Sunday, September 28, 2008

Autumn season 2008

Remember one of my "sleep first post later" entries? Well, this is one of them. The excuse this time? I still do not have enough information at hand to update.

Anyway, i just need a little more time to finish up my data gathering. Look forward to the Autumn anime season!

P.S. I swear, I would definitely update my post in time.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Sleep first, post later.

Gah.

I want to sleep.

sleepy ~

zzzZ.

The royal decree declared that her royal highness must put her beauty sleep above all things else - and yes, that includes blogging.

So folks, look forward to my post after I've gotten a good night rest tomorrow. Or maybe the day after... or the day after the next.

Well, just look forward to it. I'll get down to blogging sometime later.

zzzZ. Gah. Sleep.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Summer 2008 = Season of the Silly-willies

Now that exams are over, one might have thought that I would have more time for blogging. But alas! That was not the case. Fate is a funny entity
with a whimsical nature. It is precisely because exams are over that I have lesser time for blogging. Hmmm... Still don't get it?

Let me explain in this way then...

Exams over = more time for anime = more time for mangas = more time for shopping = more time for movies (It is the blockbuster season, what do you expect!) = more money 'magically' disappearing into thin air = more time getting depressed mulling over exactly where all the money 'magically' disappeared to (God knows) = less time for blogging.

Yes, I think that briefly sums everything up.

Now, let's go back to our original topic. The Summer 2008 season Animelist!

Speaking of the Summer 2008 anime, I feel that I should really point out that summer and anime doesn't go well together. Let me tell you why.

First off, I'm a fangirl.

Second, fangirls (as far as I know) hate harem anime. (Because harem = lotsa girls, lotsa boobs and lotsa pantsu.)

Third, summer = sun = hot = sweaty = less clothing = hormones raging mad.

Take this for an example:


Or this,
Or this!See my point, ladies?

Last but not least, the summer season anime is filled with series after series of those detestable anime of said genre that only those ero oyajis watches.

Anyway, before I got sidetrackked again, let's continue...

For those who are looking forward to the summer season, you are in for a let down (for fangirls, at least). And yes, for all reasons I stated above.

The series that are only worth looking forward to this season can be counted on the fingers of your hand. Yes, hand. 1 hand. No hands.

If there's a highlight series in this season, then it has only gotta be this:

Seiyou Kottou Yougashiten: Antique

Tachibana, young, handsome, and son of one of the wealthiest family in Japan, decided to quit his job as CEO of his company and open a bakery shop. In his search for his shop's recruiment, he meets genius pâtissier Ono. He once confesses to Tachibana in high school and got rejected rather cruelly by him. On the other hand, Tachibana is relieved that Ono doesn't remember him and employs him as a pâtissier in his bakery shop. However, Ono has come out of the closet and decides to make his advances on Tachibana…

Needles to say, this anime has some shounen-ai moments, although it is worth noting that it's nowhere near junjou romantica's levels. I've already watched the first 2 episodes of the series and have to give it a thumbs up. The graphics in the anime are calming and very refreshing and the story's light-hearted fun makes it a not-to-be-missed.

Second up on the list is:

Natsume Yuujinchou

Natsume Takashi has the ability to see spirits, which he has long kept secret. However, once he inherits a strange book that belonged to his deceased grandmother, Reiko, he discovers the reason why spirits surround him. Containing the names of these spirits, a binding contract was formed between the spirits and the owner of the book. Now, Natsume is determined to free the spirits and dissolve the contracts. With the help of a spirit cat, his days are filled trying to return the names to these spirits.

Besides, Natume's hot. And the cat's cute (I suppose).

Reminds me of: xxxHOLiC

World Destruction

The story is takes place in a world where humans are ruled by beastmen, and the main character - the kind of teenager who wonders if what’s going on the in world has anythiing to do with him - encounters a girl who’s being hunted and is part of a group called the World Destruction Committee. This girl possesses something called the Destruct Code which gives her the power to destroy the world, and so she and the main character embark on a journey.

I decided to give this show a shot mainly because it has 2 of my favourite voice actors in it. The 2 being Sakamoto Maaya and Miyano Mamoru! [Think: Haruhi and Tamaki from Ouran. Yes.]

