Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya #010: King of Magical Girls! Do you have enough swords?

hisui_icon_4040 Well that was slightly shorter than I expected but that might just be a case of the KISS principle in effect (and not that Illya and Miyu dance to Rock and Roll All Nite at the end.) The original Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya was fairly short so it’s probably better that they just let the series run only 10 episodes with a minimal amount of filler rather than trying to stretch 10 episodes into 13.

It reminds me of a time when people complained about filler for filler’s sake and unnecessary stalling for ongoing series.  Anime fans were always asking for shorter seasons and breaks between them. Now that budgets have made it that series tend to be shorter and more often cut into multiple seasons with gaps in between I see more complaining about series being shorter.

I guess it just proves no matter which way you choose, you lose.
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The 5th Annual Anime Secret Santa Project Begins!

It might seem early to be thinking about the holidays, but in order to get this ever-growing project off the ground we have to get started! Every year we have people say they never heard about the game so we are extending the window a bit on how long you can sign up. Once again, it is time to call for participants for the 5th Annual Anime Secret Santa Project!

The idea of this project is for everyone who participates to be reviewing a show that they might not normally watch or might have overlooked. Everyone will get someone else in the project to review a series of their choice and in return review something picked by one of their fellow bloggers. The goal is threefold for everyone involved:

  • Mixing up what you watch and review on your blog.
  • Getting other people to watch things you feel deserve more attention.
  • A way to interact with other bloggers thus creating possibilities for cross blog readership, also it fosters an environment to try other cross blog experiments.

Here is how this little experiment will work: If you want to participate send us your Name, Blog Address, and My Anime List Link (or some other equivalent listing) via e-mail (secretsanta.rt [at] gmail [dot] com) with subject: Secret Santa Participant. Due by Sunday, October 6th. Make sure that your MAL (or whatever!) is updated as much as possible before you submit it. Also, if you will not watch fan-subs mention that in the e-mail, too.

We will then make a circular list of everyone involved in the project that only we will know the order of. The order of the list will be made completely at random. Everyone will then receive the name, blog, and list of the person they are the Secret Santa for. You will then suggest three shows for the person all of which must be 26 episodes or less (yes, you can suggest movies, too). The shows must be subtitled in some fashion. Remember that you are picking shows that you hope the other person will like and give an honest chance. Look over their list and whether they watch fan-subs then try to pick out something good but unexpected.

Once we get everyone’s picks we will then pass on the shows to the recipients. No one except us will know the names of the person who gave you your choices. You then pick the show your are going to watch. Everyone is responsible for getting their own material for the review.

You then have until late December to watch the show you were assigned and write a review. On the week of Christmas everyone will post their reviews for the Secret Santa Project. We would prefer you to post your review on Christmas Eve but you can alter it as to the schedule of your blog. On Christmas Day, we will reveal the name of who had who as a Secret Santa along with a small post about the project.

Again: If you want to participate send us your Name, Blog, and My Anime List (or some other equivalent listing) page via e-mail (secretsanta.rt [at] gmail [dot] com) with subject: Secret Santa Participant. Due by Sunday, October 6th.

Just in case someone does not know what traditional Secret Santa is.

Why we don’t do manga secret santa.

All Points Bulletin: Nikola Tesla’s Electric Zaku II

If you have any suggestions for what to highlight on an APB drop us a line via email or Twitter.

hisui_icon_4040 Alain’s picks:

  • Snuffleupagus’ Real Name Revealed!
    John Green of Mental Floss goes into the full names of 44 fictional characters.
  • Oh Snap! The Oatmeal is Going to be Mad!
    Mike Rugnetta from Idea Channel looks at Nikola Tesla, the Hero of Science of the Internet and Nikola Tesla, the actual man and the difference between the two.
  • Was I the Only Person Who Did Not Know About PewDiePie?
    Game Theory looks at how PewDiePie’s Lets Play videos became the most subscribed to video channel on YouTube.
  • Better Late Than Never Otakon Podcasts & Reports
    Round 2 – This is the second group of straggler podcasts and posts about Otakon 2013.

    • Vin Diesel: Vinnie and Vince Averello go on the Ani-Gamers Podcast to talk about their experiences at Otakon. Done live in their car on the way home so it is extremely conversational.
    • The Heart of Otakon: Ink and Evan discuss the panels at Oatkon. I consider panels the heart of any con.
    • Apparently I Don’t Matter: Ed Sizemore goes on the Beta Male Experience and talks a bit about Otakon as well as Elysium. I did not know Patz ran a panel about Gundam alone. I swear I have a slightly different memory of that panel.
    • An Interview for the Mongrels: And Ogiue Maniax interview with Tomokazu Seki.

narutaki_icon_4040 Kate’s picks:

sep-pic

hisui_icon_4040 The cast of the Prestige as drawn by Hirohiko Araki of Jojo’s fame: