A post mainly created to blatantly list the best fan made YM2612 chip (Mega Drive) sonic tunes out there.
not 16 bit but still cool-
And lastly an mp3-
www.archive.org/download/Splash_Hill_Zone_Act_1/Splash_Hill_Zone_Act_1.mp3
Lan presents a collection of videos and clips from the Internet, mostly related to Anime, Manga, Japan, film and music. Reviews and general thoughts are also presented.
Tuesday, 19 February 2013
Thursday, 7 February 2013
Spice and Wolf- novel 4
*SPOILERS AHEAD*
This novel is not covered in the anime. In fact it was omitted, as it should have taken place before they arrive in Lenos (second season episodes 7+).
---
Six days after the events in Kumersun, Lawrence and Holo head into the northern town of Enberch, where he plans on selling his wheat and to ask about their real destination of Tereo. He cannot sell his wheat here as they have plenty, and are told that the village of Tereo is only half a day away by wagon.
Lawrence was told in Kumersun that Tereo supposedly has an abbey whose residing monk specializes in collecting stories of pagan gods, and thus might know more details about Yoitsu's destruction by the Moon-Eating Bear.
They arrive at Tereo and visit the church priest about the whereabouts of the abbey. The priest is a young staunch girl named Elsa, who upon hearing talk about an abbey decides outright to be of no help to them.
After spending the night there, Lawrence concludes on some mysteries surrounding the village.
*The villages turn a blind eye to the church, instead worshipping a Norse snake god.
*The villages seem wealthy, but do not work.
*The abbey that is suppose to be in the village is never talked about.
*The villages talk about how much gratitude they owe to the late priest who died over the summer.
Lawrence's practiced merchant's eye discerns that there must be a trade arrangement between Tereo and the larger Enberch, which is astonishingly favorable to Tereo, probably thanks to the late priest.
Lawrence decides to visit the miller, a young man who seems to be in a relationship with Elsa. He does this as a way to access Elsa, and sure enough, after visiting her again she seems to accept them inside the church for a talk. However this talk comes to no conclusions, with Elsa heavily suspecting them of being spies from Enburch. Lawrence and Holo take drastic measures and have Holo show her her wolf ears and tail. Elsa faints. This gives Holo time to establish that this church is actually the abbey they are looking for.
When Elsa wakes up, they establish the facts that Lawrence's assumptions about the village were correct, and that the town of Enberch would send in an angry mob in if they find out the Tereo's church is in actual fact an abbey (a place of solitary worship rather than a place of teaching about god like a church is). Enburch would deem the village as an official place of worship to the Norse religion, which would need to be squashed by Christianity.
Having proven to Elsa that they are not from Enburch, they are given access to a secret underground room that the late priest used for collecting his works on Norse tails.
Lawrence and Holo banter like a married couple whilst reading stories of Norse gods. Holo falls asleep on his lap and a little while later he finds a whole novel dedicated to the Moon-Eating Bear. Just as he is about to wake her up, he hears the sound of a horse arriving in the village.
This visitor is a messenger from Enburch. He informs the village elder of a death in Enburch, caused from the wheat bought from the village.
Holo reads the novel and finds out that Yoitsu was devastated by the bear spirit, with Holos wolf friends most probably retreating and running away during the attack.
When Lawrence learns of the news it means big trouble for him and Holo. The villages' wheat would surly be returned, bankrupting them. Blame would be placed upon the visitors, and if not them, then Elsa and her boyfriend the miller, who also is in charge of the taxes for the village.
The only way out of the situation is to run. Holo and Lawrence decide to run away with Elsa and her boyfriend Evan.
