Pandora Hearts - Episode 9

Pandora Hearts . . . great as usual.

I love how the anime has adapted this part of the story in the manga. The arrangement and the few additions were better this way. Some scenes looked prettier in the manga though, but the pretty scenes in the anime are just so gorgeous that it made me forget my manga counterpart preferences. Hehe.

So in this episode we meet Echo, Vincent, Oz's father, and the guy with glasses who I know is awesome but his name had slipped my memory. OTL Gilbert tells Alice about Oz's issues with his father. Even if Oz is a cheerful retard (Haha!), he also had moments when he felt really depressed and weak. Gil of course is the one who knows that side of Oz the most, but we know it's much worse than Raven thinks.

Since the victim this time involves a father, this affects Oz more than the last time. He wants to do something about it more than ever. Jack is giving him a hint.

Also, Echo gets more screentime in this episode. She was tasked by Vincent Nightray to get the kid as hostage for the actual target. She was awesome but Vincent stopped her from finishing her job to see Gilbert and the others finish the work.

Alright, now for some crack (What is a Pandora Hearts episode without crack?! Haha!)

[ TZE CRACK ]

Oz never fails to provide entertainment in every episode! Haha! His little flirtng with Echo was so cute. And I can't stop laughing on the part when he tried to look tyranically evil about being Gilbert's master. Haha! And poor young Gilbert! Haha!

Oh, and Echo's expression was really really cute!!! Haha!

Greatest comedian in this episode though is Break. Hehe. His weird places to appear from and disappear to never fail to amuse me! Haha! And oh it's so cute when he's teasing the other guy! He's very playfuly childish too. Lying on the table and putting his legs up like a kid. Haha!

My favorite comedy scene though is the one with Alice and Gilbert! Haha! It was so funny when they've realized they couldn't exactly make Alice unleash her power without Oz around. They completely forgot about his absence. Haha!

[ FAVORITE SCENES ]
~ click image for larger versions ~

I'll begin with the star of the show!

I love her more in the anime! She seemed more awesome and beautiful! Hehe.

Alice is still my goddess in this series though. Hehe.

Raven . . . goodlooking badass as usual.

But the main character still rules with the most awesome shots:

His most twisted yet sexy screenshots

His most adorable look!

His most crack and amusing scene!

WHERE HE LOOKS HOTTEST! OMG! *melts

[ NEXT EPISODE ]

I've read the manga so I get what's going on. I look forward to Oz's extraordinariness, Vincent's appearance, and the sweet Oz x Alice scene. Hehe! YAY!

Eden of the East - Episode 8

It wasn't as . . . err . . . striking as the previous episode, but still, it had been very interesting.
Ohsugi's beginning to become annoying, however. (I see him as pathetic before, but not annoying.)

• The beginning of the episode made me laugh a lot! Wahaha! Akira, what the heck?! What's with the drama over the skeleton-out-of-nowhere?! It totally didn't make any sense. Or perhaps this is just an Eden of the East crack? Haha! I am sorry for laughing at your nightmare, Akira. Haha!
• I wonder when the hell Saki is going to know more about the Selacao thing. Or perhaps she prefers Akira to tell her about it. He doesn't seem to be willing to share about it at the moment anyway. Perhaps he doesn't want her involved? Sweet. But at least she's not totally ignorant on the dangerous stuff he's in (unlike Ran of Detective Conan. Oh she's getting so many clues and geting close so many times but still, she doesn't know!!! Oh my head . . .)
• I thought Ohsugi had given up on Saki already but apparently, he didn't. I actually appreciate it that he had checked up on Akira (well, if you're giving off the love of your life to someone else, that person had to deserve her or won't put her into danger, right?).
  
