tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75735538958383830742024-03-05T10:36:00.161-08:00Everything Between Heaven and HellOopshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01371005012221336725noreply@blogger.comBlogger117125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7573553895838383074.post-14269047526129251112017-01-12T12:03:00.001-08:002017-01-14T11:30:34.500-08:00Rogue One ReactionJust a small little note on what I thought about Rogue One.<br />
<br />
I was very unsure about whether to actually watch it.<br />
I wanted to see the story and the characters and everything, but I heard it was a war movie and I'm a bit sensitive about violence. And - considering we know what happens afterwards - I was fairly sure at least some of the main characters would die. Probably my favourites.<br />
So I was postponing watching it and read peoples' reactions and asked their opinions. In the end I was really glad that I've been well spoilered before I went to see it, so I was prepared to deal with what would happen.<br />
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The following part will contain SPOILERs. You've been warned.<br />
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<br />
Aspects I liked:<br />
<ul>
<li> The characters! As in The Force Awakens, I really liked many of the characters. When I got out of the movie, I wanted to watch it again - just to spend more time with some of the characters.<br />Chirrut Îmwe and Baze Malbus are already legendary and I really hope they get their own spin-off media (comics, for example). K-2SO is great and I liked Bodhi Rook more than I'd have thought. I really, really hope we'll see these characters in the Star Wars universe again in some form.</li>
<li>Hera lives! Chopper lives! As a fan of <a href="http://everythingbetweenheavenandhell.blogspot.de/2016/01/review-star-wars-rebels.html" target="_blank">Star Wars Rebels</a>, I was of course looking forward to the hints about the Ghost crew. And Hera was promoted to General - you go, girl! (I really hope that they survived the battle of Scarif.)</li>
<li>Thank you for not having Cassian and Jyn kiss. In one scene it almost looked like they would, but thankfully they didn't. I think their relationship is just perfect; also considering what they went through together.<br />I'm really glad that Star Wars has the guts to show strong women without needing to put them in a romantic relationship (unlike what the Hobbit did to Tauriel).</li>
<li>I really liked how the movie didn't look like a 70s movie, but still contained the look of the original trilogy.</li>
<li>The settings were beautiful and creative. No desert planet this time. </li>
<li>The idea with the Hammerhead Corvette ramming into the Star Destroyer was genious. The guy should have gotten more recognition for that idea (can't even remember his name). Good ideas win battles!</li>
<li>Leia - that was the moment when I actually got a little tear in my eyes. Carrie Fisher had just died when I watched Rogue One and seeing Leia was emotional. It was also just the right amount of screentime for a cameo and a digital re-creation.</li>
</ul>
The level of violence was - bearable. More than I would have liked, but not as bad as I feared.<br />
I was also critical about how "heroic" the deaths were going to be portrayed. I'm not particularly fond of the American "war hero" ideal. But it was OK.<br />
<br />
Aspects I didn't like so much:<br />
<ul>
<li>Unfortunately, Cassian Andor did not have a Spanish accent in the German version of the movie. </li>
<li>Star Wars really hates its mothers, doesn't it? Did we really have to kill off Jyn Ersos mother first thing of all and in such a useless way?</li>
<li>Bail Organa and Mon Mothma were really bland. I understand that Jyn Erso had to have her big speech, but in that situation the leaders of the rebellion should have been... well, leaders.</li>
<li>And the Rebellion gives up just like that. "Death Star - ok, we quit"? I can't imagine it's that easy and fast to abandon a cause and disband a rebellion.</li>
<li>I really didn't understand the motivation of some of the main characters to go on that last mission, especially Chirrut Îmwe, Baze Malbus and Bodhi Rook. These three were not part of the Rebellion and it was never explained why they went on that obviously deadly mission, they just kind of tagged along like it was the most natural thing to do. Maybe they felt like they had to stop the Death Star - but it was never mentioned or explained.</li>
<li>Tarkin. I think it was unnecessary to have him have such a big role. Yeah, he must be mentioned since he commands the Death Star in Episode IV and a little cameo would have been fine, but he had a lot of screentime and I thought the digital version was a little creepy (not in the good way).</li>
<li>Speaking of unnecessary: what was that scene in Darth Vaders "castle" on Mustafa about? It did nothing for the plot at all. Most fans seemed to have loved it because Vader, but I thought it was stupid. </li>
<li>The whole Saw Gerrera part was also kind of strange. First of all, I didn't really get the feeling that Gerrera is an extremist. In theory we see his people risk the lives of civilians, but the movie didn't really put enough emphasis on this. He was portrayed too "good" in my opinion, especially considering the times we live in and that there are actually enough people like that - we call them terrorists.<br />And this strange mind-reading creature? First we get a warning that it leaves people brain-damaged, but of course our pilot is an exception. That was just too cliché.</li>
<li>Everybody dies. Everybody. I was expecting it, of course, but in a way it was a bit much. Especially Bazes death was kinda pointless. It felt a little like the easy way out. There could be other reasons why these guys were not there during the events in Episode IV and a little variation would have been nice.<br />I think it was on the <a href="https://thewookieegunner.com/category/podcasts-2/rebels-chat/" target="_blank">Rebels Chat podcast</a> where it was said that you didn't really feel hope at the end of the movie and I agree. I can see how they tried (and of course we all know the Rebels win in the end); but still - everybody died.</li>
</ul>
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Elenirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15962711349913719208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7573553895838383074.post-86948427709784091852016-11-20T07:38:00.000-08:002016-11-20T07:38:07.832-08:00Review: The Legend of KorraI got amazon Prime a while back and found that The Legend of Korra was available so I began watching it. I've heard about Avatar, but never saw the series, only a bit of the movie.<br />
<br />
Legend of Korra is the sequel to Avatar. You can watch it without knowing the older series. It's actually not a Japanese anime, but rather an American animated TV series. But it's very similar, both in art style and plot, so I labeled this review "anime".<br />
<br />
The series has four seasons called "books": Air, Spirits, Change and Balance. That can be a bit confusing. Each episode is about 25 minutes long, so it's perfect for watching one or two episodes in the evening after work.<br />
<br />
It's set in a world where some people can control elements - which is called
"bending". There are water benders, fire benders and earth benders. Air
benders are extremely rare, there are only five of them left, all in
one family. Of course there are also lots of normal people. I also think the world has a bit of 1920s and Steampunk feeling to it, which I quite enjoyed.<br />
<br />
Though it's called "Legend of Korra" I don't like the main heroine too much. She's rash, impulsive and overestimates herself frequently. But I consider this very much an ensemble series. There's lots of diverse, rich characters. And when I'm about to watch another episode, I'm not loking forward to seeing more of Korra, but more of the whole gang.<br />
Besides Korra, there's the brothers Mako and Bolin. Mako is rather serious while Bolin is a happy-go-lucky who is surprisingly good at a wide range of things. Level-headed Asami is both tech-savvy and combat-savvy. Tenzin is a strict airbender monk. One of my favourites is Lin Beifong; she's quite abrasive, but also a badass chief of police.<br />
<br />
I didn't like the second season as much as the first. It was suspense-packed, but I got a little annoyed of Korra who was being a total brat. I understand to be fooled once by someone who tells you what you want to hear and leave your friends behind. Happens to the best of us. Twice... well, she's only a teenager. But three times? How stupid can she be? The ending of the season dragged itself like it was a <a href="http://everythingbetweenheavenandhell.blogspot.de/2011/01/bleach.html" target="_blank">Bleach</a> fight. And in the end it didn't seem very logical.<br />
The fourth season starts out quite dark. It reminded me a little of Buffy after she was brought back to life. Korra and Buffy do have a lot in common - the chosen one born into every generation, with her scoobie gang. But the last season has a strange pace. There's even one completely unnecessary filler recap episode in the middle of the season! And then the end gets very Superhero movie like; could have been the Avengers or something.<br />
<br />
A lot of the "lessons learned" seem forced. The resolve to some mental problems that were build up for a while felt sudden and not believable.<br />
And the romance between Korra and Asami that caused such a fuzz? Honestly, to me that just wasn't there. If I hadn't read about it, I'd never guessed. There just wasn't any chemistry between them, nothing in the episodes that would have made it obvious that they might be more than close friends. I guess, this being an American series, they did not dare to go that far. So if you planned to watch this, expecting this great LGBT series - don't get your hopes up.<br />
<br />
This review sounds bad, but honestly I quite liked Korra.<br />
As I said, I think the best about Korra is the range of characters. There's so many fleshed out characters. All have faults and strengths and their time to shine. You could to a dozen shorts, examining the life of one of them and I'd look forward to it. The bad guys aren't just bad, they do have a cause that actually seems justified (if it wasn't for the means they used).<br />
The world building and character design is very well done, too. <br />
<br />
And I really love the music during the ending. It's so soothing, I could listen to it on infinite loop to fall asleep. I wish it was available somewhere.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Korra" target="_blank">The Legend of Korra on Wikipedia</a>Elenirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15962711349913719208noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7573553895838383074.post-78108592919666568052016-11-01T09:50:00.002-07:002016-11-01T09:50:46.492-07:00Fall season 2016 short anime reviewsBefore I write about a few of this season's animes, let me tell you one thing: the best anime of this season is going to be Natsumes Book of Friends. I have very little doubt in that. But I already reviewed that anime (though not this season) - you can find it <a href="http://everythingbetweenheavenandhell.blogspot.de/2013/08/review-natsumes-book-of-friends.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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<b>Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru<span id="goog_1579363342"></span><span id="goog_1579363343"></span></b><br />
This anime is about a couple of famous historical swords turned into young men to protect history from the attacks of the "historical revisionists". They are sent to certain incidents in Japanese history, but it's not enough to teach you about what actually happened at these points in Japanese history.<br />
To be honest it feels more like someone had fun imagining the swords as boys and so tried to make up a plot to justify it. As a result the character design is very diverse and creative. But so many people got introduced so fast that I really got confused.<br />
Otherwise it's actually quite nice to see the more day-to-day life at the mansion. As long as you don't try to remember who is supposed to be the former sword of who.<br />
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<b>Nyanbo!</b><br />
Nyanbo look like cats made out of little boxes but are actually aliens. They can't be seen by humans and they try to repair their spaceship.<br />
The episodes are only about five minutes each. It looks interesting how they managed to include the Nyanbo in real environment.<br />
It's cute sometimes, but most of the time rather unremarkable and boring. More than this, at times it's really stupid and sexist.<br />
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<b>3-gatsu no Lion</b><br />
This anime about a professional Shogi player teen starts out really weird. Later on it becomes more like what you'd expect, but it still has these strange surreal parts. I don't like the way the people are drawn that much (especially the mouths), but the backgrounds are really amazing.<br />
Though I often like calm animes, I just don't understand this one. Of course, I don't understand shogi, but I also don't find the comedy parts funny - somehow I just don't "get" this anime.<br />
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<b>Nobunaga no Shinobi</b><br />
This is another short anime, with each episode only lasting about 3,5 minutes.<br />
Chidori is a ninja girl who starts service for the samurai Nobunaga. There's lots of name-dropping of - I assume - famous historical persons. It's drawn in a very cute style, and I'm not sure how that fits with the rather violent setting.<br />
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<b>Udon no Kuni no Kiniro Kemari</b><br />
Udon are a kind of noodles. Souta's family owned a Udon restaurant but he went to Tokyo to work as a web designer. After his father died, he comes back to clean out the house. There he meets a little kid. Thinking it's a lost child, he wants to take it to the police - but on the way, he discovers that it's actually a shapeshifting Tanuki.<br />
Souta looks a lot like Handa-sensei from <a href="http://everythingbetweenheavenandhell.blogspot.de/2014/08/summer-season-2014-anime-short-reviews.html" target="_blank">Barakamon</a> - adding to the similar storyline the theme of food that seems to be so trendy recently. The tanuki can be a little annoying in his human child form, but really adorable in his animal form.<br />
If the little boy doesn't become annoying, this might be one of my favourite new animes this season. <br />
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<b>Fume wo Amu</b><br />
This anime is about the editorial departement for a dictionary. Yes, a dictionary. Apparently in Japan there are different dictionaries, each with its own style and the people in this anime want to make a new one.<br />
In my opinion, they try a little too hard to make dictionary editing look exciting with heroic speeches, special effects and dramatic background music. It's really a bit ridiculous.<br />
The song of the ending credits is very nice, though.<br />
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<br />Elenirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15962711349913719208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7573553895838383074.post-48788109155528164622016-10-03T05:25:00.001-07:002016-10-03T05:25:08.309-07:00Dr. Who Series Seven to EightAnd on goes the Dr. Who binge watching! So far there's hardly beeen a day in the last few weeks on which I didn't watch at least one episode.<br />
<br />
First off two things I really love about Dr. Who:<br />
I really love how curious, enthusiastic and thirsty for knowledge the Doctor is. I think that's a really good thing to teach children.<br />
And then I love the little camoes by scientists. Like when something happened to/on Earth and there's TV coverage on the phenomena and they show interview snippets with people like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AuA03cu6Qk" target="_blank">Richard Dawkins</a> or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKFlmJZ6MRA" target="_blank">Brian Cox</a>. Love it!<br />
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<b>Series 7 - The Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond and Rory Williams as well as Clara Oswald</b><br />
Again Amy and Rory. And I still don't like Amy. How come they get three seasons when both Martha and Donna only got one?<br />
<br />
This season has two parts. The first couple of episodes were ok, though I think they overdid it with the Statue of Liberty being a Weeping Angel. Amy and Rory leave at the end of the fifth episode. Though I don't quite get the drama of it, because the Doctor could just visit them - no?<br />
<br />
We also learn that the Doctor was busy deleting information about himself from all databases. Which also means that River is no longer in prison since there's no record of the man she presumably killed.<br />
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The second part of this season gets new beginning and ending credits - which I don't like as much as the others. There's also - of course - a new companion. We've met Clara (or version of her) before. I'm looking forward to this because I liked her when she first turned up.<br />
<br />
The episodes are fun, though nothing special. We get to see a Soviet submarine and ghost hunters. We also get to see a bit more of the TARDIS interior and the Doctor gets assimilated to the <strike>Borg</strike> Cyberman, complete with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_of_Nine" target="_blank">Seven of Nine</a> make-up - that makes him Eleven of Twelve, doesn't it? That episode had Warwick Davies in it, by the way (and was written by Neil Gaiman).<br />
I do like that we get to meet the reptile Madame Vastra, her wife Jenny and the alien soldier Strax - we first saw them in an earlier season when rescuing Amy, but they weren't introduced back then.<br />
<br />
The most emotional part is when we see River Song say goodbye to the Doctor for the last time. Their timelines are chaotic, so it's impossible to say how often we see River in future episodes, but this was clearly her last time within her timeline.<br />
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<b>The Day of the Doctor - The War Doctor, the Tenth Doctor, the Eleventh Doctor and Clara Oswald</b><br />
I love this episode! It's a 50th anniversary special and it might just be my favourite episode so far.<br />