Slayers Revolution

This is the fourth TV installment of the Slayers series, and since I've already watched the previous seasons, I might as well watch this as well. Following up from the 3rd season, Lina and Gourry continue their journey in search of a replacement weapon having lost the Sword of Light in the previous battle. On the way, the two of them meet up with Amelia, Zelgadis and also Luvinagard's Inspector of the Special Investigative Unit; a man called Wizer in the kingdom of Luvinagard while taunting some pirates.

Before she knows it, a felony charge is being placed on Lina and in the midst of running away from the chasing soldiers, a new character is introduced into the story - a creature named pocota.

And yes, this is about all the series that is worth anticipating this summer. I know, sad. Well, not that I'm complaing (much), some series from the spring season are still running so it's still not too bad (I guess).

Luckily for you guys here, I've got some good news with me. I know you people deserve better. [Don't you people dare agree with me in the comments section. Do note that I said it for courtesy's sake.]

According to sources, both Tsubasa Chronicle and xxxHOLiC are getting Original Animation DVD (OAD) releases with upcoming volumes of their respective manga in a new CLAMP and Production I.G project. The first one, an xxxHOLiC episode, will come out with volume 14 of the xxxHOLiC manga in January of 2009, and the subsequent Tsubasa Chronicle episode will come out in February 2009 with volume 26 of the Tsubasa Chronicle manga.

So, rejoice people! Hurray! I. Just. Can't. Wait.
More Syaoran! More Fai! And more Kurogane!!! >_< Kyaaaa!!! And of course, more sakura.

Before I end, if the above contents have offended anyone in anyway, I deeply apologise for my inappropriateness. Surely you must understand, it's the madness of a fangirl at work.

P.s.

This...

and this... is what I call fanservice.

And this...
is just TOO CUTE for words!


Kah. I just love being a fangirl!!!



And some people just don't learn, do they...

Friday, June 27, 2008

An unacessible website, a punctured tire and a law presentation.

They say June is the luckiest month for brides and marriages, while I say June is the unluckiest, most horrible, AND hectic month for the likes of me. Besides the usual piling on assignments, projects, presentations and 'money-always-seem-to-magically-disappear' daily life, I find myself thrown into further desperation. Just at the start of an early, fresh and rosy JUNE morning, Veoh decided to send everyone in my country love letters.


I thought it might have been a glitch, so I did a refresh. A few seconds later, the same message pops up, and so I did another refresh. Then another one.

For the next 5 minutes, I was just staring plainly at the message and doing refreshes. I mean, what the heck do they mean "Veoh is no longer available in your country"? Is this some kind of tasteless April's Fool Joke? Except We're in freaking JUNE now.

Nevertheless, I hold in my doubts and waited for the next day to come. By tomorrow, I'm expecting to see some kind of message that falls along the lines of "Ha! Gotcha! Happy June's Fool Day!" or something like that. So again, I visited Veoh with a hopeful smile on my face. *grins cynically* Till today, I could never understand how stupidedly positive I was back then.

My face fell when I saw the same message. And today, no number of refreshes could remove that dreadful message from my screen.

I felt anger, I felt sadness and I feel betrayal at the same time. Are they trying to tell me to give up on my weekly dose of Reborn, Gintama and One Piece? Granted, they might sound pretty trivial to some of you guys, but they are what I look forward to most at the end of every week! And they are trying to take this right away from me! And without notice too, to add.

Their brilliant excuse?

Just wonderful.

Aside from my very terrible experience with Veoh, I was in deeper shit today when I found myself with a flat tire in the middle of a busy road. I was driving home from school when I saw a friend of mine walking just beside my car. I honked once, he didn't notice, honked twice, he didn't look up. Tried to honk again and the next thing I know is I ended up on the pavement. If this is a blessing in disguise then the only blessing here is I'm lucky I only end up with a flat tire.

Lesson learnt: Never try to honk and wave at the same time.

EDIT: Fixed my car and cost me a bomb of 350. Aparrently, the rack end, shaft, rim were also busted, along with the tire.

