I'm not Japanese

Kimi Ni Todoke & Kamisama Dolls: Reviews coming soon

noreply@blogger.com (Anamae) — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 08:30:00 +0000

I have recently gotten into watching Kamisama dolls - one of this summer's series. I am also beginning to watch Kimi Ni Todoke the movie (yes grad school has really lagged me on my must sees).

I will give a review of Kamisama when I finish watching the third episode. As for first impressions, the intro art was really good. I remember seeing screenies on another blog and thought the colour choices was a bit faded but nice. I have to say the same with Kimi ni Todoke - the colour choices aren't a vibrant HD - but it gives everything a nostalgic feeling. Which I think is fitting for older audiences reminiscing about high school times.

Nice colours right? Like taken from an old camera

Anime for Kids: Why I'm hooked

noreply@blogger.com (Anamae) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 03:58:00 +0000

Lately I've been hooked on Soul Eater and Fairy Tail as my source of entertainment. Though there's certain things that do bug me, such as obvious plot twists, dry jokes and over-exaggerated characters, there are still things that I thoroughly appreciate - which may be why I have watched nothing but children anime for the past 6 months.

Fairy Tail

Imperfect but Young Characters

Rather than making perfect characters, the series creator make sure that each character has a flaw that they have to overcome - which we assume they overcome as they grow with age. This makes it really easy for us to side with the character and cheer them on as they overcome their imperfections.

Full of Spirit

Black Star from Soul Eater

Another thing about the protagonists is that they aren't hit with the cautious and hesitant nature of adults. They follow their hearts and go at things full throttle.

Challenge our Assumptions

What I've noticed is that they establish certain roles and relationships that we the audience take as absolute. Examples of these are: Gray and Natsu fight but will always be best friends, Erza is dependable and will always be in the eright, Professor Stein is Shibusen's greatest asset. After making these clear, the series challenge these notions through different events and plot twists. This is a really good way of keeping the viewer engaged.

Foreseeable ends

Igneel from Fairy Tail

The last thing I am going to talk about is that each of these series have a end=point which will signify the end of the narration. For Fairy Tail, it is when Natsu finds Igneel. For Soul Eater, it is when the witches, kishin, and Shinigami end their war. This doesn't necessarily mean that this is how the story will be resolved - it could end with no resolution (i.e.:Natsu accepts that he will not find Igneel) or minor resolution (i.e.: Shibusen beats Arachne but the war can start again in years time). But the magic with this is that there is an end point - we are assured of avoiding a never-ending anime loop that only makes episodes to generate gross income. This is really important for me personally. I appreciate series that focus more on the storyline than stretching episodes or creating a season hit.

Now if you excuse me, I need to watch this week's Fairy Tail =P

From Kitty to Gaga to you - make your own hairbow

noreply@blogger.com (Anamae) — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 11:10:00 +0000

Made cute and lovable by Hello Kitty and then trendy by Lady Gaga - the hairbow is a hairstyle that will not only make you adorable and cute, but fashionable and stylish.

Here is a video done by Cutie on one way to make it.

Basically the steps are as follows:

Take the top layer of your hair and make a high off-side ponytail.
Split the ponytail into three sections. One for each side of the bow and a little tiny piece for the middle.
Use bobby pins to hold the bow in place. Cutie used a backwards comb to add texture to her hair (I skipped this step because it adds way too much flyaways and frizz)
Optional: Add cute hair accessory

The first time trying it may take you half an hour or so to get the feel of it. But consecutive tries are much faster. My last attempt at the hairbow only took me 10 minutes and it was my second try at it.

My hair bow

I highly encourage you to try it. It's easy and I got nothing but compliments from it

July Dramas: Ouran High School Host Club & Hana Kimi remake

noreply@blogger.com (Anamae) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 08:31:00 +0000

Ouran High School Host Club Drama

The July issue of LaLa (the magazine that originally had the OHSHC manga has confirmed a live-action drama series. Yusuke Yamamoto will be playing Tamaki Suou and Haruna Kawaguchi will be playing Haruhi Fujioka.

(Yusuke Yamamoto - Tumbling, Hana Kimi, Atashinichi no Danshi)

(Haruna Kawaguchi - Yankee kun to Megane chan)

I'm really skeptical about Yusuke's ability to portray Tamaki well. Though his face is renowned as gorgeous in Japanese culture - I'm not so sure that it resembles Tamaki's well. We've seen Yusuke do the bad boy act and the supermodel girly-man act. Transitioning into a well-refuned, child-ish yet charismatic character is going to be interesting to see.

Haruna aesthetically is a good match to Haruhi's down-to-earth nature. Also want to see how she looks with short hair (thank you Horikita Maki for not taking on another androgynous role). Haruhi has a fairly simple personality and shouldn't prove to be a challenge.

The cast looking really good - look for this on July 22nd

Hana Kimi

Also coming out this July is a remake of Hanazakari no Kimitachi e (2007).

(old cast & new)

I'm not entirely sure why a re-make is happening 4 years after the fact - and why a korean version is coming out at the same time. I think the manga was okay - definitely not HYD worthy so why it's following the legacy is unclear to me.

