( Torrent the video | Direct download )

The video gets a little desynced near the end. I encoded it five times with different settings but to no avail. I think it’s something to do with using AviSynth to load the WMV source file. Oh well.

I really like the PV. :) Continue reading for the YouTube version. (Though you can’t really make out the subtitles…)

Anyway, I spent my time yesterday practising karaoke styling instead of revising physics. I rock at life. This time it’s Mirage Lullaby by YURIA, the PC-version OP of SHUFFLE!.

( Torrent | Direct download )

Read on if you are interested in the technical stuff.

The fade-to-grey effect is really just a modified version of 6-simple-effect.lua that is included with Aegisub. I added a bunch of \fad() and \move() for the movement. I was actually going to make something funkier with spins and stuff, but it’s too time consuming and I’m too lazy to write my own Lua script to speed things up.

Comparing this to my YoakeMae OP…

One line of ro-maji in YoakeMae:

{\kf110}ikusen {\kf54}mono {\kf54}mono{\kf157}gatari {\k2} {\k6} {\kf116}tooku {\kf101}inishie {\kf110}ni

One line of ro-maji in SHUFFLE!:

{\a1\move(110,470,160,470,0,6980)\fad(100,300)}
{\r\t(1100,1500,\1c&H808080&
\2c&H808080&\alpha&H55&)\kf24}a
{\r\t(1340,1740,\1c&H808080&
\2c&H808080&\alpha&H55&)\kf58}na
{\r\t(1920,2320,\1c&H808080&
\2c&H808080&\alpha&H55&)\kf47}ta
{\r\t(2390,2790,\1c&H808080&
\2c&H808080&\alpha&H55&)\kf24}e
{\r\t(2630,3030,\1c&H808080&
\2c&H808080&\alpha&H55&)\kf30}to
{\r\t(3330,4330,\1c&H808080&
\2c&H808080&\alpha&H55&)\kf150}
{\r\t(4430,4830,\1c&H808080&
\2c&H808080&\alpha&H55&)\kf60}tsu
{\r\t(5030,5430,\1c&H808080&
\2c&H808080&\alpha&H55&)\kf47}dzu
{\r\t(5500,5900,\1c&H808080&
\2c&H808080&\alpha&H55&)\kf48}ku
{\r\t(5980,6380,\1c&H808080&
\2c&H808080&\alpha&H55&)\kf21}ko
{\r\t(6190,6590,\1c&H808080&
\2c&H808080&\alpha&H55&)\kf33}no
{\r\t(6520,6920,\1c&H808080&
\2c&H808080&\alpha&H55&)\kf67}mi
{\r\t(7190,7590,\1c&H808080&
\2c&H808080&\alpha&H55&)\kf52}chi
{\r\t(7710,8100,\1c&H808080&
\2c&H808080&\alpha&H55&)\kf12}wo

I have never really paid much attention to the various Vobsub syntax documentations before this, but now that I have, it seems to me that it has a fricking lot of limitations (such as no overlapping of \t timings and one \move per line) and typesetters use all sorts of crazy hacks to achieve the results they want, usually involving multiple layers of the same line formatted and clipped in various manners. Of course, the smarter ones use Adobe After Effects instead… but that’s not hardcore and pure enough!

Moral of the story: Learn Lua or die when you try to manually time funky karaoke effects in microseconds.

I still suck at this whole thing and I can’t use anything more complicated than \kf and \fad(), but nevertheless it’s one of my better works if I may say so myself. :3

( Torrent | Direct download )

FEENA FTW!

This song came up in my playlist shuffle today and I suddenly felt like translating it. Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora is a story of love and hope about a girl who suffers from a terminal illness. The lyrics of the OP song to the OVA do a good job of conveying the bittersweet feel of the story.

Read on for the transliteration and original:

*sniff* ;_;

P.S. I wonder who the vocalist, nobuko, really is…

• Gedo Senki Insert Song – Teruu no Uta
• Da Capo II Vocal Album – Songs From D.C. II
• The Adventure Over Yui Horie (First Press)
• Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu DVD Vol.1 (Limited Edition)

Total cost: 18,062 yen

The sad thing is, the two DVDs are not mine. ＿|ï¿£|O I don’t have enough money to collect R2 DVDs…

Gedo Senki has been receiving bad reviews from Japanese fans who have seen it in theatres, but the insert song is so good that I bought the single anyway. Just listen to it:

[audio:teruu_no_uta.mp3]

This version comes from the movie OST. The version in the single is 4:49 long and has some bgm.

Read on for the translation and original:

Please visit us on IRC. (Look for me either as ThePaper or NagatoYuki)

The first half of the video is just scenes from the original game, but the second half is where all the Good Stuff ™ are. The new OP by yozuca* is good, but I can’t seem to locate the song title. If I have to take a guess at the title, I’d say “Kirari Sakura Yuki no Mau” since that is the first line of the chorus. Translations and screenshots of the promo video after the jump.

