Rockstar

a mystery of its own.

noreply@blogger.com (Yukino B.) — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 23:31:00 +0000

A month has passed! Yet I still breathe.

I've been on a mystery kick lately. By lately I mean "ever since I read my first Enid Blyton book", though. The thing with mysteries, I never know how to write about them without giving out all the major plot twists. And, well, there's usually one major plot twist in mysteries, and it sort of gives away everything.

So this is why I keep typing these filler sentences.

My main subject these days have been Agatha Christie's works. I've read about ten so far, but I feel like I cheated on myself by reading the Most Amazing Three first, so everything else pales in comparison. Now every time I read another mystery, I expect a huge revelation, but it turns out that "the butler did it".

Speaking of revelation, I never expected finding Agatha Christie's (or any other classic mystery writers') works would be such a hard task here. I know there's an eight volume collection of some of Christie's works floating around in used bookstores, but I've only been able to track down three of those so far. (And it took me about six months, if not longer.) I also had one at home to begin with, plus another book consisting of four of her novels. Some of those overlap, so when I'll be done with the one I'm reading right now, I'll pretty much be out of my crack. :P I saw the entire collection in my Aunt's doctor's office the other day, and was very tempted to commit a felony.

I could say I promise to write an actual book post the next time I resurface, but that would be a lie.

school, murakami, and other things.

noreply@blogger.com (Yukino B.) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:32:00 +0000

School has started, so that means that my reading list is currently dominated by books similar to History of Philosophy: a Short Narrative, volume 25563, or Lombroso's Genius & Insanity, or all the other equally exciting books. I'm going to be posting about them, for sure, but my comments will only be relatively intelligent.

For Japanese Lit Challenge, I'm currently reading Murakami's Wild Sheep Chase, having finished Flight of a Butterfly. I really want to talk about both of these books in detail, and I shall. Soon.

As far as other media goes, I've picked up Charmed again. Am currently on S04. Gossip Girl's new season has begun on September 1, but I have yet to finish S01, so I'm not watching it yet.

To my general horror, I've also read about four Harlequin novels lately. I figure this is the only kind of book I can process after coming home from uni & work, and instead of simply not reading anything, I pick anything with letters and go on.

Okay, I lie a bit. My original intention was research. I wanted to read a couple of romance novels to see if it's a type of book I can possibly write (I do this sometimes w/ other usually overlooked by me genres). It has been decided since then that I can't, but as there are still about four of them lying next to my bed, I just pick them up and scan through them as I fall asleep.

A more substantial post coming.

what i've been reading.

noreply@blogger.com (Yukino B.) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 15:16:00 +0000

As always, I'm reading many books at the same time.

The Kreutzer Sonata; by Leo Tolstoy
I thought I'd breeze through this book in an hour or two, but it's taking me much longer. I forgot that none of Tolstoy's books are easy reading, heh. So no matter how short the story is, it's not going to be a quick read. (Doesn't help that I'm a slow reader.)

I'm not sure how I feel about the book so far. While I can't help but agree with the main character's narrative at times, there are a lot of things that just make me go 'huh..?', and in a rather angry way at that. I've a poor choice of words here, but he seems to be a feminist and a sexist at the same time, and it's a befuddling combination.

Flight of a Butterfly; Various
A small collection of hokku, read for JLC2. I had thought in vain, once more, that I'm going to go through this one fast, because seriously, how long can a 300+ page book with only three lines on each page take you? :P But it turns out that I stop after nearly every poem to contemplate on it for an hour. The biggest part of the book is taken up by Basho (works of whom I've finished reading already), and now there are just small "trial versions" for many other poets.

Maria Fedorovna's Diaries
It's one of the very painful books to read, at least for me. Truly, it's just a simple narrative of her days (1915 and beyond), and truly, I know what's about to happen most of the time (I'm not the best History student, but not knowing that would've put me to grave shame), but it doesn't make it any easier. Though, reading Nikolai's diary two years ago was much worse.

becoming jane.

noreply@blogger.com (Yukino B.) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 15:05:00 +0000

I loved it. Beautiful settings -- the shore, the countryside, forests, library -- oh my God, that library, -- interiors... Having Anne Hathaway play Austen and James McAvoy play Lefroy didn't hurt that much either.

