Steel Rose

Ermygerd, I actually bothered to update! Admittedly, I have been procrastinated about updating because I simply time to post a full update, but I have been hoarding updates at the same time, so it's not like I spent long periods of time on this...anyways, moving on...

I have read Steel Rose by Ryan, which I believe is a Taiwan manhwa. It is completed both in Taiwanese and English with 7 volumes I believe and It follows Le Ting as she struggles to find her passion in life after she retires from elite sporting competition.

The story is about Le Ting, the Olympic Kickboxing (Tai Kwon Do) gold medalist. After the Olympics, she finds that she no longer has the passion to continue professionally as she felt forced to compete by her grandfather. She adruptly decides to retire from professional sport and runs away to her friend in America. In the meanwhile, Louis, an eligable bachelor sought after by many women sees footage of Le Ting and decides that he would like to persue her romantically. 

Once in New York Le Ting struggles to settle in because of the language barrier and her dire financial situation. It isn't until an encounter with Louis that leaves him hospitalized that Le Ting is provided with an opportunity to gain some financial stability...through modelling. Although reluctant due to her belief that she is not capable of being a model and her general hatred towards Louis, she eventually excepts the job. 

Le Ting's friend (I don't remember her name) along with her (the friend's boyfriend) are the photographers for the shoot, and Le Ting's friend takes a picture between Louis and Le Ting that ends up being used as the campaign/advertising poster. This pisses off Le Ting, who then finds out that 'old man' (what she calls her friend's boyfriend because he is 30) and Louis are brothers (step brothers I think it was).After this one incident with modelling, Le Ting decides that it isn't for her, and she decides to enrol into a university as she never had the chance to study like normal kids. 

In the meanwhile, Louis tries to gain favour with Le Ting, but fails. Le Ting encounters an Indian woman reknowned for being able to forsee the future tells Le Ting that she will ultimately decide Louis' fate. Le Ting presumes that this means that being with her means certain untimely death for Louis, but the woman reassures Le Ting that it is not too late (that is, her hatred/stubborness will kill him and her love will save him). This is the first time where Le Ting no longer knows her feelings. 

In the meanwhile, Le Ting's photohrapher friend finds out she is pregnant. This upsets Le Ting because she doesn't like the 'old man' and that she said this would happen. She runs away and Louis follows her, and tells her that her friend wanted to tell Le Ting, but couldn't because she knew this is how she would react. Louis continues saying that her friend really cares for Le Ting, but it's hard when Le Ting can get angry and upset and stubborn, shutting herself off to the world. 

At a later time, when getting Rings for their friends' shotgun wedding, Le Ting and Louis argue whether to go the long way or short way back. Louis argues that the long way is better as it is safer, but Le Ting is stubborn and suggests saving time the short way. In the end, Le ting wins and they go the short way, which results in the pair being approached by a group of theives. After a brief scuffle, Le Ting is knocked out and Louis is shot. 

Louis begins to recover when his half brother Cloud visits him in the hospital (being french, I think it is meant to be 'Claude' but it translated as 'Cloud') attempts to violate him (sexually) before Le Ting interupts them and gets cloud to leave. After a long recovery, Louis finally returns to full health and is told that his father (real father) is ill and that he should return home to France. For some reason, Le Ting decides that she must go with him out of guilt/responsibility for almost killing him. 

In France, after an alcohol filled evening, Louis and Le Ting almost have sex, but Louis stops as he knows Le Ting does not want this. After a while, Louis finally meets his father along with Cloud and it is revealed that Cloud is hung up on 'Charlotte', a girl (cross-dressed Louis) that Cloud met some years ago and has had an obsession with since. Cloud finally admits his obsession. 

In the meanwhile, Louis' father and mother decide to marry, as Louis was an illigiemate child between the two. At the wedding, Cloud brings a man as his date that looks like Charlotte/Louis. Le Ting decides that she wishes to return to Taiwan to have another crack at kickboxing glory at the Olympics. She decides to return alone in order to sort out her feelings for Louis, as she no longer knows what she feels for him. 

After recommencing her training, Le Ting discovers that she truly does love Louis. They decide to start a relationship on the provision that Le Ting can still continue kickboxing rather than get married and have children, which was what was expected of her. Le Ting is successful in gaining a second gold medal, this time for herself rather than her grandfather/country. With this, everyone is happy, the end.

So, although I always love a strong heroine that doesn't cry every three pages, there is a limit, I mean, I found that Le Ting was overly stubborn -.-. Although I do like the match of the overly stubborn and slightly masculine Le Ting and and feminine-looking and playboy Louis. I also liked the mature themes in the series, such as mugging and attempted murder and attempted rape and such.

Anyways, that's about it for now, until next time :)

Summer, you're doing it wrong!

Despite living in Australia, I feel as if I live on the other side of the world where it is currently winter. It's cold, it's wet and it's windy and it makes want to crawl into bed and not come out again until the Australian Open in January as that is the only time it is guaranteed to be hot and summery in Melbourne. On a side note, I have noticed that a lot of the younger people I know are complaining about not liking or not wanting to go to school...then I see their grammar or listen to them speak and I think to myself 'Sweetie, you need all the help you can get, so stop wagging'.

Moving on, as mentioned previously, I have read the Manhwa 50 Rules for Teenagers by Na Yeri, about 4 volumes have been scanlated at the moment into English, and the series is complete in Korean with 8 volumes, so it's about half done at the moment. The story starts with fraternal twins Mi-Roo (female) and Ma-Roo (Male) who are about to start their first year of High School. Mi-Roo acts in place of her mother, who is abroad on work, and takes care of all the household chores. Ma-Roo on the other hand uses his good grades in order to coerce his father to get whatever he wants. 

Soon after, it is revealed that the company that their father works for is suffering financial difficulty and Mi-Roo is left in charge of the family finances. She uses this opportunity to control her brother's wasteful lifestyle, teaching him about the importance of money and budgeting, which he still doesn't get, and to understand that everything can not go Ma-Roo's way.

Ma-Roo doesn't like Mi-Roo's method of restricting his freedom, and as a result he hangs out with Chang-Soo. Although they appear to be friends, Ma-Roo always denies they are friends. It becomes apparent quickly that Chang-Soo has some interest in Mi-Roo and the two become friends. On Multiple occasions, Ma-Roo threatens Chang-Soo that he won't give him his sister. Although this could be seen as a sister complex, it appears that Chang-Soo has a less that favorable history although it is yet to be revealed as to what happened in the past. 

