It’s pillowcase time and while this one is not nearly as salacious as the ones I usually buy, I’m a fan of Seikon no Qwaser and I particularly like Teresa Beria, the reserved and taciturn Maria. In anime and video games, I like quiet, duty-minded girls. I’m more of a Rei fan than an Asuka fan and more of a Yuki fan than a Haruhi fan. I like KOS-MOS a lot though that sentiment is tempered by how bloody awful Xenosaga is. Fate is my favorite Nanoha character, though admittedly I’ve only seen the movie and the first few episodes of StrikerS. I really liked Noir, and that’s mainly because the female characters weren’t whiny, tsundere, or clingy – they just went around doing their business. And that’s what Teresa is like; she’s a quiet tulip enthusiast who helps out series lead Sasha in his quest for revenge. She occasionally steps into the fight with a bow and arrows. And she occasionally gets sexually assaulted, but that’s par for the course for all the Qwaser characters – including Sasha – so it’s all good.
Teresa during one of the rare times she gets to throw down.
Seikon no Qwaser is, of course, famous for its bizarre plot mechanic, wherein combatants called Qwasers power up by consuming fresh breast milk from the tit of a woman called a Maria, typically during the middle of a melee. Each Qwaser has command of a particular element; series lead Alexander “Sasha” Nikolaevich Hell controls iron and Teresa is his Maria – initially, anyway. An ethnic Serb, Teresa lived a happy life in a convent until it was obliterated by the Qwaser of chlorine. Traumatized by the murder of her caretakers, she withdraws into a shell and rarely ever shows emotion.
The anime is based off of a manga, of which two volumes were localized in the United States before Tokyopop went tits-up. The manga is created and written by Hiroyuki Yoshino, who is also credited for the series composition of the upcoming anime Guilty Crown. Somehow, I have the impression that breastfeeding will not play an important role in that show – truly a shame if so, but that’s the way things go. I enjoyed the anime, though like the Witchblade anime adaptation, it does a poor job of transitioning from the monster-of-the-week scheme that comprises its first half to the emphasis on core plot development during its second half. Much of its coherence – if such a thing exists in a show like this – is lost and the show’s pacing becomes inconsistent. A lot of screentime is wasted on Tomo’s circumstances and a suffocating preponderence of religious-themed technobabble gets thrown around. Characters dip in and out and unfortunately, Teresa is one of them; she’s almost all but forgotten towards the end of the show.
But fortunately, she gets her own pillowcase, albeit after Mafuyu, Tomo, and Katja got theirs. I think Mafuyu and Katja actually got two dakimakura covers, now that I think about it. But anyway, I’m glad that Teresa got one since she’s my favorite character in the series. This particular pillowcase comes from GUN-ZO and was sold at Comiket 80. I was resigned to having to pass on it, since I didn’t feel like going through a proxy service to acquire it, but happily Amiami took orders for it, and it is still in stock there. It’s the standard 160 centimeters by 50 centimeters in size and is made of two-way tricot.
It goes without saying that I like the graphics, since the graphics are probably the major reason anybody purchases a dakimakura cover. Seikon no Qwaser is a service-heavy show but Teresa stays fully-clothed on both sides, though her tight dress still doesn’t leave much to the imagination. She’s got some visible panty lines on the back, which is kind of cute, though she’d be cuter if she wore a thong, which would also solve that problem.
Just about every female character in the show goes through stuff like this.
I don’t really keep up with anime very well, so I’ve only seen the first episode of the second season. I guess I should make some time for it, although I’m not sure if Teresa gets much screentime. She does show up in the ending sequence, and this pillowcase actually has the Seikon no Qwaser II logo on it, but I’ve got the feeling the show is mostly about Mafuyu, Katja, and Hana. Hana does seem quite a bit cuter in the second season, though, and Mafuyu gets a spiffy new outfit.
Here’s season 1 Hana, with her boyish, straight-across haircut.
And here she is in season 2, where she gets a cuter, spunkier hairstyle.
I doubt they’ll make any more pillowcases of the Seikon no Qwaser characters, at least not the ones from the first season, but if they do, I think it’d be nice if Eva-Q and Eva-R got pillowcases. They are the masochistic manipulators of mercury who go around looking for people who will torture them. They don’t get much more than an episode of screentime but they were still very fun to watch anyway. The girl on the left is voiced by Nanoha’s voice actress, which is pretty cool, too.
In fact, Seikon no Qwaser’s voice cast has a lot of recognizable names and the music is also very good, too. I particularly like the two ending themes; this one is the first theme, titled “Passionate Squall” and is performed by Ayumi Fujimura (Mafuyu), Aki Toyosaki (Tomo), Minori Chihara (Teresa), Aya Hirano (Katja), and Yoko Hikasa (Hana).
The second end theme is Wishes Hypocrites and is sung by the same voice actresses.
Anyway, I like this pillowcase a lot. I’m not holding out much hope that Seikon no Qwaser will ever get localized in the United States, and I’m thinking it’s unlikely that many figures are going to be made of the characters. Other than Katja, anyway, who has gotten a few figures and a Queen’s Gate book. I guess maybe that’s not an entirely bad thing, as Taki Corporation appears to have played a role in the production of the anime and I’d be quite happy if none of their successors made figures of the Qwaser characters.
