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The dependency of Kinoshita Hideyoshi

Although had already voiced my concerns before, am now alas forced to reiterate and emphasize the acute and inexcusable lack of screentime and plot attention to the only real star of “Baka To Test To Shoukanjuu”, Hideyoshi.
Not only did we barely se...
15 Mar 04:00 JST
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New K-ON!! character Miura Akane?

Saw an entry at Japanator advertising a new character to appear in “K-ON!!”, the second season of the music comedy based on the manga by Kakifly that is due to start airing this April. Called Miura Akane, the girl sports a long ponytail and apparentl...
13 Mar 05:00 JST
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So-Ra-No-Wo-To 10

Burning the letter she received from her father on a pile of leaves she had raked together, Rio spots Kureha coming back from town and surprises the twin tailed girl with some potatoes she had been roasting in the fire.
Nearly burning her tongue on...
11 Mar 05:00 JST
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Coreidae beetle

While doing a small photoshoot of Alter’s figure incarnation of Mio from “K-ON!”, heard a buzzing noise and spotted this beetle stuck against the inside window, trying to get out into the sun again.
As I had my Canon 450D on hand with the EF 100mm f/...
10 Mar 04:00 JST
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Alter Akiyama Mio figure review

Although she arrived on my doorstep a while ago, hadn’t made time yet to snap some photos of Alter’s gorgeous 1/8 scale PVC figure of Akiyama Mio from “K-ON!”.
The first release of Alter’s “K-ON!” figure series, she turned out to be a truly excellen...
08 Mar 04:00 JST
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Hideyoshi sketches by Gofu

Sketch artist Gofu has an uncanny knack to often create art of characters from series I like or happen to watch, something which I can only rejoice.
After having recently sketched the lovely girls from “So-Ra-No-Wo-To”, Gofu has drawn several excel...
07 Mar 04:00 JST
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Maria†Holic DVD set

With the unstoppable onslaught of irresistibly cute trap Hideyoshi from “Baka To Test To Shoukanjuu”, I’d near forgotten an anime DVD set was due out for the hilarious yuri/trap comedy “Maria†Holic”.
After spotting the release advertised at Archonia,...
06 Mar 05:00 JST
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So-Ra-No-Wo-To 9

Looking up at the clear blue skies after having hung up the laundry, Kanata muses it is time to bid goodbye to summer now that fall has come.
Joining her fellow soldiers in tending to the platoon’s vegetable garden, Kanata hears Kureha tell the tale...
05 Mar 05:00 JST
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Queen’s Blade 2nd season Allean and Nowa yuri special

Volume 3 of “Queen’s Blade ~Gyokuza Wo Tsugumono~” contains episodes five and six as well as a short three minute OVA episode. A tradition for all previous BluRay/DVD volumes, these special episodes put the “Queen’s Blade” maidens in situations where...
03 Mar 04:00 JST
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Flower macro photos

After showing photos of some red roses taken with the macro zoom setting of the Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens I recently bought, thought to show a few flower photos taken with a full fledged macro lens, the EF 100mm f/2.8 macro USM lens.
A...
01 Mar 04:00 JST
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The desire of Kinoshita Hideyoshi

In light of carefully having examined the content of the past episode of “Baka To Test To Shoukanjuu” I can only submit a heartfelt objection to the current course this series has taken.
Surely you all must have been shocked too upon seeing the appal...
28 Feb 05:00 JST
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Kagome C77 doujin ‘Yoke of the Damned’

Do realize that Comiket 77 is long past but still wanted to mention the ‘Yoke Of The Damned’ doujin by artist Kagome of whom also showcased the terrific C76 “K-ON!” themed book ‘Jangling Automation’ before.
This time, Kagome (籠目, homepage, Pixiv) c...
27 Feb 05:00 JST
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So-Ra-No-Wo-To 8

Perspiring, Kanata sits tensely in front of the 1121st platoon’s emergency phone, the table in the dimly lit room filled with empty bottles and other assorted things, a pile of soaked laundry rests in the corner. How did Kanata get into this predicam...
25 Feb 05:00 JST
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Gofu’s So-Ra-No-Wo-To sketches

Had been a while since I visited Gofu’s website, was glad to see the artist seems to have taken a liking to ‘So-Ra-No-Wo-To’ and created several excellent sketches of the cute girls from the 1121st platoon.
Especially like this black and white illust...
23 Feb 05:00 JST
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Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens

Although there’s still much for me to learn and discover in photography, lately felt the default EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS kit lens that came with my Canon 450D was lacking in terms of performance.
While the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 macro lens I have ach...
21 Feb 04:00 JST
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Japanese manga loot

With the second volume of Amano Kozue’s latest manga “Amanchu!” having been released last week, couldn’t pass up on acquiring it after having enjoyed the first volume of this terrific manga.
As I also got the original Japanese release for “Aria” volu...
19 Feb 04:00 JST
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So-Ra-No-Wo-To 7

The night is set ablaze by the flashes of cannon fire as a heated battle rages on in the wasteland of mankind’s once great cities. Terrified, Felicia nonetheless performs her duties as a gun loader, guided by the voice of her captain as their lone ta...
18 Feb 05:00 JST
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Valentine cookie and rose macro

