Pockycrusader's Profile

Hey ho.

So you're watching Gintama that's great.

Well let me give you an advice.
Just for the information.

The first Episodes and the following first Episodes can be quite average.
I know that it can be for many people. So maybe for you as well.

But it will improve a lot afterwards.
So I hope you will keep on watching Gintama.

Kyoko is your favorite? That's surprising, but I understand your reasoning.

I couldn't possibly choose a favorite character at this point, because my choice would probably change with every episode. Prior to episode six, it would have either been Madoka or Sayaka (or even the ill-fated Mami), but episode six really elevated Homura in my eyes and now she could possibly end up as my favorite character.

Bad news first, in case you haven't heard... The Twin Spica manga will be going out of print in English due to poor sales:

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2012-03-22/twin-spica-manga-likely-to-go-out-of-print-in-english

Ugh. That was a series that I was looking forward to reading, as it really sounded interesting, but with my pathetically small manga budget there's no way I'll be able to buy it before it's gone.

***

So we're halfway through Madoka at episode six, and I still have no idea how the plot will play out. Will Madoka become a magical girl and save everyone (good ending); will she become a magical girl and pay a terrible price (tragic ending); will she not become a magical girl at all (seems unlikely, but who knows)? Great stuff!

I really like how the characters are developing. Madoka is the one you empathize with, of course, but episode six has made Homura into a really interesting character (just what is she up to?), Sayaka is practically a lead character herself at this point, and I suspect that there's more to the new girl than just her current one-dimensional antagonism.

***

I agree that Princess Tutu didn't have much actual fighting, but it had a lot of "conflict," with bad guys and evil plots, etc. Fancy Lala doesn't have any of that... it's practically a slice-of-life magical girl show (strange as that sounds). That's probably why I like it, as I love slice-of-life stories.

The ending of Princess Tutu does take most people by surprise, and I can see that some might be disappointed at the way it turns out. Fancy Lala, on the other hand, has a lot of sad things that happen in the last episode that can leave you in tears, but the ending itself is OK. That is, I think most people would call it a good ending, but a lot of sad things happen because of it. But none of it is tragic, and it doesn't take you by surprise the way the last scene in Princess Tutu does.

Well, that 3rd episode of Madoka was rather shocking; definitely not your typical magical girl show! I caught the 4th episode last night, and I'm really liking this show so far.

Back when I watched the first episode, however, Madoka seemed awfully familiar to me, even though I had never seen any clips or trailers for it. It eventually dawned on me that I have two of director Akiyuki Shinbo's earlier shows in my collection, and elements of his visual style are present in all three.

Le Portrait de Petit Cossette, a 3 episode OVA from 2004, has wonderfully surrealistic art and a soundtrack by Yuki Kajiura, both similar to Madoka, but as a horror/romance it's quite a different type of story: often disturbing, occasionally gory, with a complex, convoluted plot.

The SoulTaker, from 2001, is a very frustrating show. It's one of the most visually impressive shows that I've ever seen... but the story is just a generic shonen fighting story. It's not that the story is bad per se, but magnificent art demands a magnificent story, so this was a big disappointment in that respect.

I'm having fun comparing both of these shows to Madoka. I finished a re-watch of Cossette last week, and I'll start a re-watch of SoulTaker later this month.

You mentioned that you enjoy the magical girl genre; you might want to check out Fancy Lala if you ever get the chance. It's unusual in that there are no frilly dresses/uniforms, there's no fighting at all, and you don't have to sit through the complete transformation sequence in every single episode. It's not a masterpiece by any means, but it is decent entertainment with a wonderful bittersweet ending.

Well, I think I'll play World of Warcraft, and some other games. And hanging with friends, too.

Although going out will be difficult, as it's the Holy Week and the parades take lots of room.

I'm great, thanks for asking :)

My spring break hasn't come yet, it begins at the end of March.

Pocky! How are you? :3

Indeed...Here in Cádiz we have old navigation charts from the Spanish Empire era, and such. I want to see them some day.

Oh, the Library of Congress...Storing a copy of every book ever published sounds epic. I still want to read I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream and I haven't found it in Spanish yet. I know it was published in a story collection book, but I haven't got my hands on it yet.

Oh, I see! So they aren't much different of libraries here. We also have computers with access to Internet in them.

We also have ancient papers, too. This reminds me, today's Google's Doodle in Spain was dedicated to the 300th anniversary of Spain's National Library.

I wish I lived in Madrid. I could take out some rare books from there.

Oh, I see. I thought you were in it!

So you are a kind of library clerk, right?

Yeah, the reference desk is where all people (including me) go.

How are libraries in the US? Do they have more material, besides books?

Libraries here are awesome! Besides books, they have music, movies, magazines, newspapers, even video games! They are multimedia libraries, I love them.

Oh! I thought you were studying something related to IT...

Anyways, being a librarian seems interesting. You can discover new books at work, which seems quite interesting :P

Yeah, I don't like group projects either. But sometimes, they are necessary.

What are you studying, exactly?

I didn't understand you, sorry.

It's going fine, thanks :)

Although my last test didn't go so well. I have to wait for the marks.