Pikachus, Chickens, and Cookies

I really should be doing my Chinese homework right now.

2010-09-06T16:21:00.001-07:00

I finally got off my lazy ass and updated my Profile information. I haven't updated that thing since... since I created this blog! (Before, it didn't even list Sound Horizon as my favorite band! I had to remedy that!)

Other than that, life has been... uh... okay? I dropped AP Bio. AND I AM A LOT HAPPIER. Like, a lot.

My teacher was super shocked though. He even took me out of class to talk to me when I told him I was dropping. It was a really huge "OHSHIT" moment. But, otherwise, everything went off without a hitch. I AM NOW TAing FOR MY AWESOME AP EURO TEACHER. SHE IS AWESOME. AND AWESOME. :D

So, I went to the bookstore today.

2010-08-28T17:47:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I went to the bookstore today. I'm still going pretty consistently, of which I'm grateful. (Of course, this trip was mainly to get my AP Bio study guide, but, regardless, I got some manga of my own.)

Anyway, I totally raided the shelves for Neil Gaiman, and now I have five more of his books! I'm pretty excited because anyone who is friends with Diana Wynne Jones and can write something like Coraline has got to write books that just ooze awesomeness.

Other than that, today was the first time I bought a Brian Jacques book that wasn't Redwall. (I love Redwall!) It's Castaways of the Flying Dutchman. I've been sorta wanting to read it, and I felt I ought to try it out. First time reading a Jacques book without talking animals, should be exciting! XD

Other than that, I bought Susan Vaught's Exposed. I liked her Big Fat Manifesto and Trigger (the latter more than the former), so I'm expecting this to be good too. :D

Now, manga!

I bought Mushishi v8-10 in one big omnibus! It's great! I love it! I also bought v2-4 of Kekkaishi. There's quite a few volumes out already, but I want them all, since Kekkaishi is one of the few Shounens that I still read consistently. I also got the new FMA volume (23) and Yumeka Sumomo's Rozione. I loved SiH's scanlation of it, and I'm happy to finally have the volume in my hand! (I'm surprised that they used "Yumeka Sumomo" though, considering that it is her BL pen name.)

And, the sad thing is that I saw Spiral v12 at the bookstore but I didn't buy it! The cover was a bit bent, and it was the only volume, so I had to hold off on my impatience and convince myself to buy it later. It's the volume where Hizumi appears! I have to have that volume in top condition! I love Hizumi.

Now, I'm off to update my book list. Lalalala.

School is starting tomorrow...

2010-08-22T13:42:00.000-07:00

...and, I have horrible teachers. asrhwelhwr

Four bad teachers + five AP classes = SHOULD NOT COMPUTE.

And, I felt obligated to post something.

Since, you know, I haven't been here for a while.

2010-06-11T17:09:00.000-07:00

So, apparently publishers are going to be cracking down on scanlators.

Now, I'm sure it is fairly obvious that, although I am a consistent reader of scanlations, I buy manga volumes as much as I can. (I would like to say it is in support of the mangaka, but that's a lie. I just love the feeling of holding the actual volume in my hand. xD)

Well, I kinda understand where the publishers are coming from, but I don't believe that the recent decline in manga-buying is because of scanlations. Mainly, I think it is the result of the economy recovering from the recession. (Quoting my mom, "We all have no money now! No one's buying manga during these times!")

Personally, I think even if the scanlations are gone, people are still not going to actively buy manga. It's like... even after Toonami went under and replaced all the awesome animes with crap, I didn't actively go out and buy animes now, did I? The people who buy manga will always buy manga and the people who won't... just won't...

Manga scanlators are actually pretty good for advertising too. I would've never picked up any of Urasawa's works without them (depriving me of the sheer magnificence of Pluto--which I now own all of the volumes--or the simple suspense-filled excitement of Monster) nor would I have discovered the perfection that is Spiral and Record of the Fallen Vampire.

But, the thing that really bothers me is the niche mangas that will probably never be licensed in English, like Ubel Blatt or Historie (though this is till a possibility--they licensed Parasyte after all) or Cesare. How will I get my fix then? English licensing companies will probably continue to remain ignorant to these series and I will never be able to read them again!

Well, regardless, I will continue to buy manga (even with crappy, censored translations and horrible quality) but I want more licenses for unknown mangas! (Or else I'll go through grueling training to learn Japanese and then move to Japan. >:)

So, well...

2010-06-02T19:55:00.000-07:00

In regards to anime: I am disappointed.

Durarara!! is really not up to the caliber that Baccano! is, and it continues to show this throughout its second half. The first half was really wonderful, but now... eh... too much angst and too little character development. Strangely enough, Anri is becoming steadily more likable, and I like her more and more with each passing episode. Even more strangely, I am liking Kida less and less, even though he was my favorite character before.

Angel Beats!, on other hand, had an absolutely horrendous second episode, though it rose up to a steady "decent" by the third one and just pretty much continued on that vein. This series has so much potential but doesn't have the means to execute them. Hence, DISAPPOINTMENT.

Also, first Break Blade movie is out. PLEASE, SOMEONE SUBTITLE IT SO I CAN WATCH IT.

And, other than that, Calc final tomorrow. Should be studying. Well...

...Spring Break!

2010-04-08T18:37:00.000-07:00

...or almost-over Spring Break! (And I still have school work to do. Blehhh.)

So, since it has been Spring Break, I've been catching up on animes and such. This season seems to be off to an awesome start, with Hakuouki being decent, Senkou no Night Raid interesting (despite the horrible Chinese from the Japanese voice actors), Angel Beats! simply defied all expectations. Black Rock Shooter and Nanoha movie will soon be here as well, and I'm mega excited for release of the first Break Blade movie. The animation looked seriously solid in the trailer, and I am totally expecting it to be EPIC.

This is the first time I've been so excited about a series for a long time. Even the excitement over Durarara!! didn't match up to this. 8D;;

Otherwise, like mentioned, Angel Beats! is surprisingly good. The first episode was honestly excellent and the premise of the show has enormous potential. Probably going to actually be keeping up-to-date with this series for once.

On the other hand, I'm not so sure about Hakuouki or Senkou no Night Raid.

Senkou no Night Raid seems interesting and I am impressed by how they got actual Chinese voice actors for the Chinese characters in the anime BUT the Japanese voice actors' horrible Chinese is really putting me off. I mean, it's understandable if ALL of their Chinese is bad; then I would just accept it as an inability to find good Chinese voice actors. But, no, they have some actual Chinese people in there speaking really good Chinese, so why aren't they the ones voicing the Chinese parts for the Japanese characters as well?! I mean, they are suppose to be Japanese spies, but their Chinese are so horrendous that they would be seen through in a moment (if this wasn't anime).

But, I might just be being exceptionally picky because Chinese is my native language. Ah, well...

Anyway, Hakuouki, on the other hand, has a really, really nice opening and ending theme, but the plot and characters are really... lacking. (Well, what do you expect? It works great as an Otome game, but as an anime... not so much.) The only reason I would continue watching this would be for the bishies. (And even that probably won't be a good enough reason, as the game art by Yone Kazuki is 2000 times hotter than the anime art, and I can ogle over those whenever I want. xD;;) But, well, the voice actor for Chizuru is the same one that voiced Shuurei in Saiunkoku Monogatari! (I recognized her voice immediately~!) So, if I ever watch this, I'll probably keep seeing Shuurei in place of Chizuru. Not that that's a bad thing at all. xD

Continuing on that train of thought, I finally finished the last seven episodes of Saiunkoku Monogatari II! I left it for more than a year because of laziness, but now...! I don't even quite understand why I left it for so long; it's as awesome and wonderful and amazing as I remembered! And, now that I have finished, I shall join in the chorus of other Saiunkoku fans and ask, "WHY IS THERE NO THIRD SEASON YET?!"

...

Yeah, so, in short, Durarara!! and Angel Beats! are the only animes I'm probably going to continue to keep tabs on. Everything else either doesn't interest me or I am already reading the manga for it so I find no reason to watch the anime.

Oh, and I just realized I've never talked about Durarara!!

Okay, well, there's not much to talk about, other than that I really, really love Kida, and I totally ship Kida/Izaya, Mikado/Izaya, and Mikado/Shizuo. xD (Yes, I do not ship Shizuo/Izaya or Kida/Mikado; I have never been one to ship the common pairings, and I don't see the point in starting now. 8D;;)

HOWEVER. In comparison to Baccano! (since the animes are by the same director and the novels are by the same person), I prefer Baccano! to Durarara!! But, that's just personal preference, and both are excellent animes on their own right.

Durarara!! spent lots of time on build-up, which is good--I always appreciate good pacing--but, because of that, the main plot wasn't reached until near the end of the first half; Baccano! on the other hand just dove right in, expecting the audience to be smart enough to connect the dots by themselves eventually. And, as I'm personally more partial to action and excitement, Baccano! is a better fit for me than Durarara!! is. xD

so, tumblr

2010-02-11T20:45:00.000-08:00

is taking up a ton of my internet time. What am I doing? Why am I spending so much time on there? I don't even know; I just am. |:

Ah, well, I'm here to... procrastinate and talk about SPRING animes!

In regards to Winter animes, I've been doing a pretty horrendous job of keeping up with it. I kept up with the first three episodes of Durarara!! (which were awesome, by the way), but fell behind by the fourth and now the fifth is already out too and the sixth is soon to be here. T_T

(I also have not had the time to watch the Nanoha movie yet. WHYYY?)

The good news? I watched all of Aoi Bungaku during winter break. It was pretty interesting. The last four episodes were especially excellent and my favorites.

Oh, and the Durarara!! manga chapters are being scanlated. SO HAPPY. It's noticeably different and a bit darker than the anime, and I like it. :D (Now if only someone would scanlate the Baccano! chapters... and the novel too while they're at it. xD;;)

Other than that, for spring animes, I'm kinda looking forward to Senko no Night Raid (the summary sounds like just my thing) and Hakuouki (oh god, the game art is like the hottest art for games I have ever seen; Yone Kazuki~!).

I'm really hesitant about Kaichou wa Maid-sama!, K-ON! second season, and Da Capo, though. Kaichou wa Maid-sama's manga was great at first but now it has become sorta... uh... tiring to read it. The same with K-ON! And, Da Capo's first season was excellent, but it's second and third... left much to be desired... so... yeah.

Uh. I want to watch new Utawarerumono too and finish Darker than Black and catch up with Armed Librarians BUT THERE'S NO TIME. T_T

Oh, and, of course, what all Vocaloid fans are looking forward to... BLACK ROCK SHOOTER!

And, apparently, there's going to be a new OVA for Ai no Kusabi too. The old OVA and the novels are both excellent. MUST WATCH.

...Okay, now I should really get back to studying for my three tests tomorrow. (Two of which are tests from AP classes. GAH.)

Equality for All: Coming Soon

2010-01-13T18:46:00.000-08:00

...to a theater near you!

...hopefully.

Okay, so, Perry v Schwarzenegger.

A lesbian couple with Olson, the conservative republican (I know, what?), as their lawyer are going against California Proposition 8. They're at a federal court now, but they're probably going to go all the way to the Supreme.

And, once this reaches the Supreme Court, it won't be just about Proposition 8 anymore; it'll be about gay-marriage. Period. It's really a hit or miss thing. Either they win and everyone becomes equal (yay!) or they lose and the shit really, really hits the fan.

So, yeah, it's pretty obvious where my standing is on this. God, I was so against Prop 8 that I was practically out for murder when it passed. (And, by a small majority too! 2%, dammit!) So, I think if this court case loses, the gay-marriage case won't be able to get through for maybe another century, or more. If so, I swear I'm moving up north to Canada (during or after college, whichever comes first). I honestly can't live in a country of ignorant, arrogant bigots.

