[Happeh]

[img]http://aa.kernel-box.com/Headers/AAHeader.png[/img]

Issue #73

"With out strong opponents, living isn't fun. It's perfect if I can't win."
- Taiga Kagami (Kuroko No Basketball)

White Day 2015



In AA Weekly #72, Valentine's Day celebrations in Japan, along with the traditions and origins of it, were published. This past Saturday was "White Day", a day where men are expected to return the favor, often in the form of cookies, jewelry, white chocolate, white lingerie, and marshmallows. The term sanbai gaeshi (三倍返し) is used to describe the rule that states the return gift must be at least two to three times the value of the Valentine's Day gift given. The name "White Day" originates from the color of sugar (white), which is one of the main ingredients for candy given out on White Day. While the holiday isn't celebrated in Western parts of the world, it isn't confined to just Japan; South Korea, Taiwan, and China all have this day marked on their calendars. Did you celebrate White Day?

Spring Anime



Once again, we say "goodbye" to yet another successful anime season. With shows like Death Parade, Absolute Duo, Isuca, Durarara, Tokyo Ghoul √A, and Saekano; it seems like the Winter Anime Season had a little bit for everybody. This Spring, fans look forward to the continuation of many past franchises, the most notable one being the Fate/stay night sequel that is set to air on April 5th. Other fan favorites that premiere this upcoming season include the continuation to the Grisaia no Kajitsu (Grisaia no Meikyuu and Grisaia no Rakuen), Oregairu, and Nisekoi storylines. A question for our readers this week: What show are you looking most forward to watching and why?

New Japanese Bullet Train Links Tokyo to Kanazawa



This past Saturday, Japan launched a new Shinkansen bullet train line, running from Tokyo to the ancient city of Kanazawa (known all over Japan for its huge castle, traditional food, and crafts). The new train operates at 260 Km/h (160 Mph), cutting the travel time between the two cities (a distance of roughly 500 km) by over an hour, to just two hours and twenty-eight minutes. While Japan already operates multiple bullet train lines that run from Northern Aomori to Kyushu, there was no direct line that ran to Hokuriku, the area in which Kanazawa is located. With the line completed over forty years after it was initially planned, officials hope to see a rise in tourist and business activity in the region.

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Informational Threads

• Introducing the MoeTube.net Downloader [Updated to 1.02] by Dragon.
  One of the better anime downloaders has just had a new release! Also made by a pretty cool AA member. What are you waiting for? Go download it!
  

• Spring Anime Chart is Here! by Gladly
  Although an old thread; this has just recently been updated ready for all the spring goodness. Go and check to see all the cool, new, and upcoming anime!
  

• Highschool DxD "BorN" announced for April (3rd season) by Zyvox
  For all those underaged kids that need a nosebleed super quick - some more information has been added to the "Highschool DxD" thread! Hurry, before you're too slow and miss out on all the hype!
  

Discussions

• One Piece needs a filler like Naruto is doing. by evilivid
  Evilivid believes that One Piece needs some fillers (who ever thought that?!) just like Naruto. Do you agree with his opinion?
  

• Best Anime Quotes ?! by Ryu
  "What are some of the best anime quotes you have ever heard?" - Happeh (2015)
  

• The funniest anime you've ever seen?! by Esdese
  Do you like to giggle and laugh out loud while watching your delicious Anime? Esdese does and he wants you to share your selections here! Let him know what you think the funniest Anime is, you might find something new!
  

Recommendation Threads

• Animes with a badass/OP MC? by Aggron
  Aggron is looking for some anime with a badass character, someone that is OP. Watched anything recently and can help? Click here!
  

