Shoujo Manga Reviews: Magical Voice, Girl Bishie, ShyGirl+MrPopular, Unwilling Miko, and Possessive Judo Captain

I had realized that I have been reading quite a number of complete manga lately. I want to put them in batches so the manga on a certain post are somehow related. So here goes the first complete batch, the shoujo group!

Ah, this image is from Akuma to Dolce by Suzuki Julietta. Finished it a long time ago, but I freakin' miss it. I hope the author just continued this instead of creating a new series which was . . .pretty disappointing. Meh.

Alrighty, manga featured in this post are the following:

• AKAKU SAKU KOE by MIDORIKAWA Yuki
• CINDERELLA BOY by YUMENO Makoto ]
• KOKO NI IRU YO! by TOOYAMA Ema
• MAIMIKO TOUKO NO JIKENBO by TAKADONO Madoka and KANOU Arashi
• ORESAMA OUJI by AIKAWA Saki

[ AKAKU SAKU KOE by MIDORIKAWA Yuki ]

Karashima is a high school boy with a beautiful voice. So beautiful that he can make anyone do anything, just by saying the words. Because of his potentially dangerous ability, he distances himself away from people but soon finds himself in the middle of various criminal investigations that he can help solve, and a girl named Kokubu who seems in love with him.

I read this because I highly adored the author's other works, namely The Scarlet Chair and Natsume Yuujinchou. Sadly, this one hadn't been as great as my favorites.
It was creative though and the story was really wonderful. The character interactions have been fun (Sakamoto and Kawaguchi are crack! There should've been more of them! MORE) but I hope it didn't focus too much on the leading girl's problems on the leading guy. The leading girl's my problem as usual. Well, she had been the useless heroine and she knows she's being a burden, but she had improved in later chapters. However, her obsession with the leading guy still scares me ("Karashima-kun" is always in her thoughts . . . .always and so much that it's kinda stalkerish). I don't think it was love. It was started from enchantment that she wanted to believe as love. It only became real because she had believed it was so. Meh. Ah well, at least they hadn't been mushy. Wanting to be by his side is better than wanting to be kissed by him so badly.
As for the story . . . I'm not sure how to think of it. You see . . .it starts out very interesting . . . then later it shows up some cliches . . . then things get intriguing . . . and then there goes the headaches . . . but in the end it makes up for what it lacked and leaves a pretty satisfying lovely ending.
It's lacking but still a beautiful story. It had been very nice to read . . . . you just need to tolerate the girl's uselessness in the early chapters. Things get better later.

[ CINDERELLA BOY by YUMENO Makoto ]

One of the five handsome men in the incredibly popular idol group "Z", Riku, is actually a girl! She's tied with the leader, Touya, for popularity. She pretends to be the type of guy that makes all the girls smile and is extremely cool-looking. However, when she receives a Christmas present from Touya, she decides she wants to show him her feminine side...!?

I picked this up for the "Cinderella" thing; but it appears that it had no connection to the fairy tale.
The story had not been bad, but it's not that unique and it was really dull. They tried to be funny, but they seem to be trying to hard to be hilarious. Only the manager managed to be amusing. It did a better job on the emo part, which was annoying. I do not get women who cry when their crush is with someone else and they still don't get that they're jealous. Go die!
Fortunately the angst didn't last that long, and the leading girl faced her problem in the end bravely. The main story's actually okay . . . .just how things happened is just . . .guuuh . . . this manga had been boring and gave me several headaches. I'm surprised I had managed to finish it . . . then I guess it really isn't that horrible . . . but I still don't recommend it. The art isn't that pretty anyway.

[ KOKO NI IRU YO! by TOOYAMA Ema ]

Hikage is a reclusive 8th grader who no one seems to notice. She finds comfort in her blog, and the people who comment on it. Everything changes one day when two cute boys notice her. These boys are the most popular kids in the entire school. When one of them tells her something that she's always wanted to hear, she might not be as invisible as she thought...

