TETRAGRAMMATON LABYRINTH*

This manga is a recent find, I ran across a copy of the first, and thus far only volume out at Borders last night.  I wasn't really looking to add another title to my shopping lists, having been looking for a copy of He is My Master, which I should have bought a while back as there was only one copy in the store at the time and I didn't feel up to driving all over town searching each and every Borders and Barnes & Noble last night.  I have done that before when I really wanted a particular manga and I am not ashamed to admit that.  Anyway this book is part of Seven Seas new Strawberry Yuri line and it is about a what appears to be a twelve year old girl named Angela and a Nun named Meg that hunt down and destroy demons in early twentieth century London.  Note that I said that Angela appears to be twelve but that is not the case.  The hook in this series is the fact that you are given just enough information to make you wonder just what is going on and what aren't you being told.  The art is top notch and the story very well paced, alternating nicely and smoothly between exposition and action.  The exact extent of the relationship between Sister Meg and Angela is still unclear at the close of volume one as with so much else but I have the sneaking suspicsion that the real twist is the secret within the secret as was once said about something else.**  I for one can't wait to get my hands on volume two when it comes out.

*Picture shamelessly stolen from Robert's Anime Corner Store

**This remark was made by Dr. John Craven in reference to the CIA's Project Jennifer.  For more details on the events that led to Project Jenifer I highly reccomend the book Red Star Rouge by Kenneth Sewell and Clint Richmond.

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Japan, U.S., Australia to hold 1st summit.

     The attention of the world is at this moment focused on the war of the here and now, being waged in the Iraq and Afghanistan, and this war is important and must be one.  Yet while this war rages the preperations for the next war continue apace in the east.  It may not be readily apparent but the war being fought now is in some ways an anomoly, facing as we are the forces of often vague and fleeting oponents.  The vastness of the Pacific today seems to be a reflection of its name, a place that is at peace.  But with a China that has grown stronger comes into conflict with the other nations of the region tensions and coflicts can only increase.  In this enviroment of simmering and slowly rising tensions the free and democratic nations of the along the Pacific and Indian oceans are reaching out to one another to ensure that they are willing and able to stand together if and when the time to do so should come to pass.  This summit along with the strengthening of ties between Japan and India leads me to believe that what we are witnessing is the laying of the foundations for a new alliance in the far east.

Indo-Japan accord moves ties into new dimension.

     The time has come I believe to forge a new and lasting alliance of free nations that seeks to counter the opressive and totalitarian regiemes of the world and will yield to no dictator or totalitarian state.  I would therefore like to make a rather immodest proposal for the following.

        A treaty establishing The Pacific-Indian Ocean Treaty Organization.

     We the undersigned democracies, being bound by friendship, shared values, traditions and freedoms establish a strong and permanent alliance between the free nations of the world. We the United States of America, The Empire of Japan, The Republic of Korea, The Nation of Canada, The Nation of Australia, The Nation of India, The Nation of New Zealand, The Nation of Singapore, The Republic of China and The Republic of the Philippines agree to the following:

1. That all of the signatories of this treaty will come to the aid and defense of another member nation if attacked, and will place all available military forces under the control of regional commander previously approved by the Council of Members upon a nomination by one or more of the member nations. When the Council of Members by a thee fourths (3/4) vote deems necessary the member nations may and shall undertake pre-emptive military action against threats to their collective security. Any member nation shall, during times of peace be free to carry out any military actions it deems necessary to protect her citizens and interests without consulting the Council and may form any ad-hoc alliance as may be needed. During time of war as recognized by the Council any member nation may carry out military operations as above with forces not under the control of a regional commander and may use such forces as under a regional commander with the approval of the Supreme Allied Commander however all ad-hoc alliances formed for such operations must be approved by the Council if they involve any nation not a member of this organization or a member of NATO unless such operation is being conduced under the auspices of a UN Security Council mandate.