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Barrier's Submission:


Happeh's Submission:


Kings~' Submission:


Submit your own Music Video of the Week and be featured in next weeks issue by clicking here!
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Some of you weeaboos might have already noticed what topic I will be covering this week; if you still have no clue, it's going to be Touhou music. I'm sure many of you are familiar with this, but for those of you who aren't, it's music from a popular Japanese video game called Touhou Project (東方Project). Touhou is a 'scrolling maniac shooter game' created by Team Shanghai Alice, who's sole member goes by the pseudonym "Zun". Zun is known for creating the main art, music and programming of the game. Touhou has a total of 23 video games, multitudes of fan books, cds, light novels, manga and even anime. Perhaps one reason Touhou gained recognition was in 2010, when it was featured in the Guinness World Records under "most prolific fan-made shooter series". The main reason why it rose in popularity is unknown, but many believe it to be from the unique music and the amount of characters in one game.

The video game has received it's own short anime three times in Memories of Phantasm, Tenchou x Touhou Project and Fantasy Kaleidoscope Memories of Phantasm 2. The game has spread across the internet through memes, 2chan, 4chan, fan arts, parodies and gameplays. 4chan was once hijacked by Touhou art in /a/. The anonymous user created a spam bot in Perl as a way to create the /jp section. Zun has released eight Touhou music albums. The most notable is its popularity at Comiket, the largest dōjinshi fair in the world. Below I've attached a graph showing the popularity rankings at the fair.
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/timeline/d19a6daa6b3ca9a6c3cecbfa546a7b01.png[/img]

Enough rambling about what it is, it's time to show you what it's all about. Here's a gameplay of Touhou 8 in lunatic mode.




Well that's all for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading this.

[Happeh]

[img]http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/death-parade/images/a/a8/DeathBilliard.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20141223115334[/img]

Title - Death Billiards
Genre(s) - Game, Psychological
Studio(s) - Madhouse
Episodes - Movie (1)
Episode Length - 25 minutes
Rating - R - 17+ (violence & profanity)
Airing Date - Mar 2, 2013
Airing Status - Finished Airing
On Crunchyroll? - No

Synopsis

Somewhere is a mysterious bar known as the Quindecim, where a lone bartender named Decim works. Whenever two people emerge from the bar's elevators, those two must participate in a Death Game with their lives on the line, the results of which will reveal what secrets led them there and what their fate will be afterwards.

Additional Information:
Death Billiards is a 2013 animated short consisting of only one episode. It was created by Yuzuru Tachikawa, a producer from Madhouse. This short was produced as part of the Young Animator Training Project's Anime Mirai 2013 project, which funds young animators. It aired on March 2nd, 2013.

On October 31, 2014, it was announced that a television anime series based on the short, titled Death Parade, had been green lit for production and scheduled to air in 2015.

Characters


Decim
Decim is the bartender of Quindecim and an acting arbiter for the dead.


Kurokami no Onna "Black Haired Woman"
She does not know her name and has no memories of her past whatsoever.
She is Decim's assistant in the Quindecim bar. She displays her human emotions openly, voices her opinion and is slightly short-tempered.

Tails' Opinion

Today we have a movie that I was actually expecting to be a disappointment. I felt this way because its plot sounds amazing, something I would love to watch but I knew it was an OVA. Because its an OVA there are a couple things wrong; the story moves a little fast for my liking, that's to be expected and I understand, it just kinda sucks. Aside from that, the ride is great; the way they are able to tell the story from start to finish in just 25 minutes is something to be marveled at. I was pleasantly surprised with amount of details that were provided throughout. It falters in that it's an OVA, so it was obviously a little rushed but they did a good job for what it is.
I give the story a 7/10

There are literally 4 characters in this (if you don't count the combined 4 seconds of screen-time from the other 3) and they are all considered mains. The characters aren't anything special honestly, aside from Decim. They are pretty boring at the start, the progression is a bit interesting and happens almost on the drop of a dime. I think Madhouse did a brilliant job progressing the two participants of the game through the OVA. Wonderful job.
I give the characters a 9/10.

There is one word that can sum up Death Billiards art; amazing. The detail in the scenes are amazing; the way actions are detailed and that no movement is ignored is impressive. The colors are vibrant but not overwhelming. There isn't a lot of downside to the art of this, well done again.
I give the art an 9/10.

To wrap it up, watch this. I don't know how Death Parade, the series adaptation to this, stacks up but I will be watching Death Parade because of Death Billiards. Madhouse has done it again. Such an enjoyable experience, gives some sort of closure while making my want to watch Death Parade. Well done.
In terms of enjoyment I give it a 9/10

Programmargorp's Opinion

It comes as a bit unusual that we're doing a review on a movie/OVA/whateverthehellthisis, but seeing as Death Billiards is basically another episode of Death Parade (which FYI, is currently airing. And yes, you should watch it), it makes sense that we’re gonna write about it, right?

Now, a bit of background information on Death Billiards. The project itself was born from the Young Animator Training Project/Anime Mirai 2013 and is produced as a short as training for new animators. Basically, this anime was done by Madhouse using some people new to this anime production thing.

To be perfectly honest, nothing much actually “happens” in Death Billiards, as it’s only 20 minutes long, but it touches on many important concepts in real life, such as morale and the very concept of heaven and hell. I can’t go into much without actually spoiling anything, so I’ll finish up first.

What actually shines through strongly in this series, however, is the characters. For a 20 minute production, the character development and their dynamic was done so well that I could hardly believe myself when I was seeing it. Everything from Decim’s way of conversing, the back story of each of their “customers” as well as the exploration of human emotions was done in a way that’s well above average. Couple this with well-produced animation and art makes this series that much better.

Since there isn’t much to write for this without spoiling essentially the whole thing, lets hand down the verdict: Should you watch Death Billiards?
The answer, yes; you should also watch Death Parade while you’re at it. Above all else, Death Parade is no doubt one of the more pure type-a series I’ve seen in quite some time. It is one that was executed well enough for me to enjoy watching it. If there’s anything I watch now that I truly enjoy, it would be Death Parade. It’s probably worth watching.

Tails' Rating 8/10

Programmargorp's Rating 9/10

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Yes. This is hentai...

Title - Velvet Kiss
Title in Japanese- ベルベット・キス
Genre(s)- drama, romance, seinen, slice.of.life, mature, conspiracy, adult, tsundere
Chapters currently released - 32
Author – Chihiro Harumi
Artist(s) – Chihiro Harumi
Released - Jul 30, 2009 to Mar 30, 2012
Status - Completed

Synopsis
Shin's spirits were soaring after winning the lottery and landing a contract with a famous firm in the same day—not bad for a normally luckless office worker. He quickly plummets back down to earth, however, upon discovering that he's been saddled with an immense amount of debt. There is, however, one way he can keep his creditors at bay: become "friends" with an enigmatic and alluring girl named Kanoko. The task sounds simple enough at first, but leaves him eating his own words as Kanoko's selfish demands start to take their toll on him both mentally and physically. Will Shin ever be able to pay his debt off, or will the lust, luxury, and mystery simply overwhelm him?

Characters


You have a sore arm?...

Shin Nitta (新田 信)
Ordinary businessman approaching his thirties, who gets into debt problems with Kikuchiya family and in order to freeze his debt he has to 'befriend' Kano.


WOW.

Kanoko Kikuchiya (菊池和 かのこ)
A rich girl that Nitta was assigned to. Kanoko is a lonely person belonging to a rich family, with her father and her stepmother, Yoriko. At first, her relationship with Shin only appears to be a forced relationship, with Kanoko taking advantage of the debt to command Nitta to do her errands. However, this changes as Shin learns of her childhood, and bonds closer with Kanoko.

She is addicted to sex, as she was influenced by her other friends.

Vandie’s Opinion
It's not very often that I find myself reviewing hentai and to be perfectly honest, I'm glad. This is a hentai and as such there are many depictions of intercourse which if you are trying to read for the purposes of giving an in depth and high quality review, becomes quite tiresome. The story follows a young salary man , named Nitta Shin, that has a massive debt placed upon him for reasons that shall remain unexplained. Because of this, he is forced to become friends with the debiting company's air. Her name is Kanoko Kikuchiya and she's a sex addict... That's putting it nicely. The story shows their somewhat "strange" relationship and how it grows them both as people.