• I find it good that Saki's friends are still suspiscious of Akira and do their best to check up on him. I like characters that aren't stupid. Don't easily trust strangers. Saki kinda failed on that part though, but oh well. On the check on Akira's identity though, I don't think it's necessary for the love rival to do that job. I just see it as a way to make his angst/protectiveness stronger. Like with what happened in this episode.
• What I didn't appreciate most that Ohsugi did in this episode is his "pride" thing. He says he won't be part of the club anymore if the others join Akira's side. That's just too immature and stupid. I'm okay with love triangles, but if the character that is part of that triangle whose love is one-sided has this stupid jealousy . . . it makes me annoyed.
• Like many shippers, I find Akira and Saki so cute together. Especially in this episode. They look like a couple already. I don't get it that even after that kiss, they're still not canon! The hell . . . if the creators don't plan to make them canon early, then they shouldn't have made the kiss scene that early either. It just . . . doesn't make sense.
• Oh yeah, there's a new guy in this episode . . . who seems to be a genius and is actually aware of a lot of things. I think he's already aware of the NEET and Selacao stuff (he even knew there were only eleven!). Perhaps the reason why Akira is revealing so much to this dude is because he knows this guy may help him and can relate to him. Saki's acquintances sure are something. I'm beginning to think it's so much of a coincidence for Akira to meet Saki and her friends.
• I am amused with the pun of the new characters name. "Panties"! Wahahahaha!
• I look forward to learning more what the pre-brainwashed Akira was like. It would also be cool if we get to meet more Selacao numbers!
  

Manga Review: Rensou no Aria

Rensou no Aria ( My destiny )
Author: Mitsuki Miko
Genre(s): romance, action, comedy, drama
Volumes: 1 volume

Synopsis: Aria’s parents have been gone since she was very young. Thus, she’s had to grow up in a “foster home” of sorts, and was raised by nuns. On her 16th birthday, Aria receives a present in the mail– a ring from her “Daddy-long-legs” (a man who protects someone from afar while they’re growing up)! All of a sudden Aria’s life is thrown into chaos. Men try to run her over with cars, shoot her, and kidnap her. Relief comes in the form of Canon, who claims he’s her bodyguard. But can he keep Aria safe forever?
~ Plot source: Nagareboshi Manga

Overall rating: 2.5 out of 5.0
It's your typical leading-girl-being-protected-by-hot-bodyguard-leading-guy shoujo (honestly I'm already so sick of this overused plot) and pretty predictable as well. However, in a way it had been a little different compare to the others and at least it didn't take gazillions of chapters for the two to realize . . . something. Well, the story is so-so but it had been pretty enjoyable for me! Hehe!

To be honest, what made me read this is because I saw the word "nuns" in the synopsis. I was wishing for it to have some religious elements or Church involvement. However, there's none. Absolutely none at all. *disappointed*

I continued to read it anyway, since it seemed to have action stuff (because of the bodyguard thing). Oh as expected, the leading guy is some hot bodyguard that can do everything awesomely action-wise, and he'll always be right on time in rescuing the damsel-in-distress. His get-up is supposed to be something cool, but for me it's so DUH! Can't shoujo mangakas make an action guy cool without making him that . . . errr . . . flashy? Geez. . .

Moreover . . . that name . . "Canon" . . . Pfft! It doesn't seem like a Japanese name for me. It's more like a-name-that-the-author-thought-that-sounds-like-a-cool-english-name.

I find it stupid.

And also, of course, no matter what the circumstances, it's always the leading guy who loves the leading girl the most, and even if the leading girl is meant to love someone else, she'll be falling in love with her bodyguard since he's the one who's close to her and doing the actual protecting anyway.

It's always like that.

In that sense, it was so predictable. There had been cliches and stereotypes here and there. Characters aside from the main ones don't get a chance to have an actual role nor develop (except for Jinguiji-san I guess . . . but it was very very little).

And since this is a romantic manga, of course there are romantic scenes . . .

In every single chapter.

They were kinda mushy, but at least there's no stupid overblushing, uncertainty, extreme naiveness, or something like those. I'm so sick of romantic scenes like those. Unlike the majority, I don't find them cute. But I guess it depends on the pairing and how it's done though.

Anyway, most of the romantic scenes in this manga have been pretty sweet for me. Mainly because they're mostly hugs. I find that more romantic than kisses. And they don't seem to be overdoing it, and neither were they doing it because they just feel like it (at least in most of them).

About the art, yeah, it was pretty. Especially on the panels with the leading guy. No, it's not because I'm biased towards him. I don't have a favorite character here at all actually (and I didn't dislike anyone either. All of them are . . . so-so). Maybe the artist is either biased to the leading guy or she's just better in drawing pretty guys. Haha! Either that or only the art on the leading guy had appealed to me. Ehehe.

