Evening Quickie

Ok, so just a very quick update (if you misinterpreted the heading, then you sir, have a dirty mind). I just don't want people to think I have fallen from the face of the Earth.

In reality,  I have been isolated in my cave studying for accounting and I am so screwed. Night before the exam and I still don't get it. Let's just hope I get that 40% minimum pass. But as of tomorrow night, after a long catch up sleep, my undivided attention will be once again directed at the internet, so expect a super long update. You have been warned!! 

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

Weekends aren't for studying

I really hate accounting! Like with a passion, because I won't need it in the future because I have no desire to ever be an accountant. I don't understand why I have to do this accounting exam, especially when I have to spend my weekends studying. Oh I hate accounting! 3 more days until the suffering ends!

Also, thanks to a bunch of old men at the bar I work at, my bar/work name is now 'Dominica'. I have somehow been given a persona simply for working. How does this even happen. Whenever I leave for work now it is 'bye Dominica, see you later'. I am pretty sure I could be on my way to split personalities. Maybe I can use it as my stage name, Although I don't know why I need a stage name. Maybe I shall pen a book and write it under the name 'Dominica'? Watch this space maybe?

Also, I am very glad that my swannies didn't embarrass themselves by nearly losing after having a 48 point lead. I am annoyed at the number of Essendon supporters who 'blame the umpires' for their 4 point loss, but when you have more scoring shots than your opponent and you lose, then it is their own team's fault for their crap goal kicking. Honestly, with 2 goals and 15 behinds to 3 quarter time, then frankly, there is no-one else to blame but yourselves, so quit it.

Alright, so moving on, I have been reading Cinderella Fella by Kim Hee-Kyoung, which is a Manhwa series, Complete in Korean at 6 volumes and still ongoing in English scanlations, with scanlations currently at the first chapter of volume 6. As you can probably assume by the name, the story is a modern day adaption of the classic fairytale of Cinderella with a few changes. The male lead, Gyu Yun is the son and the heir of a womanizing company president who is the urge to clean anything he finds dirty. He is also the school council president and top ranked academically. His stepmother wants nothing more than to ensure that either of her two daughters succeed the company and will do anything to get rid of any obstacles. Gyu Yun meets and develops feelings for an interesting girl with an IQ of 180 who also has unkempt hair which Gyu Yun can't look away (he wants to fix her messy hair!!), who is actually quite pretty with her hair done (not in messy braids) and without her glasses. The plot thickens when Gyu Yun is told that he has a fiance (arranged of course) who wants nothing more than money and status and his stepmother takes things to a whole new level of evil when she plots the murder of Deb (Ruci's mother, Ruci is an illegitimate child of the company president) and the attempted murder of Gyu Yun himself. How will this all end? I will like to know too, but I can't read Korean, so I guess I will have to wait for the scanlations like the rest of us. The art is different from standard shoujo manga/manhwa but it is by no means bad, it is actually quite good artwork. Anyway, as I said, it is a modern day adaption of Cinderella with some changes, but if anyone who likes Cinderella should enjoy this spin-off.

I have also read Kimi Shika Iranai by Yoshizumi Wataru, which is a short series, completely scanlated at 2 volumes. As per usual the art is the standard I have come to expect from Yoshizumi Wataru, so for those who like the mangaka's art, then you should enjoy this one. The story is about the developing friendship and romance between the two leads Atsumu and Akane and the struggles they face due to Akane's relationship history. Despite being 16 years old, Akane is already a divorcee. If that's not enough, at the beginning of the series, Akane is still in love with her now ex-husband, Kyou and only got divorced because of their different beliefs on extra-marital affairs (Kyou didn't see it as a big deal) as the series progresses, Akane begins to develop feelings for Atsumu until Kyou needs to be transferred to 'A doctorless town in A prefecture' and Akane decides she will go with him. It is only when Kyou's transfer is cancelled that Akane realizes she only would have went with Kyou out of sympathy and now she really does love Atsumu. The series ends with a scene six moths into the future when Akane and Atsumu sneak away from an 'ohanami ai' (flower veiwing) where they share a kiss. The end. To be honest, it wasn't my cup of tea. Mainly because all of the characters by this mangaka seem to have some ridiculous complexes. I remember reading Datte suki nan Damon and the male lead in that was only every interested in women with boyfriends already and claimed he could never love for real. Same case here, with Akane finding it difficult to love after her divorce, which I understand would be difficult, but it's just that it feels like I have read this before with Datte suki nan Damon, but with the genders reversed.