Now, we'll talk about my rendevous with trade mark law. I have a Law presentation this wednesday and though the result is okay, the tedious part is the process. Few days before the big presentation, my group and I were combing through the library to search for Intellectual Property law. After the books are gathered, Cat went and photostated all the necessary material and we had our dicussion.

The problem comes in only after the discussion, when I was trying to do my part of slides. Beside the fact that I'm totally clueless about trade mark law, I was assigned to cover up the introduction of Infringement and the exceptions to it. The thing is, after I'm done doing my part, I felt amissed, like something definitely went wrong somewhere. Turns out I was right when I discussed it again with my team mates. I was doing the wrong law for the wrong contry, and ended up doing trade mark law for Australia, instead of the UK.

That still wasn't as bad as I only have to redo my research and slides again. The worst part is that I have to do all my preparation in the dead of the night, after my brothers went to sleep, which is usually around 1 a.m. and with one hand supporting my monitor's wire which came loose and wouldn't stay in its place no matter how much tape I use. Apparently, after he got his computer back from maintainence, I wouldn't be able to access to the net whenever he's using his com. Being the gaming freak he is, he will allow me to use the net during the day only when hell freezes over.

Hmph. Law and my grievances.

Anyway, to lighten the topic, I found this delightful video when I was YouTube browsing. It was an animation done by a fan on a cross between Reborn and Ouran, and was just too cute for words. >_< Kyaa!



Enjoy.

Oh. Before I end, the next post I'll be working on will probably cover the Summer Anime season. Look forward to it. A month later.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

May Panic (Anime, Mangas AND Dramas)

May has always been a hectic month for me. There's Mothers' Day, Exams, Birthdays, Assignments (Which are only worth 1 mark per assignment and you have to go through hell for that 1 mark), Mall Sales (Reading too much Shopaholic is having an adverse effect on me), Revisions (It's LAW! For God's sake!), and admist all that, I can still find time for my anime and mangas AND indulge in my romance and chick lit novels. Really, I have never been busier (and more broke).

The thing about preparing for exams is, no matter how hard you try to concentrate on the book in front of you, it has never been easier to get distracted. It is always during the exam period that I find myself digging for shows to watch. It's like a phase of denial, where you try to convince yourself that exams are easy-peasy, and that you've got more than enough time to prepare for it.

So, to allow myself to focus more on studies, I came up with this scheme that I'm pretty sure could cure my distractedness. I could study a chapter, and then reward myself with a episode of the (very) few anime I've been saving myself for times like this. It's like all those government policies we learn in school, where there are rewards and punishments for following the rules (or something like that). It's the same concept. The only difference is I didn't come up with a punishment scheme to deter myself from allowing my mind to wonder off again.

So, while I was still priding myself on how smart I am to come up with such a ingenious scheme, I was already through 2 series of anime (Hatenkou Yuugi and Spice & Wolf) before I know it and I wasn't even done with 1/4 of revising! Just imagine, how much revision I could do with all the time I've wasted, then again, not that I'm lamenting much about it as you know saying goes, "The time you enjoy wasting is not time wasted." - which I couldn't agree more. Now that I think back, it's actually pretty silly of me to believe that the plan would work anyway.

During the course of my self-search (and in the middle of exams), I finally acknowledged the fact that (albeit grudgingly) God has abandoned me and left me with no more anime to watch. On second thought, maybe He hasn't really abandoned me. Because in a spark of inspiration, I found myself watching (and actually enjoying) one of those Taiwanese dramas that I've sworn never to touch! Bottom line? God Loves Everyone. Amen.

Here's the plot:
Yuan Xiang Qin (Ariel Lin) is a naïve but optimistic high school girl. Ever since she met Jiang Zhi Shu (Joe Cheng) at the freshman orientation, she's fallen in love with the genius with an IQ of 200. After two years of having a crush on him, she finally musters the courage to confess to him at school with a letter. Zhi Shu is not impressed, and his cold-hearted rejection immediately turns her into the biggest joke of the school. Misfortune comes in a pair: that evening, the new house she has just moved into with her father collapses in a minor earthquake. She and her father are instantly left homeless. Fortunately, her father's old high school friend extends a helping hand and invites both of them to live at his house. Little did Xiang Qin know that the kind Uncle Li is actually the father of Jiang Zhi Shu! Because of the unexpected turn of events, the two of them begin living their lives under the same roof. (I know, cliched storyline. Again.)

