Sabtu, 27 Maret 2010

Kämpfer


Kämpfer (けんぷファー, Kenpufā) is a Japanese light novel series by Toshihiko Tsukiji, with illustrations by Senmu. As of December 25, 2009, fourteen volumes have been published by Media Factory under their MF Bunko J imprint. A manga adaptation by Yu Tachibana started serialization in the seinen manga magazine Monthly Comic Alive on February 27, 2008. An anime adaptation began airing in Japan on October 2, 2009 on TBS.
Contents


* 1 Plot
* 2 Characters
o 2.1 Main characters
o 2.2 Messengers
o 2.3 White Kämpfers
o 2.4 Others
* 3 Terminology
* 4 Media
o 4.1 Anime
+ 4.1.1 Episode list
* 5 References
* 6 External links

Plot

The plot revolves around Natsuru Senō, a normal high school boy with blue hair. One day he wakes up to find himself turned into a girl. A stuffed tiger "Harakiri Tora" comes to life and tells him to fight as a female fighter "Kämpfer". Having no idea about what's going on, Natsuru is involved in many battles against other female Kämpfer.
Characters
Main characters

Natsuru Senō (瀬能 ナツル, Senō Natsuru?)
Voiced by: Marina Inoue[2]
The series' main protagonist. Second year student of Seitetsu Gakuin High School, he has a crush on Kaede Sakura, one of the school beauties, to the point of single-mindedness and sees other girls with indifference, and very thickheaded about the feelings of Shizuku, Akane and Mikoto. He is chosen as a Blue Kämpfer by Moderator and setup as a Zauber type with power based on fire. In keeping with the rule that all Kämpfers are females, he turns into a girl upon transformation. After a fight with Shizuku exposed his Kämpfer form to other students of the school, Shizuku arranged to have him enrolled in girl's class to fulfill public curiosity in a way that diverts attentions away from Kämpfer battle. His Kämpfer form has subsequently been ranked among the Three Beauties of Seitetsu (there used to be only two, being Shizuku and Sakura) and, much to his own dismay, become subject of intense affections from Kaede Sakura (who has displayed no particular interest in his Normal form), the female student body that ranges from giving gifts to more complex ones like being asked to the oath of sisterhood, and the boys.

Akane Mishima (美嶋 紅音, Mishima Akane?)
Voiced by: Yui Horie
School librarian and Natsuru's friend, she is also a Blue Kämpfer like Natsuru. Normally very shy (which might very well be attributed to her tendency of misunderstanding what others are trying to do in a borderline-erotic way) and soft-spoken, she becomes foul-mouthed, bitter, vindictive, and trigger-happy upon transforming into a Kämpfer. She explained most of the rules of being a Kämpfer when Natsuru's own Messenger gave no such details. She is a Gewehr type Kämpfer who uses an 1911 .45 pistol and appears to be ambidextrous. In addition to having Natsuru as the first male to establish in-depth friendship with her, Akane eventually begins to harbor feelings for him, becoming jealous and easily irritable when he talks about another girl (most if not all of the time being Kaede) in front of her or when another girl takes an interest in him (whether that interest is romantic in nature or not). Despite often responding with indifference, however, Natsuru does later tell her that if Kaede were never on his mind, she (Normal form) would have been the kind of girl he "sees no problem with".

Shizuku Sangō (三郷 雫, Sangō Shizuku?)
Voiced by: Kaori Nazuka[2]
President of the Student Council and one of the Three Beauties of Seitetsu, she is a model student with perfect attendance record. In addition, however, she is also a Red Kämpfer fighting with the Schwert ability of wielding two chained daggers at will. She wants to expose Moderator's intentions but has no problem fighting Blue Kämpfers until that goal was accomplished. After being spared following a defeat by Natsuru, she enters a truce with Natsuru and Akane and has since taken an interest in Natsuru in a slightly sly and teasing manner, throwing him off balance with embarrassing remarks/actions while maintaining a poker face in the process, despite being constantly treated with suspicion as a result. After being invited by Kaede to visit her home and then spend the night there, however, Shizuku is seen getting inquisitive about what happens after Kaede snuck into Natsuru's bed and then wondering if she is indeed feeling jealous over Kaede getting the chance to do so. Later on she continues to give off hints that she is romantically interested in him, asking him out on a date and eventually deep-kissing him in front of Sakura and the others although her constant ambiguity again seems to become her undoing (a fact she seems to have realized, calling her love an unrequited one), as Natsuru keeps thinking that she is up to something whenever she makes an advance on him.

