The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads This blog is doing awesome!.

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 4,500 times in 2010. That’s about 11 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 3 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 28 posts. There were 16 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 2mb. That’s about a picture per month.

The busiest day of the year was October 11th with 43 views. The most popular post that day was ONE PIECE MEMORIAL BEST.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were apforums.net, nyaatorrents.org, search-results.com, deviantart.com, and hagane-girl.deviantart.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for hitomi no tsubasa, code geass, prism ark, one piece memorial best, and blue drop.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

ONE PIECE MEMORIAL BEST May 2010
2 comments

Fall Anime 2007 September 2007
4 comments

Alchemy Indepth: The Human Transmutation Circle September 2010

Hitomi no Tsubasa – Code Geass Opening for STAGE 24 & 25 July 2007

Dennou Coil OP ED Single – Prism [Ikeda Ayako] September 2007
2 comments

Yakitate!! Japan Shudaikashu Best Ban

Fig. 1 The human transmutation circle used by Edward Elric in their unsuccessful attempt at reviving their mother.

The circle is a symbol of unity and spirituality, of wholeness and interconnection of everything. In alchemy, there is the principle of “All is One and One is All,” hence the shape.

The three big symbols in the middle of the transmutation circle refer to the Three Primes in alchemy, which are Sulphur (1), Mercury (2) and Salt (3). Mercury stands for the volatility of an object, and it denotes the spirit. Sulphur stands for the unctuousness of a substance, and it refers to the soul. Lastly, Salt refers to solidity, and it stands for the body. These three are the building blocks of alchemy, and can be considered as the equivalents of modern day neutrons, protons & electrons.

The hexagon refers to 6 of the 7 planetary metals in alchemy. During the middle ages, the 7 planets were considered to have ruled over these metals.
Silver (4), refers to the memory, the subconscious, and the emotions of the human being. In alchemy, it represents the stomach, breasts, [the] womb, bodily fluids and the left side of a person.

On the other hand, Gold (6) refers to vitality, authority, and individuality of a person. Alchemically, it stands for the heart, the back, the spinal cord, and the right side of a person.

Copper (8) refers to beauty and the ability to give affection & love, while it represents the neck, kidneys, ovaries, and veins.

Tin (5) refers to moral values, philosophy, and the abstract mind. In alchemy, this metal stands for the Arteries, hips, thighs, feet and liver.

Lead (7) signifies discipline & responsibility, and it stands for bones, joints, knees, skin & teeth.

Iron (9) signifies desire, energy & drive, it represents the head, the muscles and the sex organs.

Fig. 2 The result of Ed and Al’s failed attempt.

The 7th and the missing planetary metal, Mercury refers to the mind, communication and intellect. Notice that due to this, the arms, hands & shoulders in the result of the transmutation were deformed. Furthermore, the transmuted body lacked the following parts: solar plexus, abdomen, lungs, intestine, the rest of the nervous & respiratory systems.

The text running all over the circle, in full, was taken from Ripley’s The Compound of Alchymy.

Pale white and black with false citrine, imperfect white and red,
The Peacock’s feathers in bright colours, the rainbow in the sky above,
The spotted panther, the green lion, the Crows beak blue as lead.
These shall appear before you in perfect white, and many more others.
And after the perfect white, grey, false citrine also,
And after these, there shall appear the red body invariable,
Then you have a medicine of the third order of his own kind multipliable.

This verse refers to the midway point in the creation of the Philosopher’s Stone. The flash of colors in the reaction is signified by the peacock’s tail in bright colours, while the phrase there shall appear the red body invariable refers to the creation of the Philosopher’s Stone. The peacock is also a symbol of renewal, which is sort of what Ed and Al are trying to do.

While the result of the transmutation has certainly been unpleasant, the author really did put a lot of thought into her work, as evidenced by just one of the dozens of transmutation circles she has created for the series.

