I was thinking about doing some more blog posts. Smaller ones. Maybe some other than manga/anime reviews, but also posts about my life, life as a single woman, travelling, work.
I mean, it's not like anyone is actually following this blog and interested in my life. But just... I don't know... just because.
If - against all my exceptions - there is someone reading this: feel free to post what you'd like to read about.
I also thought it'd be nice to get someone else on board again, but I'm not sure who to ask.
Read more on this article...
Monday, April 30, 2012
Saturday, April 28, 2012
I am what I am - I am my own special creation
I'm most definitely not lesbian. I'm not even bisexual.
If I was Native American I'd probably be called a Two-Spirit. I'm not really a tomboy - that implies being sportive or aggressive. I don't dress or look androgynous.
I guess I could be called bigender - though I don't think I change inbetween different behaviours. I guess the newest trendy word would be "genderqueer" - but honestly I think that's a lot of bullshit.
I don't have some disorder, neither am I not part of some secluded LGBT community.
I have no doubt about identifing as a woman.
I am what I am. I am me.
I have my very own personality. Mine might be a bit more surprising than some others, but that's all.
That doesn't mean though that this little peculiarity of mine doesn't give me a hard time sometimes...
This blog post's title is taken from "I am What I am" by Jerry Herman. Read more on this article...
If I was Native American I'd probably be called a Two-Spirit. I'm not really a tomboy - that implies being sportive or aggressive. I don't dress or look androgynous.
I guess I could be called bigender - though I don't think I change inbetween different behaviours. I guess the newest trendy word would be "genderqueer" - but honestly I think that's a lot of bullshit.
I don't have some disorder, neither am I not part of some secluded LGBT community.
I have no doubt about identifing as a woman.
I am what I am. I am me.
I have my very own personality. Mine might be a bit more surprising than some others, but that's all.
"I am what I am. I don’t want praise, I don’t want pity.
I bang my own drum, some think it’s noise - I think it’s pretty."
That doesn't mean though that this little peculiarity of mine doesn't give me a hard time sometimes...
This blog post's title is taken from "I am What I am" by Jerry Herman. Read more on this article...
Monday, April 16, 2012
reviews: Hanasakeru Seishounen, Heart no Kuni no Alice, Kuragehime
Hanasakeru Seishounen
And another reverse harem anime...
There's lots of nice bishonen guys (I especially like Li Ren), and at first the main female character Kajika Burnsworth doesn't seem too annoying. The plot does a transition from the expected romance with a weird set-up (her father plays a "find the husband" game with Kajika - when she's 14!) to focusing on the political affairs within one country, how some companies are mixed up in it and some Burnsworth family secrets. That part was actually quite good. The last few episodes then go back to the romance theme and get completely ridiculous.
The annoying thing about Kajika is that she's supposedly perfect. Everyone likes her, even her enemies. She heals severe depression with suicidal thoughts and panic attacks and helps everyone out with her wisdom. She's not pushing the plot forward herself most of the time, but just reacting, while most other characters act. But still all the hot guys fall in love with her and will never want another "woman"...
She's also 15. Of course most of the time she's acting much more mature - or else no-one would watch it. If they let everyone act more mature than they're supposed to be, why don't they just make them older?
Still: Li Ren rocks.
Also this series holds the record for the most useless bodyguard ever: Toranosuke
TV Tropes
Wikipedia
Heart no Kuni no Alice
Called "Alice in the Country of Hearts" in English, this is another one of those Otome games made into a reverse harem manga. As such we know what we have to expect: one girl, surrounded by guys, who all fall in love with her. Actually even the manga itself mentions that this is what it's all about: they all fall in love with her. At that point you'd think it's a parody, but the rest of the story doesn't feel like that. But who cares, we didn't really expect a plot and all the expectations towards the bishonen guys are fulfilled. Additionally, since this is a kind of "Alice in Wonderland" adaption, it doesn't need to make any sense anyway.
One thing that's rather unusual is the amount of violence. It's never really gory, but there's more murder than you'd expect in that genre. A life isn't really worth much in Wonderland, so killing is either a every-day job or a fun past-time.
While the main female charater in my opinion isn't as cynic and strong as the description claims (she's got a sadistic streak though), she's not totally annoying. So we can concentrate on the hot guys better.
There's a movie, but I couldn't get any information whether it will ever be published in Europe.
TV Tropes
Wikipedia
Kuragehime
I knew I might like "Princess Jellyfish" when I saw the opening with all the movie references.
It's about Tsukimi, a young illustrator, who lives in a flat-sharing community in Tokyo with a bunch of other nerdy girls, who all shun contact with popular and pretty people - and especially with men. Then one day Tsukimi gets in a fight about a jellyfish (she loves jellyfish) and gets helped by a beautiful young lady who then uninvitedly crashes in her room - and the next day turns out to be a pretty boy who's been cross-dressing! Kuranosuke (a fashionista, but neither gay nor a transvestite), who comes from a wealthy family of politicians, takes a liking to Tsukimi, so he decides to show up there frequently. Since no boys are allowed in the flat, they have to keep Kuranosuke's real identity a secret. Soon Kuranosuke gets more and more involved with the inhabitants.
I got a little sceptical when it seemed to turn into yet another "ugly duckling" storyline and the guys only seemed to be in love with Tsukimi when she's dressed up. But luckily it didn't turn out quite that bad (though it certainly has moments like that).
The characters are exagerated, which makes it a bit harder to identify with them, but I guess that's the comedy element to this slice of life anime. I'm really glad that the main characters are basically a bunch of freaks, not kawaii or moe at all - and that it's fine like that (mostly; I can accept that for business matters some dressing up might be required).
The anime is rather short, only 11 episodes. After finishing it, I think I'd like to read the manga. But apparently it's only licensed n France and Italy (and the anime only available in the USA) - what a shame, it's so hard to find decent josei.
TV Tropes
Wikipedia
Read more on this article...
And another reverse harem anime...
There's lots of nice bishonen guys (I especially like Li Ren), and at first the main female character Kajika Burnsworth doesn't seem too annoying. The plot does a transition from the expected romance with a weird set-up (her father plays a "find the husband" game with Kajika - when she's 14!) to focusing on the political affairs within one country, how some companies are mixed up in it and some Burnsworth family secrets. That part was actually quite good. The last few episodes then go back to the romance theme and get completely ridiculous.
The annoying thing about Kajika is that she's supposedly perfect. Everyone likes her, even her enemies. She heals severe depression with suicidal thoughts and panic attacks and helps everyone out with her wisdom. She's not pushing the plot forward herself most of the time, but just reacting, while most other characters act. But still all the hot guys fall in love with her and will never want another "woman"...
She's also 15. Of course most of the time she's acting much more mature - or else no-one would watch it. If they let everyone act more mature than they're supposed to be, why don't they just make them older?
Still: Li Ren rocks.
Also this series holds the record for the most useless bodyguard ever: Toranosuke
TV Tropes
Wikipedia
Heart no Kuni no Alice
Called "Alice in the Country of Hearts" in English, this is another one of those Otome games made into a reverse harem manga. As such we know what we have to expect: one girl, surrounded by guys, who all fall in love with her. Actually even the manga itself mentions that this is what it's all about: they all fall in love with her. At that point you'd think it's a parody, but the rest of the story doesn't feel like that. But who cares, we didn't really expect a plot and all the expectations towards the bishonen guys are fulfilled. Additionally, since this is a kind of "Alice in Wonderland" adaption, it doesn't need to make any sense anyway.
One thing that's rather unusual is the amount of violence. It's never really gory, but there's more murder than you'd expect in that genre. A life isn't really worth much in Wonderland, so killing is either a every-day job or a fun past-time.
While the main female charater in my opinion isn't as cynic and strong as the description claims (she's got a sadistic streak though), she's not totally annoying. So we can concentrate on the hot guys better.
There's a movie, but I couldn't get any information whether it will ever be published in Europe.
TV Tropes
Wikipedia
Kuragehime
I knew I might like "Princess Jellyfish" when I saw the opening with all the movie references.
It's about Tsukimi, a young illustrator, who lives in a flat-sharing community in Tokyo with a bunch of other nerdy girls, who all shun contact with popular and pretty people - and especially with men. Then one day Tsukimi gets in a fight about a jellyfish (she loves jellyfish) and gets helped by a beautiful young lady who then uninvitedly crashes in her room - and the next day turns out to be a pretty boy who's been cross-dressing! Kuranosuke (a fashionista, but neither gay nor a transvestite), who comes from a wealthy family of politicians, takes a liking to Tsukimi, so he decides to show up there frequently. Since no boys are allowed in the flat, they have to keep Kuranosuke's real identity a secret. Soon Kuranosuke gets more and more involved with the inhabitants.
I got a little sceptical when it seemed to turn into yet another "ugly duckling" storyline and the guys only seemed to be in love with Tsukimi when she's dressed up. But luckily it didn't turn out quite that bad (though it certainly has moments like that).
The characters are exagerated, which makes it a bit harder to identify with them, but I guess that's the comedy element to this slice of life anime. I'm really glad that the main characters are basically a bunch of freaks, not kawaii or moe at all - and that it's fine like that (mostly; I can accept that for business matters some dressing up might be required).
The anime is rather short, only 11 episodes. After finishing it, I think I'd like to read the manga. But apparently it's only licensed n France and Italy (and the anime only available in the USA) - what a shame, it's so hard to find decent josei.
TV Tropes
Wikipedia
Read more on this article...
Monday, April 9, 2012
It's so easy - all you have to do is fall in love.
I've been out of the game of love for quite some time now. I'm not quite sure why or what happened. It might have to do with my depression. Or it might not.
I often feel like I'm a bit different. Alright - that's an understatement. I am different.
I'm very far from your cliché woman. But I'm not a sporty tomboy cliché either. I'm just myself.
In my experience guys like clichés. Maybe everyone does.
But I think, as much as they complain about it, most guys actually want a woman who takes ages in the bathroom, who bitches at them, who spends large amounts of money on shoes, clothes and make-up. If she's bitching about something, she'll get chocolate or flowers - doesn't sound like punishment, does it?
So, there's not a lot of men who'd be interested in me. Even less with me having gained some weight, I guess. Also, I'm getting older, and many men my age are already in a relationship. So, the fish in the sea are getting less.
At the same time, I'm not interested in most men.
I'm not really sure whether that's a good thing or not. I don't think I'm asexual.
Of course I might have high standards. I don't know. I'd want someone who has about my level of intelligence. I guess that rules out the majority of people...
Sometimes I worry that I might have a case of ephebophilia. On the other hand, I don't think that's it. But I think that there's something about young men that I find attractive, and that is harder to find when they're older. I can't quite put my finger on it, though. Maybe a lack of adjustment to general society? Or maybe a more androgynous body frame?
Sometimes I think about one night stands.
While I wouldn't have a moral problem with it, I just can't seem to be able to do it. Maybe because I'm afraid. I didn't have very many opportunities either. It seems like only British men are interested in me like that - I only ever got offers in England or Ireland. And on these occasions I wasn't interested.
It's all just one big mess, and I can't see a way to find out of it.
Or maybe I just fail at relationships.
This blog post's title is taken from "Play the Game" by Queen. Read more on this article...
I often feel like I'm a bit different. Alright - that's an understatement. I am different.
I'm very far from your cliché woman. But I'm not a sporty tomboy cliché either. I'm just myself.
In my experience guys like clichés. Maybe everyone does.
But I think, as much as they complain about it, most guys actually want a woman who takes ages in the bathroom, who bitches at them, who spends large amounts of money on shoes, clothes and make-up. If she's bitching about something, she'll get chocolate or flowers - doesn't sound like punishment, does it?
So, there's not a lot of men who'd be interested in me. Even less with me having gained some weight, I guess. Also, I'm getting older, and many men my age are already in a relationship. So, the fish in the sea are getting less.
At the same time, I'm not interested in most men.
I'm not really sure whether that's a good thing or not. I don't think I'm asexual.
Of course I might have high standards. I don't know. I'd want someone who has about my level of intelligence. I guess that rules out the majority of people...
Sometimes I worry that I might have a case of ephebophilia. On the other hand, I don't think that's it. But I think that there's something about young men that I find attractive, and that is harder to find when they're older. I can't quite put my finger on it, though. Maybe a lack of adjustment to general society? Or maybe a more androgynous body frame?
Sometimes I think about one night stands.
While I wouldn't have a moral problem with it, I just can't seem to be able to do it. Maybe because I'm afraid. I didn't have very many opportunities either. It seems like only British men are interested in me like that - I only ever got offers in England or Ireland. And on these occasions I wasn't interested.
It's all just one big mess, and I can't see a way to find out of it.
Or maybe I just fail at relationships.
This blog post's title is taken from "Play the Game" by Queen. Read more on this article...
Monday, March 12, 2012
review: Saiunkoku Monogatari
by Sai Yukino (illustrations by Kairi Yura)
Rating: 5/5
Volumes/episodes:
manga: 8 (ongoing);
anime: two seasons with 39 episodes each
Mature content: no
Genre: Shojou(-ish)
Like Koukaku No Regios this anime also is an adaption of "light novels", a book series for teens. So far there's 22 books - but they haven't been translated into English.
It is set in an ancient Asian country, which is divided into eight parts, governed by eight families, who are named after colours. Nine years ago there was a civil war in which all but the youngest of the sons of the ruling family were killed. So the country is left with the scars from a civil war and a very young emperor, who shows no interest at all in reigning his country.
Young Shūrei and her father are really poor, even though belonging to one of the most powerful family clans (their poverty a result of helping the commoners during the civil war). With them lives Seiran, who is a mixture between a servant and soldier and a family member. Shūrei dreams of working as a civil servant - but women aren't allowed to take the entry exam. To make ends meet, she takes up several jobs and when a high court advisor offers her a large sum for a temporary job at the palace, she immediatly agrees - without yet knowing that this job will be living at the court as a consort to the young emperor (who according to rumours prefers men over women) in order to motivate and teach him, basically to make a good ruler our of him.
At first the anime looks a lot like a reverse harem or like one of these series modeled after an otome game: a young girl surrounded by lots of good-looking men. But there's more to it.
More than the romance series it first looks like, Saiunkoku Monogatari is a fantasy and adventure series. The plot contains intrigues, power struggles, manipulations. There's some fighting and some magic here and there. I think it's a very good and entertaining mixture. There are dark moments, but in the end everything turns out alright (more or less). There's a few very funny scenes, too (usually caused by the emperors bluntness or Seiran being a meanie).
Also the female characters are actually normal, not whiny and dumb; many of them are even quite powerful. That's something rather rare and I find the absence of whiny, stupid characters with huge tits very refreshing.
All characters have their strengths and weaknesses. They're not black and white, they have some depth, while most of the time still staying clearly on the good or bad side.
Shūrei might be a bit naive sometimes - after all when the story starts she's only 16. But she's clever and frank, very hard-working (I wish I had just half of her energy) and most of all she's a very good speaker. Though sometimes it seems like she becomes too much a "legendary hero" sort of character, always full of energy, never giving up and always winning in the end.
Among my favourite characters are Seiran, Kōyū and Rin Sai-Tei. The latter doesn't have a big part in the story, but I think she's a very interesting character. Kōyū is a genius, but has a hopeless sense of direction. He has a bit of a short temper, but I really like his friendship with Shūei Ran. Seiran is absolute eye candy, an amazing fighter and always there for the ones he loves. But on the other hand he can be quite mean and absolutely ruthless and definitely has a dark past. What I think is confusing about Seiran is that I can't pierce together his past, when he came to Shūrei's family he looked a lot younger than he should have been.
Unfortunately I had a little trouble keeping some characters apart, with some names sounding very similar - that they are written with different kanji doesn't help me. In the anime the colour coding of the families (people tend to wear the colour of their clan) helped a little, but since the clothes are rather colourful it didn't help much.
I also find it very hard to judge the age of the characters. There seem to be either old or young men at the court, but maybe it only looks like that because the middle-aged men look very young (with the exception of Shūrei's father).
There are a few events that are confusing in the anime, why certain people show up and what their connection to other characters is, why people do or don't do certain things, what their motives are, etc. The manga explains things a lot better, so if you liked the anime I definitely recommend getting the manga.
But those are all minor drawbacks, nothing that really spoils the joy of reading or watching Saiunkoku Monogatari.
I really can't wait for the next manga coming out in English - and I really hope they won't stop publishing for a long time.
I wish the novels were translated and the anime available on DVD (Region 2 with English subs), too.
Saiunkoku Monogatari is not getting the attention it deserves.
TV Tropes
Wikipedia
Free manga preview at shojobeat.com
Read more on this article...
Rating: 5/5
Volumes/episodes:
manga: 8 (ongoing);
anime: two seasons with 39 episodes each
Mature content: no
Genre: Shojou(-ish)
Like Koukaku No Regios this anime also is an adaption of "light novels", a book series for teens. So far there's 22 books - but they haven't been translated into English.
