[Happeh]

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Issue #50
I was younger then, I wasn’t afraid of anything, I didn’t think about dying for a second. I thought I was invincible. Then I met some girl. I wanted to live, I started to think like that; for the first time I was afraid of death. I had never felt like that before.
- Spike Spiegel (Cowboy Bebop)

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Ghost in the Shell Tribute

It is quite easy to say that Ghost in the Shell by Shirow Masamune is one of the most influential and highest rated anime of all time and not many people can argue with that statement. But because of this, a group of artists, photographers and videographers have paid tribute to Masamune by creating their own version of GITS.

The piece is titled 'Project 2501' and is directed by Ash Thorp and stars Christine Adams as Motoko Kusanagi. The project is beautifully filmed and coincidentally falls in line with the 25th anniversary of GITS's original publication. An American live-action adaption of GITS will be produced by Dreamworks and if it's anything close to this Project, it is sure to be fantastic.

Nada High School's Anime Club Recreates Free! Opening

The highly prestigious and private all boy's school, Nada High School has been entertaining Japanese folk across the nation again with it's otaku hijinks. A group of boys from the anime club have tried their hand at recreating the opening sequence from Free! - Iwatobi Swim Club. The video is a pretty good laugh and they all get gold stickers for the effort they put into this. Check out the video below:

灘校生がアニメ「Free!」のOPを実写化してみた

Oddly enough, this is not their best effort though as the anime club took to the stage to really show the world what they've got. How did they do this? They strutted around on stage, cross-dressing Love Live! School Idol Project skit for the school's culture festival. That's right, their dedication shows no limits. If you're wondering why this is so popular, it's because Nada High School has a brutal entrance examination and sends all its students to the most prestigious universities across Japan, so in direct contrast to that, its great to see the tough academic atmosphere be blown away by some good fun. Check out their Love Live! video below, again its a great laugh!

【公式】【ナダライブ!】2014年 灘校文化祭踊り場【顔's】

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gogeta1 has created a thread that sums up basically all the anime SHAFT produces:

• Who is the Most Badass characters

*Pick your game up AA, make more interesting threads!*

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Title - Sword Art Online (ソードアート・オンライン)
Genre(s) - Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Game, Romance, Shounen
Studio(s) - A-1 Pictures
Episodes - 25
Episode Length - 23 min. per episode
Rating - PG-13 - Teens 13 or older
Airing Date - Jul 8, 2012 to Dec 23, 2012
Airing Status - Finished Airing
On Crunchyroll? - Yes

Synopsis

In the near future, a Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (VRMMORPG) called Sword Art Online has been released where players control their avatars with their bodies using a piece of technology called Nerve Gear. One day, players discover they cannot log out, as the game creator is holding them captive unless they reach the 100th floor of the game's tower and defeat the final boss. However, if they die in the game, they die in real life. Their struggle for survival starts now...

Characters


Kazuto "Kirito, The Black Swordsman, Beater" Kirigaya
Kirito is the main protagonist of the series. He is a "solo" player, a player who hasn't joined a guild and usually works alone. He is also one of the very few people to have had the privilege to play in the beta testing period of Sword Art Online. His game alias, Kirito, is created by taking the syllables of the first and last Kanji of his real last and first names respectively: (Kirigaya Kazuto). In the real world, he lives with his aunt and younger cousin in a family of 3.


Asuna "Lightning Flash, Titania, Berserker Healer"
Asuna is a friend of Kirito and is a sub-leader of the guild Knights of the Blood (KoB), a medium-sized guild of about thirty players, also called the strongest guild in Aincrad. Being one of the few girls that are in SAO, and even more so that she's extremely pretty, she receives many invitations and proposals. She is a skilled player earning the title "Flash" for her extraordinary sword skill that is lightning fast. Her game alias is the same as her real world name.

Suguha "Leafa, Sugu" Kirigaya
Kazuto's sister in the real world. She is 15 years old and in her third year of junior high, as well as a member of the Kendo club. She's a diligent worker and has been practicing Kendo for 8 years.

My Opinion
So I decided to do SAO despite my dislike of doing reviews on shows with reviews already in AA. The reason is because despite anyone else's opinion I believe its a very good show and its one of my favorites. And in light of the new season coming out this next season I figured I would try to convince anyone who hasn't seen it to give it a try. The reason I believe anyone should watch it is because its about video games. That itself is relates to a massive amount of people and they have an aspect that other video game shows now a days don't really have, the drama and suspense of death. There is one thing I didn't like about the first arc and that was the time skips. I didn't hate it but it took away from the story and depth just a tad bit. Not enough for me to drop the score considerably but enough for me to be slightly annoyed. Another thing you probably hear is that the second arc is awful. I simply don't agree with that. I thought the second arc was alright. Not as good as the first but not bad. If it was its own show without the idea established in the first arc it would be a solid 7 or 8. So with that said I'll get to the actual show. So for the 50th edition of AA weekly I will go in depth with this review below. ( Outside of this opinion :p )

Storyline - 7/10
Time skips dropped this from an 8 to a 7. I enjoyed the story and concept a lot....but time skips...

Characters - 7/10
The main character is op and makes annoying decisions at times, but the romance between the two main characters saves it.

Animation - 9/10
It looks great. The fight scenes are very well done and the backgrounds are amazing. Makes me happy they didn't slack on the looks just because they have a plot that will get people to watch regardless.

Music - 10/10
I love every single song that is even related to the show. The OP is great and I love it. Lisbeth's theme is amazing. Just a great soundtrack that a listen to often.

Overall - 8/10

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Title - 50th Century Boys ( 20世紀少年 )
Genre(s) - Action, Drama, Mystery, Psychological, Sci-fi, Tragedy
Demographic - Seinen
Author(s) - Urasawa Naoki (Story & Art)
Serialization - Big Comic Spirits
Published - Sep 27, 1999 to Apr 24, 2006
Status - Finished
Chapters Scanlated - 249 (Fully scanlated)

Synopsis

Humanity, having faced extinction at the end of the 20th century, would not have entered the new millennium if it weren't for them. In 1969, during their youth, they created a symbol. In 1997, as the coming disaster slowly starts to unfold, that symbol returns. This is the story of a group of boys who try to save the world.

For Kenji, a simple convenience store manager who once dreamed of becoming a rock 'n' roll musician, a host of memories from his past come rushing back when one of his childhood friends mysteriously commits suicide. Could this new death be related to the rise of a bizarre new cult that's been implicated in several other murders and disappearances? Determined to dig deeper, Kenji reunites with some of his old buddies in the hope of learning the truth behind it all.

My Opinion

From Naoki Urasawa, the fabled creator of Monster and one of the most respected manga author of Japan, comes 20th Century Boys. A psychological thriller much like it's predecessor, 20th Century Boys makes itself truly distinct by playing with the sci-fi genre in an interesting way, making the story seem much more convoluted and grand in scale than Urasawa's other work. 20th Century Boys delves deeply into the themes of childhood, terrorism, prophecy, and amnesia, making good use of the present vs past trope and the enigma of memories, as the story spans over 46 years. The cast's childhood backstory flashbacks, which take place between the 1970s and 1980s, are drawn with heavy influence from that time period, and the part of the story which takes place in the future gives us a clear vision of the author's interpretation of what happens if society steers the way it does in the manga. The passing of time is amazingly detailed throughout, and the rather-convoluted story never seems to have any loose ends, easily placing it among the best written stories I've had the pleasure of experiencing.

Above all, Urasawa's biggest strength as a writer is his characterization. His work always includes a central, seemingly omnipotent villain and a main hero who's never anything more than a normal, everyday guy, accompanied by legions of colorful side characters. In Monster, the protagonist is Tenma, a Japanese neurosurgeon, in Pluto it's Gesicht, a German Europol detective, and in 20th Century Boys it's Kenji, an ordinary bloke running a convenience store. While Kenji may not be the most interesting protagonist of the three, Friend is definitely by far the best villain, though I won't be going into detail about the villains of Monster and Pluto as both would be huge spoilers. Friend is the pseudonym of a mysterious man who usually appears clad in white suit and a mask imprinted with the symbol Kenji and his childhood friends created as children; adopted by Friend's terrorist organization. Though his apparent goals may seem shallow and undermined at first, the majority of his character is shrouded in such complete mystery you'll come to doubt even his self-appointed intentions by the end. His true identity, for one, is one of the driving mysteries of the series, and the ignition of most of the unfolding events. Now beware, this manga is definitely not for everyone. If you enjoy well-crafted psychological thrillers with intricate plot structure and characterization, I urge you to read this manga. Otherwise, I'd recommend you make yourself scarce.

