初音ミク 1st Album

初音ミク (Hatsune Miku)'s first album was apparently released over half a month ago, but I did not know m(_ _)m ゴメンナサイ. Anyways, it has all of the popular songs that have been re-done by 初音ミク on it. You can download it from Tokyo Toshokan, make sure you have a BitTorrent client installed in order to download it.

For those that are curious, here is the track listing:

1. みくみくにしてあげる♪
2. 碧いうさぎ
3. 鳥の詩
4. 寝·逃·げでリセット！
5. 月のしずく
6. 未來のイヴ
7. プラチナ
8. ふたりのもじぴったん
9. アンインストール
10. あの素晴らしい愛をもう一度
11. Angel Voice
12. Ievan Polkka
13. True My Heart
14. Melodies Of Life
15. You
16. あなたの歌姫
17. True My Heart (Short Version)
18. Lost My Music
19. Omake
20. レモネードアイスクリーム

ではまた

東京山手線ハロウィン (Yamanote Line Train Hijacked by 外人(Gaijin) )

Apparently every year a bunch of 外人 (Gaijin/Foreigners) and some 日本じん (Japanese people) hijack the Yamanote Line train around Halloween and have a very ridiculous, noisy, drunken party on it. Apparently this event has history dating back to early as 1990, but it is not a very good event in my opinion. It is definitely not bettering conditions for gaijin in 日本 (Japan), it seems to just be adding more so to the problems 外人(gaijin) have in 日本.

Such as, not being able to rent out apartments easily and other such things due to the fact that 外人 (gaijin) are sometimes stereotyped as being loud, noisy, and trouble-making. While this is true in 日本 for some, it leaves a bad influence on the 外人 （gaijin) in 日本 that actually behave correctly.

While I think it's good to have festivities for Halloween in 日本, I believe they need to either rent a train out solely for that event, or do it somewhere else private. It is ridiculous and very rude that commuters have to put up with drunken idiots like that. If they were to pull that stunt in アメリカ(U.S.A), half of them would probably be beaten down by police and the rest arrested.

There have been, and were 日本じん enjoying the event as well, but the general unsuspecting commuter that did not want to be part of it, should not have to deal with it. I really hope that they change their ways of doing this event soon. If not, it will just worsen 日本’ｓ outlook on 外人 (foreigners).

Here is a video of the recent event:

新海誠 (Makoto Shinkai) Latest Work

For all of you out there who have not seen it yet, Makoto Shinkai has recently created a short commercial to advertise his hometown's paper, "The Shinano Mainichi Shinbun", which is Nagano Prefecture's leading newspaper. While short, it is very nice. If only USA has more commercials like that...

アルトネリコ２公式解放 (Official Release)

As of today, アルトネリコ２ (Ar Tonelico 2) has been released in Japan. Though, apparently retailers received this game a few days early, so some people have already been playing it for a couple days. It seems the game has received a pretty warm reception so far, and it seems to be exactly what you would expect for a good sequel from Gust.

The battles seem to be a little more faster and action packed now, there are new systems for almost everything, including hymns. Apparently, with Hymns, as you are charging them you may press different arrow buttons, and make different combinations of songs for more focused attacks and so on. There is a lot of new stuff, but not enough to alienate you, it still has that great Ar Tonelico feel to it.

Heres a summary of the story from NCSX:

"Embark on a new adventure where a lad named Kuroa Vatel and a lassie by the name of Cocona Vatel (not related) team up with Revatails in a bid to free their world from oppression and infection. A centuries old disease dubbed "I.P.D." still lingers and afflicts the Revatails and the general populace with its killing malaise. As a result of the spreading contagion, the governing body known as the Daishudo has commanded its knights to slay anyone infected with I.P.D. in a "take no prisoners" policy of mass extermination.

As the story begins, Kuroa Vatel is under the employ of the Daishudo and he indiscriminately kills a young woman who's infected with I.P.D. to the horror of the victim's mother. As her cries break through the air, Kuroa reflects on what he's done and begins to have misgivings about the Daishudo's tactics and ways of handling the disease. Kuroa's introspection eventually leads him on an adventure of exploration and discovery as he fights alongside Revatails to find a better solution to the I.P.D. problem. While the new Ar Tonelico's storyline bears no ties to the first game, the game systems, song magic, and nocturnal "dives" return for another go." (more info here)

So far there is no information regarding Ar Tonelico 2's release date in other countries, thought the question has been brought up to NIS America. I'm pretty positive that the game will be released in English as well, it's just a matter of time.

There are plenty of gameplay videos up on ニコニコ動画, so check them out to get a better idea of the latest Ar Tonelico game!