2. That in times of peace all member nations will maintain appropriate military forces consummate with their economic and population bases. Additionally in times of war member nations will work together to ensure the rational and co-ordinated use of resources in the execution of their assigned tasks.

3. That all members will freely share technology, information and intelligence to further the missions of this organization in both peace time and war time.

4. That all member nations will agree upon certain standards in relation to certain types of military equipment and supplies and to manufacture such goods to the standards promulgated by the Technical Committee of the Council of Members so as to insure interoperability and interchangeability.

5. That all member nations will conduct co-operative exercises involving land, sea and air forces on a routine basis and at all levels from the smallest of subunits to the highest headquarters.

6. All member nations will provide for the forward basing of the military forces of other member nations with the particulars of status of forces agreements and financial arrangements to be negotiated between the specific agreeing parties.

7. All member nations shall make a financial contribution to the Common Fund of the Council of Members annually, the specific amount to be calculated by a formula to by devised by the Finance Committee of the Council of Members and agreed to by the member nations through a two thirds (2/3) vote of the Council.

8. All member nations are encouraged to work together in the development and acquisition of military equipment so as to reduce the total cost of such equipment by taking advantage of the economies of scale and focused effort versus the waste of duplicated effort and small batch production and to further the goals of interoperability and interchangeability among the member nations.

9. A Supreme Allied Commander shall be nominated to the Council of Members by any member nation and the nominee may be from any member nation. The Personnel Committee with the assistance of the Planning Committee, the Operations Committee and the Intelligence Committee shall determine three (3) final nominees to be placed before the Council of Members with the winner to be chosen by a simple majority vote. Should a majority not be achieved by any nominee a second vote shall be taken, failing a majority then a runoff vote between the two (2) highest scoring nominees shall be conducted for a maximum of three votes. Should the Council then be deadlocked the General Secretary of the Council shall cast a deciding vote. The SAC may not be from the same member nation as then holds the position of General Secretary of the Council of Members unless the General Secretary is named to that post while their nation holds the post of SAC. The term of the SAC shall be for four (4) years and the SAC may be renominated and reappointed with out limit providing that the current SAC a) agrees to be renominated, b) their member nation also so concurs and c) that they stand in equal to all other nominees every four years to be renominated and appointed.

10. The Council of Members shall consist of a civilian delegate and military assistant delegate named by the government of their member nation. Each delegation shall have one (1) vote and all votes shall be of equal weight, the voting delegate shall be the civilian delegate except when that delegate is absent and the military assistant delegate shall vote for their member nation. The Council shall have the following committees, and they may form sub-committees as they see fit within their area of responsibility, Finance, Personnel, Operations, Planning, Intelligence, Research and Development, Technical, Air Forces, Land Forces, Naval Forces, Covert Activities and External Relations. Each committee will be headed by a chairman elected by simple majority from among its members, all member nations shall have at least one seat on all committees and may be entitled to more at the discretion of the Council, no nation shall have more than two (2) votes on any committee regardless of the number of seats they possess except for the Intelligence, Planning and Operations committees where all nations shall have one (1) seat and one (1) vote. The Civilian delegate of each member nation will be responsible for naming their nations representatives to each committee and for overseeing their activities as directed by their government. The Military assistant delegate shall be that member nations representative to the Operations committee and may hold no more than one (1) other committee assignment. The Civilian delegate of each member nation will serve on at least one (1) committee other than the Operations committee and no more than two (2) committees at one time. The Council will meet in general session at least every two weeks in peace time and every other day during war time.

