Socky ♥

Nagging at Myself o.O

2009-11-21T21:42:00.001+08:00

Dear ME,

Kindly stop playing/reading Higurashi no Naku Koro ni and focus on doing your 2nd SAT practice paper. Please do not go near your laptop AT ALL. Turning off your WiFi obviously doesn't work since you have offline entertainment aka Visual Novels (see above) to distract you.

Regards,
Yourself

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oh great, I am talking to myself on my own blog. ._.

Happy Birthday... To ME! =D

2009-11-17T00:00:00.002+08:00

This is actually a scheduled post hahas. I will be 19 years old when this post appears at midnight (+8 GMT), 17 November 2009. (Ok, technically, I was born in the evening but who cares. =.=) =D I am dreading the "2" in front of my age next year! >_< Anyways, since a birthday is JUST another day of my life, I will be going to work as usual though my boss did ask me if I wanted to take leave. =X Mini compilation of what I am going to buy for myself as birthday gifts:

LG Crystal.
Am soooooo getting this in December!!! xD
The new Harry Bosch novel by Michael Connelly.
I think it is titled "9 Dragons". (O.o???)
Coraline.
I really want the book!
John Grisham's novel "The Associate".
I wanted to buy this darn book since it was published months ago.
Liquid eyeliner.
I wanna draw nice thin lines on my eyelids. T_T

There are of course a lot more of what I want to get my hands on, but these 5 items will suffice for the time being. xD I have to spare a thought for my pocket too! =)

My Nail T_T

2009-11-16T21:23:00.000+08:00

For some unidentified reason, I keep breaking my nails recently. T_T First, the nail on my right middle finger broke off and rendered me incapable of typing properly for 2 weeks (as well as making me resort to using a plaster to hide the VERY UGLY inner fingernail or whatever was left of it).

Then, on Sunday, my left thumbnail had to break too... =.= FML. ONE freaking centimetre of my nail!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have ugly nails now. (Just LOOK AT MY UGLY THUMB IN THE PIC!!!) =( And I can't paint my nails (with the exception of clear varnish).

Socky's Useless Facts about Nails:

Fact 1: It hurts like hell when you break a nail.

Fact 2: Just because your nails are strong and hard and have not broke in like 2 years does not guarantee that they will not break. Yes, even if you do NOTHING to your nail(s) that may justify its breakage.

Fact 3: Ugly nails sucks.

T_T

T__T

T___T

Sampling Jpop Singles

2009-11-15T00:46:00.001+08:00

Well, I guess blogging isn't a once a month thing anymore. (At least for this month... >_<) After being pissed at making dumbass mistakes in my SAT practice paper and getting only 1810 after scoring it myself, I couldn't bear to sit through another practice paper and went online to watch Jpop PVs as well as sample some of the recently released singles since I have not been downloading songs for a few weeks.

1. AAA – Hide-Away/Hide & Seek/Find You

I thought they will like never release any new singles anymore since there are like 138900890 hints floating around that they're being put into "cold storage" by Avex. I didn't notice that they even have this frigging single out till like last week though it was out like on 21 Oct. =.= I was interested particularly in With You (Track 4) since it is used in the ED of Inuyasha Final Act and it sounded decent. HOWEVER, it turned out that ALL the songs (FOUR of them) in this stupid single REUSE the same freaking tune. ._.

Wow. Amazing. NOT. (\=.=/)

Try harder next time Avex. Nice PVs though. I appreciate the fact there are 3 PVs for me to enjoy for just one little single.

Random note at this point in time while typing: I AM REALLY LAZY TO TYPE LONG LONG SENTENCES, SO I WILL JUST LIST OUT THE SINGLES I FIND NICE WHILE SURFING AROUND THE NET IN POINT FORM OKAY? (Lol =x)

2. Ayane – Arrival of Tears (She is like on my list of Jpop idols now. Omg her songs... =D)

3. Ayane – Lunatic Tears... (Released last year, but I found this gem after sampling her most recent single, Arrival of Tears.)

4. Ayane – Endless Tears... (Ditto above, just that this was released in April.)

5. Sakamato Maaya – Magic Number (I like this chirpy single which is also the OP of Kobato HOWEVER I still don't find Maaya aesthetically pleasing. >_< Her looks just don't do justice for her voice. She isn't ugly, but there is something not right whenever I look at her pictures/videos. =X)

6.Kalafina – Progressive (Kajiura Yuki's compositions will never cease to amaze me. I hate the B-side though, it sounds like something people play in Chinese funerals. -_-)

7.Stereopony - Tsukiakari no Michishirube (I hearts this song so much and I hearts Darker than Black 2 too, but why must it always rain in PVs of all-girls rock bands!? O.o)

8. fripSide – only my railgun (This song is useful for blasting through your earphones during bus rides if you don't want plus-sized aunties to take up too much space when sharing your bus seats with them. xD)

9. Ito Yuna – Let it go (Yuna is soooooooooooooooo pretty can!!! She is like my number 1 Jpop idol since her debut as Reira in Nana though some of her singles suck in the previous years and my support for her sorta went on and off. This song isn't really outstanding since Yuna sounds best when singing her usual ballads but the song sort of make up for its shortcomings by being catchy and somewhat refreshing. Plus Yuna is totally gorgeous in the PV!!!

