Moruze, Moruze!
27 December 2008
Merii Kurisumasu! I know it's actually been two days since Christmas but it's never too late to wish people a Merry Christmas (unless you're saying it in June). I'm currently at home for the Christmas holidays. It was a hectic last few days at university before I left. I spent so many hours trying to get an essay and portfolio finished before the end of term. I successfully managed to complete the 2,500 word essay and hand it in a whole day before the deadline! Unfortunately, my portfolio wasn't quite so easy to finish. I don't think I'm going to get a very good mark for it but I'm hoping it'll be above 50%. The reason for the tardiness was due to the fact that I'd left it a little bit too late to start recording my speaking task. As a result it turned out a bit crap. Oh well, there's still the second half of the portfolio to come in semester two. Hopefully I'll be able to rescue it by then.
As well as the portfolio, there was an exam in the Background to Japan module. It was only meant to be 30-minutes long but for some reason it ended up being 60-minutes. It was a good job too because I spent the whole hour writing non-stop and only just about managed to get everything down. It was the first time in almost six years that I'd taken an exam but it seemed to go quite well. I spent the previous day revising and luckily, everything that I'd revised came up on the exam. I was very relieved! Therefore, I'm expecting a decent mark when the results come back.
As a reward for my hard work, and to celebrate my twenty-fourth birthday, I bought an Xbox 360 console. It was only £129.99 so it was hard to pass up. I do plan on getting a Playstation 3 too eventually but I'm waiting for the next price drop. It's still too expensive to buy one at the moment. I'm really enjoying the 'next generation' games. I bought Eternal Sonata and Grand Theft Auto IV. The graphics looks amazing, even on my rubbish portable TV. I'm planning on getting a decent 19" LCD TV in the new year when my student loan arrives. I bet it's going to look fantastic when connected via HDMI. I can't wait!
Posted byHocchan at 3:54 pm 0 comments
Tsukareta...
04 December 2008
This last week has been really hectic. Since last Thursday I've been spending almost every night in the library. And by night I mean from about 9:00pm until at least 4:00am. The reason for this was because I had to complete a presentation that was due in on Tuesday, 2nd December. Normally it wouldn't have taken so long to complete such a short presentation, but this one had to be based on a 2,500 word essay that's due in on the 16th December. Therefore, I had to get a basic outline of the essay first before I could decide what to include in the presentation. I managed to write about 1,500 words in three days before I switched. I was working on it right up until 7:00am on the morning of the presentation. Thankfully, it wasn't until the evening so I still had plenty of time to get some sleep beforehand.
In the end I think I did OK. It was only in front of about eight people but for some reason I felt a little bit nervous. As a result I probably spoke too fast and stumbled over some of my words. But the main thing is that it's all over now and I can relax somewhat. I've got two weeks to write the last 1000 words on the essay, as well as complete my Japanese portfolio. Finally, I'll have to revise for a short thirty-minutes time essay at the end of the semester. It shouldn't be a problem though. I can always grind out some more late-nighters in the library! Those are really fun since there's always three or four of us there and we mess around quite a bit. I haven't had so much fun in a long time.
Posted byHocchan at 2:11 am 1 comments
Shiroi Chou No Samba
26 November 2008
This week has been (and will continue to be) an extremely busy week at university. I have to complete a presentation for my Asia Pacific class by next Tuesday. Normally that wouldn't be too much of a problem, if it wasn't for the fact that it needs to be based on a 2,500 word essay that I haven't started yet. As it is, I'm having to do some speedy research in order to have enough material to talk about for ten minutes. It would make a lot more sense to have the presentation after you've written your essay. I think I'm going to have to get started on the essay and have a rough outline to base the presentation on. It's a real challenge to try and maintain my high mark from the first essay. I'm determined not to give up my crown just yet!
With it being just over three weeks until the end of term, it means that I've also got to get a move on with my Japanese portfolio. I've already completed one of the four tasks that are required but I haven't really made a start on the other three. I'm hoping to complete a listening comprehension task by the end of this week, then perhaps a speaking task the week after. I'm a bit undecided about what I want to do for my last task though. I feel that I should work on my grammar since it's so weak but I'm not sure how. Hopefully I'll figure it out soon.
Posted byHocchan at 6:04 pm 0 comments
Iku Wa Yo!
20 November 2008
My laptop's hard disk drive finally decided to crap out on me a few days ago. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, I've had it for about six years now; so it was probably overdue for a massive disk failure. What was strange was that it happened quite suddenly, without warning. I turned it on one day and a weird, Windows 95 style log in screen appeared. I tried to log into my account as normal but it wouldn't let me, no matter what I did. I tried to use the Windows CD to repair the thing but it didn't work. After several hours of frustration I decided to give up and format the hard drive and start again.
I wasn't too concerned about having to lose all my files since I'd copied all the important ones over to my external disk months ago (thank God I did!). There was also the added attraction of being able to finally get rid of the damned FAT32 file system that my hard disk was formatted in. It was a massive pain trying to re-install all my old programs from before the crash. At the moment, I think I've managed to get all the settings back to how it was before. Unfortunately, the laptop doesn't seem to be running quite as smooth as it did. It takes ages to do simple things like starting a new program or initiating a download from Firefox. At least that annoying sound-distortion problem is gone. However, it does look like I'll be needing a new computer sooner that I thought...
Things have been better in my studies. I got my first essay back from marking and was astounded to find out that I'd scored 74%! That's the equivalent of a 'first' (or an 'A'). And here I was worrying that I'd not even get above the 40% minimum pass mark. I hope that my next essay will get a similarly high mark. It's certainly spurred me on to try my best for it.
Posted byHocchan at 7:44 pm 0 comments
Watashi No Ichi Nichi
15 November 2008
Guergh...somehow I've managed to catch a cold these last couple of days. I think it might have something to do with the freezing weather we've been having lately. It's not too bad though - all I've had is a sore throat, which developed into a chesty cough after a couple of days. It's been more of an annoyance than anything else. I hope it'll be gone by the start of next week.
I've been playing Rogue Galaxy this week. It's enjoyable for the most part, but it doesn't half piss you off sometimes. The main gripe I have is with the battle system. I was expecting it to be a turn-based RPG when in fact it's definitely an action RPG. That wouldn't normally be so bad, if it wasn't for the fact that the AI that controls your party characters is retarded beyond belief. They'll just stand around getting hit when they should be defending. Not that defending does anything, mind you. Seems like 90% of the enemies' attacks cannot be blocked. And that's a major problem when there's not much in the way of armour in the game. You can easily die within a few hits if you're not careful, and that's the thing that annoys the hell out of me. As for the story, it's certainly very entertaining so far. The English voice acting is surprisingly decent (except for one extremely irritating American teenage girl). I'll just keep grinding my way through it and hopefully the niggles will disappear eventually.
Posted byHocchan at 3:14 pm 0 comments
I Want Nobody, Nobody But You
13 November 2008
This is becoming a bit of a bad habit. I've been seriously neglecting my blogging duties of late and I need to rectify this problem. So what better way to kick-start my blogging revival than with a brand-spanking new post?! I'm still not entirely sure what I'll write about yet but I'm sure I'll figure it out as I go along.
I guess I can start by talking about the past few weeks of university. I've been quite busy with a 1,500-word essay in Asia Pacific and a 15-minute paired presentation in Background to Japan. The essay took about two weeks in total to get completed. It was quite a struggle to write as I've not written anything academic for almost five years now. I was quite worried about getting the whole referencing thing right. I think I've done it correctly but I can't be sure until the results come back. I'm hoping that I'll get at least 40% on it (since that's the minimum pass mark). Anything about 50% and I'll be extremely happy.
The paired presentation was also quite daunting. I'm not exactly the most confident person in the world, so the thought of standing up on stage in front of fifty-odd people and delivering a presentation was nerve-racking. My partner and I were up until 3:00AM on the night before the presentation trying to get it finished. We had to get up four hours later at 7:00AM to put the final touches to it. Thankfully, all our hard work paid off and we managed to do quite well. It was such a good feeling at the end once it was over with. Now I can relax for the rest of the semester and watch everyone else's presentations.
One problem I seem to be having at the moment is the lack of money /laugh. I know that the stereotypical student is always short of money but I didn't expect myself to be in that position. I've got to survive on £100 for the next few weeks until my scholarship payment arrives. This means lots of instant ramen and cheap meals. I can't wait for January when my next loan instalment arrives...
Well, I think that'll do for the time being. I don't want to exhaust all my material in one post /laugh. I'm going to do my best to update this blog again within 2-3 days. I promise to throw my Horie Yui CD out of the window if I don't!
Posted byHocchan at 2:05 am 0 comments
She Cannae Take It, Captain!
21 October 2008
It's been awhile since I last updated this blog. The reason for this is because I was feeling a little bit burnt out after having to update my WordPress almost daily. I've decided to give up on that for the time being since I really don't have the energy to do it justice. I'm going to turn my attention back to Kuroneko Doumei for the time being. This is my main blog after all.
It's been quite a busy couple of weeks at university. I attended the International Film Festival at the university and saw a couple of interesting films. One was a Chinese film called Blind Shaft, which painted a bleak picture of China's mining industry. The other film was a Japanese one called After Life. That one was a lot more optimistic about things /laugh! It was a very thought-provoking film that made you reflect on your own life so far. It was directed in such a way that it was almost like the people in the film were narrating their own lives. I later found out that some of the cast did actually recount their own lives for the film, hence why they seemed so genuine.
