(UPDATE: Another report is in, suggesting that this block is not in response to content but in response to attacks being launched. Time will tell who is right; there have been confirmations that AT&T is blocking /b/, but no specifics as to why.

UPDATE 2: AT&T has issued a statement that seems to confirm this. So Code Green after all, which is good to hear, although they could have resolved this matter a lot earlier if they had gone out and explained why a bit earlier.

p.s. I like how Sankaku gets to pretend it was right all along. Enjoy looking down on the rest of us.)

Well, it’s pretty much as it says. I haven’t seen any posts around the otakusphere yet regarding this (although Twitter is alight) so I figure I’ll bring it up; I didn’t know myself for quite a while, but I think it’s something that’s noteworthy.

Here’s what’s been reported so far, which is probably as close to straight facts as you will get (my opinion follows afterward), if you can’t confirm yourself (i.e. you don’t use AT&T):

• Most users who use AT&T for internet access cannot access /b/ and /r9k/. Other 4chan boards are still accessible.
• The block is caused by AT&T dropping the packets within its own network, making it seem like the website is simply inaccessible.

This should be a very familiar and a very important issue to anime fans as well; no matter your opinion on /b/ or 4chan, we’ve been through this mess with Equality Now and the eroge IP bannings – or more correctly, we’re still going through that mess – and this move by AT&T isn’t much different, except for the fact that they’re actually taking action. And in blunt form, too.

I’m a proponent of free speech, so of course such a thing is alarming to me – especially if you consider a slippery slope argument (ye olde ‘first they came for /b/, but I didn’t speak up…’), the validity of which, I cannot say … but I don’t think this kind of action is right.

The simplest way to put it is, it doesn’t matter what kind of content /b/ has, whether I support it or don’t support it, whether I like it or don’t like it, it’s still my choice whether I want to expose myself to it or not.

Which is why something like this is, to understate it, an issue. Shouldn’t you stand up for your rights too?

Of course, the argument becomes tricky as it can easily be countered that /b/ is perhaps a shady place to be (on a good day), especially when it falls into legal territory; but at the least, the way in which AT&T is enforcing this block (making it look like it is merely a connection problem) seems to be equally shady tactics; as one commenter said, if AT&T had redirected to some sort of  ‘this site is blocked’ page, it would be news in every paper and TV show.

Instead, AT&T is just trying to slide the issue past the public. We should show them that we aren’t that blind.

Encyclopedia Dramatica provides some contact info for you to voice your opinion to:
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-CCY

For a new project I’m working on that I may or may not see to completion. Don’t worry about naming stuff I have or haven’t seen, it’s all the same. Anime that contain love triangles, but not full-blown harems (i.e. True Tears, KimiKiss, etc) are OK also.

Noblesse oblige. Please continue being a source of data, hits, and conversation.

-CCY

For sad girls in snow,
and sickly girls in summer.

For the slaves who overthrew the emperor,
and the geniuses who dove into the darkness.

For the melting of the line (and the heart) between gar and moe,
and the line between boy and girl.

For the fleeting memory of thirteen hours,
and for the twisted eternity of June 1983.

For the slow falling of cherry blossom petals in spring,
and the rapid leaping of girls through time.

For the Seven Nights which can cut through fate,
to the right eye which can reshape it.

For cans of tomato juice,
vanilla ice cream,
and chips with honey and mayonnaise.

For hopping,
stepping,
jumping,
stellar spinning,
Master Sparking,
and RELEASEing.

(For megane,
and F***ING HAND HOLDING!)

For the tears that were taken away,
for the two that sailed off on the boat into the sunset,
for the tiger and the dragon,
for everybody and everything else that I just couldn’t mention,

Thank you, anime.
(And thank you, readers.)

It’s been a wonderful two years blogging about you.
I hope I can continue to do the same for a long time to come.

-CCY

I mean, I’ve heard girls get trained in self-defense now, but this is ridiculous. Concealed weapons law anyone?

