Asian Cup 2007: Australia vs Japan

Looks like i got my wish, though it wasn't a thrashing but in the end it's the results that matters i guess. Quite a big of excitement after 70 minutes when Australia scored through John Aliosi, then Japan equalised through Takahara almost instantly.

Strong, composed finish from Takahara

And a few minutes later, Australia had a man sent off for a flying elbow challenge. I thought Japan would impose their grip on the match after that, but it went all the way to a penalty shoot-out.

Australia had their own selves to blame after their first 2 PK takers (Harry Kewell and Lucas Neill) had their poor penalties saved, but all credit to the Japan goalie. Japan won the shootout 4-3 and will face either Uzbekistan or Saudi Arabia in the semis.

Celebrations after winning the shoot-out!

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Finally completed [eM] -eNCHANT arM- (the NA title is "Enchanted Arms") today. First RPG i've finished on the X360 and it's actually very good. The combat system (sort of like turn-based chess) is unique in that the damage for every move is clearly shown beside the move name, eliminating random damage (or critical hits) so you actually can plan right down to the last HP how much you can hit an enemy in 1 turn.

If you think that makes it sound easy, think again. The final boss(es, all 7 'final' battles) are actually quite challenging and require alot of prior preparation. A little short (26 hours) for the main storyline but that's excluding me entering the bonus dungeon or aggressive levelling (finished at lvl.47).

Next game i want to start on (and hopefully complete) is the IdolM@ster. Looks like only 1 person in Singapore has completed that game so far.

Caught Somewhere in Time

Spent my Saturday getting the Perfect Ending Achievement for The IdolMaster. Took me about 4 hours + to reach the end of my 52 week stint and then the hardest part was the farewell concert at the Dome. Failed 20 over times before i decided to sleep off my frustrations. Resumed when i woke up and passed it on my 2nd try. Hmm, I guess i would attribute the earlier failures to fatigue. That clears 20% of the achievement for the game. I have my eye set on at least 4 more achievements this week for this game.
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Drama: Kekkon Dekinai Otoko (The Man Who Can't Get Married) 1-12 (Finish!)

Wow~! This is definitely the most enjoyable (2006) drama that i watched this year. Abe Hiroshi gives a stellar performance as Kuwano Shinsuke (40), a nit-picking, cynical architect who enjoys being alone and can't understand why anyone would want to be married. His HR skills (or total lack of it), blunt and insensitive remarks and inconsideration makes you wonder why anyone would put up with him. (ans: he's a famous and highly regarded architect). It's not HA-HA funny but the subtle humour and interesting character relations make this a must-watch. Word of warning: If you are looking for a show with many Highs and Lows and twists, this isn't it. Most of the episodes are just re-affirmations that he dislikes social interactions and people in general.

Kuninaka_Ryoko

And did i mention that his neighbour Michiru (Kuninaka Ryoko) is really cute as well? I think she sort of resembles some MediaCorp artiste.
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Drama: Sexy Voice and Robo (Episode 1)

I'm very disappointed with this manga->anime->drama adaptation. Watched it cause Matsuyama Kenichi was in it but the first episode was a big disjointed mess. The first case feels really draggy and its hard to feel for the over-the-top Otaku(there are some funny moments though) played by Kenichi or Ohgo Suzuka as the middle schoolgirl who cares too much for other people. Especially after seeing Kekkon Dekinai Otoko i find it hard to swallow that someone would actually care so much for strangers.

I'll watch a couple more episodes before deciding whether to drop this series. Probably the only draw now is that 14-year old (born Aug '93)Ohgo Suzuka is extremely cute and sweet.

Shidou Nakamura makes an appearance in the first episode as well. Haven't seen this 2 in a show since Yamato.
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Go My Way!

My 2nd YesAsia DVD shipment arrived today. I really prefer buying DVDs from overseas because everything just looks more professional than the local prints of movies. The price is about the same if not cheaper, there's a bigger catalogue to choose from. Anyway this delivery only took 6 days, which is damn fast for free shipping.

Of note among the DVD Su-ki-da (Korean edition) and i'm really impressed with the package i got. Subtitles (Korean, English and French) looks good when i scanned through the first chapter and it comes with some nice extras. Click on the pic below to see the stuff included.

Was playing IdolMaster last night and spotted an easter egg. If you've seen Nana the movie you will recognise the music store that Hachi goes into to buy Trapnest's album. Well the same background is used in IM and the bottom right you can see the Nana DVD on sale on the shelve.

IM is pretty fun. I chose to 'produce' Chihaya Kisaragi for my first idol but i later read that's she pretty hard to manage. I'm on the last 12 weeks of my 52 week idol cycle and i need 510k more fans to get the A-rank achievement. Don't think i'll get it this playthrough but now that i've more or less got the hang of the game mechanics i think it should be no problem for my next starlet.

Pre-audition grilling ala Singapore Idol.

I have trouble even talking to girls, how the hell do i motivate them?

Another Audition passed! Idol Rank UP!

Another audition failed...Time to use the sign-out and reload trick!

All for a chance to perform in front of a crowd.

Can you say "Star Power!" ?

The gist of the game is that you have to train your idol (Visual, Dance and Vocal stats) through mini-games and then guide her through auditions. If she makes it through she gets to perform (you can produce 5 singles for 1 idol initially) and you get more fans. Rinse and repeat. The hard part is managing the girls because all of them have very different temperament. Sort of like DOA Extreme 2. The bad thing is that i used up my 5th single about 10weeks too early so i've been stuck with hearing her perform 'Go My Way!' for the last 20+ weeks.