Monthly Archives: January 2019

Not All Anime Are For Children

Posted in Anime by

A lot of you have read my post, Rant: Anime Characters Do Not All Look the Same. This time, I have another rant: Not all anime are for children. Honestly, this is obvious but there are still some people out there who don’t get it.

I was one of those ten year olds that watched anime rated 16+. That’s why I think children can watch shows like Death Note and Attack on Titan. These three shows are actually intense. I could name more, but that would imply that I watched them. Hahaha.

Gantz

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Goblin Slayer 

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The first episode of Goblin Slayer was not appropriate for children, but the rest of the episodes were mild in comparison.

Happy Sugar Life 

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Happy Sugar Life looks cute, but the episode 1 turns dark at the end.

What was the point of this post? Clearly I don’t spend my limited free time socializing. Maybe you will watch these shows. I hope you’re not a child.

Manga Review: Tobaku Datenroku Kaiji

Posted in Manga by

Tobaku Datenroku Kaiji is Part 3 of the Kaiji manga. The events that take place happen after the second season of the anime.

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Synopsis: Kaiji is living in Mr. Sakazaki’s new house but he doesn’t work or do anything. Mikoko adores Kaiji, but the feelings are not mutual. (The scenes in the ending theme song of Kaiji season 2 were showing the future!) Maeda and Miyoshi, two of Kaiji’s friends that were freed from the underground labour camp, approach him to gamble. Kaiji accepts, and the rest is on mahjong.

Kaiji plays against the President of a casino in a game of 17 Steps. 17 Steps is a different version of mahjong in which you do not pick up new tiles. Instead, you can only discard tiles. The stakes are high – if Kaiji loses, he’ll have to pay the consequences.

Thoughts: I loved the beginning because you see Kaiji’s day-to-day life when he is not gambling. It will be difficult to understand the match if you do not know how to play mahjong. However, I don’t think you have to know how to play it because it’ll still be interesting to see the tensions building up and the emotional turmoil the characters experience. It’ll be beneficial to know how to play mahjong, but not required.

The art takes a while to get used to, but it depicts human emotions and suffering so well. Yes, it distorts features of the face and exaggerates expressions, but the art is so expressive.

Out of the three story parts so far, I liked this one the least. Don’t get me wrong – it’s great and it’s better than most manga I’ve read. Compared to the first two parts, however, it’s less exciting. Do I recommend this? Absolutely yes, but you have to start from the beginning.

Kaiji is my second favourite series. Kaiji Itou demonstrates so much resilience despite all the sh*t he’s been through. He’s been betrayed again and again, has nearly faced death many times, has been in the lowest situations imaginable, yet he still has faith in humanity. He still clings onto hope.

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Freedom feels relaxing in the beginning, but when freedom is prolonged, life feels empty and meaningless. Thus, I have a blog. 🙂

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A reminder to myself in all situations.

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I was reading Kaiji on a day I was feeling sorry for myself, and this page sparked something within me. I think that perseverance is a strength in all of us.

Korean Film Recommendation: Always (2011)

Posted in Drama by

I’m writing this immediately after I finished watching Always, because that’s how good it was. My nose is still stuffy and my eyes are still sore from crying so much. It’s also almost 1 AM.

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Synopsis: During his shift at his job as a parking lot attendant, Cheol Min is visited by Jung Hwa, a woman who is blind. She was friends with the former parking lot attendant. Cheol Min and Jung Hwa develop a friendship, which turns into something more.

So much happens in this movie and I really cannot spoil too much. This is a romance movie and they do become a couple. That’s the focus of the first part of the film. They are in a serious relationship and they intend to have children together.

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In the second half of the film, Cheol Min and Jung Hwa’s happy life together is disrupted. Sad events ensue, and that’s when the ugly crying happens. The film has a happy ending, which I had to make sure before I even watched it. I can’t spoil what happens, so you’ll just have to watch it.

I loved this film because one, it evoked such a strong reaction out of me. Two, because I really enjoyed watching the daily life of the two together, and the simplicity of it. Three, because of how strong their love is. I think it’s inspiring to watch a story of a couple that have such an unbreakable bond. The film was really good at producing motifs and stories that only the two of them would know.

The only major thing I would have liked to be different is that I wish they gave us some more scenes in the end. I know, I’m greedy.

Nails Update

Posted in Photo Diary by

This week’s nails are the taupe colour by Sinful Colors nail polish. Sinful Colors is my favourite nail polish brand right now because it dries fast, lasts long, and it’s very inexpensive. Each bottle costs less than two dollars and in my opinion, their quality is better than the more expensive drug store brands. The downside of Sinful Colors is that they produce very few colours I like.  I do love this colour though. Other brands definitely sell this shade for a more expensive price.