Tomo and Maki were excellent in their roles (Oguri Shun was okay - Sano was portrayed very dark and expressionless - though I guess that added to his conserved nature and mystery). The new Sano seems very asynchronous to his reserved and clean-cut personality. Aoi Nakamura and Shohei Miura will be playing Sano and Shuichi. AKB48's Atsuko Maeda will be playing Mizuki.

I will be watching the Korean and Japanese remake versions to see how they fair out to the original - stay tuned!

Translation project: ハワイで大の学

noreply@blogger.com (Anamae) — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 05:58:00 +0000

So my latest translation project is going to be ハワイで大の学 - or Study of Hawaii. Despite the name, the book looks like this:

Cover of the book

It's going to be a challenge because they do not have hiragana over the kanji like it Yatsubato! If anyone has some recommendations on good ways of doing this via dictionary - I would welcome any advice!

Here is a snapshot of one of the pages - look for my attempts at understanding this book during the summer!

1 Litre of Tears - The beginning

noreply@blogger.com (Anamae) — Mon, 30 May 2011 06:00:00 +0000

A couple years ago, my best friend was really hooked onto this Japanese drama called One Litre of Tears. It is based on a true story of a girl who dies from spinocerebellar degeneration, a disease that slowly removes your ability to control certain nerves - taking your ability to control your walking, speech, and everyday functions such as sports, chores, and work. As the name suggests, it has been designed to be a tearjerker for those watching it. Though I am sure that there is a story-based meaning behind the title.

Sawajiri Erika as Ikeuchi Aya, the protagonist of the story

After watching the first episode, it reminds me greatly of Myu no Anyo Papa ni Ageru, a drama about a father who has a similar disease that takes away his ability to control his nervous system. Of course, 1L of tears came out three years earlier, so the comparison should be the other way around.

My focus while watching this drama will be what narrative elements are involved in invoking tears from the audience. Based on the first episode, here are my thoughts:

Expected tragedy: we are aware that the protagonist dies, so we constantly expect negative outcomes from conflicts presented in the storyline.
Highly optimistic and young protagonist: She has hope and dreams prior to finding out about her disease. She is the star child among her family. She is young and should have a bright future ahead of her. The drama introduces her character pre-disease so that we can relate and grow to like her. Making her a really bright character also allows them to create a bigger change in mood and personality when the story progresses.

These two elements alone, add tension and expectations of bad events and character changes. I will create another post when I am in the middle of the series and when I am in the end.

Cyborg Kitty

noreply@blogger.com (Anamae) — Sat, 07 May 2011 09:44:00 +0000

So a really big conference is just around the corner in Human Computer Interaction. To kick things off, a fellow grad student organized a Hack-a-thon (all day hacking marathon) for many of the conference attendees (including myself). One of the things I ended up making was a Cyborg Kitty which is what you would get if you mixed these three characters:

You can make your own cyborg kitty with:

terracotta clay
9V battery
3V LED lights x 2
3V resistor
Battery clip with 2 wires soldered on each positive and negative part.

You basically build the clay body around the 9V battery. Make the head with clay, leaving two tunnels for the eyes. Solder a negative and a positive end of each LED light to make them in series. Connect the remaining free negative end of the LED to the resistor. Place lights in the tunnels and complete the circuit by soldering the positive wire from the battery clip onto the negative part of the resistor and the negative wire of the battery clip to the positive end of the other LED. The clip acts as the neck connector. The longer your wires, the more headless and fun your kitty will be.

And here is my kitty. I have to hold the head in place or otherwise it would be dangling off (intentionally to add more oomph)

Natural looking make up

noreply@blogger.com (Anamae) — Sun, 01 May 2011 00:11:00 +0000

With the summer coming just around the corner, I thought it would be good to do a post about make up that accounts for the heat and doesn't cake up or oil up. A look that is really popular in Japan and Korea is the natural look. The goal of this look is to look flawless but not overly made up. Two actresses who are known to rock this look are:

Erika Toda and Horikita Maki

These looks have a few key features:

Concealer with great coverage
Very thin foundation -> it looks like their skin, not a mask
Curled lashes
Nude lipstick (gloss optional)

Not being a make-up guru myself, I rely on vloggers such as xteeener, Michelle Phan, Catalina and Bubz. All have a tutorial on how to achieve this natural, healthy look but out of all of them, I have to say that my favourite has to be Bubz, which is embedded below.

After watching this, a lot of you may be thinking "Gosh that's a lot of highlighter!" And I honestly think it depends on what you're using. For bubs, the highlighter spreads really nicely and is absorbed to the skin so it is like putting on lotion with a bit of tint. For those of us who may not be willing to spend that much money for a Yves Laurent Radiant Touch, I recommend using a slightly lighter concealer and applying it with a small brush. As I am against buying more products than I need, I am currently using Benefit Erase Paste in No. 2 and applying it sparingly using a small angled brush. When that runs out, then I will consider buying a real highlighter.

The next concern is that a lot of the products used by Bubz is exclusively in Asia. If you are hesitant about buying make up online, this may cause some issues. I think in terms of concealer and translucent powder, you can definitely go for North American brands (assuming you are living in North America of course, if you live in Asia, laugh at my misfortune and go buy the products in the video). The key thing that you really need is the BB Cream. This is the key factor in keeping your skin looking like your own. Sephora has just started selling Dr Jart's BB Creams. Though many have stated it to be a bit on the pale side. If you are like me and have a bit of a darker complexion, you will need to find a BB cream that has a few more shades. Living in the highly asian-populated city of Vancouver, I have been fortunate enough to find a store that sells Korean Cosmetics (they are the leader in BB Creams). Many who live in Toronto, New York, or San Francisco should also have no issues finding an Asian store. I wish you luck on your BB Cream journey!