Velvet kiss is as much of comment on today's society as it is an erotic piece of graphic literature though. Especially at the end. It makes you like the characters and want them to live happily, however the manga manages to do this in one of the strangest way possible leaving you many questions about their ability to make intelligent decisions...
The story gets a rather raunchy 7.5/10

From the way I've just talked about the story, I think you can already tell that the story focuses very heavily on the characters. There are only really two important characters, Nitta Shin the unlucky/lucky guy (depending on your viewpoint) roped into the whole forced friendship thing. Then you have Kanoko who has been the focus of one or two arguments within the AnimeFan! teamspeak.(whatever you do don't tell Tweety that she is a slut).
The characters have brilliantly in depth emotions and wants. I feel that both of the characters really make the story interesting and unique.
The Characters get a nude 8/10

I should probably get this put on a T-shirt but "The characters face's are soft and beautiful to look at". The Backdrops are simplistic and fit for purpose. Plus the sexual scenes aren't so graphic as to take away from everything else. Velvet Kiss has very nice art that I think allows it to be read for the plot and artistic value rather than just for the sake of seeing a bunch of sex.
The art gets a rather lewd 8.3/10

So before I give the final verdict, I'd just like to say that it's great to be back. You guys have no idea how much joy it brings me to write these for you and I can only hope that you enjoy them as much as I do.

Velvet Kiss is an interesting tale of two people from wildly different backgrounds being put into a situation that neither wants and them making the best of it. It is greatly enjoyable and shows us many great things. I would highly recommend it to any of you who don't mind reading more questionable material.
Velvet Kiss Receives an "adults only" 8/10

Thanks for reading my section again guys, I know that a lot of you enjoy reading AA weekly so I request that if you can, do send a PM to me requesting a manga as I feel kind of stuck when it comes to picking one out at the beginning of each week.

Again. Thanks for reading.
Signed,
Vandie

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[img]http://fuwanovel.net/assets/images/vn/64/mainArt.jpg[/img]
Grisaia no Kajitsu
This visual novel was previously reviewed by Nathan22 here but I do not think he gave it a fair shake and wanted to revisit it.

Synopsis:
Spoiler (Click to View)Mihama Academy - on the surface, a closed learning environment established to nurture students who find themselves at odds with the world around them; in actuality, an orchard-cum-prison built to preserve fruit that has fallen too far from its tree.

Whatever the circumstances behind its establishment, Mihama Academy is at present, home to five female students, all with their own reasons for "enrollment." For better or worse. Each girl has established a routine obliging of her current situation; life moves at an idle, yet accommodating pace within the walls of Mihama.

Yet with the arrival of the institute's first male student, the nearly preposterously opaque Kazami Yuuji, the students at Mihama begin to fall out of step with their predetermined rhythms. Will Yuuji prove to be the element the girls around him needed to take hold of their lives once more, or will the weight of their pasts prove too steep a wall to overcome?

And in the first place, just who is Kazami Yuuji? While the true nature of the "job" he is wont to alight to at the most haphazard of moments remains shrouded in secrecy, one thing is for certain - his encroachment upon the quiet orchard known as Mihama Academy will prove itself momentous in one way or another. And of course, one cannot discount the possibility that perhaps Yuuji himself carries the weightiest past of any of the students...

Story review:
When I came onto the weekly team and went through the VN review archive I had always disagreed with Nathan's previous review. So with the recent airing of the anime (which fucking sucks compared to the VN BTW) I thought it would be a great time to come back to Grisaia. Grisaia is a 3 part series with the first entry being enclosed enough to be a standalone. Though it isn't very apparent during the first VN this IS a sci-fi series and should be treated as such. Thus you have to have an open mind and some suspension of disbelief. I point this out because two of the game's heroines have really asspull reasons for some things that I cannot explain without spoilers. I think this is why Nathan thought the story was written first then characters placed afterwards.

