Free Arcadia

Happy Year of the Rat (^_^)/

blackafter@gmail.com — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 07:24:13 GMT

(Happy New Year! Best wishes for health and good fortune in 2008!)

Halloween Jack o' Lantern

blackafter@gmail.com — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 01:19:41 GMT

Hope everyone had a great Halloween! My pumpkin:

Larger photo #1
Larger photo #2
Another photo

変な日本語：　Japanese Language Journal

blackafter@gmail.com — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 05:33:26 GMT

I don't know if anyone here is interested, but I started a Japanese language journal to mirror my Yahoo! Japan Blog...　The LJ username is paulajp.

これが読める方へ
新しい日本語だけのブログを作りました！私のYahoo!ブログと同じ内容です。是非いつでも遊びに行ってください！
リンクは：

paulajp

Done! Paintings~

blackafter@gmail.com — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 22:14:40 GMT

I finally finished with the paintings I'm entering in the art show!（イエイ～♪）
There aren't many because I was told (at the last minute) that my show space had to be cut in half (x_X). So, these are the paintings I decided to show... At least they're complete now, and I'll finally have a bit of free time again! Hooray!☆★

(Can anyone who has been to Japan recognize this?
It's the castle outside the Imperial Gardens.)

(Didn't the ducks turn out sooo cute~?)

(I painted this really quick just so I could fit it into my limited space.)

(This one is a covered bridge... I used too much liquin when I painted it. It's way too shiny to get a decent photo of. Either it has a terrible glare or appears blurry. It's blurry here... It looks a bit nicer in person *_*)

Japanese News!

blackafter@gmail.com — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 18:09:36 GMT

I never watch the news... But I just found out that there was an earthquake in the Niigata prefecture (where one of my friends live) over a week ago. I'd like to keep up with that sort of thing. Since LJ is one of the few websites that I check regularly, I decided to create a Japanese news community. Hopefully, other people will start posting besides just me:

japanese_news

Mouse in the House

blackafter@gmail.com — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 01:47:59 GMT

Sorry, I had to post this because I thought it was so cute... There was a mouse in my house and I finally caught it today (via Havahart trap) and let it loose in the woods (far away from my house, of course ;P). It was good enough to pose for a photo before scampering off (^_^)

Hiatus

blackafter@gmail.com — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 16:57:22 GMT

I'm gone for a while. As always, you can contact me by commenting to me or emailing me. I may stop by my F-list occasionally.

Bye!
~Julia

Please Fill In My Map

blackafter@gmail.com — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 02:33:12 GMT

（Snatched from mariko_azrael）

You are now marked on my visitor map!

Create your own visitor map!

You know you want to~ (please ^_^)
よろしくお願いします！

USA vs. Japan

blackafter@gmail.com — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 22:43:11 GMT

*An interesting article comparing American and Japanese videogames and culture*

(You can also read the text behind ))

The United States of America is the source of a huge number of modern inventions - the automobile, the television, the computer, and many, many others. And in many cases, people from other nations have added and improved upon the initial concept, vastly expanding the horizon for each of these technologies. The same applies to video gaming. Though electronic gaming was born in America, today's industry is supported by publishers from across the globe. Still, gaming is largely dominated by just two forces: America, the creator, and Japan, the nation that saved console gaming in the mid '80s.

Creating a game requires more than just blood, sweat and tears. Every area of a game is heavily influenced by the culture that produced it, whether it be the visuals, the musical scoring, or even important aspects of the gameplay. Both American and Japanese cultures are very accepting of foreign ideas, but they tend to twist them around to suit their own tastes. Japanese designers watched American action movies, added in some over-the-top craziness and came up with Metal Gear Solid. Americans saw 3D platformers like Super Mario 64 and created similar but darker games like Jak and Daxter.

New ideas are always being bounced around, warped, and remade, creating concepts that are both uniquely tailored to the local culture while still maintaining a feeling of familiarity. But why do gamers in each of these markets like the games that they do? Why are American sales charts dominated by the likes of big, burly men with guns while the Japanese flock towards fanciful RPGs?

Through exploration, research and discussion, we've stumbled onto some intriguing answers. Not all of these are proven, scientific theories, but they may offer some insight as to why, for instance, the Xbox 360 lingers unsold on Japanese shelves.

FREEDOM

Americans are very big on personal freedom, which give a greater sense of individuality. Americans all have their own political or religious beliefs, and defend them vigorously. Americans love their cars, because it affords us opportunities for independence that public transportation can't afford. Americans love commercial competition, because it feeds capitalism and innovation. America is a country that fought for its independence primarily to grant these kind of freedoms, a nation famous for its frontier mentality.

Naturally, Americans love freedom in their games, too.
"I think that most Western games are made for the audience, whereas many Japanese games are made to invite the player into the designer's world," says James Clarendon of Breakaway Games, who previously worked on Ion Storm titles like Deus Ex: Invisible War and Thief: Deadly Shadows. This philosophy shines through in practically every area of game design.

For instance, camera control tends to be handled very differently in American and Japanese games. "Many Japanese titles fix the camera for a better cinematic presentation, while good Western titles allow the player to look around the environment for better gameplay," says Clarendon.

Popular games like Grand Theft Auto, Splinter Cell and Ratchet and Clank offer full camera control. Compare this to various Japanese games, which tend to use established camera angles. The Japanese developed Devil May Cry games never let the gamer fiddle with the viewpoint. Dynasty Warriors, one of Japan's most popular action series, only let the gamer re-center the camera (although this changed in the recent Samurai Warriors 2). Many critics complained about the lack of a free camera in Metal Gear Solid 3, prompting Konami to add it in the Substinence director's cut.
Why the limitations? Motion sickness, for one -- a prevalent affliction amongst the Japanese. But equally significant is the fact that a limited camera allows the developer to more careful control the user's experience.

"Most Japanese games limit your interaction with the world. They can get away with more fixed cinematic style cameras where the game's internal director is in control," says Kane Shin, also of Breakaway Games. "This may be a relic of the retro gaming mentality -- in 2D retro games you typically see the entire relevant playing field onscreen at the same time. Game-design wise, this simplifies the process of making a fun game by fixing what the user will have to deal with. Western games have typically favored being able to interact with the world at all angles."

Hiroyuki Kobayashi, producer of Resident Evil 4, as well as the original Devil May Cry, agrees. "In general, Japanese development teams want to make sure the user experiences the game they have envisioned. To make sure the player sees what the developer wants them to experience, the fixed camera angles are more common. If the fixed camera angles are done right, the player shouldn't feel the need to constantly move the camera around, and that's part of the challenge of designing the game."

Keiji Inafune, producer of Dead Rising and Lost Planet, and long time employee at Capcom, elaborates further. "The Japanese don't really feel the need to control the camera. For instance, Japanese gamers playing Lost Planet at Tokyo Game Show sometimes had trouble controlling the camera, and it was clear to me that they are simply not acclimated to this sort of control. In traditional Japanese games, such as a 2D side-scroller or an RPG, there is absolutely no need to move the camera whatsoever. Japanese people, who prefer to have a very focused idea of what must done, prefer this way of doing things because they can focus on the actual game play. Western audiences, I feel, are much better at multitasking, and adapt to the freedom and requirements of a user controlled camera much better than Japanese gamers."

The difference in culture also manifests in the handling of games saves. Many Western games implement a "save any time" mechanic, allowing gamers to create their own checkpoints. On the other hand, many Japanese games tend to use save points at predetermined spots.

This particular issue is, in part, a holdover from the setbacks of older technology. Many Japanese games were are cartridges, which didn't have nearly enough memory to save all relevant data at once. Many Western designers began designing on personal computers, which offered much more memory. It's only been within the past generation of video gaming that consoles have had enough to space to allow precise game saving, yet the Japanese tradition of save points continues.

"I think Western developers, who are used to PC development with much larger amounts of RAM and persistent storage, aim to architect their games such that they can save them anywhere and reload them," says Clarendon. "Primarily this feature is for the players, and we see Western developers writing titles to accommodate the audience."

Shin offers a similar explanation. "Being able to save anytime, anywhere is a pain in the butt to implement, and if your audience doesn't expect it, then you really don't want to support it, so maybe the Westerners do it as a throwback to the expectations of evolving PC gamers. "

Inafune explains the Japanese persepctive. "American designers do not view the save system as part of the gameplay experience. In Japan, the save system is viewed as part of the game. In previous generations, designers took what should have been a negative for the game due to technical limitations and turned it into a gameplay positive. For instance, in Resident Evil, part of what makes the game fun is knowing there might be a zombie between you and the save room. It adds tension to the encounters. If you could save anywhere in Resident Evil, it would not be the same game.

"Manipulating the save system is one of the many details that Japanese designers take very seriously," he adds. "For instance, with Dead Rising, Japanese gamers would be turned off by the save anywhere approach. They would feel that the game is not challenging, that it isn't really a game. Knowing your status, what kind of weapon you have or how far away the restroom save point is integral to the tension and fun of Dead Rising. Some people understand this and enjoy it, others do not."

The Western focus on personal freedom has given birth to entire genres. One of the earliest genres to put players in full control was the "God game", made popular by the likes of Populous and Sim City. Both of these games allow players to take on the role of an omnipotent being who could mold the land to their whim. Although the gameplay was carefully balanced to ensure there was some challenge, these games focus on the player building a unique experience for him or herself. Sim City in particular was quite popular in Japan, where it was turned into one of the first titles for Nintendo's Super Famicom (Super NES). Creator Will Wright has expanded the series into hugely successful spin-offs like "The Sims," while the Japanese have spun it into more niche titles like Natsume's Harvest Moon.

It's easy to see why the Japanese might enjoy a farming game -- the nation has a strong agrarian tradition. But Harvest Moon involves the same concepts of nurturing and caring that made the Tamagotchi so popular. Likewise, this could be one reason for the national obsession with role playing games where gamers put in hours of hard work to level up their characters. Rather than reaping a bountiful harvest as their reward, however, a gamer would have a max level fighter who can deal 9999 damage in a single hit.

Although the god-game format lets gamers play around to their heart's content, the term "sandbox" more commonly refers to a go-anywhere, do-anything game like Grand Theft Auto or Elder Scrolls: Oblivion. While these games feature set storylines to follow and concrete goals to achieve, these elements are ultimately secondary. The real emphasis is upon the path through the adventure, which is ultimately determined by the player -- again drawing upon the desire for personal freedom. This is a stark contract to popular Japanese RPGs like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, which puts players on a linear path while emphasizing strong storytelling.

"Culturally speaking, Japanese culture is firmly rooted in wet-rice agriculture and its status as an island nation," says Inafune. "Japanese want to be able to plan, they want to have guidance, they want to have focus. To put it simply, Japanese people feel uncomfortable with the unknown and not understanding the future. RPGs illustrate this well -- it is your turn to attack, it is the enemy's turn to attack. You pick a magic spell and you have a predictable result. You progress through the game with clearly defined goals. Japanese enjoy having these clearly-defined goals, and it progresses all the way through to the actual game implementation. Japanese people don't like just being dropped into a sandbox with no guidance. If you tell a Japanese person they are free to go anywhere, often times they will choose to go nowhere.

"Westerners, on the other hand, seem to be excited by the unknown. For instance, as a hunting and trapping society, an American may go deer hunting and encounter a bear. Japanese would be scared by this encounter, whereas the American will probably shoot the bear and go back excited that he got a bear instead of a deer. The unknown encounter becomes even better than the known. I feel this is the key difference."

Kobayashi agrees. "Part of this relates to the recurring theme of Japanese developers wanting to provide a very definitive experience for gamers. In this case, the linear story helps to keep the player involved in the story as a smooth flow from start to finish much like reading a book. A lot of gamers overseas prefer to make the adventure their own and prefer the open-ended style, which is one reason we think that Resident Evil 4 was so popular as it was more open than any Resident Evil before it."

This concept of linearity versus freedom shows up in more than just the role playing genre. Long ago, the adventure genre was popular in both territories. Computer gaming practically began with the text adventure game Zork and evolved through classic LucasFilm Games and Sierra titles like The Secret of Monkey Island and King's Quest. The same thing happened on the other side of the globe, to a lesser extent, with games like Snatcher, published by Konami and borne from the mind of the not-yet-world-famous Hideo Kojima.

Although both Japanese and Western style games focused primarily on story telling and puzzle solving, the Western games let gamers explore the scenery through a combination of the mouse and keyboard, allowing them to walk wherever they pleased or examine anything they saw. Compare this to Snatcher, which was primarily viewed from the first person perspective and was entirely menu-based. Although the ends were similar, the means were entirely different, as Western games offered a lot more opportunity to poke around and explore, compared to the rigidly-defined menus.

The adventure game genre has practically died in America, sustained only by a few European companies with titles like The Indigo Prophecy and Dreamfall: The Longest Journey. It lives on in Japan, however, although now they're usually termed "visual novels". Since most of these are usually licensed anime games or pornographic dating sims, visual novels on consoles rarely leave Japan, with the rare exception being titles like Atlus' Touch Detective and Capcom's Phoenix Wright - the latter of which was criticized by Western reviewers for its linear gameplay but lauded for its excellent writing and sense of humor.

It's quite easy to tell a game developed in Japan from an American creation just by looking at it. Americans games tend to focus primarily on realism. In contrast, Japanese games are usually brighter, more colorful, and have more varied art styles. An easy comparison would be to take Activision's Tony Hawk series and place it side-by-side with Sega's Jet Set Radio. Naturally, this tends to cause some cultural clashes -- Japanese gamers that American games look too similar, with bland, unattractive characters, while American gamers groan about wild-haired pretty boys that seem more suitable for fashion shows than sword fighting.

Japan, as a culture, is very visually oriented. The average television show filled with text to grab the viewers' attention, and many Japanese magazines have pages overflowing with text, gigantic headlines, and lots and lots of screenshots and artwork. Historically, they've had a long-standing fondness for attractive and ornate visuals, such as classic Kabuki theater.

"Japan has several thousand years of cultural and artistic tradition while America is less than 300 years old. Even the Japanese writing system is based on pictographs and visual imagery, which is not the case with English script," says John Opplinger, who runs a daily column dealing with Japanese culture at the store / new site Animenation.

The distinction can be seen in action in each nations' 19th-century military uniforms, before Japan's westernization. Japanese samurai wore extravagant helmets with equally extravagant armor, and their soldiers wore a similar garb. The police guard of the era, known as the Shinsengumi, wore bright blue kimonos with a distinct white pattern. Compare these to Federal and Confederate soldiers in the American Civil War, who wore comparitively plain uniforms.

America was founded primarily by Europeans, but everyone that crossed the ocean essentially experienced a cultural reboot. Although many values were carried over from their respective homelands, American citizens were free from old constraints, and could rebuild their ideals for themselves. Many times this was out of sheer necessity. When trying to survive on the vast American frontier, objectives such as "finding something to eat" and "not dying of dysentery" were far more important than observing cultural traditions. The inelegant uniforms of the Civil War soldiers aren't attractive because they don't need to be -- they're practical and nothing else.

But these are just general ideas as to why the Japanese tend to put more effort into stunning visuals. When it comes to video games, there are plenty of more technical reasons. A significant contributor is the so-called "arms race" of graphics cards. PCs are far more prevalent in the Western world than in Japan, so there's a constant need to put these cards to the test and make things look as real as possible.

"I think you'd have to look at the competition that's raged for the past umpteen years regarding graphics horsepower," explains Clarendon. "I use that term intentionally, since a convincing argument could be made that the macho desire for performance out of cars is now analogous to how 'smoking fast' your 'rig' is."

Because Japanese developers aren't necessarily focused with putting the latest hardware to the test, they're free to experiment a bit more, or find ways to take the graphic deficiencies of console hardware and turn them into benefits.

"Where the Japanese developers succeed immensely is in capturing essence without filling in all the details," adds Clarendon. "One could argue that this may even be linguistically-based, with Japanese being a language comfortable with its use of vagueness and context-sensitivity. This is what [comics critic] Scott McCloud refers to as 'iconic realism.' The characters look good, but not all the details are there. This allows a simpler method of expression that, in my opinion, is more powerful."

"I think Japanese have a natural affinity with soft, supple, and flexible things, unlike Western cultures that tend toward angular, rigid, strength and permanence," says Opplinger. "Particularly in Japanese culture, the idea of "softness" may coincide with the Japanese social etiquette of fitting in and going with the flow rather than being independent.

"It also manifests in things like architecture. Japanese temples are characterized by flowing lines and curves while traditional Western Greco-Roman architecture consists largely of pillars and straight lines. Likewise, Western culture has developed an affinity for muscular and toned super heroes while Asian culture has developed "cute" characters, bishounen [pretty boys], and martial artists who emphasize flexibility and technique over straightforward strength."

Kobayashi attributes the radical difference in visual styles to the proliferation of manga in Japan.

"I think a lot of the bright, cartoonish visual look in many Japanese games is a result of the strong culture of anime cartoons and manga comic books we have in Japan," he says. "The gamers here have all grown up on anime and manga, and many continue to read manga into adulthood. Since Japanese anime and manga are usually very bright and colorful, that tends to be the kind of visual style that is accepted in Japan. For overseas, it might be that with more of an entertainment background in movies and TV, realism is the type of visual style that is desired."

Many Japanese games also tend to focus on featuring attractive characters, for the same reason why Lara Croft took off: sex appeal. But this isn't limited to just big-chested archaeologists in hot pants; many Japanese publishers are quite aware of the female audience, and target them accordingly. The result are handsome characters, like Final Fantasy leading men Squall and Vaan. Kojima has stated that Raiden, the girlish, white haired hero of Metal Gear Solid 2, was added into the game primarily to attract female fans who were sick of rugged action heroes like Solid Snake.

Much of the pretty boy look is inspired by the continued popularity of visual rock. Japanese rock stars like Gackt -- who even starred in the game Bujingai -- continue to flourish, dressing in hugely elaborate gowns and makeup.

For that matter, many Japanese game designers take a completely different approach to music than most Western games. Many Japanese games feature a wide variety of styles and have a strong focus on melody. On the other hand, Western games tend to feature orchestral soundtracks, licensed tracks or even forego the music in favor of atmospheric noises. Microsoft's Xbox was the first console to let users customize their soundtracks, which seemed to acknowledge that many Western games would prefer to use their own music rather than a predetermined score.

"From a design standpoint, I think Western designers have a much stronger background and influence from film," posits Inafune. "In film scores, orchestrated music is used to accompany a set piece and give it emotional weight. Western games implement this very film style technique much to the same effect. However, in Japan, since the days of the Famicom [Nintendo Entertainment System], Japanese composers have gone about making each individual sound one by one. They created sounds using the Famicom that sounded like other instruments and layered their work. Now that technology has advanced, Western designers view it as the opportunity to branch even further into the idea of film scoring, while Japanese designers continue that traditional approach to instrumentation that developed during the 8-bit era."

"With Japanese games, the directors and development staff want to present an experience that they have envisioned, and to do that, they often want to maintain more control over the music and how it is used in the game," says Kobayashi. "With licensed music, since it is something that usually hasn't been made for the game, it may not fit the atmosphere the development team is trying to convey as well as an original piece that they design and create from scratch to fit a scene or stage."

A few recurring aspects of Japanese and American games can be downright off-putting to the other nation's gamers. A popular complaint amongst Western RPG gamers are the rather sappy main characters. Americans like their heroes to be gung-ho cowboys or action heroes, not mopey emo kids.

"The prevalence of children and teens, and particularly emotionally distraught teens in Japanese anime and video games may be a reflection of modern Japanese society," says Opplinger. "After all, Japan does have an unusually high rate of youth suicide in the industrialized world. These game characters may provide a healthy outlet for frustration and confusion that can't be politely discussed or revealed in real life. Americans may find this sort of emotional displacement frustrating or aggravating because we're not used to dealing with stress and personal conflict through introspective or second-hand avenues. The theory in American society is to medicate, or to talk about your problems. The opposite is true in Japan. Personal problems stay personal, so teens dealing with the confusion and emotional stress of adolescence may use personal, individual outlets like video games in place of psychologists, friends, and anti-depressant medications."

This reasoning can also be used to explain the prevalence of dating simulations, which are rarely seen out of Japan. But there are also several other genres that rarely see the light of day outside of Japan. These include train simulations, such as Taito's Densha de Go!, which are most likely popular due to the prevalence of public transportation in Japanese society. Tokyo, the center of Japanese culture, is criss-crossed with an enormous and high efficient rail system, and the shinkansen bullet train remains a triumph of Japanese engineering.

Of course, the opposite is true in America with the popularity of military and war games like Ghost Recon, Splinter Cell, and Call of Duty. The general Japanese populace may not warm up these games simply due to the attitude given towards conflict in post-World War II Japan. After all, the country has no real military outside of the Self Defense Force. Similarly, there are strict gun laws in Japan, while Americans have the constitutional right to bear arms.

This may also explain why the Japanese tend not to like first person shooters. Again, Japan's home computer market isn't nearly as gamer-focused as it is elsewhere in the globe, so most Japanese gamers are forced to do their gaming on consoles, which usually feature lower frame rates and don't offer the precise mouse/keyboard combination that many FPS vets swear by. Combined with the hyper-realistic visual designs that are usually geared towards Western gamers, it's easy to see why the Japanese would be put off by the likes of Gears of War and DOOM.

Each nation's games tend to focus on more specific themes as well. Japan can't seem to get enough of railing against the evils of organized religion, which usually result in the characters banding together and killing God. It's an especially common motif in RPGs, including Breath of Fire 2, Final Fantasy Legend, Final Fantasy Tactics, Xenogears and any number of Shin Megami Tensei titles.

As most Japanese citizens adhere to Shinto or Buddhist beliefs, the nation has few Christians. Their relative lack of attachment to the church compared to Western cultures allows them to approach the topic without fear of blasphemy. In that light, an evil church out to exploit its followers is hadly any different than a diabolical corporation like Shinra from Final Fantasy VII. Additionally, while the Japanese are generally tolerant towards other religions, Christianity has not had a pleasant history in the country. The first Westerners came to Japan back in 16th century to spread the word of God but were later kicked out by the emperor once the atrocities occurring in other parts of the globe came to light. In fact, the entire country isolated itself until Matthew Perry forcibly reopened its ports in the mid-19th century.

But there may be other reasons why the Japanese don't killing God to be particularly unusual. "Japanese religion consists of countless gods and spirits rather than a single God," explains Opplinger. "Christian theology dictates a single life while Buddhism believes in rebirth and renewal, which may explain the death of gods and the beginning and ending of civilizations, eras, and gods. Japanese culture itself has gone through numerous cycles and births, including the end of the feudal era, the introduction of the West, and the atomic bombings and the following rebuilding. Since Christian culture has only one God, we don't think about the death of God. But Asian culture and beliefs like karma are cyclical."

The variance in attitudes towards game difficulty is yet another important difference. There seems to be a misconception that Japan is the land of video gamers -- and if all one ever looked at was pictures of Akihabara, Tokyo's electronic district, it's easy to get that impression. But in reality, the nation's market is segmented much like it is everywhere else -- a small group of hardcore gamers who love their games filled with gigantic quests and complicated mathematics and teeth punching difficulty, and the much more dominant casual gamers, who enjoy playing video games but don't want to be assaulted by overly complex gameplay.

On this same note, it's also not entirely true that the Japanese prefer their games to be more difficult. Many Americans seem to think that Japanese games are dumbed down during localization, either to make them easier to understand or easier to beat. This falsity probably stems from the RPGs of the early 90s, where the English market got the simplified version of Final Fantasy II. (To be fair, this same downgraded version was also released in Japan as Final Fantasy IV Easytype, so a wider audience could play it.) Since then, a number of games - especially action titles - have been made more difficult for the American market. The now-defunct Working Designs often increased the difficulty in their localized titles. To this day, Capcom still gives the Western market more daunting experiences -- the original American release of the PlayStation Resident Evil went through slight modifications to make it more challenging, and Westerners initially got a much harder version of Devil May Cry 3. Konami even implemented extreme difficulty levels for the European market in their Metal Gear Solid games.

"I'm not sure that it's so much that Japanese gamers prefer easier games, but rather gamers overseas tend to like more challenge," explains Kobyashi. "It's a slight difference in nuance, but when making a game, we don't intentionally make it easier for Japanese gamers. For years, we have always received requests from users overseas to 'make the games harder,' and we have been responding by adding challenge to the games we release overseas."

"There are two reasons for the difficulty changes," says Inafune. "The first one is from a business perspective. Western markets also have rental markets. [Renting games in illegal in Japan.] If you make a game that is too easy, it will become a rental instead of a purchase and the game's sales will suffer. Thus, those on the business side of things often request that games be made harder to counter-act the rental market.

"The second reason is from a design standpoint. Western gamers like to challenge things. If a game is very difficult, they view beating it as a triumph over a sort of foe. Japanese gamers will quit if a game is too hard. They want an RPG where you never die. If you play an RPG correctly, you should not die. That is the point. Most RPGs are not concerned with raising your skill, they are concerned with raising your experience points. I think that Japanese companies are slowly losing the ability to make hard games that still appeal to Japanese users, and this is evidenced by the decline in sales of action games as Japanese users lose interest in challenging higher difficulty levels."

CONCLUSION

One might look at the Japanese console sales charts and make broad claims, like how the Japanese don't like the Xbox. This is not entirely true -- just dive through Japanese message boards or blogs, and one can find legions of enthusiastic fans discussing and praising the likes of Halo, Ghost Recon, Oblivion, Splinter Cell, and Prince of Persia. It just so happens that Western games are a niche market over there. It's much like the Western market and games such as Shin Megami Tensei or Disgaea; they may not be big sellers, but they've garnered underground success and attracted thousands of obsessed fans. As it turns out, great games are great games, enough to overcome hundreds of years of cultural divergence.

There are instances of similar game design that show up in different ways. The Japanese have games like Dynasty Warriors and Dragon Quest that focus on long bouts of repetitive grinding to build up characters, while Westerners have World of Warcraft and Diablo. Where English message boards are filled with posters complaining about shoddy localizations and bad voice acting, there are plenty of Japanese fans that bemoan how many Western games aren't even translated into their native language, and the ones that are are often shoddy. Just like America has vast lobbies calling for the censorship of games for being too violent, Japan has also been clamping down, in some cases forcing companies to remove some of the gorier aspects of Resident Evil 4, Dead Rising, and God of War. On the surface, as much as things may seem to be different across the ocean, we're more similar than most realize.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

blackafter@gmail.com — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 04:19:06 GMT

I hope everyone has a great new year! ^___^

Who ya gonna call?

blackafter@gmail.com — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 04:37:01 GMT

Well, it's a bit early^^ but to get everyone into the Halloween spirit:

Larger Image

Larger Image

If it's not obvious, it's supposed to be the Ghostbusters logo ^_^;
Merry Halloween ;P

Trip Map

blackafter@gmail.com — Sun, 01 Oct 2006 00:04:42 GMT

I made this map from my trip notes and the highlighted road atlas I used on my road-trip. I think I was going to post something more detailed (I kept a travel log), but I never will. Anyway, here's the map.

I also have a bunch of photos in My Photo Album

The highlights were California (pretty), Nevada (Star Trek the Experience) and New Mexico (Roswell & Carlsbad Caverns). All in all, I was rather underwhelmed. Connecticut really is one of the nicer looking states (if you can stand the people), so my highlights are mostly "to do," not "to see." I went to CA Disney. Compared to the one in Tokyo, it was sort of, well, lousy.

That's about it~!

Redwood.

★Earthbound★

blackafter@gmail.com — Mon, 14 Aug 2006 11:28:41 GMT

As I've mentioned before, my usernames: paulafromtwoson & paulafrom2son, are allusions to a videogame character from a gamed called EARTHBOUND (MOTHER 2 in Japanese).

With the recent Japanese release of its sequel, Mother 3, I thought it was about time I did a comprehensive post about my namesake's videogame series...

...The problem with that idea is that it'd take an awfully long time. I'm kind of busy. So instead, this is a brief explanation of the nature of the Earthbound/Mother series and a summary of the history of its characters, etc. I've also enlisted the help of some visual aides - most notably, the many videos I've linked to from www.youtube.com

For much better information on the Games, please check out:

www.starmen.net

It's a great site made by REALLY dedicated fans of the game. There are translations of Japanese websites (at least one of the maintainers lives in Japan - because really dedicated fans have to speak--at least--speak Japanese. So far, only one game out of three was released in English--or anything else, for that matter), a radio station, petitions to have the games officially translated... you name it.

U.S. Release:

A few videos of Earthbound

★Game Opening of EARTHBOUND!
★Music Video! (with scenes of the game - the music isn't exactly fitting, though)
★TERRIBLE American Trailer: Earthbound for Super Nintendo (it's not really that bad - but the game is a lot more lighthearted and fun than the overdub lets on. Leave it to US advertising to mess up just about anything.

So, What's Earthbound?

Earthbound is the English title of a Japanese role-playing game called Mother 2. Released in North America for Super Nintendo in 1995, the game failed to match the success of its Japanese counterpart mostly due to its low-tech graphics and quirky sense of humor. After flopping, the game never made it to Europe, nor did any of the other Mother-series games have a chance at an English-language release.

Although it's little known, the game harbors the most dedicated fans I've seen in a fandom. Being a game of extremely high quality in the first place, the people that it appeals to really love it.

Unlike most RPGs, Earthbound's main characters are normal children and its setting is modern day.

Characters!

Ness

Paula

Jeff

Poo

Also Featuring:

Bubble Monkey

Mr. Saturn

Japanese release:

As I said, Earthbound is a translation of Mother 2. Mother 2 is the second in the Japanese Mother series. To date, there have been three Mother games in Japan.

Mother was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in Japan in 1989, Mother 2 for Super Nintendo in 1994, and Mother 3 for Gameboy Advance just this year. Also, Mother 1 + 2 was re-released as a set for Gameboy Advance in 2003.

Videos

Mother
★Cool Japanese commercial teaser: MOTHER for the original Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)

Mother 1 + 2
★Japanese Commercial: Mother 1+2 re-release for Nintendo Advance! #2
★Japanese Commercial: Mother 1+2 re-release for Nintendo Advance!

Mother 2
★Japanese Commercial: Mother 2 for Super Nintendo!
The translation:
Everyone (singing): "Mother 2, Mother 2..."
Girl:"Brother, what's going on?"
Boy: "I don't know."
Girl: "Brother, what should we do?"
Boy: "Let's sing too."
Everyone (singing): "Mother 2, Mother 2..."
Writing: "For adults, for children. Even for big sister!" (as in, it appeals to girls/women too)"Super Nintendo software" (called Super Famicon in Japan)"Mother 2."
★Japanese Commercial: Mother 2 for Super Nintendo! #2
What's basically happening in this is the older brother shows his sister the game and she wants to see more. He won't let her and havoc ensues. At the end, they apologize to the waiter.

Mother 3
★Japanese Commercial (short): Mother 3 for Nintendo Advance! #2 (most of the Mother 3 commercials are of people crying... there are a lot of them)

Earthbound 64 (Mother 3 for Nintendo 64)... The game that never was. This was the original idea that eventually became the Gameboy Advance Mother 3.
★Earthbound 64

Earthbound characters in other games

Ness has also made appearances in Nintendo's
Super Smash Bros. & Super Smash Bros. Melee

Videos
★Super Smash Bros. Melee Japanese Commerical (Featuring Eathbound character: Ness)
★Ness (Earthbound character) beats record in Super Smash Bros. for N64

Take the What Will Your Result To This Quiz Be? Quiz
by napoleonherself, if you are so inclined.

★Shigesato Itoi (creator of series) talks about "Mother".
TRANSLATION
He's basically saying that the game (unlike most RPGs) stars a normal, young people - just like the person playing it. And they use their courage, wit, and friendship to fight through the game. He then says that there are many special surprises, devices, and hidden things to find and if the player hurries though the game, he/she might miss them. So if possible, players will enjoy the game most if they take it slowly (without getting distracted, using the phone, etc.) and play at a relaxed pace. It is best to play as though you're watching a movie or television, without simply skimming the text, etc. He says that's the what he plans to play it and so he hopes everyone else will do the same. He then reiterates that the game has a lot of depth and is crammed with stuff to experience.

★Piano version of game song
★Piano version of two game songs

★Hacking This is a fan-made copy of the very beginning of Earthbound. The dialog and characters are slightly modified, but the gameplay is very similar. An interesting way to show what Earthbound is like... without showing it ^_^ Here is a play-through of the beginning of the REAL Earthbound. The only thing is that it's a bit sped-through... Kills the fun.

NOTE! The very top image of this page was stolen from: http://ebipm.net/eb/ Please visit!

On a personal note:
I'll be moving shortly (for real this time) and I'm not sure it I'll update this journal again before I go. I might. Just in case, I'd like to wave goodbye. *Wave* I won't have the internet for several months, though I'll probably get access to it at a library now and then... I hope everyone has a great couple of months!

Coolness!

blackafter@gmail.com — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 19:16:50 GMT

Wow, I just found this great nintendo site!
www.gonintendo.com

But the really cool thing on the site was this. Someone spent a lot of time and effort making 3D versions of various characters and other things from games and televison... entirely out of paper! What's more, you can print out the patterns to make them yourself!

The Passion of Joan of Arc

blackafter@gmail.com — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 05:46:20 GMT

Looky!

About a year ago, I happened to see this movie on the TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES Network. Being a fan of silent film in general, I watched and... was amazed.

It's now one of my favorite movies (if not, my favorite!). While the version I watched was the Criterion Collection's English translation--which I've since purchased--the original version can be watched here for free... The only catch is that the original version is in French and I'm pretty sure that most of you, my LJ friends, can't speak French. Luckily, it's a silent film - not too much to not understand ^_^

The Passion Of Joan Of Arc

CAKE

blackafter@gmail.com — Fri, 14 Apr 2006 08:57:35 GMT

I just wanted to point out that I outdid myself on this Cthulhu-shaped Birthday cake.

another pic

another

and another

Japanese Yahoo Blog

blackafter@gmail.com — Sun, 26 Mar 2006 09:10:50 GMT

I've been meaning to mention my
Yahoo Japan Blog.
(It's in Japanese.)

RECIPE

blackafter@gmail.com — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 07:47:25 GMT

I made this last year... oh, I mean the year before that... for Thanksgiving. And I promised someone that I'd post the recipe. Well, here it is! (Just a little late ^_^;)

I remember promising someone some other recipe at one point... but I can't remember what it was... If anyone remembers a recipe promise, let me know! ★☆★ (^_^;;;)

NOTE:The secret is to baste as often as possible.
NOTE#2: Don't actually use 6lbs of tofu! Only make a half batch unless you're feeding an army! (and not a small army, a really big one...)

Haruka Fun♥♥♥

blackafter@gmail.com — Mon, 14 Nov 2005 04:03:02 GMT

Too cute to resist:

All Of You~♥

blackafter@gmail.com — Sun, 13 Feb 2005 07:34:02 GMT

~paulafromtwoson~

LJ friendsCollage.

Brought to you by pratibha75 and teemus.

Where are YOU?? どこに住んでいらっしゃる?★

blackafter@gmail.com — Tue, 18 Jan 2005 05:13:58 GMT

Pretty PLEASE~! m(._.)m
★☆★☆ ★☆★☆
Where are YOU?? どこに住んでいらっしゃる?

★☆★☆ ★☆★☆
ユーザー名を入力して住んでいる場所を地図で選んでください!!ヨロシクね!

My birthday picture!

blackafter@gmail.com — Tue, 19 Oct 2004 06:56:22 GMT

Hey everyone!

Check out the pic that my pal, o0satsuki0o made for me for my Birthday (8-19)!

LINK: http://www.deviantart.com/view/11552045/

It's of 004, Albert Heinrich from the series "Cyborg Soldier 009"... THANKS SACHI!

Translation! -Heart of the Machine

blackafter@gmail.com — Mon, 23 Aug 2004 04:09:32 GMT

Cyborg 009 - "Heart of the Machine"
volume 19
A short story about 004.

As always, this is read from right to left. Enjoy!

Heart of the Machine: Volume 19

p243
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Heart of the Machine

p244
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girl: What are you doing!?
:Quit it!

man: Shut up!
:If you don't have a death wish, you'd better keep your voice down.. or else!

girl: ...

man: You got it, bitch? Now listen up!
: This is no game..!!

p245
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short man: We came for the 400,000 you owe us for the drugs you bought. We've waited long enough! Where's our money!?

girl: 4- 400 thousand yen...!? I- I don't have a clue what you're talking about!!

man: Quit playin' stupid!!
: You think we're not serious!?

girl: B... But I'm just telling the truth..!

man: The hell you are-!! Next you'll be saying ya don't know that broad "Michi" either- give us a break!

girl: Wha!

man: Take a good look at this knife! When Michi said you wanted the dope, we only let her have it because we knew your pop was a big company president and you'd be able to pay...!!

Girl: ...

p246
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Man: But then the broad never came back to pay!
:When we finally chased her down... she said you wouldn't pay up so she couldn't pay!
:Its the truth, aint it!?

Girl: ...
:...O-Okay... I'll pay up!
: Come with me and I'll get you your money- so you can put away that knife...!

004:-Hey!

p247
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004: -Don't you know that running around with sharp objects can be dangerous...!?

Short man: Who the hell are you!?
:Think you can run away, huh!?

p248
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Man: We'll remember this-!!