What I would use to achieve this look (some from the video, some from my own personal likes):

Concealer: Maybelline Pure Mineral Concealer
Face: Missha BB Cream in No. 31
Highlighter: Yves Laurent Radiant Touch
Powder: NYC Pressed Translucent Powder
Eye brows: Annabelle Eyebrow Pencil in Medium Brown
Eye Liner: Lancome Le Crayon Kohl in Black Coffee
Eye lashes: Mary Kay Lash Lengthening Mascara in Black Brown
Cheeks: MAC powder blush in Fleur Power
Lips: MAC Creme Sheen Lipstick in Shy Girl

What do you do to achieve the natural look?

Durarara! Where's your head at?

noreply@blogger.com (Anamae) — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 00:58:00 +0000

With my second semester of graduate school done (at officially 8am today). I am free to get back to what I love and that is blogging about my Otaku sensibilities. <3

Durarara started off as a Light Novel in April 2004. It was then adapted into a manga in 2009 and an anime in 2010. This post focuses on the anime since that is what I have been exposed to.

A still of by far my favourite scene in the series

What has gotten me thinking is the origins of memory and how it connects the brain to the heart. These thoughts were inspired by the character of Celty Sturluson, a headless rider from Ireland. She is in Japan in search of her missing head. She senses it to be in Ikebukuro and has been living there for 20 years as a transporter. Because of her disconnection from her head, she can't remember events prior to having her head stolen. She believes that obtaining her head will give her a greater sense of who she is.

Celty and Shinra, another character in the series.

Having taken a class on Cognition and Perception, I have been fortunate enough to read introductory psychology on how memory works. Basically, the brain takes information from the senses (sight, touch, smell, hearing) and interprets it based on similar experiences that has happened in the past. If it a completely new sensation, the brain still tries to tie it to the closest similar past experience as a means of trying to understand it. It is like when people eat frog and claim it as tasting like chicken.

Since Celty is a supernatural being, we are allowed to ignore how she perceives the world without the use of a brain. We are even allowed to ignore how she stores information of events from the past 20 years. Despite this, I keep thinking about what about a headless body makes someone soulful and human. And the obvious answer at first is the heart. But upon coming up with this conclusion I come to wonder, How does the heart exactly tie to emotional connotations? Its literal function is to pump blood throughout the various organ systems. Why does it hurt when we're sad or feel light upon happiness? Is this simply a trick achieved by the brain because this is how we are expected to feel? I leave this thought to you, the reader, in hopes that you come up with the answers I could not. :)

In terms of the anime itself, I highly recommend it. The character development is excellent. The plot line isn't painfully linear. The art itself isn't too stylized but sophisticated. As show above, it also makes you think.

Rating: 4.5/5 -> simply because I am not done the series

Koizora

noreply@blogger.com (Anamae) — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 03:49:00 +0000

大学はおわりました！じゃあ、ブログはします。

This post will explore the story of Koizora which translates to Sky of Love

The story follows the high school life of Tahara Mika as she experiences her first love during the summer after first year. Rather than the pure approach most Japanese dramas take (ie: innocent love with no physical activity until the very end or after marriage) this takes a contemporary approach that accurately reflects the current time period.

Themes explored in this story are:

teenage pregnancy
rape
cancer

which in itself is also quite different from the run of the mill Japanese drama which try to avoid such heavy taboo topics.

The rest of this post will compare the movie and drama in terms of acting, and story progression - so if you have not seen the drama or movie and would not like the basic plot to be spoiled, DO NOT READ ON

Tahara Mika

Aragaki Yui as Tahara Mika

Mizusawa Elena as Tahara Mika

Both actresses capture Mika's sensible and down to earth personality very well. They both also masterfully portray her development and changes as she falls in love and starts to act on her heart's feelings. What I do feel that Mizusawa Elena achieved better was the ability to show Mika's sensitivity and her dependence on Sakurai Hiro. During both the movie and drama when Hiro says "I won't wipe your tears anymore." I felt that it hit home more so during the drama because Mika cries more. Of course the drama had 4 more hours to develop the story so this may have been why.

Sakurai Hiro

Miura Haruma as Sakurai Hiro

Koji Seto as Sakurai Hiro

Firstly, I feel that Miura Haruma had bigger star power than Koji Seto at the point they both starred in this role. Though currently both are pretty much on par (Haruma is in Bloody Monday S2 and will be part of the Kimi ni Todoke movie while Koji Seto is in Tumbling and Rinne no Ame.) As for the silver hair, I always felt that Seto's was a wig. It always looked way too ridiculous for me. As for the role itself, I felt that Haruma's had a hint of manliness while Seto's had a child-like demeanor. Both pulled off the chalkboard scene really well. And as with the statement above, I felt that Seto's Hiro was able to achieve his jealousy much more effectively than Haruma's.