But what’s left of my stabbified, scorched body reminds you:
Remember, it’s not as bad as it seems. Real girls may throw sticks and stones, and their words may hurt you, but at least you’re not getting disemboweled and vaporized.

Or something.

Man, that’s a horrible moral of the story. Here’s my reaction to it (as well as my reaction to realizing how hard it is to stage one of these, I bow to Lawson and the like):

Well, I hope that amused you anyway. I’m in good spirits this Feburary of 14th. No reason not to be.

-CCY who
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(P.S. Patchy > Marisa and Hanyuu >= Rika > Rena, but I digress and couldn’t find good images)

As you remember, I was more than non-trivially fervent about J-Saimoe this past fall, and with the kicking into gear of the International Saimoe League over the last few weeks with their preliminary rounds, I’ve got Write a Lot of Overanalytical Stuff Over Mostly Useless Popularity (But Really Moe, Not Poularity) Contests fever all over again.

So much, in fact, that I figure bi-daily coverage of Saimoe-related substance would sort of overwhelm my normal, lethargic (but energy-filled when it counts) blog-posting schedule.

I thought what I’d do was, I’d pretend I’m one of those Saimoe-blogger people.

So today I bring you Saimoe is very serious! (the Japanese is failing my blog for some reason), my side-blog devoted to Saimoe, ISML, and whatever other moe event coverage, complete with results, analysis, and crazed fanboy raving. Whether you’re into moe contest, want to learn, or are just really bored and need something new by me to read, it’s your source.

There doesn’t seem to be a lot of non-forum places to talk about these kinds of things, so I figure I’ll try to become a leader in this category. At least for now. So give it some love, just as if it were this blog.

Until then, I’ve just published my third post there, so I feel like I deserve to pass out for a bit.

-CCY

My most ambitious blogging project from last year returns with enthusiasm, and I find myself at quite the loss for words on how to hype it.

I could just go the typical overdramatic style, embellishing the Twelve Days Project with all the flair and intensity of your average superhero movie, replete with punchy, choral music and lots of cuts to black and angsty voiceovers, but somehow, that doesn’t seem to fit something like this.

Even though dramatization and plenty of emotion is something that would definitely fit it, somehow I imagine the Twelve Days Project as something that would come out of a slice-of-life more, almost Aria-esque in its raw warm-fuzzy-ness.

This is because the Twelve Days Project is composed of more than a fair bit of nostalgia; it’s an annual tradition I decided to pioneer last year, as a nostalgic look back upon a year well spent on anime. Based around the traditional Twelve Days of Christmas celebration, Twelve Moments of Anime is a countdown of some of our most loved or remembered anime moments over the last year.

I say our, because, as with last year with the Anime Blogging Coalition, I’m extending an invitation to everyone in the otakusphere to count down with me, if only for a few days, and remember some of the moments that help make anime what it is today.

Amidst all the dreariness of companies collapsing and season previews sucking, and Akasaka episode after Akasaka episode, it’s quite a refreshing feeling to look back on all the times that really made us glad to be anime fans. Because there is a heart of gold buried beneath it all, and it’s that feeling that I wish to pull out and treasure.

So, in short:
December 14th to Christmas Day (the 25th).
Twelve moments in anime, one a day.
Let’s join in a display of enthusiasm and spirit~

It doesn’t have to be anime from this year. (Just as long as you watched it this year, is my guideline.) It doesn’t even have be a particularly ‘good’ moment. Whatever happens to evoke emotion in you, that was really memorable … that’s what I’m looking for.

Those moments that stick with you, through your troubled times and your happy times, that really make that passion within you burn…

-CCY

Ironically, I have yet to finish either anime I have pictured in this post.

Well, I may not be trying to feed turkey to my computer monitor, but I’m still having a very anime Thanksgiving here, in my dorm room, typing up a sequel to last year’s post, giving a little bit of love back to some of the groups and people making the English anime fandom so accessible to the less Japanese-inclined of us.

