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Tag: assassination
Vinland Saga – 03 – It'll Pull You In
Askeladd immediately shows both Floki and us what kind of dudes we're dealing with, as he manages to double the bounty for Thors' head from five to ten pounds of gold. Floki is a very shrewd man with good instincts, but he also has a solid right-hand-man in Bjorn, who spears a Jomsviking who was hiding behind a tapestry and passes it off as an innocent accident.
As for Thors, he doesn't leave at the break of dawn, but is seen off by the whole village. Before they leave, all five of the young men he's bringing along have designs on asking Ylva for her hand in marriage upon their return and presenting her with spoils of war; all Ylva wants is a little more shuteye.
When a young lass who likes Ari (one of the guys who tried to propose to Ylva) is cruelly rebuffed, Leif assures her none of the five greenhorn lads will come to any harm; Thors will see to it they're dumped off in Norway before they see any battle, and Leif promises he'll ship them back to Iceland, disappointed, but with their organs still very much internal.
Seemingly the only member of the village not seeing them off is Thorfinn, who is nowhere to be found and presumed by both Thors and Ylva to still be off skulking, angry about being scolded. We get a little more comedy when the five guys line up on one side of the boat, while Thors is on the other side all on his own with one hell of a huge oar. Leif bangs out the pace on the drum, and the ships are off.
It isn't until they're already out in the open sea that Thorfinn reveals he stowed away. While peeing over the side (he really needed to pee) he suddenly notices where he is, and his smile is so wide and bright, Thors can't help but smile back, despite the fact his son just ruined his plans to try to keep him safe.
He later paints Finn's back door red for his insolence (pretty tame discipline from a viking in the 11th century), as the gears turn in Askeladd's head. He chats with Bjorn about the bounty deal not seeming quite right; he's quite sure Floki reached out to them independently and his superior didn't order Thors' execution.
Askeladd also believes Floki is afraid of incurring a great loss of his own men, and so hired someone else. This tells Askeladd that this Thors fellow shouldn't be a pushover, even if Floki says he's "not a warrior" anymore.
As night falls, Thors warns Ari not to stare at the moon in the sea, lest it "pull him in," a common nautical hazard. As Thorfinn dozes contently in his lap, Thors tells Ari more about his first child, the woman Ari says he's in love with.
It was a difficult birth for Helga, the daughter of the leader of the Jomsvikings, but Thors was about to head out on another mission, and was annoyed he got a daughter instead of a son. He's about to leave when Helga asks him to name her.
He says he's "busy", but Helga insists—the first time he ever saw her truly angry. So he named her Ylva, after his mother. And that, he tells Ari, was the first time he started to feel afraid of battle…which makes sense, as dying in battle meant abandoning his newborn child and wife to an uncertain future.
The next day they arrive at the Faroe Islands—the usual rest stop between Iceland and Scandinavia. They row into a cove that leads to a trading village, but the high walls immediately spell foreboding, and Leif notes that there are fewer structures in the village itself.
By the time they start rowing out of the cove, it's to late—Askeladd's men start dumping huge piles of debris onto their ships, blocking their only exit. Then another drum can be heard: the drum of Askeladd's two ships rowing towards them.
Ari and the other men bristle and claim to be ready for battle, but Thors knows better; the boys will be no match for these hardened foes. So he takes a deep, "I'm getting too old for this shit" breath, pulls out his sword, and hands his dagger to Thorfinn, warning him only to use it in time of absolute need.
Before Askeladd's men know it, Thors has leapt onto one of their ships. He takes out the first man with one punch, two others with two more, and then three with three; six skilled men downed without even drawing his sword. It's then that Bjorn and Askeladd know: they're going to have to work their asses off to earn every ounce of that gold.
Each of the first three Vinland Sagas have been very different affairs—from an introduction to Thors and Thorfinn and live in Iceland, to the arrival of a new old threat, to the swashbuckling adventure that begins in this episode. But all three of kicked all kinds of ass in their own way.
Like Thors himself, it doesn't glamorize violence or killing, and Ari and his four hotshot friends are presented as the naive fools they are. As for Thorfinn, he may not have pissed himself while hiding in that barrel, but yeah…he's now somewhere that's absolutely no place for a six-year-old. I just can't see how this ends well for anyone…but nor dare I look away.
Author braveradePosted on Sun, 7 Jul 2019 Categories Anime Reviews, Summer 2019, Vinland SagaTags askeladd, assassination, at sea, ヴィンランド・サガ, bjorn, family, faroe islands, fear, floki, helga, jomsvikings, leif erikson, oar, stowaway, thorfinn, thors, trap, troll of jom, vikings, vinland, war, warship, wit studio, ylva1 Comment on Vinland Saga – 03 – It'll Pull You In
The Rising of the Shield Hero – 13 – Malty Escalation
When one of Melty's escorts suddenly rushes her, Naofumi acts instinctively and blocks his strike, but then the knights all suddenly adopt the notion that the Shield Hero has kidnapped the Second Princess, and they attack him in order to "rescue" her. Naofumi shields Melty while Raphtalia and Filo deal (non-lethal) blows to the other knights, but two of them aren't fighting; they're recording.
They magically alter that recording to make it look like the "Devil of the Shield's" vicious slaves are massacring the knights, then present that fake footage all across the lands, making it much harder for Naofumi's party to move about freely, keeping his reputation in the shitter (even after all the people he's saved), and preventing him from acquiring the means to level up past 40.
It's a dastardly plot that has Malty written all over it. While Naofumi considers the king to be involved as well, Melty vouches for her father, in whom she doesn't want to lose hope of reconciling with the Shield Hero. When Naofumi decides his party will leave the country and head to Siltvelt, Melty offers to return home, but Naofumi, knowing Malty, warns her that will only get her killed.
So Melty joins the party, not as a hostage, but a willing companion. She learns what her father had done to Naofumi to make him hate him so, while Naofumi learns that Melromarc is a matrilineal monarchy, which means her mother the Queen is higher in rank than the King.
Those small moments of exposition aside, a good chunk of the episode is comprised of lovely sprawling vistas that dwarf the party as they trudge onward, all while Kevin Penkin's lush, sublime score washes over it all. But they're not alone out there in the wilderness: they're being followed…and pursued.
Eventually Naofumi, Raphtalia, Filo and Melty are cornered at the edge of a sheer cliff, and the three heroes, all of them either willing or unwitting puppets of Malty's treachery, descend upon Naofumi, ordering her to release Melty. Naofumi tries to talk sense to them, and even Melty makes a little headroom in calling for an end to "needless conflicts."
But all of that progress is lost when Malty makes the supremely insidious suggestion that Naofumi has in his possession a shield that brainwashes anyone he talks to. That means not only Melty can't be taken at her word, but Raphtalia (and more importantly for Motoyasu, Filo) are brainwashed too. Ren still has his doubts, but gives in to the inertia or Malty's incessant scheming.
Naofumi decides retreat to be the best option, and he, Raphtalia and Melty jump onto Filo and start to fly away, but Filo is brought down and her strength sealed by a magical bangle prepared by the alchemists for Motoyasu to capture her. Melty finally whips out her own (water-based) magic in an attempt to get Filo freed, but Malty fires back with fire, ignoring Ren's suggestion she maybe stop attacking the Crown Princess?
Malty dispenses with any pretense and unilaterally states that if Melty is brainwashed, she must die. Alright, then! I have to say, if Melty was chosen over her to be Crown Princess, you'd think the King and Queen would have done more to limit her powers and freedom of movement, because she has single-handedly really gummed up the works. Raphtalia manages to deliver some revenge when she slips in from behind stabs her with the magic sword she was gifted.
Filo regains her strength (and then some) with the gloves she got as a gift as well, while Naofumi splits the rock formations with his Rage Shield, leaving Ren, Malty, Motoyasu and Itsuki on one side, unable to pursue for now.
They flee into the woods, where they're approached by one of the Queen's Shadows. The Queen summons Naofumi to her location at once, which just happens to be in the opposite direction of their original destination of Siltvelt. It also means backtracking to where they left Malty and the heroes.
With Malty burning through the forest, it's clear that she's not going to give up hunting for Naofumi or her sister that easily. Who knows if anyone will be able to rein her in now, as she's really turned the villainy up to 11. As for Melty, she considers herself an official member of the party, and demands that Naofumi call her by her first name from now on, irking Raphtalia.
There was some great action, adventure, and above all music this week, but man alive does that First Princess steam my beans! My frustration might have knocked this down to an 8 if there wasn't still hope she'll get her just righteous comeuppance at some point.
Author braveradePosted on Thu, 4 Apr 2019 Thu, 4 Apr 2019 Categories Anime Reviews, Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari, Winter 2019Tags altered footage, amaki ren, assassination, brainwashing, church, 盾の勇者の成り上がり, distrust, filo, first name basis, heroes, hunted, iwatani naofumi, kawasumi itsuki, kidnapping, malty melromarc, melty melromarc, plot, princess, raphtalia, reputation, shadows, shield, summons, surrounded, sword hero, village1 Comment on The Rising of the Shield Hero – 13 – Malty Escalation
The Rising of the Shield Hero – 12 – The True Battle Of The Wave
Glass dismisses three of the four heroes as nothing but "servants", and her appraisal isn't off-base, as their best meteor attacks fail to put a scratch on her, and all three go down with one strike, no doubt wounding their egos as well as their bodies.
That leaves Naofumi, Raphtalia, and Filo to deal with her, and while she's somewhat impressed by his stout defense (as befits the Shield Hero), nothing offensive he can throw at her is any more effective than his beaten fellow heroes.
She breaks out of the Shield Prison immediately. Filo's kicks are fast but still can't touch her. Poor Raph's swordsmanship isn't even "worth mentioning." She even calmly basks in the enveloping flames of Naofumi's Rage Shield like it's a sauna; "too cold" to burn her. This Glass lady is tough, and if the first Wave seemed to easy, it's clear the difficulty level has risen exponentially.
That brings us to Naofumi's final trump card, the Iron Maiden, so effective against the soul eater. Turns out it's just as useless on Glass as Shield Prison. Glass' withering criticism of her opponents' attacks almost grows tiresome—we get it, Naofumi can't beat you at his present level—but just as she's ready to take him out, a countdown starts on his HUD, which indicates the Wave "period" is about to end.
Rather than give Glass the last word, Naofumi has Raph cast Fast Light, and the two of them jump on Filo who gets them the hell out of there. She doesn't chase, and her attacks aren't effective at long range, so she calls it a draw, this time. But when the next Wave arrives, she promises to kill them unless they grow stronger. Much stronger.
The second Wave disperses, and Naofumi is quickly summoned back to King Melromarc's court for some backhanded thanks and demand that he explain how he gained so much power—more than "befits a Shield Hero." Naofumi, no longer having any more shit from this royal family, tells the king he'll talk…if he bows down and grovels.
This act of disrespect leads the king to call in his guards, but Naofumi is quite right when he says he can take them all out and walk out the front door without any difficulty, and the guards waver. When the king says he'll punish Naofumi's "slaves" in his stead, that really rankles him, and he promises him if anything happens to his underlings on account of more dirty tricks, the king will "wish he had never been born," then stalks out unopposed, like a boss.
Princess Melty later hears of the "hostile" exchange between her daddy and Naofumi, and tells her father that their country will be put at risk until they reconcile. Her older sister Malty intervenes and tries to make a stink of matters, but Melty shuts her down almost immediately, and with good reason: she's the one who was trusted with the title of crown princess.
Naofumi shakes off his unpleasant experience at the palace and gets re-outfitted by Elhart, who fills the wagon back up and throws in some gifts for good measure: a new sword for Raphtalia, along with a bladeless mana sword, a shield scanner thingy for Naofumi, and gloves that will increase Filo's strength.
Naofumi is looking forward to being nowhere near the royal city, royal family, or the other hero jerks. Unfortunately, the peace doesn't last long, as Melty and her retinue track his party down and urges him to return and make peace with her father. Naofumi is as stubborn as the king, and his strong passes ignite Melty's secret weapon: the Entitled Person's Tantrum.
But as she protests his obstinance, Naofumi senses something's UP—a set-up to be precise. Of what kind, he soon finds out: one of the knights who escorted Melty rushes at her, sword drawn, and Naofumi draws her back and shields her…with his shield.
Obviously, these knights are in Malty's pocket (I doubt the king is awful enough to off his own heir). Honestly, it kinda just makes her look foolish and pathetic—why try to assassinate her sister in front of the Shield Hero, who could easily protect her? In any case, if Melty doesn't re-join the party next week (or whenever the next episode airs), I'll be shocked.
Author braveradePosted on Wed, 27 Mar 2019 Categories Anime Reviews, Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari, Winter 2019Tags accessories, assassination, 盾の勇者の成り上がり, distrust, elhart, evacuation, filo, glass, granny, hatred, heroes, iron maiden, iwatani naofumi, kawasumi itsuki, kraken, malty melromarc, melty melromarc, outmatched, overpowered, pirate ship, plot, raphtalia, shield, soul eater, sword hero, village, working together, wyvern talons1 Comment on The Rising of the Shield Hero – 12 – The True Battle Of The Wave
SSSS.Gridman – 06 – The God who Went to a City School
"They shouldn't be making episodes without kaiju!" proclaims Akane while at the Starbows having coffee with Shou. It's a meta comment on the episode they're in, which has no big kaiju battle. The resulting outing is largely a return to the quiet, normal, naturalistic sights and sounds of city life that distinguished the first episode, before All Hell Broke Loose.
And yet, the city always returns to that state after a kaiju battle. None of Yuuta's classmates remember anything about the battle during their field trip, and because there's no kaiju battle this week, he, Rikka and Shou are isolated from each other for the bulk of the episode.
Something sticking in Yuuta's mind is Akane's words to him, which suggest she has memories of the battles just as he does. He just needs one more push to learn at least some of the truth about her, and he gets that. But not before Akane puts out a hit on Yuuta, telling Anti that the two are one and the same.
The silences in this episode, or rather areas where there's nothing but ambient sounds, are well-placed, and as such I really felt Rikka's boredom of lounging around the house then milling through stores on a hot summer day.
It's clearly a relief to her when she encounters Anti, who is not only hungry but also in great need of a bath. Rikka's scenes with Anti further establish her as someone kind and generous with a good heart—someone Yuuta shouldn't be so reticent about talking to.
When he can't quite approach Rikka to discuss recent events, he tries the junk store, but she's out. Then he's confronted in an alley by a small girl who seems to revel in the creepiness of her own voice. She claims to be a kaiju, and grows to the size of a catbus to prove it. She's not there to fight, but rather to repay Yuuta for something he doesn't remember doing.
I just got done saying last week that I really don't mind not having all the answers about what's going on and why, beyond the fact that Akane makes the kaiju Yuuta fights. But the little stinky kaiju girl gets on a train with Yuuta and proceeds to provide some answers.
The city in which Yuuta lives is essentially ruled by Akane, whose lonely heart is being used by the outrageous-looking being we know as Alexis. Thus she creates kaiju who then go on rampages, constantly knocking down and remaking the city into something of a kaiju itself, while eliminating people or things she simply doesn't like.
Beyond the confines of the city is a great fog, and then nothing, the kaiju continues. Thus, Akane is basically the city's god, deciding what exists, stays, or goes. But because Akane is hurting and killing people, Yuuta knows what he has to do, which I imagine means confronting her soon.
In addition to ordering Anti to kill Yuuta, Akane ends up running into Shou at the bookstore, and then having coffee. He sole reason for interacting with him is to gather more info on Yuuta, just in case Anti didn't fully understand her orders and fails. The thing is, Shou eventually catches on that Akane has no real interest in him, and stays loyal to Yuuta by saying nothing.
As for Anti, who now has a full belly and is squeaky clean thanks to Rikka's kindness, he finally locates Yuuta and attacks him, only to be deflected by the members of Neon Genesis, whom we've seen lurking on the episode's periphery the whole time, keeping an eye the Gridman Alliance.
When trouble comes in the form of Anti, they're ready, not just with weapons, but words: If you kill Yuuta, you will never be able to defeat Gridman. That's enough to get Anti to retreat. Akane's words ultimately weren't convincing enough for him to go against his primary directive, just as her charm wasn't enough to get any info from Shou.
Those two failures belong to Akane this week, and while they're not as big or flashy as the defeat of her various kaiju in the past weeks, they are defeats nevertheless that add to her frustration and rage, which Alexis is only too happy to exploit. I wouldn't be surprised if Akane gets to work on a new kaiju design, which Lex will then embiggen so it can wreak havoc and challenge Gridman anew.
As for Yuuta, after a long, weird day of learning some truths, he ends up back at the junk store to brief Gridman on the computer (which the store bought back). There, to his relief and joy, are Rikka, Shou, and Neon Genesis.
Akane may be using her godlike powers to change almost everything, but the bonds Yuuta has formed with his friends and allies remain, and they look to be ready for whatever their opponent throws at them next.
Author braveradePosted on Sun, 11 Nov 2018 Sun, 11 Nov 2018 Categories Anime Reviews, Fall 2018, SSSS GridmanTags alexis, amnesia, anti, assassination, bath, boundaries, charity, enemy, fellowship, god, gridman, hibiki yuuta, junk, junk shop, kaiju, mystery, neon genesis, normalcy, prying, shinjou akane, takarada rikka, trigger, utsumi shou3 Comments on SSSS.Gridman – 06 – The God who Went to a City School
Shoukoku no Altair – 01 (First Impressions)
Take away the exotic setting and lush costumes, and Shoukoku no Altair is the very common story of an overachieving young man determined to move forward, be useful, and protect his country, after enduring tragedy earlier in life in which he wasn't able to save his family.
Fortunately, Altair does have an exotic setting, lush costumes, and a very decent soundtrack to boot. And so we have ourselves a show that isn't all that original in storytelling but is able to just sail by on competent, often stylish execution.
Newly-appointed Pasha Tughril Mahmut is the youngest Pasha ever, but never comes off as arrogant or petulant, even when a comrade accuses him of having a "tantrum." Rather, I liken him to Tintin: young, courageous, resourceful, cunning…and yes, a bit dull. He has a strong sense of justice and is always ready to shut naysayers down…but has no idea what to do with women.
One of his mentors, Pasha Halil, sees a great future for Mahmut, so when the Balt-Rheim Empire accuses their homeland Turkyie of assassinating their prime minister, Halil chooses to be the sacrifice they demand.
War claimed many lives twelve years ago, as we see in a heart-wrenching, well-directed flashback in which a young Mahmut struggles in vain to save a woman I presume is his mother. From that point on, he swore always to do whatever he could, never standing still.
So Mahmut does what Tintin would do: investigate the incident and find the real truth, which is that the arrows used to kill the minister were of Balt-Rhein design. He joins up with with Halil, who believes the Empire as a whole does not want war, just an isolated element.
Thanks in part to a clever use of mutton stew and the local eagles, the pashas weather an attempted ambush, capture the conspirator's men, and bring them and the false arrows before the Emperor himself.