じゃまた

初音ミク (Hatsune Miku) Vocaloid 2

After watching some videos involving the girl above, voice synthesizers, and anime/video game songs on ニコニコ動画 (Nico Nico Douga) a week or two ago, I started getting curious. Who is this girl? Where do I get the program that everyone is using?

After some searching, I found out quite a lot. Basically, 初音ミク (Hatsune Miku) is the voice (or the first voice released so far...) of Yamaha's new Vocaloid 2, which is a voice synthesizer which allows users to generate singing by inputting the lyrics and notes for their song into the program.

This program has blown away Yamaha's expectations of how it would sell, and apparently they are striving just to make enough copies to go around, it has easily became the fastest selling voice synth on the market in Japan. Due to video sites like ニコニコ動画 and Youtube, Hatsune Miku has sparked interest in many on the internet, including me, which then lead to more purchases of the software.

When I first encountered 初音ミク, I was not sure if liked her voice, but it seems to have grown on me quickly. It is very good for a computer, and with the more musically inclined people out there, it really shines in their hands. I have gotten my hands on this software as well recently, and I am now working with it, seeing if I can make something, though I am no where near as musically inclined as some.

Anyways, here are some of my favorite videos of songs remixed by 初音ミク. You can find plenty more on ニコニコ動画 or Youtube.

はちゅねミクをふやしてみた

I would just like to say that I love the 3D for the movie above as well, I wouldn't mind doing something similar to that in Maya 8.5 sometime...

Amazing remix of Chrono Cross - Radical Dreamers



じゃまた

サクラ大戦

I would like to take a moment to talk about サクラ大戦 (Sakura Taisen). Sakura Taisen was is one of my favorite video game franchises. The first time I ever played サクラ大戦 was sometime when I was around じゅうさんさい (13 years old). My first experience was with サクラ大戦I on Sega Saturn. Of course, I am not fluent in 日本語 (Japanese), so I followed a fan translation that was on the internet, a very good fan translation at that.

Over the years, I have played and beat サクラ大戦Iとサクラ大戦II, and sadly that is about all, except for some games on the GBA, and I have seen the anime. I have been wanting to play サクラ大戦III-V, but my Sega Dreamcast has been dead for a long while and I have yet to buy a new one...

Anyways, I would just like to reflect upon the awesomeness of サクラ大戦. Also, I would like to tell anyone who does not know, that a new サクラ大戦DS game was announced at TGS awhile back, and it is looking good. Though I would much rather prefer サクラ大戦VI or something, though, then I would be even more behind...＼（－－）／ マイッタ

Here is some media about the new DS game as well as some other nice memories:

Sakura Wars DS Trailer

Nico Nico Douga English Registration

I will be posting links to videos from ニコニコ動画 (Nico Nico Douga) at a normal pace on this blog. Unfortunately, if you do not have an ニコニコ動画 account, you can not view the videos.

I am not going to go on and on about why I like ニコニコ動画, but I think if you sign up and give it a chance you will see why I side with it （￣ー￣）ニヤリ.

Anyways, here is a short walkthrough on how get an account at Nico Nico Douga if you cannot understand Japanese.

Point your browser to ニコニコ動画.

Afterwards, just follow the instructions on this picture, which was made by the website "The Plant".

For more detailed information you can also head over to the original article here.

らき☆すた

It had to be done, らき☆すた (Lucky Star) has been blogged about a thousand times already, but I am late due to how busy I have been recently. Since I had a break this weekend I watched this series since it has been on my "to watch" list for awhile. It felt nice to finally be able to sit back and watch anime again. I can defiantly say I am glad I took the time to watch it.

Lucky Star is the story of a group of girls in high school, and pretty much follows their daily life and has alot of random humor that is sure to make you laugh. The main character is Konota Izumi, who is a big gamer/otaku. I think its funny/sad that I am able to relate to what Konota says and does, although I am sure that is what they were aiming for when making the series, and therefore, it has sparked alot of interest worldwide.

らき☆すた is a very spastic and humorous anime, almost on the same grounds with Excel Saga, but in a different view. I think any otaku/gamer would really apreciate this series and it is well worth the watch for anyone who has not seen it yet, though I think most have already seen this by now.

I will leave you with some various clips from the anime as well as the video for the very catchy into from ニコニコ動画, which I recommend everyone use, it blows Youtube out of the water by far.

アルトネリコ２

アルトネリコ (Ar Tonelico) is one of my favorite 2D RPG games released for the PS2. I reserved and purchased the first one the day it came out and played it constantly until I beat it. Something about that game really gets me going, I just love it. The nice hand drawn sprites, the anime touch, (which is a very good style of anime I may add) and also the amazing RPG side of the game along with a touch of a dating sim with the "diving" in the "cosmosphere", or mind of a girl. You have to complete various quest within the girls "cosmosphere" in order to establish a better link with her, which is similar in style to a dating sim.

This combination alone reminds me of サクラ大戦 (Sakura Taisen), which is another favorite of mine. Anyways, I am very excited as アルトネリコ2 is going to be released 10/25/07 in Japan, and hopefully sometime in 2008 by NIS in America. It looks amazing so far and I may go ahead and buy the art book that is being released soon just to tie me over for now. I recommend looking up some more info about Ar Tonelico for all of you out there who have not played it.

As for how it plays...think サクラ大戦 + イリスのアトリエ (Atelier Iris). If this sounds interesting at all to you, it would be to your advantage to find out more. Here are some pictures and a recent trailer of アルトネリコ２.

Ar tonelico 2: Sekai ni Hibiku Shoujotachi no Metafalica Offical Website

-じゃまた

秒速５センチメートル『Byousoku 5 Centimeters』

I finally watched 秒速５センチメートル 『Byousoku 5 Centimeters』 last night. I am a very big fan of Makoto Shinkai 『まかとしんかい』, and his newest movie does not disappoint. The movie is 63 minutes long, and is a span of three episodes of a boy, Takaki Tohno, and a girl, Akari Shinohara. It is set in the 1990s in Japan, and unlike his other movies, does not have much of a Sci-Fi or Fantasy touch to it, it is firmly set in present day.

The movie deals with the life of these two characters and their interaction between themselves and their surroundings. Following Shinkai tradition, it is a very sad, yet touching movie. Shinkai's style of writing is some of the most touching writing I have ever seen, and it really hits you deep inside. I believe this has became one of my favorites from Shinkai. My all time favorite so far is 彼女と彼女の猫 『She and Her Cat』. I would suggest watching some of Makoto Shinkai's work, I believe it will have a positive effect on your life and maybe make your day a little more meaningful/pleasant.

Mr Shinkai says about 秒速５センチメートル:
"We did thorough location hunting, and are trying to scoop this present real world up by the style of animation. Our daily life rarely includes eventful dramas, dramatic treachery or sudden revelations. Nevertheless, after all the world is filled with flavor and beauty here and there, and it is worth to live. We try to depict such an aspect of real life by this film, and to make your familiar landscapes more shining than usual after finished viewing. We aim to make such works which cuddles up to your daily life."

I will leave you with some pictures and information on the movie.

Makoto Shinkai Fan Website

Also, on a side note, I found the full video of one my favorite Shinkai movies, 彼女と彼女の猫 『She and Her Cat』. So here is the full movie, so you can form your opinion on it.

-じゃまた

飛天オンラインのぼうけんしょうせつ

Midterms are almost over at my college, and fall break is near. Time to play video games and relax some. Today, I have a day off from my college, so I played 飛天オンライン (DOMO Online) today. My friend and I have been playing for about two weeks now. I am really enjoying the game as it is a very good game, and I am also using it to study my にほんご。

I (Shinjuu, しんじゅう) am almost a level じゅうご(15) thief (どろぼう). My friend (ともだち), Kagamasa (かがまさ) is a Saber Warrior (サーブルぶし), and is also the same level as me. He is my best friend in real life, so we often talk about the game and so on...

Anyways, here is some screenshots of my time on 飛天オンライン up till now. In order of new to old.


またあとでね

戦場のヴァルキュリア!

So, I really want 戦場のヴァルキュリア。。。

I have not seen a game before that is cell shaded anime graphics, with a combination of WWII RTS strategy. It is a very interested concept, and it has me hooked. The graphics to begin with a very nice and fluid, it is the closest I have seen to watching an anime, but playing a video game.

It is being released for the PS3 and has a release date of Sping 2008 in Japan. I will be sure to import this the day it is released. I will leave some media for you to form your own opinion on it.

うれしい。。。

そうです・・・

みなさんこにちわ, わたしのなまえはオースティンです。
わたしのしゅみはビデオゲームとしゃしんじゅつとにほんごとコンピューターとコンピューターアニメです。
アメリカからきました。
わたしはにほんごがあまりじょうずじゃないです。。。

I have recently started this blog. I will write down random post of my experience with video games and my opinions on them. As well working towards my goal of being a video game designer.

Recently, I have been playing DOMO (Dream of Mirror Online).

I will post with my experiences on that game and others as time goes by!

じゃまた