[Happeh]

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

Issue #76

Most non-NEET people in the world don't realize that human nature isn't scalar, but vectorial."
- Shionji Yuuko (Kamisama No Memochou)

The Sakura Trees Bloom



"The cherry blossom represents the fragility and the beauty of life. It's a reminder that life is almost overwhelmingly beautiful but that it is also tragically short." - Homaro Cantu

Known throughout the world for its beautiful pink and white petals, the Japanese Cherry Blossom is perhaps one of the most prominent things associated with Japan.

In Japanese culture, the Sakura tree and its beauty is ever present. It is the topic of many Japanese folktales, music, and literature, and is featured in many historical works of art. A true sight to behold, the Sakura tree is engrained deep in Japanese culture, its presence reaching far into present time. Several folk and modern-day pop songs revolve are themed around them. Some of them even bear the name "Sakura". However, the majority of us in this section probably know it best by its presence in many popular anime and manga.

Throughout Japan, there are many designated viewing sites of the Japanese Cherry Blossom trees. If you are taking a trip to Japan within the next month (or are currently staying there) and would like to view these beautiful trees in full bloom, you can use the following resource to find convenient locations near you and plan accordingly.


Fans Try to Replicate Effects of Hestia's String

[img]http://gaming.trendolizer.com/assets_c/2015/04/877442-thumb-288xauto-755911.png[/img]

The recent premiere of Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? (ダンジョンに出会いを求めるのは間違っているだろうか) has sparked interest on a few social media sites, such as Twitter, regarding Hestia's blue string that appear to lift her breasts. Several cosplayers attempted to demonstrate the string's shortcomings. Despite not wearing a bra, aiya23mt08cos on Twitter writes that "It's hard to move and it eats into my arms." @z_n_c_890_P concluded her findings by stating that should the string be placed in the location it appears to be in the anime, there's absolutely no way it can lift the breasts. There just isn't enough tension. She states that "[In order] to get the right amount of lift, the string must be placed further out underneath the breasts themselves."

Several more popular cosplayers attempted to justify the use of the string, but the general consensus among all of them was that the string inhibits movement and is extremely uncomfortable to wear. In short, it isn't a feasible solution to lift breasts up. Oh well Japan. Keep trying.


1 Boy, 159 Girls.



Infinite Stratos, Seitokai Yakuindomo, and Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance, just to name a few. What do all of these shows have in common? They all feature a boy entering an all girl's school. For most men, this would be a dream. For one boy in Japan, this dream is a reality. Tsuruoka-kita High School located in the Yamagata Prefecture was an all girl's school until just recently--a lone male has recently just enrolled and will be attending the high school this school year. The school is an former all-girl's school until it opened its doors to members of the opposite sex two years ago; however, it was only this year that a male has enrolled and will be attending formal classes there.

Only time will tell whether this is a dream come true or a living nightmare for this young man. Hopefully he doesn't get into too many misunderstood situations this school year.


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Discussions

• [Discussion] Stream, Download or Buy Anime? by SiiiNaN
  So how do you watch your anime? Personally I prefer streaming or buying when I can!
  

• crunchyroll HackForums AA group by Popstar Ahri
  Join up to the (un)official AA Crunchyroll group!
  

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As I expected, it's been confirmed that Square Enix's "Project CKP" is a new Deus Ex entry. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided will be released for Playstation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Not much is currently known about Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, but what is known looks promising if you were an original fan of the series. Gameplay won't change much, but the AI are far more intelligent now. Similar to the previous Deux Ex entry, you can choose to fly through the game guns blazing or take a more stealthy approach. It's been confirmed that Adam Jensen is still the protagonist of the series and will travel through various locations like the Czech Republic. As stated earlier, not much is known about Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, but what is known is discussed in Game Informer's coverage trailer below! Take a look and let us know what you think!