11. The General Secretary shall be nominated to the Council of Members by any member nation, but the nominee must be from the nominating nation and must be a civilian at the time of nomination. The Council shall elect the General Secretary by a two thirds (2/3) majority from among the nominee(s) submitted at the beginning of every third year. The General Secretary shall not vote except when a simple majority is required to reach a decision and after three consecutive votes the issue remains deadlocked or the General Secretary may adjourn the Council for seventy two (72) hours and may then call for two additional votes on the issue. The issue in contention then still being deadlocked the General Secretary shall then cast the deciding vote. The term of the General Secretary shall be three years and the General Secretary shall serve no more than two consecutive terms but shall not be limited in nonconnective terms. Nominees for the post should be submitted in writing to the Personnel committee no later than the twenty eighth (28) day of February, leap years excepted when they shall be due on the first (1) day of March. The vote to name a new General Secretary or retain the current General Secretary if so eligible shall be taken on the fifth (5) day of December. The General Secretary shall be responsible for acting as president of the Council of Members, overseeing the permanent staff of the Council and the Office of the Inspector General and acting as impartial judge in settling disputes between member nations.

12. All Disputes between member nations may be brought before the Council of Members for arbitration. The arbitrator shall be named by the General Secretary from among the delegates not party to the dispute in question. Both aggrieved parties must agree to such arbitration and in so doing agree to be bound by such arbitration. If one or both parties is unsatisfied with the outcome of the arbitration they may appeal first to the Office of the Inspector General and then to the General Secretary.

13. Suspension and Expulsion of Member Nations. Any nation that violates the basic principles of this body, namely failing to maintain a free, democratic government, violating the basic inalienable rights of their citizens with out regard to the law or generally behaves in a manner that the Council feels is inconsistent with the Free and Civilized World may be temporarily suspended from the Council by a three fourths (3/4) vote and may be expelled by a unanimous vote of the Council. In such votes neither referring party or the accused party shall cast a vote in determining either suspension or expulsion. Any nation suspended form the Council shall be eligible to apply for readmission after ninety (90) days, and will automatically be readmitted after eighteen (18) months if the Council takes no further action to renew the suspension or move for expulsion. Suspended members may still attend all Council functions and speak as members but may only vote on those issues which the General Secretary shall so designate and the shall not be eligible to receive funds from the Council Common fund or the Modernization fund. Expelled members may apply for readmission after a period of five (5) years or earlier at the invitation of the Council.

14. The Finance committee shall maintain a Modernization Fund separate from the Common Fund. Money form the Common Fund shall be used to further the general mission of the organization and to assist its member nations as directed by the Council of Members. The Modernization Fund shall only be used to assist nations in the modernizing and improving of their military forces and related technical sectors to strengthen the overall alliance as directed by the modernization Sub-committee of the Technical committee.

15. The Office of the Inspector General shall be independent of all other bodies and shall report directly to the General Secretary. The OIG shall create and maintain a system for the anonymous reporting of abuses of organization funds and materials and to improve the overall efficiency of the organization’s endeavors.

16. The organizations Headquarters shall be established upon the US Territory of Guam. This shall consist of a complex of buildings that meet the needs of the Council, the General Secretary, The Supreme Allied Commander and other tenants. The construction of such facilities shall be paid for by a special assessment by the Finance committee to all member nations. The United States agrees to construct at its own expense housing and any other needed facilities for the Organization and to cover the cost of maintenance on such facilities for a period of five (5) years after which time such costs shall be provided for from the Common Fund.

17. New members may admitted by a two thirds (2/3) vote of the council in general session and all new members shall be subject to a probationary period of membership no longer than five (5) years and no less than one (1) year. During this probationary period the new member nation must meet certain goals or make such progress toward those goals that Council believes substantial enough to end the probationary period. Such goals shall be defined in the Articles of Accession that the new member government agrees to upon accepting membership. Failure to meet these goals shall see a one (1) year extension of the probationary period and may also result in denial of Common Fund assistance if the Council so deems.