Mikoto Kondō (近堂 水琴, Kondō Mikoto?)
Voiced by: Kana Asumi
Natsuru's childhood friend who only recently reunited with him due to her father being an archaeologist who lives abroad, a way of live that already made her think little of doing things others would consider far too dangerous. Although having too much pride to explicitly admit, she has feelings for Natsuru and is more than a bit bothered by the presence of a girl with the same name as his (who in reality is Natsuru in his Kämpfer form). Even after the misunderstanding is later cleared up, the advances made by Akane and Shizuku on Natsuru (Mikoto apparently does not believe Kaede would reciprocate his feelings) subsequently makes her even more nervous about her chance with him as well. When she was seeing Miss Seitetsu contest of the school festival, she caught a bouquet that Kaede tossed with a Messenger hidden in it, consequently being turned into a Schwert-type Red Kämpfer armed with a katana. Her love for curry is to the point of cooking and consuming it for every meal.

Kaede Sakura (沙倉 楓, Sakura Kaede?)
Voiced by: Megumi Nakajima[2]
Shizuku's childhood friend and one of the Three Beauties of Seitetsu, she has many admirers, Natsuru being one of them. She has a large collection of stuffed Zōmotsu Animal dolls and likes to present them to her friends; those who receive the dolls, however, tend to end up becoming Kämpfers. She began to develop a crush on Kämpfer Natsuru after being saved from Kämpfer Akane at the beginning of the series, later coming under the mistaken impression that the normal Natsuru is her rival for Kämpfer Natsuru's affection and consequently becoming somewhat hostile to him, a situation not helped after a misunderstanding in a very compromising situation leads her to think Natsuru is cheating on the female Natsuru. Later she is revealed to possibly have relations with the moderators as well as something to do with the appearances of the White Kämpfers and may be manipulating Natsuru's emotions to think only her. It is eventually confirmed on separate occasions when White Kämpfers swear loyalty to her and when, without possessing any bracelet so characteristic of Kämpfers, she wields both a Japanese sword and a Beretta 93R against the Red and Blue Kämpfer coalition. It is also implied that she knows that there are not two Natsurus, but one that switches gender (she personally reveals it in the anime whereas in the novel it is her White Kämpfers who would do so).

Messengers

The role of Messengers is mainly to assist those chosen to become Kämpfers in understanding the rules and mechanisms of Kämper combat. They take the form of Entrails Animals, plush toys that are notable for having their guts sticking out. Many of them have been described in the novels as having voices similar to those of specific real-life voice actors, who would in turn do the voices for them in the anime.

Disembowled Tiger (ハラキリ トラ, Harakiri Tora?)
Voiced by: Michiko Nomura
Messenger for Natsuru in the form of a tiger which wears an eye-patch. It enjoys watching the Sazae-san anime; Nomura is also the voice of one of the characters in that show.

Suicidal Black Rabbit (セップク クロウサギ, Seppuku Kuro Usagi?)
Voiced by: Yukari Tamura
Messenger for Akane in the form of a rabbit which has bloodshot eyes. It speaks with a sarcastic tone although it is on good terms with Harakiri Tora. Its enjoys watching pornography.

Electrocuted Wildcat (カンデン ヤマネコ, Kanden Yamaneko?)
Voiced by: Nana Mizuki
Messenger for Shizuku in the shape of a wildcat bristling hairs. It enjoys watching Hanshin Tigers baseball games.

Strangled Stray Dog (チッソク ノライヌ, Chissoku Norainu?)
Voiced by: Mamiko Noto
Messenger for Mikoto in the appearance of a strangled dog. It speaks with a subdued voice. It enjoys watching rare commercials that are only broadcast in certain regions.

Burnt Alive Lion (ヒアブリ ライオン, Hiaburi Raion?)
Voiced by: Kenji Utsumi[2]
The oldest Messenger, its existence said to pre-date the Zōmotsu Animal toyline. The novel version of it does not have its guts hanging out of its body like the Zōmotsu Animals after it, but the anime version does. It has the same shape as a character which Kaede imagined before, with a voice similar to that of a voice actor who performs voice-overs for foreign movie stars. Kaede got it by mere chance though it is very scarce. In episode 11 of the anime, it reveals the reason behind the Kämpfer battles.

Hit-and-run Hippopotamus (ヒキニゲ カバ, Hikinige Kaba?)
It was the Messenger for Tamiko Shinomiya. It has turned back to a plain doll since she disappeared. Kaede presented another Hit-and-run Hippopotamus to Midori Kuzuhara.

White Kämpfers

The White Kämpfers are a group of Kämpfers who follow orders from Kaede. Their surnames were derived from their voice actresses. (In the anime, they received their messengers during the Miss Seitetsu contest)

Rika Ueda (植田 理香, Ueda Rika?)
Voiced by: Kana Ueda
Schwert user armed with a kusarigama.

Sayaka Nakao (中尾 沙也香, Nakao Sayaka?)
Voiced by: Eri Nakao
Schwert user armed with a sabre.

Ryōka Yamakawa (山川 涼花, Yamakawa Ryōka?)
Voiced by: Kotomi Yamakawa
Gewehr user armed with an Uzi submachine gun.

