penguin musume ♥ heart

PENGUIN MUSUME ♥ HEART
studio : Picture Magic
director : Hitoyuki Matsui
serial run : April 19, 2008 - November 15, 2008
total episodes : 22 [ +1 extra episode ]
score : ***1/2

SOUP KONATA, HERE COMES A CHALLENGER-

so what will you get when you throw in a chronic female otaku with a fist-happy tsundere into the same series ? another lucky star of course, not :D okay that was somewhat stupid of me... anyway, penguin musume heart is a 22 [+1] episode original net animation [ or ONA for short ] that was based from the comedy manga of the same name [ minus the word 'heart' ] by tetsuya takahashi; this short series here made its debut through episodic streaming at the cult japanese video site nico nico douga and as with any other ONAs the series runs conveniently short at lesser than 11 minutes... but wait, do not let that drive your interest away- okay, if it does then you were about to miss on one of the nicely [ if not best ] produced random comedy series for the past 2-3 years- wait, that sounds a bit exaggerated... oh well, nevermind. btw, as usual you may check on the summary for the series from wiki-tan or myanimelist, whichever of these you would prefer the most :3

penguin musume heart to me basically feels like a successful merger between the aforementioned lucky star and seto no hanayome; some even mentioned the classic martial arts / gender bender series ranma 1/2 but i'd leave the latter out since i haven't [ nor will i ] entirely watch over that one as of yet. that aside, this series is one helluva fun ride and is best savored for its highly random comedies that will help shorten your breath from just laughing out silly. in general the series doesn't offer any solid plot nor story to back its storytelling premise [ just like lucky star was ] but even with the lack of that penguin musume heart were still pretty much a tough adversary to some of the popular mainstream comedies out there. the jabs / jokes-whatever were finely executed and though there are plenty of ecchi fanservices thrown every here and there still the series doesn't rely much on them, but instead are more focused on screwing your brain up.

there's plenty of interesting characters [ all were females ] featured throughout the entire run of the series, and what's cool about penguin musume heart is that these characters were given enough / proper justice over how they were expanded and elaborated on; being a short series with a very short runtime however sure there wasn't enough character development explored for each and every one of them but still their respective personalities and backstories were properly told and touched upon, and that as well includes the side / [ not so ] minor characters such as the lol-some butler sebastian and mary's white knights. the overall visual presentation, as well as the art and the series' character design won my greatest praise; they were cute and more than visually pleasing to my eyes and desktop. that, and the animation were finely executed in the best fashion possible, not just some stills with some dramatic lines suggesting hot blooded action been thrown about in case of the action scenes. oh and did i mention action scenes ? yes people, there's some nice punch-out scenes [ between sakura and etorofu, and with bloods of course ] for a comedy like this, and good god even our ever serious zange-chan greatly approve of this.

all in all it's a good comedy show with tons of good humors. some may find penguin musume heart as stupid but that would just prove that these people have [ absolutely ] no sense of humor, and god shall save them all for that [ that was zange's words, not mine :3 ]. anyway, so if you're in for seto no hanayome above all well i greatly beg that you lurk and dig upon this one series here before you indulge on any of the winter 2010 shows yet, aaand if you're greatly in for spot-on moe eye candies then there's more the reason for you to check this one out, definitely ! no excuses, just right click, save target as and watch watch watch-

[ cosplay ] uriu : miku hatsune

layer : Uriu
character : Miku Hatsune
series : Vocaloid
score : *****

[ slightly unrelated note : this post was conceived while livetune's strobe nights were playing in the background, for added mood on the author's side of course :3 ]

so we've seen her splendid shana-get, and her awesomely magnificent konata-get, now it's time for us, the +ophanium team to put up a feature on uriu-san's moelicious miku hatsune-get - the character / virtual diva that everyone were so in love the most out of those created for vocaloid, and what's cool about our miku-feature this time around is that uriu-san once again had thrown in a 'two thumbs up and a standing ovation' execution for another cosplay-get of her, thus firmly securing her seat among +ophanium's top 10 japanese layer of the now [ ooh i so love copypasta-ing this line over and over again :P ].

okay now that's a strike one on the material selection for her costume; the glossy fabric really does represent the original design of the character well, and i highly believe this is how miku's costume should be made - am referring to the fabric selection of course. moving on, the headset accessory that comes with uriu-san's miku-get were seemingly well made, or perhaps she had bought a pair of pre-made one from cosplay / merchandise store, who knows ? but anyway it doesn't look cheaply made and that saved the overall presentation a lot; sometimes there are layers who puts on awesomely made costumes only to be spoiled by a poorly made / bought accessory which sadly kills off a handful percentage for the presentation / execution point.

as with her other cosplay-get, she had her looks and presentation right and that alone is the most defining point and aspect which have been keeping uriu-san high and mighty, much like the many other professional layers i have come to fancy; well just wait until you see her bridget [ of guilty gear fame ] and mayoi hachikuji-get that i am sure would blow some nice awe to yer face :E

[ all images are property of yuuro_an ]

[ cosplay ] another ibara : luka megurine

layer : Ibara
character : Luka Megurine
series : Vocaloid
score : *****

OVERKILL LUKA-GET

it should be time that i stop referring to her as 'another ibara', however i wish not to confuse some of our lurkers / regulars here with another splendid japanese layer [ now seemingly inactive for the time being ] who shares the same cosplay name as her.

now, as the text in bold and delicious capslock has mentioned, this definitely is the best luka-get i have ever come to 'witness' so far. and as if she was born to epicly impersonate luka IRL, ibara-san magnificently puts awe to both my eyes and soul, as well as dropping my jaw for minutes in the process. <- this may read somewhat heavily exaggerated but that surely is how i felt when i first had my eyes on her take for this version of luka, and i definitely won't be keeping myself nice and quite on something as awesome as this.

[ all images are property of murasaki tokei ]

[ cosplay ] moko ichinose / merino : kagami hiiragi

layer : Moko Ichinose / Merino
character : Kagami Hiiragi
series : Lucky Star
score : ****1/2

among the many recent addition to my favorite list, moko-san deserves numerous feature and mention [ which we will try to provide her some in times to come ] for her splendid cosplay-get. anyway, what you see here is moko-san's delightful take on lucky-tard's beloved tsundere kagamin-sama. though characters such as this requires [ very ] minimal details and effort on both costume and accessories yet it is not that often for you to see someone who could pull off a near / perfect execution [ i mostly refer to this as 'character likeness point' ] such as this; i dunno bout you peeps but i can surely see a kagamin from her get, and so for this i am very much honored to enlist her into +ophanium's top 20 pro japanese layers of the now :3

[ all images are property of mpzero ]

p/s : btw in case you missed it, here's another recent cosplay feature, featuring hachimaru-san and her shana-get. due to some miscalculation on my behalf, the post got shoved under despite being submitted long after the railgun chara report :P

to aru kagaku no railgun : chara report

YOU CAN'T SPELL FUNERAL WITHOUT 'FUN', AND NO. THIS BLOG AIN'T DEAD YET :D

first thing first [ as usual :D ]; the following brief character report will only cover the four most prominent characters of the series; also please note that the list is sorted according to my personal preference - the topmost character being my numero uno favorite of course :3

01. RUIKO SATEN
or saten-san, to some of you die-hard saten fans out there - were and still is my number one waifu favorite of the bunch [ from the get go of course, not just late into the series :E ], even outperforming the titular character biribiri who was the biggest reason for me to give the series a check despite having been partially disappointed by to aru majutsu no index - the parent series from which this spin-off was born. saten-san [ no matter how you look at her character ] noticably is the most outgoing and cheerful [ kuroko is a special case, mind you ] member of the party, being the one who's often there to quickly lighten up the mood after some emotionally heavy atmosphere, though she herself are not without personal issues in mind; saten-san is very well aware and concerned of her level 0 status, and had once took the [ self-destructive ] wrong path [ in what i consider as the most emotionally-engaging arc ] in order to seek out what she has been lacking all this while. another thing that is interesting [ and mandatory ] to note is her most well known trait - that is her tendency to flips uiharu's skirt so to get a glimpse at the latter's panties [ saten flip is among the most celebrated gag in my list ] for cheap fun i guess, and were among the only instances of naughty-fanservice the audience get to experience [ though we hardly get to see any uiharu panties ] from the series- o wait, i forgot there's several scenes of both biribiri and kuroko being nude in the bath~

