durendal

Yup, though I don't really consider it a real batle since nobody actually won or lost. But just standing there after that punishment and saying "it's nothing" was really badass. I wonder how many chapters are left before the crew heads to Impel Down. Also, I get the impression that Brook was a great swordsman, but after Thriller Bark, I'd say Zoro is still the greater swordsman. I wonder if they'll get another crew member.

For one thing, Comaradery is more of a cultural thing for the Japanese, not something that you simply put into words. You might say that their usage of "Comrade" is more in line with "Bromance". The non-translation of attack names don't quite bother me like the untranslated "Nakama", which is what really irks me. And the word "Friend" isn't really the direct translation of "Nakama". Like I said, "Nakama" is "Comrade", and to me, I feel that being a comrade has a much more deeper meaning than friend. It's something like "people with the same spirit, goal, ambition etc.", which I think suits their settings. By the way, I'm already up to chapter 500. The wanted poster of Sanji is already hilarious enough, but on the flying fish story arc, it made it much more hilarous.

There is this one thing that's bothering me, mostly the fault of the translator, is that they keep on using the word "Nakama". If you asked someone who has never heard of manga to read One Piece, do you think he will get the part when most of the crew are saying "because he is my Nakama". WTF? They're already translating Japanese into English why the hell do they leave one single word untranslated? What's the difference between "Nakama" and "Comrade". To be completely honest, I find the scanlations of One Piece to be poorly translated. They need to be reminded that not all english readers understand the cultural standing of Japanese. Not to mention leaving attack names untranslated is a little bit confusing. Like all of Zoro's attacks, they leave it like Nitoryu, Santoryu, Yontoryu, etc, what the hell does that mean? Japanese readers will be able to understand that because the Kanji itself gives the meaning. But if you simply romanized those, they will not understand the significance of the attack. In fact, when I read those attacks, I got confused and have to stare at the page a lot longer to figure out what the hell they are talking about. There is a limit when you decide to stick to using the original Japanese names, but this is just overkill. Tsk tsk tsk. Naruto and Bleach are better translated than One Piece. I guess there is a really big disparity regarding quality when it comes to free stuffs. If I wasn't so busy with my current load, I'll do those translations myself. Ok, end gripe.

Well, I practically laughed out loud during the Zoro/Sogeking vs Kaku/Jabura. Specially when Zoro Wielded Sogeking as a sword. Well, the fights were pretty epic.

Yup, and war it is. Stopped at chapter 430 last night. It was a tearful moment yet again, this time for Going Merry.

I used to like Sasuke, but I don't think I like what he's turning into.

In Japan, I think One Piece is number 1 ahead of Bleach and Naruto based on the Oricon Charts. I think the reason why One Piece isn't as popular as Naruto and Bleach in the west was because they butchered the anime. I mean when it reached 4kids, they made massive edits to the anime removing a major chunk of the story. Well, I'm sticking to the manga. I'm currently in Chapter 400 and the rumble is about to start. Straw Hats versus Cipher Pol 9. What a teary flashback for Nico Robin.

Well, let's just say that they're currently in the rocket man. I'm not actually surprised at Robin's decision about the group. I knew something wasn't right when she said and did all those things, which later confirmed my hunch after everything was made clear by Iceburg. I'm surprised that Sanji didn't crack any jokes when Sogeking appeared. The lameness of it is actually what's funny. I see Ussop to be someone who has a potential to be a good member. Since the other members are freakishly strong, Ussop somewhat balances the groups strenght. I like his inventive skills and I'd like to see how he would work with Franky. I'm a spoilsport so I read ahead some bits and info about the future, and I'm looking forward to seeing Dragon and Garp. Expessially the Impel Down Arc.

Really? Seems like I didn't search hard enough for the old topic. Anyway, no, I'm not up to date yet with regards to the latest chapters. I'm still in chapter 371, where they are heading to Enies Lobby. (better not post spoilers for fear that some other readers might want to read this). I like the combination of Zoro and Sanji. They're both funny. It'll probably be a few more days before I reach the latest chapters. At the moment, I'm trending a minimum of 20 chapters a day.

