Parpercraft - The Undiscovered Reserve

This week I took my first try at papercraft. (And no, the figures in that picture were not made by me.)

A papercraft by definition is a model made mainly using heavy sheets of paper. You print out the pieces, cut them apart, and glue them together. Easy enough? Apparently not.

Take a look at my papercraft model compared to the picture the download came with. (Mine is on the left.)

Actually, I'm kind of upset with my creation; mine looks nothing like it should. This may or may not have something to do with the leftover pieces I had.

I couldn't find many websites that had free anime papercrafts, but I did find a few. I'm sure if you look around you could find more. The best site I found is called Cafetera; it has a bunch of different figures to download for free. It's in Japanese, but it's straightforward.

> Cafetera

If you find yourself complaining about the prices of anime figures, a papercraft figure can be a cheap(free) alternative. I feel as though I should practice more, but my last failed attempt has left me with no motivation.
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Yukkuri Shiteitte ne~

The other day, I discovered the cheerful wonderment that is a Yukkuri.

The Yukkuri are bloated, disfigured heads resembling characters from the Touhou games. They're a pretty popular subject, apparently, and theres even a wiki page or two dedicated to them. You can read up on many facts about the Yukkuris, such as facts about how they came to be, and their many methods of reproduction.

Examples of Yukkuri:


Here are some Yukkuri sites:
> An image site dedicated to Yukkuri pics.

> A subcategory in the Touhou wikia page.

> A Yukkuri-specific wikia page.

Yukkuri shiteitte ne literally means "Do it slowly, ne?" but has been given the more loosely translated "Take it easy (ne?)," by many fans. I plan to take the Yukkuri motto to heart. I advise you do the same.
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Hayate no Gotoku 2nd Season - 01

Hayate no Gotoku returns with a second season! Does it live up to the first?



Summary:
In the first episode of Hayate no Gotoku 2nd Season, a marathon is being held at Nagi's school. There are many races being held, each with it's own distance; the longest race, which is also a pairs race, has a prize of 150 million yen for the winner.

Of course, this just so happens to be the exact amount Hayate needs to pay Nagi back, and so the two pair up to compete.

Opinion:
This episode wasn't all that great. Hayate even mentions in the episode that the marathon plot was just a way to re-introduce all of the characters. I didn't notice any parodies or anime references within the episode, but I may have not been looking hard enough.

Nagi was ultra-kawaii, which is always a nice touch. In fact, it's probably the only reason I'm watching this.

The ending featured Hinagiku, which is sure to please many.
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K-ON! Light Music FTW

The "Light Music" Anime, K-ON!, has made it's way onto my computer!

Summary:
Hirasawa Yui has lived a carefree life. She even admits that the only thing she fears is hot and cold. But once she begins attending highschool, she becomes set on joining a club.

Meanwhile, Tainaka Ritsu (drums) and Akiyama Mio (bass) are trying get more members to join the Light Music Club, lest it should be disbanded. Thankfully, for the sake of the show, Ritsu and Mio persuade Yui to join the club by tempting her with cookies and other assorted snacks.

The other club members are expecting that Yui is able to play guitar; however she can only play the castanets.

Opinion:
The voice acting in K-ON! is really great. I was laughing at parts of the show just because of the sound made by Yui when she was reacting to something. It certainly felt new and fresh. Aside from that, I think K-ON! will end up being full of good times. Good times...

And I say good times because this reminds me of a memory of my pre-anime-loving self. My group of friends also decided we would start a band; just like the K-ON! group (same age too I think). However! It didn't work out. Everybody bought a guitar, and nobody practiced for more than a week before giving up. Lol, Good times...
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Toradora - Must See

I just finished Toradora! last night and I have got to say, this is more fantastic than I could've ever perceived it to be.

I'll admit I did get a bit teary-eyed around the last few episodes, but I couldn't help it; Taiga-chan is just way too cute.

My favorite thing about Toradora, besides Kugimiya Rie's voice acting (lol, of course), has to be the animation style. Around major emotional scenes, the animation quality would drop; well it wouldn't really drop, I guess we can say that it became ultra stylized. It really added to the intensity of the moment.

For example, Taiga's fight against the Student Councic President, Sumire.

And to lighten the mood, there's always Takasu's cleaning smile to cheer you up.

If you haven't yet seen Toradora! then you're really missing out. Go watch it! Seriously! ^o^
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