Relocation of Takoyaki & Ocha

Yes yes... Even I caught the Wordpress bug =p. The reason why I haven’t been updating this blog is coz I was busy working behind the scenes on another (And posting a bit of new stuffs too). Now Takoyaki and Ocha has been relocated to its new home over here. Well, it’s not much different from any other free blog hosting services but I thought it would be nice to try something new. I can’t afford my own domain anyway, but thank goodness this new site gives adequate freedom to its users. Of course the unfortunate thing is you can’t use any other templates offered on the web but on the plus side, you can customize the templates that have been given by them (Like I have). You can even change the templates completely provided you have sufficient knowledge on working around web programming languages. Hope all of ya wouldn’t mind updating your link for Takoyaki and Ocha. Thank you and I apologize for the inconvenience! Oh by the way, I recommend using Mozilla browsers, especially Firefox, to view the site coz it seems to have layout problems with IE, again. ^^;;; As a side note, this blog will still be around so feel free to browse it anytime. I won’t be updating it though.

Tsubasa Chronicle Episode 26 (Finale)

Episode Title: 最後の願い (Saigo no Negai) English Translation: The Last Wish Brief Episode Summary In the alternate dimension, Xing Huo was observing someone in the tube. Fei Wong came over wondering whether she was expecting the person to awaken. Xing Huo replied that one day, “he” would definitely come to them. The mysterious person in the tube was then revealed to eerily resemble Syaoran, with a patch covering his left eye. In a barren land, a few farmers were working on the fields when Syaoran-tachi suddenly arrived in their world. Mokona read the letter Yuuko sent them when they were in Edonis country. Then unexpectedly, he went “Mekyou!!” exclaiming that one of Sakura’s feathers exists in this world. Syaoran wanted to search for it but he fainted. He dreamt about the time when he and Sakura made a promise about keeping a secret in a flower garden. He woke up a short while later in a house and was greeted by the rest of the gang as well as an elderly lady, who is the owner. She asked them if they are travelers from another dimension and Syaoran queried her whether there are any unique tales in this village. The lady then mentioned for them to follow her. Outside, they saw a huge air fortress floating in the sky. The lady told them that a god resides in the fortress and is able to grant a wish to anyone who is able to reach there. She went on to explain that many men in her village had tried to enter the fortress but they all perished. At night, Kurogane and Fai were thinking about their individual wishes (The same ones they told Yuuko). Mokona stated Sakura’s feather is indeed within the fortress. Sakura exclaimed someone was calling her, then the trio went outside. They met the lady again who was praying in a cemetery. Apparently, her grandson was one of the many who had died. Later, Syaoran-tachi decided to make their way to the fortress. They set off towards their destination late evening on the next day. While climbing the stairs, they were ambushed by the minions who invaded Clow Country (In Episode 1). Fai offered to stay behind in order to buy the rest more time. Syaoran, Kurogane, Sakura and Mokona managed to enter the fortress but they were attacked again. This time, Kurogane volunteered to distract the enemies while the remaining three made their way to the altar. When they reached the main room, they discovered the so-called immense source of power which had been rumored to grant wishes was none other than Sakura’s feather. Suddenly, a sentinel appeared. Syaoran told Sakura to make a wish whilst he fought the adversary. She then wished for the resurrection of the dead villagers. Syaoran succeeded in defeating the sentinel not long later. Sakura’s feather was returned to her and she remembered the time she spent in the flower garden. Back in the village, all of the ex-deads were reunited with their families, including the lady’s grandson. Looking over the horizon one last time, Mokona opened the portal to the next world and our heroes and heroine once again continue their epic quest to search for Sakura’s remaining memories..... Reviews You know... Despite this episode being mostly a filler one, I actually love it... A LOT! The 4 aspects which captivated me the most were the story, animation, character designs and music. Story-wise, almost everything about the plot is Anime original stuff – the world, the supporting characters, the scenarios. The only little bit that came from the Manga was Yuuko’s letter scene (The one where she stated the punishment for delaying their gifts to her on White