Plot

In terms of initial development, I liked the way the movie had them get to know each other via phone during the summer. The drama on the other had reduced this for just a day and even had Hiro try to set Mika up with Nozuma. In the drama's defense, there was the book and cell phone dangle side-story that the movie did not mention. It wasn't necessary but it did make the overall story more cute and added more strength to the title since this book showed how much Hiro loved the sky.

The movie was more subtle in its cinematic devices. We did not know Hiro was at the library for sure until Mika started caring for him at the hospital. We also never find out that Hiro asked Nozuma to kiss Mika at the party. A scene both drama and movie could have gone without was the hose and rainbow scene.

Both actors did this scene terribly and it was just overall stupid and hard to bear.

In conclusion, I think both movie and drama have certain aspects that they did best but at this point in time I can not pick one over the other. I started writing this entry with the initial thought that the movie was better but I really do prefer Koji Seto's Hiro and feel that those 4 extra hours really helped develop the characters. So I guess if you have time, watch both. If not, either or would get the story across well.

General Reactions

After reading a few reviews on this story it seems that there are two very strong parties for and against the storyline. Many female viewers love this series and will watch it again. Many male viewers found it extremely dumb and painful to watch. I suppose to other Shoujo-like stories, it was refreshing to see imperfection. Hiro is not your perfect prince. It's almost impossible to always be there to save the girl. And I didn't think Mika was stupid at all. Many girls lose their virginity in high school. Albeit it was a little weird in the movie because we never felt that the relationship got to that level yet.

In retrospect, I think we can all respect Mika's determination and courage in standing up to her parents, wanting to have the baby and still going to school. Even after being raped, she took it with grace (this was a bit unbelievable because I would expect trauma) and when Hiro died, though she felt like committing suicide at first, she still found the strength to go on. For those guys who took this badly, I would like to see how they view "Kaichou wa Maid Sama", "Dengenki Daisy", "Faster than a Kiss" and other stories where the girl gives off the idea that she's capable but still needs to be saved by the man in every possible aspect. I suspect that they're just pretty much anti-shoujo to begin with. But I welcome them to prove me wrong =).

Miracle Train 2 & 3

noreply@blogger.com (Anamae) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 04:33:00 +0000

Miracle Train 2

In this episode, we focus on Saki Tochou. He's very reserved and takes his job seriously. Today's passenger is scheduled to arrive at his station but is late. The rest of the gang start fooling around (except for Fuwa Roppongi) and this does not help Saki's nerves. The passenger finally arrives, stating that she was at Tochou station to renew her passport. It seems that she is being transferred to America. Being only 22, she feels like this is too big of a change and doesn't want to go. Saki shows her sights of Tochou, calming down her nerves and finally convincing her to get her passport renewed.

Touchou greeting a passenger that doesn't show up

Personally, I find this "let's solve your problem by going sightseeing" a bit insensitive. I mean I guess I shouldn't expect much since you are just a train station, You can't possibly have experiences and emotions that normal humans have. So your method of comforting is limited, but I personally would not feel relieved about spilling my guts and having you respond by talking about this park and that street.

Miracle Train 3

This episode proves to be a bit more interesting since the passenger shows entertaining displeasure at being on the train and openly shows her desire to get off. This girl's dilemna is having been rejected entry into a marriage group meeting due to her young age of 14. Our hero of the week Shinjuku tries to use his smooth talking ways to mend her irritated heart. He gets rejected and has to reveal his 'more sensitive and sensible side' to make her happy. A bit predictable but oh well. Oh yes - there was 3 or so Shinjuku brothers who were just as flaky as him - and ah yes more sightseeing.

It's probably apparent that I'm getting irritated with this show and wonder "why am I blogging about this". I suppose I still carry hope that there's some crazy plot twist that will happen after we go through a special of each character - but chances of that look pretty slim.

Kimi Wa Pet!

noreply@blogger.com (Anamae) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 07:00:00 +0000

Lately my manga reviews have been pretty disappointing. Luckily, I was very fortunate to read Kimi wa Pet!

Synopsis

The story revolves around Sumire Iwaya, a successful business women who is very independent, confident, beautiful, and talented. Many people are intimidated by her huge success and gossip about her. Her long time boyfriend felt intimidated by her height and career that he cheated on her and impregnated the mistress - soon to be wife. All the stress given by her job, romance, and other people have been bottling up inside her for quite some time until one day, she fatefully meets a young man in a cardboard box.

She proposes to give him a place to stay, cook his meals, even shampoo his hair, as long as he agrees to act as her pet. Afraid to show her true self to others, Sumire used to confess all her worries and troubles to her pet dog Momo, who died when she was 12. This mysterious man will take the pets place and provide Sumire an outlet for all her stress.

As time passes, things seem to look up for Sumire. She gets a promotion at work, her college crush (who happens to be taller, handsome, and more successful), confesses his love for her and things couldn't be better with her pet. It is then that Sumire realizes that she will one day have to let grow up and let go of her pet "dog". This is just something she cannot do. Is it because she is having trouble growing up? Or is it because Momo has become more than a canine companion?