On the academic front, I've got a 1,500 word essay due in on the 31st October, and a 10-15 minute presentation to prepare with my partner. At first I was really worried about the essay. Having been over four years since I last wrote an essay, I was sure that I would screw it up completely. And I did for the first two drafts. Thankfully, I borrowed a book on essay writing from the library and it's helped me enormously. I now have confidence in what I write and my third draft is coming along nicely. For the presentation, my partner and I have managed to get the introduction done, as well as start research on the main content. We don't have such a strict deadline on this, so it allows us to work in a bit more of a leisurely pace than the essay.
The Japanese Language lessons are going fine. I'm really enjoying them, even though I've covered all the material before. The tutors are fantastic and so much fun to learn from. On my Asia Pacific module, though, I'm not having such a good time. I always knew that this would be my weakest module but I didn't know it would be so difficult to understand. It seems like I come out of the lecture without having learnt anything about the subject we just covered. I'm hope that it's just me being too pessimistic but I'm worried that I'm not going to be able to pass this module. Guess I'll just have to study harder.
Posted byHocchan at 10:23 pm 0 comments
Guuzen No Kakuritsu
07 October 2008
Man, I've given myself quite a lot of work by starting a new blog on WordPress. I've been trying to keep that updated after every lesson but I'm already falling behind because there are so many of them. That's on top of updating this blog as often as I can and trying to keep up with my reading list. Still, I can't complain, it's nice to be busy for a change. I feel that I finally have something to work hard for. The initial anxiety about university life has gone and I'm beginning to really enjoy myself. That might change once I get my first assignment (/laugh) but for now everyday has been enjoyable. Well...apart from the noisy parties the flatmates have sometimes but that's not completely unbearable. I just need to get myself a good pair of earplugs!
There was a presentation today by Daito Bunka University to promote their international exchange students program. It was mainly for the second year students but a few of us first years went along anyway. The talk turned out to be really interesting. I was really keen on going to a university that wasn't too far away from Tokyo and I think I've found that in Daito Bunka University. It has campuses in Tokyo and Saitama, and offers a wide variety of undergraduate courses. The accommodation fees are really cheap (they're cheaper than what I'm paying currently in fact) which is amazing considering that it's in a big city. The teacher who coordinates the exchange program (the one giving the talk) was really pretty too, so I think that sealed the deal for me! /laugh It's Daito Bunka University for me in 2010!
Posted byHocchan at 9:13 pm 0 comments
LaLaLa Ai No Uta
30 September 2008
Despite Royal Mail's best efforts to misplace my parcel from the face of the Earth, I finally managed to get my hands on it last Saturday. When I handed my card to the guy behind the counter, he disappeared for ages into the back room where they store all the mail. He took so long I was half expecting him to come back and say, "Sorry, it's still not back yet, come back next year" or something, but I was relieved when he came back holding a box with my name on it. I was tempted to leap for joy but the office was quite small and there were a couple of people there waiting, so I didn't.
I've spent a few days listening to the album and I'm liking it a lot. The booklets have some very nice pictures of Horie Yui taken in Guam, and the special casing feels nice and sturdy. As for the songs, they're very different in feel to her previous albums. I think it's to be expected as it was a gap of three years between her 5th album and this one. There are four singles included in this album, including 'Koisuru Tenkizu' which I bought. Out of the non-single songs, my favourite is probably 'Love Me Do' which has a nice upbeat feel to it and reminds me of something Morning Musume would sing.
Posted byHocchan at 6:25 pm 0 comments
Yan Nara Yanzo Kora!
27 September 2008
I've been quite busy lately playing Yakuza 2, which I bought on Wednesday from HMV for £19.99. I had been looking forward to playing this game for awhile so when I saw it for such a low price, brand new I decided to treat myself. I really enjoyed the first game, despite having to get used to the iffy controls at the beginning. It seems like they've fixed that problem for the sequel as it feels a lot more fluid. The fights are still as satisfying as they were before. It's just so much fun to hit people with random objects found on the street /laugh. The other aspects of the game are pretty much the same, even down to the layout of the first city. This time though, there's a whole new area to explore. Interestingly, the whole game is left with its original Japanese dubbing and is subtitled in English. This situation is exactly the same as Shenmue II on the Dreamcast. Personally, I'm quite glad it's turned out this way. Even though the English dub in the first game wasn't that bad, it's just so much better to hear Japanese voices.
Apart from that I haven't really done much else this week except feeling ill. It seems that as soon as I recover from one bout of flu I get another one. I even had to miss my first International Business lecture/seminar on Friday because I was feeling so nauseous in the morning. It's such a pain being unwell. I might have to resort to wearing a biohazard suit if I don't recover properly soon. Thankfully, I felt a lot better in the evening so I went to go watch Tropic Thunder with a few friends. It had been a long time since I'd gone to the cinema to watch anything and it was nice to hear thumping audio system they had there. I like it when you can actually feel the explosions as they happen on the screen. As for the film, it was very enjoyable. Lots of very funny exchanges between the cast as well as some great action sequences. I particularly liked the performances from Robert Downey, Jr. and Tom Cruise. Downey's portrayal of an Australian actor playing an African American was nothing short of genius. It's a film that's well worth seeing.
Posted byHocchan at 5:58 pm 1 comments
Where's My Frigging Parcel?!
22 September 2008
Urgh...today hasn't been the best of days. I've been struck down with the dreaded 'Freshers' Flu'. Thankfully, it's not too bad; just as long as I take some Paracetamol regularly throughout the day. The period between doses does feel pretty rough though, especially the dizzy spells, headaches, runny nose and sinus pain. It's a good job that I don't have too many lectures to attend during the day. It gives me an opportunity to recover. With some decent rest it should be gone by the end of the week at the latest.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the only reason why my day hasn't been ideal. I went home during the weekend and whilst I was there the postman tried to deliver a parcel to me. This was at 8:20AM on a Saturday morning though so I wasn't awake to receive it. They left me a card and told me that I could go pick it up on Monday (48 hours later). So this morning I trek into town (with a headache) to collect my parcel. When I got there I was reliably informed that 'it was not back yet' and that it might be back later that afternoon but most likely tomorrow... Let me get this right, they want me to come back on the train tomorrow, just to pick up the parcel that they told me would be ready to collect today?! You must be having a jocular moment with me... For God's sake! Just where the hell have they taken it over the weekend exactly? Did the postman take it back home with him at the end of the day for safe-keeping or something? Why was it not returned back to the depot?! More importantly - where's my frigging parcel?!
I wouldn't normally be so angry (maybe that's a lie) but I know for a fact that it's my Horie Yui CD from Japan. I was looking forward to being able to finally listen to her latest album today. But, no, Mr Royal Mail decides to play hide-and-seek with my parcel! I'm going to have to take the train back tomorrow after my morning lecture to collect it now. I'm not made of goddamn money, you know! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...
Posted byHocchan at 9:07 pm 0 comments
Otanjoubi Omedetou!
20 September 2008
Happy Birthday Hocchan! I know it's not the 20th September in Japan any more but at least I didn't forget this time (unlike last year). To think, it could have very easily been a different story. I've been so caught up with induction at university that I didn't even realise her birthday was coming up until I happened to check the diary entries on her homepage. In one of the posts dated the 14th September she mentions that her friend bought her some French pastries for her birthday. It was only then that it dawned on me. I wrote her a short message via her homepage but I don't know if it got through or not. I really should have sent her a proper birthday card in the post but I didn't think of the idea soon enough. I'll definitely do that next year. For now all I can do is hope she had a brilliant day and wish her all the best!
(I know that Townberry also has this image on her blog but you can never have too much Hocchan so I decided to post it too!)
PS. I've just realised that when I changed my layout in August I forgot to re-install the StatCounter code. That means I've missed out on over a month's worth of visitor counts. Oh well...it's back now.
Posted byHocchan at 5:54 pm 0 comments
Slightly Less Anxious Times
17 September 2008
Today hasn't been anywhere near as nerve-racking as the previous three days. In fact it was rather enjoyable. It could have something to do with the fact that I didn't have any meetings or inductions to attend today but nevertheless, it was stress free.
I had a lie-in and woke up around midday. I decided to take a walk into town and buy some clothes. I was trying to find a black short-sleeved shirt that had shoulder loops. I looked in quite a few shops but didn't really find what I was looking for. The last shop I went in (Primark) had some cheap items of clothing for sale so I picked up T-shirt and shirt. I also found a black long-sleeved shirt that had shoulder loops but they only had it in large size. I decided to take a chance and purchase it since I could always return it if it was unwearable. When I got back to the flat I tried it on and it didn't look too bad. I plan on wearing it over a t-shirt anyway and it can double up as a very light jacket during those days where it's too hot to wear a coat.
In the evening a friend and I walked down to the oriental supermarket I talked about yesterday. We found some nice stuff for sale; including some boxes of Pocky! I also bought some bottled green tea, Nong Shim pot noodles and soya milk. Afterwards, I headed back into town to find the Tesco Express store. It's quite a long walk to get to it but it's not too tiring. I passed the city museum on the way and noticed that it was free entry. I might take a look inside when I get some free time. Once I got to the store I bought some juice and some vegetables. Surprisingly they had some self-service checkouts in there. They usually only have those in the larger Extra stores. After that I headed back to the flat and had some cheung fan for tea and watched episode 10 of Code Blue.
All in all a very nice day!
Posted byHocchan at 7:54 pm 0 comments
Anxious Times
16 September 2008
It's only two days into Freshers' Week but it feels like it's been a lot longer than that. Perhaps it's because I haven't been getting much sleep (due to the noise from people during the night) but it's been a tough couple of days. At least my flatmates are pretty good. They like to go out partying and talking loudly but they're decent people. One of them was nice enough to let me use her crockery when I didn't have any at the start of the week. Another very kindly gave me a bag of White Rabbit Creamy Candies today. I love those sweets so much. I can't believe she managed to find them reduced and in a Tesco!
