mahou shoujo madoka ep 9 (super short post)

Sorry for the crappy pix, I shot it off my compputer screen at work.

I think what happened to Sayaka is no surprise now given how the story has been progressing. The rest of what I've watched is fantastic and I did not expect that matrix moment that's for sure. And sakura kyoko is really giving akemi homura a hard fight as my fav character. What happened to her in this ep was kinda moving.

I could not watch this ep properly cuz busy at work today. Will re-watch it late tonight after I get home. I'm glad I splurged on the blu-rays now. :) got to go. Later. :)

friday :)

Much as I like my job, I am always glad when the weekend comes. I can't wait for the end of today. We have a monthly company get together thing at the end of the first friday of the month which means that work will end a little earlier today.

I've also scheduled a dinner appointment with one of my best friends tonight. So am really looking forward to that. :) She's not as otaku as me but then, I'm not even as otaku as a lot of other people. :) I'm really looking forward to meeting her tonight though cuz sadly, there doesn't seem to be anyone at my current company quite as into Japanese pop culture as I. Chotto sabishi ne. :)

The speed subbers must really love Mahou Shojo Madoka. The latest ep aired in the wee hours of this morning and the [gg] subs are already out. I tried to download it this morning but there weren't enough seeders yet so I couldn't get a good speed on it. Will try and watch it on a streaming site later at lunch if I have the time.

Volume 4 of the Mahou Shoujo Madoka blu-ray special edition is also available for pre-order on Amazon Japan.  I'll probably order that with Volume 3 and bundle those two together to save shipping.  Am not sure what the special cds are on those, I think they haven't announced it yet on the official website.

Lately, work has been tiring so I have not been watching too much anime. Also, my Japanese homework is getting more challenging these days, so doing it and trying to do some light revision requires more devotion then before. To spice it up, I have been trying to read some manga on my way to work while waiting for the latest ep of Mahou Shoujo Madoka. So far I have been reading Conan. I understand quite a bit of it. The vocab is beyond me quite often but nothing a good dictionary or the internet won't fix. The grammar can get very casual and uses a lot of the conversational forms. So that can get hard even though I have learnt some of it. But it is good practice and I have no real problems understanding the story or the meaning of most of the sentences even if I may miss the nuances.

Okie dokes. That's it for now. Hope to be back later in the day to talk about Mahou Shoujo Madoka. Tried to write last night but worked late and got too tired. Here's hoping today's ep is awesome. :)

Mahou Shoujo Madoka - symbols (short thoughts)

Hi hi... right before I sleep, I will post something really short.  I'm going to write it quite hastily and without too much organization... sorry... need sleep.

I noticed that, aside from the Soul Gem, that most of the Mahou Shoujo's have an additional symbol on their finger.  I didn't notice it before, not till I saw the diamond symbol on Akemi Homura's finger nail in Ep 7.  Akemi Homura also has a diamond shaped device that she uses most memorably in Ep7.  Later on, while looking for more symbols, I noticed that it made an appearance in a previous episode but unfortunately, I forgot to note it down.

ep8

ep5

As early as Ep5, we already see that Sayaka has a "C" on her finger.  It's just that I didn't notice it then.  I only noticed it in Ep8.

Sakura Kyoko's symbol is an ellipse. It's kind of faint in this screen capture, you can barely see it but it's there.

I'm not sure if there is any huge significance to these symbols.  As far as I can tell, they simply indicate what kind of weapon these girls use.  Akemi Homura's weapon is a "diamond" shaped thing that she wears on her hand.  Miki Sayaka's weapon is a saber which has a curved blade, hence the "C".  And Sakura Kyoko's weapon is a spear and the "ellipse" is probably just a symbol representing the sharp tip at the end of her spear.

I tried to find Tomoe Mami's symbol on her third finger nail but I was unable to find it. That's not to say that she doesn't have one, it's just that I was unable to find it.  If she really doesn't have one, then I suppose it could mean something.  But I really don't know, it could simply be that I just couldn't find it.

same scene as the above
pix of Sayaka's nail

These symbols aren't that consistently used, strangely enough, and quite often they aren't on that third finger nail.. For example, in Ep8, in that very same scene, just a few shots before that image with a "C" on her finger, Sayaka's finger nail did not have any symbols on it at all. 

I find this lack of consistency with regards to these symbols kind of strange.  It seems to me that if they were going to use them, they might as well just have drawn them into most of the scenes instaed of just scattered appearances.

Anyway, I hope to post up a post soon about the various visual motifs used so far in Mahou Shoujo Madoka.  Maybe I'll do it tomorrow night before the next ep airs or maybe it'll be later.  It depends on my schedule tomorrow night... I might have to return home late again and if that happens, this post will have to wait.

Oh, and on a somewhat unrelated note.  CD Japan has begun to offer some of Kalafina, FictionJunction, Kajiura Yuki's concert memorabilia like T-Shirts, pamphlets etc. I've provided links for both Kalafina and FictionJunction/Kajiura Yuki.  These aren't affiliate links, by the way, in case this is a concern for some of you. If you're a rabid fan like me :) , head over there and see if you want to get anything.  They are going pretty fast, so I'm not sure if they'll have anything left by the time you get there.