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No user submissions this week. :(

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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[img]http://jame-world.com/_pic/pic/4809-a.jpg[/img]

Heyyo this week we'll be having a glance at the band called Asian Kung-Fu Generation. The band plays alternative rock and was formed in Yokohama, Japan, in 1996. There are four members who are all male. What's unique about this band was their very first album released in Japan was almost entirely sung in English. A year after the album, they tried to get their song to play on Indie radio stations and got picked up by a popular DJ, gaining mass audience rapidly. They then started playing in Japanese at clubs and grew a fan base. Why is the band so popular? Well first off they play in a western punk/alternative style mixed with Japanese indie rock. Their music is fast, 'hard-edged guitar riffs' and emotional. How many bands do you know release their first album in a foreign language? Not many I assume.

The band grew big and played around the world. Nominated for 12 awards and winning 5 of them. For their 10th anniversary, they played over at the Yokohama Stadium. If you don't already know, Japan is a huge fan of baseball and that stadium is well known. For some reason or another, they quit releasing singles and albums. Fans started to get worried as they were inactive for 2 years until a teaser video was released for Easter. Below I've attached the video, hope you enjoy it.

[Happeh]

Title - Death Parade
Genre(s) - Mystery, Game, Psychological
Studio(s) - Madhouse
Episodes - 12
Episode Length - 23 min. per episode
Rating - R - 17+ (violence & profanity)
Airing Date - Jan 10, 2015 to Mar 28, 2015
Airing Status - Finished Airing
On Crunchyroll? - No
Click here to watch Death Parade

Click here to read the review we did on the "pilot" of this show, Death Billiards.
And click here to watch Death Billiards.

Synopsis

After death, humans are either sent to the void or reincarnated. But for some, at the instant of their death, they arrive at Quindecim, a bar attended by the mysterious white-haired Decim. He challenges them to the Death Game, wherein they wager their lives and reveal their true natures. Decim himself is the ultimate arbitrator of who wins and who loses, who will go to the void, and who will be reincarnated.

Characters


Nona
Nona is an arbiter on the 90th floor and holds a leading position. She has been the manager for 82 years. She administers and supervises the work of others, while pursuing her own inscrutable goals. She is laid back and a little unfathomable. In contrast to her small stature, she is quite bossy and self-confident.


Decim
Decim is the bartender of Quindecim and an acting arbiter for the dead. He always puts up a serious face and is very cool and professional. His hobby is putting dummies together and dressing them up. He has a lot of respect for people who lived fulfilled lives.

Tails' Opinion

Death Parade's story is frustratingly amazing. They take the story they want to tell, and do it well. The overall story itself as well, is great. Madhouse does a great job here of extending the storytelling through the entire 12 episodes. It does come full circle and there does seem to be a good amount of story in every episode. So why does it sound like Im complaining? Well, because. This feels like it was essentially given the Attack on Titan treatment. There is about 7 minutes of story and about 18 of the games being played. And that makes for a highly enjoyable experience. But it is still frustrating learning a tiny bit about the big picture only to either snap to the games and judgements or the credits. I understand that it was to set a stage as well keep entertainment at a high but they could have at least made the judgements feel like they meant something, or mattered to the big picture. When in reality it is just some pseudo symbolism that is immediately overridden in the very next segment of dialogue.
I give the story a 7/10

The characters bring the show to life. With a new supporting cast pretty much every single episode you would expect the backstory for each individual to be a little bland and for the characters to seem like they took a back seat to the main cast. Madhouse excels in telling a story for each individual person and then extending on that and giving them a wonderful dynamic with each other as well as progression. The main cast only gets stronger, the progression that is made throughout the series is something to be marveled at. Honestly, every single studio should be taking notes on how Madhouse was able to progress almost every single character in the show while keeping a not only interesting dynamic but one that makes sense and doesnt seem forced.
I give the characters a 9/10.

