Merry Christmas!

Anime: Rachel Gardner (Ray) from Satsuriku no Tenshi

Anime Wrap Up for 2018

Most of the anime I watched this year were not seasonal anime. Non-anime shows and movies, shows I dropped, put on hold, and shows I’m currently watching are excluded from this post. I’m also probably missing some titles.

Anime Series I’ve Completed in 2018

* Koi wa Ameagari no You ni (After the Rain) – I’ve reviewed this beautiful anime, which you can read about in this post.

* Violet Evergarden – I highly recommend this stunning anime because it will tug on your heartstrings.

* Shingeki no Kyojin Season 3 (Attack on Titan Season 3) – I was disappointed when they stopped airing season 3 halfway, when it was reportedly supposed to have over 20 episodes.

* Gyakkyou Burai Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor – Kaiji is my third favourite anime, and the best psychological anime I’ve seen.

* Gyakkyou Burai Kaiji: Hakairoku-hen – This is the second season of Kaiji.

* Touhai Densetsu Akagi: Yami ni Maiorita Tensai – This is by the same creator of Kaiji, and the focus is on mahjong.

* One Outs – This is by the same creator of the manga, Liar Game. It’s a psychological baseball anime.

* Steins;Gate – This was difficult to get into, and my opinion of it did not change halfway through, contrary to what others were telling me.

* Tokyo Ghoul – The beginning was slow, but last episode was amazing. It has the best anime opening. I reviewed the last episode, which you can read here.

* Inuyashiki – This is one of my favourite anime. It’s not as heavy as Gantz, but there are mass murders.

* Kamisama no Memochou (Heaven’s Memo Pad) – The last episode left a lasting impression on me. I’ve reviewed this anime, which you can read here.

* Jigoku Shoujo Futakomori (Hell Girl Season 2) – This was a great anime, and the latter of the series was super interesting. I reviewed this series in this post.

* Jigoku Shoujo: Yoi no Togi (Hell Girl: The Fourth Twilight) – I wouldn’t recommend this one, unless you are an avid fan of Hell Girl. I reviewed this series in this post.

* Sakamoto Desu ga? – A good watch if you’re looking for comedy or slice of life.

* Boku dake ga Inai Machi (Erased) – I absolutely loved this anime, and it’s a series I can binge. The ending is too rushed, but the Netflix live-action adaptation does a better job with the ending,

* Chuukan Kanriroku Tonegawa – This is a spin-off featuring the antagonists from Kaiji, Tonegawa and Ootsuki. It is a comedy, and has made me laugh on several occasions. I looked forward it every week. You can read my Tonegawa post here and Ootsuki post here.

* Boku no Hero Academia 3rd Season – I had to take a break from it because of the hype, but I’m really glad I returned to it. There were uninteresting parts, but it became really good afterwards. I’m looking forward to the fourth season.

Anime Movies I’ve Completed in 2018

* Ghost in the Shell – Unpopular opinion, but I don’t like Ghost in the Shell.

* Metropolis – Unpopular opinion, but I don’t like Osamu Tezuka’s works.

* Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (Spirited Away) – Not my favourite Studio Ghibli film…

* Kimi no Na wa. (Your Name) – This is probably my favourite anime film. The colours are beautiful and the music is memorable.

* A Silent Voice – I’m sorry, but I liked Kimi no Na wa. better.

* Steins;Gate Movie: Fuka Ryouiki no Déjà vu – This film made me like Steins;Gate. I was seriously so impressed by it.

* Boku no Hero Academia the Movie: Futari no Hero – I watched this one in the movie theatres, and it was really good. I liked the focus on All Might, but I wish that Froppy played a major role.

* Saint☆Oniisan (Movie) – I need more!

* Tenkuu no Shiro Laputa (Castle in the Sky) – The music is what got me interested in this film. It’s not my favourite Studio Ghibli film, but the ending is great.

Special Episodes I’ve Completed in 2018

* Steins;Gate: Oukoubakko no Poriomania – This didn’t leave an impression on me.