They are trapped inside the church/abbey with an angry mob forming outside. Elsa mentions that Father Franz (the late priest) once told her about an escape route located from the underground room. Upon investigation Lawrence knocks on one of the walls which seems to be hollow. They tear it down which reveals a circular shaped tunnel. they walk down it, which twists and turns out to an expanded cave and cliff face looking out to the country. Elsa explains this cave is sacred to the villages, as they believe it to be where their snake god resides. Given the circumstances regarding these norse 'gods', Lawrence and Holo alike believe it to have once been a tunnel of such a serpent spirit, and that the room under the abbey was probably built in the existing tunnel.
Holo turns into her wolf form. The other three climb abroad and they run off to Enburch (they need directions to Holo's home town of Yoitsu). Half way there they have to stop as they notice a caravan of people from Enburch making their way to the village with the returned wheat. Elsa decides against running away and starts to walk back. Evan follows.
Wolf form Holo breaks down in emotion. She sees herself in Elsa, one who would never back down to save her village despite the odds. She turns into her human form again and breaks down on Lawrence. She's sad that she never had the chance to protect her home.
During this talk Holo reveals that only a miracle would save the village now. Lawrence thinks about such a miracle and she catches wind. She takes one wheat grain out of her pouch, and using her power, makes it grow and mature in her hand. They come up with a plan and head back, catching up with Elsa and Evan.
The caravan finally arrives in the village and demands payment, which they simply dont have. The villages are accused as heretics and being led by the devil. Just as things are about to turn ugly, Lawrence, Holo, Elsa and Evan arrive. They accuse Enburch as being unfair, and that god will show them a miracle that their village of Tereo did no wrong. Holo uses her powers to make every seed in the returned wheat grow and expand into new plants, maturing and forming seeds once more (in affect quadrupling the amount that was there before). With everyone dumfounded, Elsa uses this opportunity to make demands on the people from Enburch.
In the end it turns out that Enburch came up with their plan ever since Lawrence tried to sell his wheat with them. They needed an excuse to screw Tereo over, and Lawrence was going to face the brunt of it, and most probably killed in the process.
Because the wheat could not be sold in Enburch, Lawrence teaches the villages about how to make cookies using it. These could then be sold in Enburch. Apparently the recipe is well known in the South but not in the North.
Elsa gets the respect she deserves from the residents, some even start turning up for church ever since witnessing the 'miracle'.
Elsa gets closure on what religion she believes as well, with the Norse spirits being created under the one true god. She's also open to accepting other religions as well.
---
This novel was not adapted into the anime :(
I love Lawrences and Holos banter. He seems to be a lot wiser now and it comes across in their banter, which she loves. As for their relationship, things got interesting as they were reading the books in the underground room. He asked her what will become of their relationship once they reach Yoitsu, of which she replies 'I know not' and then they act melancholy and needy around each other. Awwwww. It seems to make sense for them not to become a couple at this point. They have only known each other for about 2 months, so just give it some time.
I rate this novel 10-10 once again. This series can do no wrong.
Despite apparently having no readers, I would like to point out that I'm not very trusting over reviewers. I'm a skeptical reader and would rather listen to the voice of many than the detailed reviews of the one individual. As such, I produce reviews with more emphasis focused on the synopsis than what I think of it. It doesn't matter 'what I think'. It matters what YOU think. By detailing out the story, hopefully you, the reader, will make your own conclusions on whether its a good storyline. Just because I liked it doesn't mean you will. I'm here to give you the run down if you want to know the story without reading it, maybe as your easiest option of knowing the story without buying it, or for those that watched the anime and are curious as to what happens next.
Having said this I would like to know if my writing style is too strange. So please drop me a comment.
This novel is not covered in the anime. In fact it was omitted, as it should have taken place before they arrive in Lenos (second season episodes 7+).
Six days after the events in Kumersun, Lawrence and Holo head into the northern town of Enberch, where he plans on selling his wheat and to ask about their real destination of Tereo. He cannot sell his wheat here as they have plenty, and are told that the village of Tereo is only half a day away by wagon.
Lawrence was told in Kumersun that Tereo supposedly has an abbey whose residing monk specializes in collecting stories of pagan gods, and thus might know more details about Yoitsu's destruction by the Moon-Eating Bear.