Day is 3 times fold). And I thought they were supposed to read that letter in the bunny world ^^;;;. Nevertheless, even if this story did not stem from the Manga at all, I kinda felt it had depth to all that has happened. It’s not just some shallow story like the previous Anime original one (The fighting world in Episode 16) where all the events which took place was so cliché. Well yeah, the goal in this episode probably wasn’t very exciting but at least they actually created a valid reason for Syaoran-tachi to accomplish something, and that is retrieving Sakura’s feather. Furthermore, I find some of the scenes very touching like the ones related to Sakura’s memories and reviving the dead villagers. Okay, maybe that’s mainly because of Kajiura Yuki working her magic in the background.... More on this later. Animation. Heck, YEAH!! This episode has the best animated sequences so far in Tsubasa Chronicle! Yes, even better than the ones in Outo! I take back what I said about the fighting scenes in the Outo arc being fantastic. Episode 26 completely takes the cake for having the fastest as well as the most impressive and dynamic action scenes in the entire series ever! I realize they made the camera shooting and angles more dramatic. Notice they actually swayed and shook the camera a reasonable amount of times in certain events (Especially the ones with Kuro-chan in them)? Something which rarely happened in previous episodes or maybe they were too short to be perceptible. I would say this episode is very unBee Train-like. What do I mean by that? Well, for those who are familiar with some of Bee Train’s past projects like Noir and MADLAX, you might have observed that their screen frames during those fast-paced scenes can be quite still while the characters are the ones who are moving around a lot. The speed of element (Anything related to the characters) movement for those 2 are moderately fast but are still slower than most of the animation done by other companies, like Sunrise (Yeah, I’m biased particularly towards the Mai series). Bee Train’s poorest attempt at making a decent action and adventure series was probably Avenger (No offence to Avenger fans ^^;;;). Avenger was expected to be mostly action-centered because of the theme but the fight scenes were just so... Slow. And draggy ^^;. I mean, it’s good to include slow-mo scenes to emphasize the effects further, but they obviously over-did it with Avenger. The only really fast scene I could recall from that series was during the opening, where Layla was fighting some minion. But, I’m very glad they didn’t do that in Tsubasa Chronicle. Their improvement undeniably deserves acknowledgment. Kudos to Bee Train for a job well done. We’re all proud of ya! ^____^ Character designs were the best in this episode too. It goes to show they really put in a lot of good effort in the finale. Yes, when I say “character designs”, I don’t mean the primary ones drawn by Shiba Minako, but rather those done by the series’ animators for each episode. Usually, they look very simply done, for example in the Koryo arc but here, it’s as though all the A-list animators had been assigned to work with the production team. The designs portrayed in this episode seemed like the same as those in Episode 1, where first impressions always count (Compare Yuuko’s design in Episode 1 with Episode 2, and you’ll see what I meant by the obvious difference in character design quality). Music. Ooh... Splendid! Even if there weren’t any new BGMs, just the way they were inserted to complement the various situations blew me away. They had such an emotional impact on me, especially the songs. It’s definitely not the same experience when you listen to the album and hear the ones onscreen. You gotta have videos and dialogs to actually let the music leave its effect on you. I’m so grateful that Kajiura Yuki was requested to write the music for Tsubasa Chronicle. I really am... Domo Arigatou Gozaimasu, Kajiura Yuki-san! ^____^ In conclusion, this episode was indeed a grand finale for the series. Even though the plot wasn’t related to the Manga in any way, the writers still managed to come up with a creative and genuine story which in my opinion, may have supported the original even more. And a great many thanks to all the staff who have worked so hard to make this series such a huge success.

Tsubasa Chronicle Episode 26 Preview

Riiiiight... If what Xing Huo said is true at the end of Episode 25, then expect lots and LOTS of fighting in the finale of the first season. Wey~ The goonies from Episode 1 are back! And one of the darkest secrets of the entire series will be revealed! From the way things look, it seems the next episode is a filler story, maybe with some recaps and flashbacks to boot. FINAL EPISODE, everyone! Here we go!

