ひぐらしのなく頃に

寒蝉鸣泣之时

OMG.

This series is a masterpiece.

I'm totally in love.

The anime's character design sucks, but the manga, despite drawn by various mangaka, is beyond acceptable and thrilling at the gory part.

Which means, it passed my exam!!

The story is simply fantastic.

The gory murders, thrilling mysteries, and tragic ending for each characters are strong contrast to the fun-filled school life and peaceful village.


I'm lovin' it.

Due to Frederica Bernkastel, I decided to check Higurashi from Wiki to understand her more since she's from Higurashi and turns up in Umineko.

Turns out that, Higurashi is intriguing. And so, I rent the whole stack of manga from HQ. And, spent some nights getting hard to sleep after reading it.

Fabulous as it is, it doesn't make a good bedtime story.

Cause I was haunted by the mysteries, tragedies, and murders when I close my eyes.

Facts About The Fantasy World

How true are they?

Credits to here!! I just took out the funniest ones...

Love
-RABU is the most powerful power of all!-
-Love knows no race, species, or logic-
-Romance never comes simpler than in a triangle-
-Any truly evil person who changes sides for the woman he loves will die in that episode-
-The two characters that hate each other’s guts will fall in love, according to the fangirls-
-Love triumphs over everything!-
-Confessing your love to the girl you have known your entire life will always end in her either being kidnapped, dying, or slapping the crap out of you-
-Whenever someone says do not fall in love with me/don’t get attached/etc, they do, 100% of the time-
-If you have a childhood friend of the opposite sex, you end up liking them-

Transformation
-Even if your magical-girl transformation takes an eternity to finish, the bad guys will usually stand still and never attack until you finish-
-Even though you go through extreme transformations which put a huge strain on your cell structure, you will not get cancer-
-If you change into magical-girl clothes, people will not recognize you-
-The long costume change sequence is a MUST. And is completely necessary-
-All transformations happen in a blink of an eye, but are shown for over a minute-
-Mahou Shoujo sequence should be at least more than 5 seconds-

Mascot
-That cute, fuzzy creature in the corner is not what it seems-
-A cute animal will always follow the protagonist-

Battles & Attacks
-The hero always loses the first fight with a new enemy-
-A samurai sword can cut through anything-
-Everything is a weapon! This includes sand and ice-
-If there are Gundams, there is a war-
-The longer it takes to say what your punch is called, the less effective it is-
-If your opponent gets the upper hand, do not worry. You will think of a way to defeat them using a complex, completely unnecessary tactic/strategy-
-Scream your attack before you use it. It causes the enemy to delay their response-
-If you do a really cool move in a fight, you must spend at least two minutes explaining how you got it and what it does, giving your opponent the opportunity to think of a counterattack-
-When the smoke clears, your opponent is always standing. Make sure to gasp in surprise-
-When you think your attack is all that, it really is not-
-When you defeat an enemy, a stronger one will emerge-
-When it seems you will surely lose, join forces with the enemy. Later, when everyone hates you for ‘betraying’ them, you win them back by killing the enemy once you get close enough to them-

Evil
-If you beat people up and then give an inspiring speech, they will be changed for the better-
-The enemies you fight one day, will become your allies the next-
-True evil can never be destroyed, only banished to some other realm where it awakens after a few hundred years-
-Evil can only be destroyed after the series has gone on for 100 and some odd episodes and fillers. Even after that, a new evil shall arise for season two-

Death
-When you die, make a long speech, and do not finish the last sentence-
-Anime villains have the best deaths-
-Killing is very diverse, from notebooks to straw dolls-
-Jumping off a building does not usually kill you-
-Shortly after doing something good, the bad guy will die-
-If you are an important character, it does not matter how deep the cut is or how much blood you lose. You will never die-
-Do not worry, the secondary characters never really die. They just wanted to motivate the main character-
-The guys that are lonely when they are children grow up to be evil, then when they are taking their last breath, they say sorry-
-Death is a good motivation-

Girls
-Innocent girls can have a scary split personality, that could rip off your head. The pink-haired ones are even more scarier-
-Every girl will fall in love with a boy that will never acknowledge them, and shun the ones that truly adore them-
-If you see a girl who looks like one and acts like one, it’s a guy-