<br />
The interaction between the three Doctors is simply hilarious.<br />
And I love how they integrated old footage of the past Doctors. Best as they could, at least. <br />
David Tennant is back and he's just perfect. Oh, I've missed that face. The difference between the Tenth and the Eleventh Doctor is even more obvious like this - I've mentioned them <a href="http://everythingbetweenheavenandhell.blogspot.de/2016/09/dr-who-series-four-to-six.html" target="_blank">before</a>. And I still like the Tenth best; probably because of these differences.<br />
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In the end, it didn't change much for the past Doctors. For plot reasons they couldn't remember, so they'd still suffer. It didn't change much for the Time Lords; maybe they're not dead, but they're not in normal space-time either. But it opens up interesting possibilities.<br />
I also thought that the infamous Time War didn't actually look that terrible that it'd be reason enough to destroy two whole species. It looked just like any other war, really. I'm not quite sure what I expected though. <br />
The strange thing was that since they already showed the next Doctor, I expected Eleven to die any moment at the end. But he didn't. Pleasant surprise there, though it keeps me wondering...<br />
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Did I mention that the three Doctors interacting was fantastic?<br />
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<b>Series 8 - The Twelth Doctor and Clara Oswald</b> <br />
So in another special Eleven regenerated into Twelve. Didn't like the special much compared to the others. The end of the eleventh Doctor wasn't as emotional as the others, to me.<br />
<br />
So now there's Twelve, Peter Capaldi. I was a bit worried at first, I know I have problems understanding the Glaswegian dialect. But it's ok; it's not easy, but not as bad as I expected.<br />
The regeneration does seem to have it's drawbacks, as he has trouble remembering peoples names at first. But this time I've seen the previous Doctors in him. When Clara announced she'd leave, I saw the Tenth Doctor being afraid of loneliness. And he sometimes did sound a bit like Eleven, too. Yeah, I really liked that.<br />
But he doesn't portray the fascination as much as the other Doctors. He seems a lot more serious. More grumpy old man.<br />
<br />
Clara at first seems to have some trouble coming to terms with her Doctor not being a pretty young man anymore. She did involuntarily admit in the last special that she fancied him. But eventually she comes around. She even finds a boyfriend. She didn't fulfill my high hopes though. I'm not quite sure what it is; maybe sometimes she just comes across as a little bitchy. Or maybe it's because the Doctor bosses her around so much and she lets him - I'm not sure if that's been the case before, I just notice it a lot in this series.<br />
<br />
There's also a new intro. Very CGI, but not too bad.<br />
I absolutely love the bookshelves on the walls of the TARDIS. I really like this Tardis interior, got a bit of Steampunk feeling to it.<br />
<br />
I really liked the Robin Hood episode; one of the more light-hearted episodes. It was a little cheesy, but fun - that's Doctor Who, I guess.<br />
And the one with the Orient Express has a great 1920s cover of Don't Stop Me Now. <br />
<br />
Sometimes though, the death toll bothers me. A lot of people die in Doctor Who. Not only main characters, but lots of others. And I don't like how casually it is dealt with. And often they die a horrible death like falling alive into liquid gold.<br />
<br />
The double season finale... Well, I knew I didn't like Clara that much and this episode confirmed it. More than anything that she went through, what touched me most was the former Companion of the Doctor (I guess he was).<br />
I liked how they hinted at what's to come in the finale episode through the previous episodes, without influencing the plot of these.<br />
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<span id="goog_888768607">This is the last series that's available for free with Amazon Prime, so for now that's where I'll stop.</span><br />
<span id="goog_888768607">I'd really like to watch the old seasons, too. Especially since some of the new episodes featured old Companions.</span>Elenirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15962711349913719208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7573553895838383074.post-23793852479058834282016-09-04T08:54:00.000-07:002016-09-04T08:54:14.327-07:00Dr. Who Series Four to SixAfter <a href="http://everythingbetweenheavenandhell.blogspot.de/2016/08/dr-who-series-one-to-three.html" target="_blank">series one to three</a>, here's my thoughts about the next batch...<br />
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<b>Series 4 - The Tenth Doctor and Donna Noble</b><br />
We've seen Donna Noble in a christmas special before. She declined the offer of the Doctor to travel with him back then. When she came back I wasn't sure about her, because I didn't understand why she declined at first and then regretted it so much. I still have a hard time understanding the motivation of the Companions, I think.<br />
At first the Doctor denied her new wish to travel with him, afraid that the drama and hurt of what happened with Martha would repeat itself. But without understanding what was going on, Donna made it quite clear that she didn't think him attractive in the least, so he agreed.<br />
<br />
Certainly Donnas life wasn't overly great. We see in this series that it could be much worse, but there's nothing that could give her self-worth. I think that's one aspect of her character a lot of people can relate to. And it makes her goodbye so much sadder, because she loses everything she has gained.<br />
While she's not as intelligent and educated as Martha, she has some sorts of street smarts. What I like most about Donna is her absolute "no bullshit" attitude. She'll give everyone a piece of her opinion, including the Doctor. That does him some good, it gets him off his high horse.<br />
Shame she didn't get more than one season. I'll miss her.<br />
<br />
The Doctor himself felt more vulnerable to me. I'm not sure whether this is actually really there in the plot and the acting or whether I'm just getting to know the character better. But in the last christmas special he very nearly had a breakdown out of loneliness.<br />
I really do like Tennants acting, his facial expressions are a joy to watch. It's a shame this was his last season. I'm looking forward to the next Doctors, but I'll really miss him.<br />
<br />
We also get to meet River Song - not a former Companion, but apparently a future one (or something else, something more?). And we also get to see Martha Jones and Rose Tyler again.<br />
Among the new characters I really liked Donnas grandfather the best, he's great. <br />
<br />
In the final double episode we see people from spin-off series - including Captain Jack Harkness (yay). It was really great, seeing all of them together, working together, everyone playing their part. It's probably even better if you actually know the spin-off series (which I don't), but so far this was my favourite season ending.<br />
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<b>Series 5 - The Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond</b><br />
Amy as a little kid was really cool. There was this madman, demanding food (priceless: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oo2RKAHu-kI" target="_blank">"You're Scottish - fry something"</a>), eating fish fingers with custard and she's totally calm.<br />
Adult Amy is not so cool. I don't know... laughing madly and runnning along with the doctor. And then she threw herself on him the night before her wedding... That's, well, not a sign of good character, is it?<br />
And then they get her fiancé Rory to tag along - just like Rose and Mickey. Except Rory seems to die a lot.<br />
And I really don't like Amy. I can't put my finger on it. She's flat, hardly any character, and what's there just isn't likeable. It's not just that I'm not liking her very much (like Rose), I actually dislike her.<br />
<br />
What also confused me is that the curious Doctor did not think to investigate the gap and the strange things that were happening. I mean, there's obviously something wrong, something that frightens even Weeping Angels - and he takes Amy and Rory on a date in Venice?<br />
The character of the Doctor seemed to change, too. He's not... as contemplative and lonely as the Tenth Doctor. I wonder if everything that happened is just kind of forgotten after a reincarnation? Or rather still there in the memories, but not emotionally relevant.<br />
<br />
I really liked the episode with Vincent van Gogh. Though he sounded Scottish or Irish - well, anyway not Dutch. It also had Bill Nighy in it. And a great musical score. It was nice, and very sad, bitter-sweet. I actually cried.<br />
<br />
I felt this series was rather dramatic. Lots of dramatic death scenes. Matt Smith is a good Doctor (and a cutie), but I'm still getting used to him. River is back, which is great. No Jack, unfortunately.<br />
Not my favourite season (but the Vincent episode was great).<br />
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<b>Series 6 - The Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond and Rory Williams</b><br />
Well, seems like I'm stuck with Amy for another series. And it seems like we got an explanatory intro - not sure why. Perhaps the show got more popular abroad and the producers felt the need to explain.<br />
<br />
And Rory keeps on dying. Seriously, he died more often than Buffy now, it kinda keeps getting old. Actually everyone gets to die. And Amy gets pregnant and her baby is stolen.<br />
With all the emotional damage that Amy and Rory are suffering by travelling with the Doctor, you have to wonder why they keep doing it. They never really see these wonders the Doctor promises them (the TARDIS gets lost a lot in this series).<br />
<br />
We also get more River Song. We finally find out who she is ("Spoilers"). Very interesting. Must really be a confusing life though.<br />
We also see the TARDIS come alive as a woman in an episode written by Neil Gaiman. That one was one of my favourites from this series. <br />
And how come it took five seasons until Nazis? Knowing the British, I really would have expected this sooner. <br />
<br />
No Jack Harkness though - it seems like the Eleventh Doctor cut a lot more ties than the Tenth. There seems to be hardly any overlapping of these lives, like people from the past are forgotten.<br />
The Eleventh Doctor also feels a lot more... ruthless. Well, I guess even before the last reincarnation the Doctor didn't always go through with his pacifism, but I felt like it got worse. Even River confronted him with it.<br />
<br />
When he's not dying, Rory is rather brave. On one hand, that makes him
likeable. On the other hand I don't like when they turn a healer into a
warrior (like Marsha), and I feel like that's what happened with Rory who turned from a
nurse to "The Last Centurion". <br />
<br />
The pace of the series is a bit confusing. At first it seems like they are again ignoring important signs (and I got the feeling the Doctor was doing it on purpose). Then suddenly after just a few episodes we get a seasons finale - in the middle of the season. But then the overall plot just disappears and we get single episodes again. And then the plot returns. The last episode is a little confusing but wraps up what began in the first episode.<br />
<br />
There are some good episodes, but overall this season was way too over-dramatic. If there is a heart-wrenching death scene in nearly every episode... it's really too much.<br />
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Elenirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15962711349913719208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7573553895838383074.post-23677054545155597482016-08-09T09:35:00.002-07:002016-08-09T09:35:58.506-07:00Dr. Who Series One to ThreeWhen you're out and about in the internet, you can't help but notice some fandoms you don't know anything about. Of course, you can't watch everything - and much less like everything - but I get curious anyway. So Firefly is on my list and I watched Avatar and Korra (review coming up) and then there's Dr. Who... One of the reasons to get an Amazon Prime trial was Dr. Who. Luckily you can also watch it in English, though my TV can't do subtitles and the British actors are soemtimes hard to understand.<br />
<br />
So, I thought why not write a review and share my impressions.<br />
Amazon only has the revival series though. Which on one hand is good (because it's faster to catch up - imagine having to start in the 60s!). On the other hand it's a bit of a shame because you miss out on the beginning.<br />
<br />
In case you don't know what Dr. Who is about: the Doctor (he never gives another name) is an alien from the planet of Gallifrey. His species is called time lords, a very powerful and long-lived species. When hurt badly, they can "regenerate", which completely changes their body and saves them from dying. Despite of this the time lords became extinct in a terrible war; as far as the Doctor knows, he's the last one.<br />
He travels around in his space ship, the TARDIS, which can travel through both space and time. The TARDIS looks like a blue British police box, but is a lot bigger in the inside.<br />
He usually travels with one or rarely more Companions. They seem mostly to be female, though the relationship is not of a sexual nature. They're just a partner to join in on his adventures. <br />
<br />
<b>Series 1 - The Ninth Doctor and Rose</b><br />
I quite liked the outfit of the Ninth Doctor - leather jacket and jeans. Simple. Practical. But I have to say I had some difficulties with his character. He seems so hyper, he was laughing so often, which to me felt inappropriate considering the seriousness of most of the plots. He was acting like he was on a roller coaster ride when it was actually a matter of life and death. So I wasn't too sad when he "died" at the end of series one.<br />
<br />
I'm not too sure about his Companion Rose either. She's very down-to-earth but I never could get a real grip on her personality. She was there and she's kinda cool and that's it.<br />
Her relationship with Mikey was one of the things I didn't like about her. He's a cool character, too, brave, loyal and sensible. But I felt like he was treated unfairly.<br />
<br />
The highlight of the first series for me was Captain Jack Harkness. Former time agency agent, badass, flirts with everyone. What a joy to watch! He's a bit like Han Solo meets Captain Kirk. I liked how they made him bisexual, it just fits; and it's still rather rare on TV. Plus he got a good bit of characters development, too. While watching I thought to myself "hey, they should give this guy his own show" - only to find out later that <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torchwood" target="_blank">they actually did</a>! Another show to put on my list, it seems.<br />
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Overall it needed a bit getting used to the cheesiness now and then. On the other hand, some of the episodes were really creepy (like peoples faces turning into gasmasks - nightmare material).<br />
There are some people saying that you shouldn't watch this series and you should start with the second one. I'm not quite sure why, because even though I didn't like the main characters too much, I think you really should start here. <br />
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<b>Series 2 - The Tenth Doctor and Rose</b><br />
It went on with the creepy and there were quite a few double episodes (whcih are too long to watch during the work week), so I feel like it took ages to finish this series. Even though I finally get to see one of the two sexy fangirl-favourite Doctors - that should have been an incentive to watch.<br />
<br />
And yeah, David Tennant is good. You know, American heartthrobs look like Chris Evans, but British heartthrobs look like David Tennant or Benedict Cumberbatch. And like so often, I do prefer the British way over the American way in that aspect.<br />
Oh, and did I mention how I love the Chucks? Suit, trenchcoat and Chucks - wonderful outfit.<br />
<br />
But still, this series was somehow hard to watch.<br />
I liked the episodes in the past, with Queen Victoria and Madame de Pompadour. And it was really interesting to meet a former Companion.<br />
The season finale didn't touch me as much as it should have - probably because I really don't get Roses character. Most of the emotion in the scene came from watching the face of the Doctor (so hey, kudos to David Tennant).<br />
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<br />
<b>Series 3 - The Tenth Doctor and Martha</b><br />
Alright, I have to admit, they finally got me with the first episode of this series because I think the way the Tenth Doctor invited Martha to the TARDIS was damn sexy. I get it now. And once it has been seen, it's hard to unsee.<br />
<br />
Anyway, Martha. I quite like Martha. Perhaps she's more relatable to me than Rose. She seems to be an introvert, she's well-educated and clever. I love how when she turned up with the Doctor as a "date" to a party, her sister remarked something like "science geek - should have known"; it says a lot about Martha.<br />
With all that strength of character she's also unfortunately a tragic figure. She falls in love with the Doctor right away. I can't blame her: he's intelligent, he's good-looking and he kissed her in a dangerous situation (science shows that people easily fall in love in frightening situations because of misattribution of the excitement). Plus the way he invited her to their first voluntary space-time-adventure was nothing short of seduction.<br />
And I think that's where Martha was treated unfairly by the Doctor. It felt like he desperately needed someone and he chose her, with little regard towards her feelings and she needed to deal with all his emotional baggage while also having to deal with her own unrequited love.<br />
And I feel like Martha also got treated unfairly by the producers. She's intelligent, but was never quite allowed to show it. She saved the earth from one of the most powerful beings in the universe, saved the Doctor - without any super power, just by herself, a normal human being. But it wasn't actually shown on screen. It's a little unfair, really, to not show any of her badassery. No wonder the fans didn't like her as much.<br />
<br />
And then, in the last few episodes - Jack is back! So good to see him
again (and the big reveal - wow). Although... The Doctor also treated
him badly, at least in the beginning. What is this - the season of the
Doctor treating his friends like shit? True, we have been shown that the Doctor can be quite merciless; but usually only to his enemies.<br />
<br />
But still, I shed a few tears at the end of the finale, with both Jack and Martha leaving the Doctor and his puppy dog eyes.<br />
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That's it for now. The next series will follow later when I have watched them.<br />
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<i>Links</i><br />
<a href="http://bbc.co.uk/doctorwho" target="_blank">Official Website</a><br />
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Who_(series_1)" target="_blank"><span class="ProfileHeaderCard-urlText u-dir" dir="ltr">Wikipedia Series 1</span></a><br />
<span class="ProfileHeaderCard-urlText u-dir" dir="ltr"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Who_(series_2)" target="_blank">Wikipedia Series 2</a></span><br />
<span class="ProfileHeaderCard-urlText u-dir" dir="ltr"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Who_(series_3)" target="_blank">Wikipedia Series 3</a></span><br />
<span class="ProfileHeaderCard-urlText u-dir" dir="ltr"><br /></span>Elenirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15962711349913719208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7573553895838383074.post-74228625889847224682016-08-07T11:41:00.000-07:002016-08-07T11:41:30.711-07:00Summer season 2016 short anime reviews<b>Fukigen na Mononokean</b> (The Morose Mononokean)<br />
This feels like a mixture between <a href="http://everythingbetweenheavenandhell.blogspot.de/2013/08/review-natsumes-book-of-friends.html" target="_blank">Natsume's Book of Friends</a> and <a href="http://everythingbetweenheavenandhell.blogspot.de/2015/06/short-anime-reviews-arslan-senki.html" target="_blank">Kyokai no Rinne</a>. Though I thought the latter got boring after a while, I love the former, so I have high hopes for this series. There's this school boy who realizes he can see yokai one day after he's possessed by one. He seeks the help of an exorcist, who happens to be a classmate. To pay for his exorcism, he has to help him.<br />
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I have the feeling, this might be my favourite anime of the season. I'm really looking forward to where the realtionship between these two is going. It's seems to start off kind of as a mentorship, but not quite, since their the same age. Also there seems to be the yokai of the week, so I expect we get to see many different creatures.<br />
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<b>Hatsukoi Monster</b><br />
This girl falls in love with a guy and starts dating him. So far it looks like an average shoujo anime. Only that the boy and his friends - even though looking like they're straight out of some idol anime - are primary school kids. They don't look like it, but act like it, complete with "wiener" jokes and all.<br />
I was thinking "WTF" throughout most of the first episode and then dropped it. This isn't only a bad reverse harem, it's worse. It's not even funny in an ironic way. It's just really, really bad. Why does something like this even get produced?<br />
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<b>Handa-kun</b><br />
I love Barakamon! It's one of my favourites, both <a href="http://everythingbetweenheavenandhell.blogspot.de/2014/08/summer-season-2014-anime-short-reviews.html" target="_blank">anime</a> and manga. I have to say that my high hopes in the prequel Handa-Kun were a bit disappointed. It's a different genre and not a masterpiece like Barakamon. But maybe Handa-Kun is more suited to be an anime?<br />
<br />
High school student Handa-kun thinks no-one likes him. When people do something he interprets their acts accordingly. But in reality people at school admire Handa-kun and they interpret his action as extremely cool and aloof - even if he's just frozen out of fear. And now you know the plot of each episode: one misunderstanding after the other.<br />
Handa-kun is very episodic - extremely so. Actually there's like two or three seperate stories per anime episode. It's just comedy with the same theme to it every time. It's not bad, but... it's just the same over and over again. Maybe the show should be called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belief_overkill" target="_blank">Confirmation Bias</a>.<br />
The first half of the first episode is some Gintama-like breaking of the
fourth wall. I thought it was a little too much, but for some reason it
was only the first episode. What I think is a little creepy is how everyone except the main characters has no eyes - they look like Dr. Who monsters or something.<br />
I really like the song in the ending, though.<br />
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<br /><b>Amaama to Inazuma</b> (sweetness & lightning)<br />
It seems food-centered anime is all the trend right now. This is another one. It's about a single parent and teacher, whose wife died a few months ago. He works all day and is not good at cooking so his daughter gets only ready-made bento from the convenient store. Until they meet a pupil and daughter of a restaurant owner. They meet up at the restaurant to cook together while the mother is away busy with work at a TV station.<br />
The setting is a bit weird, but the series isn't too bad. It's not great either. It's nice to watch.<br />
<br />
I'm a really bad cook, so maybe this will make me want to learn how to cook? On the other hand, some of these food combinations are really a bit... foreign.<br />
Still, definitely one you shouldn't watch while hungry.<br />
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<br /><b>Bananya</b><br />
This is another short series, with an episode only lasting about 3 minutes. If you thought the other short animes were wacky... this one is about a cat that lives in a banana.<br />
It's kinda cute but really makes no sense at all.<br />
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<br />Elenirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15962711349913719208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7573553895838383074.post-15763789482182303302016-05-01T06:23:00.000-07:002016-05-01T06:23:37.988-07:00Spring Season 2016 anime short reviews<b>Endride</b><br />
A young boy with a father who is neglecting his family finds a crystal and gets pulled into a fantasy world where some people can produce huge weapons out of their chests.<br />
Actually this one was so average and un-interesting that I dropped it after a little more than the first episode. There's too many anime to waste your time with the bad or boring ones.<br />
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<b>Tanaka-kun wa Itsumo Kedaruge</b><br />
Tanaka-kun is extremely listless. He makes being lazy into an art form. He has a good friend, a guy called Oota, who takes care of him, makes sure he eats and even carries him around when Tanaka can't be bothered to move. In the second episode Tanaka takes on an apprentice - just because she insisted and it would have been too much work to turn her down. That's how lazy he is.<br />
I know, it sounds kinda boring and it's indeed not very exciting. But it's a funny slice of life piece and so far I really like it.<br />
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<br />
<b>Seisen Cerberus: Ryuukoku no Fatalités</b><br />
This anime starts of showing a female with ridiculous clothing and huge tits screaming for help. Yeah, not a good first impression... There's also a great warrior with a huge sword, a magic cat-girl with suspenders, a dragon and all the usual stuff.<b> </b>It was actually rather boring. The character design was... well, not impressive and the quality of animation underwhelming. So I dropped it after about 1,5 episodes.<br />
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<br />
<b>Flying Witch</b><br />
Flying Witch starts off like Kikis Delivery Service: Makoto leaves home with her black cat familiar because that's what witches do at a certain age. But because her mothers was too worried about her, she's staying with relatives instead of living on her own.<br />
This sounds really promising and I hope it lives up to that. So far I couldn't make out a bigger plot. Maybe it'll turn out like <a href="http://everythingbetweenheavenandhell.blogspot.de/2013/08/review-natsumes-book-of-friends.html" target="_blank">Natsume's Book of Friends</a>, which would be fine with me. It's got that rural mixed with supernatural feeling to it.<br />
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<span id="goog_1463769042"></span><span id="goog_1463769043"></span><br />Elenirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15962711349913719208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7573553895838383074.post-9814927681686989852016-01-31T08:50:00.002-08:002016-02-01T12:13:05.692-08:00review: Star Wars Rebels<i>I know there has been a lack of reviews lately. To be honest, I wasn't very thrilled with the last couple of anime seasons. Mostly I didn't like what I saw, I dropped quite a lot of series and the good stuff were mostly sequels to a series I already reviewed. So not a lot of material for reviews there. </i><br />
<i>But now I've got a review for you again - though it's not anime.</i><br />
<br />
Recently I've really been into Star Wars. OK, with the release of The
Force Awakens everything and everyone has been into Star Wars (even
toilet paper). But for me it's been Star Wars Rebels.<br />
I was sick before christmas and there was a Star Wars night on TV,
showing the complete first season of Star Wars Rebels. I knew about it
before, but this really made me love it <br />
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Star Wars Rebels takes place about fourteen years after the destruction of the Jedi Order (Revenge of the Sith) and about five years before Luke sets out to rescue Princess Leia (A new Hope). It's set on a grassland planet called Lothal, in the Outer Rim - a rather remote place - and follows the adventures of a group of five rebels, at a time when the Rebel Alliance against the Empire was just about to become an organized venture.<br />
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Main character is Ezra Bridger, a human teen. He's been getting by, living on the streets, since his parents were taken away for broadcasting criticism of the Empire when he was seven. He's been on his own for so many years that he has developed some trust issues. He's also often a typical teenager complete with annoying behaviour and stupid logic. But hey, it's realistic, so you can't hate him for it. It turns out that he's been subconsciously using the Force.<br />
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At the start of Star Wars Rebels Ezra joins the crew of the starship Ghost led by Kanan Jarrus and Hera Syndulla.<br />
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Kanan Jarrus is - I'm going to spoil just a little bit here - a former Jedi Padawan, one of the very few who survived Order 66 when the Jedi were betrayed and killed. His master did not survive, so he changed his name and gave up the Jedi lifestyle in order to survive. He led the life of a vagabond - in my mind I call him a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C5%8Dnin" target="_blank">Rōnin</a>, a samurai without a master - and eventually became part of Hera's crew and a rebel against the Empire. He keeps his Jedi past a secret, but the rebel group greatly benefits from his knowledge, training and experience in war.<br />
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Hera's a beautiful, green-skinned Twi'lek - and one hell of a pilot. It's often mentioned that Kanan is the leader of the group, but I think this title belongs to both of them. She owns the Ghost, the starship the rebels live on, and she often gets their missions, especially if they're of the more anti-Empire kind. I think the podcast <a href="http://www.coffeewithkenobi.com/" target="_blank">Coffe with Kenobi</a> once called Hera "the first rebel" - she's in this with all her heart and soul and puts her needs after the greater good she sees in their actions. She keeps the group together and pushes them forward.<br />
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The other three members of the group are Sabine, Zeb and Chopper.<br />
Sabine is a young Mandalorian - remember the Bounty Hunter Boba Fett who caught Han Solo? - and she obviously loves two things: graffiti and explosions. She loves to dye her hair, spray paint all kinds of things, she's very good with blasters and even better with all kinds of explosives. The stormtroopers have learned to run and hide when they see her graffiti mark somewhere because it means something's about to blow up.<br />
Zeb is the Chewbacca, the Mr. T, the grumpy muscles of the team. He's also one of the last of the Lasat, a species that was nearly wiped out by the Empire, and wields the traditional weapon of the Lasat honour guardsman.<br />
Then there's Chopper, an out-dated astromech droid, similar to R2-D2, only a lot less friendly. He doesn't seem to like anyone except for his owner Hera but just like his more famous cousin he saves the day quite a few times.<br />
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I like how the crew of the Ghost is very diverse - Star Wars has been criticised for being very white, but Star Wars Rebels definitely isn't. Ezra is very obviously Arabian, he reminded me a lot of Aladdin in the Disney movie in the beginning. Sabine has an Asian look to herself and some have said Kanan looks Latino. But as a rebel group they're very much like a patchwork family.<br />
What I love even more is the portrayal of female characters. They are just normal characters, who happen to be female. It's so refreshing! This should not be such a big issue, but sadly it is.<br />
I think it's a bit of a shame though that Hera didn't get a lot of background yet. I think she's a very important character, but unlike with Ezra, Kanan, Sabine and Zeb, we hardly know anything about her, her past and why she's doing this. Maybe it's because she's often staying behind, ensuring their getaway. I hope we'll have a bit more information soon, but I think for one of the leaders of the group, it's come too late into the story.<br />
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A lot of people say that Star Wars Rebels has the vibe of the original movie trilogy. It's not surprising, since timewise it's closest. Also the use of the old music themes emphasises this.<br />
I like how Star Wars Rebels tells another tale, not the "saviour of the universe" tale, not the story of the people who will go on to become legends, but the struggles of the "infantery". To quote Gandalf: "Some belief that it is only great power that can hold evil in check. But that is not what I have found. I have found that it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay." Of course the Lothal Rebels aren't quite ordinary people.<br />
It does worry me a little, though, because I wonder what will happen to these characters. Will they all have to die because none of them are mentioned in the movies that depict the events five years later?<br />
<br />
But what I love most about Rebels is - let's be honest here - Kanan. He's my favourite Jedi since Qui-Gon Jinn. There are comics and books about him (which of course I had to buy) so he's the character with the most background. I really like characters who hide how badass they're actually are and I love it when they let it out. I love the Rōnin story of his life, I like how he's so in love with Hera (who puts their mission first) and how he upholds the philosophy of the Jedi without the dogmatic approach that eventually at least partly caused the downfall of the Order. And I love how he's not perfect, how he holds resentments and has his own insecurities. Through the series he bonds with Ezra, the both of them really becoming master and apprentice, and this relationship lets Kanan grow, too.<br />
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Star Wars Rebels includes a lot of nods towards the other franchise. People like Bail Organa and Lando Calrissian turn up. Mostly this is very well done, but sometimes they rely a little too much on viewers knowing The Clone Wars (which I don't). But overall you can watch it without having seen the other animated series.<br />
By the way, I also like the Rebels style of animation a lot better, it's less square, more detailed textures.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars_Rebels" target="_blank">Star Wars Rebels on Wookipedia</a><br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2930604/" target="_blank">Star Wars Rebels on IMDb</a><br />
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<i>A very special thanks to <a href="https://twitter.com/amy_geek" target="_blank">Amy Ratcliffe</a> who trough her ravings in my Twitter timeline has made me start watching Star Wars Rebels in the first place.</i>Elenirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15962711349913719208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7573553895838383074.post-18195085086456703772015-11-15T09:46:00.000-08:002015-11-15T09:46:16.981-08:00ImagineI'm not feeling well. I'm not sick.<br />
<br />
I can't stop thinking about the attacks in Paris, especially at the rock concert. I've been to so many rock concerts - I love rock conerts. I had planned to buy a ticket for my next one today. I didn't. I imagine the horror, the fear and pain people must have been in. What if that had happened to me? I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have survived. I don't feel like going to a concert. I know I'd be afraid, I couldn't really enjoy it. Maybe some time needs to pass.<br />
<br />
But my inability to stop thinking about this horror has raised another concern: What if my depression starts again? Or maybe I'm developing a generalized anxiety disorder?<br />
<br />
Some days ago I had a big scare when I couldn't reach my parents for a while. I couldn't work, I couldn't concentrate on anything else, I felt dizzy. I tried to tell myself that probably nothing was wrong, but I still had to think of so many terrible things. It turned out that the phone was broken and the mobile phone turned off.<br />
<br />
I often worry about my parents. I greatly rely on them. I spend my holidays there. I feel at home with them. but my mum smokes and my dad sometimes drives recklessly. My grandma died this summer and now the next ones, the next generation to die is my parents. I can't imagine life without them.<br />
<br />
And then I'm not feeling happy at work either. I don't like most of the people I have to work with. I started listening to the radio in order not to hear their bullshit talk. I want to look for a new job but during the week I'm too tired and on the weekend I end up doing other things.<br />
<br />
I'm pretty fed up with the world at the moment. The climate change, the people at work, the terrorism, the stupidity, the violence. I'm fed up with being angry and being afraid, too.<br />
I want to escape. I wish I had more time to read. Fiction is my escape.Elenirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15962711349913719208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7573553895838383074.post-58215621815760463322015-08-30T06:13:00.003-07:002015-08-30T06:13:31.177-07:00 Summer season 2015 anime short reviews<a href="http://everythingbetweenheavenandhell.blogspot.de/2014/08/summer-season-2014-anime-short-reviews.html" target="_blank">Last summer</a> I complained about the season not being a very good one. Maybe I was wrong about that - this summer is worse. Or maybe my standards are just getting higher.<br />
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<br />
<b>Aoharu x Kikanjuu</b><br />
<br />
The first episode feels like watching some re-make of <a href="http://everythingbetweenheavenandhell.blogspot.de/2011/02/miscellaneous-short-anime-reviews.html" target="_blank">Ouran High School Host Club</a> - actually it starts out in a real host club. A girl is mistaken for a guy, breaks some stuff and to repay the damage she gets caught up in a blonde hosts team. Only this guy likes to play "survival games": it's like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paintball" target="_blank">paint ball</a> but the bullets don't contain paint for some reason.<br />
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I liked the setting and the dynamics between the characters are interesting. There's these two guys, the host and the hentai manga artist who think they've found a new member for their team, not realizing it's a girl (they vowed not to let girls into their team). It's interesting to see the three different characters work together.<br />
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What's annoying me is the obsession about guns and how it's often overly dramatic. I get the feeling that actually the writer wanted to do real war scenes but for some reason (maybe because the characters shouldn't die or maybe to appeal to a broader audience) changed it all to "war games".<br />
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I planned to drop this several times but somehow I'm still watching it. It's only twelve episodes, so at this point I might as well finish it.<br />
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<br />
<b>Rokka no Yuusha</b><br />
<br />
This is one I really dropped.<br />
<br />
Again
the setting was promising: a fantasy world, threatened by demons, and a
group of six fated heroes setting out to defeat the demon king.<br />
The
first character we meet, Adlet Mayer, seems promising, too. He proclaims
himself "strongest man in the world" and has a cunning fighting style,
using many tools. Unfortunately it goes downwards from then on. The next
warrior is a young woman, renown for winning lots of duels - wearing
some kind of push up bra and a bunny ears "helmet". Yes: bunny ears. The
third warrior we meet is a tsundere girl wearing nothing but a black
strip of cloth for a top. You could argue that there's fan service for female
viewers, too, as the next warrior is a dark broody knight, protector of
the bunny ear princess, whose armour for some reason leaves out most of
his torso.<br />
<br />
By this time most of the characters are
nothing more than clichés and not even the plot twist of there being
seven instead of six chosen warriors could keep my interest.<br />
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<br />
<br />
<b>Junjou Romantica 3</b><br />
<br />
Junjou Romantica is probably one of the most famous yaoi series out there. I watched the first two seasons, so of course I started to watch the third one. I vaguely remember that I liked some couples and at least there'd be no jelly-melon tits in this one.<br />
<br />
That doesn't mean there's no clichés though. I don't know whether I really got higher standards or whether I got more mature or whether I've just been single for too long - but all the relationships in this series seem warped to me, abusive and one-sided. Usami, one of the main characters is insanely jealous. Misaki, his love interest, apparently likes to be pushed around and hardly ever stands up for his own interests (but complains a lot). Actually this series would be lots better without its main characters. All the guys look extremely similar anyway.<br />
I've been thinking of dropping it and I'm lacking a few episodes behind, but as of now, I'm still watching. I might still drop it, or just take some time, I don't know.<br />
<br />
One last note: there's actually no yaoi in this anime series, nothing adult rated so far.<br />
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<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Akagami no Shirayuki-hime</b><br />
<br />
This anime seems to be another one in the tradition of <a href="http://everythingbetweenheavenandhell.blogspot.de/2015/01/short-reviews-of-fall-2014-animes.html" target="_blank">Akatsuki no Yona</a> and <a href="http://everythingbetweenheavenandhell.blogspot.de/2012/03/review-saiunkoku-monogatari.html" target="_blank">Saiunkoku Monogatari</a>. Actually the similarities to the former are pretty strong: a young girl with red hair flees her own country after the local prince takes an unhealthy interest in her. The personalities of Yona and Shirayuki are quite similar, too. But Akagami no Shirayuki-hime focuses a lot more on romance and tends to be a little over-dramatic sometimes.<br />
<br />
I like how the series shows Shirayuki trying to get a job and working as a court herbalist (the castle really looks like a nice place to work) but it's not as good as the other two animes I named, not by a long shot. It might suffer a bit from having only 12 episodes, there are a few characters I'd like to see more about.<br />
I find it a bit confusing how everyone makes a big deal out of her red hair. She also seems too perfect, that's a bit annoying; her only fault seems to be that she works too hard (sounds like from a bad job application, doesn't it?). The romantic feelings between her and the prince are quite obvious and it feels like their beating around the bush.<br />
<br />
While as I said this isn't in the same league as the anime I named, for me it's the best this season and the only one that'd deserve more than 12 episodes.<br />
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<br />
<br />
<b>Wakako-zake</b><br />
<br />
This is an ultra-short anime with only two minutes per episode (with the intro taking up 30 seconds).<br />
Murasaki Wakako is a young office lady who likes to go out alone for dinner after work. That's really about it: she eats different dishes each time and drinks different drinks at different places.<br />
For some reason it's kind of peaceful to watch this. Maybe I should do this more often: go out for dinner on my own...<br />
<br />
Warning: don't watch while hungry.<br />
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<br />Elenirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15962711349913719208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7573553895838383074.post-2884251910641224442015-06-21T06:46:00.000-07:002015-06-21T06:46:40.103-07:00short anime reviews: Arslan Senki, Kyoukai no Rinne, Shounen Onmyouji, Chouyaku Hyakuninisshu: Uta Koi<br />
First revies of two animes from the current Spring 2015 season (plus an alternative version to one), then there's two older ones set in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heian_era" target="_blank">Heian period</a> (794 to 1185).<br />
<br />
<b>Arslan Senki (2015 TV version)</b><br />
At first I dropped this one after I watched the first episode because I was afraid it would be too bloody. But after finishing Akatsuki no Yona I felt like something similar and so took it up again. And it is indeed rather similar. And it is indeed too bloody.<br />
<br />
Arslan is the crown prince to the kingdom of Pars, ruled by his father, who is a great warlord, but not so much a great politician. When a neighbouring country of religious fanatics attacks, pride and treason lead to a great defeat in battle. Arslan escapes, but the kingdom falls. Together with loyal legendary warrior Daryun he tries to survive and seeks allies.<br />
<br />
Arslan Senki is based upon a popular novel series that started back in the late 80s. So the story is already rather "old" and it seems there have been a few adaptaions already.<br />
Similar to <a href="http://everythingbetweenheavenandhell.blogspot.de/2015/01/short-reviews-of-fall-2014-animes.html" target="_blank">Akatsuki no Yona</a> and <a href="http://everythingbetweenheavenandhell.blogspot.de/2012/03/review-saiunkoku-monogatari.html" target="_blank">Saiunkoku Monogatari</a> it covers political issues as well.<br />
I quite like the characters, especially the friendship between Daryun and Narsus.<br />
<br />
Well, that is to say: I like the male characters.<br />
Like reverse harem animes tend to have their incredibly dull and stupid so-called "heroine", it seems that shounen anime has an equal inability to portray good female characters. The Queen wears unbefitting clothes that show half of her tits and there's another female character who wears such ridiculous clothing that calling her half-naked would be an understatement. I was really disappointed about that.<br />
<br />
After episode 6 I got so sick of all the violence that I dropped it. I'm not sure I'll take it up again.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Heroic_Legend_of_Arslan" target="_blank">Wikipedia entry</a><br />
<br />
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<br />
<b>Arslan Senki (90s OVA version)</b><br />
After getting sick of the gore and tits from the 2015 version, I thought I might try the 90s version.<br />
This series has six episodes that were produced between 1991 and 1995. <br />
<br />
It's still occasionally bloody, but as expected it's not as gory. And the women are actually dressed. Falangies looks more beautiful in my opinion, and she has some Xena vibe going on. I think I also liked Daryuns character design a little better.<br />
<br />
The art is very nostalgic, Art Nouveau-ish, it reminds me of The Last Unicorn a little. Pars also looks more Persian. Since it's already 20 years old, of course you shouldn't expect high-quality HD animation.<br />
<br />
Plot-wise it's unfortunately a lot more rushed. The characters aren't introduced as well as in the newer version and I think I might not have understood what was going on if I hadn't had the more detailed explanations. Later on in the series, this really became a problem for me. The issue of slaves is hardly touched upon, which makes it more black-and-white. The humour isn't as evident and it's not as dramatic.<br />
Suffering most from this are definitely the characters and their relationships, for example between Arslan and Daryun. And I kind of missed the banter between Daryun and Narsus compared to the 2015 version. Gieve is awesome, though.<br />
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<br />
<br />
<b>Kyoukai no Rinne</b><br />
If you see art from Kyoukai no Rinne you will probably recognize it: it's obviously Rumiko Takahashi. Takahashis Ranma ½ was my first anime, so started buying the Kyoukai no Rinne manga, too. But after 5 books, I somehow stopped. It's not bad, but it wasn't good enough to justify the money and shelf space.<br />
When I saw there's an anime I was curious and decided to try it.<br />
<br />
Sakura Mamiya is a high school girl who can see ghosts. It takes her no time to find out that new classmate Rinne is no ordinary boy, though she doesn't quite know what he means when he says he's somewhat a shinigami (you know, like in <a href="http://everythingbetweenheavenandhell.blogspot.de/2011/01/bleach.html" target="_blank">Bleach</a> and Death Note) and also somewhat human. Rinne is homeless and really poor, his circumstances and background get revealed bit by bit. For some reason Sakura Mamiya gets drawn into quite a lot of his odd jobs - and that doesn't just mean giving him the money he needs for shinigami tools.<br />
<br />
Even as an anime it is still a bit prone to getting a little dull, it's very episodic, very monster-of-the-week, but it's fine for some harmless entertainment after a long day at work.<br />
<br />
And Rinnes cat familiar is sooo cute!<br />
<br />
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<br />
<b>Chouyaku Hyakuninisshu: Uta Koi</b><br />
Remember <a href="http://everythingbetweenheavenandhell.blogspot.de/2012/02/short-reviews-chihayafuru-uta-no-prince.html" target="_blank">Chihayafuru</a>, the anime about the Karuta card game that's based on one hundred ancient poems? This anime is about these poems, their authors and how they came to be - in a very liberal interpretation.<br />
<br />
It's hard to give a plot summary because the plot and the characters change in nearly every episode (though some turn up in several episodes). Some continuity is provided by narrator Fujiwara no Teika, the man who selected the hundred poems for the anthology.<br />
Every episode is about love and romance, but this doesn't result in simple "boy meets girl" stories. The Court affairs and status have to be taken into account, there's duty, friendship, passion, loyalty, ambition, loneliness, restrictions for women. Some endings are happy, but most are not. Despite the episodic character of the series, each story is captivating and you can feel with the characters.<br />
Of course there's also lots of poems and writing. <br />
<br />
I was quite surprised at how unreserved some scenes were. Not in a way that there was mature content, but these people obviously had sexual affairs and sometimes were rather open about it. I'd not have expected this in a historical anime (but then again, who knows how things really were back then).<br />
There's also a lot of strong female characters like Ono no Komachi in there - again despite the historical setting. Lots of other animes could learn a thing or two from that (*cough*Arslan Senki*cough*).<br />
<br />
One mistake I made: I watched the episodes with too much time in between. The names are complicated, the characters don't look that different from each other, so it was really difficult to remember who was who and did what. It was just so confusing.<br />
Here's the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C5%8Dyaku_Hyakunin_isshu:_Uta_Koi" target="_blank">wikipedia entry</a>, in case you need to look up the names of the characters, too.<br />
<br />
The one thing that makes this anime really special: The artwork is absolutely stunning! The clothing, the landscapes and buildings, the people... It's one of the most beautiful anime I ever watched. It's hard to describe. It looks a little like paper art collages.<br />
The songs of the opening and ending credits fit, even though they're modern. They fit the atmosphere.<br />
<br />
This is a hidden gem - you should definitely watch it!<br />
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<br />
<b>Shounen Onmyouji</b><br />
<br />
This is an adaption of a light novel series. It is set in the Heian era and centers around Abe no Masahiro, grandson of the famous Onmyōji Abe no Seimei (who according to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abe_no_Seimei" target="_blank">wikipedia</a> really existed). Onmyōji are civil servants who are professional astrologers/magicians/diviners.<br />
Of course it's not easy being the grandson of such a famous person and Masahiro hates being compared to his grandfather - but at the same time he tries his best to surpass him. Protecting and helping him is Tōda (or Guren), a mystical creature and member of a mighty group of servants of his grandfather called Shinshō. Tōda can transform into a cute little fox-like creature Masahiro calls Mokkun, but hides a dark secret: in the past he was mind-controlled and nearly killed his master Abe no Seimei.<br />
<br />
I quite liked the character of Tōda, his troubles and his relationship with Masahiro (besides, he's sexy in his humanoid form and so cute in his beast form). They became such good friends.<br />
It's a bit sad that the anime doesn't take the time to introduce the Shinshō a bit more - it seems to me some of them are interesting characters. I also wish there'd be more about Masahiros family besides his grandfather.<br />
Instead they spend time on this "love interest" of Masahiro, one of the worst cases of a useless annoying female - she might even be worse than Orihime in Bleach. <br />
<br />
It took me a while to finish this. It's not really that captivating. But when I felt like something with a little action and some comedy in a historical setting, this was just the right series.<br />
One little warning though: the end is not 100% a happy ending. <br />
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Elenirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15962711349913719208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7573553895838383074.post-53821646776572004882015-05-26T10:22:00.000-07:002015-05-26T10:22:45.567-07:00Botanical Gardens at the Palace, KarlsruheRecently I found that I really enjoy visiting Botanical Gardens. I've been to some before, in cities I visited, but it was more like something unscheduled, not very consciously.<br />
I've decided to share some pictures on here. Maybe I'll dig in older pictures collections of mine, too. I'll probably not write a lot, I don't really know what to say.<br />
<br />
<br />
In Karlsruhe, there are two Botanical Gardens: one at the KIT university and one in the palace gardens. I actually wanted to visit the university gardens, but they are closed on Saturdays.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMkQuIAqkYJRUJ4KbXqTnaTCN_oePZFh08gxNVXrkcyoRdyBiT7tzxr-mT90lVt9oH4CxgFza1CYfQJpOh2G52R5xF1fTPVPk4Eo1PwdLbpeqCQ4HY006-9lF5G7XPRDSqzWVC8fIyj0c/s1600/IMG_5381.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMkQuIAqkYJRUJ4KbXqTnaTCN_oePZFh08gxNVXrkcyoRdyBiT7tzxr-mT90lVt9oH4CxgFza1CYfQJpOh2G52R5xF1fTPVPk4Eo1PwdLbpeqCQ4HY006-9lF5G7XPRDSqzWVC8fIyj0c/s400/IMG_5381.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This huge tree has branches growing into the earth and out again</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