Tsubasa Chronicle Episode 25

Episode Title: 究極のゲーム (Kyuukyoku no Geemu) English Translation: The Ultimate Game Brief Episode Summary Everyone was shocked that Oruha is the I-1 demon. Sakura’s feather became erratic and started causing characters and landmarks from Outo to appear in Fairy Park. Syaoran told Kurogane that he will reclaim Sakura’s feather and he went off in the direction of Seishirou. Moments later, demons emerged and Ryuu-Ou’s gang engaged in battle with them. Oruha was grateful to Seishirou for indirectly helping her hide her true identity from the demon hunters (He tolerated and took the accusations that he is a demon, even though he is not one himself). Chitose and the others explained that living people who enter the virtual reality game can never take on the form of “non-player characters”, one example being the demons. Seishirou asked Oruha whether her real name is “Subaru”, to which she replied “no”. Chitose told the others that Oruha is one of the creators of the system as well, and that the “eternal life” Seishirou was pursuing can only be granted in Outo country if he defeats the strongest being in the game, which is the I-1 demon. Seishirou continued his interrogation, asking Oruha whether she knew anything about the twin vampires he was searching for but she just told him she doesn’t know. Syaoran arrived and challenged Seishirou to a duel. He drew Hien from its sheath and lunged towards Seishirou but the latter easily evaded him. Seishirou then activated his eye to travel to another dimension and he disappeared before Syaoran could reach him the second time. The demons became unruly and started attacking those who were left behind in Edonis. Syaoran and the others cooperated to defeat all the demons. In the heat of battle, Oruha had a heart-to-heart talk with Sakura and told her that Syaoran has been growing stronger for her sake. After the fight, Mokona lighted up, letting Syaoran-tachi know that it was time for their departure to another world. Then, the five bid the Edonis country residents farewell. Meanwhile in another dimension, Fei Wong and Xing Huo had been observing the situation. Reviews This episode is somewhat 50/50 Manga and Anime original stuff. Pretty good in my opinion... Besides using the Manga’s dialogues, the writers also created a lot of new conversations which lay emphasis on different aspects that were relevant such as more info on the “non-player characters” issue and Edonis country’s current situation (Virtual world and reality overlapping etc.). The scenes where Syaoran-tachi had to battle the demons towards the end of the episode were original as well (The Manga version was really rushed, with the scenes cutting to the five’s departure shortly after Seishirou had left). I guess the most significant dissimilarity is that majority of the opinions were given by people that are different from their Manga counterparts. For example, Chitose and Ryuu-Ou’s gang were the ones who explained about the “non-player characters” instead of Oruha. I like how they made Oruha appear more as a good person instead of a villain. Her talk with Sakura was really meaningful, even touching at some point when she was referring to all that had happened in Outo. Regarding the animation, all the fast-paced battle scenes are back! Glad to see more action as the Edonis arc approached its ending. Oh, there is one thing that bothers me though..... I realized some of the scenes probably may had been very heavily edited. Notice the time when Yuzuriha was flung backwards (Probably at around 20 minutes and 19 seconds)? 5 seconds later, she’s already right back on her heels kicking butt. Wasn’t that a bit too fast ^^;;;? Oh, and another thing..... I did mention before that I find Syaoran’s initial pose with Hien really lame. That’s why I didn’t include the screencap here but you may have encountered it somewhere else. Sigh... Wish they had animated a better scene for that. Well, only one chapter’s been covered here. That’s the reason why I was impressed with how the writers invented new situations to stretch it to 20+ minutes worth of story. A great conclusion to a great arc (2 arcs, in fact).

Tsubasa Chronicle Episode 25 Preview

More kijin battles again! And Syaoran has drawn Hien to fight. Hmm... Don’t wanna say this but I find his pose really terrible and cliché. ><