-おわり-

Bibliography:
Alchemical Symbols. (n.d.). Retrieved November 23, 2009, from Purple HeII: http://www.purplehell.com/riddletools/alchemy.htm#basic

Cotnoir, B., & Wasserman, j. (2007). The Weiser Concise Guide to Alchemy.

Lerry, D. (1996). Retrieved November 23, 2009, from Alchemy Website: http://www.alchemywebsite.com/

Title: One Piece
Genres: Shonen, Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Humor
Author/Artist: Oda Eiichiro
Publication: Weekly Shonen Jump
Start Date: August 4, 1997
End Date: On-going
Number of chapters at review: 597
Number of chapters read by reviewer: 597
Summary: Monkey D. Luffy sets out on a journey in order to fulfill his dreams of becoming pirate king and obtaining the great treasure One Piece, while gathering invaluable crewmates and strength along the way.

There’s been a slew of manga these past few years, and yet so few of them managed to make an impact as much as the classics (like Dragon Ball Z, Rurouni Kenshin and Slam Dunk) have done. As of the moment, there are only three manga who have god-like status in terms of popularity, also known as the Shonen Trinity: Naruto, Bleach & One Piece. No doubt Naruto and Bleach are already popular in the international market, but the underappreciated (at least by the international anime community) gem of the shonen trinity that is called One Piece is in fact the best selling manga of all time in Japan. Hopefully, this review may give you the helpful nudge into completing the Jump experience, for once you start, you’ll surely be in for a long but humorous and action-packed adventure.

Category Ratings: (1-10 scale)
Art: 9
For a developed art style, it is certainly unique and is a breath of fresh air from all those other anime that look the same. Sure, it may not look all that great in the beginning of the manga, but as it goes on, the art definitely gets better. As of the past 100 chapters, Oda probably is the manga-ka that puts the most detail in a weekly manga.

Fig. 1 One Piece art development as seen in Luffy's punches; from left: Luffy punching Alvida in Chapter 1, Luffy punching Bellamy in Chapter 232 and Luffy punching Saint Charloss in Chapter 502. Notice the increase in detail and the improvement in overall art as the story progresses.

Plot: 10
It may seem that it has a certain cycle (go to an island, meet some friends, beat up the enemies that made your friend suffer, go on to the next island), but the way Oda executes it doesn’t make it seem cyclic at all, since people tend get so caught up in the moment that they don’t really mind if there is a formula behind it all.
The series is also a surprisingly awesome mix of action, humor, and not to mention drama, for it can bring people to tears without killing its characters off. Oda has also planned his entire series from the start, which is a big plus, so there is no way that it will ever lose its direction. One Piece also doesn’t lose sight of the rules that the author set from the start, and there are no large scale power escalations among the characters. Luffy and co. still tend to lose to the bigshots that are stronger than them, and manages to show us how much work the crew still has to do before achieving their dreams.

Fig. 2 The major elements that Oda incorporates in his manga to keep readers interested. From left: Action, Humor and Drama.

Characters: 10
Most of the characters in One Piece have a unique design that surely makes you remember most, if not all, of them. Oda has also managed to give his characters great depth and unique back stories, not to mention their very own laughing styles (like Blackbeard’s Zehahaha or Saul’s Dereshishishishishi) and quirks (for example, Nami’s insane love for money, Brooke’s burping and farting, and Hancock’s looking down on people) His characters also seem to leap out of the page, and are never out of character. The way Oda managed to shell out consistently amazing characters for more than ten years is no mean feat.

Fig. 3 Several examples of One Piece character designs. From left: Saint Charloss, Hannyabal, Boa Hancock, Sengoku, Gecko Moria

Themes: 10
One Piece manages to tackle several themes in its run so far. One of them, nationalism, was done very skilfully and managed to touch people with it. Racism and slavery also seems to be a recurring theme in the anime, not to mention the corruption of the government. The action and humor makes it appealing to children, but it’s these themes that Oda have incorporated into his manga that attract the older audiences, making the manga popular among all ages.

