Informational: Enhancement slotting

Just a quick and convenient posting of my mains enhancement slotting in CoH for informational purposes for CDog.

Canvas 2

Canvas 2 (fansub, ep1.)
Anime stores in Japan will frequently include promotional items, such as bookmarks or mini posters, in you bag with your purchase. On my trip to Japan in the fall of '05, I received a number of bookmarks featuring characters from Canvas 2. I knew nothing of Canvas 2, or even Canvas, other than (from my minimal Japanese knowledge used to read the bookmarks) it was a upcoming bishoujo (beautiful girl) game (presumably ero, at least the PC version) and anime series, and it had character designs I liked. So, I grabbed the fansub for episode 1, and this past week finally got around to viewing.

At the very least, I usually expect to enjoy the character designs in bishoujo series, and probably some fan service. Sometimes, though, a series surprises and has quite a bit of depth beyond cute girls. From the first episode, Canvas 2 appears to be one of these latter series.

The male lead, Kamikura, is a year away from graduating college (putting him older than most bishoujo male leads are) and plans to be an art teacher. He works as an art club advisor at a local high school (enter all the girls). He has an artistic eye and is an excellent teacher, but something in his past causes him to never draw or paint anymore himself ...

Elis, his cousin, has come to live with him, and is transferring to the school he advises at, and has newly joined the art club. Since witnessing her parents die in a car accident, she has an extreme aversion to red - which creates difficulty with her otherwise tremendous artistic ability.

While there has been a small amount of fan service, it really is rather mild, and should not put off people that are adverse to it in their anime. The series appears to be very much story and character driven, and is one I plan to follow. It is nice when a random show gives you a pleasant surprise. 

Disgaea Epidode 1

Disgaea (ep 1, fansub)
Finally, the Disgaea anime is being released. Hopefully, it will be picked up and released domestically soon (I had though I heard word it was licensed, but none of the licensing lists seem to have it).

So, what did I think of it, Disgaea fanboy that I am? I loved it. So far, I like the approach of keeping the same basic story of game - Laharl, son of the Demon King, is awoken from a two year nap to find that his father is dead (having choked on a sweet bun), and his kingdom is in disarray - while actually doing an alternate telling of those events. For instance, instead of Etna using an array of weapons, construction equipment, and heavy artillery to wake Laharl up from his long slumber, it is the kawaii angel assassin Flonne (seen above about to launch a bunch of missiles).

The themes, characters, and their idiosyncracies appear to be consistent with the game thus far, including Flonne's "love mania." The first episode even sees an appearance by one of the games sci-fi parody characters, Captain Gordon (along with the buxom Jennifer and b-movie robot Thursday). With luck we will see the Prism Rangers in a later episode ...

The music is primarily taken from the games, which had a unique and memorable sound track. So, I was happy to hear full arrangements of appropriate music at the right moments.

The animation was on par with good quality TV animation.

The only downside? Only 5 seconds of Etna in the episode! Fortunately, they have kept the video game tradition of Etna voicing the preview, and the preview itself being a complete fantasy of Etna's as to what happens... 

Etna

Simply because she is one of the best characters to grace a video game, here are more Etna screenshots taken from the Disgaea anime trailer, including the added cuteness of Flonne!

Disgaea, the Anime

I finally had a chance to view the trailer for the upcoming anime based on one of the best video games ever, Disgaea. The trailer is very promising - featuring the same vocal cast as the game, it appears to capture the main characters - Flonne, Laharl, Etna - and their combined evil-cute-insanity very well. Geneon will be distributing it in the US, and it can't come out fast enough. If you've played the game, then there is probably no need to convince you to give Disgaea a spin. If not, should this series live up to the humor of the game, this will be an anime that will likely be an easy recommendation.

Oblivion

The Elder Scrolls:Oblivion is pretty much consuming all my entertainment time recently. There are plenty of sites with reviews and opinions out there, so for now I will leave it at "I love this game!"

A sample of screen captures from playing: