Bata-kun no Atarashii Nikki/バタくんの新しい日記

Notes: yes, I’m typing an entry. No, I didn’t want to type another entry, but after being reminded of a news bit that occured last month, I had no choice. I have to type this entry down. If it does not look professional, it’s because it’s not supposed to be.

Back on the 11th of last month, I mentioned in my usual diary that KID, which stands for Kindle Imagine Develop and who brought out various ren’ai game and visual novel series for those that don’t know, filed for bankruptcy at the end of November, the month before last month. (The day I reported on this bit was the last day I wanted to report on this bit because of the following bit.) They asked for protection the following day. Most people know KID for their “Memories Off” series, but they also made “Ever 17″, “White Breath” and an “Ai Yori Aoshi” romance series.

When I first heard this news bit, I thought, “If SNK Playmore can recover from this situation, so can KID. Ne? Ne~”?!

No matter how spirited I was, KID’s debt of 530,000,000 en ($4,452,648) was too much even though Hirameki International did license some of their games in the west. Their last appearance was at Comiket 71. However, there is a small ray of hope.

According to Brandon’s bit (which just had to remind me of this situation), there is a chance of the releases for “Memories Off V Encore” and “12RIVEN the ΨCriminal of Integral” which are almost done. “After thanking everyone for supporting them at their Comiket liquidation sale, the text states (roughly) ‘Should the fans wish it, there may be a day when the resurrection of KID will come, if people haven’t forgotten about us by then.’” Oh, of course, the text mentioned here is the text on KID’s site.

Now, Brandon and I have made sure that KID will not be a distant memory. The question is, “Can the people in Japan do the same?” and I have faith in them. Just in case, I can ask some connections to push those people. I better end this entry the right way.

やっぱり米国のファンがいますキッド。だから、諦めりないでください！しっかりしまして！

The last few days, I’ve realized that I shot myself in the foot and I’m still going to be doing that. Why? Some time late last year (probably October), I preordered the new “Card Fighters Clash” game and that seemed like a good idea at first. After the game was released last month, some people don’t like the game at all and now, I’m starting to think about getting rid of my preorder.

Not bad enough? I plan on watching “Hidamari Sketch“. This is really great news until you realize that I’m now going to be watching three Friday series starting the day after tomorrow. The reasons why I can’t skip this series are that it’s based on a yonkoma (a thing I love), it’s a Shaft series and it’s being directed by Shinbou Akiyuki-san. Oh, it’s a TBS anime and I love watching TBS anime series.

I thought I’d have to watch a fourth Friday series next month, but thankfully, “Dancougar Nova’s” air time on the 15th of next month does not go past midnight and into Friday. I generally don’t watch these series because I am more of the comedy type of person, but since a couple of people I know of are really interested, I figured that I should watch it as well. Also, of the series I will be watching when next month comes around, this series will have the strongest seiyuu cast with Ikezawa Haruna-san and Kuwashima Houko-san leading the way as Aoi and Kurara respectively.

I was supposed to watch “Manabi Straight” the day before yesterday, but I unfortunately had to work the day before and late too. Oh and I can’t forget that I worked that day. Thankfully, this is a Monday anime. So, I don’t have to do any dropping of some sort. I might watch it later today, though I really hate catching up on series. At least it has Horie Yui-san, Nonaka Ai-san and Hirano Aya-chan as Manami, Mika and Mei respectively. Hayashibara Megumi-san (a name I felt like I haven’t heard in forever) sings some songs here, though I don’t know if she’s going to play as some character later on.

Right now, I’m going to fix this site, though I won’t do much. I have to do laundry and I still need to make that order I didn’t make last week. I so need to fix my car up, but I’ll do that on Sunday most likely. Oh and I am not going to bother playing the name game in regards of Kris Aquino’s baby because I already am frustrated with another game in the new “Yoshi’s Island” game. I am busy figuring out how to complete a certain level there.

I so need a doppleganger. Then, I can go back to sleep and watch more anime. Ha ha ha!

