indelible_smile's Journal

lonely_hunter @ 2:44am: I admit it, occasionally I look at 2channel, the immense Japanese-language message board. There is a section for threads devoted to individual anime characters, and of course many of the 5D’s characters have their own threads. It takes 1000 messages to fill one page, and the last time I looked Yuusei was up to his 14th page. The series isn’t up to episode 130 yet, so he’s averaging more than 100 messages per episode.

Again, the last time I looked, Jack was up to page 6½, and they had to count in halves because his threads kept dropping off the board for inactivity before they were full. And he’s the co-star! (By the way, Kiryuu is up to page 18.^^)

Jack is tall, blond, handsome, well-built, confident, dramatic, has no fashion sense, yet has more costume changes than any other character, and somehow manages to be loved by the same characters he’s arrogant to -- surely this character is ripe for fans. Where could they be?!

Last night, I found them. Recently 2channel reorganized itself somewhat, and I was refamiliarizing myself with the main menu. I happened to find a section for threads devoted to individual characters in the “over 18 anime” part of the board. I expected that meant anime intended for over 18s, but I took a look anyway. Some of the 5D’s characters are there.

Yuusei is on his 4th page already, starting from back in 2008, so this section itself is not new -- I just discovered it now because of the reorganization. Almost 4000 messages, for a children’s show to hold the interest of the over 18s for so long isn’t bad.

Jack is up to 11.

lonely_hunter @ 10:16pm: TF4 diary continues
Got past Yusei's second event, again with surprising ease. The day-to-day duels to earn points have been harder. The early events must be planned to be easy, although I know that won't last.

The next day, Yusei came running up and asked if he could join me, instead of my having to ask him. Actually, I've read a little further in the guide book, and I might like to partner with someone else temporarily in order to unlock specific card packs. (Or to have a chance of beating Crow, who, according to the book, is as "weak" as he will ever be right now. Yusei and I haven't been able to do it, because Crow always seems to tag with someone even stronger than he is. Now, if the Lightsworn user was on my side instead of his, maybe I'd have a chance...) But I'm afraid that if I turn Yusei down now, I'll hurt his feelings.

lonely_hunter @ 3:53pm: the WHAT?!
WHAT DOES THAT SAY?!

( Screencap from 5D's ep 86 under cut )

lonely_hunter @ 8:07pm: More video game rambling
To my own surprise, I got past Yusei's first "event" duel (in the U.S. version, where his name loses a u here and there). I got up to the event in the first place mostly by beating poor Carly, and also Jack and Leo a couple of times. My "strategy" still consists of getting out monsters and hitting people with them.
( Identity of opponent under cut )

lonely_hunter @ 6:51pm: Rambling and whining about video games
While waiting for Tag Force 4 to come out, I had started playing the original Tag Force in the hope of learning the card game. Fortunately, TF1 is like dueling with training wheels; it stops and reminds you when you have an opportunity to play a trap card, for example. I managed to win a few duels despite having no concept of strategy.
( Read more )

lonely_hunter @ 9:48pm: ( Possible spoilers, mostly speculation and blatant favoritism )

lonely_hunter @ 10:27pm: New amigurumi under cut.

( Read more )

lonely_hunter @ 7:22pm: Heart of the Cartridge
(Title borrowed from, I think, Pojo forum)

In anticipation of Tag Force 4, to be released this autumn, I’ve started to play the first Tag Force, in hopes of learning the game. I speak as a player who has lost to tutorials. Playing Tag Force, I got my first YGO victory ever, so I’m very pleased.

I got up the nerve to play each of the three main Red duelists, and was somewhat surprised. All the NPCs tell you about Jaden/Juudai and his famous Fusion deck, but he didn’t fuse any monsters when I played him. Chumley/Hayato fused Master of Oz on me, a 4000+ ATK monster, stronger than Blue Eyes! I don’t have anything even close to that.

Luckily, I drew a spell card that allowed me to destroy one face-up monster, no questions asked. If I hadn’t drawn it at the right time, I would have lost. So the Heart of the Cartridge was with me!

lonely_hunter @ 6:27pm: Team Satisfaction Revisited, part three
[Continued from
http://asylums.insanejournal.com/indelible_smile/11578.html and
http://asylums.insanejournal.com/indelible_smile/12002.html]

●The start of a new story! And, will a certain person come back?!

Interviewer: The intense Dark Signer arc has come to a conclusion, and a new story will start. What are you all excited about in your new fight?
( Read more )

lonely_hunter @ 8:41pm: Team Satisfaction Revisited, part two
[Continued from http://asylums.insanejournal.com/indelible_smile/11578.html]

●The Dark Signer story cannot be told without tears!

Interviewer: Along with the epic battle of Signers vs. Dark Signers, the Dark Signer arc also portrayed the past of your four characters. Looking back on it, what are your impressions?
( Read more )

lonely_hunter @ 11:15pm: Team Satisfaction Revisited, part one
[The August issue of Seiyuu Grand Prix featured another interview with some of the 5D’s voice actors. I just received my copy yesterday, so I’ll be translating the interview in sections over the next few days. This will also be posted at ygo_5ds on LiveJournal, where my user name is skrymiir.]

The bond of comradeship…
That holds us together across time and space!
( Yuugiou 5D’s Group Interview )

lonely_hunter @ 7:05pm: Historical trivia
The new credits reveal that Crow is going by the name Kurou Hougan. (“Kurou” is what I’ve been transliterating as “Crow”, but Hougan is new.)

As the Japanese fans immediately recognized, these are both names or epithets associated with Minamoto Yoshitsune, a historical warrior hero. So I assume this isn’t the name his parents gave him, but one he chose for himself. From his story about the Bridge Guy, we know Crow is a hero worshipper.

