Kirarin Revolution, episodes 73 and 74

(きらりん☆レボリューション) 2006

Kirari (voiced by Koharu Kusumi of Morning Musume!) is a middle schooler who LOVES her food. So much so that it's scary! While girls her age swoon over idols, Kirari swoons over her dad's cooking, and couldn't care less about the life of a celebrity. But when she saves the pet turtle of Seiji of pop group SHIPS and falls in love, she decides to become an idol herself so that they can be together (or so she hopes).



Episode 73:

Kumoi-san gives them the benefit of figuring out that girls are interested in stepping outside the comfort zone and dressing as cute as an idol, but scolds them on their design sketches. It seems they still don't understand, and both Kirari and Hikaru are baffled and greatly discouraged. Hiroto and Seiji walk in on their misery party, and Hiroto offers to create one of the outfits. To really test out people's reactions, Kirari decides she will walk around (disguised, of course) outside. Seiji offers to come along, so naturally so does Hiroto and Hikaru. Despite running into trouble (Kirari's identity is revealed and people freak) they manage to find out that, while the outfit was nice, it wasn't an everyday thing. And if you take off the ribbons and lace, it's too ordinary to fit what Double Crescent is about. When one of the ribbons on Kirari's dress falls off, she gets an idea. But there's still trouble ahead when the delivery truck full of the product gets stuck on the road, and surely won't make it in time for the opening. Could the cold and calcuating "Black Wood" be behind it?



Episode 74:

KiraPika has been invited by a man named Gegishubeta to perform in a musical version of Hamlet, the first of its kind. Kirari will be Ophelia, Hikaru will be her sister, but neither have any previous experience with musicals. Not only that, they can't fit into their costumes, and "Beta" is a very strict director. Concerns arise over Kirari's unwillingness to change her excessive eating habits (along with her inability to get into character), but when she tries to cut back on meals she sees crepes everywhere and her stomache rumbling makes things worse. But if you can't take Kirari away from food, what can be done to motivate her?

Are you kidding me? If anything, Kirari could stand to gain a few pounds! Just call a taylor or something. Also, I want to know what the heck most of that musical had to do with Hamlet (at least from the whole two seconds of the play they showed us). Oh, and Kirari? We've been through the "It's really haaard for me to get into character! I don't know hoooow!" thing already. Seriously, you should have this mastered by now. Or do you have the memory of a half-eaten goldfish?! Not much to say about the store episode, it's all filler to me. Get back to what the anime was all about at first. Awkward learning and plenty of SHIPS x Kirari ;D

Slayers Megumix CD

Just arrived in the mail and released to celebrate the new Slayers series coming out next month. There are three CDs - Gold, Silver, Bronze - the first, Gold, has songs from the first season, NEXT, and TRY, along with the movies, and at the end features the opening and ending to the new Slayers Revolution. Silver has ending songs from the series and movies, some extra songs like Slayers 4 The Future, and even a new version of この世界のどこかで sung by Megumi herself. Bronze is just basically instrumental versions of some of the songs.

If you already have most of the songs and are perfectly content, you probably wouldn't find this purchase a top priority. But if you're looking to "upgrade" or only downloaded the songs (or bought bootleg CDs with them on them), this would be a great deal with lots of goodies for the Slayers fan (including a small book with information on Slayers music history). And you're supporting Megumi and the show! My favorite of the three CDs would have to be Silver.