The Botanical Gardens at the Karlsruhe Palace are part of the extensive
palace gardens. So you can visit the outside gardens for free.<br />
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The admission for the greenhouses is only 2 euros, but they are also not very big. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lots of different Citrus plants - they smelled great</td></tr>
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The rest of the palace gardens are quite nice, too. There's usually a lot going on if the weather is nice, a lot of families and student on the grass.<br />
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And of course the palace itself is one of the main sights of Karlsruhe.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Karlsruhe palace</td></tr>
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Elenirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15962711349913719208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7573553895838383074.post-76233461956007913642015-04-04T13:04:00.000-07:002015-04-04T13:04:32.139-07:00Like an Englishman in New YorkLately I feel weirded out again. I have these phases when I get depressed and feel utterly lonely because no one around me is like me or understands me.<br />
<br />
At work I often feel at the wrong place. I don't share the humour of my coworkers and sometimes I despise their dull jokes and rude behaviour. Especially one external coworker is annoying me to no end - but I seem to be the only one. Am I too sophisticated? Plus I think I did some really clever work, for example I guessed the cause of a bug where programmers were searching for days; but my idea was dismissed. Even after it turned out, hours later, that I was right, no one acknowledged it.<br />
Is there an expression for feeling superior to your peers but instead of feeling good and proud, it just makes you sad and lonely?<br />
<br />
There were also several events in the last few weeks to maybe trigger this feeling further.<br />
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<i>The Death of Leonard Nimoy.</i><br />
When I was a certain age and struggling with what maybe was the oncoming of a clinical depression, I wished I was a Vulcan. Superior in mind and especially in control of all emotions, not letting those get in the way. So of course Spock was my favourite character of the original Star Trek series.<br />
<br />
Surprisingly Nimoys death was big news in mainstream media, too. <br />
But when I searched for products, you know, fan merch, I mostly got those "Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock" stuff from Big Bang Theory. And it made me wonder: how many people actually saw Star Trek, the original series? Most, it seems, just know him from Big Bang Theory or the new Star Trek movies, like some kind of second-hand geekism.<br />
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<i>The Death of Terry Pratchett.</i><br />
Even though of course I was aware it would happen sooner or later, this came as a shock, too. Pratchett is one of my favourite authors, and it was always a joy to hold a new Discworld book in your hands and be able to read it. It felt like not only Sir Terry died, but with him Susan Sto Helit, and Granny Weatherwax and Tiffany Aching and Sam Vimes - they all died, too. Additionally I'm following his daughter Rhianna Pratchett on <a href="https://twitter.com/rhipratchett" target="_blank">twitter </a>and felt sorry for her. It also made me terrified of thinking about my parents dying.<br />
<br />
Seeing how she dealt with this made me admire her more. I'm not a big gamer myself, so I'm not interested too much in her role in the gaming industry. But I read <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/11471323/It-was-like-having-a-full-sized-hobbit-for-a-father.html" target="_blank">a piece on her and her relationship with her father</a> and it made me feel like she's a kindred spirit. In a way, maybe, a better version of myself. And I thought: Wow, it would be great to have a friend like that. Someone who maybe not shares all of my exact interests, but someone who understands and listens.<br />
Anyway, I did wear all black at work the next day. Since I always wear rather dark clothes, no one noticed. I did not mention it, I was afraid of condescending remarks and how I'd react to them.<br />
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<br />
I feel like a lot of the good ones go, musicians, too, and I'm not sure those who are still there are good enough to fill the gap. Music and books are very important to me, but what will the future hold? <br />
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<br />
<i>The partial Solar Eclipse in Europe.</i><br />
I badly screwed this one up myself. Since I'm following scientific accounts and a few astronomers on Twitter I knew about this beforehand. But I had other things on my mind, procrastinated, whatever - and I only remembered a few days before that I'd need special glasses to watch it. I also underestimated the demand and the supply of these glasses. Other than with the total eclipse in 1999 hardly anyone sold these glasses this time. And those places were sold out. So in the end I couldn't get any. I was rather angry with myself because it would have been no problem if I had just taken care of it a few days earlier.<br />
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No one around me was interested in watching the eclipse and most considered my quest a little peculiar. I actually built three different kinds of pinhole cameras the evening before and took them with me to work. Two or three coworkers got interested then. I got excited when I realized our shutters acted like pinhole cameras, too, and you could watch the eclipse right there, tenfold, in our office. I could not understand how people around me could be so indifferent. I just don't get it! This happens so rarely, who knows whether we'll have a chance this good ever again, the weather was wonderful. How can they get excited about a worldcup that happens every four years, but not about this?<br />
<br />
I could hardly do any work during the morning and then went out around the time of the highest eclipse to try out my pinhole cameras. There were three others there. Three! Ok, it was just one door of many, but still... One of them had special glasses (old ones from 1999) and I could borrow them for a few glances. I was really happy about that. The others were curious about my equipment. Something as simple as a pinhole camera fascinated them so much, like a magic trick - and those were grown-ups, mostly working in IT. I felt like I came from another world.<br />
<br />
After it was over I felt so happy that I could experience this. I wish I could have shared it with more people, shared my joy. I still can't get my head around most people being so indifferent and letting such a rare event pass without a single glance.<br />
<br />
And even worse: a lots of German schools locked their pupils inside. Yes, you read that right: school, responsible for ecudation children, locked them inside during this rare event. Media repeated again and again that you shouldn't look into the sun and the with the shortage of special glasses they just took the easy and safe way. Some schools even closed the shutters. I have no words for how appalled and disappointed I am. I understand the need to be safe, I myself refused to looks through a space blanket. But Pinhole cameras are perfectly safe, cheap and easy to make. Even a famous TV physicist posted a rant about how we live in a society of fear mongering.<br />
<br />
So, additionally to feeling lonely and cut off, I'm also sad about what this world is coming to. There is so much fear in this world and freedom and equality and peace are eaten up by it. And many of the people pretending to protect freedom are sowing fear and feel like I can do nothing but watch helplessly.<br />
But this issue probably is better of in another blog post.Elenirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15962711349913719208noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7573553895838383074.post-14196496652670546142015-01-26T12:15:00.000-08:002015-01-27T12:37:56.054-08:00busy time hiatusI'm sorry that there's not been much happening on this blog for some time. You'll have to have a little more patience.<br />
<br />
There's a lot happening in my life at the moment.<br />
<br />
Just before christmas my parents transfered their freehold flat and the rest of the debts to me. I have to refinance everything (it's a good time to do this). It was a lot to do, with the lawyer, notary and all the talks with the different financial institutions involved. So christmas holidays weren't as relaxing as they could have been.<br />
Today I had (hopefully) the last meeting at a bank and until the end of February everything should be done. but it'll have cost me more of my reserves than I had planned.<br />
<br />
I've also got to have dental treatment. I'd had to organize an estimate of costs and collect my "bonus books" from three different past dentists, to prove that I've been at the dentist every year for the past 10 years - because then my insurance will pay more. Still, it's going to be several hundreds of euro.<br />
<br />
I have three tickets to go see Queen & Adam Lambert. Of course this is great, but with all else I hardly had time to look forward to it. I had to organize a hotel and train ticket for one conert, I still have to organize train tickets for the other two.<br />
<br />
And then my fridge broke.<br />
It's not simply a fridgy, I have a "pantry kitchen", which means that fridge, sink and cooktop are all together. I don't have much room, so I had to get such a small kitchen. The repairperson said it'll be uneconomical to repair the fridge, but he said I can take it out and replace it. So besides that repairperson costing me a hundred euro (even though he couldn't do anything) and the new fridge costing me several hundreds of euro, I'll also have to look for a small fridge that'll fit and a company that'll carry the fridge up to the top floor, uninstall the old one (completely with un- and reinstalling the sink and siphon) and take the old one with them.<br />
<br />
It's so much at the moment that I sometimes feel like a deer in in the spotlight, paralysed, not knowing what to do next.<br />
I'm away from home for 12 hours everyday, I have to make calls during my work time. The last week I got home and had so many things to organize that I didn't even have something for supper until after 9 PM.<br />
I'm so mentally exhausted. So, so tired.<br />
I have a history with clinical depression and sometimes I'm afraid I can't make it through, though I'm always telling myself that it's only some more weeks and I'll take one step after the other.<br />
<br />
So, I don't really have a lot of time to write reviews at the moment.Elenirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15962711349913719208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7573553895838383074.post-7934362199954782112015-01-04T08:14:00.001-08:002015-01-04T08:14:56.911-08:00short reviews of Fall 2014 animesI think I liked the Fall season better than the <a href="http://everythingbetweenheavenandhell.blogspot.de/2014/08/summer-season-2014-anime-short-reviews.html" target="_blank">Summer season</a> of 2014. There were a couple of surprises there.<br />
For the first time I watched some really short animes, even two of them.<br />
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<b>Gugure! Kokkuri-san</b><br />
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Kohina is a little girl who lives alone for some reason. To cope with things, she likes to pretend she's a doll. She also really, really loves instand cup noodles. One day she accidently summons a fox spirit called Kokkuri-san, who wanted to haunt her but then became more of a surrogate mother. Two more spirits start living with them, a pedophile stalking dog spirit and a drinking and gambling playboy Tanuki.<br />
<br />
Kohina is really abit weird - she's drawn so weird, so small. And nothing is explained to why she lives all alone, as a little girl. And Inugami, the dog spirit was really creepy and too much of a pedophile, for my taste.<br />
Kokkuri-san and Shigaraki, the Tanuki, were likable characters though. And the alien classmate was hilarious.<br />
<br />
Gugure! Kokkuri-san is a light, enjoyable comedy. I really liked the opening credits, too, such a catchy tune. <br />
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<br />
<b>Orenchi no Furo Jijō</b><br />
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This was one of the surprises. I didn't read the details before and so I was surprised that the episodes were just a few minutes long! But it soon became one of my favourites this season.<br />
<br />
Tatsumi is a young man who lives alone. One day he finds someone collapsed on the riverbank and after rushing to help, he finds it's a merman. Wakasa from then on continues to live in Tatsumis bathtub. Wakasa is a bit childish, very clueless about the human world, enthusiastic and easy to impress. Sometimes his friends visit, there's Takasu the octopus who's good at fixing things and giving massages, Mikuni, the jellyfish who can shrink and doesn't need food and Maki, the tiny hermit crab.<br />
<br />
It's really a bit of a strange set-up and with just about 4 minutes per episode there's not much of a plot. Of course there's some yaoi innuendos going on, but it's only hints for the fangirls, the anime itself is harmless. The opening is strange, too, it looks much more dramatic while the anime itself is pretty light-hearted.<br />
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<br />
<b>Akatsuki no Yona</b><br />
<br />
Yona is the princess of a small country, the only child of her kind father. She's in love with her gentle cousin Su-won, one of her two childhood friends. The other one is General Hak Son, a famous young warrior. On her sixteenth birthday, just when she decided to tell her father that she intends to pursue her childhood love, she sees her father being murdered by just this man, Sun-Won. Completely shocked, she's about to be killed, too, but Hak manages to save her and escape with her. Constantly on the run and in hiding, she takes some time to process what happened. Meanwhile Sun-won is crowned as the new king. Yona then decides to seek the help of four mythical humans with dragon.blood to take action.<br />
<br />
At first this looked like another reverse harem with the annoying, helpless "heroine". But it's actually different. While Yona is suffering at first, I think it's rather understandable considering what she just had to go through. She gets herself together after a while and starts taking responsibility and changing and growing stronger.<br />
Still, at the beginning it feels more like it's actually about Hak, he seems more like the main person.<br />
I also like that Sun-won is not portrayed as a completely evil person. Even after you see him coldly killing his uncle, you're still not sure what drove him and whether he wasn't right after all...<br />
<br />
This anime is going on for more than this season, so there's still time to catch on.<br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
<b>Danna ga Nani wo Itteiru ka Wakaranai Ken</b><br />
<br />
As long as the title is, as short are the episodes, again only about 3 minutes. And of course, there's not much of a plot, it's more a slice-of-life anime.<br />
<br />
Kaoro is a hard-working OL (office lady) who for some reason married an otaku. That's really all there is to day about the story.<br />
It's funny though I probably didn't understand half of the references to other anime. But it's not as good as Orenchi no Furo Jijou.<br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
<b>Donten ni Warau</b><br />
<br />
The three Kumoh brothers Tenka, Soramaru and Chuutarou live in a shrine together with former ninja Shirasu in an area where the sky is always cloudy. The reason for this, according to a myth, is that the region is cursed by a giant demon snake called Orochi who resides there and is reborn every 300 years within a human host.<br />
The brothers have the job of delivering criminals to a big prison in the middle of a lake, but the Kumoh family is also part of an alliance against the Orochi. Something the two younger brothers know nothing about but will soon enough have to learn - the hard way.<br />
<br />
One warning: this anime is really sad at times. It does have a somewhat happy ending, but it's often rather dark.<br />
I really liked this one, enough to buy the German mangas. The art and character design is really beautiful, the characters are insteresting and there's one or two big surprises in the plot.<br />
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<br />Elenirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15962711349913719208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7573553895838383074.post-68804292736202148232014-12-21T10:16:00.000-08:002014-12-21T10:16:15.296-08:00worrywartIt's christmas holidays, I have a quite a few days off work and I should be happy and relax.<br />
<br />
But I'm not relaxed at all. I'm note even able to think of a good title.<br />
The reason is that from tomorrow on I'll be owning an apartment. Sounds rather joyous, but I'm worried.<br />
The thing is, my parents own this apartement and it's not yet completely paid for. So I'll not only be taking over the apartement, but also the debts. If I don't take it, my parents will eventually have to sell and move out. It's all very complicated, together with the rights for my brother a right of abode for my parents and all. The debts are in several building loan contracts, which I want to end because it amounts to quite a lot per month. At the moment credit is cheap, so I want to take a new credit and use it to pay off all the building loan contracts. I'll not be able to live there, because I work in another town (which means I'll have to pay rent anyway).<br />
<br />
I see this as a retirement arrangement. Investing in residential property is a good thing at the moment, everyone says. And I want to keep the apartement in the family, it's where I grew up, I love this place. It's a good time to take a credit, everyone says. It is not that much money, and I know that pretty much everyone who buys or build a house will be in debt. I know all this. I know it is probably overall a good idea.<br />
<br />
But it is a risk.<br />
I've never been in debt before. And it'll take about 20 years to pay it off.<br />
What if we do something wrong with the contract? What if I don't get a better credit? What if something happens to someone in my family? Will I be able to support my brother with some money like I used to?<br />
<br />
I'm a procrastinator so I'm a little late about arranging the credit. I feel bad about this, but there's nothing I can do now. I feel like I have to do more research, gather more information. At the same time I really hate this issue. I want to relax, too. I feel like I really need to. I try not to brood over it too much, I have to be able to sleep at night, but at the same time I feel like I should think about it more.<br />
I'm so glad once all this is over and decided. But I'm afraid it'll take some time with the credit.<br />
<br />
So from tomorrow on, I'll own an apartement. And I'll have a debt of several thens of thousands of euro.<br />
I hope I'll be able to sleep.Elenirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15962711349913719208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7573553895838383074.post-42571349941614209362014-11-09T08:21:00.001-08:002014-11-09T08:21:25.580-08:00red-golden leavesI just came back from an afternoon walk. It's a nice autumn day, actually quite warm for November. The sun makes the trees glow in red-golden colours. Beautiful.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaRHFdnvbNWsbrfZg0mqij3vARUvYBIA7L7oJkqhklL1WTjVRlueSkokrVfYwwAjFu8l4u3fSN5zQqB6IsMY-6HspE5oeBdo-vAMEHyCoRvDP4lQvSJtP54Lksj_YCx7IZdrXh6jEUyMk/s1600/walk_nov2014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaRHFdnvbNWsbrfZg0mqij3vARUvYBIA7L7oJkqhklL1WTjVRlueSkokrVfYwwAjFu8l4u3fSN5zQqB6IsMY-6HspE5oeBdo-vAMEHyCoRvDP4lQvSJtP54Lksj_YCx7IZdrXh6jEUyMk/s1600/walk_nov2014.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I like going for walks because it soothes the mind. You're not doing anything else, you're not going anywhere.<br />
You're not on your bike to reach some point, you're not running to train your body, you're not walking your dog - you're just enjoying the surroundings, smelling the nature and listening to all the different sounds around you. And maybe talking to someone, if you're not alone.<br />
<br />
I thought that I should really do this more often.<br />
I'm usually spending my weekends at home because there's so much to do. During the week I don't sleep enough and I'm commuting, so I'm gone from home for at least 12 hours a day. I don't get anything done during the week, except for doing the laundry once in a while. So I have to get things done on the weekend. I have to do the grocery shopping for the next week, clean and do all the things that need to be done. And catch up on sleep.<br />
<br />
Sometimes I'm wondering whether I could do some volunteering work. When I'm especially pissed off with society I think of going into politics. Or maybe join an environmental NGO.<br />
But then I realize that I don't have the energy to do that. I'm still not sure why I feel like I lack energy. I'm taking vitamin B12 now and my iron level should be ok. I'm aware that clinical depression is looming and threatening, but as long as it's not acute I should not be this affected.<br />
<br />
But I'll try to go for a walk on the weekend more often.Elenirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15962711349913719208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7573553895838383074.post-62115283539632173882014-10-19T09:27:00.000-07:002014-10-19T09:27:18.981-07:00manga review: Hana wa Saku ka (Does the flower bloom?)This is the best yaoi I've come across in a while. I've read through it online in just a bit more than a day, then ordered all available volumes. I'll certainly check out other work by this artist.<br />
<br />
by Hidaka Shōko<br />
<b>Rating:</b> 4/5<b> </b><br />
<b>Volumes/episodes:</b> 5 <br />
<b>Mature content:</b> yes, later on (volume 4)<br />
<b>Genre:</b> slice of life, shōnen ai, yaoi<br />
<br />
37-year-old Kazuaki Sakurai works long hours for an advertising company. He used to be a promising art director but lost his spark over the last few years. He just bought an apartment but lives alone in it since his last relationship broke up; something he's rather used to.<br />
One day on his way home he bumps into a young man and a rare magazine of his gets damaged. Luckily the young man owns the same one and offers to swap. His home is not far away and Sakurai is amazed when it turns out to be a beautiful old mansion, a boarding house, surrounded by a big wild garden.<br />
A few days later Sakurai collapses from high fever (according to anime and manga that seems to be very common in Japan...) at the subway station. He's seen by boarders of the boarding house who think he's friends with the owner Youichi and bring him home. From this day on, Sakurai visits more often and becomes acquainted with the residents.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSDV-U8jDUCB9_dkGeophFh_rexltBsMafsTVxSRbqdvvJt5Tw7xWK9lacLMcuJKVlFJkEg6d-THg1e4BsNmqUN79K73ZQuyKHer94j59Wxpj3Ocg2ZpCqA93kQkix7Zjy1cOVdJcUlSA/s1600/hana-wa-saku-ka_woods.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSDV-U8jDUCB9_dkGeophFh_rexltBsMafsTVxSRbqdvvJt5Tw7xWK9lacLMcuJKVlFJkEg6d-THg1e4BsNmqUN79K73ZQuyKHer94j59Wxpj3Ocg2ZpCqA93kQkix7Zjy1cOVdJcUlSA/s1600/hana-wa-saku-ka_woods.jpg" height="320" width="198" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sakurai enjoys the boarding house and the surrounding gardens</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Youichi Minagawa is nineteen, an arts student and the owner of the boarding house. He's usually quiet but if he says something he's rather blunt (by Japanese standards), especially towards Sakurai. He reminds me a little of Haru from <a href="http://everythingbetweenheavenandhell.blogspot.de/2014/08/review-free-iwatobi-swim-club.html" target="_blank">Free!</a>, they share the same Aspergerish tendencies. He's very reclusive, only has closer contact with very few friends. His father used to be a great painter and a very beloved member of the Minagawa family clan, so the wealthy family takes care of Youichi and he's living quite a sheltered life.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNdbLt9PQ_vm7dj943snn0CxiDvZqG1pUaGtfABZoJUyBw8phxBPNkF8B4mXypECBB42B7enM_iF_qnkDz8YJHgP_p4qsnN1AcTTVfq53DrcOuWvJEcdB-Gx5QD6zZkTsMd17YYasNI40/s1600/hana-wa-saku-ka_bored.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNdbLt9PQ_vm7dj943snn0CxiDvZqG1pUaGtfABZoJUyBw8phxBPNkF8B4mXypECBB42B7enM_iF_qnkDz8YJHgP_p4qsnN1AcTTVfq53DrcOuWvJEcdB-Gx5QD6zZkTsMd17YYasNI40/s1600/hana-wa-saku-ka_bored.jpg" height="320" width="186" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Youich's wondering about his social abilities </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I can identify with both Youichi and Sakurai. Though I'm not as bad at
communicating with people as Youichi, I often feel out of touch with the
world and most of the people in it. I prefer to withdraw and occupy
myself with the things I like. "You're friendly to everybody, but the
truth is, you're not interested in anybody" - as much as this is true
for both Youichi and Sakurai, it might also be true for me. And I'm not
working Japanese hours but like Sakurai I feel like I work too much,
don't get enough sleep and am always tired. I don't feel like what I do
is great work, we're both just going through the motions, really. Plus, my plants always die on me, too.<br />
<br />
At the beginning it seems like Sakurai and Youichi dislike each other. At least they're not on very friendly terms, Sakurai especially seems to be irritated by the younger man. But people around Youichi are surprised at his behaviour since he's usually not interacting this much with people at all and they try to bring the two of them closer together - in a platonic way, I guess.<br />
<br />
This is one of the things I find strange with the story: it just seems a bit strange for Sakurai to form this kind of friendship with the boys from the boarding house. I mean, their age gap is unusual. Even the adults around Youichi don't seem to mind, on the contrary. Are they so desperate for a change in Youichis behaviour? What makes them think that Sakurai is the right person to be a mentor for Youichi? Did it never cross their minds that it's not platonic feelings of friendship that pull Youichi towards Sakurai? It's rather obvious to Fujimoto, a fellow student.<br />
Or maybe this has a cultural aspect that I don't quite understand. Maybe with the history of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexuality_in_Japan#Military_same-sex_love" target="_blank">wakashūdo</a>, a kind of samurai mentorship that included sexual activity, it would be more accepted? (Though thankfully Youichi is of age.)<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI57fCaIJWzXI59yWV7PY25xbxsV-hczxbJJRejxv-So1H4C00cVF4IKXHZbZlePOOjQoBFooGDSzdIK8298_D8oR_uX8P15TGKp7tMXHbOAOkCaQZUdE5No3Ku-iaTohh-u5pVhapuHM/s1600/hana-wa-saku-ka_trouble.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI57fCaIJWzXI59yWV7PY25xbxsV-hczxbJJRejxv-So1H4C00cVF4IKXHZbZlePOOjQoBFooGDSzdIK8298_D8oR_uX8P15TGKp7tMXHbOAOkCaQZUdE5No3Ku-iaTohh-u5pVhapuHM/s1600/hana-wa-saku-ka_trouble.jpg" height="320" width="191" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fujimotos warning</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Fujimoto knows what's going on between them the moment he sees the two of them together. He's fallen for Youichi, too - can't blame him, Youichi is both fascinating and beautiful - and he instantly recognizes Sakurai as a rival, so he tries his hardest to seperate them. He's also the one to point out the impossibility of a relationship.<br />
It's also not long until Sakurai realises the nature of his feelings for Youichi. He had forgotten what it feels like to fall in love - and then this time it's with a man. And the age gap is a big problem, too. He knows he shouldn't even be starting a relationship, he tries to be sensible and stay away, but to no avail. Youichi goes into this with a kind of childish innocence, he blurts out the most suggestive things and seems unaware of the effect it has on a confused Sakurai. And just as the older man comes to terms with his feelings and the fact that Youichi might be feeling similar and decides to start something - he's about to be transferred to another branch of the company for three years. <br />
<br />
<br />
So, about the yaoi part...<br />
Youichi seems to be perfectly fine with desiring another man. Maybe he's
glad to have found the answer to why he's never been interested in any
girls before. Sakurai has previously only had sexual relationships with
women, but that's not his biggest problem - though this may change when
their relationship becomes more obvious to their surroundings. Youichi
is a lot younger than him (nearly 20 years!) and completely inexperienced. Plus
Youichi seems like he's always just going along with whatever happens,
so Sakurai doesn't know what he's feeling. With his close friends and
acquaintances the young mans silence somehow works but it's a big
problem in his relationship with Sakurai. Youichi is very young compared to Sakurai and Sakurai feels the weight of all the responsibility on his shoulders. <br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6WqlxrQZtPqwzYs-YSt6_VEyJqvjY8WVn2pT_MWdRmGYU8gkjzeOVcekwuAqyRJHtEonPa5_LDj5e0fWyQClgFJ1sUs6Q8Il9g15VC86WE0O38b1UhB8oiEd-xPHURAqpjuZnXGYwMQQ/s1600/hana-wa-saku-ka_guardian.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6WqlxrQZtPqwzYs-YSt6_VEyJqvjY8WVn2pT_MWdRmGYU8gkjzeOVcekwuAqyRJHtEonPa5_LDj5e0fWyQClgFJ1sUs6Q8Il9g15VC86WE0O38b1UhB8oiEd-xPHURAqpjuZnXGYwMQQ/s1600/hana-wa-saku-ka_guardian.jpg" height="320" width="198" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sakurai is also unsure about what is expected from him</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I thought the erotic scene was rather realistic. It wasn't "I like you - you like me - let's have buttsecks - yay" like it's often portrayed in yaoi. Though Sakurai is generally more experienced, he's also inexperienced when it comes to having sex with men. It's still obvious that he knows a lot more about what's going on, and I think that's a good thing for Youichi (I think it's better when at least one of the partners knows what he's doing). Sakurai worries about him, but is also turned on by his innocence. It's adorable how Sakurai tried to think things trough, even watched some gay porn and bought some "supplies". It's also cute how fast Youichi comes the first time (ah, young men...).<br />
Actually I think of all the "first times" I've seen in manga, this was
probably the best. Though, of course, I actually have no idea about gay intercourse...<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYP8DnyFThBeuTDDQ_i2-KTeMdvemGSMgsl_8KD4tVHh_GZMjEXDDncvY8b8_m5H2ZaCEV5ihsq1ssvoIme6pjP-p38UpdIA3zM64vKhTZ_7sxwIS4cSBKGzrM9iAYnFVEjcRxLmV6dK8/s1600/hana-wa-saku-ka_inexperienced2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYP8DnyFThBeuTDDQ_i2-KTeMdvemGSMgsl_8KD4tVHh_GZMjEXDDncvY8b8_m5H2ZaCEV5ihsq1ssvoIme6pjP-p38UpdIA3zM64vKhTZ_7sxwIS4cSBKGzrM9iAYnFVEjcRxLmV6dK8/s1600/hana-wa-saku-ka_inexperienced2.jpg" height="320" width="199" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Youichi's green but Sakurai seems to like it </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Two things that bugged me a little: I'm aware that calling someone by their first name only is a bigger deal in Japan. But I think being seen during an orgasm is something very intimate and after they did what they did together, I think it's strange that Youichi still calls Sakurai by his last name. I'm really looking forward to when he'll finally call him by his first name.<br />
And I don't need very explicit scenes in mangas, but I didn't quite like how the mature content scenes were drawn. I felt it was too heavily censored. It's not like I have to see all body parts in detail, but I sometimes was a little confused as to what exactly they were doing and it's distracting wondering about that.<br />
<br />
<br />
More aspects that confused me were that the manga jumps a bit within the time span of
several months in the beginning. And sometimes it's a bit hard to tell what the characters are only thinking and how much they're actually saying out loud.<br />
<br />
<br />
But I like the workplace setting of Sakurais life. It's a nice
change to read about office work again, haven't had that in a while.
Overall Hana wa Saku ka reminds me of Tramps Like Us (one of my favourite josei
mangas) which is about the unusual relationship between a hard-working woman and a younger artistic man, and <a href="http://everythingbetweenheavenandhell.blogspot.de/2011/01/review-fruits-basket.html" target="_blank">Fruits Basket</a> with the boys living alone but the main family still deciding on their lives (it seems a bit strange to me, this family clan business). Then there's a little <a href="http://everythingbetweenheavenandhell.blogspot.de/2012/04/reviews-hanasakeru-seishounen-heart-no.html" target="_blank">Kuragehime</a> in there, too, I guess.<br />
<br />
I've only been talking about the relationship between Sakurai and Youichi, but there's other interesting characters in it, too. There's also more in it about the relationship of Youichi with his fathers legacy. But I already rambled on too much.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7rqqk4XxEehBjRkLlGTggYbD1mjCm6NVsJmSjgBtQ3s9xiFR_nA0-8N4lvGDkXGDoYNvF0EiKy2FDAa9pI1GPIh8PjMepYJm2xGgaSgOoBxcVpywtqOknz6Di5d2CxjyvVqtmpBCn5dU/s1600/hana-wa-saku-ka_curious.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7rqqk4XxEehBjRkLlGTggYbD1mjCm6NVsJmSjgBtQ3s9xiFR_nA0-8N4lvGDkXGDoYNvF0EiKy2FDAa9pI1GPIh8PjMepYJm2xGgaSgOoBxcVpywtqOknz6Di5d2CxjyvVqtmpBCn5dU/s1600/hana-wa-saku-ka_curious.jpg" height="320" width="190" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">beautiful Youichi </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
It's mentioned at the end of the fourth volume that the author intends to finish this up in fife volumes. But I've read the first four and a few additional chapters now and I can't imagine how things could be wrapped up in just one more book. Especially since a new "problem" has been brought up in the last few chapters. The story's pacing was slow so far, and I liked that, so it seems weird to rush now. I really hope there'll be more. and the author doesn't ruin the story with a hurried ending.Elenirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15962711349913719208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7573553895838383074.post-74327212721528469962014-09-20T10:34:00.001-07:002014-09-20T10:34:47.710-07:00writing ideas that never go anywhereRecently on a sunday morning I've been lying in bed and suddenly these two characters came into my head. Since I've found some beautiful pictures on Pinterest, I've been interested in danmei (Chinese version of yaoi apparently) and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuxia" target="_blank">wuxia</a> (martial arts/fantasy hero stories). Well, out of that, half asleep, Han and Li were created. Those are just "working names" right now, actually they resemble the names of two co-workers which inspired their characters. Another inspiration are <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Story_of_Saiunkoku_characters#Sh.C5.ABei_Ran" target="_blank">Shūei Ran</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Story_of_Saiunkoku_characters#K.C5.8Dy.C5.AB_Ri" target="_blank">Kōyū Ri</a> of <a href="http://everythingbetweenheavenandhell.blogspot.de/2012/03/review-saiunkoku-monogatari.html" target="_blank">Saiunkoku Monogatari</a>. I made up the story of how Han and Li became lovers - and later that day forgot most of it.<br />
<br />
I'm still keeping those two in mind and working on it (often as a distraction when I get depressed about my current work situation) - though most probably there will never be a story. I'm not good at stories. I can make up characters and individual scenes, but I can never think of a proper plot.<br />
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It's a bit of a shame, really. While cleaning up my parents cellar recently and sorting through my old stuff I found a folder full of material about the U.S.S. Phoenix: I made up a Starfleet ship, with the whole bridge crew, their backstories and even drawings. But I never could think of a good story, so that went nowhere.</div>
