My 2014 Anime Ranking

Another year flies by and just checked MAL for my anime ratings in 2014.

Anime Title	Score
Barakamon	10
Gin no Saji 2nd Season	10
Yowamushi Pedal	9
Log Horizon	9
Haikyuu!!	9
Denki-gai no Honya-san	9
D-Frag!	9
Amagi Brilliant Park	8
Hanayamata	8
No Game No Life	8
Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun	8
Nagi no Asukara	8
Kill la Kill	7
Kingdom 2nd Season	7
Ao Haru Ride	7
Ookami Shoujo to Kuro Ouji	7
Tokyo Ghoul	7
Bokura wa Minna Kawaisou	7
Golden Time	7
Grisaia no Kajitsu	7
Mikakunin de Shinkoukei	6
Nisekoi	6
Danna ga Nani wo Itteiru ka Wakaranai Ken	6
Psycho-Pass 2	6
Saki: Zenkoku-hen	5
Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! Ren	5
Nourin	5
Tonari no Seki-kun	5
Aldnoah.Zero	5
Isshuukan Friends.	5
Tonari no Seki-kun OVA	5
Akame ga Kill!	5
Zankyou no Terror	5
Rail Wars!	5
Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei	5
Strike the Blood	5
Jinsei	4
Sword Art Online II	4
Persona 4 The Golden Animation	3
Madan no Ou to Vanadis	3
Sora no Method	3
Seitokai Yakuindomo*	2
Black Bullet	1
Mekakucity Actors	1
Samurai Flamenco	1

Denki-gai no Honya-san - Sensei's Girl Power

-3182...

A Fall Day in Central Park

I spent half a day in Central Park yesterday and was greatly rewarded by the amazing sceneries and beautiful fall leaf color. Everything's just so pleasant and peaceful.

The 20th Annual Tour de Bronx

Last Sunday, I went to the 20th Annual Tour de Bronx. Unlike other events organized by Transportation Alternative, this tour's completely free (thanks to the generous sponsors) so I just preregistered the 40-mile ride anyway (there's a 25-mile option for leisure riders). It's sunny, a little windy but not too cold so I didn't really have any excuses not to participate. I've learned from previous experience and decided not to clip in this time since we'd stop quite often on city streets. I rode to the starting point, Bronx Country Clerks Office, near the Yankee stadium, via Queensboro Bridge, 1st Ave and Willis Ave Bridge. When I got there, there's a pretty long line for the preregistration already and I was actually quite surprised by the large turnouts. Anyway, I just waited in line for approximately 30 minutes but it didn't really move at all. It's also kind of chaotic due to the lack of direction. In the end, one of the staff approached to the riders, took the preregistration papers and handed out the body bibs and cue sheets. The riders did need to fill out the emergency contact info in the back of the body bibs. To be honest, if the organizers aren't going to assign any numbers, they'd just hand out the stuff so the participants could get going and didn't have to keep waiting pointlessly. Anyway, after that, it's another long wait at the starting line. During that time, the Bronx Borough President, Ruben Diaz Jr., greeted the riders, and claimed that he and his wife would join us in the 25 mile ride. The tour finally started around 10:30am and riders started paddling on the marked route. It's very crowded in the beginning and somehow there's a very loud flat tire right at the start so it's kind of funny but that person must feel terrible. There're three rest stops along the way, Bronx YMCA, Orchard Beach and Van Cortlandt Park and the YMCA rest stop was the biggest among the three and had a pretty nice view to Whitestone Bridge. However, I mistakenly took the short cut near St. Raymond's Cemetery, and missed a few miles and skipped Throgs Neck Bridge part. The part I liked most during the tour was Pelham Bay Park and City Island since the scenery was so beautiful. I've heard of Pelham Bay Park being the largest park in NYC but never had a chance to visit it so it's nice to go to some new places and explore the city. I didn't like Van Cortlandt Park very much because of the muddy trail. In addition, after Van Cortlandt Park, the route became very hilly for the last 10 miles. The finish line was at New York Botanical Garden, in which the cue sheet didn't show at all. I finished at around 3pm and there're free domino pizzas, drinks, t-shirts, live music for the participants to rest and enjoy. Although there's a Marshal-led group ride back to Bronx Country Clerks Office at 4pm. I decided to leave early (I'd have stayed if it's a police escort). I returned to Queens via Grand Concourse through Randall's Island and Triborough Bridge. I got home probably around 5:15pm and was kind of tired and went to bed early that night. I was really proud of my accomplishment on Sunday because at least I finished the race on my own this time comparing to the disappointing results in the Century Bike Tour. This tour should conclude my biking season in 2014 and I'll definitely pedal more next year whether participating in organized tours or riding by myself.

Amagi Brilliant Park - Three Faeries

Just watched ep 5. The three faeries are so hilarious! Macaron and Tiramy are definitely up to no good in the end...

Hatsune Miku Expo 2014

Earlier this year, I was super excited about the announcement that Hatsune Miku Expo 2014 will be held in the US because I'd finally have a chance to see Miku's live performance after watching countless hours of Miku' mvs on niconico and youtube. It's actually Miku's second concert in the US but I don't recalled if I was that into Vocaloid three years ago when Miku had her first concert in LA. This time, there'd be four concerts anyway, two in LA and two in NY so it's a huge relief for me that I didn't have to worry about all the travel and lodging costs when the venue's only a thirty-minute subway ride away from my home. Comparing to the expo in LA, the NY one was much smaller and there was only one small exhibition held in Wallplay for some vocaloids' artworks, figures and posters. However, if you'd like to buy Nendoroid Hatsune Miku: Halloween Ver. ($45), you'll have better luck getting it in NY since it's on sale at both NYCC 2014 (and I got it on day two and I believed it's still available on day three) and and Wallplay with limited quantities so you didn't have to wait for hours just to realize it's completely sold out and then found them on ebay at price over 100 bucks. Anyway, I purchased my VIP ticket on the first day of sale back in June and I later heard that the VIP tickets were sold out in ten minutes. The concert was held at Hammerstein ballroom and I decided to go on Saturday night. If I had more time and money, I'd have attended both Friday and Saturday. I got there around 4pm, an hour before the schedule start time and there're at least one hundred fans waiting in the VIP line already, not to mention the hundreds waiting in the general admission line. There're lots of cosplayers in various vocaloid character costumes but I didn't want to lose my spot so I basically just stood and waited enthusiastically and patiently for an hour. The VIPs did get some sort of yellow wrist bands for identification purpose, early access to the floor and merchandise store, and some goodies and collectibles at the end of the concert. When the doors were opened at 5pm, and I went straight to the store and might have accidentally cut the line (really sorry about that) but everything's still pretty much available when I finally got to the registers. I bought some t-shirts (only XL available), a tote bag, a plush doll and a key chain, and quickly headed to the floor. A pretty big crowd had already gathered near the stage so I just tried to get as close to the front as possible. Then the fans had to wait for at least another two hours for the rest of the audience to get in. During the long wait, it's kind of hot, exhausting and boring since we're all kind of staring the blank hologram glass screen and there's not much space to move around while the same two songs and five commercials were kept repeating endlessly. Occasionally, the band members came on the stage to finalized the setup and some photographers took some pictures from balcony above. Before, the start, the public announcement said there're cameras in the venue broadcasting the event live back in Japan on WOWOW channel. The concert started around 6:30pm and the entire ballroom's packed. After the lights went down, the fans were all waving their glow sticks and chatting "MIKU MIKU!!" passionately and Miku soon appeared on stage after a short introductory video and sang the official English theme song of the concert, "Sharing the World." I watched Miku's performance of this song on David Letterman on youtube and felt indifferent about the song. Nonetheless, I was excited since it's like a dream comes true to me and there's no words to describe my feelings at that moment. Watching Miku singing, dancing right in front of you was just unbelievable and surreal. Plus the lighting, audio, visual and special effect, and live band made the whole experience more incredible. Miku sang more of her popular songs, fortunately most in Japanese since Miku didn't really sing English very well, over the next two hours, sometimes changed to different costumes in the blink of an eye, and occasionally paused to greet the audience and introduce members of the live band. Other vocaloid characters, like Rin, Len, Luka, Kaito and Meiko, did perform a few songs but I wasn't too familiar with them anyway. I particularly remembered I screamed like crazy when Miku sang "World is Mind" and "Melt" towards the end since they're two of my favorite Miku's songs by Supercell. Miku shortly disappeared after "Melt" and did return with three more songs in encore before concluding the concert with "Starduster." After the last song, the fans slowly exited the ballroom but the VIP exit was ridiculously crowded since the VIPs all wanted to get their exclusive gifts (the VIP badge, a folding fan and a vinyl record... kind of ironic since Miku's name literally means "The First Sound of the Future"). After I left the building, I was so happy but also kind of sad because it's over and I didn't know if Miku will ever visit NY again. Although I properly stood, waved the glow stick the whole concert, sweated like crazy, neither ate or drank for the last four to five hours, I didn't feel tired at all until I went to the nearby fast food restaurant for something to eat. I didn't think I've ever shouted and screamed so much in my entire life. Thank you Miku for such a wonderful and unforgettable night. I wish I can go to more Miku's concerts in the near future and hopefully see Miku perform in NY again.

Ps: I must have felt bored in the office to revive this abandoned blog... lots of old drafts not published

Ps2: I was just curious when the last time I blogged and it's almost three years ago... so I must haven't written anything more than 100 words leisurely in three years

Video on official channel

Some of clips I took during the concert (sorry for the low quality and shaky camera since I didn't have money to invest in a good low light camera and my arms were tired...)