The film follows the love story between Jane Austen and Thomas Lefroy. She's a young woman who wants to "live by her pen", he has to stay in the country for a while. While indeed there's more fiction to plot than truth, I believe it's executed nicely and in the spirit of Austen's works. It's been said that Lefroy was inspiration behind's Austen's (in)famous Darcy.

Amazon; IMDB.

one shadow for two.

noreply@blogger.com (Yukino B.) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 19:06:00 +0000

Odna Ten' Na Dvoikh; by Tatiana Ustinova
(One Shadow for Two)

Continuing with my 'so braindead' series I bring you the second novel of T. Ustinova.

Many years ago a woman is murdered. Her spouse, an architect named Andrei Danilov, is the first and seemingly only suspect, and the only thing that saves him from jail was a road police officer who took his time questioning Danilov on the legitimacy of his driver's license.

Fast forward to now, and something goes terribly wrong. Somebody destroys the house, the house, Danilov has been working on. Somebody keeps reminding him of his spouse's death in crudest ways. Danilov's long time Best Friend gets pregnant, and for some reason he doesn't like it. Danilov's mother invites him to his father's latest book presentation, and it's hard. Too hard.

Because you see, Danilov was supposed to become a famous pianist. But he couldn't, and now his parents are forever disappointed in him. So to get over it somehow, he builds a life of structure and order around him. Everything's according to a regimen. Danilov is very OCD.

I can't decide whether I liked this book more than the first one. The first one was more of a romance novel with a bit of suspense & mystery thrown in to make things more exciting. This one is definitely more of a mystery novel, but with a love story on the side of course. I can even call it a thriller. And once more, Ustinova's characters are detailed. She never shies away from giving them a whole lot of complexes and inner turmoils. They don't seem to be easy on themselves, ever.

What I didn't like is that the main character, Danilov, was sort of... repetitive. He's supposed to be, considering his character, but at some points in the story it got old. Another thing I didn't like is that I kept walking around the flat all paranoid, but that's not the book's weak point, of course. It's just me, and my nocturnal lifestyle, and my cowardly nature. :P

Amazingly available on Amazon here. In Russian, though.

the japanese literature challenge #2

noreply@blogger.com (Yukino B.) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:40:00 +0000

Go here!

I simply had to join this one, as you realise. And for the first time in my challenge life, I'm not late to the party!

My list, with some alternates just in case:

1. Wild Sheep Chase; by Murakami Haruki
2. Confessions of a Mask; by Mishima Yukio
3. Death Note; by Ohba Tsugumi, Asami Yuuko, Obata Takeshi

.

4. Dance, Dance, Dance; by Murakami Haruki
5. Kagero Nikki; by Michitsuna no haha
6. Flight of a Butterfly; by Japanese Middle Age poets

There are many other possible alternative entries, but I'll try to stick to these, since I've been meaning to read them for ages. I've started reading Kagero Nikki some years back, and then had to put it away to concentrate on school work. Same goes for Wild Sheep Chase & Dance, Dance, Dance... And Death Note has been on my mind for a long time now.

your shelves!

noreply@blogger.com (Yukino B.) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:09:00 +0000

I've stumbled onto a great website -- Your Shelves! This site for me is like porn for many. *pets screen affectionately*

I don't want to submit my own library for all the world to see yet, because it's a mess, and my perfectionism doesn't allow such exposure in such a horrendous state of events. But here are some pictures of my shelves. I started cataloguing them the other day, and if I go by a shelf a day, I should be done in about four months. I've already skipped two days, so I guess a year is a more correct estimate.

redesign!

noreply@blogger.com (Yukino B.) — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 12:57:00 +0000

Whew. It's been a while since I tweaked Blogger templates, so I was kind of scared actually. But it all went fine. At first glance, at least. :P

I'll be doing minor editing of this layout here and there over the course of this week, but aside from that:

Do love and appreciate Rockstar's new design featuring the lovely lady Angelina Jolie! She's one of my favourite folks ever, I'll have you know. I even have an archive label just for her, haha.

