Da Capo II Release Date

Posted on March 1, 2006 by DarkMirage

ZOMG I can’t believe I missed this. Thanks to Shia for the reminder.

Da Capo II will be released on 26/5 in three different versions, the limited DVD-ROM edition (9,800 yen), the limited CD-ROM edition (9,800 yen) and the normal DVD-ROM edition (8,800 yen). Himeya is taking preorder for the limited edition of this and Summer Days.

Da Capo II

I’m sooooo tempted to preorder both games, but the combine total including shipping via EMS is 217 USD. Zomgwtfbbq. That’s 351 SGD!!! Damn the Japanese economy!!!

What should I do!!!? Arghhhh. It’s either both or nothing. I can’t bring myself to choose between Setsuna and Nanaka. >_< But 351 SGD is just a few dollars short of a 2-gig iPod nano… That’s a fricking lot of money to spend in one go, especially on just two games. (Although technically I did spend about that much on School Days and Da Capo Plus Communication…)

Posted in Games, Money | Tagged , , | 11 Comments

Rosario + Vampire Vol.5

Posted on February 28, 2006 by DarkMirage

Looks like I spoke too soon about not having the time to pick up my Kinokuniya order.

Rosario + Vampire Vol.5

Yet another new girl in the latest volume of Rosario + Vampire. Damn, is the mangaka going to do this for every book or something? D:

The cliffhanger from last volume ends so fast that it barely hits one quarter of the book. Rubi doesn’t die! Wo0t! I guess that’s kind of expected… but you never know when a mangaka feels a streak of sadism and kills off a perfectly good character *cough* Black Cat *cough*

And in case the GIGANTIC boldface words on the cover don’t clue you in (or you don’t read Japanese), the new girl is an ice demon… thing. Well more accurately she’s a 雪女 yuki onna from traditional Japanese mythology (well, more like fariy tales I guess). And you know how it always goes it those stories…

Frankly I wish the mangaka just stops introducing new characters and start an actual storyline that doesn’t end within one and a half volumes. Preferably something about Moka. <3

As usual with each volume of Vampire, I now have to wait another four months for the next volume. Draw faster you lazy artists! It’s just a few hundred frames!

P.S. Mai-Otome episode 20 has finally crossed the line of no return. I’m also continuing to keep up with REC, Fate/stay night and the occasional Zipang. Dropped Kashimashi just in time to save myself from a boredom-induced death.

P.S.S. Death Note Vol.10 is good too. Needs more Misa though.

Posted in Manga | Tagged | 10 Comments

JLPT Results

Posted on February 27, 2006 by DarkMirage

I got my JLPT 2 results on Saturday. I passed! Yay! My scores:

Writing-Vocabulary: 92/100
Listening: 93/100
Reading-Grammar: 177/200
Total: 362/400

I also received a notice from Kinokuniya that my order for Rosario + Vampire Vol.5 has arrived, but I don’t have time to go pick it up… Noooooo… D: Chemistry test tomorrow on qualititive analysis and I still can’t memorize the solubility of salts. Blegh.

Just…another…week…more…

Argh.

Posted in Blog | Tagged | 12 Comments

Disillusion

Posted on February 21, 2006 by DarkMirage

I’m still alive. *shock* Anyway, it’s that time of the school term again. The tests. Yuck. Which is why I might blog even less frequently for a while, if it is even possible to blog any less frequently that is.

I’m waiting for my JLPT 2 results. Judging by last year’s experience, it should arrive by mail within this week, probably on Thursday or Friday. I really need my certification so that I can qualify for the JLPT 1 prep course. I haven’t been doing much in terms of studying Japanese for the last three months and I really, really wish to pass JLPT 1 this year…

I’ve been looping disillusion and wasurekaketeita no kana from the Fate/stay night anime for the last 24 hours. Can’t wait till my CDJapan order arrives. ^^ Crystal Energy from Mai-Otome is nice too.

More blogging after I get my JLPT results. I promise. No, really.

P.S. Watch REC.

Posted in Blog | Tagged , | 6 Comments

RAH DX 1/8 Lacus Clyne

Posted on February 11, 2006 by DarkMirage

Went out with Crest and Shia today and ended up buying RAH DX Lacus Clyne.

Lacus-sama!!!!Lacus from SEED Heroine trading figure series shown for scale

I had been searching for a place to order this from since I first saw a picture of it last year. The stores I frequent were all taking orders for the complete set, which includes Stellar (yay) and Yzak (yuck). I wouldn’t have minded getting a third Stellar (I already own two 1/8 Stellar from the DX series) but paying another S$60~ for Yzak was just too much. So it seemed that I would never get my hands on this… until I saw it in this relatively new (nearly one-year old?) store at the fifth floor of Funan for S$65 standalone. They even had the Fate/Stay Night trading figure set but there was only one Saber left and I let Crest have it.

Yay~ Lacus forever! I think I’ll be going to Funan more oftenly from now on.

P.S. I love Suzuka Vol.10!

Posted in Figures, Money | Tagged , , | 11 Comments

Hoshi ga Kanaderu Monogatari

Posted on February 10, 2006 by DarkMirage

I am so addicted to this song, even though I hate Arika so very much.

