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Jun 05 2010

Categories: episodic review, k-on
Tagged: k-on

13 Comments »

“Azu-nyan, what about snack time?”

So the day after I put up the iPad post, I was chatting with a friend and looking up odds for the World Cup, because, after all, gambling is the only thing that can get me interested in soccer. I visited a page, saw Flash crash, and quickly realized my computer just got infected with something because, you know, somehow something executed despite having NoScript, and that’s never ever good. I’m using Firefox 3.6.3 (the latest), Flash 10r45 (the latest), WoT, and Symantec EndPoint. Whatever the rootkit was doing, it slowed my computer to a crawl… the fans were going 100% all the time, and it would eventually BSOD after about fifteen minutes.

Apparently, whatever rootkit I got, was too new. Symantec, Microsoft Security Essentials, Avira, and Malwarebytes couldn’t find it, but I knew something was wrong, so I just decided to clean my MBR with HelpAssist. (All diagnosis and files courtesy of my iPad.) It found something suspicious, rebooted, and then ran ESET… my gosh! It actually found the rootkit. ESET removed it, and I rebuilt the MBR with Recovery Console. Everything seems to be running okay now. Fun shit.

So why did this happen? Because my other idiot friend was playing Plants vs. Zombies on my iPad, hence why I had to use my Windows machine. Like I really don’t understand the arguments against the iPad… sure, it can’t do everything a desktop can, but, my Windows desktop isn’t exactly a thing of beauty. It runs Windows, a horrible, horrible UI compared to OS X or iPhone OS (hell, even webOS and KDE). It is a power hog, about $15 a month to run using California’s inflated energy prices. It is controlled by a mouse, which will give me RSI sooner rather than later. It is a source of disease and infection on par with Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, and Studio Deen. If I could replace my Windows desktop, I would (sadly, my office requires Windows for VPN, which makes absolutely no sense to me). I guess my point is this. No computer is perfect. The iPad isn’t perfect– it has strengths and weaknesses, but it’s strengths hit where Windows computers are really, really lacking… and people just overlook this. Enjoy your rootkits.

(Bye bye Flash! You’re gone from everyone computer I own, except on the Virtual Machine on my Macbook.)

(Andohbytheway, go go US. I couldn’t in good or any conscience root or bet for any other team. Karma baby.)

Wait, Yui goes jogging in jeans? Doesn’t she have gym clothes?

(Mio in dry fit clothing… mmm…)

Next to impossible to tell a regular K-On!! episode versus a complete filler one like this episode… since… well, not much happens in K-On!!. It’s the anti-Lost. There’s no story for the sake of having a story… it’s no story because they can. That’s one thing I feel really missing in American media. Every episode seems to have a point. Why? Is plot important? Or is being entertained important? Can we be entertained in ways other than bad scriptwriting? Can we at least explore these ways? That’s something anime has on Hollywood– it’s willing to experiment. No Hollywood producer is going to sign up for a show about nothing (despite that, well, one of the most successful comedies were this) but anime? K-On!! is like Donovan. Sometimes taking a chance isn’t about what you do… but about what you don’t do.

(Coincidentally, I took a nap outside today. Greatest 45 minutes of my day, and I accomplished nothing. Okay, now back onto thinking of ways to stop the oil spill… oh who am I kidding? I’m just going to browse for Mio images and get infected with another rootkit.)

“Ui’s no COOKIE!!!”

Great for munching on.

This proves it! Yui is The One!

(Do I want to see Yui dodging bullets? No. In retrospect, and I can’t believe I’m writing this… I think I enjoy The Replacements more than The Matrix Trilogy. I mean… The Replacements has to be Keenu’s greatest role. I know that’s not saying but, but it’s a great ragtag football movie. Over-the-top, but believable. And I really enjoy the oh-so-predictable plot and cheese factor… see, you don’t need needless plot points like “The Architect” or “The Merovingian” to have an enjoyable movie.)

Nodoka is awesome. Why can’t she be Prime Minister of Japan instead of the trail of fail 50-ish year old men? She would turn Japan back into an economic powerhouse overnight and be the most compelling world leader.

(A woman running Japan is more far-fetched than an African-American running the US. But it would be awesome to see Nodoka negotiate with Obama over the Okinawa military base.)

My favorite part of the episode? Seeing everyone in their sundresses. Sawa-chan and Mugi are classy as always (Sawa-chan even wearing Julia Robert’s hat from Pretty Woman), and Mio looks very cute in that outfit. Too bad Ritsu looks like a boy.

(See, this is why I feel like there’s a great opportunity in an anime fashion blog. Sigh. At the very least, this blog’s Fashion Czar position is still open.)

I’m convinced YuiAzu would have won if they rocked on with Fuwa Fuwa Time instead, but they didn’t do bad. And who decides the winner? From the looks of the crowd, about one-sixth of the audience are friends of Yui and Azu-nyan, so via crowd vote, they should have done well… did like Ritsu and Nodoka vote for the flute guy? If it’s a judge, it’s probably Jim Joyce.

(Let’s just say if I were in Armando Galarraga’s shoes, it would have been worse than Shinn Asuka finding out that his beloved little sister is dead.)

(Completely underrated moment: when Yui introduces Azu-nyan to Obasan, and Obasan ends up calling Azu-nyan, “Azunyan-san.” I like these little moments.)

Ritsu tossing the dice… if K-On!! is headed towards the college years with Mugi, Ritsu, Yui, and Mio attending the same prestigious all-women college that Mugi’s dad went to, it would be unbelievable. Mugi and Mio? They’d get in. Yui? With her increased dependability, I’d buy it. But Ritsu? Hell no. A bigger stretch than Little Caesars coming up with a pizza that doesn’t taste like cardboard. Of course, the other option is to split the franchise, with Mio’s group going to college while Azu-nyan, Ui, and Bad Friend Jun reform Afterschool Tea Time. This is a bad idea… this is exactly what Saved by the Bell tried to do, and it flopped– both spin-offs. Saved by the Bell The College Years wasn’t compelling without the campy humor (and it was in primetime, which was a horrible match in terms of show and timeslot), and Saved by the Bell The New Class just featured homeless man’s copies of the original stars. You can’t replace Zack, AC Slater, Screech, Lisa, Jessie, and Kelly just like you can’t replace Mugi, Ritsu, Yui, Mio, and Azu-nyan. I’m almost for ending the franchise instead of dragging it on.

(But if we’re talking a Frazier-like spin-off where Mio turns into an international supermodel in an anime adaptation of The Devil Wears Prada… I’d be all for it. Especially if Mugi were the love interest.)

I feel so sad after seeing this new intro logo for Kyoto, and I’m not sure why. I think it’s because the first time I saw their logo, it was covering up Chidori’s melonpan.

(Let’s just say that Nichijou is perfect for them… sigh, let’s just say unless Nichijou is the second coming of Azumanga, it’s going to be wide open for Best Studio of 2010. Any bets? Brains Base? Manglobe? Madhouse? Sunrise?!)

(PA Works have taken themselves out of the running with their rendition of Lost… which isn’t bad, except the part where there’s only two episodes left and a lot needs to be resolved still. Angel Beats 10 post in a few hundred minutes.)

Her eyes look like Mugi’s eyebrows…

(I hope we get a Mugi backstory episode. She’s by far the most mysterious band member… who wouldn’t want to learn how everyone’s favorite slumming princess lives?)