It Started with a Kiss is arguably the best taiwanese drama I've watched (although I've only watched 2 taiwanese dramas in my 18 years of life - the other being Devil Beside You). But honestly, after watching ISWAK, anything else would pale in comparison. It's that good and funny, not to mention all the angst I feel for the first 17 episodes. The last 3 episodes are what convert me into an ISWAK fan. They make up for all the stupidity in the show.

The thing about me not wanting to watch taiwanese dramas is because I've always felt that they are a rip off from anime and mangas. It's like, they've got no originality or something. Technically speaking, ISWAK is still a rip off, seeing as how it was adapted from a manga and although I did enjoy the drama overall, it did kinda spoil me for the anime Itazura na Kiss (See post below). Half the reason why I didn't give the show up has to be Joe Cheng. You've never seen a guy that gorgeous and cute!

That's the scene in the manga where Kotoko was asleep under a tree and Naoki kissed her, which was seen by Yuuki (that's his brother) who realised that Naoki does, in fact, love Kotoko. There's some difference in the drama where Naoki kissed her in the hospital, which was then witnessed by Yuuki who was diagnosed with acute appendicitis.

It Started with a Kiss 2 a.k.a. They Kiss Again follows the story after volume 10, where Kotoko and Naoki got married and they are on their honeymoon. Needless to say, hilarity ensues.

Friday, April 25, 2008

Spring 2008 Anime Hot List!

I gotta say, I'm pretty pleased with the series of anime this season. Rather than the usual booby-pantsu-ecchi-harem series targeted at the male audience, the anime production staff finally remembered that there are female viewers amongst the anime culture. A few shoujo-based anime were thrown into the spring 2008 mix, and to my surprise and (would I say) pleasure, two shounen-ai shows were being animated too. One of them being Junjou Romantica and is probably not recommended for kids. (Heck, did I just type that?!)

Anyway, I'll categorise the Spring series according to their genres, for viewer convenience. First up, the ladies' favourite:

Bishounen Goodness

Junjou Romantica
Misaki is suddenly having some unexpected and odd problems. What started as a need for some college entrance exam tutoring has somehow led him to being romanced by a suave older man who also happens to be his big brother’s best friend. Confused by all of his brand new emotions, Misaki struggles to deal with his suddenly very odd life. And if that wasn’t enough, his suitor, Usami, has plenty of issues of his own. A man-child who decorates his room in giant teddy bears and toys, Usami is a famous novelist who also writes steamy boys’ love novels on the side. When Misaki cracks open one of these books and reads sentences like “Misaki licks every inch of Usami’s hot body”…well, let’s just say that all hell breaks loose. (I know, Good Riddance!)
It's pretty ironic, considering that the title literally translates to "Pure Romance", when the storyline and graphics aren't the least innocent. Well, I haven't gave this a go yet, but according to reviews, it could get really explicit. So ladies, do prepare for nosebleed deterrence before you sit infront of your TV.

Monochrome Factor
Nothing too hot for kids to handle, since this story revolves mainly around the Action genre. That's not to say it doesn't have any itty-bitty scenes with the main characters, it does handle a few scenes with light kisses (for no apparent reason) here and there too. I mean, hello?! A bit more character development will be appreciated before the episode closes with a guy smooching with another of his own gender. Kinda reminds me of Yami no Matsuei a.k.a. Descendants of Darkness when they will somehow insert a few skin-showy and feely-touchy scenes in the middle of an intense, heated fight just for the sake of fan service. God, how I hated that. This brings me back to a Japanese saying about Yaoi series, "YAma nashi, Ochi nashi, Imi nashi." - which roughly translates to, "No plot, no climax, no meaning."