My Rating 8.5/10

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[img]http://fuwanovel.org/assets/images/vn/15/mainArt.jpg[/img]

Katawa Shoujo

Synopsis:
Katawa Shoujo was produced in 2012 by Four Leaf Studios.
Hisao Nakai is a normal high school student, currently in his final year of high school. One day Hisao receives a letter from parties unknown in his locker and waits at the written place for the sender. The person who wrote the letter turns out to be his crush; while speaking to her, he suddenly collapses. He awakes in a hospital bed, and is told by the doctors that the reason he collapsed is due to arrhythmia, a rare heart condition that causes his heartbeat to sometimes become irregular. Due to this, his parents have enrolled him in Yamaku, a school for disabled students of all kinds.


Story Review:
Katawa Shoujo can be described as a visual novel in which you chase girls, but that is an oversimplification. What does it mean for two people to understand and fall each other? How can people overcome their own weaknesses?

The character routes that you can follow are well written. They may have a seemingly obvious disabilities and personality, but the further you push onto the story you learn aspects that they hide from most other people, they seem almost more human. In the story some of the character personal problems are related to their obvious standing disability, but that's not always the case.
Each route that you can progress upon was written entirely by a different person, which means you won't have any repeating in each others route.

I may be alone here but the most interesting character in the story would have to be Hisao himself, when he has his life turned upside down and cutting all ties to old friends, how is he going to recover?


Art:
If anyone remembers my review for G-Senjou no Maou you'll recall that I complained about the game telling you how there were "hundreds of people lining the streets" and the art only shows the street? Katawa Shoujo did a great job at actually making you feel like you're not alone with just these 5 preset girls, I actually felt as if I was surrounded by people. I wouldn't call the art a work of god or anything too overly drastic, but I will say that I ended up saving all the CG, and because of that I'll be sharing a bit of it for you to get a feel of the Visual Novel.
(Click to View)







Sound:
The soundtrack itself is quite high quality, for this game being freeware you won't get any higher quality of music out of any other VN in the same category.
The soundtrack sets the mood in the game quite well, you'll probably find yourself humming along as I did by the end.
Here's the entire soundtrack on SoundCloud.
Katawa Shoujo music samples


Overall Satisfaction:
I've never been able to do this before, below you'll find the download links to the game, wallpapers, soundtrack, and artbooks!
Katawa Shoujo Download Page

Story: 9/10
Art: 9/10
Sound: 9/10

[Happeh]

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Interview with Eternal.
(Click to View)
Unknown: Hi Eternal, how are you today?

Eternal: I doing well, thank you. And you?

Unknown: I'm fine. Had a pretty bad day at work, but I won't worry about it more than needed. First question: Have you read any of the previous AA Weekly issues? If yes, what did you think of them?

Eternal: I have read them since they started. Not religiously, but when I see them I read them. I thought it was a great edition to the Anime Adventures section and I am glad to see some high quality stuff come from that sub-community of Hack Forums.

Unknown: Glad to hear you've been enjoying the AA Weekly. This will be our 50th edition. How many anime series have you watched, or do you think you have watched?

Eternal: Awesome! I think I have watched about 30 or so. Anime to me is like books, its hard to get into all of it but when you find a good anime it is golden and mind altering, in some ways.

Unknown:I totally agree. Have you been looking at the anime adventures section recently?

Eternal: I read a bit here and there in the lounges, and see what people are watching. I was more active in the Anime adventures section a few years back. It's actually the reason I stayed on Hack Forums in the beginning of my membership.