18. Should any member nation be attacked on their Territory, their flagged ships upon the high seas or their planes in the skies such an action will be considered an act against the whole of the group and will be treated as such. Furthermore any attack against the citizens of a member nation by any other nation or terrorist group any where in the world will be regarded as an attack against the whole, this however shall exclude those wounded in military actions taken by member nations during peace time as defined in article one (1). Any member nation so attacked may petition the Council for a Declaration of a state of war. Such declarations shall be granted by a three fourths (3/4) majority vote in the Council. Upon certifying such a declaration the General Secretary shall inform the Supreme Allied Commander who will then name regional commanders to take control of allied military forces in their area of responsibility. All nations must contribute to the defense of the attacked after such a declaration and failure to do so will result in immediate expulsion from the organization. All nations will be informed before hand as to what forces they are expected to contributed based upon the war plans prepared by the Planning committee and will be expected to do their utmost to meet those responsibilities.

19. The undersigned Nations, having freely agreed to this treaty do hereby establish the Pacific-Indian Ocean Treaty Organization Upon this day the __ of ____________ in the year 200_.

        So that is my concept for a new alliance the far east, I know that the chances of something like this being brought about are slim but one can hope after all.

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     Ah how I love the internet and its abillity to bring to me those funny and amusing manga that will very likely never be published in the United States.  For all the progress manga has had moving in to the mainstream the works targeted at older audiences continue to recieve a decidely mixed reception.  Here are two short pieces that use the Nintendo Wii as a plot element in people getting their ecchi on.

Wii By Kensoh Ogawa

Here Comes a New Challenger by Naomi Nekomata  

And just in case you missed it last time to decompress .rar files and much much more I can't say enough good things about 7Zip File manager.

Note, these stories are meant for those of legal age where ever you may happen to be. [sarcasm] I mean after all no minor has ever illegaly viewed pornography on the net in its entire exsistence. [/sarcasm]  

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     So the 16DDH is now officaly the JDS Hyuga, DDH-181*.  This name is an interesting choice, being niether a name associated with just surface forces or aviation but both.  The new Hyuga takes her name from the Ise class battleship that was converted into a hybrid Carrier-Battleship combination.  The name is appropiate for a destroyer due to its battleship origins but is also subtle signal that Japan is stepping back into the arena of naval aviation in a serious way.  Offically the Japanese media is stating that she displaces 13,500 tons and can carry only seven helos and operate just four at a time.  While this is unsurprising given the technical ignorance of most media in defence matters the truth is that she will displaced about 21,000 tons loaded for action and be capable of carrying around 22-24 aircraft, possibly as many as 28 or 30* depending upon the mix of types and sizes.  The big question is how her neighbors will react, only time will tell, until then may the Japanese Defense Ship Hyuga always find fair winds and following seas.

As seen from her Port side.

And a stern view for good measure.

*Allthough it would seem that the Hull number 145 would be assigned to her this is how the US would number her, the Japanese break from US tradition by Naming DDs, DDGs, DDKs** and DDHs from the same numerical squence.  Hence DDH-181, having been ordered after the DDGs 179 and 180.

*This would likely be in the role of an aviation transport to support an amphibious landing, hauling utillity and attack helos for the Japanese Army I mean Japanese Ground Self Defence Force.

**DDK=Destroyer, Antisubmarine Warfare, this designator originated with the US Nay in the middle fifties and the Japanese still have three DDKs built in the seventies in service that are due to be replaced by a new class of multipurpose DDs.

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From First Multi-National Force Iraq:

Iraqi Army, U.S. Special Forces detain three, destroy weapons cache.

IPs, Marines host youth soccer day.

Update: 14 Task Force Lightning Soldiers die in helicopter downing.  A strong reminder that niether freedom or victory is without cost.  But we will also see to it that those who are guility are found and punished.

Terrorist responsible for shooting down coalition helicopter detained.

MND-B Apache crews destroy rocket tubes.

11 detained in Rashid, including 9 Iraqi Policemen.

U.S. Marines, Iraqis search for weapons.

Advances being made to bring electrical stability.

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Pointless Dirty Pictures, Amusing Edition.

Pictures of Yomi from Azumanga Daioh in ways that Kyohiko Azuma never imagined, or at least approved of.   The stuff below the fold is more revealing, but still in keeping with the light hearted nature of the series, and its funny too.

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 16DDH looking good, fully painted and awaiting her launching in four days.

Here we see the details of her island, the installed front and rear phassed array radars and that some of the fore end scaffolding has been removed.

 The most obvious change here is the removal of the bridge for DDG-179 to clear the door of the dry dock, and the removal equipment from her flight deck.

   This far shot reveals that  her flightdeck is fully cleared and is in the process of being painted and coated wth anti-skid coating.

Finally we can see that the tarp at her stern is indeed covering her name, which for the moment remains known only to her builders and a handful of others.

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     After suffering through several iPodless months I have finally resurected my iPod with the iPod Reset Utillity from apple.  No longer am I bound by the capicity of minidiscs or the lifespan of AA batteries.  The reset process returns the iPod to like new so a renaming was in order, given that my iPod is an early Shuffle and I wanted to continue on the anime theme of hardware names I settled on Gan-Chan, the rat from the Adventures of the Mini-Goddesses joining my laptop Naruto, my desktop Tachikoma and my Palm Pilot Midori.

A pic of Midori since I don't have a pic of Gan-Chan at the moment.

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GOOD, BAD OR UGLY?  Roh's trip to Pyongyang puts three scenarios in play.

     History has proven time and again that attempting to negotiate with or appease dictators is to merely prolong their continued exsistence.  President Roh should realize that no matter what he does or says Pyongyang will do as they please and what they feel is in their best interest.  The only way South Korea can come to terms with the North is either by exercising patience or through all out military victory.  Given that at the moment  the chance of renewed fighting among the beligerents is fairly low by the standards of the Korean penisula the south must simply wait for the inevitable collapse that befalls all opressive regiemes in the end.  President Roh should keep these words from Mark Twain in mind at the upcoming summit, 'Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.'  Untill this meeting actually occurs we can only wait and hope for the best, but we should also be prepared for the worst.

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From First Multi-National Force Iraq:

Iraqi Army Forces provide humanitarian aid, medical supplies to Sinjar bombing victims.

U.S. Military works to improve Iraqi Security Forces.

Concerned Citizens step toward self-reliance.

Minister of Health visits new Healthcare Centers.

Harbor Substation essential to Port, industry operation.

Weapons cache found in Adhamiyah.

Bomb production facility destroyed.

Tip leads to largest cache uncovered in western Baghdad neighborhood.

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     More photos of 16DDH now just one week from launching, at the same time she will be officaly christined with her name.  While that is still unknown to us it is clear that major fabrication is basically complete and all that remains is fitting out work which will probably last for 10 to 12 months as weapons systems, interior electronics, machinery and crew facilities are installed, from that point on most work will not be visible execpt for the instilation of weaponry and other topside fittings such as edge nets, life raft cans and boat davits.

Here we see that her island and stack tops are now fully painted.  Most importantly her forward phased arrays appear have been fitted and are protected from the elements by a coating of spray lat until they are ready to be painted later on.

This angle shows that her hull has recieved a second coat of paint and the tarp at center suggests that her name may well have been painted on and is hidden until her launching on the 23^rd.  The most notable change here is the movent of scaffolds and other equipment away from the hull as the launch date approaches.  The single biggest task facing the yard crew is the moving of the bridge lift of the Atago class DDG being built behind her.

Once again this view gives us an idea of the overall size of the ship and  basic layout sans weapons and deck fittings, she is big and long.  Once agian I must stress that the term destroyer is copletely incorrect fo this ship, I would class here as either a CVL or CVS, possibly a CVH*, but in no way is she a destroyer.

*The Japanese use the US Navy's ship designation system in which a CV is a multipurpose aircraft carrier (Super or fleet carrier**) CVL is a light carrier, CVS an antisubmarine carrier and CVH a helicopter carrier.  A CVN is simply a CV with a nuclear powerplant and a CVA is an attack carrier, a CVE is an escort carrier and finally a CVT is a training carrier.