I've had enough of shy girls who won't be able to stand out without a popular boy falling in love with her. But this girl is a blogging freak . . . shet I can relate . . . and I'm socially awkward myself so I ended up being able to relate to her loneliness. She had it worse than me . . .so I guess I understand her . . . but to rely to a Mr. Popular is still dumb though.
Anywayz, though I was really unimpressed with the premise . . . and it even had the stupid love triangle with the girl unable to decide who to choose . . . I find it very cute and heartwarming. And I was so relieved that by chapter our shy heroine learns to grow and change. There's development. So she has been the type I can't dislike forever. Hehe. But I'm not that pleased with how the love story turned out . . . but at least there's no angst that lasted for decades and the rivals in love still had a healthy relationship (best friend relationships shouldn't break that easily!). I'm cool with that. Besides, the best friend bishies here are adorable. Haha! I had been most amused with the heroine's blogfriend: MegaPig. Haha!
Story's not exactly something spectacular but it had been cute and heartwarming. I enjoyed it.

[ MAIMIKO TOUKO NO JIKENBO by TAKADONO Madoka and KANOU Arashi ]

Touko Hanamori is the young successor to the Hanamori family's line of priestesses. What she longs for, however, is to have a normal life--to have a boyfriend, go on dates, and live like a normal girl would. A new job introduces her to a handsome young man, but will this be the start of a blooming romance...or is there something she doesn't yet realize?

I checked this out because the author is the same as Makai Ouji's . . . and to my dismay this one has been so disappointing that I fear Makai Ouji will turn crap like this in the future.
It's not absolutely horrible but still . . .bad. To me, the leading girl was 1/4 decent and 3/4 pathetic. She sucks because she's one of those typical girls that want to have a boyfriend so badly and was stupid to realize that the one for her is just beside her. She is of course being rescued in most of the chapters and she's also the type who's easily attracted to pretty bishies. What made her not totally despicable for me is that she is capable of performing something that can calm the gods. And fortunately she wasnt the type to cry like a loser when in danger. But . . I still don't like her.
As for the story, it's like an episodic one-bishie-per-chapter thing. There seems to be something special about the leading guy but we got no explanation. The romance development was duuuuh . . . it felt too simple (I'm referring to the end). I think it might've been better if she had acknowledged him from the very beginning. But . . .*sigh*
It tried to have as many miko references as possible that it got pretty texty and hus, boring. I'm not that impressed with the story development though I admit some twists seem pretty good. And I find the leading guy funny (grandma's funnier though) and cool. And identical twin boys is fanservice I can't miss. Haha!
Story hasn't been fantastic like what I expected it to be. Many parts are dull and annoying, but it had still been fun to read and the art on many panels had been gorgeous. I guess the art bias people won't have a problem with this . . .and also those into miko stuff (It might've been better if it didn't concentrate on just one miko...).

[ ORESAMA OUJI by AIKAWA Saki ]

Sawa hates Judo. She was once really good at it, but boys always rejected her because she was so strong. Now she's entering high school and the gorgeous captain of the Judo club has selected Sawa (against her will) to be the club manager! He also claims he knows her from the past... How will Sawa deal with managing the sport she hates most, especially since the captain seems to like her!?

"Ore-sama" reminds me of how Hetalia's Prussia calls himself xD And I'm a sucker for princes so I picked this up without a second thought.
Well, it was cute . . . . but it sucked so much. I don't care if the art is so pretty . . .the story's full of cliches and annoying stereotypes (except for the leading guy. His personality's pretty unusual). My head hurt so much.
As usual, I'd start complaining about the despicable leading girl. Oh gawd, she's being emo for not having a boyfriend. She's supposed to have judo background but she was absolutely defenseless when she got kidnapped. She's also the martyr who doesn't think and her role in the story is just to give the leading guy a tough time.
And the leading guy? Yeah, he's cute and romantic and all but . . . . he's extremely possessive (easily gets jealous too) . . . and he had been like that all of a sudden. He wants to own her but he won't tell why he's being biased to her because he's been acting childish and he wants to keep the suspense to readers so that the leading girl will have screentime in going emo for she thinks he has mistaken her for another person. Uuuuggghhh....
Ah well, of course they became canon so quickly. And when that happened, the love rival will appear afterwards! Just in time to play his role in messing up the lovely couple. And he's going to do it through bad methods which will of course be resolved by the leading guy very soon so the couple could have a happy ending. Yeah, the one-sided dude in the love triangle was just there to take the girl away, but we don't really see how he had liked her. What a great love triangle twist, huh?
Oh gawd, story and character-wise, this was VERY horrible. There was development in the romance, but I think this could have been better as a oneshot, not a whole volume full of crap. It's wasting time on the stupid things. Ugh . . . I was able to last until the end because I kinda like the comedy and the art is pretty. But overall, though it's not totally pathetic, it's horrible. Meh.

(This is supposed to be lower... I guess the pretty art saved it somehow)

[ GENERAL COMMENTS ]
Pathetic heroines really ruin the series . . . meh. Anyway, I recommend those that I rated 3 parfaits and above. I don't know much about Aikawa Saki, Kanou Arashi and Yumeno Makoto's works. But on Takadono Madoka, Makai Ouji's a better choice. On Tooyama Ema, Watashi ni xx Shinasai is hell better. Then for Midorikawa Yuuki, well, I already mentioned what I loved from her. Her oneshot collections are good too.

Time Eliminator - Chapter 1

Just discovered a new shounen favorite!

Toki no Shoshitsu Ukeoinin
(Time Eliminator)
by TOMOZO

The office of the Time Eliminator offers a unique service, the ability to eliminate an event that happened in the past. Rex, the man with the power to travel through time, may look young, but he's a professional. He goes back in time well-prepared, with various gadgets and even an earpiece for communication with his support in the present. While Rex typically takes on cases for profit, he's also particularly looking for ones that might give him a chance to obtain a magical "Babylon Item".

The first case of the series is from the last remaining descendant of Fred Abberline, who was one of the detectives who failed to solve the notorious Jack the Ripper murders. Ever since then, the Abberline family has been cursed. Could the curse be the sign of someone in the past using a Babylon Item?! It's up to Rex to go back in time to the Jack the Ripper incidents and find a way to remove the curse from the Abberline family!

This is something irresistable to those who are fond of stories involving time traveling. like me. It's fun to see the characters explore these different time period and adapt to it. I love looking into the author's ideas of what things could've happened if something is changed in the past. What made this pretty unique for me is that our time traveler didn't just visit the past by accident, not just did it out of curiosity, and it hadn't been something that personal either (as in, he wants to change something from his or a friend's past). It's his job instead. His business. But even with that purpose he has a personal goal as well, which is to search for a certain item that is somewhere in those eras: The Babylon Item, one who possesses it could ultimately control time. If you think time traveling is cool, being able to control time is much more spectacular. I find it brilliant that the plot of this series is more than what it seems.

One of the greatest twists for me here is who the main opponent (but it's possible that he's just a rival though) turned out to be. He's not just some guy after the same powerful item. And he won't be your typical villain either because he plans to use the main character, not just to always get in the way like your typical villain. What's surprising though is that he has the same face as the main character! Could they be identical twins? Could one of them be a clone? Could they be the same person? Whoa! (Shet, the mangaka knows my type of fanservice huh *a sucker of seeing doubles, which of course includes identical twin bishies, etc.) Which reminds me, we don't know anything about the main character's background yet. We learned his personality, how he does his job, and what his main goal is.... but the character himself is still a mystery.

The main character, Rex Cornish, isn't just an interesting one . . . he's cool as well. This is a supernatural series with a main character looking for something supernatural . . . so you'd certainly expect him to encounter opponents that aren't ordinary. He can travel through time, but aside from that he doesn't seem to have other powers. For that he relies on (expensive) devices/materials in order for him to do fulfill his missions. Thanks to those, he was able to handle fearsome opponents. And he does that really awesomely. Not only is he capable of battle, but he appears to be knowledgeable and have deduction and analysis skills as well. For a time travelling agent, it's natural that he is aware of significant events in the past. Changing the past alters events that come after, and he should be able think of those possible outcomes and act upon it. He makes plans; thinks fast; he comes prepared. Though of course, not everything goes according to plan. He's not immune to failures; and I really love imperfection~

It also appears that Rex is a very kindhearted/sympathetic fellow for it greatly saddened him that his client risked the chance of herself existing for the sake of making her ancestors happy. He doesn't seem to be the type to kill either. He may be a very nice guy, but it had been easy to make him irritated as well, which is used for most of the comical scenes in the chapter. Thanks to him, the series had also been so much fun to read.