Unknown: Has the AA section changed a lot since the beginning, from your point of view?

Eternal: It has, the people that were more influential don't seem to be as active when I first started, such as Tasemu and Sewdough, though Happeh seems to be active still which is refreshing.

Unknown: Hmm.. Interesting. A classic question: What is your favorite anime, and why is it your favorite?

Eternal: Rurouni Kenshin is my favorite anime. The reason is because when I was a kid I loved it, and connected with the main character personality wise, the good and the bad. It influenced me quite a bit growing up, and what I like in anime. I have seen the anime a few times as well as the badass and bloody Samurai X. Since watching that I have sought an anime that is more like the movie/OVA. I love good samurai themed animes, such as Samurai Champloo. Without Rurouni Kenshin, I honestly probably wouldn't have gotten into anime at all.

Unknown: That's a pretty interesting answer. I haven't watched Rurouni Kenshin yet. What is your opinion about manga

Eternal: I never really got into Manga to be honest. I own a few of the Rurouni Kenshin Mangas and used to read them as a kid but honestly I don't remember which ones I had that long ago.

Unknown: I never really got into manga too. I have the physical edition of Haganai though. What is it that makes you like anime? What makes it different from other things in your opinion?

Eternal: What makes it different is a few things. You have the Japanese culture intermixed due to Japanese writers. I love the way they write, at least as far as anime goes. I enjoy their culture, it is an escape from my own. Aside from culture, anime can do things that movies and other motion picture outlets cannot due to the style that anime has. It's unique.

Unknown: Agreed. Is there any genre that you like in particular? Why?

Eternal: No, not really. I mean, I guess historical, horror and Samurai if you consider all but horror genres.

Unknown: Hmm. Do you have anything you would like to have added to the AA Weekly, or the AA section itself?

Eternal: I would like to see a index in the AA weekly, and something other than Loli of the week.

Unknown: Hmm.. We'll take it into consideration. Is there anything you want to say to our readers, or our staff?

Eternal: Just keep it up, I love seeing the AA weekly and I have loved the idea since I was a new member. I always wished there was a news thread, but they always ended up failing soon after startup. You guys a doing a great job, please keep it up!

Unknown: Thanks for allowing me to interview you :D

Eternal: Thank you for interviewing me!

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Note: This weeks loli of the week contains spoilers for Hentai Ouji to Warawanai Neko.

So, we're finally here. The AA sections most favourite loli, according to the votes. Tsukiko, Ladies and gents, the loli that defines lolis. Shy and childish, Tsukiko is definitely one of the most cutest lolis you could ever find. She loves eating snacks and sweets, it's one of Tsukiko's trademarks as a loli. She is extremely shy and extremely easy to tease. During the series when Yokodera behaves in a pervy manor towards her, she would bite him. Chibi and all. If her emotions would let her, I'm sure she would blush fabulously. That's one thing we need to see. As for her appearance, well she's a short school girl rocking the DFC (yes, the delicously flat chest). Her trademark side tail and ribbon are one of the key characteristics she has, as well as her sapphire blue eyes.

As the series progresses, our dear Tsukiko develops feelings for Yoto (he is a dead man in our eyes), and while Yokodera is obviously attracted to Tsukiko, he keeps her at a distance. It is almost as if he refuses to defile her innocence, which is one feature that makes her deliciously delectable as a loli, so good on you Yokodera. As Tsukiko's advances become more audacious, can Yokodera keep her at arms length for the entirety of the series? Watch and find out.

Series: Hentai Ouji to Warawanai Neko, The "Hentai" Prince and the Stony Cat, HenNeko, 変態王子と笑わない猫。
MAL: http://myanimelist.net/anime/15225/Henta...wanai_Neko.

Every week, you can vote on a poll for your next loli of the week. This way we can vote and admire them together as well as seeing who the most popular is between the AA! For next week, you can vote for either:

Aria Holmes "Quadra Aria" Kanzaki, from Hidan no Aria.
Rose "Red Dragon Princess, Rose Kisaragi", from Dragon Crisis.

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Last week's contest winner is...