An average day at the Sumire househould

Why this series is so good

The true meaning of strength. It's not about physical power. It's the power to not be intimidated by other people's life or affected by other people's judgements, but to look forward and focus on your on potential and goals. Takeshi (Momo's real name), never felt intimidated about Sumire's success or ever felt ashamed by other people's opinion of him and his pet role. He has the ability to see a person for whom they are, not what they have done and can focus on making himself a better person.
A different kind of heroine. Sumire is not your average Shoujo female lead. She doesn't need a man to solve her day to day problems. In fact, she is capable of solving them herself. What she really needs help on is her own insecurities and indecisiveness. I believe this is a better reflection on women and girls today. We don't need a man to miraculous show up when we sprain our ankle, or protect us from the pervert who gropes us on the bus. We need someone who accepts us for who we truly are, and let's us express ourselves freely without feeling insecure.
A different kind of love. It redefines the "perfect man" and shows us that sometimes, things just don't work out and yet the thing that is meant to be, is perfectly normal and better. What makes the perfect man isn't his height, success, or looks, but how they make you feel about yourself, how comfortable you are around them, if they encourage you to be a better person, and how natural it is to interact with him - in all situations.

I can see why this won an award and why it got reproduced into a live action drama (which I am totally going to watch). It seriously left an impression on me, and still has. I recommend this series to everyone who is wants a change of pace from the mundane "Knight in shining armour" shoujo.

Rating: 5/5

Read it here

Related posts

September Review: Faster than a Kiss

Darker than Black: Gemini of the Meteor 1

noreply@blogger.com (Anamae) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 17:09:00 +0000

The other fall series I will be covering is the second season of Darker than Black. It's been a really long time since I've seen the first season (> year) but I do remember it being pretty good.

Summary

We start our season off in Siberia, watching a family look at shooting stars, making wishes. It's pretty sappy and you begin to wonder if you're really watching the right show - until a big ass meteor falls on the family, causing the boy (Shion) to lose an eye.

We've returned to the present and we learn that Shion is now a contractor and his father is some creepy scientist who is researching ways to erase a person's memory. The only person from the happy shooting star scene to be left unscathed is the daughter Suou, but her obsession to photograph the world in order to show it to her now emotionless brother, could make people think otherwise.

After some scenes to remind us of contractors and reunite with a familiar face, creepy scientist's laboratory is infiltrated. Shion helps his sister escape (while escaping himself). But the father is not so lucky. He seems to have died with electrocution (sounding familiar yet?) and April (yeah she was there) and Suou now make their escape outside the lab. They get interrupted by an unidentified contractor but he proves to be nothing against April. She is recovering and drinking away, until she gets strangled by everybody's favourite masked man. We end the episode with the little M16 member (sorry little buddy, I forgot your name) and a shooting star falling in the background (signifying a contractor's death).

Did April just die? And why is Hei's hair longer than normal? Guess we'll know more (and see more Hei) in the next episode.

Watch it here

Miracle Train 1

noreply@blogger.com (Anamae) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 09:56:00 +0000

One of the new fall series I will be following is Miracle Train. The concept of representing train stations with handsome boys intrigued me. How successful and what direction will this anime follow? Let's find out!

Synopsis

First impression is a light and comedic anime with no heavy plot. Very much like early Host club. Six train stations are represented as handsome male boys, who ride a train called the Miracle Train, to help out girls who have problems.

The first episode has a girl whom loses her dog on said train and meets these six guys, the conductor and an assistant. The boys help find her dog and uncover the real reason she is on the train. Nothing fancy nor special but most first episodes aren't.

Let's meet our stations!

六本木史 [Roppongi, Fumi]

We started the episode off at Roppongi Station and the intros with this guy. He somewhat reminds me of Fuji Syuusuke From Prince of Tennis. Soft spoken, and gentle. He was the one who discovered the girl's true problem and is thus far my favourite out of the bunch (this may change as we get to know the other characters.

汐留行　[Shiodome, Iku]

The Loli character for this series. Nothing extreme like Honey Sempai (Host Club) or Toyoma Yuki (Wallflower). Not much on him.

月島十六夜 [Tsukishima, Izayoi]

I can't distinguish much of a personality difference between him and Roppongi. He is well mannered and calm. Also seems to have a thing for fish (like the river named after him).

両国逸巳 [Ryogoku, Itsumi]

The playful, daredevil type. His manner of speaking is also very casual and crash (a big difference from Tsukishima's perfect formal speech). And why are all daredevil type characters red heads?

新宿凛太朗 [Shinjuku, Rintarou]

The flirtatious playboy type. He's also very cocky. Addressed the female character as 'Kitten" at the beginning.

都庁前 [Tochou, Saki]

The leader of the group. Logically because he is the end terminal station. The typical megane character. Calm, cool, and collected, but sucks at rock paper scissors.

Final Thoughts

It seems like it has a lot of potential. It obviously is going to be compared to a lot of harem series so it should try to do something that makes it stand out. One thing I'm particularly concerned about is how we are going to get attached to the characters since their main interaction is with women whom they have never met. We may only see their formal side 95% of the time. The other 5% would be towards each other. We'll have to see how it goes.

Watch it here

Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood 24 & 25

noreply@blogger.com (Anamae) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 07:00:00 +0000

Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood 24

A pretty good episode. Just as Gluttony transforms, Ran Fan, Mustang, and Hawkeye find a way to escape the disaster. Al, Ed, and Ling stay behind to fight Gluttony but end up being eaten.

With his new knowledge, Mustang heads over to central in hopes of allying with the higher ups of the Military in an attempt to usurp Bradley. When he gets there, he realizes that it is already too late and the Military itself is corrupted.

