Monthly Archives: April 2009

Shinigami No Ballad

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Shinigami No Ballad is a 6 episode series consisting of 6 short stories (each story 1 episode long).　The main premise of the story is centred around a Shinigami named Momo and the people she deals with.　(By the way, A Shinigami is a ‘gatekeeper” to the afterlife’)　While there were great moments in the　individual stories, I found the series as a whole to be rather lacking.　Although all of the story premises we’re great, the last 3 episodes suffered from a bad case of “cheesey storytelling”.

Story 3.8/5
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The first 3 episodes we’re brilliant. The stories we’re all done very well with a great “mystery” aspect to them.　Granted, its difficult to pull of an effect story in 20 minutes, but from the first moments, these episodes we’re quite enthralling. (4.5/5)　Now, where this series suffers (and gets a much lower score) is in the last 3 episodes.　As stated above they suffered from a case of “cheesyness” and seemed rather predictable and bland.　If they had maintained the same momentum as they had with the three preceding episodes, the series would have been MUCH better off.

Characters 2.2/5
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Not good. It honestly felt as though it could have been the exact same character playing in each episode.　There were no “defining characteristics” that made individuals stand out from episode to episode.　Nothing memorable or exciting in the character department.

Sound 3.5/5
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The music and sounds were very fitting and well executed most of the time.
There we a few moments when the style seemed out of place with the atmosphere, but by-and-large, a job well done.　The musical style is your typical animé-esque type background music. A helpful bout of strings, piano, and electronic keyboard create a classic animé atmosphere.　The sound effects were very standard and casual, but well placed and executed.

Art 4/5
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It would be silly to expect complex animation or art style in an animé as simple as this one.　Though the art wasn’t exceptional, it did fit the style of the story perfectly and had a rather unique feel to it.　Job well done.

Overall 3.5/5
————
In the end, Shinigami No Ballad was a rather decent animé.　The first half of the series excelled with excellent plots and storytelling. I just wish they had stuck with it for the last half as well.　Although not extraordinary, the animé as a whole was an enjoyable watch and certainly not a waste of time.

Recommended to anyone who wants to see a series that light-heartedly experiments with the idea of death and reflection on ones own life.

BxT Idol! & New Competition!

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The current judges are being quite lazy. As of this writing, only one judge has been making votes, and even so, they’ve only made votes on nine people. Seems that delays are inevitable in this case.

Other the other hand though, in the near future, there will be a small competition relating to the banner for the blog. Yup, a BxT Blog Banner competition for the next banner to be used. More information about this will be posted later in the month.

Manga vs Comics, Animé vs Cartoons!

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I am a fan of all 4 categories, but each has it’s own unique style and vibe! So, in this blog we’re going to post the good, the bad, and the funny things about each of them, in comparison.

Manga: Well, manga has very nice battle scenes. Even tough it’s black-and-white, it still proves to be a choice for many. Unlike the American comics, manga doesn’t have super-arcs, but usually the story follows the main-character and the plot is solely entered around them.

Comics: Comics have evolved greatly since 1939 when the first comic was published. In the beginning they were very simple with no arcs, and they promoted American patriotism and friendship. The drawings were simple but very colourful. Nowadays, comics have evolved in both content and art. Super-arcs involving most of the characters are present in the big comics publishers such as Marvel or DC.

Animé: Animé has the same strong and weak points as manga, and are mainly based on them, but they have a very annoying catch called “fillers”. Fillers don’t really have anything to do with the main story-line. They are created so the studios can get more money out of one series. The fillers usually don’t appear in the manga version. Animé movies are a little different however. They pose some of the characters in a spin-off situation, which doesn’t connect with the main story. The movies usually don’t have connections with their related animé, but there are some exceptions. The style of animation in animé hasn’t change much since the old days. However, there are notable differences in how the art style has progressed over the years. For example, lighting effect in 2008 are very different from its counterpart in 1998.

Cartoons: Since their creation, they have promoted the same ideas as the comics. In the old days, cartoons we’re based on gag-pun rather than in-depth plot and character development. Nowadays, many of the cartoons produced are based around the action and fighting style of retro superhero comics. We also have modern cartoons that are made for the adult public. There is a special program called “Adult Swim” which premières cartoons made for a more mature audience.

Written by: -Carnivus-
Edited by: Cubesy

Staff Comedy?