It is set in an ancient Asian country, which is divided into eight parts, governed by eight families, who are named after colours. Nine years ago there was a civil war in which all but the youngest of the sons of the ruling family were killed. So the country is left with the scars from a civil war and a very young emperor, who shows no interest at all in reigning his country.
Young Shūrei and her father are really poor, even though belonging to one of the most powerful family clans (their poverty a result of helping the commoners during the civil war). With them lives Seiran, who is a mixture between a servant and soldier and a family member. Shūrei dreams of working as a civil servant - but women aren't allowed to take the entry exam. To make ends meet, she takes up several jobs and when a high court advisor offers her a large sum for a temporary job at the palace, she immediatly agrees - without yet knowing that this job will be living at the court as a consort to the young emperor (who according to rumours prefers men over women) in order to motivate and teach him, basically to make a good ruler our of him.
At first the anime looks a lot like a reverse harem or like one of these series modeled after an otome game: a young girl surrounded by lots of good-looking men. But there's more to it.
More than the romance series it first looks like, Saiunkoku Monogatari is a fantasy and adventure series. The plot contains intrigues, power struggles, manipulations. There's some fighting and some magic here and there. I think it's a very good and entertaining mixture. There are dark moments, but in the end everything turns out alright (more or less). There's a few very funny scenes, too (usually caused by the emperors bluntness or Seiran being a meanie).
Also the female characters are actually normal, not whiny and dumb; many of them are even quite powerful. That's something rather rare and I find the absence of whiny, stupid characters with huge tits very refreshing.
All characters have their strengths and weaknesses. They're not black and white, they have some depth, while most of the time still staying clearly on the good or bad side.
Shūrei might be a bit naive sometimes - after all when the story starts she's only 16. But she's clever and frank, very hard-working (I wish I had just half of her energy) and most of all she's a very good speaker. Though sometimes it seems like she becomes too much a "legendary hero" sort of character, always full of energy, never giving up and always winning in the end.
Among my favourite characters are Seiran, Kōyū and Rin Sai-Tei. The latter doesn't have a big part in the story, but I think she's a very interesting character. Kōyū is a genius, but has a hopeless sense of direction. He has a bit of a short temper, but I really like his friendship with Shūei Ran. Seiran is absolute eye candy, an amazing fighter and always there for the ones he loves. But on the other hand he can be quite mean and absolutely ruthless and definitely has a dark past. What I think is confusing about Seiran is that I can't pierce together his past, when he came to Shūrei's family he looked a lot younger than he should have been.
Unfortunately I had a little trouble keeping some characters apart, with some names sounding very similar - that they are written with different kanji doesn't help me. In the anime the colour coding of the families (people tend to wear the colour of their clan) helped a little, but since the clothes are rather colourful it didn't help much.
I also find it very hard to judge the age of the characters. There seem to be either old or young men at the court, but maybe it only looks like that because the middle-aged men look very young (with the exception of Shūrei's father).
There are a few events that are confusing in the anime, why certain people show up and what their connection to other characters is, why people do or don't do certain things, what their motives are, etc. The manga explains things a lot better, so if you liked the anime I definitely recommend getting the manga.
But those are all minor drawbacks, nothing that really spoils the joy of reading or watching Saiunkoku Monogatari.
I really can't wait for the next manga coming out in English - and I really hope they won't stop publishing for a long time.
I wish the novels were translated and the anime available on DVD (Region 2 with English subs), too.
Saiunkoku Monogatari is not getting the attention it deserves.
TV Tropes
Wikipedia
Free manga preview at shojobeat.com
Read more on this article...
Sunday, February 19, 2012
review: Nana
by Ai Yazawa
Rating: 4/5
Volumes/episodes:
manga: 21 (ongoing);
anime: 47;
j-drama: 2 movies
Mature content: not really (though in the manga you can sometimes see half-naked women)
Genre: Josei
On the train to Tokyo Nana meets Nana.
One Nana (later going by the nickname Hachi to avoid confusion) is following her boyfriend from a small town to the big city to live there. The other Nana, a punk girl, is going to Tokyo to become a professional singer. Shortly after they meet again and decide to rent a flat together. And so their friendship begins...
The story is mostly told by Hachi and focuses on her love life, the strong friendship between the two of them and their circle of friends. But also money problems, finding a job, unexpected pregnancy and, of course, the music business are issues covered.