Hitomi Minagawa (皆川 瞳美, Minagawa Hitomi?)
Voiced by: Junko Minagawa
Zauber user. She attacks by launching energy bolts against her enemies.

Others

Kanji Higashida (東田 幹仁, Higashida Kanji?)
Voiced by: Yoshihisa Kawahara
Natsuru's classmate who is the president of the bishōjo research club.

Yuuichi Hanzawa (半澤 友一, Hanzawa Yūichi?)
The ace pitcher and the cleanup hitter of Baseball club. He can throw a fastball at a speed of over 150km/h, but the team is not so strong because he prefers watching midnight anime to training. He is also a member of bishōjo research club.

Masumi Nishino (西乃 ますみ, Nishino Masumi?)
Voiced by: Shiori Mikami
A member of the school's Newspaper Club, she is always after the scoops and has a habit of exaggerating her findings. Childhood friend of Akane.

Midori Kuzuhara (葛原 みどり, Kuzuhara Midori?)
A Gewehr-type Red Kämpfer, she was ordered to keep an eye on Shizuku, who in turn exploited Natsuru and Akane to have her sidelined.

Tamiko Shinomiya (篠宮 多美子, Shinomiya Tamiko?)
Zauber-type Red Kämpfer whom Shizuku adored. She was shot dead in Shizuku's presence by a Blue Kämpfer whom she defeated and let go off.

Makie Ueda (植田 牧恵, Ueda Makie?)
Rika's older sister. She gave a Zōmotsu Animal doll, presented by Kaede, to Rika. (In the anime, Rika receives her Zōmotsu Animal Doll during the Miss Seitetsu contest)

Another collector of Zōmotsu Animals
A stalker-like girl who is a student of Rakurowa High School. Natsuru and Akane talked about her when they were working at wholesaler's warehouse filled with Zōmotsu Animal goods. Actually, the stalker is a boy in female dress. He appears in Asura Cryin' with Matasaki Panda and some other Zōmotsu Animal dolls. (Does not make an appearance in the anime)

Terminology

Kämpfer (ケンプファー, Kenpufā?, German for "Fighter")
Female fighters chosen by the moderators to battle each other. Each Kämpfer has one of three types of power: Zauber (magic), Gewehr (guns), and Schwert (bladed mêlée weapons). Originally they are divided into two opposing factions, Red and Blue, but White Kämpfers are formed after a truce is reached between elements within the Red and Blue Kämpfers.

Bracelet of Oath (誓約の腕輪, Seiyaku no Udewa?)
A bracelet worn by Kämpfers and comes in either blue, red, or white. This represents the Kämpfer's allegiance and also triggers the transformation as it glows. Since Natsuru would undergo genderswap upon transformation, the glow of his bracelet would also represent a warning to distance himself as necessary from those with no knowledge of the Kämpfers.

Moderator (モデレーター, Moderētā?)
Moderator is responsible for selecting Kämpfer candidates.

Messenger (メッセンジャー, Messenjā?)
Responsible for granting selected people Kämpfer powers, explaining how the game works, and guiding them during their battles.

Zōmotsu Animal (臓物アニマル, Zōmotsu Animaru?, Entrails Animal)
An anime franchise within this series' universe . The primary characters, patterned after animals, are otherwise normal except that they all have their guts shown protruding outside of their bodies for one reason or another (having stomach ripped open, seppuku, etc.). Kaede Sakura has a large collection of stuffed animals from the franchise.

Bishōjo Research Club (美少女研究会, Bishōjo Kenkyūkai?)
An underground club. Natsuru was recommended for a special agent of the club against his will since he has contacts in the girls section for some reason.