They arrive at Tereo and visit the church priest about the whereabouts of the abbey. The priest is a young staunch girl named Elsa, who upon hearing talk about an abbey decides outright to be of no help to them.
After spending the night there, Lawrence concludes on some mysteries surrounding the village.
*The villages turn a blind eye to the church, instead worshipping a Norse snake god.
*The villages seem wealthy, but do not work.
*The abbey that is suppose to be in the village is never talked about.
*The villages talk about how much gratitude they owe to the late priest who died over the summer.
Lawrence's practiced merchant's eye discerns that there must be a trade arrangement between Tereo and the larger Enberch, which is astonishingly favorable to Tereo, probably thanks to the late priest.
Lawrence decides to visit the miller, a young man who seems to be in a relationship with Elsa. He does this as a way to access Elsa, and sure enough, after visiting her again she seems to accept them inside the church for a talk. However this talk comes to no conclusions, with Elsa heavily suspecting them of being spies from Enburch. Lawrence and Holo take drastic measures and have Holo show her her wolf ears and tail. Elsa faints. This gives Holo time to establish that this church is actually the abbey they are looking for.
When Elsa wakes up, they establish the facts that Lawrence's assumptions about the village were correct, and that the town of Enberch would send in an angry mob in if they find out the Tereo's church is in actual fact an abbey (a place of solitary worship rather than a place of teaching about god like a church is). Enburch would deem the village as an official place of worship to the Norse religion, which would need to be squashed by Christianity.
Having proven to Elsa that they are not from Enburch, they are given access to a secret underground room that the late priest used for collecting his works on Norse tails.
Lawrence and Holo banter like a married couple whilst reading stories of Norse gods. Holo falls asleep on his lap and a little while later he finds a whole novel dedicated to the Moon-Eating Bear. Just as he is about to wake her up, he hears the sound of a horse arriving in the village.
This visitor is a messenger from Enburch. He informs the village elder of a death in Enburch, caused from the wheat bought from the village.
Holo reads the novel and finds out that Yoitsu was devastated by the bear spirit, with Holos wolf friends most probably retreating and running away during the attack.
When Lawrence learns of the news it means big trouble for him and Holo. The villages' wheat would surly be returned, bankrupting them. Blame would be placed upon the visitors, and if not them, then Elsa and her boyfriend the miller, who also is in charge of the taxes for the village.
The only way out of the situation is to run. Holo and Lawrence decide to run away with Elsa and her boyfriend Evan.
They are trapped inside the church/abbey with an angry mob forming outside. Elsa mentions that Father Franz (the late priest) once told her about an escape route located from the underground room. Upon investigation Lawrence knocks on one of the walls which seems to be hollow. They tear it down which reveals a circular shaped tunnel. they walk down it, which twists and turns out to an expanded cave and cliff face looking out to the country. Elsa explains this cave is sacred to the villages, as they believe it to be where their snake god resides. Given the circumstances regarding these norse 'gods', Lawrence and Holo alike believe it to have once been a tunnel of such a serpent spirit, and that the room under the abbey was probably built in the existing tunnel.
Holo turns into her wolf form. The other three climb abroad and they run off to Enburch (they need directions to Holo's home town of Yoitsu). Half way there they have to stop as they notice a caravan of people from Enburch making their way to the village with the returned wheat. Elsa decides against running away and starts to walk back. Evan follows.
Wolf form Holo breaks down in emotion. She sees herself in Elsa, one who would never back down to save her village despite the odds. She turns into her human form again and breaks down on Lawrence. She's sad that she never had the chance to protect her home.
During this talk Holo reveals that only a miracle would save the village now. Lawrence thinks about such a miracle and she catches wind. She takes one wheat grain out of her pouch, and using her power, makes it grow and mature in her hand. They come up with a plan and head back, catching up with Elsa and Evan.