War is staved off—for now, but the minister who conspired to start it was not tried or even named for his role, meaning this is only the beginning of Pasha Mahmut's duty. With only THE REFLECTION left to air on my Summer list and my interest in Apocrypha fading fast, Altair is just interesting enough for another look or two.
Author braveradePosted on Sun, 9 Jul 2017 Thu, 13 Jul 2017 Categories Anime Reviews, Shoukoku no Altair, Summer 2017Tags altair: a record of battles, ambush, assassination, avoiding war, balt-rhein empire, conspiracy, divan, duty, halil, investigation, moving forward, pasha, project altair, shahra, tragedy, tughril mahmut, turkyie, youth, zaganos, 将国のアルタイル1 Comment on Shoukoku no Altair – 01 (First Impressions)
Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku – 11
Well, Cranberry didn't think Swim Swim would be able to kill her, and she was right…but she didn't account for Tama and her hole-making ability at a crucial moment, leading to the unfortunate state of affairs above, one of the most surprising (not to mention awesomely gruesome) sudden deaths of the show. Cranberry was supposed to be above all this; she was the last girl standing once before, after all. But she wanted to fight strong enemies, and got her wish – and dug her grave in the process. R.I.P. Cranberry.
For her, well, dog-like loyalty (and complete and utter lack of guile), Tama is swiftly dispatched by Swim Swim, ever looking out for Number One. Tama saw Swim Swim's true form, after all, and one of the edicts the late Ruler instilled in Swim Swim — in real life a small, impressionable, dedicated young girl — was to never let anyone learn your true identity. Swim Swim decided that even meant her last and most loyal ally. R.I.P. Tama.
(Incidentally, we got Tama's backstory as she bleeds out, confirming her guilelessness and indicating she, like Alice, simply wanted to be useful to people. Pretty rote stuff.)
With the shocking exit of Cranberry (and the far less shocking exit of Tama), the last three magical girls remaining are Swimmy, Ripple, and Snow White. Ripple asks Snow to meet, but Ripple just wants any and all intel Snow might have on Swim Swim, nothing more. Snow argues killing Swimmy now will only make Ripple a murderer, but Ripple don't care. If Snow won't help her, she'll go it alone.
Ripple seems to live only to avenge her friend and mentor Top Speed, the aftermath of whose death has been hard on her. Snow lost a friend last week in Alice, but it was essentially a friend she didn't know she had. Swim Swim, showing a tinge of the innocence of her real self, sheds a tear at the loss of Tama, but Tama wasn't really her friend, either, more of a sidekick.
No, Ripple and Top Speed were the best-realized duo on the show — more even than Snow and Pucelle — and it was something Ripple didn't know how badly she needed until it was gone. Top Speed could see a side to Ripple — to Sazanami Kano — no one else could, either because they were too busy looking her up and down, or because she wore her mask so well.
Interestingly, Ripple gets a full-on Sailor Moon-style transformation sequence prior to heading to the dam to duel Swim Swim. The fact it's a dam means there'll be plenty of water there (good for Swimmy), but Ripple at least has the hint from Fav (who seems kinda miffed by Swimmy's apathy with her new role as master) that light and sound are her weaknesses.
I don't know who will prevail in that duel: judging from past battles, Swim Swim always seems to get the upper hand in the end, but she's out of allies and now occupies the same seemingly invincible space Cranberry once stood. I can't rule out a Ripple victory.
Heck, maybe they kill each other, leaving Snow White as the last girl standing by default. That's the least satisfying outcome: Snow is still clinging to her ideals of what a Magical Girl should be. It stands to reason a show that loves taking things away would take that away from her before all's said and done.
Author magicalchurlsukuiPosted on Sat, 10 Dec 2016 Sun, 11 Dec 2016 Categories Anime Reviews, Fall 2016, Mahou Shoujo Ikusei KeikakuTags alone, assassination, backstory, blood and gore, cranberry, 魔法少女育成計画, fav, flashback, freakout, friends, hardgore alice, hatoda ako, himekawa koyuki, identity, magical girl, magical girl raising project, magipro, master, minael, revenge, ripple, sazanami kano, selection, snow white, swim swim, tama, twins, useful, yuna
What do we have here? The first magical girl backstory that actually made me feel something, and elicit something other than an indifferent shrug. Like all the other backstories, it still comes too late to be as impactful as it could have been, but it still connected. And what do you know, it's Hardgore Alice's alter ego: Hatoda Ako.
One reason Alice looks so dark is because Ako comes from such a dark place. Her father murdered her mother, making her a pariah at school. While her auntie seems nice enough, Ako knows she's not needed by anyone; she's just a burden. Then she heard about Snow White, and thought they would make a pretty sweet black-and-white duo.
Of course, this is MagiPro, so that turned to shit pretty fast. Mina disguised herself as Alice's stuffed rabbit in order to learn Ako's home address. Once Swim Swim knew that, all she had to do was ambush Ako when she wasn't in her invincible form.
There's a special twist of the knife in play here, what with Alice trying to reach out to Snow White as a friend, but simply being unable to say the right words at the right time.
That time is when Koyuki is simply freaking out about all the horrible things happening (which is justifiable), but that doesn't make it any easier when Snow White is holding a bloody, dying Ako in her arms and learns it's her would-be only friend in the world.
That leaves Snow White, Ripple, Swim Swim, Mina, Tama…and Cranberry. And in case you haven't been paying attention in the last few Cranberry scenes, Cranberry isn't like the other magical girls. In fact, she seems to be some kind of facilitator from the magical world, overseeing what is in fact a super-bloody selection process that is nearing its end as the ranks dwindle.
For the record, Cranberry would have preferred to simply kill off all the weak ones right away, but has seemingly left the administration of the game to Fav (and whoever is controlling/speaking as Fav).
Swim Swim has proven to be a one-girl wrecking crew, and when she comes to Cranberry's forest to take her down, Cranberry uses is as an opportunity to get to know Swimmy a little better. She's impressed by her, if not her sidekicks (she kills Mina with ease, in one of the show's more unceremonious killings), but she still doesn't think Swim Swim can beat her.
As for Ripple, who is out there on her own with only revenge on her mind, I'm not sure how she's going to be able to actually exact any on Swim Swim. The first time they fought, Swim seemed to have her number, and that was with Top Speed's help. And then there's the possibility Cranberry will kill Swim Swim before Ripple can get to her. In any case, it's never a dull moment in MagiPro Land.
Author magicalchurlsukuiPosted on Mon, 5 Dec 2016 Categories Anime Reviews, Fall 2016, Mahou Shoujo Ikusei KeikakuTags alone, assassination, blood and gore, calamity mary, cranberry, death, 魔法少女育成計画, fav, flashback, freakout, friends, hardgore alice, hatoda ako, himekawa koyuki, magical girl, magical girl raising project, magipro, minael, ripple, sazanami kano, selection, snow white, swim swim, tama, twins, useful, yuna2 Comments on Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku – 10
Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress – 11
Both Kuromukuro and Kabaneri managed to reignite my passion for watching them in their eleventh episodes. I didn't really know what to expect after last week cliffhanger would have had us believe Ikoma had been stabbed through the heart and tossed into the sea for dead by a Mumei now lost to him. This week quickly debunks the first assumption and paves the way to debunk the second, even though shit is still hitting the fan, as it were.
First, Kongokaku: it's a grand, peaceful, and impressive place when the Kotetsujou arrives at its gate, but we see from the shogun eliminating a messenger with knowledge hat could sow public panic, theirs is clearly an uneasy peace, especially with Kabane lurking right outside those "impregnable" walls.
Biba doesn't need to besiege his father's seat, however; he comes in through the front door; a "captive" of Ayame; a role she's forced to play because he's holding her people hostage. Of course, going by his script only proves to Biba that's he's weak, and it's become painfully apparent that the weak don't live long once they meet him.
To his credit, the shogun immediately knows Biba is up to something; he just doesn't know what until it's too late. Biba uses the same fear his father used as an excuse for stabbing him in the dark as a child to destroy his father. The dagger he gave him contains a hidden needle that infects the shogun with the virus, and his own men gun him down in a panic.
Biba need only deal the killing blow with his sword, and just like that Kongokaku is his. The Kabane in his hold are released onto the city to stoke up fear, paranoia, and people killing people, but he simply sits on the throne, not smirking an evil smirk, but remembering a day when he rode a horse with his father. Do I detect a hint of…weakness, AKA love? No matter; there's no one around to punish Biba for it.
While all that excitement is going on, Ikoma, having washed up on a shore not in the greatest shape but very much alive, is temporarily incapacitated by the immense weight of the guilt and regret over what went down, including Takumi's death. He didn't run, he was tossed out, and he's right that at the time there was nothing he could do.
Kurusu, who has one of Biba's scientists captive, finds Ikoma, and is actually patient with him as he goes through various stages of grief. In the end, Kurusu makes Ikoma set aside all the reasons he should simply die, and asks him why he's still alive in the first place: his chest wound is so precise, Mumei must have intended to miss his heart, meaning she is not totally lost.
Granted, as we cut back to the capital, we see that Mumei is considerably more lost than the time she spared Ikoma. And she's just as helpless here as Ayame, or as Ikoma was back on the train. Biba controls every aspect of her life, and despite all he's done she still harbors loyalty to him, because she'd have died long ago (and been "beckoned by the butterflies") were it not for him.
That combination of coercion-by-obligation, as well as the reality that Biba has kept Mumei weak and unable to oppose him even if she wanted to (and she did try), have led to her simply giving up. She will let the butterflies come, with the small consolation that at least she was able to free Ikoma a similar fate.
Only thing is, Ikoma hasn't given up, thanks largely to Kurusu and the captive he has for some reason (I forgot why; sue me). That scientist just happens to have on hand two serums: one is white, and could save Mumei; but to get to her Ikoma knows he needs to be stronger (and apparently, less scruffy) than he is.
So he injects the black serum, an accelerant that indeed causes him to undergo yet another transformation. When we leave him, he seems that much less human, and particularly stable, but fueled by his resolve to stop Biba and save Mumei, odds are he'll be able to endure. I certainly hope so, because Mumei deserves better than the same fate as Horobi—who also didn't deserve it.
(Almost a 9 based solely on the new Aimer ED, "Through My Blood", which brought it)
Author braveradePosted on Thu, 23 Jun 2016 Fri, 24 Jun 2016 Categories Anime Reviews, Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress, Spring 2016Tags assassination, ayame, biba, black cloud, brother, butterflies, characters, collaborators, coup, 甲鉄城のカバネリ, death, gambit, haircut, horobi, ikoma, iwato, kabane, kabaneri, kongokaku, Koutetsujou no Kabaneri, kurusu, mumei, nue, peace, plan, politics, puppet, revolt, samurai, shogunate, survival, takumi, tears, trains, transformation, trapped, treachery, villain, yukina, zombies3 Comments on Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress – 11
Sidonia no Kishi 2 – 05
Last week's violent, harrowing battle took place just a third of the way in the season, so a cooling-off episode was expected and not entirely unwelcome. Now that we know the lengths Tsumugi will go to protect her friends, it's nice to spend time with them as the recover from their wounds and try to make it up to her.
Since Izana was alive and in contact with Sidonia at the end of last week, I knew Nagate was alive, I just didn't know how bad her injuries would be. So it's with great joy and relief to see her recover from those injuries. She lost an arm and a leg, but in this sci-fi world limbs can grow back, she chose mechanical prostheses so she could recover faster and get back on the line.
While part of this choice is her not wanting to be left behind or to be useless for too long, I still respect her going with her non-mad scientist grandma's suggestion, and I liked her positive attitude about the whole thing. Nagate and Yuhata's reaction to her suddenly splitting the fingers on her new hand from five to ten is pretty priceless: by turns surprised, fearful, and impressed.
Tsumugi was the big question mark last week. We learn after the battle she's lost 90% of her body mass, and as we know, that kind of diet can kill a human. But she's super tough, and all she needs is time and patience to grow her placenta back. Nagate, extremely concerned for her well-being, sits at her proverbial hospital bedside.
In what turns out to be a tease from last week's preview for this episode, the nude Shizuka Nagate encounters is merely in his dream, albeit a dream he's having while a recovering Tsugumi has her "arms" on his head.
Nagate calls the girl in his dream "Shizuka", the name he first assigned to her face, but it might've been more accurate to address her as Tsumugi, as this could be her unconscious avatar, hinting that she can communicate this way, in addition to her half-cute, half-unsettling dolphin balloon puppet.
When Nagate wakes up, he's so elated Tsumugi is okay, he hugs that puppet, whose reaction to the sudden intimacy rivals Asahina Mikuru for pure adorableness. She moves to beautiful new digs with a view of the stars and a bookshelf to read from (her studious bookworm persona is super-endearing, BTW), but Nagate is troubled with how isolated she is, which is confirmed when Tsugumi, all alone in her tower of solitude, lets off a sigh.
Nagate and Izana ask Yuhata if she'll let Tsumugi move to the residential area where she can be closer to everyone else, but she refuses them flatly. As much as I love Tsumugi, I knew their request would be a long shot, practically speaking. Tsumugi could cause a lot of damage in there if the ride gets bumpy.
And it does get bumpy, as Sidonia is closing on the Lem solar system and must initiate another harrowing deceleration maneuvers. This is where Sidonia the character comes into play in the episode; simply slowing down in space is a momentous event fraught with peril. An air raid siren pierces the tranquil residential block, warning everyone to lock their harness into something sturdy.
Unfortunately, Nagate and Izana don't hear the sirens or the warnings, because they're spending their downtime deep in the guts of the ship, finding themselves in a ladder shaft when the bumpy ride begins. Thankfully, due to Nagate's incredible luck and physical toughness with an assist from Izana's bionic limbs, they survive the maneuver with bumps and bruises.
Those are a small price to pay for achieving their goal: locating a hatch in a pipe that leads to Tsumugi's room. She can now stick her balloon avatar out and gaze upon the gorgeous residential block.
Giving her her first look at the civilization she's protecting, and feeling the community of the res area, is Nagate and Izana's way of thanking her for saving them, and doing their best to quell her loneliness. It's a great feel-good, non-battle victory.
The feel-goodness continues when Nagate heads home to find he's been evicted an his dorm is now the home of a new recruit. But that's okay, because all he has to do is call a friend and crash with them until he can find a place of his own! Who does he call: Kunato? He probably labels his food. The Honoka sisters? He'll walk in on them naked and get thrashed again. Yuhata? "Fraternizing with a superior officer" issues.
No, he calls Izana, who is relaxing and soaking in her very cozy-looking bath, talking with her grandma on the videophone. Izana has been trying to get closer to Nagate since before Shizuka died. Now, thanks to fate, Nagate has come to her. Will she capitalize on this latest chance? Her initial reaction suggests she'll have to overcome some nervousness.
Author braveradePosted on Sun, 10 May 2015 Categories Anime Reviews, Sidonia no Kishi 2, Spring 2015Tags assassination, auxiliary brain, シドニアの騎士 第九惑星戦役, battle, battle for planet nine, daikyuu wakusei seneki, deceleration, dream, eviction, honoka en, honoka ren, hoshijiro shizuka, knights of sidonia, kobayashi, kunato norio, living together, loneliness, ochiai, parasites, placenta, placental shizuka, planet 9, sacrifice, science fiction, shinatose izana, shiraui tsumugi, tanikaze nagate, technology
Sidonia sticks to its strengths—intricate space battles, mayhem, and impending doom, not comedy and romance—with an episode-long epic battle of adernaline-pumping perfection. G550 is gunnin' for Sidonia, literally. Its kill or be killed, and the episode never lets you forget how thin the line is between life and death.
Tsumugi uses her man-made kabi claws to bust out of the trap the first wave of Gauna built around her, and in the process she seems to glean the Gauna's intent for the humans, including her friends. Whether it was just another Gauna biological reflex in response to external stimuli, or a conscious, sentient effort to provoke Tsumugi, she reacts badly, disobeying everyone's orders and going on a destructive rampage of every Gauna in sight, despite being heavily damaged herself.
The deus ex machina has a screw loose, and it informs the overarching peril of the situation rather nicely. What ultimately finally stops her attacks is when Izana tries to go after her and calm her down, and gets heavily damaged in the process. It's been a little while since pilots I actually knew and cared about turned red on the CIC board, so when it's Izana's turn my heart sank into my stomach. Thankfully, Tsumugi gets to Izana and agrees to retreat for now, for her sake.
The Guardes manage to take out the second wave of Gauna without Tsumugi's help thanks to a shift to long-range tactics, and then enter ring formation to destroy G550's core. But even this tactic backfires, as the equatorial trench they create is the perfect aperture for a massive Hyggs cannon the surviving Gauna fuse into.
Sidonia is huge and slow, so I knew any beam launched at her would have to be somehow prevented outright, blocked, shifted, or absorbed by someone. In another case of the computer displays creating visceral reactions, the amount of red the damage analysis predicts makes it clear if none of those above things happen, it's Game Over.
Tsumugi manages to deflect the beam enough so it misses Sidonia, but only by a few hundred meters to starboard. At this distance, the mere force emanating from the beam is enough to nearly shake Sidonia to pieces, and alarmingly, all the CIC displays go to static as the shock hits, and it was all I could do to pray those displays wouldn't go dark, and that breaches wouldn't occur.
With G550 charging for another salvo, and both Tsumugi and Izana unaccounted for, Nagate decides to rush in headlong and uses his engine pack as a precision projectile, causing a Death Star-style chain reaction that brings that sweet, sweet sound of Bubble Desintegration. Once again, Nagate one-ups Kunato and emerges the hero.
It's a costly victory: Nagate and Izana are both found, but Tsumugi is in tatters, and Izana fears she's dead. They didn't lose a lot of Guardes, and Sidonia wasn't seriously damaged and didn't need to carry out emergency maneuvers, but with Tsumugi's fate unclear and the Gauna stronger than ever, it's no longer simply "nice" to have Chimera on their side; it now appears absolutely essential for the battles to come.
Author braveradePosted on Sat, 2 May 2015 Categories Anime Reviews, Sidonia no Kishi 2, Spring 2015Tags assassination, auxiliary brain, シドニアの騎士 第九惑星戦役, battle, battle for planet nine, daikyuu wakusei seneki, guardians, honoka en, honoka ren, hoshijiro shizuka, knights of sidonia, kobayashi, kunato norio, ochiai, parasites, placenta, placental shizuka, planet 9, polygon, rage, sacrifice, science fiction, shinatose izana, shiraui tsumugi, tanikaze nagate, technology, tsugumori kai
Kobayashi's coup went off without a hitch, and she immediately changes Sidonia's course, both literally and figuratively, in a chilling scene that makes it obvious there was no love lost between her and the not-so-Immortals. And yet this doesn't mark any kind of sea change in the day-to-day operations of the ship, nor do higher-ranking officers like Yutaha have any problem with the new change of leadership. After all, Kobayashi's bosses never were in the spotlight; it's hard to mourn their loss. Or maybe Yutaha is simply being pragmatic.
Either way, big changes in how Sidonia wages war are being implemented, from upgrading the armor of the Type-18 frames, to impregnating Placental Hoshijiro with a human seed, making her Tsugumi's mommy. I really like the creep-factor this kind of sci-fi body mod/body horror stuff lends to Sidonia's "world," one already full of oddities.
