Fandom Blurbs 2011 #005 (Hunger Games Trailer & My August 2011 New Novels)

Some Hunger Games teaser first:

THAT'S IT???! UUUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

Anywayz, now about the main topic of this post:

I used to buy a lot of novels (on sale) almost weekly, but I don't get to read majority of them that soon x_x So because of that (and also because of budget issues), I've been trying my best to limit the books I buy xD The number of books that I used to buy in just two weeks now took me a month! I'm improving... little by little... haha!

So here are the interesting novels I found (most interesting at the bottom) and hopefully they have been worth buying, even if they're discounted:

1. I, Juan de Pareja (Elizabeth Borton de Trevino)
   I like stories about artists. And I find the idea of a slave wanting to become one pretty intriguing. Social discrimination issues~
2. Wish Riders (Patrick Jennings)
   The plot had bored me, to be honest. But the Cinderella reference and its mention that it deals with folklore drew me in somehow. Not to mention it got positive reviews... it might be good.
3. The Witch's Trinity (Erika Mailman)
   Ahaha... I suppose stories about women being accused for witches capture my interest... and it has something to do with Season of the Witch *just watched it*
4. Fingers (William Sleator)
   The horror in this seems to be YA-level (or maybe it is a YA novel, just didn't seem like it).... so it might not be that scary... but I like horror stories related to music~
5. Living Dead Girl (Elizabeth Scott)
   Sounds like a zombie novel but not about a zombie kid in school, or about some virus outbreak. Unusual enough for me.
6. Glasshouse (Charles Stross)
   I blame the cover. It's so... blue... Well, the blue and white/gray color mix made me see my favorite color combination (blue and silver). It got me attracted... and I don't get to read much SF novels, so I picked it up at once, haha!
7. Luna (Julie Anne Peters)
   At first I thought it had something to do with the moon, or the goddess Luna. But it turned out to be about a boy who claims to have been a girl... interesting~
8. The Horrific Sufferings of the Mind-Reading Monster, Hercules Barefoot: His Wonderful Love and His Terrible Hatred (Carl-Johan Vallgren)
   A "monster" being treated cruelly by "servants of god" and he gets a love story with a beautiful girl? Interesting enough for me~
   It got so many negative reviews though... had me a little worried
9. The Shack (WM. Paul Young)
   It seemed to have had a lot of positive reviews.... and the plot intrigued me. Hopefully it's as good as it seems.
10. The Pull of the Ocean (Jean-Claude Mourlevat)
    Three sets of twin boys... and a story about brotherhood... can't... resist.
11. The Egyptologist (Arthur Phillips)
    Fiction related to Egypt and its history and mytholgoy... can't resist~ It's an international bestseller too, so it might be as good as it seemed~
12. Sepulchre (Kate Mosse)
    Religious references and discovering secrets of people from history.... oh these kinds of plots always make me thrilled.
13. Al Capone Does My Shirts (Gennifer Choldenko)
    Seems hilarious! And it's got an awward! It's gotta be good~
14. The Great Stink (Clare Clark)
    The titles sounds... EPIC! Haha! (And someone from war now working on the sewers? o_o Pretty unusual... I like that)
15. The Little Book (Selden Edwards)
    It's about a timetraveller who gets to meet famous people like those from the field of literature and psychology!!! MY TYPE!!!!

Autumn/Fall 2011 Anime Series First Impressions

Here I am once again... looking at the new shows next season to find more things to get addicted to, haha. The next season looks really promising *_*

(This image is from an upcoming movie: Hotarubi no Mori E. The manga was enchanting, and Midorikawa Yuki is fantastic. The anime film will certainly be good xD)

There are quite a number of shows in the upcoming season that seem interesting... four of them are those I'm already SURE that I'll be watching (because of manga background, or if I liked the previous adaptation). October's gonna be a very exciting month =3

Mawaru Penguindrum - Episode 7

It was.... a really freaky episode.

