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Join sisters NinJaSistah and Pandalicious and the rest of the ESH Crew each day as they discuss video games, tech gadgets, anime, manga... pretty much everything within the geek chic lifestyle.

From Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, and PC game reviews, previews, news, and gushings to audience questions and rumor mill seeding galore you'll find it here at ESH!
First Nerdgasm of 2010: ESH@CES Las Vegas!
 

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    CES Coverage

    We went to CES and here's what we saw and molested.

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    Peep the stuff we've written about on the anime tip.

    Manga Love

    We less than three manga as well, so peep the manga reviews.

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    Hirano's "Speed*Star" Lacks a Big Bang

    posted @ 2/07/2010 11:04:00 AM by King Baby Duck

    When it comes to seiyuu releasing music, it's usually a flip of a coin. Sometimes it's surprising good (Minori Chihara, Megumi Hayashibara), and some are embarrassingly bad (Yuko Goto, Rie Kugimiya). When it comes to Aya Hirano, though, it's the luck of a draw. Her last album Riot Girl surprised a lot of listeners with its Avril Lavigne-like sound and upbeat tone. Unfortunately with Speed*Star, while the happy feeling is still there the originality is sadly lacking.

    The two best songs practically bookend the album (not counting the "stereotype" intro): "Super Driver" and "Unnamed World." While both songs were theme songs to anime series (the former belonging to The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, the latter to The Daughter of Twenty Faces) they certainly stand alone pretty well. "Super Driver" is fast-paced with good guitar riffs and is up to par with some of Riot Girl's best tracks; but the drummer appears to be a bit too snare-happy. "Unnamed World," however, is probably Aya's most strongest track, and while the broken English is spread variously the message of the song is clear.

    In-between these two great songs is a mixed bag. While "Sing a Song" and "OH! My Darling" have some sort of life to them, their novelty wears off quickly. It's not that they're bad tracks, but rather it just sounds like Hirano wasn't really feeling these songs when she was recording them. The same can be said for "Set me free" and "VOXX." It's as if she was more forced into recording these tracks instead of letting her do her own thing, which is a problem a lot of seiyuu face when recording an album. However within this bitter taste are a couple of sweet tracks in the form of "Mizu Tamari" and "Ano Hana no You ni," which are both able to showcase the timid and soft nature of Hirano's voice.

    While Aya is trying her best in this sort of poppy genre, it's just doesn't seem to fit with her voice. If she had the creative freedom I wouldn't be surprised if she would do something more in vein of Shonen Knife or FLiP (or even Head Phones President). Maybe it's silly of me to think this, but I can't help but think Hirano would do better with something like an Iggy and the Stooges setup. (Imagine her singing Pop's "Tonight.") Unfortunately if she continues on this sort of musical trek her full potential won't be heard, and Aya Hirano will continue to release more mediocrity like Speed*Star.

    ** ½ (out of five)


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    Girls Talking About a Pad

    posted @ 2/01/2010 08:00:00 AM by Ninjasistah
    New podcast Monday is here once again and this hour long show is jam packed full of puns and bad jokes.

    This week, NinJaSistah and Pandalicious talk about Apple's newly announced (and poorly named) iPad device and their first reactions to the device. The ladies also work in a plug for the new ESH YouTube channel, Flickr account, and FaceBook group... but mostly wrap their minds around the iPad.

    To get a better idea of what the show is like, here are some of the titles that came up but were not chosen:
    • A Braile iPad Would Make Quite an Impression
    • Pada Says All Her Appliances Are Masculine
    • Video IS the Radio Star
    • Comedy – Comment – And Another "C" Word I Can't Think Of
    • and finally
    • Oops! I Just Spoiled the Bible

    Grab your morning cup of joe or afternoon delight and enjoy Electric Sista Hood Podcast Episode 182: Pandalicious Takes On All Comers (I Wasn't Going to Say That)

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    Kanokon Entertains Despite Its Flaws

    posted @ 1/31/2010 11:39:00 AM by King Baby Duck

    Media Blasters recently announced it has licensed the ecchi-comedy Kanokon. Does a show like this merit any sort of attention?

