Pictures from TDU

Picture of the Day

Hey, here's the picture of the day. I plan on using this as a entry in TDU Central.

Lexus LFA spotted in Taipei!

I was shopping in Taipei's Breeze Center yesterday, when I suddenly spotted a huge line. I quickly went over to take a look... and I found a Lexus LFA! There's only one out of 499 (1 was destroyed at the Nurb.), so its definetly a rare sight!

Gomenasai!

^^" Sorry I didn't update anything from Gamescom (As I previously said I would) ... I was to busy studying for entrance exams (It's tomorrow!). Since school will be starting again, updating my blog will be harder than ever! ><

-Yui-san (off studying!)

Gamescom 2010

With GamesCom starting just hours away, excitement is already building up for gamers everywhere. For the next few days, I will be constantly updating my blog with the latest news from GamesCom (mostly Gran Turismo 5 XD). Sadly I won't be able to attend this year, so if anyone is going, please let me know, and if you could, please send me some info/pictures from the showfloor.


Here's a look at the schedule:

Tuesday, August 17th
Various Press Conferences taking place this day

Wednesday 18th
Gamescom is officially open (Exclusively for Trade Visitors only!)


Thursday 19th ~ Sunday 22nd
Gamscom is open to everyone

Here's a more detailed look at the opening dates/time for everyone:

Thursday, August 19, 2010 10:00 am ~ 08:00 pm
Friday, August 20, 2010 10:00 am ~ 08:00 pm
Saturday, August 21, 2010 09:00 am ~ 08:00 pm
Sunday, August 22, 2010 09:00 am ~ 06:00 pm

For admition fees, please click here

For the floor plan, please click here

For the events, please click here

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask me, or visit their official site!

If anyone is able to find a live stream/blog of the Sony Press Conference, please let me know!

~Yui-San

Umm... is this an appropiate name?

I found this in a Taiwanese Supermarket.... is this name really appropiate? I mean, it disgusts me (although the nuts/almonds are actually good) XD

Finally got K-on! manga CH.3!

I finally found a copy of K-on! CH.3 today at a Kinokuniya bookstore in Takashimaya.

Pictures from London and Paris

French Hamburgers!

Finished Seitokai no Ichizon! (Review)

Sakurano Kurimu, otherwise, the "Pres"

Last Sunday , I decided to take a brief look at the first episode of "Seitokai no Ichizon", and the result was: Finishing the series in just 2 days (started late Sunday night, finished it Monday morning). I surprisingly enjoyed the anime a lot, despite its negative reviews.


K-on! anyone?

Storyline

The series started out a bit weak, but it got better and better after each episode, with more commedy and character development later on. It has various parodies (I founnd/got 80 of them), including Suzumiya, Dragonball Z, Higurashi, K-on!, etc. The storyline itself is weak, as it mainly focuses on the meetings of the "生徒会" (Seitokai), which translates to "Student Counsil", which basically means: It has no plot. However, it also focuses on the devolpment of the characters, and of course, the commedy, which makes up for the no-plot.


The 4 main female characters

Art

I personally liked the character designs (especially the "Pres" and Minatsu), although some characters look like they came from other animes (eg. Chizuru looks like Kotohana from School days). Each of the 4 female characters reflect on a season, and the color were decently chosen. The room wasn't drawn to perfection, but it was still well done, not affecting the visuals. The OP was clean and smooth, but it didn't explain/reflect much about/on the characters. The Ed was lazily made, with just Chibi characters runnning around some pictures, from their meeting room to some fanservice pictures. (But hey, its still better than watching Saber's outfit moving around!......F/SN)


Cover of its first sountrack album

Sound

The seiyuu's(They're "newbies" by the way) did a great job with the voice acting, especially Honda Mariko (Plays Sakurano Kurimu). The Op was a bit catchy, but its still just so-so. The ED however, was simply bad. Overall, the soundtrack is medicore.


Cast wearing cosplay!

Enjoyment

To be honest, this is an anime which I could re-watch many times and not get tired of. It has great jokes and characters. Of course, only Otakus will get some (or most) of the jokes. Plus, there are some flashbacks which tend to appear at the wrong time (eg. A very serious flashback appears in the middle of a funny conversation) which might baffle some viewers.However, the commedy (Its selling point) is sure to make the viewers forget about most of its negative parts.


Minatsu Shiina

Final Thought

Overall, I enjoyed Seitokai no Ichizon, mostly the commedy and the characters, which work together very well. I had a pleasent time watching this anime, and I hope you will too. Recommended, and a Must Watch for Otakus who like commedy animes.

Summary

+Great Cast/Characters (with character devolpment)
+Superb Character Designs
+Decent Animation
+Wonderful Voice Acting
+Lots of Commedy
+Re-watchable
-Somewhat medicore soundtrack
-Misplaced Flashbacks
-No Plot
-Not-so-great Opening and Ending
-Appropiate but somewhat boring BGMs




Yui-San's review score: 7.9/10







~Finito

Off to London!

I'm off to London! I'll be back until the 12th of July

~Yui-San

Toyota’s chief test driver died in LFA crash

According to reports, Toyota's chief test driver, 67-year-old Hiromu Naruse, has died in a crash on Highway 410 near the famed Nürburgring race track in Germany. The chief was driving the upcoming Lexus LFA (Nürburgring Edition) at the time of the accident, and reports say he went into oncoming traffic and collided head-on with two other test drivers in a BMW 3-series. The two BMW test drivers survived the crash, though one is in critical condition. Police are investigating the crash and have yet determined its cause.




This proves that German cars are indeed safer, and prehaps Toyota should work a bit more at improving the LFA's safety features.




Moving on to Hiromu Naruse background, he was heavily involved with the development of the Lexus LFA supercar, along with many other sports cars from Toyota’s history since he joined the company in 1963.




Naruse was heavily involved with the development of the Lexus LFA supercar he was driving, along with many other past sports cars from Toyota's history since he joined the company in 1963. Enthusiasts today call him the "Godfather of the LFA," though he was involved in the development of sports cars for Toyota going as far back as the storied 2000GT from the late 1960s. The prototype of a special edition version of the LFA that he was driving when the accident occurred was reportedly worth 1.5 million euro.

Pictures from DC!

Hi! Here are some pictures from Washington DC, taken with my Sony DSC-H3, which is now malfunctioning >< Most of the pictures it take are blurry (YES I did clean the lens, but its still the same), except for close up shots (with macro)





Over Narita, Japan



The Washington Monument and the Reflecting Pool



A view from our apartment

I'll soon upload more pictures from my Canon!