Fandom Blurbs 2011 #004 (Focus: Arakawa Drama Ep5)

[ LIVE ACTION DRAMA ]

(Arakawa Under the Bridge Episode 5)

Happy to see a Sister and Maria moment! Well, it's kinda similar to the anime, except that in the anime, Maria hadn't been chasing Ric around Sister like kids and there was no scene of Sister being "protective" on the eggs that Maria gave to them o_O And instead of the nosebleeds in the anime, Sister just turned blue in the drama. Ah well, their encounter is still fun. The actress totally got Maria's laughs, haha.

I'm kinda disappointed on the Ric x Nino scene... Nino got mad at Ric for a pretty shallow reason =_= That's not the Nino I know!!! But ah well, at least they had been right on how Nino acts when annoyed. (Too bad it was just a tree, her AniManga version climbs an electric post, hehe)

I'm not happy on how weak Billy in the drama seems to be.. compare to the AniManga version, who was cool ALL the time. But ah well, at least he's not perfect... and more character development/screentime for him. Looks like something happens to him in the next episode... Ric's super worried.

Next episode seems to be rich in Ric x Nino moments. They used the anime pics for Ric's storyboard on his "planned perfect date" xD Hahahaha! OMG, can't wait (the "distancing" scene!!! Bwahahaha). They'll definitely have more romantic scenes compare to the anime (Ric carried her [his animanga version was epic fail in his attempt to carry her like a princess, haha!])

[ MANGA ]

Magic Kaitou Special - I knew it that Kaito's mom is no ordinary woman! She's almost as hott as Shinichi's mom (Yukiko's still my favorite though, ahaha). Aaw man, why was Aoko unconscious the whole time... Kaito already had the idea of kissing her but... aaaagghhh.... I hate it with Aoyama-sensei teases me with my fave pairings in his series. Such torture.
Number Chapter 38 - Tekirai caring about Toneriko is soooooo obvious now. Oh the shippers are gonna be happy. Ah well, I'm more concerned about my Mizuto. He didn't appear much unfortunately =_=

[ MOVIES ]

Woman in Black News - Harry Potter's Daniel Radcliffe's gonna be in some suspense/horror thriller. Well, I'm not really a fan of that actor, but I can't get these types of story plots off my radar xD

Fright Night Spoils - Seeing the comparison between the vampire dude in this movie to Twilight's Edward made me more convinced that this vampire movie might be worth watching, haha.

[ NOVELS ]

Fabelheaven Chapter 1 - I tried the first chapter because the other books of the series were on sale. I wanted to check if it's the type I would want to collect. But so far it got me bored x_X

Mawaru Penguindrum - Episode 6

Yay! There's an episode this week! And it's great as usual!!!

Not enough fanservice for me though.... ;_; ... but it's okay!!! xD I'm not watching this just for the personal fanservice anyway, haha!

Fandom Blurbs 2011 #003 (Focus: Misoragumi Manga and Arakawa Drama)

MANGA

Houou Gakuen Misoragumi (volume 1 to 3) by AKI Arata

My name is Kei, and I really love girls.
I attend an all-boys school, which doesn't have any girls.
Of course that's bad, especially since I'm actually a girl.

I had been interested to read this manga for a long time because of its popularity, but the "girl in an all-boys school" gender bender cliche is so overused that it didn't make me that motivated.

But last night I just thought of reading it because I was looking for a manga to try, in random.

So now I got hooked.... aaaaahhh!!!!

The heroine was very convincing as male... and that alone makes this series already so different from a lot of gender bender manga. The hero's sadistic to her though, but this is shoujo, so I won't be surprised if he actually likes her since back then... and they're so gonna be canon.

So yeah, though it's quite refreshing, it still follows some cliches... but I don't mind, this is freakin' entertaining anywayz. The masochist got me disturbed the most... but it also made me laugh so hard, haha!

This has been very enjoyable to read (Usassy is sexy!! BWAHAHAHHA!). I find Kousuke very adorable, but I guess my favorite is none other than that thespian/cosplaying dude... he's so... PRETTY... and wacky! Hahaha!

