Comparing Nogizaka Haruka and Yakushiji Ryoko… Epic moe v epic sexy
Posted on August 27, 2008 by: Sorrow-kun
It’s a bit of a thing to say that I’m reviving a dead blog and then not make an update for over two weeks. I blame the Olympics.
I’ve been watching two currently airing series that are, well, in all honesty, pretty trite. But there are some interesting comparisons between Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu and Yakushiji Ryoko no Kaiki Jikenbo, which aren’t exactly two series that are obvious to compare. I think it’s fairly safe to say that no one’s really watching either for the plot, and that the appeal of both is, in one form or another, superficial. One is absurd in the ridiculous “this probably wouldn’t happen” sense, while the other is absurd in the bizarre “this can’t possibly happen” sense. But the main draw of both series are the main female leads, both eccentric in their own ways. Haruka is packed to the lid with moe, while Ryoko is sexy and knows it, high maintenance and likes to get things her own way. And they both play off their “men” in interesting ways… Haruka unwittingly leads her’s own, while Ryoko drags hers around the room by the necktie. So, who’s more awesome?
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Reviving a dead blog
Posted on August 11, 2008 by: Sorrow-kun
This will probably come off as a bit of a “State of the Union” type blog post, similar to the ones you used to see on the now neglected 4chan staff blog (as an aside, I’ll admit that I’ve always greatly admired some of the philosophies behind how 4chan is run as an internet site… the content itself, at times, less so). And, in typical uncriticizable presidential style, I’ll state that the State of the NHRV Union is quite good. Yes, that is even after considering three (I think, I lose count sometimes) hack attacks over the last nine months, and an “incident” with our host. But I think we’ve made some vital progress over the duration of the year so far. Things haven’t always been easy for us, but the people we have on board at the moment are all very good, particularly with regards to the enthusiasm. That’s what makes me most upbeat about things at the moment. A lot of failed attempts at anime sites have been built on a group of people with only a passing interest in what they’re writing about, and the same was true of us for a long time, especially back in the old AMGReviews days. A team is made on its people, and when some can’t commit for whatever reason, you replace the dead wood with people that have the desire to put in effort and are willing to see the tough times through and want to see their work and effort translate into the site becoming popular and forging its place on the internet. I believe we have the right group of people to do that right now. That’s not to say that we’re going to stop recruiting new staff, I just think that our current line-up will likely (hopefully) stay fairly constant for a long time.
» Filed Under NHRV related | 1 Comment
The role of the reviewer
Posted on December 31, 2007 by: royalcrown
Please excuse the lack of picture for the time being, but I’m out of town and on a laptop that lacks basically everything but an internet browser. Being in such situations often forces me to think about things that normally wouldn’t process in the hectic nature of everyday life, and as such I’ve been pondering some unsolved, albeit abstract, issues that have come up in my time at the NHRV. Frankly, this blog needs updates so I’ll post my mental ramblings in a hopefully coherent format.
Read more
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Neglected blog is negleeected Part II
Posted on November 19, 2007 by: Sorrow-kun
I was actually hoping for a couple more comments, particular from fellow staffers, before I replied to comments. I figured I’d just make a new post, rather than comment within the old post, since I left this for so long. Thanks to everyone who posted comments, it’s good to see that there are actually people not directly involved in the site that do care enough about it to offer an opinion. I’ll try my best to answer, or at least address your questions/ideas/concerns.
» Filed Under NHRV related | 9 Comments
Neglected blog is negleeected
Posted on November 14, 2007 by: Sorrow-kun
So it’s been like two months since the last post, which is a real shame since there was a real enthusiasm about this blog originally. I think I speak for a lot of us when I say real life has been the big culprit. It really is difficult to try to maintain a site like this which requires constant contributions and a huge commitment from staff, and we all certainly have external things that either take priority or that we’d rather be doing. I, myself, am a post-grad student in physics (read the outstanding crappy* comic, Piled Higher and Deeper, to get an idea of what my life entails right now) into my second year, so my workload is getting bigger and bigger, and I’m consistently doing 50+ hour weeks (for shitty money, I might add, but that’s how academia and science is in anywhere that isn’t the United States). Not that that cuts into my anime watching time, and I’m used to having a *ahem* limited social life, but, for me, it means that the site doesn’t get as much attention as it would otherwise. We all have our excuses (although I laugh at people like Shadowmage and Tamashii who are only in the first two years of their undergrad, which I thought was a bludge), but the fact is, this shit is hard unless you have no life.
» Filed Under NHRV related | 7 Comments
Moe? In my anime?
Posted on September 8, 2007 by: Sorrow-kun
This week’s Answerfans topic poses an interesting question about something close to my heart. I’m still contemplating whether I want to submit this to the column. Nonetheless, it’s food for thought. Enjoy:
» Filed Under Anime | 7 Comments
School Days
Posted on September 5, 2007 by: Akira
School Days. Everyone’s probably heard about it by now. Easily one of the season’s most anticipated (and hated) shows, by both the hardcore and the casual anime-watching community.
To start you off, a few quotes from friends of mine.
“You know, they made Makoto into a bigger douchebag than he was in the game.”
“They combined all his man-slut varieties into the ultimate man-slut >.>;;;”
“Everytime I watch this show my MP goes down…”
“This show is fucking horrible. Literally.”
“Even Kyo-ani couldn’t save these crappy characters.”
And the general consus from everyone on Nico:
“Makoto and the rest of the cast can all go die. lolololololololololol”
So what do I think? (Warning: Major Spoliers follow. Not like anyone really cares… its School Days, for Christ’s sake.)
» Filed Under Anime, Visual novels | 3 Comments
AA… Anime Anonymous
Posted on August 28, 2007 by: Shadowmage
“I am an anime addict.”
I’m sure by now you have the obligatory “no sh*t Sherlock” running through your head, but give me a few paragraphs to explain myself.
To me, anime is like alcohol to an alcoholic, drugs to a drug addict and sex to Hugh Hefner. While it lacks the chemical side effects of the afforementioned addictions, it wastes a lot of time. The problem is that I am in college and time is worth its metaphorical weight in gold. I simply don’t have the luxury to watch ten different shows each season. I probably could economize and watch my four favorite shows, but this leads to another problem: focus.
» Filed Under Uncategorized | 3 Comments
Shadowmage’s resignation
Posted on August 27, 2007 by: Sorrow-kun
Do people want to talk about this? Is this a big deal? I mean, I’m not sure what’s warranted in this situation, since the last time we had a resignation, the person that resigned (Kurier) specifically asked that we not make a big deal out of it. This is slightly different for a number of reasons, but the most important of which is that Shadowmage was one of, if not the, biggest contributor to the site. I mean, no matter how I look at it, he’s a huge loss.
» Filed Under NHRV related | 1 Comment
What I, the anime fan, am due
Posted on August 24, 2007 by: Kuma
Absolutely Nothing.
Let me back up for a moment while you all scratch your heads. Answerman’s Hey Answerfans segment this week (I really can’t seem to stay away, can I?) posits the question, “As a fan, what do you feel Japanese creators and R1 Anime companies owe you?” I think the question is worded poorly, but I’m going to try to answer it anyway. I already did that? Ok then, I guess I’ll just have to elaborate. Read more
» Filed Under Anime | 3 Comments