autumnleaf16

Alright…here it is, the manga/anime weekly review that I intend to do. Technically it should have started last Friday but I got so busy that I didn’t really manage. I know that people keeps on saying make time but well…I just don’t seem to have that ability. Well, I shouldn’t even be doing this now but I want to take a break from studying (exams coming up…sob sob)


Jeez…how should I start this…(cough cough) Anyway…here it is! The start of my manga/anime reviews which I will try to do at a weekly basis, I’ll include basic summaries that will be spoiler free and likely stolen from winkepaedia which just introduce it, followed by my own comments (which might contain spoilers) as well as maybe some character analysis (not an in-depth one, it will very basic). I’ll mention when the spoilers are coming up, I should really find a way to do what I saw this site did, the spoilers are only visible if you highlight it. Technically I have already done some form of review for both Fushigi Yugi and Loveless but they were too informal. Random? So this is a proper one. If you are not interested in anime/manga then don’t read.


Basic data
Title: Sukisyo (full name= Suki na Mono wa Suki Dakara Shoganai [this translates to “I like what I like, so it can’t be helped”]) [I have no idea why I decided to do this but I just did, by the way this does not represent the type of stuff I usually read!!!]
Category: Game (I think this is the first form)
Drama CD (then made into a lot of drama cds that are basically identical to the game.)
Anime [OVA. That means it was released into the store straight away.](13 episodes)
Novel (I think only one is published, I haven’t read it but I have flipped it and it is identical to the game. This is pretty new too.)
Manga (One so far, the newest product I’ve seen the manga and it is in Japanese so I have no idea what it is about, other then the fact that it is weird and drawn really differently…….)


The anime is something that starts off very light-hearted, and it is very funny. But it does get serious though, it is worth watching. If you really like the anime then I advise you to listen to some of the drama cd but I do not recommend the game to anyone, as what I have seen of it is enough to be traumatise me.


Origin
Why I saw it: My sister downloaded the OVA and it seemed interesting and it also contained a lot of famous voice actors. At that time I just decided that Koyasu Takehito is my favourite voice actor, and since he is in Sukisyo I decided “Great I’ll watch it.” So this is the symbolism of this anime? I like the basic story and I love hearing his voice so that is why I decided to hear the drama cd after I watched the anime (and the story from the anime is very interesting, and my sister found translation so why not?) Later on we found screen shot of the game (some are really dodgy) and it is also at this time when the drama cd gets dodgy too…after that we decided to do some research and we discovered that the story is a very heavy BL and the anime is an absolute dilution. This then led nicely to the next section


Warning
This is a BL (Boy love) story so it means that is about guys, and Sukisyo is like the BL that defined all other BL, but we had no idea that it was going to be like that. (Not only is there not one single female character in the story, there is not even a female voice actor!) BL is basically love between guys and the heavy ones can get rather graphical (like Sukisyo) while the lights one are only playing with the idea that is two guys in love with each other (a bit like loveless or even Tokyo Babylon)
So warning…if the lightest BL stuff disturbs you then DO NOT continue reading, as this is a very heavy BL story, it contains a lot of stuff that are rated. Apparently the game is R18, I haven’t played it but looking at some of the game shots, I can well understand why!
Although the anime itself is alright, it’s just normal bl? Kind of light, not very heavy. As I said before the anime is like super dehydrated! That is why I watched it! If it was like the game straight away I don’t think I would watch it…


Basic Story (spoiler free)
Sora (protagonist.) just recovered from an accident (fell off from a school building) and as a result he lost his memory. His new room mate is Sunao (usually known as Nao), whom, he is told by his close friend Matsuri, used to be his very close childhood friend.
As Sora tries to make sense of what is happening he discovers that both he and Nao have an alternative ego. Ran (for Nao) and Yoru (for Sora), and these two are (*cough cough*) lovers.
One of the most distinguished things about this story is that it had a large cast of characters that are very interesting…the two main characters and along with their crazy friends and teachers, and as I said it is a very funny yet rather touching and cute story at parts.
The story basically centres on Sora trying to make sense of everything going around him, and kind of coming to term with his “friendship” with Nao.
For me, the main factor that made me want to continue watch it is because I really want to know what had happened. Why did Sora fell off? Just what happened with Nao? What did they mean by Nao leaving that place? When can the two alter egos come out and what is the stuff that they are hiding? And there is this conspiracy that is slowly being built…


Anime/OVA:
There are 13 episodes although the last episode is absolutely random, so you really just need to watch the first twelve. The anime version differs greatly by being way diluted, and the climax of the anime is what happens (in the game and drama cd you find out why Sora and Nao got separated, as well as why he fell off in the very beginning, whereas you only find this out in the last episodes of the anime). The anime is also very funny in the first few episodes, that is another reason why I watched it, I was just cracking up. (And the romance of Yoru and Ran are so so cute!!!)