There have been a surprising amount of Thanksgiving posts around the otakusphere, and I’m glad to see some spirit and good feelings floating around. I shall just contribute a little bit more to that enthusiasm, so here’s some thanks to …

OTL, the ones in charge in supplying all us Kanon addicts with absolute top-notch quality releases of the audio dramas, edited up to look like visual novels. It’s outstanding, and, more importantly, full of Shiori.

NDT, because apparently they’re still alive, and still working to also help satiate the mad frothing passion of the Kanon fandom by translating the original visual novel. Keep pushing~!

mirror moon, for continuing to make accessible some of the most confusing (i.e. Nasu) yet enrapturing writing out there, in the form of Type-Moon visual novels and games. They’ve done an absolutely monmentual job with translating Tsukihime, Kagetsu Tohya, Fate/Stay Night and WHAT’S THIS: the Melty Blood set of games were all fully translated today. Go, go, go!

BSS, for releasing relatively quick and relatively slick subs for perhaps less-popular but still high-quality shows, such as Kure-nai, Kimikiss, and Golgo 13.

The Triad, because, even if they do troll like a crazy mofo, they still sub things that no one else really wanted or cared to do, like Akagi and Kaiji. I wouldn’t be a crazy gambling addict with a pointy-nose fetish without them.

B2E, because The Triad are crazy trolling mofos and either refused to sub One Outs or decided to let someone else do it. Either way, B2E has been the one to pick up the most slack for the next superbly intense anime from Madhouse’s gambling anime team.

OOM Fansubs, because they subbed Mission-E, and I didn’t. I always appreciate the fansubbing groups who decide to sub the underdog anime; every one should have a fair chance, and groups like OOM make it possible. And Mission-E is quite enjoyable. Seriously.

Eclipse, because they’re crazy enough to keep releasing quality fansubs for Akasaka, even if the show is rather bland and cookie-cutter (i.e. great to mock). In addition, they also team up to help sub many other quality, enjoyable shows. I still like Index, don’t sue me.

Static-Subs, because they team up with Eclipse to help sub quality, enjoyable shows. I’m still trying to like Clannad After Story, don’t sue me.

Menclave, because maybe if I give them enough love, they’ll release ef ~a tale of melodies~ faster.

m.3.3.w, because they’ve grown from a small speed-subbing group to an absolute flat-out quality fansubbing machine, translating a variety of anime with exceptional quality and care that should make any fan happy. They’re the main piece in my fansub group harem.

And of course, all the other fansub groups that I haven’t mentioned that help out in some way to do a great service for the English-speaking anime community. Everyone out there, who’s even translated just a little bit, thanks for making this fandom possible.

Additionally, let me give a shout-out to all the anibloggers out there, on behalf of a fellow reader and writer, for putting such hard work into their writing and their community. I know it’s not easy, and often a very tough ‘job’ at times, but some of the discussions and contemplations generated, are really inspiring and intriguing. Keep being awesome, everyone.

Do note that I’m only listing a sample of blogs out there (namely, those on my RSS reader) – there’s more writers out there then I could probably link using every character in this post (yes, I did that with that phrase in the last paragraph), and I’m discovering new and exciting bloggers every day. Anime Nano and the Animeblogger.net Antenna work wonders for that. Get out there and enjoy your community~!

Naturally, to all the animation studios in Japan putting together some top-quality (or at least entertaining, in one way or another) work; from what I’ve heard, the animators themselves don’t get half as much love – or pay – as they should. They’ll probably never end up at this corner of the internet, but let my good wishes reach you somehow…

Finally, I couldn’t end this post without thanking all of you readers, for letting me indulge myself in some occasionally serious, occasionally ridiculous, always verbose anime discussion on this blog. I’ve been having a lot of fun meeting new people and having interesting flame wars discussions – and as a certain kouhai may note, giving birth to increasingly implausible ideas.

