Reposting after dealing with technical difficulties.

Up until now, my only experience with Mahjong has been with the version known occasionally as Shanghai, as befits my preference to solo in MMORPGs. I've always been meaning to learn, however, partly because learning new things is invariably useful, and partly because people keep talking about it and I feel a little left out.

I actually spent a couple of hours in the #AnimeBlogger IRC channel spectating a couple of matches between four of the channel denizens. Lupus took out a hefty chunk of that time to teach me the basics of Mahjong, Hong Kong rules style. It apparently bears a faint resemblance to the basics of poker, except in groups of three (or four): if I remember correctly, a "chow" is a three-straight, a "pung" is a three-of-a-kind, and a "kong" is four-of-a-kind. In play, someone draws a tile from the "wall", which apparently serves the same purpose as the common deck of cards, and discards another tile (whether the one just drawn or otherwise) from their hand, which is the row of tiles directly in front of them. Someone else can pick up that discard as their draw, or not; if the discarded tile is left alone, it is arranged neatly at the centre of the table, presumably to let everyone see what tiles have been played. Presumably there is no special tile that lets you summon something from the graveyard at the cost of all your mana.

The first episode of Saki confirmed my belief that I still have a long, long way to go. What are these people talking about? Where is the glossary for all this terminology? Have I somehow switched to watching the more jargon-filled scenes of Asura Cryin? When my friend told me that I needed to at least have a handle on the vocabulary of Mahjong, he meant every word.

But it's all right; I'm here for the cute girls. Nodoka's insistence on Saki joining the club and her reputation of being the champion makes me think that there's some Angst in store for her, either in the backstory or plot, but she does seem to be designed to attract attention anyway, what with her pink hair and huge tracts of land talent bounce. Yuuki is perky comic relief, and Saki herself is… well, I suppose she'll display some more personality in future episodes.

The intense background music and arcs of lightning that appear whenever the characters dramatically draw and discard tiles is… well, if I were less experienced in anime, I'd say that it's overdone, but after Yakitate Japan I don't think that's really possible anymore. I half expect that along with the electronic scoring system, each Mahjong tile is actually intended to give off dramatic sparks and gusts of wind, individually powered by tiny nuclear reactors.

Best not to slam those tiles down.

A strange thing is that I've generally figured Mahjong to be a social game, like Bridge. While playing competitively, everything is all Serious Business, but among friends, I'd anticipate at least some chatter. The Mahjong Club in Saki doesn't exactly play in silence, but there's still a lot less conversation than I expected.

Kurogane compared the main characters of K-On to those of Lucky Star, which does rather fit, but to be honest the first comparison I thought of was Hidamari Sketch:

• Yui – Yuno
• Ritsu – Miyako
• Mio – Sae
• Tsumugi – Hiro

To be fair, the interactions don't exactly break down exactly as compared: Ritsu hangs out with Mio instead of Yui, Mio is a lot more honest to herself than Sae was, and Tsumugi is a bit more out-there compared to Hiro (in fact, she probably fits the least closely). I wouldn't say air-headed, but perhaps naive is a better word. (Or not.) "Inexperienced with the ways of the world" would probably be more accurate if it weren't too unwieldy a phrase, and if my brain ever emigrated from the gutter.

It's also telling that Tsumugi is invariably the last name mentioned in the listing of the four girls. We have Main Character Yui, and the boke-and-tsukkomi routine of Ritsu and Mio, which all leap to mind more readily than the Rich Talented Girl that is Tsumugi, whom one can't really feel jealous of, since she's so amazingly nice. (Of course, with my luck, she'll turn out to have some hidden nasty side or something. So it goes.)

It's also also telling that I've latched onto Tsumugi as my Favourite Character So Far, just as I did for Miyuki in Lucky Star. There Is Something Wrong With Me.

As for the actual episode itself, there is little to say. It does take an oddly long time for Yui to join the Light Music Club; I say "oddly" because I could be biased by knowing what the series is supposed to be about. We know that Yui's going to join up, and taking most of the episode for her to do so just feels like teasing the audience. Still, I enjoyed it, which is all I ask for in my entertainment. (Why did I enjoy it, you may ask? Please note the title of this blog.)

Finally, I have been accused of being a KyoAni fanboy. This is like accusing a beer-lover of being a Guinness fanboy; from an extremely stretched definition it is true, but it fails to address the main point: I am a moe fanboy, and it doesn't matter who draws the cute girls, as long as the cute girls are present. Thus, it is more proper to say that I am also a lolicon a KyoAni fanboy.