I am still watching NANA, I am currently about half way through the anime, and it is deffinately inspiring me to attempt to read the manga again. Future readings are slim pickings at the moment, with my random number generator selecting the corresponding numbers of manga series that are only a handful of scanlated chapters, thus making it hard to offer an opinion on the series (this is why I don't read oneshots).

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

I Nearly have my Free time back!

YES! Another exam is over and done with and now I only have one more to go! Words can not describe my happiness that by next week, I will no longer have to do accounting. So what am I doing to celebrate? Working! But enough of the boring stuff.

I have finished reading quicker than anticipated, which is another bonus!! I have finished Arata Kangatari by Yuu Watase and as I said previously, despite it being a shounen series, I absolutely love it! I had kind of given up reading shounen series, but now I might be willing to start reading them again. For the record, the only other Shounen series that I am currently reading is Magico. I guess I liked Arata Kangatari because it does hold resemblance to many of Yuu Watase's other works despite being aimed at a different demographic. I like the sci-fi and supernatural themes as well as the art, although different from shoujo style, which usually has a lot more toning and definition in the features of the characters and such, it is still very eye catching. I guess because the style is something that I enjoy, it even attracts the female audiences. I also like the action scenes when there is all out fighting, which sounds violent, but the way it is done is suspenseful. It also addresses many issues that are relevant in today's society, the most obvious being bullying, which is highlighted particularly in the first ten chapter. Anyways, I plan to read this series now whenever it is updates  (added to my favourites >.<) and look forward to reading more of it in the future. It's just so good!

I have also finished reading Gokinjo Monogatari by Ai Yazawa, and it was so good! I like how the main characters from "I'm not an angel" made a little cameo appearance and I am looking forward to reading the sort of sequel 'Paradise Kiss'. Oh I loved the fashion context of the series, I do quite like my fashion, so I absolutely worshiped all the cute outfits the characters wore (I wish I had those outfits). I like how it was nicely summed up. The initial story is left quite open ending with an image of Tsutomu and Haruhiko at the airport, but the extra chapter was a nice summary of how the characters ended up in their journey through life. Oh my, the only negative I have about it is that I wish it were longer, although in saying that, i felt that the story was thoroughly planned from page one and it didn't rattle on or fall into the trap of cliche`s like other series which have exceeded the best before date. Anyway, I could just go on and on about how awesome the series was. Just a warning, anyone who hasn't read it and is planning to, you may find the female lead Mikako a bit annoying, she is very dependent and can do little on her own when making life choices. Thankfully though, this is addressed towards the latter half of the series. So yeah, get on it guys.


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

Winter Nights

Are damn cold!! I am in a state of torment as to whether or not it would be socially acceptable if I took my blankets with me just so I can say warm. What can I say, I am not made for the cold. Oh well, the hot chilli sauce in my cupboard keeps me warm through its sheer spiciness.

Anyway, I went bowling with a couple of friends tonight. Unfortunately, I didn't win either game, came second in both games :( but it was a memorable night for many reasons. Firstly, when I got there, my friend kind of broke the window of my car and now it wont wind up. My solution to this was to use my umbrella cover the open window so people don't break into the car and to keep out the cold and tie the umbrella handle to the steering wheel using headphones so no-one stole my umbrella because it was my good umbrella. Anyway, I took a photo of the situation because this could only happen to me:

not the best photo but it was night time so what do you expect? As I previously said, I came second in both games. I took a photo of the scoreboard for one of the games and edited it slightly for privacy purposes

   I only lost by four points! And yes, the score is correct 'Friend 1' really only did get 13, and we cheered whenever they hit the pins.

At the moment, along with watching NANA, I am simultaneously reading two series: Arata Kangatari by Yuu Watase, which is ongoing at 15 volumes and Gokinjo Monogatari by Ai Yazawa, which is complete at 6 volumes. So two series by two very well known and respected Mangakas and thus far I am enjoying them both. I am actually surprised how much I am enjoying Arata Kangatari because it is a shounen series, which I rarely read, but that is never a bad thing I must say. I hope to have finished both series within the week if my schedule allows it.

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

Oh, Hey There!