Anyway, I mainly wrote this post to refute all arguments of those anti-gay-marriage people (in other words: attempted conversion to the side of non-bigots!); I doubt it's really going to do anything, though, as most of the opponents don't give shit about what the other side says; they're too wrapped up in their discriminatory mindset ("they're different = they're wrong"). I really, really need to blow off some steam though; I get way too heated up and pissed off at things like this.

1. "Traditional" marriage will be ruined by gay marriages.

"Traditional" marriage? "Traditional" marriage was when people could only marry in their own race and women were still treated like objects. There was also infidelity. A whole lot of it.

So, sure, if you want "traditional" marriage to be preserved, let's revoke Loving v. Virginia and the Nineteenth Amendment and everyone will be happy, right? /sarcasm

2. If gay marriages are allowed, people will want to marry their pets.

...No. Just... no.

First of all, pets do not have legal standing as a citizen, whether American or otherwise, it also cannot write (so it cannot sign a marriage contract) as well as speak (so it cannot say "I do" at a marriage ceremony). In short, this is an senseless statement without any rhyme or reason.

As Chris Crutcher so articulately put it in his new book Angry Management, "Listen, people who want to marry their pets have already done to their pets what these guys are worried about. Wanting to marry an animal isn't about civil rights; it's about mental health."

And, I've been asked, "So where does it end? What's the limit to marriage after this?" Well, here's a counter-question, "When does it start? What isn't the limit to marriage before this?" Because, honestly, the definition of marriage or the law or whatever people tell you isn't what sets our limits, it's ourselves. I mean, what is stopping me from burning down the trees in my backyard right now? Nothing. I'm just not doing it because I don't want to. That's a limit that I set for myself. No one else sets it. I won't go to jail for burning some trees. But, I don't do it.

Limits, people. You set them. Remember that.

3. Being homosexual is not natural.

Okay, first of all, it is natural. Studies have shown that homosexual behavior has been exhibited in certain species of animals.

Second of all, cars, cellphones, and television are all not natural, and look what we've done with them.

4. Same-sex marriages do not produce children; we can't have that.

So, let's stop all the infertile and old people from marrying! Yeah, let's! And, while we're at it, we should build less orphanages! Because we obviously have too many and need more children to accommodate them! And overpopulation is a lie!

...I honestly cannot think of a serious way to argue this point.

5. A household should consist of a male and a female; the environment is not good for the child if they only have single gender parent(s).

This really ticks me off. Does this mean that single parents should not be allowed to raise children as well? (For those of you that don't know, my mom is a single parent.) This is absolute, complete bullshit.

And, for those that say that having homosexual parents will give the (adopted) child a bad childhood/environment, think about what would happen to the child if they had stayed in the orphanage. Seriously, just think about it. The child might never be adopted (a lot of children aren't), or they might be adopted into a household with a worse family situation (because there are a lot of things worse than having homosexual parents; I'm serious).

Also, same-sex couples have been shown to actually be better parental figures than heterosexual couples precisely because they are a same-sex couple. They are persecuted and condemned, so they understand hardship, as well as the fact that many states do not allow them to adopt children, so it's a very precious thing to them and they understand quite well (better than regular parents, actually) how important family is.

Think, people. Think. I'm begging you here.

6. Being raised/around gay people will make you gay.

Oh, sure, because all straight parents only raise straight children. /sarcasmsarcasm

Honestly, this is such a ridiculous argument that I don't even know why I'm refuting it. Being gay is just like being black or white or yellow; you can't control it. Have you ever woken up one morning and decided, "Hey, I'm going to be straight today!"?

Besides, homosexuals are so heavily persecuted, why would they want to be what they are? I bet all of them have wished at least once that they were straight or at least bi so they could just stop the discrimination.

7. It's against Christianity!!!

So is killing, and I seem to remember this thing called the Crusades that was initiated by the Catholics during the Middle Ages... Hm...

And, America is a theocracy, isn't it? Separation of Church and State? Remember that? We don't have a national religion? I am allowed to be as cynically Atheist as I want?

In other words, the values of a single religion cannot be imposed on the country as a whole; that would be unconstitutional and be against the First Amendment which clearly says, "freedom of religion".

8. The Board of Education [will go crazy] and start teaching gay sex at elementary schools!!!

Three words: What. The. Hell.

I swear that I have heard this excus-- I mean reason before, and it seriously made me do a double-take to gauge the amount of brain cells of the subject that said it. It was clear to me that the subject either a) lost most of the said cells in a tragic accident, b) never had much of it to begin with, or c) just plain stupid.

It also might be the generous fourth option, which is "all of the above".

Anyway, getting back on track, I am going to ask you this: Did you ever learn about sex (period) in elementary school from a hired and trained educator? No? I thought so.

Okay, so, in case you didn't know, this education thing is crazy. I mean, parents can actually control what their kids learn in school! I know! Isn't it just insane?

Curving off the sarcasm a bit... It is not the teachers, or the principal, or even the Board of Education that decides what your children can or cannot learn. It is you. If you dislike a curriculum in school, you have every right to complain to the Board, and it is lawfully required of them that, if the situation is serious enough (I think learning about sex constitutes), they have to remove said curriculum. If they don't, you have every right to sue their asses off and have their teaching credentials revoked.

Also, don't you remember back in fifth grade when we were learning about the differences in genders? (Like, for girls it was that we were going to start bleeding profusely at random five to seven days a month, and for guys it was... I have no idea, but still.) They had to get parents to sign a permission slip for that too, and I swear the video was rated G. Think about what learning about sex would require! All that paperwork! I can attest to the fact that teachers do not like excess paperwork.

And, if you are worried about children learning the meaning of being "homosexual" or "gay", well, I am sorry to say that you are on the fast track to becoming a bigot. But, don't worry! If you follow my easy advice, you won't get there!

Okay, in all seriousness, learning about being gay is the same as learning about being black. Ethnicity and sexual orientation are on the same spectrum of the universe; it's just that not everyone has noticed it yet. They are both something you cannot control, and people have faced discrimination for both in their lifetimes. I don't see the problem of learning about what either means. It's like not letting your kid learn the multiplication tables; it might not seem important then, but not knowing will totally screw you over later. (I would know; it is very hard to succeed in math if you only know the ones and twos tables. :|)

9. Gay people pass around STDs!!!

There is so many things wrong with this statement that I have little to no idea how to start.

Well, first, STDs stand for Sexually Transmitted Diseases, and for those less... articulate than others, let me spell it out for you: these diseases can only be transmitted through semen or the bloodstream. As soon as the disease comes in contact with air, it dies. So, unless you're sharing needles or having sex with an infected, it shouldn't be a problem.

Second, same-sex couples have the same chances of getting the disease as everyone else. Actually, if they're faithful (and most of them are, moreso than heterosexual couples), they have less chance of getting STDs than couples that are unfaithful and practice infidelity.

Third, STDs--AIDS--did not originate from same-sex couples. And, as I just mentioned, same-sex couples do not have a higher chance of getting it than heterosexual couples. Those are myths. (It's a personal pet peeve of mine that the majority often seem to associate HIV/AIDS with homosexuality.)

10. What if they come on to me?!!

Okay, this isn't really a reason that you hear in a professional debate, but I know that most people feel uncomfortable with this and I felt that I should address it.

Well, here's what I have got to say about this: Get over yourself.

No, seriously.

Gays do not automatically fall in love with every member of the same-sex same as straights do not automatically fall in love with every member of the opposite-sex. I have been told that romantic love does not work that way, and I am inclined to believe that. And, I am sure that they have much better prospects of romance than you; remember: all the hot guys are either imaginary, married, or gay.

Also, I do not see the difference between a member of the same-sex "coming on" to me and a member of the opposite-sex that I am disinterested in "coming on" to me. Both I have no wish to date, and both will eventually warrant the same situation. And, I think a fair majority has experienced the feeling of being asked out by someone you didn't wish to date. This is basically just the same thing, except with someone of the same gender.

I mean, come on, guys, let's move past the thinking of them being "different" and just accept them as the same as us. What is different, anyhow? We are all born from a mother's womb, we all mature from childhood to adulthood (in body, if not in mind), we all have two arms and two legs, we all think and dream. We're all human. The only differences between us are the superficial ones that mankind just can't seem to get past. If we keep on thinking that they're "different", then we'll never be able to accept them. We need to get past that mindset and start thinking--really, really thinking--about whether they are different or we just paint them as such because we're all a bunch of cowards afraid of change.

...

So, yeah, that's it. I really need to study for my Euro final now, but to end things I'll pull out some quick statistics.

Around 10% of the population is gay. That means around 1 in 10 people. Those who are left-handed are the same, 10%, 1 in 10 people. The latter has been persecuted before for being "different", but do we still do it in modern times? Hopefully not. The former continues to be persecuted for the same reason, and do we still do it in modern times? Yes.

Do you really have the right to do this? Do we really have a right to condemn others for being what they were born being?

I hope to your God (or lack thereof) that you know the consequences to the answers that you choose to those questions.

(If I believed in God, I would pray for the future of America, but since I don't, could those that do pray for me? Hey, just because I don't believe in Him, doesn't mean that He doesn't exist. Who knows, maybe He'll suddenly snap out of His Alzheimer's, or whatever He has that has caused Him to ignore our existence, and help.

I really want to ask Him... Is the cheese up in Canada any good? Compared to Swiss cheese? Depending on his answer, I might change my destination to Switzerland. Hm...)

New Animes?!

2009-12-14T20:31:00.000-08:00

Okay, so some of next year's new animes have been announced and among them are Bakuman and Shinrei Tantei Yakumo.

Truthfully, despite Bakuman's popularity, I'm much more excited about the latter. Shinrei Tantei Yakumo was originally a novel and has been adapted into both a drama and a manga. The former which Ryuhei Matsuda starred in (and he was so totally hot in that too xD <3).

So, yeah.

Egh, I really want to watch Darker than Black: Ryuusei no Gemini right now but there's no time anymore. Hopefully, winter break will give me more breathing room to watch this season's animes as well as some past seasons' that I've missed.

Anyway, for something more recent... (like, this winter season recent...)

Utawarerumono is getting an OVA! Coming out the 23rd. So excited. @_@

(Utawarerumono is one of those gems of animes that starts out really...meh...and becomes super awesome.)

Oh, and Saint Seiya is apparently getting an OVA too, based on Shiori Teshirogi's manga adaption of the anime: Saint Seiya - the Lost Canvas, volume four. Truthfully, I'm slightly disappointed. In my opinion, Teshirogi's Los Canvas was the best in the first two or three volumes. The quality of the plot started decreasing a bit after that... and it sorta gets to the point where they assume that you've watched the Saint Seiya anime before. (On the upside, Teshirogi's art only gets better. xD)

Durarara!! and Soranowoto both sound pretty interesting too, especially considering the former is coming from the creators of the anime Baccano! (which is one of the best animes, like, ever. in the history of mankind.)

Denpa Teki no Kanojo is getting an anime too... Might check that out, even though I have no idea what the plot is. Hey, Yamato Yamamato drew the beautiful art for the novel version, so... 8D;;

AND. MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL.

NANOHA MOVIE COMING OUT IN JANUARY!

-runs around screaming-

Nanoha, Fate, and Yuno return! And, they're making them loli--I mean kids again! Rather than the weird adults that they grow up into in StrikerS. (Yuno only appears in, like, one episode in that. T_T)

I really hope Yuno gets a bigger role this time around. He was pretty central to the story up until Nanoha A's, where he kinda took a backseat to the GL implications. D: (I can hardly find any colored pictures of him! When I do, he's nearly always a ferret! wtf?!)

