KanColle - Fleet Girls Collection Movie Sequence

For three years when it launched by DMM and Kadokawa Games as a browser game in 2013, Kantai Collection (KanColle for short) has been the time-wasting activity of the day for otakus in Japan, collecting a fleet of ships antromorphonized as cute anime girls and upgrade them to dispatch through numerous missions to wipe out enemy fleet from unknown forces, as if the enemies are trying to retrograding world history for some evil purposes. Nevertheless, due to its massive success of the game, KanColle has expanded through numerous merchandises, an arcade game, a PSVita game, and for some intentional purposes, an anime series aired last January 2015. Seeing that there are some spark to KanColle fans who missed last year's anime series, it became an opportunity to launch the first ever KanColle movie, which some say it's going to be the definitive KanColle experience for the whole fans new and familiar alike.

So, how's this KanColle movie, why they made a movie from a popular ship-raising franchise from the internet? Glad you asked because this film is set moments after last year's anime, uncovering hidden truths behind our favorite fleet girls. In this film, Fubuki and the fleet are dispatched to the Guadalcanal and during their lengthy battle against the Abyssal Fleet, a strange phenomena surrounded through the seas and later extracted the ship that was once sank in the beginning of the TV anime series, named Kisaragi. That extraction of the ship that was presumed dead reveals everything the viewers never know about the characters and it's a cold one.

With the storyline as cold as the Cold War, this movie really is a thriller full of plot twists no one could predicted, in fact there are some theories that need to prove while watching this film because while the KanColle film is full of sunken secrets set to be unearthened as it progress, anyone who are ready to witness it is a daring challenge because once this film ends, the fans will have a lot of questioning to do about what just happened in the film, but still, despite the grim turn of evens occurred, the fans are very happy to see the dream of a KanColle film come true...but only in a certain way. Thanks to the film, the KanColle franchise will continue to expand, altering its perception, strengthening perpetually, until the day comes where it can be forgotten in our hearts and minds.

My rating: 3.4 out of 5.

THREATS OF NORTH KOREA: IFRC head preparing North Korean visit

The head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is preparing to visit North Korea to assess the aid needed for areas affected from the flood.

Flooding in the North Hamgyong Province between late August and early September has left over 500 people dead or missing while 70,000 others left homeless. IFRC president, Tadateru Konoe, is set to visit North Korea for a five day visit.

The IFRC has called for 15.5 million dollars in emergency aid for survivors of the disaster but the fifth nuclear test in September and repeated ballistic missile launches hampered their efforts.

Source: NHK World

Let's Do The News! (November 28, 2016)

- President Rodrigo Duterte became oblivious from the mass protests against his decision to allow the burial of the late strongman Ferdinand E. Marcos at the Libingan Ng Mga Bayani, saying he was trained as a lawyer to make decisions based on law and not on sentiment. He also described former president Fidel V. Ramos as his supporter and critic for openly criticizing him on some of his decisions and policy pronouncements.

- Self-confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa revises his allegations that Albuera Police Chief Jovie Espenido received drug money from him. According to PNP Director General Bato dela Rosa, Kerwin slowly took back what he said during their conversation the other night.

- The recent discovery over an improvised explosive planted somewhere near the US Embassy in Manila shouldn't be a cause for alarm, according to a Malacañang Palace official. Manila law enforcement detonated the suspected bomb after closing traffic in a portion of Roxas Boulevard near the embassy. About 1,996 villagers have been displaced due to an attack by a terrorist group from Maute, known as Dawlah Islamiya, who orchestrated the attack on Butig, Lanao del Sur last Saturday.

- Meanwhile, 11 terrorists in Maute linked to Islamic State militants were killed while injured five others by troops in an effort to eradicate the 200-member Maute gang occupying parts of Butig, Lanao del Sur.

- Francois Fillon has won France's conservative Republican party presidential primaries. In the run-off election on Sunday, Fillion scored a wide lead against Prime Minister Alain Juppe with 66% of the vote. In his victory speech, Fillon said he will extend his hand to all those who wish to defend their country as well as the French values.

