Centaku Media Journal: Episode #19

In this episode: A Kickstarter campaign for an old school Crunchyroll-inspired anime streaming server is suspended after criticism from members of the anime industries at home and abroad accuses the concept “a scam”, latest details for Final Fantasy XIV’s upcoming “Endwalker” expansion pack, and a member of an idol group resigns after concerns of gross fans.

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Music Spotlight: Mai Kuraki – Stepping Out

This is a throwback post from December 2012 featuring Mai Kuraki (倉木麻衣). This a refresher for me after discovering her album again from a vendor several years ago at MTAC Omega, and getting lost in the Hallyu Wave. Returning to my J-Pop roots, I talked about what makes her different from a similar artist in her genre.

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Interesting Find: The Mini-Guide for New Shitajiki Collectors

Collecting Shitajiki is a step forward in becoming an Otaku for life. Anime enthusiasts usually collect figurines created based on original or existing characters. For me, however, I take a different approach to collecting anime memorabilia. Shitajiki are pencil boards, like a clipboard–but without a clip, and with graphics. They are just like trading cards, but twice in size!

Author’s Note: This post was originally published in April 2008. I decided to give this post another life for anyone who is interested in collecting these. However, it’s been a minute since I’ve invested in them, but with having to republish this post, I just might give it another shot! Enjoy!

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Interest Treasures: The Unusual Journey of Yang Joon Il

Many of you are probably into, or at least heard of, the latest K-pop acts such as BTS, TWICE, BLACKPINK, and Stray Kids. But there is Yang Joon Il (Hangul: 양준일), a solo artist who made his debut at the very beginning of the 1990s, and who was largely ignored by the Korean media because of his approach to the norms of the era.

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Self-Studying the Korean Language Using a Journal System

Prior to my trip to South Korea, I brushed up on the Korean language in preparation to survive roughly a week in order to get around. It may not be necessary, but it doesn’t hurt to learn some survival phrases, or at least get an idea of how the language is structured for future reference.

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Free MMORPG Issues in the Mid-2000s

The following post was originally written and published during the early days of a general MMORPG blog I ran around 2005, a little before I launched Centaku Media. It’s about three free MMORPG titles I played that at the time were pretty cool at the time. Although I’m sure if these are still running in 2020, they probably haven’t aged well.

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