Gold CD

1. Get Along～SelfTag Version～
2. Give a reason
3. Breeze
4. don't be discouraged
5. MIDNIGHT BLUE
6. Just be conscious
7. Reflection
8. raging waves
9. feel well
10. Meet again
11. Give a reason ～Ballade Version～
12. Going History
13. 限りない欲望の中に
14. Plenty of grit(TVサイズ)
15. Revolution(TVサイズ)

Silver CD

16. Get along
17. KUJIKENAIKARA!
18. 眠れない夜は・・・
19. SLAYERS 4 the future
20. 乙女の祈り
21. Shining Girl
22. RUN ALL THE WAY!
23. GLORIA～君に届けたい
24. ルンバ ルンバ
25. I & Myself
26. 灼熱の恋
27. Touch Yourself
28. EXIT→RUNNING
29. この世界のどこかで-MEGUMIX VERSION-

Bronze CD

30. Get Along～SelfTag Version～
31. Give a reason
32. Breeze(OFF VOCAL VERSION)
33. don't be discouraged(OFF VOCAL VERSION)
34. MIDNIGHT BLUE(OFF VOCAL VERSION)
35. Just be conscious(OFF VOCAL VERSION)
36. Reflection(OFF VOCAL VERSION) REFLECTION(OFF VOCAL VERSION)
37. raging waves(オリジナルカラオケ) RAGING WAVES
38. feel well FEEL WELL
39. Meet again(Off Vocal Version) MEET AGAIN(OFF VOCAL VERSION)
40. Give a reason ～Ballade Version～(カラオケ) GIVE A REASON -BALLADE VERSION-
41. Going History(OFF VOCAL VERSION) GOING HISTORY(OFF VOCAL VERSION)
42. 限りない欲望の中に(OFF VOCAL VERSION)

Morning Musume in Cinderella full cast list announced

They are as follows:

シンデレラ：高橋愛 - Cinderella (Takahashi Ai)
王子：新垣里沙 - Prince (Niigaki Risa)
姉 ポーシャ：亀井絵里 - Sister Portia (Kamei Eri)
妖精：道重さゆみ - Fairy (Michishige Sayumi)
姉 ジョイ：田中れいな - Elder Sister Joy (Tanaka Reina)
伝令官：久住小春 - The Herald (Kusumi Koharu)
妖精：光井愛佳 - Fairy (Mitsui Aika)
ページ：ジュンジュン - Page (Junjun)
ページ：リンリン - Page - (Linlin)

妖精の女王：麻路さき - Fairy Queen
継母：愛華みれ - Stepmother
女王様：光あけみ(宝塚歌劇団・専科) - Queen
王様：箙かおる(宝塚歌劇団・専科) - King

I honestly think those clothes make them look like Sailor Moon cosplayers. I like that they went for colorful, but it's not something I would've chosen, had I been in charge.

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Futurama: The Beast With A Billion Backs review

First let me say that I'm a big Futurama fan. I have all the TV sets, some of the comics, and a few other oddandends.

WARNING, SPOILERS BELOW! If you haven't seen the movie yet, or don't want to be spoiled, please don't read!

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1. What the heck happened to continuity? Apparently Leela and Fry have completely forgotten about the Lars drama from the last movie and we're back at square one again (or, really, nothing at all). Fry is dating another woman, and Leela shows absolutely no emotion or any kind of jealous reaction towards it. So, the fact that Lars was Fry and you claimed he was the only man you'd ever love meant nothing? You know, if he married that girl, future-mature Fry whom you madly loved would not be yours. Ever think of that?

2. And Fry, what about you? In Big Score you were desperate to win Leela's heart. After you broke up with Colleen I assumed you'd go right back to that, like always. No, it didn't even occur to you. You just put on a space suit and left the universe. If he was going to drop Leela cold turkey, at least tell us why! Give us a backstory or something.

3. Despite the fact that Nibbler was freaking out at the end of Big Score, and there came a huge rift in the space-time continuum in the sky, it took them weeks before they even started to investigate it. I don't know, you'd think something like a large, potentially deadly hole in the sky would go to the top of the "to fix" list. Besides which, Leela didn't seem to care or notice that Nibbler had run away. Isn't he supposed to be her beloved, spoiled pet?

