Japanese commercials never fail to impress me

I believe that most of you have seen any Japanese commercial, so you know that they have an awesome power to make you laugh or make you think it's so silly that it's great. Two days ago, one of my classmates sent me a link to a Japanese commercial for a dessert known as Giga Pudding. I was astounded by it. It was like if all my senses had abandoned me and I was engulfed by the cute silliness of the commercial. In the end, after watching it I couldn't help singing the song again and again and it kept echoing in my head even the next day. If you're brave enough to face a formidable singing voice of small children and a vexing melody, then watch it too. Here it is.

I hope you're enjoying the post-watching effect now ^^ Maybe you could get rid of it by watching to a few more commercials I find very amusing.

The next one is very funny, it shows you that one should be considerate of own vocal cords. Well then, next commercial, IKEEE!

And here comes more.

Some for Ayumi lovers. The first one reminds me of White Album, she's a little bit like Ogata Rina. And she also tries to conceal her identity with a coat and glasses.

Of course I can't forget on Gackt. There's someting unique about the commercials in which he shows up.

And a few more random japanese commercials.

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Animals in Anime - Birds

Another part of our animals review is here. Today will be devoted to birds in anime.

I'm sure there's a lot of birds in anime and I would say that in almost every series appeared any bird or bird-resembling creature. However, there is few of them having a bigger role. Deciding what birds to put here was quite a hard choice then. I have a feeling I must have forgotten on an important one, but it may be just because there's really not many to show.

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Pen Pen

As the name says, Pen is a penguin. He's not normal though. Pen Pen is Katsuragi Misato's pet and lives in her refrigerator. One of his favorite things is taking baths in warm water and hot springs. Pen Pen is probably quite an intelligent penguin, because he reads newspapers and also watches TV. Judging from his behaviour, I think that he's a result of some scientific experiments. But, I wonder if those scientists made him that fauxhawk on head and painted it red, or if he did it himself...

Ranma 1/2

Mousse

Mousse was a normal man, but after stepping into cursed lake, he acquired the ability to turn into a duck. Even in his duck form, he can use his weapons such as knives and bombs. He apparently hides his weapons in feathers. Does he use any space-extending magic like they used in Harry Potter? XD

Toradora!

Inko

The ugliest parrot ever, Inko, from Takasu household. It's a parakeet parrot, and actually "inko" means "parakeet" in Japanese. This parrot is disgusting as I've said, and he reaches the ugliest phase when he tries to say his name. He always looks like he's doing his best to say it, it looks he's even suffocating, but he always says something totally different in the end, like "inbou" (conspiracy) or "enka" (Japanese music genre). Having said it's the ugliest parrot I've seen, it's also the funniest parrot I've ever seen.

Mahou Sensei Negima!

Sakurazaki Setsuna

Then, we have Sakurazaki Setsuna from Mahou Sensei Negima. She is a master of Shinmei-ryuu swordsmanship and that's not all, she's also a hanyou (half-demon). One of her parents was Crow Demon and one was human, thus she's just a half demon. Despite being a crow spirit, she has white wings, which is because she suffers from albinism. Due to this disease she has white hair and red eyes, but she wears colored contacts and dye her hair black. Because of the color of her wings, she was ousted from her tribe.

Moetan

Arks

Arcs, often called Ah-kun, is a duck, speaking duck, but his true identity is a great magician from Magical Kingdom and his full name is Arcs Sheldart Elbayas. If I should say what he likes the best, then it is pettan girls. And he dislikes anything that bulges and breaks the flatness. He is always looking at every delicious flat chest he meets and this behavior of his has resulted into serious large-scale problem. The picture above is worth a thousand words.

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When violin melts down

There is no violin dissolving awaiting you. It's a violin performance I saw/heard yesterday and when I saw it I knew I must post it here, because this video deserves to be seen by many people. It's Kagamine Rin's song, Meltdown, played on violin. The person who played it has some seriously great violin skills. And the sound of the violin is simply lovely. I'm sure you will love it, too, since it has great impact. But I warn you, somebody could melt down when listening to it ^^

Here is the original record of the song, sung by Rin. You can watch it even in HD.

And here is the same song sung by Miku. It's nice too, but I prefer Rin's version.