The caravan finally arrives in the village and demands payment, which they simply dont have. The villages are accused as heretics and being led by the devil. Just as things are about to turn ugly, Lawrence, Holo, Elsa and Evan arrive. They accuse Enburch as being unfair, and that god will show them a miracle that their village of Tereo did no wrong. Holo uses her powers to make every seed in the returned wheat grow and expand into new plants, maturing and forming seeds once more (in affect quadrupling the amount that was there before). With everyone dumfounded, Elsa uses this opportunity to make demands on the people from Enburch.
In the end it turns out that Enburch came up with their plan ever since Lawrence tried to sell his wheat with them. They needed an excuse to screw Tereo over, and Lawrence was going to face the brunt of it, and most probably killed in the process.
Because the wheat could not be sold in Enburch, Lawrence teaches the villages about how to make cookies using it. These could then be sold in Enburch. Apparently the recipe is well known in the South but not in the North.
Elsa gets the respect she deserves from the residents, some even start turning up for church ever since witnessing the 'miracle'.
Elsa gets closure on what religion she believes as well, with the Norse spirits being created under the one true god. She's also open to accepting other religions as well.
---
This novel was not adapted into the anime :(
I love Lawrences and Holos banter. He seems to be a lot wiser now and it comes across in their banter, which she loves. As for their relationship, things got interesting as they were reading the books in the underground room. He asked her what will become of their relationship once they reach Yoitsu, of which she replies 'I know not' and then they act melancholy and needy around each other. Awwwww. It seems to make sense for them not to become a couple at this point. They have only known each other for about 2 months, so just give it some time.
I rate this novel 10-10 once again. This series can do no wrong.
 | ||
| "However, what will you do after we reach your home" "I know not" |
Despite apparently having no readers, I would like to point out that I'm not very trusting over reviewers. I'm a skeptical reader and would rather listen to the voice of many than the detailed reviews of the one individual. As such, I produce reviews with more emphasis focused on the synopsis than what I think of it. It doesn't matter 'what I think'. It matters what YOU think. By detailing out the story, hopefully you, the reader, will make your own conclusions on whether its a good storyline. Just because I liked it doesn't mean you will. I'm here to give you the run down if you want to know the story without reading it, maybe as your easiest option of knowing the story without buying it, or for those that watched the anime and are curious as to what happens next.
Having said this I would like to know if my writing style is too strange. So please drop me a comment.
Sunday, 20 January 2013
Spice and Wolf- novel 3
*SPOILERS AHEAD*
This novel covered the first half of the second season of the anime.
Lawrence and Holo travel to Kumerson, where a pagan festival is taking place. Upon arrival, they meet Fermi Amati, a young merchant and Lawrence's fellow guild member. Amati, who seems smitten with Holo, helps them get a room in the trading company, where Holo drinks too much on the first night and has a hangover the following morning, during which Lawrence sells the nails in his cart to his friend Mark. That night, Lawrence asks Holo a few questions about towns neighboring Yoitsu and ascertains that it will probably take another year or two to reach it. Lawrence suggests that they can split up once they reach the town of Niohira, since it would only take Holo two days to reach Yoitsu from there, but he quickly regrets his lack of tact.
Instead of taking Holo to the festival as planned, Lawrence is taken by fellow merchant Batos to meet Dianna Rubens, an alchemist, to learn more about Yoitsu. She tells Lawrence of a legend about the bear that destroyed Yoitsu and also of a large wolf near the town of Renos who called herself Holo of Yoitsu. Later when sharing a drink with Mark, Lawrence becomes jealous of Amati, fearing he may be trying to steal Holo away from him. When they both return to the inn, Holo reveals how she lied to Amati, telling him she travels with Lawrence because she owes him a large debt. She also recounts how Amati and a crowd of other festival-goers haggled over pieces of pyrite, greatly inflating their price.