* Steins;Gate: Kyoukaimenjou no Missing Link – Divide By Zero – Sets up the stage for Steins;Gate 0.

* Violet Evergarden: Kitto “Koi” wo Shiru Hi ga Kuru no Darou – I reviewed this beautiful special episode, which you can read here.

OVAs I’ve Completed in 2018

* Saint☆Oniisan – Jesus and Buddha go on vacation in modern day Japan and they are roommates. This is comedy, and it made me laugh out loud.

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I’ll probably complete Ore Monogatari!! since we have a little over a week left in 2018.

Thank you for reading my blog this year and in previous years, and I look forward to reviewing more anime in 2019!

Yuki Nagato Cosplay – Akimatsuri 2018

I cosplayed as Yuki Nagato from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya at the anime convention, Akimatsuri. You can read about my experience in this post.

There was a light dome nearby~ Thanks for visiting. ❤

Akimatsuri 2018

I went to Akimatsuri today, an anime convention. I bought all these Magi things and more anime things for $10! I think Sinbad looks so cool. ^^

I bought a Durarara!! book with character designs and architectural layouts for $2! I love anything related to Izaya because he’s my favourite character. ^^

I bought Death Note volume 2 for $2. ^^

I bought a lot of wigs, each for $2! I also got free wigs. ^^

I thought this was so beautiful so I bought it for my cell phone. I want to raise a cat one day. ^^

I took this photo of the lights with my camera.

I cosplayed as Yuki from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, but I’ll post cosplay photos in a separate photos. Thanks for reading. ^^

First Episode Impressions: Mo Dao Zu Shi

Mo Dao Zu Shi is a super popular show right now, based on the Chinese web novel by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu. Chinese animated shows have been gaining popularity these recent years, with King’s Avatar and now this one. Fun fact: Wei Wuxian is voiced by the same actor who voiced Ye Xiu in King’s Avatar.

Synopsis: Wei Wuxian was the powerful grandmaster who founded the Demonic Sect. He finds himself incarnated as the son of a servant. An evil spirit is killing people and needs to be defeated. A mysterious person shows up at the end…

It might be a little confusing at first. I don’t need subtitles, but I found them to go quickly. I read online that someone became interested in learning Chinese because of this show, which speaks a little about its influence.

I became interested in it because it’s a BL series. It’s much more than that. There is a ton of action and a lot of other things going on. I think anyone could like this show, even if they are not into BL. The animation is breathtaking! Some of the background shots look like real life, and I feel like I’m watching a historical drama. Every song is so beautiful. I do think this a high-quality show. You can bet I will be watching the next episode.

A note about BL in Mo Dao Zu Shi: Some people could argue that it is not a BL series because there are no explicit indications of that. From my understanding, there are subtle hints instead, which is due to China’s ban of homosexual relationships depicted in the media.

Back in 2016 when the popular Chinese drama Addicted was released, all the kiss scenes were cut and the show was discontinued. I’m Chinese myself, and I strongly believe that media should not be censored, and everyone deserves the right to be married in China.

Peach Girl (2017) – Japanese Film Review

Peach Girl (2017) is a Japanese live-action film based on the manga with the same name.

Synopsis: Momo Adachi is a high school student who is always mistaken as “easy” and “scandalous” due to her tan skin. She doesn’t care what others think about her, as long as Kazuya Toji believes in her. A rumor gets out that Momo kissed Kairi Okayasu, the most popular guy at school. This starts a spiral of complicated matters because Toji is the one Momo is in love with!

The antagonist of this story is Sae Kashiwagi, a girl who pretends to be Momo’s friend but she actually takes pleasure in ruining Momo’s life. I watched the Taiwanese drama of this story in my childhood and to this day Sae has always been my most hated character. Momo is so sweet though, because she still cares about Sae. Sae is played by Mei Nagano, the actress who played Rinko Yamato from Ore Monogatari!! She’s a great actress because she played Sae’s character well, who is the complete opposite of Yamato’s character.

What I Liked: I liked the cast and liked how things were peach themed, especially with Momo’s name (meaning peach). Everyone was very fashionable, which reminds me of shojo manga. I liked the imagery, such as the beach scenes, flower shop and restaurant scenes. Overall, it was a pretty movie and the ending was cute.

What I Disliked: This movie had pacing issues. Things happened too quickly. There were overly dramatic scenes as well and it didn’t feel natural. While this film had its good moments, I would not rewatch this film.

Rating: 7/10

Review: Ripples Visual Novel

Ripples is a visual novel I enjoyed in 2014. I recently revisited it. It’s really short (around 10 minutes) and sweet.

Story: Koda is a pessimist who photographs nature as a hobby. He meets a girl at the park and finds himself visiting the park every day.

Writing: The writing is the best part. The dialogue is realistic and shows us the personalities of the two characters. I loved one quote in particular:

Even if my life is just a single drop, every drop of water leaves ripples.”

Art: The art is really cute. For its short length, I don’t mind the static backgrounds or that Kuu wears the same clothes each day.

Music: The music is fitting to the story. It enhances the story because it gives it a relaxing atmosphere.

Vocals: The English dubbing is great. I only watch anime in Japanese, but I found the English vocals refreshing to listen to.

Since it’s so short, I recommend everyone to play it or watch it on YouTube. I like the message a lot and even after all these years, I still think about Ripples time to time.

Top 10 Tricks in Death Note

Here are my ten favourite tricks in Death Note. These are in chronological order of appearance in the series. Spoilers ahead. 

1. Determining Kira’s Location 

Performer: L

This was the pivotal scene where L outsmarts Kira in the beginning, when the broadcast is aired to the “world” (it was only aired in the Kanto region of Japan). From this scene, L gains three valuable pieces of information. One, that Kira exists. Two, that Kira can kill without being there in person but cannot kill under other circumstances. Three, that Kira is in the Kanto region.

2. False-Bottomed Drawer

Performer: Light

Light came up with an ingenious way of hiding the Death Note. If an intruder tried to ransack the drawer in his room, the Death Note would go up in flames.

3. Fake Name 

Performer: Naomi

Naomi manages to dupe Light by giving him a fake name. He is unable to kill her at first because of this, and Ryuk finds it very amusing.

4. Checking the Door

Performer: Light

Light suspects that there are video cameras in his room and around the house because of two reasons. One, he placed a piece of lead at the door and it broke. Two, he tilted the door handle at a certain angle. The intruder put the door handle back to the angle he left it, which could not have been done by a family member (it’s too careful, a family member would have put the handle to its normal position).

5. Writing in a Blind Spot

Performer: Light

This is one of the best scenes in Death Note, where Light takes a potato chip and eats it! He dupes L and the police on the taskforce by appearing to be studying in front of the video cameras, when he is actually writing down names and listening to the news hidden in the potato chip bag.

This scene is unforgettable because of its intense music and emotions. The cinematography of the animation is brilliant. It also shows us again how intelligent Light is, and what a great character he is.

6. Profiling with Tennis 

Performer: L

The tennis match between Light and L was really fun to watch. It was interesting because at this point in the anime, L already revealed to Light that he was L and that he suspected Light to be Kira. Both are super competitive so there was that dynamic present as well.

7. Memory Control

Performers: Light, Misa

Both Light and Misa gave up their Death Notes, which resulted in them losing their memories of the Death Note. This helped them later on when they were interrogated by Soichiro and L.

8. Fake Sakura TV Show 

Performer: Matsuda

Matsuda plays a key role in the series, especially in his involvement with Higuchi. The fake Sakura TV show brought forth Higuchi’s death as one of the Kiras.

9. The Fake Notebook 

Performer: Mikami

Mikami made a duplicate Death Note, which was a replica of the real Death Note. This was done to fool Near because he knew that he was being watched.

10. Switching the Notebook

Performer: Gevanni

Gevanni, who works with Near, broke into the locker where Mikami hid the real Death Note. Gevanni switched the real Death Note with a copy he made, which ultimately brought down Light’s downfall. Gevanni is a heavily underrated character, in my opinion.

