Maria. Oh Maria. :| Oh. Fresh.

on Hayate no Gotoku!! 3mo ago

watching Hayate no Gotoku!! (episode 20)

Maids. SRSLY. Gotta hand it to Maria for representing so well.

on Hayate no Gotoku!! 3mo ago

watched Hayate no Gotoku!! (episode 19)

Much in the fashion of S1 (kinda random, broken ep). Maria was fab with her humming, and Sakuya is so troublesome XD rawr

on Hayate no Gotoku!! 3mo ago

watching Hayate no Gotoku!! (episode 19)

rofl, why is this so random... Sunday Box. Open ze Box. hahaha

on Hayate no Gotoku!! 3mo ago

watched Hayate no Gotoku!! (episode 18)

Well played Hinagiku; the art of hiding joy. Hayate's curse continues haha.

on Hayate no Gotoku!! 4mo ago

watching Hayate no Gotoku!! (episode 18)

Seems they put some effort into the new OP. KOTOKO, Fun.

on Hayate no Gotoku!! 4mo ago

watched Hayate no Gotoku!! (episode 17)

Pretty fab episode, but a tad choppy, and mystical. Early onsen bit was filled with plenty of kyaaness.

on Hayate no Gotoku!! 4mo ago

rated Hayate no Gotoku!! 11

OMG... yea. Melative Ratings. You can make your own standards.

on Hayate no Gotoku!! 4mo ago

rated Hayate no Gotoku!! 8

Goes but where's the library change.

on Hayate no Gotoku!! 4mo ago

watched Hayate no Gotoku!! (episode 16)

Gah, more to come. Very enjoyable episode, mixed with nice level of sentiment; Mothers :) Focus sort of shifted off the harem, but the players are there.

on Hayate no Gotoku!! 4mo ago

Notice that the title may be left out and then it would retrieve updates only in the ‘anime’ category.

Theming

I don’t recommend leaving the HTML naked, so here is the basic structure of an ‘event’ item.

<div class=”m-ev”>
containing div
<div class=”E”>
Event item
<div class=”L”><img /></div>
Left, contains a title’s img when present
<div class=”C”>
Content
<p class=”A” />
Action - usually the title ‘watching XXX (episode Y)’
<p class=”M” />
Message
</div> // end C
<div class=”meta”><a /><a /></div>
contains a tags
</div> // end E
</div> // end m-ev

It’s quite easy to style the items by using .m-ev .E CSS selectors. One special type of ‘E’ class has the class ‘thread’ which means the item above it is contains the same context (title). These items will not have an image output for the title. The content is generated via XSL transform after obtaining the API XML, so it is configurable if need be.

Issues/Future Updates

• Selecting a certain number of updates. 20 updates is default.
• Calls are cached by URL, and expire after 5 minutes; s/b configurable.
• Relative links are wrong in the A div
• Default CSS could be inserted into the header

With the current implementation, it will be easy to make other calls the the API, and one such call I want to do is that of a user’s Library. The library list holds a good deal of information including ratings and tags. Optimally, bloggers should be able to show their ‘lists’ to visitors on-site, and not require them to go to some other service. Plus there is full theme/styling control. It’s a win situation ^^

If anyone wishes to contribute, I’ll go ahead and make a Wordpress plugin page. Most likely it will be placed along side the melative-link plugin mellow_bunny has tweaked.

A Certain Scientific Railgun is one of the more anticipated series this season, largely around the Mikoto-factor or the Mikoto-Kuroko-factor. In any case, it’s surely fun… and so much > Index, or so I’ve heard.

The group of girls very cute, individually and in their mutual chemistry, but the most intrigue comes from Kuroko and Mikoto being quite ESP’d up (especially the 電撃姫). J.C. Staff shows some effort in the action scenes, and the production quality reflects it.

Personally, Mikoto’s grand scene was a little corny at the start, but it fittingly serves to introduce her awesome powerlevel. On the other side of the core duo, Kuroko owned the episode a number of times… twice at once even.

hu~

*cough* ごめん〜

I’ll be following along, but (because there’s always a ‘but’) I figure it might be good to blend the experience in a similar fashion as I did with Hayate the Combat Butler!! So I will likely be queuing some of my Index backlog as Railgun proceeds.

Liveblogging on Melative

Kampfer didn’t do it for me. Given, the last few minutes left a slightly intriguing cliff, so I’ll at least give it one more episode, but the fluff outweighs the goal imo.

One positive aspect has to be Akane, the moebrarian with a serious persona shift after she Kampferizes or whatever, but it isn’t enough.

aa~tehe~

Can’t say Sakura isn’t that typically cute main girl either. The girls aren’t the problem.

We Can Haz Haremus

The issue being, a harem needs to float on more than simply nice, big busts. Watch the first ep, or RAEGQUIT like ghostlightning… the results are inconsequential I believe.

Steven says:

And as for certain people who just mail their comments to me instead of posting them, I really wish you’d register, log in, and post for yourself.

Okay, really now. Here’s a brilliant idea. Every blog should require registration to comment. That way we can have accounts on every single service just to achieve a fluid channel for communication¹.

Here’s an even better idea, let’s reform e-mail so that in order to send to myemail.com you have to have an myemail.com account. No no no, it’s totally great this way! That way, you can have like 150 accounts to sign into and check and talk on, but you know all the cool kids are doing it so you know it’s good….

ESTABLISHING THAT MOAR POPULAR = BETTER.

Meanwhile, []² I’ll continue my quest for Federation.

Notes

1) Fluid meaning we can communicate with “anyone,” “anywhere.” No.
2) I’ll reject this notion and respectfully refuse until the walled gardens truly disappear³.
3) My Level of Despair: Imagine if WordPress could only be used on wordpress.com

Congratulations! You Are a Champion

Hayate the Combat Butler, the second coming, recently ended. Overall, it was great, but the merit is restricted to a select number of episodes (let’s say 3-8, 10-13, 15-17, 18, 23-24)¹. Hmm…

Wow, actually that’s a good 75% of the series being at awesome-level lovecom. Given, the general power of the franchise are the subtleties between the main quattro, Ayumu, Nagi, Hinagiku and of course Hayate, but this is precisely where the 2009 version brought out it’s A-game. Although…

As with most of these long-running series, the episodic nature offers a mixed bag of relevant and non-relevant material, but one thing I enjoyed with Hayate is the distinction between these episodes; it was easy to determine on and off-track episodes.

Comparatively², the 2007 version was like a scattered slice/comedy affair with less relevant lovecom accentuation³. With 20 episodes left in my first season marathon, I feel I can safely say S2 was a delight. Despite the positive attributes, I do not think S2 can stand alone without most of the first 17 episodes of the season one.

Side stories and irrelevant episodes aside, Hayate the Combat Butler is quite charming⁴.

Liveblogged on Melative

Notes

1 - I can understand why Zaitcev didn’t get into it.
2 - Should be safe to do this because it’s a “sequel” from the same sauce source.
3 - Though the pure comedy aspect was very strong.
4 - Why on earth have I not been following the manga like Kurogane and FFVIIKnight.
Extra - I totally expect a 3rd season!