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Clannad After Story - episode 19 review

Tomoya and Ushio have returned from their trip to the north. Their father-daughter bond has got in the state in which it should have been right from the beginning, when Ushio was born. Tomoya has decided to live together with Ushio in his apartment from now on and raise her. He also feels very bad that he forced Furukawas to take care of Ushio and left all the hard work on them.

Tomoya stays the night at Furukawas' place and overhears a conversation between Akio and Sanae. Akio says that Sanae hasn't cried since that day, day of Nagisa's death I guess. He tells her that she has done well all the time and that it's fine now and she can cry because he will always be by her side to support her.

Tomoya comes to pick up Ushio from kindergarten and somebody there tells him that Ushio's teacher is on holiday now and will be back next week, so Tomoya will meet her then. Ushio describes her teacher as a kind, beautiful person with long hair (髪が長くて、きれいで、優しい). I think there's no doubt who that teacher is, right? Will we see Kyou already in next episode?

Kyou isn't the only one coming back on scene. Fuuko woke up from comma and now she meets Tomoya. There was a strange atmosphere during their greeting, as if they were on verge of remembering something.

Next day, Tomoya comes to visit his father together with Ushio. He tells him that he met his mother and heard a lot of things from her. Tomoya shows that he is thankful for him, because he sacrificed his own life and happiness only to bring up Tomoya and provide him a happy life. Tomoya tells him that his mother is waiting for him and he should return home now. Tomoya's father tidies up with Tomoya's help and leaves for his old-new home.

This episode was very moving and my eyes watered the whole time. At times I laughed and cried at the same time. I believe that the next episodes won't be different and bring us a lot of sad emotions and happy moments, too.

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Poll results: Your favorite female seiyuu

The poll has been concluded and have brought us not unexpected results. I believed that these three, Mizuki Nana, Hirano Aya, and Kugimiya Rie would claim the top three positions. And it came true. The only question was who will win. I hoped for Nana or Kugi-chan, but in the end the winner was Aya, to my disappointment.

The whole results are as follows:

#1 Hirano Aya - 15 votes
#2 Kugimiya Rie - 12 votes
#3 Mizuki Nana - 10 votes
#4 Tamura Yukari and Horie Yui - both 3 votes
#6 Tomatsu Haruka - 2 votes
#7 Tanaka Rie, Katou Emiri, Endou Aya, Koshimizu Ami - 1 vote
#11 Hazuki Erino - 0 votes

Now, let's wait and see who will triumph in the real contest, 3rd Seiyuu Awards.

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Cup does matter

Does breast size matter, or not? I had a little conversation about breast sizes with my friends the other day. The main topic was whether breast sizes does matter or not. You could say that everybody had a slightly different opinion. One said that the bigger the better, other one was saying at first that size doesn't matter. I said frankly that what matters is cup size, but you can't say that bigger is better or that smaller is better. Everybody has a different taste. So I tried to wrap up the whole conversation. Most of them agreed with me saying that I'm right and that some people prefer smaller, some prefer larger. But there was still one guy who is stubborn as a mule and kept saying that big chest is definitely better than flat chest. Well, I didn't bother to try to convince him that he was wrong, because it wouldn't lead anywhere.

Well, what do you think? Everybody has a different taste, right? You can't say that big is better than small and vice versa. But nor you can say that size doesn't matter. I think that the thing that matters the most is cup size. The cup size is what tells you how big the breasts look, because it's defined by the difference between bust girth and underbust girth.

Even though I said that cup size does matter, I didn't mean it like it's the most important aspect. I just wanted to say that everybody has a different opinion on breast size. And I'm sure that women shouldn't be ashamed of their bust size, it's quite pointless, because no matter how big or small their chest is, there will always be people who won't like it, but there will always be people who'll like it, too.

Image of seiyuu oppais, taken from Sankaku Complex

In ecchi anime, the creators often want to please all viewers and you can find variously developed girls. The extremes then are of course pettanko and big oppai girls. I think there's a lot of people who like either of these types. But here comes a question, do people who like for example 2D pettanko characters also like 3D pettanko girls? According to numerous polls, only about 5% of people prefer A cup or smaller, about 50% say that ideal size is C, and again about 5% vote for E, F or whatever the biggest available option is. But then I found a poll on this topic at an anime related site, Hongfire, and the results were very surprising. C cup managed to win but only with 28%. The second place got flat chest with 20% and if A cup votes (8% in total) were added to it then it would have evened with C cup. 10% voted for E+. It shows that otaku go for extremes ^^ However, actually not as many people as I have thought prefer large oppai. So people who say that otaku are those people who like that perverted stuff with extremely endowed girls are quite wrong. Otaku may like that perverted stuff but according to the poll they prefer pettan to large oppai ^^ These results may differ if the poll was specifically on anime girls' oppai size, though.