...okay, I'm done. There. The end.

Geekiness Returns!

2009-11-30T19:49:00.001-08:00

I've been super busy with school lately. Chinese teacher loves to torture teenagers and Calculus feels like a race. (We take a test every week!) AP Euro is also moving pretty fast, but I personally think it's one of my easiest and most likable classes. I love history and my teacher is really good, so I don't really mind that we take a quiz every week and a test every week and a half.

Other than that... it's time for... GEEKING OUT TIME!

Let's start off with manga.

I recently went to the bookstore and bought Record of a Fallen Vampire v6-7! Viz is going pretty fast with this... Only two volumes left until it's finished! The scanlators are doing a good job too. I think there is only one (or two?) chapter(s) left until the end. I'm really excited. :D

And, I also bought Spiral v9. Hiyono gets her spotlight in this volume, of which I was very happy about.

GAH, Yen Press! Why do you have to release Spiral QUARTERLY?! I would understand every two months, but... every three?! This means you probably won't release the whole thing until... 2011? 2012? T_T

Other than that, I bought Dragon Eye v6-7. I don't know why, but Dragon Eye is a really likable shonen. It's like a typical shonen yet not. The more I read it, the more I like it.

Oh, and I got two new manga obsessions:

1) Shut Hell

2) Blade of the Immortal

Shut Hell is pretty awesome. I admit I was completely skeptical about reading it at first... (I mean, genderbender? Guy falling into another world? It's been done before, and done horribly.) But, it turned out to be pretty awesome. I'm a bit worried, though... How will the mangaka proceed after the flashbacks are over? The answer to that question can either make or break this plot. I'm betting on the former because, from what he has shown us so far, he knows his stuff and he isn't afraid to go a bit crazy with the storyline to get things done.

And, Blade of the Immortal... Oh, how can I describe it? It's simply... completely... FUCKING BADASS. (I won't say to excuse the language because it's true. xD)

Honestly, I finally understand why so many other seinen fans like this manga. It's the epitome of seinen, swordfighting manga. Everything, from the art to the characters to the storyline, seems so intricate and detailed that... well, I can't help but worship.

...It really helps that Dark Horse is super amazing and made the translations seem like an art upon itself. DARK HORSE, KEEP DOING WHAT YOU'RE DOING. YOU ARE GREAT.

Next (and lastly) on the menu: books.

So, I bought a few new books lately. Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli, 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher, and It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini.

It's kind of ironic since I'm a total Fantasy novel buff and here I am buying all these fiction/slice-of-life-ish books. (Well, I did buy some Diana Wynne Jones books, but she is always awesome, and I can go on and on about her greatness, so... another time.)

First, Milkweed. It really isn't for me, but, even so, it is definitely, without a doubt, good. As always, Spinelli is a master at capturing the emotions of a young child as well as the child's view of the world around him. This guy was born to write about children; either that or children were born to be written of by him. Seriously, everytime I read a Spinelli book, I am blown away by his accurate first-person narrative, whether it is a child or an adult, a boy or a girl.

Anyway, like I was saying, Milkweed is a really good book. The thing I especially like about it (other than Spinelli's usual I-can-write-children-like-no-one-else-can charm) is the ending. It has the absolute most perfect ending for a book of this caliber. Honestly, you don't really see it coming, but, once you see it, you will realize this is one of the best (maybe the best) ending this book could ever had. This is another thing about Spinelli's work that gets to me: the guy can write the most amazing endings.

You know how sometimes you are reading an amazing book? And, because the book is so ambitious, the ending doesn't seem to really satisfy/outdo/bring closure to the events of the book? Well, you never have to worry about that with Spinelli. No matter how great his book is, no matter how absolutely stunning, his endings are always, always sure to hit you harder than anything else in the book will.

Okay, let's move on to our second object of praise...

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher.

...Go out and buy this book now. Like, now.

You know how when you're reading about those deep, philosophical topics, such as anxiety, depression, and/or suicide, and they either come out too preachy, too boring, or too unrelateable?

Personally, this happens to me a lot. Due to my generalized anxiety disorder, I can relate to most ideas of depression/suicide and why people do it, and because of that, whenever I read a book about something relating to that, I usually end up thinking that the book is complete bullshit and that the author has never truly thought of what suicide means to those that think of it.

The best remedy for this? Comedy.

I know, I know. It sounds stupid, but it works. Comedy makes the whole work less oppressive and, if done right, can shed a lot of light on philosophical thoughts. One great example of an author that deals with sensitive topics along with comedy is Chris Crutcher. The guy knows what he's doing and what he's talking about. Even if the basic outline of his book is about a snarky, smartass teenager, there's always so much more to it. And, he presents the issue in such a way that he isn't exactly stating an opinion but isn't obviously side-stepping it either. His works really appeals to me--they're easy to understand and not as objective/biased.

So, what does this have to do with Asher's book?

Asher is one of the few that has managed to present the topic of suicide in a serious manner in a teen book and make me interested. Okay, not just interested. It touched me. A lot. And, I cried.

Well, I don't know how well this book will affect those that have never been depressed/thought of suicide... they might think Hannah was stupid/crazy and that her decision was wrong (or some stupid shit like that). But, well, for me, it was like a... realization. It was like, finally, after all these years, I realized why I sometimes hated my life, why I sometimes wanted to disappear. And, I felt such a connection with Hannah that when I really sat down and thought about it, I cried.

I bawled like a baby.

Continuing on that strain of thought, this is a really important book. Suicide is a serious issue, and it needs to be discussed subjectively, rather than objectively. It is not something to be condemned for, not something to be pitied for.

I definitely wouldn't say that everyone will like this book, and I personally think that most probably won't feel as strongly about this as I do. But, I do recommend this to everyone. I don't know if it'll help you understand or not, but it is certainly worth the read (and the $17 I spent to buy it).

Personally, to me, Hannah was neither wrong nor right. She just did what she had to do. That's it. Nothing more, nothing less.

...Okay, well, third of all. I'm currently reading "It's Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini. I picked up this book on a sort of whim. My mom was like, "Oh hey, this looks kinda funny. Why don't you read this?" And the title as well as the summary was pretty eyecatching, so I was like, "Sure. Why not?"

So far, I quite like it. Vizzini's style is reminiscent of Crutcher's, except with slightly more explanations, intended for a slightly older audience. The dry humor characteristic of Crutcher's works are definitely there, though the smartass attitude of most of his main characters contrasts Vizzini's Craig--who has a more...lax/lazy/I-don't-really-care-anymore demeanor.

It's witty and insightful. And, judging from the reviews, it touches complicated/controversial issues without becoming too embroiled in them. (The "problem" that most people consider with Crutcher's works is that it goes much too in depth into controversial issues that adults think are not suited for teens.)

This is a book about a serious issue, written cleverly/wittily so that it doesn't offend anyone.

I'm sure that you can judge for yourself whether that is good or bad.

Fwu~

2009-10-22T19:28:00.000-07:00

Whoo, haven't been here in the while.

I want to say that it's because of school, but that's a lie. I've just been lazy.

Sophomore year has been okay. Not difficult, just a bit stressful. All my teachers are pretty good, except my Chinese but that's a whole other story.

Anyway, basically, all I've been doing for the last two months is writing fanfiction and reading manga (I watched some animes too).

I've found a new anime favorite: First Squad. It's an hour-long OVA and it's amazing. The premise is pretty simple (as well as, admittedly, a bit overdone), but the execution is solid and the animation is beautiful. The best part of the movie? Everyone spoke in Russian. I was totally having a fangasm over that. xD

I've also found a new manga favorite: Eyeshield 21. I know this manga/anime has been the rage of the anime/manga world for a while now, but I've never actually had the will to read it. The premise of a fast-running boy reminded me a bit too much of Whistle! (soccer manga; pretty good, in my opinion) for whatever reason so I sorta put off reading it. I mean, it's a comedy about football? How good can it get?

Obviously, I was proven completely wrong, and it turned out to be freaking AWESOME. The most badass sports manga since... since... I don't know. Since a while. (I actually do keep up with some sports manga; I sorta have a fetish for them even though I'm horrible at sports. But, Area no Kishi disappoints me and Kuroko no Basket is good but not spectacular.)

I think the reason I like Eyeshield 21 so much is because it never forgets that it's a comedy. It has great, memorable characters and enough drama to keep the games intense, but it never ever stops being funny. That's really why I love it.

In other news: apparently, Crypton is releasing a new Vocaloid (again), but this time it's a... MALE. Oh man, has it been a long time. The last two Vocaloids that Crypton released were both female (Luka and Gumi) and even the most recent English Vocaloid is a female (Sonika). So... EXCITEMENT. >]

Controversial Issues

2009-08-12T16:47:00.001-07:00

Okay. This was hilarious, so I just had to stick it here so I don't lose it later. :D

Controversial Issues

1) Being gay is not natural. Real Americans always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, liposuction and air conditioning.
2) Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.
3) Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract.
4) Straight marriage has been around a long time and hasn't changed at all; women are still property, blacks still can't marry whites, and divorce is still illegal.
5) Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay marriage were allowed; the sanctity of Britney Spears' 55-hour just-for-fun marriage would be destroyed.
6) Straight marriages are valid because they produce children. Gay couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn't be allowed to marry because our orphanages aren't full yet, and the world needs more children.
7) Obviously gay parents will raise gay children, since straight parents only raise straight children.
8) Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That's why we have only one religion in America.
9) Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home. That's why we as a society expressly forbid single parents to raise children.
10) Gay marriage will change the foundation of society; we could never adapt to new social norms. Just like we haven't adapted to cars, the service-sector economy, or longer life spans.

Tokyopop

2009-08-04T18:34:00.001-07:00

Forgot to include this in my last post, so it gets its own.

A whole entire post about Tokyopop, and it's problems. Wonderful, eh?

For those of you who haven't noticed, the nice people at Tokyopop have been using really, really crappy paper for their mangas recently. And, just this month, they raised their manga price to $10.99 retail!

You won't even believe how pissed off I was.

This is robbery.

I mean, the only other company that has manga for $10.99 is Yen Press, and they've always done it. Plus the fact that their translations are good, and that their paper hasn't degraded to the soft, smudgy, filmy stuff that Tokyopop's has.

But, seriously. Tokyopop, how could you do this?! I was just thinking you were getting good lately! Ugh, now you've dropped down to an all-time low!

And, I don't even want to mention how ferociously you've been advertising Fruits Basket, Princess Ai, and Bizenghast. The first two aren't even good! The second is only three volumes!

I also totally don't get why didn't Tokyopop release Togainu no Chi under their Blu label. It's shounen-ai, for christ sake! Tokyopop releases shoujo (and the really, really occasional shounen), while Blu releases all things BL. Tokyopop, you better not cut out all the BoyxBoy goodness in the manga. OR ELSE. >:

Ah, well, guess all we can rely on is Viz and Yen Press now, eh? (Del Rey is slowly going under too, and I've noted CMX using the same crappy paper that Tokyopop was.) Oh, and, of course, Seven Seas for the cute, little, light novels, of course. Dark Horse seems pretty good too (referring to their Clover collection).

Lalalala

2009-08-04T17:24:00.000-07:00

Okay. Went to the bookstore recently.

Spiral v8 (wonderful, as always, and expensive, as always)

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (The Bandai version. I compared the translation to another official translation of this and it was pretty hilarious. Bandai didn't use any of the "crap"s that the other one used. xD)

Yumekui Kenbun v8 (was a bit disappointed with this; the elevator story was the only one that caught my eye. one more volume to go!)