Though I said that the art is pretty, it wasn't pretty all the time. It wasn't stunningly pretty either that makes me stare at the panels for a long time. But still, the art is pretty. Usual shoujo prettiness. I prefer this type of pretty art that those with GIGANTIC eyes. The hell . . .

So . . . what made this manga readable for me? Okay, though I mentioned a lot of stupid cliches of this manga that didn't please me, in a way it kept my interest. I had been curious on whoatthis Jinguiji-san is like. How the heck he liked Aria in the first place? Why is he not revealing himself?

When I got my answers on those, I'm pretty impressed. It wasn't a super amazing plot twist, but it had been pretty good for me. It was at least better than I had expected.

I was relieved that the leading girl isn't protected because she's some "chosen one" ( . . . but then again, that usually happens in supernatural or fantasy shoujo manga). Fine, in a way she had been a "chosen one" but not in the sense that I often see in other shoujo mangas. Hehe.

Those were my little reasons for liking this manga. But my main reasons? There are three:

One: IT HAS CRACK! Haha! Take that panel above for example. Hehe. It amuses me when characters act like that. Canon is the biggest crack in this manga. This line of his made my stomach hurt from laughing:

" Aria-sama, I do better at taking off someone else's clothes than having my own taken off"

Wahahaha! Crazy perverted bishie! He's somewhat of a playboy too, for flirting with other women. Haha!

I liked the comedy in this manga! Hehe. It wasn't as hilarious as tons of others, but these had made me giggle. Hehe. Many of the funny parts are pretty lame though . . . . but they still made me giggle.

Perhaps I'm just that easy to amuse. Haha!

Two: The love started from childhood. I'm sorry but I'm a sucker for childhood sweethearts. Love that started since young and still lasted until they grew up. I find that really romantic.

Three: There was sibling attachment. I can't go into details because it will be very spoilery, but yes, there was. Even if they weren't exactly siblings by blood. I have to admit that the actions that that character did because of his/her jealousy over the leading character for taking away his/her sibling were a little lame (it had been all talk to, no dramatic whatever. It was kinda boring to watch. I wish the mangaka had presented it better), but . . . I'm kinda biased to this kind of stuff. Haha!

If you are strict on excellent stories, I believe you might have headaches on this manga. Much more if you hate romantic stuff and very sick of typical shoujo elements. But if you don't mind those and just want to spend some time to read an enjoyable shoujo manga, then I guess there's no harm in trying out this one. Hehe

Bakuman - Chapter 39

Three major events in the chapter: 1) Takayama finally talks 2) Chapter One Ranking 3) Azuki's Struggle
Overall Impressions on the chapter: I freakin' love it! I WANT NEXT CHAPTER LIKE A.S.A.-NOW!

[ TAKAYAMA FINALLY TALKS ]

So, it appears that Takayama isn't absolutely anti-social. He just can't relate with assistants that don't want to aim high, but he highly respects Saiko and Shuujin, so he acts like a normal person when the other assistants aren't around. Haha!

He says his dream is to work for Disney . . . DUDE! I DREAM THAT TOO!!! I FREAKIN' LOVE DISNEY! Even if my work is just to bring water bottles to people, I'll be happy for it as long as I can set foot on those glorious studios of that company!

Haha! Just kidding.

Okay, the dream is real, but of course not that kind of job. I wish I have the talent to do animation, acting (voice acting too), scriptwriting, doing critiques, composing/playing music, special effects specialist, director, and other interesting and artistic jobs that I could do there. But it seems that I might fail even in janitorial services. Ehehehe . . .

[ CHAPTER ONE RANKING ]

Detective Trap first chapter ranked 3rd while Otter's ranked first. The two were kinda disappointed that it didn't rank number one, but at least the result hadn't been that bad, especially since they're just newcomers after all!

Looking forward to what their second chapter's rank will be. Damn, I actually want to read the mangas they're talking about. I'm wishing the mangakas of this series will make a side story or something of Otter number 11 and Detective Trap. The plot that was mentioned already got me really interested! Hehe!