LIVE ACTION DRAMA

Arakawa Under the Bridge (Episode 4)

For the first time I didn't get annoyed on a Kappa recap.... his "swimming" was so hilarious xD Hahahaha!

Ric finally showed more of his arrogant side in this episode (he thinks that "Nino's treasure" has something to do with him).

Nino's fight against the fish was very amusing xD It was cool that the live action drama didn't exclude Nino's snot when she sleeps, haha!

This episode is more focused on Billy and Jacqueline though. They had waaaay more character development in the drama than their original adaptations *_* I'm pleased (do that for my favorite characters as well, please).
Oh, the drama decided to make Billy originally without the bird face... the animanga implied that he's already wearing it in his yakuza days x_xNow that's more believable.... I almost believed that the drama will be trying to make this realistic somehow until I saw Billy and Jacqueline transforming then flying as birds ^^; LOLz

NEXT EPISODE HAS SISTER x MARIA (possibly more Ric x Nino too) SQUEEEEE!!!! Next week is taking forever =_=

OTHERS

[ANIME - Mawaru Penguindrum]
There was no episode last week, so I was very sad ;_;

[NOVEL - A Clash of Kings {page 311 to 370 of 708}]
I'm gonna miss Renly... only because his Rainbow Knights idea was really amusing xD

[MOVIE - Adventures of Tintin: Secret fo the Unicorn] T
he "unicorn" thing was enough to make me highly interested in this, even though I'm not that familiar with the original adaptation, ahaha!

The Daydreamer’s Terminologies: Literary Fiction Genre

Genre generally means a “Category". There are different types of genre, and they also vary per media (I’ve never heard of a “musical novel" or a “pop film"). Things that are considered as “genre" also differs per person, and here’s mine:

I’ve already defined a set of genres that is as generalized as possible, so that it could be applicable to all types of media that this blog will be covering. Genres are also mentioned in most of my critiques/reviews, and this post shall act as a guide on the genres I talk about.

Fandom Blurbs 2011 #002 (Arakawa Under The Bridge: AnimeMangaDrama)

I'm in "Arakawa Under the Bridge" mode lately, and it so happened that it had several adaptations and I checked them all out, so I'm gonna be considering it as a Fandom Blurb.

Arakawa Under the Bridge

of Shaft; Originally By Hikaru Nakamura; Directed By Akiyuki Shinobu

Kou: You have saved my life. I always repay to all people I'm indebted to. What do you want me to do?
Nino: Live close to me.
Kou: Okay... and you are... ?
Nino: I'm a Venusian. But you can call me "Nino".
Kou: ....Venusian?
Nino: Yes.
Kou: ......
Nino: But I get along with you, Earthlings, just fine. Don't worry.
Kou: ..........................

SETTING: Under the Bridge. Contemporary. ELEMENTS: Venus. Debt. Weird. Fish. Sister. Kappa. Samurai. Yakuza. River. Star. Work. GENRE: Comedy. Romance. DEMOGRAPHIC: Seinen.

RATING: B+ (IMPRESSIVE!) FAVORITISM: 4 Hearts ---> ADORATION

At first I thought that it was too weird for me, but after reading more I've realized how impressive it actually is underneath the silliness. It makes you wonder what's really "normal" and "common sense". It's a social commentary that deals with quite a number of psychological/ethical/moral issues as well. Though they're presented in extremely absurd ways, they had somehow reflected reality. There's genius behind the nonsense if you think outside the box; I like that.

Besides, it had been very entertaining. Moreover, I seldom see character development on gag manga, so I'm happy that even a little, the characters here had a chance to shine (even if they're a little late).

My favorite's the love story. (Unfortunately I torture myself in shipping non-mushy pairings *mopes in a corner*) It's more acceptable for me if the main couple's so ignorant about love if they're that weird and idiotic, haha! Besides, they're really cute and sweet~ Roc x Nino and Sister x Maria forevah =3

Fandom Blurbs 2011 #001

 Fandom Blurbs shall be my quick updates/fangurling of each of my main fandom. Ideally I would be able to do this every other day, but for now I shall just think of posting something like this when I feel like it.

