indigozeal

All right, let's wrap up plot stuff. ( cut )

So this was the J.D. backstory episode. ( cut )
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Trouble started when Vegan Blond Metal Chef was fatigued enough actually to burn a batch of cookies, then promptly collapsed. ( And what happened then, indigo? )
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After all the excitement of being in on a release of a new installment of one of my favorite franchises, real-life considerations have conspired to keep me away from Maren no Rokukishi. Roku Kishi? I'm honestly not sure whether to treat that "roku" as a counter or not, but I think I might've made a mistake in initially doing so. Six Knights of Dark Love, how's that. Anyhow, to the point: the release window is slipping away from me so that I'd considered jettisoning Neo Ange for a waltz with the Six Knights, but the latter game's subject matter isn't very festive, and Neo Ange has been my very first otome game, so I think I'll finish dancing with what brung me before playing the field.

( OK, so )

Not much to report, except that this was the episode where the "Professor Rayne" stuff started in in earnest.

( You can guess how that went )

Previously, on Neo Angelique - or, rather, this time on Neo Angelique - there was dinner. Previously on Neo Angelique, there was a cranky and uncooperative Hyuga, which plays into problems this time. ( Cut )

What next? Maybe I'll take Hyuga out so that he doesn't feel totally isolated - not on any serious quests, of course. Now that the Celestizam's open to us, I do hope His Stabbiness makes an appearance soon.

Rayne Engrish watch: "ittsu mai taan" ("it's my turn"); "gibu ando teeku" ("give and take" - I don't think he's even aiming for anything intelligible in his native Japanese anymore), and I have written down that he used the word "gaiya" (or possibly "gaaya"), but I didn't note the circumstances, and neither WWWJDIC not Yahoo Japan nor Google have any ideas as to what he could mean. Then again, I think they'd be at a loss on "gibu ando teeku," too.
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I decided finally to crack open the copy of Neo Angelique I'd gotten oh so long ago so I'd have it played by the time Maren no Rokukishi or Roku Kishi or whatever rolled around. I haven't played very far, but it's made a fairly positive first impression so far. I must say I'm impressed with the speed through which it rolled through the preliminaries - I was afraid it was going to take a while to reel off the boarding school/parents died/meet Rayne/stash him in closet/meet Nyx/Purifier/Thanatos business, but it actually dispensed with everything fairly swiftly yet effectively. Rayne's even had time for Engrish - "sankyu," "bingo," and "AMEJINGU!" so far.

The small size of the character portraits, of all things, bothers me - you do get zooms on occasion, but perhaps they should have accounted better for the PSP's smaller screen. (The portraits also could use some shading.) I was also disappointed at the early Thanatos battle that consisted only of distressed character reaction shots and cheap swirling CG (i.e., no actual Thanatos shown) - that seemed needlessly cheap.

Storywise, I was surprised at the amount of acrimony Rayne displays toward Nyx - he obviously doesn't trust him and is predisposed to think ill of him. But they put more of an emphasis on Nyx being duplicitous - he promises to prove to Ange the existence of her purifying power, only to lead deliberately lead her into a surprise Thanatos battle (in which he's correctly confident that he can protect her, but still). He's not maliciously duplicitous, of course, but you can understand Rayne's frustration and caution, and it's an interesting angle to take on the Nyx character in contrast with his introduction in the anime, which lays the foundation for his inspirational effect on Ange instead of his double life.

Anyhow, in the end, I surprisingly elected to go with Rayne to perform further investigations in a nearby town rather than head back with Nyx straightaway, which led to my first "love love flash" or whatever you want to call it between Ange & Rayne. Will I join the legions of Rayne fans yet? Stay tuned!
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