Finally the day I have been waiting my whole life for…tomorrow I am off to Japan!!!

I shall not be posting anything for the next week (yes I know I probably haven’t posted for a week anyway xD) but on my return expect tonnes of Otaku goodness and many many photos, I shall have enough material to blog for the next century xP

Anyway, this is only a short post, it’s mainly just to say I shall be back in a week…さよならみなさん！！！

(And in the mean time…respect this man ^ Kamina is one of the coolest characters to have ever graced this earth…plus he likes to work in “animate” in his spare time xD)

Over the past week or so I have been rather busy; my trip to Japan draws ever nearer (next Friday) and I have spent the week learning more Japanese, planning where to go, and obtaining the necessities for my trip.

I decided that as I was going for a week, it might be a good idea to obtain a “Japan Rail Pass”, at least this way I can ride on the Shinkansen (bullet train) and all other JR lines without having to worry about forking out extra money for travel. I actually think that the Rail Pass is a very good idea, that is if your going on the bullet train, because then it works out to be quite a bargain ^_^ However, obtaining the Rail Pass was a more trouble than I had anticipated. You see I was under the assumptions that the JNTO (Japan National Tourist Organisation) would have a nice big shop with windows laden with images of Japan, and thus I thought finding it wouldn’t be a problem. How wrong I was; I walked right past it the first time because the number at which I believed it to be at was simply an office block, so I walked on, only to find that it was nowhere to be found, so I then retraced my steps and decided to go into the office blocks where the shop/office was supposed to be, and low and behold, on a big board, in small writing was “JNTO”…now I don’t know about you, but how that hell am I supposed to know its inside a totally un-touristy looking place?! Either way, after going there, I then found out that purchasing Rail Passes there was not an option, and I was redirected to another place round the corner.

However, the first place was not a total waste of time, it had TONNES of leaflets and thus I felt it was my duty to obtain one of every leaflet that had anything remotely useful on/in it before proceeding to the next shop/office thingy.Once again, you would be mistaken in thinking that finding this second place was easy, because once again it was a dark office block that looked nothing like a tourist office at all. I walked into this dimly lit corridor, and it led me to a very dark staircase, which had a very suspicious air to it, and the staircase then led me to some very small offices related to Japanese travel. Once I was there, I was greeted by some very helpful people, I wondered how often they got to see other humans enter the office, but nonetheless I got all my uncertainties cleared up and my rail pass purchased.

I have also sorted my money, I translated it the other day (yes i know translated was not the right word but I felt it adds to the eccentric feel of this post) and I now have 131,000 Yen. ^_^

Now all I need to do is plan exactly where I am going on each day, then i am sorted.

I shall first begin by explaining that I am a very big fan of J-Pop , J-Rock and J-Music in general. It is thanks to Cameron (Otaku Blue) that I began listening to Japanese music; The first songs he sent me were “GO!!!” by FLOW and “Kirikirimai” my Orange Range and ever since then I was hooked. In time my collection of music has grown, and now the amount of Japanese music I have far surpasses that of my English music. I find these days I listen to Japanese music only, I still like the odd English band but I think I have now found my area of preference when it comes to music.

FLOW are my favourite band of all time and I think their “SPLASH!!!” album has to be my favourite album so far. A selection of some of the other bands I like are: ZZ, Afromania, Back-On, High and Mighty Color, Home Made Kazoku, Snowkel, and many many more…

Anyway, it was once again thanks to Cameron (Otaku Blue) that I was able to hear the new FLOW song from their new single “Answer”. So naturally, as soon as I had been informed of the new single I made use of youtube and low and behold the song was there, so I felt it only right that I should share it with all of you because it is a really good song. It is a bit different in terms of style when compared to some of their previous works, but bands do change a bit as they progress, however, this song is brilliant, so if they have changed a bit, then it means they are only going to get better!

Here is the PV (promotional video ^_^) of their new song “Answer”:

Well, firstly allow me to apologise for my long absence of about 2 weeks. I would like to be able to say that I was unable to use the Internet due to the fact that intergalactic terrorists thought I was conspiring against them and hence they put a block on my Internet…alas I’m afraid I cannot say that, partly my lack of posting has been down to laziness (it is my summer holiday xD) and also I have been teaching myself Japanese in preparation for my trip to Japan (24th August!!!). I think its also safe to say that if I promise to do something (say for example; cover the Japan Ex) some cruel fate stands in my way to try and prevent me from fulfilling my promise, so from now on I shall just surprise you with coverage and in turn beat the cruel fate…HA!

Anyway, I hope that those who used to read my blog haven’t given up, i shall try to get into a routine that can suit me and fit among everything, but i shall not do an every day post, that is for the masters ^_^

Now getting back to the Japan Ex; I was disappointed in my coverage this time, I didn’t get many photos and thus it would prove difficult for me to cover it >_<. This year was the first year Japan Ex ever happened, it was undoubtedly the best expo i had ever been to, yes it was smaller than previous ones, but I liked that. I therefore thought that perhaps the reason i did not much coverage was because i was too busy being overwhelmed by the expo (after-all I am but a human).

If anyone is perhaps interested in seeing the few photos i took of this event, then you may check my my photobucket account:

http://s81.photobucket.com/albums/j208/Arekusu_Hiru/JapanEx%202007/

Password: mcmexpo

(from left to right: Ho, Cam (OtakuBlue), Rob (Nande man/Perplexus)

Anyway, i shall now go on pretending my 2 week absence never happened and resume posting as normal tomorrow or later on today ^_^

I know this was supposed to be a post about the Japanese Ex, but Perplexus just sent me a link to the new opening and ending to Gurren-Lagann (which features all the characters grown up meaning a time-skip happens) and i just felt i had to share it with you all! But fear not, tomorrow will be the day where i cover the Expo ^_^

So for those of you who have been following the series I’m sure, like me, you will love it; personally I think it is one of the best series’ ever, I really do love it :D

 Of-course i wont say too much because I don’t want to spoil it for people who haven’t seen it yet, or seen all of it yet, but I mainly want to share the opening and ending with you, so here they are:

The opening features the same opening song as before but with a few different verses.

And the ending has a new song sung by Afromania (one of the favourite bands).

I apologise for not posting the other day, i know i have gradually begun to slip, but not only have there been a shortage of interesting things to post about (or perhaps i just wasn’t able to find any) but i have also been busy trying to get preparations for the expo sorted.

On Saturday in the London Excel centre the Japan Ex is being held. This is the first of its kind; you see every year at London Excel there is the MCM Expo in May and October, however, this year welcomes the arrival of a new one, Japan Ex. You see this differs from MCM because at the MCM it is a mix of Japanese anime, manga etc along with American comics, sci-fi stuff etc. But Japan Ex is totally devoted to Japaneseness ^_^

SO i shall be covering this expo, i am going to split up the post so that i can keep people coming back xD (naa the real reason is it is very time consuming so its easier this way), i will cover figures, games, shows, anime, and other stuff.

So expect the first post on Saturday, i may not have a chance to post again until then, but we shall see…

I saw this figure while browsing the internet and thought i just had to share it with everyone, because it really is very nice :D

Her name is Donne Anonime from Alter, i don’t know a lot about her, but i believe she is based of designs on an upcoming eroge called “Satsuriku no Jango”.

It is suspected that at least the top half of her will be cast-off which is a good thing in my opinion ^_^ It means we may get a better look at her second pair of eyes.

And if you think this figure is nice, just wait till you hear what else i have to say, the other 2 heroines from the game are also set to have their own PVC figures produced, so you had better start saving ebcause these 3 are sure to be on your “to buy” list.

http://www.nitroplus.co.jp/pc/lineup/into_13/htmlver/index.html

As promised, here it is, a summary of the topics mentioned in Nintendo’s E3 conference (i think i got them all ^_^).

First up, one of the most anticipated games this year is Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and this received a release date; It is destined to come out on December 3rd in America, so hopefully, if the regions get sorted quickly we could hope for a Christmas release over here in the U.K. :D

Next up is the long awaited Mario Galaxy; It went from being a “release game” to a long-delayed game, but finally it too has been given a release date, it should be in shops in America on November 12th, so once again, maybe we could look at a Christmas release for the U.K.?

Other games that have been given release dates are:
~Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast – October 8th
~Battalion Wars 2 – October 29th
~Fire Emblem (this wasn’t actually announced at the conference, but the date has come up) – November 12th

Another game that was obviously going to make an appearance on the Wii was another Mario Kart game, and sure enough, it was unveiled at the conference. Like the DS version, the Wii one will too be able to go online so you can play with people all over the world; No doubt that means there will also be noobs who turn off their consoles when they are about to lose xP. And along with Mario Kart Wii comes another accessory, a steering wheel; This is a device that you can slot your Wii-mote in and then when playing you can actually hold a wheel as opposed to just holding the controller, this would also be very useful when playing other Wii games, for example Sonic.

On the topic of accessories, there is another contraption that will be coming out soon, and that is the “Wii Zapper”. This is a device that allows you to put not only your Wii-mote, but also your Nunchuk into the holder, this way when you play shooting games, you can actually hold a gun. There is talk of a package where this contraption will come bundled with a game, but not much has been said about that just yet.