I was surprised by both plot twists. I half expected someone to get eaten, but didn't think it would be so many people. And the whole military in central being corrupt came as a surprise too. I guess I thought if you were the Fuhrer, why would you need to get your team involved when you had complete control of everything anyway? We also get introduced to Pride - another Hommonculi, who warns Wrath to keep his Human feelings in check.

Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood 25

A great episode. Ling and Al are exploring Gluttony's stomach and run into Envy, who also got swallowed in an attempt to save Ed (a chosen sacrifice). A few discoveries are made here:

Hommunculus = failed attempts - Gluttony was a failed attempt at recreating a Gate of Truth and Envy appears to be the result of a failed animal/human transformation experiment.
Envy -> Ishbal War - It was Envy who triggered the beginning and encouraged the ware by transforming into different Military personnel. Ed sees him/her/it as the root of the Rockbell's death, which of course, leads him to a tantrum.

Back at HQ, Mustang is getting pwn'd by Bradley and has his team scattered to different branches, and Hawekeye becoming Bradley's personal assistant. If you want to hit low, steal the wingman.

Al, Glutonny, and baby panda are sitting in some field (that has a way too happy atmosphere) contemplating on the next course of actions. They decide to go to meet Glut's Father - more light on his identity perhaps?

Final Fantasy XIII Trailer

noreply@blogger.com (Anamae) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 07:45:00 +0000

おわれてなるすみません！

I'm taking six classes, work part time, and trying to get into grad school. I haven't been able to go on this blog as much as I hoped. That will definitely change when I get into grad school and have better control over my schedule.

Two days ago, Square Enix came out with the TGS Trailer for Final Fantasy XIII, which like many of you, I have been looking forward to.

Watch it here (it's too big to fit here)

To be brutally honest, this trailer kinda sucked. I was left feeling more confused and less anxious for the game's release. I know it's a good idea to have cliffhangers and have watchers want to know more so they play the game. But I knew too little to feel anything for the characters or have the plot pick up my interest.

On a positive note, the graphics look epic - but it seems like that's the only thing going for it at this point.

Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood 22 & 23

noreply@blogger.com (Anamae) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 03:17:00 +0000

Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood Episode 22

In this episode, we get a lot of background history on Scar. Winry has a chance to avenge her parents, but doesn't have the heart to do so. We are informed of a little skill Ling and Ran Fan have in respect to detecting Hommunculi. We also finally get to see Ling's true fighting abilities.

The thing that struck me the most in this episode was Scar's background information and how the events that happened in Ishbal greatly reminded me of the Holocaust.

Speaking to a friend about this, she told me that Full Metal Alchemist intended to be a representation of old Britain rather than Germany. Not being very well versed in history, I wouldn't have been able to make that connection. Nevertheless, themes being played with are what power and strength in numbers result in. We pretty much are an ugly race.

Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood Episode 23

As far as episodes go, I have to say that this one was pretty good. The episode starts of with some epic action sequences and gets the viewer excited early on. Key points from this episode is that Winry has realized she is in love with Ed and that everyone in team Mustang know that King Bradley is a Hommunculi.

Though the team lost sight of Scar, Gluttony was taken into captive. However, when an overgrown baby realizes he is in the midst of his Sister's killer, no mere wire can stop him. And thus we are left hanging until next week.

Japanese Lesson 3: Comparing Objects

noreply@blogger.com (Anamae) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 07:18:00 +0000

During Japanese summer classes, I was absent during the week we learned about comparing objects. This was something I always regretted not learning and wished I didn't miss out on. Today, these anxieties will end as you and I learn the concepts involved in comparing objects and ideas. For this lesson you will need to know:

Hiragana
Katakana
Basic Kanji

A is more than B

Unlike the English language, adjectives are not changed when comparing two objects. (ie: A is faster than B, A is better than B). Instead, certain endings are added to the nouns to indicate this. The format is as follows:

Object A のほうが Object B より adjective.

To better understand this, let us create some examples.

ハンバーガーのほうがとんかつよりおいしいです。
Hamburgers are more tasty than pork cutlet.

山田さんのほうが京子さんより面白いです。
Yamada san is more interesting than Kyoko san.

Asking which is better

When asking another person's opinion between two objects. The form is as follows:

Object A と Object B とどうちのほうが adjective.

Here are some examples:

東のエイデンとデスノートとどうちのほうが新しいですか。
Is Eden of the East newer than Death Note?

カナダとスウェーデンとどうちのほうが寒いですか。
Is Canada colder than Sweden?

For those who couldn't read Japanese but decided to look anyways, the basis for the 'A is more ___ than B' is A no houga B adjective. For 'Is A more ___ than B' the structure is A to B to douchi no houga adjective. There are a few ways to do this structure so please do not look at this as a be all and end all. Use it as a starting point in learning comparisons. This is definitely something you hear a lot in manga in anime (especially in shoujo when guys are being compared!).

Faster than a Kiss

noreply@blogger.com (Anamae) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 22:33:00 +0000

This month, we will be reviewing Faster than a Kiss, a series written by Meca Tanaka which focuses on the relationship between Fumino Kaji and Kazuma Ojiro. Though they may seem to be just a teacher and student by day, they are really a married couple by night. But don't get any crazy ideas just yet. Though they are legally allowed to do whatever kinky thing they want, they have yet to kiss, let alone anything beyond that.

