GHP 06/21/2010

Okay, this time its for real. medyo matagal na ako hindi gumagawa ng updates. Currently I'm listening to the Final Fantasy XIII -Plus- soundtrack that contains the prototype versions of the game's background music. It's pretty surprising that this is actually the first game I played that had lyrics in the background music. Favorite ko right now is "The Sunleth Waterscape". Aliw din yung battle themes niya.

Weird News

South Korea may weaponize girly K-pop for psychological warfare

Relations between North and South Korea have been frosty since the sinking of the ROK Cheonan, and it looks like South Korea may be turning to an old trick for reprisal...blasting the music of girl groups over the demilitarized zone.

The Republic of Korea has installed large loudspeakers facing North Koreans, who have threatened to destroy the ROK'n'roll sound systems and also transform Seoul into "a sea of flame" should the speakers remain standing. These strong words haven't deterred South Korea — in fact, they appear to be expanding their efforts to include music videos. In an interview with the South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo, a psy ops official for the ROK's Joint Chiefs of Staff had this to say about the loudspeaker propaganda initiative:
 

"It will take months to set up the big screens to use in psychological warfare operations and a wide range of contents will be shown [...] I don't know whether songs by girl groups will be included, but there is that chance since pop songs were used in the past."

 
The official was unsure of the efficacy of K-pop, but judging from recent popular songs, it looks like this plan will leave Kim Jong-il's boys somewhat titillated and extremely confused. 

  

New Downloads (You might notice maraming retro titles)

Ongoing Series:

DURARARA!!

Episode 01-12

Ryuugamine Mikado is a boy who longs for the exciting life of the big city. At the invitation of his childhood friend Masaomi, he transfers to a school in Ikebukuro. Masaomi has warned him about people he doesn't want to cross in the city: a champion fighter, an informant, and a mysterious gang called "Dollars." Nervous from Masaomi's stories, Mikado witnesses an urban legend on his first day in the city, the Headless Rider astride a black motorcycle. From then on, the existence of supernatural cases and a gang called the Yellow Turbans will rise to the surface, and Ikebukuro will pushed to the breaking point.

Naruto Shippuden

Episode 165

Nine-Tails, Captured!

Naruto is pinned down with metal rod Pain uses to revive dead. Pain explains his reasons for this carnage recalling how his village was in past used for ninja battle grounds. How he is not much different from Jirayia or Naruto in a sense that he is just and ordinary man driven to seek vengeance under the banner of justice. This is why he needs Nine-Tailes to form Tailed Beast Weapon so great to stop all wars and install peace. Nagato handles his puppets from the tallest tower of Hidden Rain Village, but people are on to him and his chakra is weakening. Confessions is the title of next weeks episode. Will Nagato get his "noble" wish to wipe out a nation? 

K-ON!!

Episode 01-11

It's the final year of high school for Yui Hirasawa (guitar), Ritsu Tainaka (drums), Mio Akiyama (bass), and Tsumugi Kotobuki (keyboard); the founding members of the Light Music Club. Together with their junior member Azusa Nakano (guitar), they spend their days after school in the music room enjoying tea and sweets, and practicing music. Amidst band practice, preparations for the new student orientation performance, scouting for new members, and student responsibilities they still have time for "After School Tea Time".

Katanagatari

Episode 01-06

This story takes place in the Edo era where Yasuri Shichika is the seventh head of the Kyotou school of Japanese sword martial arts living in Fushou Island with his sister Nanami. With the order from a female samurai general Togame, he sets out for a trip to collect the twelve treasured swords created by a legendary swordsmith Shikizaki Kiki.

Astro Fighter Sunred

Episode 01- 44

Tentai Senshi Sunred is a powerful, battle tested hero of many years. He has sold his super bike, which is seen in the opening credits. Now he smokes a lot, is effectively unemployed, and lives by the grace of his girlfriend, Kayoko Uchida. His arch enemies in the Evil Florsheim Army are still trying to take over the world. Under the direction of their local leader, Vamp, they help members of the community, run a cooking show, assist Kayoko Uchida whenever possible, and try to attack the ever powerful Sunred. All in all, a light parody of the Japanese hero genre.

Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood 

Episode 61

He Who Would Swallow God
Everyone closest to the center of Father's nationwide transmutation circle, including Ed's group, survives to discover that Father has used the souls of over fifty million Amestrians to suppress God within a new, youthful body. Father neutralizes everyone's alchemy, but, before he can annihilate them, Hohenheim reveals his countermeasure: he had spent years traveling the country, placing fragments of his own Philosopher's Stone into the earth to use as foundation for returning the Amestrian souls to their bodies. The stone fragments are activated by the eclipse's umbra, and the souls are ripped from Father's body back into their original bodies, which weakens Father to the point of barely being able to suppress God anymore. The eclipse then lifts, blinding Bradley with sunlight and allowing Scar to kill him. Scar activates the nationwide alkahestry circle his brother and fellow Ishbalans had been preparing, which restores everyone else's alchemy at their greatest potential. Facing the full strength of his opponents' attacks in his unstable body, Father retreats aboveground to find more souls and replenish his stone supply. Ed remains behind to fight Pride while everyone else chases Father. Pride tries to steal Ed's body to replace his own unstable one, but Kimblee's soul reappears within him and taunts him while Ed enters his body and destroys it, reverting him to the form of a small fetus-like creature. Ed spares Pride's life and leaves to join his friends.

Kaichō wa Maid-sama!

Episode 1 - 11

In a high school recently turned from all-boy to coed, Misaki Ayuzawa, chairwoman of student council, battles "stinky and dirty" male students every day to protect the few (20%) females in school. Off campus, she works hard at a maid café to supplement the income of her household (as well as leftover foods) after her father had deserted the family -- whose action contributed to her hatred toward males. However, Takumi Usui, a handsome guy (and a heartbreaker of many girls) accidentally found out her double identities. She thought the entire school would know by the next morning, yet he kept her secret away from others, making her even more suspicious of his motives.

Complete:

Gundam Seed

Heliopolis, a so-called neutral space colony was holding a top-secret weapons research facility, producing Gundams for the Earth Alliance. ZAFT, which is composed of Coordinators (genetically modified/upgraded humans), attacks Heliopolis, stealing 4 out of the Alliance's 5 Gundams. In the battlefield, civilian Kira Yamato stumbles upon the Strike, the last remaining Gundam of the alliance, and is forced to pilot it. In the midst of battle he encounters his best friend, Athrun Zala, as one of the hijackers of the 5 Gundams, who sides with ZAFT. Being a Coordinator, he is the only one who can pilot the Gundam. But Kira is not with ZAFT, even though they're his own kind, nor the Alliance. Since the Alliance is the only place he could turn to at the time, he sides with them. He pilots the Gundam to protect his friends, and to fight his best friend, which pains both of them. It's a war between individual beliefs.

Hokuto no Ken 2

In this second series a new rival for Kenshiro appears. He is Raul, Hokuto King, as he calls himself. He doesn't recognise Ken as the rightful successor of Hokuto school and wants to rule the world. To do so, he must also defeat the last Nanto warriors, beside Ken himself.

Set several years after the original series, Kenshiro returns to the battlefield when his former travelling companions Bat and Lin, now leaders of the Hokuto Army, are at war with the corrupt Celestial Empire controlled by Jakoh. Kenshiro faces against the masters of Gento Koken, who are being coerced to do Jakoh's evil bidding. The setting later changes to the ancient Land of Shura, the birthplace of the Hokuto, Nanto and Gento styles, where Kenshiro must face agaisnt the masters of the Hokuto Ryuken style, a style derived from the same clan as Kenshiro's Hokuto Shinken.

SD Gundam

A collection of short parodies of the Mobile Suit Gundam saga.

Ranma 1/2 (Season 1-7)

Saotome Ranma, a teenage martial artist, and his father Genma travel to the 'cursed training ground' of Jusenkyo in China. There, despite the warnings of the Chinese guard, they fall into the cursed springs. From now on, whenever Ranma is doused in cold water, he turns in to a girl, and a cute, well-built red-head at that. Hot water changes him back into a man again, but only until the next time. To make matters worse, his father engages him to Tendo Akane, a girl who hates boys.