So I hope everyone else is enjoying Thanksgiving, if not with their real-life family, with their internet family, their waifu (2D or 3D), or whatever may apply. And may these warm feelings last through the rest of the year…

-CCY

Over a dozen people have fought for the heart of America’s people in grueling match after match, slowly being pared down to just two who will fight to take home the crown of SaiAmerica 2008 … er … president.

You may not think they are the best choices, but in the end a choice still has to be made, and this time it’s between:

John McCain
R Bracket Champion
(def. Huckabee and Romney 1575-278-271)

-VS-

Barack Obama
D Bracket Champion
(def. Clinton and Edwards 2201-1896-6)

Perhaps not as close a final as ones we’ve seen in recent memory, but it’s easily one that could flip either way depending on how the crowd votes.

Obama has arguably been the stronger contender over the last few matches, rallying huge fan support to defeat Clinton in a high-stakes, huge-vote-total match. By comparison, McCain has had a relatively quiet time, which could work for or against him.

The McCain fanbase is relatively unified, as the appeal of ‘old white guy’ has been strong as it typically is every SaiAmerica, but it’s quickly being sapped by Obama’s character point of ‘change’, which many detractors are quickly labeling as false and pandering.

Nevertheless, the fanbase is eating up ‘change’ and it has proven to be one of the powerhouses of this tournament, dominating other traits such as ‘mavericky’ or ‘woman’.

However, this popularity comes at a price, though, and Obama has certainly earned many enemies. Aside from the trolls who are quick to call him ‘pandering’ or ‘black’, his stunningly close victory over Clinton in the semi-finals is likely to earn him some hate votes in the finals from the crowd who banked on ‘feminist’ appeal.

Still, the raw numbers are looking good in favor of Obama, whose more mainstream appeal should indicate a victory. However, the strategic and hate votes here will probably come into play quite strongly and leave McCain the door for an upset.

In addition, there are likely to be many votes of no confidence as well, cast for characters not in the running per se, as a sign of disgust with the final two contenders; whether the amount of these will become greater than the difference, anyone can guess.

We’ve seen many upsets so far, for example the SaiAmerica twice removed, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see another one in a tournament like this with such a wide, varied fanbase participating.

In any case, I can only hope the vote totals will be higher than that of previous matches, so please, take some time out and vote. It’s a simple process, and while you do have to wait a bit to cast your vote and the process is mildly inconvenient, it’s a very important match.

After all, it’s not a simple matter of moe or death, as my parody-esque coverage may hint. If you live in America, this is one of the most important decisions you’ll make this year, and even the reality-detached (occasionally) otakusphere knows it.

This isn’t a popularity tournament. This is the leader of a powerhouse of the real world (for better or worse, so don’t accuse me of bias, please). So please, vote. I don’t mind if you use your vote for McCain, or Obama, or some third party candidate – all that matters is that you use it. It’s your right – exercise it. Express yourself.

And also, on a sidenote, please, be respectful. Obama and McCain are both people. They are not trying to destroy the world as we know it. Stop arguing like they are such. We’re trying to find the best choice, not the less-worse one.

Also, Kagami won SaiMoe 2008. Not who I would have chosen, but I’m not the mainstream otaku in SaiMoe. Ah well.

-CCY

(Well, at least there’s no fake votes in the real world…)

Ja**n M**o who now?

About time I lived up to my name here at Mega Megane Moe (lit. I like glasses a damn lot) by providing an easy-to-use compendium slash ranking of all the people with glasses that I know from modern anime. Ever wanted to watch an anime just for the cute characters with glasses, while ignoring plot, character development, or anything else useful? Now you can!

But seriously, it is a little weak point of mine, so I don’t mind doing something silly and filler-ish like this. And, to one up any other people who might also do equivalent rankings on a not-at-all consistent basis, I’ve even included a little picture of each character for reference

And that’s not all! I don’t just cover the grace of anime fanboys ever, the holy meganekko (glasses girl), but also the glasses guys for the fangirls. Or for the guys who want a self-insertion fantasy. Or, for people who just like glasses, damnit.