Image credit: Soulie Jolie.

my personal enemy.

noreply@blogger.com (Yukino B.) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:26:00 +0000

Moi Lichniy Vrag; by T. Ustinova;
(My Personal Enemy)

I've been braindead for ages, so I asked my Mum to rec me some easy reading. Fiction that's pleasant enough, not too thinky, not too simple. Nothing that would make me want to wash my eyeballs and put them on shelf to rest. Forever.

I liked Ustinova's works. Sure, she belongs to the army of many a mystery writers who somehow manage to produce eight hundred paperback volumes per year, but she's one of the best in there.

Moi Lichniy Vrag is a story about a young woman who works on one of the major television channels in Russia, and somehow finds herself in the middle of a dirty intrigue. Her loved one turns out to be a classical asshole, friends all around happen to enter gloomy times of their own (though they do not abandon her), she's left jobless... blah, blah.

Ustinova paints her characters well. Sometimes I get the feeling that she goes overboard with protagonists (though the supporting cast is never left out), but she does it so well, it doesn't annoy me. (Only just a little.) And there's also one definitive thing I enjoy in her writing: she creates little details and never forgets to pick them up throughout the story. These little signs that actually make you feel like you know the character.

Lovely.

Somehow, there are three versions of this book (paperback, hardcover, audio) currently available on Amazon. I'm shocked. So if you speak Russian, go for it. Even if your level is intermediate. It's easy to read and is entertaining enough.

currently reading.

noreply@blogger.com (Yukino B.) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 14:47:00 +0000

I usually read many books at the same time. There's no absolute minimum and no absolute maximum. My sidebar is already getting kind of huge what's with Shelfari widget and stuff, so I decided to keep a separate post for current reads.

Shelfari: Book reviews on your book blog

Regular list is more complete than the Shelfari widget above.
(Listed title, author, date started if I recall it):

01. Hippopotamus, the; by Stephen Fry; (15-07-08)
02. Tarot Bible, the; by Sarah Bartlett
03. Consuelo; by George Sand (11-07)
04. Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, the; Mark Haddon
05. Veronika Decides to Die; by Paulo Coelho
06. Pride & Prejudice; by Jane Austen (03-08)
07. Anna Karenina; by Leo Tolstoy
08. War and Peace; by Leo Tolstoy
09. Maria Fedorovna's Diaries; (31-07-07)
10. Na Zare Zhizni; by N. Vodovozova (11-07)
11. Slaughterhouse Five; by Kurt Vonnegut
12. Mammoth Book of Vampires, the; by Stephen Jones (editor); (11-07)

challenges list.

noreply@blogger.com (Yukino B.) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 21:02:00 +0000

This here will be the master list of all challenges, whether personal or collective. :P

Current:
1. What's in a Name? 2008 (unofficial)
2. the Japanese Literature Challenge #2

Past:
n/a

Wishful Thinking (and Lists):
Chunkster Challenge
50 Books a Year
1001 Books to Read Before You Die
Pulitzer Project
100 Best

Personal
1. Watch all Angelina Jolie films
2. Read all Sherlock Holmes stories
3. Read all Agatha Christie stories
4. Read 10, buy 1 (used to be darned hard, but not any longer, what's with new financial situation)

what's in a name 2008 (unofficially)

noreply@blogger.com (Yukino B.) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 18:57:00 +0000

I was doing some booklog browsing today, and finally decided to participate in a challenge. I'm not going to do it officially (because, hello, it's July, I'm sort of late to the par-tay), but I'm still going to do it, and see how it goes. I'll consider it an informal training for the true challenge next year, oh ho ho ho!

... Before I get too carried away (God, this phrase is starting to sound tacky after the release of SatC film, sort of like "cry me a river" did after Timberlake's song with the same title)...

Anyway.

What's In a Name? challenge.
(Link.)

I'm going to include a few possible examples for each, and read whichever one feels more attractive at that point. Italicised are the ones I've already read, wh00t.

