I honestly don’t know. So far it’s blocked 85 comments and I’d feel bad that some of those were people trying to tell me something. Like “Please buy my extra stock of viagra and custom tube amplifiers so that my homeland’s princess can go to the moon!” or something else to that effect. That kind of comment I don’t need. It’d be nice if someone disagreed with me, or is just as passionate as I am and just felt they had to say something. Then we can participate in intellectual discourse!

Ah, well. Can’t do much about it. I both want site traffic, but not enough to the point that I have to reign in my own comments. Certainly sucks when working hard and putting in effort has some drawbacks. Good enough reason to be lazy? I certainly think so.

-maserbeam

Oh, gawd those legs! OH YEA.

*ahem* I am so confirmed to be watching Seikimatsu Occult Academy. Regardless of how flawed the second episode might have felt, there’s still enough strangeness to it that I’m still compelled to keep watching. And GOD THOSE LEGS so nice.. I think I have a new favorite character design. The one piece dress with thigh-high leggings is killing me.

Oh, and [gg] is back to help oversub Highschool of the Dead. God bless their souls.

-maserbeam

I’m finding it increasingly odd that I have a tendency to watch anime that receive unusual amounts of disdain. Making the rounds off animenano.com, I checked out the reactions to the first episode to Seitokai Yakuindomo. It’s one of the Summer 2010 anime shows that the general reaction seems to be: “Not worth it.” Sure, it might not be for everyone, but it doesn’t mean you should keep people away from it. If anything, this show is for people who wished it was Seitokai no Ichizon with higher animation production, Minami-ke with awkward sex jokes (but that show was awkward to begin with), and/or less shoujo elements than Kaichou wa Meido-sama. And for someone like me, it’s exactly what I ordered.

And with the second episode having aired, I’m happy to say that I’ll be following the series. Atmosphere is laid back enough that I don’t have to absolutely make sure that I’m in the mood for it, letting it be easily digestible.

-maserbeam

E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) has come and gone, and with that the big three console makers – Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony – have given their piece on why they rock harder than the other guys in the video game world with a press conference. Did these mega companies impress the press and gamers alike? Well, that depends on who you’re talking about.

See what I mean here.

-TeaOfJay

The image above is of the “new” Hatsune Miku designed by Crypton Future Media which graced the cover of the box for the virtual idol’s second release entitled “CV01 Hatsune Miku Append”. Crypton is widely accepted to be the leader in the VOCALOID world when it comes to vocal quality and merchandising, so when Crypton made the unexpected announcement that they would be changing the pictures for all of their characters with the new releases, people were generally displeased.

It is not the fact that the image has changed that makes this so big a deal, it’s the principle of the matter. Put simply, Crypton made an unforgivable mistake. They forgot that their entire operation is 100% community-driven. In the VOCALOID world, making a change in what a character looks like is tantamount to changing the words to a national anthem. It’s true that it may not be that big of a deal on the outside, but it changes the heart and soul of the thing. Crypton’s decision to change what Miku looks like came without researching how the community would react, and now they feel the consequences. Sales of Hatsune Miku Append, though expected to be high due to very advanced technology and sound-quality, came short of what was expected and now Crypton has some serious decisions to make.

The main problem VOCALOID fans now face is, “Which one is the right one?”, and to a lesser extent, “what about the old images?” Crypton’s misguided move has possibly made tens of thousands of fan-created images incorrect, and more than this actually causes damage, it makes the community feel less attached to Miku, which is terrible news for Crypton indeed, given that their largest income comes straight from the people’s love for the virtual singer.

I understand that playing hardball in the business world is necessary, especially when it involves idols (virtual or not). But this is not the normal business world; this is a business that took off after a joke video that became an internet meme, and is supported entirely by a cult following. There is really no margin for error.

For now, the question remains unanswered, “Does this mark the beginning of the end for Crypton and Miku?” Possibly yes, and possibly no. Crypton still has enough income to stay afloat after a haphazard mistake like this, but if they continue with their previously-stated plan to re-design all of their VOCALOID characters, who knows what could happen?

Close-up of the new “Hatsune Miku Append” Figure

-Koda-P