At the same time, this episode doesn't forget about the sheer majesty of simply floating outside Sidonia. The careful camera placement and motion really sell the idea of how vast space is, and how the terror of that vastness can cause people like Kobayashi to take extreme steps to preserve their tiny civilization.
Where Sidonia continues to flail and fail is at comedy, particularly anything involving Nagate seeing naked ladies. All of the careful physics go out the window as they resort to cartoon violence, smashing a heavy metal door into Nagate, who hits the wall hard, and then has the door smash down on him, a sequence that would surely have put him in the hospital.
Like a previous instance in the first season where his face swelled up after getting beaten for a similar transgression, seeing his CG face get bent up here breaks the uncanny valley in a bad way. But most of all, this attempt at lightweight comedy comes off as ham-fisted and obvious, nothing like the expert precision of other areas of the show.
This is more like it: giving us a glimpse into Yutaha's spartan quarters gives us a glimpse into her character off-bridge: she dresses down, builds scale models, and tries to keep up with the news. Sure, emergency maneuvers would send most of the contents of her room flying along with her, but those are rare enough.
While checking the logs of who's gone to see Tsumugi, Yuhata discovers Nagate and Izana have been occasional visitors. I was expecting some kind of confrontation, but instead Yuhata is merely curious, and the others even invite her to lock hands with them, as they had come to do with Tsugumi (or rather Tsugumi's balloon "sock puppet" avatar). Tsugumi continues to nicely toe the line between cute and creepy.
When her sharp eyes spot a 500-core Gauna force heading their way, Kunato requests to intercept it with Tsugumi. Yuhata wants to see how she works in a formation, and so denies the request, but she's overruled by Kobayashi, who is eager to see the full extent of the chimera's powers. Perhaps because Kunato wasn't among those who locked hands (a pilot superstition I'd expect him to shun), things go very wrong when he flies Tsugumi into a Gauna placenta trap. This, after Kunato guaranteed defeating the force would be a cakewalk.
Two more of Sidonia's strengths are its thrilling launch sequences and visceral pilot POV shots, both of which contribute to an adrenaline-laced sci-fi spectacle to end the ep. With Tsugumi neutralized, it's up to the conventional Guardes to avert disaster on the very first leg of Kobayashi's very possibly ill-conceived new course.
To that end, all the Guardians that launch—96 in all—lock hands into a ring formation and blast away with authority, which is another Sidonia strength: immensely enticing cliffhangers. The strengths definitely outweighed the weaknesses this week, as they usually do with Sidonia, while building great anticipation for next week's big battle.
Author braveradePosted on Sun, 26 Apr 2015 Mon, 27 Apr 2015 Categories Anime Reviews, Sidonia no Kishi 2, Spring 2015Tags assassination, auxiliary brain, シドニアの騎士 第九惑星戦役, battle for planet nine, body horror, coup, daikyuu wakusei seneki, guardians, hard sci-fi, honoka en, honoka ren, hoshijiro shizuka, knights of sidonia, kobayashi, kunato norio, ochiai, parasites, placental shizuka, planet 9, polygon, science fiction, shinatose izana, shiraui tsumugi, tanikaze nagate, technology, tsugumori kai
There's been some super sketchy stuff going down behind that big KUNATO logo, especially now that Ochiai is in the mix. We see the fruit of his labor in full display this week in the Human-Gauna hybrid "Chimera", Tsugumi Shiraui.
The newest enemy Gauna with its "Onion Placenta" is proof the Gauna are not standing still when it comes to developing new weapons with which to attack Sidonia, so it makes sense that the humans should innovate or die. Competing factions among the humans clash over the best way to do this.
At least here, the ends justify the means, as Tsugumi is able to destroy the enemy Gauna, finishing it off by blasting straight through it. Yuhata and the Guardians are more confused than anything, but it's Nagate who decides Tsugumi isn't their enemy, allowing her to do her work unfettered.
There was probably a better way to sell Tsugumi to the crew than a King Kong-style unveiling, but Kunato has never struck me as being very good at P.R., and the fact he's now a host for Ochiai made him even worse. Tsugumi is uncommonly courteous and friendly, but when she gets excited upon spotting Nagate in the crowd, her sheer mass shakes the entire assembly hall, scaring the masses and turning them against her.
Tsugumi is huge and extremely creepy-looking. But in good sci-fi, one can never judge a book by its cover when it comes to aliens who look or act differently from us. Nagate, being the decent sort of chap he is, is willing to keep an open mind, and even visits her at the Kunato lab, convinced she could use some human company, as she is half-human.
She greets them with a more human-sized but still very alien appendage, and Tsugumi is overcome by glee when Nagate allows her to "touch" him, which she takes as carte blanche to lift both him and Izana up with numerous tentacles and grope them both thoroughly.
But again, it's not scary, despite the awesome destructive power she's capable of, because she's so gosh-darned earnest and adorable. Not sure about the goofy music that announces this is a comedic scene, but whatever.
As for those factions I mentioned earlier, Kobayashi makes a decisive move against the ruling Immortal Ship Assembly, sending Ochiai's clone to murder them all, including her would-be replacement, after they vote to impeach her from the captaincy.
While the good old-fashioned acquisition of power is probably a motivating factor, Kobayashi was also diametrically opposed to their defensive posture and refusal to entertain innovations such as Tsugumi. With her and other Chimeras, she'll be able to take the fight to the Gauna, and presumably start winning the hearts and minds.
Even if she doesn't manage to achieve the latter (Nagate, for instance doesn't like how Tsugumi is being forced to fight and kill right out of the proverbial womb) it's Kobayashi's ship now, and those who oppose her will do so at their peril.
Author braveradePosted on Sun, 19 Apr 2015 Categories Anime Reviews, Sidonia no Kishi 2, Spring 2015Tags assassination, auxiliary brain, シドニアの騎士 第九惑星戦役, battle for planet nine, body horror, coup, daikyuu wakusei seneki, guardians, hard sci-fi, honoka ren, hoshijiro shizuka, knights of sidonia, kobayashi, kunato norio, kuntao mozuku, love rhombus, ochiai, parasites, placental shizuka, polygon, science fiction, shinatose izana, shiraui tsumugi, tanikaze nagate, technology, tsugumori kai1 Comment on Sidonia no Kishi 2 – 02
Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso – 16
Uso stops being evasive this week, as the curtain of "everything's okay" begins to dissolve. Kaori's collapse in the hospital was a repeat of the incident that put her there: her legs suddenly giving out beneath her, and hitting her head hard. Kaori's plight was telegraphed from several parsecs away, but to see it in all its unblinking horror is pretty dang heartrending.
All in all, this episode was a great improvement over last week. Sure, it introduced new character dynamics I wasn't exactly waiting for with bated breath, but those elements are there, and there's no point in moping about them. I'm talking mostly about Nagi, who replaces Tsubaki from last week as the general focus of the episode, and is all the better for it because, unlike Tsubaki, there's a lot I still don't know about her, and was willing to hear her out.
Things also go very differently from my cynical predictions regarding what would happen after Kaori's latest fall in the hospital, for which I'm glad; I was hoping to be proven wrong, and I was. Kousei is shocked to find Kaori outside of the hospital, wearing her school uniform. She asks him where Watari is, but that's just teasing at this point; she was out there waiting for Kousei, who is taking any sign (like her uniform) he can to convince himself she's alright and he's worrying too much.
Kousei tags along as Kaori shops (hopefully not until she drops), missing that day's lesson with Nagi, who is throwing out all kinds of weird vibes that compel Hiroko to go so far as to threaten to kill her if she hurts Kousei. Nagi's reaction is neutral expression and the realization that Kousei is, indeed loved. But he's still her target, and she aims to destroy him. Why? Simple: so her big brother Takeshi (he too of the yellow hair) will turn his gaze onto her. Music may be Tsubaki's nemesis, but Kousei is Nagi's.
Kousei and Kaori continue to have a lovely, ideal day and night, which was kind of Kaori's plan all along. She wore the uniform and pretended to forget her bag at school, but of course, she didn't go to school, and she was only allowed out of hospital for the day.
She didn't want to forget the school she'd been away from so long, nor does she want Kousei to forget her, so she tried to give him as memorable and joyful time as possible, right up to illegally riding double on a bike under the stars. Since this may be the last day and night of this kind she ever experiences with Kousei, Kaori can't hold back tears; tears Kousei doesn't understand…yet.
Kousei's overly-harsh training technique (as well as doing what she deems to be showing off) causes Nagi to flee from his lesson. He finds her sulking on the steps of a shrine, and offers an apology and a sweet potato. The two bond right then and there, with Nagi opening up to him about what's eating her from the inside out, in spite of herself (though she doesn't mention she's Takeshi's sister).
We see more of the side of Kaori's life she doesn't want anyone else to see, as doctors tell her and her parents her prognosis (which doesn't look good), and she's unable to even hold her violin bow. This is a devastating series of gut punches, delivered without regard for our emotional well-being. Even if Kaori survives whatever her affliction is, if she can't play music anymore, she is going to be utterly miserable, and her life may not even feel like a life to her.
When everyone visits her in the hospital, she has her armor up, but it's very thin and depleted, to the point that when Kashiwagi informs the others that Kousei has a pretty new student, Kaori gets upset. Not because she's jealous (okay, maybe a little), but because teaching a student will sap valuable practice time for Kousei.
She goes off on a tirade with him, one he can't keep up with, and then the tears come again, and for once, not everything is deflated with a silly comedic stab. The awkwardness and the pain is able to linger, and perhaps Kousei gets a slightly better idea of what's going on here.