Tsubasa Chronicle Episode 24

Episode Title: 死闘のヤイバ (Shitou no Yaiba) English Translation: Blade of a Desperate Fight Brief Episode Summary With Syaoran, Sakura, Fai and the civilians erased from Outo, Seishirou initiated his plan of searching for the I-1 demon. Elsewhere, the other lower level demons had merged and transformed into I-3 demons. At the ruined café, Kurogane was met by Ryuu-Ou and the rest. Seishirou began emitting another wave from Sakura’s feather which engulfed the town. Ryuu-Ou stated at the rate the events were happening, they would be kicked out of the game and wouldn’t know who they were in real life. A few moments later, everyone started disappearing. Here, the truth behind everything was exposed. Syaoran woke up inside an egg-shaped capsule to find Fai greeting him. It turned out they were all inside an illusionary world created by a virtual reality game machine. Not long later, Sakura woke up inside her capsule but Kurogane and Mokona were still asleep in theirs. Fai told Syaoran and Sakura that they actually landed in a world known as Edonis, and they are in an amusement park called Fairy Park (Suu’s wishland =p). A woman appeared and introduced herself as Chitose, founder of Fairy Park. Syaoran wondered why he still possesses Hien (his sword) if he acquired it in the game. Chitose explained Seishirou’s interference with the system would cause the virtual world to overlap with reality. Outside, Seishirou and a demon emerged in real life followed by Kurogane, Mokona and Ryuu-Ou’s gang. Kurogane challenged Seishirou to a sword duel and the two began fighting. Syaoran wanted to head towards Seishirou and Ryuu-Ou decided to cooperate with him to distract the demon. Before the battle between Kurogane and Seishirou reached a climax, Mokona interrupted them. Seishirou then brought out Sakura’s feather to summon the I-1 demon. Chitose exclaimed the feather was the source of the interference. Later, Oruha appeared and revealed her true identity as the I-1 demon..... Reviews The beans have finally been spilled. The writers did a good job of concealing the truth behind Outo all this while. If I was a first-timer of Tsubasa, I would certainly be surprised after watching this episode although they did give out a big hint at the end of the previous one (The way Syaoran disappeared was a little too evident.... And weird ^^;;;). However, I guess I couldn’t say the same about Oruha’s real identity. I was fairly shocked when I read the Manga about the bit where Oruha revealed who she really is but in the Anime, it was made obvious even early on. Ah... The element of surprise was lost there. Plot-wise, they still didn’t exactly follow the events closely (the order was mixed up), but that didn’t cause any confusion coz all of the important scenarios click in the end. I like it how the writers gave the characters more lines to say than usual. Nearly all of the original conversations were used and they added extras to further emphasize on what was happening. Also, they gave Ryuu-Ou and gang more roles to play instead of only being wallflowers. Oh yes, I must say the animation in this episode was superb! The character designs were far better compared to preceding episodes and the special effects were just amazing! Love the vivid colors used and the flow of motions were really fluid. The sword duel scenes were great! I’ve never seen so much fast-paced action since Episode 19. Guess Bee Train knows how to deliver as they approach the end of the series. Glad to see Chitose again. I wish Inoue Kikuko would reprise her role but of course, the cast do change with a new series. Honda Chieko did an astounding job voicing her though so there’s definitely no complaints. Chapitre 48 cleared! The Outo arc has concluded and next is Edonis.

Review of Tsubasa Chronicle Original Soundtrack II

Once again I’ll begin by saying “Oh, my GOSH.....” This album is just AMAZING!!!! The compilation of songs for the second soundtrack is much better than the first (guess Kajiura Yuki may have wanted to save all the best for last). There are definitely more varieties featured here with genres ranging from the usual traditional chorals to even modern techno with a hint of jazz. There are also a lot of background music tracks that are typically accompanied by the violin and classical guitar. My absolute favorite for this type (and the whole album) has got to be “the dreamers”, which sounded a lot like a gypsy tune laced with a bit of Spanish accent, and it clearly reminded of my other favorite from Mai-HiME – “Tokiiro no Mai” (the insert BGM prominently played during the duel between Natsuki and Shizuru as well as Mikoto and Miyu in Episode 25). Apart from that, we have quite a number of beautiful ballad piano pieces like “lost wings” (piano version of “tsubasa”) and “if you are my love” (piano version of “you are my love”). In addition, there are also the more exciting jazz rock tracks like “break it down again” mentioned before during the hunters fight with the kijins in Episode 19. And who could forget the one and only “Kaze no Machi e”, Oruha’s famous single, which is performed by FictionJunction KEIKO not Chiba Saeko by the way (I imagined she would have sounded profoundly different). Like OST 1, some of Kajiura’s compositions for this album do strongly resembled a few from her other previous works, this time more towards MADLAX’s style (try comparing “blue clouds” with “your place” from MADLAX OST 2), although majority of them still have a distinctiveness of their own. Even though I’ve already pointed out the most notable tracks, I can confidently say that the whole album itself is really well-rounded. I just love all of the compositions included. I know in the end, it only boils down to personal taste whether you like Kajiura Yuki or not, but I would still say she’s one of the most talented composers to ever embrace modern Anime music. Feel free to think that I’m biased but hey... You’ve gotta admit her music is one of a kind and can be easily recognized in any series if you’re familiar with her style. Brilliant. Simply brilliant..... 18 tracks is too few! I can’t wait for more..... Hope she’ll be writing new compositions for Tsubasa Chronicle’s two upcoming seasons. Ah well, guess I’ll have Mai-Otome to look forward to in the mean time. ^____________^