Part 1 (the song played for the first part is just the original D.C. OP, “Da Capo ~dai 2 botan no chikai~“)

お兄ちゃんへ
Dear Oniichan,
なんだかいろんなことがあったね。
A lot of things have happened.
長いような短いような、今考えるとちょっと複雑な気持ち。
It has been a long, and yet short, time and it overwhelms me with many emotions to think about it.
でもこれだけは間違えない。
But one thing is for certain,
みんなと会えてとても楽しかった。
I had a lot of fun after meeting everyone.
・・・・・・えへへ、なんかちょっとはずかしいや。
Hehe, this feels a little embarrassing.
ありあとう。
Thank you.
もうアメリカに行かなきゃ・・・・・・。
Now I have to leave for America……
さよならだね、お兄ちゃん。
This is goodbye, Oniichan.
――ずっとずっと好きっだったよ
–I’ve always loved you
もう一緒にいれなくなっちゃうけど、
Though we can’t be together anymore,
きっとお兄ちゃんなら大丈夫だよね。
Oniichan, you will be alright.
音夢ちゃんとしあわせになってね。
Live happily with Nemu, okay?
約束だよ。
It’s a promise.
ボク絶対また帰ってくるよ
I’ll definitely return
そのときも変わらず、優しいお兄ちゃんでいてね
When I do, please be the same gentle Oniichan, okay?
さくら
Sakura

Nanaka <3

Part 2 (there’s no onscreen text, so I translated the new OP)

Original

ひらり花に舞う雪と桜に思いを乗せて
桜の花　一片の雪 あれが君の笑顔を

誓い合った　あの木の下で　永久にこの夢を
二人出逢えたのは　こんな季節だね
あの日あの場所で　幸せのときめき繰り返して

きらり桜雪の舞う　愛に包まれたら
きっと輝いているよ　恋ãã‚‹æ€ã„は
きらり桜雪の舞う　大切な明日を
君と歩み続けよう　まっããçµ¡ã‚ã¦ã„くストリー

Nanaka <3 <3

Romaji

hirari hana ni mau yuki to sakura ni omoi wo nosete
sakura no hana hitohira no yuki are ga kimi no egao wo

chikaiatta ano ki no shita de towa ni kono yume wo
futari deaeta no wa konna kisetsu da ne
ano hi ano basho de shiawase no tokimeki kurikaeshite

kirari sakura yuki no mau ai ni tsutsumaretara
kitto kagayaiteiru yo koisuru omoi wa
kirari sakura yuki no mau taisetsu na ashita wo
kimi to ayumitsudzukeyou massugu karameteiku sutori-

Nanaka <3 <3 <3

English

I send my feelings to the snow dancing gracefully around the flowers and the sakura tree.
The sakura blossom, a flake of snow, they brought a smile to your face.

Under the tree we pledged ourselves to each other, we make this dream last forever.
It was in this same season that the two of us first met.
On that day, at that place, our hearts beat with happiness once again.

The sparkling sakura and the dance of snowflakes, wrap them with love
And the feelings of affection will shine brightly.
The sparkling sakura and the dance of snowflakes, for our precious tomorrow,
I will walk with you for ever, straight into this entwining story.

P.S. Yes, I did finally preorder the game. 9800yen + shipping for the limited edition. >_<

OP Screencaps!

The new OP is “Sentimental Generation” (せんちめんたる　じぇねれ～しょん) by Ami Tokito, whom I have not heard of before. It’s quite nice and catchy, though a bit slower Scramble. The ED is “Kono Namida ga Aru kara Tsugi no Ippo to Naru” (My next step comes only because these tears exist – このæ¶ãŒã‚るから次の一歩となる) also by her.

On a side note, Yuuka Nanri (of FictionJunction YUUKA fame) no longer voices Karen Ichijou (supposedly due to scheduling issues). Kind of sad. Also, that whatshisface guy who follows Kenji around seems to have a switch of seiyuu too. Other than that the cast remains the same as far as I can tell.

The next episode will be the long-awaited survival game episode. Final-fricking-ly. Itoko is going to pwn. <3

Speaking of which, volume 12 of School Rumble will be out this month! Hurray!!! Also looking forward to the rest of the new series starting this and next week. ^^

First pressing of disillusion by Sachi Tainaka and Anata ga Ita Mori by Jyukai. Woohoo! (Yeah, that’s two copies of each.) I’m still trying to decide if I should open them up.

And speaking of anime music, I need to know the lyrics for the fourth stanza of Hoshi ga Kanaderu Monogatari from episode 22 of Mai-Otome. I’m quite certain that the fansubs are wrong but I can’t make out the singing because of all the fighting that’s going on. Can’t wait till OST 3.

P.S. Miyu may have changed her name, but she still rocks. ^^