In front of the Merchant Guild, Amati challenges Lawrence, proclaiming he will pay for Holo's falsified debt of 1,000 silver coins and then propose to her, certain that she will leave Lawrence. Lawrence researches Amati, discovering that his plan to pay back the debt relies on the sale of pyrite. Back at the inn, Holo discovers and reads a letter for Lawrence containing an explanation of the legend about the bear that destroyed Yoitsu. When Lawrence returns, she claims that he knew Yoitsu was destroyed the entire time and he has now grown tired of her. Her fit of rage prompts Lawrence to leave the inn.
Lawrence realizes that he has to drop the price of pyrite or risk losing Holo to Amati. After receiving the information on Amati's assets, Lawrence finds Amati and proposes a deal based on credit (essentially, a naked short on pyrite), which will result in profit for Amati if the price of pyrite rises or losses if the price of pyrite falls. Amati accepts the deal after Lawrence appeals to his chivalry and causes him to doubt that Holo will agree to his marriage proposal. Unable to enlist Mark's help to purchase the pyrite necessary to pull off the deal, Lawrence turns to the alchemists in the belief that they should have a large amount of pyrite that he can purchase.
To gain access to the alchemists' quarter, Lawrence asks Batos for a password to meet Dianna. Upon his arrival, Lawrence is told that the pyrite has already been sold on credit. Dianna, however, agrees to sell Lawrence pyrite instead and tells him that she will handle negotiations and contact him upon their completion. Just before he leaves, he asks her if there are stories of pagan gods and humans becoming lovers. She replies that there are plenty, then wishes him good luck as she sees him off. The next morning, Lawrence goes to the exchange with Amati and receives fourteen gold coins, equivalent to 300 silver coins, in accordance with their deal. The price of pyrite continues rising, worrying Lawrence.
Lawrence participates in the pyrite market, selling small quantities several times to combat the rapidly rising prices, but to no avail. Lawrence's original plan falls through when Dianna's messenger informs him that the negotiations did not go as planned. In despair, Lawrence all but gives up before he is spurred on by Mark's apprentice, Landt. When Lawrence goes to sell his remaining pyrite, Holo also sells a large bag purchased from Dianna, revealing that she was attempting to help Lawrence from the beginning. The market quickly turns to selling, dropping the price of pyrite and causing Amati huge losses. He fails to fulfill his portion of his challenge to Lawrence and gives up his marriage proposal to Holo as a result. Holo and Lawrence talk things through. She was the one who got to Dianna before Lawrence did, and was even hiding in the room when he called on her the second time. She tells him that Dianna is a god herself, one of a giant bird. She then reveals that she even overheard him when he asked her whether there are stories of pagan gods mating with humans. She tells him that if he truly feels that way towards her, she would accept him.
---
This was an unbelievably moving story. The ups and downs of Lawrence and Holo's relationship in this story was just pure win. In the end you really feel that they have moved much closer to each other. Each realise that they will eventually fall in each others arms, yet feel like the timing is too soon. I have absolutely no idea about relationships, but this totally feels like one of most realistic romances ever told. I also feel like the hardships told in this story was the repercussions of not arguing with your other half. I had no idea arguing was this important in a relationship! 10-10 yet again.
This novel covered the first half of the second season of the anime.
Lawrence and Holo travel to Kumerson, where a pagan festival is taking place. Upon arrival, they meet Fermi Amati, a young merchant and Lawrence's fellow guild member. Amati, who seems smitten with Holo, helps them get a room in the trading company, where Holo drinks too much on the first night and has a hangover the following morning, during which Lawrence sells the nails in his cart to his friend Mark. That night, Lawrence asks Holo a few questions about towns neighboring Yoitsu and ascertains that it will probably take another year or two to reach it. Lawrence suggests that they can split up once they reach the town of Niohira, since it would only take Holo two days to reach Yoitsu from there, but he quickly regrets his lack of tact.Instead of taking Holo to the festival as planned, Lawrence is taken by fellow merchant Batos to meet Dianna Rubens, an alchemist, to learn more about Yoitsu. She tells Lawrence of a legend about the bear that destroyed Yoitsu and also of a large wolf near the town of Renos who called herself Holo of Yoitsu. Later when sharing a drink with Mark, Lawrence becomes jealous of Amati, fearing he may be trying to steal Holo away from him. When they both return to the inn, Holo reveals how she lied to Amati, telling him she travels with Lawrence because she owes him a large debt. She also recounts how Amati and a crowd of other festival-goers haggled over pieces of pyrite, greatly inflating their price.