Media
Anime

An anime series adaptation produced by Nomad and directed by Yasuhiro Kuroda began airing in Japan on TBS on October 2, 2009. The opening theme is "Unreal Paradise" (あんりある♥パラダイス?) by Minami Kuribayashi and the ending theme is "One Way Ryō Omoi" (ワンウェイ両想い?) by Marina Inoue and Megumi Nakajima.
Episode list
# Episode title Original air date
01 "Destiny: The Chosen Ones"
"Schicksal ~Erabareshimono~" (Schicksal ~選ばれし者~) October 2, 2009
Natsuru Senō discovers one morning to have transformed into a woman, upon which a stuffed animal tiger, Harikiri Tora, tells him that he has become a Kämpfer, which must do battle with other Kämpfer; since Kämpfer must be female, Natsuru transforms into a female version of himself. The next morning he is attacked by another Kämpfer named Akane Mishima wielding a sidearm. Natsuru protects his childhood friend Kaede Sakura from Akane's attack, before saving Akane from a falling lamppost. Natsuru is approached the following day by a shy girl who reveals herself to be Akane, who is completely different in appearance and personality when in Kämpfer form. Akane tells Natsuru as much as she knows about the Kämpfer, even helping him when he transforms. Kaede tells Natsuru that she has fallen for his Kämpfer form, and when he goes to Akane for advice, they are attacked by another hidden Kämpfer while in the school library. When Kaede suddenly appears in the wreckage, Akane assumes she is the enemy and shoots her gun at her.
02 "Glow: The Fight of Death Starts"
"Glühen ~Shitō no Kaimaku~" (Glühen ~死闘の開幕~) October 9, 2009
Natsuru stops Akane from shooting Kaede and the attacker escapes when the bell for class rings. Natsuru realizes that the enemy also goes to his school and becomes wary of the danger and cautious of the other girls around him. He and Akane are interrogated by Shizuku Sangō, the student council president, about what happened in the library. Natsuru promises to let Kaede meet his Kämpfer form the next day, and Akane and their messengers suggest making Kaede hate Natsuru's Kämpfer form, but instead she asks him out. Natsuru discovers Shizuku to be the enemy Kämpfer. Natsuru and Akane have trouble fighting against her, but eventually manage to stop her. Natsuru makes a deal with Shizuku to let her live if she leaves Kaede alone. Noticing rumors about Kämpfer Natsuru being spotted, Shizuku enrolls him into the girl's side of the school.
03 "Lily: The Secret Garden"
"Lilie ~Himitsu no Hanazono~" (Lilie ~秘密の花園~) October 16, 2009
Natsuru begins his first day in the girls side of the school where he is transferred into Akane's class and is very popular among the girls. Kaede confesses her love to Natsuru, but he is unable to answer due to his bracelet flashing. He gets interviewed by the newspaper club, who write a dubious article about him. Kaede refutes the rumors and things go well until Shizuku starts spreading a rumor that female Natsuru is dating the male one. Natsuru escapes to the library and transforms back to his male form, only to have Akane reprimand and trip onto him. When Kaede catches sight of the compromising position, she turns against him and vows to compete to win Kämpfer Natsuru's love.
04 "Declaration of War: The Fighting Maidens"
"Kriegserklärung ~Tatakau Otometachi~" (Kriegserklärung ~戦う乙女たち~) October 22, 2009
As the cultural festival comes up, Natsuru is shocked to find that Shizuku has entered him into the Miss Seitetsu beauty contest. Natsuru gives Shizuku a shoulder massage in order to be replaced, but after Akane bursts firing her gun, the deal falls apart and Natsuru is still forced to compete. Deciding to go with a karaoke act, he and Akane go shopping for lingerie, though it gets out of hand when Shizuku decides to help out too. Kaede later joins them at the karaoke bar, where she, Akane and Shizuku compete for a duet with Natsuru. Kaede tries to force an answer to her confession from Natsuru, but he is unable to reply due to nearly transforming again. Akane argues with Kaede for trying to confess behind her back, and both of them, as well as Shizuku, decide to enter the beauty contest too, much to the shock and chagrin of Natsuru.
05 "Comedy: First Kiss"
"Komödie ~Fāsuto Kisu~" (Komödie ~ファーストキス~) October 29, 2009
The cultural festival is about to begin and the class dress Natsuru and Akane in various costumes for the Miss Seitetsu beauty contest. In the changing room, Kaede interrupts the two of them and once again gets into an argument with Akane. Male Natsuru later meets up with Kaede, and gives her some encouragement, although she still considers him a rival. On the day of the beauty contest, Natsuru does not have an act, but then Kaede comes on performing a skit, throwing a bouquet into the audience. The two of them almost kiss, but are interrupted by Akane in her Kämpfer form, who starts shooting at them. Shizuku then appears and knocks everyone else unconscious, winning the contest by default. After the contest, Natsuru awakes in his male form and his first kiss is stolen by Shizuku. Meanwhile, Natsuru's childhood friend, Mikoto Kondō, who had caught Sakura's bouquet, finds the messenger, Chissoku Norainu, inside it.
06 "Homecoming: Friend or Foe?"
"Heimkehr ~Teki ka Mikata ka~" (Heimkehr ~敵か味方か~) November 5, 2009
Natsuru is surprised to find his childhood friend Mikoto has returned. When Kämpfer Natsuru heads to school, she is forced to participate in a 'quasi-maid café'. She is later accompanied by Shizuku, who warns her that a new Kämpfer will be coming.oo Kaede later joins them, and Shizuku subtly probes her to see if she has any knowledge concerning the Kämpfers and the Entrails animals that spawn them. Kaede asks Natsuru for a kiss, but she declines and settles for a date around the festival instead. As they enter into a haunted house, Natsuru is attacked by a new Red Kämpfer, whom Natsuru eventually recognizes as Mikoto. Akane later intervenes and the fight is stopped by Shizuku, who asks Natsuru and Akane to reveal their true identities to her. After everyone gets on the same level, Shizuku agrees on a truce, as she wants to find out something. As Natsuru apologizes to Kaede for abandoning her, Kaede asks her to spend the night at her house.