Over time, Chang-Soo and Mi-Roo continue to strengthen their friendship and ultimately join the same school club and eventually underground/secret dance group. In the meanwhile, Mi-Roo catches the attention of a senior who asks her out. Initially she agrees to meet him, but ultimately she chooses to reject as she realizes that she has romantic feelings for Chang-Soo. Her and Chang-Soo start dating, and shortly after find it difficult to spend time with each other as Chong-Soo is scouted for a chance to become an Idol. And that's where it ends for now.

I found this a very relaxed series, what I mean is that so far, there is not a lot of suspense and drama that will leave you at the edge of your seat, but it is still quite a good read

Anyways, next time will be (hopefully) Akagami no Shirayukihime, which I am currently reading and it is awesome, if I do say...Until next time :)

Airconditioners will be the death of me

Sigh, Why oh why does the air conditioner at work have to break down during the hottest/busiest time of the year? Because it has to, that's why! Feels like I spend hours in a Sauna whenever I have to work. But it's okay, because according to the patrons, it is my personal fault that the air conditioner is not working...

Moving on, had to do a mass insect extermination of my room today, because of the sudden change in temperature and numerous rain storms, A family of small spiders have chosen to take up residence in the vent that leads to my room. This would explain why I have been bitten multiple times in the past week. Clearly, as I am still alive, they weren't venomous, because if they were, then it might be a bit of an issue.

Unfortunately, I still haven't really read anything worth mentioning, mainly because it has only been a few chapters long, or it was really bad. I am currently half way through 50 rules for teenagers which is a manhwa series, so I will talk about that one next time, but until then :)

Yami no Papuru and no more exams!

So yay! Last exam over and done with exams for the year now...Although today's was an open book exam, so it definitely made things a lot easier. I am pretty confident that I have passed all my subjects for this semester, so onto year two next year.

Ok, so I think I may have said something about writing about Love SOS, but I think I can summarize it in a sentence: Read anything by the kkotnim company, and I'm sure you will get the jist. The beginning is failry interesting, the protagonist is blind for the first little while, but after that it was kind of standards, fights and all.

So moving on, I would much rather talk about Yami no Papuru by Chie Shinohara. Let me just say, I love Chie Shinohara's works, the story is never the cliche shoujo/josei story, and I love how gruesome it can be, it is quite refreshing. The series is quite old, published during the 80's, and is complete with 12 volumes, only the first 9 have been scanlated so far.

So the story is about Rinko, a 1st year high school student who is dating her childhood friend Shin'ya, who starts to notice changes within her, in particular, her eyes beginning to change to purple at times (hence the title, which roughly tranlates to purple eyes). She is captured by 3 men who lock her in a shed with the intention to 'attack/rape' her at the request of a third party. Before she is attacked, Rinko eyes change purple and she disappears, only for a 'beast' to appear shortly after. The beast brutally murders the three men before escaping. The next morning, Rinko awakens and has no clue how she got home. The incidents catches the attention of Sonehara, a science teacher at Rinko's school who set up the incident in the hopes she could catch a transformer in the action.

Sonehara believes in her late father's research that there are humans who are capable of transforming into animals, and believes Rinko to be one such being. Sonehara kidnaps Rinko and locks her in a small compartment under the floor. Shin'ya notices that Sonehara is up to something, and eventually manage to escape. Sonehara then abducts Rinko's younger sister Maiko, in the hopes that she too can transform. Rinko and Shin'ya find Sonehara's villa and find Maiko. They attempt to escape but Maiko is attacked by Sonehara's dogs and is killed. This causes Rinko to transform, with Sonehara capturing the scene on tape as evidence. Rinko is then captured again and is betrayed by Shin'ya who drugs her and traps her for Sonehara. While captured, it is revealed that Sonehara's father is alive albeit mentally and physically disabled and he is eventually killed. Eventually it is revealed that Shin'ya planned to use Sonehara as a means of getting money and the evidence so he can hide Rinko from Sonehara.

While escaping they note a man going to Sonehara under the pretense that he is a freelance journalist interested in the transformer theory.  He reveals himself to be Odagiri, a man who later reveals himself to be a transformer. He takes interest in Rinko, claiming it is the first time he has encountered a transformer like her, mainly because she is female (In the second arc of the story it is revealed that he was part of a 'clan' that claim to preserve them, but acts otherwise). After he departs, Sonehara chases after Shin'ya and Rinko, Shin'ya being shot in the shoulder in the process and Rinko transforming once again. Once Rinko untransforms, she is found by Odagiri who has taken Shin'ya with him. The three stay in an isolated cabin, with Odagiri suggesting Rinko should be with him, a fellow transformer, instead of someone who doesn't know what it is like. After a fight, Shin'ya and Rinko escape, only for Rinko to be captured and taken to Odagiri's apartment. It is revealed that Odagiri does not have long to live. He also hints Rinko's mother may have had the ability to transform, as she only lived to 35 years of age (died young like other transformers).

Rinko somehow leaves the apartment and return home with Shin'ya. A couple of months have passed since Rinko was first kidnapped by Sonehara, so her father had long been looking for Rinko and Maika. Rinko decides that Odagiri is right, and that she can no longer live with Shin'ya and her father because she is different and does not know when she will turn on them. She returns to Odagiri and agrees to be his lover on the concession that he gives her time. Odagiri drugs Rinko then has sex with an unconscious Rinko because he 'doesn't have time to wait for her'. After she regains consciousness, she escapes. After a spate of incidents involving both Rinko and Odagiri in panther form Sonehara knows about her whereabouts and captures Rinko once again. Still hellbent on her research, Sonehara quickly discovers that Rinko is pregrant (This all happened in like a space of 50 pages btw). Rinko does not wish to have the child because she feels that she is not ready and because she still loves Shin'ya. Shin'ya finds Rinko in Sonehara's villa and finds out about Rinko's situation. They escape, but when Rinko transforms the police attempt to shoot Rinko. Meanwhile, Sonehara lures Odagiri into a warehouse where is only option is to transform. This results in Odagiri sacrificing himself to allow Rinko and Shin'ya to escape. Unfortunately, Rinko has been shot repeatedly and is seriously injured. The only option left is for Shin'ya to allow Sonehara to take Rinko to a doctor she knows (already sounds shifty).

The shifty doctor manages to save Rinko's life. Shin'ya decides he wants to marry Rinko because he loves her, even though he isn't the father of Rinko's baby. A few months later Rinko gives birth to a daughter and names her Mai (mainly in rememberence of her dead sister). At first the three seem happy until they realise Sonehara plans to steal the baby an commence even crueler experiments on her. Shin'ya and Rinko escape,  and take sanctuary in a church where they are married by the priest. It is then that Rinko knows that she does not have long left to live. After a rockslide caused by Sonehara kills the priest, this allows an opportunity for Sonehara to steal Mai, which she does, however, she is caught by a transformed Rinko, who lunges herself, along with Sonehara, over a cliff.

15 years have passed since Rinko and Sonehara presumedly died, and Shin'ya  has raised Mai as his own daughter. He has since become a doctor in the hopes of finding a way to extend the lifespan of a transforming being. Mai comes to the attention of the 'clan' for being a pureblood, and she is almost killed as a result. She is only saved by Akio, a university student who can transform who realizes the clan is wrong for trying to kill Mai. At first Akio had also tried to kill Mai, but no longer does so for his feelings for her. it is then revealed that Sonehara did not die and has been helping the clan for the entire 15 years since she fell off the cliff. Sonehara also reveals that Rinko is not dead.

This leads Mai and Akio to go to the lab where Rinko is supposedly being held. Sonehara attemtps to capture Mai and Akio but is unsuccessful. Mai is at this point attacked by Rinko. Eventually Mai returns in order to meet her mother. It is revealed that Sonehara had no intention of letting Mai talk to Rinko, instead, attempting to brainwash her like she did Rinko (hence why Rinko attacked Mai). This backfires and ends up destroying most of the lab. It is revealed that Rinko has lived until now due to her being almost always cryogenically frozen, except when needed by Sonehara.

And that's about where the story is up to currently. First of all, I think Sonehara needs to seriously get laid. I mean, I reckon she would chill out a lot. She also needs some hobbies like sewing, or fishing, just something to keep her from being even crazier. The story has dual protagonists, the first 6 volumes focusing on Rinko and the other 6 focusing on her daughter, Mai, I thought having the split narrative was really good. I was really sad when I got to the time skip. I felt especially bad for Shin'ya, as he believes that Rinko was the only one for him. I felt the 15 years demonstrates his decision to stay alone with Mai for his life. it probably makes it harder that Mai is suppose to look a lot like Rinko too. By the sounds of some spoilers, it sounds like that Shin'ya may actually find a way to extend the lifespan of transformers, as it seems that Akio is still alive at the end of the series despite the fact that he is clearly already very ill.

Anyway, that's about it for now, until next time :)

New Sexy Simpleton and stuffs

Yep, I have gone missing for a while there, mainly due to the fact that I have to watch a whole bunch of films that I don't really want to because they will be on my exams...Speaking of which, I lost my Western virginity yesterday, watching my first western film. There was a reason why I have not watched one until now, and after I watch this other one for my exams, I have no intention of watching anymore. It turned out to be a lot quieter weekend that I thought, two of my shifts being cancelled because it's a long weekend, so everyone has gone on holiday (except for me, I am stuck at home studying).

Anyways, moving on. As previoulsy mentioned I have read New Sexy Simpleton by Hwang Mi-Ri. It is completely scanlated with 9 volumes. Just a warning, there is incest as a subplot but that is only towards the end. There is also a prequal, The Sexy Simpleton, but it is not completely scanlated and you don't need to read it beforehand, the sequal has got you covered.

So the story starts off with Eun Bi, who is back in her own time with the Prince a year after the events of the Sexy Simpleton, and Prince is adjusting to life in the 21st century. Eun Bi is working as a currently popular model and actress with Prince using his 'warrior skills' to be a stunt man. The two of them, along with the production crew and other stars of the film are sent to Mongolia I think to film on location. In the meanwhile, Prince is being nice to a middle-aged actress because she has the body shape adored by men in the past (The Prince is from the 8th century and back then it is believed that volumptious women were preferred by men). 

After arriving on location, Prince comes across a pair of shoes that were traditionally used to bind feet, which was a common practice in China on women up until around 1910. The shoes carry the wrath of their owner and are strong enough to pull both Prince and Eun Bi back to the past. This time, they end up in the 13th century or there abouts. Immediately, they run into bandits, but quickly turn the situation around by robbing the bandits. Eun Bi and Prince are then seperated, before Eun Bi stumbles into soldiers who take her back to their leader who looks a lot like Prince, except with longer hair. 

Prince disguises himself and saves Eun Bi, but in the process Khubilai (the other guy who looks like prince) takes interest in Prince for his similar looks and strong fighting technique, because of this, Khubilai pursues the pair (he also cuts his hair, and now they look like twins). Before long, Eun Bi and Prince start looking for the owner of the evil shoes, but realize how hard it is because nearly all women of the era have bound feet. They soon encounter a strange man who seems knowledgable, I think his name was Yi Joo or something like that. Anyway, he helps the pair by meeting his sister who shows the pair of shoes and then another lady who also possesses a pair of shoes, but neither seem to be the pair that they are looking for. After searching some more, they find the owners of the last two pairs, one being dead, the other a princess being sold off/traded through marriage. The two decide to leave Yi Joo at his residence and follow this princess. However Yi Joo is stubborn, suggesting that both Eun Bi and Prince become his concubines (LOL).

When they finally escape, Prince realizes someone is following them, so he leaves Eun Bi on the horse and goes back to check out the situation. The person following the two was Khubilai, and he and prince then engage in a sword fight. Both manage to significantly injure each other, with Khubilai jumping off the roof in an attempted suicide to save himself from the shame. Prince however manages to get down from the roof but collapses in the street. The two are found by their opposing groups, Khubilai being taken by Yi-Joo's men and Prince taken by Khubilai's men, but neither group know that they have the wrong person because they both look similar. Eun Bi is also caught and is returned to Yi Joo. She is unable to tell that the unconcious injured man is not Prince, however Yi Joo suspects. Khubilai wakes up and can't remember anything, because when he jumped he landed head first, so he now has amnesia. Eun Bi starts telling him about her and  Prince, with Khubilai contemplating killing her, but chooses against it as he needs any hint of memories he can find. On the flipside, Prince is being attended to by Khubilai's men, and although one of his generals suspect something, Prince does not slip up give evidence of the swap. Prince plays along because Khubilai's group is responsible for ensuring the princess gets to he fiance's home safely.

Prince then orders his men to capture Eun Bi, claiming that she need to be punished. In the meanwhile, Khubilai still hasn't regained his memories and is wondering how he loved Eun Bi before the incident. Eun Bi is captured by Khubilai's men, and is shocked to see how 'Khubilai' looks like prince (yes she is an idiot). Although she tries to escape she is captured again, however she is used by Prince as a slave and lover. The princess who is about to be married also loves Khubilai, but she too does not know that Khubilai is actually Prince. Although he treats her like a slave, Prince uses the pretense of a concubine, then lady in waiting (lasy servant) for the princess to make sure she is treated kindly. This includes kissing Eun Bi in order to give her water and sleeping in his tent (just sleeping, nothing else, which makes later on so much funnier). When Eun Bi begins her duties as a lady in waiting, she believes the princess is autistic because she does not speak, but she is actually just deep in thought.