Kyou Kara Maou! Season 3
How I love this series! You can just imagine my joy when I heard that the production staff is animating the 3rd season and is ready for release by this Spring. I squealed, twirled, jumped for the moment's worth. Aside from Full Metal Panic!, KKM is another one of my favourite anime series that I find most enjoyable andd humourous. Now that I think about it, I seem to like anime with laughable elements a bit (just a bit) more than anime of the romance genre. Of course, nothing could be better if it's a combination of the said both. But in this case, KKM is a combination of laugh-out-loud funnies and bishounen goodness. And as a bonus, it has got the prince of the most dreamiest voice, Sakurai Takahiro (But of course, he had to sound silly in KKM because Yuri. Is. Silly. He got flushed down the toilet, remember? Cute-oh-Yuri.) in it! Kyaa!!!

Reverse-harems, Shoujo

Neo Angelique Abyss
I can't say I am a fan of its previous series, but looking at the number of eye-candies they have, I braced myself for the disappoinment and gave this a try. Judging just from the first 2 episodes I've watched, they have a bit more of plot development as compared to its previous series. The previous series was so bad and their storyline so insignificant that I can't remember what their plot were about. It's unusual for me to forget about an anime storyline once I've seen it and this just goes to show how uninteresting the previous series were. Trust me, I have quite a good amount of confidence in my memory when it comes to anime. At the very least, this season's Angelique still managed to hold on to my interest at episode 2. That should be some improvement.

Itazura na Kiss
It was love at first sight for Aihara Kotoko as top student Irie Naoki delivers his speech on the first day of high school. When Kotoko finally plucks up enough courage to confess, she got rejected and thus, vows to give him up. Alas, by a strange twist of fate, Kotoko's house collapsed and she had to move in to live with her father's friend, who happens to be Naoki's dad. Much laughter ensues when scatterbrained Kotoko makes her countless advances (supported by Naoki's wacky mum) on cold and aloof Naoki who hates girls and is a genius at practically everything from studies to sports. It's a mystery how girls never tire of the same kind of storyline which got recycled over and over again. It's a mystery that goes deeper than the stars of the universe. It's such a mystery because I could never figure out the reason why even if I am a girl myself. See? Point made.

Special A
Adapted from a manga, S.A. is a story about how an average girl in an avergare family with an average income tries to enrol in an ultra-elite school just for the sake of beating her childhood rival at anything he does. All this, and with a couple more of hotties, weirdos, and a pinch of romance thrown in. This whole "poor girl in rich elite school" just reminds me Ouran and Hana yori Dango. Did i mention about how the same plot just got recycled over and over again? And how girls never tire from it? And how I can never figure out why I still find myself enjoying the same cliched storyline?

Vampire Knight
Again adapted from a manga, Vampire Knight is Hino Matusri's (She's the author and one of my favourite mangakas.) first work to be turned into an anime. Cross Academy is attended by two groups of students: the Day Class and the Night Class and the two need to be kept separate because the former is made up of humans while the latter is made up of vampires. As Guardians of the school, Yuki Cross and Zero Kiryu have a mission they must never fail at - to protect the Day Class from the Academy's dark secret. I'm a fan of paranormal stories since... ever since I could remember. Initially, it was first faires, unicorns, elves and then werewolves, shapeshifters and vampires now. Tall, "Dark" and Handsome, anyone?

Comedy, Humour

Kyouran Kazoku Nikki
If there’s one really wacky series this season, this should be it. In KKN, an incarnation of destruction was defeated by humanity, but it had left a curse before dying: its child would awaken in 1000 years and destroy the world. Approximately 1000 years later, mankind is able to use DNA testing to figure out a group of people who could be that child, but they still can’t pinpoint exactly who. What they decide to do is to put all these people together in one family with the hope that the person who is the real child would develop love for their family and would no longer want to destroy the world. The wacky part comes in when you consider some of the characters in this family: a cat-eared loli (who’s the mother figure no less), a lion, a biological weapon, and a jellyfish. That’s got dysfunctional written all over it, so I think this has the potential to be hilarious. There's possibly some romance thrown in too! Reminds me of: Suzumiya Haruhi.

Action, Adventure, Fantasy

xxxHOLiC: Kei
xxxHOLiC continues the supernatural story of the high school boy Watanuki and the dimensional witch Yuuko, and like the first series, it’ll probably be without any Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle crossover references. Anyhow, I still look forward to watching the episodes of Watanuki and his paranormal encounters, and of course his relationship with the vestal spirit (Zashiki-Warashi).


Amatsuki
Based on a manga too, Amatsuki is about a boy who is visiting a high-tech museum of Edo during the Bakumatsu when he gets attacked by a monster and is sent to the actual time period. By coincidence, he meets a classmate who had also been sent there but had arrived two years earlier, and the story follows their adventures. Instead of the usual shoujo anime that involves girl jumping back to the past (think: Inuyasha, Fushigi Yuugi), there's finally one anime that doesn't conform to the norm. Storyline attracts me~ I'm so watching this.

Code Geass R2
Given the popularity of this show, Code Geass's sequel really needs no introduction. Hmm... But if you really need one, mechas, wars, nations at conflict, a desire for revenge and a mysterious power... probably sums it all. The first season ended with a bad aftertaste. I wanted Suzaku and Lelouch to reconcile with each other and looking at the way things are now, I have a feeling that is never gonna happen. One of them have to fall. Hmm... Kinda diminishes my motivation for this show.

Wagaya no Oinari-sama
It's a story about a Tenko (a kitsune that’s lived at least 1000 years) who has been alive for so long that it doesn’t remember whether it’s male or female, so it can be either gender when it changes into its human form (its male form is voiced by Nakamura Yuuichi and female by Yukana). It’s an interesting concept (Ranma-esque even), but it remains to be seen if the actual story, which involves the Tenko being unsealed and called on to protect a young boy who’s being targeted by evil spirits, is any good since I haven’t started on its first episode yet. In fact, I haven't started watching the first episode for the moset of the series.

Nabari no Ou
Nabari no Ou is a story about Rokujou Miharu, who has a very indifferent attitude and becomes involved in the world of ninjas thanks to the fact that he carries a legendary power inside of him. Because of this, his power is sought after by many clans and a war to possess his power thus started. To survive, Miharu must enter the hidden world of Nabari, and become the king.

Soul Eater
Soul Eater is a fun series about a group of Shinigami students who are after 99 human souls and 1 witch soul so that they can change their partner weapons into Death Scythes. I was a little surprised when it was announced that BONES would be animating this because the manga has a very distinct style that can be a bit crude at times, so I had a hard time imagining this being done by almost the exact same team that did Ouran (in fact, both Sakamoto Maaya and Miyano Mamoru are voicing characters here too). There's two versions of Soul Eater. One of them is the normal, edited version which airs on Mondays while other is "Late Show" version which airs on Thursday nights.

Toshokan Sensou
Toshokan Sensou translates to Library Wars. I know the title sounds ridiculous but name aside, the plot has depth. In the year 2019, laws have been passed down to control the media. Now some thirty years later, the government still monitors and controls information, suppressing anything they find undesirable, but opposing this is an armed library group, and the story is about one particular girl who follows "her prince" who saved her and her book in the library one day into the library forces. Hehe, I know. Stange storyline, right? But I have feeling I would love this.

There, Spring 2008 list finally done. Let me stretch myself for a bit.

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Anatolia Story - Golden Classic.

I am quite a manga fanatic. No surprise there, eh? Truth to be told, ever since I entered the world of mangas, I have quite been neglecting my regency romances and chick lit lately. I used to read at least 8 books per week (no kidding) and now I can hardly find time to enjoy my Christine Feehan's and Sophie Kinsella's best sellers. I still read them, occasionally, but not that often anymore. Besides, it's even harder to find a decent library in Malaysia here. Manga rental shops, however, are another story. ^_^


And the purpose of my post today, is to introduce you to the greatest manga of all times. (Yiyou, if you happen to be reading this, do ask uncle for this series. I think - no, I know you will love it. Oh yes, you will.) Anatolia Story, otherwise known as Red River (天は赤い河のほとり, Sora wa Akai Kawa no Hotori: "Heaven by the Red River"), is a shoujo manga series made by Chie Shinohara (篠原千絵). Even at a total of 28 volumes, I still couldn't get enough of the manga series, and of course, especially of Yuri and Kail.