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There are almost 90 tricks in the series! You can see why Death Note is such a great anime, and why it’s one of my top three anime. What were your favourite tricks in Death Note? Thanks for reading.

Ore Monogatari!! (2015) – Japanese Film Review

Ore Monogatari!! (2015), also known as My Love Story!! is the Japanese live-action film adaptation of the anime with the same name.

Fun fact: I watched this film years ago. Yesung from Super Junior recently watched this film, which prompted me to write a review.

Synopsis: Takeo Goda is a sweet and thoughtful guy who wants a girlfriend, but he is always unsuccessful because of his scary and huge appearance. His best friend, Suna Makoto, on the other hand, is extremely popular because of his good looks. One day, Takeo saves a young girl named Rinko Yamato from a man who is harassing her. Yamato thanks him for saving her, and wants to get to know him better!

Thoughts: This was so cute! However, it was also frustrating because there were so many misunderstandings. It’s worth watching to the end though. Since it’s a movie, a lot of characters from the anime aren’t introduced. The focus is on Takeo, Suna and Yamato.

This is one of the better live-action anime adaptations. Shojo manga adaptations are generally better than shonen titles because they are realistic and don’t require a huge budget. I think it’s crucial to have a good cast. The cast for this film is great. The actress who plays Yamato is perfect for the role, and Suna is great too. Takeo in the anime is bigger than the actor who plays him, but I think it would be hard to find someone as big as him in real life.

I really enjoyed watching this, and recommend this film if you’re looking for a cute high school romance.

Book Review: Monkey [Part 1]

Monkey, also known as Journey to the West 西游记 or Sun Wukong 孫悟空, was written in 1592 by Wu Cheng’en. It is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. Most Chinese people know the story because it became enormously popular through its television adaptations and plays. It influenced some of the earliest Chinese and Japanese animation. It also influenced many series like Dragon Ball. 

I’m reading an English translation by Arthur Waley. Waley only translated 30 chapters out of 100. However, it’s still one of the best English translations out there. He omitted most of the poetry. If you like poetry, hopefully you can find a version that includes it. There is poetry in this one, but very little of it. 

Page count: 350

Synopsis: Monkey is “born” and becomes the Monkey King. He then trains under a Master and learns the secrets of immortality. Monkey then becomes very cocky in his abilities and creates havoc in Heaven. He challenges Buddha and loses terribly.

The above synopsis is only on the first part of the book. I wrote broadly because I didn’t want to spoil too much. The rest of the book will be on the pilgrimage to the West. Monkey travels with Tripitaka, Pigsy and Sandy to retrieve sacred scriptures and enlighten people about Buddhism. They face many adverse monsters and bodhisattvas along the journey.

I’m writing about the parts in isolation because there’s too much content to cover in the first quarter of the book. I divided the book in my own way: Part 1 ends when Monkey is punished by Buddha, before he begins the pilgrimage. Other people include Tripitaka, Pigsy and Sandy’s stories into the first part but I think those stories make up its own part.

There are lots of flaws, but it’s understandable because it was written in 1592. What I perceive to be “flaws” are:

• Fights are not detailed at all. For example, “x and y battled z many times and then y fled.” (I’m using my own words here, but that’s the gist of it.)
• No character descriptions. I know what Kuan-yin looks like because I’ve seen television adaptations and because of my culture, but not everyone has the same experience as me.
• The epic part of Monkey challenging Buddha is only told in a mere three pages.

I believe that television adaptations do a better job at these. However, nothing can compare to the book in my opinion, because so much happens in every page. No adaptation can possibly cover every single detail, whether it’s showing hundreds of thousands of men fighting against Monkey, or all the events that happen. Expect “ten years passed” thrown around every few pages.

One of the biggest reasons, in my opinion, why this story is so successful is because of Monkey. He is so clever, witty, confident and funny. Although he disturbs Heaven and so many characters, he’s so likable.

I recommend this classical novel to everyone.