Meanwhile, Nagi's vendetta is not necessarily fair to Kousei, but she deems it a necessary sacrifice for her happiness, while she deems Kousei choosing friendship with Watari over love for Kaori "cliche" by comparison. She also considers his piano playing disrespectful to the composers, and by extension his refusal to fully commit himself to his own happiness a sign of weakness.
But it's a choice she herself faced and faces. What eats Nagi most of all is that Kousei is a mirror; they're not that different. But I like how her friends notice she's playing piano more happily since starting lessons with him, so it's not like she isn't conflicted. And whatever Nagi's intentions are, Hiroko wants Kousei to teach her so he can "feel something other than sorrow for once."
When Kousei visits Kaori alone later that night, he's seen and heard enough of the truth to start fearing that she's on the same path as his mother. He tells himself again and again Kaori and his mother are nothing alike, but that's a lie. One can't dismiss the similarities to the two situations; only lament the universe that let such a horrible ordeal repeat itself in one young man's life.
In the episode's final chilling moments, Kaori, aware the jig is starting to be up in terms of pretending everything's alright, quotes from the Masahiro Mita novel Ichigo Doumi she's been reading (another story in a guy's best friend introduces her to a sickly girl and they gradually grow closer): "Want to commit double suicide?" While it's a quote from the book, she may not be messing around.
Honestly, I have no idea what she means by these words, or where the show goes from this dark place; only theories. All I know is I'm exceedingly anxious to find out.
Author sesameacrylicPosted on Fri, 6 Feb 2015 Fri, 6 Feb 2015 Categories Anime Reviews, Fall 2014, Shigatsu wa Kimi no UsoTags aiza takeshi, aizoto nagi, arima kousei, assassination, confession, emotions, feelings, flashback, forgiveness, hospital, lies, little sister, love triangle, loves sorrow, memories, muse, pianist, relationships, sawabe tsubaki, seto hiroko, suicide, transformation, unsaid words, violin, watari ryouta, your lie in april, 四月は君の嘘


The Embassy of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in New Delhi, with the close cooperation of Indian International Centre (IIC) inaugurated the five day Afghan art exhibition held at IIC on December 11, 2018.
This exhibition witnessed participation of both Afghan and Indian artists and cultural experts including Mr. Mohammad Khairullah Azad, the Charge De Affairs of Embassy of I. R. of Afghanistan and Air Marshal Naresh Verma, IIC Director who officially inaugurated the exhibition by lightening the lamp.
Appreciating IIC for its cooperation in organizing this exhibition, Ajmal Alimzai, the Cultural Attaché of I. R. of Afghanistan in New Delhi spelled down the join Afghan-Indian cultural programs and plans. He emphasized on the importance of such programs in further boosting the cultural relations between the two nations.
The exhibition which will continue till December 15, 2018 is showcasing 80 pieces of paintings made of wheat straws and oil.


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Bringing Taiwan to you at Kochabi Taiwanese Delight Restaurant. In Hokkien, "Kochabi" means old and tradition taste. They serve many different types of Taiwan style dishes like paper chafing dish, beef noddle, spare ribs noodles, etc. Besides that, they also serve with a huge variety of Taiwan style side dishes for example dumplings, stewed toufu, iron egg, etc.
Their tables and chairs which made with wood.
The cupboard is used to carry the food from upstairs (kitchen) to here. It was Tsuruya Japanese Restaurant previously, I remember that cupboard, the different is Tsuruyu's kitchen was down here.
I can see they are putting effort in designing the interior and outlook of the restaurant.
Few pages of their menu.
The milk teas and fruit are come together with set.
Eating with the sauce tastes lots better!
when u go to eat?
Wah! So fast you go to try it.


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Various reports and allegations of electoral fraud, electioneering, and electoral irregularities have arisen over the course of the 2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries.
Despite the largely unsubstantiated rumors of a caste of twitter trolls called Bernie Bros, the Atlantic reported "Correct the Record, a super PAC devoted to defending Clinton, announced a plan to fight attacks against Clinton and her supporters online by sinking more than $1 million into personnel and infrastructure for a digital task force... [to] 'engage in online messaging both for Secretary Clinton and to push back against attackers on social media.'"
A June 15, 2016 disclosure from an alleged hacker called 'Guccifer 2.0' showed that the Democratic National Committee sought to nominate Hillary Clinton from as early as May 25, 2015, after Senator Bernie Sanders had announced his candidacy, after Senator Lincoln Chafee and Jim Webb had formed exploratory committees, and after Governor Martin O'Malley made clear he was considering a run. The document suggests that the DNC sought to nominate Secretary Clinton prior even to the first debate five months later. Shaun King explains that, "[t]he DNC is supposed to be an unbiased arbiter of the campaign and this memo suggests anything but that." King notes "[a]nother memo claims that they 'will utilize reporters to drive a message' but do so 'with no fingerprints' on the process so that the public believes the messages are coming from the reporters and not the campaign." The May 25, 2015 'Guccifer 2.0' document omits Donald Trump from a list of GOP candiates' weaknesses, though just a few days earlier Megyn Kelly had grilled the future presumptive Republican nominee for his credentials. Peter Nicholas of the Washington Post also reported that "[p]ro-Clinton super PACs founded by David Brock held back opposition research targeting Mr. Trump during the GOP primary fight so as not to hurt his chances of capturing the nomination. They wanted her to face Mr. Trump in November."
Some 125,000 voters were removed from electoral lists in Brooklyn as part of the updating of voter rolls. As a result, voters otherwise eligible but purged from the rolls were required to sign affidavit ballots, which would normally be counted if the voter's eligibility and affiliation requirements could be proven. "With the New York City Board of Elections confirming that more than 125,000 voters in Brooklyn were removed from voter rolls and widespread reports of voters having trouble accessing polling sites and other polling irregularities, New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer announced... that his office would undertake an audit of the operations and management of the Board of Elections." Following a lawsuit in which "[m]any voters... [alleged] that they had registered with a party before the deadline, but that their voter registration was either never updated, was entered improperly, or was changed without their consent," New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman also announced he would investigate allegations of voter suppression in the primary.
The Democratic National Committee filed a lawsuit, later joined by the Clinton and then Sanders Campaigns, against Arizona regarding "voter access to the polls after the state's presidential primary last month left thousands of residents waiting as long as five hours to vote."
The Las Vegas Sun would later note similar "[l]ong lines and procedural problems also were reported in the Democratic caucus" on February 20, 2016. At the May 2016 Nevada Democratic Convention, one delegate wrote in Salon that the convention was marred by alleged impropriety when "a full half hour before registration closed, [State Party Chairperson Roberta] Lange read the results of ballots that had been passed out to early arriving conventioneers regarding temporary rules for the convention, rules which would discount the results of the county convention (the second tier of the caucus process, where Bernie had won more delegates), rules which would require that all votes at the convention be decided by voice alone, and which ruled that the decision of the chairperson would be final ... appear[ing] not to count the votes from [Sanders supporters'] side of the room; she ejected dozens of Bernie delegates who didn't have a chance to defend their eligibility." After some procedural disputes, reports surfaced of violence at the state convention and threats against Lange. NPR fact checking concluded that "'violence,' which NPR more often uses to describe events in war zones, seems too strong a term to me based on the evidence... so far," though there was "pushing, shoving, and screaming, a chair was brandished and a great deal of hostile and obscene language used." Professor Seth Abramson noted that Snopes and NPR's Ombudsman had both conclusively disproved the claim (with the former more extensively documenting the not credible origin of the rumors via the 'not present at the time' Jon Ralston). As to the threats against Lange, the Nevada Democratic Party formally alleged that Sanders supporters had made death threats against Lange. Despite attaching "evidence," while in many cases unambiguous displays of coarse language, none of the text messages or voicemails are death threats, and none clearly indicate the partisan support of the caller or texter.
Sorry. It's taking me longer than I expected to go through, write up, and cite the sources I (somewhat lazily) compiled a while back. It's an ongoing list, but because it's taking me a while I figure I might as well post it.
Some 125,000 voters were removed from electoral lists in Brooklyn as part of the updating of voter rolls. Some voters signed affidavit ballots after experiencing irregularities, ballots that would have been counted if the voter in question could prove that they met eligibility requirements. New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer announced an audit. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman also announced he would investigate allegations of voter suppression in the primary.
The Las Vegas Sun noted "[l]ong lines and procedural problems also were reported in the Democratic caucus" on February 20, 2016. Later, at the May 2016 Nevada Democratic Convention, one delegate wrote in Salon that the convention was marred by alleged impropriety when "a full half hour before registration closed, (Roberta) Lange read the results of ballots that had been passed out to early arriving conventioneers regarding temporary rules for the convention, rules which would discount the results of the county convention (the second tier of the caucus process, where Bernie had won more delegates), rules which would require that all votes at the convention be decided by voice alone, and which ruled that the decision of the chairperson would be final." She said that Lange "appeared not to count the votes from that side of the room; she ejected dozens of Bernie delegates who didn't have a chance to defend their eligibility." After some procedural disputes, reports surfaced of violence at the state convention and threats against Lange. NPR fact checking concluded that "'violence,' which NPR more often uses to describe events in war zones, seems too strong a term to me based on the evidence... so far," though there was "pushing, shoving, and screaming, a chair was brandished and a great deal of hostile and obscene language used." Sanders has assured the Democratic Party that violence will not erupt from his supporters at the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
For example, let us look at some articles on similar topics.
