The Feb 2012 Kolkata Anime Club Meet

Date: 19th Feb 2012.
Location; Reetam's House, Garia.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The 10th meet was special for me (Reetam) in many ways. It would be the first meet I would be attending (and hosting) since the 2nd meet just over a year back. In the duration of one year, a lot had changed in KAC, but I was looking forward to an awesome anime meet as usual, hyped up as I was at all the amazing meets that had been happening at KAC over the past few months....

I arrived in Kolkata at the crack of dawn that morning, and got around to cleaning my flat right after I reached home. By 10, I had managed to get it to a presentable condition, the posters put back up, the rooms cleaned and all preparations made for an otaku onslaught (yes, I am a one man army). The first person to arrive was the surprise package Aesha, who had not told anyone that she would be coming (... On hindsight, she probably came hoping to break in and steal all my anime, not knowing that I would be home by then). While she went about ransacking my anime collection, I ran out to buy more tape (some of my posters were falling off) and to receive ADG and Sayanee. They reached my place soon enough and went around making the questions for the Anime quiz that was to be held later on.

Before the Otaku onslaught proper 

The KAC commemorative poster

The official timing of afternoon getting close by, people started arriving one by one. There was Rhea san attending her first meet, the Mullick trio without whom every meet seems incomplete, Chayan (who was meeting me for the 2nd time) and Hindol (meeting me for the first time). There was also Bibhas and his friend Pooja. Last but definitely not the least, there was another surprise package, Promit aka Hizibizi who unexpectedly turned up (and thus 2 of the 3 people I had really wanted to meet were present at the meet).

The awesome dudes of KAC, (from left) Chayan, Bibhas, ADG, Hindol, Reetam and Pratyay

All the anime talk for the past hour or so had made us all very hungry (no surprises there... refer to previous meets to see a pattern emerging here), and we promptly ordered a ton of food, which luckily arrived before we turned into a bunch of famished cannibals. The girls did a brilliant job of taking over the kitchen and serving everybody, and for the next half hour, we ate and we talked more anime. And ate some more and talked some more anime.

Appetite sated, we then decided that we shall not indulge in much strenuous activity for quite sometime, and instead relaxed and found ourselves spots to enjoy the anime screening that I had meticulously planned out.

During the screening, Part I

First up was Kakurenbo, a suspense thriller that saw the audience totally silent for 30 minutes. Even on a hot afternoon with the sun shining brightly outside, the audience was spellbound and a bit creeped out too...
Kakurenbo was followed by Genius Party: Baby Blue, a 15 min slice of life that I had watched for the first time only the previous night and couldn't wait to share with the rest of the KAC members. Hizibizi left soon afterwards, and after a series of teary goodbyes to KACs resident perv, we returned to our screenings. The last anime to be screened was a classic comedy short movie, Memories: Stink Bomb, which had the audience in splits for the full hour that it ran for.

During the screening, Part II

Dusk was approaching by the time we were done with the screenings, and we felt it was time to hold the Anime Quiz. ADG and Sayanee were the quizmasters (aided by Aesha), and it consisted of well crafted rounds that everyone thoroughly enjoyed. The quiz was a loud and boisterous affair, but at the end Aditi and I came out jointly victorious, while Chayan, Rhea and Hindol were runners up. We were all given awesome posters as prizes (mine is up on my wall.... people attending meets in the future do check them out!).

Winners of the quiz

....and the runners up

The official activities over, we moved on to the compulsory coda of our meets, the photosession which was another mad and boisterous affair. It was already dark by then and we decided to end the meet then and there. It was definitely the best meet I had attended so far. Being able to organise it properly really made a difference. Good food, good anime, and of course, so many people turning up... all that made this meet really awesome!

Customary photo session in front of the Anime wall

Minutes from the meet:

• List of attendees - Reetam, Nia, ADG, Sayanee, Aesha, Chayan, Hindol, Rhea, Aditi, Ayanti, Pratyay, Bibhas, Pooja and Promit.
• Nia, along with the other admins, got me a commemorative KAC poster (which I proudly display on the wall, right beside the poster I won for the quiz.)
• The guys were surprised at how much the girls were capable of eating.

Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica - Review

Title: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica/Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Episode Count: 12

"Don't judge a book by its cover.." - Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica profoundly stands up for this statement. At first glance it seems like a cute comedy with moe girls & a typical magical adventure, but one needs to watch the entire show to understand what this anime is actually about!

For those  who are confused or curious whether to watch it or not, this trailer might help a bit -

:Trailer:

Plot: 
In the Madoka Magica universe, strange creatures exist who grant one particular wish to a chosen girl. In return the girl must make a contract of becoming a magical girl (mahou shoujo) & fight witches who cause suffering such as murders or suicides, in short - any kind of negativity.