Pluto v4 (too full of awesome for words)

And, Death Note: Another Note

I was actually pretty excited to read it, but the plot disappointed me a bit. It wasn't that it wasn't good. It was great, as a mystery novel. But, I disliked how the author kept intentionally misleading us on who BB really is. It kinda annoyed me since I already spoiled it for myself (intentionally) and recognized all his attempts to mislead. (Though, the plot twist does make sense in hindsight. Honestly!) It's also one of those books you shouldn't pick up without prior knowledge of the subject matter, since it makes a lot of references to the original for a simple spin-off. Also, the fact that BB had shinigami eyes was totally uncalled for and benefited the plot in no way. It's great for fanfiction, but not so much for an official (or as close to official as you can get) spin-off. And, the fact that Mello couldn't have known some of the things that were written (since he is the one telling the story) threw me off. The shinigami eyes deal left more inconsistencies than it patched up.

There are two good things about the novel, though. One, the cover binding and inside black-and-white illustrations are absolutely gorgeous. Viz really outdid themselves this time. And, two, the character of BB is fantastic. I completely fell in love with him. He is now on the same ranking as Matt as favorite Death Note character ever. :D

Oh, other than that, I finished the Once and Future King by T.H. White

Three words: beautiful and profound

It really struck a cord with me, especially in the end. I am not ashamed to say that I bawled like a baby on the last three pages. It wasn't as if it was that depressing. The really heartbreaking part was knowing the ending right from the start, knowing that Arthur would die (or get sent to Avalon or whatever), knowing that Lancelot and Arthur and Guenever could never go back to the way they were before. It was that knowing that made me burst out crying, even though, in the end, Arthur is merely preparing for battle against Mordred, and we do not see his death. And, we, the readers, had come to know and love Arthur over the course of the book. We have known him for his whole life. We have watched him while he was a child, as a teenager, as an adult, and, finally, we have watched him grow wise as he becomes old. The book is a lifetime, Arthur's lifetime. It does not end with a happily ever after. It does not stop once he has reached his prime. It continues until the end. It continues until the beginning.

Now, I absolutely have to get the Book of Merlyn.

Oh, and, by the way, I'm back in America. :)

Life Updates + Umineko

2009-07-11T06:02:00.000-07:00

Okay. Kinda died off the face of the earth there for a bit.

So, in short, what recent updates are...

In Taiwan for summer vacation.

Computer contracted virus.

Fixed within two days.

Pandora Hearts and Alive are both going pretty awesomely now.

New Vinland Saga almost made me pee my pants.

SPIRAL updated, and it kept me happy for weeks.

Been reading much too many fanfictions.

I have discovered that I am a lover of Matt/Near (Death Note), even though I read mostly Matt/Mello.

I still have yet to finish my summer homework.

WELL. OTHER THAN THAT.

The anime of Umineko is out~

...

I'm not going to watch it. xD

I've heard from several people that the first episode was too rushed, and that many scenes were skipped. And, since I still haven't finished Last Exile... I'm not going to watch it.

(I am, however, reading the manga. I like it quite a bit. Better than Higurashi, in my opinion.)

BUT THAT ISN'T IMPORTANT.

The important thing is that Jimang is singing the ending song for it.

AND, OH GOSH IS IT AWESOME.

JIMANGGGGG~! <3

(In truth, when I first heard Sound Horizon, I didn't like Jimang's voice at first. But, I grew to love it~ Especially his Tasogare no Kenja and during the Roman live when he sang Rein no Sekai with Revo. That was pure win. xD)

Well, yeah, that's basically it.

I also heard the opening of Umineko. That's pretty good too. ;D

Lalalala

2009-06-15T05:38:00.001-07:00

Okay. Taipei. Taiwan.

That's where I am now.

As I am every summer.

Every. Summer.

-cringes-

Well, I don't really have anything to say.

Just felt like making an entry for the hell of it.

...Need to get back into finding Sound Horizon translations. I'm so behind, darn it!

Ubel Blatt Rant [+ Life Updates]

2009-06-03T18:13:00.000-07:00

Yeah. I haven't been here for a while.

Been reading too much fanfiction... Man, I'm so addicted now. :|

Anyway. Updates.

FINALSSSS.

Took most of them already, only Bio tomorrow (+ PE but I already did it so it doesn't count) and then summer vacation! Whoo!

But, I have summer homework from three classes. In other words, I have to listen to write down some Chinese thingamajigs, and read four books (Fahrenheit 451, Lord of the Flies, Julius Caesar, A World Lit Only By Fire) + answer questions (for the last book, BY HAND) + do a Europe map thingy.

WHAT FUN. :|

Anywayyyyy.

Onto the Ubel Blatt rant.

I just have to rant about the recent chapter. Just have to.

MAN IS GLENN AN ASSHOLE OR WHAT?

God, I've never hated a manga character this much before, but Glenn is just so... so... UGH.

He's a total, complete bastard.

How dare he give that sorry excuse for a person Ascherit's sword?! It's ASCHERIT'S! GLENN KILLED HIM, DAMMIT. Ambushed him, cut off his arms and legs, blinded him, and threw him off a gorge to DIE.

And, it was all fucking Glenn's idea.

(And, I don't--not for a second--believe his goody-goody act. Even if he has turned over a new leave, it doesn't changed the fact that he had been a total bastard and asshole, seeking the easy way to fame and glory.)

DAMN YOU, GLENN. JUST DIE ALREADY.

...Yeah...

I actually thought Balestar's death was a bit sad, though... He wasn't originally a bad guy, really. But, fear just made him that way. (God, after reading Lord of the Flies, the word "fear" brings such horrible images.)

...It doesn't help how absolutely pitiful Balestar was in the end, having lost his mind and was living in the past.

Bah, but Balestar wasn't a good guy, anyhow, so it was good that he died, I suppose. (And Koinzell got hailed a hero! -tears of happiness-)

Full of Win

2009-05-23T23:12:00.000-07:00

Okay, today was simply an awesome day.

I went to my friend Haidee's house to work on a project with our two other friends Ruby and Mickaela, and it was awesome. We spent such a ridiculous amount of time on each page of the project; it was hilarious.

It only got even more hilarious when me and Ruby started swordfighting. Yeah, swordfighting.

So, like, we borrowed Haidee's brother's toy swords and started fighting with them while misquoting Romeo and Juliet and trying to talk all medieval-like. (I almost died laughing on the floor and I couldn't get up for several minutes.)

---

Ruby, "Ah, you have slayed me! [exaggerated dying noises] Curse on both your houses!"

[then, i stab her a few more times while she's down]

"Hey, you can't stab me after I'm dead!"

"Too late, I already did!

Later...

Me, "You have shamed my family!"

"How?"

"Uh. I don't know, but you have! Draw your sword, villain!"

[exaggerated fighting noises. me and ruby played dirty and tried slashing each other when the other wasn't looking. x3]

Me, "Draw your sword, you coward! I shall fight you for my honor! This is for dishonoring my family!"

Ruby, "Oh no, I have been dishonored! I must kill myself now!"

[ruby makes an exaggerated show of turning the sword on herself]

Ruby, "Hey, you can't grab my sword like that!"

Me, "Well, I just did!"

"Well, I cut off your fingers, so there!"

"No matter! No matter how much blood I shed, I shall fight to the end!"

[more exaggerated fighting]

---

Oh, and, I ate too much chicken because Ruby didn't eat hers, so I ate her bag along with mine.

That's two bags of chicken!

I was whining for a while that my stomach hurt and that I was getting some weird chicken disease and that if I became a chicken, no one better eat me. >:

Takeru - Finally Licensed!

2009-05-22T22:04:00.000-07:00

Takeru - Opera Susanoh Sword of the Devil is finally licensed!

Damn, I'm practically jumping with joy right now.

This is such an awesome manga, and I fell in love with it immediately, the first time I downloaded it from Esthetique. The scanlators have been super slow with it, though, and I doubted that it would ever get finished.

But, yes! It's licensed!

Even if it is by Tokyopop, at least it's licensed!

...Yeah, just had to make this to show my geekiness.

(Also, Tokyopop seems to be good and hasn't asked onemanga to remove the chapters of Mirai Nikki or Kaichou wa Maid-sama--which, regrettably, hasn't been as good lately as it use to be--so I'm pretty happy with them now. They might actually be doing something good for once!)

...But, well, on the subject of Kaichou wa Maid-sama, I have to say that I've been disappointed with the way quite a few manga are turning out after a period of time. Like, some start off great, amazing, but deteriorates the longer it goes on... (Examples are, Saint Seiya - The Lost Canvas, Nabari no Oh, 07 Ghost, Air Gear, Fairy Tail, Hana to Akuma, Kuroshitsuji, Law of Ueki Plus, Bleach, etc.)

Well, despite that, some mangas actually retain their goodness and are even getting better with each chapter, if that's possible. And, some mangas that I didn't even particularly care about before, I'm crazy about now. (Examples are as follows: Bakuman, Zettai Karen Children, Ubel Blatt, Until Death Do Us Part, Veritas, Sketchbook, Kekkaishi, Liar Game, Nurarihyon no Mago, Pandora Hearts, Sket Dance, Spiral, To Aru Kajaku no Choudenjibou.)

Okay. Okay. Enough geeking out here.

A Small PetPeeve

2009-05-08T16:55:00.000-07:00

Okay. First of all.

THE BEES ARE INVADING.

(Killed around seven or eight yesterday, six or seven the day before, and three today.)

Well. What I really wanted to talk about isn't bees... They are a petpeeve of mine, but making a whole blog entry about bees is pretty pointless. (But, hey, most of the things I write are pretty pointless anyway.)

Anyway, what I really want to discuss is people posting the stuff they write on the internet.

Of course, I have absolutely no problem with that, as I do it myself, but... I have a few...problems with how they post it.

First of all. Double space. No indentations.

The rule I follow on the internet is to double space between paragraphs, no indentations. It's so much more easier to read that way.

Of course, in regular everyday life, like for school and work and such, you indent. But, on the internet, please, please double-space. It really turns me off when people don't double space and just indent and, due to that, chances are, I won't read whatever it is.

Second of all. SPELLING IS IMPORTANT.

If you are a native english speaking, you honestly have no excuse for bad spelling. If you don't know how to spell a word, look it up. If you are unsure whether you have spelled a word correctly, use a spellcheck. (You can find several easily on google with a quick search.)

In other words, PROOFREAD your work before posting it up for all to see. It honestly annoys me to no end when I see several spelling mistakes in a single piece of work. (One or two slip-ups is okay, but several...)

Of course, some, for those who are not native english speakers, there's some leniency in this... (But, one must wonder, why are they submitting something in english when they don't speak it fluently?)

Third of all. KNOW. YOUR. GRAMMAR.

I mean, seriously, if you're a native english speaker, one that is at least in middle school, at least know the difference between "to", "too", and "two", as well as "they're", "there", and "their".

And. The word "than" is used for comparison, "then" is a word referring to time.

"Its" is possessive while "it's" is a conjunction meaning "it is".

"You're" is a conjunction meaning "you are" while "your" is possessive.

If you don't understand some grammar rules, I'm sure you can ask the people around you to help you. English is a strange language, especially grammar-wise.

Also. Lastly. Sentences should not sound awkward when read together.

If it does sound awkward, one should try their best to make it not awkward.

If your whole paragraph sounds awkward together, then START OVER. Try to make things connect together the best you can. It is really hard on the reader when they come across something awkward. It messes up my whole rhythm.

...Okay. I am done.

Kinda.

Well, anyway, I just felt like ranting a bit about that.

This also applies to webcomics.

Actually, especially webcomics.

SPELL CHECK IS YOUR FRIEND.

(Also. As a note. Everyone always seems to get this wrong, so I want to point it out.