In front of the Merchant Guild, Amati challenges Lawrence, proclaiming he will pay for Holo's falsified debt of 1,000 silver coins and then propose to her, certain that she will leave Lawrence. Lawrence researches Amati, discovering that his plan to pay back the debt relies on the sale of pyrite. Back at the inn, Holo discovers and reads a letter for Lawrence containing an explanation of the legend about the bear that destroyed Yoitsu. When Lawrence returns, she claims that he knew Yoitsu was destroyed the entire time and he has now grown tired of her. Her fit of rage prompts Lawrence to leave the inn.
Lawrence realizes that he has to drop the price of pyrite or risk losing Holo to Amati. After receiving the information on Amati's assets, Lawrence finds Amati and proposes a deal based on credit (essentially, a naked short on pyrite), which will result in profit for Amati if the price of pyrite rises or losses if the price of pyrite falls. Amati accepts the deal after Lawrence appeals to his chivalry and causes him to doubt that Holo will agree to his marriage proposal. Unable to enlist Mark's help to purchase the pyrite necessary to pull off the deal, Lawrence turns to the alchemists in the belief that they should have a large amount of pyrite that he can purchase.
To gain access to the alchemists' quarter, Lawrence asks Batos for a password to meet Dianna. Upon his arrival, Lawrence is told that the pyrite has already been sold on credit. Dianna, however, agrees to sell Lawrence pyrite instead and tells him that she will handle negotiations and contact him upon their completion. Just before he leaves, he asks her if there are stories of pagan gods and humans becoming lovers. She replies that there are plenty, then wishes him good luck as she sees him off. The next morning, Lawrence goes to the exchange with Amati and receives fourteen gold coins, equivalent to 300 silver coins, in accordance with their deal. The price of pyrite continues rising, worrying Lawrence.
 |
| Holo, Amati and Lawrence |
Lawrence participates in the pyrite market, selling small quantities several times to combat the rapidly rising prices, but to no avail. Lawrence's original plan falls through when Dianna's messenger informs him that the negotiations did not go as planned. In despair, Lawrence all but gives up before he is spurred on by Mark's apprentice, Landt. When Lawrence goes to sell his remaining pyrite, Holo also sells a large bag purchased from Dianna, revealing that she was attempting to help Lawrence from the beginning. The market quickly turns to selling, dropping the price of pyrite and causing Amati huge losses. He fails to fulfill his portion of his challenge to Lawrence and gives up his marriage proposal to Holo as a result. Holo and Lawrence talk things through. She was the one who got to Dianna before Lawrence did, and was even hiding in the room when he called on her the second time. She tells him that Dianna is a god herself, one of a giant bird. She then reveals that she even overheard him when he asked her whether there are stories of pagan gods mating with humans. She tells him that if he truly feels that way towards her, she would accept him.
---
This was an unbelievably moving story. The ups and downs of Lawrence and Holo's relationship in this story was just pure win. In the end you really feel that they have moved much closer to each other. Each realise that they will eventually fall in each others arms, yet feel like the timing is too soon. I have absolutely no idea about relationships, but this totally feels like one of most realistic romances ever told. I also feel like the hardships told in this story was the repercussions of not arguing with your other half. I had no idea arguing was this important in a relationship! 10-10 yet again.