Drama cd/game/novel:
The game is really dodgy…I mean, some of the screenshots I saw would be labelled as porn if it isn’t for the fact that it was censored, so this just indicates how dodgy it is. But trust me, the anime is alright.
The drama cds are kind of like the game, where there is this whole relationship thing that is not just platonic, so you basically have to hear it with earphones. And it is kind of funny, Japan has been stereotyped for being very strict and formal, and then you realize that the stores sell these type of things openly, I was told that any drama cds are very easy to find in bookstores. In a way they are more open then Western culture, at least in this case, because voice actors who are really famous voices a lot of bl drama cd and bl games, and it is not a shameful thing to do as we might expect. It is almost a form of art!!!


Hey, pretty good, no spoilers yet. Well, I am also going to do a character summary for the main characters but this entry is getting way to long so I will stop here and post the character summaries tomorrow. If you read this then leave a review! (it’s so ironic that this is the same length as my history essay, but does not take days to write)


BLog pet still refuse to learn Shiraishi's first name...i'm not going to stop until he finally succedd.
白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介

I should really have asked my sister just where the old choral hall’s labs are, instead of walking here all the way to the human science building then walk back again, which is kind of stupid. But all the computers in the library and Kate Edgar centre are filled so that’s why I’m somehow here. (And moaning about it too).
Anyway…IMPORTANT NEWS!!! I now have a blog in MSN too but that was a bit of a semi accident that just happened, but none the less, I will be dual blogging. Word of warning though, the MSN blog will just be exactly the same as this one, actually, it will probably be a bit diluted as I started that one later, and I’ll be updating my live journal one first. So for those who have my live journal blog, there is no need to go to the MSN one.


Well…ok…I saw Walt Disney’s Beauty and the Beast on Saturday night with my sister and her two friends and there is just something so amazing about seeing a play performed life. I don’t know how to explain it but the mere fact of a performance right in front of you. It makes you think too. The main characters are the stars of the play but yet the nameless chorus members are what make the play wow visual wise by the dancing and everything. But anyway…about the musical in general.
It is certainly interesting, although there seem to be so much dialogue in the whole musical, but I like the songs. I kind of went there with a sense of knowledge because my sister has the sound track to one of the versions. I thought all the songs were done really well but then I suspect and believe that I am tone deaf, as I can never tell whether a singer is out of tune unless they are really really really out of tune. But I think the weirdest bit is the characters who dressed as furniture, especially the wardrobe and the clock. (Actually I take that back, the tea pot was probably weirder.) I thought the guy who performed the beast was excellent in both singing and acting wise (although at times he behaved a bit idiotic) but when he sing “If I can’t love her”, both the whole song and reprise it was really beautiful. The disappointing bit was when the beast turned back to a human and well…I didn’t expect to see a really hot guy or anything but I guess I kind of was wishing that the guy could have been a bit more good looking. (I’m not the only one who thinks this, my sister and her friends both think that too). The only other complaint is the fact that the characters all kind of have to wear what they wore in the cartoon, which does not look that good, especially the guy for Gaston with his hair. (Shudder, shudder). But it was on the last night so the whole audience actually stood up and clap, the last time I remember such a strong reaction was when I helped out at church, looking after the little kids by taking them to see sleeping beauty. The kids begins to boo at the evil witch, I feel so sorry for the actress. I am convinced that she changed her costume when the cast come out because I did not see her.


Somehow this made me recollect how a few years ago, when I was in forth form, I had wanted to rewrite a story based on the concept of beauty and the beast. When I got home I actually dig through my old stories and it is amazing on what I once write. (It’s kind of funny too. There’s this story that I wrote and then I rewrote it and came up with plans for at least 2 more version, but when I read it last night I realized that I now think the first version is the best version). But my version of beauty and the beast, it was a product of my forth form writing, so that was when I was trying to be very feminist. (I almost think that I have become the opposite as my recent stories keep on having guys as the protagonists and many female I use does not possess the best characters.) Basically my story is set in a fantastical world (another trait of my writing back then, obsession with fantasy), where the world is rules by four gods and is kind of Celtic and Medieval with the women rather suppressed. (Which I discover is not that true, but hey, I was only 15 or so.) The story centres on Ellan (the beauty) and Kyvain (the beast), he is cursed by the water goddess because he would hunt near the river and pollute it, so she turned him into some kind of fish, he have scales on his body and later on his legs became a tail. Ellan is in the castle because her brother caused Kyvain to be cursed by the water goddess again by accidentally polluting the river, she went in her brother’s place for the simple reason of not wanting to be at home.


