DYLAN the SINKING STAR

Right here: http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=Sword_Art_Online You can also find plenty of other light novel translations on that site.

I already started reading the fan translation of the SAO LNs but I'll definitely be purchasing it when it comes out here. Hopefully they start releasing the volumes in fairly short intervals because I've heard good things about everything after the anime. More light novel licenses are always welcome, especially if the anime isn't as good or doesn't adapt the full story.

Looks like there is going to be more to this arc than I originally thought, which can only be a good thing. I heard there's not going to be a new episode next week, instead they're airing a special preview for the Index movie which is coming out on home video in Japan. Sucks that we have to wait another week when this arc is just getting started, but when the movie is released hopefully it'll be fansubbed fairly soon so we can finally watch it!

I'm very curious to see where the filler arc goes. Hopefully it's at least fun to watch every week (Mikoto probably deserves some fun, too). I wonder if ITEM is going to be joining in on the summer vacation. Maybe some more cool esper fights? Also I heard the preview for the new opening and I'm excited to see that in action.

I'm kind of over Attack on Titan, to be honest. It is not bad by any means, they just kind of blew all of their "wow, wasn't expecting that" cards very early on. And now it feels like it's losing a lot of its initial momentum which made it so entertaining each week. It was cool at first, but until they show some lasting power then I'm going to continue to lose my interest. Has anyone read ahead in the manga? Does it start to pick up again soon? And we all know the dangers of hype. It's fun to get caught up in it but once you're in you realize that nothing ever really lives up to it.

At the point you're at there is no more slice-of-life (at least until the original arc, that is), just non-stop action and then 100% Sisters Arc. I think the next episode is the last episode of the Sisters Arc. I'm wondering how they will transition into the new arc and I'm also excited to see and hear the new opening. And yes, Index III. We are all patiently anxiously waiting.

I need to watch Baccano! sometime because I loved Durarara!! (it also had great characters and watching their back stories unfold was brilliant) which had the same anime staff and was based off a light novel series by the same author as Baccano!. If it's anything like Durarara!! then it should be good.

I have to get my TV monitor set up with cable (I don't watch TV). Not too sure about that 2 AM time slot but... whatever. Knowing me I'll probably be up anyways. I'm interested to see how the show stacks up since I was very inexperienced with anime when I first saw it. I remember liking it and being able to forgive its flaws; maybe that will be harder since I've seen better shows since then.

I have been pleasantly surprised each and every episode so far. You can tell J.C. Staff takes this franchise seriously and wants to do the best they possibly can. However, I am really hoping the original arc they came up with rounds out the season well. I don't mind a lighter atmosphere after all of the serious content lately, but I don't want it to be just pointless--it might be fun, but it will still be pointless--filler. I want there to be some sort of plot, no matter how mild it ends up being. Because it has been a fantastic season of Railgun and I don't want the quality to drop and end up ruining part of what made everything so great so far.

I thought the second season was much better. The first season felt like it was missing something and never made use of its potential and, in my opinion, the second season made up for that. I'm not sure it will be that much better for you if you hated the first season; it still has harem tendencies, but it is executed better. I also found Next to be funny, whereas the first season always felt like it was trying to be funny but never did a good job. Also, when Next tries to be serious it is a lot more convincing than its previous efforts, which were mediocre at best. Haganai Next was at least entertaining and fun for me. The first season was a bore...

I wasn't that disappointed with the first episode, but I do hope it gets better, too. I've heard that the manga is good and the opening does look like it hints at interesting things to come. I will say that without the Fate name attached it would probably feel like an average magical girl show, so it'd be nice to see it come up with something unique on its own. Ah yes, WateMote. So far, it is everything that I've been anticipating for. Watching Tomoko desperately trying to become popular is hilarous, yet sad at the same time. I can kind of relate to her so even though I can laugh it also hits close to home. Although, she has it way worse. And the OP is probably the best one of the season.

Honestly, I don't really mind the manservice all that much. If guys can have fan service shows then I don't think it's a terrible thing if girls get shows catered to them, too. Of course, for it to a be a good show it needs some substance and not just fluff, and right now Free! looks like it's trying to be more, at least. You also have characters like Gou that help to balance it out for us male fans, which is a nice addition. Also, Attack on Titan is pretty much the go-to anime right now. Deservedly so, because it's actually quite good.

I actually am watching Free!, mainly because of KyoAni and the hype around it. Not a fan of the manservice (lol). But, even with only two episodes, it looks like it's not only going to be a "look at all these attractive guys" show. And Gou has one of the best female character designs that I've seen and she's not annoying, even when surrounded by guys. So I'm tentatively enjoying it so far. And, of course, I'm watching Attack on Titan (who isn't?).