I was honestly disappointed by the animation of Death Parade. After seeing Death Billiards I expected a lot more. I guess its understandable the difference between animating a short film and of a series. I just would have expected more after seeing Death Billiards beauty. The character movements seemed sloppy and all the intricacies of Death Billiards were gone. Its very easy to notice when watching that some parts were payed less attention. The animation style itself was ok, not my favorite. There were time where brilliance does show through, its not 100% bad. But Im more of a believer that I would rather see 75% good throughout as opposed to 100% at some times and 50% at others. Sheer beauty in some areas gets easily overshadowed when something else is ugly.
I give the art an 6/10.

There are plenty of reasons to love this series. There really isnt a lot of reasons to not love it. So I'll just list my number one reason I am not going to give it a 10 for being enjoyable. I didnt like the ending. Everyone has a different interpretation of whats good and bad, I just didnt care for the ending. I liked how things got explained and everything came full circle. I just felt the ending could have been so much more. The individual games were great, very enjoyable and entertaining and Im glad they chose to skip the explanation that could have been added to every episode at the beginning of the games and could have wasted literally 2 minutes. Very nice decision there. Overall, Death Parade is up there on my list, not really topping, but definitely up there.
In terms of enjoyment I give it a 10/10.

Programmargorp's Opinion

Death Parade, i.e. the continuation of Death Billiards features mostly the same team behind the original series. Following the events of our mysterious bartender Decim and his assistant Chiyuki, we’re shown a myriad of people being “judged” and ultimately, the fate of their souls. Perhaps expectedly, Madhouse delivered pretty well overall on this series; now to find those haters and shove this series in their face. Does it really deserve the 8.5/10 on MAL? Let’s find out.

Death Parade as a series doesn’t really pick up until the last few episodes, where we’re shown Chiyuki’s past (NOTE: NOT A SPOILER!). Here’s where Death Parade really succeeds; entertainment. See, the whole of Death Parade was not deep at all and in reality contained next to no real symbolism or philosophy, however this doesn’t make it bad as long as you don’t think too deeply into it.
While lacking in story, Death Parade really shines through in the characterisation of Decim and Chiyuki. Practically the whole series was devoted to the development of Decim while slowly building onto the history of Chiyuki. To the point where the characters are virtually indistinguishable from their former selves in episode one. However, even as I say this, the character development still fails to hold a candle to top notch series such as Texhnolyze or Jinrui. i.e It’s good, but not THAT good.

Perhaps the real place this series shines through is with Madhouse’s animation. Contradictory to what Tails thinks, I personally liked the art style of Death Parade. While I cannot comment on the specifics of the art, I believe that the whole design direction they took with Death Parade rapidly outweighs the difference in art compared to Death Billiards. Vibrant colours and beautiful scenery decorated the series at all the right places, and that’s what really matters.

In regards to the most important question, i.e. Should you watch Death Parade. I would answer with a “yes”.
In the end, the reason why you watch anime is to relax. If I wanted something that would bring tears to my eyes, I would read a Visual Novel. If I wanted something with deep and intricate philosophy, I would read something else. However, Death Parade serves its purpose in demonstrating precisely what the medium is capable of, and for that I applaud its efforts and success.

Tails' Rating 8/10

Programmargorp's Rating 7/10

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TBH, I'm not even sure what to say here...

Title - Kanojo ni Naru Hi
Title in Japanese- 彼女になる日
Genre(s)- Romance, Shoujo, Gender Bender
Chapters currently released - 8
Author – Akane Ogura
Artist(s) – Akane Ogura
Released - Jun 10, 2013 to ?
Status - Ongoing

Synopsis
Miyoshi is always competing and losing against his childhood friend, Mamiya, who is good at everything. One day, Mamiya collapses from illness and is hospitalized for several weeks. When he returns to school, it turns out he is genetically female, and has decided to try living his life as a girl now much to Miyoshi's horror.

Characters


She looks good as a girl...

Nao Mamiya (間宮)
After collapsing in class and being admitted to hospital for two weeks, Mamiya comes back to school as a girl. Although very comfortable as a girl, she still has a long way to go in understanding her new life as well as her new found feelings for her childhood friend, Miyoshi.


I can see why they thought he was a sexual deviant...

Kyousuke Miyoshi (三芳)
Kyousuke Miyoshi developed gynophobia after falsely being labeled a sexual deviant in middle school by the girls of his class. So when his childhood friend Mamiya comes to school, after being in hospital, as a a girl. He must struggle to keep his friendship with Mamiya as well as understand his newfound feelings for her.

Vandie’s Opinion
Kanojo ni Naru Hi is yet again something that you guys have gotten me to review that pushes me well out of my comfort zone. It asks a question that I know many people would not really think about, "What happens if a close friend of yours randomly changes gender". I know personally I wouldn't really know what to do. The story follows Nao Mamiya who suffered the result of a strange phenomenon that changed him into a female, Kyousuke Miyoshi who was his childhood friend and their relationship as Miyoshi seems to have grown feelings of attraction towards Mamiya. The story moves at a very fast pace, and could really have been cut off after the 5th chapter. The thing is though, that after this, Ogura has written about how they must now struggle to get acceptance by society as well as from themselves. It's a story that makes you think and doesn't take the long overdrawn path of many romance manga. It takes the most direct rout to each plot point possible. Although the story is a bit too fast paced for my liking,
I'm going to give the story a loving 8/10

As with any romance manga, The characters are the single most important bit. The two characters within Kanojo ni Naru Hi are both very interesting. Miyoshi struggles with whether He should be treating Mamiya as a male or a female, even after he acknowledges his love for her/him... For the first five chapters his gynophobia doesn't really help either but Mamiya as his childhood friend tries to help him overcome this. Mamiya is also a very conflicted character who although took to being a girl almost instantly, doesn't want to give up some of the things that she could do while she was a boy. Had she been born a girl some of her behavior may have been taken as slutty or caused people to think she was "easy". The characters seem to just be trying to understand their feelings for each other as well as trying to find out their place in the world. Even in the 8 chapters that we have their has already been so much character development that I am in awe of Ogura's writing skills.
The Characters get a brilliant 9.5/10

The art in Kanojo ni Naru Hi is not that generic either. It has quite distinct style that, although I have seen a few times before, is always welcome. It's art makes the characters seem a bit more real than with some others.even though I do like the art style, I do feel like a few things could be brushed up slightly to make the art look cleaner.In a manga that deals with such messy thinking, I can see how it fits though so It's not exactly a valid complaint.
The art gets a rather nice 9/10

Overall, Kanojo ni Naru Hi is an interesting look into a question that is not often asked by the general consensus. It makes you want to read more to see how the story is going to develop and with it's fast pace, it means that you can easily pick a chapter up on a train of bus journey and actually feel like the story has progressed. Kanojo ni naru Hi is a good read that although not within my personal tastes is brilliant if you like this sort of thing.
I'm gonna give it a 9/10 Overall.

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

[Happeh]

Interview - VYKTOR

(Click to View)
Kieru: Hey! I'm glad to have you for this interview. I guess we should get things started. So, how long have you been a member of AA?

VYKTOR: ahh, let's see I'll have to checkup but maybe around 7-8 months I guess. When I didn't watch anime, I used to wonder why HF had an AA subforum but now that's the only subforum I visit other than AF.

Kieru: Seems like you've been around for quite a while! With that being said, who would you say is your best friend in the board?

VYKTOR: Ahh, I have many good friends but to pick a few I'll have to say: Angel senpai, Static Noise Bird a.k.a Maxim, Fictional & Thornzzz maybe cause we talk a lot.

Kieru: All seem like pretty nice guys! Now some more anime-related questions. If you had to pick one scene out of any anime or manga as your favorite, what would it be?

VYKTOR: Hmm, my favourite scene..... I have so many that it's hard to put my finger on one but I think this one scene made me like anime a lot. It was the fight between Jason & Kaneki in Tokyo Ghoul & in the last episode when he says in a badass way, " You wanted to devour me so you won't mind if I eat you". It gave me creeps & I really loved that changed version of Kaneki.