07 "Invitation: The Unwanted Guests"
"Einladen ~Manekarezaru Kyakutachi~" (Einladen ~招かれざる客たち~) November 12, 2009
Natsuru, unexpectedly accompanied by Akane and Shizuku, arrives at Kaede's house, which has a lot of Entrails Animals. Kaede starts things off with a game involving two people biting through the ends of a Pocky stick. Akane's attempts at avoiding Kaede and Natsuru being paired together gets her stuck with Shizuku. In the second round, Akane pairs with Natsuru, but he breaks the stick before she can reach. After failing to get paired with Natsuru, Kaede shows everyone her collection of Entrail Animals, including a prototype, Burnt Alive Lion. Mikoto then appears, bringing with her some curry which Shizuku dumps on Natsuru's face as an excuse for her to take a shower. Natsuru is forced to bathe in his female form since Kaede keeps peeking in. As Natsuru tries to go to sleep, he accidentally transforms back into his male form just as Kaede sneaks into his bed. Before Kaede notices him, Akane appears in her Kämpfer form wanting to convey her feelings to Natsuru. Just then, they are attacked by a White Kämpfer, Rika Ueda, who retreats after Shizuku intervenes. Later on, Shizuku wonders if she's jealous over Natsuru.
08 "Sweetheart: The First Date"
"Liebste ~Hajimete no Dēto~" (Liebste ~初めてのデート~) November 19, 2009
Shizuku asks Male Natsuru on a date with her. Whilst Shizuku is generally insistent that it's a proper date, Natsuru just goes along with it thinking it is a plan to draw out the White Kämpfer. After visiting an aquarium and having a picnic, Shizuku questions Natsuru about why he likes Kaede. Hesitating to ask if he suspects a connection between Kaede and the Moderators, she then talks about the Kämpfer battle, remembering a lost ally. Natsuru has a quick nap with a curious dream, only to wake up on Shizuku's lap, curious as to whether she tried anything whilst he was asleep. At the end of the date, Mikoto spots them, and is not too happy about Natsuru going a date with Shizuku, not helped by Shizuku's honest comments. Akane then comes around his house having heard from Mikoto and asks him what type of girls, beside Kaede, he would like. When Natsuru casually mentions 'something like Akane', she transforms and gets him to make an oath and go on a date with her.
09 "Midsummer: Tropical Cyclone of Love"
"Hochsommer ~Koi no Nettaiteikiatsu~" (Hochsommer ~恋の熱帯低気圧~) November 26, 2009
Akane is having a romantic summer date with male Natsuru at the pool. However, Mikoto, Shizuku and Kaede show up as well. At the pool, Shizuku sees one of the White Kämpfers when she walks past Kaede. Shizuku sends female Natsuru to walk alone somewhere and is attacked and surrounded by a group of White Kämpfers. Sayaka Nakao, Ryoka Yamakawa and Hitomi Minakawa. Akane and Shizuku rescue Natsuru and Shizuku says that Natsuru was used as bait to get the White Kämpfers to reveal themselves, after that they end up running away. Later male Natsuru and the girls are having a fun time in the hotel. Akane and Mikoto are in shock that Natsuru went on a date with Shizuku, and Shizuku kissing Natsuru in front of the others. After that, Kaede manipulates Natsuru and they go outside for the fireworks.
10 "Trap: A Summer Experience"
"Falle ~Hito Natsu no Keiken~" (Falle ~ひと夏の経験~) December 3, 2009
Natsuru finds himself next to Kaede, who tries to hypnotise him to making Shizuku his. Kaede then disappears when Natsuru, who can't remember anything, is confronted by Akane, Shizuku and Mikoto. They return to the hotel where Kaede doesn't appear to recall either. Afterwards, they all go to the baths, where Natsuru's hypnotism kicks in and he goes over to Shizuku's room to make a move, but he gets knocked out when he lets slip that Kaede told him to do it. It is also revealed that Kaede appears to be in command of the White Kämpfers. The next day, Kaede whispers something in Shizuku's ear, confirming her suspicions.
11 "Choose: A Song of Happiness"
"Wählen ~Kanki no Uta~" (Wählen ~歓喜の歌~) December 10, 2009
Shizuku invites Natsuru over to her house to tell her about Kaede, getting her Burnt Alive Lion to spill the truth. She recalls that her friend Tamiko was killed due to the Kämpfer battle and has since sworn vengeance against whoever responsible for the establishment of Kämpfer combat. When Natsuru confronts Kaede about this, he once again falls under Kaede's hypnotism. With Natsuru under her control, Kaede and the White Kämpfers trap and capture Shizuku, Akane and Mikoto. Kaede tries to get Natsuru to finish them herself, but he spots a keychain he previously bought for Shizuku and snaps out of it, declaring that he will not betray his friends despite his love for Kaede. This declaration encourages Shizuku, Akane, and Mikoto to fight with renewed resolve, letting them easily defeat the White Kämpfers. Kaede tries enticing Natsuru once again, but he transforms back into Normal form, putting himself out of the fight (and out of Kaede's disposal) as well as forcing Kaede and the White Kämpfers into retreat. With the battle over, Shizuku, Akane and Mikoto turn their attention to Natsuru.
12 "Christmas Day: Miracle of the Entrails Animals"
"Weihnachten ~Zōmotsu Tachino Kiseki~" (Weihnachten~臓物たちの奇跡~) December 17, 2009
Natsuru wakes up on Christmas Eve morning to find out that he and his messenger, Harikiri Tora have swapped bodies! Harikiri Tora decides to head on outside to enjoy this occasion and met Natsuru's friends Mikoto, Shizuku, and Akane on the streets only to notice that they've been body swapped with their messengers as well. The messengers have fun with their new bodies until they are caught sneaking out on a food bill and are told to perform in a show. Kaede then encounters them and takes them to an amusement park, where they begin to get aroused and play erotic games with her. Kaede goes to a church to confess the sin of having feelings for multiple girls, but she just ends up being punished by the student council. The messengers come to save her, but end up fighting each other when they discover they can feel pain. After saying their goodbyes to Kaede, they ride off on a sleigh, the whole thing being a bizarre Christmas story.

