Lurker > barnnn

So... I've been a bit bored (despite my novel backlog) and I took a look at Chinese and Korean novels. Decided to try out "I am the Monarch". It's a fairly gritty fantasy series that has the MC "reincarnate" into his younger self and fix his past personal mistakes. Nothing spectacular, but I think it's off to a good start. The author describing the MC's past life relationships and events fairly extensively certainly helps keep it entertaining.

Speaking of which, there's this drama going on about Qidian, which is apparently an official license holder for a bunch of prominent Chinese novels. Something about them forcing translators to stop hosting Qidian stuff on other sites. I wouldn't want to say anything without knowing as much as I can, but it sounds pretty weird

Edit: Accidentally erased the second paragraph. Whoops.

Huh, I actually started Mushoku Tensei WN today. I'm reading on Syosetu, so I didn't make much progress though. Only got up to the part where the magic instructor (Rokishii?) is introduced. The baby section is actually pretty entertaining, and the magic system of this series seems to be quite detailed.

Also, here's Monster Hunter V2 Ch2 Scene1
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0ByTOB0gqvyjtQmIzY0JNNC1zaEE

Huh, I seem to have completely forgotten about Romcom SNAFU. I did watch 2 or 3 episodes of the anime (with the chuunibyou otaku dude) but got distracted by something else.

And yeah, it's the same Monster Hunter series. I did say that I want to translate them all, so I'm going to try my best to.
I also did say that Volume 3 of this series is the weakest, but one of the new characters introduced in that book is super cool, so I kinda want to translate his parts as well.

Romance, huh? I don't think I've read any of those yet either. I think I used to read an old Japanese novel called "Love Letter", but I don't remember much of it. And I'm also pretty interested in Sayonara Piano Sonata since it's completely translated in my country.

Well, I also finished the translation of MH Volume 2 Chapter 1. I'll get it on Baka-Tsuki later.
Link: https://goo.gl/LNW55j

Edit: Wrong link

You know what, that sounds like the closest to a slice-of-life LN from the ones I've seen so far. Maybe I'll gove it a try when I'm craving something of that genre. It probably won't be in the near future though, since I haven't even started Mushoku Tensei yet. The English fan-translated version is the Web Novel, right?

Hmm, maybe it could make some decent progress if it's 2-cour. If it's 1-cour though, I don't really see how it's going to work without cutting a bunch of stuff.

Now that reminds me, I think an anime for Death March was announced some time ago? I haven't heard any more news since then.
From the impressions I've read, that series is super long and is pretty laid-back, so I'm also interested in how much of it would be adapted.

So... I finally got to resume my translation project after neglecting it for a whole month. Almost done with chapter 1 now, but there's a particular part that I'm not sure if I can translate well enough. Volume 2 is currently my second favorite volume in the whole series I've read so far, so I really want my translation to be good.

Anyway, looks like Shieldbro is getting an anime. I hope the adaptation work is good for this one.

Yeah, I'm in Thailand right now. My 3DS can't connect to the internet here for some reason. Probably the network type not being compatible.
I usually live in the US though.

I do have all 3 of the localized 3DS MH titles, but I haven't completed G-Rank in my current 4U save yet, and also haven't gotten started with the deviants in Gen except for Hellblade.

Man, I wish I could do all that. I really liked the CB's design and concept, but it's pretty hard to control, so to speak. The only monsters that I can use it on effectively are the straightforward ones like Khezu, Monoblos, or Diablos. Maybe it's because I started with the very first game on PS2 and got used to the simpler weapons like Lance and SnS.

And yeah, there really is a lot of MH LNs. I counted, and the total number of volumes published by Famitsu Bunko (including spinoffs) is 55. The mainline series also has a tradition of bringing back characters from the previous series, so they're all connected.
It's also pretty surprising that I like the MH LNs a lot. I actually bought it just to use up my Amazon JP account balance when importing Maoyu and 2409 Kai no Kanojo. It's probably the balanced mix of humor and grittiness, and also the very low amount of shonen tropes like power of friendship, OP protagonists, or justice prevailing over evil. Not that the monsters are evil or anything. (And my favorite character so far is actually like the very image of a hero of justice).