So we follow Kazami Yuuji as he arrives at Mihama Academy thanks to a favor the principle owed him. The overarching theme of this VN is solving problems together. Everyone has them and the people residing at Mihama are all there for a reason that warrants their cutoff from society. So through the (very long) common route you get to know each heroine's quirks and personalities. There are not very many choices until the first route divider choice. To be specific there are only 2 choices in each route. One to enter the route and one to pick which ending you want. While these are cut and dry usually on which ending you will receive they still hold a lot of emotional weight after getting to know each character. Talking about each character's problems would be ruining the experience for you so I cannot talk about them. But each one of the routes has follow up in Grisaia no Meikyuu and Grisaia no Rakuen that is NOT NEEDED to enjoy Grisaia. Again this VN is standalone with additional story in the sequel VNs.

Sound:

The soundtrack in Grisaia is actually really well done. Every heroine has her own ending song for the good end and the entirety of the VN has music playing. I personally really love the rain sound they recorded. I could listen to it for hours without boring of it. But then there is that GOD DAMN FUCKING UPBEAT LOBBY SONG THAT I WANT TO FUCKING STRANGLE AFTER IT HAS BEEN IN A CAR FIRE BECAUSE I LISTENED TO IT FOR 10+ HOURS WHILE READING. Everything in moderation apparently. The soundtrack as a whole is really well done and has a spot in my permanent music library except the one track that will not be named.

Art

The art for this VN is phenomenal. The backdrops look great and the character sprites are even better. As with most of these areas I think it's better to show than tell.

Spoiler (Click to View)[img]http://cgv.blicky.net/gnk/0487.jpg[/img]
Spoiler (Click to View)[img]http://cgv.blicky.net/gnk/0367.jpg[/img]
Spoiler (Click to View)[img]http://cgv.blicky.net/gnk/0193.jpg[/img]
NSFW
Spoiler (Click to View)[img]http://cgv.blicky.net/gnk/0112.jpg[/img]

Overall Satisfaction:
I am eagerly awaiting the translations of the next 2 VNs. They have been officially picked up by Sekai Project, and Maikyuu is expected around August. With Rakuen coming December/Early 2016. I whole heartedly recommend you give this a shot as it is one of the best VNs translated/soon to be localized.

Story: 8/10 (This can go down depending on how good your suspension of disbelief is.)
Sound:8/10
Art: 10/10

[Happeh]

Interview - Kiyoshi
(Click to View)
Kieru:

First off, lets start with when you began in anime/manga/Japanese culture, and where?


Kiyoshi:

My first experience with anime was when I was around 6-7 years old.
It happened quite randomly, actually. When I was young, I usually went into my brother's room to watch him play games etc, because I didn't have a computer myself. But one day, when I went into the room to watch him as usual, he was sitting there, watching some old mecha-gore anime. That's more or less how my anime journey started; my brother. After a while, he also shared his love of Japanese swords etc, so the culture just appeared to join my life, more or less.


Kieru:

That's awesome! I got my start pretty similarly!
Next up: If you were locked in a closet with one person from AA who would it be?


Kiyoshi:

Oh god. I'm actually not sure.
But if I would HAVE to pick one, it would have to be Lyralei. Probably because he was one of the first people I saw there, and I just felt a "connection" with. It's probably one-sided though, haha!


Kieru:

Interesting choice! The next question follows up on a thread I made recently. Who is your all-time favorite tsundere?


Kiyoshi:

Well, there was a reason to why I haven't posted in that thread yet. Mostly cause I don't have an answer. But if I were to choose one, I might have to throw out Makise from Stein's Gate or Taiga from Toradora.


Kieru:

I'll have to admit Toradora's perfect ending brought me to tears. I think Steins Gate is on my to watch list too! Next up is: Do you watch anime with friends?


Kiyoshi:

Well, if you mean as in watching in same room, no. - I've done it before though but, I usually don't. But I've been sitting on communication programs, like Skype and TeamSpeak and watched with friends. But I usually like to watch it alone. Then I can freely pause the series and just relax more.


Kieru:

I feel you on that one! I hope to participate in AnimeFAN's movie nights at one point, though. Next is our last question. If you were to change the ending to one of any anime you've ever seen, what would it be, and why?