Hachi got her nickname because she reminded Nana of a dog (Hachiko was a Japanese dog famous for it's loyalty). She's more or less your average shoujo/josei girl: careless, clueless, cute and caring. She's fickle, weak-willed, slightly possessive (esp. concerning Nana), a drama-queen, she flirts around and falls in love with every second guy she meets - no matter whether she has a boyfriend at the moment or not. When she starts out in Tokyo she really is a bit clueless and heavily depends on others to help her, but this gets a little better. Maybe clueless isn't quite the right expression; she is, in some ways, clueless, in other ways she's fake, manipulating and not as innocent as she looks. She doesn't seem to have acquired any skills and expertise and her only goal in live seems to be getting married. Even though this really sounds bad, for some reason she's not quite as annoying as the usual annoying anime girl.
Nana is proud, ambitious and honest. She is independent in a way, but also greatly relies on her friends in times of need and can be possessive, too, at times. She can be a little self-conscious regarding her quality as a singer. It is quite often mentioned that she acts like a guy, but I think that's only compared to the average girl in Japanese culture. She considers Hachi as some kind of pet for her and her band mates. Their relationship becomes very close, though, and several times it's hinted that they might be in love with each other.
The other characters are also well described. I kind of like Shion, though at first I found her suspicious. I like Miu, too.
I really loved the story until about half way into the anime (which I watched first). After that it just became very whiny and too much of a drama. It started out so promising - and then ended in another episode after episode of crying girls. But even so I kept on watching. The narration seems to come from the future looking back on things, and there's some comments here and there that made me wonder what happened. The last episode of the first season was a bit of a bitter-sweet one, with a glimpse into the future - but still leaving quite a few questions to be answered.
I wonder if there was a second season planned. The anime stops at chapter 42 (Volume 12) of the manga.
Because I was curious I went on with the manga.
There's more "flashes" into the future in the manga. The crying is a lot less annoying - probably because you can just flip over it (and don't have to hear it).
The manga finally reveals a very tragic event that is the big turn-around that apparently leads to the future events that are hinted at throughout the anime and manga. Naturally there's even more crying, but this time there's a valid reason. But I don't want to spoil...
So far there are 84 chapters released.
I dislike that this manga/anime really doesn't promote a healthy livestyle. Half the people are serious chain smokers, there's frequent drinking sessions, cheating on partners, self-harming, drug abuse, reckless driving and a 15-year-old boy working as a prostitute.
Besides, Yazawa's drawing style makes people look extremely thin. I don't really like that, but I got used to it. I do like the attention she gives to clothes and fashion.
I'll definitely will follow that one. The way the story is told - changing in between two different time settings - really makes you wonder what happened, you want to get to that point where the two different time setting finally meet.
TV Tropes
Wikipedia
Read more on this article...
Rating: 4/5
Volumes/episodes:
manga: 21 (ongoing);
anime: 47;
j-drama: 2 movies
Mature content: not really (though in the manga you can sometimes see half-naked women)
Genre: Josei
On the train to Tokyo Nana meets Nana.
One Nana (later going by the nickname Hachi to avoid confusion) is following her boyfriend from a small town to the big city to live there. The other Nana, a punk girl, is going to Tokyo to become a professional singer. Shortly after they meet again and decide to rent a flat together. And so their friendship begins...
The story is mostly told by Hachi and focuses on her love life, the strong friendship between the two of them and their circle of friends. But also money problems, finding a job, unexpected pregnancy and, of course, the music business are issues covered.
Hachi got her nickname because she reminded Nana of a dog (Hachiko was a Japanese dog famous for it's loyalty). She's more or less your average shoujo/josei girl: careless, clueless, cute and caring. She's fickle, weak-willed, slightly possessive (esp. concerning Nana), a drama-queen, she flirts around and falls in love with every second guy she meets - no matter whether she has a boyfriend at the moment or not. When she starts out in Tokyo she really is a bit clueless and heavily depends on others to help her, but this gets a little better. Maybe clueless isn't quite the right expression; she is, in some ways, clueless, in other ways she's fake, manipulating and not as innocent as she looks. She doesn't seem to have acquired any skills and expertise and her only goal in live seems to be getting married. Even though this really sounds bad, for some reason she's not quite as annoying as the usual annoying anime girl.
