Despite my long KnS-silence, I still kept myself updated with the series behind-the-blogging-scene (among the rare few KnS fans out there in the English-speaking blogosphere too). I read chapter 9 of the manga about 5 months back, then I no longer heard of any updates, until recently. Chapter 10 came out in the April 2008 issue of Dragon Age (and I only got to read it last month), much to my surprise that it marks the end of both the Misao arc, and the entire KnS manga too My hopes to see the Ignition novels in its manga form has been crushed. ;___;

But oh well, no use moping about it now. Perhaps the mangaka also found the succeeding arcs to be a trainwreck, and decided that ending the manga with the novel’s best arc would be best.

Allow me to rant, as a prelude to this post. Feel free to skip this if you want.

So my computer suddenly went all tsuntsun and kept on restarting. I thought it just needed a little rest so I turned it off for a little while, about two hours, but alas, the problem still persisted. I suspected there was something wrong with my power supply, but thankfully, it was simply an MS OS crap error which I wasn’t able to find out because I can’t even enter Windows to diagnose the problem. I had to reinstall Windows and other programs I need again though, due to not relying on the power of Ghosts. So there, goodbye wasted hours for download, on the busiest day of the week. I still have to download KimiKiss, Persona, Shigofumi, True Tears and KimiAru! sigh… >_< In times like this I really wish I had a faster broadband... =__=

If this happens again, I think I'm really gonna go Linux, particularly Ubuntu, where I can have a sip of WinE instead of dealing with a crappy OS, and feel the power of Compiz Fusion.

*end of rant*

I was saving this post for later, but since I am still pre-occupied with other concerns at the moment, I guess it won’t hurt to opt for this instead :3

teaser pic, for less casualties.

The title should be enough hint that this has something to do with another ab(d)onimable man I posted about the other day. Curious to see the entirety of the picture? Then read on.

WARNING: Do not proceed if you don’t want your image of the GAR Kazuma to be tarnished

I’m all hyper today because I just got my package with the latest KnS Ignition novel, volume 5!! ^___________^ Thank you hmv for the speedy delivery~ <3 I bought some other stuff which delayed the shipping of my order, but it only took 2-3 days delivery. It's like I paid for Amazon JP’s economy shipping (which is no longer available for international orders, btw) but I get the express shipping instead! :DDD Minus the DHL bullcrap as well. So here goes another online shop I’m gonna frequent, aside from yesasia. I only order through Amazon JP when I have friends or officemates in Japan to whom I can send my packages. Err, sorry, I got carried away… >__>

Black vs White Kazuma~ otanoshimi~~~

As the title suggests, this is merely a “teaser” to the latest Ignition volume, which I still haven’t read. Yes, I know I’m getting excited over the wrong thing, because I’m supposed to be doing my write-up on Ignition volume 4 (with the Ayano matchmaking session) just like how I got excited over the upcoming 2008 Spring Season (with quite a number of shows catering to fangirls) instead of the 2008 Winter Season… >__>

But fret not because I shall do my best and finish that Ignition 04 post as soon as possible (just don’t expect too much, ok?). I’m gonna re-read Ignition volume 4 again before I jump to this volume, so I can go finish this backlog of mine. Hopefully, I won’t get tempted to go read volume 5 ahead, especially as I see the Black vs Kazuma picture, as well as *ahem* this *ahem*

Read on for some news regarding the author~

Finally, a post dedicated to my beloved Kaze no Stigma, after months. Since I wasn’t able to post a formal review of the series in its entirety, I think now is but the time to do so.

The “Tsun” Side

Kaze no Stigma started out as a potential epic. We have an antihero as the main lead, once regarded as a weakling by his very own family, but comes back with a vengeance, as a powerful Wind Contractor stronger than anyone ever imagined. Early on, we see hints of his tragic past, but we never saw him delight in angst (that is, until the last “arc”). He learned from all these experiences, evident in the very principles he imparted to both Ayano and Ren early on in the series. I remember Tj praising Kaze no Stigma when it first started, pointing out the GAR Kazuma as one of the biggest factors which makes this series enjoyable.

front and back side of the pillow cover

I recently did some random search for some Kaze no Stigma stuffs around the net, when I stumbled upon this. A huggable pillow cover with a butchered and almost stripped Ayano =___=;;; When will they ever stop ruining Ayano’s image?? She’s not a slut!

Since my deep frying has become such a lengthy post, I decided to chop in two. Here goes the 2nd installment of my deep frying, with more stuff on Lapis, Kazuma x Ayano antics, and the amusing bits in the ending the anime omitted.

If you think you’ve seen the last of me and my KnS crusade (novel and manga-wise), well, think again

The Kaze no Stigma anime has ended (or at least, the first season?), but that won’t be the last of my blogging of KnS :3 And as usual, here comes yet another deep frying I have as a follow-up for this recently ended anime series. As I’ve also mentioned in my summary, the anime ended similar to the novel, where lots of questions are still left to be answered (since the author is said to have an ailment and still can’t continue with the main arc). Given that, don’t expect me to narrate a conclusion shown in the novel, because there’s none as of now. I’ll just be doing some backtracking and once again fill in some missing tidbits omitted in the anime, particularly in the last two episodes. Major changes abound here like some lost Kazuma x Ayano antics and missing scenes in the confrontation with Lapis. The amusing remarks by our beloved characters in the end, one of which is Soushu’s cheer which I already mentioned in my thoughts on the last summary, is in part 2 of my deep frying. Enjoy~ (and sorry for the great delay of this one o__o)

Kaze no Stigma Episode 24 – The Ones Protected by the Wind

Kaze no Stigma finally comes to a close (though not quite) with this episode, where Wernhard’s plans behind Pandemonium is finally revealed. With the seed players killed in the previous episode, their souls become sacrifice for the summoning of this great demon which Kazuma, Ayano and Ren have to face. This final battle, together with other revelations (and possibility for a second season?) as well as the much awaited Kazuma x Ayano moment (for K x A supporters), and more in this final episode!

(I seem to have gone into trigger happy mode with this one… so many screenies @__@)

Due to the lengthiness of my commentary and deep frying of this second to the last episode, I decided to chop it into two. And here, I present to you the latter end of my deep frying, with some spoilers as to how Ayano and Kazuma’s conversation supposedly went in the novel. Enjoy~

Kaze no Stigma Episode 23 – Crimson Flame

The much awaited battle between Kazuma and Ayano finally happens in this episode, with Ayano showing how she can kick ass (even Kazuma’s) even without her partner’s help. How she was able to defeat the berserk and supposedly undefeatable Kazuma is shown in this episode, with little tidbits missing that my deep frying and “filling” will supposedly satiate for.