Ramblings of DarkMirage

Infinite Stratos

2011-04-25T11:55:46Z

Clichés make a show boring. The more clichéd a story is, the less interesting and enjoyable it becomes. But my theory is that this relationship only holds true until you hit a certain magical event horizon where the laws of the universe break apart, one gets divided by zero and clichés become art.

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Post tags: comedy, harem, infinite stratos, osananajimi, quad drill, romance, sci-fi, tsundere, twin tail

Trip Report: Nagasaki

2011-04-19T14:47:47Z

So I am finally back in Singapore. Experiencing post-trip lethargy as usual. I figure I should get started on blogging now before it becomes impossible for me to return to my usual weekly schedule and I fall into the eternal dark void of procrastination.

Nagasaki was the first city in Kyushu I really visited, not counting a short transit at Fukuoka, and it was pretty awesome.

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Post tags: atomic, japan, nagasaki, night view, peace, trip

Gunkanjima

2011-04-06T15:11:10Z

Gunkanjima, officially “Hashima”, is a tiny island just outside Nagasaki Bay. Consisting mostly of man-made concrete-covered landfills, the island was a coal-mining operation run by Mitsubishi Heavy Industry and once boasted the highest population density in the world. Today, the only way to land on the island is by forking out 4,300 yen for a cruise tour that departs twice everyday from Nagasaki Ferry Terminal.

I was there a few days ago and took some pictures.

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Post tags: gunkanjima, hashima, japan, nagasaki, trip

Maaya Sakamoto 2011 Live Tour (Osaka)

2011-03-28T18:20:47Z

Concert booklet and T-shirt

I expected last year to be my first and last chance to watch Maaya Sakamoto perform live, but I was wrong and my sentiments at the time were rendered somewhat hyperbolic in retrospect. In spite of the recent events in Japan, I managed to make my way to Osaka International Convention Center last night for her “You can’t catch me” live tour.

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Post tags: 2011, japan, live, maaya sakamoto, osaka, utsukushii hito

Space Battleship Yamato (Live Action)

2011-03-20T13:13:15Z

Hollywood has its flaws. Cookie-cutter scripts and commodification of art can often ruin beautiful things. But at least Hollywood gets the cinematography right and doesn’t usually suffer from the pandemic of awkward overacting rampant in Japanese mainstream cinema. 2011′s Space Battleship Yamato live action movie is anime-comes-alive, but in a bad way that constantly reminds you how stupid the world would be if everyone behaved like manga characters.

Still, it’s not a total disaster.

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Post tags: meisa kuroki, movie, sci-fi, space, space battleship yamato, takuya kimura

Tohoku Pacific Earthquake

2011-03-15T13:35:40Z

Sendai, Miyagi prefecture (Kyodo News/Associated Press)

I don’t normally like to write about breaking news because generally I find that I have neither the first-hand expertise nor the retrospective hindsight to comment on most real-time events non-trivial. The story would be very different if the earthquake had happened three weeks later when I will be in Tokyo and perhaps Kamakura and/or Tochigi, but it didn’t.

That said, I feel compelled to write something about the largest earthquake ever recorded in Japan after spending the past two days following the continuous Twitter updates and watching NHK and TBS news streams. So here it is.

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Post tags: earthquake, japan, nuclear power, tohoku, tokyo, tsunami, twitter

Catherine

2011-03-11T12:08:48Z

So I have been clocking a few hours into Atlus’ horror puzzler Catherine on my PS3 because Rie Tanaka was tweeting about it and I am easily influenced by Twitter. Surprisingly, it is actually not a bad game, but it takes a lot of patience to overcome the rage-inducing learning curve, and ultimately at the end of the day the puzzle stages are not what people play the game for, or maybe that is just me.

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Post tags: atlus, catherine, horror, nightmare, ps3, puzzle, sheep

The Physics of Puella Magi

2011-03-06T16:06:17Z

Mobius strips of death

Alternative title: “Why I think Kyubey should find a new job.” This post is going to be one huge spoiler, so don’t read on if you haven’t watched up to episode 9 of Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

I’m sure the latest episode has blown a few minds here and there. I thought it was an interesting development, but I always feel that trying to stick a half-baked science-y explanation onto what is essentially a standard fantasy setting tends to open the writing to unnecessary critical analysis that distract from the actual storytelling. And as much as that is a bad thing, people like me can’t help but run with it. So here’s my take on the subject.

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Post tags: entropy, mahou shoujo, physics, puella magi madoka magica, science

Evangelion Manga Revived

2011-03-04T03:40:53Z

Unrelated picture, but twin-tail Rei looks cool

So, Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, renowned for his awesome and unique illustration style closely associated to the Evangelion franchise and notorious for his inability to keep to a monthly serialization schedule, is bringing back Evangelion again according to an announcement in this month’s Young Ace magazine.

I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, I loved the manga and own all of them. On the other hand, this table of his past record speaks for itself. (Source: 2ch thread)

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Post tags: evangelion, yoshiyuki sadamoto, young ace

Japan Trip 2011

2011-02-27T14:33:35Z

Miyajima, Hiroshima (sauce)

It seems like I’ve been going to Japan every year for the past few years due to various reasons, so I guess this should not come as a huge surprise. Yes, I am flying to Japan again. Yes, I will be there for Maaya’s “You can’t catch me” 2011 tour, specifically the one in Osaka.

Come to think of it, this trip makes my waxing lyrical last year seem a lot less meaningful. Heh.

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Post tags: japan, japan rail pass, kansai, kyushu, shinkansen, tokyo, travel, trip