Youyaku, HR8 !!

Yeah, after six months.

Converted my MHFU gamesave to a MHP2ndG( the Japanese equivalent ). Went back and finally beat the living crap out of that Naruga Kuruga(urgent quest). Had lots of practice over at Yukumo village(MHP3rd) so yeah, high time for some payback.

Felt more like it's been a year since I played 2ndG, hindi pala, hehe.

So Boomer Samurai Eeka's HR8 now, for what it's worth. Now to peek at them newer monsters...

Unresting On A Sunday...

Grabbed a few of my Revoltechs(from top: Tetsujin 28, Gurren Lagann, Getter Dragon), slapped some prints behind them and bam! Instant crappo from moi.

Sunod ko na lang yung iba, pag nabawasan 'tong antok at katamaran ko...

Mother Nature Says 'I Love You'!

Minsan talaga, you never know what you'll find in your backyard. Lalagyan ng panggatong na kahoy itong sinibulan ng little green 'hearts'...

Croak...

Binuksan ko yung Playstation nitong weekend, balikan ko sana yung mga lumang psone games ko. Nag-on naman ang PS kaso di na gumagana yung lens unit. I tried loading all sorts of discs: original ps games, bootleg ones and even audio cd's, pero zits.

Tagal na rin sa kin to; had the lens changed only once then it worked perfectly for like, more than 10 years ata. Call me old-school, pero nasulit ko rin tong unit na to. I do have my PS2 and PSP though(no PS3), but still. Only problem now really is what to do with all of my psone discs...

Glass, Light and Color...

Stained glass windows dito sa simbahan sa Sta. Maria( Immaculate Concepcion Church). Matagal ko na rin gustong mag-ikot sa iba-ibang simbahan, or kahit anong establishments na me ganitong windows, magandang subject sa photography kasi.

Nothing fancy about the pics, basically raw shots. 'Shopping it would make no sense, really...

Airu Plays Decoy to Naruga Kuruga...

Time flies. Haven't been really playing MonHun(seriously), probably because my latest brickwall, the Naruga Kuruga, keeps kicking my ass...

What I've been busy with though is work. Yeah, as in the kind where you get paid so you can eat and live another day. HeartCatch Precure movie's all said and done - in fact kumita na ng $10million sa Japan box office yun. So, omedeto to Toei on another successful feature...

Next up is Precure DX Movie 3, currently in the works, slated for March next year. We're also helping out a lot lately with the OnePiece Tv series( Marine Ford saga). There's also Toriko 3D. Oh, and of course, the new Precure series - Suite Precure...

So no time for monster hunting? Not exactly. Singit-singit na lang here and there...

Danke, Fraulein Faye!

A surprise 'pasalubong' from my German-speaking cuz-in-law in the states. Di na namin pinatagal yan kaya wala pa atang dalawang araw nung makuha yan eh na-sentensyahan na namin, hehe!

Domo arigatou gozaimasu!!

Saeng il chuk ha ham ni da!

Saranghaeyo! Happy Birthday!

Welcome! Japan

Sigh. What I'd give to go back there again...

Danjobi Omedeto, Boomer Samurai Eeka!

Happy Birthday! Bait lang lagi saka always keep your studies up, okay?

Clothes Maketh the Hunter...

Butterfly S Armor against the Akantor? You betcha.

Best option I can come up with, since the armor has a strong Dragon Resist stat(10), and coupled with my shiny new Smolder Dragonsword (816 attack power plus 520 Dragon Element) I finally beat the fiery snot out the Supreme Monster that is the Akamuturomu(original Japanese name)...

Later I find out that the Akantor isn't even an Elder Dragon after all. It's a pseudowyvern, or at least that's what the Guild researchers are calling it. It's got more in common with the Tigrex, apparently, bearing the same moves, albeit much slower since it's built like a cargo plane...

Boomer Samurai Eeka's officially HunterRank 7(after formally completing the dual Hypnocratice quest). My game character'll be handling G-Rank quests from now on. The vicious cycle of butt-kicking never stops...

Bonding With Akantor...

Guess I'm gonna be quite busy with this one. Leave your message at the sound of the beep...

Boomer Samurai Eeka Goes Casual, Takes Down HR6 Black Gravios With WaterGun!

Yep, wearing a dress has never been so deadly.

I was looking for a weapon with a good Water Element damage that I can use against the Black Gravios, and the King Lobster Gun was the best option I had, or at least the most attainable when 'farming' for parts(I forget what items exactly, too lazy and tired to look it up in the game). Not exactly the coolest-looking weapon - it's literally a lobster you're holding in your arms. Since I have a goofy gun, might as well wear something appropriate to go along with it. Not that the Guild Helper dress is goofy(donning a dress while slugging out 20-foot monsters is quite cool), it's just that you can't exactly run around in a kick-ass armor suit and carry a pink lobster gun without the townsfolk laughing at your back, hehe....

It's also my first try at being a Gunner in the game. My game character's always been a BladeMaster (save for when I tried my hand at using the Kutku Stave against the village Elder's Khezu quest), and to be frank, after playing for 250hours( at least that's what it says on my Guild Card) using the swords got a bit...boring. Well, not exactly boring. I just hit a brickwall on the upgrade department( items I'll need won't be available till I reach Grank ). So, to keep myself interested and to make the game refreshing, I switched Hunter Type...

I guess the Felynes weren't kidding when they said certain weapons are matched to monsters. It's certainly true for the light bowgun being a match to the Gravios. Your basic problem with the HR6 Black Gravios is simple - you can't get near him long enough to deal as much damage as you want. It either tackles/bites you, or it 'farts' deadly fumes from its underbelly. Add your basic fact that blades bounce off its notoriously tough hide and you got a lot of work ahead of you.

Better MH players did beat it using longswords or greatswords, my brother being one of them. It must've been a REAL workout for sure.

With the bowgun though, it's a cakewalk.

You got the advantage of distance, since you can shoot from a safezone. The Gravios is big and slow, so it's relatively easy to dodge when it tries to charge at you. It's real killer is it's nasty fire beam( HR6 Bl Gravios now pans its beam, compared to the previous ones where it just fires in its line of sight ), but so long as you know when and where you should be when this happens then it's no prob at all.

Aaand, to top it all off - it's ridicuously weak to Water damage. Not only did I peeled open its belly twice over, I even managed to make the poor sap ROLL OVER on its back. Funny sight to see, really. It was game over in 30minutes. I figured it would've been faster had I mastered to use of the bowgun, but hey there's always a next time...

Plesioths, beware. I know where you live....

We Remember Cory...

It rained today.

It also rained on that day, exactly a year ago, when Cory was finally laid to rest.

She gave it all for God and country. And yet she had to suffer from cancer as a gratitude.

Why do bad things happen to good people. I honestly don't know. It's one of those questions that I think I wouldn't like the answer to.

We remember you, Cory. Maraming salamat sa iyo.

Just...Pics

Yumi Sayaka and Mazinger Z. Miho Kirishima, aka Kamen Rider Femme....

Just thought I try out a little 'before and after' kinda thing, just to give an idea on the scale of the figs in my collection...

Finally!...

HELL YEAH.

Dual Tigrex, Actually

After 20+hours of extra playing time gathering parts for a Khezu Shock Sword(from Khezu and Gypceros no less) plus jacking up the Hermitaur S armor( upgrades and Turtle jewels to improve defense), and adding lessons learned from all the ass-kicking those two Tigrexes gave me, I finally conquered the HR5 urgent. Yay.

Can't say the quest was epic - it was more of a tactical mission than anything else. Top priority was to bring down one of them as fast as possible(50-minute time limit), which meant resisting the urge to toggle between the Tiggers and tunnel-visioning just one of them( I paintball my single target so I can track him on the map - I intended to cut off its tail at first for easy ID'ing, but things didn't pan out)...

First target's easy enough(20 minutes in). Basic gameplan was to go all headshots on them( head and neck being their weakest points). I actually learned a few tricks here and there, like how you can immediately roll under them after a quick strike, so as to avoid any of it's frontal attacks. The Tigrex is definitely one of the more dangerous and tenacious monsters in the game for me, as it gives very small openings for an attack - hesitate and you lose the opportunity, while having to end up on the defensive - and that happens a lot...

After catching up with the first Tigrex in the Snowy Mountain cave(where they go recuperate and sleep), I trapped and tranq'ed the monster(catching them alive is faster). Now I have 30 minutes to finish off the last one. Another mistake I made from previous attempts was 'rushing' the second Tigrex, so this time I kept my cool. I also made sure I wasn't on the defensive too much. Only time I was really laying off them was when they're in rage mode, so I let them blow some steam off.

Part of the Great Sword's charm is that in can block the Tigrex's roars(sucks when they catch you with it - as your character cringes from the blast, while giving the monster the chance to whoop your sorry ass). Again, it's a case of knowing the Tigrex behaviour and choosing to respond accordingly either with an attack or defensive measure...

Game declares last 10 minutes of the game. Tigrex keeps jumping all around the ice field, making it hard to strike, so i figured to lay my final shock trap. Tigrex runs in(almost tags me while setting the trap), gets fried, gets tranq'ed. Mission complete.

Gonna relax a bit. HR6 quests look nasty...

Brickwall Has Teeth...

I am sooo effing frustrated. Lampas 1 month na pala ako at HR5 and I still can't for the life of me complete the dual Tigrex Guild Urgent. Opened up the urgent 2 weeks back actually, but still. Sabagay dati nung unang Tigrex urgent, inabot din ako ng dalawang linggo bago ko nagamay tong hayup na to. Kung isa lang walang problema eh, kaso impiyerno na pag nagsabay ang dalawa...

I'm very lacking somewhere, strategy maybe? I don't think the True Devil Slicer's too weak to handle them. Ala nang ibang mas malakas na longsword na me magandang thunder attribute. Isa pang problema kasi para kang nakikipagsabayan sa tren pag kalaban mo tong Tigrex eh. Any defense I try to put up ends up diddly squat when they mow you over.

I'm gonna go bash some Popos now...

Karigurashi no Arrietti

Studio Ghibli's latest animated feature hits theatres(in Japan) July 17, 2010. The story, written by Hayao Miyazaki, is based on the fantasy novel The Borrowers by Mary Norton. Hiromasa Yonebayashi will be making his directorial debut. Lucky guy!

What got my attention was the soundtrack, stunning by the way, which was written and performed by French harpist Cecil Corbel. It's sounding to be another memorable score for a Ghibli movie, and hopefully it's gonna go up there with the ranks of the other classics like Nausicaa, My Neighbour Totoro, Laputa, Porco Rosso, Kiki's Delivery Service, among others.

Gonna be a long wait 'fore I see this one...

Wang Wang No More!!

No more (abusive)unauthorized use of sirens/blinkers, commony known as "wang-wang", by civilian or even government officials, declares Prez Noy.

Cool, if you ask me. Waiting to see if this is a permanent deal o kung papalag pa mga hinayupak na abusado na gumagamit nito. Let them have a taste of what metro traffic is all about, effing bastards...

But then, I would very much agree with some people regarding security concerns when it comes to the President himself.

Under the law, only the president, the vice president, the heads of the two chambers of parliament, the Supreme Court chief justice, police, military and emergency vehicles can use sirens and drive through red lights.

Much as Noynoy is against the use of sirens from the very start, I don't think it'll be taken against him if his convoy uses it. The law allows him to. Though 'allow' doesn't necessarily mean Noy will give in to his taboo. Hope he lightens up and sees it's only right.