Faster than a Kiss cover

So why are they married in the first place? Well, Fumino's parents died one year ago, leaving Fumino and Teppei (her little brother) on a long road of hopping from relative to relative. Sick of it all, Fumino decides to drop out of high school and work full time to support Teppei. But before she can go with this idea, her Homeroom teacher (Kazuma), promises to take them into his home. Being the prideful being that she is, Fumino won't believe his kindness unless he makes it concrete (ie: marriage). And so our story begins.

Initial Thoughts

Though the concept and constant feeling of taboo intrigued me at first, there seemed to be a repeating story cycle in each chapter. It went as follows:

Fumino is seen at school, defending some helpless student, Yankee style
Fumino and Teppei welcome Kazuma home in cosplay outfits
Kazuma hugs Teppei in an outburst of "omg you're so cute!"
Fumino says or does something that provokes intimacy
Fumino wussies out
Fumino is presented with a challenge which she takes on wholeheartedly
Fumino either fails at the challenge or is placed in danger resulting in Kazuma using his super athletic or Ex-Yankee skills to save her

One of the many cosplay scenes

It's cute and durable a few times (like maybe 3 or 4 times), but to have the same cycle over and over again could make a manga reader want to puke.

On the positive note, the artwork is pretty well done and the story does make progressions. Chapter 13 had a cliffhanger that I am curious in seeing the outcome of.

Prominent Themes

Teacher-Student relationships: Ah yes, the taboo involved between a teacher and student, adult and child. Constant secrecy in the public eye. Every touch between them forbidden.
Pure Female lead: Never been kissed, and blushes at every touch. The Japanese have this fetish with purity so it's no surprise that Fumino is that way. Of course, it is always fun watching all of someone's firsts.
Mysterious Past: This seems to be staple for most mangas. We know Kazuma was an extremely talented ex-delinquint, but that's as far as the information goes. His family, ex girflriends, and childhood all remain a blur. The curious reader will continue to read just to find out more about how Kazuma came to be the plain teacher he is today.

To be brutally honest, there are better mangas out there right now. But if you want a casual laugh, it's a quick read with only 13 chapters currently out.

Rating: 3/5

Related posts

October Review: Kimi wa Pet!
August Review: Hana to Akuma

Rebuild of Evangelion 02: You Can (Not) Advance

noreply@blogger.com (Anamae) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 23:51:00 +0000

It has been 9 months since watching the first installment and about ten years since watching the original series. So watching the second installment of the remake of Neon Genesis Evangelion felt like a whole new experience, while keeping the feeling of nostalgia

No matter what decade we are in, Shinji still needs to grow some balls

Setting the Stage

So in the first installment, Shinji joins NERVE as a way to get the attention and praise of his father (haha good luck with that). He moves in with Misato in attempt to establish "a home atmosphere." He transfers to a new school, gets beaten up, meets Ayanami Rei, gets beaten up some more, goes emo, and fights some angels.

And Action!

We begin with episode with a battle between Eva Unit 05 and some angel. The angel is eliminated but so is Unit 05.

The scene changes to a cemetery. Commander Ikari and Shinji are at Yui Ikari's grave. A brief and somewhat awkward conversation passes between the father and son as they recall memories of Shinji's mother. Commander Ikari gets on a helicopter and leaves and Shinji is left alone, looking wistfully at the helicopter.

Being the great babysitter that she is, Misato is waiting at the scene to bring little Shinji home. Unfortunately, another Angel decides to cause some traffic on the way home.

But don't worry Shinji, a Crazy German Girl has everything under control.

That's right, Asuka has arrived to Japan in order to kick some angel ass. Given she's a little pretentious and doesn't really like anyone. But deep down, she just wants to sneak into people's beds.

After a field trip and some more angels, Asuka understands the meaning of teamwork. Sadly, this lesson can not be put into use. Unit 02 is banned for usage, but fear not Asuka! Unit 03 (along with some dummy plug for Unit 01) has just arrived and is ready for use. Unfortunately, some creepy cell that takes over things has landed on Unit 03, causing it to turn into Angel 09. With Unit 00 under repairs, Shinji is the sole Eva pilot capable of destroying this angel. Of course, Shinji refuses to fight this monster since Asuka is inside. Commander Ikari's order? Screw Shinji, get the dummy plug to do it.

Shinji doesn't like this order and throws a tantrum, gets in trouble, and gives up piloting Eva unit 01. The ex pilot for Unit 05 steals Unit 02 to defeat another angel that appears. She doesn't get very far, so she turns unit 02 into Beast form. This helps the fight a little bit, but still looks like a lost cause. Ayanami Rei gets on the scene to do the job right, but gets absorbed by the angel. Shinji, who is conveniently located on the scene of the battle, goes berserk and runs back to HQ in order to save Rei. To match Shinji's emo attitude, Unit 01 goes into Beserk Mode and saves the day. The angel is destroyed but it is apparent that this is the beginning of the Third Impact - better known as the end of the world.

And Cut!