02. MIKOTO MISAKA
the electrifying [ 'affectionately' nicknamed biribiri by touma ] tsundere you surely don't wanna mess with, and of whom also had a surprising interest into all things cute; including her wide collection of gekota [?] merchandise ranging from her childish mobile phone, pajamas down to her toiletries [ refer to episode 22 plz ]. as stated in the second paragraph above, mikoto was the primary reason that inspires me to further delve deeper into the to aru majutsu no index mythos, and were still is the catalyst which had kept me glued entirely to the spin-off aside from saten-san and of course, the plot / story. despite her rough and slightly tomboyish-persona [ who the hell, of a fine young lady would land ungraceful kicks on them vending machines +not to mention wearing manly boxers instead of panties ? ], mikoto is the sole victim of kuroko's recurring sexual advances / harassments [ read : lesbianistic yuri assaults ] but were never fail to foil each and every one of them with her 'zap-and-fry-the-freak' prevention method that has yet to zap through a lasting lesson to the happily-masochistic kuroko. also, it wasn't hard to trigger her moetastic red face-get if you know how to do so, as she's definitely easy to read and be teased upon [ i greatly believe that saten-san's been dying to pull an embarrassing prank on mikoto, only that her respect for the biribiri could be the only thing that's been keeping her from doing so :3 ] - as often expected from the tsunderekko type.



03. KUROKO SHIRAI
the perfect example of an epicly dangerous maniac - what's more, she can teleport to [ almost ] anywhere she wants [ though this unique ability of her is limited to a designated radius in correspondence to her current level ], thus making herself the perfect [ fictional ] stalker to have walked the earth. +when it comes to yuri, nothing is more epic than those dedication and twisted sense of adoration from kuroko - and that, my dearest readers, were among the defining points of kuroko which had stroke my interest over her character, though i myself [ initially ] weren't into her at all, mostly due to her way of speaking which sounded like a perverted senile oba-san in major contrast to her adorable character design at first [ but i'm okay with that now :D ]. all those aside though, kuroko is not a character without any positive remark / merit at all; she's well dedicated to her cause and commitment as both a member of judgment and a lawful citizen of the academy city, and won't definitely tolerate any injustice that unfolds before her. anyway, on a side note, kuroko were also best known for her iconic headdesks of jealousy, which is an awesome way to express one's dissatisfaction over certain disagreeable matters :D

04. KAZARI UIHARU
my first thought of her [ and saten-san ] was that they were both going to remain more of a background item [ pardon my incompetence, for i have yet to follow either the manga or the original novel the anime was developed from ] but somehow her [ and saten-san's ] roles were expanded greatly to move alongside the almighty title character herself, while at times uiharu had the chance[s] to nab some noticeable attention away from the leading couple. moving on, her esper power remains a best kept secret throughout the series until it is revealed by herself in the most recent episode, yet the other three were still kept in the dark over the truth of her ability. essentially, uiharu is a by-the-book diligent type [ member of ] judgment who wishes the others to notice and acknowledge her capabilities in carrying out her missions, but often misses the chance to let herself shine at its fullest much thanks to the initiative often taken by your dear biribiri. over the course of the series i had greatly enjoy the splendid saten x uiharu dynamic, however recently uiharu had came to lost a bit of interest from me due to her [ unintentionally ] alienating of saten-san, which is made apparent from the several instances of a ronery [ but not yet sad ] saten-san - as seen in the recently aired 22nd episode.

[ cosplay ] hachimaru : shana

layer : Hachimaru
character : Shana
series : Shakugan no Shana
score : *****

URUSAI URUSAI URUSAI~!

it [ mildly ] surprises me how i haven't featured any cosplay-get by hachimaru-san yet, despite her being among my top favorites. leaving that aside, here's a nice and lovely shana-get by hachimaru-san, complete with the flaming tsundere's weapon of choice, a katana by the name 'nietono no shana' and her signature overcoat which also serve as a magic satchel in the series. what i so greatly love about hachimaru-san's take on the character is the fiery red wig used [ though i bet the color were enhanced through photo manipulation software such as adobe photoshop ], the spot redness ultimately gave out a much stronger impact to her shana-get as well as a gripping stark contrast [ which balances ] to the overall dark clothings.

[ all images are property of unakasane ]

let's talk on hime's fave anime OP / ED theme [ ver. 1.0 ]

both shinwa and seraphim had done theirs, so now it is my turn to share mine. also, this is an incomplete list [ devoid of the usual brief commentaries ] as i am still yet to recover from my loss of ideas [ lame excuse, yea we know :P ], and so i will have this entry here re-posted somewhen in the future, with elaborate commentaries for each songs featured.