Ok, I am biased when Ito Yuna is concerned... But I can't help it! >_< Other not-so-notable singles I sampled (in my opinion) are SID's one way, Nakashima Mika's Nagareboshi, NICO Touches the Walls's Kakera -Subete no Omoitachi e- and Arashi's My Girl (sorry, am not an Arashi fan *shrugs*).

P.S. To my friends who prefer me to have a tagboard, I am not putting it back because it is easier to moderate comments made by stalkers this way. =X

My Once-a-month Blog Post

2009-11-08T19:37:00.000+08:00

I think my lack of updates is not attributed to the fact that I am slightly busier now thanks to having a job, nor is it because I am lazy (though I obviously AM). It just happens that every single time I sit down, open up Microsoft Word and try to type up an entry, I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO WRITE. Wtf. Nevertheless, I shall attempt to crap something out for today.

Some of my friends are complaining that I am not meeting up with them often enough and that I am always not free whenever they want to meet up. I have something to say in defence to this: When I am damn free, NO ONE ASKS ME OUT OR THE PEOPLE WHOM I WANT TO ASK OUT ARE NOT FREE! In contrast, when I am NOT free, everyone floods me with requests to meet up! ARGH! Ok, the person who always asks at the wrong time is mostly Jiaying. =X Though I have been meeting up with her in a sort-of regular bi-weekly basis.

She commented that I seem happier nowadays. Well, if you compare me to the nervous wreck I was back in July/August, I guess I am back to being the ditzy, optimistic person that I always appear to be. One of the biggest factors that attributed to my uplifted mood has A LOT to do with the fact that I enjoy working in the current environment I am in now. I never thought that being busy at work can be so erm, fulfilling... >_< I think sleeping at 10pm every weekday like clockwork helps too! I am still worried about some issues pertaining to my studies, but that can be left till next year... I won't last long if I need to think of how to make S$30k appear out of thin air if I need to get a degree in SIM instead.

Ok, I shall go back to finishing up one of my SAT practice paper instead of procrastinating like yesterday. (I am betting that I won't get anything done due to the fact that my laptop is turned on. =X) No blogging about anime for the time being because there is nothing fantastic about the fall season this year, like seriously. =( (Let us all ignore the fact that I am watching 7 shows from this season in parallel though I don't particularly love all of them.)

On an unrelated note, I swear I am going to get my hands on "Coraline" by Neil Gaiman once I get my November pay check. I don't care if it is a children's book, I love the movie to bits! =D

Remnants

2009-10-04T21:07:00.002+08:00

Current Music: Pandora Hearts Original Soundtrack 2

We were there in everlasting bloom... - "everytime you kissed me" by Emily Bindiger

I thought I got over it since it had been a year. Somehow while in the process of comforting another I got depressed myself. I blame it all on Facebook's friend suggestion function. I have no idea how my brain works. Seriously, I can be extremely upbeat one day and an all-out wreck the next. It might be the teenage hormones (or whatever's left of them) or I might be bi-polar. *shrugs*

Anyways, whether I like it or not, I have to push those depressing left-over thoughts to the back of my mind. I need to settle down into my new workplace. So far, the people there are nice and the place also has a nice cafeteria with SUPER cheap prices. (It's like only S$1.50 for a Soymilk + Pancake set for staff/students there! =D) Plus, it takes only half an hour to reach by bus. =P However, the way things work in my old workplace and the current one is vastly different. I say my goodbyes to Excel and other computer programs and am currently being greeted by manual recording of stuff with pen and paper. =.= Oh wells, it means that I can do work slower if I think on the brighter side. =X

Shall go to bed soon though it is only like 9pm. I FEEL tired just thinking about the ten thousand random stuff floating around in my head.

Fall 2009 Anime To-Watch List (Part 2)

2009-09-21T12:16:00.007+08:00

In no particular order of merit (LOL), here are the six shows that I will be picking up for Fall season. (Maybe drop them like hotcakes after 2 or 3 episodes if they cannot entertain me for a minimum of 5 minutes per episode. Seriously, I don't really expect much from anime.) After peering at my anime list, I guess I should just arrange them alphabetically. -_-

11eyes

Some guy lost his sister to some things after which he proceeds to some world to fight some creatures. =D

Reason for picking this up: I am watching this because Ono Daisuke is voicing the main character. (Hurhur...) Aside from that I can't really give anyone a good reason as to why I'm watching this seeing that there MIGHT be incest-related stuff in it. (I don't really know; I saw someone mention it in some forum thread. Oh wells, this show is adapted from an adult game after all.)

Darker than BLACK - Ryuusei no Gemini (aka Darker than BLACK 2)

SEQUEL. =P

Reason: I always watch the sequel(s) of shows that I have watched before. Also because Darker than BLACK was like the only sci-fi (it is right?) series that caught my attention AND didn't end up dropped by me. Oh and I am interested in why Hei wants a DOLL for a girlfriend. (Not that I am against Hei x Yin. =D)

InuYasha: Kanketsu-hen

At some random Sunrise meeting held probably one or two years back...

Random Sunrise staff A: I got a great idea guys! Let's create a sequel for InuYasha! Even though it has been four, five years since the first season ended but let us all ignore that fact shall we?

Random Sunrise staff B: I bet lots of fans will WANT to see it!!!