Eun Bi uses this opportunity to search for the shoes, but is caught by the princess. The princess feels that Eun Bi understands her desires to 'play around and get dirty' and such, and Eun Bi quickly becomes the princess's confidant. Meanwhile Khubilai (the real one) is searching frantically for Eun Bi because he too actually loves her. Eun Bi in the meantime is struggling with her feelings, as 'Khubilai' is so much like Prince (yes, she is that dumb, what happens later proves it) and reluctantly acts as matchmaker between the Princess and 'Khubilai'. Both bribe her to do their bidding, with the princess finally winning by offering Eun Bi the shoes. 'Khubilai' says he doesn't feel that way about the princess, but she requests to touch him, which in the end turned out to be a poke in the arm (ah, customs of a different era).

The princess is about to leave to finish her journey to her fiance's residence and wishes to take Eun Bi with her. (sidenote: this is like my favourite part just because of how stupid Eun Bi is). Just before leaving, 'Khubilai' (yes she still doesn't know it is prince) kisses her, but gives her a mouthful of water mixed with rotted fish (EWWWWWWWWWWWW!!) causing Eun Bi to be sick. 'Khubilai' claims that she is pregnant and that she should stay with him. Although nothing happened between them other than kissing, 'Khubilai' convinces Eun Bi that it is possible, with Eun Bi believing that their is some kind of pregnancy virus (*facepalm*). It is about at this time that the real Khubilai shows up. When he hears about this 'pregnancy' he intends to kill it, and this is when Eun Bi finally realizes that he isn't Prince...

At this point everyone figures out what is going on, the real Khubilai does regain some memories, and although Eun Bi and the real Prince escape back to Yi-Joo's because they figured that his sister gave them a fake pair the first time round and that she is the actual owner of the evil shoes. (There is also an arguement between Eun Bi and Prince which is rather funny, saying how dumb she can be for believing everything he said). Back at Yi-Joo's everyone is getting ready for his sister's wedding. Prince and Eun Bi find the shoes, but encounter troubles with Khubilai, and Yi-Joo elopes with his sister (although she is adopted, it would still be considered incest in that era) and they are never heard from again. 

Eun Bi is kidnapped by Khubilai and Prince manages to save her, coming up with a plan with Yi-Joo's men. Khubilai traps them with a fire, planning to kill them together, however, Prince and Eun Bi are able to go back to the present with the shows. Prince sends Eun Bi back by herself first before going back himself and the two get separated. Back in the 21st century, Eun Bi re-appears and begins walking back to the hotel. She curses Prince for choosing the past over her. Upon her return, Prince is already at the hotel and is wondering how he got there before her. The series ends with them having a 'play argument'.

Thoughts? Well, firstly, I thought that Eun Bi is really dumb. Even though it was obvious from their different clothes that Khubilai and Prince were swapped at the fight scene, she didn't believe Yi-Joo out of stubbornness. I thought this series is definition of 'idiot protagonist' (although I thought it was funny how Prince managed to convince her there is a pregnancy virus). I quite like how both this series and the prequal offer different interpretations of beauty. This one showing how in previous eras, women with bound, or lily feet were considered beautiful. Anyway, I quite enjoyed this one, it was quite a fun series overall. Despite what many others say, I was not disappointed by the ending, when I see the words 'Hwang Mi-Ri' I always believe it to be an open ending, so I got exactly what I expected.

Anyway, I don't know what's next on the agenda. Nisekoi perhaps, I can't really remember the last time I wrote anything on an ongoing series. We'll see. Anyways, that's about it for now, until next time :)

Sad Love Story

Yes, more updates, I clearly have too much time which would be put to better use by studying. On a side note, Happy Halloween for those of you who celebrate, I did by answering the door, and when asked 'Trick or Treat' I screamed 'Trick! Here's a cat!'

So, I've delayed it enough, Sad Love Story is a Korean manhwa by Shin Ji-Sang, Geo (that is what mangafox says) and is completely scanlated with 5 volumes. It also as a Korean television drama based on it. The first few pages of the story are set in New York, January 2004, Hae-In awakes in a hospital after she tried to commit suicide believing that her love was dead.

The story then goes back to the mid 80s and is about Jun-Young, a boy whose mother works at a bar and serves Americans (basically a brothel). One day he meets Hae-In a blind girl who is the daughter of a new employee at the bar. The two get along as they both suffer the teasing about their mothers, which quickly turns into romantic love. Hwah Jung is another childhood friend of Jun-Young, and she also has romantic feelings for Jun-Young, but these are unrequited. The story focuses on the development of the relationship between Jun-Young and Hae-In, who are constantly told to seperate by their mothers because of their hatred for each other. They usually go off together to a nearby shrine to run away from their world (this is important). After many years together, Jun-Young and Hae-In are seperated because of an arguement between their mothers.

After they are seperated, Jun-Young is sent to live with his father and his family after a fight with his mother. He adopts his father's surname as well. At school Jun Kyo (I think that is his new name, something like that) meets and becomes friends with Kon Woo, who share a passion for music and decide to form a band. In the meanwhile, it is revealed that Jun-Young's mother is sick and is dying, hence why she sent him to his father. Jun-Kyo returns to visit his mother before she dies. Meanwhile, Hae-In is living with her mother, who is set to marry an American and the three of them are preparing to move to America. Hae-In had not met Jun-Young since, and a few years have passed. By chance Hae-In and Jun-Young meet, and Jun-Young spends the night at Hae-In's place (platonically, nothing happened because Hae-In was sick). The two wish to rekindle their romance and decide to meet at Hae-In's apartment everyday, however the next day, she moves out due to debt collectors threatening her mother. Hae-in and Jun-Young exchange addresses before Hae-In leaves for America. Jun-Young hasn't told Hae-In about the name change. The two regularly mail each other, however the messages stop once Jun-Young joins the army. This is because Hwah Jung changes the address for Jun-Kyo's mail so he never receives it. She does this out of jealousy.

There is another flash-foward to 2004, this time in April, it has been 3 months since Hae-In's accident. At this point she is confronted by a man who is Korean but does not know who she is, although she has met him three times before. This was because since the last time, he has grown up more, and his voice is unrecognizable. The man is Kon Woo, Jun Kyo's best friend. Kon Woo, who is wealthy, pays for Hae-In's eye surgery so she can see again.

The rest of the story is set in the present, and Jun-Kyo finishes his stint in the army, still not hearing anything about Hae-In. He receives a call from Kon Woo who says he will be returning to Korea soon, and that he has found a singer for their band. Since her eye surgery, Hae-In has regained her vision and sings at night for a New York club. Over time, with the help of Kon Woo, she accepts that it is ok for her to move on, as she can always remember Jun-Young. Of course, the singer Kon Woo mentioned is Hae-In. The two return to Korea, and Kon-Woo introduces everyone to Hae-In including Jun-Kyo, who Hae-In does not realize is Jun-Young (she still thinks Jun-Young is dead). Hae-In notes that he has the same voice as Jun-Young and looks like how she invisioned Jun-Young to look like.

Jun-kyo struggles seeing Kon-Woo and Hae-In together and decides to leave the band, only to return shortly after. The group struggle producing an album, with Kon-Woo asking for his father's support with his brother in law also interferring. It is revealed that the brother in law intends to 'throw Kon-woo and his father under the bus' so to speak in order to gain the company. Hae-In's mother also returns, asking Jun-Young to leave. Of course he says he shouldn't because he is now 'Jun kyo, and Jun-young died many years ago'. After many struggles, the group successfully debut. At this point Kon-Woo wishes to marry Hae-In, although hesitant she agrees, as she is still confused about Jun Kyo and Jun-Young. For Kon-Woo's family to agree, he agrees to be the successor to the family business, even though he doesn't really want to.

The evil brother in law in the meanwhile sabotages Kon-Woo and as a result, loses his job. He then frames Kon-Woo's father for embezzlement. Kon-Woo confronts Jun-Kyo about why hasn't he taken Hae-In back, because if she knew, she would go to him. Jun-kyo replies 'because it's Kon Woo, so I'll leave'. In the meanwhile, Hae-In decides she can't marry Kon-Woo. She goes to the place where her and Jun-Young went as children, where she meets Jun-Kyo, then she finally realizes that they are one and the same. The soon after rekindle their romance. However, at this point, Jun-Young realizes something is wrong and leaves.

After searching for a while, they find Jun-Young. Hae-In discovers that Jun-Young is very sick, requiring weekly kidney dialysis to stay alive. Jun-Young says he won't get treatment, because he would feel like a trapped bird in a cage, and would rather live one day of freedom than live several more years in trapped in suffering. For some reason the two are having a conversation on train tracks where an oncoming train is approaching (to emphasize the situation, I guess).

Meanwhile, Kon-Woo has realized what his brother in law is doing, and plans to punish him (kill him), however his sister convinces him not to. However the brother in law realizes that Kon-Woo knows, and plans to have him killed. Kon-Woo travels to the shrine where his mother's remains are, which is his own world so to speak. This place happens to be the same shrine as the one that Hae-In and Jun-Young share as their runaway world. The three meet, and Kon-Woo says that there is no hard feelings. As Jun-Young and Hae-In leave, Jun-Young notices a suspicious man following Kon-Woo, and chases after them, He shouts out to Kon-Woo and there is a loud bang.

In this part of the manhwa, it is revealed that the reason why Jun-Kyo couldn't take Hae-In from Kon-Woo is because he loved and cared for Kon-Woo just as much, if not more (not romantically, but in almost like soulmates, they shared the same kind of struggles such as a broken family and dead mothers). It is then revealed that the bang (gunshot) hit and killed Jun-Young. We are shown a funeral scene and a grieving Hae-In. The very last page is a few years after Jun-Young's death and is a conversation between mother and son, with the son asking the mother where they are going. the mother replies they are going to see daddy because daddy has been sleeping for a very long time, and will continue sleeping but that they still love him. The mother and son are seen walking into the shrine that Jun-Young and Hae-In used as a hideout, the last frame revealing that the mother was Hae-In.

I've already had a bit of a rant about this one on a few forums...I mean I absolutely loved the story, but filthy about the ending, and it's not because Jun-Young dies. I'm reading the last chapter and I begin thinking 'Oh I thought this was a tragedy' but then I thought perhaps the tragedy is like Boku no Hatsukoi where the story is sad but the ending is happy. And then three pages from the end Jun-Young dies. As a reader, I feel that it was rushed and was almost like the author thought 'Oh shit, this is meant to end in 3 pages'. I feel for this to be a great tragedy, more emphasis needed to be put on Jun-Young's death and the aftermath, such as the emotion of losing a loved one, that way, I feel that the last page with Hae-In and her son would have been a great manga/manhwa moment. Also, none of the other major plot points were concluded. I mean, what happened to Kon-Woo, did he take over his father's company, and what happens to his brother in law for his crimes. Also what happened to Hwah Jung, she loved Jun-Young to the point where she re-adressed his mail to herself to stop him contacting Hae-In, and she kind of just went MIA. Okay, I think that is enough about my thoughts.

Next time will be New Sexy Simpleton on the agenda, but that's about it for now, until next time :)

For the Sake of Dulcinea etc.

Sigh, such a  horrible day, I think I seriously pissed someone off in my former life. Other than the fact that I had to work, not only was it rediculously busy, but on the way there, there was some major cycling event (like a fundraising ride or something) which route was my exact route to work, and it's like 30kms to work, so for 30kms I had to drive at a leisurely pace as there was not much opportunity to take over these cyclists...I mean really though, what unbelievable bad luck that it went from my house to past my work.

So, moving on, I have read For the Sake of Dulcinea, by Hwang Mi-Ri, it is completely scanlated with 6 volumes, so rather short for the kkotnim company. The story is about Soon-Ae, who is a girl who has been with her boyfriend for just a little under 3 years, but she feels that she is no longer in love with him. Enter Wook-Hwan, a handsome guy who boards at Soon-Ae's house. Soon-Ae soons develops feelings for Wook-Hwan and as a result breaks up with Dong-Hwa. Wook-Hwan and Soon-Ae soon start dating, Wook-Hwan says he is from the future but Soon-Ae doesn't believe him. it is revealed that Wook-Hwan travelled to the past to find the composer of a song that has gone missing from a museum of the future found with with some fossils of two people. It is revealed that the composer is Dong-Hwa and he had composed that song for Soon-Ae. After Soon-Ae realizes that she does love Dong-Hwa and Wook-Hwan realises that Soon-Ae and Dong-hwa need to be together for the song to be written, Soon-Ae and Wook-Hwan try to get Soon-Ae and Dong-hwa back together. Eventually, they are successful and Wook-Hwan gets his song. After this Wook-Hwan decides it is best to kill Dong-Hwa so he can have Soon-Ae again. He does this by sending Dong-hwa to a building he knows will collapse under the pretense of meeting Soon-Ae there. Dong-hwa dies, and Soon-Ae soon finds out that Wook-Hwan was the cause of it. Wook Hwan says that even though he murdered Dong-hwa, he as well Soon-Ae would have died 8 days later (or it says "today" in the story) due to the meteor shower that would kill them. Wook-Hwan gives Soon-Ae his time watch so she can travel to an alternate universe where the meteor shower wouldn't happen and her and Song-hwa could continue their relationship. She takes the watch and goes to an alternative world, but also 3 years in the past to when she first met Dong-hwa. Meanwhile Wook-Hwan stays in the present and sacrifices himself to make sure the song made it to the future. So, I thought Wook-Hwan was a bit extreme, killing someone so he could get the girl, when she only rejected him anyway, so I can't really feel too sad that he sacrificed himself in the end.