Also on my to-watch list, which is by no means the same as my to-follow list, are Asura Cryin (ghost in the mecha, or some strange bizarreness in that general direction), as well as the much-mocked Queen's Blade (containing copious amounts of breasts bosoms melons milk factories busts funbags knockers boobies jugs jubblies stonking great tits).

It has been several weeks since I've had the chance to sit down and watch anime, or even to keep up with anime news of any sort. I have been collecting episodes, much as that figurine you thought was such a bargain before you realized that you had no more space to put it collects dust. I am dimly aware, through the random osmosis of the anime blogging community and its associated aggregators, that various series (Clannad After Story, Toradora) have ended, and some (K-On) will be starting. The details will have to be left to others paying more attention than I have.

I have, however, managed to sneak in glimpses, furtively seen, of bits and pieces of episodes; never enough for a full digestion of the events therein, but sufficient to abate the hunger. Some Sora Kake here; a taste of Zettai Karen Children there. Occasionally I may dip into the gumbo of Maria Holic, steeped in strangeness and substances only legal by technicality. Haruhi-chan already comes in handy bite-sized chunks, and although it is enjoyably fluffy, it is correspondingly not quite filling.

As for Chrome Shelled Regios, what samplings I have partaken of have made me curious about the nature of this dish: on the one hand, it has the heavy hints of angsty backstories and circumstances that may border upon the bitterness of emo, along with a sour frisson of convoluted conspiracy plots. And yet, Regios also features liberal servings of comedy, super-deformed moments, and even moe. I am unsure if I can help myself to the funny bits, while carefully setting aside the emo bits like unwanted asparagus. I've always been a picky eater.

The show also has little to do, as such, with the preparation and consumption of food. I'm just overusing the culinary metaphors because I haven't had a proper meal all day, and so now I go to raid the kitchen.

Like most sci-fi anime which deals with Adventures In Space!, Sora wo Kakeru Shoujo is set towards the softer side of the science, while still retaining a healthy dosage of technobabble, such that I am unable to follow more than the absolute basics without some sort of Cliff's Notes. There are lengthy expositions on how the Great Big Cannon (possibly needing spheres of metal to function) is symbolically Large and Powerful, while not one line is uttered regarding sound in space.

And that's all right, since Hard Science Fiction is often too unyielding for my squishy brain to process, made much squishier by the inevitable fatigue state I am in when I get around to watching my anime. I'm not looking for hard science; I just want entertainment. Later I may wax sesquipedalian about the holes in the theories, especially if the series interests me enough to write fanfic about it, but that's another blog post.

Of course, I'm watching this only because I gravitate towards any anime with a healthy dosage of humour and cute girls. The sci-fi genre is a nice bonus, as I let my brain skim over any new concepts the anime sees fit to implement. Most of these serve little functional purpose, save to advance the plot, or provide a means for character development of some sort.

Having said all that, I'm almost certain that Leopard's campy antics and all the phallic imagery is at least somewhat intentional. Trying to find a suitable title for this post proved more difficult than I expected, due to a surfeit of options, none of which are remotely suitable for a PG-rated blog.

There is, apparently, a saying that Comedy is Tragedy plus Time. I first heard it among my friends in the US, and it seemed like some sort of quote or well-known aphorism which I had not hitherto encountered. Like all generalizations there are exceptions, but it does explain the accusation of "too soon".

Personal observation, however, has more or less convinced me of a more accurate version: Comedy is Tragedy happening to someone else.

I'm not entirely sure what to think about Maria Holic. The entire premise appears to be an invitation for the audience to witness all the myriad ways in which Kanako is tormented psychologically and occasionally physically by Maria (or Mariya, as some romanizations have it). And this is okay, because of Kanako's reactions: she goes on extended rants and whines about how Maria is being such a meanie, as well as pretty much everything else that pops into her mind at the moment. These rants are delivered rapid-fire, replete with metaphors and similes that don't quite end up as they're supposed to. And then Maria does the pretty-sparklies thing, and Kanako is instantly won over again.

With so many comedy aspects, it's hard to honestly feel bad for the character being thusly abused. One gets the feeling that the victim is not being serious, and that it's okay to laugh along.

I fear a later mood crash, and the subsequent feeling that I am a horrible, horrible person for even thinking that another person's misfortune (however fictional) is in any way amusing.