I feel like I kind of neglected my blog for a few days because life has been rather busy! But that's is good, it means there is a lot to talk about :)

All I can say is that I am so, so happy that I have completed one of my university exams. Just a shame that I still have another two to go :(. But I feel that I did well, I am very proud of the fact that I got to use the metaphor 'Some people are hermits', lets just hope it all turns out well :)

I was fortunate enough to go on a rampage in the city on Friday, which means I got some more manga and anime. I even got to make some onigiri, here is how it turned out

Pretty good for a first attempt if I do say so myself. Anyway, I bought the last two volumes of Chiyou yo, Hana yo (Butterflies, Flowes) by Yuki Yoshihara, mainly because I love her work and the last two volumes won't be scanlated because they are licensed. I am so happy to say I now own a Yuki Yoshihara manga, I love it so much, and this one is no different. I love the comedy and the pervertedness of her series, I always have to expect the unexpected. I won't say too much about this series, I have already posted a comprehensive summary of the last 10 chapters from my mangafox account, so click >>HERE<< if you want to read my spoilers for Chiyou yo, Hana yo.

I also bought the anime for NANA. I have only watched the first three episodes so far but I am so far enjoying it. I had a hard time reading the manga and gave up because the undertones were quite heavy and I just found it too depressing, but considering how great everyone says it is, I hope the anime will enlighten me so I can re-attempt to read the manga. Yes I have succumbed to peer pressure, what of it? I think I will have a lot more to say about NANA in the near future.

As I said in my previous post, I did read Crazy Girl Shin Bia and I have to say I absolutely loved it. I quite like historical series, and I liked how this was set in an alternate reality that was a reflection of history. The story begins with Shin Bia, an orpahned school girl who is the Jjang of her current school. She is targeted by a rich kid, who tries to get his cronies to attack and rape her. At the same time in an alternate reality, Celestial Bia predicts her death is near, and says that there is a way to make Ju prosperous without her, that is to transfer the other Bia to the world where Ju is. Back to the real world, Shin Bia jumps out the window to a certain death to avoid the rape scenario, which at that same time, Celestial Bia jumps off a cliff in her world to allow Shin Bia to take over the life of Celestial Bia. Trouble ensures, with Shin Bia having no clue of palace rituals, as Celestial Bia is engaged to the future emporor Yoo Baek, who Shin Bia dislikes. There is also Yiu Hoo, Yoo Baek's half brother and Mo Yeung, the hostage prince of Ah Jin who plots to take over Ju, who both love Bia as well. Most of the story is based on the relationships Shin Bia develops in Ju and the journey she goes through to become stonger than the original Shin Bia and lead Ju to ultimate victory over Ah Jin. To fill you in, Over the story, Shin Bia and Yoo Baek fall in love with each other, Bia's maid, Ka Yeon is a spy from Ah Jin working for Prince Mo Yeung who she loves, Bia tries to escape to her original world and has secret rendezvous with Mo Yeung to do so, Yiu Hoo's mother does everything she can to kill Yoo Baek and Bia to make Yiu Hoo the emporor, Some princess (don't remember her name) comes to try and break up Yoo Baek and Bia, Bia gains the powers of the original Bia and then some, Ka Yeon tries to kill Bia, but almost kills Yoo Baek instead, Bia is blamed for it and nearly killed, Yoo Baek uses his last bit of life to clear her name, he dies but Bia revives him with her power, Everyone finds out that Bia is not the Celestial Bia, causing a fight between Yoo Baek and Bia, When Yoo Baek realizes he loves the new Bia instead of the old one, Bia gets kidnapped by Mo Yeung, War breaks out between Ju and Ah Jin, Mo Yeung's betrayals are revealed and becomes obsessive with Bia, Yoo Baek gets imprisoned by Ah Jin when trying to rescue Bia, Ju defeats Ah Jin, Yoo Baek and Mo Yeung have a battle to the death, Yoo Baek wins, Mo Yeung is still alive and forces Bia's sword saying that only Bia may take his life, Ka Yeon poisons herself to die with Mo Yeung, Yoo Baek is crowned emporor and Yoo Baek and Bia marry and as a result Ju becomes the most prosperous nation in the past 1000 years. There is a 60 page epilogue set  a year after Yoo Baek and Bia get married and it is about how Bia wants to explore more but Yoo Baek wont allow it and how Princess whats-her name wants to marry Yiu Hoo. The epilogue ends with Bia and Yoo Baek travelling the world together and princess whats her name and Yiu Hoo getting married. There! 19 Volumes of manhwa condensed into 1 paragraph. Sorry if it doesn't make sense lol.

Moving on, my footytips are done and dusted for the year, after another shocking round where the teams that should have lost didn't. I have to say, very happy with my Swannies, 92 point winners, that's one good thing to come out of this round :)

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

You can tell I'm on Break

There will be a lot of talking about cars and driving today! Don’t worry, I know nothing about cars either, this is just about car related incidents! Lately, my dad and I have been sharing a car. It kind of gets annoying because when he needs it to go to work, it means that I am stranded in the house for the day, which can get rather boring at times. I mean, does anyone have one of those days where you want to do something but can’t? I seem to have those, and it is always when I don’t have a car. Anyways, moving on, I think my dad deliberately drives the car just enough so the fuel light doesn’t come on, so when I use it, less than 5 minutes after starting the car, I have to pull into a petrol station because there is no petrol left. I swear this happens every time. Then once I am done, he drives the car and the cycle repeats itself. My bank account is in pain because of this. 

 

Still on cars, I was driving home today, when suddenly some man starts beeping his horn, indicating that he wants to overtake me. I don’t have an issue with people overtaking me, because I laugh at them knowing that eventually they will get done for speeding, but this guy wanted to overtake me on a one lane each way street. Needless to say, because it is only one lane, it is highly illegal, and when the man was overtaking me, he looked over and made some obscene gestures at me to make me look like a bad driver. I will re-iterate that I was going the speed limit. To make this guy more of an a-hole, this happened during school hour’s school zone. Obviously, he was in such a hurry that the safety of primary school children is less important than getting home. Honestly, and I know this is harsh, but if people like that crash their cars, I don’t have any sympathy for them because they way they drive endangering others just so they can get home 30 seconds faster, then they deserves some form of punishment.

 

Okay, enough ranting and moving on. I have read Goshimei Desu by Shinjo Mayu. It is a nice little 3 chapter story and may I say, it is refreshing from her previous serializations. The male lead Kiriya/Yamada doesn’t attempt to sexually assault anyone! And the female lead, Miharu actually has some guts to stand up for what she believes in. This was the one I was waiting for and it’s kind of sad that it only is three chapters. The story is both funny, yet serious. It is about Yamada, who moved to Tokyo and started working at a host club under the name Kiriya. One day, he is going on a work related date, only to be meeting a child who claims that he is the father of. The mother runs of with no trace of her to be found and trouble endures when Miharu surprises them with a visit from Nagasaki. Anyway, it is a light-hearted insight on a very serious issue and all in all a quite enjoyable read.

 

I also read Datte Suki nan Damon by Yoshizumi Wataru (Marmalade Boy). I quite like the mangaka’s work, as a lot of it takes a different approach to the typical shoujo relationships and this one is no exception. A short series at 2 volumes complete, the majority of the series is focused on the relationship between Moka and Yoshi and how Yoshi begins to overcome his ‘disease’ of only liking girls who have boyfriends and losing interest once they are single again. The characters are very standard, by that I mean that they aren’t as memorable as other series that I have read. The art is amazing, as usually is the case with this mangaka and a nice short read for anyone who may be interested.

 

I also went and watched The Dictator starring Sacha Baron Cohen and Anna Faris. Despite the controversy his films seem to create, I am quite a fan of Sacha Baron Cohen’s work. Doing a degree in Media Studies, I have learnt that his ability to create characters and turn the characters into celebrities to some degree in their own right (the actual term is ‘celeactors’). He is like the Barry Humphries of gen Y (for those of you who don’t know, Barry Humphries creates Dame Edna and many other characters). The comedy in the film is very slapstick and I overall like how the film turned a major issue in current society and put the comedic spin on it.

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

What Happens When I Have Free Time

Hello again! I wish that I could jump forward in time. Not too far, just far enough so I would have already completed my exams. Oh, how I hate exams. Due to my timetable, I am able to dedicate two hours a day of study, which in my opinion is two hours longer than what I find ideal.

I finally got a chance to watch Aladdin and the King of Thieves yesterday. I love the old school Disney movies, not so much the straight video films, but  I have this one  a shot, and I am glad I did, because I got to hear one of the best innuendo lines in Disney history thanks to the Genie “I thought the earth wasn’t meant to move until the honeymoon”. Watching many Disney classics, I have found that throughout history, they have endorsed different values. Sleeping beauty is an example. Although it would have been the norm when it was made to get married and have kids as early as possible, nowadays, it’s completely different. Watch it and you’ll see what I mean.

