Haruhi 2nd Season OP

The second new episode aired today as part of the Haruhi chronology, which is titled Endless Eight. The first one came with a new ED, this time it comes with a new OP!



The animation is rich and timely, with nice American pop art effects, two complaints though.

First, it now feels more like, how to say ah... like any other comedy anime. It has lost that mysterious feel that was present in the previous OP. Second, and most important, Hirano Aya seriously can't sing alone. She should just stick to voice acting and modeling, or at least sing with the other seiyuus like in the first season :P

This is to say, I prefer the first one. At least the animation is fun to watch, and this time Tsuruya made a small solo appearance :3 Was pleasantly surprised by the computer club members too.

YouTube being YouTube, it might go down in a few hours, I'll try to update it as often as I can when that happens.

...oh, and I'm still freaked out by Shamisen (the cat) moving his head on his own. But if Haruhi's supreme will wants his head to move, so be it.

Haruhi New Episode Just Aired

Wooo just watched the new Haruhi episode. It's great to see them back... ye ke? It's been so long since the last time I've seen MADs of Hare Hare Yukai that it needs some time to get into it again. Got tired thanks to the damn marketing.

For example, just when you thought Haruhi S2 was coming in Spring, they aired the old episodes instead. Countless number of times Kadokawa teased fans with their false advertising of the new season. For 3 freaking years.

Unlike the TV series before (and like the DVD version), they aired the episodes in chronological order instead. Which means that the last episode becomes the 7th. Fans of the Haruhi novels however knew that an important event, which is linked to Tanabata, is to be shown between the 7th and the rest of the first season, if it was truly in chronological order.



Last week a magazine confirmed the 8th episode broadcast to be titled "Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody", which was never before seen in season 1. The Internet and I got skeptical though, thinking that it's another stupid marketing ploy which might result in 1 minute of new footage.

Saitama TV station is known to show the earliest broadcast of the show. Hotel rooms in Saitama were booked solid to verify the midnight broadcast. Otakus are nuts. If only they had used half of their lifetime to get a real girl into that room instead.

To their delight, the new episode was aired at 12:45am Tokyo time last night. 2ch was flooded with messages even during the broadcast itself, about 100 an hour. Thank god it's not another marketing ploy. Luckily for us Tokyo-ites, there will be no otaku mob strike today.



The new episode has a time-travelling theme *thumbs up* It even comes with a new ED. No dancing sequence this time, which I think is a good thing. But, lack of Tsuruya is UNFORGIVABLE!

Hirano Aya... in Malaysia?!

That's right! Hirano Aya, known for being the voice actress of Haruhi and Konata of Lucky Star, visited Kuala Lumpur and Kuching few weeks ago! She's also a bikini model, and she's touring around Asia to take photographs and what not.



Mmmmm nothing like a Japanese bikini model in a baju kurung eh guys? ;)



Birdie, this one's for you.

It seems that some stupid computer company took advantage and engaged in her for advertising purposes. Just check out the lovely advertisement spot:



EPIC FAILZ written all over. =_=;;

Well at least better than some dude in Indonesia using a 2D character to boost his political ratings amirite?



Pictures and info courtesy of Sankaku Complex. Click the link for a tale of a crazed Malaysian otaku hunting her down. Scary.

Suzumiya Haruhi-chan on YouTube!

Probably as a distraction from the announcement (of an announcement) of the second season, Kadokawa and KyoAni have released original Youtube-exclusive videos of Suzumiya Haruhi-chan, the chibi spinoff to the popular series originally in manga form.

They even have versions with English subs. How kind!

Can't embed them, so go click! Everyone needs a healthy dose of Nyoro~n.

Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi-chan OP

Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi-chan #2

Nyoron Churuya-san #2

Wow, Tsuruya-san acting like Osaka in Azumanga Daioh. That just made my day. Oh I just remembered, they both have the same voice actress! No wonder...

EDIT: They took down episode 1 already, and now we have episode 2! Gotta stay tuned, you know! For Kadokawa's up-to-date YouTube channel, click here.

Lucky Star dance by Haruhi Cast (Complete!)

I wanted to post pictures of my Father's Day cooking here, but my dad hasn't emailed me the pictures yet, so... let's go for the next best thing!