On a tangent, there's an odd bit of background music in episode two, before the (maid guitar) opening animation, where the dorm leader girl is talking about food. The music in that scene reminds me so much of "Korobeiniki" (aka The Tetris Type A Song) that I suspect it is a pastiche or homage of some sort. For, and this is Studio SHAFT we're talking about, no discernable reason.

I have a great many things I could say about this anime, such as my anticipation of it based on the manga, as well as my expectation that it's not going to be a good anime, but it's going to be fun.

I could mention that it's effectively a vehicle for wacky romantic fanservice hijinks. I could mention that so far I'm happy with what I see, with the caveat that I'm easily satisfied when it comes to cute girls in anime. I could even mention that Kagome seems to be rather younger than I remember, especially since I think she's supposed to be… well, minor spoilers.

But for now, all I can think about is the moment when Chihaya (the green-haired one) opened her mouth, and I instantly recognized her voice actress. Yukari Tamura really has a distinctive voice, and I love it.

So I just watched the first episode of the alleged sequel to Code-E.

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It seems Lina missed us too. Unfortunately, now she has a chance to aim.

There is nothing else I can say about the much-awaited fourth season of Slayers that has not been said before, whether by myself or by other more worthy luminaries. I don't think I can give a fair and unbiased view of the matter through the impenetrable haze of sheer, undiluted nostalgia.

It was, as Arudoc mentioned, fitting that Lina made her debut by blowing up bandits, this time of the seagoing kind led by Captain Jack Sparrow. It is an ancient tradition as hallowed as the sun rising in the east, the ubiquity of hydrogen and stupidity, and Amelia giving a Justice Speech.

Things became something of a blur from there. A squee-ful blur, to butcher the language.

I must also admit to surprise at New Character Pokota's entrance. I wonder what the Dark Lord Ruby-Eye Shabranigdo thinks of his signature spell being cast by a Pokemon muppet.

I wonder if it says something about me that the only reason I'm playing Pokemon Diamond at all is because I think Dawn (or Hikari, if you want the Japanese name) is very, very cute.

It's the hat, I think. I don't know what she's like in the actual anime, being that I don't have a source for it, but just looking at the fanart makes her seem so adorable.

Of course, I tend to treat games as a significant collection of plot and dialogue interspersed with irritating but sadly unavoidable gameplay, so this is not unusual. I suppose what I'm really looking for when I buy a game is an interactive CG movie, preferably anime-style with cute girls.

One thing which I've noticed since I started actually being a part of fandom, identifying myself as an anime fan, is that I appear to have a higher than usual tolerance of the more saccharine parts of anime. Reading reviews which slam a series for being "too cutesy" or "too sweet", I have to stare in confusion and bemusement, since I often enjoyed the parts which they do not like.

As for originality, it is a commendable ideal, but when all is said and done, it is not that essential to me. I can happily watch twenty six episodes of regurgitated cliches, assuming these cliches are something which are Relevant To My Tastes. It is as though I am presented with a portion of my favourite food, with the option of getting more of it as I please. I don't really see a downside to this.

Then again, seeing as how I'm used to grinding in games, online or otherwise, I'm perfectly happy with repetition.

Nanatsuiro Drops is, from the first episode (and technically the second, but that's skipping ahead), a rather unoriginal series. Based on an eroge, the show nevertheless feels as though it is aimed towards the same sort of audience Card Captor Sakura was, in all sorts of ways: there is that veneer of Bishoujo Harem Comedy, but thus far the primary focus is on a more pure interpretation of the magical girl genre than we've seen in a while. ("Pure", in this case, meaning Not Ecchi, rather than anything about faithful adaptations.)

In this, I'd say that anything it does (so far), Card Captor Sakura does better, and this might not even be all that biased. CCS has more likeable characters, and overall better story progression and direction. Nanatsuiro Drops just doesn't have anything eye-catching that would make it stand out against the "deeper" shows this season.

But yanno, with all the new "dark" and "edgy" types of magical girls, not even counting the more ecchi variations, it's kind of refreshing to have something that's simple and sweet. Something with bright colours and designs, with laughter rather than tears. Something happy.

Which is why I'm hoping, oh so very much hoping, that this trend will continue. If it turns out to lean more towards the Bishoujo Harem Comedy side of the spectrum, I'd be disappointed, but not too badly. If it turns out to be Dark and Angsty, I will feel very, very betrayed.

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