Random Sunrise staff C: We can finally kill Naraku off! Maybe fans of the manga will stop hurling verbal abuse at us for how crappily we ended the first season.

And thus, we have our "InuYasha: Kanketsu-hen" which should be simply known as "The Final Chapter of InuYasha"...

Why are you watching this crap omg: Sesshomaru. Need I elaborate more? (Yeah, I am a fickle fan girl. Shoot me.) Obviously I am not watching this to see Inuyasha's sword (what is the sword's name again???) undergo another thousand rounds of upgrades before the epic battle with the big, bad-ass Naraku begins. (DUH.)

Kobato

Shall copy and paste the show's description because I am lazy (as usual).

Kobato is sweet and perky girl, but also extremely naive about the world around her. She has a "mission", which is to fill a mysterious bottle of hers with the suffering from people's hearts so her wish to go a certain place that she desires to go can be granted. However, she must not fall in love with a particular boy she works with and whose heart she must heal.

Reason as to why I am picking this up: It looks cute. =X If I didn't remember wrongly, the director of Chi's Sweet Home is directing it PLUS it is CLAMP! I know CLAMP sucks for giving people headaches (e.g. Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE *shakes head*) but come on, everyone likes CLAMP somehow. xDD

Tatakau Shisho - The Book of Bantorra (aka Fighting Librarians o.O)

Do you know that BOOKS are actually DEAD PEOPLE????????? Furthermore librarians in this world aren't geeky at all. In fact, they possess cool psychic powers and they have to fight battles with their enemy! O.o

Wow, wHaT iS tHiS cRaP: I needed to pick up more shows and this series just happened to be chosen by the roulette for the first twilight for Beatrice's revival ceremony. I don't really know what to think about this show... *shrugs* I do know that either the OP or ED song for this show will suck badly. (Hopefully not both. Reason? ALI PROJECT. *Covers ears*)

Toaru Kagaku no Rail Gun

Spin-off from last year's "Toaru Majutsu no Index". More Misaki Mikoto and her electricity shocks.

Toaru-Majutsu-no-Index-wasn't-all-that-great so why are you picking this up: BIRIBIRI!!!

Ok I am done for this post... =P I should mention at this point that I may be trying out a few episodes of Fairy Tail. In case you don't know what it is about I shall tell you now that I heard the plot is something like One Piece (haven't touch this crap yet) and tons of people bet that it will end up being 100++ episodes. In a nutshell, this series is typical Shounen crap. However, I enjoy Shounen crap on rare occasions when my brother forces me to watch them but I never really got past 3 or 4 episodes of any series of said genre except for D. Grayman. I refuse to be tortured by Bleach, Naruto and One Piece (and a dozen of other series) with their horrendously long episode count AND fillers. BADLY DONE fillers.

Edit on 29 September 2009: Decided not to watch Fairy Tail until further notice. =X Adding Letter Bee to my To-Watch list instead. XD

Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~ Episode 25

2009-09-20T05:23:00.001+08:00

One more episode till it all ends.

Episode 25 was a nice buildup to what is going to happen in the last episode.

Mio's conversation with Reiji was nicely done and I really hope that somewhere in the unfathomable world of Phantom Reiji will one day be able to live the life he wants. (With Elen in it. Maybe not as a couple but at least let her be there. >_<)

Elen somehow always give me the feeling that she is a fragile being that will shatter any moment. I love her monologue in this episode. (Though she probably already said the same stuff about how without Reiji, she'll be nothing for like the 3579965th time.)

Cal's final moments finally got me sympathizing with her ever since her appearance as grown-up Cal. I remember that I used to like her being in the series when she was a loli. (And that was when everyone was going "Cal is an annoying loli! -_-)After that it sort of become "WTF you crazy bitch! You actually became Phantom because you hate Reiji for what he didn't know!?"... =X Reiji x Cal fans probably love the interaction between those two while she dangles between life and death. *Recalls Reiji's words during previous scene with Elen: "I'll be the saddest person if she (Cal) dies."*

Elen: I won't allow you to interfere!

Elen's fight with the Yakuza was of course enjoyable to watch.

Presenting The Zahlen Schwestern, Scythe's new range of mass produced Phantom.

For Heaven' sake, Scythe you really should die. Like right now. He's probably the ONLY villian in all the anime series I watch that I really really dislike. I mean come on, he isn't good-looking and he's a weirdo. The only thing I should thank him for is the fact that without him, there won't be a plot.

Scythe: Shiga, pick whichever girl is to your liking for your entertainment tonight. xD

I didn't really want her to die but I guess side characters are prone to being killed off. *shrugs*

I don't see how this anime will have a happy ending, seeing that both protagonists are badly scarred emotionally. I personally do not mind sad endings, but they always leave me with this bittersweet aftertaste for a while. Oh wells, that will be left for next week.

Fall 2009 Anime To-Watch List

2009-09-19T23:29:00.003+08:00

Ok, it is October soon which means that there will be a whole new bunch of new anime in line for us anime watchers to enjoy. Sadly, this year's line up didn't make me go "Wow, I'll be busy watching all of them" unlike last year's titles. Well, let's ignore the fact that some of last year's Fall anime started with a lot of hype but ended up being flops. *coughwhathappenedtotheplotinRosarioVampire!!!???cough*

Anyways, I'm not one to be picky about plot presentation nor do I nit-pick at animation quality and music as long as they are not THAT terrible. Out of all the crap titles I see in the Fall 2009 Anime Chart here -> http://chartfag.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/fall-2009-v2-export1.jpg, I instantly labelled them into 3 categories; namely "Ok, I should be watching this", "OMG WHAT IS THIS" and the "I will most likely ignore the existence of this unless fans go raving about how good it is". Obviously, I'll be elaborating on the first two categories in this post.

