I, along with my friend, whom we shall call Bernice, decided to add a spin to our Valentine�s and celebrate it like how a Japanese girl would. Instead of waiting for guys to give us chocolates and flowers during this day of hearts, we were the ones giving out some sweet tokens to the guys in our project.

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Prepare for cheesiness and emoness!

Weeks after I watched Tokyo Marble Chocolate, I still wondered why I loved it so much. Despite having said my thoughts on the OAV in my review, I can�t help but think there�s got to be a deeper reason why it pierced through the depths of my heart. I wasn�t able to give this much thought, until Owen brought about the idea of a Personal TMC post for the ABC Valentine�s special, as we reflect on the show and how it relates to our personal lives.

It didn�t take me long to find out the answer to this from my TMC-loving heart. Let�s just say I was able to relate to both Yuudai and Chizuru, the stars of the show. Surprising as it may seem, I found myself being in both ends of the spectrum, though not in a romantic relationship setting. I�m a romance n00b like Eriko after all, though not as eccentric and lacking in common sense.

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Love and hate go hand in hand…

While Impz has enumerated the pros and cons of collaborative blogging, I think there’s one more con that need to be added to this list (something which most of us already know by now), especially since THAT is facing it right at this moment.
A counter-argument for the first [...]

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A hamster once told me that I remind her of Kona-chan’s otakuness.

Ok, it�s been weeks since I started writing this post, and now it�s finally out of my �queue of planned posts� list. By now, other bloggers are reminiscing their blogging nostalgia, and I�m reminiscing something else lol.

Let’s begin this post with a question, shall we? (to those who have been anime fans ever since the 90s…) Do you remember the time when there was no other way to watch animes but through local or cable television, betamax, VHS, or laser discs? Way back the dial-up age when you used the internet primarily for surfing, and/or communicating with fellow fans through mailing lists and forums?

I�ve been thinking about these good ol days, the time of the 90s which I�d call the analog otaku days. Hinano�s post about the absence of fansites weeks back made those memories even more vivid, compared to when I was first writing this post. Allow me to share some tidbits about my �analog otaku life� experiences, specifically before the dawn of the broadband internet�

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Yuumi and I share the same pastime, minus the fondness for tragic stories.

I�ve been thinking about this for quite some time now, ever since I noticed that I seem to be the only one freaky(?) enough to read mangas or novels in public transportation, at least in our country (Philippines). I know I�m not the only one who buys mangas here, as the manga business is steady flourishing with the coming of the North American-licensed mangas. The reason why I have yet to see someone do the same pastime during the long train or jeepney ride is either because (1) they�d rather read their mangas at the comfort of their homes or somewhere else (those who decided not to flaunt their otakuness), (2) the percentage of people buying mangas here are so few that there�s but a slim chance that I�ll run into one who will actually read it in public, or (3) the ones who buy these mangas are so rich that they don�t ride the public transportation like I do.

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(edited this post for one additional important “item” I forgot to add earlier =___=””)

I have previously mentioned that one of the likely reason why they are extending�or why they can extend�Shugo Chara to 52 episodes is because of the show�s marketability, or perceived profitability.

The manga was already popular before the anime hype, mostly among shoujo fans, but it was not until the anime aired that it became mainstream, or is on the verge of becoming one. The anime was well-received, by both men and women, young and old, despite its cuteness, frilliness, and saccharine shoujo goodness, supposedly aimed at young girls. The lightheartedness of the show, with its loveable characters and overall enjoyableness factor is what most likely contributed to this. Enjoyableness in this sense encompasses the smuttiness of the show, thanks to Ikuto~, which I believe guys enjoy in this show as well, pervs and non-pervs alike. In case of pervs who want to see more of the SekuHara (sexually harassing) Ikuto, it can also be interpreted as �projecting themselves to Ikuto�, with whatever desires they might have on loli Amu >.>����

The reception of old kimoota (kimochi warui otaku) guys to this show is attested by both these fanboys, and even more wild fanboys. The girls weren�t as active as the guys in the Shugo Chara events scene, but I�m sure they are just around the corner *points to self and these women* There�s also this kimoota who recently appeared, taking a footage of himself doing the LOVE POWAH attack, wearing the Humpty Lock toy half naked *shudder*

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You asked, we answered! Some more notes on birth order theory and how it affects us at school and a how the theory explains how only children behave. Read on for these and also find out why I love Haruka-neechama~

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I am sure a lot of you have noticed that Haruka ????, Kana?????, and Chiaki�s????? names contain the kanji for spring, summer, and fall, respectively. So, with winter missing, is there some chance that there is a fourth sister?!

Read on to find out about my little discovery about another Minami. Also, read about Alfred Adler’s birth order theory and how it affects the Minami sisters and us as well.

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“This is AMERICAAAAAAAAAAA”

I know this is quite a late “news” but oh well… better late than never. I believe this issue concerns not only Americans but the entirety of the Geneon consumers, hence I decided to write about this as well. Much of the focus however would be in the American anime industry which is directly affected by the incident.

Geneon USA has officially informed retailers that as of 5 PM PDT this Friday, September 28th, the company will cease all DVD production, sales, and distribution. All Geneon USA DVD titles scheduled for release after November 6, 2007 have apparently been canceled (ANN)

Back in August, it was announced that a merger between ADV and Geneon is in the works, leaving many fans in turmoil because of the risks it posed to the future of the US anime industry, with the dangers of having less competition in the scene. This alliance was apparently cancelled and after a few days comes the appalling news of Geneon�s �exit�. With the number of titles they have acquired for license, it is but natural for many fans to be greatly disheartened by this news. Fangirls would certainly be grieving over Kyou Kara Maoh, Saiunkoku Monogatari, and Shounen Onmyouji, among others, all of which are licensed by the aforementioned company.

Does this spell doom for the entire American anime industry? Will anime now crumble along with Geneon?

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