Actually not a bad cover, despite it being quite tame. Definitely like her nice ass. I’ve only watched maybe half of season 1, and Katja would be my favorite character. Just a shame that all of her figures/covers suck so much. Though I really do like my Illust Guerrilla cushion cover with her and Tomoe.
I don’t think you’re missing a great deal by skipping the second half of the show. I’m hoping the second season is better since it’s only twelve or thirteen episodes, I think. I was kinda disposed to not like Katja at first since I’ve got a thing against little kids in anime, but I wound up liking her a lot; she’s pretty cute and she has a ton of fun with the show’s other characters. I was kinda thinking of picking up her Queen’s Gate figure since I’m guessing that’ll be the best Qwaser figure we ever see.
I watched a bit of this show, but after the chlorine guy episode I’ve dropped it, that was too cruel for my taste. Both Seikon no Qwaser seasons where made by Hoods Entertainment as well as the ongoing Manyuu Hikenchou, which Im enjoying quite a bit, its funny, ecchi and the main characters are cool 😀
Thats a quite nice Dakimakura ^^
Haha I didn’t know that the dress of a sister could looks so nice, she looks a bit like she’s fallen in a pond before, anyway the wet clothes look is sexy.
I watched the first few episodes of Manyuu Hikenchou, it was pretty funny XD Incredibly dumb, admittedly, but I enjoyed them, on the same level that I enjoyed Demon King.
It is! The first end sequence shows the cast cavorting in a bathtub, perhaps her damp look is an homage to that.
I’d thought about getting some of this C80 Qwaser 2 merchandise from Amiami myself. In the end though I decided not to bother, although if the Mafuyu mouse pad was still in stock I might have eventually given in and picked that up. I like how Teresas’ clothing sticks to her, it’s similar to the season 1 ED, but maybe one side should have shown a bit more skin.
Teresa was my favourite from season 1 but I have to admit Hana is now my favourite after seeing season 2. She gets loads of wicked looking outfits and plenty of ecchi scenes. She’s much more enjoyable to watch when separated from Katja since she’s no longer a ‘side-kick’ so to speak.
Season 2 starts out good, but after the “new school” arc it becomes fragmented and difficult to follow (in fact I’ve pretty much forgotten what happened, something happens with the Cobalt Qwaser I think and the final episode is just a cliff hanger). Teresa does make a return but nothing major from what I remember.
I’d like to see a US release of Qwaser too so I could import it, although the chances of seeing that happen are pretty low. There’s an absolute 0 chance of getting it here in the UK. Also more non-Taki Qwaser figures would be awesome. The Evolution Toys are ok but too expensive for what they are.
I’m kinda thinking about getting the Mafuyu one if it ever comes back in stock; the one with her in her season 2 outfit, anyway. It’s a much cooler outfit than her powder blue school dress. Yeah, I would’ve liked it if it showed a bit more, particularly since the anime had absolutely no problem with explicitness.
That’s good to hear about Hana; I didn’t like her a great deal in the first season, though that was mostly because I didn’t think she was nearly as attractive as the other female characters. She’s much cuter in the second season, though, and she interacts well with Sasha. It’ll be interesting to see how things go when Katja reappears. Though that sounds unfortunate that the show sounds like it goes nowhere. That seems to be par for the course for these sorts of shows, I guess; Demon King went nowhere, Freezing went nowhere.
Maybe I should hope that Teresa gets a Queen’s Gate book, that’s probably her best chance at getting a good figure.
I still can’t get over how much these things cost. Now have 4 legits but have had to clear my SMJ account as i was spending too much.
Add to that frustration at always missing out on the ones i want (first asuka then the EC steins gate one)…
Finally, my PC has ‘ packed up… hate trying to type on a PS3!
Apologies – thishas turned into a bit of a rant… will shut up now
If Evening Call ever has a cover you want again, I’d keep checking again after the preorder closes and the scheduled release date has hit. I remember posting a couple weeks ago on the subject because I know someone wanted the Asuka cover, but quite a few of their covers will available after having released. If you’re willing to pay the price of legit covers, it’s definitely something I would keep an eye out for. Granted the two covers you mentioned are sold out on their website now.
Yeah, have done that but most EC ones go for 18K+. Add on the 10% SMJ commission & postage = serious money. $250+ before I then get screwed on the exchange rate into dollars.
Still pissed at Paypal but mainly Otacute over my last abortive figure purchase – they invoiced me for goods & postage then decided, once I’d paid to demand an extra $30-$50 as apparently the penguin parade Yagyu Jubei is too big for SAL. Otacute wouldn’t even respond & when I finally got my refund it was in dollars so Paypal get 2x exchange rate commission.
Otacute really are arseholes!
They are definitely very, very spendy. I’m trying to cut back on the number of pillowcases I buy, to be honest, since I don’t think I get nearly as much value for them as I do with the other hobby stuff I buy (I certainly don’t get as much value from them as I would get if I invested the money in stocks or bonds). However, there’s a bunch I want to buy, so I’m going to tell myself I’ll cut back after I get the ones I want.