- Last Friday, former Cuban leader Fidel Castro passed away at the age of 90. Upon his death, a nine-day period of mourning kicked off in the South American country. Sunday, in front of the main gate of the University of Havana, where Castro studied, about 30 students stood silently holding photographs of the late leader and Cuban flags. A large memorial service will be held on Tuesday in Havana.

- A Swiss referendum rejected Switzerland's exit from nuclear power. 54.2% of the Swiss voters opposed the plan, while 45.8% percent were in favor. The voter turnout was 45%. The country's five nuclear power plants generate over 30% of its overall power generation, following hydro-power. Some have been use in over four and a half decades.

- Nissan's all new Serena minivan won the Doors and Closures in Car Body Engineering 2016 award for its unique hands free auto slide door and dual back door.

- Up-and-coming EV company Faraday Future delays its construction for their EV production plant in Nevada as the company is overdue on millions of dollars of bills to its general contractor. Construction is set to resume early next year but it's unlikely the factory will be ready to produce vehicles by 2017.

- Oh my! Cardcaptor Sakura finally returns on TV with a brand new Clear Card arc airing this early 2018 with the main cast reprising their roles, Madhouse returning to do the animation work, and Morio Asaka returns to direct the new chapter of the returning series airing on NHK in January 2018.

TTFN!!!

F1 2016 FINALE

Photo: Associated Press

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is the final destination for the 2016 season of Formula One and this is the final turnabout for the two Mercedes aces, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, where they have faced their one last do-or-die battle royal on who will gain this season's title held in the capital city of the United Arab Emirates.

The finale is a battle without room for sarcasm and even though winning a race is not enough to show the whole world who deserves the title and even though Lewis Hamilton won the race, a second-place finish for Rosberg is just enough to declare the German his first-ever title. Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo placed 3rd and 4th respectively.

Of course with Mercedes winning the Constructors' Championship, Rosberg officially stole Hamilton's crown and declared the world champion of the 2016 season of Formula One Championship. That was one heck of a long race for these two, eh? This is like every harsh moment occurred throughout this year, giving everyone one heck of a rollercoaster ride.

Nevertheless, we have no choice but to congratulate the new world champion and until the next season, farewell.

Report: https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/headlines/2016/11/rosberg--2016-finale-and-title-just-unreal.html

Forza Horizon 3: Bowling Gold

Upon hearing the sad news that the man behind Bowler Motorsport, Drew Bowler, passed away this month, I believe that it would be the ideal time to pay tribute to the man behind Britain's extreme offroads than taking a spin round Down Under with one of Bowler's greatest hits; the EXR S, known to be the road-legal equivalent of the Bowler Nemesis, which is sacrilege for a normal Bowler user.



Being behind the wheel in one of the most extreme offroaders made in the country which is now remembered for being the first nation to get out of the European Union after a majority vote, the Bowler EXR S still packs a lot of dirt to get through points A to Z, something that even the world's mightiest supercars can't come across. With offroaders like the Bowler EXR S becoming the offroad equivalent of a Ferrari, drivers behind the wheel see this car as a challenge to see if they got what it takes to break its limits by any means necessary. For me, I can hardly imagine what is like to drive in series of games that involves physical contact or as what Forza fans affectionately called them; Flagzilla, Tagzilla, and Kingzilla.









Glad you asked because by the time I used this car in a series in games in terms of Forzathon-related challenges everyone's gunning for time-limited prizes, those games offer one kind of torture after another, giving me some anxiety to think twice before clearing those challenges, regardless of my position. Whether if its a game of Infection, King, or Flag Rush, those who are aftering me are using every trick to the book to make my experience a lot more miserable. There's the surprise attack, the slipstream, the roadblock, the ambush. any kind of tactic that will hunt me down like a thief on a night.

Still, no matter what chaos I got myself into, I'm glad that I drove the Bowler EXR S because it remains one of the most extreme offroaders in history and with its supercharged Jaguar V8 engine roaring through all four wheels, I knew that is one loud offroader with a heart of comedy gold.

Wait, did I said "loud"? Speaking of which, I prepped up a little something for the loudest offroader from Great Britain and you will be quite surprised so see what I made out of...







So, enough of the tease? Well, here it is...



