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 :)

Stupid Everything

Seriously! With uni and work and getting ready for Armageddon this weekend, I have had like no down time! I just want to sleep. In fact I have been rather naughty and have started skipping uni so I can catch up on sleep, but don't worry, I only need 9% on my exam to actually pass the exam, which is open book, so I think I am safe!

Anyway, yes! Armageddon is this weekend in Melbourne, and my outfit is almost ready, wig and all, I just need some vampire teeth, which I thought would be easy to acquire seeing as every twelve year old wants to be a vampire like Edward. But never fear, my vampire fangs have been inspired by anime rather than that!

Anyways, on to manga, and I have started reading Sakamichi no Apollon, although I haven't read much of it yet, I am sure it will absolutely be awesome, mainly because it is Josei, so something for the more mature of us. I quite like it because as sad as it is to admit, the only josei I have read is mainly smut. More about that, and Amakusa 1637 in the next update (maybe, if I'm not too lazy).

Also, I have been watching Fushigi Yugi anime recently. I don't know if i have mentioned this before so I just thought I might say so...Anyways I am about halfway through the main series, but in saying that, I do plan to read the OVA's (eikoden, i don't know if that is right, I am too lazy to check) afterwards. Thoughts on that later.

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 :)

Reel Festival

Ok, so what's the go. Well, I went to the Reel Festival at Cinema Nova yesterday. Myself, along with a few friends saw 'Children who Chase Lost Voices' and I thought it was absolutely brilliant. 

I won't write too much on it now, because I intend to write a short film review as part of my university assessment for one of my subjects, so maybe in a week after it's all done, I might post it up here. A few things, the ending song was a few keys too high, so the last few minutes were excruciating to my ears, although the lyrics fitted the ending well, the voice ruined it (sorry, but it did) and also, the cutest little fucker is in this movie here is what i am talking about:

How cute is it!! Just saying!! ^^^^^^^^^^^

Anyway, moving on, I finished reading all the translated chapters of Komatta Toki ni wa Hosho ni Kike. What can I say, I definitely haven't read anything like that before, as I previously said I thought that the characters were very interesting and I can't remember the last time I read a series that didn't have a crybaby lead...regardless of what genre. Nothing annoys me more than the lead crying every 3 pages. I also thought the art was quite interesting, very different, the art is very strong. I really like the eyes and how they are drawn. I like the ambiguity of the relationships between all the characters, I thought the mangaka could have done so much with this ambiguity, and to an extent it works, but there is just a bit too much mystery within the characters personalities. Just saying. But it was rather enjoyable nonetheless.

Anyways, 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 :)

Guess who's back?

Okay, so it's not like I have been gone for a while, but still, nearly a week with no update is a long time by my standards. I would have liked to have posted again sooner, but my life has been like "You know what Cherry? I don't care if you want to update your blog. I'm just going to keep you busy." So what have I been doing exactly?

Uni work for starters. My weekend was completely sucked up with working on assessments like this massive Essay which took me the best part of two days to finish and a oral presentation. By the way, if you get nervous when public speaking DO NOT PICTURE THE AUDIENCE IN THEIR UNDERWEAR!! I was thinking about this and then it occurred to me: what if someone isn't wearing anything. Needless to say...speech was a failure due to such thoughts. Anyway, 90% of my assessments are done, so i thought I would have some more free time but...that isn't happening. Starting next week I may have a third job, although that should only take up a couple of hours out of my week. And finally I am still trying to get over what i call the 'Autumn hay-fever'. Luckily it seems I am finally getting over it, so I should be back to full power in the next few days.

Moving on...

Recently, I have been reading the manga Kamisama Hajimemashita. I have read to all the English chapter scanslations and I must say, where have I been doing?!? I have been putting off reading the series because I didn't think it would suit my tastes, but boy was I wrong. For anyone who is interested, get on it, it is an enjoyable read. The art is fantastic, the plot is interesting, it is a supernatural themed manga so that is why I guess. The characters are awesome. For anyone who has read it, Tomoe is now my god (pun totally intended), he just does everything like a boss, so good!