[ AZUKI'S STRUGGLE ]

Azuki's deadline on whether she will do the photo collection or not is the day after the Jump release. She was so problematic about it that she forgot the release of her boyfriend's chapter for the first time. Saiko asked her if she was doing well, but of course she lied about her being okay.

But I'm happy that she had tried to ask his help somehow. Those tex messages don't really fit her attitude. Well, with her shy attitude, she can't even face Saiko, what more in showing herself naked?! I'm glad that she's a decent woman that doesn't want to be popular for her looks and body. She may really not mind if only Saiko sees her that way, but I'm sure, she'll still be very very very embarassed.

Anyway, it clearly hinted that she's not okay and I'm happy that Saiko had felt that. It appears that Miyoshi isn't aware of it either, so he tries to contact her again (by phone call this time) but she doesn't answer it. This is obviously making Saiko really worried. And chapter ends there.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!
CURSE THAT CLIFFHANGER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, anyway, whatever happens next chapter, I just want Saiko to do something. His girlfriend is in trouble! Don't just sit there and act emo-worried or something. I'm wishing him to barge into her room or something. Hehe.

But well, maybe the authors of this manga have thought of something better than that. I can't wait for next chapter! Oh damn . . . the wait.

New Flavors: Kyoukai no Rinne

Kyoukai no Rinne
(The Boundary of Rinne)
by Takahashi Rumiko
A short time ago, a girl named Sakura Mamiya had a chance encounter with a ghost. One day will this girl have a mysterious rendezvous!?

When I've heard that this story is about a story of a girl who could see ghosts, I've become quite disappointed that such a famous author have used such an overused plot. But then again, one of my recent animanga favorites is something like that (I'm referring to Natsume Yuujinchou. And oh, Ghost Only is also like that). I liked Ranma 1/2 and Inuyasha, so I thought maybe I will like this one too . . .

And damn it, I DID! It wasn't just a story about having the abilty to see ghosts. It appears the leading guy (Rokudou Rinne) can become ethereal like a ghost using his cloak and bring wandering ghosts to the afterlife. However, corrupted ghosts make his job a little challenging.
What exactly is he then? He says:

"I'm a shinigami . . . or something like that."

This series had reminded me so much of Bleach. They can also lead a soul to the other side peacefully, and engage in battles to those that have gone wild. Not to mention both leading characters just began with having the ability to see the dead. Lucky for Rokudou though, he only needed a cloak to become ghostly; while Ichigo needs to have his soul extracted from his body to go shinigami-mode. A big difference of the methods of these two series, however, is that Rokudou has a price to me in order to fulfill his job. Literally.

He needs to pay money in order to send spirits to the other side. That's what made him incredibly poor. He uses his money for those missions instead for his personal needs. When the leading lady (Mamiya Sakura) came along, he used her for his paying problems. Haha!

Rokudou's already my favorite! Guys that suffer from poverty like him amuse me a lot! Haha! My stomach hurt from laughing at a certain part in chapter 3, where his teacher gave him a track uniform (he's still using his middle school one, and uses it everyday. Couldn't afford to buy a new set of clothes. Haha!). He was so happy and grateful upon getting that suit that he didn't want to let it go! Haha! But he had to give it away for his job's sake, and him crying tears of blood show that he actually totally doesn't want to give away his new clothes *points manga panel above* Wahahahahhaa!

For now he's my top favorite, but in Takahashi's mangas I usually like the secondary leading guys (like Ryouga from Ranma 1/2 and Miroku from Inuyasha). Unless someone like that joins the main cast and become likable to me, Rokudou is my top favorite at the moment. Hehe.

As for the leading girl, she's so-so. I actually have this curse that I despise female characters with the name "Sakura". I do it unintentionally! But so far, I don't find her annoying or anything, so I have no reason to dislike her. Hopefully she won't be like Akane from Ranma 1/2 and Kagome from Inuyasha . . . because, yeah, I hate those leading ladies.

I highly recommend this to Takahashi Rumiko fans of course, also to those who like the combination of supernatural + romance + action. I find this good, in fact, I think I will be covering it weekly in this blog. Hehe. I really really liked it. I've read the first 5 chapters so I'll start with chapter 6 next time.

