Fred the Barber

Can the girl have toast? I think she ought to have toast. Edit: Or Akihiro could have toast, of unknown origin. That works too.

Decided to do some baking. Lots of time in the kitchen means lots of time to watch something random from Funimation's streaming site, so I decided to watch A Certain Magical Index: The Miracle of Endymion. I accidentally had my first experience with idol shows. I didn't dislike it, per se, but it definitely wasn't on par with any of the better arcs in the regular series. The new character of Shutaura was interesting, and I certainly wouldn't mind seeing her around more, but the rest of the new characters were pretty boring (especially Arisa, who I really wanted to like, but for some reason just didn't click). In general, I tend to like the Railgun stories a lot more, with the complete absence of the magical side, and this one had heavy involvement of both (more magic than espers, probably). If I evaluate this against just the Index stories, the movie is probably a little above average - though that puts it well below most of the Railgun and Railgun S episodes. I especially didn't care for the music. Given the big focus on music in the movie, this is pretty disappointing, but even moreso because I generally love music and don't have particularly picky tastes - I'll listen to pretty much anything and enjoy it. I did not enjoy the English-dubbed original songs. They frankly just sounded... kinda bad. I don't have perfect pitch or anything, but there were definitely some sour notes. The power wasn't there, and the production side wasn't the strongest either. Props for trying, but ... maybe they should just subtitle the songs next time.

I am Haruhi Suzumiya. Beings from other dimensions seem awfully concerned about my actions.

I'm surprised you can tolerate the English voices. This was the first game I've ever played where I had to switch from English to Japanese audio. I think it was the stupidity of the dialog more so than the voice acting that forced me to switch, though - it's somehow less impactful when merely subbed.

I was feeling unusually optimistic after finishing Chunibyo, so I decided to take a chance on something totally different for me. I've never watched a sports anime before, but I'm a baseball fan, and somehow Oofuri/Big Windup! caught my eye. I've only watched one episode, but it's looking to be really enjoyable - I really like all the little technical details it's throwing in, and the cast and plot are shaping up nicely.

>Be coming back from the grocery store >See a kindly old guy (mid-60s) I recognize about to miss the elevator I'm on >Hit the Open Door button just in time >Exchange pleasantries >After a bit, old guy interjects, "Boy, you sure do see all kinds when these conventions are in town, eh?" >Smile and go along with it. "Yeah, they're great!" >Brief pause >Old guy: "There was this young girl..." >Look dubious >Old guy: "Her bottom was completely exposed." >Inwardly, think, "Heck yeah!" >Outwardly, shrug awkwardly, uncertain how to react >A moment passes >Old guy: "It was nice."

Finished the Fate route in Fate/Stay Night a couple days ago, and am now getting into the Unlimited Bladeworks route. The Fate route had an amazing ending, but so far I like the direction the UBW route is going better. Tohsaka easily wins the "scariest heroine I've seen" award, although given most of my prior experience is Key games, that's not a high bar or anything. I'm honestly impressed at how she switches back and forth between super intimidating and super cute. All in all, I'm loving this VN, even though there's a bit more external conflict (and especially more outright antagonism among the characters) than I typically prefer to see.

I am harsh reality. I cause excellent teachers to be under-recognized and under-rewarded, and rather than offering useful learning and training opportunities to teachers, I create useless random assessments and pile guilt onto teachers for the poor job I have done training them.

, but not before

Compliment her glowy eyes.

10/10. New avatar day is a good day indeed for EldritchCherub.

Confession: I kicked some co-worker's ass at fooseball today, four games straight, and then learned it was his last day at work.

True. I haven't yet tried to acquire that particular taste. Next person is working for the weekend!

If you happen to come across a cute girl while barging into ALL the rooms, it's important that you stutter. The particular situation you end up in is irrelevant - even if it is completely benign, you should still stutter, as though you have never encountered a cute girl before in your life.

Magic, music, reasonably attractive art (especially the background art); looks interesting! I will probably wait a day or two to see what pops up in the Steam reviews, and then as long as they aren't too negative, spring for it. Thanks for the heads-up!

and mildly nauseating

I am a spell-checker, correcting Blizzard's butchered spelling of "Nephilim".

3/10. Can't read the words.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane is beautiful. Definitely read it. There are a handful of amazing fantasy authors I can't recommend enough: - Scott Lynch. There's a lot less magic in Scott Lynch's works than in a lot of fantasy, but there's also a lot more style. His heroes are not magicians: they're the best con men you'll ever hear about. His quantity of output is definitely a little iffy (I think he had several years of writer's block), and his only series is incomplete, so if you don't like reading incomplete stuff, maybe don't go for him... But if you can accept that you're not getting the whole entire story right now, nor for a large number more years (maybe not ever), you should go start reading The Lies of Locke Lamora right now. - Brandon Sanderson is the king of modern fantasy, IMO. His world-building is bettered perhaps only by Terry Pratchett, but unlike Pratchett, his works are serious (which I don't say as a negative - just a difference). Putting magic into the world, and making it systematic and believable, is his forte - it may not sound like much, but if you see it in action you'll probably appreciate it. He is also ridiculously prolific, so if you like what you read, there's a hell of a lot more out there. Mistborn is a good starting point to see if you like his style. My favorite is probably his novella The Emperor's Soul, which you can easily read in a few hours. - Brent Weeks has one complete series (The Night Angel trilogy) and one nearly-complete series (Lightbringer) under his belt. I've talked about The Night Angel earlier in this thread, but basically, it's extremely compelling (he just pulls you through the pages), and it's the only series I can recall reading that gets better with every chapter. The ending is gorgeous. I just finished the first Lightbringer book yesterday, and it's looking like it will be even better than the Night Angel series - I think he's picking up some of Sanderson's influence in terms of systematizing his magic, because Lightbringer does a way better job with magic than Night Angel did.

So much truth. My favorite thing about Kimi ni Todoke is how it initially sets up the "opposing" characters so they look like they're going to be one-dimensional, unlikeable caricatures, and then gently shades the situation in, until you realize they're all eminently likeable, relatable people. This is especially well-done with Kurumizawa, who ended up being my favorite character in the series. Kurumi actually reminds me a lot of Ami in Toradora! (who is clearly best girl). On a separate but somewhat related note, I just finished up Chunibyo and its OVA. Truly excellent show. For some reason, the character I keep thinking about is Nibutani: