Wow.  That was... intense.  Usually in this sort of game, the climax comes when you get the girl to kiss you (or something along those lines), but in Tomoyo's route, that comes when you're about a third of the way through.

In the end, it boils down to "Boy meets girl, boy gets girl, boy loses girl, boy regains girl", which is pretty much the Original Trope for all fiction, more or less.  Turns out that the protagonist is actually a pretty good joe when all is said and done, and despite the emotional wringer the plot puts him (and us) through, all turns out okay in the end.

Jason over at DbD has been playing the game as well, and has a great recap of Tomoyo's route (which I've been avoiding reading for some time).  Like him, I want KyoAni to animate this whole thing instead of just the OVA (which I've been avoiding watching for some time)... the 56 Hit Combo would be impressive as all get-out, considering it's done by a bear.


But even this scene isn't the end, as there's a short epilogue which wraps up the loose ends quite nicely.  As a piece of fiction (game or no), it's really quite good... and, like Jason, I too lost track of time during the run to the end.

Bravo, Key!

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To: Kyoto Animation.
Fr: Clannad fans everywhere.
Re: Tomoyo cooking.

How could you have left this shot out of the anime?  What in the world were you thinking???  Perhaps it's in the "alternate route" OVA, ep24, which I have yet to watch (I wanted to finish Tomoyo's story in the game first).  Even if it is, you guys should have had it in ep18. 

It's no surprise that I enjoyed the Clannad anime, really, but the game gives you so much more backstory on the characters, it's amazing.  Of course, Key had a lot more time to work with, but even so I'm still stunned by it all.

And I'm not even done with Tomoyo's story yet.  In fact, I've only run through Misae's route prior to this... she wasn't even a secondary character in the anime, more like a tertiary or... um... quadiary?  Anyways, minor.  But it was great to learn more about her (though it would have been nice to see the giant swing manuever animated), and I can't wait to meet more of the non-main people down the road.

One negative, though: Sunohara's even more of a whiny little b*tch in the game.

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Posted by: Wonderduck at 09:19 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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Strike Witches is really turning into everything I could have hoped for (and did!).  Lots of good ol' fashioned fun... and the animators have a remarkable eye for details.

For example, take this screenshot:

The red arrow is pointing to a stream of smoke coming from the centerline of the Akagi's flight deck.  Most people probably wouldn't notice this, as it was only on-screen for a second or two, but when I saw it, my jaw dropped.

The IJN used a steam valve set in the fore of their flight decks to help their pilots gauge wind direction and speed on takeoff.  It's the little things that count, and that tiny detail just made me go "wow, they got it right."

Another detail, but one that raised a question in my mind, is in the screenshot below:

Posted by: Wonderduck at 10:33 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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If you've read The Pond over the past couple of years, you've probably realized that I'm quite fond of the production combination of Key Games and Kyoto Animation.  The two companies have combined on the anime versions of the visual novels for AIR, Kanon and Clannad.  While I didn't much care for AIR, the other two are way up on my list of favorite shows. 

But I've never had the chance to actually experience the original source material for the shows, since they were in Japanese and there's never been an English translation... until now.

Baka-Tsuki, TheWaffleHouse, and Sprocket-Hole Subs have been working on an English patch for the game, and while they aren't done with it quite yet, somebody took their translated files (in a 99.9% done state) and released them in a format that works.

So what's it like?

Well, I'm only an hour or so into it, but I am amazed at how well KyoAni manipulated the game to turn it into the anime.  It's all there, and more besides.  Each of the girls have a storyline as full as Nagisa's, and other than quick glimpses, hers was the only one we got to see in the show.  Somewhere, I read that there's well over 300 hours of gameplay in Clannad, and I can easily believe it.

The humor level is still high, though without the moving visuals some of it doesn't translate as well (Sunohara in the garbage chute).  It's way too early, though, for the drama to have begun, though I fully expect that it'll be at least as intense as what was in the show.  The reasons for the successful Key/KyoAni partnership are clearly evident to me now... both sides brought a helluva lot to the table, and the end result is an amazing feast.

Now if only someone would do a translation for Kanon, I'd be the happiest duck around...

Posted by: Wonderduck at 09:22 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Pssssst... hey, buddy!  Yeah, you.  C'mere...

*looks around furtively*

Wanna new episode of Aria: The Origination?  'Course ya do... you'ze a smart guy.  Well, I gots one fer ya... it's called episode 5.5.  That's a strange name, yeah, but dere's a reason fer it: it's one o' dem special DVD-only thingies.  But it's a full 24 minutes of Aria that we didn't expect, y'know?