Fig. 4 Several themes found in One Piece; from left: Nationalism, Slavery and Racism

Originality: 10
One Piece certainly is one of the most unique manga out there. The concept of devil fruits, pirates, sky islands is certainly something that no normal person would have thought of. Oda’s imagination has run wild with this piece, turning even simple telephones into snails, stoves into things called dials, and even coming up with things like the Reverse Mountain, Knock-up stream, Water Metropolis, and not to mention the anomaly that is called Enies Lobby.

Fig 5 Several examples of One Piece oddities. Den Den Mushi (One Piece equivalent of a phone), Devil fruit (gives user unique abilities but strips the user of the ability to swim), Water Seven (the water metropolis operates by using water), and the Knock-up stream (abnormal current due to the air pockets in the oceanic crust).

Overall: 10
One Piece is definitely one of the, if not the best manga out there. Oda’s genius will never fail to amaze you, and even with more than five hundred chapters, it’s still going strong, and he never fails to surprise everyone with even more tricks up his sleeve. You’re up for a long journey through the Grand Line indeed!

Sketchbook ~full color’S~

Title in Kanji: スケッチブック ～full color’s～
Mangaka: Kobako Totan
Animation Production: Hal Film Maker
Genre: Seinen
Air Date: October 1
Opening Theme:“Kaze Sagashi (風さがし)” by Natsumi Kiyoura
Ending Theme:“Sketchbook o Motta mama (スケッチブックを持ったまま)” by Yui Makino
Official Website: http://www.sketch-full.net
Based on a 4-panel manga thats titled: Sketchbook. its being serialized in the seinen manga magazine Comic Blade.
For now there are 3 volumes released of this manga.
Interest: 6/10. Looks like a pretty interesting slice-of-life series.

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Blue Drop ~Tenshitachi no Gikyoku~

Title in Kanji: BLUE DROP ～天使達の戯曲～
Mangaka: Yoshitomi Akihito
Animation Production: Ashi Productions, BeSTACK
Genre: Shounen, Sci-fi, Yuri
Air Date: October 2
Opening Theme: “BLUE” by Suara
Ending Theme:“Tsubomi -Blue Dreams” by Suara
Official Website: http://www.blue-drop.jp
Yoshitomi Akihito (the mangaka of EAT-MAN and RAY manga) is the mangaka of the original one volume shounen manga BLUE DROP
(serialized in the shounen manga magazine Dengeki Comic Gao!) BLUE DROP ~Tenshi no Bokura~ (BLUE DROP ～天使の僕ら～) manga, which is serialized in the shounen manga magazine Champion RED, is a revival of the original one volume manga BLUE DROP, and its by the same mangaka Yoshitomi Akihito.
Interest: 0/10. Its effing Yuri. ’nuff said.

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Myself; Yourself

Title in Kanji: Myself; Yourself
Mangaka: Go Zappa
Animation Production: Dogakobo
Genre: Romance
Air Date: October 2
Opening Theme: “Tears Infection” by KAORI
Ending Theme:“Kimi to Yozora to Sakamichi to” by Kanako Ito
Official Website: http://www.yetigame.jp/myselfyourself/
Based on a light novel titled: Myself; Yourself Sorezore no Overture (Myself；Yourself それぞれのOverture) is currently running in the bishoujo magazine Dengeki G’s Magazine (a gaming magazine for males).
Interest: 6/10. I’m not really a fan of romance, but it’s got people like Ami Koshimizu and Megumi Hayashibara, so I think it’s worth a try.

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Night Wizard

Title in Kanji: ナイトウィザード -The Animation-
Mangaka: Takeshi Kikuchi
Animation Production: Hal Film Maker
Genre: Action
Air Date: October 2
Opening Theme: “KURENAI” by Ui Miyazaki
Ending Theme:“Erinyes” by BETTA FLASH
Official Website: http://www.nightwizard.jp/
The game takes place in an alternate version of the present where magic-users called Wizards (the player characters) fight against Emulators, strange beings invading the world who are immune to physical attacks.
Interest: 7/10. The animation looks pretty nice, and it has a Shakugan no Shana feel to it.