An Instagram follower sent me a message the other week and told me to send him a nail photo. I post things when I feel like it, not because someone asks me to do it. “Demanding” me to do something makes me want to do it less. LOL Bottom line: You can make a suggestion or recommendation, but don’t expect me to do any personal favours. I am not that generous.

Yes –  I am posting a nail photo now but it’s because I want to.

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Review: Boku dake ga Inai Machi (Erased)

Posted in Anime by

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Release year: 2016

Episode count: 12

Synopsis: Satoru Fujinuma is a man in his thirties living a discontent life as a pizza delivery man and rejected manga artist. He has a unique power that grants him the ability to go back in time whenever there is an emergency situation. He returns home one day, and finds his mother laying on the floor in a pool of blood. Shocked, he runs out of the house and mistakenly becomes targeted by the police for his mother’s murder. Satoru goes back in time, but finds himself 18 years in the past.

Satoru realizes that if he wants to prevent his mother’s death, he has to revisit the events that took place 18 years ago. His mother’s death is related to a serial killer who kills children, and Satoru has to solve who the killer is while he is in the body of his grade school self.

Thoughts: I really enjoyed Erased. The characters were likable, particularly Satoru as a child, Satoru as an adult, Airi, Kenya and Sachiko (Satoru’s mother). This is a show you can binge watch because every episode is engaging. Satoru goes back and forth between present day and the past, which was interesting to watch. The ending song is great. Erased is a unique anime that has an original plot and great characters.

My only major complaint is the ending scene where Satoru is confronted by the killer. It doesn’t follow the manga, which is fair but it was too rushed. If they paced it in a better way, it could have potentially been better. The last episode was a downgrade from the rest of the series. I did like the scenes that happened after the ending. The Japanese live-action on Netflix has a better ending because it’s more complex and involves the other characters more.

Rating: 9/10 (would have been 10 if it weren’t for the anticlimactic ending)

First Impressions – The Promised Neverland

Posted in Anime by

Episodes released thus far: 2

Japanese: 約束のネバーランド Yakusoku no Nebārando

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Synopsis: Emma, Norman and Ray are orphans that live in an orphanage that forbids the kids from leaving the land until they reach 12 years old. All the kids call their caretaker “Mom” and they are all living happily. They wonder why none of the older children who left the orphanage wrote back to them.

Conny, a kid at the orphanage, leaves the orphanage but forgets her stuffed animal. Wanting to return the toy to Conny, Emma and Norman chase after her. They see something shocking, and learn the truth of their existence at the orphanage…

Thoughts: I became interested in this show because all the anibloggers enjoyed the first episode. So I watched it, and I have to say, this show is great. I have something to look forward to every week now. Episode 2 did not disappoint, and I’m curious where they will take this because there are 12 episodes. I’m tempted to read the manga to find out what happens, but I will be patient this time. Watch The Promised Neverland! I strongly recommend it.

My Photography

Posted in Photography by

What’s up?

Things are starting to be busy for me again because of school, practicum and work. I’ll try to do more song analyses/meanings posts because it seems like you guys like them. Book reviews are coming along but I have to finish reading the books first! The first three photos were taken with a Canon point-and-shoot.

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I went back to Nitobe Memorial Garden the next day…

New year

Posted in Photo Diary by

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I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I like homemade smoothies more than bubble tea now. Healthy foods and drinks just taste better, in my opinion. If you asked me a few months ago, my answer would be the opposite. I ate a chickpea salad the other day and I’m definitely going to eat it again.

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I recently bought a few bottles of nail polish and threw out expired bottles. I used to paint my nails often in 2015 and 2016, and now it’s time to get back to it in 2019.

This design was done spontaneously. My blog is kind of the same, I don’t know what I’ll post next. I don’t have a schedule or anything – it really depends on what I’m feeling.

Aimi 愛美 My Fashion Inspiration

Posted in Fashion by

I am continuously inspired by Aimi’s outfits. Aimi is a seiyuu (voice actress) in Japan. These are my favourite looks of hers.

1. Aimi likes to wear long skirts and black shoes. I love how she matched the outfit with a rain jacket and cap.

2. Long skirt and black shoes again. I love how Aimi paired them with a plaid jacket and beanie.

3. The furry jacket looks so good with the floral dress. This is one of my favourite outfits of hers.

4. I like how Aimi tugged in her top. The cap really completes the outfit.

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5. This is another one of my favourite outfits by Aimi. The runners look comfortable and I like how she topped the outfit off with a scarf.

6. This outfit looks so comfortable.

7. I love this look by Aimi. Black is my favourite colour for clothes and I like how she paired skinny jeans with those shoes.

8. I like how Aimi wore the patterned dress over a PLAIN top.

9. I almost always carry a tote bag with me. You never know when you need to use a bag (don’t use plastic bags, please) and they’re great for trips to the public library.

If I were to sum up Aimi’s style, I would say it’s comfortable and simple, yet stylish at the same time. You could own a few essential pieces and create multiple looks out of them.