Girl: Aha, ha, ha-!!

p249
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Girl: ...Wow! You are so cool!!
:That was awesome-!!

004: What are you talking about!?
:...What are you thinking?... A girl your age, strolling around in the middle of the night by herself is bound to run into trouble!!
:Where do you live?

Girl: ...Right over there!

004: -Then hurry home and go to bed!

Girl: Ah? Wait! ...You have to walk me home...!
: -That gang might be hiding nearby, just waiting for you to leave!
:...My name's Nana, Nana Kashima....

p250
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004: T-This is your house!?

Nana: Yup! Pretty nice, huh?
:-Ya see, I'm real rich... That’s why those guys were after me...

004: ...
:...Well then... goodbye.

p251
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Nana: Hey - You can't leave now. Come in..!! You don't have to restrain yourself...
:-I'm sure nobody's home...

004: Wha..
:What!?
: ...

Nana: Just wait a sec while I slip into something a bit more comfortable!
:Don't you leave...!!

004: -No, wait!.. What did you mean when you said you're "sure nobody's home"...!?
:What about your parents!?

Nana: My pop's on a business trip!!

004: And your mother?
:Where's your mother!?

p252
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Nana: Ta-da!!
:...Don't...
: have a mother!

004: S-Stop!! What are you doing...!?
:You're just a kid...!!

p253
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Nana: What's wrong? Don't you like my negligee?

004: ......

Nana: Its nothing special... but pretty sexy, huh?
: He, he... You see,
: this belongs to the woman who wants me to pretend she's my mom...!!

004: Hm?!

Nana: My real mom ｂａｉｌｅd on us... so my pop went and coupled up with someone else.

004: Th-Then where is she now!?

Nana: How should I know!?
: As soon as dad leaves, she runs off to play!!
: Want a smoke?

004: -No, I don't!!

p254
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Nana: Then, how 'bout a drink!?

004: -No!!

Nana: -Then... take me!! Hold me tight - I'm all yours!! After all, you saved my life... So I...

004: ABSOLUTELY NOT!!
: ...I'm leaving!!

Nana: Wait! You can't do that!!
:-Look out there!!

p255
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Nana: Its the same guys from before...!!
: If you leave, I might be killed, ya know...!!

004: A...Alright then... first I'll chase them away...

Nana: That's no good, either - Even if you chase them away, they'll come back for me!
: ...Now that they know where I live, that is...!!
: This is all your fault! You better take responsibility for what you've done!

004: W-W-What!?

Nana: Well, its true, isn't it!?
:All I had to do was pay the 400,000 yen and everything would have been fine... but you came along and messed things up...!!

p256
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004: Alright already!... I'll stay... just a little longer...!!
: -So do me a favour and go get changed into something decent...!!

Nana: Really!?
: Okay, you got it!!

004: ...

Nana: ...That 400,000 yen was drug money, ya know!

004: ...You really are a bad egg, aren't you!?
:...And I suppose you're still using them, now!?

p257
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Nana: No! I didn't buy them...!!

004: Hm?!

Nana: ...It was my pal, Michi... Looks like she just used my name...!! She can be so dumb... all she had to do was ask and I would've let her have the money... That's what friends are for, after all...!!

004: Sounds like your "pal" isn't the only dumb one...
:Anyone who'd pick such a back-stabbing coward as their friend...

Nana: H-Hey! -What are you trying to say, buddy!?
: -You better quit bad-mouthing Michi! You don't even know anything about her...!!
: ...She's had a hard life...!

p258
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Nana: ...She doesn't have a dad - and her mom works at a bar every night and doesn't come home 'till the morning...

004: ...And so - you don't complain when she sends you her 400,000 yen drug debts to pay off!?

Nana: -That's right... That's what friends are!
: I don't mind giving 400,000 - as a gift... in return for her friendship...

004: Ha, ha, ha... You really are dumb...!! -You think you can buy friendship with money...
:And what's more, it doesn't even cross your mind ...
: -what might happen to your friend because of the stuff you're buying her!
: ... Don't you know what drugs do to you!? They mess up your brain and destroy your body...!!
: ...Just to get their hands on the stuff, people will lie and even betray their friends... And it sure looks like its all starting to happen to your pal, Michi...

p259
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Nana: Sh-Shut up, already!!

004: ...I think its about time you dropped the act. I can tell - you're actually a good kid...!!

Nana: ...
: Hm!... I don't know what you're talking 'bout!
: - You think you're so damn smart!

004: And no more cigarettes!

Nana: D-Don't I look old enough to... - Er... I mean ...what the hell!?

p260
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Nana: Wh... Wh... What the hell!
: All of this coming from someone who's not even man enough to make it with a girl who offers herself to him... because he's such a damn coward!
: -That's right!
: You're all talk!
: You're not a real man!!
: -I dare you to come and prove me wrong - Show me that you're a real man!!
: ...

p261
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p262
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004: ...

p263
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Nana: -Oh!

004: -Ah, Good Morning!
: Did you have a good sleep!?

Nana: Y...Yes...
: Thank you... You really stayed the whole night for me!

004: -That's right... just like I promised...
: -Now, I made some coffee and toast... does that sound like a good enough breakfast?

p264
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Nana: ...Sounds great!

004: Good. Then, let's have breakfast together.
: Ha, I have to say that you look much cuter without all that makeup...!!

Nana: ...

004: You remember what we talked about, last night, right?... Once your parents come home...
: ...you have to sit down and have a good, long talk with them...!

Nana: ...I remember...

004: If you always keep your problems to yourself and just sulk about them, they'll never get solved!
: -And also, make sure to talk to the police about that gang and about you friend, Michi's problem...!!

Nana: ...Okay.

P265
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004: And also... make sure to go to school!...
: You're still only in eighth grade or so, right?
: ...I saw one of your text books last night ...
: ...

Nana: Okay... I'll go to school... I'm sorry...

004: -Good girl.
: Well, I've got to get going!

Nana: You're going to leave...!?

004: ...That's right...
: -I can't imagine that gang would try to come here at this time of day!
: ...And I can't just stay here forever...!