In the city of Mitakihara, two schoolgirls, Madoka Kaname & Sayaka Miki are approached by such a creature named Kyubey. But a classmate of theirs' named Homura Akemi keeps preventing Madoka from communicating with Kyubey. On the other hand, Kyubey keeps trying to convince Madoka that she can become the most powerful mahou shoujo in history. Following various circumstances, Madoka & Sayaka meet Mami Tomoe who is already in a contract with Kyubey. She teaches them the aspects of being a mahou shoujo. Consequently, Sayaka becomes a mahou shoujo and faces competition from Kyoko. As the plot progresses the story of Homura unfolds. Meanwhile, the reason behind the creation of mahou shoujo, magical creatures and how the balance of the universe is related is revealed leading up to a dramatic climax which is sure to surprise you.

Characters:

Though the series consists of only 12 episodes, the characters go through an enormous amount of change, especially the protagonists. Homura’s backstory is also brilliantly characterized.  Madoka – as the main protagonist, is lovable and altruistic. Kyoko, originally self-centered, is the enigma of the show. Viewers can sympathize with Mami when she explains the burdens that one has to bear when they become a mahou shoujo. Kyubey is another interesting aspect of the series. The supporting cast, such as Madoka’s mother Junko Kaname, Sayaka’s friend & love interest - Tatsuya Kaname & others are well portrayed.  The interaction between the characters & some of the dialogues are quite moving.

Some Quotes from the series:

"We're fighting for our own wishes. It's normal not to get noticed or remembered." -Homura

 "In our culture, the phenomenon called emotion is only a mental disorder" -Kyubey

"It sucks, but you can't reach a happy ending just by doing what's right all the time. Actually, the more people get stubborn and insist they're in the right, the further away happiness gets." -Kanami Junko

"Don't forget. Always, somewhere, someone is fighting for you. As long as you remember her, you are not alone." - Epilogue

Art:
Each anime production company usually has its own unique style of art. Madoka Magica is produced by SHAFT which previously made commendable series like ‘Bakemonogatari’, ‘Arakawa Under The Bridge’ etc. The factor which stands out the most among the unique art style of Madoka is the characters appearing as moe, cute; as if they are hand drawn & pencil-shaded while the background looks maturely animated. Another interesting phenomena is, when the mahou shoujos enter the inner world of the witches to fight them, the background completely changes & looks abstract! Also, when the characters are feeling a certain emotion i.e. fear or anger, the background particularly concentrates on one certain colour. Thus, the all-over animation is quite excellent.

Sound & Music:
When Yuki Kaijura (Kara no Kyoukai, Tsubasa Chronicles) is the music director of an anime it is evidently phenomenal! Background music is aptly present during almost every sequence & gives a unique feel to every situation. The OSTs are divided into 3 volumes & my personal favourite will be the theme of Kyubey.The OP theme is “Connect” by ClariS and ED is “Magia” by Kalafina. The OP and ED contrast sharply as the OP is pleasant and catchy whereas the ED has underlying dark tones.

Overall:
This has to be one of the most intriguing short anime productions I’ve watched so far. Another interesting aspect of Madoka Magica is probably its antagonist(s) who keep you guessing their ulterior motives. The series contradicts the ‘blessed magical girl’ trope by deconstructing the concept and not shying away from the despair and anguish in the life of a mahou shoujo However, the unpredictable ending of Madoka Magica generously makes up for what seems to be a first a typical moe production. This dark masterpiece of Urobuchi Gen even with just 12 episodes, will keep you hooked to the plot, constantly reinventing itself. Overall, a captivating series which definitely deserves to be on the recommendation list.

Overall Rating:
9/10

Steins;Gate - Review

Main Title:  STEINS;GATE

Type: TV Series, 24 episodes

Synopsis:  The story of Steins;Gate takes place in Akihabara and is about a group of friends who have managed to customize their microwave into a device that can send text messages to the past. As they perform different experiments, an organization named SERN who has been doing their own research on time travel tracks them down and now the characters have to find a way to avoid being captured by them.

 (Source: AniDB)

Plot:  Steins;Gate (シュタインズ・ゲート, Shutainzu Gēto) was originally a visual novel described as a ‘hypothetical science adventure game’.  The anime adaptation takes off from the same premise. Okarin, Mayushii and Daru experiment in their ‘lab’ to create futuristic gadgets, such as the Mobile Microwave. On a visit to the Radio Kaikan building, Okarin finds Makise Kurisu lying in a pool of blood.  As soon as he sends a text to Daru informing him about the incident, Okarin finds his surroundings altered, with no one remembering anything. And from here begins a mind-twisting journey involving CERN, time travel, otakus, moe culture, and love which lasts beyond world lines. Any more details would be major spoilers. The story involves plenty of arcs and subplots. But they are connected perfectly to the main plot, in ways you’d least expect. Full of surprising turns and unknown motives, this is treat for mystery-lovers. But behind all the fast-paced action and sci-fi thrills, the anime also deals with serious issues, such as the consequences of your actions, the philosophy of life, and the anguish of being defeated by fate, time and time again.