Plot Source: The Rumic World

Shangri-La - Episode 8

Of course the leading girl can't be executed because it's not even half of the series yet! Haha! But it was an incredible escape!

I blame my computer's internet streaming errors that's why I wasn't able to watch this episode sooner. Oh god . . . I almost missed this fantastic episode! I really love how this series keeps getting better and better. I don't care if it was too sad or Kuniko had been such a Mary Sue, at least she was the decent type among her kind! Overall events had been really awesome! I'm so pleased.

• I thought Karin was some only child that's being ignored by her parents, but it seems that her parents still keep in touch. At least her mom does. And I didn't expect her mom to be pretty . . . crack! Haha! Even if her daughter's still so young she's already looking for a son-in-law! Haha!
• Ah, so Mikuni can't go to the surface because she has some sort of disease? Medicine is not done yet, but she can go out if it's dark. She was finally able to go outside this episode because of a solar eclipse.
• I think Miko is really enjoying Mikuni's company now. I think she doesn't have the Tropical Fish goal in her head most of the time now, unlike when she was about to go to Atlas.
• Momoko's got two get-ups in this episode! Haha! She entertains me. I'm not pleased with the part of her lecturing Kuniko about what she should do if she were to die. It's like foreshadowing her own death. Unlike Kuniko, she's not immune to character-deaths since she's not exactly a leading character. Noooooooooooooo . . .
  
• I admire Tomoka's determination to save Kuniko. She doesn't care if she has to use her body for it. She'll use any means to get Kuniko out of there.
• I like Soichiro for being one of the decent soldiers among Ryoko's men.
• The black haired dude, I forgot his name, but I like him too! Haha! He's mean but he let Kuniko use a sword for her mirror. Hehe. But I find it a little stupid that he wasn't suspiscious that Kuniko was so relaxed even if she was about to be executed. She even thought of using a lipstick. There's not way for it to be not strange!
• It seems that Ryoko doesn't exactly want Kuniko killed and has plans for Kuniko. But if Kuniko isn't exactly worth it in her standards, then she'd rather have Kuniko dead. Anyway, whoa . . . she is so evil. Having those prisoners all killed . . . I like villains who actually act villaneous. Not villaneously pathetic, but villaneously cruel.
  
• I find it touching that the prison girl did a good job in planning Kuniko's escape. I think this is mostly Kuniko's plan though, but I wonder how the heck they were able to communicate to discuss the plan. Either I missed that or just a plot flaw.
• I find it cute that (almost) everyone at Duomo were so relaxed even with the news of Kuniko being executed. It clearly hints that Kuniko already has an escape plan. Even Kuniko herself is too relaxed. It's strange that other characters didn't find it odd. I believe to the audience, it's already too obvious, even if Kuniko's not a main character.
• But I like it that unlike with other shows, having the main character sentenced to death didn't have many characters go emo and angsty. I'm really impressed on how different this show is.
• I like how the escape was done. Nanowires and hydrogen(?) balloon! Al the use of fermented orange juice and stuff! It's a pretty creative and cool way for an escape!
• Episode ends with Kuniko, Momoko, and Tomoka near the location where Mikuni and the others are. I'm excited for their encounter! I want to know the relation between Momoko and Mikuni. (I so wanna know what's with those matching earrings!) And I think I can anticipate some Momoko and Miko drama. Hehe.
  

FANGURLING CORNER:


KUSANAGI'S IN THE EPISODE!!!!!!
Soldier boy is as cute as ever~



KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
HANDSOME, YOU STILL DON'T GET IT?
YOU LOVE HER.
OH SORRY IF I CANNOT SEE IT IN A PLATONIC WAY. SHE IS YOU ENEMY YET IT PAINS YOU TO HAVE HER DIE. IT COULD ONLY MEAN ONE THING FOR ME:
YOU'RE IN LOVE, YOU IDIOT.
KYAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!! PLEASE MAKE THEM CANON! I FREAKIN' WANT ROMANCE FROM THIS ENTERTAINING PAIRING!

NEXT EPISODE:

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Please don't kill Momoko. I love that character! You're going to eliminate one of the most entertaining characters in this show?!
However, this episode foreshadows it and the preview hints that so much.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!