Kiyoshi:

Oh gad. There are way too many anime that could have had a nice ending. Like fucking Guilty Crown. Spoiler (Click to View)SHE DIDN'T NEED TO DIE/DISAPPEAR! (Inori)
But, I don't really want to throw any anime out here. Cause I've more or less accepted all the endings essentially of all the anime I've watched. And I think they're fine as they are, so I would like to leave this blank. If possible. Fuck the Guilty Crown ending, though. All this, alongside my mind being too blank at the moment to actually make a perfect ending.


Kieru:

That's quite the answer! I like the way you think! Thanks for doing this interview, though. You've really helped me out. I had fun!


Kiyoshi:

No problem! I wish you good luck!



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So I decided to go back to the old graphics made by the member Rivalry. I ended up using them once before my break and hiatus and I feel they deserve more show time than that - especially because how cute they are, but maybe that's me being bias? Either way, new look for now. Also missing a few sections due to no submissions but that's fine for now, working out the kinks of the system behind the scenes. Hoped you enjoyed this issue!

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The News Team:

• Happeh
  • Editor
  
  
  
  

• Tweety
  • Cosplay Corner
  
  
  
  

• Dragon.
  • Headlines
  
  
  
  

• Sejskaler
  • Graphics
  
  
  
  

• +Cloud
  • Graphics
  
  
  
  

• Tails.
  • Series Highlights
  
  
  
  

• Programmargorp
  • Series Highlights
  
  
  
  

• Hentai
  • VN of the Week
  
  
  
  

• Kanade Tachibana
  • VN of the Week
  
  
  
  

• Vandie
  • Manga Highlight
  
  
  
  

• King~
  • Music Video of the Week
  
  
  
  

• Azsry
  • Proofreader
  
  
  
  

• Angel
  • Interviewer
  
  
  
  

• Kieru
  • Interviewer
  
  
  
  

• Viper
  • Music News
  
  
  
  

• iMew
  • Backup Writer
  
  
  
  

• Buffy Summers
  • Gaming News
  
  
  
  

• xCaptainMurphyx
  • Proofreader
  
  
  
  

• Thornzzz
  • Proofreader
  
  
  
  

• Angel
  • Cumbucket
  
  
  
  

[Deadly..]

Very nice looking forward to watching some of these great post btw and thank you :)

[Angеl]

Gotta say, I approve of my new postion.

[iMew]

Glad to see that Touhou music is being covered; it's easily the franchise with the best game OST in my opinion. I used to have almost all of it on my PC but unfortunately lost most of it a while ago. I'm going to have to hunt for another collection soon.

Some of my favorite tracks I'd definitely recommend everyone to check out:



Emotional Skyscraper ~ Cosmic Mind
U.N. Owen was Her?
Necrofantasia

[w w w]

Damn this turned out nice. Hope you guys enjoy!

[KinGxKeV]

Very nice Happeh and glad to see you back :)

[Thornzzz]

Glad to be able to help make this happen. Good edition.

[eiqht]

sup gay boi didn't know you were back

you know an anime is good when that nig‌‌‌‌‌‌‌ger Programmargorp rates it above a 1/10

[crazyycast13]

I can confirm Velvet Kiss is an 8/10, it's in my mangastuff.txt list

[Happeh]

sup gay boi didn't know you were back

you know an anime is good when that nig‌‌‌‌‌‌‌ger Programmargorp rates it above a 1/10

yeah I'm back fag

Very nice Happeh and glad to see you back :)

It's nice to see you again King. Long time. :)

Gotta say, I approve of my new postion.

Glad you like your new position. :3

[Vandie]

Glad to see this up. Well done everyone.

[Jay‌]

I'll be riding a bullet train in japan next week. Be jelly weebos.

[Chitoge]

I enjoyed this issue.
I had no clue that Death Parade had a movie. The Grisaia VN review seem to be on point so I may have to check that out. Props to everyone who worked on this week's issue.