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This song kind of represents the atmosphere I'm having in mind for Han and Li:
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/azn_2kEmd3U?rel=0" width="420"></iframe></div>
(Love this song, but unfortunately it's not available as a download in Germany. It's the ending of the anime <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uragiri_wa_Boku_no_Namae_o_Shitteiru" target="_blank">Uragiri wa Boku no Namae wo Shitteiru</a>.)Elenirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15962711349913719208noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7573553895838383074.post-91453802800129225322014-09-16T13:19:00.000-07:002014-09-16T13:19:02.514-07:00What it all comes down to is that I haven't got it all figured out just yet.<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I feel drunk but I'm sober, I'm young and I'm underpaid.<br />
I'm tired but I'm working.<br />
I care but I'm restless, I'm here but I'm really gone. </blockquote>
Alanis Morissette - Hand In My PocketElenirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15962711349913719208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7573553895838383074.post-14603874307041053312014-08-14T13:26:00.001-07:002014-08-14T13:26:51.680-07:00Summer season 2014 anime short reviewsSo here's a roundup of the animes I'm watching this season (apart from <a href="http://everythingbetweenheavenandhell.blogspot.de/2014/08/review-free-iwatobi-swim-club.html" target="_blank">Free! Eternal Summer</a>). I didn't like last season too much, but this time there's a few good ones.<br />
<br />
<b>DRAMAtical Murder</b><b><br /></b><br />
This is a strange one.<br />
I really like the setting, futuristic, people in gangs, personal assistants in the form of robot animals. I also really like the character design, very diverse, colourful, creative, a little crazy. My favourite is Koujaku - an adorable and sexy hairdresser (!!) and gang leader with an old-fashioned samurai-ish outfit, tattoos and long dark hair.<br />
<br />
I've read that this is based on a yaoi game, but so far it's rather harmless; there's just one kiss and that was more of a WTF moment than romantic or sexy.<br />
I can't say too much of the plot yet because DRAMAtical Murder is one of these animes in which you need a lot of episodes to figure out what's going on. But it's not confusing enough to make me drop it (like some others), but rather entertaining enough to continue.<br />
<br />
The big problem DRAMAtical Murder has is the animation. I don't usually care that much about animation quality but here it's at times so bad that even I notice. I do hope the studio manages to improve.<br />
I'm also not too fond of the opening and ending, especially the music, but that's not too important for me.<br />
<br />
Cyberpunk and yaoi - sounds like a good mash-up. Kind of makes me want to play the game and read the manga.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimWEZWP0Iu51onQh930ouAGCCdqo4YyE5019zvuSPWoZwg81voSRi8eYpJ5XBVNbyYtwkRHM-GDaA8s4t2siJRRgQ-SjYMc7G6GvA4BQnsDRg3yWoTROUR0kPTBnA_nodY9v5uxURcyt8/s1600/dmmd_mizuki-koujaku.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimWEZWP0Iu51onQh930ouAGCCdqo4YyE5019zvuSPWoZwg81voSRi8eYpJ5XBVNbyYtwkRHM-GDaA8s4t2siJRRgQ-SjYMc7G6GvA4BQnsDRg3yWoTROUR0kPTBnA_nodY9v5uxURcyt8/s1600/dmmd_mizuki-koujaku.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0m80YNnDQs4yOozX1DA7g3U4fckKeSD_o6nEnwU2rE0n_4TL4C-cNlEuZ0-bGas-Nv8Wz6VYN56fK3aCyvELx_kvRhCQyx9Z7FcCYq8gV_dHFI7ewJHbCKFJFaEeEdyQUxXHPLkAuJ_M/s1600/dmmd_noiz.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0m80YNnDQs4yOozX1DA7g3U4fckKeSD_o6nEnwU2rE0n_4TL4C-cNlEuZ0-bGas-Nv8Wz6VYN56fK3aCyvELx_kvRhCQyx9Z7FcCYq8gV_dHFI7ewJHbCKFJFaEeEdyQUxXHPLkAuJ_M/s1600/dmmd_noiz.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<b>Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun</b><b><br /></b><br />
Chiyo Sakura has a crush on her schoolmate Umetarou Nozaki but when she tries to confess... she gets mistaken as a fan. Turns out Nozaki-kun is secretly the mangaka of a popular shōjo series. And while Sakura tries to get closer to him, she somehow ends up as his assistant.<br />
<br />
There's really not much more to the plot. But the characters are awesome.<br />
<br />
This is a hilarious shōjo parody. Everytime it seems like it's turning into your typical romantic high school drama for girls - something wacky happens and turns it all around.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX1t6gLby83O-AnnLrg14WyLppTLa47SdftGeDgQ6L2jSBZzfF5aPoGq7aoriw0m4EmGBaPwpbFkSVUqeMJrK13UniGvt9FxaoW84PO2vlwIlxyjgGxTUfgYENIdoqOVstATRbrOKNDac/s1600/Gekkan-Shoujo-Nozaki-kun_nozaki-sakura.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX1t6gLby83O-AnnLrg14WyLppTLa47SdftGeDgQ6L2jSBZzfF5aPoGq7aoriw0m4EmGBaPwpbFkSVUqeMJrK13UniGvt9FxaoW84PO2vlwIlxyjgGxTUfgYENIdoqOVstATRbrOKNDac/s1600/Gekkan-Shoujo-Nozaki-kun_nozaki-sakura.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<b>Ao Haru Ride</b><b><br /></b><br />
And here we have the shōjo Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun is making fun of...<br />
When Yoshioka Futaba starts High School she wants to change her image. She had been hated by the girls in her school because she was the cute type whom the boys like, so now she's going for a tomboy attitude. Then she unexpectedly meets her former crush Mabuchi Kou who had had moved away suddenly. But he has also changed a lot and while she tries to find out what happened, despite everything they become friends again. Prompted by Kous snarky remarks she tries to lead a more authentic school life with less shallow friendships. And so somehow an unlikely circle of friends forms. But things get complicated when Futabas new best friend falls for Kou.<br />
<br />
It might sound weird but I kind of like how she likes his smell and how she's fascinated by the nape of his neck (a very intimate and sensitive area of your body) - it's those things that make it seem more realistic. And maybe somehow it makes me feel a little nostalgic. Also the pacing of the story is really good.<br />
<br />
I know it's a rather typical high school romance, but I really quite like it. I even started reading the manga (which is also good).<br />
<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD2KclsgCbfwzs11mdV8c5wjzY5JFolRsShYxpfI1vxAWHy86Ya0tMDC8D6Y-eZTPH4JBowcKI9E6OO8jaNZ8RX8vnBS2u4uYutdad5zkk9GoUQT3xYjsshCC4r_cuO7P4h8A00NXEwwA/s1600/ao-haru-ride_kou-futaba.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD2KclsgCbfwzs11mdV8c5wjzY5JFolRsShYxpfI1vxAWHy86Ya0tMDC8D6Y-eZTPH4JBowcKI9E6OO8jaNZ8RX8vnBS2u4uYutdad5zkk9GoUQT3xYjsshCC4r_cuO7P4h8A00NXEwwA/s1600/ao-haru-ride_kou-futaba.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggJV7z-aipjQONiQo77amW5JF9_o5W7m8Zzjgy9k2rskilc6XpEdzKtGNKSGj-OZvArpsOWszzB53TQr3sGyUSUVBFtLRkK1syEUU2xrqjVk4lcWYAy9Wwuw4Xjub11y9jvFldQpeXlDk/s1600/ao-haru-ride_night-talk.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggJV7z-aipjQONiQo77amW5JF9_o5W7m8Zzjgy9k2rskilc6XpEdzKtGNKSGj-OZvArpsOWszzB53TQr3sGyUSUVBFtLRkK1syEUU2xrqjVk4lcWYAy9Wwuw4Xjub11y9jvFldQpeXlDk/s1600/ao-haru-ride_night-talk.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
<br />
<b>Love Stage!!</b><b><br /></b><br />
Love Stage!! is a "gay" love story set in the entertainment industry in which an otaku from a famous family and a rising idol star discover that they are not as heterosexual as they thought they were.<br />
<br />
I've read the manga before (and then forgot about it, like so often) so I
started to watch the anime, too. I was a little surprised to hear of an
anime adaption since the manga is quite explicit. In the anime there
was ony one of these scenes so far and that one was of course heavily
censored.<br />
<br />
What I didn't like - in both manga and anime - was the sexual assault scene. I dislike how often these are used in manga/anime with a "I just couldn't help myself" and shortly after everything's ok because it was done because he loved her/him so much. I think that's a sickening attitude to spread. Sorry for that little rant.<br />
<br />
Aside from that Love Stage!! is actually pretty funny and entertaining.<br />
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<br />
<br />
<b>Barakamon</b><b><br /></b><br />
The handsome uprising calligrapher Seishuu Handa wins an important price but when he's critisized for being too conventional, his pride his hurt and he punches his critic, another famous calligrapher. As a punishment and to improve his art, the young man has to leave Tokyo and live on a remote island. As a city boy he's having a hard time dealing with the rural community, especially little girl Naru who is delighted to have a new playfellow available all day.<br />
So we watch "Sensei"s (everyone just calls him that) quest to find his own style in calligraphy, which is sometimes heartwarming and most of the time extremely funny. The animation style is beautiful and the opening and ending songs are good and fit the mood.<br />
<br />
Barakomon might be the best anime this season. I wasn't sure after the second episode because I felt it was too much slapstick with no good pacing, but the other episodes are great. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF1QZPZkFM9pIDwiZmP-6BjEC5D8J6amqW1uAFHvhqXfOZXtkgGpRBGbM9WsZ5AZAqi2dls7XMWHI8-mBljSUhcfgaSdMCaPGSV35eNnhggbjDMpq_g5SoksOrcivVreSO23Ogmpq6mtI/s1600/barakomon_handa-seishuu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF1QZPZkFM9pIDwiZmP-6BjEC5D8J6amqW1uAFHvhqXfOZXtkgGpRBGbM9WsZ5AZAqi2dls7XMWHI8-mBljSUhcfgaSdMCaPGSV35eNnhggbjDMpq_g5SoksOrcivVreSO23Ogmpq6mtI/s1600/barakomon_handa-seishuu.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYcLrqEdlEB-Q57g09kcyzk_3_0s39eMwiwwqq6ZAKtTR_u_Jn8C6MT_2hCyHwB4LHigLe2XOCTV4S5es4XrzsuKHkvsvZvhMkEc7Lx0XUYOQlJ96_4SmkBb2EbE2PK47hnBX4jwYaL0k/s1600/barakomon_sensei.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYcLrqEdlEB-Q57g09kcyzk_3_0s39eMwiwwqq6ZAKtTR_u_Jn8C6MT_2hCyHwB4LHigLe2XOCTV4S5es4XrzsuKHkvsvZvhMkEc7Lx0XUYOQlJ96_4SmkBb2EbE2PK47hnBX4jwYaL0k/s1600/barakomon_sensei.jpg" height="178" width="320" /></a></div>
Elenirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15962711349913719208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7573553895838383074.post-52817305176261150522014-08-12T11:13:00.001-07:002014-08-12T11:13:39.766-07:00Crave<i>Your eyes, your ears, your mouth, your nose<br />
Your arms, your legs, your heart, your soul<br />
Touch me, touch me, touch me, touch me<br />
My body craves your touch</i><br />
<br />
Nuno - Crave<br />
<i><br /></i>
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<i><br /></i>Elenirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15962711349913719208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7573553895838383074.post-3756100455587763202014-08-04T13:25:00.000-07:002014-08-04T13:25:15.213-07:00review: Free! Iwatobi Swim ClubIt's summer. It's hot. In my opinion, it's way too hot (I hate global warming).<br />
Thankfully the second season of the perfect anime to cool down is here: Free! Eternal Summer.<br />
I really liked the first season and now the second season is there, it got me again. Badly. I even re-watched the first. Twice. I hope that with this review I can get some of that obsession out of my system, so I'm sorry if it's a little long and raving.<br />
<i>Spoiler warning:</i> it's not really spoilers, but there's some screenshots from the second season, up to about episode 4 or 5. <br />
<br />
<b>Rating:</b> 5/5 (with my current obsession, maybe a 4/5 in my normal state)<br />
<b>Volumes/episodes:</b><br />
one light novel<br />
anime: 2 seasons with 12 episodes each, season 2 ongoing at the moment<br />
<b>Mature content:</b> only in your head<br />
<b>Genre:</b> sports, slice of life<br />
<br />
Haru and Makoto are best friends since childhood. In high school they meet with Nagisa, who used to be on a swimming team with them and decide to form a swim club at their school. They are supported by Gou, the younger sister of another former friend from their old swim club, Rin. Rin has recently returned from abroad but it seems like he's not a friend anymore. His character has changed a lot from when they were kids and the first season looks at why this has happened. Plus there's the struggle to make the newly-formed Iwatobi Swim Club into a a swimming team to be reckoned with.<br />
I find it quite hard to describe the plot because outwardly there's not an awful lot happening. The plot is more of a coming of age story, a character development for both Haru and Rin.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYld-xrfjogK6iLFYA5-NZ2ajQKt0Tq8nVjjXoyYIc2tezFYM9X7pYLUm-1fpl0RLsTSto_J6H5bk142oy1I3dFInQnmgMWM2kg7oqLsp3pw-QQ-aL3f0Oi65HdPXLd8CHY6ajr3Eeya4/s1600/iwatobi-rin-haru.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYld-xrfjogK6iLFYA5-NZ2ajQKt0Tq8nVjjXoyYIc2tezFYM9X7pYLUm-1fpl0RLsTSto_J6H5bk142oy1I3dFInQnmgMWM2kg7oqLsp3pw-QQ-aL3f0Oi65HdPXLd8CHY6ajr3Eeya4/s1600/iwatobi-rin-haru.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rin and Haru getting into a fight</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I can, however, say more about the characters.<br />
Haru loves water. A lot. He reminds me a little of that girl in the movie "<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100140/" target="_blank">Mermaids</a>", played by Christina Ricci. Anything to do with water is serious business to Haru. He consideres water to be its own entity, so much that he goes to consult with it when he has problems or when prompted to tell his friends about a romantic encounter, he talks about seeing a waterfall. While he doesn't swim to win competitions or be the fastest, he does get jealous when he gets the feeling there's someone the water loves as much as him. I think being in water makes him feel at peace and "free". His natural connection with water makes everyone admire him when he's swimming, but he's not very good with people. He's an introvert and mostly only gets pushed into social interaction by his best friend Makoto (usually with the promise of a pool being involved). He doesn't show a lot of emotion and he sometimes seems to have difficulties to know what is appropriate to say or do, he's nearly <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger_syndrome" target="_blank">Asperger</a>-ish. He's very quiet and usually only talks when he feels he has something important to say. I guess to most people he'd seem weird and anti-social. Nevertheless he can form strong bonds with people important to him, like Makoto or Rin.<br />
<br />
Makoto is gentle and kind. Even though he's friendly and often smiling, he keeps his worries to himself; I guess he tries not to bother anyone. Haru is probably one of the few people he sometimes confides in. He's a very caring older brother to his two siblings and he takes care of Haru, too (which got him the fandom nickname of "Mamakoto"). He's tall with broad shoulders and though he's definitely a looker, he seems shy about showing off his body (apparently the only one of the swimmers to feel that way). He's also easily frightened and suffers from thalassophobia (fear of the ocean) - maybe that's why he's swimming. His helpful nature makes him a good team captain, but sometimes there's a hint in his expression telling you that you do not want to make him get really angry. But maybe that's just my impression, he's been nothing but a sweetheart in the series. But I hope we get a little more character development from Makoto in the second season.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhukx6yU3V-HOsHczOSRBkFHsj2XttPV3K-_3IVy-sYz-93BqxTi-BDtci7udGtVYlhc-cyeCvmz74TMbnkxAekYjkSCWL6AnO6ZXkt1z5V-Lamlx-SQaXD5GCfgG9yooI35c48paz2K0w/s1600/iwatobi-haru-makoto-endcard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhukx6yU3V-HOsHczOSRBkFHsj2XttPV3K-_3IVy-sYz-93BqxTi-BDtci7udGtVYlhc-cyeCvmz74TMbnkxAekYjkSCWL6AnO6ZXkt1z5V-Lamlx-SQaXD5GCfgG9yooI35c48paz2K0w/s1600/iwatobi-haru-makoto-endcard.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Haru playing games at Makotos</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Rin's a "romantic swimming maniac" (a quote from his childhood friend Sousuke), he's very emotional, he laughs freely and he cries openly. He's the opposite of Haru: he's outgoing and he likes being around people. Rin is very disciplined and demands much of himself, his confidence is legitimate concerning his athletic abilities, but mentally he's not as strong as he likes to make people believe. He's handsome (he has that casual sexiness...) and can be quite charming if he wants to - or an annoying jerk. The change in his personality after coming back from Australia is so blatant that it worries his friends and family: he's gloomy, rude and he pushes people away, even his sister Gou. His relationship with his little sister is usually very good, even though they don't see each other often since he's at a boarding school. He's very protective of her and it's obvious they love each other very much (as siblings). His pointy teeth are a little weird though... In my opinion Rin has the most character development in the first season. I think he doesn't only love to swim relays because of following his fathers footsteps - I think being with his friends empowers him and gives him strength. He's a great swimmer, but he might actually be even better in a team. If that wasn't enough "Geschwafel" about Rin, for an amazing character study go <a href="http://shameless-fujoshi.tumblr.com/post/62577501415/a-character-study-of-matsuoka-rin-the-quest" target="_blank">here</a> (it's way better than what I wrote, totally worth the time it takes to read, I promise).<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK5HK-IILwoJYtbmiJ_SB_k27rccyEv8I2uAH0zoOfUWN03xVTU7UwH1reDUTv8lgRGSCGDPoa2SNja0Ru-nFdk3BDZXslWKqdF3HHxYheKH54jmnNn6adVz50uChjGyckSfONen1BNws/s1600/iwatobi-rin.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK5HK-IILwoJYtbmiJ_SB_k27rccyEv8I2uAH0zoOfUWN03xVTU7UwH1reDUTv8lgRGSCGDPoa2SNja0Ru-nFdk3BDZXslWKqdF3HHxYheKH54jmnNn6adVz50uChjGyckSfONen1BNws/s1600/iwatobi-rin.jpg" height="177" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rin being sexy</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I understand and like those three characters but I have a bit of a problem with the remaining two members of the Iwatoba Swim Club.<br />