Well, that is about it for today, it is a long enough entry any way. I actually have more stuff to say but I better start doing work until my lecture start.



I think my blog pet has yet to learn Shiraishi's first name so let's try again...
白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介 白石 藏之介

My last entry was moral lecture number 1, so technically that means there will be more then one lectures, but I can't be stuff doing that now. And it's because I am in a super good mood right now, although I have no idea how long that would last (My glass, as I said before, is now half empty). Anyway why am I in such a good mood? Well...because a) I got my management essay back yesterday, which to be honest I think is absolutely shit, and I actually got 10.5/15. Happy because the class average is 9.66, so it is higher then average. HAHAHAHAHA. b)I got my history essay back. 20% and I got 73%, which means I got a B and had i managed to get 2 more marks by getting 75% then I would have got a B+. But I am super happy with my mark as for my history paper last semester, I only got B- for my two course work essays although thanks to plussage my over all exam is B+ (sorry to all, I just have to brag about that cause I was so happy when I saw that mark. Actually what happened was that I was talking to my sister on line as she was in Taiwan and she told me that we can see some mark. So I went to that site and was thinking "Don't want to see it don't want to see it" When I saw the B+. Reaching Ahhhhh!!!!! I was going to jump for joy at a B but got a B+.) And to make me even more happy my grammar is actually marked as high competent and my tutor didn't actually say work on your grammar (Although my clarity seem to need improvement.) Still...yeah!!! c) Got my information system's mark, haven't got the actual text. 74%, not bad as class average is 58.4%. So anyway...in a very good mood and since I managed to borrow a text book I can use my one hour break to work on my blog, instead of taking note, which is what I planned to do.


Anyway...it is official, I no longer work at warehouse stationary. Yeap, I had my last day. It was quite touching, although most of the part time whom I had work with and become friends with are either doing full time or no longer there or working weekends. Yeah...kind of sad to think about it. But working there...I've seen like my supervisors being changed for seven times, to be honest, it's this year. Now I have to start living as I did before I got a job, spend little. But I kept on thinking about my first day, which is about one year and a few months ago now, my first day there...being scared and nervous and all that...And before on my Monday shifts...I'm like the oldest night filler there. Yeah...reminiscence. I remember how there was a time when three guys were playing cricket during a break with a stress ball, the empty roll for those large brown paper...sigh...and how I was actually training one of my friends on his first day, make me felt old. :) And how I had to pick up rubbish for work...and then I actually saw the dad of one of my best friends. That was.......... Also, how I used to knit during my breaks, that aroused many interesting comments. So I am a bit sad to leave but I still left as things are going downhill there since the new hours. I HATE WORKING TO TEN!!! it's not fair to ask my mum to pick me up so late either. And the problem is after dinner I don't have much time to work so it's hard for motivation, and same with when I get home.
I got a card too! (yeah!) I was quite worried as I remembered what happened to one of my friends when she left, she got taped to a pole and the guys ritually pour water over her. But the trouble is I still have some people I need to say good bye to that I didn't get to say yet. So I have to do that soon.


Anyway, onto a more cheerful thing. Since this year had been filled with anime and manga I thought I would share my favourite Japanese names. For me, regardless of the language, I have always liked names that are associated with nature or is a descriptive word (eg. Fleur de lys, Rose, Amber, Esperanze). So it seems that most of the japanese names that I really like fits into this category. Although i remember my japanese teacher in 3rd form told me that my name is Arisu or something like that in Jap....To be honesty I don’t like reading manga in Chinese, even traditional ones for the main reason that I can’t recognize the characters of the people’s name so I tend to give them a weird name or mispronounce it (poor x casts…I read the whole 18 volume thinking that Arashi was pronounce in this completely different way until my sister told me the right way, and poor Kakyou, I kept on calling him the bird guy because of the feathers that surrounded him. In fact Fushigi Yugi is almost an oddity as I could pronounce most people’s name right in Chinese.) But even though I like reading the manga in English, I like seeing their character’s name in kanji, as some names are so pretty in kanji!!! So…my favourite names.


Yuri (百合) I like this name probably because it means lily, and I really like Fleur de Lys (Flower of the valley, which means lily in French) too. But I don’t recall this being someone’s name in any manga, so this is a name I just like. As I said before, I like names associated with nature.