1. A book with a color in its title.
Land of Crimson Clouds, the; by Brothers Strugatsky

2. A book with an animal in its title.
Hippopotamus, the; by Stephen Fry
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest; by Ken Kesey
Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, the; by Mark Haddon

3. A book with a first name in its title.
Consuelo; by George Sand
Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince; by JK Rowling
Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows; by JK Rowling
Suzy, "Led Zeppelin", and Me; by Martin Millar
Murder of Roger Ackroyd, the; by Agatha Christie (25/07/08)

4. A book with a place in its title.
Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas; by Hunter S. Thompson

5. A book with a weather event in its title.
Rainbow, the; by D. H. Lawrence
Before the Storm; by Vasily Ardamatsky
Northern Lights; by Phillip Pullman

6. A book with a plant in its title.
Name of the Rose, the; by Umberto Eco
Clockwork Orange, a; by Anthony Burgess

I'm going to put an [x] next to the books I've read and written about as time goes by, whoo.

Llewellyn's Witches Datebook 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Yukino B.) — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 12:34:00 +0000

I've had this diary since the end of December 2007, and have grown quite attached. Llewellyn's almanacs, datebooks, calendars are great. I really enjoy them.

The book starts with a short guide to using your datebook properly. Then go five articles which I have enjoyed quite much, particularly the ones on Magical Clothing and Thoughtforms.

Then follows the diary part of the book -- d'oh. It's very functional indeed. Every page spread has a week's worth of days (Mon-Sun), and every day has references on colour correspondence, moon phase, and interesting historical facts or superstitions, where relevant. There's enough space to jot down important events & your basic schedule. Additionally, prior to every Sabbat there's a description of it (great for beginner Witches!), and a corresponding recipe (suitable for vegans, too) -- do try those Beltane Passion Cookies! Every Moon of the year is given a rather thorough description. And if that's not enough for you, then there are always gorgeous illustrations by Jennifer Hewitson and pagan-inspired poems.

The book ends with an Appendix of correspondence & reference tables, and a mini-phonebook of sorts.

Also, as it is practically a diary that you can carry around with you, I feel the need to say that it's very durable. I have the tendency to throw many things in my huge bag of woe where they all bounce about chaotically -- and its laminated cover is still intact. Looks very decent still.

I really recommend this thing. I'll be getting the 2009 one too.

nana manga overview

noreply@blogger.com (Yukino B.) — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 13:47:00 +0000

I first met Nana through scanlations -- translations of manga by fans, for fans.

Meet Oosaki Nana (Nana), a strong-willed young woman with a tough life. She is stubborn, ambitious, and wouldn't hesitate to do anything to reach her goals. After her boyfriend left her to head to Tokyo to be a guitarist in one of the major bands, Nana made a decision to move to Tokyo to realise her dream of being a punk rock singer.

Meet Komatsu Nana (Hachi), seemingly a polar opposite of Nana O. She is childish, spoilt, and seems to be thinking of her numerous crushes and latest outfits only. After a bad heartbreak, Hachi falls in love with an Arts student and decides to move to Tokyo with him. Only she does not get accepted to an art school, so she has to wait another year to make enough money for the move.

A guitar and a pack of cigarettes vs. a chockfull of make-up and clothes, ambition vs. dependence, Nana and Hachi meet each other on a train to Tokyo. They're in for a long ride; it's storming. But after they exit, Hachi is so haste to greet her boyfriend, she doesn't take Nana's contact information. Newly found acquaintance is lost.

... Not. After a series of fortunate events, the two end up sharing a flat together.

The great adventure begins.

Artwork;
It's a crime to talk about manga and not mention artwork in any shape or form. Ai Yazawa has a very distinct style, which might get a couple of chapters to get used to; but after that it's either love or hate. For me, it is (obviously) love.

Yazawa-sensei is a fan of Vivienne Westwood. She often dresses her characters in Mrs Westwood's outfits. What has not been designed by Vivienne Westwood, however, Yazawa-sensei creates on her own. One of her manga series, Paradise Kiss, is completely dedicated to fashion students' woes and wonders.

One of the things I like about Ai Yazawa's art most is her ability to convey a vast array of emotions with one simple picture. To paraphrase what I've once said to my friend, "It's like she draws a snowflake, and you see the reason of life behind it." Of course, that's an exaggeration, but it makes my point clear.

Conclusion;
I think one of the reasons Nana has gained such a huge popularity in Japan and worldwide is the series' realism. It hardly swings from the natural flow of young adults' lives. Not only that, but each character has an amazingly developed personality; it's hard to mix their 'voices'. As series progress, we see them grow.