Set in the 14th century, Red River is about a fifteen-year old Japanese girl named Yuri Suzuki, who is magically transported to Hattusa, the capital of the Hittite Empire in Anatolia. She was summoned by Queen Nakia who means to use Yuri as a human sacrifice. Yuri's blood is the key element needed in placing a curse upon the princes of the land so that they will perish, leaving Nakia's son as the sole heir to the throne.

The story takes place during the reign of King Suppiluliuma I, at a time when the Hittite Empire was near its peak of power, rivaled only by Egypt, which was then ruled by the young Pharaoh Tutankhamen. Many of the people and events in the story are drawn from actual history, from Princes Kail Mursili, Sari Arnuwanda, and Zannanza, to battles with the neighboring Mitanni kingdom around the town of Kizzuwatna.

The best part of the story is it not only deals with lots and lots of romance, the adventures Yuri and Kail are also not to be missed as well - from conquering countries to fighting lions. Unlike your everyday heroine, Yuri is a strong minded girl who takes everything into her hands and hates to be reliant on others. I hate whiney female characters (Yiyou, I know you hate them too. With a vengence. Think: Miaka.) Kail, on the other hand, is every girl's dream and of course, Drop. Dead. Gorgeous. ^_^

I would love to go on more about how much I love this series but I would hate to spoil you for the story. If you want to know hoe good this series is, it's best to go rent the mangas and experience it first-hand yourself.

Here's a little video I found when digging around for information.

Anatolia Story, satisfaction guaranteed. *winks*

Friday, February 29, 2008

Anime Oldies - They are better than you think.

Post will be up later. Sleep first. School has been crazy these few days. *shudders just thinking about it*

I have to confess, I'm too lazy to blog. Really lazy. But anyway, I finally got down to blogging, after procrastinating for another month. I know. I'm lazy.

Spent my holiday digging out old classic anime to watch. Believe it a not, I actually decided to give Conan a try. The detective series is the longest anime I've ever come across - and it's still ongoing (500 episodes and up). The best part about Conan is when Shinichi is dealing with the black organisation and trying to figure ways to get his body back to normal (In case you don't know, Shinichi is the main character of the story. He was forced to drink some kind of poison which turned his body to that of a 7-year-old.) ALso, not to forget, I like any episodes that has t o deal with Shinichi and Hattori (another high school genius detective) competing against each other. And of course, being the romantic I am, the ShinichixRan moments. Boy, were they cute. Other than that, the rest are basically filler episodes. But if you guys have plenty of time to spare and nothing to do in mind, you might want to give Conan a try. It's not the best anime out there but it's good enough when you've got time to kill.

Another anime I watched during my holidays were Glass Mask and Marmalade Boy. Glass mask was good. I never thought i would enjoy an anime that was adapted from a manga drawn in the 1970s. That was like 30 years before I was born. I watched the 2005 remake version of the anime - most of them are in RAWs though. No english fansubbing group has completed that series, a pity if you ask me. It came as a surprise to me that I would like Glass Mask not only because of its age but also of its genre. Glass mask is about how a girl struggles to fight her way to the stage and the world of acting. Sounds kinda boring to me in the first place and I watched the first episode with no expectations whatsoever. Before I know it, I was already halfway through the series. It was that addicting (Hayami and Maya forever!). However, the down part of this anime was that it was never finished - just like many other anime. The anime stopped halfway through the manga, just like that. And when I searched for the manga to continue my pursuit of the story, it just turned out that the author of the story halted the story as well - at volume 42. It was said that Suzue Miuchi (that's the author) wanted to do some changes to the story and modernise the plot as back in the 1970s, there's no such thing as computers and handphones. It's just stupid, really stupid. She just have to go enrage and lose her fans like this. It's like we're dying to know the end to the series and she's taking what, 7,8 years to finish ONE manga volume? It really pisses me off. It took me some time to actually get over this.