A hyphen is one of these dashes "-" with no spaces between the words. A dash, however, is two of these dashes "--", and, like the hyphen, there is no space between the words.

Yes. None.

...If you don't believe me and have Microsoft Word 2003--2007 changes it for you either way, dammit--try it on there. It'll automatically change it to a dash for you.)

Spontaneous Generation

2009-04-20T17:36:00.000-07:00

I'm starting to think that my teacher is wrong and that it does exist.

I've killed five bees in the past three days.

Damn, where are these things coming from?

Are they, like, spawning from dead bees or the green carpet or something?

Ugh, I hate bees.

-shudder-

Sound Horizon [again]

2009-04-09T20:57:00.000-07:00

Oh man, I'm on such a Sound Horizon high.

...especially after I found a ton of translated lyrics via Google. (Damn, I love you so much, Google.)

Anyway, for the past three days, I've been copying down the english translated lyrics into my notebook, and now my hand hurts like hell. (But it is definitely worth it.)

I got some of Chronicle, Chronicle 2nd, Lost, all of Seisen no Iberia, all of Elysion, all of Shounen wa Tsurugi wo, as well as all of Roman--dang, it sure took long.

Now, I'm looking for Chronicle, Thanatos, and Chronicle 2nd. (All of Moira has been translated, though I haven't copied them down yet. I'm lazy. :|)

Well, I'm just going to compile a list of lyrics I still need, for my own reference, in case I forget.

Chronicle

4. アーベルジュの戦い (Arbelge's Battle)

Thanatos
4. 銀色の馬車 (The Silver Horse Carriage)

Lost

11. 忘レモノ (Forgotten Things)

Chronicle 2nd

4. アーベルジュの戦い (Arbelge's Battle)
12. 蒼と白の境界線 (Boundary of Azure and White)

Moira

10. Shiseru Monotachi no Monogatari / 死せる者達の物語
11. Hoshi Megami no Miko / 星女神の巫女
12. Shiseru Otome Sono Te ni wa Suigetsu / 死せる乙女その手には水月
13. Doreitachi no Eiyū / 奴隷達の英雄
14. Shiseru Eiyūtachi no Tatakai / 死せる英雄達の戦い
15. Shinwa no Shūen / 神話の終焉

Oh yeah, and, if anyone knows where I can find any of these translations (except Moira), I shall worship you as a God. :D

Sound Horizon

2009-04-07T19:49:00.000-07:00

I wish I was Japanese just so I could understand Sound Horizon's songs. They're always so amazing...! The fanart for it is always so awesome too.
(Thank god for subbers! <3)

Also, this song wins at life.

Anyway, onto other updates.

Storywise, I feel that I'm spitting out too many characters and too little plot. I feel that my writing style has changed enormously from just a few months before and that now I'm focusing too much on dialogue, too little on description, and use so much present tense that I can barely use past tense anymore.
Also, I recently spat out a trashy vampire romance, so my self-esteem isn't very high right now. xD;;

Well, other than Sound Horizon, I've been listening to Vocaloid most of the time, especially fandubs. Fandubs make me happy. ;D
I love both Japanese and English fandubs. <3
...
But, what I really don't like is someone who doesn't actually know Japanese trying to sing it in Japanese... it doesn't come out that well, you know?
And, I also don't like how some people, when singing a Len song, purposely tries to sing low to suit it...slightly is okay, but sometimes, some of them are trying way, way too hard to sound like a boy. Just because a boy originally sang it, doesn't mean a girl has to try to sound like a boy to sing it. (And, does Len even count as a guy? I mean, his voice actor was a female, after all...)

Well, that's about it. Back to my Sound Horizon. 83

R.I.P. Internet

2009-04-04T20:37:00.000-07:00

It's official. I killed it, in a fairly literal way.

Well, my internet has been disconnecting a lot lately, so I've been getting really mad and taking it out on the wireless adapter and such... Then, the wire, connecting it to the actual internet line, broke.

The rest is pretty obvious from there, and now I'm at my uncle's house, stealing his internet.

(God, his keyboard is hard to type with; I miss the soft keys of my laptop. D8)

Anyway, this morning, due to zero possibility of internet, I did some spring cleaning.

...Okay, a LOT of spring cleaning.

I went to work first on the study, which hasn't been cleaned since we moved into that house (which was around seven years ago?), or, at least, which my mom hasn't cleaned. [My side was fairly clean already; her side... not so much.]

Cleaning, to me, is like a catharsis. I don't love to clean, but I feel so much better after I do. I'm usually too lazy to do it, though... But, whenever I bored, I always start unconsciously cleaning. xD

Lastly, it's spring break now.

And, spring break + no internet access = MADNESS

My internet probably won't be fixed for a couple months too. T_T

(Though I did deserve it, seeing as it was kinda my fault...)

Desert of Stars: Talshas Night

2009-03-31T15:50:00.000-07:00

We--or, more accurately, I--interrupt your regularly scheduled program of angst, random quotes from dead guys, and geeking out to bring you... more geeking out! Only, this time, in the form of a one-volume manga. More specifically, my absolute favorite completed manga to date.

It's name? Hoshi no Sabaku.

English translation? Desert of Stars.

By Funato Akari & Yuuya Aoi

--copied from back of book--

The Talshas--a yellow gem which has the meaning "stone of wind and gods" in the language of a foreign world. The twins Mana and Kenji come to be targeted by envoys from two planets concerning the power that is hidden in this stone.

It's really a whole lot better than it sounds. Actually, it's a whole, whole, whole lot better.

The plot is...simple yet complicated.

In short: two warring planets seek a stone of power; two twins are caught up in their search.

But, there's really so much more than that.

There's Manami, who feels that she isn't wanted. There's Kenji, who wants to see his father again. There's their mother, who has been through a hard divorce and doesn't know how to act around Mana. There's Hitoshi, whose father is a traitor, and who feels betrayed and controlled. There's Juou, who is lonely and just wants someone to be with him.

And, the art. Oh, the art. It is good. It is great. It is amazing. It is beautiful. Though some might not consider this kind of art beautiful, I think it truly is. Such exquisite use of negative space. There are a lot of black, dark scenes. But, there are also a lot of white, bright scenes. Oftentimes, both are used to portray a dramatic moment. And, surprisingly, white space is used quite a few times to represent a truly heart-wrenching moment.

In short, Desert of Stars is wonderfully done and is definitely a manga that suits black-and-white pages much more than color ones.

Even if Hoshi no Sabaku is only one volume, there's so much in this story. The pacing is near perfect (though some might argue that the ending came a bit too quickly but I beg to differ) and there seems to be no wasted space spent on unnecessary things that don't contribute to the plot or characters.

For me, there's a lot to love--and worship--about Desert of Stars, and even after the third or fourth time rereading it (in the same month, no less!), I still love it, and I'm never disappointed.

I wouldn't recommend this manga to everyone, though. (Okay, maybe I would, but that's another story.) Avid fans of shoujo romance will definitely not like this. There are plenty of hints of romance, but none of them come to fruitation or are even fully mentioned (and even that is pulled off wonderfully, in my opinion). Fans of seinen and josei, however, might find this little manga a nice read, though I can't guarantee it either.

In short, Desert of Stars really can't be categorized, whether in shoujo, shounen, seinen, or josei. It seems to be one of those manga that belong in a category all its own. It is supernatural, fantasy, maybe even action and adventure. What age groups would be best suited for it? No idea. All ages, I guess. What gender? No idea either (though I'm betting on the females, but that's just me).

When I first downloaded Desert of Stars (because, sadly, it isn't licensed in the Americas), I wasn't expecting anything of it. It was just something to kill time.

Of course, as you probably have guessed, I absolutely loved it. And, it seemed to get better with each reread, because I noticed things that I didn't notice before.

Oh, and lastly, if you've ever read Clamp's Clover and absolutely loved it, you'll probably like Desert of Stars as well. Though the plot is nothing alike, they have the same...feel to them...

Life Story

2009-03-27T15:58:00.000-07:00

Where did we ever get the crazy idea that in order to make children do better, first we have to make them feel worse? Think of the last time you felt humiliated or treated unfairly. Did you feel like cooperating or doing better?

~Jane Nelson

Hm, well, as promised, my life story.

Well, at least, the early years.

...Also, I feel like shit today, so I'm not going to talk about anything other than this (which was copied and pasted from somewhere else).

My mom hates my dad.
I don't know why, nor do I care why. All I know is that she really, really hates him.
...I don't think he ever did anything really bad to her, though. They just always...argued. Always.

Well, my earliest childhood consisted of a 23rd story condo and the busy streets of Taiwan. (I was born in America but moved to Taiwan when I was six months old.)

My dad and my mom didn't get along... Actually, I couldn't even remember the last time they were on really good terms.
I don't know when it started, but my dad started staying over at his own house more often (his work was apparently far away--he shot commercials--so he had his own house for when he worked late) than at our house.
Then, he stopped coming back everyday.

Mom claimed that he was having an affair with a woman at work. I don't know how she knew this, as she only suspected from pictures and such of her, but she seemed positive that it was true. (Right now, I look back and think it was all kind of messed up; I mean, who would tell their four-year-old kid that their dad was having an affair?! Without viable proof, nonetheless!)

Well, when I was about to turn six, we left for America. And, by we, I meant me and my mom. It had always been planned that we were going to America for my elementary through college education...
I don't remember when it was decided, but it had been decided a long time ago that Dad wasn't coming... I think it was because of work or something...?

Anyway, things went okay for a while...
He called sometimes... He asked his friend to give me my birthday present...

But, of course, his calls came less and less often. (It didn't help that my mom hated him, either, and always cried when I mentioned him.)

Two years later, after his calls stopped coming, she told me that she had divorced him. Two years ago. Before we left for America.
(Gee, Mom, such a great role model for your kid. Seriously. :|)

But, of course, every summer, when we went back to Taiwan, we would meet up with him. (Though Mom still hated him vehemently.)

But, two years later... Back to Taiwan. No Dad in sight. With Mom ripping up all the pictures that had him in them.
Sweet Mom. Sweet.

A year or two after that... Taiwan. Court. Custody case. First time I saw my Dad in a long while. Last time I would ever see him again.
Mom starts crying and pretty much tells my dad that he's a bastard.

THE END.

Don't you hate it when...

2009-03-24T18:10:00.000-07:00

Anybody can become angry, that is easy; but to be angry with the right person, and to the right degree, and at the right time, and for the right purpose, and in the right way, that is not within everybody's power, that is not easy.

~Aristotle

...you do something wrong and your parents/guardians just start yelling at you and listing all your other bad qualities that have absolutely nothing to do with what you did wrong?

Or, have you never experienced that before? If you haven't, you are lucky.

Well, today, I asked my mom to buy me a graphing calculator.

Being the cheapskate that she was, she bought the cheapest one, a Casio. Normally, I wouldn't have a problem with this, but the Casio is the only calculator that my math teacher specifically told us not to buy.

She got mad at me when I told her that, and scolded me for not telling her before, when she called back to ask.

But, it doesn't end at that. She then told my grandma, her mom, about it because mom, being the person that she was, can't keep her mouth shut about anything. My grandma, being the complete and total asshole that she is, further yelled at me, ending in the fact that I was a stupid and lazy girl for not going with my mom to buy it (when, in fact, mom didn't even ask me to come with her, though I probably would have said no anyway but still).

...But, of course, being the people that they are, it didn't end there either.

They then went on to yell at me for not eating rice, and being picky about my food. Grandma went on to talk about the homeless people on the streets who are definitely not picky about food and has to eat out of the garbage. (I know, what the freak?) And, my mom went on to say that when I grow older, I'll die of starvation because I can't feed myself. (Always the dramatics...)