Yoshitsune is a popular hero, and legend describes him as both a great fighter and a great lover. (And also short!). But although he was a great tactical fighter, he was no match in strategy or in politics for his older brother, who became the first Shogun. Probably Yoshitsune is most famous for going out in a blaze of self-destruction.

It’s misleading to read too much into a name, of course. But I wouldn’t be surprised if all of Crow’s early brilliant success leads up to some great tragic error.



(P.S. I first read about Yoshitsune in Ivan Morris’ The Nobility of Failure. Prof. Morris is a fascinating writer. Be sure to check out the footnotes, there’s some great stuff in there.

(But re-reading his introduction to ~Failure, which describes tragic figures whose sheer sincerity of purpose means they’re unable to make mundane compromises and leads to their defeat by established authorities -- that part reminds me of a different character.)

lonely_hunter @ 1:09am: Inspiration for Zero Reverse?
http://tinyurl.com/klbxoq

Link goes to a New York Times article about a proposed new energy project!

lonely_hunter @ 7:31pm: News! Sort of.
Miyashita-san (Yuusei's voice) writes in his blog that he recently did another interview for Seiyuu Grand Prix magazine, which published the two previous 5D's interviews I've translated here. He didn't say which issue it will appear in, so I'll have to look for more info in the coming months.

He did say that it featured the voice actors of Team Satisfaction -- ALL FOUR.

lonely_hunter @ 10:31pm: 電撃
「落下」のK様はいいネタを考えました。もしも鬼柳は小さい頃地下デュエル場に監禁されて、電流デュエルをやらされたら…？そうだったら人不信になる訳ですね。

そして私が思うと、その地下デュエル場に電撃装置をまわしたのは汚職セキュリティー部だといいです。だから鬼柳はそんなにセキュリティーを恨むようになりました。しかし過去の屈辱を他のチーム員に言えなくて、分かってもらえませんでした。ちゃんと理由があったのに。

lonely_hunter @ 12:16am: preview
I am not entirely pleased with the preview that's been released for the climax of the Dark Signer arc. It says that Yuusei, Jack, and Crow team up to fight the big boss (whom I will not name, to preserve some of the surprise).

How did Crow get into it?! Isn't this supposed to be about Signers?! That should be Aki, who has the third of the dragon cards that were set free to find their rightful masters, or whatever. Granted, I don't like Aki much, but this isn't doing Crow any favors. I can see why some people are calling him a canon Sue now.

lonely_hunter @ 7:16pm: Comeback?
There is ongoing disagreement among the fans as to whether the Dark Signers can or should come back at some point. 5D’s is, believe it or not, a children’s show; it airs at 6PM in Japan. And it’s a spin-off from a manga that originally ran in Shounen Jump. Children’s shows and Jump are both famous for not leaving popular characters dead.
( Except YGO... )

lonely_hunter @ 8:16pm: First finished objects in crochet!
I've done a small amount of crochet as trim on knitted objects, but amigurumi are cuter when they're mostly crochet.

( Camera still broken, scanner pictures under here )

lonely_hunter @ 6:06pm: News and rumors!
Indelible Smile is going permanent! I just got the order in today, and we should see Squeaky acknowledge it sometime next week (maybe with a slight delay for the holiday weekend here in the U.S.).
( Rumors under here! )

lonely_hunter @ 7:41pm: Are we all watching the same program?
Over on 2channel, the Kiryuu thread has been booming even in his absence, so much so that posters on other threads (notably Jack’s, poor thing) seemed envious. Now, in a rare turn of events, they seem serious, even gloomy. Meanwhile, Play The Damn Card is still laughing it up.
( Read more )

lonely_hunter @ 1:15am: self-discipline
I deleted the previous entry because it wasn't appropriate for the asylum, and I apologize.

lonely_hunter @ 8:46pm: It's that Eco guy!
Kiryuu may have been playing Solitaire instead of Duel Monsters for the last four (?!) months, but his voice actor's been busy. Thanks to Yoshio-san of 333 (ttp://gx333.x0.to/sansansan/), I recently learned Ono Yuuki is in a live-action series called 環境超人エコガインダー (roughly, Environmental Superhero Eco-something or other). Playing the voice of the hero! (The rest of the hero is played by someone in a full-body costume.)

I have slow dial-up and can't watch video online, but I even found there is an episode of this show on Nico Video with the tag Kiryuu Kyousuke. That character gets more name recognition than his actor. Most of Ono's roles have been things like "Bystander" or "Classmate A". But it looks as if the Kiryuu role may be a stepping stone to better roles for him, and I hope to hear more from him in the future.

lonely_hunter @ 7:09pm: Rumor from 2channel: Bomber may not be a survivor of the disaster in his hometown.

lonely_hunter @ 10:43pm: Random observations on re-watching episode 45
●When Mikage explains about Yuusei’s father developing the Old Moment site that caused Zero Reverse, Ushio asks why a Satellite resident was in charge of such an important project. That’s the cue for Jack to point out indignantly that Yuusei was born in the top strata of the city, and he, the (former) King, was born in Satellite. But both of them are missing the point: before Zero Reverse, Satellite and Neo Domino were not separate! Dr. Fudou could not have been a resident of “Satellite” because it wasn’t a satellite yet.
( Read more )

lonely_hunter @ 12:35am: When the idea of a new YGO was proposed, Takahashi Kazuki drew a sketch with the caption, "Five dragon cards led us here." The concept wasn't used in GX, but it looks like it's finally appearing in 5D's.

Wouldn't it be fun if one of them was the Satisfaction Dragon, shown here at the Satisfaction Shrine in Kyoto? (about two-thirds of the way down the page)