Speaking of Tesco, I haven't managed to find any in the city yet. I know there is a small Express store less than a mile from the flat but I haven't had chance to look for it. My friend told me about a small Asian food shop a couple of blocks and that has been an absolute Godsend. There's nothing like familiar foodstuffs to help you settle in to a new city. I also found out that there's another shop a little further away so I might pop down to that one sometime.
I haven't been settling in too well to university life. I'm not a person who adjusts easily to change. I don't like it. I like my regular routine that has predictable, regular occurrences. It's still early days and I should start to feel more comfortable after a few weeks once my lectures start in earnest. That is if I don't continue to panic and feel sick when attending them. The first few meetings have been nerve-racking and not very fun at all. When encountering a new, unknown situation I start to panic. This panicking leads to a very distressing nauseous feeling. And because I'm feeling nauseous I start to worry about people seeing me feel sick and that panics me even more. It's a vicious circle and it's very tough to concentrate on anything whilst it's happening. I just pray that I can relax more and stop myself from panicking so much or my first year is going to be rough.
Posted byHocchan at 8:29 pm 4 comments
It's Alive!
15 September 2008
I've created a new blog that focuses on my time at university. I took the opportunity to try out WordPress and so far it's going quite well. It's very similar in layout and function to Blogger so everything feels very familiar. This allows me to concentrate on the writing side of it as opposed to having to learn a whole new editing format. Anyway, if you fancy checking it out the link is along the top.
PS. The name comes from Horie Yui's band.
Posted byHocchan at 8:30 pm 0 comments
It's That Time Again
08 September 2008
Yes, it's that time again when I go scouring the internet for a new desktop wallpaper to use on my laptop. I thought it was about time I went back to having Horie Yui as my cover girl. In the past it's been quite hard to find good quality wallpapers of her but fortunately I stumbled across a website called Girlish-Beauty. There were five Horie Yui wallpapers in total and I picked out what I thought was the best one. I had to edit/crop it a bit using Photoshop (since the original was 1280x1024) but I left it pretty much as I found it.
I've recently started playing Magna Carta - Tears of Blood on the PlayStation 2. I bought the game months and months ago but only really played a tiny bit of it. I hated the diabolical voice acting and found the battle system to be rather clumsy and unwieldy. It's been sat on my shelf gathering dust ever since. But I decided to give it another chance since I may have judged it a bit harshly the first time through. Rather surprisingly it's not quite as bad as I remember it being. Sure, the voice acting is still atrocious and the battle system isn't the best but the cutscenes are fairly short and you get used to the controls after awhile, and you find yourself starting to enjoy it. It's growing on me so much I might even be able to complete it before the end of the week, if I'm lucky.
Posted byHocchan at 8:17 pm 0 comments
It Goes A Little Something Like This
04 September 2008
In reference to my previous post about Kurosaki's outfit in Kurosagi. I finally found a decent picture of it so I thought I'd upload it. I don't think I can manage the hairstyle (my hair always looks really messy when it gets to that length) but the outfit should be replicable.
Posted byHocchan at 5:38 pm 0 comments
Kanashimi Mo Kuratte, Ikiro
03 September 2008
I successfully enrolled for my course a couple of days ago via the university's online enrolment service. I'm now officially a student, hurrah! At the moment I haven't registered for any modules yet but I'm told that the tutors or course leaders will update my profile when the time comes. If there are any problems then I can always use the Module Change Form to rectify it. There's nothing else left to do now except pack up my belongings and move down to my new flat.
Unfortunately I don't know whether I'm going to get my student loan on the 15th September (when my course starts) or have to wait until the 18th. It all depends on the way the student loans company operates. If I don't get my loan on the 15th then I'm going to be struggling with money during Freshers' Week. That might be a massive headache as I'll have to buy lots of new things like bedding, stationery, books, etc. on a very meagre budget. I've asked various sources but it's still unknown as to how soon the money will arrive. I'll just have to cross my fingers and hope.
Speaking of buying things, I do need some new clothes when I start university. I'm tired of dressing like a tramp. I want to wear clothes that fit properly and are fashionable. I don't want to go too overboard but I've planned a new outfit that I can wear from day to day. It's based on Kurosaki's outfit from Kurosagi which consists of a black trench coat, black shirt, dark jeans and dark brown shoes. I might throw in a red tie for some extra colour if I'm feeling adventurous. Hopefully the whole thing won't cost me too much money. I've got a lot of other stuff to buy as well!
Posted byHocchan at 8:29 pm 0 comments
Sakusen Time!
31 August 2008
Right! I'm not going to do anything else until I've written a new post. No more procrastination! I've wasted enough time these last few days, sitting here, staring at the never ending blink-blink-blink of the cursor. It's really frustrating not being able to construct basic sentences because your brain feels like it's in a coma all the time. I've already had to delete several lines of text because they didn't sound right. I can see it's going to be an uphill struggle all the way. The anger and frustrating is beginning to well up inside me. I'm not going to give up this time though. No matter what, I will finish this post!
It will be two weeks until the start of university tomorrow and I'm starting to get quite nervous about the whole thing. It's a little different from the excitement of a few weeks ago. Back then I couldn't wait for the start of term. Now the reality of it is kicking in and it's making me a little worried. But it's all right, I know what will keep my mind focused - the thought of finally having enough money to buy Horie Yui's latest album and concert DVD!
The CD won't cost me too much but the DVD might make a big dent in my bank account. Not only is the basic cost of the item quite high, I've also got to get it specially ordered (which means paying a handling fee), get it delivered from Japan, and pay any customs and excise charges that might be levied on it (highly likely due to the value). In preparation, I've worked out a rough estimate of the costs involved for each item:
Horie Yui - Darling (Limited Edition)
Price (incl. tax): 3,000 yen (£15.20)
Shipping (Express Mail Service): 1,800 yen (£9.10)
Foreign Currency Conversion Charge: £0.70 + £1.50
Total Cost: £26.50
Horie Yui - Christmas Live (First Pressing)
Price (incl. tax): 6,615 yen (£33.50)
Handling Fee: 2,000 yen (£10.10)
Shipping (Express Mail Service): 2,000 yen (£10.10)
PayPal Fee: 414 yen (£2.10)
Foreign Currency Conversion Charge: £1.60 + £1.50
Import VAT: £9.80
Total Cost: £68.70
The price of shipping for both items is based on the most expensive option (EMS) so I can save some money if I choose a cheaper alternative. Also, the price of the DVD could be more or less expensive depending on how easy it is to find the first pressing edition. But if things work out like I've planned then I'll be spending close to £100 on those two items! Ouch...
Posted byHocchan at 4:35 pm 0 comments
Kawaranai Mono
22 August 2008
The piece of news that I hoped would never materialise has finally arrived. Due to poor viewership ratings, the Haromoni@ show will be cancelled. The last episode will air on 28th September. To be honest this is something I thought might happen sooner or later. It's still a bit of a disappointment to see it in black and white. In spite of all the criticism about its content I was a staunch supporter of the show. For all of its weaknesses and apparent lack of substance it was still something to look forward to every Sunday morning. To imagine it not being there after September is quite a depressing thought. There's no news as to whether there will be a replacement programme involving Morning Musume but it's not looking hopeful. What will it mean for the future of the group if their final bastion of their once mighty television kingdom has finally come crashing down? Only time will tell.
On a happier note, I watched Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo after a recommendation from Michael. I remember seeing the promotional poster for it when it was released in 2006 and thought it looked quite interesting. It's known as The Girl Who Leapt Through Time in English and was based on a popular novel by Tsutsui Yasutaka published in mid-sixties. It centres around a high school girl called Konno Makoto who discovers one day that she can travel through time. It's a bit of a novelty at first as she uses her powers on things like 8-hour karaoke sessions. As the film progresses, however, her actions begin to have undesired consequences on the people around her.
I wasn't really sure what to expect from this film but I was pleased with how it turned out. The artwork is on the simple side but still pleasing to the eye. The voice acting was decent, although I did find the sound of Makoto crying to be rather irritating. I don't know what the voice director was thinking but I'm sure high school girls don't cry like 2-year-old babies (do they?). Apart from that little aspect the rest of the film was perfect. Especially the amazing soundtrack and insert songs sung by Oku Hanako. Kawaranai Mono has been on repeat for three days now and I haven't grown tired of it. Fantastic song.
Posted byHocchan at 11:36 pm 2 comments
Asobimashou
14 August 2008
I bought Asobi Seksu's second album 'Citrus' from eBay a couple of days ago. I managed to get it for only £0.99 + £1.50 postage and packaging, which I thought was pretty good. It arrived this morning and for the most part it was still brand new. The only minor problem that it had was a massive (and I mean massive) sticker on the back of the cardboard sleeve. If there's a sticker on a CD/DVD case I usually leave it alone but only if it's an original sticker. This one looked like it'd been stuck on by some third party advertising their website. I managed to peel most of it off before it decided to screw me over and rip part of the lamination off. You can't really see it unless you angle it into the light so it's not too bad. I freaking hate stickers that don't peel off easily!
The reason for buying this CD is quite an odd one. I'd never even heard of the band prior to a couple of weeks ago. I saw their name being quoted on a forum and noticed it was Japanese (incidentally the name translates as 'playful sex'). I didn't think much of it but about a week later I saw 'Citrus' in HMV. I became intrigued and decided to listen to a few of their songs on Imeem. Thought they were pretty good and found their album at a great price on eBay so I bought it.