Alrighty... time for bed. :) Oyasuminasai. :)

resistence is futile

I admit. I have no self control. :) It's a good thing I can afford most of my indulgences these days. :)

Above are the pictures of the cover art of the Mahou Shoujo Madoka dvd/blu-ray discs Vol.1 and Vol. 2 which will soon be released. And you guessed it, after much agonising, I have decided to pre-order the blu-rays for a few reasons. Firstly, I really like this anime. Secondly, vol.2 comes packed with Kajiura Yuki's OST vol.1. And lastly, the first vol comes packed with a drama cd. I did a lot of comparison shopping and ended up going to amazon japan which ended up being cheapest even with shipping.

Anyway, I am going to sleep now. Am thinking of writing something on the anime tonight but that might not work out cuz I will be returning home late tonight. We'll see. :)

For now, oyasumi

i needed some 魔法少女 help!

Last week, mid-week, I played a killer game of table tennis with one of my colleagues and I have been feeling the aftermath of that game since then. A busy week at work and an even busier weekend, plus a pretty good late night Huang Jianxin movie called "Gimme Kudos" (求求你表扬我) all conspired to make me so tired at work today.

Hence, I decided to take Mahou Shoujo Nanoha to work today cuz I knew that Shinkansen Girl won't have enough magic to try and keep me awake at work. :)

I've been re-watching another Mahou Shoujo anime lately. That's Mai Hime, still my favourite Mahou Shoujo series to date. This plus Mahou Shoujo Madoka means that I really have too much Mahou Shoujo on my mind. :)

Still, I like my Mahou Shoujo anime whether it is the cutesy stuff like Card Captor Sakura or the very odd but excellent Revolutionary Girl Utena. And since I am determined to try and master the Japanese language the best I can, I have been trying to immerse myself with as much Japanese media as I can handle.

With that in mind, I went on a hunt of the Mai Hime drama cds since those were the only Mai Hime related audio that I have yet to listen to. I found out quite belatedly that there are quite a few drama cds out there and none of them are cheap. I did manage to get Mai Hime Drama Cd vol. 1 and listened to it at work today. I didn't understand most of it but enjoyed most of what I could understand due to how lively the script and cast is. And then there is the "lingerie rhapsody" chapter which can be understood without too much Japanese language skills, especially if you know the history between Kuga Natsuki and Fujino Shizuru. This chapter is very funny as long as you're not a stick-in-the-mud. :)

In the end, it took a combo of Nanoha, Mai, Mikoto, Natsuki and Shizuru to drag me from my comatose state long enough for me to finish a good amount of work today. Hahahaha... :)

So... thanks v much himes, I will probably need to call on your powers again. :) k... that's it for now... 待ったね。:)

Mahou Shoujo Madoka ep8 - short gushing post

I couldn't wait to watch ep 8 and so I rushed through lunch so that I could watch a streamed subtitled version. No spoilers for now. Just a quick gushing post before my lunch hour ends. :)

This is a fantastic ep. Not as shocking as some of the previous Eps, in particular Ep3, but it is perhaps a more powerful episode. Lots of powerful emotions are unleashed and lots of good character development. I think Sakura Kyoko is now firmly my number 2 favorite character in this series. And I really like Miki Sayaka lots too after this episode.

Lots of interesting information is revealed or hinted at as well in this episode. And we finally know more about Akemi Homura in this ep and she's very cool.

I am revisiting Mai Hime at the same time as I am watching this series and I just saw the ep where Natsuki and Shizuru fight (trying not to reveal too much here). At the end of that fight Natsuki asks Duran to do something which would affect both Natsuki and Shizuru. I remembered being incredibly moved by that scene and even now, I love that moment.

Two incredibly powerful reps in a day from 2 mahou shoujo series. Fantastic. I am in such a good mood now. :)

Fiction II - Kajiura Yuki

Kajiura Yuki will release her second solo album in March and the cover art for that release is out. It looks nice too. Needless to say, I have already made the pre-order. :)

Like Fiction, her first solo album, this will be a mostly English language release. I liked Fiction and I'm pretty sure I will enjoy Fiction II. I still prefer her Japanese songs though. And although the English vocalists she hires are good, I still rather listen to FictionJunction or Kalafina usually.

So although I look forward to this release with less anticipation then I did with Kalafina's Magia release and the soon to be released Kara no Kyoukai soundtrack and the Rekeshi Hiwa Historia II soundtrack, I still look forward to the release.:)

The next song I really want to listen to is Kalafina's yet to be released Symphonia, the ending theme for the NHK documentary, Rekishi Hiwa Historia. :)

Kajiura will hold a concert in June to promote this release. It is likely that FictionJunction will perform. I really wish I can be there cuz I would love to see them perform songs like Mezame, Everlasting Song, Kin no Hashi etc. Although, with the new release, I'm not sure how many of the old favourites would make it in.

Unfortunately, the concert would be right smack in the middle of june which would be in the middle of the school hols which would make it expensive for me. And it is also on a Wednesday which makes it hard for me cuz I only have a limited number of leave days. :(

K, I am going to sleep now. Oyasumi. :)