So howsabout it?  Wanna know more?

more...

Posted by: Wonderduck at 08:36 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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So the new season of Anime has begun to roll out.  Five shows that I was interested in all came down the pipe within a few days of each other, so I decided to marathon 'em.

I have to admit, the Summer certainly holds more promise than the Spring season did (though these shows'll have to work to be as good as Soul Eater)... click below to see What's Wonderduck Watching!

more...

Posted by: Wonderduck at 10:50 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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So the third installment of the Ikkitousen story has begun!  The first told the story of Hakufu, Nanyou High School's ditzy fighter and her rise to become the "Junior Lord of Lords", the person destined to command all the "kingdoms" (or, in this case, high schools) of the land.  The second dealt with Seito's fighters, and how they join forces with Nanyou's group to fight against the most powerful school.

Ikkitousen is best known for it's fanservice, but at least with the second series, Ikkitousen: Dragon Destiny, there began to be signs of actual story behind the pantsu.  But what of the third series?  What does it bring us?

Click on to continue, but be warned: this review is picture-intensive and distinctly NSFW!

more...

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It's taking much longer than expected to do the writeup for Ikkitousen: Great Guardians, ep01.  It'll be up on Sunday.

To tide you, the readers, over, here's a picture that shows exactly how they're "toning down the fanservice" for broadcast:


They aren't.  At all.   This is tame in comparison to some shots shown in the first episode.

Posted by: Wonderduck at 11:46 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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So I had planned to do the writeup of the first episode of Ikktousen: Great Guardians tonight... but then life happened:  Ph.Duck's aunt is in the hospital, perhaps having suffered a TIA.  Unfortunately, the information got to me via my grandmother, who started the conversation by saying "(Momzerduck) is at the hospital, (Ph.Duck) took her there."

After my heart started beating again (and I wondered where five years of my life had gone), I managed to understand that she had garbled the story.

Then it was just down to waiting to hear from Momzerduck or Ph.Duck to hear exactly what was going on.  Of course, I was more than a little worried and NOT interested in watching anime (or doing much of anything else... I might have read the same page of my current novel about five times).

So, I:GG will debut tomorrow.  God help us all.

Posted by: Wonderduck at 09:45 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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So over at Chizumatic (linked post is NSFW), Steven is wondering about Ikkitousen ep09, the Onsen episode, and how it was edited for broadcast.  A fair question, considering that the DVD version is rather, shall we say, unrestrained (as are most of the female characters)?

Well, I was first exposed to Ikkitousen via the broadcast fansubs, which I've held onto despite owning the DVDs myself, so I can answer Steven's questions... open his page in one window, open this one in another, and you can see the differences.

Click on to compare, but be warned, the images below are NSFW (though not as bad as the ones on Steven's page)!

more...

Posted by: Wonderduck at 11:22 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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I was wondering why I was suddenly getting comments on posts almost a year old!  Turns out some other poor sucker adventurous soul stumbled onto Sky Girls TV, both Pete and Steven linked to one of my "letters home" posts on the show.

...and Pete mentioned that the he couldn't find my post for the Sky Girls OVA.  Oops.  The link changed when Pixy changed our blogging software to minx... and I didn't notice.  The pictures extend off the main frame, too.  Again, software change.

So, I thought I'd make this post, so the "letters home" posts can be found easily in the future.

The Sky Girls OVA post from January 8th, 2007 can be found here.  There are comments in the hover-text of each picture, but Firefox doesn't display them.  Pity, they were my favorite part of the post.

The Sky Girls TV post from July 30th, 2007 can be found here.

...and keep an eye out for the letter home from the Fishing Trips!  Coming soon...

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Iwon'tcryIwon'tcryIwon'tcryIwon'tcryIwon'tcryIwon'tcryIwon'tcryIwon'tcryIwon'tcryIwon'tcry

Dammit...

Dammit...

Dammit...

*sobbing like a little baby*


No, ARIA... thank you.  Over the course of 52 episodes and one OVA, you've introduced me to a wonderful world, full of wonderful characters, characters that I honestly cared about.  There's no action, there's very little drama (except in some special cases), and some would say there's almost no storyline.

There's just Akari, Aika, Alice, and all the rest of your people.  And that's all that's needed, because you did it right.  I like them.  For the first time in my 15 years of anime watching, I actually wish I could live in the world you've created. 

There's no higher praise than I can bestow on a series than that.  I cannot recommend this show enough. 

