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 :)

Rage and random stuffs

Ok, so to start off with, I am going to go on a bit of a rant...It has come to my attention on my newsfeed that there were quite a few expectant mothers in my facebook friends list. Firstly, I must say that the ratio is kind of shocking, because I'm only 20 myself, so 90% of people on my facebook are around that age, but I say facebook friends, because other than facebook, I don't really talk to them. That's all well and good, but seriously, guys! I do not need a play by play update on how your childbirth is going...Frankly, as long as they are not struck by some tragedy or what not, I really don't care, but I'm pretty sure at that point in your life you have more pressing issues to deal with than updating your Facebook status! Especially considering nowadays a lot of people have strangers as friends through social networking, so it's really not the kind of information I want to be seen by someone I barely know or have never even met. It's only logical. Rant end!

Moving on, to be honest, I could rant about this topic forever, so I thought it would be best to move on...In terms of reading things, I haven't really read anything overly significant, just a few short series here and there. One such series being 'Bird of Youth'. I am actually kind of disappointed in this series, as I feel that the plot as kind of sidetracked into a different tangent and I can't see it reverting to the main plot point anytime soon.

On a side note, as mentioned a few months ago, I am helping with some typesetting for a scanlation group, and my most recent project is WTF! It's called Kimi to Kemono na Yume o Miru and it is a series of oneshots by Ayukawa Mio. It is farely out there, very smutty! I have so far done the first two stories and it seems that the female characters tend to be sadists. It is probably the most bizarre thing I have read in a while, so watch out for that one being released in the near future!

Anyways, thats about it for now, until next time :)

Sekai de Ichiban Utsukushii Namae

Ok, so I can safely say that I am definitely in the wrong industry in terms of employment. I can confidently say that I don't like people. It's not a personality issue, like I don't suffer from social anxiety or anything, but I feel that some people are just so dumb and do such stupid things that I wonder if some of us are even of the same species. 

Been rather busy lately, with work and social life and what not. Me and a friend spent the night drinking Tsing Tao and  watching dvd's which was a lot of fun, more money efficeint than going to a niteclub. Also, if we did choose to go clubbing which was the original plan, we would not have got there until 2am, so it almost wouldn't be worth it.

(Hibari and the Spirit above)

Other than that there really isn't a lot to talk about. I read  a cute one shot by Toyota Yuu, Sekai de Ichiban Utsukushii Namae which translates to 'The most beautiful name in the world'. I usually don't like to read one shots because they are only one chapter long, so I find that there is no character development, just a very short story, but I really enjoyed it. It's about Hibari, a daughter of a family who finds her a disgrace for repeatedly being rejected for marriage with eligable bachelors. Hibari is subsequently locked in the family warehouse as punishment, where she stumbles upon a Japanese-English dictionary where the spirit of a young man lives. Opening the dictionary releases the spirit who decides to teach Hibari English as a means to kill time and to help her family. The spirit develops feelings for Hibari despite knowing that he can never make her happy. One day, Hibari meets William, a man from England who is trading goods with Japanese merchants. As a result of now being able to speak both languages, Hibari grows close and develops feelings for William while acting as his interpreter. Her father discovers this, and locks her in the warehouse again for being a disgrace. A letter is delivered to the warehouse from William, and Hibari asks the spirit to read it. At first he does not read out the letter but makes it up, but when he realizes that he can never have Hibari, he leads her to the dock where William's ship is departing. The spirit then returns to his original paper/dictionary form except for one page, which Hibari frames as a part of a shrine when she starts her new life with William in England

So, as i said I thought it was rather cute. I felt a lot happened in the space of 40 pages. Anyways, that's about it for now, until next time :) 

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 :)

Sensei! and stuffs

Oh god, I don't know what to do now that I have so much time on my hands. I have more time than I feel I need. Ah. I seriously don't know what to do. Especially this week seeing as I only have work on  the weekend. 

Anyways, Moving on, I have read Sensei by Kawahara Kazune, it is complete in Japan with 20 volumes and 13 and a half volumes have currently been scanlated into English on a fairly regular basis recently. It is quite an old series, starting in 1996, so it has been around for quite a while.

So the story is about Hibiki Shimada, a second year high school student who has never really liked anyone before. She admires her teacher, Itou-sensei, and soon realizes that she has developed feelings for him. She confesses her love for him, but he dismisses her confession because she is a student and he is a teacher. Shimada continues to take interest Itou. Meanwhile her friends, Kousuke and Chi-chan have their own love interest, Kousuke with Nakajima-sensei and Chi-Chan with Sekiya-sensei. Chi-chan shortly after loses interest in her love interest and moves on when she realizes that he likes Nakajima. Nakajima in the meanwhile, likes Itou (It's like a love hexagon).

Soon after, Shimada finally gets Itou to return her feelings and they start a secret relationship. Kousuke in the meanwhile 'attacks' Nakajima and as a result gets suspended from school. Shimada begins to doubt Itou when his ex girlfriend comes to their school as a student teacher. The ex, Misaki, tries to take back Itou, claiming that she still loves him. She goes to his apartment, and he lets her stay the night while he sleeps in his car. When Shimada finds out that Misaki spent the night in his apartment, she breaks up with Itou without hearing the whole story.

After this, Shimada decides that she wants to start following the trends of regular teenage girls, such as wearing make up and going on group dates. After a brief relationship with some random guy, Shimada realizes that she only will ever love Itou and the two begin to date again at the beginning of the new school year.

At the start of the school year, Kousuke is the captain of the archery club, with Shimada as vice captain. A new first year student, Nagisa joins the archery club and Chi-chan develops feelings for him. Nagisa takes interest in Shimada and threatens to expose her relationship with Itou if she doesn't go out with him. The incident sorts itself out when Chi-chan takes charge and literally beats sense into Nagisa. This results in the two of them later dating.

The story then kind of drifts along, until Kousuke's ex meets him again through cram school. She still has feelings for him, but he is not interested in pursuing a relationship with her. This leads to a massive misunderstanding between Kousuke and Nakajima, which results in Nakajima revealing that she is willing to wait for Kousuke until he graduates and grows up a little more and if he still feels the same, then something might happen.

Anyway, that's pretty much all there is at the moment. A lot of the story deals with teenagers coming-of-age, what makes and 'adult' and a 'child', and the issues surrounding a student-teacher relationship. Next time, I will talk about Love SOS, which is a manhwa series. Until next time :)

Back Again :)

Oh hey, I'm back for the most part anyway. I still have one exam to go, but that won't take as much time as the others because well, I don't have two exams in two days, god that was a nightmare, if that happens again in the next few years, shit will go down!

In other stuffs, working over the last little while I have encountered a new regular at work...not the good kind. They are forever known as the Dragon Lady and quite frankly they scare me. Not just them, but customers seem to think that I make prices to torture people. Sigh I just can't be bothered to deal with some people's issues.

Anyways that's about it for now, next time I'll talk about Sensei! by Kawahara Kazune, kind of old school, but watch this space! Until next time