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 LoveThe 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 pregnancyrapecancerwhich 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 ONTahara MikaAragaki Yui as Tahara Mika Mizusawa Elena as Tahara MikaBoth 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 HiroMiura Haruma as Sakurai HiroKoji Seto as Sakurai HiroFirstly, 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.PlotIn 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 ReactionsAfter 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 =).
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Miracle Train 2In 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 upPersonally, 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 3This 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.
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Lately my manga reviews have been pretty disappointing. Luckily, I was very fortunate to read Kimi wa Pet!SynopsisThe 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 househouldWhy this series is so goodThe 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: 5/5Read it hereRelated postsSeptember Review: Faster than a Kiss
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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.SummaryWe 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
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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!SynopsisFirst 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 ThoughtsIt 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
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Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood 24A 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 25A 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?
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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.
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<embed src="http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll351/baokychen/player.swf" width="480" height="400" bgcolor="#ffffff" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="file=http://cache01-videos02.myspacecdn.com/98/vid_2181d510b9024d4d82cb01c83500bf9e.flv&amp;logo=http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll351/baokychen/Image2.png"/> Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood Episode 22In 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. <embed src="http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll351/baokychen/player.swf" width="480" height="400" bgcolor="#ffffff" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="file=http://cache01-videos02.myspacecdn.com/101/vid_41bc01a132d8442a89cd89ad7110ab6d.flv&amp;logo=http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll351/baokychen/Image2.png"/> Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood Episode 23As 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.
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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:HiraganaKatakanaBasic KanjiA is more than BUnlike 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 betterWhen 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!).Related PostsJapanese Lesson 2: Let's translate it - よつばと���Japanese Lesson 1: Translate the blog title
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The front cover of Volume 1This week I started to read Hana To Akuma - a series created by Oto Hisamu about a high ranked Demon (Vivi) who runs away from hell and picks up a baby human girl (Hana) whom he finds on the street. The story begins when Hana is 14. Initial Thoughts:What do you get when you mix Sebastien Michaelis and Ciel Phantomhive from Kuroshitsuji? You get Vivi, who has Ciel's apathy, royalty and fashion sense, mixed with Sebastian's natural talent, dark mysterious aura and good looks.Ciel and Sebastian from KuroshitsujiHana is your typical loli heroine: naive, innocent, and persistent with an all encompassing love for Vivi. Besides from her love for Vivi, I am not getting much substance from her character, making it extremely difficult for me to like her.There is also an incestuous nature about the relationship between Vivi and Hana: a father-daughter union turned romantic (think Lovesick). Though things seem to be on the gray line of parental and romantic, it is likely going to transition into pure romance in the later volumes.Why it is doing so well:Incest: there is something about a forbidden romance between an adult and a teenager that peak the interest of so many readers. (ex: Lovesick, Loveless, Glass Mask)Loligoth: the fashion sense displayed by Hana is very Lolita-goth, a current trend in Japan.Perfect Demons: Popular anime series such as Vampire Knight and Kuroshitsuji have supernatural beings that have skills and physical features that surpass those of humans. They also bring along a dark aura, making themselves mysterious and just plain sexy.Original twists: Though it takes successful vices from other anime and manga series, the most important aspect that is making this manga a hit among readers is its own original content. This is where other manga fail. They seem more cut and paste and less original.Rating: 3.5/5Related PostsSeptember Review: Faster than a Kiss
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