4. We have some kind of creepy "lonely" monster who suddenly decided he was going to mate with everyone on Earth literally behind their backs. Then when everyone found out what was REALLY happening, he says they should all be friends, sends them giant flowers and candy, and DATES everyone on Earth? The hell?! That's not funny, that's just incredibly weird and skeezy :/

Granted, there was some really funny stuff in there, and I enjoyed it a lot for the first half hour or so, but towards the end I was actually FForwarding. It was all "Shouldn't it be done?". The Bender and robot league thing got boring fast and I think it was just an excuse to give him more air time. It was rather pointless.

I'm not saying Futurama can't be too weird or too serious - they've done both in the past, and done it well (I still can't rewatch Jurassic Bark to this day because it made me cry for days). But this just isn't what I expect from this show, and I'm both saddened and disappointed. I hope the last two movies will be better :(

Mamotte Lollipop, volume 5

-Nina has been caught in a "compromising" position with Forte, and worries that Zero, who walked in on the scene, will misunderstand. Is this what Pearl meant by a "mature" relationship in his prediction? Despite this, the flustered schoolgirl denies that anything the little dragon claimed would happen was right on the money, causing him to get angry and run off on his own. When Nina and Zero find themselves alone together while searching for Pearl, it becomes even more confusing on what she's supposed to interpret.
-Most of the cast of Mamotte has been roped into being in the play Snow White for school due to lack of participants. Nina is the spirit in the mirror, Zero is the prince, Ichi is the Wicked Queen, poor Forte is Snow White, and so on. Meanwhile, a strange villian (whom the people around him refer to as "King" and nothing else) has emerged from the shadows, waiting to snatch Nina and her magical creature to make them "his." But how can Nina be concerned about that when she might've accidentally kissed our two main magic users during a falldown? Which one really claimed her first kiss, and do they feel anything at all about it?

Well, we're still dancing around the "will they really kiss/fall in love or won't they?" cliche. This is probably one of those series where we have to wait until the last chapter to see who gets together. And since this series is very cliche and unoriginal, I'm probably right (and I mean, come on guys. It's always the bad boy with a soft side in these). We have a new "villian" named King who has some, I guess I could call "minions" named Clover, Diamond, Heart and Spade. Heart thinks Ichi is her type, doesn't mind dressing flashy and showing her underwear, and hates Nina because she's "pretty and popular." All of them are after her because she and Pearl have some kind of huge power they desperately need (if only they knew Nina is only human).

Maki Goto sings Whitney Houston for Avex shareholders

On June 22nd, Maki Goto performed Whitney Houston's "Saving All My Love For You" for an Avex shareholders event in Saitama.

News Article
Event Photos

Cosmic Baton Girl Comet-san, episode 5

(コメットさん) 2001

12-year-old Princess Comet has no interest in her royal duties. She'd much rather play with little stars in the Haromonica Star-World system than fulfill anyone's expectations. On the evening of a ball meant to introduce Comet to the prince of Tamborine Star-World, he runs away, and the only way to know him is from the "twinkle" in his eyes. Now it's been decided that Comet will go to Earth to find him and set things right - but can she make the time between having so many fun adventures?

In this episode, Comet learns that cutting corners doesn't bring the most satisfaction. Meteo is annoyed by the rich couple she hexed into believing she was their child, what with their strange tastes and behaviors, but doesn't want to give up the life of luxury and find somewhere else to stay. After picking up the twins from school, Comet is asked to help in "kingdom-making," which in this instance means helping the father plant the fruit and vegetable garden in the backyard. After being told to close her eyes and listen to the sounds of living things in nature, and Keisuke swings by to pitch in, educating Comet on certain things a farmer must do, she comes up with a plan. In the middle of the night she sneaks out and sprinkles the field with star power, causing everything to grow - she figures the faster everything comes out, the happier everyone will be. But when she presents her home stay family with a few samples, the father says that they couldn't already be ready. Fruits and vegetables are best after time and labor - where's the fun in simply having it handed to you? When you break a sweat it makes everything more delicious. Comet feels humiliated and goes to fix the situation as a result. At the end, Comet decides that the best method to finding the missing prince is at a slow and steady pace. That way the end will be the best for all!

