I spent the entire weekend working, which is a bit of a bummer, but because of my efforts, I got Monday off, hence I spent the entirety of the day hibernating, except for when I had to clean my room, but other than that it has for once, been a relaxing day with nothing much to do. Anyways, as promised before the weekend, which seems like months ago to me for some reason, I am no in a way better mood, hence I am willing now to talk about stuff.
Last Friday, I went to the movies and watched Adam Sandler's new film 'That's my Boy', which also stars Andy Samberg and Leighton Meester with cameo appearances by Vanilla Ice, Ciara and Susan Sarandon. So there is quite a few names in this film, and to be honest, probably one of the better ones featuring Adam Sandler in recent times. It was by no means a 'Billy Madison' or 'Happy Gilmore' but still a good laugh in what is largely slapstick comedy. The humor is also very adult based, so definitely not one for the kiddies. The link provided is for the wikipedia page of the film, which has a comprehensive summary of the plot line of the film for anyone wanted more information.
Just a quick update with NANA, I still haven't watched the last five episodes but plan on doing so tonight, so I'll have my thoughts on that one in my next post.
As for Anatolia Story by Chie Shinohara (also more commonly known as Red River), I have actually finished reading it (yes, all 28 volumes) and because it is so long, there is no way I am summarizing such a storyline! I have to say absolutely loved this series, it is probably up there in my top 5 all time favourites for many reasons. Firstly, I am a massive fan of the old school manga. Red River started in 1995, so around the same time as Sailor Moon ended and just before Ayashi no Ceres began (both great 90's series). I regard the 90's as a great decade for shoujo manga and this one surely didn't disappoint. I also love any story with historical genre, but I loved this one even more so for many of the characters and events in the story were inspired by actual historic figures and events, which is really cool (source: Wikipedia). One thing I will say is that the themes and content is fairly gruesome and graphic with adult themes as well. A few examples of this include when a young servant boy, Tito, is killed and skinned by his murderer and his dead body is shown with his flesh missing, and in a fighting scene we see an enemy soldier actually sliced in half. I won't sugar coat it, a lot of characters die and there is a lot of bloodshed and war. I guess you could also say that there is this psychological element as well with Queen Nakia, the main villain feeling the need to place her son on the thrown at any cost to the point were she 'would even defy the heavens'. She plots numerous murders and schemes to ensure she gets what she wants. I also like how the author used Narration to explain some of the historical context of the story, especially towards the end, we find out that in real history what happened to some of the characters after the completion of the story especially the end, which states that 'around 150 years after the prosperity of Mursili's reign, the Hittite empire vanished into history' and then continues on with possible reasons as to why. It actually makes me want to learn more about ancient times, as I have already studied Ancient Egypt somewhat, so it looks like Wikipedia will be of great use to me in the near future. I will say, that some of the scans are of poorer quality that what some may be used to, in particular volume 25, however, if that puts you off reading it, your loss, you are missing out on one fantastic story. I am kind of disappointed though that I have finished reading Red River, because now I feel that whatever I read next will just lack in comparison.
Speaking of which, next on the list is "Do you remember, Mogwa" by Han Yu Rang. From what I have read, it is complete at 15 volumes Korean/14 and complete in Vietnamese and currently 9 and a half volumes scanlated in English.
Anyways, that's about it for now, until next time :)
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