hope all of you who celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday had a fantastic day off! I know I did. I didn’t do anything amazingly fancy, mind you. I had some delicious food with my family, which is more than enough for me. The rest of the day was spent working on coding for here and my job.

I’m definitely thankful for the fact that I managed to not gorge myself until I could eat no more! Lastly, I am thankful that the majority of the maintenance has been completed. Not all of it has been put into effect yet, but there shouldn’t be any additional downtime.

Feel free to leave a comment about how your Thanksgiving went :)

Keeping in line with our recent slew of updates, I thought I would notify the fine citizens of AC that there may be some downtime on the forums tomorrow. That is, if everything goes well, there will be. Why, you ask? I’m (hopefully) going to be revamping the news system to integrate with WordPress, effectively allowing far easier content management. Because of this, I will in all likelihood set the forums to ‘maintenance mode’ while working.

After all of it is complete, we have some additional plans for finally revitalizing the community. Yes, that means more posters at the forums, as well. We’ll get into the specifics a bit later in time, once this stage is complete.

Edit: Does anyone play Team Fortress Classic? If so, leave a comment about it or send me a message, please. More info to follow :)

I suppose I’ll try one of those blog-like mini reviews on the first 5 episodes of Pani Poni Dash.

There’s really not much to summarize here. If you’ve watched Azumanga Daioh and at least one other comedy anime and enjoyed them, you’ll enjoy Pani Poni Dash!

I’ll start off with the opening and ending. The background animation/graphics feels like an ’80s throwback of Cowboy Bebop’s opening with outdated “pop art.” The music originally annoyed the hell out of me and in no way made me want to “wiggle,” however as of episode 3, it’s growing on me. As for the chibi drawings in the ED? What’s more to love?

Despite the vast amount of anime references, the series so far simply feels like a cross between Azumanga Daioh (duh) and 2×2 Shinobuden (known as Ninja Nonsense in America). Don’t get me wrong, I love both series so this is a major plus! Speaking of anime references, there are a crapload, along with cultural references and even some foreign (American/European) jokes/parodies as well! It can get annoying at times constantly pausing and reading editors notes, but that just makes it all the more fun and re-watchable! I can’t imagine how all these cultural-centric jokes translate in English Dub (I have yet to watch it), anyone have any input here?

I find the mini character profiles very enjoyable even if some are completely obvious. This really reminds me of the Genshiken manga profiles which I adore. I do however wish there was slightly more information, even if completely off-the-wall weird.

All in all I was actually expecting (but not looking forward to) more random and weird “mini-arcs.” I’m very happy with the amount of continuity I’ve seen and am simply amazed how much I’ve grown to like Pani Poni Dash! Figured it’d just be some cheap rip-off; I was wrong and am very glad I finally started watching this anime - two thumbs way up!

P.S. The “filler characters” were weird in episode 3, but the new ones in episode 4 were downright scary! And what was up with that filler character being licked by a bunch of cute kitties?

Nov. 13, 2001: Dragonball Z: Freiza - Eleventh Hour is released on DVD. Nobody really gets the joke about the title until they’ve watched the entire ending of this horrid saga.

Nov. 14, 2001: Cardcaptor Sakura - The Clow is released. Fangirls go freaking insane.

Nov. 15, 2005: ADV releases Hello Kitty’s Animation Theater. The Japanese become giant screaming cosplayers when it’s discovered that there are no free Hello Kitty stickers included with the DVD collection.

Nov. 16, 2004: Funimation releases Dragonball GT Movie - A Hero’s Legacy, somehow one-upping themselves as the worst dub of all time.

Nov. 18, 2004: The Magic Box releases the first screenshots of Dragonball Z Sagas. Wow, viewing those again really makes me wish I would have beaten Frieza and moved on to the rest of the game. Alas, the only character I ever have trouble beating in any DBZ game is that little f***er.

Nov. 18, 2005: AnimeMusicVideos.org is served with a cease & desist order regarding music by Evanescence, Creed, and Seether. Nearly 2000 emo-related AMVs were removed from the website due to this, merely a scratch to the large community-driven site.