Thank you, Jeff, for introducing me to ARIA.  Thank you, RightStuf, for licensing the series.  Heck, I'll even thank Tokyopop for releasing the manga (which has become only the third manga series I've purchased, after a few volumes of Ranma 1/2 back in the mid-90s, and Azumanga Daioh in 2007).

But it's going to be hard to adjust to knowing that there won't be any new stories of Neo-Venezia coming.

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...well, not really.  I got home, made myself some dinner, and settled into the Comfy Chair to watch Mythbusters.  Rerun.  What to watch whilst I dined on tortellini and salad?

Yep.  Kanon '06, DVD 4 just came out (I know I could have ordered it from Robert, but... well, I didn't), so lets fire it up.  Sure, I've seen the episodes before, but it's only while I eat dinner.

Two hours later, the DVD came to an end, and I didn't notice how the time had passed, as is usually the case when it comes to episodes 13-15, also known as "the end of the Mai arc."  I forgot just how GOOD the storytelling is in those episodes... so much so, that I got hooked all over again.

Which is amazing to me.  I've seen the show maybe four times all the way through, and spent a long, long time with it for "...Angel", you'd think I'd maybe be tired of it by now?

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Posted by: Wonderduck at 10:52 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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As anybody who's been an anime fan for more than a few hours knows, Neon Genesis Evangelion is pretty much considered one of those "required viewing" shows, along with such titles as Akira and Ghost In The Shell.

As well, anybody who's been an anime fan for more than a few weeks knows that Gainax, the production company that did Evangelion lo these many years ago, has been milking the show for all the money it's worth.  To date, there's been the original anime and manga series, three movies, four artbooks, three new manga series, 17 CDs, 22 video games, an uncountable number of figurines, and four pachinko machines.  A catalogue of only officially licensed merchandise in 1997 ran to 144 pages.

Well, Gainax has come back to the cow once more, with four "Reload of Evangelion" movies, the first three of which are a reimaging of the original anime, and the fourth to be an all-new ending (hopefully more understandable than the two endings currently extant).  The first movie of the lot, "Evangelion 1.01:  You are (not) alone." came down the fansub pike a week or so ago.  What does this movie have that everything in the past 13 years doesn't?

Honestly?  Nothing.  It is nearly a shot-for-shot remake of the original six episodes (though with some filler taken out; the 24 minutes of episode 05, where Shinji goes for a walk/runs away from NERV, are condensed to about five minutes here). 

In fact, I was only able to identify two shots that were new... and one of them was a three second look at a high school shoe rack.

Okay, so the movie really IS a reimaging of the original.  Was it worth it?  Click "more" to find out. 

WARNING: the extended entry has 25 screencaps, and is emphatically NOT safe for dialup. 
more...

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This might be one of the greatest moments EVER here at The Pond...

^Yes!!!

The third of the Ikkitousen series is scheduled to hit the airwaves this summer, but a preview clip on DVD was recently released in Japan.  Thenceforth, it made its way to way to the 'net, and from there, to my computer.

And now, to you!

^{MY Mou-chan?  Clumsy?  Oh, h*ll no!}

From the looks of it, it'll be picking up pretty much from where Ikkitousen: Dragon Destiny ended, though Mou-chan and Hakufu were working in a cosplay cafe at that time.

There's not much else you can tell from the preview, but it's entertaining to watch all the same!

^{Mou-chan commands you to click below!}

Posted by: Wonderduck at 09:31 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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It took me nearly two weeks to swallow down the trepidation and watch the last two episodes of Clannad.  I knew that ep22 would finally show us Nagisa's play, and that filled me with dread... because, underneath everything that I've become over the years, there's still a part of me that wishes I could have followed my dream and become a lighting designer for the theatre.

Like the "Old Man", I had to let that dream go, though not for the same reasons.

In fact, recently Clannad had been punching some very touchy buttons in me, for reasons that will become clear later this week.  It took some serious effort for me to finally open up ZoomPlayer and run the final eps.

So imagine my surprise when I found myself doing something I hadn't done in a long time...

more...

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-Kanonkon, ep02

In this scene, Yuuichi meets fox-girl Chizuru for the first time in seven years.

_{I'm going to hell for this, aren't I?}

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Posted by: Wonderduck at 01:02 AM | Comments (14) | Add Comment
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1 I watched that first episode as well.   I'm definitely getting Ouran vibes, with the good parts of Kare Kano thrown in for good measure, and that's enough to keep me watching.  I just don't know that there's enough plot in the characters for this to go 13 episodes.  And what's with the limbs on the character designs?