星が奏でるものがたり
Hoshi ga Kanaderu Monogatari

目覚めを待つ国の　むかしのはなし
mezame wo matsu kuni no mukashi no hanashi
ささげましょう胸に　宿るひかり
sasagemashou mune ni yadoru hikari
星になるきぼう　あしたが見える
hoshi ni naru kibou ashita ga mieru
愛するひとよ　待ってておくれ
aisuru hito yo mattete okure

こころの窓に立つ　さだめの横顔
kokoro no mado ni tatsu sadame no yokogao
ともしましょう夢を　守るひかり
tomoshimashou yume wo mamoru hikari
星はただひとり　選べと告げる
hoshi wa tada hitori erabe to tsugeru
愛するひとが　わたしを呼べば変わる
aisuru hito ga watashi wo yobeba kawaru

うるわしく立ち舞う　けがれなき羽
uruwashiku tachimau kegarenaki hane
背負いましょう御子の　命のひかり
seoimashou miko no inochi no hikari
星になるために　生まれてはならぬ
hoshi ni naru tame ni umarete wa naranu
愛するひとに　抱かれてねむれ
aisuru hito ni dakarete nemure

On another note, how dare they kill Erstin!? Now Shizuru and Natsuki are all that’s good about Mai-Otome. T_T

Posted in Anime, Music | Tagged , | 16 Comments

The Study of Languages

Posted on February 6, 2006 by DarkMirage

I called Kinokuniya today (I have their number on speed dial…) and it turns out that the sea shipment of Suzuka Vol.10 just came in today! But it has yet to be processed and I’ll only be able to collect my order tomorrow. :(

That’s not what I want to rant about today.

Continue reading →

Posted in Blog, Rant | Tagged , | 11 Comments

Happy Chinese New Year!

Posted on January 29, 2006 by DarkMirage

It’s time for my weekly obligatory blog post to let everyone know that I am still alive and well.

But it also happens to be Chinese New Year! It’s the year of the dog! This year’s red packet count is barely 1/10th of last year’s. Sigh… I need to go back to China to collect red packets from my extended family.

Preordered the OP and ED single for Fate/Stay Night. My first CDJapan order in quite some time. Need to get myself a good-sized figurine of Saber…

I wish I had more interesting stuff to blog about, but 1) I’m not watching much for this season since almost none of the series interests me, 2) I have decided not to blog about school life anymore because it all ends up being the same rant and 3) Summer Days has been delayed to April 7th and I am damn fricking unhappy.

Hopefully I can push my rate of blogging back to at least thrice a week soon. How I wish for the June holidays to arrive faster… Anyone still interested in joining my fiery crusade against the creators of the abomination that is D.C.S.S.?

P.S. I want one of these. And maybe this.

Posted in Blog | Tagged | 14 Comments

Monthly Spending

Posted on January 23, 2006 by DarkMirage

I know I haven’t been blogging much. I assure you that this is not due to my addiction to WoW but rather the new school term. Ah, school… the single universal constant of pain and sufferings since the dawn of humanity.

I bought most of the stuff I had been waiting for this month over the course of last week. (Three trips to Kinokuniya and one trip to Sunshine Plaza) This should more or less cover my spendings for this month… I hope. (Goddammit, I so want the new Sony Network Walkman)

Stuff

  • Comptiq Feb
  • Newtype Feb
  • Negima Vol.13
  • Kare Kano Vol.21 End
  • Maburaho Vol.2 End

Negima wasn’t very good. But I did take a peak at the latest issue of Shounen Magazine for the current story arc. Although I had no idea wtf was going on based on that single chapter, I can say that the next two volumes will be great.

Kare Kano Vol.21 had the PERFECT ending. I have absolutely no bad things to say about the entire series. Well worth the wait, which by the way was a LOT longer than usual.

In terms of anime, I haven’t been watching much. Fate/Stay Night is still good, Kashimashi is cute and wtf at the same time and Wings of Rean is just ZOMGWTFBBQ period. (You can really see the Yoshiyuki Tomino in it)

Anyway, I’ve been reading quite a bit recently (times otherwise wasted doing nothing of importance at school). Some English titles I’ve recently read or still am reading:

  • The Singapore Story: Memoirs of Lee Kuan Yew
  • 69 by Ryu Murakami
  • Japan: Profile of A Nation from Kodansha International
  • The SAS Fighting Techniques Handbook by Terry White

Yes, I can see many people going WTF at the first item, but I assure you that it is a very enjoyable and intelligent book and that I am looking forward to reading the second volume. No, I am not lying for the benefit of those fine agents from Internal Security who no doubt scrutinize my anti-establishment blog on a regular basis. Fight the power!

Another 180-degree change of topic: I love “WILL” by Chihiro Yonekura!!!

Posted in Money | Tagged , | 12 Comments

Canta Per Me

Posted on January 17, 2006 by DarkMirage

So, I was rushing home after school today (and no, it’s not because of WoW) when I ran/walked past the school atrium and heard someone playing a piece on the piano and it sounded vaguely familiar. I could remember part of the lyrics “sayounara wo utatte, amai koe de / tsukiakari no yoru, hoho wo yosete” and I knew that it was a Yuki Kajiura song, but it took me a while before I realized that it was canta per me from Noir!

I asked the guy at the piano and he confirmed that it was indeed Yuki. ZOMG! If I wasn’t rushing home I’d have stayed for the whole song. Heh. Now it would really make my day(s) if someone played some Maaya songs too. XD

Anyway, I only realized yesterday that my birthday is on Thursday. Another year closer to 18-kin material. (Oh, who am I kidding?)

Posted in Blog | Tagged | 3 Comments