Kidou Senshi Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory

U.C. 0083 - Three years after the end of the catastrophic One Year War, peace on Earth and the colonies is shattered by the presence of the Delaz Fleet, a rogue Zeon military group loyal to the ideals of the late dictator Gihren Zabi. Delaz Fleet's ace pilot Anavel Gato, once hailed as "The Nightmare of Solomon", infiltrates the Federation's Torrington base in Australia and steals the nuclear-armed Gundam GP02A "Physalis" prototype. Rookie pilot Kou Uraki - with the aid of Anaheim Electronics engineer Nina Purpleton and the crew of the carrier Albion - pilots the Gundam GP01 "Zephyranthes" prototype in an attempt to recover the stolen Gundam unit and prevent another war from breaking out.

Kidou Senshi Victory Gundam

It is Universal Century 0153. On the space colonies located at Side 2, the Zanscare Empire has come to power and it holds onto that power through liberal use of the guillotine. With its forces invading the Earth and its space fleets preparing to subjugate the other Sides, the Zanscare Empire has nothing to fear from the weakening Earth Federation. It is opposed only by the League Militaire, whose state of the art mobile suits and young pilots comprise the only real resistance movement. Now, thirteen-year-old Uso Evin has been dragged into the war by a battle near his home in Eastern Europe. As the Newtype pilot of the Victory Gundam, he fights not only to defeat the Zanscare Empire but also to find out what has become of his parents, who left him behind when they went into space.

Mirai Shounen Conan

Based on The Incredible Tide by Alexander Key. Post nuclear future. Earth has been almost completely submerged by oceans. Indastria, an hyper-technological isle, is the new world capital. Conan is the only survived boy in the attempt of a bunch of austronauts to escape the earth when nuke bombs were falling. He will meet a girl named Lana (Italian name), and when she will be kidnapped by Indastria's soldiers, he'll go and try to rescue her.

Game Center CX (Season 1)

A Japanese television series where Shinya Arino, a member of comedy duo Yoiko, plays Japan's most popular video games (a majority of which are Family Computer games) and records his progress as he works through a time limit, usually lasting up to one day. He is supported by his Assistant Directors (herein referred to as ADs) and Staff, both via moral support and actual gameplay.

Kidou Senshi Gundam SEED C.E. 73: Stargazer

In C.E. 73, tensions between Naturals and Coordinators continue to persist, eventually leading to another war between the Earth Alliance and PLANT. Sven Cal Bayan is a Natural pilot of the elite EA squad, the Phantom Pain, and carries out his squad's various anti-Coordinator missions without fail. Selene McGriff is a Coordinator researcher at the neutral Deep Space Survey and Development Organization (DSSD) and a developer of the GSX-401FW Stargazer space exploration mobile suit. Though their backgrounds are completely different, the expanding war will nevertheless force their paths to collide.

Jyu-Oh-Sei

Thor and his twin brother, Rai, are cast off to a forsaken planet by unknown masked men after witnessing the suspicious death of their parents. Given only a beam knife and a smelly satchel, they wander together in search of civilization on the primarily plant based world. They soon discover the plants have the advantage. Only the strong survive; the ones who throw away their humanity and become the beasts humans once were.

Kidou Senshi Gundam ZZ

The year is Universal Century 0088. Directly after the end of the Gryps War, Haman Karn and her army of Zeon remnants on the asteroid Axis begin their quest of reviving the lost empire of the Zabi's, and proclaim themselves as the Neo-Zeon. With the Earth Federation as hapless as ever, only the Anti-Earth Union Group (AEUG) is able oppose the plans of Neo-Zeon. In need of all the help it can get after being decimated in the previous war and losing many of its key members, the AEUG ship Argama enlists the aid of a young junk collector from the Side 1 colony of Shangri-La named Judau Ashta to pilot its newest mobile suit, the Double Zeta Gundam.

Mōryō no Hako

The story follows a series of bizzare murders of schoolgirls who have been dismembered and stuffed into boxes. The private investigator hired by a missing daughters mother joins forces with an antique book seller and others to unravel the murder spree.

Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon

One day, Usagi Tsukino, clumsy 2nd-year middle school student (8th grader), stumbles upon a talking cat named Luna. Luna tells her that she is destined to be Sailor Moon, "champion of love and justice", and she must search for the fabled Moon Princess. Usagi finds friends that turn out to be destined senshi as well, and together they fight to save the world from the certain doom brought upon by the Dark Kingdom (Queen Beryl, the generals, Metallia).

Yugo ～Koushoujin～

Yugo the Negotiator has never lost a case. He has vowed to complete any mission he undertakes, no matter what. A woman came to him one day asking for him to save her father who was being held hostage by a rebel group trying to overthrow a Middle-Eastern government. Aided by his many contacts, Yugo heads to the Middle East with no idea where to start, but he'll discover he's not alone on his mission.

Kidou Senshi Zeta Gundam

The year is Universal Century 0087. Seven years have passed since the end of the One Year War. In its zeal to stamp out any remaining opposition, the Earth Federation has organized the Titans, an elite fighting force. However, the Titans soon get out of hand, committing atrocities on par with the worst the Principality of Zeon had to offer during the war. In response, dissatisified citizens, former Zeon soldiers, and even members of the Earth Federal Forces form a resistance group known as the Anti-Earth Union Group, or AEUG. As the next war is brewing, a small AEUG group arrives at Side 7 to investigate the new Gundam Mk. II.     

Incomplete OAV's:  

Kidou Senshi Gundam Unicorn

The year is U.C. 0096. Three years have passed since the end of the Second Neo Zeon War. It is said that the Vist Foundation manipulates the Earth Federation and Anaheim Electronics from behind the scenes. Hoping to create a new world, the Foundation attempts to hand over a certain secret to the Neo Zeon remnants known as the Sleeves. This will mean the opening of Laplace's Box, which holds a great secret tied to the origins of the Universal Century. The exchange between the Vist Foundation and the Sleeves is to take place at the manufacturing colony Industrial 7. This is the home of the student Banagher Links, who rescues a girl he sees falling through the colony's zero gravity area. The girl gives her name as Audrey Burne and says she wants to prevent a war, spurring Banagher to step into the conflict surrounding Laplace's Box—almost as if he is drawn in by his own bloodline. 

Movies:  

Evangelion: 1.0 You Are [Not] Alone 

After the second impact, all that remains of Japan is Tokyo-3, a city that's being attacked by giant creatures that seek to eradicate the human kind, called Angels. After not seeing his father for more than eight years, Shinji Ikari receives a phone call, in which he is told to urgently come to the NERV Headquarters, an organization that deals with the destruction of the Angels through the use of giant mechs called Evas.Shinji's objective is to pilot the Eva Unit 01,while teaming up with the Eva Unit 00 pilot, Ayanami Rei.

Kidou Senshi Gundam: Gyakushuu no Char

U.C. 0093 - Char Aznable, the infamous "Red Comet" of the One Year War, has come out of hiding to lead the Neo-Zeon Army and wage war against the Earth Federation. Only his greatest rival, Gundam pilot Amuro Ray, can stop him from dropping the Axis asteroid on Earth and causing a major global catastrophe.

Kidou Senshi Gundam F91

U.C. 0123 - thirty years of peace across Earth and the space colonies is shattered by the emergence of a new faction called the Crossbones Vanguard. The weak Earth Federation is caught off-guard by the attacks due to their complacency. As a result, the Crossbones Vanguard conquer the Frontier IV colony almost immediately. Caught in the crossfire is college student Seabook Arno, who sees many of his friends killed during the skirmish and discovers that his girlfriend Cecily Fairchild is actually Berah Ronah - heir to the Ronah family clan and the Crossbones Vanguard. He then finds out that his mother is alive and has been working on a new mobile suit codenamed "Gundam Formula-91". Seabook reluctantly pilots the Gundam at first, but slowly discovers the Newtype abilities within him and uses them and the Gundam to turn the tide of the war.

Gundam G-Saviour

Humanity is running short on food so several scientists are conducting experiments to solve this problem. A professor on earth and Cynthia Graves from the colony GAEA work together but when the professor has a breakthrough, all communication with Cynthia stops. She comes down to earth to find out what happened to the professor and discovers that the military isn't very happy with their discovery since it would decrease the influence of the military. Because of the help of Mark Curran, she is able to escape to her colony but the military won't give up so easily.