Cheap Entertainment

Back home, everyone's Thanksgivings are just beginning, but today, we had the day off for Thanksgiving Labor Day.... whatever that means. I think the Japanese just wanted an excuse for a holiday, but in any case, I got both today and tomorrow off from work. I decided to take the opportunity to run into Osaka and grab a few more manga before packing up my box of books and shipping them home.

So I ended up in Den Den Town, Osaka's version of Akihabara and picked up the first four books of Fullmetal Alchemist that I've kind of been hankering after. Now my collection is complete - until the next book is published, at least. Also grabbed the two books of Momotama that are out to date, even though I've read scanlations for most of the first book. Nanae Chrono's art is too good to pass up - if you haven't read her Peacemaker Kurogane series, I recommend it, even if it is ridiculously angsty. I mean, Momotama is just like those lame 'school for gifted highschoolers on a secret island that the government doesn't know about' RPs that I see on just about every forum system I frequent, but it's so darn fun to flip through! Pretty pretty art, and a badass 9-year-old hero. Gah, I love grouchy young males. D: <3

Did I mention that picking up all six books cost me less than $20? Trying finding a deal like that in the US! Preowned manga is love, especially because it's always in near-new condition.

I also had my heart set on getting Dynasty Warriors 5, but I couldn't find it anywhere. I had to check when I got home, and sure enough, the numbering system is different from the US version, and it's known as #4 over here in Japan. Darnit, I'd been staring at it all day, but wasn't certain whether it was the version I wanted. Guess I'll have to save the Three Kingdoms rampaging for later.

So instead of that, I ended up picking up both Genji and Tales of Destiny 2. Genji is said to be incredible, but also disgustingly short (like 6-7 hours short D:). I decided it was worth it though, because I like pretty games, it's about Japan (and the tale of Genji!), and it cost me less than 1300 yen. As for Tales? It's not that I particularly need another RPG, given that I haven't finished Final Fantasty XII yet, but people say it's good, and I like playing more than one game at a time. With Okami out of the way, all I had besides FFXII was three different versions of Pop'n Music. xD Tales of Destiny cost me about 1600 yen. Two preowned games for less than half the price of your average new game (they usually run from 6000 to 8000 yen)? I can live with that. :3

And now, I think I'm going to go fire up my PS2. You guys all enjoy your turkey - I'll be enjoying my new videogames.

- Rindi

Current song: djpretzel - Chrono Trigger - Revival Day Impoetus
Current mood: Reasonably excited

Quick Notes

The PS3 is region-free, but only for PS3 games. Guess I'll stick with my original plan and pick up a second PS2 when I get back to the States.

I got art tonight! Super-awesome Jesper and Thraxxin art. For those of you who can't tell what's going on, Jesper loves to annoy Thraxxin and Thraxxin gets weirded out by Jesper's antics. That's the basis to this picture - Vena's the one who decided to add in the sock puppet. xD I can't stand to look at it for more than a few seconds at a time though, because it makes me giggle uncontrollably. There's nothing better in the world than seeing other peoples' takes on your characters, and Vena did an amazing job. :D Still waiting on some other artists for drawings... Gwah, I love receiving art! <3

This week is Thanksgiving back home. Over here, we get a holiday too because it's Labor Day. Go figure. <_< I think I'll celebrate by buying myself a new video game. Problem is, I can't decide which one I want. Maybe something from the Onimusha series because I am a lame Japan freak. xD

Japan does not have turkey. o_o

- Rindi

Current song: Coldplay - Clocks
Current mood: Giggly

A Couple Recommendations

I finally had the chance to rewatch Millennium Actress, as it was showing on TV tonight. It's still as good as the first time I saw it, even though there weren't any subtitles and I was completely lost on large chunks of the dialogue. I probably cried even more this time around, because I'm a big sap like that. If you haven't seen any of Satoshi Kon's movies, you really owe it to yourself to check them out. I love them all, but Millennium Actress may very well be my favorite. I really want to see his latest, Paprika. I hear it's based on a sci-fi novel - looks interestingly dark.

The Honey & Clover anime just finished airing on TV tonight too. It was sooooo good. D: I haven't watched such a good anime in a long, long time. A wonderful mix of drama and humor - I'm not sure why it hasn't been picked up for a US release yet. I need to get my hands on the second season sometime.

I picked up the first book of the Mushishi manga today. The first chapter is the same as the anime (more like, the first episodes of the anime is the same as the first chapter of the book), no surprise there, but I was surprised at how shoujo the art-style is. The way the characters are drawn actually reminds me a good deal of Honey & Clover. ^^;

- Rindi

Current song: The Millennium Actress ending song
Current mood: Sheepish

Thoughts

I wonder if I should trade in my PS2 for a PS3. The system just launched in Japan last week and is region-free, so this would solve my dilemma of not being able to play American games on my JPS2, while still being able to play Pop'n Music. I guess it comes down to whether I can find a PS3 before I fly home, and whether any used games stores will be interested in yet another person trying to get rid of their PS2.

- Rindi

Current song: None
Current mood: Contemplative

A New Look

Ahahaha! After many many years of staring at the same horrible layout (the Lindy-demon had been up since freshman year of MIT D:), I finally couldn't take it any longer. I've been meaning to design a new blog layout for months, and while I started back in the summer, I got lazy. But, after guiltily looking over at my oft-neglected blog tonight, I decided that I should hurry up and finish. I was also inspired by a quick doodle of Jesper that I'd drawn as part of my 100 moods project, so he ended up being the star of the new layout. Better get used to seeing him there, because I'm sure this layout isn't changing for a good long while.

As for what I've been up to lately... Well, first off, I was accepted into my top choice for grad school, so I'll be starting the Computational Biology master's program at Carnegie Mellon University this spring. My little sister is doing her undergrad there right now, so that should be interesting. I have also been drawing like a madwoman recently - you should check out my DA gallery for my latest work (link is in the sidebar), as I've kind of abandoned FAC. It's where I got started, but most people use DA to showcase their art online, so I've moved over there instead. Sorry, FAC. ;~; And as I mentioned in the previous paragraph, I have a 100 moods project going on to keep myself entertained with. It's just a way for me to draw more pictures of my characters and perhaps flesh out their personalities. That, and I just love drawing emotions and expressions. So keep an eye on that, because I update it fairly regularly.

Hrm, besides that, not much else to say really. It's getting chilly here, and I finally found out how to make my a/c work as a heater. It's pretty darn excellent.

- Rindi

Current song: None
Current mood: Excited. Change is good!