I can't really describe their style of music. A lot of the tracks have an ethereal sound to them. My favourite tracks are 'Goodbye' and 'Mizu Asobi'. They are different to the rest of the album in that they're more lively and have more of a J-Pop sound to them. I would have preferred it if they'd made the lead vocalist's voice a bit louder on some of the songs. It felt like she was being drowned out by the music. It's a decent album but nothing that makes you go "wow". I have no regrets in buying it though. Not when it only cost me £2.49!
Posted byHocchan at 1:32 am 0 comments
Wow! Wow! Wow! Party! Party!
12 August 2008
Although I'm very excited about heading off to university, I'm also slightly worried; even more so now that it's only thirty-three days until the start of term. My biggest concern is probably to do with how I'm going to 'fit in' with the people in my flat and on my course. More than likely I'll be a few years older than the vast majority of university students and I don't feel like I'll have much in common with them. Too be honest, I don't have much in common with people my age either.
I'm certainly not one for going out clubbing or drinking myself silly (I don't drink at all). I'd much prefer staying in and watching a film or playing a computer game. I really don't see the appeal of spending hours getting drunk in a place that plays shit music far too loud. I've tried it before and really didn't enjoy it. It might be awkward turning down invitations for things like that. People will probably reel back in horror at the thought of someone not enjoying the taste of alcohol!
I really hope that the people in my flat aren't going to be massively noisy and untidy. I don't want to be kept awake at 3'o'clock in the morning by bloody parties. People are entitled to have their fun, just as long as they don't go overboard. It's not all about partying in university you know (despite what the vast majority think). I also don't want to have to clean up the bathroom/kitchen every time I need to use it. I'm praying that I'll end up with considerate flatmates.
I won't actually know how it's going to be until I get started. I could be worrying about nothing but at the same time, I could be right to be concerned. I'll try my best to be open to new experiences and not shut myself in my room 24/7, but I will not compromise my own ideals for the sake of being 'popular'. I'd rather be know as the boring loner than the 'life of the party' (whatever that is).
Posted byHocchan at 1:08 pm 0 comments
Kuroneko Doumei Ver. 5.05 Alpha!
11 August 2008
I've done away with the ancient HTML template and joined the XML revolution! As a result my blog now looks 37.8% cooler than it did before (scientific fact). I wouldn't call it a completely new design (hence the ver. 5.05) but it has been made more streamlined and efficient. The main reason for the change was to improve the archive list. The old one listed every single month as a separate link and wouldn't allow you to view individual posts within it. The new template, however, does let you see individual posts and also has the advantage of being collapsible which saves a lot of room on the sidebar.
There are other changes too. The link list has been simplified and moved to the top, underneath the header. It gives me a handy 'home' button that takes me to the front page straight away. The old template didn't have that feature. The new font is a lot smaller which allows for more text in the same amount of space. Plus I think it looks a lot tidier than the last one. Amazingly, I've written a short paragraph for the profile section; something I didn't do for the last 3 years! There are also a couple of lists for me to mess around with below the blog archive. Nothing massively important but they fill the space in the sidebar quite nicely.
There we have it, the new Kuroneko Doumei is up and running. It was quite a struggle trying to get the code to do what I wanted it to but I managed it in the end. Not bad for someone with zero XML knowledge! There's still a slight issue with the spacing on pictures but it's a minor problem. I'll sort it out later if possible. For now, I'm going to marvel at the sheer magnificence of my creation (OK, someone else's creation, but I perfected it).
Posted byHocchan at 1:06 pm 0 comments
Natsu Love Romance
04 August 2008
I recently purchased Petit Best 4 and Petit Best 5 from dora ts17 on eBay. There are usually a few copies of Petit Best on this seller's store and no one bids for them. Most of the time I'm the only bidder and end up winning them for their starting price. Since they're so cheap I've decided to try and collect all the Petit Best compilation albums. They give me the opportunity to listen to some songs from Hello!Project that I wouldn't normally bother with. As a result I've discovered some very good songs that have become favourites of mine.
I'll start with Petit Best 4. The only song on the tracklist which really stood out for me was 'Uwakina Honey Pie' from Country Musume ni Konno to Fujimoto. I've become addicted to that song recently so I kind of bought it just to listen to that. However, the other songs on the album are pretty good too. In particular, 'Haha to Musume no Duet Song' has become my favourite track from the album. It's just so jolly and easy to sing along to. 'Natsu Love Romance' is also another great song that really suits the summer season. Overall, I think I prefer this album to Petit Best 5, just because it has a more consistent feel to it.
Petit Best 5 starts off good but dips in quality during the second half. There are just too many remixes on this album. I didn't mind 'Robo Kissu' or 'Roman ~My Dear Boy~' but I hated what they did to 'Piriri to Yukou!'. My favourite song on here was probably 'Good Bye Hello' sung by Abe Natsumi and Ishikawa Rika. It was the ending theme for a short TV drama they starred in a few years ago. That and 'All For One & One For All!' were the only great songs on Petit Best 5. A bit of a disappointing album in general.
Posted byHocchan at 7:59 pm 0 comments
Kakeba Naruhodo Pairotto, Pairotto
01 August 2008
Further to my last post, I have come up with an initial checklist of stationery that I'll be getting for university. The items in bold are what I consider the bare essentials for the first few weeks. Anything else is just shameless frivolity on my part. I'll probably split the list into two shipments so that customs and excise don't levy a tax on me for shipping so many pens into the UK.
1 x Pilot Petit 1 fountain pen - Black
1 x Pilot Petit 1 fountain pen - Apple Green
1 x Pilot Petit 1 fountain pen - Apricot Orange
1 x Pilot Dr. Grip G-Spec White mechanical pencil - Green
1 x Pilot Dr. Grip G-Spec White mechanical pencil - White
1 x Pilot Dr. Grip G-Spec Flash Colour ballpoint pen - White
1 x Pilot Hi-Tec-C 0.25mm gel ink pen - Black
1 x Pilot Hi-Tec-C Slim Knock 0.3mm gel ink pen - Orange
1 x Pilot G-3 0.38mm gel ink pen - Black
1 x Pilot Spotliter VW 2 colour highlighter - Yellow/Orange
1 x Pilot Petit 1 refill capsule - Black
1 x Tombow Mono eraser - Medium
1 x Tombow Mono Zero eraser - 2.3mm (round)
1 x Sura Kura pencil case - Blue/Black
As you can see, most of them are Pilot pens for a couple of reasons. Not only are they colourful and a pleasure to write with, but more importantly they use Aibu Saki in their television advertisements. In my book, anything that Aibu Saki endorses must be worth using!
Posted byHocchan at 4:37 pm 4 comments
This Is A Pen
As I will be heading off to university in just over 45 days time I've started to think about what I'll need when I get there. One thing every student needs is stationery. But I don't want any old crap stationery. I want the best. And who makes the best stationery in the world? Japan of course! I was a little worried about where I would procure them from but then I found this website. It has everything I could possibly want. I can't wait to put in a massive order come the start of term. And the great thing is I won't be spending too much since; A. pens don't cost much; and B. the exchange rate is so good.
It sounds really stupid but you wouldn't believe how excited I got when I saw all the awesome pens they had for sale. I have a massive fondness for bright coloured things from Japan. Is it a little bit weird to get so excited about pens? Probably, but I'm going to have the best stationery collection in my class, so there!
PS. Sorry about the mass amounts of expletives in my last post!
Posted byHocchan at 2:42 am 0 comments
Scooter Bastard Must Die!
26 July 2008
Which scooter B@ST@RD am I referring to? The TW@T (or maybe TW@TS as I'm sure there's more than one of them) that keeps riding his P!ECE OF SH!T scooter back and forth along the road behind my house, that's who. The KN*BHEAD makes the biggest B@ST@RDING noise ever and it P!SSES ME OFF no end. At random times during the day/night the W@NKER will ride past several times on his S*DDING T*SS-machine. Dear God, how I'd love to run the D!CKHE@D down with a lorry, that G*DDAMN @RSEH*LE. Shut the HELL up and give me some peace and quiet, you GIT.
Posted byHocchan at 9:06 pm 0 comments
Natsu Matsuri!
25 July 2008
It's here! At long last it's here! The long awaited (by me at least) Sunbreeze Festival 2008 has finally been announced. It's due to start next Friday 1st August. It's a week late this year but better late than never. I'm so happy it's finally here!
The main reason for the excitement is the appearance of a new swimsuit! From the illustration above it looks absolutely fantastic. I've been waiting for a new one for years. But there's also a new event to enjoy, as well as the usual goldfish scooping and fireworks. There's also return of the superb festival music that's always played at this time of year. I love it. So I don't want anyone, not a single person, complaining about how it's 'obnoxious', or I'll slap your goddamn face so hard you'll be eating through your ears for years.
Posted byHocchan at 6:25 pm 0 comments
Watashi Ga Iru Kara Daijoubu
21 July 2008
Sigh...........
...........Sigh.
I appear to be in one of those doldrums at the moment where nothing seems right. It's not like there's anything particularly bad or depressing happening. But it just feels like there's something missing. I can't figure out what that 'something' is though. Everything I do to try and occupy myself doesn't seem to work for more than an hour or two. I can't watch TV or play games without getting bored after a short period of time. At least I seem to have got the motivation back to update this blog. I would be in quite a bit of trouble if I didn't.
I hope this is a short term lull and that I'll be more positive about things soon. I have got a sneaking suspicion that it could be something to do with my terrible sleep patterns. I just can't seem to get a good night's rest at the moment. I sometimes wake up more tired than when I went to bed. I've tried going to bed earlier but I just wake up again several hours later in the middle of the night. Maybe I should try drinking some Horlicks or something like that. It better fix itself soon, or I may end up going crazy!