Fair point. As to whether or not irregularities occurred, they would have to have been alleged for us to know about them. There have undoubtedly been irregularities and probably fraud (across the spectrum of our history I think it's fair to uncontroversially assert "undoubtedly") that have occurred without our knowledge, because they have not been alleged. But your points about the title are valid; I'm agnostic on changing it again. I think it's fine but if you think 'Irregularities and Alleged Fraud' is better, I don't have an objection.
//Knowledgekid87, clearly having the above section discussing changes to the title in front of them, then summarily proceeded to excise the Allegations of Fraud, despite the fact that allegations of "fraud" (stated precisely as such) from [at least] members of Sanders' campaign were properly cited.
Should reputably citable allegations of election fraud or electoral irregularities be included on this page in some centralized fashion [beyond or in addition to mere mention on each state's caucus or primary page]?
1a) Yes, allegations should be included as a separate section on this page.
1b) Yes, allegations should be included as a separate sub-section on this page.
2) No, allegations should be included on a separate page linked from a stub-section on this page.
3) No, despite mention by major campaigns and reporting in media, these such allegations are inappropriate for a site like Wikipedia.
Yes, but I have no preference on how a central registry is included. Omnibus and Opcnup, I phrased the no option in an obviously leading manner to bait legitimate counterarguments. I don't understand some of these concerns so I hoped by being unsubtle someone would strongly come back with a legitimate reason for not including any centralized reference - since at least some editors' concerns relate to the centrality. I don't get it as a general concern but I do get it as a concern for inclusion on this page. So in that respect I wasn't so much attempting to lead in the direction of the response as in exactly the opposite direction. I'm also not clear on how any of that would bear on the relevance of the inclusion of fraud allegations *[on Wikipedia generally].
Full Name, DOB, Place of birth, Marital Status, Nationality, Children, address etc.. The data is just being used for community purposes, no state or federal uthoryty has direct access to this data.
When an election is closing the inhabitants, who are a eligeable to vote find a postcard in their mail box. On that that card, they find informations where they need to go to vote and where and when they can apply for postal voting. In NY-State its the other way round, the voter has to register to be able to vote and take care that his data is correct. So if you are eager to vo don't what for the card, ask the election board to check your data.
The princints are so installed and located that all inhabitants from a certain area can go to one building and vote there.
Normally there are serveral pricints in one building. In gerneral it work that way, that there is empirical knowlege about the turnout ( federal 60-75 %, 50-65 %, and local and EU 25-40 %).
Yes. And we should make its own section since it is nationwide. &  I've also collected sources from both sides to provide the NPOV. The exit polls in the 2004 Ukraine election differed from exit polls by 12% and the american department of state declared election fraud. The results in Alabama, New York, and Georgia all differed by the same or more. In fact, the allegations of election fraud are so widespread that there are multiple articles providing reliable sources giving the opposite POV (that there is no election fraud), such as this Washington Post article, or this article by the Nation.
"Here I feel confident in saying that I can dismiss [concerns that are invalid]: 1) the foremost and most numerous concern was that sources might be disreputable; well... if you're concerned about drunk driving you don't resurrect prohibition and ban cars... so this issue is not legitimate insofar as we have strict source controls: disreputable sources can be excluded, gray area sources can be thrown to the group and excluded; if it's the only source for that particular claim, the claim could be discarded (pending a reputable source) - resolving any valid overlap of that concern and whether the material should be included on Wikipedia (... ... ...); 2) Omnibus noted (specifically) that it should include anti-Sanders allegations; that's not a legitimate concern, however, it can be addressed insofar as the section would obviously include (NPOV) all allegations of fraud and irregularity; 3) people were concerned with the leading way I asked the question to bait responses; not a legitimate concern with regard to the issue, though; 4) people were concerned I have some nefarious agenda; that violates the good faith standard as you've rightly pointed out, but it also has no bearing on whether any valid allegations should be included and is thus resolved (to the extent that it - like the source complaints - are not bad faith) in that only such allegations would be included; 5) there were several evidentiary concerns (as in that specific components of irregularities and fraud were or were not true - not germane to my thinking about why this should or should not be included): one editor was concerned that there was no allegation that irregularities or fraud was systematic - that isn't true at a sub-state level with particular respect to New York (but more broadly) - but then I cited the chief editor of Bloomberg Politics saying exactly that (I'm a little concerned with him being an exemplar of journalism, but my point is that this type of issue is evidentiary, can be resolved elsewhere, and only bears on the inclusion of the information in Wikipedia to the extent that - as here - [there is no actual question that a claim has been made]; we personally may not agree with this particular claim but that doesn't argue against the inclusion of a citation to the fact that a claim exists; in that sense the concern [against inclusion] is not legitimate); 6) one editor was concerned that the threshold was that campaigns must have filed lawsuits and then backpeddled upon learning the campaigns have joined the DNC's lawsuit; 7) Guy offered no up-and-down yes or no but stated "There should be links to the individual state Wikipedia articles that mention any of this kind of 'fraud'" implying some form of yes with links to the sections in individual states' pages (which I think makes perfect sense). The only unquestionably legitimate concern that needs to be discussed is whether allegations should be interwoven with the text of the main article per Anywikiuser's suggestion - alongside the question of whether valid allegations should be included in an article section or a new article.
Actually there was an earlier concern before I added the consensus-building section, that basically went that inclusion was appropriate only on individual pages. I think it had to do with not cluttering the main page with mere allegations. From that I suggested the stub-section with links to another page. But either way, while a totally legitimate concern, I think that is resolved (minimally) by just having a separate article. What's the reason for not having an article for what is widely perceived and (thus) reflected in media and campaign announcements? Our personal views on the substance [and rationality] of that perception do not negate the existence of that information [of these allegations in the media etc.].
You were responding to my comments. You can refer to me in the second person; I find your objectification very troubling indeed. But regardless, the exchange you note on my talk page isn't obscured... I pasted it in full, and - I would also note - you were responding to it. My understanding of consensus is that it is supposed to adduce, crystalize around, and resolve legitimate concerns. I think that's backed up by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Consensus but it's not that detailed with regard to what constitutes a legitimate concern. Still, that obviously means that concerns that are not legitimate (whatever that, in turn, means) cannot affect the threshold formation of consensus, regardless of their ultimate impact on content. But there is also some paucity, on the Consensus page, as to how this process affects the inclusion of an entire category of content. I glanced, so I may have overlooked stuff, but it seems this is primarily geared toward content and not category.
So consensus would arise, for instance, over whether to include the popular vote but not over whether to include an article about the Democratic primaries. While this discussion started with regard to whether and to what extent, if at all, allegations of fraud and irregularities should be included in this article, another editor has suggested that exclusion of a centralized source might be a form of gaming the rules and (and I think this is logically correct as well) content discrimination. So if the idea is that any concern can be used to prevent inclusion of valid information, I think that is a misreading of the rules; the concerns have to be legitimate. (And, let's be specific... concluding that reddit prevents inclusion of valid claims is not a legitimate concern... so that is invalid... and yes... this editor has dismissed that consensus against his (my) views, because a) while it would be inappropriate to cite to reddit, that is totally irrelevant to whether properly cited claims should be included, and b) because we can resolve any aspect of that concern that is legitimate by simply having proper quality control. So (per consensus) we move on; and when we've accommodated all legitimate concerns we have reached the end. It may not be the end all or any of us want. However, this regards content and not categories of content. This process should not have taken place regarding fraud; and any consensus that forms on this talk page - it seems to me - is essentially confined to the attached article. There cannot be a consensus that fraud allegations will not be included on Wikipedia. That's my understanding of the rules.
And so most concerns don't address the actual question of where information should be included. None address legitimate reasons why the content generally should be excluded; most address generalizations for why bad content necessitates exclusion of all content. That, per my understanding of Wikipedia, is not a valid use of Consensus or reading of the rules. Allegations of fraud and irregularities, regardless of one's substantive and inherently non-neutral conclusions about any or no fraud and irregularities themselves, meets all criteria mentioned here - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:How_to_create_a_page - allegations are 1) notable - they have been mentioned by the DNC, both campaigns, and (virtually?) all major media (regardless of the frequency); 2) any information included would be properly verifiable; 3) everything would be carefully scrutinized to maintain NPOV, with disputes being resolved by consensus; 4) we would obviously exclude original research - this would be citations to discussions in media, politicians, pundits, etc. So given all of that, it seems to me the consensus required concerns the method of inclusion.
As to my discussion above, what precisely was the fallacy in my conclusion? Did I overlook concerns other editors noted above? Did I mischaracterize them? Was I... in fact... illegitimately dismissive? Those were not my aims; so if so let's cure those defects if that was the impact. But if your point is that this information simply will not be included at all costs, then I reiterate that another editor who seemed more knowledgeable suggested this was an inappropriate use of Wikipedia's rules per (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Gaming_the_system); and I think given (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Purpose) one would need - to I think paraphrase the very first comment I made on this talk page - a compelling reason to justify exclusion of verifiable, reputable, legitimate allegations that are of national public concern and interest. Perhaps this consensus attempt has determined that [for now] no section should be added to accommodate the allegations - or perhaps that is not what it has determined. However, that cannot then be used to simply exclude otherwise valid information from Wikipedia. And your repeated expression of distrust in my motives (which if you challenge me on I will compile and cite) violate your obligation to assume good faith. Can you point to - in my articulation above quoted from my talk page - any examples of where I was in fact dismissive and was not actually just trying to speak to and compromise with the concerns our fellow editors have expressed?