Wow... the latest Railgun episode was great. Just, really powerful, and that soundtrack too, so good. Honestly, how can you dislike Touma after that? Man, makes me wish they could take the amount of time to set up the story in Index as they were able to in Railgun. Seeing this, though, makes me just that much more excited for Index III. Come on J.C. Staff, you can do it.

Yeah, I forget that a lot of Japanese games do have heavy visual novel elements within them. Speaking of which, I need to get around to playing some of those. After getting into Fate I bought Fate/Extra for the PSP and that was pretty fun (although I put it down and haven't picked it up again). I guess the problem is that VNs without game elements are more like interactive novels rather than games, so I can totally see that publishers think they wouldn't make a lot of money. But, hey, I'd pay for them, and I'm excited for the release of Steins;Gate.

Haha, that is very true, even F/SN has "those" elements. I guess it would still be very niche but I'd like to see more localizations. Of course, I can find other ways to play them, but I'd like to support an official release rather than the alternative.

Visual novels are a great medium that just haven't been tapped into in the West. I'd love to see more localizations but the audience is fairly niche over here. You're not going to see many casual anime fans wanting to go through the hassle of playing a fan translated version of a Japanese game that hasn't been officially released. Not to mention that it takes several years for some VNs to even get translated, if they get translated at all. The Steins;Gate localization is a definite step forward, though, and I hope it paves the way for more Western releases. I think most people are willing to pay, it's just that there are very few official releases for us to pay for, and they often come too late.

I think there is a patch out there that removes those "scenes". The VN explains a lot of things that the anime didn't even go into, and of course there are 2 other routes. It did take me about 100 hours to complete, so it's lengthy, but worth it if you want to experience everything about F/SN. Good soundtrack, too.

Ufotable (animated Fate/Zero) just announced that they are in the works on a new "Fate/Stay Night project". Beyond that no other information was given so, of course, speculation and rumors are in high supply. It's possible that it could be a remake, an adaptation of Heaven's Feel, or an adaptation of all three routes (if that happened I'd probably die from having too many dreams come true). No matter what they end up doing I am excited. Ufotable + Type-Moon is a godly combination. However, I really hope it's a TV series, because Fate/Stay Night just can't be condensed into a couple of hours and retain its quality (see: Unlimited Blade Works movie). I think it's fairly certain that it will be a TV series though, because it will practically print cash for them.

That show aged very well, in my opinion, especially the animation during the fight scenes, where it tops even some modern anime. It also features some fantastic music that really sets the mood. My only complaint is that it kind of takes its time (and even wastes it) during a few episodes. Still an enjoyable watch, you should like it.

I'm like 80% sure we'll see Index III fairly soon after Railgun S. Both Index and Railgun are big franchises and the recent Index movie did good in Japan so the interest for it is there. I haven't explored the LNs so a third season is something I'd be very curious about. I've heard it gets good, but that's about it.

Yeah, you get to see the extent of Mikoto's awesomeness and then she ends up having to rely on Touma anyway. At least Touma is a pretty swell guy, so you can't hate him for just happening to hold the key to the end of Mikoto's problems. Plus, we get to see Touma punching Accelerator animated for the second time. Railgun S kinda reminds me why I disliked Accelerator so much at first. He really seems like a heartless... meanie (for lack of an appropriate word). He definitely deserves what's coming for him. At least he redeems himself later on in Index, but I bet Mikoto loathes him for everything he did.

Fate/Zero is the anime adaptation of a light novel series by the same name. The LNs are the prequel to the visual novel Fate/Stay Night (which also has an anime adaptation). I'd recommend it, although watching Fate/Zero without any knowledge of the Fate universe can be confusing. I did watch Fate/Zero before Fate/Stay Night, so it is doable, though. Fate/Zero is considered to be the better anime, so it's up to personal preference on which to watch first. However, Fate/Stay Night will give away a lot of what happens in Fate/Zero. I'd consider the second season of Fate/Zero to be the best anime of 2012. Fate/Stay Night is pretty good as well, but they have different vibes and F/SN is older so it doesn't look nearly as good. I love everything Fate though, and I'm excited to be watching Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya this summer season.

I saw that, too. I'm going to try to make room for it, because the art was one of the best things about Guilty Crown. I'm going to have to save up, though; Aniplex USA announced that they're going to release 2 Bluray Box Sets w/ English Dub for Fate/Zero later this year. As expected, they're still expensive, but they are a heck of a lot cheaper than the imports. Luckily, I have a slight income so I can probably afford some more pick-ups before the year is out.

Yeah, I'm definitely supporting that. I'd really like to see this succeed so that we can see more official releases over here in the future. No better way to do that than showing them we care by give them our money.