This update will cover notable anime & manga news from the past two weeks. Sorry, the 17 month gap between these updates is a little too much to cover today. I’m sure I’ll find something to make up for it :sweatdrop:

ICv2 gave some praise for Naruto and a bit of doubt on Bleach’s behalf as the release of Bleach manga volume 1 sold only 52% of the Naruto’s debut. To put it in prospective, volume 1 of Naruto, which was released over two years ago is outselling the first volume of Bleach by 32%. Ouch! ICv2 says it’s “far too early to tell” whether Bleach can come close to Naruto and that they believe Naruto “gives every appearance of being a once in a lifetime phenomenon.” This is in reference to the Naruto manga’s unrealistic success in the US, including ranking 21nd on the USA Today’s best seller’s list back in August.

Anime News Network reports that Blood+ may very well be hitting Cartoon Network soon, but that no broadcasting date has been scheduled. Cartoon Network has yet to confirm this rumor.

Viz has confirmed that two companies will be releasing Bleach merchandise in the US and Canada, including magnets, shoelaces (WTF?!), post cards, jewelry, stickers, patches, pins, buttons, plushes, key chains, wall scrolls, and “arm, hand, and headwear” (ugh…here we go again).

Former up again down again Britney Spears is divorcing that twat Kevin Federline. Holla for prenup! PRENUP!! Oh wait…this isn’t anime news…

Death Note: The Last Name topped the Japanese box office earlier this month. Anyone know if the “spoiler” was in either of the first two death note movies? Will it completely kill all hope for the rest of the entire franchise? :v

The FLCL Ultimate Edition release has been delayed ’til December 26th. Apparently releasing possibly popular merchandise after the holidays is the new craze! Sorry Timmy, you won’t be able to get your fill of wacky guitar whacking anytime soon!

Yesterday, Dragonball returned to television in America on the CoLours TV network. It will air weekdays at 10pm (e/p) and there will also be a six hour marathon on Thanksgiving Day. In December, the series will begin airing on the Funimation Channel. Thank you Funimation for striking deals with cable networks, including yourself, that nobody freaking watches.

The day after I was once again bitching to Atreus about how many different DVD releases Dragonball Z has and how confusing it’s become, ANN reports that beginning next year, the entire series will AGAIN be “digitally remastered” in high definition and released in box sets beginning in February.

4Kids is yet again receiving more than they deserve. They have reported a $256k loss in the last quarter, citing $2 million in a loss of revenue compared to Q3 2005. It just goes to show that relying on a bunch of ninja turtles and an anime that fairs better with youtube parodies will land your ass on a burning fire.

The last volume (36) of Ranma 1/2 was released today, marking the longest running manga released by Viz (unless of course you count Dragonball the way it was meant to be “count”) and it only took them 14 short years. Congrats, Viz.

Have a friend or a favorite site admin (wink wink) you want to get an anime gift for in time for the holidays? Well I have good news for you!

Up to 50% OFF anime box sets at Buy.com!
Selection isn’t very long, but I’ll definitely be grabbing that FMP?Fumoffu Complete Collection for only $26 (it hasn’t even been released yet wtfbbq!!)

Up to 44% OFF on over 200 Viz anime titles, also from Buy.com
Naruto, Bleach, Inuyasha, Zoids, Ranma, One Peice, Hikaru no Go and that Pokemon thing. GOOD GOD IT’S A SHOUNEN ORGY!

33% OFF ALL Del Ray published manga and books with the coupon code: holic
Expires on the 19th, so act fast! If you need a refresher on the manga Del Ray has published, head on over to their site. Genshiken here I come!

Overstock sale at AnimeNation
Ok so let’s be real. I bet you really want that 50% OFF hardcore hentai!!