With the Valentine’s day festivities yesterday, felt like sneaking in a macro photo when I saw the heart shaped cookies and roses, so made a quick composition before the cookies were devoured.
Just a simple shot made with my Canon 450D and the EF 10...
16 Feb 04:00 JST
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Backup with Robocopy

Considering my main computer stores important data such as documents, mail, music and more on its single Samsung Spinpoint F1 750GB hard drive with a 600GB data partition, having a backup is essential.
Having tried the built-in backup function when I...
15 Feb 04:00 JST
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The despair of Kinoshita Hideyoshi

Barely had I recovered from last week’s episode of “Baka To Test To Shoukanjuu” which brought us not merely hilarious scenes but great fanservice with Hodeyoshi, that this week’s episode delivered nothing less than a fatal blow by featuring the gree...
14 Feb 04:00 JST
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The Ace of ace is here

Released at the end of January, Alter’s 1/7 scale figure of Nanoha Takamachi from “Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS” in her Exceed mode finally arrived on my doorstep today after being stuck at customs for two weeks.
Like Fate, Nanoha comes in a...
12 Feb 05:00 JST
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So-Ra-No-Wo-To 6

Tidying her hair, Kanata is looking forward to spending her off duty day visiting the flea market in town. Seeing the girl’s enthusiastic smile, Rio asks Kanata if she plans to buy herself something using the very first paycheck she received the day...
11 Feb 05:00 JST
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Daring Sacred Blacksmith dakimakura

While browsing various online stores last week in search of one that still had the “K-ON!” Azusa nendoroid available for pre-order, spotted a large add on the Hobby Stock site for a hugging pillow cover featuring Lisa from “The Sacred Blacksmith”.
Ha...
10 Feb 04:00 JST
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K-ON! Nendoroid and Figma frenzy

Barely did the Good Smile Company Azusa Nakano nendoroid figure open for pre-order yesterday morning at the usual online stores that the reservations closed and she was marked as sold out.
A few weeks ago Max Factory surprised everyone by announcing...
04 Feb 04:00 JST
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So-Ra-No-Wo-To 5

Inside the Takemikazuchi’s command module, the five soldiers of the 1121st platoon are holding a training exercise to hone their skills as a team to control the complex tank.
Having destroyed the enemy unit displayed on the tank’s training mode scree...
03 Feb 05:00 JST
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Rangetsu C77 doujin ‘Yellow Noise’

In their series of “Code Geass” books, Rangetsu (also known as Stormoon – website, Pixiv) from the circle Creayus released the ‘Yellow Noise’ doujin at Comiket 77.
Unlike their C76 release ‘Noise Pollution’ which was an all color fan book filled with...
01 Feb 04:00 JST
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Fresh snow

Looking out the window this morning was quite surprised to see it had snowed a lot during the night, covering the entire landscape with a white carpet of ice crystals.
As the morning sun had only crept above the horizon shortly before and the skies...
31 Jan 04:00 JST
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More Windows 7 moe themes

When Microsoft released Windows 7 last year, the Ultimate version for Japan came bundled with an exclusive Aero theme featuring the cute Windows 7 mascot Madobe Nanami.
Nanami is voiced by Mizuki Nana who also did Fate in the “Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Na...
30 Jan 04:00 JST
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So-Ra-No-Wo-To 4

With rain pouring down under ominous dark clouds, it is a depressing morning at the 1121st platoon base for some of the girls. Kanata laments being unable to do better at playing her bugle and Noel is unsuccessful at installing a new lens in their ta...
28 Jan 05:00 JST
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Kämpfer Akane dakimakura

Fans of last season’s ecchi comedy “Kämpfer” can rejoice as next to the Shizuku Sangou hugging pillow cover, one featuring Mishima Akane is due out in February.
Haven’t spotted much “Kämpfer” merchandise at all, but these two dakimakura boast terrifi...
26 Jan 04:00 JST
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Amanchu! volume 2 out soon

Often receive mail from Amazon Japan featuring their advertised sales or personal recommendations for items one may be interested in based on previous purchases.
The message that arrived in my mailbox today advertised the second volume of “Amanchu!”,...
25 Jan 04:00 JST
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Shinozuka Atsuto “Queen’s Gate” Majikina Mina artbook

Although it was already released in November last year, hadn’t caught onto any scans for the “Queen’s Gate” Majikina Mina book until recently.
Illustrated by artist Shinozuka Atsuto, this particular “Queen’s Gate” book is all about Majikina Mina (真...
24 Jan 05:00 JST
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K-ON! 14 OVA

When the opportunity arises for the light music club to play at a live house event on New Year’s Eve, the girls are initially divided on whether they should participate. While Ritsu and Yui are enthusiastic about this terrific chance, Azusa and Mio d...
22 Jan 05:00 JST
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So-Ra-No-Wo-To 3

While her fellow soldiers are still asleep, Kanata heads up in the tower to play the morning call on her bugle as the sun rises over the distant mountains. Regardless of the enthusiasm she puts into her music, her performance is still poor.
Luckily t...
21 Jan 04:00 JST
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Aria sketch art by Kisetsu

Having mentioned liking sketch art in the previous post, thought might be nice to show more such illustrations, this time by artist Kisetsu (Pixiv).
Spotted Kisetsu’s art online quite some time ago, while initially saw mainly “Strike Witches” sketch...
18 Jan 04:00 JST
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