Momo Velia Deviluke(Best Girl)

Congratulations to Momo for winning! The answer to last weeks contest was Fear "Fear-in-Cube" Kubrick. Yes, it's about terrorist which was the hint for the anagram. For next weeks AA Weekly contest, you can suggest what types of contests you would prefer to see. It helps us as well as allowing you guys to pick something suitable. Come on now, don't be shy!

It's nice to see that the contest has got it's usual entry count back to normal. We thought that you guys were not interested in it anymore and considering to stop it due to the lack of interest. So that just means it stays, and more freebies for you guys! Great news, right?

We love all feedback and all of our new AA members but remember, to participate, you will need 25 posts in the AA section. Not enough posts? Post away! dozens of threads are made weekly where you can discuss different topics. If you cant find something you like, come chill in the AA lounge! Congratulations to Momo again for winning!

This Week's Contest

For this week's AA Weekly contest, we will be giving out a authentic Nendoroid from Good Smile Company as our 50th special! Interested? Yes? Then you will need to find out what anime this opening is from!

Sound Clip can be found here!

To submit your answer, please click HERE! You will also be required to leave a post on this thread and have a minimum of 25 posts in the AA section.

The winner will be able to choose from the following prizes:

4 months Osu Supporter
2800 Riot Points (EUW/NA)
CrunchyRoll (4 Months Anime Membership/2 Months All Access Membership)
L33T/UB3R Upgrade (HackForums)
CandySan's Discovery pack
Select Steam games

As well as the standard prize, you will be able to WIN a Nendoroid of your choice from Good Smile Company. This is for our 50th AA Weekly special!

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The News Team:

• Happeh
  • Headlines/Editor/AA News

• Unknown
  • Interviews

• Sejskaler
  • Graphics

• Tweety.
  • Contest/Loli of the Week

• Lonephenom
  • Loli of the Week

• Tails.
  • Series Highlights

• Black Hole
  • Proofreader

• Momo Velia Deviluke
  • VN of the Week

• Rakshasa
  • Manga Highlight

[Gladly]

Nice special issue dude, good luck to everyone doing the contest.

[tweety]

Was pretty tough putting this together, glad it finally got released. Going to read this during my break. Good work everyone.

[Azsry]

Great edition for the 50th special! I still need to get around to playing Katawa Shoujo, but time never seems to work in my favour...

[Kina]

Nice. Glad it finally came out. Pretty tough contest this time around. But it is fitting for the 50th issue and that prize. Gah. Dat prize.

[Ryner]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, I also entered the contest last time and I said Kubrick as well but it seems someone got to it before me! ^^

[Eternal.]

A great addition as usual, thank you guys for the interview.

[Kanade Tachibana]

Loved reading this and i think i got the anime the sound clip is from.

[Ryner]

Loved reading this and i think i got the anime the sound clip is from.

I searched around and spent half an hour looking for it watching random ass opening Youtube videos.

I have absolutely no idea which OP this is, well from hearing the soundtrack I can already say it's one of those Animes I've probably dropped/skipped for some stupid-ass reason. I usually get back to watching them later on though but I have no idea which OP this is from.

[Happeh]

Nice. Glad it finally came out. Pretty tough contest this time around. But it is fitting for the 50th issue and that prize. Gah. Dat prize.

Wonder if I can still enter being Editor...
I want that figurine.

A great addition as usual, thank you guys for the interview.

No, thank you for allowing us to interview you. Loved what you had to say and thank you for the mention. ^^

[ℳanny]

Great AA weekly also this contest is hard -.-
I know I heard it and i'm searching through all these Ops & Eds

[Kina]

Wonder if I can still enter being Editor...
I want that figurine.

No, thank you for allowing us to interview you. Loved what you had to say and thank you for the mention. ^^

I think he'll be fine with it lol. Its too hard. Im not doing anything for the rest of today until I figure this out lol

[tweety]

Wonder if I can still enter being Editor...
I want that figurine.

You can, only Lone and I cannot because we know the answers lol.

[Happeh]

You can, only Lone and I cannot because we know the answers lol.

Well I guess I can't now, be a little cheaty. :3