Rating - 9/10

Characters:  The best thing about the characters of Steins;Gate is their uniqueness. Every character is distinct and evolves throughout the story, including the supporting cast. The relationships between the characters are constantly developing, not one of them is ignored. The lead pair develops beautifully. And some other character connections are sure to surprise you later on.  Although the anime was a tad stereotypical when it came to the lead tsundere, I never got tired of Okarin’s mad scientist persona, Kyouma. Overall, an engaging cast.
Tuturu~

Rating – 8.5/10

Animation: The animation was just right for this series. A restrained color palette, but brilliantly done. Symbols were used very subtly, you have to keep your eyes open and they won’t make sense until the later episodes. The angles were innovative. The action scenes and the world line sequences were done very well. Certain mature scenes involving violence and/or death were similarly handled smoothly.

Rating -  9/10

Music:  The OP, ‘Hacking to the Gate’ by Kanako Ito is apt in both music and lyrics, and suits the tone of the anime. The ending theme however is darker and uncertain, which is probably for the best since every episode ends with a cliffhanger of sorts. Background music is minimal, but effectively utilized.  This anime takes its music seriously, with poignant silences in many key scenes. Voice actors did a flawless job.

 Rating - 9.5/10

Overall –  A rollercoaster. Sounds cliché, but an apt description. The anime takes twists you didn’t even know were there. Every episode ends with a cliffhanger. Things which seem out of place in the first few episodes gradually begin to make sense in the last couple of episodes. A must-watch for mystery and thrill seekers.  Steins;Gate is definitely sci-fi in genre, but it doesn’t limit itself in terms of exploring other topics.  There may be a few plot loopholes, but they’re not noticeable. With outstanding plot progression, this anime is a struggle against dystopian fate which refuses to be altered. Steins;Gate is a series which definitely messes with your head, and definitely should be watched.

Overall Rating -  9/10

AniDB Rating: 9.15

Lets Learn Japanese II

Hi there!!^_^

This section will give you an overview on how to speak, write and read the Japanese language. This segment is added to help and aid those who would love to learn the language and are unable to join professional courses due to lack of time for proper class or other reasons, for those who would like to get a feel of the language and would be motivated to join proper classes later on.


Before we begin, however, one needs to understand that the best way to learn ANY language, is to join a proper course with trained professional teachers.:) As I am neither, what I say here doesn't make it absolute.:). Also, if this is your first time here, you're advised to first check out  "Part-I".:)
Dewa, hajimemasu.:)

Writing Hiragana and Katakana.

It would be better if you visit these links to learn about it better. :D:D

Hiragana

Katakana

あたらしい ことば (new words)

ペン(Phen) - Pen

ロビー(robii) - Lobby

コーヒー(Koohii) - Coffee

 フランス(furansu) - France

JAPANESE NAME FOR BODY PARTS

 て(Te) - Hand 

みみ(mimi) - ears

はな( hana) - Nose

くび( kubi) -Neck

のど( nodo) - Throat

ゆび( yubi) - Fingers

くち( kuchi) - Mouth

あし( ashi) - Legs

はら( hara) - Stomach

せなか( senaka) - back

かみ( kami) - Hair

め ( me) - eyes.

Click on the play button to find out how the pronunciations are.:)

In this post, you'll also learn how to introduce yourself formally in Japanese. This set of phrase, that you are about to learn, is used one time only , i.e. when meeting a person for the first time.


はじめまして、
わたし は ______________ です。
どうぞ よろしく。


Hajimemashite,
watashi wa  ____________ desu.
Douzo yoroshiku.


(Pleased to meet you,
My name is _________.
I hope we have a pleasant relationship from now on.)


NOTE : I'll explain more about "yoroshiku" later. ^^.


A few things you have to remember while you're starting out with Japanese language :


Sama, dono, san, chan, kun, etc are the honorifics you use for the second or third person. You're never to use it as a suffix when you talk about yourself. for example, you'll never say " I am Mr. Lucky Singh," would you? >__<.
Same here, you are not supposed to use "___san desu" because it is not correct and sounds weird.


Click on the play button to hear how to speak these three lines.:3

Right at the start, I said :

こんにちは みんな、

ごあいさたす しよう か。

では、 はじめます。

konnichwa - Here used as "hello"

Minna - Everyone (minasan when being very formal)

(go) aisatsu - greetings

shiyou - lets do (shimashou when being formal)

hajimemasu - starting.

"Hi everyone, lets do some greetings shall we? Well then, starting off." 