Guys
-The bad guys are almost always ‘good looking’ androgynous metrosexuals-
-Most guys do not have nipples-
-Anime guys have better hair than the ones in real life-

Reality vs the 2D World
-All persons under the age of 50 can do a ten foot vertical jump from a standing position-
-If someone gets a couple of major limbs cut off, like arms or legs or their head, there will not be that much blood, and your sword remains squeaky clean!-
-No matter how big your breasts are, you will never need medical attention due to severe back pain-
-CPR will always be mistaken for something else-
-Gravity has no effect on large boobs-
-Extremely large weapons can be stored anywhere on anybody-

Fantasies and Wonders

-No matter how wild your bangs are, you can always see through them-
-The guy with the closed eyes? He can see perfectly-
-Y’know the main guy? That girl he runs into at the beginning? Yeah, they get together-
-A word like “pika” can have thousands of meanings-
-Radio/television announcements are always conveniently placed-
-If you throw away something important, someone you know will find it later-
-The most skilled martial arts master is completely defenseless against a slap from his girl-
-Said martial arts master is never truly angry until his girl gets hurt-
-”Domo”,”baka”,”yosh!”, and “omae wa mo shinderu” are useful expressions-
-No matter how big your breasts are, you will never need medical attention due to severe back pain-
-A split personality is barely ever noticed, and even if it is, it will not require professional treatment-
-Jerks fly very high when punched-
-You CAN do it, but only when it is funny or REALLY important-
-Practice makes perfect-
-It is okay to wear the same clothes for the rest of your life-

Recycled Items
-Everyone wants to conquer Japan-
-All major villains either want to take over the world or blow it up-
-The fate of the planet rests in the hands of the seemingly normal high school student-
-Just about any outer space villain has his sights set on destroying the Earth and no other planet in the universe will be able to stop said villain except the Earth-
-No matter how many times you rebuild it, Tokyo keeps getting destroyed in a massive fireball-
-When the world is going to be saved, there will always be a huge fight where more of the town gets destroyed in the process instead of getting saved-
-In case of destruction of nations due to Armageddon or alien attack or some other cause, Japan will be last nation standing-
-When uncovering a fabulous treasure, the thing will be large enough to completely destroy any surrounding structures-
-All Aliens look human and speak our native tongues. Males wear a cape and females wear extremely tight clothing-
-There will always be an orphan-
-If under a spell, a tear drop from someone else can nullify it-
-Nearly everyone has some sort of noise catchphrase-
-Knock before you go into your own room. A girl/boy might be changing in it-
-There’s always room for flashbacks!-
-Your group of friends will almost always consist of a happy-go-lucky, fangirl/boy obsessed or pervert, and emo person with black hair and a bad childhood or past-
-The power to believe in yourself is the power to change fate-
-If you are just a normal high school student, odds are you will not be one for long-
-Those who wear eye patches never simply lost their eye. They have some long story regarding it or an uber-magic ability under it-
-If you have a scar, there is always some long, angsty, emotional story behind it-
-If more than one person likes you, never kiss one of them when you think you are alone. The other person will catch you-
-If a group is made mainly of guys, fangirls will consider them all to be homosexual-
-The cute ones are always crazy-
-Sweating is a sure sign of stress-
-Daydreaming often leads to accidents-

ROFL.
Simply amusing and so true!

Umineko - Delicious

I must say, the Umineko fans are really talented to have draw so many gorgeous fanarts.

I'm not into Battler&Beato pairing, but this is truly beautiful. And yeah, I abandoned my already-done-header and made a new one out of this lovely art. (Yeah yeah. I know my header is no where near pretty...)

This is AWESOME!
Lelouch--> Battler
C.C--> Beatrice
Nunually--> Ange
Pizza--> Smoke Pipe!!
e.p.i.c.

Cute!!
Umineko in Toradora style!! I guess it must be the BattlerxLambda worshippers who did this...

-
Not to sure whether it's fanart or official, but I'm positive that Ryukishi07 did not draw this, cause his art style is totally different.

This, I think is an official one... Though I also have no idea where it came from... *Yes, I know I'm just too lazy to check*
I love the pastel look given to both arts above~~ x3

So colourful~~ The colours are soft and pretty~ The art style is so cute!!! (Though, Beato doesn't look like herself, at all)

Now this is a gorgeous art of Ange and the Stakes of Purgatory, the butterflies are so fairy-tale-sih!!