Kieru: That scene was absolutely amazing. It's probably in my top 5. Alongside this, if you had to be any one character, who would it be?

VYKTOR: Makishima Shougo. I love that guy so much I don't know what to say. One of the best villains I've ever seen. Next would be Accelerator cause I prefer villains over heroes but since I can choose only one so Makishima it is.

Kieru: Makishima seemed like a total badass, that's a really nice choice! Now for some more interesting questions. You have no more than 5 sentences to prove why your waifu is the best waifu. Go!

VYKTOR: Yuno Gasai is the queen of Yanderes & she will do anything for her lover & in her case it's really anything. She is cute + her pink hair with bangs & beautiful eyes make her completely adorable. She is deadly sexy & I love how she won't share me with any other girl, girls of such nature make me go doki-doki. She'll support me in anything I do whether it be wrong or right. Who doesn't want a beauty who can be a wife+hitman+God just for their sake?

Kieru: Yuno is a really great choice for a waifu! Yandere's also always make things really interesting. Next up: Anime has just became illegal! Which AA member goes to jail first?

VYKTOR: I'll say Herb or Chitoge. Mainly Chitoge as Nisekoi is airing currently & he loves his waifu so much he'd definitely do anything to watch her.

Kieru: Yeah I agree with you on that one. Now in your opinion, who is the single funniest anime character?

VYKTOR: Ahh, it's a really hard choice. I'll say Araragi Koyomi. That guy is epic & I really like his voice actor.

Kieru: Bakemonogatari is on my watchlist! He does seem like a pretty epic character. To wrap things up, who's your first choice to go drinking with?

VYKTOR: Fictional. He seems like a very cool guy & knows about a lot of things + it's hilarious talking to him at times.

Kieru: Fictional always seems pretty cool, so that's an interesting choice! Thanks for doing this interview! It was a lot of fun talking to you!

VYKTOR: Yeah, the pleasure's mine!

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[Chips Ahoy McCoy]

Great read this week. Those cherry blossom trees look absolutely gorgeous. Also, nice to see Death Parade as the anime highlight. ^^

[Exha]

Never been really active as a poster in the AA section and first time reading these weekly threads. Have to say I really enjoyed reading it, nice work all of you, I may consider reading more of these soon, including the previous weeks ones.

[VYKTOR]

I command you all to read my interview as I mentioned a lot of the guys whom I talk to.
Sorry if I left anyone behind.
I'm quite happy to be featured in the AA Weekly.✌
Good work as always team.👍

[Happeh]

Great read this week. Those cherry blossom trees look absolutely gorgeous. Also, nice to see Death Parade as the anime highlight. ^^

They do look nice!

Never been really active as a poster in the AA section and first time reading these weekly threads. Have to say I really enjoyed reading it, nice work all of you, I may consider reading more of these soon, including the previous weeks ones.

Well I'm glad we have another new fan! We release every monday!

Looks like we had another l-lewd week

S-Senpai...

I command you all to read my interview as I mentioned a lot of the guys whom I talk to.
Sorry if I left anyone behind.
I'm quite happy to be featured in the AA Weekly.✌
Good work as always team.👍

Thank you for being an interviewee. We appreciate it here at the team!

[Esdese]

mfw I'll never be an only male in an all girls school

[+Cloud]

another great edition of aa weekly :0 thx pplz

[Vandie]

Glad too see everyone enjoying our work yet again.

[Happeh]

This needs to be read by more people. small

[Tasemu]

Nice release. Very happy to see that Asian Kung-fu Generation is doing something finally!

[Happeh]

Nice release. Very happy to see that Asian Kung-fu Generation is doing something finally!

Thanks for the kind words, Tasemu.

Everyone else read pls.

[Madam X]

I really liked the information about The Sakura Trees :3

[Manyaco]

Those sakura trees are beautiful ^_^