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Kodomo no Jikan

Title in Kanji: こどものじかん
Mangaka: Kaworu Watashiya
Animation Production: Studio Barcelona
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Air Date: October3
Opening Theme: “Rettsu Ohime-sama Dakko” byEri Kitamura, Kei Shindou and Mai Kadowaki
Ending Theme: “Hanamaru☆Sensation” by Little Non
Official Website: http://www.kojika-anime.com/
This is the story of the surprisingly tangled loves of three elementary school girls. Kokonoe Rin, old beyond her years, is extrovert and energetic, and has a crush on her teacher, Aoki-sensei. Nor is she the slightest bit reticent about showing it, with embarassing explicitness. Her friends, Kuro and Mimi, likewise have love in their hearts, though they are less willing to display it.
Interest: 4/10. I’m not into CP and pedophilia, sorry.

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Dragonaut -The Resonance-

Title in Kanji: ドラゴノーツ
Mangaka: Jun Maekawa
Animation Production: Gonzo
Genre: Action, Romance, Fantasy
Air Date: October3
Opening Theme: “Perfect Blue” by Jazzin’ Park
Ending Theme: “Rain of Love” by Yukari Fukui
Official Website: http://www.dragonaut.com/
Placed in a futuristic setting, Dragonaut ~The resonance~ seems to be about a battle royale among various groups of people. Little information is known, but the trailer is impressive..
Interest: 9/10. It’s made by Gonzo, so expect some low quality episodes and an altogether entertaining series. Besides, the seiyuu cast features all of the SOS-Dan.

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Shakugan no Shana Second

Title in Kanji: 灼眼のシャナⅡ
Mangaka: Yashichiro Takahashi
Animation Production: J.C. Staff
Genre: Action, Romance, Fantasy
Air Date: October 4
Opening Theme: “JOINT” by Kawada Mami
Ending Theme: “triangle” by Kawada Mami
Official Website: http://www.shakugan.com/
Sequel to the first season released last 2005.
Interest: 10/10. The Enpatsu Shakugan no Uchite is back!

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CLANNAD

Title in Kanji: クラナド
Mangaka: Yashichiro Takahashi
Animation Production: Kyoto Animation
Genre: Romance, Drama
Air Date: October 4
Opening Theme: “Megumeru ~cuckool mix 2007~ (メグメル～cuckool mix 2007～)” by eufonius
Ending Theme: “Dango Daikazoku (だんご大家族)” by Chata
Official Website: http://www.bs-i.co.jp/clannad/
Tomoya Okazaki is a third year student labelled as a delinquent. Everything seems to be unchanging for his school life until he meets Nagisa, and Tomoya finds that his life is about to change. He starts to have dreams of a bleak world and meets a girl who has the ability to fuse junk together in order to create things, and doing so, creates a body out of junk for him. He is then reborn into this empty world and follows around the girl, the only two existences who are “alive.”
Interest: 8/10. This being another KyoAni work, expect awesome animation. The plot seems kinda vague to me, but I do want to give this series a try, considering that it’s made by KyoAni, the people who brought Haruhi and Kona-chan to life, and that there is still one more season to go before Haruhi 2.