Nana is proud, ambitious and honest. She is independent in a way, but also greatly relies on her friends in times of need and can be possessive, too, at times. She can be a little self-conscious regarding her quality as a singer. It is quite often mentioned that she acts like a guy, but I think that's only compared to the average girl in Japanese culture. She considers Hachi as some kind of pet for her and her band mates. Their relationship becomes very close, though, and several times it's hinted that they might be in love with each other.
The other characters are also well described. I kind of like Shion, though at first I found her suspicious. I like Miu, too.
I really loved the story until about half way into the anime (which I watched first). After that it just became very whiny and too much of a drama. It started out so promising - and then ended in another episode after episode of crying girls. But even so I kept on watching. The narration seems to come from the future looking back on things, and there's some comments here and there that made me wonder what happened. The last episode of the first season was a bit of a bitter-sweet one, with a glimpse into the future - but still leaving quite a few questions to be answered.
I wonder if there was a second season planned. The anime stops at chapter 42 (Volume 12) of the manga.
Because I was curious I went on with the manga.
There's more "flashes" into the future in the manga. The crying is a lot less annoying - probably because you can just flip over it (and don't have to hear it).
The manga finally reveals a very tragic event that is the big turn-around that apparently leads to the future events that are hinted at throughout the anime and manga. Naturally there's even more crying, but this time there's a valid reason. But I don't want to spoil...
So far there are 84 chapters released.
I dislike that this manga/anime really doesn't promote a healthy livestyle. Half the people are serious chain smokers, there's frequent drinking sessions, cheating on partners, self-harming, drug abuse, reckless driving and a 15-year-old boy working as a prostitute.
Besides, Yazawa's drawing style makes people look extremely thin. I don't really like that, but I got used to it. I do like the attention she gives to clothes and fashion.
I'll definitely will follow that one. The way the story is told - changing in between two different time settings - really makes you wonder what happened, you want to get to that point where the two different time setting finally meet.
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Saturday, February 11, 2012
short reviews: Chihayafuru, Uta No Prince-Sama, Koukaku No Regios
Chihayafuru
At first I thought it was a bit weird - an anime about a card game? But I've really grown to like this one. It's generally classified as josei, there's 18 episodes so far and it's still going on.
When Chihaya befriends her new classmate Arata, he introduces her to the competetive card game karuta. She becomes obsessed with the game and starts dreaming of becoming the "Queen", the best female karuta player in Japan. When Arata moves away, she vows to keep on playing karuta.
Later when she's in high school she meets her old childhood friend and former karuta teammate Taichi again. She convinces him to try to form a karuta club at school. They need five members to officially form a club, so they look for suitable candidates.
The plot then follows them becoming friends, trying to get better, going to tournaments, etc.
What I really like about Chihayafuru ist that they don't magically win everything. There are defeats and set-backs. The characters are distinguishable, have their own strengths and weaknesses and all get some character development.
It's heart-breaking how Taichi - nice, good-looking, good in school, rich, good in sports - obviously loves Chihaya, they're such an amazing team, but she's completely oblivious of it and goes on raving about Arata.
TV Tropes
Wikipedia
Uta no☆Prince-sama♪
Another one of these otome game adaptions (13 episodes). But what can I say - I like bishonen reverse harem. And as long as the girl is a flat character, there's a chance she's not totally annoying.
The story (if you can call it such) takes place in a boarding school for artists. There are pupils who want to become "idols" and ones who want to become composers, there's a mad principal and falling in love is against the rules. Naturally the story is full of music, songs - and innuendos. And besides it being an otome game adaption, there's also lots of possibilities for yaoi couples (though there's not even hints at such).
I really like the drawing style. Nanami, the main girl, has yellow eyes though, which I found rather strange and distracting. She also has an annoyingly high voice and is rather clumsy, and an airhead... the usual. But of course everyone wants to pair up with her. The usual. But there's a mysterious cat, too, so that's a bonus point. I also like the voices of some of the voice actors, especially when singing.
You don't watch these for the plot, you watch them for the dream that maybe someday, someone like these guys will turn up in your life and love you. Don't you?
Still. Like with Starry☆Sky I kind of wish this one would have gotten a bit more time and depth. It would have been a great opportunity to get more into the single characters and their friendship. And what's up with that cat? Even on the basis of an otome game, it could have been much more than just these 13 episodes.
Good news is that I heard there's gonna be a second season - so let's hope they'll take the chance and build this up to a good story.