You mean the Hunter Arts? I like the ones that are either short attacks or defense/counters. I can never get used to the long combos, especially when dishing out a decent combo is more efficient most of the time. I kinda dislike absolute evasion/readiness though, since they're a bit too convenient for my liking.

World does seem to have something similar to the attacking arts though, at least from what I read or watched. There's that guillotine chop for Long Swords, and I read that Great Sword has the jumping roundhouse attack, and HBG's rapid fire is either a special skill or bullet type.

Anyway, I skimmed through Volume 1 of Ten'i Muhou no D. The heroine is a pretty funny girl who idolizes a team of G-Rank hunters called D4 who are very similar to the Ace Hunters. (I hope they are actually good and the main characters don't have to bail them out later on). And the hero is a laid-back boy who seems to care more about painting than hunting, but his personality takes a more aggressive turn when he wields the Charge Blade. The Capital C Caravan doesn't seem to appear, even though the first volume takes place in Val Habar.
The main cast is quirky and fun, and the action is pretty good, but world building isn't as detailed compared to the first two series. I'll probably read it again properly to collect more details before moving on to Volume 2.

Well, MH (apart from 4) doesn't really have pretty cinematics to pad their trailers, so choosing the right thing to showcase in an initial trailer is pretty difficult. This one isn't as bad as MH4's reveal trailer though, since that one just makes it look like God of War with horrible textures.

Still, I'm also curious on what they're going to do for MH World's novel adaptation (if there's goong to be one). Maybe they can put more emphasis on exploration and discovery, since this time around the game seems to be focused on the exploration of the New World.

Speaking of which, I just went ahead and bought the eBook for Ten'i Muhou no D series (adaptation of 4U) since it's just 3 volumes long and was on sale. This one seems to be going for a dynamic duo kind of relationship between the two main characters, and also their palicoes. The writing style is significantly easier to read compared to Yuuki Rin's series as well.

So I got to see that video of MH World. The bigger changes I can see are environent interactivity and monsters' idle actions. Looks pretty nice, though the monsters fighting among themselves could make the game easier since the animations seem to be semi-scripted and provide big openings (about as long as a mount topple).

The combat looks mostly the same as the previous titles, which makes me feel a bit better. Animations are still slow and heavy, and it seems like they combined a bit of every style into a weapon. I noticed a few animations from brave and aerial for the great sword.

The new monster seems to use the Deviljho/Glavenus skeleton, and is confirmed to be an entry-level boss. It's a pretty nice change, I think? Since the entry-level bosses we've gotten so far are the raptors (too small) and ones that use the Kut-Ku skeleton (too wacky). I really do hope the cool older monster like Narga, Barioth, Garuga, and Monoblos make a return. (I won't be wishing for Khezu and Gypceros, but it'll be interesting to see how the masses react to them.) The giant monsters like Lao-Shan Lung, Mohrans, Dalamadur, and Gogmazios aren't likely to return, but I really want too see how they'll be handled if they do get in.

And also, I finished volume 5 of Tamashii. This one takes place a whopping 8 years after the previous volume, and it kinda feels like an extended epilogue for some reason even though it's not. A certain character from Yuuki Rin's series make a return, and there's a nice little surprise at the end for those who played Freedom 2/Freedom Unite.
This series is overall a great read, with the highlights being Kio's growth from an ignorant and naive little boy to being a respected hunter/instructor and a family man, and the epic and hilarious siege battle in volume 3.
It seems like the author (Keiichi Hikami) put all he could into the limited pages (which also resulted in the minor battles feeling a bit rushed), and it's pretty funny that he got to write 3 more mainline novel series (Hayate no Tsubasa, Flash Hunter, and Episode) and expand on his saga a lot more than he ever thought he could.

Honestly, I already completed XC once and don't really feel that I want to go back to it. It was a great experience through and thorugh of course.

