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Kanon, Prelude
Catalog Number : PCBX-50812
Manufacturer : Pony Canyon
Series : Kanon
Printing Date : 2006-08-25
Region : 2
Price : Y1,980
Play Time : 33 minutes
Number of Discs : 1
Number of Sides per Disc : 1
Number of Layers (side1) : 1
Number of Layers (side2) : N/A
Audio1 : Japanese Linear PCM 2ch
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Animephile Rating: D (6.0)
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Video Scan Type : interlaced-TV (-2.5) - Mix of 2:2, 3:2, and progressive film.
Aspect Handling : anamorphic-ANY (-0.0)
Compression : -0.0 - I did not notice anything obviously bad.
Video Separation : -0.0
Scene Transition : -0.0
Calibration : -0.0
Other : -1.5 - Although I'm not certain, there appears to be slight chroma channel mistiming. More importantly, I see severe edge UNenhancement in certain scenes.
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Comments:
Somebody must have made a lot of money with AIR. Why else would they remake a series that was already animated not too long ago. Of course, I didn't like the original version at all, not that I even watched much of it. Well, I guess they could be going for "Let us show you how to do it right!" side of things. Nah.
Why not? Because, looking at the prelude disc, it's pretty obvious to me that this isn't as high budget as Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu, or AIR. Both character and background designs are much simpler than that of AIR. Many scenes are also animated with less detail than what I got used to from Haruhi and AIR. I'm pretty sure they'll have less variety of complex background scenes in this series than they had for AIR, too.
At the moment, I have absolutely no problems supporting Kyoto Animation projects, but the fact that Pony Canyon is involved ticks me off. Why can't they deal with some other company? I'll probably keep buying, but I will be on the lookout for a reason to drop the series.
I'm sorry if you're tired of reading my praise of Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu, but that series just got so much right! It's Kyoto Animation, Kadokawa, and Lantis. Everything about the show is just right.
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Images (move cursor over each image to see short comment):
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Dowwnload:
Kanon.Prelude.DVD.JAPANESE.R2.NTSC.DVDR-MKCN
http://www.megaupload.com/?f=RYK57QQB
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Kanon
Vol.1, Limited Edition
Catalog Number : PCBX-50813
Manufacturer : Pony Canyon
Series : Kanon
Printing Date : 2007-01-01
Region : 2
Price : Y6,000
Play Time : 72 + 7 minutes
Number of Discs : 1
Number of Sides per Disc : 1
Number of Layers (side1) : 2
Number of Layers (side2) : N/A
Audio1 : Japanese Linear PCM 2ch
Audio2 : Japanese Dolby Digital 2ch (Episode 1 is commentary)
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Animephile Rating: A+ (10.0)
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Video Scan Type : progressive (-0.0) - Really completely progressive (24 fps film) other than the bonus section.
Aspect Handling : anamorphic-ANY (-0.0)
Compression : -0.0 - I did not notice anything obviously bad.
Video Separation : -0.0
Scene Transition : -0.0
Calibration : -0.0
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Comments:
Did Pony Canyon finally wake up, or did someone from KyoAni force them to wake up? Compression is good, chroma channel timing is good, and it's completely progressive. There appears to be some edge (un)enhancement, but it might just be some natural contrast enhancement that happens during compression. Either way, it's very minor.
And I've basically come to expect high quality animation from KyoAni and they don't disappoint here.
The only problem I'm having with the series is that the characters are all so weird. It's like they're all missing a screw or two, except maybe Kaori. I don't mind peculiar characters, but the ones in Kanon are more... stupid than peculiar. If their strangeness is caused by trauma, like characters in AIR, I can understand, but so far, I'm not seeing that.
Anyway, packaging is good, as in not-so-proprietary, and the price is okay. They're doing another one of those "send in proof of purchase to get special item" promotion, but Pony Canyon's track record is terrible with that. Maybe they fixed that problem, too, like how they fixed their audio/video technical problems. It's way past due, though. I mean, how many years have we had DVDs?