Another thing that's great about the story is its humour. Take, for example, Yazawa-sensei's play on character names. Both girls are named Nana, which could mean 'seven' in Japanese. Later on, to avoid confusion between their friends, Oosaki Nana nicknames Komatsu Nana 'Hachi'. Hachi, among other things, means 'eight'.

Full of careful details and amazing plot twists, Nana is a truly enjoyable read.

a man without a country

noreply@blogger.com (Yukino B.) — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 13:36:00 +0000

a Man without a Country; by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

A man without a Country is a collection of short essays, released in 2005. Tey cover a vast array of topics: It seems that Mr Vonnegut managed to discuss the most important issues in his shortest book. From the importance of music and humour, to gender, racial and national differences, to Mr vonnegut's way of posting his manuscripts to his friend so she could type them neatly for him -- it's all there, and it's all written in Kurt Vonnegut's light-hearted unique style.

It's been said that Kurt Vonnegut intended this to be his final work. Sadly, this statement of his was proved true by his demise in April 2007.

So it goes.

It is strange. I sat down in front of my computer with full intention of writing a three-page entry on this amazing collection of essays, only to find myself at a loss of words. It's just that everything that could've been said, Mr Vonnegut has said himself. I have read many a review online, and none of them do the book any justice. they range from humour praise to political criticism, or from humour criticism to political praise. They grab onto one phrase and never let go of it, failing to discuss the rest of the book. They compare a Man without a Country to Mr Vonnegut's other works. They bash it endlessly, or they praise it, perhaps out of habit. They do it because they fail to say something, anything, meaningful about the book itself.

I am one of them, rather unfortunately.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who is at least remotely interested in Kurt Vonnegut's works, or post-modernist literature in general If anything, it was great to see that even at the age of 82 Mr Vonnegut maintained his clear voice and his heart-warming outlook on life. He was, and remains, one of the greatest American authors.

peach girl anime 1-6

noreply@blogger.com (Yukino B.) — Sat, 03 May 2008 21:54:00 +0000

Bullet list, because I feel like it.

I'm really not a fan of bright colours in large quantities, especially if half of the colours featured is taken up by pink. Peach Girl seems to be a rare exception of that rule.
I like Ueda Miwa's style, but something has failed when they tried to transfer it onto animation. I can't quite put my finger on it, but something's off.
At first glance, the story has a ridiculous premise. Main character, a high-school student named Momo (Peach), tans too fast. This always makes people think of her as a playgirl, someone who dates men for money, and this also attracts ridiculous amounts of creeps to her. This severely dampened reputation prevents her from having the guy of her dreams as her boyfriend, because he seems to dislike "dark-skinned girls". It bothers her so much, she quits swimming team, even though she's an excellent swimmer.
The main antagonist, Sae, is a scheming, manipulative pain in the ass. She is jealous of Momo's everything, and everything that Momo has or wants, be it a bag or a boyfriend, she wants to have for herself. Some of her schemes seem hardly believable, but the high-school female community can be very destructive, so it's not really over-blown.
Momo's love interest is a wuss. I really don't like him. I don't like him well enough to write a blurb about him, anyway.
Kairi Okayasu, the character that at first appears to exist only for the creation of a potential love triangle, is actually much more complex. I really want to see his development. He's my favourite so far, because Sae is just a bitch, Toji is, as mentioned, a wuss, Momo is too straight-forward most of the time.

kare kano anime 16-26

noreply@blogger.com (Yukino B.) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 18:32:00 +0000

Yep, done with rewatch. Now to give it a rest before site work.

Anyway, after some other numerous recaps, we learn the story of Miyazawa's parents. Other characters get introduced, we experience some more of Arima's emotional turmoil... All that motherjazz. One of the episodes has a very interesting animation style going on -- your basic cels are instead replaced with paper cut-outs. Funky.

So where does episode 26 leave us? I don't really want to reveal anything in case someone is reading this, and that someone hasn't seen the series yet. But back when the anime was being filmed, the manga was still ongoing, so the anime ending is rather ambiguous & promising. It feels like season 1 ended, and there's hope for season 2, but so many years passed, to no avail.