The combat (in HF only) really is one of the reasons I liked SAO HF more. The game's combat is very similar to Xenoblade, but the finer details like skills and positioning don't really matter much until you get to the end/post game bosses. There are also some elaborate strategies that require a lot of timing and fiddling with numbers, though most players would prefer to unlock OSS and just spam Dual Wield to plow through everything (which doesn't work against the post game bosses anyway).

The system is mostly consistent with the novels as well, so it kinda shows that the things Kirito are able to do as a SAO player (solo a floor boss, for instance) aren't bullshit (well, except delaying his death to stab Heathcliff).

The story is... weird, so to speak. Especially the Hollow Area storyline. But it's full of humor, with the way-too-literal English translation ramping it up a few notches. It doesn't compare to XC's story, of course.

Still, the game continuity so far has a way better story than the source material (not counting Progressive, Alice, and Ordinal Scale). And another good thing about this continuity is that there are actually pairings that doesn't have Kirito in it.

Huh, MH world does look impressive. But I have a feeling that the actual game will not be as elaborate as the E3 trailer. Like the first trailer for MH4 being a lot more elaborate than the actual game.
The concepts introduced so far except maybe slingshotting have been in the MH novels in one form or another, so I'm interested in how they're going to work.

And yeah, XC2 feels like something I wanted the first Xenoblade to be. And that says a lot since I liked Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment more than the first Xenoblade.

Anyway, novels. A new character introduced in MH Tamashii volume 4 makes a pretty major connection with Flash Hunter, and supposedly the timeline of the novels isn't as straightforward as I have thought.

Eh, I haven't read the stuff I bought here either. Too focused on tourism and partying.

Well, I did read MH Tamashii up to volume 3. They actually made a Shen Gaoren seige battle fun (!) and there seems to be some romance.

And at long last, another publisher in my country picked up Kino's Journey after the previous publisher went under. This new publisher even hired the same translator and started printing volume 10 (the last publisher left it off at 9) right off the bat while reprinting volumes 1-9 simultaneously.

European Extreme - Metal Gear Solid 2
The Way of Kunoichi - Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword

Well then... time to start saving up. But I still have LNs I want to buy. Hmm...

MH Volume 2 Prologue done.

Google Drive: https://goo.gl/t9PEbC
Baka-Tsuki: https://goo.gl/LOqvS3

So I completed Your Name Another Side: Earthbound. Most of it is lighthearted fun, while the last chapter answers a major plot hole from the movie. A nice supplementary material to the movie, I would say.

Also, MH Tamashii volume 1. This one is OK, I suppose. The main story is that hunters are hired to aid in the establishment of Jumbo Village, but the volume focuses mostly on Kio training under the snarky veteran hunter Kurtaiz. Overall lighthearted and goofy, but can get serious when it counts.

Ah, by home I mean my country.

It's a physical store. For some reason, physical books are selling better than ever here, especially LNs. Apparently SAO was super popular here back when it first aired and caused like 5 manga publishers to start doing LNs all at once.

So... I got to check out some book stores after I got back home. Quite a lot of translated stuff caught my eye.

I got MH Tamashii, MH Hayate, Your Name Earthbound, Gundam Wing, and Konosuba. My wallet is practically bleeding right now.

You know what, I'll add that to my reading list. It actually sounds interesting.

Speaking of which, I read a little bit more of MH Tamashii. Kio (MC) is more of an idiot hero compared to Zeeg and sticks to his ideals too much, but that's appropriate for his age since he's supposed to be just around 10. The novel really does start from the bottom with the mushroom gathering and Velocidrome, but the dynamic between Kurtaiz and Kio keeps things entertaining.

Well that sounds pretty weird. Is it like a genre satire? As much as it sounds ridiculous, there's pretty high potential for it to be deep.

Monster Hunter was my first and only translation, actually. So I'm not really well known or anything.

It's weird that the first game didn't get Cloud, considering FFVII was one of the biggest titles on PS1.

Monster Hunter Generations (3DS)
Barq's Root Beer

Just looked it up again. Not exactly tentacles, but it's some kind of wire robot monster inside a clock tower. That's actually where I stopped reading it.