References

1. ^ "Kampfer Light Novels Have Anime in the Works". Anime News Network. March 17, 2009. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-03-17/kampfer-light-novels-have-anime-in-the-works. Retrieved April 15, 2009.
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Character" (in Japanese). Starchild. http://www.starchild.co.jp/special/kenpu/character/. Retrieved October 9, 2009.
3. ^ "あらすじ [Summary]" (in Japanese). TBS. http://www.tbs.co.jp/anime/kenpu/story/story.html. Retrieved October 9, 2009.


Kamis, 28 Januari 2010

iPad, Nama Tablet Buatan Apple


Akhirnya Apple mengumumkan perangkat tablet buatannya, Rabu (27/1/2010) atau Kamis dini hari WIB di San Francisco, AS. CEO Apple Steve Jobs yang tampil di panggung menahbiskan nama iPad untuk perangkat tersebut.

Penggunaan nama iPad sudah diduga sebelumnya di antara sejumlah nama yang menjadi sebatas rumor sejak beberapa bulan terakhir. Beberapa hari sebelum peluncuran ini, Apple meminta hak cipta iPad yang kini dipegang Fujitsu untuk salah satu perangkat jinjingnya.

Sambil menenteng iPad, Steve Jobs mengatakan, perangkat itu menggunakan layar IPS 9,7 inci, tebal 0,5 inci, dan berat 1,5 pound. Prosesornya buatan sendiri Apple A4 1 GHz. Daya baterainya mencapai 10 jam untuk penggunaan aktif dan sebulan untuk standby. Sekilas tampilannya mirip iPhone dengan ukuran besar. Fungsinya pun tak kalah dengan notebook untuk bekerja, mengakses multimedia, dan berselancar di web.

Apple menyediakan dua varian iPad, masing-masing yang hanya dilengkapi WiFi dan yang dilengkapi WiFi sekaligus koneksi 3G GSM. Harganya mulai 499 dollar AS untuk memori 16 GB dan WiFi hingga 829 dollar AS untuk 64 GB serta WiFi dan 3G.

Di dalamnya terdapat iTunes sehingga penggunanya dapat secara langsung mengunduh aplikasi, musik, dan video. Juga didukung aplikasi iWorks yang sudah dimodifikasi sehingga tetap bekerja optimal di perangkat dengan spesifikasi hardware yang jauh dari Mac.

Namun, inovasi baru yang disediakan dalam iPad adalah adanya aplikasi iBook untuk membaca e-book dan mengunduh e-book langsung dari internet. Apple juga mengumumkan iBook Store, layanan baru serupa iTunes yang khusus untuk jual beli e-book.

Untuk sementara, iPad baru tersedia di AS, tetapi akan mulai didistribusikan ke seluruh dunia dalam 2-3 bulan ke depan. iPad dijual tanpa kerja sama eksklusif dengan operator, termasuk versi 3G dengan kartu SIM yang unlocked. Khusus pasar AS, AT&T menawarkan paket data dengan harga istimewa khusus iPad.

Kapan produk ini masuk Indonesia? Sabar saja ya.

McDonald's Bersalah Pecat Karyawan karena Seiris Keju


Sebuah restoran McDonald's dinyatakan bersalah karena memecat seorang pekerjanya hanya karena si pekerja menambahkan irisan keju pada sebuah hamburger untuk koleganya.