.........Sigh.
Posted byHocchan at 1:03 am 2 comments
Ayaka No Totsugeki Eikaiwa
17 July 2008
Great news! I'm only twenty miles away from an ex-member of Hello!Project! It's none other than Nagate Ayaka; formerly known as 'Kimura Ayaka' or just 'Ayaka'. She recently married a pro-golfer called Tanihara Hideto and they're over here in the UK for the Open Championship. The tournament started this morning but I don't know if she attended the first day due to the atrocious weather. It's awesome to know she's actually here in England. And so close to where I live too! If only I had some form of transportation I would go down there and try to get her autograph. Damn my non-transport status!
Ayaka was one of the earliest members of H!P and was one of the most recognised faces, thanks in part to her long-running English Lesson segments. She wasn't a member I particularly paid attention to but I was fond of her energetic personality. It was a big shock when she announced her graduation earlier this year. I wish her all the best in the future. I may start following golf tournaments in the hope of catching a glimpse of her! /laugh
Posted byHocchan at 12:50 am 2 comments
Akai Freesia
16 July 2008
I had planned to do something outlandish and amazing for my 300th post, but after a week of brainstorming I still couldn't think of anything. So instead it's going to be business as usual. Just a normal post about trivial matters that no one really cares about.
First on the list is Final Fantasy XI. Don't worry, it's not another rant about how the world hates me. It's actually the complete opposite. I've recently managed to acquire some pieces of armour that I'd been dreaming about for years. I got both Byakko's Haidate and Shura Togi on the same night. I'm so happy! I still can't believe that I actually own these now. The stats are excellent, and more importantly, they look absolutely fantastic!
I've started watching a show called Code Blue. It's a medical drama that has some big name cast members in it and will no doubt be the programme to watch this season. From what I've seen of it so far it looks quite good. It's about a group of four new flight doctors-in-training and their experiences as they start their positions. It's a very serious medical drama more akin to Casualty or Holby City than something like House. The plot doesn't seem to be driving towards anything at the moment but then again I've only seen the first episode. I'm sure it will get more engrossing as the series progresses. Definitely one to keep watching.
It's now less than 60 days until I start university. It's getting more and more exciting as the time approaches. I'm eager to start my new life as a student. There is a little bit of anxiousness about how well I'll cope with intensive study again after all these years. I'm determined to give it 100% though and hopefully that will be enough. My long term goal is to achieve a First-Class Honours. Failing that, I guess I'd settle for an Upper Second-Class. I'd be severely disappointed with a Lower Second-Class that's for sure.
Posted byHocchan at 3:58 am 1 comments
"Emo" Post? No Surprise There!
03 July 2008
I didn't realise being around me was so troublesome for people. I never go out of my way to make life hard for people but it just seems it just ends up like that. What is it about me that makes it so much work? Perhaps I've got some mental illness that I'm not aware of? One thing's for sure, I've found it very hard to get people to understand me. There aren't many people in this world who do. Ironically, the person that probably understood me most isn't around any more. Had I known my presence would cause so much distress to people I would have kept myself to myself more. Maybe I should just go back to being a social recluse?
Posted byHocchan at 6:07 am 3 comments
Deja Vu?
02 July 2008
I don't know what it is but I seem to be getting very pissed off about things in my old age of 23. Case in point, this current palaver over Zeni Notorious Monsters on Final Fantasy XI. The members of the linkshell started the process of killing ZNMs a couple of weeks ago (even though it took considerable time for everyone to get interested in the concept). It was clear from after the first week that I wasn't going to be very happy with the way it was going.
It seemed to me that things were not completely equal when it came to deciding who got to use their item and when. I was completely left out of the first week while some got to use two items. Then this week half the people got to use yet another item while I still had to wait. It wasn't until the very end of the night (it was past 5:00AM for me by this point) that I finally got my chance.
It's not that I don't want people to get their rewards, I've been helping out with the fights haven't I? But I want there to be a fairer system for people who want to use their item. People that get to use more than one item a week and/or an item every week are clearly going to get more rewards than someone who doesn't. And every time they get to redo a fight because nothing dropped on the first try it delays things further. How is it fair that one person gets to do multiple fights and another person only gets time to do one?
I would much rather see a system where people got an equal number of chances to use an item. Someone wants to fight their ZNM again? Fine, but the other people get an extra fight to make up, ie. Person A spawns two ZNMs one night; Person A doesn't get to do another until the rest have also spawned two. Not a flawless system, but at least everyone gets the same number of chances. At the moment it's heavily biased. And I don't think I can carry on if that's the way it's going to be.
Posted byHocchan at 6:32 am 0 comments
Handbags At Dawn
01 July 2008
It's only 74 days until I move into my student accommodation and, 76 days until I start university. On paper it's not very long to go but in real life, it's still miles away. I've been thinking about all the things I'm going to need when I get there. It's going to be a lot of fun buying supplies for my studies, as well as stuff for my new room. I should sit down and make a proper list of what I need to take, what I need to buy when I get there, etc. One thing I'll definitely need is a messenger bag of some sort to carry all my stuff in. I've grown tired of rucksacks so I'm looking for something that'll look a bit more trendy. I thought I'd found the ultimate bag only to find out that it costs over £200! I don't think I can afford to blow that sort of money /cry. Here's a picture of it in case you're interested:
Isn't it a beauty? I realise I sound like a woman obsessing over a bag, but it looks so damn good! It was the bag that Will Smith used in I Am Legend and Nicole Kidman used in The Interpreter. It's made by a company called Belstaff which makes really good quality gear for bikers. Unfortunately that also means their stuff costs an arm and a leg. I'll have to compromise and settle for a similar looking bag I found at Next. I'd love to get that Belstaff bag sometime in the future though. At least I know that's the sort of bag that will last a lifetime.
Posted byHocchan at 4:19 am 3 comments
Did Someone Say Something?
22 June 2008
There's one thing that really, really gets on my nerves. And that's being ignored. For example, someone will ask a question, I'll try my best to answer it as correctly and succinctly as possible. But they'll just ignore it. Or I'll spend ages getting somewhere to help people out and they don't inform me that they no longer need my help. I don't know what it is about me that makes people not hear what I'm saying. Am I boring? Just not worth listening to? Because damned near everyone does it. Getting seriously pissed off about it.
Posted byHocchan at 4:28 am 3 comments
Bad Wolf
21 June 2008
The last few episodes of Doctor Who have been absolutely incredible. In fact pretty much all of this whole series has been really entertaining to watch. I never used to like Doctor Who that much but I'm really hooked now. I think the producers of the show have created something really brilliant since David Tennant became the Doctor. Catherine Tate also makes a good companion, even though it did seem like an odd choice at the beginning.
The thing that really makes me love this series is the constant cameo appearances from old characters. Next week's episode is no exception, it's got everything and everyone in it: The Daleks, Torchwood, Sarah Jane, Rose Tyler, the list goes on. I really can't wait to see it. I have a feeling that there aren't many episodes of the current series left though. I don't know what I'm going to do without my weekly fix of Doctor Who /cry.
The current season of dramas in Japan is also drawing to a close. There's only been two dramas of interest to me this time. One is Zettai Kareshi which I absolutely love. It's got such a brilliant cast and story. Plenty of funny moments and heart-warming scenes. I'll be really sad to see it end. The second drama is Hokaben which I haven't seen much of yet. The subtitles are quite slow for this series and it has a rather heavy storyline. I'll probably still be watching through it slowly during the next couple of months.
As for the summer season, I've picked out a few series to try out when they're released. At first glance there aren't many that appeal to me but I'm hopeful that I'll find at least one that'll hook me. I've noticed that a lot of my favourite actors and actresses aren't in any of them so that may be a factor. There should be the special of Hanazakari no Kimitachi E to look forward to at least. We'll see how it goes.
Posted byHocchan at 7:34 pm 0 comments
Saki Toku
15 June 2008
Found this cute little advert for JAL on YouTube. It features Aibu Saki from Attention Please wearing her JAL uniform. I just found the song to be incredibly catchy. The dancing by the guy was pretty awesome too /laugh.
I think Japanese adverts are the best in the world. They're always so bright and jolly, it's great. I could watch them all day.
Posted byHocchan at 1:10 am 0 comments
Yue Liang Dai Biao Wo De Xin
07 June 2008
After many months of hearing absolutely nothing from Student Finance Direct, I've finally received my Final Notification letter from them. I can't believe it took a whole week to get delivered to me. Seriously, Second Class post doesn't take that long does it? Oh well, I've got it now and that's all that matters. I was really happy to see that I'm getting the full loan and grant for university. All I have to do is sign the declaration and I'll get my money after enrolling in September.
That's one less thing to worry about now. I've still got to hear from the university about my accommodation. I've sent them the signed contract along with the reservation fee for the room. Hopefully, everything will be fine and I'll get news of my moving in day, key collection details, etc. quite soon. Once that's all sorted it'll be plain sailing to September.
I recently opened a bank account with Halifax. It's a really basic account. And when I say basic I really mean basic. You can't even use the branch counters to pay in money to your account. I don't really have much choice though as my credit rating is pretty bad and they rejected my application for a student account. I'm going to use this basic account for awhile and then see about upgrading at a later date.
Meanwhile, the 2008 UEFA European Football Championship has just started and I've been watching the opening matches. There aren't any teams from the UK or Ireland taking part this year due to our dire performances. The upside to this is that we won't have to worry about being disappointed by another crappy England team. My money is on Portugal to win the tournament. They looked very slick in their opening match against Turkey.