Anyway, I will leave it there for now, next time I'll talk about Hoshi no Furu Machi and Sad Love Story. Until next time :)

Bride of the Water God

Okay, so other than studying and working and the usual, I have been reading Bride of the Water God by Yoon Mi-Kyung. It is a manhwa series, and it is 18 volumes ongoing, with 16th volume currently being scanlated, so it is rather up to date.

So, the story is about Soah, who is sacrificed to the Water God in the hopes that her village would end the drought that it slowly killing them. After being told by everyone that the Water God is a monster, she is surprised to learn that the Water God is a small child name Habaek. It turns out Habaek is cursed and can only appear in his true form during the night as Mui. 

The first part of the story is just about Soah meeting the people of the Water Country such as Hoo-ye, Mura, Yo-hee etc. and revelations such as how Soah was not meant to be the sacrifice and Habaek only ever loved his first wife, Nakbin. Soah is led to believe that Habaek and Mui are two different people, and the story begins to deal with how Soah feels for Mui romantically and yet feels like she is betraying Habaek as she does not know they are one and the same. 

As others start to realize what is going on, Habaek sends Soah back to her village, where she is shunned, before being sold off again by her father. Mui takes her back to the water country the day before she was to get married. Back in Water Country, Soah and Hoo-ye seem to be getting rather close, but it turns out to be more than unrequited love on Hoo-ye's side. Mui also formally proposes to Soah (she still doesn't know that him and Habaek are the same). Before Soah can respond, a second sacrifice is sent to Water Country, with Soah requesting that Mui saves the sacrifice. 

The sacrifice bears a striking resemblence to Nakbin. Yeo-wa (the sacrifice who looks like Nakbin) plots to becomes Habaek's true wife. It is later revealed that she is in fact a pawn of the Emporor of the Imperial Country in his schemes against Habaek, and is only made to look like Nakbin, to the point she actually believes she is Nakbin. Yeo-wo then drugs Habaek with a love potion which makes him fall for Yeo-wo but forget Soah, although it was only meant to be a love potion. This allows Hoo-ye to take Soah to the Emperor at the Imperial Court while Habaek takes Yeo wa as his 'wife'.  

It is also revealed that Hoo-ye and Nakbin were siblings, with their father being the Emporor. In a brief flashback arc, we are shown how Nakbin and Mui met, although it is still unclear how Nakbin died. At the Imperial court, it turns out Mui was playing everyone, and actually didn't forget anything, but pretended to do so to protect Soah. This is conveniantly revealed when Mura (who is the witch of Chung Yo mountains) pushes Soah into a lake which will trap her forever (Mura as an unrequited love for Habaek and does this out of jealousy). 

At the Gathering at the Imperial country, it is revealed that Nakbin is somehow alive! And Soah is finally told the truth about Habaek/Mui being the one and the same. Ju-dong and Bu Ryeom in their rebel attack try to kill the emperor but are unsuccessful. They 'kidnap' Soah and take her to the Lunar Palace. There, Soah meets a man who looks like Mui, who is later revealed to be his father. In the Meanwhile, Mura, who is obsessively in love with Habaek/Mui, burns the rare tree which bears a fruit that blooms once every 3000 years and allows a human who eats its fruits to live for 18000 years. 

Back on the Moon, Mui requests to see Shin Nong, but he would only be allowed to do so if he formally marries Soah (vow to the marriage god, and I am disappointed that this was done so hastily!!). Mui and Soah leave to go to Chung Wo mountains where Mura is with the bando (apparently thats what the fruit is called). Mura requests that Mui kills him in order to obtain the fruit. He refuses and Bi Ryeom kills Mura then himself. Then Soah refuses to eat the fruit and tells Mui to become human for her. 

Through Mura's friend, Mui is able to become human, however he can only be in his adult form if he is away Soah. Back in the human world, Dong Young (the man Soah was sold of to the second time) reveals that he knows that Mui is Habaek. In the meanwhile Woo Hui, Dong Young's younger sister tries to make Mui fall in love with her. Mui's mother hears of her son's troubles and intends to kill Soah, instead injuring Mui, and basically that is where it ends in the English, with Mui on the brink of life and death in his mortal form.

So thoughts? Well, I thought Mui felt something from the first time he met Soah. Whether he actually loved her straight away or just thought she was interesting. He revealed the fact that they were the same person, I think that was perhaps because he was embarassed of his childish daytime form. But also, Mui tells Soah his given name (Gods have 3 names, Mui is the one given by his parents), which only a few people may call him. Everyone else calls him Habaek. 

Anyway, that's about it for now, until next time :)

Thoughts on Snow Drop etc...

So as previously mentioned, I have read Snow Drop, which is a manhwa series done by Choi Kyung-ah. It is kind of old, from the late 90's onwards, but it is a great read. Firstly, although it says 'shoujo' I would definately say that it is more suited to an older audiences, it can be at times pretty brutal. One thing I will say, for those of you who are picky about the qaulity of scans, don't be put of (like i was at first), but if you cant accept it, your loss. So it is about So Na and Hae Gi, two teenagers from "different sides of the tracks", So Na is the rich politicians daughter, Hae-Gi is required to work as his mother is in a coma and father MIA (cant remember if the father is dead of just not there). The two meet and fall in love through their simularities, for instance, they have both lost someone important (SoNa her mother, HaeGi his brother) and their own personal issues (SoNa being kidnapped at age 12, Hae-Gi mother is in a coma) and both their names are from the book SoNa's mother wrote. Anyway, after a failed attempted arranged marriage for SoNa because of her relationship with Hae Gi,  it is later revealed that SoNa is kidnapped by Hae-Gi's older brother, and that the brother was in turn murdered by a mob affiliated with SoNa's father (who is Ha Da's family business, Ha Da is So Na's best friend and by the end of the series has a relationship with Ko Mo, Hae-Gi's younger brother, so there is some shounen ai in there too). As a result they are told to seperate. On the run from her father's security team, SoNa and HaeGi get in a motorcycle accident, with SoNa choosing to save him in exchange for never seeing him again. Hae Gi and his family is sent to America as a result. Two years pass, and So Na decides she wants to see Hae Gi from afar one last time to make sure he is ok. Her former fiance (forgot his name) takes her to the US, where Hae Gi and So Na reunite and recommence their relationship. Basically, all the same stuff happens again, until So Na's father shoots So Na in his attempt to kill KoMo while Hae Gi gets stabbed. Due to this, everyone decides to let go of the past and move on and Everyone lives happily ever after. There is also an epilogue to this in regards to what happens to side characters with some reference to the main ones, but its not worth going into too much detail about.