"Pemecatan itu keterlaluan sebagai sebuah sanksi," kata sebuah pengadilan wilayah Leeuwarden, di utara Belanda, dalam keputusan tertulis, Selasa (26/1/2010). "Itu hanya seiris keju," demikian pertimbangan pengadilan tersebut sebagaimana dikutip Telegraph, Rabu.

Sebuah surat peringatan sesungguhnya sudah merupakan hukuman yang pantas, kata pengadilan itu, yang memerintahkan jaringan makanan cepat saji tersebut membayar gaji si karyawan untuk lima bulan masa kontrak yang tersisa, yaitu sebesar 4.265,47 euro. Perusahaan itu juga diharuskan membayar biaya pengadilan.

Pekerja itu, seorang perempuan, dipecat dari sebuah cabang McDonald's di kota Lemmer pada Maret tahun lalu. Pemecatan itu terjadi hanya karena ia, pada jam istirahat, memberi seorang koleganya sebuah burger keju yang lebih mahal dari seharusnya yang dia peroleh sesuai harga yang dia bayar.

McDonald's beralasan pekerja itu telah melanggar aturan yang melarang pemberian gratis apa pun kepada keluarga, teman atau kolega.

Putusan pengadilan Belanda itu datang beberapa hari setelah jaringan makanan cepat saji tersebut melaporkan sebuah kenaikan keuntungan bersih sekitar 25 persen pada kuartal terakhir tahun 2009.

Tersangka Teroris Malaysia Terkait dengan Ustaz Suriah


Sepuluh tersangka teroris internasional yang ditahan Pemerintah Malaysia punya kaitan dengan seorang ustaz asal Suriah. Seorang saksi, yang ikut tertangkap tetapi kemudian dibebaskan, mengungkapkan hal itu pada Kamis (28/1/2010).

Sementara itu, laporan harian New Straits Times, Kamis, yang mengaitkan ke-10 tersangka dengan pria Nigeria yang berupaya meledakkan sebuah pesawat komersial AS pada tanggal 25 Desember lalu tidak dapat dikonfirmasi.

Saksi bernama Muhammad Yunus Zainal Abidin itu mengindentifikasi ustaz tersebut berkebangsaan Suriah dan bernama Aiman al Dakkak. Aiman seorang guru agama freelance yang berusia 50 tahun dan telah tinggal di Malaysia sejak tahun 2003.

Menteri Dalam Negeri Malaysia, Rabu, mengumumkan bahwa seorang warga Malaysia dan sembilan orang warga asing telah ditangkap berdasarkan UU Keamanan Internal (ISA). Menurut menteri tersebut, mereka terkait dengan kelompok militan internasional. Namun, dia tidak memberikan rincian mengenai hal itu.

UU ISA memungkinkan penahan tanpa batas dan tanpa proses pengadilan. Malaysia beberapa kali menggunakan UU ini dalam menangani para militan, termasuk mereka yang terkait dengan jaringan Jemaah Islamiah (JI). Jaringan tersebut mempropagandakan kalifah Muslim di Asia Tenggara.

Salah satu pemimpin top JI, Noordin Top, adalah warga Malaysia yang kemudian tewas dalam sergapan polisi di Jawa Tengah, tahun lalu.

Mahasiswa internasional
Muhammad Yunus Zainal Abidin mengatakan, dia adalah salah satu peserta dari sekitar 50 orang yang menghadiri ceramah keagamaan yang diberikan Aiman di rumahnya di sebuah desa di pinggiran Kuala Lumpur pada 21 Januari lalu ketika polisi menyerbu rumah tersebut. Ke-50 orang itu umumnya mahasiswa internasional berusia 20 hingga 40 tahun dan berasal dari Malaysia, Nigeria, Eritrea, Suriah, Jordania, Arab Saudi, dan Amerika Serikat.

Yunus mengatakan bahwa polisi, yang mengenakan rompi anti-peluru dan bersenapan mesin, menyiduk semua pria itu ke pusat latihan polisi di Kuala Lumpur. Mereka kemudian ditanya, apakah di antara mereka ada yang berasal dari Yaman, Rusia, atau Pakistan, sebelum akhirnya dipisah berdasarkan kewarganegaraan dan ditanyai.

"Mereka bertanya, apa rencana kami, apa yang dia (Aiman) katakan kepada kami," kata Yunus yang berbicara kepada para wartawan dalam sebuah konferensi pers di Kuala Lumpur. Konferensi ini diselenggarakan oleh kelompok anti-ISA, Gerakan Menghapus ISA.

Yunus mengatakan bahwa mereka dibebaskan pada pukul tiga dini hari waktu setempat pada hari Jumat setelah ditanyai, kecuali 12 orang termasuk Aiman. Menurut Yunus, kedua belas orang itu tidak punya kaitan dengan kelompok militan.