Kirarin Revolution, episodes 71 and 72

(きらりん☆レボリューション) 2006

Kirari (voiced by Koharu Kusumi of Morning Musume!) is a middle schooler who LOVES her food. So much so that it's scary! While girls her age swoon over idols, Kirari swoons over her dad's cooking, and couldn't care less about the life of a celebrity. But when she saves the pet turtle of Seiji of pop group SHIPS and falls in love, she decides to become an idol herself so that they can be together (or so she hopes).



Episode 71:

The idols of Muranishi have been rewarded a day of vacation on Moon Island. Things are going swimmingly (even though Erina tries to play tricks via sealife costumes) until a boat carrying three familiar figures (Fubuki, Izumi, and Akane) docks on the shore. Turns out that the Higashiyama Company was going to use this beach as well, and Kirari makes everyone agree to play nicely together for the day despite the fact that two of the girls (OK, one guy dressed as a girl) on the boat are out for Hiroto's heart and Kirari's self-esteem. Soon after they are thrown into a mystery when Seiji finds a treasure map in a bottle, and craziness ensues over who will find it first. But is it real, or a ploy to get people on the island?



Episode 72:

Double Crescent. That is the name of the store that is being opened to push KiraPika merchandise. In order to "practice" with mixing, matching, and learning fashion, Kirari and Hikaru are to work in a clothing store for the day and help customers pick out clothes. But it's not as easy as it seems when they can't satisfy any of the women they've dealt with thus far. Where did they go wrong? It gets worse when Fubuki shows up, asks them to do it for her and is equally annoyed with their chosen outfits. But will a shy and unconfident young girl make them finally see the element they needed from the beginning?

There is definite hinting towards a potential relationship between Kumoi-san and the chairman (and the head of Higashiyama, who is also obviously crushing on the glasses-wearing man). But knowing this show, they'll drag it on for FOREVER before anything happens, if anything happens at all. Sigh. You also get a very rare glimpse of Kumoi-san without her glasses, and she's quite pretty, if the idol episode had anything to say about it.

Maki Goto signs on with Avex

Taken from Hello! Online:

A Mature Gomaki Transfers to Avex for a Comeback

It was announced on the 19th that former Morning Musume member Goto Maki (22) had joined exclusively with major record company Avex Entertainment. Her brother, former singer Goto Yuki (21), was arrested and charged with theft last October, and she graduated from her former company, Hello Project. She was in control of her own career, and finally plotted her comeback.

True to herself, she has found a new direction. Leaving behind the idol world and devoting herself to singing, Goto found a new partner.

Her brother was arrested last October. Since then, she felt uncomfortable as part of an idol group, and with the scandal making things worse, she graduated from Hello Project.

In March of this year, she spent about one month in Los Angeles. While there, she worked at voice training, among other things. On May 21, her brother's sentence was passed. With that behind her, she was able to look forward, and the chance for her to make a comeback as a singer arose.

More at the site.

I have to say, while I'm happy Maki is joining the ranks of former Morning Musume members making a comeback this year like Makoto and Ai Kago, I really hope she doesn't become the kind of singer I despise - the push-up bra wearing, "booty" shaking Britney Spears variety. All the same I wish her the best of luck and will keep my eye on the situation.

Official Site

Archie comics - The Bronze Age - Coming to DVD-Rom

If you're a fan of retro Archie comics, or simply want to relive childhood memories, the minds behind the redhead have released a DVD-Rom that includes a huge collection of the ARCHIE series from 1970-1979. You get everything from the covers to the ads to the stories, making for a great deal with a price of only $20. BETTY & VERONICA along with JUGHEAD will be coming in September. No word yet on anything from the 80s or 60s and so on, or even anything else from the 7os (like LIFE WITH ARCHIE and ARCHIE & ME), but I wouldn't lose all hope just yet.