Surprised?! I know it looks childish but that is why I themed it after that new cartoon show I loved, it's Nickelodeon's The Loud House! Specifically, I chose the new show's main character, Lincoln Loud, to make this theme because it suits rather well. After all, like Lincoln, it managed to duck, dodge, push, and shove its way to bag whatever prizes they offered per Forzathon event, even the Halo Warthog I got since last month. To honor how great the Bowler is, I took it out on an event to see how it performs. So (ahem), how about those Republicans? (Horn blows)

Wait, did I said something?





That Bowler sure knows how to bring a fire in me like a Bowling Gold. You know, the cigarette they called Bowling Gold but it's been an honor to drive one of Bowler's greatest hits by any means necessary and if the man behind this company is with us, he would be smiling on me upon driving the EXR S. Either way, it sure knows how to duck, dodge, push, and show, just show its love to the offroad enthusiasts and they wouldn't want it any other way because this is how an extreme offroader always behaves and looks. Alright, everyone, let's go back to the festival.

Audi A5 II

2017 Audi A5 Coupe

2017 Audi A5 Sportback

It's been almost a decade when Audi launched the two-door equivalent of the Audi A4, known as the A5, and while the A5 is made to take on the likes of BMW's 4-Series and Mercedes' C-Coupe, its stale styling never makes the cut against today's generation of two-door saloons. However, this is the latest version, and while this is based on the latest Audi A4, the all-new Audi A5 tries to show its rivals how technologically-advanced this new version is, although the new design feels like it's 10 years ago.

You get two bodystyles at launch; first there's the coupe version, starts at 42,750 Euros, for those who are very sensible enough to have a two-door saloon in the first place, and then there's the five-door Sportback version, starts at 40,850 Euros, for those who believe that the A4's not good enough for them. Either way, they're all the same story for these two bodystyles at the start because whichever A5 you'll be choosing, it's not the performance this car is aftering, it's the tech that counts and looks like you'll be having a hard time understanding the gadgetry deployed on the new model.

2017 Audi A5 Coupe interior

2017 Audi A5 Sportback interior

Of course, while the design is slightly an improvement from the previous model when it first launched almost a decade ago, the new interior is all business as usual for the coupe and as for the Sportback, you get that "out from the limo" feeling that once you got out from the back seat, you will think that you're in charge of almost everything, even your siblings who are not interested in cars at all. Of course, while the coupe is all about your time, all the time, and while the Sportback is all about talent agencies, four star hotels, and all that rut from your briefcase full of work-related materials, understanding the tech that sinks the A5's new interior like Silicon Valley meets Boracay is not an easy task but the more you understand about its interior, the better your understanding how it works like a laptop computer, and with the brand new "Technology Selection" offered on the A5, which comes with smartphone connectivity for iPhones and Androids, this is just the half of the tech-filled platter for the new model.

Okay, the Coupe and the Sportback models offer different range of engine choices and if you start with the normal Coupe version, you should know that there are 11 configurations to choose from; with the most powerful version is the sport 2.0 TFSI quattro S tronic with 252PS of power and can get through 100kph in 5.8 seconds while the most efficient one is the sport 2.0 TDI ultra with the 6-speed manual which delivers 4.2 l/100km of fuel efficiency. For the Sportback, meanwhile, there are eight configurations available with the most powerful version is of course the 2.0 TFSI quattro S tronic with a 0-100kph time of six seconds while the most efficient model is the 2.0 TDI ultra  with the 6-speed manual with a fuel economy of 4.1 l/100km.

2017 Audi S5 Coupe

2017 Audi S5 Sportback

If you need some more, there's also a semi-high performance variant called the S5. Priced at 62,500 Euros for both models, the S5 is equipped with a 3.0 TFSI engine producing 354 PS of power and top speed normally limited to 250kph, while mated with a tiptronic gearbox which isn't sound so sporty for a semi-high performance variant for the A5 models.

Either way, the new model feels a bit like it was slightly improved compared to the first-generation model. Although luxurious and comfortable to drive on the city streets and on the highway, its excitement to drive as a weekend car is almost none and you can't sense how much fun this new model is, even if you're going two doors because who would rather think driving a car with two doors is considered a sleek and sporty ride? However, Audi resorted developing a new quattro all wheel drive system with ultra technology, this upgraded drivetrain feels like it's starting to work rather well like singing kumbaya on a boy scout bonfire night. Still, with technology at its earnest disposal, the new Audi A5's state of the art features in terms of safety and connectivity feels like it's one step ahead to the future and while these new models are here today, they're always ready for tomorrow's ever-changing demographics.