If we consider these results and apply them even for anime and games, then we can say that pettanko are more popular. However, I'm sure there is more girls with big oppai than pettanko girls in anime and games. Name a series where are many pettanko girls. I can't think of any. But I can name series where are only women with gigantic oppai, for example very well known Eiken or Milk Junkies etc.

I seriously think that creators are neglecting pettanko a little. I'm no big fan of pettan characters but even so I believe that they deserve more attention. Having said that, I think that the situation has been getting better for pettanko and we will see more and more of them in the future.

I have put up two polls on your bust preferences. One is for your preferences in anime, and the other is for your preferences in real life.

And a little extra for you, my favorite song, which is very addictive, Tsurupettan. I sang it at school a few times when I was in high spirits. Thanks god nobody could understand the lyrics ^^

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Playing with banners

Yesterday, I made two more banners for my blog. I really suck at any graphic effects so I kept it simple. I'm really glad that Photoshop can do a lot of modifications etc. only by clicking on the option of that adjustment. Maybe I could try to insert a nice pattern as a background in the banner next time. In the last ones, I just put there three circles and distorted them a little.

When I was working on the banners yesterday, I thought that I could post here all the banners I had made so far. The first one was very very simple, just putting some images together. Then, I added some elementary effects in the next banners. Even though I know I can't make anything amazing, I think I could have done a better job. I have to try harder next time. Ganbaru yo~

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My Tomoyo is a god?

I've noticed an interesting thing when looking at the box of my Tomoyo figure, which I have to put somewhere yet because I don't want to have boxes laying around my room. Well, the box has a transparent plastic on the top and it's left opened. Behind the box, there is a kanji tapestry hanging on the wall. And it happened that right behind the transparent top of the Tomoyo box is a kanji for "god", "kami" in Japanese, that is clearly visible through the plastic. The first think that came to my mind was that Tomoyo had wanted to show that she is a goddess and had found this as a great chance. And I finally noticed it, as she probably wanted. Did she think that she would be treated in a better way then? Well, I will take good care of her, but I would do so even if she didn't tell me in this unusual way.

I wanted to take some photos of my figures, too, but the weather is so bad that it's gloomy even during the daytime and the photos would have turned blurry and poorly lit.

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In the Miso Soup - Murakami Ryuu

This week I read a very interesting book, In the Miso Soup by Murakami Ryuu. It was the first Murakami Ryuu's book I've read and I must say that his writing style is impressive and breathtaking. I was engulfed by the story and it gave me the creeps from time to time. Especially the brutal scenes, which are described in details in this book, were terrifying.

The story is about twenty-year-old Kenji who lives in Tokyo and works as a "nightlife guide" for foreigners. On one winter day he receives a call from an American whose name is Frank. Kenji is hired by this guy to guide him around various types of nightclubs in Tokyo for 3 nights. The story develops as Kenji becomes suspicious of Frank for not being who he's claimed to be and being involved in some recent gruesome events.

The book gives its readers a different angle on contemporary Japan and the lifestyle of many young Japanese. Also, it describes very well the nightlife in districts of Tokyo, mainly districts in Shinjuku ward, for example Kabuki-chou. You will learn about different types of clubs and you can also learn some interesting words related to ero-businesss and ero-stuff.

I found the book very interesting and it impressed me. I can do nothing but recommend it for people who want to read about Japan in a different light, or for people who just like creepy and brutal stories.