Posted byHocchan at 9:51 pm 2 comments
Kami-Sama, Kasa Wo In Sasete Kudasai
30 May 2008
This episode of Haromoni@ appears to follow directly on from last week's. In fact it's more like one episode cut into two parts than two separate episodes. They're wearing the same fairy dresses from earlier and there's only two segments to the whole show. The 'clips roll' even shows the same videos from last week. Should be quite a short review then!
The first clip features a GakiKame Theatre quiz. The members have to guess how many takes it took for Kamei Eri to throw an umbrella into a small basket. They were given the choice of 'big' - 50 takes or more; or 'small' - 49 takes or less. If anyone got the exact number of takes then there would be a prize. Everyone except Jun Jun and Takahashi Ai voted for 'big'.
They played the clip and it was clear from the first ten takes that we might be here for some time. By the 40th attempt Eri had been there for an hour. Eri was clearly starting to get frustrated by this point and started shouting random things to no one in particular. The neighbours must have wondered what the hell was going on. On the 49th attempt she got extremely close but it didn't go in so Jun Jun and Ai lost the quiz. In the end it took Eri 139 attempts to get the umbrella into the basket.
Because Jun Jun was the furthest away from the correct answer she would have to do a penalty game. They surprised her by suddenly popping a balloon right next to her and filmed it in super-slow motion. Seeing Jun Jun's shock in slow motion was quite funny but what made it even better was Kyabetsu's face in the background. One of the funniest things I've seen in awhile.
The second part of the show was taken up with the memory challenge to determine the most stupid person from the group. The members with the lowest scores from the previous rounds would compete. This meant Jun Jun, Lin Lin, Eri and Michishige Sayumi would be taking part. To make it easier they'd chosen thirty different things and places that only had two characters in their name.
Everyone got off to a flying start and clocked up three correct answers. All except Eri who didn't get any. It wasn't until the fourth round that she managed to get her first correct answer. Jun Jun was easily the strongest contestant this time and only got one incorrect. I really liked the bit when Jun Jun got the Monet card and they immediately cut to Sayumi who got the Manet card. That quick one-two cut was brilliant to watch, especially with Sayumi's smile as she held up the card.
What happened at the end was quite unbelievable. Sayumi, Eri and Lin Lin all got the same sequence of cards four times in a row and each time they couldn't get it right. Sayumi got Pele (Brazilian football player), Eri got Taka (a bird of prey) and Lin Lin got Mugi (wheat). Eri eventually got hers correct and Jun Jun had to answer Lin Lin's card. The Pele card would end up deciding the loser between Lin Lin and Eri. Eri failed to get it right and Lin Lin triumphantly held the card aloft and answered, "Pele!".
Final scores were - Jun Jun: 11, Sayumi: 7, Lin Lin: 7, Eri: 5, and thus Eri was declared the most stupid /laugh. They even gave her a new nickname - AhoKame. This episode was a lot of fun to watch. Next week's might be even funnier. They're having Satoda Mai as a guest and it looks like she'll be competing with Eri in another memory challenge. This time it will be things with a single character name. Should be very interesting to watch.
Posted byHocchan at 7:14 pm 0 comments
Fainaru An-tsubo?
23 May 2008
I've been so preoccupied with Final Fantasy XI recently that I haven't had time to write a synopsis for the last two episodes of Haromoni@. I'll have to get both of them done soon or I'm going to regret it later.
The theme for last week's outfits was 'fairies' so they were wearing nice pastel-coloured dresses and fairy wings. I thought that Tanaka Reina and Michishige Sayumi looked the best in their blue and yellow dresses. I noticed that Reina still had her skull earrings on - not sure they match the theme very well but I'll let her off :). Before the first clip Sayumi did a pun at the narrator's request but I didn't really understand what it was about. I think it was some sort of play on words. The pose at the end was very cute though and that's all that matters.
The first video of the show featured Takahashi Ai as the ultra high tensioned Tsubo-Tsubo Man. The sparkly gold jacket with the pink top hat looked very much like the outfits they used to have in the old Hello!Morning shows. The whole segment in fact had a very nostalgic in feel to it. It started with some secret footage of Kamei Eri being led into a room where Ai was waiting. Kusumi Koharu and Reina mentioned that Eri seems to be easily tricked into these things. It does seem like she's the victim of these little pranks quite often.
Once in the room she looked kind of bewildered as Tsubo-Tsubo Man constantly laughed at his own (very cheesy) jokes. After settling her down in the couch Tsubo-Tsubo Man began the little quiz. It was a multiple choice question concerning the first person to wear 'panties' in Japan. To represent each of the answers they'd stuck little stickers on different points of Eri's foot. If she got the wrong answer then the foot massager would inflict pain on her, just like in previous Hello!Morning episodes. As was expected, Eri chose the wrong answer and was duly punished. It was just like the good old days.
The next segment was quite funny. It featured Koharu doing a voice dub for a short clip of Reina, Sayumi and Eri. The original dialogue wasn't that funny but the facial expression from Reina was hilarious. Koharu put her Kirarin Revolution experience to good use and did a superb job of re-dubbing the voices. The ending phrase, "Tako de~su" went perfectly with the clip. Hopefully this segment will continue in the future as quite enjoyed it.
There was a return of Princess Wai Wai with another simple magic trick. She turned a pot full of corn into popcorn just by shaking it. It wasn't hard to guess that the popcorn was hidden underneath and that the act of shaking would cause the heavier corn to sink and give the appearance of it turning into popcorn. Sayumi only got two stars because the members said that they just had to watch the end of the show for the answer. Then Reina remarked that she'd never seen the end of the show /laugh.
Finally we get onto the memory contest grand final! It promised to be quite the showdown between Ai and Mitsui Aika. They were given twenty minutes to memorise the names of fifty different animals. This was probably the toughest topic to date. The rules were changed slightly for the final. They would take it in turn to draw a card from the pack. If they answered correctly then they would get that card. If they answered incorrectly then it would be passed over to their opponent. Whoever had the most cards at the end would be declared champion.
It didn't start very well for Ai who couldn't name the very first card. It passed over to Aika who had no problems with it. They continued for a short while and after eight cards the score was 5-3 to Aika. It all started to go wrong for Ai again on the next card when she got it wrong because of a single syllable. I think from this point the motivation deserted her and it became a bit of a one horse race. Not even the encouragement from Jun Jun could help Ai.
After eighteen cards the score was a whopping 15-3 to Aika. It looked very much like it would be a complete whitewash. However, something clicked inside Ai and she began to get her questions right. It wasn't enough to stop Aika though who didn't get a single question wrong. By the end the score was 34-16 in Aika's favour. It could have been a lot worse for Ai but she fought bravely until the end. Good on her!
And so it's been decided. No one can beat Aika at the memory challenge segment. She's declared the all time champion. I'll have to congratulate her on this achievement. Her memory is certainly very good. I think in all the challenges she's done she's only got one or two incorrect. That's a pretty amazing record. And with that result we can say goodbye to the memory test segment. Or can we...?! Because the next episode features another contest but this time it will be to decide the stupidest member. It's Mechaike all over again!
Posted byHocchan at 4:47 pm 0 comments
One...Two...Three... Part Seven (Final)
21 May 2008
Since I've stopped the tally earlier than I thought I would, I probably don't have a large enough sample size to make any definite conclusions but I think I have enough data to work with (I said 'I' five times in one sentence! Seven if you count these too). In total I've tallied seventeen episodes of Haromoni@ starting with the episode dated 6 January 2008 and ending on the episode dated 27 April 2008.
Final Placings
Takahashi Ai : 4-5-3-3-2-1-4-5-2-3-2-1-4-2-5-4-4
Niigaki Risa : 1-1-2-1-1-3-1-4-3-1-6-2-2-3-1-4-1
Kamei Eri : 5-1-4-1-3-2-3-2-1-1-3-4-1-4-4-1-2
Tanaka Reina : 2-3-1-5-4-7-7-1-4-5-1-3-3-1-1-8-5
Michishige Sayumi : 3-4-5-4-4-8-8-6-5-6-4-5-5-6-6-2-7
Kusumi Koharu : 7-8-6-6-8-3-5-7-6-8-8-9-6-5-9-9-3
Mitsui Aika : 9-9-8-9-7-6-2-3-7-8-8-7-7-7-8-3-5
Jun Jun : 6-6-8-8-9-3-9-8-7-7-5-6-9-8-1-6-9
Lin Lin : 8-7-7-7-6-9-6-8-9-4-7-8-8-9-6-7-8
First Place Finishes
Niigaki Risa : 8
Kamei Eri : 6
Tanaka Reina : 5
Takahashi Ai : 2
Jun Jun : 1
Michishige Sayumi : 0
Kusumi Koharu : 0
Mitsui Aika : 0
Lin Lin : 0
Niigaki Risa was easily the most popular member with 8 first place finishes. That's over 50% of the episodes I tallied where Risa was top of the rankings. Kamei Eri the next most popular member with 6. Surprisingly, Tanaka Reina managed to get 5; only 1 behind Eri. I didn't think she'd gotten that many until I totalled them up. Takahashi Ai, who I thought had a more consistent run that Reina, only got 2. I'm extremely happy that Jun Jun managed to finish in first place on one occasion (even if it was shared with two other people). The rest of the members didn't get any first place finishes.
Top Three Finishes
Niigaki Risa : 14
Kamei Eri : 12
Tanaka Reina : 9
Takahashi Ai : 9
Mitsui Aika : 3
Jun Jun : 2
Michishige Sayumi : 2
Kusumi Koharu : 2
Lin Lin : 0
Once again we can see that Risa dominates the table with 14. Had it not been for three episodes where she placed 4th/4th/6th then she'd have a perfect top three record. As with the first place rankings, Eri wasn't too far behind Risa with 12. Reina and Ai both got 9 which shows that they're more even than the First Place Finishes results indicate. All the other members performed about the same, with Mitsui Aika slightly ahead on 3. Well, all except poor Lin Lin who never got a top three finish.