Although the new model doesn't sense its sportiness from within, its becoming a slight improvement compared to the previous generation and it will take owners to grow accustomed to the all-new model by whatever means necessary. The more they drive the new A5, the more they know, and the more they know, the better their experience behind the wheel will be and while having two bodystyles with different powertrains offered is just half the story, there's more to come with the new generation A5 so expect surprises later on for this generation.

Photo: Audi AG

Audi TT Mk3 (Typ 8S) RS

The most powerful version of the Audi TT is back for more, only this time it's now heavily based on the current-generation model as the all-new Audi TT RS is ready to take on the big guns with its blend of compact sizing and big power from its signature five-cylinder engine, proving that this car isn't just a VW Golf R in coupster look, it's one way why Audi makes the most serious machines for those who can't afford a more expensive R8 supercar. The question is, is it good?

2017 Audi TT RS

Before you get your hands on the new Audi TT RS, first you must get to know more about the TT RS in terms of how it looks, how it behaves, and so on, and so forth, and introduce yourself to the hot TT RS is just the half of the story. For this new model, the TT RS offers two body styles to choose from; an open-top version if you're not too serious about pushing this car beyond limits or a hardtop version if you really want to discover its utmost potential as a hot TT for the privileged few. Whichever style you go, you will always be greeted by its racy exterior design just as what you expect from most Audi RS models, hardcore Audis made by the madmen from quattro GmbH for people who believe they like to make a world their racetrack by any means necessary.

It's fair to say that with such exterior design, the new TT RS has a striking impression of a Soviet-made handgun that sounds like the banging of a gong on a dam, and if whoever's driving any kind of TT, even the TT S, will be extremely jealous enough to have one of these someday but that will take a lot of time to wait until it's here, or the budget to spend one because the new model starts at 66,400 Euros for the Coupe version and 69,200 Euros for the Roadster version.

Either way, they're still fitted with its signature 2.5L 5-cylinder engine as before, only this time it's all new and producing 60PS more than the last time, meaning it's now 400PS of power and 480Nm of torque. Sounds juicy enough to put the VW Golf R to shame but there's one major point that will upset some speedo boys elsewhere; it's available only with a 7-speed DSG gearbox. That's it. A 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox. Even with all that power, you speedo boys are not going to enjoy the paddle-shifting, two-pedal layout offered by the most powerful TT in the range, not if that setup propels this car from 0 to 100kph to 3.7 seconds (3.9 for the Roadster) and electronically limited to 250kph (or 280kph for an optional extra).

For all that power, Audi resorts to improving the dynamics of the TT RS to give the new model some character hidden beneath its exterior design. Despite having an automatic gearbox, which sounds unruly for speedo boys, there's so much time to explore more about the TT RS's dynamism that the folks from quattro GmbH spent endless hours fine-tuning its racy handling for your own driving pleasure. As a four-wheel drive car, the TT RS can be a fun and enjoyable sportscar even when the weather turns against the drivers. It sure is addicting at first but when things are taking it very seriously when it comes to driving it on track days, it's a struggle where its unpredictable understeering acts as a recoil from your steering attack through the harsh bends. Needless to say with that kind of character, you'll gonna need to spend lots and lots of man-hours to get its handling right on track until the day comes when setting lap times in this car becomes as clear as a crystal maze.

As a driver's car, the Audi TT RS is an addictive addition to your garage and you can spend most of the vacation leave getting to know more about this car not in terms of how it looks but by the way it drives with that kind of setup, despite its added power from its signature five-cylinder engine, you can find it very struggling to be accommodated to its double-clutch gearbox set up because some speedo boys won't go easy with the DSG setup, no matter how quick this car is from the starting line. On the bottom line, there's so much to learn from the new model, in fact, this model needs to be more enjoyable than this so speedo boys can deserve more for the hottest TT ever made.

Photo: Audi AG