Recently I’ve been watching the 2005 anime Eureka Seven and I must say I’m enjoying it. It has taken me over 2 years to actually grab those episodes and watch them. Whatfor? Well, Leading Character Renton Thurston seemed the long lost sibling of Naruto-kun while Eureka herself was just a copy of Neon Genesis Evangelion’s Rei. No, I’m not exagerating. That’s just my opinion.

So far I’m liking it, even though hearing Miyano Mamoru as the blond surf kid Moondoggie is somewhat off. (I got thoughts of a happy blond Setsuna F Seiei (Gundam 00), overhappy Light (Death Note) and a surfing Riku (Kingdom Hearts) in my head after seeing him for the first time). And is it just me or does the insert instrumental sometimes reminds of a Kingdom Hearts one?

What I wanted to say was this: After watching a few episodes – and checking wikipedia just to be sure – I’ve come to the conclusion that Eureka Seven is as into the popculture as their characters are. While Moondoggie and Gidget are based upon 2 surfers in the movie of the same name, even Renton’s grandfather and grandmother  (Axel and Rose) have names that bring us back to more or less famous people. It’s going that far that I’ve even found a belgian reference in the story. Maurice, Maeter and Linck are 3 characters that got their name from a Belgian writer: Maurice Maeterlinck. Does that mean the writers of Eureka Seven couldn’t come up with their own names or just want to make sure to recognize those other people?

I’ll post hereby a list of references that caught my eye. There are more to be found here, here and here.

• Renton and Diane Thurston are both names after characters from the Trainspotting movie: Mark Renton and Dianne Coulston
• Adroc Thurston is named after Adam Horovitz, aka Ad-Rock, from the Beastie Boys, as well as both of his partners in discovering the Nirvash, Dr. Yauch & Dr. Diamond. (Adam Yauch and Mike Diamond)
• The Thurstons’ last name is a reference to Thurston Moore of the band Sonic Youth.^[74]
• Hap is named after Hap Jacobs, a famous shaper of surfboards.
• Jobs and Woz are references to Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, co-founders of Apple Computer.
• Ken-Goh is named after Kengo Watanabe, aka KEN=GO, a DJ who was the partner of Eureka Seven series writer Dai Sato in founding the Frogman record label in 1993 and Frognation Ltd. in 1997.
• Maurice, Maeter, and Linck are directly based on Katz, Letz, and Kikka from the original Mobile Suit Gundam, having nearly identical appearances and ages to all three of the Gundam characters. Their relationship with Eureka echoes how Gundam’s Frau Bow cared for the three orphans herself, though otherwise Eureka and Frau are quite different.
• Another similarity to Gundam is the relationship between Renton and Charles Beams. Meeting them during his desertion from the Gekko was a similar situation to when Amuro Ray deserted the White Base and met Ramba Ral and his wife, Hamon. Ramba Ral was a similar ace pilot to Charles, who also piloted a blue custom machine. Furthermore, both Charles and Ramba exploded in defeat, and left their loving wives to avenge them.
• Moondoggie’s real name is James Darren Emerson, which is a reference to James Darren, who played Moondoggie in the previously mentioned movies, and Darren Emerson, the famous electronic music DJ.
• Anemone is named after an equally unbalanced young woman from the Ryu Murakami novel Coin Locker Babies. Murakami’s Anemone also kept a pet named Gulliver (an alligator, in her case).
• Charles and Ray Beams are named after Charles Eames and Ray Eames, two married designers (known for the film Powers of Ten).
• In episode 39, Eureka’s soccer jersey is number 7. Quite probably a pun for the series’ name but may also be a tribute to the everlasting popularity of David Beckham, who wears number 7 when playing for England and wore the number playing for Manchester United.
• Stoner is most likely based on Ron Stoner who, fitting with the theme of lifting, was a surf photographer. It is also possible that he is based on the persona of Che Guevara, at least in appearance; Stoner’s hat, haircut and face in particular.

So this is my 2nd Haul of October! I’ve definitely been having a haul drought lately because I’ve been behaving myself a bit better on spending my money (but only a bit). Although I will probably have one more haul before the end of the month, so if you’re bored by the sight of all the manga/books in this haul, wait a couple days and I’ll have a magnificent haul of figures! Mwahahahahaha oh I can’t wait!