Note that the qualifications for these rankings are simple: one, I’ve watched the show they’re from, and two, I remember their name. This means such characters as That One Classmate From Tokimeki Memorial With The Glasses That I Think Was Cute aren’t eligible. Additionally, they have to actually wear the glasses for a reasonable span of time, or, barring that, at least indicate that they should wear glasses. Thus, I can’t slot in Mai Kawasumi, who slapped on some specs for about 5 seconds in Kanon, into these rankings.

Finally, note that these rankings reflect somewhat on my enjoyment of the character but also on their glasses-worthiness as well. That is, even if a character is ranked relatively low, that’s not to say I don’t like them; sometimes that just means that I don’t think that the glasses are important to their character. Those who embody the spirit of meganekko will gain bonus points, similarly.

That said, 7 guys, 16 girls: let’s go.

Guys’ Division
7) Takeshi Tsujidou (sola)

Pros: Is badass; wields badass sword; has badass motives
Cons: Glasses are not badass

6) Nozomu Itoshiki (Zetsubou Sensei)

Pros: Hilarious yet very true observations on life; great catch phrase; varied harem
Cons: Glasses are kind of superfluous; harem is freaking scary

5) Hayato Ike (Shana)

Pros: Adorable – if I can use that word – and smart secondary character who fights for love
Cons: Inevitable loss to more important characters is saddening; not cool enough

4) Kairi Sanjou (Shugo Chara!)

Pros: Adorable – if I can use that word – and smart secondary character who fights for love
Cons: Inevitable loss to more important characters is saddening; hey I bet you’ve seen this before

3) Eriol Hiiragizawa (Cardcaptor Sakura)

Pros: Best glasses-glare evil look ever; wielded ‘just as planned’ before that phrase was invented; gets shipped with Tomoyo
Cons: Canon for Mizuki-sensei; actually an old guy with glasses’ reincarnation

2) Itsuki Midoriba (Shuffle)

Pros: Can double as a girl in Really? Really!; hangs around Mayumi; witty and dirty without being desperate; not a pathetic Harem Runner-Up
Cons: Can double as a girl in Really? Really!; lolipedofin

1) Shiki Tohno (Tsukihime)

Pros: The glasses actually do something; has two modes, pimp and badass; incredible harem
Cons: Freaky Nasu monologues; probably going to die one way or the other; I’m better with Kohaku in Melty Blood

Girls’ Division
16) Yomi Mizuhara (Azumanga)

Pros: Is from Azumanga Daioh; comedy personality is unaffected by glasses; lets me not worry about ranking anyone else last
Cons: Ergo really kind of useless for this list

15) Yui Narumi (Lucky Star)

Pros: Has green hair; is funny when drunk
Cons: Glasses are really kinda irrelevant; powerful Lucky Star competition

14) Tomoyo Sakagami (Clannad)

Pros: Key (or at least KyoAni) finally remembers that fanboys like glasses; is second best character in Clannad behind Nagisa
Cons: Doesn’t wear them; too cool to be demeaned by megane stereotype

13) Hikari (Haibane Renmei)

Pros: Glasses fitting of library job and mentality
Cons: Glasses do not contribute to religious allegory

12) Nanako Saitama (Da Capo S.S.)

