mDuo13

Thoughts, Words, Works

Introducing Technika ScoreSeeker @

ScoreSeeker Screenshot

Today I introduce my first Greasemonkey script for public consumption: Technika ScoreSeeker. This script is meant for users of DJ Max Technika 3's International version website, djmaxcrew.com. It provides a new "All" page in the POP Mixing Performance area, displaying all1 your results (NM, HD, and MX charts) on one page, in a sortable table, with scores highlighted according to how well you did.

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2011 Anime Mini-Review Mega-Rampage @

Inspired by the trend going around, I decided to post a collection of brief reviews of basically every anime I finished in 2011. I'm pulling from MyAnimeList, so it's possible I'm omitting a couple things that don't have "Date Finished" filled out, and I'm also intentionally leaving rewatches off the list. Ratings are out of 10, but skewed towards the higher end of the scale because I'm less likely to finish something I don't like.

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Star Driver: A Fabulous Series @

Ginga Bishounen TAUBURN!

Tsunashi Takuto transfers to a high school on a small island in southern Japan in order to sing out the joys of youth and find his father. But the island holds a host of secrets: ancient traditions and inhereted super powers, a mysterious society, and marionette-like robots that could change the world if the four seals restricting them were broken. Embroiled in these conflicts, will Takuto find his father, find the strength to protect his new and important friends, and still find a way to live out a joyous school life?

Though I had seen a couple of preview images beforehand, my real introduction to Star Driver: Kagayaki no Takuto came from a friend after the first episode had aired. "Have you checked out Star Driver yet?" he said. "It's so fabulous!" He was, of course, not just using fabulous as a synonym for good, but rather as a way of describing the show's aesthetic. Bright, rainbow colors. Outrageous costumes featuring epaulets. Conditioned hand signals and long transformation sequences. Star Driver is a show that is defined by this aesthetic. It has catchphrases like, "Your galaxy, too, will surely sparkle!" But even so, to judge Star Driver by this aesthetic alone would be shortsighted.

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Review: Kore wa Zombie Desu ka @

Haruna cuts Ayumu and an evil Megalo in half with a chainsaw.

Studio Deen brings us a 12-episode adaptation of light novel series "Is This a Zombie?" about a high schooler, Aikawa Ayumu, who recently became a zombie, and the bizarre girls surrounding him, including Masou-Shoujo (magiclothes girls), Vampire Ninjas, and the mysterious Necromancer Eucliwood Hellscythe who raised Ayumu from the dead after he became a victim of the neighborhood serial killer.

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Review: Fractale @

Clain and Phyrne from Fractale sitting together

Fractale is an 11-episode series from A-1 Pictures, set in a future where everyday life is moderated by the "Fractale System" that provides for everyday needs and allows augmented reality projections worldwide. Clain is an ordinary boy who's a little disillusioned by the system, but after being visited by a mysterious girl, he embarks on a journey to find the truth behind the Fractale System and those who would oppose it.

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On Index 2 @

Misaka Mikoto from the Index/Railgun franchise

Imagine you have a friend who's an alcoholic. You know, they're kind of a good person, fun to hang out with once in a while, some good qualities, but they keep showing up drunk and getting these crazy ideas that don't make any sense, and they have a bunch of other annoying bad habits and tendencies. It's not enough to make you stop hanging out with them, but it really gets on your nerves to the point where you're kind of relieved when they leave you alone. This friend is Toaru Majutsu no Index.

Then imagine that this friend goes to rehab and comes back a wholly improved person. I'm talking, like, they really cut back on their bad habits, they're more humble and respectful in everything they do, and all of a sudden you really like being around this person a lot more. It's still the same person, and it's not like they're flawless now, but it feels like you took the qualities that made them a likable person before, and filtered out all the crap that really pissed you off about them. Suddenly you're not ashamed to call this person one of your close friends. That's Toaru Kagaku no Railgun.

Now imagine that this same friend starts getting cocky and starts relapsing. They show up on your doorstep drunk again, shouting incoherently, maybe not as much as before, but it's still annoying. Sometimes they have these little moments that remind you what a good person they were right after rehab, but you can see that it just didn't last. Can you imagine how frustrating and ultimately depressing that scenario is? You thought they were cured, but in reality it was only a temporary lapse -- isn't that just totally irritating? That's how I feel about Toaru Majutsu no Index II.