Nana: ...

p266
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Nana: ...No...!
:W-Wait... -You can't go...!!
: You can't go...!!
: Please stay!!
: I... I...
: I...

p267
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Nana: Please... Please stay!! I.... If you stay, I'll be a good kid!! I'll quit smoking... I'll go to school everyday... I'll be really, really good!!
:Please! I...I'm lonely... I'm so lonely! - Nobody cares about me... Nobody... Nobody loves me...!!
:I need you to stay... Please... love me!! Won't you love me!?

p268
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004: ...No, you're wrong! - I can't..!!.

Nana: W-Why!?
: I'm not wrong... I... I love you-!!

004: No! No, that isn't love...!!
: Its just dependence...!
: ...Trying to become a juvenile delinquent was the same - You were just looking for something to be dependant on other than yourself...!!
: ...That kind of dependency is for the weak...!
: ...Do you understand? This world is filled with people living with even more painful thoughts-
:...and even more loneliness...
:-who don't give up and who stay strong....

p269
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004: For example...
:I'm one of those people...

Gang guy 1: This is payback for yesterday!!

Gang guy2: We'll get you!!

p270-271
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004: Take a look...

Nana: ...!!

p272
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Nana: ......

END

blackafter@gmail.com — Fri, 20 Aug 2004 04:45:43 GMT

I’m back from my “vacation!” with 2 translations…

This one is a 002-centered short story from book #12. It wasn’t too difficult but the title was a tough one to translate… it literally translates into “Love’s Glacier” but I knew that name wouldn’t cut it in English… Unfortunately, the one I chose wasn’t much better… Please tell me if I missed any spelling/grammar errors, etc. Thanks!
Note: As always, this is read from right to left.

Book 12

P267
Frozen Love

p268
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There are times when a man comes to despise his own abilities...

p269
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It is at those times that he feels an urge to not use those abilities and instead partake in one of the meaningless pursuits of a normal man.

002: My name is Jet Link. I am the cybernetic soldier called 002.

p270
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002: ...Damn, its no use...
: suddenly, back to cyborg again!!

p271
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In the words of a famous mountain climber, when asked why he climbs, "Because it's there" - it's
the simple meaningless of climbing that enchants me…
:Or maybe its just that I want to do something other than the one, sole purpose I was created for…

002: A travellers' cabin?...

p272
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002: ...Um!?

Girl: I'm Eva...
:Eva Clien

002: I'm Jet Link.
:D-Did you come here - all by yourself!?

Eva: ...Yes.
:...I wanted to see the sun raise and set from the top of the mountains - just one time.

p273
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Eva: But, I didn't get here by climbing... a helicopter brought me.

002: A helicopter!? Oh, brother... In other words
:a rich girl's "mountain climbing" on a whim!?

Eva: I guess you could say that...

002: So you take the most convenient way right to the top. You'ｖｅ got quite a concept of mountain climbing...!
:If a real climber was to hear about this, they'd be disgusted.

Eva: But... I really wanted to see it.
:I've always been so well taken care of. Up until now, I knew nothing of the outside world.....
:And so...

002: And so baby takes her first step, right? How lovely..

p274
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002: I was raised in the slums of New York -
:Somehow, I don't think we have much in common to talk about.

Eva: -That sounds so interesting... do you think you could tell me about that?

002: You've gotta be kidding me!!
:I 'm not your majesty's royal jester, ya know!!

Eva: I'm,,,
:...I'm sorry...

P275
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Eva: Cough, cough...

002: Eva?
:Hey, what's wrong? Are you okay?
: ...Oh no! You've got a horrible fever!

Eva: ...I-I'm sorry... but I'll be alright.
:...I always get like this,,, at this time of night.

002: "Always"?
:Do you have some kind of sickness..!?

Eva: ...Actually, I... I don't have much time left...

P276 Top
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Eva :...The doctors say maybe a month,,, And so, before it was too late, I wanted to just once.....
:-Look! Its so beautiful!!

002: Now every thing makes sense...!

p276 (Bottom)
002: When you said you'd "always been so well taken care of"... you meant..!
:...I assumed...

Eva: Well,- ha, ha, ha,- you were right about one thing. I am quite wealthy.
:You see, my father left me an enormous inheritance.

002: Inheritance? You mean...!?

Eva: ...Yes. -Now, I am all alone....

p277 (bottom)
002: ...I'm sorry, Eva. I didn't know...

Eva: You don't need to apologize. It's my fault. I just know so little about the world...

p278
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Eva: I'm lucky to have come on such a beautiful day. -The sun will be setting soon...

002: Is the helicopter-
: coming back for you, tomorrow?

Eva: Y -Yes, but...

002: But?

Eva: ...Never mind... its nothing.
:After seeing this...
:all of my wishes in life have been fulfilled.

p280
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Eva: I... I'm sorry Jet...
:Just because of me, you've had to stay here longer than you planned...

002: Eva, don't worry about that... I was just climbing this mountain on a whim, anyways...

Eva: I... I had always longed to be free- to run freely through the fields... ...to fly through the sky... to love- to be loved!!

002: ...Eva...

p281
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002:Eva!?
:-Eva! ...W-What are you doing!?

Eva: The sun sets...
:And the sun raises again.,,,

002: ...!

p282
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v328/paulafromtwoson/Frozen%20Love/vol12p282.jpg

Eva: ...The eternal sun...!
:...this eternal, frozen mountain...!! -Goodbye, Jet!!

002: Eva!!
:Stupid!!
:What are you...!?

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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v328/paulafromtwoson/Frozen%20Love/vol12p283.jpg

002:-Eva! Eva!!

Eva: Th-Thank you, Jet...
:B-Because to you... just for a moment... I was able to f-feel what it is to.. love... I was... very happy...

002: Eva!!
: ...
:Damn it!!
:L-Look, Eva! -Its the sky!!
:You wanted to escape your bed and fly like a bird...
:This is the sky...!!

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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v328/paulafromtwoson/Frozen%20Love/vol12p284285.jpg

002: Look Eva, You're finally free!!
:...Free from the shackles of your sickness - free!!

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002: D-Damn it.. What irony...!
: ...The meeting of the dying woman and the man who, by just replacing his own worn out parts, could live forever...

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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v328/paulafromtwoson/Frozen%20Love/vol12p286.jpg

002: ...But its like you said- Love, even for just a moment.. no, because love so brief, its so precious...
:...and in just a moment, eternity is possible...
:...Sleep in this frozen mountain, Eva... sleep eternally.
:-There are times when I despise my own abilities...

END

P.S. I’m now trying my hand at translating other stuff… Anyone interested in having manga translations done check here:
http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=paulafromtwoson