In the picture below it’s mostly Shoujo manga, but the title on the upper left sticks out like a sore thumb. It’s the one wrapped in plastic with one of those ugly Parental Advisory stamps on the cover . It’s the first volume of a Ghost Talker’s Daydream. It’s about an albino named Misaki Saiki who is a young woman with a troubled past and just so happens to be professional dominatrix in one of Tokyo’s most exclusive S&M clubs despite being a virgin…am I forgetting anything…OH YES she can communicate with ghosts! I had heard of this title years ago when the anime DVD was released and was disgusted because the whole thing seemed PURELY for fanservice (fanservice doesn’t bother me but it needs an enticing plot too). But I read an excerpt from this manga in a magazine and became interested in it. Ever since I’ve finished Ghost Hunt I’ve been desiring more anime/manga ghost tales.

The rest of the manga titles are Skip Beat! Vol. 15 (my current FAVORITE manga series), Platinum Garden Vols. 1-2 (something I’ve been wanting to try for a while now), and Boys Over Flowers Vols. 30-32 (this series is finally getting close to the end). I order my manga off Amazon since it’s buy 3 get the 4th free on almost all titles, with free shipping. Although the 2nd volume of Platinum Garden had a worn/stained cover so I’m returning it for another volume. Call me picky but if I’m paying the new price it should look new, this volume may be new but it looks like it was dropped and stored somewhere dirty.

I’m a casual fan of Eragon, it feels like Harry Potter…except I can easily guess all the plot twists. That’s one thing I fiercely admired about the first 6 Harry Potter books, I always guessed what/who was responsible for the mysteries completely wrong. So since I liked Eragon I read the 2nd book and now I bought Brisinger (the 3rd and I believe final book?). The book on the right is The Twelve Kingdoms: Sea of Wind a light novel written by Fuyumi Ono, it’s the 2nd book in The Twelve Kingdom series. I had watched the anime 12 Kingdoms (it’s based off these light novels) and I hesitantly bought and read the first book. I thought the book was LEAGUES better then the anime! It had everything I loved about the anime and didn’t have the only two things that bothered me in the anime, the characters Ikuya Asano and Yuka Sugimoto. These light novels are released once a year in March by Tokyopop which is a bit too slow considering they’re all already written. Two volumes a year seems far more reasonable.

This is Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia and was an impulse buy, I started playing around with Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin and was pretty delighted with it so I went ahead and pre-ordered this title. I know you’re not supposed to judge a book (or game) by its cover but I’m really excited about this game because I really like the look of the 2 characters on the cover. That girl especially has an amazing look and weapon.

This figure is of Talho from Eureka Seven and is made by Griffon. I had noticed this figure a while ago and admired it, I looked around for it but was only able to find it at OtakuFuel for a fairly steep price (was either $70 or $80) and decided I needed to pass on it at that price, expecially considering I haven’t even seen Eureka 7. One day I was (innocently) adding a Rin Figma to an order that would ship soon and saw OtakuFuel had a new “Super Sale Items” section and saw her at $49.99. I knew she was mine! Talho is soldout now but the section is still worth looking over. The only drawback to their new sale section is that you can’t combine the sale items with any other item at checkout in their words “All super sale items must be purchased separately for us to honor the super sale price.” Oh the free prize OtakuFuel gave me for buying Talho was a Hello Kitty Pez dispenser…not really that exciting but it’s extra free stuff so who cares.

I’ll do a review on Talho in the next 2 weeks.

Tou lixado, a minha actual ex-mulher!!! Simplifiquemos, uma amiga minha lol. Acaba de me ligar a dizer que vem cá jantar e a sugerir-me (ler, mandar-me) comprar uma carne para assar e cozinhá-la.
Passado os 1º momento de puro pánico pensei ir à Net buscar umas receitas. Mas depois lembrei-me de quem ocupa os pimeiros lugares no google para este nicho!!!
Vai daí decantei-me por um bom lombo, temperado com um molho que basicamente leva todos os temperos que apanhar à mão e passa ao de leve pelo microondas. Claro que para me vingar vou dar umas tretas com a bonita, intelectual e gigantesca ( não há bela sem senão, tem 190 centimetros!) senhora do talho!
Wish me look, vou precisar!