Posted by: Civilis at April 10, 2008 06:46 AM (42+KW)

2 I had a problem with the arms n' legs to start with, but it slowly went away.  Ouran had long limbs too, but this is xxxHolic-level. 

No guess on the sloth questions, Civ?  I'm disappointed!

Posted by: Wonderduck at April 10, 2008 07:27 AM (AW3EJ)

3 Picked up the first volume of the manga for the plane trip yesterday. (Turned out to be a good thing - four hour delay! Got in at midnight local...) Definitely gave me a Karekano taste, which isn't a bad thing.

One comment I have... in the manga, the author burns two or three pages every chapter re-introducing everything. The stock character descriptions, the "this is Special A", the "they're in the Paradise on Campus" thing, whole nine yards. You'll occasionally see that sort of thing when a manga gets picked up for a teaser run, and then the author re-introduces everything when it gets picked up regularly, but this is the first time I've seen it happen six, seven times in a row!

Posted by: Avatar_exADV at April 10, 2008 10:34 AM (d2LNE)

4 Can't say that I remember any sloths in anime. If I had to guess I'd say Mononoke Hime - I seem to recall a veritable Noah's Ark of animals in that one.

Posted by: astro at April 10, 2008 06:40 PM (DSm6K)

5 I don't think that's it. If I had to make a wager on a series having a sloth in it, my guess would be "Excel Saga". Wasn't there a sloth in the "Jungle guerrilla" episode?

Posted by: Steven Den Beste at April 10, 2008 06:45 PM (+rSRq)

6 There was a sloth featured briefly in an episode of Cardcaptor Sakura.  The only link I can think of, really, is that they're both shoujo series... which leads me to believe you're thinking of a different series than CCS.

Posted by: Jeff Lawson at April 11, 2008 06:44 PM (6ti30)

7

WE HAVE A WINNAH!!!

Jeff, the sloth in CCS is right!  The link is that both that sloth and the one in Special A are referred to as "fast sloths." 

The CCS sloth is one of those "100kph sloths", or so says the guy who is a habitual stretcher-of-the-truth.  The sloth in the picture is "really fast, unlike most sloths."

Okay, so it's a tenuous link, but it's still there!

Posted by: Wonderduck at April 11, 2008 08:39 PM (UdB9M)

8 That's the Zoo episode, isn't it? Where Sakura defeats "Power" in the tug-of-war, with a bit of help from Shaoran?

Posted by: Steven Den Beste at April 11, 2008 09:08 PM (+rSRq)

9 The very one, Steven.  I would have had the picture up faster, but PowerDVD was being hinky.

Posted by: Wonderduck at April 11, 2008 10:05 PM (AW3EJ)

10

Actually I'm pretty sure there was a giant robotic megatherium that was dispatched by the science ninja team GATCHAMAN!!

 

Posted by: Brickmuppet at April 12, 2008 07:43 PM (DcSb+)

11 And, actually, I'm pretty sure I've told you that I don't believe you, 'Muppet.  NOBODY could fight a giant robotic megatherium.

(looks up "megatherium" on wiki...)

NOBODY.

Posted by: Wonderduck at April 12, 2008 08:09 PM (AW3EJ)

12 I'm having a real difficult time believing anyone would build such a thing.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste at April 12, 2008 08:22 PM (+rSRq)

13 Well the evil supervillains of Specter were being given hyper advanced technology by an Alien benefactor.

Complicating matters was the fact that the alien was insane and the villain team was not wrapped too tight either. (They liked to dress up as...well...supervillains). This combination of magic level tech and mental defficiency  resulted in  a giant  400 foot tall mammoth, a missile firing sea anemone the size of a skyscraper and a flying turtle the size of an aircraft carrier amongst other atrocities against common sense.

All of these engendering blasphemies were taken out by a well, trained if gaudily dressed commando team. Gatachaman is rather more realistic than it gets credit for.

Posted by: Ken Talton at April 12, 2008 10:12 PM (PJ3O0)

14

One of the things that was nice about that episode of CCS was when the elephant joined Sakura in the tug-of-war. They left it nicely ambiguous whether the elephant was doing it just because it had been taught to do it, or whether it realized that Sakura had saved it and was helping her out of gratitude and friendship.

But I really felt sorry for Power afterwards. Sitting there, she just looked so crestfallen and pitiable. I wanted to give her a big hug and let her cry herself out.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste at April 13, 2008 03:40 PM (+rSRq)

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