    Based on the light novel series by Katsumi Nishino, Kanokon revolves around Kouta, a first-year high school student who moves from the countryside to the city. On his first day at his new school, a beautiful second-year female student named Chizuru asks him to meet her alone in the music room. When he arrives, she tells him that she is in love with him and, after some heavy kissing, accidentally reveals to him that she is in fact a fox deity. From that day on Chizuru constantly hangs on Kouta, which embarrasses him greatly due to others watching and calling him the Great Erotic King. Meanwhile, a wolf deity named Nozomu transfers into Kouta’s school and class. Since meeting him, she is all over Kouta, causing Chizuru to become annoyed at her new competition for Kouta’s affection. Who’s going to be the one for Kouta, and will he be able to handle her?

    Now this is another show where most of the humor is derived from the fan-service. There is a lot of quirky, perverted silliness, some of which use some great double entendres. Some things made me laugh so hard that I almost fell out of my seat. However one of the biggest issues I have with the show is the fact that it throws away one of its main premises in favor of more perverted humor. I was led to believe that there would be more dealings with the animal deities, but instead we get a cooking episode by #3. This is what happened with Rosario + Vampire, and that didn’t fare out so well. I am also surprised with some of the stuff that made it onto Japanese TV, especially the bare-assed spanking scene at the end of the third episode. Of course it’s not all bad.

    I'm on the fence on what to give this series as a grade. It's truly a guilty pleasure of mine, but at the same time there are far better series out there that you could use your free moments to watch. Having said that, I'll go with my gut instinct and give this series a light B-average. However, don't watch this with your family in your premises. Don't watch it with your lover. Don't watch it with your friends (unless you can make a good drinking game out of it). Just watch it alone, and never speak of it in front of anybody. Hell, admitting that I enjoyed it makes me feel like I'm putting myself at risk of damaging my reputation.

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    Star Trek Online Beta: RPG? Yes please! MMO? I'm not sure.

    posted @ 1/28/2010 01:05:00 AM by Vichus Smith



    If you have every dreamed of blasting a Klingon in the neck with a phaser set to stun, Star Trek Online has finally been made for you to enjoy.

    Besides Star Wars, the other big deal in Sci-fi has been Star Trek, from the original series to its latest rebirth in an alternate timeline, millions have been watching trek and loving its universe. So an MMORPG in that universe is obviously a move that had to be attempted.

    What you get is Star Trek Online, a beautiful entry in the expanded world of Trek that takes place a few generations after the original series.




    In any MMO, you must begin creating your virtual self, and STO gives you a wealth of options. As a Trek novice, I thought the only race options would be between an earthling, a Vulcan, maybe even a Klingon. The list is about 4 times as long as that. The customization doesn't end in picking your race. The character customization will satisfy people who live to carve the best virtual model you can.





    The character I created was Jon Cade, a silver-haired, contemplative science officer. I think he's either an Andorian or a Nausiccan. I don't recall. Seriously, the amount of races overwhelmed me a bit. So once I create Jon Cade, it's off to learn a bit about the world I've been dropped into. What better way to learn how to function in the Star Trek universe than to fight some Borg!

    Damn it feels good to shoot a phaser. Or, when you get up close, it's satisfying to lay a Borg out with a good right hook. Attacking is easy, but i'm not really satisfied with how you move in STO. I like the waypoint style of movement in MMORPGs. The way you move in STO feels like it was made for console analog sticks, not w,a,s, and d. You can move by clicking both mouse buttons, sending your character in the direction your field of vision is pointing. At least give me the option of another style!




    As a casual MMOer (which sounds like blasphemy) I only spent a few hours on the beta. There were away team missions and the space missions, which involves flying around in your own ship and engaging any enemies who you make come up against- like Borg cubes. Just like the movement on foot, moving in your ship is awkward. The ships of STO have to be maneuvered similarly to a boat. It's not smooth sailing, though.

    After a few missions, I was ready to finally go off on my own to accept any mission I wished. I only got as far as the beginning of the big Klingon invasion, but there was something off (not enough servers? my wireless connection just blows) that denied my a final moment of Federation glory.

    I had a fairly positive experience with the game, and while I don't think that this is my ideal world to spend some time in, I think it's a great effort. Since it was a beta, there were obvious hiccups and nagging bits, but to just successfully accomplish Trek in an MMO setting is enough for a thumbs up for me. I would much rather have this game as an offline RPG, but I might be in the minority opinion on that. I didn't really feel like I was part of an online experience anyway, so why not have Star trek for consoles?