So, in the end, I'm end up being called the most lazy-ass, stupid girl on the planet that is sure to die when she has to live on her own because she can't take care of herself.

And all this because of a stupid calculator.

Nice, huh?

...Well, other than that, random thoughts for the day...

Okay, I am subscribed to the magazine Newsweek, and I receive one every week.

However, most of the time, I notice that the dates on the magazine are set in the future.

The one I received today's date is... March 30, 2009

6 days in the future!

...Whoa, I feel all special inside for some reason.

Also, you know white-out tape, right?

Well, the kind that you get at Staples makes a weird sound when you use them.

...It's actually quite nice, in fact. Makes me smile. :)

Lastly, you know the store Costco has it's own brand called Kirkland Signature, right? (If you didn't, you know now.)

Well, the Kirkland Signature tissues are pretty special. Like, when you get to the almost end of a box, you'll probably notice that the tissues' color has changed (usually either yellow or blue) to indicate that you are running out of tissues.

I've always thought that was pretty neat. xD

...Hm, well, that's about it.

'til next time!

I don't get it

2009-03-21T21:10:00.000-07:00

The only justice is to follow the sincere intuition of the soul, angry or gentle. Anger is just, and pity is just, but judgement is never just.

~D. H. Lawrence

I honestly don't understand a lot of things.

It's not something I feel bad about or anything; it's just strange...

Sometimes, when I really think of something, in an effort to understand it, I realize that there really is no point to that something. There really is no point to a lot of things. For example, why do I save anime/manga scans to my computer...? What's the point with having them there? I hardly ever look at them, so why...?

What's the point with writing all these things about myself?

No one is ever going to read them, no matter what I may hope.

...It's strange.

I know that a lot of things are pointless, but I can't bear to let them go... Maybe because I would feel empty once I do and realize that life truly is worthless...?

Strange...

Anyway, back to the topic of understanding things.

I don't understand this thing called "love".

What is love?

How do you achieve it?

Why would you love someone?

...I often wonder... Why does my mom love me? Why do I love my mom?

Often, my mom would say she hates my personality. How can she possibly love me when she hates who I am?

Usually, I hate my mom's personality. How can I still love her when I hate who she is?

Why do I love my friends? Most of them don't understand me, most of them make me angry with their callous words... Why do I still want to be around them? Why am I so scared of being alone at school, when everyone else has friends?

Why do I fear being judged badly by those around me?

What is love?

Why is it here?

Does it truly exist?

Or is it an illusion?

Why do people love one another?

The love that I don't understand the most of that of the "romantic" variety.

In Romeo and Juliet, both loved the other more than life itself. Is there love that strong in real life too?

It's strange... Strange...

"Until death do us part" should be "until divorce do us part".

How do you love someone?

How does someone love you?

How do you love yourself?

I also don't understand this thing that we humans refer to as "life".

What is life?

What do you consider life?

Living, dying, what's the difference?

Why do I want to live so badly?

What is wrong with dying?

Is the reason that we fear dying so much because we fear the unknown? Or is it because we fear losing ourselves?

What does a sense of self mean?

Why are you "you" and why am I "me"?

You and me, what's so different about us?

...Lastly, this thing called "religion", I don't understand either.

Is it to grant happiness, hope?

I don't understand how that can be...

I don't understand how people can preach equality while scorning those who are different from them, while killing those who are different from them.

What is "equality"?

What is not "equality"?

Aren't we all humans?

Don't we all live and die?

Don't we all feel the same way?

Why do we kill each other?

Why do we hate each other?

Why? Why? Why?

We are all the same.

The same...

Is there any "right" and any "wrong"?

Any "evil" or any "good"?

Why? Why? Why?

What's wrong with dying?

What's wrong with living?

What's wrong with killing?

What's wrong with saving?

What's wrong with just being who you are?

I don't think anyone has the right to obstruct another's happiness, even if that person truly believes that they are helping the other.

Random Thought

2009-03-20T22:19:00.000-07:00

Remember that the most beautiful things in the world are the most useless; peacocks and lilies, for example.

~John Ruskin

Hm, decided to post one of my random thoughts... (I always have really random thoughts, but I always end up forgetting them by the time I get on the computer and such...)

Anyway, I've been staying away from vampire books since Twilight became the new "in" thing. (My opinions on Twilight is coming later, as I can't mention Twilight and not talk about it, as I'm sure most people agree.)

Well, the reason I've been avoiding them is because of the sudden influx of new novels in the vampire genre. I mean, it seems that half the books in the fiction section at the bookstore is vampire-themed.

I think the main reason why there are so many authors writing in vampire novels is because of Twilight. There are a two reasons for doing so: 1) They loved Twilight and was inspired to write their own vampire story OR 2) They hated Twilight and wanted to write a "better" vampire story.

In my opinion, both are completely nonsensical, and people should just give vampires a rest already. The genre's not just overdone, it's completely burnt and in ashes.

While, as a writer, I love writing about vampires as much as the next teenager, but I think I'm probably going to put off writing it for a while (as I think I belong to the latter category mentioned above xD;;) and just wait a few years or so for the hype to die down.

Now, onto my thoughts about Twilight.

The first book? Decent. Meyer needs to work on lessening her purple prose, though; my brain died several times throughout reading it as I could not remember, for the life of me, what she was describing most of the time.

The second book? Hated it. Why? Two words: Suicidal Bella.

In Laymen's terms (for those of you who have not read the book and don't want to and for those of you who did but can't see the obvious stupidity of Bella's actions), Edward leaves Bella for her own good. Bella, thinking Edward abandoned her because she was too ugly (which doesn't even make sense, considering how pretty she seems to be in everyone else's eyes; dude, with how people are all over her, I'm surprised she doesn't have overly high self-esteem rather than overly low self-esteem).

Bella, without Edward, feels empty, and (despite what fans might say) suicidal and, arguably, insane.

...Dude, the girl was happy about jumping off a cliff because she thought she could "feel" Edward that way.

The third book? Why am I still reading this?

Edward, Bella, and Jacob love triangle? What?

Bella loves BOTH Edward and Jacob?

WHAT?

Jacob turns into a total ass?

Burn the book.

The fourth book? Haven't read it.

Though I kinda want to now for the lulz, since I heard that Jacob fell in love with Bella's unborn baby.

I feel that the Twilight series should be labeled as a Comedy instead of a Romance. xD

God, I laughed so hard in the second book when Bella was being an idiot. I was praying that she would die.

...Hm, anyway, that was just my opinion.

Don't rag on me or anything for it.

Respect my opinion, I respect yours, capiche?

(Besides, most people's impression of Twilight are ruined by its fangirls, not the book itself.)

Lastly, I think that more people should watch the animes Baccano! and Kino no Tabi.

They deserve more fans, dammit!

(I would recommend them to non-anime fans too; they're definitely worth watching! Kino for its philosophical-ness and Baccano! for its comedy-ness.)

Happy Pi Day~

2009-03-14T18:04:00.001-07:00

The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself.

~Henry Miller

Yes, Happy Pi Day. ;D (3.14)

Happy Saint White's Day as well, for those of you who know what that is.

Anyway, my internet was down for two whole days...

My internet is like my crack.

I can't live with it, I can't live without it.

Even though I know it's bad for me, I can't stop using it. xD

Also, I went to the orthodontist yesterday and I predict at least five more days of hurting teeth. >.<

Well, I've been writing a lot lately. Mostly dialogue and in present tense. It's so much fun to write dialogue with minimal descriptions. <3

Recently, I've been thinking about what can be considered "beautiful" and why it is considered that way.

Is the world beautiful? Are humans beautiful? Is beauty truly in the eyes of the beholder?

For me, there are very few things that've ever made me think that "this is beautiful" right when I see it. Though, sometimes, lying in bed at night, I think "the world is beautiful, humans are beautiful, I am beautiful", in the mornings I think "the world is ugly, humans are ugly, I am ugly".

It's a strange thing, isn't it?

The things that I thought were beautiful, right when I first saw it, and even now, are mostly books. Namely, Love, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli and Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher.

After, and even while, I read them, I thought they were definitely beautiful.

It's a really incredible thing to read a book like that and think that "this is beautiful".

I wish I could feel that feeling more often because it's a beautiful feeling.

Hm, I suppose I should quote Kino no Tabi on this whole beautiful thing...

The world is not beautiful, therefore it is

DRAGONS

2009-03-05T16:12:00.000-08:00

...and a colony of elves and a fairy. xD

Well, let me explain.

Today, I told my best friend Crystal that I made a blog. My other friend Ruby just happened to be nearby and happened to overhear. And, and, she forced me to tell her where this blog was located through some tortuous methods that I'd rather not reveal right now because I would laugh too hard and be unable to type anymore.

Anyway, she told me to write a story. About, and I quote, "Dragon(s), a colony of elves, and a fairy". And, it can't be too sad, and nobody can die (except the evil guy), and it needs to have a happy ending, apparently...

So, well, here it is (or, at least, the beginning of it)...

Once upon a time (and maybe even now), there lived a clan of dragons. Residing in the caves on the peak of the highest mountain in the world, they were very solitary creatures without any contact with the outside world.

They weren't always that way, though. Of course not.

A long, long, long time ago, they use to be quite common in the skies near the continent of Asia. However, after a while, slowly, they began to appear less and less, until they were considered a rarity, until they were deemed a legend, until they were all but forgotten.

They stopped appearing to humans, to animals. They stopped leaving the protection of the mountain ranges.

Why did they stop? No one knows. They just simply stopped.

And, now, the dragons aren't even the slightest bit interested in re-establishing their connection with the world that they had left behind.

...Well, nearly all the dragons, at least.

One dragon, however, wanted to go below, to the humans' world.

That dragon, the young Azlei Laren, resolved to go down on his four hundredth birthday.

When it was time for him to leave, his parents, his siblings, his friends, and even his other clan members all came to see him off. They didn't have any reason to stop him and knew that even if the humans found out about their existence, it wouldn't do them any harm. The humans were far, far weaker compared to them. They saw no reason to be afraid and so was not afraid.

"Go well, Az," his family and friends called.

"Go well, young Laren," his other clan members called.

The young Az nodded and, filled with excitement, he took off, on his way to a great adventure.

...I had planned this story to be stupid and funny and too-sweet-to-believe, but when I started writing, the idea just kinda...exploded. And, now you have this.

I'll write the other stuff about the elves and fairy later. But, for now, yeah... ;D

Writing Concepts

2009-02-27T16:53:00.001-08:00

Okay, I've decided to forget about explaining my hobbies and such for today and, instead, throw in my writing concepts that I have not posted anywhere else, including my dA.

These concepts are, in all honestly, in serious need of a complete re-haul, but that I feel too attached to to give up.

So, if anyone wants to steal some of the ideas and try to write their own story, feel free to. I don't really care even if you claim it as your own completely original idea. (I don't think anyone would want to even try to write about these crappy concepts, though. xD)

Lucia had always hoped for a great adventure. However, when the adventure that she had always wanted came knocking at her door, it turned out to be a much different one than she had always imagined.

Suddenly finding herself in the world of Raieh one day, Lucia soon found herself in a situation that she had never imagined would happen. With the prophecy of Raieh stating that a "Chosen One" would arrive from another world to save the planet from destruction, everything should've turned out fine. But, of course it didn't. Nothing ever turned out fine when Lucia is involved. It seemed that the prophecy actually mentioned the Savior's name and it sure as heck wasn't Lucia's. However, the Prophet and the Emperor decided to proclaim Lucia the Chosen One because they desperately needed a hero to defeat the evil that is spreading across the land and the true Savior mentioned in the prophecy has yet to appear.