Tsubasa Chronicle Episode 24 Preview

Kuro-chan fight!! Fight!!! FIGHT!!!! A heated sword duel between Kurogane and Seishirou!!!! Ah..... Finally some action! *.* And will Outo’s real face be revealed? Later then..... ~_^

Tsubasa Chronicle Episode 23

Episode Title: 消えゆくイノチ (Kieyuku Inochi) English Translation: The Disappearing Life Brief Episode Summary Sumomo broke the transmission news that a demon is at the Cat’s Eye café. Meanwhile, Seishirou told Fai he possessed powers that allowed him to travel through different dimensions at the price of his right eye (Seishirou traded it to Yuuko in order to gain that power). He also revealed he has one of Sakura’s feathers in his custody and summoned a few demons to attack Fai. Fai fought against the demons but was unfortunately defeated and “killed” in the end. Most of the buildings in Outo began to pixelate then became distorted while some of the characters disappeared except Oruha. Syaoran and Kurogane dashed back to the café and Mokona told them that Fai was killed and Seishirou probably took Sakura with him. Syaoran decided he would run after Seishirou to settle the score. He confronted Seishirou later and challenged him to a duel. Here, we have a flashback about their first encounter. Syaoran was escaping from several street thugs who wanted to steal his book. Seishirou easily defeated them and requested to borrow the book. He disclosed he was searching for two vampires and he thought the book may have a clue about them. Unfortunately, he didn’t understand the language used. Syaoran offered to translate it for him, in exchange he would teach Syaoran how to fight. In the present, Seishirou called forth a few demons to attack Syaoran. He stated he wanted to meet the I-1 demon as it has the power to grant immortality. He fused numerous demons together that materialized into a sword and stabbed Syaoran. Sakura who was actually wandering around the area searching for her feather witnessed the whole event. Syaoran started to vanish and Sakura quickly embraced him. Then both of them disappeared..... Reviews Hmm..... For me, this episode was quite muddled up. The writers extracted certain scenarios here and there and then stitched them all together. Well, it may be awry for the Manga readers but somehow, they managed to work the flow right so there’s not a problem for first time watchers to comprehend the story. Heh, kinda surprised at the last bit though – Sakura ended up vanishing along with Syaoran. This did not happen in the original story (she wasn’t there in the first place to witness Syaoran’s “death”). But on the plus side, that scene was rather touching. It just goes to show how much Sakura really cares for Syaoran instead of always being the other way round. Good for them ^^. On the whole, I’m glad they filled out the holes properly even if they switched the scenes around. And I guess this episode would have left a lot of confused first-timers hanging. Fear not... Just wait for next week and you’ll discover the true reality behind all that has happened in a world called Outo. =p

Delay this week

Since I’ll be away this weekend, hope you wouldn’t mind waiting for my review on Episode 23. My sincere apologies, everyone! ^^;

Tsubasa Chronicle DVD Vol. 2

Second DVD’s launched with Episodes 3 to 6! Price is ¥6,300, and extras include

• DVD box for storing 7 volumes of the DVDs
• Bookmark
• Info on more Tsubasa Chronicle worlds