Ouch, sorry to hear that about your computer. I’ve been thinking about getting a laptop recently, and part of the reason I want a new one is my paranoia about only having one computer. Though now, I might be looking at getting a tablet instead.
I am trying to resist ordering anything atm as I have a lot of other expenses to settle. Just wish the figure makers wouldn’t tempt me with decent reruns Dizzy & GSC Saber Lily being obvious examples I missed 1st time round.
Ironically it’s the monitor that has gone on my PC. I am pretty good at fixing the stack – it has lasted about 7 years even though it has taken a physical beating more than once. The monitor turning off every 3 seconds is beyond me. Power supply issue I guess
That is a strange issue indeed. I get a monitor blackout every now and then with my current machine though I’m nearly certain it’s the video card’s fault; I’ve had nothing but trouble with ATI cards, and this card in particular. It’s not quite so problematic that I want to replace it (not yet, anyway), but I’m quite certain the next machine I build will have an nVidia adapter.
Oh come on!! Xenosaga Episode 2 was the only dud out of the trilogy! the other 2 were entertaining if not classic games!
And just Skip qwaser series 2. It’s pants. Though if you really REALLY like fanservice, I guess you could go for the uncensored version… There is absolutely no intelligence in the show at all and it’s just an excuse to show tits. Lots and lots of tits. But the biggest crime is that they spent the whole damn last episode (which is the only episode Teresa appears in) setting up a major story arc, as if they were finally getting serious about a plot after wasting 11 episodes with crap and then cuts the whole thing short. It’s like the last episode of Galaxy angel season 1, except that was a gag show and the fact that the setup meant nothing was actually the punchline of their final gag. Qwaser isn’t like that…
I will have to take your word for it. I heard the third game was good, but I didn’t like the first game much. If I remember right, my first attempt at playing it ended when I couldn’t find my way off the damn ship in the opening sequence. My second attempt ended when I heard chaos’s voice. I really didn’t like Shion much, either. KOS-MOS was cool, though.
Well, that’s unfortunate. Though when you say the show has no intelligence, that may be a plus to me, since I enjoyed Demon King, Kampfer, and a few other shows that were pretty dumb. I’ll just have to hope that it gets a third season. Or I guess I could watch something more worthwhile. Like this Fate/zero show, I guess. Or that Madoka show. Or I could rewatch Shoujo Senki Brain Jacker, maybe.
trust me, when i say the show has no intelligence, i mean that the shows you mentioned look intellectual in comparison. They found a new level of dumb for qwaser 2!
Perfect! I like a show that makes no pretense of pretentiousness. If I Don’t Have Many Friends isn’t any good, I’ll drop that and finish up Qwaser instead.
The fact that she is fully covered is very erotic. It’s still quite graphic, but in a teasing way. I like it!
Indeed! It’s sort of an odd thing to see, since the Seikon no Qwaser manga and anime feature all the subtlety of a flamethrower, but I’m happy that Teresa gets to show her stuff off, particularly since she gets relegated to a minor role in the show.
I’ll echo gundamjehutykai in that Xenosaga Ep. II is the only bad one of the bunch, though I can’t say the first one was a classic. More of a love it/hate it type of game. I was able to finish the whole thing but by halfway through the game I was rushing through dungeons just to get to the next cutscene. Not so much because I was so excited by the plot but because I really really really started to hate the woefully slow battles.
UUUUGH SO SLOW
Now Xenosaga Ep. III? That was a damn fine game. A nice feature about the third game is that it has a very expansive encyclopedia including plot summaries for the first two games. Now I’ll never have to touch the first two episodes again…
Now for Seikon no Qwaser, that’s probably one of the guiltiest of guilty pleasure shows I’ve ever seen. I read through a lot of the manga first. I wasn’t remotely surprised that the anime put a lot more emphasis on the hornier aspects of SnQ, almost to the point of derailing the plot at times. I really liked the idea of using the periodic table for battles. Shame the whole soma sucking thing took center stage instead. :/
And I love (but am slightly terrified of) Eva-Q and Eva-R. Would’ve bought figures of them in a heartbeat.
Xenosaga III has been on my buy list for a while, just because I have the first two games and I would like to own all three games, if only to indulge my OCD tendencies. I’m not sure if I’ll ever get to play them, though; when I’ve still got Mass Effect 2 (and 3, very soon), Fallout 3, and the two Digital Devil Saga games sitting here unplayed, it’s hard to muster up much enthusiasm for going through Xenosaga.
I liked the element thing a lot as well; I wish they’d done a bit more with that. In retrospect, I think I like the first half of Qwaser’s first season a lot better than the second half. Though the hot springs episode was hilarious.
Eva-Q and Eva-R are awesome, I really wish they’d gotten more time. In fact, they ought to have gotten their own series; they were maybe the most interesting opponents in the show. The Gold guy and the other dudes were pretty boring by comparison, though the loli in the gas mask had potential.