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Mobile Suit Gundam 00

Title in Kanji: 機動戦士ガンダム00 <ダブルオー>
Mangaka: Hajime Yatate, Yoshiyuki Tomino
Animation Production: Sunrise
Genre: Mecha, Action, Drama, Military
Air Date: October 6
Opening Theme: “DAYBREAK’S BELL” by L’arc~en~Ciel
Ending Theme: “Wana (罠; Trap)” by The Back Horn
Official Website: http://www.gundam00.net/
It is the year A.D. 2307. Fossil fuels on Earth have been depleted entirely, with mankind turning to the next available power source: solar energy. During this time, 3 orbital elevators with solar power generation systems are built, each under control by the Union of Solar Energy and Free Nations (formerly United States of America), the Human Reform League (Russia, China and India) and the Advanced European Union. However, not all countries are able to enjoy the benefits of this system, leading to widespread resentment and war. Arising out of the conflict, a mysterious non-profit military organization known as Celestial Being appears, dedicated to end all warfare using Mobile Suits called Gundam. This begins the stories of Gundam Meisters (pilots) Setsuna F. Seiei, Lockon Stratos, Allelujah Haptism and Tiera Erde as they are thrown into conflict between the 3 superpowers and the other various factions.
Interest: 10/10. SEIJI MIZUSHIMA (FMA DIRECTOR) is doing a Gundam. Must.Watch. Same sound director as FMA, Miyano Mamoru as lead Character, and L’Arc~en~Ciel doing the OP. What more could you ask for?

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Mangaka: minori
Animation Production: SHAFT
Genre: Romance
Air Date: October 6
Official Website: http://www.ef-memo.com/
The story revolves around the protagonist Hirono Hiro, a poor high school boy who draws shoujo manga for his living. One cold Christmas night after meeting a very strange woman in church, his bike gets stolen by another strange girl. He runs after her and finds her collapsed on the street. Her name is Miyamura Miyako and her bag got stolen by a man on a motorbike. Soon after, they start hanging out together, enjoying highschool life and whatnot. Hiro’s life is also strongly dictated by Shindou Kei, his childhood friend.
Interest:6/10. The character style is not to my liking, and it’s romance too. Might give it a try though.

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Prism Ark

Title in Kanji: プリズム・アーク
Mangaka: Yuuji Hosono
Animation Production: Front Line
Genre: Mecha, Action, Drama, Military
Air Date: October 7
Opening Theme: “Soshite Boku wa…” by Yui Sakakibara
Ending Theme: “Yuen no Amulet” by momo-i
Official Website: http://www.p-ark.tv/
The world of Prism Ark takes place in the equivalent of our world’s Crusade era in Western Europe. The geography is a little changed and there are stuff like magic and dragons.
The main players are Wind Land, Viella, and the Sablum Empire. Viella of Victaly is equal to Rome of Italy, and the Sablum Empire is equal to the Byzantine Empire. Sabus is the god of Islam and Rerihion is the god of Christianity. Like our world’s Christianity, Viella serves as the headquarters of the Pope and believers of Rerihion.
Wind Land is where the Holy Roman Empire would be. In Wind Land, it is always spring, and the greeting is “Good wind” instead of “Good morning”.
Prior to the events that begin in Prism Ark, Viella has already called several crusades in the name of Rerihion to reclaim the Holy Land. However this was completely stopped after awhile and Rerihion and Sabus believers lived in peace and harmony from that day.
The game begins with the King and Queen making a journey to Viella to get their one year daughter, the Princess of Wind Land, baptized. However, their escort was suddenly attacked by the Sablum Empire, who were supposed to be their good allies. At this battle was the first appearance of the Angels, a imposing being with wings and halo, whose height easily doubled men’s, and came wielding never before seen power.
Afterwards, the King, the Queen, and the Princess were all missing and were assumed either killed from the ambush, or in hiding. Outraged, the Pope immediately re-established the Crusades and ordered one to invade Sablum. From then on, Wind Land and the Sablum Empire were in war. However, this war has not ended years after years and continues on to this day, and still, there are no King or Queen ruling Wind Land…
Finally getting the acceptance notice, Hyaweh travels to the Isle of Rozenberg, which is holded by the Rozenberg Family, the most powerful family in Wind Land, second to the absence Royal Family. In there is the best school for knights wannabes, privately funded by Duke Kizarov Rozenberg, the number one Knight in Wind Land.
However, as it turns out, Hyaweh is actually two whole weeks late and from there on spirals his wacky journey to knighthood in the midst of a devastating war taking place, which will hit home closer than what anyone could’ve imagined.
Interest: 9/10. The plot seems pretty interesting, and the unusual art style is good to the eyes. Btw, this series is seemingly adapted from an eroge.