Even though it has been ages since I have seen the original series, the movie seems to follow the story very well. The effects, just as with the first movie, have improved dramatically. The english voice acting at the beginning is also nicely done. My resource for watching this was a bit poor, thus harming the graphics. But when the release for this movie has hit places other than Japan, I'm sure higher quality versions will become available. When the happens, I definitely recommend watching this movie: wheither you saw the original series or are just beginning to understand the legacy that is Evangelion.

Japan's First lady: ちょうとへんですね！

noreply@blogger.com (Anamae) — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 02:32:00 +0000

I'm not really a fan of politics, but when you get Tom Cruise and UFOs involved, it's a bit hard to ignore.

Wait, wasn't this post about politics? Oh but it is! Japan's future First Lady Miyuki Hatoyama has made multiple claims which include:

Meeting Tom Cruise in their previous life
Tom Cruise being incarnated as Japanese
Having gone to Venus in a triangular shaped UFO
Eating the sun

I don't know about you folks, but I hope she was not the factor that lead to her husband's landslide victory.

Good luck you two, with leading Japan and battling aliens

Read about it here

Suzumiya Haruhi as Phoenix Wright

noreply@blogger.com (Anamae) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 06:33:00 +0000

On my conquest to Compare Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu with Clannad, I stumbled upon an interesting discovery on episode 7 (or 10 depending on the order). This is the conclusion of the remote island storyline where Haruhi wraps up the fake murder case. Of course, other PW fans spotted this parody and one even made a Youtube Video about it.

Upon watching this we can make certain connections:

=
=

We can also make the assumption that Kyon's little sister is Pearl Fey and Mikuru is Maya Fey but I couldn't find pictures that did the comparison justice.

Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood 21

noreply@blogger.com (Anamae) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 06:42:00 +0000

After two weeks of painfully waiting for its release, Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood 21 finally aired! (It did air a few days ago but I was swamped with moving to a new place)

Watch it here

Manga Releases: August 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Anamae) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 18:56:00 +0000

As August comes to a close, I decided to reflect on the chapters that came out/got scanlated of the manga I am following. At the moment it is a very Shoujo list since the Shounen ones I was following (Hunter x Hunter, D Gray Man, etc) seem to be in a boring standstill.

Skip Beat Chapter 144

We are still on the Valentine's day story arch-which has entertained us with Shou's gothic rendition of Kyoko and Beagle's "love affair."

Kyoko and Beagle being romantic

This chapter progressed the story by introducing Kyoko's birthday present to Ren. What made this present mysterious is the fact that Kyoko insisted that Ren open it when he is alone. Knowing Kyoko, it is going to be something super practical and unromantic. But we will just have to wait and see on the next release.

Kyoko tells Ren to open it at home

The comedic aspect of this chapter was when Kyoko was handing out chocolates to all her co-workers and explicity left out Ren. I definitely recommend reading it!

Read it here

Vampire Knight Chapter 53

Is it just me or has this story gotten incredibly dull? Things just went downhill when Kaname and Yuuki left the school. I am also not a fan of Yuuki's useless nature. Most of the time she sits around the house in pretty dresses, craving blood, and tripping around.

Why so emo?

In this chapter, Kaito is introduced as a teacher for the school. He is a vampire hunter and trained with Zero during childhood.

Did Zero just jizz in his pants?

There is a party with the Hunter Association and the Vampire Council. An old friend decides to attend the party in search of Yuuki. The chapter also ends with a bittersweet reunion.

Read it here

Other good reads this month

Translation Party

noreply@blogger.com (Anamae) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 09:00:00 +0000

While I was reading some Yankee kun to Megane chan, my very sexy friend Rachel showed me this online application called Translation Party. It takes an English phrase and translates it into the Japanese equivalence. It then takes that Japanese phrase and finds its literal English meaning. It alternates between the languages until it finds a translation that is literally the same in both English and Japanese.

I will be going to work today
今日は仕事にできると思う
I think it can work
私はそれを回避できると思う
I think I can avoid it
私はそれを回避できると思う
I think I can avoid it

I don't do very well at parties
私はとてもよくパーティーでしない
I'm not very well at the party
パーティ私は非常によくで
My party is very well
私のパーティーは非常によく
I very much party
私は非常に多くのパーティ
I have so many parties
私は多くの当事者が
I have many parties
私は多くの当事者が
I have many parties

Examples

I am the killer kitten who eats snake monkey.
私は殺人者蛇猿を食べる子猫です。
I am a kitten killer snake eating a monkey.
私は子猫のキラー蛇猿を食べています。
I have a monkey eating a kitten killer snakes.
私はサルの子猫のキラーのヘビを食べている。
I have the kitten killer snake eating monkeys.
私は子猫のキラーヘビ、サルを食べている。
My kitten killer snakes are eating monkeys.
私の子猫のキラーヘビ、サルを食べている。
My kitten killer snakes are eating monkeys.

There are some phrases that have no equivalence. Furthermore, many phrases can be turned into the complete opposite of the original sentence (see party example).

Why it Works:

The Japanese language has a different sentence structure than that of the English language. Thus with the verb always going last, literal translations can change the meaning. Furthermore, the subject particle is normally assumed and excluded from the sentence. This can turn a 'I went to a party' to 'Went to party' if the 'I' was excluded since most speakers exclude the subject if it can be assumed to whom it is referring to.

Why not give it a try and share some interesting outcomes with me? This is an awesome way to improve your Japanese skills as well.

Play Translation Party