Finally, i thought i would save the best till last; This is what Nintendo were most excited about this year, the Wii Balance Board. This is basically a board, it actually looks somewhat like a set of weighing scales, that you stand on and it calibrates your body mass then it can tell how you are standing on the board, be it leaning to one side, standing one one foot, etc. And the game that it will play a huge role in…well its not actually a game per-say, more, an activity. It is called “Wii Fit” and the idea is for gamers to use this to keep fit. Like Wii Sports it keeps a log of your activities, so over time you can see if you are improving. This was tested by fitness instructors at the conference and they were doing set keep fit moves and then it is replicated on screen. I know to some of you this might seem a little silly, i mean you are probably thinking “why would i want to buy a game where i have to do exercise?” but think of it in a different light, not only will this widen the market and once again push Nintendo further above the other companies, but also think of the possibilities it could have for other games: Snowboarding (1080º Snowboarding Wii?) Skateboarding, or perhaps, think about how good it would be if you could mix it with the wii mote, and you could create a game like Time crisis, where you crouch on the board to hide and reload, then come out and shoot?

Either way, i am very interested in this new device, and i will certainly be getting the Fitness game, i mean then my parents can’t complain at me for playing games, because i can say I’m keeping fit :D

Yes! Finally! As a life long Nintendo fan i always eagerly await their conference’s and this year was no different. I have just finished watching the live streaming of the conference (well most of it, i had some difficulties getting to it for the first 20-30 mins, but i shall get that later).

 This is only a small post right now, i plan on gathering all the data from the conference later on and putting it all into one big post so that you can see everything about the conference in one place, it may take me a while to gather everything, but bear with me, i shall get it and you will have it by the latest of tomorrow :D

 On a side note, i am off to the Japanese Embassy tomorrow so if I’m allowed ill take some photos and blog about my adventure :D

Ok, sorry to keep you all waiting, but finally its here, the other part to the “Shell Eco-Marathon”.

 First allow me to set the scene. The idea behind this “Eco-Marathon” is to design a car/vehicle that can be ridden in and use the least fuel possible.

 This is the first time my school has ever participated in this challenge, and for a first time we did pretty well, but i shall say how we did at the end.

 The event was split into 2 days, the first was an option practice day where you can come along and ride around as much as you like to get the feel of the course.

Most teams will make one car and race one car, but no, we decided to make 2 cars, and this is where it got hectic. You see, me and this other engineer from my school were the senior engineers there (aside from the teachers) and as a result of that,t he teachers wanted to be nice to us and give us extra duties. So they decided to make us team captains, in other words, i was in charge of one of the cars, i had to get it checked, refueled and out on the track myself, i had to ensure all my team members were doing as they were supposed to, i had to ensure that my driver was driving at the required speed (15 mph is the best speed to save fuel, you are not allowed to go slower than 15 mph, so that’s why sticking at 15 mph is advised, which means a lap should be done in about 5 mins 30 seconds), so as you can see, it put quite alot of pressure on me. However, once i had assigned every member their jobs and got into a routine, it all seemed to go quite well.

There are various different classes that you can enter, but we entered the beginners class, i can’t remember exactly how many entered our class, but we came 4th in it and our car can do an average of 400.6 MPG (miles per gallon) which isn’t too bad for the first time we have done it. We then came 24th out of the “schools initiative” class and finally, we cam 40th in the whole competition out of a few hundred.

 I also happened to get caught by a camera crew, so i have my 5 minutes of fame when they interviewed me about my team and car ^_^.

 Honda took photos of our team because we will be appearing in their “scrap book” as my teacher put it. We were awarded a trophy by  Honda for the “Best Presented Car”. Although other teams had body shells, the thing Honda liked about our car was that you could see what was going on inside it and yet it still looked nice, so that was good. We also got awarded another trophy for “Spirit of the Event” by the Marshals who watch over the track, that was very nice indeed.

The overall winners (they also won last year) were a team from France and their car did an average of 10,000 MPG (no that’s not a typo, they genuinely did 10,000, but last year they did 12,000 so they didn’t beat their score but they still did amazingly well). There were teams from all around the world: China, Japan, France, Poland, Etc.

 So overall it was a really great event, i returned with 300 odd photos which i rattled down to 240, naturally I’m not going to upload all 240 to my blog, but i chose the best ones, and you can check out the ones that didn’t appear on here from my photobucket account (http://s39.photobucket.com/albums/e199/Arekusu7/Shell%20Eco-Marathon/)

This is my car that i took charge of and in the next image is my driver ^_^

This is the other car and the other driver, not on my team but i was still rooting for him, because hes on the school team ^_^

If i turn up on any websites anywhere, or on TV or anything, ill be sure to blog about it, but Honda came from Japan so i doubt ill see anything over here, but still, i can say i had my 5 minutes of fame ^_^