[Youtubery] Ikoku Meiro no Croisee and Dantalian no Shoka

Two nice anime openings from this season – well-animated and both are as different as night and day.

The story takes place in the second half of the 19th century, as Japanese culture gains popularity in the West. A young Japanese girl, Yune, accompanies a French traveller, Oscar, on his journey back to France, and offers to help at the family’s ironwork shop in Paris. Oscar’s nephew and shop-owner Claude reluctantly accepts to take care of Yune, and we learn how those two, who have so little in common, get to understand each other and live together in the Paris of the 1800s.

The story centers around a young man named Huey who inherited a musty old estate, as well the entire book collection contained therein, from his grandfather. Huey meets Dalian, a girl in a black dress who is quietly reading in the basement piled high with books. Dalian controls the gateway to the Bibliotheca Mystica de Dantalian, the forbidden books of demonic wisdom.

[Gaming] Runewars

Back to the salt mines with me! Or rather the toils of talking about board games. Today, we’ll talk about one of the jewels of my collection, Fantasy Flight Games’ epic fantasy strategy game, Runewars!

Released just last year, it’s probably one of the better entries into the strategy genre and one FFG’s finest new designs.

[Youtubery] La Seine From A Monster In Paris

Well, finally back from sickness and overwork. Sigh.

Anyway, to celebrate my return to regular posting, here’s a catchy little tune from the upcoming French animated movie, A Monster In Paris. Looking a bit like Disney’s recent Tangled, it’s a story of a cabaret singer, her mad scientist love interest, and, of course, a six-foot tall insect monstrosity who plays a mean guitar.

[Image Tax] Because He’s Like Peter Pan

And that means Link should always be played by a woman. Plus she’s French. Two more after the cut.

[Points of Interest] Memoir ’44 Online

War. War never changes – especially when it’s been translated to the online version.

 

Memoir ’44 is probably one of the easiest war games to get into. It’s more game than simulation – which often turns off the more serious war gamers – but it does that game part very well; plus it’s one of those really good entry-level games.  The biggest problem has always been it’s a two-player game – which is a turn-off for some board gamers – which makes it difficult get a game on. Well, here’s the Internet to the rescue!

[Blood On My Fists] Hard Revenge Milly + Hard Revenge Milly: Bloody Battle

One of my other abiding passions is martial arts movies. I just like the punchin’, kickin’, slicin’, dicin’ action they bring to the table. I’ve already done a few reviews but I haven’t made a solid commitment to making such posts – but, hey, you have to begin somewhere. And we’ll be beginning somewhere bloody: Japan’s Hard Revenge Milly and it’s sequel Hard Revenge Milly: Bloody Battle.

[Image Tax] Fear The Vampire Sheikh

Because nothing says “vampire” more than living in a desert and being on fire.

Source: Harlequin Nocturne

[On The Shelf] Astigirl

And now for something completely different! I’ve been featuring games exclusively on On The Shelf for awhile now, but it’s time to spread my wings a little to my other interests. One of these interests is in books and I just stumbled on a book that definitely fits the bill: Astigirl