From what I've read, there were disagreements between Tsuda Masami (KareKano creator) and Anno Hideaki (KareKano anime director) on how the anime was being filmed. Tsuda Masami wanted KareKano to have a more traditional school romance feel, while Anno Hideaki managed to turn it into complete extravaganza. Sometimes it is really hard to draw the line between, I don't know, comedy and serious drama in the series. I'd go as far as calling it all a bit ... grotesque, even.

Anyway. I'm still a bit sad there's no second season or anything. :P

A random thing that rubbed me the wrong way: apparently they ("they" as in, the USA release) censored episode 18. There was nothing to censor, but they did anyway. I wonder if there are other bits and pieces that were modified to become more "appropriate". Episode 18 just stands out because it shows aspects of progress & growth of the main characters' relationship. By taking that 3-second scene out they really did ruin it all a bit. Personally, I think that by taking it out they only made it less "appropriate".

Oh, well. Learn Japanese & stop complaining, silly Y.

kare kano anime 1-15

noreply@blogger.com (Yukino B.) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 23:13:00 +0000

Hmmm. Brief intro for those who have no idea what I'm going to talk about:

Miyazawa Yukino is a high-school student. She's elegant, intelligent, good at sports, gets highest marks in class, blah blah blah... But in reality, she's just a self-proclaimed Queen of Vanity. She likes being praised, so her goal in life is to be Number One, to be noticed, loved, adored & looked up to. Things are going smoothly so far. But, perfection never lasts long enough. Enter Souichirou Arima. Completely unawares of Yukino's true self, he steals her spot in the sunshine by getting a slightly higher grade and becoming a class representative. Yukino is pissed, but keeps her perfect face intact. But of course, with any good high-school drama there's an unexpected 'rabu-rabu' twist: Arima suddenly confesses his feelings for Yukino.

Stuff gets complicated. :P

Anyway, I first watched Kare Kano years ago, not long after its initial release. It's one of my favourite stories ever, and will continue to be so, even though right now its value is mostly sentimental.

KareKano animation style is very ... unique. It's more of a slideshow of cells and manga pages at most times, with edited photographs and a lot of written text taking up quite a lot of series time too. I personally like it that way, but I recall it was many people's main complaint about the series. Another complaint, and this one I can relatively agree with, are long recaps of what happened in previous episodes. Additionally, episodes 13 & 14 are fully dedicated to reconstructing the storyline and showing us all the past happenings. I guess if I were watching the series at a one episode per week rate it wouldn't grit on my nerves as it's currently gritting on them. :P

However, I don't consider it my favourite anime for nothing.

One of the strongest sides of KareKano is showing how intricate & delicate relationships between people are. Friendships, romance, hate, rivalry, family bonds -- KareKano takes its time exploring them from different sides and angles, sometimes turning it upside down, just so we could get a diverse perspective. We see the characters grow -- and not just our main couple. The series takes turns, and lets supporting characters narrate what's going on. It's really just an ongoing narration of different storylines mixed, of people's lives & paths they take, all the intersections and stops it brings us to, all the dead ends, or, on the contrary, unexpected ways out.

It's good. When you watch KareKano, you realise that the only way you can learn about yourself is by interacting with others. Everything is relative, and all the things you take for granted (be it family, friends, or yes, being #1 in class) might be difficult, unattainable, improbable, or even impossible to imagine for others. Those that are close to you.

gossip girl s01e14

noreply@blogger.com (Yukino B.) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 00:20:00 +0000

*flails* Please do not expect coherence.

I still dislike Jenny Humphrey. For some reason, Serena feels a bit ... different. I used to like her more.

And damn, I wish I had a Chuck to visit after receiving some menacing note from hell. :P Chuck isn't the loveliest person out there, but he's one of my absolute favourites so far. No, seriously, it's got little to do with my Bad Boy Fetish. He just seems like a very complex character.

Monday (Tuesday for me) can't come soon enough.

psa x2

noreply@blogger.com (Yukino B.) — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 20:31:00 +0000

I've slightly purged the archives. Doubt you'll notice what I did, but for the sake of stating any new occurrences at this place, here you go.

I'm planning on slightly repurposing this thing. I'll continue posting notes on all the media I consume, but perhaps I'll try to be more elaborate. Not sure yet, we'll see.