Not a Disclaimer: I was too lazy to sign up for affiliate accounts, so all those links are referral free. Not like you would want to help us out or anything anyways :v:

For anyone that cares, the twelfth DBZ movie, Fusion Reborn, will be airing tonight on Cartoon Network at 9:30 (est/pst), and the last movie of the series, Wrath of the Dragon, will air on December 2nd.

But not only that! This Monday thru Friday there will be two back-to-back episodes of Naruto each day at 9pm, running through both the Neji vs Hinata and Gaara vs Lee battles. Woohoo.

Okay, so if you’re not interested in either, maybe you’ll be interested in the return of my daily anime updates? Oh yes that’s right. I’m planning on posting anime news updates on a regular basis again, like in the old days when people actually bothered to read this shit.

Ok, so it’s more like Yu-Gi-Oh: The Abridged Series video of the week.

Tea: I’m glad Bakura’s gay, otherwise we never would’ve gotten out of that cave.
Bakura: Oh so just because I have a gaydar you automatically assume I’m gay, bloody tart.

Yugi: Hey everybody, look at me! I’m Seto Kaiba. I have a dragon fetish and I sound like Brock from Pokemon. Screw the rules! I’m in love with nurse Joy!

Kaiba: Come forth blue eyes ultimate dragon!
Yugi: Oh…poopy
Yugi: I active asexual reproduction! Prepare to be completely smothered by my giant hairy balls.

I’d like to give a quick shoutout to the best online Naruto game. Even though it’s a turn-based battling game, the ladder ranking, missions, and unlockable characters make this game highly addictive!

Battles are automatically matched up by throwing the two closest ranked players together to maintain the fairness of the ranking system. An average battle usually takes around 10 minutes to complete so I find playing this game while doing something else (such as watching anime!) can be slightly more productive. You choose 3 characters for your team (16 available right off the bat, with another 8 currently unlockable!), all with unique skills and attributes. There are limitless posibilities for strategies which makes it all the more fun.

The only downside to Naruto-Arena is the lack of an in-game chat and player-specific battling. Then again, both of these are slated to be introduced to the game in the near future along with more missions, characters, and tournaments!

What more can I say? Go check out Naruto-Arena

In the three days I’ve been playing this game, I’ve participated in 90 battles, climbing 60k in the rankings, completed 6 missions, achieved the second highest ranking title, and I still have only unlocked 3 extra characters! A little obsessed you say? NO!

Bakura: I’ve got a bloody good idea! Let’s use my gaydar to locate some gay people. They’ll be able to help us.
Tristan: Why would there be gay people down here?
Joey: Gay people like to hibernate in caves, I saw it on the Discovery Channel.
Tea: Joey that’s bats.
Joey: Bats, gay people, same thing.

Before you run off, the “Yu-Gi-Oh: The Abridged Series” on YouTube is a parody of the anime, and a good one at that. It’s actually the only reason why I even visit the site. There are currently 13 “episodes” (4-6 minute shorts), created by LittleKuriboh over the past 3-4 months. I highly suggest watching these if you’re looking for a laugh.

It was looking for a bit as if the PaintChat might go down due to some complications, but due to some precautions I took I highly doubt anything will go awry. See below for a more thorough explanation.

The first problem was that the process was getting auto-killed by the server every so often if it had a CPU spike. This has been remedied by an automatic process which checks to see if the process is up every minute. If it’s down, it restarts it.

Secondly is the issue of log size and maintenance. In order to make sure the logs don’t pile up, the server will be automatically Stop->Clean Logs->Restart every 6 hours. Therefore, if that happens when you’re on there you will need to refresh the page to continue. Even if this occurs, I think it’s worth it to keep things going tidily. If you have any concerns, let me know via a reply to the thread.

Update to the update (Nov 4th, 4pm PST):
I’ve also applied a command which reduces the priority of the PChat on the server to further aid in avoiding crashes.

There’s only two real guidelines/rules regarding the PChat now:
1. Don’t mess with other people’s drawings without permission
2. Dont make HUGE drawings which take up a ton of the canvas for two reasons. For one, it crashes the server. For two, it’s rude.