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Here’s a -tiny- compilation of all the lulz that the staff get subjected to!
We will start off with a picture I took as I was lurking on the wiki. It’s not the funniest thing in the world, but we down in Staff Central thought it amusing simply because of the title and the fact it was totally in the wrong place.
image
Also, as you can see, no name or anything. Took us a bit of time but we quickly got it resolved.

Most of the laughs we get are generally due to the pointlessness of the help request, or the blatant lies which are visibly spotted. For example, consider the following messages we received though the help form:

im [name removed] and iiwant to become power user,(R: 0.596 U: 73.09 GB D: 122.65 GB),
i think i filled the requirement, so please consider this.

How do I make a torrent file and how do I upload it to the Box Torrent site?

ok down loading, not got problems there, but how do i seed, my email is [e-mail address removed] help me please

I am wondering what the “you are warned” triangle means. I know I don’t log on frequently, but I don’t recall making any issues here before. So, if someone could tell me what I did wrong so I can fix it for next time, I would appreciate it. Thank you.

Hey, I’ve been seeding for the past 2 days; all day long but because my upload speeds suck and they peek at like 10 kb/s my account has still been suspended.
Is there anyway of increasing my ul speed because I can’t possibly seed 30GB worth of animé with 10 kb/s speeds.
Thanks.

Hi
I recently reformated my PC so I dont have any torrent available to seed. However, Im kind of stuck now because in order to download again, I need to seed. What can I do to seed back again? Thank you!

>> Depressingly, all these questions were asked in the last 72 hours. Imagine how bad it is on a week to week basis. It hurts when we realise it’s all in the wiki. ;_; It breaks our delicate little hearts.

The Leak! (Or Staff Work Explained?)

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The secrets behind adoptions. To adopt a torrent is a wonderful thing, but it’s also a lot of hard work. First of all, the user has to impress the staff with a clear and precise plan of what they wish to do with a torrent. If we’re not suitably impressed by the adoption application form, we crumple it up and throw it in the rejection bin. After which, we’ll have a good laugh about it in the secret underground furnace room.

On the other hand, if an adoption is approved, then the staff keep an EXTREMELY close eye on what happens next. On an hourly basis (Well, more like on a daily basis to be truthful) we check the torrent to see if the adopter has done as they have said they would. If after a week of no activity, then we’ll attack the adopter with a flood of e-mails and PMs requesting that they finish the task they’ve assigned to themselves. (Well, it’s more of a single, kind PM, but let’s not mention that….) If after another week it’s still not completed, then we press the, “Destroy user” button which in fact does nothing more than simply puts the torrent back into the scrapheap.

Otherwise, once a torrent looks all sparkly new and ready to go, then we get to press the “[Torrent is OK]” button which simply states to the system, (Actually a secret admin who gets paid by Jarudin to do nearly all the manual work) that the torrent can officially be assigned to the adopter.

After that, we quickly forget about the adopted torrent until it gets reported or somehow magically ends up back in the scrapheap.

==

Edit: I’ve been told to apologise to the Adoption List for calling it a scrapheap. I’m sorry. ;_;

Japanese Learning!

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Greetings fellow students of the Japanese language!
How are those Kanji studies coming along?
Remember to keep on practising! There’s no room for slacking here…

After last week’s intensive study presentation, I thought it’d be nice to take some time to relax. This blog we’ll be studying traditional Japanese greetings! Both greeting and parting phrases are highly important in Japanese culture. It’s a good thing to know your greetings so you don’t appear to be ignorant/idiotic!
Let’s dive in, shall we?

Ohayou gozaimasu (Good Morning)
Pretty self-explanatory. Use when greeting someone in the morning. It’s important to note that the “u” in “masu” is practically silent. Basically it just puts more emphasis on the “s”.
goh-zah-ee-mah-sss

Konnichi wa (Good Afternoon)
Again, self-explanatory. Used in afternoon/daytime.
Koh-n-ni-chi-wah

Konban wa (Good Evening)
Greeting used during the evening/nightime.
koh-n-bahn-wah

Oyasuminasai (Have a good rest, goodnight)
Said right before bedtime.
oh-yah-sue-mee-nah-sah-ee

Douzo yoroshiku (I ask that you treat me kindly)
This is a strange one, but it’s what you say after meeting someone for the first time. Essentially the English equivalent of “Nice to meet you”.  It sounds weird to say “I ask that you treat me kindly” when translated, but you have to remember it’s perfectly normal in Japan. Note: The Japanese don’t pronounce “R” the same way. The Japanese “R” is almost a cross between a “D” and an “L”
Doh-oo-zoh-yoh-(r)oh-shi-koo