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International Saimoe 2009 - Preliminary Rounds results

Preliminary rounds have ended leaving us 27 contestants who advance to Regular Season and join the 37 contestants who got their tickets to enter the cruel ISML battle a few months ago. It means that all 64 contestants have finally gathered. The advancing from the preliminaries are as follows:

Hinamori Amu - Shugo Chara!
Hakurei Reimu - Touhou Musou Kakyou
Aisaka Taiga - Toradora!
Shameimaru Aya - Touhou Musou Kakyou
Remilia Scarlet - Touhou Musou Kakyou
Kirisame Marisa - Touhou Musou Kakyou
Kushieda Minori - Toradora!
Patchouli Knowledge - Touhou Musou Kakyou
Nagi - Kannagi
Shinku - Rozen Maiden
Kamio Misuzu - AIR
Sawatari Makoto - Kanon
Anya Alstreim - Code Geass
Sunohara Mei - CLANNAD
Yagami Hayate - Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha
Ilyasviel von Einzbern - Fate/Stay Night
Kawashima Ami - Toradora!
Index - To Aru Majutsu no Index
Misaka Shiori - Kanon
Ryougi Shiki - Kara no Kyoukai
Katagiri Yuuhi - Akane-iro ni Somaru Saka
Misaka Mikoto - To Aru Majutsu no Index
Chii - Chobits
Kasuga Osaka Ayumu - Azumanga Daiou
Vita - Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha
Alice Caroll - ARIA
Kouzuki Kallen - Code Geass

I'm very glad Alice has advanced, because I was very afraid that she wouldn't make it. But in the end she's acquired one of the three last slots.

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Alter's Fate T. Harlaown figure

Alter's Fate figure, the Strikers version, had been finally painted and was presented to the public a few days ago. She looks awesome, I will definitely buy her, no matter how much she will cost. But I must say that I'm a little worried that the price will be quite high. My account have to bear it though. When it comes to Fate, everything else are minor details.

This Fate figure is supposed to be released in summer. It is 1/7 scale figure, Fate's face expression is extraordinarily glamorous and extremely cool, and it will come with both versions of Zanber Sword.

Although this post is devoted to Fate's figure, there's one more figure I want to write about. This Akashiya Moka figure is to come in shops' stocks in June. It's the first figure of Moka in her awakened vampire state. Made by Good Smile Company, which means first-class quality. The chains on the figure are made of real metal and they look great. I just hope it won't rust. Her red, white-laced dress, and her long legs stretching out from it add to Moka's charm that in combination with her beauty makes a powerful weapon.

Even though she is scheduled on June, preorders have been already being taken, at least at HLJ and Hobby Search. I haven't ordered her yet, but I will most likely, I mean on 99%, do so.

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Animals in Anime: Foxes (Kitsune)

Foxes, kitsune in Japanese, are common for Japanese folklore. They are depicted as intelligent beings possessing magical powers. Kitsune are a type of youkai, demon or spirit in English. Sometimes the word kitsune is translated as fox spirit.

They can take a form of human. Sometimes they are portrayed as guardians, but sometimes also as mischievous creatures. The more tails kitsune has, the wiser it is. If you have played or watched Pocket Monsters, you must know Ninetales, right? He has nine of them, as the name says. And nine-tail-kitsune are regarded as the most powerful one and their fur becomes gold.

Kitsune are also associated with the deity of rice and harvest, Inari, thus they are very significant. They were messengers of Inari, originally, but the bond between them has resulted in junction and Inari itself is now often depicted as kitsune. If you would like to know something more about this part of Japanese folklore, go to Wiki.

In anime, most of kitsune are depicted in their human form and it is hard to find some in their fox form, so I will go through kitsune youkais in human form, too.

Rosario to Vampire

Kuyou

Let's start with kitsune I have seen recently when watching Rosario to Vampire (quite nice ecchi anime with nice girls). He is a youko (fox demon) and is very sadistic. Kuyou can perform very strong fire attacks, and his ultimate form, which you can see in the picture, is a hybrid combining his human and youkai appearance.

Yuu Yuu Hakusho

Kurama

Youko Kurama from an old anime, Yuu Yuu Hakusho. It's a great stunning anime, even though it's more than 15 years old. Kurama used to be a well-known thief in youkai world. Due to reasons I won't tell you so I won't spoil the plot he has become a human. Later, he helps a spirit detective, Urashima Yuusuke. Kurama can control any plants and uses them also as deadly weapons. His main weapon is Rose Whip. When some conditions are met, he can transform back to his demon form and in his demon form he is much more powerful and has better control over demonic plants.