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    Apple Brings Another "i" into the World With the iPad

    posted @ 1/27/2010 10:17:00 PM by Douceswild


    I'm pretty sure that at this point, if you can type "www" in an address bar, then you've read about Apple's new baby, the iPad.

    The iPad is definitely an interesting and intriguing device, but is it really necessary? Many are saying it's a step backwards and a little too late for Apple. Would this be more exciting if it came before the iPhone or iPod Touch? I mean, both of devices let us do pretty much all of what the iPad can do. The difference is the iPhone and iPod Touch are less cumbersome to carry around. Don't get me wrong. I think the functionality of the device is great, but haven't I sort of been carrying an iPad for almost three years already. My phone is by Apple. I can watch movies, play games, view pictures, read eBooks, check email, surf the web, and put it in my pocket when I'm done (unlike the iPad).

    Throw an OS on this thing and I might bite, but until then, all I can really say is that the iPad is pretty cool and for what it is and does, the price-point is spot on.

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    I Couldn't Have Said It Better Myself

    posted @ 1/26/2010 02:50:00 PM by evermore
    If you're anything like me, my spare time in these last few weeks has been spent in keeping up with the rumors surrounding Wednesday's announcement of new products by Apple. What is going to become the New Word of 2010? Will it be iSlate, iTablet, iPad, iOhWhatever?

    I was going to write my own pre-announcement story about the iToBeNamedLater, but it has already been written for me -- and it's a gem:

    Some personal thoughts about the Apple Tablet by Mel Martin for The Unofficial Apple Weblog says pretty much what I was going to write -- and it's written better than what I would have done.

    FULL DISCLOSURE: My wife owns Apple stock, currently valued at the price of about 8,000 iTunes songs.

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    MAG in stores tomorrow! Are you excited- or underwhelmed?

    posted @ 1/25/2010 08:03:00 PM by Vichus Smith


    A few weeks ago, all PS3 owners were treated to the wide open beta for MAG, the massive action game which allows for 256 players to battle it out across one of three different factions, all at one time.

    Modern Warfare 2, as you read this, is still being played heavily and often. Will MAG be the big deal when it comes to PlayStation, or is Modern Warfare 2 the superior experience? I have not played Modern Warfare 2, but I have played MAG. I was not bowled over, but it was lots of fun. Having scores of players all playing towards one goal is exciting, but PS3 users tend not to have as many headsets as Xbox Players do, killing the ability to strategize for victory.

    So I will get a copy of MAG, whether it's in rental or retail form. I hope to see some of you there, and I hope you join me as part of MAG's best team!


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    Eggs Without the Estrogen

    posted @ 1/25/2010 08:00:00 AM by Ninjasistah
    Well, not really as this fresh Monday episode of the Electric Sista Hood podcast is just chock fulla ladies!

    Pandalicious and NinJaSistah welcome guest host PyroGirl to the show to chat about the anime and manga series Shugo Chara which former host MagicMysticGrl talk about back in the day. NinJa pretty much just adds the color commentary [sometimes with a really bad "valley" impression] as both Pandalicious and PyroGirl try to impart the seriousness that is Shugo Chara. By seriousness I mean heart of people birthing eggs housing their inner selves... cute, little, chibi selves.

    Shugo Chara is a hard series for me to explain so we'll just impart a quick run down: Cat-Boy not-so-bad-baddie, hints of pedophilia, magical girl syndrome, and girls that turn out to be boys. Oh yeah, probably has some incest in there as well, but the anime series is 102 episodes deep keeping Chara from being some fly-by-night series. Need more convincing to listen to the episode? Here are some of the titles we didn't use
    • All these 80's Movies are Turning Her Into ValleySistah
    • Ferrets Steal Shiny Things Like Magpies (But Magpies Aren't Shiny)
    • For Most Eggs, Their Dreams Ends At KFC
    • I Thought Keybearers Liked Small Locks
    • and finally
    • It's a Good They Didn't Mention the Incest Until Last

    So grab a glass/mug/pint of your favorite beverage and enjoy Electric Sista Hood Podcast Episode 181: I Don't Know Nothin' Bout Birthin' No Eggs

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    "Setokai No Ichizon" Filled With Light Laughs and Heavy Punches

    posted @ 1/24/2010 01:04:00 PM by King Baby Duck

    Satire is one of anime's so-so friends. Sometimes they work well with one another, whereas other times it just plain sucks. Fortunately for Setokai No Ichizon, satire is its best buddy.



    Don't let the opening fool you. This is probably one of the more underrated shows of 2009. Setokai no Ichizon follows the daily routines of the student council members of Hekiyou Academy. Most of the council members are women, with the exception of Ken; who became a member after scoring the top scores in his level. The other members -- Kurimu (the very short Council President), Chizuru (the sadistic Secretary), Minatsu (the tomboyish Vice-President) and Mafuyu (the bishojou Treasurer) -- taunt him for his antics, but at the end of each show Ken shows them their faults, turning everything around them. One unique thing about this anime is that -- for the most part -- every episode takes place in one scene: the Student Council Room. Granted there are some cut-scenes here and there that take them out of the room for a few seconds, but just about everything happens in this one small room. It even shocks the cast members, who in the first couple minutes of the first episode say that animating a series like Setokai no Ichizon would be impossible and boring.

    Fortunately, it's anything but.

    Setokai no Ichizon is ripe with humor, and on top of that knows how to make fun of itself and just about every other anime that's come out in the last three years. Ken dreams of the other members becoming part of his harem, but instead is slapped in the face with denial (both literally and metaphorically). A swimsuit episode appears, and instead of focusing on the stereotypical fan-service one seems to see in anime the episode hilariously just shows Ken trying to get out of a locker the girls put him in (for obvious reasons). My favorite episode, though, has to be the fourth one, where the council members try to work on a fiction story to improve their image. The ideas range from light-novels to video games; but the best comes in the form of Kurimu starting a rock band. The jokes come fast-paced in this one scene, ranging from the idea of selling character albums for fast cash to just cleverly saying "FUCK YOU!" to Kyoto Animation. (Ken losing it over the lack of dynamic concert performances hit right at home for me, as that was what I thought made K-On! a shit storm of an anime.)

    Of course the show does at time flub up a good opportunity to make fun of other forms of stereotypical anime. It tries to parody the concept of moé, but instead just adds fuel to that over-burning fire. Episode 8 pokes at "loli," and while the "playing doctor" and "house" gags are a riot the underlining theme and concept of it all was kind of unsettling. Despite these two flaws, though, a lot of the humor works well; and when it gets to its serious side (with a sort of "what we learned today" vibe) each episode wraps itself up with something any anime fan can enjoy.

    Setokai no Ichizon earns itself a B+. It's a funny show that jabs at the obvious flaws of the current anime world, while at the same time pokes at itself for falling victim to said flaws.



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    Preview: Blue Microphone Yeti

    posted @ 1/22/2010 09:50:00 PM by Ninjasistah
    If you happened to catch our podcast last week and listened to the entire hour than you know I spent some time with Blue Microphones at CES a couple of weeks ago.

    Well, I'm going to be reviewing that USB mic [called the Yeti] very soon and wanted to give you a sneak peek at what I'm playing with.

    When at CES we talked about Blue Microphone's new iPhone external microphone device "The Mikey" and a soon-to-be release USB microphone designed with podcasters and home musicians in mind. This microphone, "the Yeti," reminded me of why I love working in audio... it's just flat out sexy!

    Lightly coated brushed metal-esque finish, gorgeous steel mesh protecting it's cardioid innards and THX certification emblem is enough to make a gal buy one just to put it on display. Don't get it twisted, I plan on road-testing the hell out of this mic including recording my side of our next few podcasts with it in addition to some special little projects I have created to really push all of Yetis' buttons and see just how well it can handle what people can through in its general direction. If you are in the market for a new USB microphone for professional level recording and don't want to wait for my review, you can pick up a Yeti of your own for the Apple Store Online for $149.95.

    While I have done little more than take it out of the box at this point, I do have some of those nerdc0re photos for you on our newly created Flickr stream! Peep the show below and be on the look out for more images to hit that feed soon!


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