Bottom Three Finishes
Lin Lin : 13
Mitsui Aika : 12
Jun Jun : 10
Kusumi Koharu : 9
Michishige Sayumi : 3
Tanaka Reina : 3
Takahashi Ai : 0
Niigaki Risa : 0
Kamei Eri : 0
No surprises here, Lin Lin was almost always in the bottom three. Kusumi Koharu and Aika still managed to get less than Lin Lin even though they were absent from a few episodes. Big gap to Michishige Sayumi and Reina who managed to get away with only 3 bottom three finishes. A perfect record for Ai, Risa and Eri who never dropped into the bottom three at all.
Highest Number of Appearances in One Episode
Tanaka Reina : 136
Kamei Eri : 128
Niigaki Risa : 124
Takahashi Ai : 121
Michishige Sayumi : 105
Jun Jun : 101
Kusumi Koharu : 94
Lin Lin : 91
Mitsui Aika : 85
Reina holds the record for the most attention in a single episode with 136. That was on the Viking Buffet episode though so it might not have been completely fair. Eri manages to beat Risa's record at last with 128. Ai isn't far behind Risa with 121. Jun Jun's first place finish helps her to get close to Sayumi's total. Sadly, Aika's highest total only amounted to 85 which put her in last place.
Conclusions
So what did we learn from this pointless exercise? Firstly, that Risa is the most popular member in terms of airtime on Haromoni@. The camera always focuses on her no matter where she's seated. She's clearly a director's favourite, perhaps because of her reactions to things. I also think her leadership qualities are evident in a lot of the shows. She seems more of a leader than Ai at the moment.
Secondly, perhaps unsurprisingly, the seventh and eighth generations get a raw deal when it comes to exposure. Maybe it's because the director doesn't feel they're as popular as the fifth and sixth generations, or maybe it's because they don't show enough reactions to the clips but they're just not appearing as much as the older members.
And lastly, I learnt that pausing footage every three seconds and trying to keep track of multiple images at once is very tiring. I didn't have any idea of how tough it would be. I'll think twice about the logistics of such an undertaking in the future...
Posted byHocchan at 3:48 pm 0 comments
Ishikawa Rika Ni Musume Ouendan
17 May 2008
Another pointless post to show off my new desktop wallpaper. It's from the blog of a Japanese Ishikawa Rika fan. The guy (I assume it's a guy) makes some very nice looking wallpapers featuring various members of Hello!Project.
This particular wallpaper caught my eye because Sayumi looks absolutely divine in that pose. I also love the fact that she's wearing the outfit from Ojigi 30 Degrees. If you'd like to take a look at some of the other wallpapers, you can find the blog at the following link.
Posted byHocchan at 5:39 pm 0 comments
One...Two...Three... Part Six
16 May 2008
Here we go with the penultimate part of the great Haromoni@ tally. I would like to continue this series on for a little longer but it's too much work. I have to pause the footage every couple of seconds and tally each member. It takes almost an hour each episode. I wish there was an easier way to do it because that would make it less tedious and I would be more inclined to continue. Sadly, I can't think of one so, for the time being, this will be the last tally.
MouTube episode XIV - 20 April 2008
Kamei Eri : 71
Michishige Sayumi : 67
Mitsui Aika : 66
Takahashi Ai : 64
Niigaki Risa : 64
Jun Jun : 59
Lin Lin : 53
Tanaka Reina : 48
Kusumi Koharu : 36
Jun Jun and Aika featured heavily at the start of this episode because of their little competition. They didn't appear in the rest of the programme though so the other members managed to catch up. Eri just managed to edge ahead and claim first place due to the GakiKame NG clip. Reina did really poorly in this episode, slipping to eighth place. It was still some way ahead of Koharu in last place though.
MouTube episode XV - 27 April 2008
Niigaki Risa : 109
Kamei Eri : 101
Kusumi Koharu : 94
Takahashi Ai : 64
Tanaka Reina : 62
Mitsui Aika : 62
Michishige Sayumi : 55
Lin Lin : 42
Jun Jun : 33
Koharu managed to get a good lead at the beginning thanks to the performance of 'Anataboshi'. She couldn't manage first place, however, due to the enormity of the GakiKame Theatre. She managed add to her score at the end with the memory test and finished in third. None of the other members really came close to the top three. Jun Jun has fallen to last place again despite her amazing finish a couple of episodes ago.
There we have it. Seventeen episodes tallied since the start of the year. I'll do a quick review of the data and come up with some pointless facts and figures next time. Then I'll be done and dusted, yay!
Posted byHocchan at 4:52 pm 0 comments
Shinu Ki Da Yo!
12 May 2008
The memory contest continues this week with the challengers from 'B' block. This groups consists of Takahashi Ai, Kamei Eri, Lin Lin and Kusumi Koharu. I didn't find this episode to be as interesting to watch as last week's. Perhaps it's because none of my favourite members were in this group, or perhaps it's because they took it too seriously, but it just didn't seem as much fun to watch.
Once again the members were given ten minutes to memorise all thirty items. I thought it was a little unfair to seat them all right next to each other. I'd find it hard to concentrate with everyone talking at the same time. I liked Lin Lin's method of slapping the cards and repeating the name, that was funny to watch. Their topic this time was 'things you would find in a school'. This included various sporting equipment (shuttlecock, starting block), musical instruments (Glockenspiel, Cabasa) and scientific apparatus (magnets, measuring cylinders). The rules of the contest remained the same, ie. one point for each card; card gets discarded if all members answer incorrectly.
It started quite well for all the members. Everyone got their first round cards correct, including Lin Lin who got the 'Bell Lyre' card. Personally, I've never even seen or heard of a Bell Lyre before. It certainly looks very odd. The second round was no problem either. Ai got a tricky card which turned out to be 'Alnico magnets' (Alnico is an alloy of Aluminium, Nickel and Cobalt). I thought all magnets were ferrous but obviously I was wrong. On the third round Lin Lin got her first incorrect answer. It was 'Ferrite magnets' on the card but she called them 'iron stones'. This was swiftly followed by Eri's first incorrect answer. She couldn't get the name of the thing you play Badminton with (shuttlecock).
Fifth round and Eri once again got her card wrong (pipettes). Koharu picked up the 'shuttlecock' card and also got the name wrong. On the sixth round everyone got theirs right except Lin Lin. She picked up the 'separating funnel stand' card and had a funny moment trying to say the name. Seventh round and Ai got her first incorrect answer. Up until this point she hadn't got a single one wrong. Lin Lin also picked up the troublesome 'shuttlecock' card and called it a seatbelt.
On the eighth round Lin Lin had another faux pas by calling the separable flask a goldfish bowl. Poor Lin Lin, she obviously has a distinct disadvantage in this competition. From the ninth round onwards the wrong answers starting pouring in from everyone except Ai. No one could get the 'pasteboard' card so it got discarded. The 'Archimedean Screw' and 'separable flask' cards also met the same fate. Finally, everyone got the last card incorrect except Ai, who seemingly managed to pull the name out of nowhere.
It wasn't much of a contest in the end. Ai managed to get pretty much everything correct and only dropped a few points. She finished first with 11 points; 4 points ahead of Koharu in second place. Eri finished in third place with 6 points and Lin Lin was last with only 3 points. Therefore, Aika and Ai will have a face off in next week's episode to decide the winner. Before this episode you would have tipped Aika to breeze through the competition. But after seeing Ai's performance this week it's hard to say. It'll definitely be worth watching next week.
Posted byHocchan at 12:56 pm 0 comments
Onegai Tomato Kite
09 May 2008
It looks like the battle between Jun Jun and Mitsui Aika on the memory test segment has started a full scale war between all the members. They're all competing to be the ultimate memory champion. It looks like this contest will span at least two episodes; most probably three. The outfit they're wearing for it seems to match the occasion. The theme is 'bujutsu' (which can be translated as martial arts) - quite fitting for a battle of attrition. Although I think it would have looked better if the hakama weren't white like the gi. However, I was pleased to see that they were still wearing the hachimaki, I'm a big fan of those. The katana were a nice touch but I doubt many of the girls know how to wield one properly.
For this contest they've split the members into two groups - 'A' block and 'B' block. 'A' block consists of Niigaki Risa, Michishige Sayumi, Tanaka Reina, Mitsui Aika and Jun Jun. I think they should have put Jun Jun and Aika in separate groups to make it more interesting. The topic of choice for 'A' block was the names of vegetables. There were thirty different ones to remember in total. But they weren't your usual peas and carrots (although they put tomato in there as a freebie) but rather things like artichoke, molokhia and okra. The main aim was to collect as many cards as possible by naming the vegetable depicted on it. Whoever had the most cards at the end would progress onto the final round. If all the members failed to name the same card then that card got discarded from the pack.
Sayumi went first but she couldn't recall the name of the vegetable. Everyone else got their first attempt correct. Back with Sayumi, she was already in trouble and praying for tomato to appear. Her wish wasn't granted though and she ended up with something else. I liked how Kusumi piped up and told her it was hopeless. Kusumi was right and Sayumi answered incorrectly. Once again the other members got the name of their cards correct. Onto the third round and it was back to Sayumi. She was praying for tomato again but it wasn't to be. Luckily, this one she did know the answer to and Sayumi finally got her first point! All the other members got theirs right again. On the fourth round a miracle occurred. Sayumi's prayers were answered and she was finally blessed with the elusive tomato card! Her joy was evident as she waved the card around and gave a rendition of the ten-second tomato act from a few shows ago. Aika and Risa also got their fourth round cards correct but Reina and Jun Jun didn't and dropped their first points.