Chibis!!!
So Kawaii!!!
ChibisxTarrot!! omg this is even cuter!!

This, is just too cute to be describe with words. >.< Sketch of Battler with Ange!! Lovely!!

More sketches!!

More Lambda and Bern~

A pleasant art of Dlanor. Sketchy and water colour-ish.

The Eiserne Jungfrau!
Nvm the outfit if you're the reserved type. But the colours and tones are damn pretty.

Another fantasy-like piece of art...

Seriously. An amazing series with so many gorgeous arts for me to drool over~~

Kobato Preview



Kobato sounds kobato!!!! xD YAY!! *rolls on floor*
The animation's so adorable!!! Looks promising enough~~
Can't wait to see Fujimoto and Kohaku in action~~ :D

Oh Nu!

So abrupt?

WTH.

Nice one CLAMP. You fooled me again. Twisty twisty twisty, why am I still shock at the development...? D=

When They Cry

海猫鸣泣之时 - Umineko no Naku Koro ni

It's EPIC.

Ever since I watched this series, I've been having the urge to blog about it, because it's awesome!! It's from the 'When They Cry' series, though I didn't watch Higurashi Naku no Koro ni since I can't stand the character design... But this one is different!! The designs are gorgeous, which is exactly what I'm looking for in an anime!!

The opening was so breath-taking that I don't mind watching it everytime I watch a new episode. I've rewatched the OP twice for the 1st episode~~ xD The music itself isn't the kind that I'd listen to before I sleep.

Flashing some ominous tone here...

It's extremely suitable for the series and OP, overall it's pleasant and lovely, but to highlight the mystery theme, there are some parts which are opera-ish and some 'going-to-the-battlefield-feeling-ish'.

The music and OP animation complement each other. The animations fit the music perfectly starting with the portrait of the Golden Witch Beatrice (pronounced as Beh-Ah-Tri-Chi by the Japanese *sighs*) flashing in the flames. Visuals and audio can really create a powerful impact together.

This is the 1st OP image, the similar image above is used after the battle between Logic vs Magic begun...

How do I put the rest?

The lines are soft and clear, the characters look consistent, the colour and tone are soft and harmonious, and the special effects are nicely done.

The plot moves at a fair pace, which gives us the momentum to continue watching and yet not too fast to make us dizzy. The animation, by Studio Deen, isn't the same as 07 GHOST which has all the gorgeous backgrounds. But generally it was really good as everything fits like a puzzle.

The Golden Wicth Beatrice's portrait in the anime.

Some scenes from the OP...

Here we have a maid and a butler, to satisfy the fans.

Cute on the outside, she's actually a creepy loli who goes 'hihihihiiiii~' or 'giiheheheheee...', when she laughs. Not as innocent as you think she is...

The protagonist, Battler. Lol The name says it all. Battler, the fighter, warrior, hero...

Every episode is left with a total cliff hanger that leaves me breathless at the story. Logic versus Magic!! lol I tried reading the trick used in Wikipedia and got totally bewildered by the logic of the theory... Nvm, I'll just let the anime explain itself...

The ED scene. OMG They look so cool!!!

The ED animations are as good as the OP, sadly, they had an old geezer to sing the ED song... I don't suppose I mind listening to an old man singing, as long as he's not singing like he's out of breath and sounds pervert and creepy...

The down side about the anime is, well, the gory scenes of the dead. Victims were killed brutally in the first arc (at least Shanon didn't look too bad back then... but the rest looked mind-breaking). In the second arc Studio Deen mosaic the killing wound so it didn't look that bad, but the mosaic seem to emphasis on the wound...

It's not that bad since the slightly gore scenes highlight the mystery tone of the anime... Mystery!! I love mystery! Which is what made me to read Sherlock Holmes, Tantei Gakuen Q, Kindaichi, Detective Conan (dropped d, since it's too long, the tricks are absurd, and I felt really left out by the story the way Aoyama narrates the story...)

I just hope that Battler can explain all the mysteries... I don't wanna be disappointed!!

ps: This post was actually post before the previous one, but I love this so much that I moved it up... xD