Magic: The Gathering Online

Posted on July 11, 2011 by DarkMirage

MTG
Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite

Magic: The Gathering, the most successful trading card game ever, and I have an on-again-off-again relationship spanning more than a decade since the time of 4th Edition and Ice Age. Recently, I have been reintroduced to the game in the form of the digital version and spent quite a bit of time and money on it. Magic: Not Even Once.

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Posted in Games | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Trip Report: Kagoshima

Posted on July 4, 2011 by DarkMirage

Kagoshima

This is the post about my visit to Kagoshima in southern Japan. I am really pushing out these articles at the breakneck speed of a limping three-legged turtle, considering that I was in Japan in early April and so far have written on barely two places. At this rate I should be done around the time I graduate from college.

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Posted in Blog | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Game of Thrones

Posted on June 27, 2011 by DarkMirage

Game of Thrones

Games of Thrones, a new HBO medieval fantasy drama series, scratches an itch of mine that had not been properly addressed since Twelve Kingdoms. It is probably the most amazing thing on BitTorrent television right now, edging out Community which lost points in the second season for recycling its best episode from the first season.

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Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , | 12 Comments

Japan Anime Map

Posted on June 20, 2011 by DarkMirage

Japan Anime Map

Japan National Tourism Organization made a simple map showing the locales of some popular anime titles and the major anime retail hotspots across Japan.

While an interesting initiative, the map itself is rather light on details, so this is more of a standard tourism brochure with a twist than an actual guide for people looking for information.

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Posted in Otaku | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

SDN48 Singapore Live

Posted on June 14, 2011 by DarkMirage

SDN48
SDN48 posing in front of the Merlion, Singapore’s manufactured tourism symbol

I caught SDN48 live performing in Singapore at Scape last Friday. I was going to wait for the official concert photos to be distributed to the blogosphere before I write about it, but the PR minions are taking forever and my recollection of the event is growing faint as the curse of old age silently obliterates my memory.

So yeah, this is what I think. I’ll just add in photos later if they ever show up.

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Posted in Music, Otaku | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Wii U

Posted on June 8, 2011 by DarkMirage

Wii U

Wii U is the sound you make when you try to whistle but you don’t know how. It is also Nintendo’s new console announced today during E3 that finally brings them up to speed with Sony and Microsoft in terms of HD graphics and multi-platform titles.

Personally, I am not feeling it.

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Posted in Games | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Valkyria Chronicles 3

Posted on June 1, 2011 by DarkMirage

VC3

I’ve been spending the past two weeks burning my way through a long list of backlogged games I want to clear before school starts and I lose my NEET badge, including Shadow of the Colossus, Red Dead Redemption, Dragon Age 2, Mass Effect 2 and L.A. Noire.

Valkyria Chronicles 3 is one of them. And this time I am actually reviewing it in an almost timely fashion and nowhere close to the release date of the next game. Go me.

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Posted in Games, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Why Android will dominate Japan

Posted on May 22, 2011 by DarkMirage

Android

Sharp is releasing an Aquos Android clamshell phone with a 16-megapixel camera running Gingerbread. This is the latest step in Android’s quiet and gradual takeover of the Japanese phone market. I believe that Japan will eventually become a strategic stronghold for Android and in turn this will serve to shore up Google’s historically weak performance against Yahoo in search and online services in Japan.

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Posted in Tech | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

AKB48 Singapore

Posted on May 14, 2011 by DarkMirage

AKB48

A short press conference was held today for the opening of AKB48’s official merchandise store in Singapore and their first permanent theatre outside of Japan. There was also a short photography session with Misaki Iwasa, Mika Komori and Miho Miyazaki from AKB48 who were present for the opening ceremony.

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Posted in Music, Otaku | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

Neurowear Necomimi

Posted on May 12, 2011 by DarkMirage

Necomimi

A small Japanese start-up called Neurowear is marketing what it calls “Necomimi” — head-worn fashion gadgets that move in response to brainwaves. The company calls it “Augmented Human Body”. Or to put it in simpler terms: goddamn nekomimi cat ears that you can learn to control telepathically with your mind. This is serious science at work.

Videos and more information after the break.

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Posted in Tech | Tagged , , , , | 11 Comments