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Images (move cursor over each image to see short comment):
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Download:
Kanon.Vol.1.Limited.Edition.DVD1.JAPANESE.R2.NTSC.DVD9.DVDR-MKCN
http://www.megaupload.com/?f=SF25OZ65
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Kanon Vol.2, Limited Edition
Catalog Number : PCBX-50814
Manufacturer : Pony Canyon
Series : Kanon
Printing Date : 2007-02-21
Region : 2
Price : Y6,000
Play Time : 72 + 6 minutes
Number of Discs : 1
Number of Sides per Disc : 1
Number of Layers (side1) : 2
Number of Layers (side2) : N/A
Audio1 : Japanese Linear PCM 2ch
Audio2 : Japanese Dolby Digital 2ch (Episode 5 is commentary)
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Animephile Rating: A+ (10.0)
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Video Scan Type : progressive (-0.0) - Really completely progressive (24 fps film) other than the bonus section.
Aspect Handling : anamorphic-ANY (-0.0)
Compression : -0.0 - I did not notice anything obviously bad.
Video Separation : -0.0
Scene Transition : -0.0
Calibration : -0.0
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Comments:
Gosh, don't other animation studios feel ashamed these days? KyoAni is eating them alive! It's not as contrasty as the AIR animation (not complaining either way), so it's somewhat hard to compare the two, but overall, I believe it's gotten even better. Character expressions are just so artistically done.
Believe or not, Makoto has become my favorite character. Her oddness makes sense to me. I can feel her extreme innocence in everything she does.
Excuse all the reflections from flashes on the item photos. I haven't had a chance to devise up a softbox set up yet.
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Images (move cursor over each image to see short comment):
[img]Kanon Vol.2, Limited Edition
Created/Updated 2007-03-04
Catalog Number : PCBX-50814
Manufacturer : Pony Canyon
Series : Kanon
Printing Date : 2007-02-21
Region : 2
Price : Y6,000
Play Time : 72 + 6 minutes
Number of Discs : 1
Number of Sides per Disc : 1
Number of Layers (side1) : 2
Number of Layers (side2) : N/A
Audio1 : Japanese Linear PCM 2ch
Audio2 : Japanese Dolby Digital 2ch (Episode 5 is commentary)
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Animephile Rating: A+ (10.0)
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Video Scan Type : progressive (-0.0) - Really completely progressive (24 fps film) other than the bonus section.
Aspect Handling : anamorphic-ANY (-0.0)
Compression : -0.0 - I did not notice anything obviously bad.
Video Separation : -0.0
Scene Transition : -0.0
Calibration : -0.0
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Comments:
Gosh, don't other animation studios feel ashamed these days? KyoAni is eating them alive! It's not as contrasty as the AIR animation (not complaining either way), so it's somewhat hard to compare the two, but overall, I believe it's gotten even better. Character expressions are just so artistically done.
Believe or not, Makoto has become my favorite character. Her oddness makes sense to me. I can feel her extreme innocence in everything she does.
Excuse all the reflections from flashes on the item photos. I haven't had a chance to devise up a softbox set up yet.
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Images (move cursor over each image to see short comment):
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Download:
Kanon.Vol.2.Limited.Edition.DVD2.JAPANESE.R2.NTSC.DVD9.DVDR-MKCN
http://www.megaupload.com/?f=HWXVVVG4
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Kanon
Vol.3, Limited Edition
Catalog Number : PCBX-50815
Manufacturer : Pony Canyon
Series : Kanon
Printing Date : 2007-03-07
Region : 2
Price : Y6,000
Play Time : 72 + 6 minutes
Number of Discs : 1
Number of Sides per Disc : 1
Number of Layers (side1) : 2
Number of Layers (side2) : N/A
Audio1 : Japanese Linear PCM 2ch
Audio2 : Japanese Dolby Digital 2ch (Episode 7 is commentary)
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Animephile Rating: A+ (10.0)
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Video Scan Type : progressive (-0.0) - Really completely progressive (24 fps film) other than the bonus section.