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Minami-Ke

Title in Kanji: みなみけ
Mangaka: Coharu Sakuraba
Animation Production: Doumu
Genre: Comedy, Slice-of-Life
Air Date: October 7
Official Website:http://www.starchild.co.jp/special/minami-ke/The three Minami sisters (Haruka, Kana and Chiaki) live together, taking care of each other. With nobody to answer to but themselves and each other, the three sisters get up to some very odd shenanigans.
Interest: 9/10. Another Ono Daisuke and Chihara Minori work, and I’m fond of slice-of-life series.

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Title in Kanji: 機動戦士ガンダム00 <ダブルオー>
Mangaka: Hiromu Arakawa
Animation Production: Studio Flag
Genre: Fantasy, Shounen
Air Date: October 7
Opening Theme: “WINTERLONG” by BEAT CRUSADERS
Ending Theme: “Kakegae no nai Hito e” by Mai Hoshimura
Official Website: http://www.jyushin.jp/
A period piece, Jūshin Enbu features Taitou, a young man who hates the empire that rules at the time, with his sister Laila as they learn of a mysterious power Taitou holds, unbeknownst to him. Taitou is the incarnation of a mysterious star that grants him a huge amount of power that he has yet to fully master. Joining them is Ryuukou, who has power similar to Taitou, just more honed.
After Taitou’s coming of age ceremony, which required him being beaten by Ryuukou, he is given the Kenkaranpu, described as a conqueror’s sword, which Taitou is not even capable of drawing. Soon after, he and Laila are greeted by a man named Shimei, who wanted to take the sword. After a quick exchange of blows, Shimei explains the source of Taitou’s power, the star Hagun, one of the most powerful Hokushin-Tenkun. When Shimei uses his own sword’s power to cause Laila to stop breathing, Taitou becomes so angry he releases Hagun’s power, draws Kenkaranpu and pins Shimei to the wall by throwing the sword through his stomach. He then turns to Ryuukou and attacks.
Despite his best efforts, Ryuukou could not overcome Hagun’s power. It was only a resuscitated Laila’s intervention (along with a nasty head butt) that brought Taitou to his senses. However, they all soon learn that Shimei had escaped with the sword.
At midnight, Taitou sneaks out to recover the sword. As he is leaving Ryuukou and Laila quickly join him on his journey.
It seems to be rooted in Chinese folklore and history, as well as having an element of fantasy involved.
Interest: 10/10. Hiromu Arakawa, for heaven’s sake. Another creation from the FMA mangaka, and I believe it’s going to be another awesome one.

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Genshiken 2

Title in Kanji: げんしけん
Mangaka: Shimoku Kio
Animation Production: ARMS
Genre: Comedy, Slice-of-Life
Air Date: October9
Opening Theme: “disarm dreamer” by Aki Misato
Ending Theme: “Clubhouse Sandwich (クラブハウスサンド)” by Yuumao
Official Website: http://www.genshiken.info/
Sequel of Genshiken OAV.
Interest: 10/10. Another comeback. I thoroughly enjoyed the previous series, and there’s no doubt that I will enjoy the next installment. I hope we’ll finally get to see Kohsaka cosplay.

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Moyasimon

Title in Kanji: もやしもん
Mangaka: Masayuki Ishikawa
Animation Production: Telecom Animation Films
Genre: Comedy, Slice-of-Life
Air Date: October 9
Opening Theme:“Curriculum” by Sarasa Ifu
Ending Theme: “Rocket” by POLYSICS
Official Website: http://www.kamosuzo.tv/
“Moyashimon�? is about a college student who can see bacteria/fungus with his naked eyes. He enters Tokyo Agriculture College and enjoys a campus life with strange professors and friends. Bacterias are very cute and manga is filled with facts/knowledge about bacteria.
Interest: 10/10. It has a really unusual premise, and that’s what makes me want to see it more.

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