Let's start with the "OMG WHAT IS THIS" category, which in layman's terms just means "I am never picking this up anime kthxbai". =D

Fuyu no Sonata (Winter Sonata)

High school boy + Female classmate = Sob story drama over the years they know each other. Blahblahblah.

Reason as to why I am not watching this:
The storyline, need I say more? This used to be a KOREAN DRAMA!!! *facepalms* I remembered I laughed at some K-drama scene a few years back whereby the female lead was dying of well... *inserts big surprise* CANCER. Just no dramas in anime for Heaven's sake. What is so hard about that!?

Sangoku Engi (Romance of the Three Kingdoms)
A classic Chinese novel adaptation of a bunch of armoured burly guys discussing war strategies and politics.

Reason as to why I am not watching this:
I rather read the actual Chinese novel. Seriously. We DO NOT need a FIFTY-TWO episode anime that is "a joint partnership between Chinese and Japanese animation companies" depicting China's war history. The joint partnership thing also leaves ample room for imagination as to the animation that may be used. *Shudders at memory of Chinese cartoons broadcast by Singapore's television station during the children's timeslots on Sunday mornings.*

New Three Musketeers

Apparently, it should be a re-telling of The Three Musketeers.

Reason as to why I am not watching this:
Um... No. I just won't watch this. You can replace the "New" in the title with "Modern", "Exotic" or "Contemporary" for all I care. But just N-O, NO. I am too shocked at this to even state a reason why I am not watching this.

Sasameki Koto

Girl in love with another girl.

Reason as to why I am not watching this:
LOL Shoujo-ai. Though I may have recently converted to a somewhat enthusiastic BL (Boy's Love) fan girl thanks to Junjou Romantica, Shoujo-ai is a different matter. No way am I watching this. Ever.

More later. I got tired. LOL.

Umineko no Naku Koro ni Episode 1 Analysis

2009-09-18T19:39:00.000+08:00

I decided to play Umineko's Visual Novel a second time and will attempt to do so slowly and analyse the plot in my own manner instead of rushing through it to find out what actually happens next in the story. Posting screenshots and my own rambling thoughts about it here just in case I lose the logs I keep in my laptop. (Harddisk crashed the other day. T_T) Post will be edited as I progress slowly through this game and when/if I recall various red text from my poor memory or after I stumble on something when I start on the other episodes.

There is nothing too difficult to think about.

Accept entirely, silently, the events to happen...

The difficulty is standard.

Shall we take the easy road?

And so, the witch welcomes us into Rokkenjima...

[Prologue]

Things start off with Nanjo making an appearance in Kinzo's study, together with Genji who is serving his master.

Things to note: WHEN did this scene happen? It seems pretty obvious that this took place before October 4, 1986. Yet the question is in what year did this happen? And if this happened in 1986, which month was it?

*Recalls red text in Episode 4: Kinzo is already dead at the starting time for all games!*

However, WHEN did he die?

Kinzo, maybe if you don't drink so much your brain won't be so messed up... xD

Nanjo being the responsible but helpless doctor he is, informed Kinzo that *gasps* he is about to die and advice him to cut down on his alcohol intake. Take Nanjo's advice damn it! At least die after you finish your last game of chess with him!

Nanjo urges Kinzo to write down his will, not as something to divide his estate by but as his last words to the living if he has any to pen down. Kinzo obviously hates everyone in his family since he is so outraged by the thought of leaving anything to them.

What exactly was the "contract" he made? Was it with Beatrice when she supposedly gave him 10 tons of gold? Did he make a "will" in the end? If he did, was the "will" of his the Witch's Epitaph or was it something else? If the "will" is the epitaph, this scene should be around 2 years back in April 1984 as mentioned later on by Shannon when Battler asks about Beatrice's portrait in the hall. (Will confirm this fact later on when I get to that chapter.) However, if his will wasn't the epitaph, then it will be harder to pinpoint when he actually died. All of this is assuming that Kinzo died soon (like maybe a few months) after this scene.

Kinzo, stop rambling. If I am Beatriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice and I hear a man screaming for me like that I'll run off to the North Pole and live in an igloo. =X

*Awesome OP after Kinzo's rambling.*

With all of these, the witch officially starts her battles of wits with us.

It all begins on October 4, 1986...

Just to Inform all you Peeps... >_<

2009-09-16T18:40:00.003+08:00

Copied and pasted from my last post:

Ok... So basically my laptop crashed and I lost like a 100++++ GB worth of my anime, manga, music, pictures and some useful documents PLUS all my programs like Photoshop, my Microsoft Office yada yada yada which I didn't bother backing up beforehand though I invested like a hundred plus bucks on an external harddisk for that very purpose...

I want to kill something now... I swear I didn't do anything to my laptop before it forcibly shut itself down and refuses to start up no matter how many times Windows Repair attempted to do so... =.= I had to reinstall my operating system and after like 3 hours, I'm still updating all my drivers and software and rubbish. FML.

And all I did was install the Vista Service Pack 2 before my laptop decided to faint on me...

P.S. I needed someplace to rant. This seems to the only place so...

Basically, I lost ALL my translations and raws and information for GetBackers. I need to re-install a lot of stuff too... So till then I won't be releasing scanlations for like a couple weeks...

I'm sorry about this! Will resume my work on GetBackers ASAP!

My Laptop Sorta Died =.=

2009-09-14T21:48:00.001+08:00

Ok... So basically my laptop crashed and I lost like a 100++++ GB worth of my anime, manga, music, pictures and some useful documents PLUS all my programs like Photoshop, my Microsoft Office yada yada yada which I didn't bother backing up beforehand though I invested like a hundred plus bucks on an external harddisk for that very purpose...

I want to kill something now... I swear I didn't do anything to my laptop before it forcibly shut itself down and refuses to start up no matter how many times Windows Repair attempted to do so... =.= I had to reinstall my operating system and after like 3 hours, I'm still updating all my drivers and software and rubbish. FML.

And all I did was install the Vista Service Pack 2 before my laptop decided to faint on me...

P.S. I needed someplace to rant. This seems to the only place so...

Chapter 167!

2009-09-10T21:12:00.002+08:00

Here is chapter 167! It's up to you people to download it or not since Volume 20 (ToykoPop version) has already been scanned by BYAAAH. I will most likely continue with Volume 20 as stated in my update status in the last post below. (Unless something happens that makes me continue from Volume 21 instead…)

Grab the version 2s of Chapter 165 & 166 if you haven't done so in my previous post. >_<

Anyways, Chapter 167 link here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?mgngkxt1vfj

TL Notes (rawr~):

~ Page 4 – Shido mention something about gathering the rest of the Shiki clan together.

Note that the Shiki clan (or Shikizoku clan (I got used to using "Shiki" so that's what you all will see in the chapters I scanlate. =X)) is made up of the Haruki (春木), Natsuki (夏木), Agi (秋木) and Fuyuki (冬木) families/clans. The first Kanji of the 4 families' names represent the 4 seasons with "Haru" (春) being Spring, "Natsu" (夏) being Summer, "Aki" (秋) being Autumn (I used "Agi" in the scans because of that's what the name is supposed to be pronounced as) and "Fuyu" (冬) being Winter.

~ Page 10

Just in case some people ask… I used the romaji "chuukaiya" (仲介屋) when typesetting the part when Hevn answers her phone and introduced herself. It just means something like a "negotiator", a person who mediates jobs between high-paying clients and retrievers, which is basically what Hevn's job is about.

~ Page 14 & 15 (Double Page) – The whatever-CCD-is cameras part.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charge-coupled_device

Not explaining this. Just putting this link for people who are interested to know what it is. I hate Physics-like stuff. =(

P.S. Sorry if I seem to take a few days for a chapter to be released! >_< *Tries hard to not exceed one week per chapter*

Version 2s

2009-09-04T04:35:00.002+08:00

Chapter 167 Status *DONE*

Cleaning - 100% *DONE*
Translating - 19 out of 19 pages *DONE* (I'll try to start on it soon... There're a lot of hard to translate stuff in this chapter.) Edit on 6 Sep: Blame Pandora Hearts too... Somehow I got addicted to marathon-ing this series since yesterday @_@ xD
Typesetting - 19 out of 19 pages *DONE*
QC - 0% (Ehh... Did I QC the chapter? o.O *Must have breathed in Himiko's perfume*)

(10 Sep 2009) Note: I will still be continuing with Volume 20 >_< (I really wanna do a full volume and that was why I decided to do Chapter 164 hahas. =P) But life has been a busy lately. So bear with me for slow translations! >_< I will release 167 as fast as I can! ~~Now if only I can stop fangirling over random stuff from Kuroshitsuji, Pandora Hearts and Junjou Romantica and ... =X~~

I realized that I have to release version 2 for both chapter 165 and 166… T_T I'm so sorry people… I *cough*forgot to merge the double pages*cough*… Slight translation changes to chapter 165 and also change of raws for that chapter as well… No other changes to chapter 166 except that I merge double pages together. (I suck at merging, seriously.) There will hopefully be no more version 2s in the future. So sorry again for my noob-ness! >_<

Anyways, I love all of you peeps for your comments! If I ever need extra help in scanlating this series, I'll definitely go get them! (Through either MangaHelpers or some of the fellow scanlators in the group I am now with.) Thanks for all your advice and encouragement and cookies! xD

Chapter 165's V2 here (because MsLaundry didn't know what she was doing when translating this chapter.) :
http://www.mediafire.com/?i0jlynmemw2

Chapter 166's V2 here (because MsLaundry forgot about the existence of double pages. =.=):
http://www.mediafire.com/?jji4ayzdwzm

GetBackers 164 =D

2009-09-03T20:40:00.002+08:00

I've decided to re-scanlate chapter 164 after reading through the scans posted in MangaFox and also after reading the comment made by bubba1652. (Thanks for liking my work! <3) >_< I actually wanted to just use GBsubbs translations and simply typeset them into the raws, but I ended up re-translating everything!!! I think I'll release another version of chapter 165 using the raws I have now instead of the crappy-hard-to-typeset one that was released. (Not to mention I found minor typesetting mistakes that I didn't really noticed beforehand.) But that won't really be a top priority until I finished chapter 167 translations which I will start on soon. Chapter 164 killed me with all the facts I needed to look up not to mention that I started translating and editing like 85% of it yesterday at 10pm all the way till 5am. (This is what happens when you have tons of free time and have no school/work on Thursday.) =D