Also, I have finished watching the main Fushigi Yuugi anime. I say main because there is OVA collection which is like 13 episodes split into 3 different arcs which I am yet to watch. I am really glad that it stuck to the manga for the most part, one thing I have noticed about 90s anime is that it tends to go off the main tangent for some reason (i.e.Sailor Moon). I particularly liked the last few episodes, I liked the last scene during the end credits, where is showed the best bits from all the characters involved before showing the scene where Miaka and the reincarnated Tamahome reunite. I thought it was well done. okies

Anyways, that's about it for now, until next time :)

Finally I have caught up!

Ok, so I have been meaning to do an update about my thoughts on various series that I have read recently, seeing as I have been pretty lazy and not bothered to actually give my thoughts on them. I believe series that I have mentioned include Wait!Wolf, Amakusa 1637 and Sakamichi no Apollon.

So firstly, I will start with Wait Wolf! by Hwang Mi Ri. I did talk about this a while ago briefly but I thought I would talk about it more.  Obviously it is a manhwa series, it's completed at 18 volumes in Korean and currently 14 volumes are scanlated into English. The female lead  Hwi Kwang (varies throughout the series depending on which chapter you read) is a bit dense, but is very unfeminine and has no clue about love. She ends up on the bad side of Suh Rin, taking his watch as collateral for her glasses, then loses the watch. As punishment, Suh Rin makes Hwi Kwang his fake girlfriend to stop the stalker girls from following him. Suh Rin eventually begins to actually like Hwi Kwang and she agrees to go out with him. Hwi Kwang has three best friends, Te Ri, Hwan Sung and another guy (I forgot his name) who are all in love with Hwi Kwang aswell, but have a deal stating none of them will confess. Anyways, some stuff happens and Hwi Kwang realises the love she has for Suh Rin is like that of a friend or brother, and she actually likes Hwan Sung and they end up together at the end. As I previously mentioned, this is quite unconvential for Hwang Mi Ri work, as the friend who is in love with the main chick always gets permanently friend-zoned. However in saying that, there is a lot of gangs and fighting at the same time too, so it's the best of both worlds as far as Hwang Mi Ri is concerned.

Next is Amakusa 1637 by Akaishi Michiyo. The series is complete with 12 volumes in Japanese, and scanlations are up to the middle of volume 6. The story is about a group of high school students who break slip through a time slip in the space time continuum. The group end up in 1636, a year before the Shimabara Rebellion and end up on a journey to try and save the lives of the people who would die in the impending revolt. The characters appear in the past at different points and places in time, for example Yatsuka is the first to arrive, sometime around 1628, where as Natsuki only arrives in 1636. So like previous series I have read, it is inspired on a historical event and the fictional story is written about it. From what I read, the group of friends are at this point succeeding in changing the past. From what I have read on the forums, they succeed in changing history, with Eri the only one of the group to choose to go back to where she came from, the rest choosing to stay in the past for their own reasons. It is classed as a tragedy, and I think it is because Eri has to go back by herself. Anyways, thats about it.

Onto Sakamichi no Apollon which is by Kodama Yuki. Depending on your methedology it can be considered both complete and incomplete. The main story, which is 9 volumes long is completely scanlated, but there is a 10th volume, which is a series of spinoffs and oneshots related to the main story, which is yet to be scanlated (kind of like Usagi Drop). Anyway, the story is set in 1966 and follows Kaoru, a high school student who transfers schools due to his father's job. At his new school, he befriends the delinquint Sen and his childhood friend Ricchan. The first 8 volumes follow the three of them throughout their highschool journey as they all learn about love and the importance of friendship. Kaoru falls for Ricchan, but is rejected at first before the feelings become mutual, Sen falls for a senpai who ends up eloping with neighbour and spiritual brother Junichi along with struggling to accept his biological heratige, and Ricchan struggles with her feelings as at first she likes Sen then changes to liking Kaoru. By the end of the 8th volume, Sen runs away as he feels he no longer belongs in his town. The 9th volume focuses on life after high school. kaoru goes to university in Tokyo to become a doctor, during a time when student revolt was at a high and Ricchan stays near her hometown and studies to be a teacher. The two continue to communicate until Kaoru calls and another man answers. In the meanwhile, Kaoru still searches for Sen. Kaoru doesn't find Sen until after he finishes university (so that's about 7 years that Sen has had no contact with them). Sen ran off and is a priest in training, taking care of orphans like he was. Ricchan and Kaoru clear up their misunderstanding. The story ends with Kaoru returning to the town to become a local doctor, rather than inheriting the hospital his family owns. The relationship between Kaoru and Ricchan is left open to the reader, but there may be a side story in the spin off volume.

Anyways, that's about it for now, until next time :)

Sigh...

Unfortunately, it is that time of the semester again when all of my major university assignments are due, but unlike in times past, I am actually moderately organized for once. For example, I actually completed a full essay a week before it was due. 2012 must be real. Although that is fantastic as it means that I won't have any 4am last minute cram session to get everything done, I still find it troublesome to actually do all this work when I have meaning other things I would much rather do.

Oh, so I totally forgot to mention this the other day, but I have finally finished watching Marmalade Boy, although I was always expecting it to take some time because there are 70-something episodes after all. I really loved it, but then again, 90s anime is the best. Ah, there is so much to talk about. Although it is very anti-climatic by todays standards, I guess 20 years ago, this kind of storyline would almost be unheard of (i.e. false incest thing). I have a love/hate thing for their parents, I feel they are irresponsible, just up and doing whatever they want, like going on an International holiday without telling their kids, but at the same time, it wouldn't have worked without them because...well, it's the whole plot line to start with, but also the parents made light of some pretty serious issues, which I thought was quite clever (not to give too much away, but especially in the last few episodes). One thing I thought was hilarious was the fact that in America they spoke Japanese, but as soon as Miki would call, no-one understood a word. I understand that they had to speak Japanese so the audience could understand, but I just thought that was funny. Overall, I quite liked this series, well worth it and I am very glad that both the manga and anime went down the happy path rather than the tragedy path that it was originally meant to.

I have been reading some manga and manwha too recently. In terms of manga, I am reading Amakusa 1637, but more about that when actually finish it. In manwha, I have been reading Wait Wolf, by the psuedonym Hwang Mi Ri. i quite like this one, because it takes a different path than the standard story from that publishing company. For instance, after reading spoilers, the main girl ends up with the childhood friend. I thought this was quite funny, because everyone seems to be going on about 'the friendzone' at the moment. It's also different because it's usually the new guy that gets the girl. But it's still the same that there are gangs and violence, not that I am complaining, I like that kind of stuff.