Shelfari-fari-fari.

noreply@blogger.com (Yukino B.) — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 19:44:00 +0000

And yeah, I've added my Shelfari shelf widget (am I the only person who hates the word widget? I mean, come on... Widget?) to the sidebar.

random anime note.

noreply@blogger.com (Yukino B.) — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 19:35:00 +0000

I really can't believe I haven't really watched anime in so long, and how 'outdated' I currently am. Never you mind all the (relatively) new fandoms, like Death Note & Red Garden and whatever else, I'm catching up on Full Moon wo Sagashite, for crying out loud. :P

Sad Yukinon. And to think that anime watching puts me in such a good mood, even when it's some really dark and angsty series. It just makes me happy, somehow.

How little I need for relative happiness, apparently.

Anyway, tentative to-watch list (some of these are repeats for shits & giggles):
x Red Garden (finish)
x FLCL (rewatch)
x Full Moon wo Sagashite (rewatch)
x Cowboy Bebop (really now)
x BSSM (for site work)
x PGSM (for site work & for kicks)
x Gokusen (rewatch)
x Dennou Coil (finish)
x Eva (finish, before a mysterious Michiko kills me)
x KareKano (rewatch, site work)
x NANA (rewatch)
x Peach Girl (finish)

Off the top of my head. Will probably change as I continue with my rejuvenated anime obsession.

melancholy of haruhi suzumiya

noreply@blogger.com (Yukino B.) — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 16:35:00 +0000

Dudes, Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is entirely too cool. I can't even list all the things that signify its coolness.

So anyway, it goes like this. Suzumiya Haruhi, a high-school student, declares that she has no interest in ordinary humans. However, time travellers, aliens, and espers are all welcome. Apparently, one of the rare exceptions to the 'no humans' rule is Kyon. Incidentally, Kyon is the only person who pays any attention to Suzumiya and her weirdness. Having joined and left every student club the school had to offer, Suzumiya forms her own, and names it Save our world by Overloading it with fun Suzumiya Haruhi's Brigade (S.O.S. Brigade).

The adventure begins. :P

Anyway, after observing the animation and deciding that it's pleasing to look at (it really is -- the quality is great), I continued watching the series for the sheer WTF Factor. It's... random. But as the series goes on, and you watch more and more episodes, it's actually really... deep. It's all narrated by Kyon, in this really bored tone of voice, no matter what happens. Alien attack, murder, flood of woe, Suzumiya's latest wacko idea -- Kyon uses nearly the same tone for everything. Strangely enough, it never gets old. :P

I'm overjoyed. I'm gonna rewatch it soon.

nana movie 1

noreply@blogger.com (Yukino B.) — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 23:11:00 +0000

And now that I'm done with anime, I'm watching NANA movies. Currently done with the first one, will watch the second one soon.

I don't really have much to say, since I'm just reprocessing the same storyline in different visual forms over and over. I really loved how the movie was so accurately styled, and how they managed to keep the most dramatic manga moments intact. Of course, disappointments were inevitable, because seriously, you can't expect a roughly 2hr movie cover all the twists and turns of that big chunk of a plot. Plus, everyone knows that animation is my preferred form of media (after books & manga :P).

I can't say I'm satisfied, but it's an okay movie. Definitely a must for all NANA enthusiasts. :P

nanananananananananeoidfkvcn

noreply@blogger.com (Yukino B.) — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 23:02:00 +0000

After all these months, I finally finished watching NANA anime. I stopped some time ago at episode 31, when it all got dramatic, and really couldn't bring myself to watch more for a long time. It often happens with me -- once something big happens, or is about to happen, I give myself a break, because I can't handle it any longer. Yeah, I'm a wuss when it comes to drama. :P

SO ANYWAY. I'm an idiot for putting it on hold for so long. I can't quite form any coherent thoughts at the moment, but I'll definitely be 1) quitting food, since food is for the weak; 2) purchasing all the NANA manga once I'm done with food and have some spare cash; 3) making a site for the series. I've always loved it, and now I love it even more. I think I am ashamed to admit that NANA has surpassed my love for KareKano, and KareKano will now have to occupy the #2 slot in my heart.

Alright, can't brain on anime any longer. Will process it all as I'll be making the site. I just wish they'd make the 2nd season faster, but I guess more manga needs to be released first. EEEE~!