Download Link:

http://www.mediafire.com/?yiutydiomjy

Notes On This Chapter:

On page 11, Paul's explanation on the history (sort of) of the clans/tribes of Shido's and his enemies' can be further elaborated in the links below if you are interested to find out more!

http://www.jref.com/culture/origins_japanese_people.shtml

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_people

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navajo_people

On page 14 whereby Shido asked Madoka about what she used in the tea she prepared, what was stated was that she used Ylang-ylang. However, I have never heard of Ylang-ylang being used in tea!!! >_< However, it does have soothing properties and such.

More information on Ylang-ylang here -> http://www.answers.com/topic/ylang-ylang

P.S. Off to watch Umineko episode 10! xD tata!~

GetBackers Chapter 166

2009-09-02T20:58:00.002+08:00

Chapter 166 of GetBackers! I got my hands on better quality raws which made my work easier! ^^ Thanks to everyone who commented on my previous post! =) I've decided to scanlate this series until someone does it on a regular basis or until there's an official request telling me to stop or something.

I apologize again for any translation mistakes or whatsoever. (I suck at translating their skills' names or whatever you call it…) Kindly bear with me! =X I hope I get the time to release this series weekly. You people can check for status updates on my Twitter or on this blog (if I do update).

Download Link: http://www.mediafire.com/?ny2yntza1mm

*Chapter 166’s V2 here ~~(because MsLaundry forgot about the existence of double pages. =.=):~~ http://www.mediafire.com/?jji4ayzdwzm

P.S. Keep the comments coming! Your little words of thanks really help a lot! =)

GetBackers Chapter 165

2009-08-31T04:34:00.001+08:00

I am thinking of slowly and painfully scanlating this series since no one is doing it. (For the right reason… ._.) Anyways, I am not sure if I want to do this series because it is actually licensed in English. Can all of you just leave a comment and tell me what you think? (Namely, should I start scanlating this series until someone returns and does it OR *touch wood* I get some C&D notice telling me to cease.) It will be helpful if anyone can provide me with higher-quality raws that aren't so hard to work with and also inform me if you find out any chapters that have already been done since I don't really do repeated work. >_<

For now though, just download the chapter and enjoy it. There should be some mistakes though since I was translating it half-asleep and contemplating smashing my laptop because the raws are so bad that I have to strain my eyes a lot while typesetting and cleaning. I didn't do a perfect job, just enough for it to be able to be read properly. Oh, if you find out any translation errors, such as things like characters' names and their skills and whatnot, drop me a comment too please so I can correct it in future releases. (IF I work on it.) By the way, if my translations don't match the official releases, I won't really bother… I'm just scanlating this because I do know tons of people want to read it in English and yet may not be able to afford to buy the manga.

And ya, I need to re-read this series >_< I have only vague ideas of what I am translating when doing this chapter. The last time I read GetBackers was like a year ago and I stopped at erm... Volume 19. =X

It'll be wonderful if someone can upload it to MangaFox for me or something and also spread the word asking fans to give their opinions on whether I should work on this series. =)

For your information, Volumes 1 to 19 are scanned by BYAAAH and someone did Volume 20 chapter 1 and it's on MangaFox (which is chapter 164 I think… Hopefully I didn't get the chapter numbering wrong. =X)

Oh ya, I almost forgot the download link:
http://www.mediafire.com/?t1emde3m25l

*Chapter 165’s V2 here ~~(because MsLaundry didn’t know what she was doing when translating this chapter.)~~ à http://www.mediafire.com/?i0jlynmemw2

Note: Please do not remove the credits. Thank you! =P

Obligatory Update =D

2009-08-19T00:57:00.001+08:00

I almost forget I have a blog sometimes… I am too lazy to update people on my life (not that I have much of a life). Trust me when I say I have tons of pictures of me attempting to bake (do ya believe that?) and not to mention stuff I NEVER do such as cooking a meal that does not involve me just boiling some water on a kettle or pot and just dumping the boiling water on noodles or vice-versa. BUT! I am not feeling too arsed to upload all the pictures and write some crappy paragraphs describing them. Maybe next time… Or maybe not… =D

I am currently preparing for my SAT reasoning test and I am disgusted by how a year of not studying rendered my academic capabilities to almost nil. =.= Thinking of whether to take the SAT subject tests too but then that's another matter all together since I cannot take both tests on the same day. One thing at a time… *shrugs* I cleared my desk just so I can start studying and my mum claims that it will get messy again within 3 days. .__. (Actually, it is a bit messed up after like 2 hours of studying already. =X)

My days nowadays revolve around re-doing my manicure and pedicure every week and other non-productive stuff. I better get that part-time job (I don't see one in sight yet =.=) so I can pay for lessons to officially take up a third language in Japanese. (I can see myself asking the nerdy secondary one me why I didn't choose Jap as a 3rd language though my mum encouraged me too. LOL.) I am also more inclined to be less of a "People will contact me if they wanna meet up" person and started asking out people who I have not met for like ages. (Except for Xuewen because she should be having prelims soon based on Phyllis's prelims schedule.) I guessed it's because I read some random person's blog about how you should always try to contact friends because they, like you are waiting for them to contact you too!