BUY at Amazon.com.

Harrison Ford on SMAPxSMAP 6.9.2008

Harrison Ford appears to promote the newest Indiana Jones film. The poor guy looked honestly lost, but was polite and friendly and the members of SMAP responded well to him. Ford was first asked what he wanted (a simple Japanese meal), then when the food was done, went around shaking hands with each cook and answering questions.

We were also treated to a fake Indiana Jones running around the set, which Ford found quite amusing. The two meals he was served fit the theme with a crystal skull filled with fish for one of them. At the end he presented Indiana Jones books as gifts.



Being an Indiana Jones fan, I was really happy to see Harrison Ford on SMAPxSMAP (which I only seem to get my hands on randomly - this time I got lucky!).

Watch episode HERE!

Kirarin Revolution, episodes 69 and 70

(きらりん☆レボリューション) 2006

Kirari (voiced by Koharu Kusumi of Morning Musume!) is a middle schooler who LOVES her food. So much so that it's scary! While girls her age swoon over idols, Kirari swoons over her dad's cooking, and couldn't care less about the life of a celebrity. But when she saves the pet turtle of Seiji of pop group SHIPS and falls in love, she decides to become an idol herself so that they can be together (or so she hopes).



Episode 69:

Muranishi Company will be participating in a idol comedy contest. The winner will be able to advance to a two hour TV special program, and everyone must work in pairs of two. Kirari and Hikaru are having trouble working on some kind of stand-up routine and Arashi, whom we haven't seen in awhile, offers to teach them how it's done. Meanwhile, Erina is determined to find her own partner and surely win.



Episode 70:

Kirari is advised by a popular horoscope program to bring a lucky item with her to school, which, for some reason, is a bowling ball. She was late for class as a result, but most other students in the school had the same idea, making for a ridiculous scene. It turns out that the round item isn't totally full of holes, and KiraPika is approached by Rainbow Brand, who wants to market a special cologne for them. Trouble is, Super Nova came up with the same idea and are already marketing their rose scent. If the girls can't come up with something cool and unique, they may as well throw in the bottle (so to speak).

Maybe it's a cultural thing, but most of the jokes I just didn't find funny. Then again, it could also be the bad subtitles - I don't know why but they get rather lazy. I swear, if somebody else was subbing it I would've dropped this group 40 episodes ago :/ Anyway, Erina was pretty much the funniest there, and should've won.

Beauty Pop, volume 8

-Billy Iketani is out to make sure Scissors Project doesn't last the rest of the school year, challenging Kiri to keep in step with him as they do a cut (Narumi can't do anything as his hand is still bothering him). If she can't beat him, Scissors Project will have to break up.
-But the conspiracy is bigger than anyone could've thought. Billy is receiving phonecalls from a mysterious figure, and attempts to frame Kiri via trashing the club's meeting room, thus causing chaos and eventual breakup, falls flat. Who is behind Billy's motivations, and will the shock cause Narumi to completely lose it?
-Narumi is developing confusing feelings for Kiri and is jealous of the fact that Billy is boarding with her family.

We're finally getting some Kiri/Narumi potential in this volume! Things are getting a little messy, especially on the front of poor Narumi and his manipulative father. It's not just about one-upping competitors, winning clients and gaining fame anymore, now it's all about survival. And Kiri's life as she knows it is on the line, as well. I look forward to the next volume.

Kirarin Revolution, episodes 67 and 68

(きらりん☆レボリューション) 2006

Kirari (voiced by Koharu Kusumi of Morning Musume!) is a middle schooler who LOVES her food. So much so that it's scary! While girls her age swoon over idols, Kirari swoons over her dad's cooking, and couldn't care less about the life of a celebrity. But when she saves the pet turtle of Seiji of pop group SHIPS and falls in love, she decides to become an idol herself so that they can be together (or so she hopes).