**Super carriers displace 75,000+ tons and are from the Forrestal (Forrestal, Kitty Hawk, Enterprise, Kennedy and Nimitz classes)  class forward, while fleet carriers would be of the Midway, Essex or Ticonderoga class when operating as straight CVs but many of the Essex and Tico's ended their service lives as CVS carriers.

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A More Interactive Kind of Smut.

      When most people think of material that is in the words of the US Supreme Court 'appeal to a purient imterest' they think of printed materials or  moving images on DVD.  Those are nice enough but sometimes it can be fun to explore some of the more obscure forms of such material.  Here of course I am refering to H-Games (aka Ero Games, Dating sims etc, etc.).  Yes these wonderous pieces of software allow you to not just enjoy the the perveted action as it unfolds but to control the pace and nature of that action.  When I first heard of such games I thought, well that is kind of interesting, but I don't quite see the attraction.*  As I became more and more imersed in the Otaku culture I became interested in getting my hands on one of these games of the Japanese variety and low and behold there is actually a company that localizes them for the US market. This little outfit is the kind of company, JAST USA made possible by the internet and the globalization of world entertainment.  So through the glory that is e-commerce I fired off an order for a game that was generally hailed by my fellow Otaku as a winner, The Sagara Family.  Once I had this marvelous piece of software up and running I was soon able to see just what the attraction to these games is, the abillity to change the outcome and experience each time you play, unlike a manga or anime wher the conclusion, though good is always the same.  It may be a less seen part of the hardcore Otakudom in the states but it is still there, just as it is in Japanese Otakudom.

*The first such game I saw was featured on an HBO Real Sex in the nineties and had insane bad early 3D graphics.  It was also a US developed game.

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    Today marks exactly sixty two years since the Japanese surrendered, ending world war two.  What is most striking about the war is not the outcome of the battles themselves, but of the world that arose from the ashes.  Unique in history the US has sought to treat its defeated enemies not with punishment and vengenace but with magnamity and compassion.  If one had to describe the US attitiude toward victory I would state it as thus:  "Having defeated our enemies let us treat them not as the conquered and submited foe but rather as those now freed from opression and privation.  Let them be reborn, not as enemies but as allies, friends not foes.  We seek to help create a more equitable and just world.  We extended now the hand of help and aid having laid aside the might of sword and shield.  Let us working together build now a free, just and democratic world, and may history judge that we left the world a better, safer, freer and more prosperous place than we first found.  And barring that may posterity record that we tried with all our might to make it so."

VJ Day crowd in Times Square, New York City.

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    More photos of the progress of the Japanese 16DDH as her launching approaches.  Her launching and naming ceremony haas been anounced for the 23 of the month.  My money is on either Hosho or Akagi* for her name, we shall see.

Here we can see that her navigation and other mast mounted radars have been installed and that it would seem progress has been made on her phased arrays, given that where we could once see through the tarps or nets covering the openings they now appear opauqe.

Not much visible change can be seen from this angle, however the construction behind her is now identifiable as the bridge for the third of four Atago class destroyers DDG 179.  This is easy because only 16DDH and Atago class ships in the JMSDF have closed masts as oposed to the more common open frame masts.

This picture gives us an idea of the ships length and the level appearence of the deck would seem to imply that her elevators have been mated to their wells and lifting gear.

*Hosho was the worlds first from the keel up aircraft carrier and Japan's first CV.  Akagi was the flagship of the first air fleet in WW2 and perhaps the best remembered Japanese CV of WW2.

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From First Multi National Force Iraq

Operation Hoplite clears Had Maksar.

Joint Iraqi Police, Army operation nets seven near Kirkuk.

Puppets help U.S. troops reach out to children in Baqubah.

Iraqi Scouts, U.S. Special Operations Forces detain suspected extortionist in Rawah.

Two weapons caches discovered in Jamia.

CF, IA lend support to Iraqi farmers.

Coalition forces target al-Qaeda leaders around Baghdad.

Bringing care to Quarghulli.

25th CAB exploits technology to defeat terrorists.

Al-Qaeda terrorist captured during Marne Avalanche.

Coalition Forces Kill 30 Special Groups Cell Terrorists, detain 12.

Six suspected terrorists detained, one terrorist killed in Coalition raids.

Golden Dragons provide healthcare to residents.

Cache seized, suspect detained.

It was true then, and it remains true today.

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[Rant]  What the hell is with people reading manga in bookstores grabbing a volume and flopping down in front of the shelves right then and their to read through it?  I mean the book stores I frequent Borders and Barnes & Noble provide a more than adequate number of chairs through out their stores and in their adjoining cafes wher one can sit and read to your hearts content.  Did it ever possibly occur to you that some one might one to see the titles your obscuring?  I guess not.  All I ask is that you show a little common courtesy, dont block the shelves and the aisles, ok? [/Rant]

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1 You have two copies of Colorful?

Posted by: Pixy Misa at August 15, 2007 08:35 PM (PiXy!)

2 Yep, about a year after I bought it the first time I wasn't thinking and bought it a second time when I was at Best Buy.  I was fooled by that old devil of alternate packaging, which included a new ADV item number and ISBN so I thought that it was a follow up to the first DVD.  I was mistaken but I was out all of like 14 bucks so it was no big deal.  One of these days I might do something with it, either give it to my brother or maybe using it as prize for something around here, who knows.  It remains the greatest celebration of unrepentent fan service ever I think, at least in terms of building a show around nothing but fanservice.

Posted by: Raging Tachikoma at August 15, 2007 10:57 PM (3R0Hs)

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Posted by: machen at July 29, 2010 08:38 PM (0XRIj)

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     In my piece talking about Nerima Daikon Brothers I mentioned that Nabshin was the man behind two other shows, the anime adaptation of Excel Saga, which is just awesome and its related spinoff, Puni Puni Poemy.  Today I am taking an in depth look at this masterwork of over the top humor, gratuitous fan service and wacky writing that seems like it shouldn't work but somehow works wonderfully.

     Following the adventures of Poemi, who when armed with a dead fish wand becomes Poemy the defender of the earth seeks to right wrongs and avenge the deaths of her parents, Nabeshin and Kumi-Kumi.  After the murder of her partents by Nabelien #1 she moves in with the seven Aasu sisters, generating a shot at every concievable anime woman/harem cliche along with the next to youngest Aasu, Poemi's classmate Futaba's continual and disturbing atempts to bed Poemi. (Remember these are ten year old grade schoolers we're talking about.) Poemi, who refers to herself as Kobayashi, and her life's ambition is to be a voice actress.  Kobyashi is of course the name Poemi's voice actress Yumiko Kobayashi.  The ultimate in self referential humor, especially because she refers to her father (Nabeshin) as director.  The humor is low brow, the pacing breakneck and the story largely an after thought, and I absolutely love it.

     It is a show that you will either love or hate with little room in between, the whole show is a spinoff of  a throw away joke in an epsiode of Excel Saga.  Given that the basic concept is as old as the hills this show is probably the best ever send up of the magical girl genre.  As the preview special on one of the Excel Saga DVD's noted "our next project is the magical girl show Puni Puni Poemy! , While the rest of the industry has moved on to robotic maid shows."  Oh yeah there are hentai jokes, flying squid aliens and a lot more wierdness.  Also I must nominate this DVD as vying with colorful for the best cover tagline with "If this anime doesn't offend you somehow, WE HAVEN"T DONE OUR JOB!"