Aspect Handling : anamorphic-ANY (-0.0)
Compression : -0.0 - I did not notice anything obviously bad.
Video Separation : -0.0
Scene Transition : -0.0
Calibration : -0.0
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Comments:
At this point, I feel stupid I ever wrote anything bad about KyoAni. I can't believe I actually wrote that I won't ever like their animation. I also wrote that "You'll never hear about Kanon from me again," but that one doesn't count since I was talking about the original series, not the new one by KyoAni. Oh no, I just wrote about it!
In the end, it's just too dangerous to use a word like "never." Look at how terrible ARIA's animation came out, even though it was produced by the same company that created Princess Tutu (HAL Film Maker). I'm thinking it has more to do with who's in charge and who's animating more than the animation company.
Anyway, this volume is all about Makoto. Wow. That was unexpected. Out of the blue, comes a tragic fairy tale. I'm not sure why, but some aspect of it reminded of Princess Tutu. I think I'll have a half glass of wine before watching the next episode (10 on volume 4). You know, wine turns to tear better than plain water.
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Images (move cursor over each image to see short comment):
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Download:
Kanon.Vol.3.Limited.Edition.DVD3.JAPANESE.R2.NTSC.DVD9.DVDR-MKCN
http://www.megaupload.com/?f=48T0VE34
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Kanon
Vol.4, Limited Edition
Catalog Number : PCBX-50816
Manufacturer : Pony Canyon
Series : Kanon
Printing Date : 2007-04-04
Region : 2
Price : Y6,000
Play Time : 72 + 6 minutes
Number of Discs : 1
Number of Sides per Disc : 1
Number of Layers (side1) : 2
Number of Layers (side2) : N/A
Audio1 : Japanese Linear PCM 2ch
Audio2 : Japanese Dolby Digital 2ch (Episode 12 is commentary)
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Animephile Rating: A+ (10.0)
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Video Scan Type : progressive (-0.0) - Really completely progressive (24 fps film) other than the bonus section.
Aspect Handling : anamorphic-ANY (-0.0)
Compression : -0.0 - I did not notice anything obviously bad.
Video Separation : -0.0
Scene Transition : -0.0
Calibration : -0.0
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Comments:
Episode 10 actually turned out to be much less emotionally jarring than episode 9. I think it's because the process of finding out the truth is much more painful. Once the path has been cleared, there's nothing else to do but to follow it.
Next up is Mai's story. Her weirdness doesn't yet make sense to me, so I'm not all that fond of her story yet. Next volume is to complete this branch of the story, so I'll know better if I like it or not.
Commentary is one of the worst, or just strangest, I've ever heard. Actually, this goes for the last volume's commentary, too. It's like, "what the heck are you talking about!?" type. Strangely, it's not as unentertaining as one might think.
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Images (move cursor over each image to see short comment):
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Download:
Kanon.Vol.4.Limited.Edition.DVD4.JAPANESE.R2.NTSC.DVD9.DVDR-MKCN
http://www.megaupload.com/?f=GETJZS1P
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Kanon
Vol.5, Limited Edition
Catalog Number : PCBX-50817
Manufacturer : Pony Canyon
Series : Kanon
Printing Date : 2007-05-02
Region : 2
Price : Y6,000
Play Time : 72 + 6 minutes
Number of Discs : 1
Number of Sides per Disc : 1
Number of Layers (side1) : 2
Number of Layers (side2) : N/A
Audio1 : Japanese Linear PCM 2ch
Audio2 : Japanese Dolby Digital 2ch (Episode 15 is commentary)
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Animephile Rating: A+ (10.0)
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Video Scan Type : progressive (-0.0) - Really completely progressive (24 fps film) other than the bonus section.
Aspect Handling : anamorphic-ANY (-0.0)
Compression : -0.0 - I did not notice anything obviously bad.