Things were starting to get tough now and a lot of incorrect answers started to appear, including Aika's first ever incorrect answer, much to everyone's suprise (and Reina's delight). Risa's card on the fifth round turned out to be the most troublesome one of them all. The name of the vegetable was 'o-o-ku-ro-gu-wa-i'. Risa got the third syllable wrong and it was deemed incorrect. I absolutely adored her "Huh!?" when the narrator went, "Oh?" after hearing her first answer. It was like, "Huh!? Don't ask me to repeat myself, punk, or I'll hurt you!". Absolutely brilliant facial expression. I love the way her hair is styled this week with the hachimaki.
After Risa came Jun Jun who got the card Aika couldn't answer. Jun Jun very nearly got the name correct but was a couple syllables out. She tried to find divine inspiration by staring up into Heaven. The narrator remarked that she looked like Saint Francis Xavier. From the way she was clutching that picture card I can sort of see the resemblance.
The rest of the competition proceeded without too much incident. Each member got the 'ookuroguwai' card and all got it wrong. Jun Jun looked like she had given up and didn't get any more correct. Sayumi made a late surge and managed to collect a set of three cards that looked very similar. Looks like those vegetables were her speciality. There was no stopping Aika as she cleared all her remaining cards. Reina correctly named the card that both Jun Jun and Aika got wrong. It was during this question that I noticed the skull earrings that she was wearing. Those are some awesome looking earrings, I have to say.
It was a very close run thing by the end. Aika just about held onto her lead with 8 points. Reina secured second place by getting the final card correct. Risa, despite starting strongly, dropped too many points and came in at third place. Sayumi got a respectable 5 points and finished above Jun Jun, who only ended up with 3 points.
Next week's episode will feature the competition between Takahashi Ai, Kamei Eri, Kusumi Koharu and Lin Lin. I'm guessing that the winner of that will face a final showdown in the show after that to decide the ultimate champion. I'm looking forward to it!
Posted byHocchan at 2:24 pm 0 comments
One...Two...Three... Part Five
03 May 2008
MouTube episode XI - 30 March 2008
Kamei Eri : 112
Niigaki Risa : 103
Tanaka Reina : 97
Takahashi Ai : 83
Michishige Sayumi : 68
Kusumi Koharu : 61
Mitsui Aika : 42
Lin Lin : 36
Jun Jun : 29
This episode was dominated by the GakiKame production at the start so it was pretty much a forgone conclusion that Eri and Risa would come out on top. Reina very nearly got into the top two with Tanaka Deka but was a few points short. Despite not being in the studio for most of the show Aika still managed to beat Lin Lin and Jun Jun by quite a few points.
MouTube episode XII - 6 April 2008
Tanaka Reina : 66
Takahashi Ai : 58
Niigaki Risa : 57
Kamei Eri : 56
Kusumi Koharu : 53
Michishige Sayumi : 52
Mitsui Aika : 51
Jun Jun : 50
Lin Lin : 48
Not much to separate the members in this show. Only Reina has any sort of sizeable lead. The camera tended to do long, single panning shots across the table and then back again. It's nice to see the younger members getting the same amount of exposure as the older members.
MouTube episode XIII - 13 April 2008
Niigaki Risa : 101
Tanaka Reina : 101
Jun Jun : 101
Kamei Eri : 97
Takahashi Ai : 95
Michishige Sayumi : 87
Lin Lin : 87
Mitsui Aika : 82
Kusumi Koharu : 71
This was probably one of the toughest episodes to tally so far. The performance of 'Resonant Blue' at the beginning of the show meant that each member had clocked up over thirty appearances by the end of three minutes. As a result the totals for all members are quite high. I'm shocked but extremely happy that Jun Jun has managed to get a joint first place along with Risa and Reina. Very interesting episode.
I'm going to try and get the last batch finished as soon as possible after this Sunday's episode. Once that's done I think I'll stop and do a review of the data and make an overall ranking for each member. I'm too tired to continue this project for much longer. It's finally getting to me.
Posted byHocchan at 3:47 am 2 comments
Konoyarou
30 April 2008
Bit more of a sedate episode this week compared to the last one. At the start there was a performance of 'Anataboshi' by Milky Way. I like the song but it was a bit of a shame that they had to lip-sync it. I'd rather they sing badly than use lip-syncing, but I don't make these decisions so there's no point in complaining I guess. Just got to be grateful that they don't lip-sync everything. Moving on, the outfits for this week are in the style of ouendan. I've always liked the look of these school uniforms. They're maybe a little too militaristic looking but they are really smart. The white hachimaki they've added look really cool. Not sure why they've used that white sash around the shoulders. You usually see them on a kimono to tie up the sleeves. Doesn't really work on a school uniform but it looks cool in any case.
The GakiKame production wasn't quite as good as I expected. It looked good from the preview but once they showed the full one it was a bit of a disappointment. The first bit where Niigaki Risa threw those two pieces of rubbish into the bins was good. The pieces actually crossed in mid-air so that they would land in the correct bin. One for combustible rubbish and the other for non-combustible. Kamei Eri throwing those cans into the basket of her bike was good but nothing we hadn't already seen. I couldn't really get any decent screenshots either. I'm sorry to say this production failed to exceed their previous efforts.
Possibly the only thing of real interest to me was the Mitsui Aika makizushi section. In it Aika started to make a roll of makizushi and it was the job of the other members to guess what it would look like when finished. Tanaka Reina and Michishige Sayumi wanted to know if it was an animal of some sort but the narrator wouldn't tell them so Reina turned all yankii on him. There were some good guesses from everyone except Sayumi. For some reason she thought it would turn out to be the pictures that you get on toilet doors. I can sort of see her reasoning but I seriously doubt that's something you'd want to put on your sushi!
The correct answer turned out to be a snail. Quite amazingly Reina managed to get the correct answer (she must be some sort of psychic genius). Everyone was amazed that she got it right, including Reina herself. She seemed quite scared of her incredible powers at the end. Having seen this clip, it has made me want to try making my own makizushi. It must be quite fun to come up with new ideas of what to make. It does take quite a lot of spatial awareness to be able to imagine how it would look when rolled up. I don't think I'd be very good at that. I do follow instruction very well though so I can just copy other people's ideas!
There was an interesting bit where they featured a website similar to the last one they showed. This one would generate a self introduction for you when you input your name. For Reina it came up with something about her getting a wedgie just by walking. The thought of Reina with a wedgie just makes my mind boggle (x.x;). She did confess that during the previous concert she got a wedgie. The girls even had a nickname for it - 'PK' short for 'pantsu kuikomu'. The whole thing was quite surreal...
They closed the show with a memory test for Kusumi Koharu. It seemed very easy compared to the other challenges and it showed when Koharu breezed through the whole thing with confidence. Everyone but Reina and Sayumi awarded her a star for her effort. They said that the test was meant to show someone trying their best and that Koharu's confidence was irritating /laugh. Personally, this was one of the few times that Koharu's hyperactivity became fun to watch.
...I can't believe I just said that!
Posted byHocchan at 5:30 pm 0 comments
You Can't Escape From It
28 April 2008
What am I referring to? Corruption is perhaps too strong a word... preferential treatment though would be accurate. I recently decided to join another end game linkshell on Final Fantasy XI. I did this rather cautiously as I've had a bad experience with a previous linkshell of the same nature. I was convinced that the people in this latest one were good and honest. However, tonight's incident has left me dubious as to that claim.
There was an event planned today; the linkshell's first Kirin NM attempt. I arrived early, as did a few other people. That's part of the rules - turn up on time. Just a shame that other people don't seem to follow the same clock. A whole hour had passed and we still had people not ready. Fine, you don't have to turn up early. But at least be considerate and turn up on time. It's really irritating to have to wait for people because they don't have the same consideration to other members as you do. What's the point of me turning up early then? I might as well spend an extra hour doing something I want to do rather than standing around like a muppet.
Now tardiness I can just about live with. Unfairness, on the other hand, I despised more than anything. If we were able to kill Kirin then there would be a possibility of some worthwhile items dropping. One of these was a Dryadic Abjuration body that's needed to make a Shura Togi. Now, I wasn't in any position to be able to lot for that item but no one else wanted it. Therefore it went to free lot. Great, I might have a chance of getting it after all. But the strangest thing happened. Almost three hours later when we finally killed Kirin, the Dryadic Abjuration body actually dropped. Fantastic, I thought! Not fantastic. Without warning, it was suddenly announced that the item was no longer free lot and would be instead going to the linkshell leader. Who, as it happens, didn't even show up to the event until two hours after the start time. Just what the hell is going on?
I understand that I'm a new member. I also understand that I didn't really have a good chance of getting this item. However, I do not understand why an item would suddenly change from free lot just because the leader shows up. Their rules clearly state:
"If [you're] late at "Item Call" you can still raise your hand to vote up until the God is popped".
This person arrived well after Kirin had been spawned. It was below 50% health in fact before he arrived. So why does he suddenly get exclusive rights to the item? I can only think of one reason; one rule for them, another for us.
The whole thing has ruined the night for me and that's a shame because the fight was a lot of fun. I don't want to be one of those people who moans about not getting an item from end game. But I cannot stand by and forget this blatant disregard for the rules. I'm going to give them one more chance. But if I see another display of such unfair practice again, I'm gone.
Posted byHocchan at 3:36 am 0 comments