Review Scoring

1. Image and Transfer Quality = 10 (of 10)

2. Art and Continuity Quality = 10 (of 10)

3. Sound Quality = 9 (of 10) (English Dolby 5.1 & 2.0, Japanese 2.0)

4. Story and Writing = 9 (of 10)

5. Sub Quality = 5 (of 5)

6. Dub Quality = 5 (of 5)

7. Pacing = 8 (of 10) ( a little fast at times, but understandable when they lost the money for eps. 3 and 4)

8. Other= 3 (of 5) (for being just Bizarre)

9. Freebies = 8 (of 10) (Poster, Reversible Cover Art, Poemy Patch)

10. DVD Extras = 10 (of 10) (Clean open,Clean close, English cast & crew commentary in 5.1, Behind the Scenes, Art gallery, Production sketches)

11. Fanservice = 10 (of 10) (Possibly some of the funniest and most disturbing ever comitted to film)

12. Price/Value = 4 (of 5) (typically around $30.00 US, but still it is only two episodes)

Total Score = 91

Scale

95-100 Unadulterated brilliance, everyone should check this out.

90-95 Pretty damn good, I think you will like this one too.

80-89 Entertaining but not a standout, catch it on TV or Grab the Thin Pack box set.

70-79 OK, it will do when nothing better is on.

55-69 Bleh, its anime at least.

25-54 At least it makes a good coaster.

0-24  Excuse me, I am going to scrub my eyes now.

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From Fox News:

     A Michigan man scrubbed a monument to U.S. troops with a toothbrush Tuesday while wearing a T-shirt that read "I Stole From Veterans" as part of a punishment for a scam to solicit scrap yards for metal, the Saginaw News reports.

Full Story Here.

     Sometimes creativity in a judge can be such a heartwarming and uplifting trait.

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      Barry Bonds is now the home run champion, the only real question left is how many will he finish the year with?  And will he be back next year?  who knows, but for now congratulations to Barry Bonds and the San Francisco Giants your place in baseball history is now even more storried than it already was.

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     Fan service is one of those anime staples that can help to really make a show when done well, or if done badly bring down an otherwise good series and provide the finishing blow for a bad one.  The most common form of fan service is probably either the panty shot or the send the cast to an onsen* so we can see them naked episode.  Both are classics and do their job well, but the really stand out when you can incorparate them into an actual advancing of the plot, which is where so many shows fall flat on their faces.  I appreciate fan service as much as the next guy, and maybe a little more .  The biggest problem with fan service is that tends to become an end to itself in certain shows, destroying all plot movement and carachter development.  Thats not to say you can't build a show a around fanservice, you can, it just takes careful planning and a deft hand.  You can get a way with a hell of a lot without annoiying people if it drives the plot.  One of the funniest anime I own is built entirely around fan service, by using humor and an irreverent attitude Colorful provides a lot of laughs that in the hands of a less talented staff wouldn't be nearly as funny.

Here are four shows that bring on plenty of fanservice while still giving you a decent helping of plot and story.

1.  Najica Blitz Tactics- Panty Shots extrodinare, plus lots of firepower and suggestive outfits.

2.  Colorful- As the cover says 'Roses are red, violets are blue. This show is about panties.'  Short adventures of various people and the dumb and desperate thing they do to see panties while largely ignoring the women in them.

3.  Plastic Little: The Adventures of Captain Tita-  Old School at its best, an entertaining if not brilliant story and lots and lots of BOOBIES! Plus the infamous ADV jiggle counter.

4.  Godannar-A real fanservice all you can eat buffet, Girls, Guns, Giant Robots, Monsters, impossibly tiny and clingy battle suits. (for the ladies at least)  The story is good, the art great and the action occurs often, all served up with a bit of tongue firmly in cheek. 

*For those that might not know and Onsen is a traditional Japanese hot spring, and for maximum humor you sen your characters to one that features mixed bathing.**

**Mixed Bathing-Men and women bathing together with no dividers etc, let the nosebleeds begin.***

***And yes upon further review these notes are insanely obvious and perhaps unneeded in this case, oh and they were written by a moose.

Posted by: raging tachikoma at 10:21 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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