Video Separation : -0.0
Scene Transition : -0.0
Calibration : -0.0
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Comments:
So now that Mai's story has concluded, I learned something fairly fundamental about Yuuichi. He's a trauma factory. Of course, when playing the game, you're supposed to be Yuuichi, so the game player must be a trauma factory. How do you like that thought?
I guess Sayuri's trauma isn't caused by Yuuchi, but then, who knows?
So, KyoAni is going to pick up Clannad, too. I think it's a waste of resources. They should use their incredible skills on something different for a change. It's natural for people to get tired of doing the same thing over and over. I guess Lucky*Star served as a small change of pace, but I don't think that's what people need at this point. Little change of pace only goes so far. A revolution is what we need. Besides, Lucky*Star DVDs are way overpriced.
Recently, I learned that "Mokke" is finally going to be animated! Guess who's doing it? According to the information on the internet, it will be produced by Maruyama Masao, directed by Nishida Masayoshi, with screenplay by Nagatsu Seiko, and animated by Mad House. The thing is, I don't know, at least I don't think I know, much about the director or the playwright. I'm still hopeful it will turn out great because the executive producer, Maruyama Masao, was involved with some of the best anime of recent years, such as "Millennium Actress," "Perfect Blue," "Hanada Shonen-shi," "Gakuen Senki Muryou," and "Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo." Then again, I don't know to what degree a producer or a planner is involved with an anime production.
Although some part of me was hoping KyoAni to pick up Mokke, it might actually be a good thing they're not. Regardless of who does it, it's one of those series that can be made into a wonderful anime, or a horrible offshoot, so I'm apprehensive about it.
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Images (move cursor over each image to see short comment):
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Download:
Kanon.Vol.5.Limited.Edition.DVD5.JAPANESE.R2.NTSC.DVD9.DVDR-MKCN
http://www.megaupload.com/?f=5A29QYZF
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Kanon
Vol.6, Limited Edition
Catalog Number : PCBX-50818
Manufacturer : Pony Canyon
Series : Kanon
Printing Date : 2007-06-06
Region : 2
Price : Y6,000
Play Time : 72 + 5 minutes
Number of Discs : 1
Number of Sides per Disc : 1
Number of Layers (side1) : 2
Number of Layers (side2) : N/A
Audio1 : Japanese Linear PCM 2ch
Audio2 : Japanese Dolby Digital 2ch (Episode 15 is commentary)
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Animephile Rating: A+ (10.0)
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Video Scan Type : progressive (-0.0) - Really completely progressive (24 fps film) other than the bonus section.
Aspect Handling : anamorphic-ANY (-0.0)
Compression : -0.0 - I did not notice anything obviously bad.
Video Separation : -0.0
Scene Transition : -0.0
Calibration : -0.0
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Comments:
Normally, I'm complaining about how bad animation is on this and that, or how overpriced something is considering the mediocre animation quality. With Kanon, it's all reversed. Animation quality is far too good for such an undeserving storyline. Is KEY bribing someone at KyoAni? Why don't they do Haruhi sequel instead? They don't have a problem doing multiple seasons of a series. After all, they did two sets plus special of Full Metal Panic.
Okay, so Makoto scenario was good, especially the part where the truth was slowly being revealed. Shiori scenario is terrible. First of all, it's obvious that Mai can take care of the problem. Regardless of that, it's so unrealistic, it's pretentious. What kind of disease does Shiori have? It doesn't matter, right? Not if she's acting perfectly fine, going to parties, walking around all day in the cold, and making huge bento for Yuuichi. And what's up with Kaori? No older sister would ignore her beloved sister just because, or rather, especially when, her sister has been declared terminally ill.
Then again, who am I to say. I just hope that the animators at KyoAni really enjoy working on more KEY titles. If they're happy, I'm all good with that. If not, well, time to work on something else, ya?