Ogenki desu ka? (Are you well?)
The equivalent of “how re you going”. Pretty self-explanatory. Don’t forget about those silent U’s!
oh-gehn-ki-deh-sss-kah

Hai, genki desu. (Yes, I’m well)
Said in reply to “Ogenki desu ka?”
High-gehn-ki-deh-sss

Sayounara/Sayonara (Goodbye)
Said when parting ways with someone for an extended period of time.
Sigh-yo-nah-(r)a

Ittekimasu (I’m leaving, but I’ll be back)
This is usually said when leaving one’s own home.
The second “t” is nearly silent. It’s as a sort of “half syllable”
Eat-tehk-ee-mah-sss

Itterasshai (Have a good time. See you later)
Said in response to Ittekimasu.
Eat-teh-rah-shy

Tadaima (I’m Home)
Said when you arrive home.
Tah-Die-Mah

Okaerinasai. (Welcome Home)
Said in response to Tadaima.
Oh-kah-(r)ee-nah-sigh

We’ll leave it at that. 🙂
They are hundreds (if not over 9000) traditional Japanese greetings/phrases, but this should give you a good start. Use them at a moments notice to surprise your friends, family, neighbors, and/or enemies!

Until next time, keep practicing that Kanji!

-Cubensis

End of the road… ;_;

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There’s also a new change coming to this blog extremely shortly… The StaffBlog is being merged in here. Basically, on the 1st and on the 16th of each month, there will still be a feature length post set as you currently see. But in the between days, on random days and times, (to be decided by whenever the staff are bothered) we’ll be posting random and general stuff which might or might not have any meaning. You know, to make it more bloggy? I honestly don’t know what to expect from my peers so it’s gonna be a surprise for us all. (Keep an eye out for the use of tags and the new “Staff Blog” Category on the sidebar. -wink-)

Apart from that, look forward to hearing again from us soon.
Much love,
Chiya!

==

I’m suppose to write a closing note here…
I guess I should say “thanks for reading”, or “see you next time”; But you know that already, right? How about I leave you with a palindrome I made instead?

Ye Box, obey…
Top animés go “LB”.
Torrents, oh!
Host ne’r rot…
Blogs ’em in a pot.
Ye Box, obey…

-Cubesy ^_^

PS: bonus “blog-points” to anyone who comes up with what “LB” could stand for…

The Blog; Episode Two

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Here we are, on the first of April. After having spent AGES working on a brilliant -ahem- addition, I was told not to go live with troll due to the nature of the site. (In otherwords, Jarudin doesn’t want us turning into the next Dattebayo. Which is a shame..)

Anyway, after a quick re-shuffle, we quickly got back to work and are happy to annouce that we can still release our latest product!

We’ve got another interview for you, as well as the secret behind the magical “modhelp” button. Stashed away is is also another Mystery Blogger. (Albeit I had to whip and pester and bully someone to get hold of it. ^_^)

We’re still looking for new content to add, or content to remove, so just throw me a message to see what can be arranged. =D

Let the fun commence!

—

Here we are with our second installment of the BoxTorrents Blog, and boy did we (ahem…”I”) barely make it! I was busy and missing for days at a time as Chiya frantically searched for me. When he did finally find me, he dragged me through a field of broken glass then threw me in a pool of lemon juice. I finally submited defeat and turned in the blog the next morning… T-T

We’ve got some cools things in the pipeline.
I’ve massively re-thought how to do the “Learn Japanese” portion of our blog.
Hopefully, the new ideas will work well for everybody!

So, kick back, grab some iced tea, and enjoy BxT Blog #2!
(and please excuse me whilst I tend to my chiya-induced lacerations… T-T)

-Cubesy

The Bi-Monthly Torrent Promotion!

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Our recommended torrent this month is the series which started BoxTorrents. That’s right, it’s SAILOR MOON!
Sailor Moon is a story which focuses on a young girl who is given the task of saving the world in moonlight, Winning love in daylight. Just remember, she’ll never run from a real fight…
BoxTorrents not only has the series, which is over 190 episodes but we also have the OSTs AND the films!

Here are the relevant links:
Sailor Moon Episode 1-200
Sailor Moon Films
Sailor Moon Music Box

Just remember, there are lots more Sailor Moon related items, you just gotta do a search!