Thursday, 20 December 2012
My Top 10 Charts as of end of 2012
Anime series:
01. Samurai Champloo
02: Psalms of Planets Eureka seveN
03: His and Her Circumstances / Kare Kano (then into manga vols 8+)
04: Cowboy Bebop
05: Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex
06: Fullmetal Alchemist (2nd TV series universe)
07: Cardcaptor Sakura
08: Ergo Proxy
09: Trigun
10: Macross Frontier
Manga or Japanese novel series:
01: Haruhi Suzumiya (novel series)
02: Spice and Wolf (novel series)
03: Nagasarete Airantou
04: Kare Kano
05: Love Hina
06: Excel Saga
07: Oh My Goddess!
08: Detroit Metal City
09: Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World (Murakami novel)
10: Tetralogy of the Rat (Murakami novel series)
Anime movie series:
01: Whisper of the Heart
02: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
03: Kiki’s Delivery Service
04: My Neighbour Totoro
05: Akira
06: Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea
07: Evangelion + Petit Eva ~Evangelion@School~
08: Tokyo Godfathers
09: Princess Mononoke
10: Howls Moving Castle
Friday, 14 December 2012
The Indignation of Haruhi Suzumiya- novel 8- Wandering Shadow
*MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD*
Wandering Shadow- the second (and last) short story of "The Indignation of Haruhi Suzumiya" (novel 8).
Set in early March 2004.
A girl named Sakanaka visits the SOS Brigade as their second client. She is a girl from class 1-5, the same class as Haruhi and Kyon. Her problem is that she believes there is a ghost haunting her neighbourhood, that causes the dogs that enter a certain area to act scared, and of which eventually fall sick.
Haruhi forces the shrine maiden costume on Mikuru and they all head off to Sakanaka's house via the local train. Sakanaka retrieves her dog, a West Highland White Terrier, and they all set off on a dog walk. Haruhi and Mikuru make so much fuss over the dog its almost like they have forgotten about the objective. They near the river when the dog stops in its tracks. Sakanaka explains that this is as far as he will walk, and its been this way for a week, and not just for her dog, but for other dogs too. Koizumi jots their position down on a map, then decides the group should walk back and approach the river side from another street. He then jots down their position yet again once the dog stop walking. They repeat this process one more time. The three points on the map form a curve, which Haruhi then deducts must form a circle which then indicates the area that dogs do not like. Sakanaka walks her dog home, whilst the SOS Brigade go off to investigate the centre point of the circle, which turns out to be near the row of cherry trees and the bench where Mikuru first admitted to Kyon who she really was, nearly a year ago.
Haruhi forces the shrine maiden dressed Mikuru to recite Buddhist incantations on the area. However they are interrupted by a jogger with his dog who seems unaffected by the area. Haruhi forces Kyon to explain who they are and what they are doing, and the guy explains that his dog too didn't want to enter the area about a week ago, but 3 days ago he pushed his dog to walk in and the dog felt OK after a while.
The SOS brigade give up, coming to the conclusion that whatever was in the area may still be scaring these dogs, but thats only because of whatever was there a week ago.
The case is deemed as unexplained until a few days later when Sakanaka didn't show up at school. Having phoned her, Haruhi informs the others that Sakanaka's dog fell ill and that the vets dont know whats wrong.
They visit Sakanaka's house once more. Yuki inspects the sick dog but pretends not to know whats wrong in front of Haruhi. She later tells Kyon that she would be able to sort it out with the help of Shamisen, his cat. She explains that there are damaged data lifeforms in the riverside area, and they are infecting dogs in order to expand their own memory capacities.
The next day the SOS Brigade visit the Sakanaka household once more, this time with Shamisen. Koizumi also brings along what he calls 'window dressing' to avoid alerting Haruhi to the supernatural; a stereo playing calm music, incense, and lastly the curtains must be drawn. This is to make Yuki's work seem like some sort of ancient Chinese or folk ritual healing technique that she once stubbled upon in a book. Another sick dog from a few doors down is present for the healing technique. Yuki speaks in code without the others being able to see her or hear her, which freezes the data lifeforms. She then transfers them into Shamisen. Any living being would have sufficed, but Yuki chose Shamisen because if anything went wrong, she would be able to deal with the situation better than if say one of them acted as the host.