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Images (move cursor over each image to see short comment):
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Download:
Kanon.Vol.6.Limited.Edition.DVD6.JAPANESE.R2.NTSC.DVD9.DVDR-MKCN
http://www.megaupload.com/?f=FZ01VLQH
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Kanon
Vol.7, Limited Edition
Catalog Number : PCBX-50819
Manufacturer : Pony Canyon
Series : Kanon
Printing Date : 2007-07-04
Region : 2
Price : Y6,000
Play Time : 72 + 5 minutes
Number of Discs : 1
Number of Sides per Disc : 1
Number of Layers (side1) : 2
Number of Layers (side2) : N/A
Audio1 : Japanese Linear PCM 2ch
Audio2 : Japanese Dolby Digital 2ch (Episode 20 is commentary)
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Animephile Rating: A+ (10.0)
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Video Scan Type : progressive (-0.0) - Really completely progressive (24 fps film) other than the bonus section.
Aspect Handling : anamorphic-ANY (-0.0)
Compression : -0.0 - I did not notice anything obviously bad.
Video Separation : -0.0
Scene Transition : -0.0
Calibration : -0.0
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Comments:
Every time I watch one of those "How anime is made at KyoAni" features, I feel like it's just wrong to have people making a living by drawing / coloring / timing for animation production. I can maybe imagine doing one production, taking a couple of months off (sabbatical?), then coming back and doing another one, but doing it constantly just feels inhumane.
This volume ends with a crash. Let's just leave it at that.
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Images (move cursor over each image to see short comment):
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Download:
Kanon.Vol.7.Limited.Edition.DVD7.JAPANESE.R2.NTSC.DVD9.DVDR-MKCN
http://www.megaupload.com/?f=69AHUGNM
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Kanon
Vol.8, Limited Edition
Catalog Number : PCBX-50820
Manufacturer : Pony Canyon
Series : Kanon
Printing Date : 2007-08-01
Region : 2
Price : Y6,000
Play Time : 72 + 6 minutes
Number of Discs : 1
Number of Sides per Disc : 1
Number of Layers (side1) : 2
Number of Layers (side2) : N/A
Audio1 : Japanese Linear PCM 2ch
Audio2 : Japanese Dolby Digital 2ch (Episode 23 is commentary)
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Animephile Rating: A+ (10.0)
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Video Scan Type : progressive (-0.0) - Really completely progressive (24 fps film) other than the bonus section.
Aspect Handling : anamorphic-ANY (-0.0)
Compression : -0.0 - I did not notice anything obviously bad.
Video Separation : -0.0
Scene Transition : -0.0
Calibration : -0.0
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Comments:
Last volume, so let's just get to it. Except for the Makoto scenario, everything else is just too fantastical (as in ludicrously odd) to be memorable. Fairytales are fantastical _with_ lots of dreams, but this stuff is very shallow, again except for the Makoto scenario. AIR is much better than this. I'm done with KEY stuff for now. No, I'm not interested in Clannad.
Speaking of Clannad, this came with a case insert for the Clannad Invitation DVD, which requires all of 7 coupons (LE DVDs 1-7), postcard (LE DVD 8), and Y500. I did not send it in because Pony Canyon has a terrible track record on sending stuff out to foreign countries and I don't care about it (and the miniature tenshi no key holder) enough to go through a deputy service for it.
And finally, I hate those split cards deals. For obvious technical reasons, these cards won't have exactly matching colors and won't be cut precisely enough to line up perfectly. I think it's disrespectful to the illustrator (Ikeda Kazumi in this case) to chop up an illustration that way. I spent some time stitching it to make it reasonable again, but didn't go all out at it because I have better things to do with my time. Still, it took enough effort for me to want to put a watermark on it.
That is all.
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Images (move cursor over each image to see short comment):
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Download:
Kanon.Vol.8.Limited.Edition.DVD8.JAPANESE.R2.NTSC.DVD9.DVDR-MKCN
http://www.megaupload.com/?f=XYY0BHI4
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CLANNAD.2007.Invitation.Disc.Bonus.JAPANESE.Retail.R2.NTSC.DVDR-MKCN
http://www.megaupload.com/?f=UMV8B553 |
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发表于 2011-11-29 14:48:24