Setsuka (雪華) (X) When I found out what the kanji for this name is I just found it so so beautiful!!! Now I see love this name. In this name Setsu means snow, and ka means splendour. I don’t know how to translate I am afraid.


Yoru (夜) (Suki na Mono wa Suki Dakara Shōganai!) I don’t really know why but I just found someone literally being called ‘night’ sounds really nice.


Kaen (花婉) (Fushigi Yugi) I seem to really like any names associated with flowers, once again, I just find this name really nice.


I will update more next time when I have time, don’t know when that will be though, but I avhe to run to a lecture!!!

I am actually taking a break from doing work, I am fixing the last bit of my history essay before I handed it in. It is an evil essay, as all essays tend to be, but this one especially. I was going to go to the giner cat's house on Wednesday but this essay prevented me from going, as I couldn't have finished it if I went out. Waaaaaaaaa..........I am so sorry!!! I really wanted to go but I honestly couldn't go (sob sob sob)


Speaking of history courseworks I had to read an article on Tristan and Isolde a few weeks ago, and now my view of the story is altered forever. I don't know why but i haver never liked that story at all, although it seems the kind of things that i will go "Awwwwwwwww..." about. But now...the article I had to read was discussing how people at that time had the ideal that the bodies of man and woman should be similar, so that bodies are genderless, and gender is conveyed through clothings instead. The examples beign how alike Trsitan and Isolde is, and if it wasn't for the clothes, you actually can't distinguish the bodies apart. etc etc. So yeah...seriously altered my view on the story forever!


Anyway, this is so sad but i will have to spend so much time in the library that people would almost think that I live in it. BUt it's because of these assignemnts, I will soon hand one in, then I have the rest of the holidays to do another one, before having to hand in another one after a few weeks. Sigh...I know every one is in the same boat but the trouble is that I will stress to much, that is why I have to start doing my work early, otherwise all hell break lose. (Speaking of studying I got my exam time table yesterday...it um...to summarize it in one word: sucks. I was tempted to use a stronger word but since it isn't that bad, it could have been much worse, I will control my mouth.


Although this is a fake holiday, it at least is days off university, so I have a few more time to myself (been watching Fushigi Yugi again, hahaha :) Although I will not be able to get it finished before the break end, that would be a bad idea too so I won't do that.)


But moving on to the second part of the title, yes, it is not a typo, I really am going to deliver a moral lecture. I realized this year how much a person learns when they are trying to teach someone, it really is amazing. I think it's like being a parent, you do this without thinking it is dangerous at all during the process, but as soon as your children do it, you all but have a nervous breakdown. To an extend I understand a bit more. But anyway...


I had a bit of a clash with a friend of mine, who will remain anonymous. But apparantly she was in some trouble when I texted her, and I failed to detect that her reply was a cry for help. (to my defence i had some sort of problems, ok it wasn't that important but still...) I probably made matters worse when I saw her next by telling her that she should be a bit more considerate to everyone else. How do I put it? Being inconsiderate is not the same as being selfish to me, I believe the first one is merely thoughtlessness, while the second one is maliciousness. So anyway she was a bit angry. But I realized what a hypocrite I could be, and I am disgusted with myself because I always said: I rather be a bitch then a hypocrite. But my friend was in a sense of martyrdom, which I often do. "I didn't do this although I wanted to becuase you will think I am selfish etc etc." I often not tell my friends my problems because I think I am being selfish by bothering them, but now I realize, it is better to tell them. But anyway, I hate to admit this but i did not have many sympethy for my friend, I told her that she should ask for help when she need to.


My conclusion is that we are not inconsiderate by asking others to help us, even though they would most likely have their own troubles, but we would be selfish if we blame them for not helping us especially when we do this in a subtle way. Which is what my friend did, which still kind of piss me off, because she blame me for not helping her, for not realizing. although the ironic thing was I only realized how mad I got when I got home.
And another thing that happened: this friend claimed she didn't blame me, wasn't blaming me, seh was just acting it as if she was. From her, this had happened before, there was another time when seh prenteded that seh was really mad with me, and then laughed at me from believing her. Not a good idea (I did that once and the result...still kind of feel bad whenever I accidently think about it. I don't even know if that person remembers what I did anymore but if you happens to read this: I am really sorry for what I did, I really didn't meant any evil or maliciousness.)


Ok...that is the end of my moral lectures. Off to complete my essay, then walk to the history departement. sob... Reviews on something next week! :)