And, so, in the end, Lucia found herself as a mere substitute until the true Savior mentioned in the Prophecy arrived. Despite her vast annoyance at this fact, the girl finally decides to prove to everyone that she is better than any Chosen One could ever be! However, it seems that Lucia needs to first learn how to use weapons and magic, something which she has discovered to be quite difficult.

Okay, so, this one, I was sorta parodying my (and a lot of other writer's) usual plot of "chosen one"... Didn't really work out that well, since I really can't do a completely comedy story without at least a little bit of serious in it.

I would love to see if anyone can pull this off, though.

Good and Evil.
Yin and Yang.
Heaven and Hell.

Each cannot live without the other. Each continues to vie for more power, disregarding the balance of the world.

Judgement exists for the sole purpose of keeping both Heaven and Hell in check.

Judgement consists of ones who have an almost equal percentage of good and evil in their being, in order to ensure that they do not favor one side over the other.

When either good or evil is unbalanced, Judgement members are deployed on a Hunt to find the perpertrator and bring them to Trial. If, however, the perpertrator is deemed too dangerous, the Council may issue a Deletion order and Judgement will be allowed, and required, to eliminate the enemy on sight.

Nevertheless, the Deletion order can only go through with the consent of the Judge, the one in Judgement with the most perfect balance of good and evil, and the Judge can easily Reject a Deletion without any reprecussions. The Judge may also File his own Deletion order without needing the consent of the Council. Similarly, the Judge is also able to cancel a Hunt without explanation.

Clearly, the Judge is the most important, and powerful, member of Judgement.

Now, this one is pretty recent. A month or so ago.

I think the concept is fine, but the problem is that there is no real plot. Will probably write a short story about this someday, but that's it (though I love the characters).

"You, who had always existed, will never be able to understand us, who longed for existence!"

"True." A smile. "But, similarly, you will never understand us and the reason why we threw away our existence."

Adrian, Rui, Fae, and Eric were close friends. But, eight years ago, Rui moved away. Afterwards, everyone, including her friends, seemed to forget she ever existed. Now, at sixteen, Adrian and Fae both suddenly have a nostalgic dream about the childhood friend they had forgotten. As if the dream was a premonition, the next day reveals that Rui has returned. Why did she come back? What reason does she have to suddenly appear in the small town once again? Why is it that only Fae seems to remember Rui clearly?

Really recent too. This is actually okay. Don't know if there is an actual viable plot, though...

Might actually write this someday

The family of Saira has been a prominent family of skilled mages since ancient times, each generation of the main family having exquisite magical power. With each member of the family, even the ones in the branch family, having two sources of magical power, their eyes and their heart, the family was an amazingly powerful force. As time passed, however, the power waned so that the family started training in skills other than magic, namely swordsmanship. Now, in modern times, though the Saira family is still one of the most magical families in the world, their power has dropped considerably while their skills with the sword has rised. Currently acting as an agency dealing with the supernatural circumstances, the head family is forced to earn its own money to support themselves as well as the last remaining branch family.

There is no plot! Made this just for the characters.

Tamlain moved away from the town of Falcon at the age of thirteen and now he's back, three years later, and reunited with his friends, Minato, Seki, Kenji, Seiji, Kato, and Mei. Though Falcon still seems to be the same, the children of the small town have grown up and changed. While the perspectives of all of them are different, each one has a problem that they need solve or something that they want to forget. And, as each of them try to conquer their inner demons, ultimately, will the end result be what they desire?

Attempt at writing a romance, non-fantasy work.

Two words. Never. Again.

The organization known as Dark Symphoni is currently the syndicate that is most wanted in the entire world. However, no one, except the agents of the group themselves, of course, knows the faces of the leaders of Dark Symphoni. Ranging from petty stealing to outright assassinations, their targets don't seem to be linked in any way. The only reason the public knows that Dark Symphoni the one committing these acts are because of the calling card they leave at the scene of each crime. However, despite what the public believe, the crimes are committed not through ordinary means but, rather, through a supernatural power that each agent seems to have.

But, what is Dark Symphoni's true purpose? No one knows. Maybe not even the ones who are working for them.

Yeah, no plot again.

There's about forty-fifty characters in this and I spent forever coming up with their names. Oh gosh, I love my characters too much.

"This is a pawnshop! We'll fulfill your greatest wishes...for a price."

At the place where four roads meet, a pawnshop is run by two siblings. It's a strange store that promises to grant whatever the client desires...if they're able to pay the right price, of course.

Fairly recent, I suppose. No plot again. Will probably be just a short story.

The vampires Tai, Setsu, and Kiel found the girl Ari wandering around on the streets, badly wounded. They took her in on impulse and allowed her to stay with them for the simple reason that she was a mage. While Ari grew healthier and healthier each day, the vampires began to truly accept her as family. As time starts to run out, danger seems to flock to them, encasing them in a cage that they can't escape. And, ultimately, in the end, when the reason for keeping Ari alive all this time becomes apparent, will they be able to complete what they set out to do?

So old that it's probably criminal to still have this on my computer.

Oh god, why do I still have this?!

In the world of Reidan, outbreaks of "monsters" have spread across the globe. These "monsters" range from vampires to werewolves to dire wolves. In their first appearance, half of humanity had been wiped out before they could even start to react. Then, the King had a brilliant idea. From then on, specially trained "Heroes" that counter these menaces were recruited. Each with their own special badge to identify themselves, the Heroes all fought for the welfare of the people of the nation.

...or, maybe not...

Kazuya Laeon and Shiori Crian are both Heroes, but they couldn't care less about the welfare of the nation or the people. Kazu is only aiming to defeat the evil Demon King, his corrupted brother, and get revenge after all these years, while Shi's only concern in the world is earning money, and lots of it! So, together, both Kazu and Shi sets off to fulfill their goals and prove to people that the thing called "ideals" doesn't matter! These are the beginnings of what would later be called a Hero Revolution!

Fairly old, I suppose.

Another attempt at parody and, once again, failed miserably.

Notice the Japanese first names?

...Yeah...

The world of Lazuli is inhabited by two races, the elves and the humans.

The human race is the most numerous and contains three sub-species, normal humans, mages, and vampires. Normal humans and mages are not very much different; the only thing that determines who is what is because of heredity. Vampires, on the other hand, are born through a sort of mutation, resulting in their pale skin, weakness under the sun, strange powers, and, most importantly, the fact that, born with deficient blood cells, they require other humans' blood to survive. Due to that, vampires are discriminated heavily among humans and elves alike, causing most vampires to live by themselves, far away from civilization.

The elves, though not quite as large as the human population, are a powerful race, are each gifted with great elven magic that are as powerful as human mages'.

Though their civilizations are separate, they still interact with each other on occasion, especially through traders, merchants, and travelers. Some humans, mostly mages, even marry into elven families or vice versa. And, with dangerous creatures residing on the outskirts of several cities, the elves keep themselves protected through their elven magic while the humans depend on mages and mercenaries to keep the animals in check.

Kaya is a "quarter", someone with only a quarter of elven-blood. However, unlike other quarters, she has absolutely no mage powers, coming from a normal human and a "half" with only elven magic. And, Kaya, being simply a quarter, could not manifest her elven powers at all, other than being slightly stronger than ordinary humans and having golden eyes. Scorned by the other elves since a young age, Kaya leaves the elven city for the human one, becoming a courier.

Everything is fine until strange occurrences began happening, especially around the elven cities. And, when numerous elves starts going missing while others' elven powers were being drained by a strange force, it is Kaya that they request help from. But, will she answer the call? More importantly, can she stop the perpertrator before it's too late?

Inspired by a dream.

This should've taught me to never listen to my dreams but no...

-----

Well, that's about it... I might have a few more, which I'll check for later.

I'll update this post whenever I write some more crappy concepts.

Manga Collection

2009-02-26T16:43:00.000-08:00

Currently own:

+Anima v1-10 (Complete)

20th Century Boys v1-3

~~Alice 19th v1-7 (Complete)~~

All My Darling Daughters (Complete)

Angel Sanctuary v1-20 (Complete)

Aventura v1-3

Black Lagoon v1-2

Boys Over Flowers v4-5*

Cheeky Angel v6-8, 11*

Clover (Complete)

Count Cain v1-5 (Complete)

Cresent Moon v1*

Death Note: Another Note

Death Note: How to Read

Descendants of Darkness v1-11

Dorothy of Oz v1-4

Dragon Eye v1-8

DN Angel v1-11*

Elemental Gelade v1-10

Fruits Basket v1-7*

Full Metal Alchemist v1-23

~~Full Moon wo Sagashite v1-7 (Complete)~~

Fushigi Yuugi: Genbu Kaiden v1*

GA: Geijutsuka Art Design Class v1

Gentlemen's Alliance v1-6*

Girl Got Game v1-10* (Complete)

Godchild v1-8 (Complete)

Hibiki's Magic v1-2

Himeyuka and Rozione's Story (Complete)

Immortal Rain v1-8

Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne v1-7 (Complete)

Kekkaishi v1-4

Kieli (manga) v1-2 (Complete)

Kieli (novel) v1-2

Kobato v1-2

Monster v1-2

Moon Phase v1-8

Mushishi v1-10

Ooku v1-2

Pandora Hearts v1-2

PhD: Phantasy Degree v1-10

Pluto v1-8 (Complete)

Princess Resurrection v1-4

Record of a Fallen Vampire v1-9 (Complete)

Saiyuki v1*

Shoulder-a-Coffin Kuro v1-2

Spiral v1-11

Toki wa Kakeru Shoujo (Complete)

Voices of a Distant Star (Complete)

What a Wonderful World! v1-2

Yumekui Kenbun v1-9 (Complete)

*These mangas are the ones that I really want to get rid of, as I don't have any such attachment at all. I might also sell my Tanemura mangas someday or my Elemental Gelade/Aventura ones.

Striked out mangas means that I do not have them anymore.

Future mangas (I want to buy):

Alive - Final Evolution

Beyond the Beyond (I'm trying to see if I can get volume 5 shipped from Singapore...)

Blade of the Immortal

Claymore

Dazzle

Fairy Cube

GA v2

Kurogane (Kei Toume)

Law of Ueki (now, this is going to take forever and a day)

Matantei Loki (since this isn't available in the U.S., I'll probably have to have it shipped from the U.K... dammit)

Matantei Loki Ragnarok

Parasyte

Takeru

Variante

Yotsuba&!

Stuff I wish they would license:

Acony (actually, any and all Toume Kei works should be licensed)

Bartender

Beyond the Beyond (re-license! I demand a re-license!)

Cesare

D-Live (no one seems to be scanlating it now D|)

Fun Fun Factory (more Yoshitomo Watanabe is always good)

Hour of the Mice

Kami no Shizuku

Kurosagi (famous in Japan; unheard of in the U.S. WHY?)

Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro (I am honestly shocked that they haven't yet, actually)

Liar Game

Luno

Shin Angyo Onshi

Sket Dance

Spiral - Alive

Superior

Superior Cross

Ubel Blatt

Vinland Saga

...I find it funny that most of these are shounen/seinen. x)

Screw tests, all I need is my Internet!

2009-02-25T15:39:00.000-08:00

Or, more accurately, my neighbor's internet.

(My internet is working, but my neighbor's is faster. xD)

Well, I have three tests tomorrow.

One on Algebra II/Trig (Probability)

One on some computers stuff

And, one on Great Expectations (Yes, that book by that Dickens dude who got paid by the word. Literally.)

So, what do I do to study?

Absolutely nothing.

...Unless you count using the internet to purge my brain of any intelligence I might actually still have.

(I'll be waking up early tomorrow morning to study though...for thirty minutes. Total.

...God, am I a bad student or what?)

In other news... Guylian chocolates. Ch'yeah.

Nothing else really worthwhile to say.

...

So, now time for some worthless things!

For now, I'll just stick with Vocaloid, or else this entry will get too long, and it'll be annoying. x3

First of all, Vocaloid is a voice-synthesizer thing from Japan (though there are English Vocaloids too, but I'll focus on the Japanese ones), meaning it's pretty much a program that sings songs for you. There's currently...six different packages (voices/mascots) of Vocaloid. The first two were KAITO and MEIKO. The second two were Hatsune Miku (初音ミク) and Kagamine Rin & Len (鏡音リン・レン), whose voices are different--though they were taken from the same voice actor--but they came in the same package. Then came Kamui Gakupo (Gackpoid, がくっぽいど/神威がくぽ), voiced by Gackt, and the newest one, Megurine Luka (巡音ルカ), who is suppose to be billingual.

Well, Vocaloid has become a huge fandom now, big enough to get me interested in voice-synthesizers and big enough to get me obsessed with them, which I wouldn't have otherwise. (I mean, come on, voice-synthesizers?) Also, the fandom is so...great (?) that most of the Vocaloid songs are original songs made specifically for Vocaloid and some (or, actually, most) of these songs are covered/fandubbed (or whatever you want to call it) by lots of other people. (Some of the most famous ones are Rin's Kokoro, Len's Kokoro Kiseki, Rin's Daughter of Evil, Len's Servant of Evil, Rin's Regret Message, Miku's Melt, Miku's Black Rock Shooter, Rin's Meltdown, Miku's the World is Mine)

So, second of all, my favorite Vocaloids are Kaito & Meiko. They sound so good together, in my opinion, and Meiko sounds pretty badass by herself if used correctly. The world needs to recognize that they belong together!

...Third of all, I like Rin & Len duets too, and they sound good separately too (though sometimes Len doesn't sound as good as Rin would, and vice versa). I don't mind Rin & Len twincest either, though I think Rin and Gakupo are cute together too as well as Len and Miku. x3

Fourth of all, I like Gakupo. He's really underappreciated though, sometimes even moreso than Meiko (shockingly). I think Gakupo and Miku pairings are adorable. Gakupo and Rin is cute too. I'm not sure about Gakupo and Luka since...well...I'm just not sure about Luka.

In my opinion, I think Luka honestly sounds like the forbidden lovechild between Len and Meiko. xD

Lastly, I am completely obsessed with the Vocaloid covers. I even joined Nicovideo (which is like a Japanese YouTube, for those who don't know) just to listen to more of them.

edit--08/04/09

New Vocaloid has been out for a while, just forgot to write about her. Gumi (Megpoid), voiced by Megumi Nakajima, the voice actor for Ranka Lee from Macross Frontier. (I have honestly never seen Macross Frontier, but I have heard of it.) I actually quite like her a bit. She's the most realistic Vocaloid so far, I believe. When I first heard her, I thought the whole thing was a joke because she sounded too human.

And, already, a ton of awesome producers have gathered together to make some awesome Gumi songs. Ah, bliss~

Also, I didn't mention before, but there are English Vocaloids as well, but, of course, they aren't as good as the Japanese ones. (Mainly because English is such a finicky language, I believe, that it's hard for native english speakers to sound right singing it, much less voice synthesizers.)

Well, according to wikipedia (despite my lack of distrust towards them about Vocaloid, as they seem to get everything wrong), Leon, Lola, and Miriam were the first ones. Then came Prima, SweetAnn, and Big-Al. SweetAnn is, arguably, the most famous one. Miriam and Prima are both a close second, though. (But, I believe, I've seen Miriam a bit more than Prima.) Leon is pretty well known, but, as is the consensus with the general Vocaloid fandom, his voice is the hardest to use and comes out the worst. (There are also two versions of Leon, appearance-wise. One of a young blonde, another is an adult, completely different in appearance, and definitely not as cute.) I have not heard Big-Al as of yet because his name scares me. :|

There is also a new English-speaking Vocaloid. So new, in fact, that I only learned about her a few weeks ago. She is called Sonika, and her design seems a bit similar to Gumi's, only older and more sexy, rather than cute. I think her voice is one of the best English Vocaloids so far (though, of course, still doesn't match up to the Japanese ones).

I personally think the best song using the English-speaking Vocaloids is SweetAnn's English version of Saihate (farthest end). The Vocaloids also seem to be able to speak Japanese quite decently, moreso than English, actually. xD

And, I still have not developed an opinion on Luka.

edit--11/30/09

Whoa, big month for Vocaloid. (I actually learned about this weeks ago but was too lazy to type it up until now.)

Anyway, the company AH-soft (which I have never heard of until now) is apparently releasing THREE new Vocaloids. Yes, you heard that right. THREE.

First and foremost is the Vocaloid MIKI, apparently created for Christmas. AH-soft has managed to get some pretty famous producers to create some new songs for her CD. (I'm personally very excited to see what Sasakure-P will come up with. Their latest--Campanella by Gumi--was amazing!)

Personally, my opinion of MIKI is pretty low. I don't really like her design nor her voice. (In case you don't know, she has pink hair with a big ahoge, doll joints, and a white with blue designs skirt (?) thingy.) She doesn't really interest me, artistically or musically.

Second and third there are Kaai Yuki and Hiyama Kiyoteru. The former is a grade school student while the latter is a teacher. They both have designs that make them look like normal (anime) humans and do not resemble the previous Vocaloids at all.

I have no opinions on them, though I don't really think any of them have the charm that the previous ones have.

Anyway, disappointments aside, there is a rumor that Crypton is going to produce a new male Vocaloid. I hope this is true because there needs to be more males, darnit!

Anime + Manga List [not up to date]

2009-02-24T16:53:00.000-08:00

Animes:

Gundam Seed/Destiny, Full Metal Alchemist, Matantei Loki Ragnarok, DN Angel, Shinzo/Mushrambo, Hikaru no Go, .hack//Sign, Shakugan no Shana, Scrapped Princess, Rurouni Kenshin, Air, Pokemon, Digimon, Shaman King, Yu-Gi-Oh/GX, Yu Yu Hakusho, Law of Ueki, Black Cat, Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu, Nanoha/A's/StrikerS, He is My Master, Gunslinger Girl, Saiunkoku Monogatari/II, Disgaea, Princess Tutu, Saiyuki/Reload/Gunlock, Jing: King of Bandits, Rozen Maiden/Traumend, Darker than Black, Baccano!, Kino no Tabi, Shigofumi, Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo, Jigoku Shoujo/Futakomori, Bus Gamer, Yume Tsukai, Crystal Blaze, Mononoke, Last Exile, First Squad

Mangas:

Black Cat, Spiral - Bonds of Reasoning, Air Gear, Shaman King, 666 Satan, Beauty Pop, Beauty is the Beast, Puchimon, +Anima, Full Metal Alchemist, Claymore, Ghost Hunt, Darker than Black, Deadman Wonderland, Double Arts, Doubt, Angel Sanctuary, Yami no Matsuei, Ga-Rei, Good Morning Call, Kamichu!, Kekkaishi, Land of the Blindfolded, Ludwig Kakumei, Meine Liebe, Millennium Snow, Mirai Nikki, Mysterious Girlfriend X, Penguin Revolution, Psyren, Skip Beat, Shin Angyo Onshin, Silvery Crow, Soul Eater, Special A, Wolf and Spice, Superior, The Hour of the Mice, Tista, Ubel Blatt, Variante, Witch Hunter, Zatch Bell, Akuma to Love Song, Yu Yu Hakusho, Hunter x Hunter, Dogs, Dogs - Bullets and Carnage, Black Lagoon, Alive - The Final Evolution, Amatsuki, Hitomi no Catoblepas, Hikaru no Go, Kurosagi, Peace Maker, Stigmata, Tales of Destiny, Tales of Symphonia, Tales of Innocence, Tales of the Abyss, Tegami Bachi, Rurouni Kenshin, Flame of Recca, Kimi no Kakera, Basilisk, Shinigami no Ballad, Askelpios, Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles, Fight no Akatsuki, Ares, Id, Tenka Musou, Dragon Eye, Saikano, Rave Master, Akkan Baby, Gothic Sports, Voices of a Distant Star, Hanamaru Go! Go!, HandxRed, Zettai Karen Children, Little Witch's Diary, Ciel, Peter Pan Syndrome, Watashi no Ookami, Count Cain/Godchild, Natsume Yuujinchou, Memory of the Future, Where the Wind Goes, Antique Bakery, Vinland Saga, Desert of Stars: Talshas Night, Tsumikuibito, Crossroad, Clover, Mushishi, Hana to Akuma, D-Live, Fire Candy, Magic Ban Removal!! Hyde and Closer, Jackals, Jiraishin, Skyhigh/Karma, Sidooh, Blue Heaven, Karakuri Odette, Katana, Kurozakuro, Liar Game, Ookami ga Kuru!, Pandora Hearts, Spiral - Alive, Tora Dora, The World God Only Knows, Monster, Historie, Parasyte, Cesare, Piano no Mori, Oresama Teacher, Sket Dance, P2! - Lets Play Ping Pong!, Ahiru no Sora, Whistle, Sketchbook, Shoulder-A-Coffin Kuro, Eyeshield 21, Oresama Teacher, Bartender, Shut Hell, Billy Bat, Blade of the Immortal, Gamaran, +C Sword and Cornett

Uh, yeah... The manga list is most likely incomplete...

I'm not really keeping up with any animes right now, though I am currectly watching some completed ones.

So... Currently watching: Samurai Champloo (episode 22), Yu-Gi-Oh! GX (episode 169), Last Exile (episode 13), The Count of Monte Cristo (episode 5), Black Lagoon (episode 3), The Third (episode 17), Himitsu: The Revelation (episode 3), Darker than Black: Ryuusei no Gemini (episode 2), Armed Librarians: The Book of Bantorra (episode 2)

For manga, I'm currently reading the Ravages of Time (chapter 116)...

I'm keeping up with...uh...well, every manga you see up there that isn't completed (plus a few others that I have no idea why I'm still reading when I don't even like them). Currently, I am waiting in anticipation for new Spiral, Historie, Cesare, Sket Dance, Ubel Blatt, and Full Metal Alchemist chapters.

As you can probably see, I'm pretty diverse with the genres of manga/anime I watch/read. Currently, though, I am obsessed with mangas of the Historical genre. (I usually like Shounen and a few Shoujo as well, though I tend to steer far away from Romance.)

Also, name any anime and I have probably at least heard of it. (I've watched most popular anime, but the only one I really like is Full Metal Alchemist. A few popular animes I have not watched are Katekyo Hitman Reborn! and Gintama. I haven't watched Soul Eater, Kuroshitsuji, Higurashi, or Vampire Knight either, but I am currently reading the manga for them.)

Lastly, my absolute favorite animes are Kino no Tabi, Baccano!, and Law of Ueki.

Introduction

2009-02-22T11:49:00.000-08:00

Uh, well, how should I start this...?

Hm, I suppose introductions are in order.

Hello. I am Emily, though feel free to call me any other nickname you want; I don't really mind.

I'm fourteen, an American-Chinese, and a southern Californian.

I love to read and write, and I currently have an obsession with anime/manga, webcomics, Vocaloid, and yaoi. (The last part is... uh... well, just ignore that.)

I am also an idiot who likes to pretend that she's smart and who hates to procrastinate but is as lazy as a... a... rock?

Uh, anyway, this blog is pretty much for... whatever I feel like sticking here. Probably my life story (not like you want to know) and some scraps of writing (not like you want to read them either).

I'll probably forget about this by tomorrow and won't remember it until a month later. xD

Well, that's about it for now.

Thanks for visiting. =)