The Big "What's Going On?" Update

Holy carp, it's been a long time since my previous post, and a lot has happened since last time! I've kind of struggled with making a post because of this. I also have a super-special announcement at the end of this post! Anyway, let's start of with something recent...

Holy Magicarp, the Demigod of Time

I went to the US, to Florida for the Daytona 500. For those not in the know, it's a big 200 lap race, with amazingly fast cars that are LOUD. We had tickets that allowed us on the in-field, and take a look at the pre-race checks and such. Got to see 30-something laps, then it started to rain heavily, they issued a tornado warning and shit, so we decided to go back to our rental house. The race continued on later in the evening, so we watched it on TV...

The Great American Race

I also got the chance to fire a gun for the first time at a gun range. That was amazing! I tried a Glock 20 (which had a helluva recoil, being made of plastic and firing 10mm bullets), and a .357 Magnum (which I felt had less recoil, maybe because of the weight an the heavy barrel). Definitely an experience to remember.

I bought a 3DS, Pokemon Y and The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. So far I've only played Pokemon, and it's just been a big old Nostalgia trip for me. It's a great game, the new Exp. Share makes it easier to have your entire team at about the same level, reducing grinding time to almost nothing. Might make a more detailed post about these games later on in a different post.

So, for something a bit more exciting, that will have a big impact on this blog... I'm leaving for Japan by the end of the month. My housing arrangements should be in order, during these next two weeks my Visa application should hopefully be done and dealt with, and happy, scary times will be here! An ENTIRE YEAR in Japan! With no one I know on beforehand!

My feels. Nervous? Not at all! Looking forward to it though!

On to the super-special announcement: absolutelyanime (previously known as Blackragdoll), my friend Marius and I, made a podcast where we talk bullshit about anime! I would have it embed in here, but it's impossibly hard to find via the tools blogger has. Instead, have a link to it! Anime Talkathon's first episode!

As a bonus note, I recently watched the OVAs of Valkyria Chronicles 3 (all two of 'em). It's really, really great, but you kind of need to have played the PSP-game to know the relationships the people have, and a healthy dose of the first Valkyria Chronicles game (for PS3) to know who Squad 7 is would also be helpful. A really great OVA though, which I would recommend even so.

Until next time, stay safe and have fun!

Not-so-surprise Post!

As I said in the previous post, I'd have a surprise in less than a week. This is that said surprise! A picture of my very own PVC figurine collection! These are all from anime and games, and they are all safe for work.

First off, Chie Satonaka from Persona 4. My favorite character from the Persona-series. Even included the dramatic close-up picture from casting spells in the game! The glasses were also included in the package, but I decided to not put them on.

Number two is Ruri Gokou, also known as "Kuroneko", from Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai (English: My little sister can't be this cute), with cat-ears and a tail.

Number three and four is none other than Hatsune Miku, the Vocaloid!

And speaking of Vocaloids, Megurine Luka!

Since we're into music as a genre, here's Mio Akiyama from K-on!

Next up is Rita Mordio from Tales of Vesperia. The book on her left hand is supposed to be around her neck, but I didn't want to risk breaking anything, so I put it around her wrist. Also had a mini-Rita as a bonus in the package!

Alicia Melchiott from Valkyria Chronicles, equipped with a Gallian-4.

Isara Gunther, also from Valkyria Chronicles





















And the final one, Cosette Coalhearth from Valkyria Chronicles 2. Cosette and Isara were actually the first ones I bought, as I impulse bought them both at the same time at a convention, because how much I love the Valkyria Chronicles-series!

That's my collection. It's not the most impressive of collections perhaps, but these are all figurines of characters I really, really like.

Status Update: January

Another post, weeks later than planned. To compensate for this, I got some surprises planned! You can read more about it at the end of this post.

First off, I just want to write about some "recent" events. I celebrated New Years with friends, and was over at my best friend's place afterwards. Saw a couple movies and had a great time. He has since then, gone back to England where he studies Chinese and English, and was kind enough to lend me his PS3 while he's gone! Because of this, I can now play the PS3 games I own physically, because my own PS3's disc drive is dead. I'm planning on getting that repaired after I return from Japan. I've also worked on learning Hiragana and Katakana, and I'm now able to write them from memory.

So, thanks to my best friend, I've been playing Tales of Xillia. I've spent 20 hours in it so far, and I love every second.  If you have played a Tales game before, you know what to expect. Very likeable characters, funny and sad moments, a lot of characterization and an epic tale spun around it all.

As I wrote on my previous post, Valkyria Chronicles 3 got an English translation patch, which is amazing. I've spent about 23 hours in that so far, decided to slow down on it, since I'm going to the US in February for the Daytona 500. That's a NASCAR event, for those of you not in the know about motorsports. Will most likely have a lot of time to play it then on the flight.

Speaking of handheld gaming, I recently got back into Persona 4: Golden. Still got a lot of stuff to do in that game. The "Hardcore Risette Fan" trophy is still eluding me, but I'm feeling confident that I'll be able to get it this time through the game.

When it comes to anime, I recently finished re-watching Clannad and Clannad: After Story (for the 15th time... It still gets me right in the feels,) before moving on to the anime version of Tales of the Abyss. I'm happy to see that they reconstructed the game into an anime so faithfully. If you've played the game, you can easily tell which location they are at, and where they are heading. It is by far the best makeover from game to anime I've seen to this date.

Luke might just be my favourite RPG character, ever.

As I stated earlier, I do have a couple of surprises coming up. One is still a secret between me, Black Ragdoll and a friend of mine, while the other surprise will be out in less than a week as a new post! It will have lots of pictures, and definitely be a post us collectors might appreciate more than others.

Valkyria Chronicles 3 Patch

Just thought I'd make a quick update. The AMAZING people over at the VC3 Translation Project, have now released an early build of the patch they're on for Valkyria Chronicles 3. Since the second game in the series didn't sell well, and got pirated heavily, the third game never made it out of Japan, and they're trying to change that. As a massive fan of the first two games, I've been waiting anxiously for this since they announced the start of the project back in February 2012. They've even added easy instructions on how to convert the game to an ISO format from a legally bought version and patch it, as they will not be distributing the patched game, since the game still is property of SEGA.

As a massive fan of the series, I'm gonna hide underneath a blanket or something and just let myself be amazed for the next 100 hours (I'm not kidding, I've spent 110+ hours in the first game, and 300+ hours in VC2). It's gonna be great!

On a final note, I'd like to wish everyone reading this happy holidays, and a happy new year!