Ok, I came up with a post of reasonable length. Next post whenever I feel like it. =P

Oh I just remembered:

I have a bottle of nail polish from The Face Shop to give away. It's a shimmery green colour and I sort of liked it when I saw the shade on the bottle but then it totally didn't match my skin tone. T__T If anyone want it you can tell me and I will pass it to ya the next time we meet up. =) It looks like the bottle on the left in the picture. I only used it like on one nail once to test the colour at home and decided I do not want it so you can consider it new. In case you were wondering why I bought it… It's because my nails were manicured when I bought it and I didn't want to ruin my nails by testing random colours during shopping. =P Edit: Giving it to Cas. :D

Seakitties =X

2009-07-07T00:24:00.002+08:00

I wanted to blog about some on-going stuff in my life… However, after typing out a ridiculously long post I decided to dump it. Maybe a better post will come into my head tomorrow. Nevertheless I decided that I should at least post something… So like Seok says, I blog about anime a lot… So this is one of those posts! XD

Japan has began its Summer 2009 anime season! Granted, Summer anime titles are less impressive compared to Fall and Spring anime and I don't usually take note of Summer shows either. HOWEVER! (Note my big "however" in caps =DD) The show I have been waiting for since like a year ago finally make its appearance! Umineko no Naku Koro ni (translated to When the Seagulls Cry) is a psychological/horror anime whereby serial murders happen. Mysteriously. And to 18 people. XD

I love it when anime of the horror genre appear! <3 It's thrilling to watch instead of some weird schoolgirl (Shoujo genre) love that most people adore. Anyways, I am having high expectations of it though the 1^st episode was not really chocked full of plot and such… =( But the opening song (OP) is so awesome! (If people share the same taste toward OPs as me :p)

So far, we have a freaking rich family with people trying to inherit its vast fortune, a cute loli (little anime girl) who is somehow creepy, a pervy main character, a grand house with a lot of pretty roses and a witch who sort of appeared for like 5 seconds (her portrait is hanging in the house though).

This is going to be my future house! XDD (In my dreams =X)

Roses! <3

Characters I like so far! =DD

Scary witch's portrait... *cringes*

I doubt he is as pervy as guys who compare the figures of me and my friends =.=

Little girls can be scary too! *stareeeeeeee*

I will be ranting more about it if I find the following episode(s) nice. So bear with me =X.

Presenting My New Boyfriend...

2009-06-02T23:05:00.001+08:00

I reached home late today at 10.30 pm and apparently this cockroach was nice enough to escort me to the 6th storey where I live. Such a nice, tiny gentleman. LOL! I am nuts hahahahahahaha XD! (You can't blame me... Life's stressful lately >_<)

He shall be my new boyfriend LOL =D.

Kuroshitsuji Chapter 17

2008-11-20T20:14:00.003+08:00

Good news doesn't just come in pairs (my As have ended and there is Kuroshitsuji scanlations!), I also got my hands on Kuroshitsuji Volume 5 and Detective Academy Q "Premium" Volume! I'm currently euphoric with joy… Before I go off to read both the books (though I have already read Kuroshitsuji Volume 5 before with Internet raws), I shall release Chapter 17 of Kuroshitsuji! While translating this chapter, I almost thought that this was my Secondary school teacher's idea of a history test… Most of the harder to translate parts have to do with the history of India. I regretted throwing away my textbook because I turned into a frantic piece of laundry trying to remember what I have learned during the middle of the night when I am too lazy to switch on my internet modem. Translator notes at the end of this post, not really important to know to actually get the gist of the chapter but it's present to clear up doubts about the India culture and religion! (These stuff are a tad sensitive so it's best to clear up what Yana Toboso was trying to bring across.)

Summary ~> Agni is a SUPER-HUMAN! He can actually make the useless servants of Ciel's become useful?! O.O Also, a peek into Agni's past and why Soma is so anxious about finding Meena!

Click HERE to download the chapter!

NOTE: WTF?! My Microsoft Word stopped working for no reason and I lost whatever Translator Notes I have been typing out for the last 10 minutes!!!!!!!!! GRRRRRRRRRR…..

This is going to be quite long… But nevertheless sort-of interesting… =D History and translating lessons anyone? =P

~Translator Notes*

1. On page 17, Sebastian told Agni to substitute the meat used for the Cottage Pie recipe with chicken instead of the usual beef and pork Sebastian uses.
HOWEVER, note that Hindus CAN consume pork. They don't eat beef because the religion considers cows to be sacred. The ones who abstain from pork in India are the Muslim Indians. I clarified this already with both Google and other people I know. (Well actually my mum was the one who helped me asked my Indian neighbours… >_< But hey! I did Googled it ok? T_T). Sebastian probably took into consideration the eating habits of both the Muslims and Hindus in India.

2. On page 18, the title Agni gave Bard gave me a freaking hard time in trying to translate it properly.
The words used by Agni were "料理長", which was in the raw and I was like "???" because 料理 can mean food dishes (which brings us back to Bard being the Chef) OR it can mean general household stuff. 長 means the head or leader or you-get-the-picture… I checked with the Taiwan version just to be doubly sure of what I am seeing and it turned out that it is really what it is (what am I talking about? O.o) so I settled on Chef and Supervisor to complement with Bard's job.