Pros: Utilizes easy-to-use doujin-artist plus glasses equals awesome combo
Cons: So do two other characters; sounds like a character from Doujin Work; loses to Yoriko and Kotori

11) Ciel (Tsukihime)

Pros: Glasses go great with ‘cute senpai’ disguise
Cons: Actual kickass story prevents me from going moe-moe over silly minutiae like glasses

10) Nona Yuuki (Nanatsuiro Drops)

Pros: Has blue hair; was kind of tsundere-like
Cons: I still like Sumomo more; not to mention I’m addicted to Shugo Chara now

9) Ginko Murakami (Kure-nai)

Pros: Uses computer; well-played low-key crush on Shinkurou that isn’t typical
Cons: Never got any screentime

8) Harumi Fujiyoshi (Zetsubou Sensei)

Pros: Utilizes easy-to-use doujin-artist plus glasses equals awesome combo; is from Zetsubou Sensei
Cons: Description is copy-pasted

7) Margery Daw (Shana)

Pros: Slim glasses actually work for the mature woman look; can blow things up
Cons: Gets drunk a lot

6) Yuki Nagato (Haruhi)

Pros: Is Yuki Nagato for God’s sake; further explanation would indicate that you did not read this blog nor The Dissapearance of Haruhi Suzumiya
Cons: Forgets to reconstruct glasses

5) Aoi Oribe (Myself; Yourself)

Pros: Well-figured, contains many other traits known to cause moe, gives good love advice
Cons: Is Chiyo; doesn’t get screentime

4) Sakura Sae (sola)

Pros: Amusing mannerisms and style of speech; everyone else hates her so I feel cool
Cons: Still going for that goatee man

3) Chinami Ebihara (Code-E)

Pros: Is shy, clumsy, and wears glasses; yet still grows to be a strong (yet cute) character
Cons: Never gets subbed; wears a stupid looking suit in Mission-E

2) Hiyori Tamura (Lucky Star)

Pros: Way better than Konata in every department; great artist; some semblance of contact with reality
Cons: Still a silly fangirl

1) Miyuki Takara (Lucky Star)

Pros: List of traits taken from Otakusphere Dictionary of Moe Loan Words; underrated because everyone fanboys over Konata and Kagami; really smart and kind and cute and damn well everything
Cons: Probably a bit high on the otaku fantasy scale (but I don’t really care)

And there you have it with the first edition of the megane power rankings (which unfortunately is not trademarked yet). A bit dissatisfied with how small the ranks were for the megane, so maybe next time I’ll get to sorting harems or something. Either that, or someone needs to reccomend me some more anime with megane …

… Or maybe I’ll just go back to being relatively ’sane’ (although that entails squealing like a girl over ItaKiss among other things). Who knows.

-CCY
(The mop to pick yourself off the floor is in the closet on the right.)

(Un)fortunately, none of us bloggers will look like this

Well, now that Author’s linked it from his end, I might as well make an official page for it.

As mentioned before in previous posts, I am heading to Fanime, an anime convention in San Jose, Calfornia, this year in 2008. It’ll be my first time and I figured what the heck, let’s make a social-type event out of it, so we can put some faces to the flames … er … posts because I have no friends.

So I proposed a ani-blogger meeting at Fanime, and lo and behold I’ve got something resembling interest. Now you too can be trolled in person by shouta imouto lolikitsune, and be bombarded with the Kanon propaganda of…uh…me, and I imagine that Author will be there too, except you won’t see him because he’ll be on a open-air balcony somewhere sniping people.

Of course I digress and I’m just playing up the stereotypical images for fun, so, y’know, don’t kill me any more than you usually do.

But on topic here somewhere, here’s a little discussion page for any plans for a blogger meetup at Fanime. Frankly, I’m a teenager, I don’t plan things, and it’s my first time at Fanime, so it would probably just end up as a big group of people walking around the convention like any other group, except with more snarkiness and obscure references. But if there’s anything good that’s worth doing outside of the convention, like grabbing a meal (bah, food is for the weak) somewhere, let’s work something out.

Well, assuming we get a group that amounts to something. I don’t want to drag people out to Fanime just for one or two other people, especially when they’re quiet like me (at least, I hope I’m not going to turn into someone who runs around beating people with yaoi yuri paddles).

So yeah. I guess I’ll start camping on some IRC channels if anyone needs to discuss, I’m usually on #animebloggingcollective at Rizon. I suppose I should start hanging out in #animeblogger too, or wherever all the cool kids go.

-CCY