Uh, this will really be the last post of the month. My next entry should be three weeks from Saturday. Hopefully by then, I have caught up on sleep. Seeing that I’ll be gone for a while, I better say a special message before I end this entry.

誕生日おめでとうございます水樹さん！ ^^

Well, that’s that. I’m going to do what I have to do. じゃまたねみんなさん。

Notes of 14:10: this updating is a mess. I really want that “Jasugaku” (”Justice Gakuen”/”Jasutisu Gakuen” for those that don’t know) yonkoma book, but I am not having much luck finding this one Geese book for Chupiler or that yonkoma book. I forgot to mention that I saw some images of the Comiket of last month, but I forgot the links already. I really want to go back to sleep. –’

Well, seeing that I listed anime, I might as well list games I’m looking forward to this year. Oh. I better make this quick also.

I’m not looking forward to many games this year. Oh and the ironic part is that they’re really not new. Just remakes. I plan on getting “Rokuban Shoubu” (the “Samurai Spirits” collection) and “The King of Fighters 1998 Ultimate Match”. Oh. “1998″, as in the original, will be a game in Tougeki along with your usual games, “Hyper Street Fighter II” and “Arcana Heart” believe it or not.

This could end up as being one of the most horrid years ever in regards of games. That is unless someone like Chupiler tells me that out of nowhere, a game like “Quiz Magic Academy IV” is coming out in the summer. I don’t know.

I’m done ranting. I better head off. Ja mata ne.

Note of 9:46: yes, there’s “Battle Fantasia” and there’s “Kiki Kaikai II”. “BF” really feels weird to me for some reason. Oh and I’m not sure if “KKII” will really be good in the end.

I better make this quick seeing that I’m in a rush of some sort. Uh, if you’re wondering why I placed up an entry all of a sudden, you can certainly blame this speech of Kotono from “Saint October” being worshipped. While we’re at it, I still could give that Impz a Zenkai Kiaidan, but I’m not evil. =P

Yes, I am watching “Saint October”. Yes, this series is fun, but by watching this series, this presents two problems. The first problem is that by watching this series, I’m already given two Friday series, the other being “Nodame Cantabile” which will air this Friday. (Yes, I know that both say that they’re Thursday series, but you have to remember that 25:55 and 24:45 [the air times of “Saint October” and “Nodame Cantabile” respectively] indicate that they’ll air on the following day, which happens to be Friday in this case.) If I pick up another Friday series, that spells a real grinding day. Oh and of course, the other problem is that I’m given more anime to watch for the year.

I probably will not enjoy this series as much as those that do. Outside of Koyasu Takehito-san, there are not many seiyuu here that I recognize, but that’s because I’m an old hermit who is used to the more experienced seiyuu. Also, there are some characters that gave me that “Huh?” look like that Tuxedo Kamen imitator. Other than what I said, it’s silly and it’s fun as I said in the last paragraph.

Well, that’s that. I still need to eat and tidy up seeing I have to go to various places today. I so want to go back to sleep now.

Today never did much for me. All I did were chores and that was it. The funny thing is that I wanted this day off and though I did get it, I really never did anything big.

Well, there were some bright spots though. If you place “Moero! Justice Gakuen” in a compact disc player, you will hear some amusing scenario from Batsu, Kyousuke and Hinata. I understood some of it though. I’m also playing that “Bare Knuckle” remake.

Right now in Japan is Amano Yuri-san’s birthday. (I could have sworn that someone important has her birthday also, but I forget who right now.) I wish I could have done something for her. I feel so guilty. Oh well. I better end this post with style.

誕生日おめでとうございます天野さん！^_^

Note of 1/5: I forgot to place up the link for the remake. This page has all that you need to know. Have fun and don’t forget to thank Brackt!

Impz of THAT Anime Blog brought out a post to tell people how to get people to see your blog. Of course, I just had to do this sort of thing sooner or later. Well, why not now?

I bet you’re thinking, “What makes you think that you can do this sort of thing? This site has been up for only two weeks. It’s too early”.

You have to remember that though this site’s only a little over two weeks old, I’ve been doing this sort of task for four years. That’s quite a while, ne? I have had entries lost before, meaning that I did go through a lot. Also, remember that I was pretty much an underground person; so, only a few people did ever get a chance to see my entries.

I guess those are my notes. I guess I can start my speech on this. Here I go.

So, you want to make your anime blog. This is definitely understandable. Omedetou! You did step one, which is to have desire! I should tell you that having an anime blog or any sort of blog for that matter is easy if you’re in the correct surroundings and you have the resources. Having a blog with people seeing it is not.

I am going to give off pieces of advice to help you start your blog. Do take note that they may not be the best pieces of advice overall, but they do work if you’re given the right kind of help. I can’t find the words I really want to say, but I hope those words give you an idea.

1. Desire

I already mentioned that you completed step one in having a desire to make a blog. I just hope that your passion lasts for a long time. As Impz said, if you put your heart into writing, or typing in this case, something, it shows and it will get people to read what you placed down.

2. Type

As weird as this may be, know what kind of diary it is. That way, you will know what approach should you take. Anime blogs have a different approach from other kinds of blogs and I’ll tell you various reasons in a bit.

3. Name

After you got your type, you need a name. Find a name that is not only suitable, but easy to remember as well. It’s that easy.

Three thoughts came up when I wanted to name this blog “Bata-kun no Atarashii Nikki”. The first thought was I already have two diaries: my personal site one and my fan group one, and it’s obvious that this will be a new diary. The second thought’s that I still say “diary”. The last one was that I planned to type in kana and kanji, which is why I have the name “Bata-kun no Atarashii Nikki” and not “Bata-kun’s New Diary”.

4. Post rate

This is a tricky item to work with. For a personal site diary such as my personal site one, you can bring up an entry whenever you want. If you’re working with an anime blog however, you need to post up a good amount of time, especially early on. At least 3 posts a week is a good rate. 3 posts a day’s overkill though. It’d be nice if you have a set pattern also.

5. Typing quality

This will take a while to go through. Many people will tell you that typing quality is the big matter to remember in regards of typing up a blog. As a former editor, this is where I both agree and disagree.

Let’s start with why I disagree. I didn’t become an editor because I had the skills for the most part. I became an editor because I loved doing it and I still do as well the fact that I like helping people. In fact, seeing that this is mainly an English blog, English was my worst subject after science. The big matter to remember is well, the first step I mentioned.

As for why I agree, content is well, the heart of the blog. You’ll definitely not go anywhere if your entries don’t make sense to begin with. It’s understandable if the reader doesn’t get the joke you’re bringing out, but make sure that you’re typing an entry that the person will understand in the end.

Now, like the post rate, typing quality is real tricky to work with. Typing an entry here is like typing an entry in my personal diary. The opposite is also true.

I’m sure you remember the quality issue already, but you have to keep in mind that for your personal diary, you can in some cases get away with having a paragraph go on for a while. For an anime blog however, you will have a hard time. An anime blog is like a fan sub. A viewer can tolerate so much and you can bend grammar rules. If your entries take up less than half of the monitor, aim for 10 lines. Aim for 5 if they take half or more.

Though this doesn’t really apply to personal diaries, make sure you have intersesting post titles. Why? That way, people are more likely to come back to your blog.

Oh! Typing quality doesn’t only apply to what’s present. It also applies to little things such as originality and timing. I’m not going to bother explaining more than that as Impzie gave a good explanation already.

6. Layout

If content’s the heart of the blog, the layout’s the body of the blog. The layout is important because outside of the name of your blog, the layout will be the first thing your viewer will see. It’s nice to have both flash and quality, but if you can’t do both, focus on the latter.

What you want to do is to have a layout that will be easy on the viewer’s eyes. Most people will use a white background and the text will be in black. Sometimes, gray and some shade of blue will be used as well. I generally like this layout, but one of the few diaries I like in which it does not have a white background is Akamatsu Ken-san’s diary. Also, make sure it’s organized.

In regards of images, many blogs out there love images and place up lots of them or place up at least one image per entry. I don’t like them as much as other people in general (and not just in blog entries) because not all of us have a good connection. There’s that and I don’t have much to work with. I think that you should place up a good amount of images to really feel welcome. I personally like one image, like what I did here.