Yunus memberikan nama dan kebangsaan dari sembilan orang yang ditahan, yaitu seorang Malaysia, empat orang Suriah, dua orang Nigeria, seorang Yaman, dan Jordania.

Presiden Beberkan Keberhasilan Program 100 Hari


Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono membeberkan sebagian keberhasilan yang telah dicapai pemerintah dalam program 100 hari pertama.
Kalau mau mengukur keberhasilan, cocokkan, lihat 45 program, 129 rencana aksi tadi.

Dalam pidatonya pada peresmian Pembangkit Listrik Tenaga Uap (PLTU) Labuan, Kabupaten Pandeglang, Banten, Kamis (28/1/2010), Presiden berjanji pemerintah akan memberikan penjelasan terinci tentang program 100 hari yang telah dijalankan pemerintah.

"Saatnya nanti dalam waktu dekat pemerintah akan menjelaskan apa yang telah dicapai dalam 100 hari. Akan benar-benar dijelaskan ini yang bagus, ini yang belum. Silakan rakyat cek ke seluruh Indonesia, apa pemerintah benar apa adanya," ujarnya.

Menurut laporan Ketua Unit Kerja Presiden Pengawas Perencana Pembangunan (UKP4) Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, Presiden menyebutkan, tinggal sebagian kecil program 100 hari belum tercapai.

Presiden mengingatkan masyarakat untuk terlebih dahulu memahami program kerja 100 hari pertama pemerintah sebelum menyampaikan kritik. Ia menjelaskan, program 100 hari bukan sesuatu yang luar biasa, melainkan hanya langkah awal bagi pemerintah untuk menentukan arah kerja selama lima tahun mendatang.

Program 100 hari itu terdiri atas 15 program prioritas dari 45 program yang ada beserta 129 rencana aksi. Presiden berharap kritik yang disampaikan relevan dengan program yang telah dirancang pemerintah tersebut.

Kepala Negara juga menjelaskan tiga hal yang ingin dicapai pemerintah dalam program 100 hari, yaitu menghilangkan sumbatan-sumbatan dari program pemerintah yang selama ini macet, mempercepat program yang lambat, serta memperbaiki berbagai aturan mulai dari tingkat peraturan pemerintah hingga keputusan menteri.

"Itulah yang disebut program 100 hari. Kalau mau mengukur keberhasilan, cocokkan, lihat 45 program, 129 rencana aksi tadi," ujar Presiden.

Presiden Yudhoyono memberikan porsi cukup lama dalam pidatonya untuk membeberkan program 100 hari pemerintah. Ia bahkan telah siap dengan catatan berisi angka-angka rinci.

Di antara yang telah dicapai pemerintah, ia menyebutkan, telah dibentuk satuan tugas pemberantasan mafia hukum yang diberi waktu kerja dua tahun guna membersihkan lembaga peradilan dari praktik-praktik mafia.

Selain itu, pelayanan publik telah diperbaiki dengan cara memperpendek rantai birokrasi sehingga membuat paspor dapat selesai dalam empat hari dan izin usaha dapat dikeluarkan dalam 40 hari.

Presiden menyebutkan, dalam 100 hari pertama pemerintah telah berhasil membangun 1.206 fasilitas air minum di desa-desa sulit air, memulai pembangunan infrastruktur di berbagai daerah, serta memeriksa kelayakan semua bendungan di Tanah Air.

Dalam bidang kesehatan, pemerintah dalam 100 hari pertama telah memperbanyak pemberian jaminan kesehatan masyarakat serta merevitalisasi pusat-pusat pelayanan kesehatan, seperti memberikan biaya operasional kepada 241.000 posyandu di seluruh Indonesia.

Korupsi Tetap Merajalela di Kabinet SBY-Boediono


Hari ini (28 Januari 2010) , puluhan kelompok massa menyampaikan penilaian mereka terhadap pemerintahan SBY-Boediono selama 100 hari pertamanya. Hampir semua menyatakan gatot, alias gagal total!

Salah satunya seperti yang disampaikan para pengunjuk rasa dari Komunitas Pemuda Remaja Masjid Indonesia. Mereka yang ikut bersuara di depan Istana Merdeka, Jakarta Pusat, menyoroti persoalan pemberantasan korupsi di kabinet kedua SBY ini.

"Kami utamakan terhadap kegagalan negara dalam memberantas korupsi," tegas Ali Mochtar Ngabalin, salah seorang pengunjuk rasa, Kamis (28/1/2010).

Mantan anggota Komisi I DPR itu ikut turun bersama tokoh lainnya. Tampak aktivis HAM Usman Hamid dan tokoh Republik Mimpi Effendi Gazali.

"Apa yang kami tuntut itu berdasarkan riset Indobarometer dan LSI," imbuhnya.

Saat ini, kerumunan massa di depan Istana Merdeka mulai mencair. Satu per satu demonstran membubarkan diri.