[Note : Japanese sentences cannot be translated literally into english most of the time because of the sentence structure. It is easier if you think in terms of how you say it in Bangla or Hindi.]

Now let's do a bit of grammar - 

you might have noticed me writing "ha" and pronouncing it as "wa". Well, its time to tell you about the "particles"

Particles are alphabets that acts like cement to bind words in a sentence together. Depending on the complexity of the sentence, more than one particles can be used.:)...when alphabets are used as particles, "は" is pronunced as "wa","へ" as "e" and "を" as "o ".

That's all for this post. See you next time.:3

The Ninth Kolkata Anime Club meet.

Location: Chayan's place, Behala.
Date: 17th December, 2011.

(Chayan Chakrabarty, at the front- who was our host)

The September Meet of KAC had been the first meet where we had over 15 people attending. The next major meet was kept on 17^th December, and Chayan had generously agreed to host the meet at his home. The initial timing was decided to be from 11:30 AM till 5PM. On the due date, most of us reached Tollygunj Metro station between 11 and noon, and then we took autos to reach Behala. Kritika and Ajitabh joined us there. Eighteen of us were already present and we all somehow managed to fit into the living room.

(From left- Sourajit, Hindol & Riddhidev)

After the customary introductions by members, we began with the anime screening (which was done on laptops since there wasn’t a bigger screen). A medley consisting of Fate/Zero’s summoning scene, Rider’s noble phantasm and Saber vs Archer was shown. Dream Port – Sand Dream was played and Sprinter- Kalafina was the other anime shown.

(During the screening - 1)

(During the anime screening - 2)

Aditi had made a really amazing video for this meet, encompassing the journey of KAC right from its inception till now. It was a massive hit with the members, and it also gave the new members an idea of what KAC had been up to all this time.

(KAC recap video)

All that good anime had made us hungry (and it was conveniently lunchtime). Sayantan, Nia & Shriya went out to search for food which was a bit of a hassle as there were no food stalls nearby. Anyhow, a food-stall was found and their joint bargaining and negotiating skills ensured that our stomachs were sated before we continued. It was around that time that Promit, Ayush, Deepraj, Kashyap and Kaushik arrived. With 23 people present, The meet had officially become the one with the highest number of attendees so far!

(From left: Hindol, Chayan, Shriya, Ayanti, Sayanee, Aditi, Bibhas, Ayush) 

Next on our agenda was the drawing contest. Members had brought along (or sent, in some cases) their artwork on which all the others voted to select the best entry. Abhyam and Roopkatha ended up taking first and second prizes, respectively. (More details regarding the Contest here).

(The drawing contest entries)

All then important work done, everyone got to the most important part of the day – the photo shoot. We had our usual share of fun, crazy posing and all that. As the meet came to our end, we behaved like responsible otakus and cleaned up the mess we had made over the last few hours before heading back to our homes, glad to be part of the best and most awesome KAC meet so far.

(From left: Chayan, Riddhiman, Ajitabh, Roopkatha, Aesha, Sourajit)

(From Left: Ayush, Deepraj, Kashyap, Kritika, Ayanti, Aditi, 
Abhishek, Sunny, Shriya, Kaushik, Sayanee)
..................................................................................................................

Highlights:
• The entire event was delayed by an hour, as some of the members took quite a while to gather at the decided spot.
• 23 people attended in total, a new high. There were members dropping out at the last moment, and members dropping in unexpectedly.
• Kritika Gupta, Ajitabh Chowdhury, Roopkatha and Riddhidev Banerjee, Sourajit Karmakar, Ayush Gupta were the new members we had the pleasure of meeting.
• Nia, Sunny and Shriya managed the food requirements, leaving ADG and Sayanee to control quite a wild group.

• The members were escorted home by the mods and admins. Casualties: 0.

9th Meet Special Video(Yet again, made by Aditi!) 

..................................................................................................................

Attendees:

Abhishek Dasgupta, Nia Dutta, Sayantan Bhattacharjee, Sayanee Das, Aesha Dey, Shriya Banerjee, Promit Nath Chatterjee, Bibhas C Debnath, Suplab Debnath, Xavier Das, Chayan Chakrabarty, Roopkatha & Riddhidev Banerjee, Hindol Dey, Sourajit Karmakar, Deepraj, Kashyap, Pari, Kaushik, Kritika, Aditi & Ayanti Mullick, Ajitabh Chaudhuri and Ayush Gupta.

......................................................................................................................
Special mention:
• Reetam Majumdar for getting us the manga.
• Aditi Mullick for her tear jerking AMV depicting KAC's meets spanning from the first to the eighth. Brilliant would be an understatement for something that got us all emotional in public, though I'm not sure if that was in general or just me.
• The admins and the mods for managing the event.