TV Tropes
Wikipedia
Koukaku No Regios
Chrome Shelled Regios (its English name) is an anime adoption of a teen book series.
Sometime in the future Earth is polluted and humans are living in mobile cities, called regios. Outside of those they can't breathe and there's giant "filth monsters" roaming about.
Layfon Alseif had to leave his hometown - where he was a member of a group of special warriors - and tries to start a new, peaceful life in an academy city. Layfon seems like an average nice guy (and most girls fancy him), but turns into a total badass when fighting. His superior fighting abilities are soon discovered and he's coaxed to join the martial arts students and the 17th platoon.
This is a quite good shonen anime. It's not too long (24 episodes), the characters are all likable (even most females) and the plot is suspenseful. I also like how women are treated absolutely equal to men.
Sometimes it gets a bit gory (but not very often) and there's these flashbacks in bad English that apparently explain the back story - but I didn't get it. I also would have liked to get to know some characters better, like Harley. Maybe there'll be another season?
TV Tropes
Wikipedia
Read more on this article...
At first I thought it was a bit weird - an anime about a card game? But I've really grown to like this one. It's generally classified as josei, there's 18 episodes so far and it's still going on.
When Chihaya befriends her new classmate Arata, he introduces her to the competetive card game karuta. She becomes obsessed with the game and starts dreaming of becoming the "Queen", the best female karuta player in Japan. When Arata moves away, she vows to keep on playing karuta.
Later when she's in high school she meets her old childhood friend and former karuta teammate Taichi again. She convinces him to try to form a karuta club at school. They need five members to officially form a club, so they look for suitable candidates.
The plot then follows them becoming friends, trying to get better, going to tournaments, etc.
What I really like about Chihayafuru ist that they don't magically win everything. There are defeats and set-backs. The characters are distinguishable, have their own strengths and weaknesses and all get some character development.
It's heart-breaking how Taichi - nice, good-looking, good in school, rich, good in sports - obviously loves Chihaya, they're such an amazing team, but she's completely oblivious of it and goes on raving about Arata.
TV Tropes
Wikipedia
Uta no☆Prince-sama♪
Another one of these otome game adaptions (13 episodes). But what can I say - I like bishonen reverse harem. And as long as the girl is a flat character, there's a chance she's not totally annoying.
The story (if you can call it such) takes place in a boarding school for artists. There are pupils who want to become "idols" and ones who want to become composers, there's a mad principal and falling in love is against the rules. Naturally the story is full of music, songs - and innuendos. And besides it being an otome game adaption, there's also lots of possibilities for yaoi couples (though there's not even hints at such).
I really like the drawing style. Nanami, the main girl, has yellow eyes though, which I found rather strange and distracting. She also has an annoyingly high voice and is rather clumsy, and an airhead... the usual. But of course everyone wants to pair up with her. The usual. But there's a mysterious cat, too, so that's a bonus point. I also like the voices of some of the voice actors, especially when singing.
You don't watch these for the plot, you watch them for the dream that maybe someday, someone like these guys will turn up in your life and love you. Don't you?
Still. Like with Starry☆Sky I kind of wish this one would have gotten a bit more time and depth. It would have been a great opportunity to get more into the single characters and their friendship. And what's up with that cat? Even on the basis of an otome game, it could have been much more than just these 13 episodes.
Good news is that I heard there's gonna be a second season - so let's hope they'll take the chance and build this up to a good story.
TV Tropes
Wikipedia
Koukaku No Regios
Chrome Shelled Regios (its English name) is an anime adoption of a teen book series.
Sometime in the future Earth is polluted and humans are living in mobile cities, called regios. Outside of those they can't breathe and there's giant "filth monsters" roaming about.
Layfon Alseif had to leave his hometown - where he was a member of a group of special warriors - and tries to start a new, peaceful life in an academy city. Layfon seems like an average nice guy (and most girls fancy him), but turns into a total badass when fighting. His superior fighting abilities are soon discovered and he's coaxed to join the martial arts students and the 17th platoon.
This is a quite good shonen anime. It's not too long (24 episodes), the characters are all likable (even most females) and the plot is suspenseful. I also like how women are treated absolutely equal to men.
Sometimes it gets a bit gory (but not very often) and there's these flashbacks in bad English that apparently explain the back story - but I didn't get it. I also would have liked to get to know some characters better, like Harley. Maybe there'll be another season?
TV Tropes
Wikipedia
Read more on this article...
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