ANIME
	Natsume Yuujinchou 3 (Episodes 5 & 6) The fifth episode was very adorable. I'm not that pleased w/ the sixth one though (Natsume had been such a loser, ahaha) but I like it for Natori's appearance (posing infront of his own billboard, LOLz) and it was so amusing to watch Nyaanko hitting Natsume just to make the boy to not to get into trouble xD

NOVELS

Monstrumologist (Prologue to Chapter 2) I saw its sequel on sale, but I haven't read this yet. So in order for me not to regret the second book, I thought of checking this out first but... hhhmm.. I find the prologue intriguing, but the few chapters after it got me bored x_x Hmm... maybe it will get interesting again later. There has to be a reason for its high reviews. A Class of Kings (page 310 out of 708) Theon got pwned by someone he tried to seduce so badly, I was so amused xD Ooo... it appears that Mycrella had a crush on Robb? If she's as nice as she appeared, that would've been cute. Tyrion's such a smartass~

MANGA

Watashi ni XX Shinasai (Chapters 23 to 27) Ugh, my guilty pleasure. Shigure's unbelievably oblivious about Mami's feelings; while Yukina's unbelievably ignorant about love. She still doesn't get it much even though she already somewhat has. Aaagghh! Ah well, despite the torture, I love the recent events. Oh Shigure, so cuuute~ Kimi to Boku (Chapter 16) Kaname's so lovable~ And LOLz to their bias to Shun xD

MOVIE

Immortals This is now my MOST anticipated movie this year *_* I knew that it deals with Greek mythology, but only recently I found out that a lot of the gods, goddesses, and mythological characters are gonna be involved *_* I want! I WANT!!!! Hunger Games I saw the pic of the Peeta actor in costume and.... ME NOT WANT =_= Katniss and Gale looked great though. But why my favorite character is.... waaaaah!!! Now I'm kinda worried about how Cinna's gonna look ;_;

TV SERIES

Ouran High School Host Club (Episode 1) Hmmm... the live action was really... weird. It didn't have much... errr... impact on me. No, I'm not the "animanga-version-is-always-better" type, but the execution in the live action drama is just... not as fantastic. It wasn't as crazy as the animanga adaptations seemed.... yeah, that might be it. The Haruhi actress looks very Haruhi... but doesn't act that Haruhi to me. The actor for Hani is beyong adorable though... kyaaaaa~ (The rest of the cast looked weird for me o_O)

Mawaru Penguindrum - Episode 5

BEST EPISODE SO FAR!!!

Not much "personal fanservice" for me though, but overall....

IT HAS BEEN SO FANTASTIC AND MIND-BLOWING! IT CONTINUES TO EXCEED EXPECTATIONS! w00t!

[Novel Series Batch] Septimus Heap

A lot of fantasy series about a special boy with magical powers have been popping out more often after Harry Potter's popularity. Not all of them can be dismissed as "wannabes" though, some have turned out to be really good and enjoyable, and a new favorite I've discovered is the Septimus Heap series:

(Art by Mark Zug)

Septimus Heap (Series)

By Angie Sage

Silas Heap: Our seventh son was born.
Sarah Heap: Hello Septimus.
Silas Heap: During that night in the Forest, when I was on my way home I've come across a baby girl freezing in the snow. That poor child.... I thought of adopting her.
Marcia Overstrand: Tell no one you found her. She was born to you. Understand?
Silas Heap: So I arrived home with the baby girl.... while my own child's...
Midwife: DEAD! Septimus Heap is dead!

SETTING: Medieval Fictional World. ELEMENTS: Magyk. Darke. Army. Wizard. Princess. Forest. GENRE: Fantasy. Comedy. DEMOGRAPHIC: Juvenile.

OVERALL RATING: B (NICE!) OVERALL FAVORITISM: 4 Hearts ---> ADORATION