You're attempting to exclude information and in so doing you are thwarting the purpose of Wikipedia and likely thus inadvertently, because I don't think you're being malicious, gaming the system per the links provided above. You cannot merely exclude information of public interest, validly cited. That's the concern. If your question is what does this debate have to do with the page... there does appear to be consensus, at present, against including information on this page. There's no reason given for that so it's not clear to me where you find consensus based on legitimate concerns. But that's fine. So as I said, we'll add a new article per this topic meeting all of the 4 criteria for inclusion on Wikipedia. Consensus is not an appropriate means of determining whether a category of information should be included on Wikipedia. So per my previous comments you didn't read, this consensus/discussion is purely confined to the inclusion of fraud allegations within this page. You cannot use this invalid line of reasoning to squelch valid information on Wikipedia. However, you're welcome to join the discussion of - and add your views to the consensus-building processes regarding - specific allegations laid out within that broad category. You're simply not permitted to exclude an area of information - particularly based on incommensurate concerns.
You aggressiveness when interacting with me makes me feel exhausted and is driving me away from editing. In fact, after your first encounter with me, I stopped editing on this site for a few weeks. Please, either a) stop communicating to me, or b) take your aggressiveness down a significant number of levels. Thanks.
"Sanders campaign accuses Puerto Rico Dem officials of fraud" from the Hill.
The Inquisitr claims Bernie Sanders is responsible for voter suppression in Puerto Rico.
A lawsuit in New York by voters alleging election fraud.
"Sanders' campaign did not want county officials to certify the results until "there's a complete audit" to account for votes that potentially should have been counted." from a local source.


text:
Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner get sarcastic about Donald Glover and Beyoncé's 'break'
The cast of The Lion King Twitter
Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner, who voice Timon and Pumba in upcoming The Lion King movie, have funny things to say about Beyoncé and Donald Glover'ssinging "break".
While speaking to Variety about working with the two phenomenal singers, Eichner joked, "It's about time. This is the culmination for them of so many years of hard work trying to get to our level," and added, "It's really gratifying that we've been able to give them this opportunity."
On the same, even Rogen added, "Yeah, I feel good for them. They deserve this break. I can't imagine how thrilling it must be for them." Of course, they also commented on how they got to discover their vocal talents and croon to the tunes of Can You Feel the Love Tonight? and Hakuna Matata.
"It's fun because you grow up with them," Rogen told Variety. "There was a certain exercise in my head of not being too familiar with the original version. Your first instinct is, 'I'll go listen to the original version and remind myself of what it was like.' The instinct that served me better was to not do that specifically and really trust that Jon would guide me to do all the things that he thought were necessary in order to make the song hit," he said.
Eichner spoke about how singing those songs were probably the more intimidating parts of the recording as they were walking down the path of celebrated classics.
"The songs were probably one of the more intimidating parts to record in terms of having to walk this fine line of nodding to the original and certain elements of the original performances that people just love and would be disappointed not to hear again, but also finding ways to make it our own," Eichner said.
"Especially 'Hakuna Matata' — that song is ingrained in people's heads. Once you get past the first few takes, you start to fall into your own rhythm. Eventually, the anxiety wears off, but that's a big one to take on," he added.
The Lion King is all set to release on July 19. The film also stars Keegan-Michael Key and Chiwetel Ejiofor in pivotal roles.
15 Most anticipated non-superhero movies of 2019: Lion King, Godzilla and more
Beyonce has been cast in The Lion King and Twitters gone gif crazy
Have a question for @Jon_Favreau, @HansZimmer, or the cast of #TheLionKing? Reply to this Tweet with yours now. pic.twitter.com/X0ND3ldVIT


text:
Q: Why there are no delays between retries in Apache HTTP Client? When Apache HTTP Client fails to connect to a server (IOException) it may try to retryconnecting. However, it does not wait until retrying next time. This seems counterintuive, for instance when the target server is recovering or getting up, it may need some time to become ready for new requests.
Why is it so?
Here's a corresponding code from DefaultRequestDirector:
for (;;) {
    context.setAttribute(ExecutionContext.HTTP_REQUEST, wrapper);
    // Increment connect count
    connectCount++;
    try {
        if (!managedConn.isOpen()) {
            managedConn.open(route, context, params);
        } else {
            managedConn.setSocketTimeout(HttpConnectionParams.getSoTimeout(params));
        }
        establishRoute(route, context);
        break;
    } catch (final IOException ex) {
        try {
            managedConn.close();
        } catch (final IOException ignore) {
        }
        if (retryHandler.retryRequest(ex, connectCount, context)) {
            ...
        } else {
            throw ex;
        }
    }
}

A: DefaultRequestDirector indeed has this hard-coded logic of intentionally ignoring IOException. However, this API was deprecated in 4.3 and at 4.3+ you can directly set a RetryHandler to the HttpClientBuilder.
You will need to override the DefaultHttpRequestRetryHandler that also ignores  ConnectionException, but in a more configurable way, by defining a list of non-retriable-classes (unfortunately, this constructor is protected, so a subclass needs to be created to expose that constructor).
    CustomHttpRequestRetryHandler myRetryHandler = new CustomHttpRequestRetryHandler(3, false,
        Collections.<Class<? extends IOException>>emptyList());
    CloseableHttpClient client = HttpClients.custom()
        .setRetryHandler(myRetryHandler)
        .build();

    private static class CustomHttpRequestRetryHandler extends DefaultHttpRequestRetryHandler {
        public CustomHttpRequestRetryHandler(int retryCount, boolean requestSentRetryEnabled, Collection<Class<? extends IOException>> clazzes) {
            super(retryCount, requestSentRetryEnabled, clazzes);
        }
    }

good luck!

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Final impressions of The Eccentric Family 2 from P.A.Works. It is streaming on Crunchyroll.
Final impressions of Granblue Fantasy the Animation from A-1 Pictures. It is streaming on Crunchyroll.
Ongoing Investigations: Anonymous Noise vols. 1-2, classic MST3K, Twin Peaks S3, Samurai Jack S5, Kado: The Right Answer.
Food for Thought: What is the most important aspect of a convention host city?
Final impressions of Attack on Titan S2 from Wit Studio. It is streaming on Crunchyroll.


Have you ever wondered how you have you have changed lipstick in a century? The beauty trends change every year, and 100 years of history women have worn all kinds of shades on the lips. Now thanks to Allure you can discover how they have changed trends in lipsticks over 100 years. And just simply watch a 3 – minute video in English!
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lipstickA decade later red passion and intense became popular on the lips , and the orange tones. But it was not until the 50s that the first lipstick long duration is created, and actresses of the Hollywood industry as Ava Gardner and Marilyn Monroe popularized shades of dark red.
In the 60 groups Motown popularized white lips and bright. in the 70s the disco look consisted of very intense colors and apply gloss to the end for a discotequero finish. Bianca Jagger and Cher were the muses of this trend lip.
lipstickIn the 80 electric colors and fluorine, such as pink and lilac, they became trend. A decade later lips looked very delineated and dark pink creating a grunge effect the style of the Spice Girls. In the first decade 2000s strident and intense colors lose strength and win the lip gloss. Glossy lips are a must. Currently dark lips are kept and in colors like burgundy, and lips are outlined in the same tone bar. The Kardashian have popularized this look.


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Pierre Vidaillac started his journey as a technology developer way back in 1986, when he left his studies in Toulouse in the southwest of France to start his first company ERMIIS Sarl, which is now a subsidiary of Minds Inc.
Seven years later, he moved to Quebec and started Minds Inc. in order to tap into the Canadian and US markets.
Since then, Pierre, who now calls Kelowna home, has seen his companies grow to become one of the leading providers of advanced automation control systems and process monitoring software for the asphalt and construction industries in both North America and Europe.
While he is proud of that achievement, he says his greatest asset are his employees, some of whom include the same people that started with him on his journey more than 30 years ago in France.
After attaining a degree in mechanical processes and industrial automation, Gaétan Nantel worked in the general automation industry in his native Québec for 16 years before joining Minds Inc. as general manager in 2003.
Since then he has helped Minds Inc. grow with steady sales across Canada and North America.
Gaétan has enjoyed the challenge of what the niche asphalt and road construction industry provides, especially the collegial aspect in working with clients and helping them with process automation solutions that will meet their needs. He attributes Minds Inc.'s success to the durable relationships it has built with its clients, based on both technology and trust.
As the general manager of Minds subsidiary in France, ERMIIS, Sylvain Lemouzy wears many hats. He is not only responsible for all commercial dealings and customer relations with both European and international clients, he also manages product development and personnel at ERMIIS' headquarters in Cahors, France.
After studying electrical engineering in college, Sylvain joined ERMIIS as a technician in 1988 when it was still a new company. Since taking on the role as GM in 1991, he has helped ERMIIS become one the largest providers of advanced industrial automation and control systems and process monitoring software for the asphalt and road construction industry in Europe, and has also advanced the company's client base to include the UK as well as Africa.
Research and development are among the key areas to the growth of MINDS; 10% or more of our sales turnover is allocated to this area.
As a leader in our field, we have a proactive policy regarding the selection of research projects. It is more challenging to choose a direction when there is nobody to follow!


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The top hotel in Santiago. A modern but gaudy building that is well situated in the city. Car and scooter rentals, large pool area, rooftop drinking lounge, nice modern rooms and an assortment of restaurants, bars, & shops are on the premises. Also the most expensive hotel in Santiago.
Cuba's second city is hot, hilly and exhausting but at the same time seductively languid. Built on a sequence of hills overlooking a large bay with the Sierra Maestra in the background, it is certainly one of Cuba's most picturesque cities. Its colourful streets sweep up and down steep hills, making walking through the city, although pleasant, a little tiring if done in long stretches.
Santiago City has a singular vibrancy, its predominantly mulatto people, a mix of Spanish, French from Haiti and huge numbers of Africans, are persistently friendly. And their reason for being is music and dance.