Nagisa is a very outgoing, happy-go-lucky personality. He seems very childish and unlike the others isn't prone to overthinking things - I mean that in a good way, his enthusiasm is very important for the team. But he can also be quite cunning, manipulating and maybe even a little sadistic at times. I think with Makoto and Haru being best friends and able to understand each other without words, he feels a little like the third wheel. That's why he's putting so much energy into finding new members and focuses so much on Rei after he joined. Rei and Nagisa often act like an old couple.<br />
Rei - as the one wearing glasses (megane) - is a bookworm. If it's to be found in a book Rei will know it and if he doesn't, he'll find out. His obsession with comprehending the theory behind things contradicts a little with his more irrational obsession for anything beautiful. What made him join the swimming team in the end was his admiration for the beauty of Harus swimming. He wants to understand what's going on and feels left out as the only one who doesn't know about their past with Rin. Even though he could be seen as simply a substitute for Rin, he doesn't seem to feel that way. Maybe, like Rin, he's quite the romantic behind all that analytical knowledge. And I think that's why he's able to do what he does in the end...<br />
<br />
I want to mention one more character, even though she's not exactly one of the main protagonists: Gou. First of all because I think she's a great character - which is rare, especially in reverse harem animes (yeah, I know, Free! isn't exactly one, but there IS only one girl among guys) - and because I think she plays an important role in forwarding the plot. Afterall, it is her who "arranges" the first meeting between Rin and his former friends. It's also Gou who's the fourth member needed to form the Swim Club at their school in the first place (before Rei came along). A lot of people only see her as the "fangirl representation" but I think that's not quite right. She's no <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaoi_fandom#Fujoshi" target="_blank">fujoshi</a>, she's a muscle fetishist; while she certainly enjoys the view of half-naked men, there's something more professional about it rather than just horniness. It's also not the reason she got involved with the swim club. She wanted to bring back the old Rin, to "heal" her brother and make him believe in his dream again, and she quite rightly guessed that Haru and his friends are the key to that. (I have a big brother, too, so I can really identify with that part of Gou. I think their sibling relationship is portrayed very beautifully.) But she doesn't only utilize the boys for her own purposes, she's actually a really good manager for them, too. She does her research to help improve their swimming, she makes up training plans, thinks up (wacky) ideas to recruit more members, she motivates and supports them. When she's not ogling at their muscles, she seems to be perfectly at ease with being the only girl surrounded by (half-naked bishōnen) guys. She doesn't make a big deal about it, but she's also not a tomboy either. I think her character comes across as very natural and normal. She's not stupid and not clumsy as females in anime often are and she's not reduced to being cute or sexy, and that's really refreshing. I wish we could see a
little more of her.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj82BjgAm2bxOkbxFaioteAECddsvCimq8bw5HHT4D-Q13MoQWSv3MBVAqKwOc4bWPrWytwVtFhfB8lZyyWIFGcmbsBSjF6n6EDqYbE3Ax0ECg_SJ9GH_qqqcRRE6De1BtbUXPTdmp1bJs/s1600/iwatobi-swim-club-members.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj82BjgAm2bxOkbxFaioteAECddsvCimq8bw5HHT4D-Q13MoQWSv3MBVAqKwOc4bWPrWytwVtFhfB8lZyyWIFGcmbsBSjF6n6EDqYbE3Ax0ECg_SJ9GH_qqqcRRE6De1BtbUXPTdmp1bJs/s1600/iwatobi-swim-club-members.jpg" height="204" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gou and her "swimmer harem"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Free! is based on a light novel by Kōji Ōji called "High Speed!". The
plot of the novel is about the time when Haru, Makoto, Rin and Nagisa
were kids up until they swam in a relay together and Rin left the
country. In the anime parts of the novel are told in flash back scenes. <br />
<br />
While Free! is nothing fancy, no exciting novelty, it is in my opinion a
very good anime series. It is so well done in every aspect, its brilliance is very
discreet.<br />
<br />
First of all it defies gender-focused genres. Yes, there's fanservice and yaoi innuendos - clearly aimed at a female audience. But there's also subjects that are more typical of the shōnen genre, there's sports, rivalry, friendship/bromance, improving yourself, overcoming obstacles. There is no romance in there at all (except for what the fangirls' minds put in). Sometimes maybe the guys are a bit too openly talking about their feelings for a shōnen anime, but I actually think that's a good thing; we need more differentiated gender roles for boys, too.<br />
So I think Free! is actually well-suited for both female and male audiences. It's a shame that many male viewers seem to shy away from it because of its "gay" reputation. Well yeah, there's a bunch of good-looking guys constantly taking off
their clothes to do stuff together. They're also half naked most of the
time. But what did you expect - it's an anime about swimming! If you can watch Phelps swim in the Olympics without questioning your sexuality then you can watch Free!, too. Besides, it might do boys good to see a normal female character like Gou in anime, too.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9jZSKIL00LP7pW_PBKKIr7AeVPZkDKJJcTuR-lqzQAjdkyUv-8xxyQ5aqss23XxOJdfEzS_9JEmFk6_ncFWcJs0wGCSS2jmhwe9ZAqRyhU5x_SdFacnX1V5-9LCBV3EEz1z8afDww_Is/s1600/iwatobi-rin-haru-hug.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9jZSKIL00LP7pW_PBKKIr7AeVPZkDKJJcTuR-lqzQAjdkyUv-8xxyQ5aqss23XxOJdfEzS_9JEmFk6_ncFWcJs0wGCSS2jmhwe9ZAqRyhU5x_SdFacnX1V5-9LCBV3EEz1z8afDww_Is/s1600/iwatobi-rin-haru-hug.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rin hugging Haru</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
And that's something that's not so shōnen-typical: the female characters. They're not silly, have normal bodies and and most of the time are fully dressed. I really, really appreciate that.<br />
The female characters aren't playing a very big role though, so it's a bit like getting the reverse harem anime without the annoying stupid female lead.<br />
<br />
Another thing I like about Free! is that it's quite realistic. We all know what this would look like of the protagonists were girls... But, the swimming gear and the body types of the guys are <a href="http://nailbats.tumblr.com/post/55246055174/reminder-that-free-is-actually-not-an-unrealistic" target="_blank">rather realistic</a> (with the exception of their Olympic-swimmer muscles during their untrained beginnings). Unlike <a href="http://everythingbetweenheavenandhell.blogspot.de/2011/01/bleach.html" target="_blank">Bleach</a> they don't have sudden last-minute power ups and don't always win and unlike <a href="http://everythingbetweenheavenandhell.blogspot.de/2012/07/reviews-brave-10-kuroko-no-basket.html" target="_blank">Kuroko no Basket</a> one match/contest doesn't take 10 episodes to finish.<br />
<br />
The animation is also well done from what I can tell. I'm not a big swimmer (I just like to soak in hot water), so I don't understand the details, but the way the swimming scenes are animated is simply beautiful. From what I've read around the internet it seems to be rather accurate, too. The motions look fluid and the water looks amazing. It really makes me want to jump in and swim, too.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzRaO1bye_Yj8x0xrZCY5RohTMvwREi8mGJ87QOxrkvd_vV8jtitVG87zim6HB_o4QhJhQBihz_5f7cjxZ04du66hZBGpHxV9qGIhQmfojND4UDqhedwyWWIzy5seXg8RBAEjpIhFJgXM/s1600/iwatobi-rin-swimming.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzRaO1bye_Yj8x0xrZCY5RohTMvwREi8mGJ87QOxrkvd_vV8jtitVG87zim6HB_o4QhJhQBihz_5f7cjxZ04du66hZBGpHxV9qGIhQmfojND4UDqhedwyWWIzy5seXg8RBAEjpIhFJgXM/s1600/iwatobi-rin-swimming.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Underwater</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I also like the humour. There are several running gags like Haru taking of his clothes to jump into the water every time he sees a pool of water bigger than a bucket. There's the "professional swimsuit past" of their advising teacher. There's Gous muscle fetish. The boys are also colour-coded and all have their "totem animal". Maybe you could also consider the gay innuendos a kind of running gag.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKKFahiMf8r_vIvl527Na0VOupFtpgTdgRq_kSQc0YYdP56IUXPqlQiDvAluuO8Tr1bpGcL9cFs0py-nk0LzSZx8LTu0QXdrtchgZxXDbBVDpwl-3Z_9shIR1_tM4iPneaxSyTs4shf38/s1600/iwatobi-sousuke-rin-bottom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKKFahiMf8r_vIvl527Na0VOupFtpgTdgRq_kSQc0YYdP56IUXPqlQiDvAluuO8Tr1bpGcL9cFs0py-nk0LzSZx8LTu0QXdrtchgZxXDbBVDpwl-3Z_9shIR1_tM4iPneaxSyTs4shf38/s1600/iwatobi-sousuke-rin-bottom.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's not about what you think it is about...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Free! is generally light-hearted, but it has its angsty moments, too, especially concerning Rin (again I want to refer you to the <a href="http://shameless-fujoshi.tumblr.com/post/62577501415/a-character-study-of-matsuoka-rin-the-quest" target="_blank">character study of Rin</a> I have mentioned further up). The two sides are very well balanced, another aspect of this animes brilliance.<br />
For me one of the worst tearjerkers was when Rin screwed up a race and was so devastated that he couldn't even manage to get out of the pool. Makoto always reaches out to help Haru out of the pool, so you wait for someone to help Rin - but there's no one. He tries again... and fails again. One of the most heartbreaking anime scenes I can think of.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizjSOB3ZydJUFw2td0Iq3lvLIdMhZ0bcueYLwY4l19y17YfKWNEfTN14CMTttBP7u9jjqjXeTY-KYT9x-lz0rw7FfAgX8bwnbZpLbaywY0T4JT6nSqjLmroEGhld9sv7RO17ImYhmX6Sg/s1600/iwatobi-rin-sight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizjSOB3ZydJUFw2td0Iq3lvLIdMhZ0bcueYLwY4l19y17YfKWNEfTN14CMTttBP7u9jjqjXeTY-KYT9x-lz0rw7FfAgX8bwnbZpLbaywY0T4JT6nSqjLmroEGhld9sv7RO17ImYhmX6Sg/s1600/iwatobi-rin-sight.jpg" height="178" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">angsty Rin</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Well, I can't deny
that Free! implies homoerotic tendencies even though technically it's
completely innocent and G-rated. All the yaoi only happens in the viewers mind. The tension between Rin and Haru, for
example, is intense. It could simply be an awesome bromance/rivalry. Or it could be of a more sexual nature, depending on how you look at it (and how you want it to be).<br />
As a fangirl you'd expect them to jump each other any moment -
but they don't. Which in a way is frustrating, but on the other hand
even more interesting. It's like the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wet_sari_scene" target="_blank">Wet Saree Scenes</a> in Bollywood movies: on the surface harmless family entertainment, but if you watch it with the right mind, it's incredibly <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxnUHB64NcU" target="_blank">sensual</a>.<br />
<br />
We all know how fandom works and how the internet works. Every two guys
who come closer to each other than a meter will be paired up. And so of
course it was obvious that the internet would be flooded with yaoi fan art,
fan fiction and all the like. And the makers of Free! are playing with
this, dropping innuendos here and there. It's very well done and it's
hilarious and quite often makes me go "Oh no, they didn't...".<br />
<br />
I do
watch and read shōnen ai and also yaoi, so "boys love" is fine with me,
however I'm usually not a fan of the couples the internet creates from
every friendship in other animes. I think that bromances should be appreciated for what
they are and that their sexualisation might lead to a diminishing
respect for true friendship. But with Free!... I just can't help but ship Haru and
Rin, really. (Harus and Makotos friendship/bromance is awesome enough
as it is.) It's really something that I do very rarely. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmndJES1twSIpN-k7bKotSxLVh96VluJQEfXAA_N6QbVwieR7sUeSU4WsKt3g43uIuZUg03merkwyEmwfiW5yFsl83gPWhcA7oDOlabDHlmMsNhd4uO8C1gGbJXB-B6LGgATaSF5u3wKs/s1600/iwatobi-rin-haru2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmndJES1twSIpN-k7bKotSxLVh96VluJQEfXAA_N6QbVwieR7sUeSU4WsKt3g43uIuZUg03merkwyEmwfiW5yFsl83gPWhcA7oDOlabDHlmMsNhd4uO8C1gGbJXB-B6LGgATaSF5u3wKs/s1600/iwatobi-rin-haru2.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bromance or romance?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Free! Iwatobi Swim Club (the first season) only has twelve episodes and I'd have expected to think that it's
not enough. But somehow, even though I feel like I can't get enough of this anime,
they manage to finish it in a way that feels good. The last episode is
great, it wraps up everything nicely. <br />
<br />
So in my opinion Free! is a great anime, the art is beautiful, the characters likeable, the storytelling well paced with light-heartedness and angst well ballanced.<br />
As you can see I loved the first season of Free! Iwatobi Swin Club and I already love the second season, Free! Eternal Summer. I'm really looking forward to see where this is going.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://iwatobi-sc.com/" target="_blank">Official Website</a><br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free!_-_Iwatobi_Swim_Club" target="_blank">Free! on wikipedia</a><br />
MyAnimeOnline: <a href="http://myanimelist.net/anime/18507/Free!" target="_blank">Free!</a> and <a href="http://myanimelist.net/anime/22265/Free!:_Eternal_Summer" target="_blank">Free! Eternal Summer</a><br />
<a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Anime/Free" target="_blank">Free! on TVTropes</a><br />
You can find a translation of the light novel into English <a href="http://mangahelpers.com/forum/showthread.php/2992276-High-Speed!-%28Free!%29-by-K%C5%8Dji-%C5%8Cji" target="_blank">here</a>. <br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJVeF2-zu1kGQ7t7UUPwolNWiQHXQUASs" target="_blank">50% Off</a> - Free! parody (Caution: strong language)<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNzarCkrlR_9tyOZzphrVO4NV0lvdckJPru5JVpH-SA1X7dQSqNYcamFoZCCTE1VBLIFIhWGkeRWhz-IhIBVcgypuFoBZ-BmwxjVORwUV_U2pIMv2TIxiDAKvKRIQ13GCZytn9eLw3uXQ/s1600/iwatobi-haru-swimming.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNzarCkrlR_9tyOZzphrVO4NV0lvdckJPru5JVpH-SA1X7dQSqNYcamFoZCCTE1VBLIFIhWGkeRWhz-IhIBVcgypuFoBZ-BmwxjVORwUV_U2pIMv2TIxiDAKvKRIQ13GCZytn9eLw3uXQ/s1600/iwatobi-haru-swimming.jpg" height="177" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Haru taking to swimming like a dolphin to water</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
Did writing this blog post help me to get rid of my current obsession? Nope, it actually made it worse. Oh well.Elenirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15962711349913719208noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7573553895838383074.post-79547028803981076122014-04-12T05:34:00.000-07:002014-04-12T05:34:45.555-07:00On the issue of Fake Geek Girls, The Big Bang Theory, Legolas and the new Star Trek movies<i>I know I'm late to the party, but some thoughts about this came to my mind just now.</i><br />
<br />
I do believe Fake Geek Girls exist. But: it's not just girls.<br />
Girls are just more obvious, they get more attention. I'm not 100% sure why that is. I think it has to do with gender stereotypes. If a guy says he thinks a woman is sexy, it's like stating that it's going to be a warm sunny day. Everyone can see that, it's not worth mentioning, though nobody minds of you do. But women are supposed not to like sex, so they're not supposed to think of men as sexy, so if they do - they're fan girls. I think this is one aspect, but there's probably more aspects (like men often being able to hide their cluelessness better).<br />
<br />
Anyway, so back to Fake Geeks. Yes, I think they exist.<br />
Maybe it's since The Big Bang Theory has become such a big mainstream hit series. Maybe some mainstream celebrity mentioned that they're a "nerd" or "geek" or something. Suddenly being a geek is trendy. Look at all those fake big black glasses. <br />
<br />
Take Star Trek for example. Fake geeks would say something like "I'm such a Trekkie, I saw both movies several times." The new movies are Star Trek for non-fans. They took the universe and made it into shiny, sexy action movies. Complete with "inside jokes" to make the fans happy. Looks good, enjoyable for everyone. Now everyone thinks Spock is sexy (not just Jadzia). But they left out some of the things that made Star Trek special - the philosophy, the ethics and morals. Aspects non-fans didn't know existed.<br />
<br />
Fake Geeks are annoying.<br />
I know I shouldn't say this. We should be happy that our fandom gets more attention, everyone should be welcome, etc. We should be happy that thanks to Sheldon Cooper more people know what the Doppler effect is. But it's annoying anyway.<br />
I remember when the Lord of the Rings movies were made. You know, the ones by Peter Jackson. I love them, of course. I loved Lord of the Rings way before that. I was a big fan of woodelves and Rangers. My first Pen&Paper roleplaying character was a hunter because it was the closest to a Ranger I could get. My niece - born before the first PJ movie came out - is called Arwen. I knew the Bakshi movie and one of the only two poems I can remember by heart is the Ring poem. Hardly anybody knew what I was talking about - and then suddenly everyone did. Suddenly everyone loved woodelves and Rangers because Legolas was so sexy and Aragorn so cool. It was weird. And it was a little annoying.<br />
It's happened to me again after that. It probably happened to X-Men fans, Sherlock fans, Dr. Who fans and others, too. I loved My Little Pony when I was a kid, but I still don't quite get the fad about them now. It's happening with Big Bang Theory. It will happen again in the future.<br />
<br />
So what should we do?<br />
We practice our patience. We're happy about the new fans it will bring to the fandom, the ones that will stick around and be an enrichment to the subculture. And we wait until the others leave again, run to the new fad that's coming up - and we hope they'll do it soon.<br />
And, of course, we'll take all the merchandise we can get... Elenirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15962711349913719208noreply@blogger.com0