Blog 182 > Year of Anime, Rock & Otaku

Ah, what a year it’s been! For my last mega-post of 2008, I tackle another mixed bag of “Rock Band” sessions, a year’s truckload of anime speed-reviews and faves, and a sparkly sprinkle of otaku thanks and wishes. So happy holidays and all the rest. Now on with the show…

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Blog 181 > Snowy Vegas & Shining Anime

So is my blog snowing too much? Well, at least Shagh thinks it’s fine, lol. And I’m pretty sure Koshiko, Meimi132 and Blowfish don’t mind, lol. Yup, digital snowflakes, snowy Vegas and shining anime. What could be better? Hmm, maybe more than 40 photos? Including sultry Elwing? Or sexy Xecty? Why not?

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Blog 178 > Blog Antics & Anime Battles

Holy crap! I’ve got so much crap to talk about that I may not fit in any anime crap, lol. But I’ll try. From old layouts to new readers, from post updates to blog widgets, from shiny iMacs to blazing Zazzles, and maybe some random tunes too. But what else? Anime mascots? Seems like every anime blog is caving in with their own new mascot~ not only Mimi, but Koshiko, Dancing Queen and the latest Meimi132 too~ inspired by DC no doubt, lol. Fortunately, I haven’t succumbed to peer pressure… yet, lol. But we’ll see.

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Blog 175 > Daughter of Punk Trooper

Yup, Angsty Momo. If you’ve visited Mimi’s blog last week, you’ll recognize her pink-haired teen mascot, lol. In a nutshell, her name is Momo. An angsty 17-year-old only-child with some curious tastes. And an interstellar genius in the year 2409 EYE (Earth Year Equivalent), lol. Here are the 750×750 square and 1680×1050 wallpaper versions. ^_^

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Blog 174 > Wild Anime & Final Figures

Yup, another dose of chaotic anime, scorching figures, and random personal events shot-from-the-hip, lol. Since my roommate might be moving out next month, mid-December, due to her financial crunch, here’s our first pic-of-the-post in honor of Lisa. More details below. Maybe. Enjoy the ride!

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Blog 171 > From Drunk to Punk Trooper

xJAYMANx_broadcast 002
“From Drunk to Punk Trooper”
Saturday, 1:15am, 25 Oct 2008
MP3 Length 16:27 Minutes


  • OP – “Virgin’s High” by MELL from the anime “Sky Girls” [2007].
  • Second broadcast, hope not as crackly and staticky
  • Jackie Chan‘s and Woo Ping’s ground-breaking 1978 Hong Kong film Drunken Master
  • Got 89th figure Queen’s Gate Alice; Potter-esque “Zero no Tsukaima” (4 of 5 stars)
  • Anime in a philosophical light: No art is stupid? Anime is art? So no anime can be stupid?
  • Hated Metropolis, disliked Amazing Nurse Nanako
  • Sent in my absentee ballot, voted for NONE of the above candidates, liberating
  • Japanese street fashion, funny stuff, lol
  • “Punk Trooper”, Stormtrooper or Jedi drop-out, bounty hunter in black, jack of all trades
  • Katana bokken, test for Halloween costume, damn helmet so hot to wear or breathe
  • Punk Trooper!
  • ED – “Last Regrets” by Ayana from the anime “Kanon” [2006].

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Blog 169 > MP3 Audio Broadcast 001

xJAYMANx_broadcast
Saturday, 9:15pm, 11 Oct 2008
MP3 Length 13:33 Minutes


  • OP – “Into the Battlefield” from Crows Zero [2007].
  • Stuffy nose, cold weather, Miko sick, hope u feel better
  • Rearranging house, plasma TV soon, remove old wood shelves, TV stand, sit on floor
  • Behind on blogs, website to design
  • Mimi‘s comment on high-school classroom, feng shui?
  • Lisa is home, Guiness the dog is there
  • Danny’s blog, Mimi’s comment on hikikomori vs. otaku
  • Behind on TV shows and anime, Harry Potter 5
  • Lucky Star OVA, Sayonara Mr. Despair (Zetsubou Sensei), WTF LOL, 4 of 5 stars
  • Star Wars (Clone Wars) TV, Roughnecks (Starship Troopers), good formula for kids, Yoda!
  • Crows Zero, 8 Mile, Eminem, Lose Yourself, D12
  • Treadmill, hours editing a blog post, pain in the butt, life of a blogger, too lazy to write up
  • ED – “Lose Yourself” from 8 Mile [2002] by Eminem.