About 6 months ago, there was a half-way preview of the Haruhi cast doing the Lucky Star dance. It was unlike the other parodies which just change the characters and all that. This fan-made video is in 3D, plus there's professional-looking cinematic compositions involved.

This month, all Kyoani fans rejoice! The movie is finally complete! Courtesy of Nico Nico Douga, of course (where else?).



Waaaaahhh, pssshhhhhtt psssshhhttt psssshhhhhtttt (up to you to interpret my reaction).


p/s - This is the 100th post for simply ahbonk.net (not counting my previous 2 blogs). Big tenkyu shoutout to all you readers, hope I can keep 'em posts coming!

The Perplexity of Suzumiya Haruhi

31st January. A day where all Haruhism devotees rejoice. Especially if they have a PS2. If they don't, they sure as hell will buy one!

Milking further on Suzumiya Haruhi (nice), we have a new PS2 game called Suzumiya Haruhi no Tomadoi, just released yesterday. She has been melancholic, sighing and promising.

Now she's perplex. And we all know how perplex she can be, right?

The story is that Haruhi is planning to make a new RPG to promote the SOS brigade. Of course as her dog, Kyon, you have to create the game. Your choices will determine the outcome of the final game.

Well, that's just the perfect excuse to have the cast in future fantasy costumes! Epic win!



King Tsuruya FTW!!!

Oh, it comes with a bonus disc too, full of fan service galore! What better fan service than Hare Hare Yukai in 3d cell-shaded fantasy costume goodness!



Looks like cosplayers will have a great time once again. Go, m'egumi!

The Promise of Suzumiya Haruhi

Wow this is as close to Mikuru as you can get.



Darn, wish they made the Tsuruya version, with her fangs moving in 3D space!

The above Flash was made to promote the upcoming PSP game Suzumiya Haruhi no Yakusoku (The Promise of Suzumiya Haruhi), which is due for release near Christmas. Man, imagine using the PSP to "play" with Mikuru and Tsuruya ^_^ Click here for the official game page.

Been waiting for the anime sequel for quite some time, but I guess Kyoani is busy with Clannad at the moment. Better let Kyoani take their time to perfect both anime.

Speaking of which, look what someone got for my birthday:



What's this, and who gave it to me? All that in my next Birthday Raya post!

Big Announcement

Wow have I got news for you all!

I've bought my very own Suzumiya Haruhi figurines! Thank you, XL shop!



I'm so lucky, considering that I like ponytail Haruhi, and they even have Fang-tan! And let's not forget Mikuru's maid outfit! But Yuki in a swimsuit is a little...

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well actually, there's bigger news...



The sequel to my favourite RTS has officially been announced by Blizzard! Woohoo!

I predicted Blizzard would announce a Starcraft MMORPG, considering their success in World of Warcraft. I mean, if you were the money-minded boss of Blizzard, and you look at these figures:

8,000,000 subscribers x RM 55 per month = RM 440,000,000 PER MONTH!

That figure doesn't even include the ever-growing number of people buying the game boxset! With the growing pattern of game companies caring about money more than the gamers ("ah~ they might complain now, but they will still buy our games!"), I thought it was evident that they would come up with another money-generating MMO.

Very fortunately, I was proven wrong. Blizzard cares about its gamers after all. :D Forgive me, Blizzard! I would not think of you that way again!

Anyway, here are some delicious gameplay details of Starcraft II:

• "A true sequel to Starcraft", implementing and enhancing mechanics of the original (hooray!). Most of the features below reflects this promise.
  
• No hero system, so it'll be more resource-centric than ability-centric (hooray!)
• Mover-and-shooter style, focused on having abilities that units can perform without much micromanagement (double hooray, coz I seriously suck at micromanagement)
• Will implement the "hard counter" system, where certain units are meant to counter others (superb!)
• Three races intact, no fourth race added (a new race would be nice, but I don't mind~)
• Focuses a lot on strategies that make early game attacks more feasible, such as the zergling rush. Normal games would last 20 minutes, tournaments 15 minutes.
  
• A new map editor that improves on the Warcraft III editor (DotA in Starcraft... imagine... :0~whoaaa...)

Many more details in Gamespot's "What we Know so far" article. Click here.

Also, check out the awesome Starcraft II official website! And they have opened up the Protoss profile page! :D Click here.

Release date not confirmed though >_< Can't wait...

Thank you, Blizzard! We salute you! _orz