OPENING THEMES [ IN PARTICULAR ORDER ]

01. FREE BIRD
[ artist : kou otani | series : haibane renmei ]

02. EUPHORIC FIELD
[ artist : tenmon ft. elisa | series : ef -a tale of memories- ]

03. ALSATIA
[ artist : galneryus | series : mnemosyne -mnemosyne ne musume tachi- ]

04. HIKARI NO SENRITSU
[ artist : kalafina | series : so ra no wo to ]

05. TABI NO TOCHUU
[ artist : natsumi kiyoura | series : spice and wolf ]

06. DUVET
[ artist : boa | series : serial experiments lain ]

07. CROSS HEART
[ artist : coorie | series : kyoshiro to towa no sora ]

10. HIGURASHI NO NAKU KORO NI
[ artist : eiko shimamiya | series : higurashi no naku koro ni ]

08. KUUSOU RUMBA
[ artist : kenji ohtsuki + the seiyuus | series : zoku sayonara zetsubou sensei ]

09. SEISHOUJO RYOUIKI
[ artist : ali project | series : rozen maiden ~traumende~ ]




ENDING THEMES [ IN PARTICULAR ORDER ]

01. FLY ME TO THE MOON
[ artist : clairei | series : neon genesis evangelion ]

02. BROKEN WINGS
[ artist : tomoko tane | series : trinity blood ]

03. MODERN ROSE
[ artist : kanako itou | series : demonbane ]

04. TAISHOU A
[ artist : annina | series : higurashi no naku koro ni kai ]

05. RAINBOW
[ artist : round table ft. nino | series : aria the animation ]

06. RINGO HIYORI -THE WOLF WHISTLING SONG-
[ artist : rocky chack | series : spice and wolf ]

07. HIZAMAZUITE ASHI WO ONAME
[ artist : ali project | series : kaibutsu oujo ]

08. ODORU AKACHAN NINGEN
[ artist : kenji ohtsuki | series : nhk ni youkoso ! ]

09. ROCKET
[ artist : polysics | series : moyashimon ]

10. KIMI NI, MUNE KYUN
[ artist : yuu kobayashi, asami sanada and marina inoue | series : maria+holic ]

EDIT : a not so interesting idea came about my mind just now - i'll have all the songs featured in the list compiled into separate volumes of mixtape for the re-post of this list later :3

kowarekake no orgol ova

KOWAREKAKE NO ORGOL
circle : Electromagnetic Wave
director : POP
serial run : Comiket 77
total episode : 1
score : ****

MUST. HAVE. MOAR~

kowarekake no orgol is a self-produced one shot anime [ read - dojin anime, same case here ] by the well known artist / author of moetan, pop. the ova was released on last year's fuyucomi, featuring very elaborate animation and visual direction / execution for an independent production such as this; even rivaling those of musou kakyou's.

the story for this short yet heartwarming ova centers upon a young former musician, keiichiro who had resigned himself from the music industry following the lost of his family in what presumed to be a traffic accident. he now lives by himself and is hinted to be shutting himself in from the rest of society, until one rainy day where he discovered a discarded 'parent' [ humanoid android in the likes of persocon of the chobits series ] sitting on the garbage heap. although reluctant at first, he then took her to a repair shop, at which he is told that the parent's condition are beyond repair as its parts are either rare or no longer produced / available. despite this however keiichiro took the parent home and stores her among other unused items in the store room.

come next morning, keiichiro realized in surprise that the parent has been mysteriously awaken and functional, and is now serving him a homemade omurice of which were too spicy. he later asked in regard of her previous owner but the parent simply mentioned that she has zero memories of her past. as the poor parent is now in his possession, he then proceeds to name her flower, and the two began to live together a quiet but calm and happy life. from this point on, the story were then narrated from flower's perspective in a picture diary fashion; simply highlighting on her days ever since being taken in by her current owner.

flower is a seemingly innocent and carefree character, and is somewhat naive to the world around her possibly due to her lost of memories. character wise she had the quality of a child but it is this very point of her which helps in defining and shaping her into a highly adorable but sympathetic [ due to her fate at the end of the ova ] character. +it didn't take long for me to fully enjoy her existence within the ova much like how i did with yotsuba koiwai from yotsuba&!, as both seems to mildly mirror each other out in several instances of the story. there are some chara-related matter / issues in the story that weren't fully explained / resolved, but given the course of the ova i can somehow overlook and forgive this.



to those who were already familiar with pop-sensei's art will find kowarekake no orgol's design to be living up much to expectation, especially flower's. the background / breathtaking landscape sceneries were beautifully drawn and rendered, and i especially love the surrealistic visual feel it had that fully emphasizes the feel of summer, as well as the overall mood and atmosphere of this one lovely ova. the story is short but sweet, and though it was brief and simple yet it didn't quite lack the taste; thus we, the +ophanium team heavily recommend the ova to those who were in for a down to earth but big at heart slice of life masterpiece :3