I'm sure everyone has heard of One Piece. But does any of you follow it? I've known One Piece for a long time now, and I've only recently started following it. Mainly because at first I thought that the lead characters were kinda goofy. But after reading a few chapters I got hooked. Even though the characters may look goofy, their actions were kinda cool. Even the story is somewhat non-standard, since it's the silliness that's makes it interesting. With Characters like Buggy the Clown, Wapol, Don Quixote Doflamingo, etc, you can expect anything from it. What got me curious into reading one piece is because of an article I've read that it's latest compilation volume hasover 3 million copies printed, making it one of the best selling manga in Japan alone. In a nutshell, it's about a Pirate Monkey D. Luffy and his crew in search of the treasure of the legendary Gold Rogers, the One Piece. The wacky adventures of the group makes the story interesting, while the drama and action gives the story an intense flow of events. I've only started reading it last week and now I'm up to chapter 371.

I can say that this animated version is way better than the first series. I am also an avid reader of the manga, yet I still enjoy the series. I can guarantee that the anime does not suffer the same difficulty as other anime converted from manga (ie Naruto & Bleach). In fact, it is quite refreshing to see the action scenes animated. It is completely faithful to the manga. And for your info, as of the last episode I watched, Olivier Armstrong is already in Central. If you know what that means. Hint hint.

Hmm.....the first two parts are spot on, but the latter parts needs some tweaking. Here's my take on it: Akarui nichi ni, kurai yoru ni, ookami no hoeru de chikara wo kaihou suru

狼 (ookami / rou) - Wolf. Actually there is no term for werewolf in Japanese except if you spell it in Katakana as werewolf. I believe the term they use is Man Wolf, or Jinrou (人狼). The Kanji "rou" used in Jinrou was pronounced in Onyomi, it's kunyomi reading is Ookami. Ookami Otoko (wolf man) on the other hand sounds somewhat childish (along the lines of Megaman), so the preferred term is Jinrou. Ookami Kakushi means "carried away by wolf" or the vernacular "Wolfed Away". Also, other usage of Ookami is "Garou" 餓狼 which is Hungry Wolf. Hope this clarifies things.

I want all the SIC of the main heisei riders. But unfortunately they are no longer being sold. Huhuhu. I wanted the normal Blade SIC, but can't seem to find it any. So I guess after Kabuto, this leaves W then? I'm not too keen on getting the W SIC if they will be releasing it.

Woot! Got it! Very nice, there are even individual cards for the 9 Heisei riders, which is stored in the ride booker. You can even insert the cards into the Decadriver with push action!! Me happy.

This is indeed strange. Kabuto was released January of 2010, that's just last month. Maybe HLJ discontinued it because of lack of pre-orders? But this item seems to be available in other sites. I can't wait to pickup my decade.

Who knows, I might be your brother..... The Banana Emperor!!!! Nyahahahaha!!!!

See, this is what I don't get. How is it possible to add anyone into facebook when no information is provided to determine who is who? For example, if I say, add me in facebook now, would you guys be able to add me since 1) I did not provide a complete name you can add and 2) I have not provided an email address than can be used to add to facebook. Again, I don't have a facebook and I refuse to create one.

Here's some of the pics for the Ixa & Dark Kiva set. Ixa particularly looks very nice:

Woot! I was just informed that my SIC Decade has arrived. I'm going to pick it up tomorrow since I ordered this from a different retailer. This is probably the last time I order here, since their shipment is delayed by one week, and they didn't even contact me when it arrived. I only found out about it accidentaly when I checked out their website. No Kabuto yet, but looks like Dark Kabuto d/w Gattack and Ixa d/w Dark Kiva is next in line getting the SIC treatment.

I've just watched episode 43, so if it's going to be a 52 episode, then I guess they won't be reaching the end of the story that soon. As of Chapter 104 of the manga, looks to me like things are finally going to end very soon.

Wow, good for you. Then does that means you have an extra controller and memory card? Also, since you're not going to watch KR Blade anymore, would it be alright to assume that we can now spoil you with Blade? I'm asking this because the ending is a real shocker.

Yeah, Ryuki, there are a lot of characters to look forward to. I'd love to tell you about an awesome fight scene, but I will be giving a huge spoiler so I'll just wait until you reach it. Just so you know, it involves Orochimaru and a few others.

Ooops. Sorry, good thing I was vague, and hopefully didn't reveal anything significant. But yeah, once you reach that arc, your mind might change on the direction of the series. Anyway, while you're still in that early episodes, enjoy them, as those are the episodes that got me hooked. Perhaps you might want to discuss the progression of the episodes you have seen? I know I've been wanting to talk to anyone when I was watching those episodes.

Aha, so you have seen the chase with Sasuke? Since ep 135 is the last episode that coincides with the manga. After that, all the remaining episodes are fillers.