Episode 67:

Hikaru and Kirari are faced with their first unit rival, twins named Mio and Mao. Not only are they models, but the girls are backed by a famous fashion designer named Black Wood. As if that wasn't enough of a threat, Super Nova (their unit name) is auditioning opposite KiraPika for roles in a upcoming horror flick. If Kirari and Hikaru can't slip into a natural siblings act for the camera, they will lose. And of course, who has the upper hand in sibling unity more than twins?



Episode 68:

After landing the roles, Kirari and Hikaru still struggle with understanding their parts and adjusting to cheap props and special affects (which they can't seem to take seriously). While this is going on, the chairman is losing sleep, believing himself to be cursed. Because of SHIPS and KiraPika's popularity they decided to build a taller company building, but strange things have been happening during construction. To get to the bottom of these delays once and for all, Kirari volunteers herself and her singing partner to investigate.

"Black Wood" is an interesting name. It sounds a little cool, but at the same time you're not sure what to make of it. Predictably, Kirari and Hikaru got the roles, and seem to have landed themselves in a magical girl movie about evil food. I wouldn't call it "horror" film so much as a weirdo kiddie film. Ah well. I guess SHIPS was supposed to be security guards or something? I would've liked to see more of the movie outside of walking around in the dark looking for the evil creature (and when checking the company building they thought the culprit behind the strange happenings was a ladybug monster. A ladybug monster? Really?).

Kaze Hikaru, volume 9

Because of growing responsibily, the Shinsengumi is reorganized, and Kamiya is assigned as a personal attendant to Yamanami-san. The poor girl is understandably upset that she spends her time cleaning and running errands rather than patroling and getting to hang around Soji. What she doesn't know is that Yamanami is on to the fact that she is a girl, and was trying to avoid her exposure to harm. Things get even more complicated when she is issued (basically) a group signed love letter, and has to let them duel to win the right to her heart! If they find out she's a girl, things will really get messy! And is Yamanami trying to play matchmaker with her and Soji?

I really enjoyed this volume, it was practically overflowing with Soji/Sei fanservice. We learn about Soji's past experiences with females, Yamanami tries (in his own little way) to get Soji considering the possibility of "taking a bride" someday (he also throws in something about Kamiya, but I won't spoil it), and Kamiya's want to just give up on ever receiving any romantic love from Soji goes up and down throughout the book. For once there wasn't blood n' guts all over the place, just conflicting hearts.

Pokemon Chronicles: Training Daze

Pokemon Chronicles (also known as Shūkan Pokémon Hōsōkyoku or Weekly Pokemon Broadcast) is a previously Japan exclusive series of specials centering around characters other than Ash. It was dubbed into English, but has not been released in the US. Here I shall review special #13, Training Daze (or "The Origins of Love and Youth" in Japan).

While flying through the air after another defeat, James comes across a very special part of his bottle cap collection, and this brings about the memory of Jessie and James' early days in Team Rocket. As it turns out, they weren't teamed together right away. In the course of the few months Jessie had been there as a trainee, she'd been through a good 10 partners, all of whom she rejected, believing none were good enough and were huge letdowns. By then she'd developed quite a reputation, and the poor girl had almost given up on any success in the organization, when her training instructor introduces her to the boy-haired wonder we all know. At the same time, a strange Meowth has found his way into Giovanni's office and is eager to please.



Throughout the course of the episode, Jessie is impressed by James' determination to prove his worthiness and dedication to their little team. During their first real test mission together he sacrifices his safety so that Meowth and Jessie can pull themselves away from a broken bridge, and ends up in the hospital for quite some time. In fact, he isn't able to show up for a trainee's most important task, leaving Jessie to believe that she's once again been shafted when it matters most. But not even broken bones can keep James from fulfilling a promise, and a hopeful future might still be in reach.