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Blog 168 > Crows Zero & Clannad Two

Yeah, as you can probably tell from my past posts, I *hate* to write long reviews as much as I *hate* to read them. People will like what they like, and watch what they watch. Especially if they don’t like to be spoiled, like myself. So I’m not in any rush to be the first one or loudest one to say “Hey, look at me! I watched this!” Or even worse, I’m not gonna give a pretentious scene-by-scene review of how observant or perceptive I might be. Okay, maybe one or two observations, lol. Instead, just a brief summary of my overall thoughts and emotions. So here goes…

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Blog 167 > Code Geass & Dark Knight

Ah, Code Geass… Whatever anyone else says, it’s still undeniably “ambitious and wide-sweeping… still one of the most-intellectually engaging 5-star series” I’ve ever seen, ranking alongside other epic animes like “Death Note” and “Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex”. I finished the final episode last night, but since I’m too lazy to write any more thoughts on it, I’ll direct you to my past comments, lol.

Oops, sorry, I lied. I’ve got one more intriguing thought. While wandering Wikipedia, I stumbled upon a fascinating comparison. The Wiki article on Lelouch Lamperouge describes him as a Byronic Hero. In other words, as privileged yet outcast, perceptive yet flawed, cunning yet conflicted as another dark Byronic Hero ~~ Bruce Wayne a.k.a. Batman. Wow, never would’ve made the connection before. But yeah, they definitely share the same intense burdens of a secret identity, sacrificing personal happiness, and wielding their righteous power from the shadows. Lelouch Lamperouge’s Zero and Bruce Wayne’s Batman. Both symbols of dark justice in their respective worlds.

P.S. On a lighter note, thanx Miko for cheering me up, and for the awesome tracks! If anyone wants to listen to the Korean artist Nell, just click on the Box.net tracks which appear in the right-most column of my blog. Easy. Enjoy! >_<

Blog 165 > Space Pirate Blue – NSFW

Hehe, yup, more “girls with guns”!… Less than a couple weeks after my mesmerizing Fumie From Edelweiss photoshoot, I bring my latest figure photoshoot of 1/8-scale “Space Pirate Blue” from Masamune Shirow‘s Intron Depot 4 – Bullets (2004) color-illustration artbook. Pre-ordered back in June 2007 (Blog 086) and received in November 2007, I finally decided to do her photoshoot. Quite a drastic punk-edged change from the wind-blown Fumie. Bright-blue hair, slick-black leather and yup, lots of skin, lol.

Like before, for this Canon DSLR photoshoot, I used my (a) ceiling light, (b) two halogen desk lamps, plus (c) my camera flash, to collect about 150 shots in about 120 minutes. Finally, I painstakingly narrowed the 150 shots down to 111 shots (hard to choose!). To compensate for the too-warm yellowish tinge of the lamps in such a blue environment, I used Photoshop to apply a simple Cooling Photo Filter (82) at 25% density (in addition to my standard resizing and watermarking). A simple yet vivid adjustment, hehe.

That’s about it! Enjoy the shoot! Don’t forget to tell me your faves and I’ll make the 10-20 best into wallpapers, lol.


Warning > I recommend Firefox 2/3 since IE 6/7 tends to break under the photo pressure, argh.


Link to DannyChoo.com > Member News >>
My Anime Photoshoots >>
My Anime Wallpapers >>
Click for Full Photoshoot (111) >>

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Blog 162 > Fumie From Edelweiss

Wow, too much time has blown like the wind!… First, even though this is my 23rd anime-figure photoshoot, it’s my first indoor photoshoot in TEN MONTHS since November 2007! Second, my 85th figure has taken FOURTEEN MONTHS to finally arrive since my July 2007 pre-order! But all the delays and waiting has finally paid off. After falling in love with “her long raven-black hair, white windblown dress, and old-style pistol and shotgun” in July 2007 (Blog 099), my latest photoshoot of 1/7-scale “Fumie” from the Edelweiss eroge (Japanese erotic videogame) is now one of my most-favorite photoshoots ever, lol. Moreso than I felt back then, “There’s just something gothic yet classical, stoic yet carefree, angelic and demonic, about her!”

For this Canon DSLR photoshoot, I used my (a) ceiling light, (b) two halogen desk lamps, plus (c) my camera flash, to collect about 200 shots in about 120 minutes. Which are typical numbers for me. Finally, I narrowed the near-200 shots down to 90 shots. The best part is, except for resizing and watermarking, absolutely NO Photoshop enhancements were applied to the photos at all. Nice, that’s how it should be. I hope you enjoy the shoot!


Warning > I recommend Firefox 2/3 since IE 6/7 tends to break under the photo pressure, argh.


Link to DannyChoo.com > Member News >>
My Anime Photoshoots >>
My Anime Wallpapers >>
Click for Full Photoshoot (90) >>

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Blog 160 > Adventures of Danny Clone

The Adventures of Danny Clone

  • Warning: Massive 58-photo segment following the show.