Wagaya no Oinari-sama

Tenko Kuugen

Kuugen is a fox deity that was sealed away because of her behavior. She can also become he. I mean, Kuugen can take a form of woman or man. She refers to herself with pronoun "ore", which is mainly used by men. She has blonde hair that attract attention and there is no need to mention her ears.

Kanon

Sawatari Makoto

I believe a lot of you know Makoto from Kanon. It's quite popular anime based on visual novel by my favorite Key productions. Makoto is a fox that has assumed a form of a human girl. Most of the time she is in her human form and her true identity is revealed near the end of her arc. Her fox form is very cute and if you look at my previous review of cats in anime, you will definitely find a certain similarity between Makoto and Shima, not mentioning that both Kanon and Clannad are made by Key and animated by KyoAni.

Inuyasha

Shippo

Shippo from well-known series Inuyasha. He is very young and his shape-changing is not perfect yet. His transformations can't last long and his tail is often left unchanged so it reveals him. But he can perform various tricks and is very energetic.

Kanokon

Minamoto Chizuru

Chizuru, a 400-year-old fox spirit from Kanokon. In her fox form her hair becomes gold and she gets a tail and ears. She is in love with one boy and is constantly seeking some erotic acts. I found somewhere that she is even fond of masochism, but since I have seen only one episode of this anime, I don't know whether it's true or not.

Minamoto Tayura

Chizuru's brother and a kitsune spirit too. I haven't found a picture with him in his fox form (has he transformed in the anime?) so if you know about one, I would appreciate if you could give me a link.

Inukami!

Youko

Youko has a fear of dogs, which is comprehensible because she is a fox spirit, and foxes and dogs are enemies. Her yellow tail is a thing that gives away her true identity.

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Miku strikes back

Miku was probably upset that Luka had drawn off some of her fans so she decided to let us hear her great voice in full bloom again. She has proved to us that she can touch our hearts, too.

This song's name is Kasoukyoku (火葬曲). Cremation Song, in English. It's quite a good name and fits the song because I believe that it will really warm you inside.

For folks who prefer Nico sites, click here. Those who would like to watch videos at Nico and don't know how to register because it's in Japanese, you might want to look at this short how-to written by Tenrou.

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Megurine Luka singing enka

Luka has proved herself to be a singer of many genres. She has shown everyone that she can even sing enka, or kayoukyoku if you want. For those who doesn't know what enka is, it is a Japanese style of music that spread in the first half of 20th century, in between-wars and postwar periods. For more detailed information, look here.

Luka really has passion in her voice as you can hear in the video. For singing enka or kayoukyoku, it definitely is essential.

Our singing star is awaiting you. Just click on the play button or click here to watch the video on Nico Nico Douga.

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Ugly figures; what it shouldn't look like

I have been inspired by the recent post with the ugliest Yoko figure that you can find at Howagirlfigures.com or at Danny's sites and I have remembered and looked up more ugly figures made by not unknown companies. Here, I bring the picture collection of very bad figures.

I won't comment too much as you can clearly see them and make your own judgment.

Kawazoe Tamaki from Bamboo Blade by Organic

Sakura from Tsubasa Chronicles by B-Club

Shigure Asa from Shuffle by Atelier Sai. The color of her skin is totally off.

Suzumiya Haruhi from Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu by Pinky Street

Kousaka Tamaki from To Heart2 by Clayz. Do you see that strange smile?

Takamachi Nanoha from Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha by Movic. Nanoha doesn't have so thick thighs.

Onodore Karen from Onegai Twins by Wave. They really messed up the painting.

And finally, the ugliest in my opinion, Shana from Shakugan no Shana by Yujin. Poor Shana, they sculpted her really horribly. This is not the cute Shana that everyone knows. This is a monster.

I hope you have survived this eye-hurting set of pictures. I can't say "I hope you enjoyed it", can I? ^_^ I will do my best to show you something appealing next time.

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Megurine Luka or just Pink Suigintou?

Almost every character shares some visual characteristics with another. Megurine Luka is no exception. A sharp eye spotted her resemblance with Suigintou and has even shown it in a fanart. You can see that fanart above.

You can look at these two characters and compare them in the pictures below. I can say without hesitance that I see some similarity between those two. And not just some, but quite a lot. Their hairstyles are similar, their faces are similar and they both wear similar accessories on their heads. The question is whether this similarity is intentional and Suigintou really was a model for Luka or if it is just a coincidence.

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