I personally found this episode to be very cute, it was enjoyable from start to finish and features the only time anyone says Butch's name correctly. My only problem is that it doesn't match up to what we've previously been told about Team Rocket's past. In the show it's demonstrated that Jessie and James have known each other since childhood, even going to the same school and joining a bicycle gang together. Yet in this special they act as if they've only just met! Either they ran into problems years ago and pretended to be strangers, or the writers didn't care about keeping it straight. However you look at it, if you're a Team Rocket fan this is a definite must see!

Kirarin Revolution, episodes 65 and 66

(きらりん☆レボリューション) 2006

Kirari (voiced by Koharu Kusumi of Morning Musume!) is a middle schooler who LOVES her food. So much so that it's scary! While girls her age swoon over idols, Kirari swoons over her dad's cooking, and couldn't care less about the life of a celebrity. But when she saves the pet turtle of Seiji of pop group SHIPS and falls in love, she decides to become an idol herself so that they can be together (or so she hopes).



Episode 65:

The lyrics for KiraPika's first song is ready, but not the melody. Giving the composer ("Kaba-san" as Kumoi-san calls him) some extra time to finish, Hikaru is asked to accompany Kirari on her several jobs for the day. Watching Kirari rush from job to job, clearly tired but acting happy and doing her best, the KiraPika partner appears in awe, and just when you think things will finally go smoothly, a wrench is thrown into the gear. No matter what, both girls can't seem to grasp the dance routine. As Kaba-san puts it, they are not radiating enough smiles and sparkles. If they can't become one and trust each other, everything will fail. Anxious for inspiration from her own senpais, SHIPS, she visits them during a practice, and, as it turns out, Hikaru came to visit, too. It's because of this that they come to a mutual understanding, and finally master the dance. But there's still a lot more to get through!



Episode 66:

Hikaru got her first batch of fan letters! Or, rather, a bunch of fan letters written by one person. No name or address was given, so the sender is very much unknown. But that's not her main concern at the moment - a very close friend of Hikaru's, named Wataru, never replied when she sent him a copy of KiraPika's debut CD as a present. Because they were always supporting the other's dream (Wataru wants to be a star soccer player) she is hurt and confused. Kirari insists they visit him and find out what's wrong. When he avoids them after soccer practice, Kirari follows and tries to get an explanation on his behavior. He pats Kirari on the shoulder, tells her he's leaving the support and friendship up to her, and runs off. Very strange, and what's even stranger is that Wataru's playing has been suffering at the same time (Kirari overhears his teammates talking). What is going on, and who sent those pink-enveloped letters?

It looks like they altered the opening a little, and I've come to find I actually like it. Everything looks a little smoother and less cheap. I can't say I care too much about this KiraPika deal (I'm bias and like lots of Kirari/SHIPS interaction ;D), but the "Hutari wa NS" song is quite pretty.

The Secret Show DVD, volume one

Arrived in the mail yesterday!

Features episodes 1-9 of the TV series:

The Secret Thing
Who Stole Switzerland?
Bogie Ball
Wedgie Attack
Commando Babies
Bad Hair Day
And That's For Helsinki!
The Ball of Spong
Destination Sun

On the inside of the DVD case is a "mock" DVD cover for The Fluffy Bunny Show (also bears the message FREE BUNNY - but not included, because "that would be cruel" ;)). The menus are also really fun and clever. Victor and his "hand gun" is on the main page.

The only extra I had time to watch was a behind the scenes mini-documentary (really short, though) that features Changed Daily and a video camera as he seeks out the TV studio that dares to animate his secret organization.

Overall I'm thrilled to have it. It was pretty darn cheap (only 7 pounds for me at amazon.co.uk), which, even converted to US$ and added airmail, is still good. Volume two isn't out yet and I don't know of any release dates (it appears to already be available in Australia, though) but hopefully it'll be very soon!

Warning: The DVD is Region 2 and 4 locked, so if you don't live in those regions or have a region-free DVD player, I'm sorry to say it won't work.