A new manga series that has caught my attention is Orange by Takano Ichigo. It is a tragedy, you have been warned!! It is about a girl (Naho) who receives a letter from her future self saying the new transfer student, friend and love interest of Naho (kakeru) won't be with them in 10 years from now and the aim of the letter is to alter 'present Naho's' future (we'll call 16 year old Naho 'present Naho') because she has so many regrets, mainly Kakeru dying. Because only two chapters have been released in English so far, we don't know much about the plot, but what we do know is that Kakeru dies when he is 17 (keep in mind that they are 16 at the start, so we have a time frame for the plot) and that he dies in an accident. We also know that there was a promise between Kakeru and Naho, although we don't know what that is...yet. Also, In the future Naho is assumedly married to Sawo (friend from school who is also one of the main characters) and has a daughter with him. I think the tragedy with this one isn't so much just the death of Kakeru, but the choice she has to make to save him or her future daughter, because if she saves Kakeru, it can be assumed that Naho won't marry Sawo. The real clinger is that she doesnt know about her future life as such (doesn't know she has a family and such). But the way Kakeru died and her feelings for him must be something special if she is willing to sacrifice the life 'future Naho' has in order to change her past. So yeah, it's any interesting one and I'm looking foward to see how it progresses. It's a lot to get your head around, but anyone who hasn't read it and is interested, please do so, you won't regret it.

Also, I have finished watching Earl and Fairy anime. My assumption was right, it was much more enjoyable than the manga, so if you by chance have read the manga and liked it, then you will definitely love the anime. I feel that the anime shows the development of the relationship between the characters better, not just the main characters, but other supporting characters. I felt this was lacking in the manga, especially with Raven, because let's be honest, everyone would have died if he wasn't there to kick butt.

Lastly before I go, my footy team lost!! First time this year, but the swans lost, so I am disappointed. It was the only tip I got wrong as well, so they really let me down this week, but I am going to watch them play this weekend, so they better put on a bloody good show. Also, in regards to my footytips, I am sitting equal 3rd at the moment, lurking, ready to pounce on the two that are ahead of me :)

Anyways, that is all for now, talk to you all again soon :)

Isn't something missing...

Pun totally intended. Anyways, the series 'Missing' premiered here tonight, it is currently airing as I am posting this and I have found many issues with it already. Firstly, the plot is strangely similar to that of the film 'Taken' which stars Liam Neeson. So my tip is that the son was kidnapped and sold off to an underground prostitution ring. Although that probably won't happen, but I'd bet anything that it would be a similar outcome. Secondly, THE PLOTHOLES!! Nothing makes me more angry than plotholes. There is no way a woman can beat up a former Italian Intelligence agent while wearing mum clothes without the assistance of a weapon. There is no way that you can asphyxiate someone to death so quickly. There is no way that hit men have such horrible aim that they can't hit a single target. There is no way a Vespa can out 'bike' two off road bikes. And the 10 years later and she didn't even age one minute. Overall, I don't think I will be watching it again in the near future, at least not at my own will. 

Moving on from my rage, I have started watching the anime I bought the other day "Earl and Fairy" also known as "Hakushaku to Yosei". Here is a summary of the overall plot:

The story, set in Victorian England, follows the adventures of 17-year old Lydia Carlton, nicknamed the "Fairy Doctor" due to her interest and understanding of fairies. Her life takes a 180-degree turn when she meets Edgar J.C Ashenbert, the "Legendary Blue Knight Count" and his crew on a sea voyage to London. Edgar hires her as an advisor during his quest to obtain a treasured sword that was supposed to be handed down to him by his family.

For anyone who hasn't read it, I will further elaborate. Edgar is actually a serial murderer who escaped death row by switching bodies and now he is trying to get the sword so he can create an identity he finds worthy. Also there is a 'fairy cat' called Nico and he is my favorite character, mainly because I love cats, but he also ads humor to the story, which i find important. The anime is surprisingly good, better than the manga in my opinion, which is unusual, because I like the original text better in most cases, but the high quality of the art, the music and the end credits really win me over. Yes the end credits. I will now explain this...