3. Page 24. This is what I meant by a history lesson =.=… The Indian caste system.
The manga refers to the religious caste system in Hinduism. The religious word for caste is 'Varna'. Each Varna has certain duties and rights. Each Varna members have to work in certain occupation which only those Varna members are allowed. The highest Varna is of the Brahman. Members of this class are priests and the educated people of the society in which Agni was born in. The Varna after them in hierarchy is Kshatria. The members of this class are the rulers and aristocrats of the society, referring to Soma in this case. After them are the Vaisia. Members of this class are the landlords and businessmen of the society. After them in hierarchy are the Sudra. Members of this class are the peasants and working class of the society who work in non-polluting jobs. The caste hierarchy ends here. Below these castes are the outcasts who are untouchable to the four castes. These untouchables worked in degrading jobs like cleaning, sewage etc.

It might be also interesting to note that the first three castes had social and economical rights which the Sudra and the untouchables did not have. The first three castes are also seen as 'twice born'. The intention in these two births is to the natural birth and to the ceremonial entrance to the society at a much later age. (The second birth of Agni (he was reborn from Arshad to Agni on page 26.) may arguably have something to do with this.)

It is also a bit ironic that one who was from higher social strata actually turned to serve one of lower strata. But that Prince-Butler relationship is what makes the Soma and Agni pair so cute! =)

As for the caste system abolishment in 1950 as stated by the mangaka on page 24, it is not really the case as only the class of the untouchables or outcasts was abolished under Article 17 of the Indian Constitution in 1950. The caste system is currently still existent.

4. Page 28. Whereby Agni suddenly morphed into his comical self.

Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was a Hindu religious teacher born in a very poor but pious Brahmin (Brahman) family. He was born in 1836 and passed away in 1886 and was said to represent the very core of the spiritual realizations of the seers and sages of India. It was also said that he reached a depth of God-consciousness and seekers of God of all religions feel irresistibly drawn to his life and teachings. Agni was probably referring to him when recalling his past with Soma. I am not 100% certain that it was Ramakrishna Agni was talking about because I could only made out "Krishna" at the end of Agni's side sentence and it should be Ramakrishna if I read it correctly=) Inform me if I am wrong! However, Ramakrishna is from around that time period so it SHOULD be him =X.

5. Page 29.
I seriously don't know what sort of fish they were having for dinner~ it can be translated to either some weird breed of Tuna or Mackerel. I chose the latter based on my instinct >_<

6. Page 31.

Prince Soma stated that India was ruled by the British. British traders set up the East India Company in the past to trade with India (duh). A revolt in 1857 caused power was transferred from the East India Company to the British Crown and India became a British colony. The East India Company then drove the expansion of the British Empire in Asia. British policy in Asia during the 19th century centered around protecting and expanding India, which was viewed as its most important colony and the key to the rest of Asia.

Kuroshitsuji Chapter 14

2008-11-02T12:00:00.001+08:00

Summary: Ciel smiled (in a happy manner, not his usual half-hearted one)! Isn't that enough for you to want to download it and read to see why? =DD

CHAPTER 14 ~>
HERE HERE!

Kuroshitsuji Chapter 23 Inserts

2008-10-31T19:34:00.001+08:00

I downloaded Chapter 23 yesterday and realised that there were some missing translations in 3 of the pages… I'm sure that all of you will want a complete Chapter 23! So… I present to all of you the missing translations (or inserts as I call them). I added a few notes in the last page of the manga inserts giving a brief history of the artwork in Ciel's mansion. They were not in the raw but I added them just in case some of you are curious to know. Google it if you want to know more… Oh ya, one last thing, the translation in the 2nd page of the insert are not wrong. Just that I shifted the words down (where they are supposed to be) and added one more line. By the way, chapter 14 should be done soon... Just left a bit of checking and stuff... Remember to check back~

Ok, I shall stop blabbering! Download it and insert it into your copy of Chapter 23 (done by dragonladycels). All scans in this insert thingy are not done by me, so there is no need to credit me or anything. I am just helping out!=DD (CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD!XD)

Kuroshitsuji Chapter 12

2008-10-28T21:26:00.001+08:00

I present to all of you Chapter 12 of the under-scanlated series! I hope I translated decently enough…

Summary: More homosexual fantasies on Grell's part… -__-

(Looking at Sebastian, I am not surprised at why Grell is so in love with him.=X)

Note: Thanks to all who gave little words of encouragement here and there with regards to my releases! I am just a amateur at this and using Paint instead of the other fancy programs around >_<.

Download link:
HERE!

Kuroshitsuji Chapter 11

2008-10-26T03:46:00.001+08:00

Here is Kuroshitsuji Chapter 11! Scanlated by me from the Taiwan version of the manga. (I apologise if there is any mistakes.) This is my first time doing a scanlation, so I hope everyone enjoys it! I decided to do Chapter 11 because no one have been doing it.

P.S. Like STFU scans, you can choose not to download if you are elitist about stuff like the manga not being translated from the original Japanese language.

P.P.S. Kindly credit if you put up my scanlations on your own sites.=D

Download Link [MF].