The dogs recover and everyone is happy.
Later Kyon wonders if the cave cricket in "Mystérique Sign" and the data lifeforms can be attributed to Haruhi. He also wonders if in the ancient past, these data lifeforms attached themselves onto humans, which would later make them an intelligent species. Kyon also asks Yuki if humans revert to data lifeforms when they die. She struggles on how to answer him and instead replies "thats classified". Kyon then wonders if she pulled her first joke.
Koizumi did not do a proper clean up job when explaining to Haruhi what happened, and therefore she is still convinced there is a ghost in the area by the river. She decides the SOS Brigade should conduct a ghost hunt at night using cameras in a few days time.
---
7-10. The author well and truly put the nail in the coffin of Emiri Kimidori being a legitimate client for the SOS Brigade. So naturally the next story should be about their next customer, yet first legitimate client.
Thinking about it, this is the second time Haruhi has been present throughout a supernatural event. The first time was getting trapped in a mansion on the snowy mountain.
Its a shame White Day wasn't covered in this short story, but maybe it will be in the next.
Up next: The Dissociation.
Click here for easy navigation around my Haruhi articles
Set in early March 2004.
A girl named Sakanaka visits the SOS Brigade as their second client. She is a girl from class 1-5, the same class as Haruhi and Kyon. Her problem is that she believes there is a ghost haunting her neighbourhood, that causes the dogs that enter a certain area to act scared, and of which eventually fall sick.
Haruhi forces the shrine maiden dressed Mikuru to recite Buddhist incantations on the area. However they are interrupted by a jogger with his dog who seems unaffected by the area. Haruhi forces Kyon to explain who they are and what they are doing, and the guy explains that his dog too didn't want to enter the area about a week ago, but 3 days ago he pushed his dog to walk in and the dog felt OK after a while.The SOS brigade give up, coming to the conclusion that whatever was in the area may still be scaring these dogs, but thats only because of whatever was there a week ago.
The case is deemed as unexplained until a few days later when Sakanaka didn't show up at school. Having phoned her, Haruhi informs the others that Sakanaka's dog fell ill and that the vets dont know whats wrong.
They visit Sakanaka's house once more. Yuki inspects the sick dog but pretends not to know whats wrong in front of Haruhi. She later tells Kyon that she would be able to sort it out with the help of Shamisen, his cat. She explains that there are damaged data lifeforms in the riverside area, and they are infecting dogs in order to expand their own memory capacities.
The dogs recover and everyone is happy.
Later Kyon wonders if the cave cricket in "Mystérique Sign" and the data lifeforms can be attributed to Haruhi. He also wonders if in the ancient past, these data lifeforms attached themselves onto humans, which would later make them an intelligent species. Kyon also asks Yuki if humans revert to data lifeforms when they die. She struggles on how to answer him and instead replies "thats classified". Kyon then wonders if she pulled her first joke.
Koizumi did not do a proper clean up job when explaining to Haruhi what happened, and therefore she is still convinced there is a ghost in the area by the river. She decides the SOS Brigade should conduct a ghost hunt at night using cameras in a few days time.
---
7-10. The author well and truly put the nail in the coffin of Emiri Kimidori being a legitimate client for the SOS Brigade. So naturally the next story should be about their next customer, yet first legitimate client.
Thinking about it, this is the second time Haruhi has been present throughout a supernatural event. The first time was getting trapped in a mansion on the snowy mountain.
Its a shame White Day wasn't covered in this short story, but maybe it will be in the next.
Up next: The Dissociation.
Click here for easy navigation around my Haruhi articles
 |
| I've caught up with the Haruhi novels for now. The next volume should be released next June! |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)