The end credits is everyone sleeping, but they are all nekked. Don't worry you don't see any bits for those who are sensitive to censorship. But anyways, I have this thing called a 'naked harem'. Basically, the requirements to join this harem are simply that a manga or anime character is a bishounen (pretty boy)  and nude for a short period of time. And with manga and anime you never see anything because of censorship, so it's not like I am offending anyone. Anyway, here are some examples.

 

The above images are from 'Bijo Juku' and 'Barajou no kiss' respectively.

On a side-note, seems like a lot of scanlation groups have been working hard to bring me chapters of my favorite ongoing series. These include Dengeki Daisy, Faster than a Kiss, Kaichou wa Maid-sama etc. So I have some reading to catch up on while i recover from my battle with the sniffles, which is a result of me doing too much Uni work, i think.

Anyways, that's about all for now, hopefully I update soon and by then, i won't be sniffling anymore :)

I'm back!!

Not that I really went anywhere, I have just been ridiculously busy. It's that time of semester where all your subjects decide to give you a shit heap of assessments all due at the same time, so I have been busy doing research...maybe doing a double degree was my greatest choice. 

But other than Uni, it's still a busy time. I mean, I am actually working at the moment, which is unusual because for the last 6 months I have been lazy only working 4 hours a week. The money is rolling in, but that is because I got a tip, which is rare. Also got a second job, so I have busy sorting out paperwork.

In terms of the minimal social life I have, it has been interesting. Today, I went to the CBD for little nerd rage. It was a success, got some manga and anime and I hope to check it out once I finish my Uni work, which will be in about a week. I bought some manga by Yuu Watase, I can't remember what it is called, but I like her other works, so it should be good. I also bought 'Earl and Fairy'. I have read the manga of this and thought it was a decent read, so here's hoping the anime is just as good. If I remember correctly, the manga starts off with a murder, so I'm sure it good.

That's it for now, hopefully I will have another update soon, maybe when I have a bit more time.

One Small Step for Me! =D

Alrighty, my very first blog post! How exciting! Well, I guess I should start with a bit of an intro. The about me section is just a little some to break the ice and hopefully get a few cheap laughs, but I guess I should talk a bit about my self in real life =D.

Well, firstly, I am a university student. Not only that, but I am doing a double degree, which is a cool thing to say because it makes me sound smart when I'm actually not. I love sport. Living in Melbourne, I obviously love AFL, but I also love many other sports, in particular tennis and motorsport, but please don't ask me about cars as such, I don't know anything about them ^-^. 

I love television, especially shows such as The Inbetweeners (yes, I know, original) and I am particularly fond of comedy animation, including such classics like The Simpsons and South Park. 

I also like to read...a lot. I like to read books, but not pop culture books such as twilight and hunger games. I find that I enjoy classic literature more, Like Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Edgar Allen Poe.

I am a massive follower of Anime and Manga. I mainly read Shoujo and and Josei, which for those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, it basically means stuff that is aimed at girls, so everything is so sweet it gives you a toothache. In saying this, I have watched the classics such as Pokemon and Dragonball Z, I mean, I grew up with that stuff. I will admit right now that I am a massive nerd when it comes to this stuff.

I love my cats, I have two black cats, so i am not very superstitious, in fact, I consider Friday the 13th to be lucky days for me.

So, with this blog, I will talk about my day to day life in the off chance that something out of the ordinary happens (like I see a unicorn or something) but more than anything else, I would like to branch out to people who have similar interests to me, so more often than not, I will probably be posting and summarizing about stuff i have seen, did or read and offer my insight on it, so, if I am talking about something and you have no clue what I am talking about, then that's ok, because my interests are unique :),

So I think that should just about do it. Any questions you have for me, feel free to ask on the message board and I will try to answer. Also, if you like what you have seen so far, feel free to follow me on twitter @himexcherry

Thank You :)