Marmalade Boy was not for my age. I'm 17 turning 18 and Marmalade Boy proves to be a little to childish for me. The story centers around Miki and Yuu, who came to know each other when their parent decide to "switch partners". It's basically a romance anime and a rather predictable one at that. I started to watch this series for no other reason than I'm bored and I ran out of anime to watch. Like I said, the story's quite predictable, which makes it rather bland. There are not many surprising elements in the story and I have to force myself to finish the anime just because I started watching it. In that sense, it's still not that bad as I could still cope with having to finish the series. There are some anime which I stopped watching at the first episode.

There now, I finish my February post. Finally.

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

HK Trip - plus the photos.

I'm just on time before the clock strikes 12 and the last day of January in 2008 is over. Anyway, i'm so lazy lately i'll just copy and paste the whole segment of the speech i did in class talking about the time i spent in HK.

There you go.

It all started one early morning when I was still lying comfy in my bed cocoon when my phone rang. It was my mum. She was calling me early in the morning to ask when am I having my holidays. Since still half-asleep, I answered half-heartedly until her last response stop me short before she cut the line off.

Early in the morning of one of those usual, boring, never-ending days which was supposed to go normal, she told us we were going to Hong Kong.

Now, you must realize, that was big news indeed to me. It was like waking up to find a handsome prince by your side and you’re actually the long lost princess of Atlantic. In other words, it sounded too good to be true. It sounded phony.

The last time I boarded a plane and actually flew to another country besides Singapore was when I’m 5 – when I can hardly remember anything at that age. Ever since then, my mother just make me empty promises every year about how we will go to The states in year 2000 and go Japan in year 2001 and go Hong Kong in year 2002, yada yada.

So after the shock subsided, I continued lying in the warmth of my bed cocoons and stare blank at the ceilings. Then I think, yeah right, Hong Kong, and went back to sleep again.

Forwarded to the day 18th December 2007, I found myself checking in at the airport with my family. Since it’s still an hour away before we could actually board the plane, I went exploring around and snapping at everything with a newly camera I just bought not long ago.

This picture is taken in a chocolate shop in the airport. Prices here really skyrocket and you can’t do any bargaining. One pack of merci chocolates which could be bought at about 7 ringgit here is sold for 21 ringgit there. Just impossible. And ridiculous.

The following are more shots of Malaysia’s airport. After my brothers and I are tired from all those exploring, I gave in to the impulse and bought some ridiculously expensive chips for our journey.




…boarded the plane and before we knew it, we’re in hk.


…captured some more shots of the airport in hk and then think, airports are about all the same anywhere, and then think again, not that I’ve been to many airports.

…took a train to the island of hk.


…we live our 2 weeks to the fullest by indulging ourselves with shopping and all the yummies of hong kong.

…visited my aunt’s restaurant and spoil myself with the food she served.

…famed peak of hong kong which is supposed to cover all of hk land when you looked down. Too bad we couldn’t see anything because it was too foggy.




…tong luo wan – the equivalent of orchard road in sg. All the major and happening shops and malls are there, sogo, times square, blah blah.




…Another thing to note about hk is that wherever you go, whenever you are, you always find yourself surrounded in a crowd. Before you can get anything you want, there’s always this queue in front of you.



…went seeing the lights on Christmas day. As usual, it was very packed and you literally have to squirm through everyone to go anywhere.


…went to ocean park. More people than usual. Hate it when you have to wait 2 hours just for a 2 minutes ride.

…see pandas. Those cute, fluffy, furry creatures.


...more shopping and eating. Were indulging ourselves with dim sum.

…took pictures of the famous bridge of hk when you see in the movies on the tri back home. Brr, was it cold that day. It was around 10 degree celcius that morning.


...took pictures of clouds and scenery.




...landed home and took more pictures of planes and the K.L. airport.

See, I'm so lazy, I'd just "..." everything for my speech. But who cares anyway. I'll upload my photos later and it should make up for everything. Probably. And then I feel lazy again when I think I've yet to post on the Anime Winter 2007 season. Crap, blame my lazy bones.

Urgh, exams are tomorrow and I can't believe i'm updating my blog. Really gotta ciao. Till then, people.