  • Danny Clone: Hey Jay, are u sure about this?
  • xJAYMANx: Sure, let’s push the envelope a little bit, hehe.
  • DC: Okay, if you’re sure.
  • xJ: Yeah, let’s do it. Go ahead whenever you’re ready…

  • [Audience applause.]
  • DC: Okay!… Welcome ladies and gents to “The Adventures of Danny Clone”. I’m your host Danny Clone, a third-rate copy of the extraordinarily unique and original Danny Choo!
  • [Audience applause.]
  • DC: But first, a quick plug for Good Smile Company! And the beta launch of the English Good Smile website at eng.goodsmile.info! Where they go the extra mile for your good smile!
  • [Audience applause.]
  • DC: And your good cash… Just kidding, just kidding!
  • [Audience laughter.]
  • DC: Today, our guest is the beautiful Barbie from Las Vegas.
  • [Audience applause.]
  • Barbie: Thank you, DC. Would it be okay to call u DC?
  • DC: Why not? I’ve been called worse things!
  • [Audience laughter.]

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Blog 159 > Saber-Hectic September

Yeah, another grinding week in the real world. Office-chained client-work for IBM continues to be grueling. I continue to endure burn-out mode while my blood-shot eyes (including my supernatural left eye, lol) approach boil-out mode. Yet despite it all, I manage to limp along with anime and web design as my crutches, lol. So, in no particular order, a few highlights over the last couple weeks…

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Blog 157 > My Anime Roommate?

So what do u do when the summer is so hot that your female roommate starts walking around the house in her panties? Answer: Nothing, since u can’t change her mind anyway. Then again, it’s no big deal for me to sit at my laptop in my boxers. Hence, it’s no big deal for Lisa either, lol. >_<

In fact, today, it suddenly hit me that Kallen from “Code Geass” reminds me of Lisa. Not only in their similar swings of melancholy, confidence, lovesickness and cheerfulness, but also in their variety of outfits, even their reddish hair. I mean, if she really wanted to, Lisa could definitely cosplay as Kallen! But I doubt she even knows what cosplay is. Too bad, lol. For more on the history of Lisa, check out my Blog 123 > Frumpy Orange Photoshoot and Blog 145 > Vegas in July.

As for myself, who do *I* resemble? See answer below, lol. >_< Continue reading

Blog 152 > Afro Samurai Attack!

Finally! A little late, but who cares? Some 18-19 months after its original broadcast, I’ve finally finished my 25th anime title of the year: “Afro Samurai”. Stylishly violent and almost-romantically post-apocalyptic, this 5-episode gem paints quite a refreshingly retro-futuristic view of hell-on-earth, life-long revenge, and inexplicable survival. Haha, Samuel L. Jackson voices the titular lead as well as his babbling sidekick, and why not? A bad-ass playing a bad-ass. Nuff sed, lol. Despite the brevity of the miniseries, the revealing flashbacks cast a shadowy depth to a seemingly simplistic quest. Quite impressive. Four of five stars. Can’t wait for the second season!

Now that that’s outta the way, time for some red-eyed ranting, lol.

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Blog 149 > Britannia Versus Galactica

Ah, finally caught up! Yup, over the last 5 days, caught up with the last 18 weeks of “Code Geass R2” (scheduled for about 26 episodes). Still such an ambitious and wide-sweeping storytelling scope! And just like the supernatural chess-match strategies in “Death Note”, still one of the most-intellectually engaging 5-star series in recent years. But if there’s any downside to such a broad tapestry of characters, it’s the relative lack of any resonating emotional depth among specific characters… so far. Thankfully, now that I’m caught up, the threat of spoilers has been drastically reduced, hehe. ^_^

However, while “Code Geass R2” and Lelouch have been magnificent, a half-hour anime can’t compete with the best one-hour live-action sci-fi dramas on television.

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Blog 148 > Lelouch Commands You

“Jump complete!” Well, after a Saturday of exporting XML data from my old WordPress 2.0 “Toybox”, installing the latest WordPress 2.6 “Toybox”, duplicating the template, importing the XML into the new template, then a Sunday of (category, link and post) cleanup, I’ve finally upgraded to the newest version of WordPress.org! So hopefully, this blog will feel a little less glitchy and a little bit quicker. ^_^;

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Blog 139 > Your Rarest Figure

Which is your rarest figure? We’ve seen the newest favorites, and the biggest wastes, but the rarest?

For me, I’d have to say my 1/8-scale-resin figure “Arima & Yukino” (from the classic-anime love-story “Kare Kano” or “His & Her Circumstances”), released by the now-defunct Tsukuda Hobby back in the late ’90s. If I hadn’t seen the anime, I would never have found it. But in January 2007, through sheer luck in the Amazon Marketplace, I stumbled upon it (original box included), and after several months of waiting for the perfect time, I finally used 3 Amazon gift certificates to afford it! Luckily, nobody else was looking for it, lol.

Here’s the March 2007 photoshoot.

P.S. Just for my own reference: Blog 044 and Blog 093.