Anyway, I just noticed that I can buy (raw) LN eBooks on JP iTunes. It's the cheapest method of import I've found so far, but I don't think I'll get used to reading on a normal sized iPhone any time soon. And exporting it to PC isn't doable because of the DRM. Honestly, this is the first time I ever wanted an iPad.

Huh, I think I read a manga with that name some time ago. Didn't remember much, but I think there was some tentacle rape pretty early on?

Sounds like a good deal to me.

M3sterybumper posted...

barnnn posted...

I mostly read from a physical book.

Woah, hardcore. You from Japan?

Nope, I'm from Thailand.
I took weekly Japanese classes while I was in high school and then just trained myself as I went along.
My country has quite a lot of translated LNs, and apparently there's way more right now. As for imports, I just started doing it recently.

Persona 2: Innocent Sin.
Actually Nyarlathotep in disguise.

Huh, I don't remember the anime explaining magic to that extent. Most of the stuff I know are from following up on the wiki. Guess I haven't been paying much attention.

As for the siblings... there are a number of incidents that made them that way.

The main story isn't the highlight of the game imo.
For me, it's all about wandering around aimlessly and still finding stuff to do everywhere.

thompsontalker7 posted...

barnnn posted...

It's just the free trial without the time limit, I believe. Which means you can go up to level 35.

Free trial? All I'm seeing on PS4 is a $10 buy the game option.

If it was a free trial then wouldn't the installer and stuff be free?

I don't play it on PS4, but this link should work (US).
https://store.playstation.com/#!/en-us/games/addons/final-fantasy-xiv-a-realm-reborn-free-trial/cid=UP0082-CUSA00288_00-C000060000000000

It's just the free trial without the time limit, I believe. Which means you can go up to level 35.

Eh, I'm got into Danmachi because I was interested in Aiz, so I'm going to watch (and read) it eventually just for her as well. I don't really care much for the others in Loki though.

I quit playing it a few years ago, but damn... those illustrations are amazing.

Speaking of which, the MH Stories anime's plot really went on full force in the last two episodes.
Navi's comedy routine is also toned down significantly, which is a great thing.

Was it because of that Mahouka thread the other day?

It's been a while since I watched it, but I remember liking it because of the world building, magic system, and a surprisingly colorful cast.

SoundNetwork posted...

barnnn posted...

Bangkok. Aside from people riding their motorcycles on sidewalks, it's great.

Do they also run reds or take the pedestrian walk when they dont want to wait?
Do they also blast music while ripping through residential areas?

1. They usually take the pedestrian walk when they don't want to u-turn and when there's a traffic jam. Running reds isn't very common in Bangkok.
2. They usually don't blast music in Bangkok. It's more common in the countryside and at cheap resorts/homestays/motels.

Bangkok. Aside from people riding their motorcycles on sidewalks, it's great.

LordFarquad1312 posted...

To be fair, the manga only has 23 chapters so far.

And GT manga has like 3 last time I checked.

Yeah. Jetman was awesome.

Then again, that doesn't mean the western adaptation will be good.
I mean, Ohranger was great, but I didn't like Zeo as much. Reverse for Gaoranger, I liked Wild Force more.

Speaking of adaptations, I hope they do one for Akibaranger some day, just for the sheer ridiculousness.

lilORANG posted...

TheMarthKoopa posted...

lilORANG posted...

Episode 3 and the main character clearly wants to bang his sister.

The sister is the one making the advances

Brother doesn't really do anything but be OP as hell

In episode 2 the brother pulled a Donald Trump and said if he wasn't related to his sister he'd be banging her.

Can you not see that it's obviously a joke?

> don't get the nostalgia
> didn't grow up with it

There ya go.

129-129 as of this post.

It's a fun challenge, so to speak. I started off with the very first game on PS2 and hated it at first, but ended up loving it when I revisited the series with Freedom on PSP.

For what's its worth, I guess I'm also one of the few people who's interested in the in-game characters and lore, and the tie-in stuff like manga, novel, merchandices, etc.

Another question. Have you been to any of the game/electronics midnight launches there?

Do you go to any of the karaoke boxes? If you do, do they have the more recent (~5 years) anime songs?

Damn, the BGM sounds like it came straight out of some moe anime.