All three of my diaries are have their similarities and differences. They use a white background and black text. They also use the y/m/d format and the 24-hour format. That’s where the similarities end. My fan group diary’s pretty bland and the same goes for my personal site’s diary, but the latter is influenced by various entertainers’ diaries, including Akamatsu-san’s. This blog will utilize images more than my other two.

7. Announcing

Now that you have your blog set up, you will obviously not get readers to come to your blog if you don’t tell people about it. Go to forums. Go to popular blogs. Let people know that you have a blog.

Besides AB’s antenna, sites like Anime Nano and Blogsuki help also. Once in a while, I comment in other people’s blogs. I also tell various people and not just friends about this blog because I cover various forms of entertainment. I will admit that I don’t visit a lot of forums in general because of what I do.

8. Luck

It may not seem like it, but having some sort of luck helps. This doesn’t apply to having a reader come over to see the blog only. This also applies to what you want to type about. You can’t always think of a topic. Sometimes, the topic lands on you.

Well, that’s that. I hope your blog turns out to be terrific. Ganbarimashite soshite asobimashite kudasai ne! ^^

I’m somehow free tomorrow. I’ll bring a couple of posts. Maybe three. For now, oyasumi nasai.

明けましておめでとうございます！

Uh, I know it’s not Thursday yet, but I decided to place up an entry anyway. I didn’t watch the celebration. I actually slept. Guess I started playing the catch up game. For the first seven days, I will either be in my bed sleeping, at work or doing some errands. The only exception is Thursday, seeing that I plan on going to a friend’s house. I’ll buy a Hori arcade pad the day after tomorrow also.

I’m sure I mentioned this, but I’ll say it again anyway. I’ll only bring out one or two entries a month only until November. Sometimes, I may not bring out an entry at all.

I don’t plan on watching many anime series from this year because I am already playing catch up in regards of sleep. Outside of “Zero no Tsukaima’s” second season, I will not be watching much else. I may watch a series like “Nodame Cantabile“, but again, I want to take it easy and rest up.

This year, I’ve decided to be real dedicated with my DS because of the last several systems my three brothers and I got, none of them ever had a library that went on to have at least 20 games and I’m hoping that the DS changes the scenario. The last time we had a system with 20 games, two of my brothers and I were little kids with the youngest one being barely born and this was with the Mega Drive. (Yes, it was the Mega Drive. Ah, those were the days.) There are a few reasons why this has been the case.

The first reason is because we don’t have time anymore (even though it seems like we do). Second, we have our gaming mistakes; I will admit that getting a N64 was the biggest gaming mistake I have ever made, as I thought that I’d be able to play “Samurai Spirits 64″ without ever having to buy a Neo-Geo home system (which are still expensive to this day you know). My youngest one thought that he’d found his system in the Gamecube, but he only bought one game in “Soul Calibur II” and as for my other two, uh, they bought games they never finished for the original X-Box, a habit I’m hoping that they’ll break with the X-Box 360. (I doubt that they’ll do.) The third and final reason is because, well, gaming isn’t an inexpensive hobby. I mean, back then, I wouldn’t mind paying $75 for a game like “Sonic II”, but that’s because our dad (who I can’t thank enough for those times) bought the game for us. Now, we’re not relying on our dad and we’re paying for our own games. My brothers are actually in better shape than myself because of the fact that they buy domestic games for their 360 and for me, I buy domestic DS and GBA games, as I get imports (which are more expensive than domestic games in case you haven’t noticed) for my DC and PS2.

As for what games I’m getting, three are certain: “Mario Kart DS”, the new “Card Fighters Clash” game and “Pokemon Pearl”. I’m getting a “Gyakuten Saiban” game, but I haven’t decided which one yet. As much as I want to get “Gallery of Labyrinth”, I generally don’t like one-life games. By the end of the year, my DS library should have 10 games at least. I still need to buy the extra DS stuff by the way.

I’m going to give Momo an e-mail now. Here’s to hoping that the new year will be a year to remember. Ja mata ne.