Anyways, moving on! I have read Ubukawa Hajimete no Kare. It is complete in Japanese with 5 volumes, however only 5 chapters have been scanlated into English thus far. What can I say about it? The first chapter is very standard. We are interested to the main characters and the plot line. There are quite a few characters because it is a harem. It also uses the standard parents remarrying so Uri now has three brothers, who all happen to be bishounens and who all seem interested in her one way or another. But I found it frustrating to read, maybe because the main girl, Uri, changes crushes like one would change underwear. 5 chapters in, she has almost been raped twice by two different people, and has had two different crushes (the same people who tried to rape her) because she is too innocent and places way to much trust in people. Even though every her stepbrothers and best friend repeatedly warn her that boys in puberty will do stupid things regardless of how girls feel. It is pretty full on, so I think this is definitely more for mature readers, although it is currently a project of midnight scans, which focuses more on the mature serializations. Anyway I think if it had to come down to one guy Uri would end up with, my money is on Ryuu, because he is the first to kiss her (he has not attempted to rape her…yet) and in many shoujo mangas, the guy to kiss the girl first usually ends up together. 

I also read a nice one shot, even though I hate one shots, Oresama Kiss by Nagae Tomomi. Even though the status is ongoing, I have the feeling that is only a one shot. It’s pretty standard plot. Same scenario as before, the girl, Kana and the guy, Ryuo (very popular name in mangas) become step siblings through their parent’s remarriage. Kana finds out that her new brother is now the brother of is ‘unrequited love’, which she immediately assumes to be her sister, Hina because they go to the same university. Anyway, the plot unfolds and Kana gets upset when Hina takes Ryou to a wedding boutique in place of her fiancé` because he cancelled at the last minute and seems to be avoiding her. Kana becomes upset at her sister’s selfishness for making Ryou do something so painful. As Hina leaves to meet her fiancé` a psycho chick with a knife comes in trying to hurt Hina (the psycho chick is a stalker of her fiancé`). The fiancé` rushes in and explains everything. All seems well and good and then Ryou says that Hina isn’t his ‘unrequited love’ but its kana, and then they kiss and the end. As I said, pretty standard, had a bit of everything. Any, it’s a more condensed, laid back version of I’ll still love you tomorrow.

On the manga forums, I found the best quote in someone’s signature. Anyone who has read Shinjo Mayu’s work would understand. Although I enjoy her work, I find this rings true –

"Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get."...unless you’re the main girl in a Shinjo Mayu manga. Then you will most definitely have an overly possessive boyfriend and will be sexually harassed and forcibly groped multiple times.

This is mainly true, except I had to add something to this “who also has a cat fetish”. I don’t know if it just me, but I find that true. I mean I find this the case in ‘Love Celeb’ and Haou Airen’ and to a lesser extent her other series. But regardless, I had a good laugh about it.

I’ve also read the scanlated chapters of Advent of Snow White of the Hell by Hwang Mi-Ri. See, this is what happens when I get too much free time! Anyway, I have to say I am loving it thus far. It is different from Hwang Mi-Ri’s other works. It’s not set in high school setting, it isn’t primarily about gang wars and the lead guy doesn’t seem to have anger management issues. The Female lead, whose name literally means ‘Happy Snow White’ is unbelievably stupid to the point of annoying, but other than that the characters are likeable. The story is set predominately in hell, after Snow White (Can’t remember her Korean name) travels to hell to save her father’s soul. Of course, there are demons, even the main guy, Taesan is one of the stongest demons in hell. I quite like how it isn’t the traditional view of fire and burning that hell is normally depicted as. I mean, when we are first taken to hell, we are taken to a place known as Aguido, which looks like a small country village from a couple of centuries ago. I am having a lot of fun with this one so far. It seems that the series is complete at 10 Volumes (short for a Hwang Mi-Ri series) so it looks like I have a lot to look forward to in this one, provided that they ever scanlate it.

Finally, (this is turning out to be an essay) I thought I would briefly mention some movies that I have recorded to my Foxtel which I plan to view once my exams are over. Most of them are Japanese and tragedies in one. The movies that I have recorded include Ichi, 20^th Century Boys 1, 2 & 3 (the complete trilogy), Goemon and for some reason I have the 1996 version of Romeo + Juliet, you know the one with Leonardo DiCaprio. I watched the first 10 minutes of Romeo + Juliet today, and was pissing myself laughing. I reckon the gun fight at the gas station is the best start to a movie. Unfortunately, from memory, that was as good as it gets (I watched it like 7 years ago, so I can’t remember the rest of it).

Ah, finally done. Sorry for the essay! Anyways, that’s all for now, until next time :)