H.C.Staff

I was going to write about how Azusa’s true value was in the interactions she enabled with the other cast members, and how she filled a role that was missing in K-On all this time. The fact that she is a guitar-playing loli catgirl is nice, but doesn’t have that much to do with why I like her character so much. I mean, have I ever done anything to suggest I am biased in any way toward lolis, catgirls, or guitar players?

Seriously.

Samu-kun helped me realize that I was lying to myself, and I have stopped saying that my primary reason for liking Azusa is her part in the story. The truth is, I have been squarely targeted and hit by the Azusa Beam of shameless pandering from Kakifly and Kyo-Ani that has disintegrated my anti-moe defenses in the blink of an eye.

The loli catgirl is one of the golden standards of moe – just ask Kito. And guitar-playing loli catgirl takes it one step further. What’s next, guitar-playing tsundere loli catgirl with glasses? K-On might actually make it happen.

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An old song, but from a famous series that served as many Western fans’ introduction to the harem genre.

Sakura Saku
Love Hina opening theme
By Megumi Hayashibara

I got myself some new gear for recording: an M-Audio Fast Track USB interface (which came with a sound recording and mixing program, Ableton Live Lite 6), and a microphone (with stand).

Now here is an instructional video with the acoustic guitar legend from Australia, Tommy Emmanuel. Here he talks about training the thumb to act independently of the other fingers, playing the bass in parallel with the other fingers’ melody.

I would like to demonstrate such a technique, but 1) no way on earth am I going to play even the beginner’s exercise of that without years of training and 2) this is an anime blog, so we have to find an anime song that has that kind of technique, and preferably one within my ability. I actually don’t know the title of this, but if you’ve seen Aria, you’ve heard this track.

Aria BGM in A Major
from Aria the Animation
by Choro Club

You know how most of the characters in Aria the Animation have names that begin with the letter A? You have the main characters Akari, Alice, and Aika, their mentors Alicia, Athena, and Akira, the boys Akatsuki, Woody (Ayanokouji), and Albert, not to mention Ai, Ayano, and more. When I was learning this song, I was like, “Hey, this song is in the key of A. What a coincidence.”