Anyway, that's about it for now, until next time :)

Gremlins

Haha, After the week I have had, I felt like one! It has been so busy that when I got home last night I was walking around my house like a gremlin because it hurt everywhere...That's what you get when you work a job that needs you standing for 10 hours straight, but enough about that...

Despite the fact that I had to crawl to my front door last night, some good came out of the day, and that is Sydney Swans winning their qualifying final which means they get to play for a spot in the grand final! Yay! Made even better by the fact that I got to work and watch it (not live, only on television) at the same time...makes my day slightly better.

Still Watching Marmalade Boy, started watching part two the other day (there are three parts) so I am not even half way still. I love how over dramatized everything is. You got the dramatic music in the background and everything takes longer because just as something is about to happen the shot changes to another angle so you have to wait a few more seconds and then it changes again and then you have to wait a few more seconds...Gosh, if they just got to the point instead of showing the same thing 6 different times, you could fit a lot more story, not that I am complaining, because it is a good show, but I guess that's just how things were done in the 90's.

Moving on, I have read what is available in English (so about 13 chapters) of Mok Yuna's Honeymoon Diary. From my understanding there is a prequel, but that doesn't exist in the English scanlated world. Just like any other manhwa I have read, it pretty much involves the male and female lead belting the crap out of one another, although this one involves some technique as martial arts is involved. Basically Mok Yuna's mother owns a dojang and is hell bent on making Mok Yuna the heir,but she has no interest, instead wanting to become a housewife of sorts. Her mother places the dojang above her daughter, and marries her off to some Jiang Jin (I think that is his name) and thus the story begins...After 13 chapters this is pretty much all that has happened, but hey, what do yo expect when it is 13 volumes long?!

Anyway, that's about it for now, until next time :)

28 Parmagianas

Haha, I thought that was a joke! I was working, minding my own business, then BOOM!! Some guy comes up to me, and orders 28 chicken parmigiana. At first I thought he was joking because the chef just asked me to sell another 25 meals for the night, but he was dead serious. Needless to say, the chef and I had a good laugh at the timing of the incident, but that was about as eventful as my days have been.

Although admittedly, uni has been rather interesting. We have been discussing how 50 shades of grey has re-invigorated the erotic fiction market...most awkward lessons ever!

Anyway, I have been reading a manhwa 'My Girl' by Paek Jeong Won and is 5 volumes long. It is about a high school girl who disguises herself as supermodel Jinny in order to persue a career in modelling/acting. Outside of being Jinny, Ahjin is very athletic, sporty and is sometimes mistaken for a boy because of her interest and her short pixie haircut. She soon falls for classmate and 'school idol' Dohoon who is a notorious playboy who is fond of Jinny, unknown to him that she is Ahjin. The story then follows the two as Ahjin's identity is revealed to first Dohoon, then everyone through a online scandal report. Ahjin's father, who lectures at a university in England, catches wind of Ahjin's modelling and secret identity, and forces her to quit modelling and acting. It is later revealed that Ahjin's mother was killed by a freak accident while acting, but Ahjin's father soon realises that Ahjin is meant to model and allows her to pursue her career. I quite liked the art, I thought it was quite cute, and the story of the secret identity was quite interesting. I didn't like any of the male characters though. I also have no clue what happened for the latter part of the story, mainly because the scans didn't make much sense, so I had no clue what really happened.

Anyway, that's about it for now, until next time :)

The Nightmare has ended

The nightmare has ended! I never have to deal with accounting ever again. Words can not describe how glorious this feels. Hello 6 weeks of absolutely nothing. Actually I lied. Turns out the internet won't have my undivided attention as I have picked up heaps of extra work at my jobs, which makes my bank account very happy. The first thing I did after my accounting exam was sleep. How good it felt after being up until 4am the night before studying just so I could understand what the heck I had to do. The only downside is that when I am not working I will be bored out of my brains, but I'll find something else to do in the meantime.

Okay, so I have read a few series over the past few days, not that they have been long or anything. One of the series I read was Kimi no Tame ni Hiku Chopin by Nagae Tomomi. There is little information about this series at the moment, but there are currently two chapters scanlated into English and I know there is at least 4 chapters so far, but that's it. It seems promising I must say. The story is about a girl who moves from Hokkaido to Tokyo in hopes of finding a boy she remembered playing the piano with as a child. She finds him but he doesn't remember her. When he hears her playing the piano, he remembers that playing the piano can be fun, something he had forgotten long ago. In the meantime, the girl's playing, along with a pendant she received from her guardian in Hokkaido, awakens the spirit of Chopin. Because there is two chapters, that is about all there is to the story so far. The art is very cute, although it does make the female lead look like she is 14 when she is in fact a university student. I haven't used character names because what in in the scanlations and what the summary says is completely different so it's just to remove any confusion as such.

I have also read Tenshi no Hitsugi by Higuri Yuu. To be 100% honest, I absolutely hated it. I was pretty keen because as I have previously said, I love reading the tragedy stories because they usually are unconventional. However, this one annoyed me beyond belief. It is based in Vienna, 1889 and chronicles the forbidden romance between crown prince Rudolf and Lady Maria and how their life and death revolutionized Austria, and how the 'God' Sato tried to avoid the tragedy (obviously being manga, it is based primarily in an alternate reality). Luckily, it is only 5 chapters in length so it was not very time consuming. I don't really want to go into it, but the characters are beyond annoying so as a reader, I couldn't sympathize with the characters at all, hence it really can't be called tragedy. I'm actually not going to talk about this anymore because it is just to frustrating.

 Moving on, I read Honganne. Another of Hwang Mi-Ri's many series, it is complete in Korean at 11 volumes, with just 3 chapters left to be scanlated in English. I love korean high school gang manhwas. I can't get enough, but because it is a korean high school gang manhwa, it is the same to other series out there, still, it is a good read. There are a few things that differ from other works. It is probably one of the first Hwang Mi-Ri series where the main characters have families. Usually the main characters are orphaned or unwanted or have neglectful parents. This series also uses the 'sister complex' with the main character's older brother obsessively protective of his little sister to the point he hospitalizes any guy who approaches her. I kind of feel sorry for her, if I had an overbearing sibling, I would probably feel trapped to some extent. All in all, I am greatly anticipating the final 3 chapters to complete this series!

As for what is next on my agenda, It is Anatolia Story, which is just a casual 28 volumes in length completed. So this one is probably going to take me a while, especially considering all the extra work that I have picked up.

Anyway, that's about it for now, until next time :)