Yes, I obviously love the main character (I love abusable bishies, LOLz). And I know that a cool main character doesn't exactly mean that the series is cool overall as well, but the main character affects the flow of the story greatly. So if he's this awesome, no wonder the series overall is awesome as well. I'm so pleased, haha! His supporting characters seem great as well! I was so relieved that his assistant, Airedaile, was no mere maid or secretary; she actually assists him in his missions and the information that she provides are very very helpful. It also pleases me very much that the main character doesn't do all the hero stuff on his own. And as for the other supporting character, Barney, he seems to be the guy who helps Rex in finding possble locations of the Babylon item. How he finds such information is now something I am very curious about.

About the leading characters (I ship them by the way! YAY OTP!), Rex and Airedaile, don't you know that they're actually based on a car and a dog breed? Yeah, there's such a thing as a Cornish Rex and a Airedale Terrier. It seems that the mangaka did it intentionally . . . so amusing~ Haha! I wonder what other breeds the name of the other main characters will be based. Hehe (can't tell about Barney yet).

Speaking of references and stuff, the first case, as we know, is based on the Jack the Ripper cases. I'm a sucker for crime and detective stories, so naturally this series got me more hooked into it because it explored on a serial murder case. The chapter had mentioned the likely suspects of the case. There's Dr. Cream, and the artist mentioned is most likely referring to Lewiss Carroll (When I found out about that, I was like: "SERIOUSLY??!!"), and the artist mentioned might be referring to Walter Sickert. The Prince Crawlings guy is someone I'm not familiar with (Errr, sorry, am no expert in British history, if ever he is a real historical figure). Or perhaps the mangaka just made up a character referring to Prince Albert Victor? Or, he's just really someone made up for the suspect of this series to have a supernatural twist. Well, this is fiction, so don't expect everything it will be presenting as facts. I'm no expert of the Jack the Ripper cases, but I did a little research and it was fun to spot some of the differences from the actual records and the events in the manga. First is that I don't find records of Mary Jane Kelly, one of the murdered prostitutes, and Detective Frederick Abberline, the prominent police figure inspecting the Jack the RIpper cases, being lovers. The detective didn't die at age 44 either so the curse is most likely something the mangaka made up.

Overall, this series is so awesome. I instantly fell in love with it from the title alone and I was very pleased that it was even better than I had expected it to be. I love it when a series mixes various genres . . . and I especially love those that have supernatural and history as its dominant genres. I'm also happy that there's a lot of action and humor in it as well; it made the series much more enjoyable to read. And even with those it still managed to have a good plot that is very interesting and mysterious. As for the characters, they have been terrific in their on way. I'm relieved that there hadn't been a character that annoyed me. I hope this keeps up because it's already very promising. So depressing that this series is released quarterly . . .so we'll have to wait for a long time before we see the next chapter.


Random: Damn . . . the villain/rival is wearing a dark cloak/hood . . . and he's most likely a British blonde too . . . .damn, reminds me of Hetalia's Arthur (England) so much. Bwahahahahha!

Durarara!! - Episode 7 (Shizuo Centric)

I know this is a Shizuo episode and it's obviously centered on him already but it's still not absolutely about him and those parts happen to be long enough to have its own post. So I'll separate that.

[ THE FIRST ACT OF VIOLENCE ]

Many bad things start with something stupid, and it's the same with Shizuo's case. He is aware that it was indeed stupid. It's a little cute though because he's just a kid for being angry for a stupid reason. It appears that he was pissed that his brother didn't let him eat/drink something. Haha! But to hit your brother with a refrigerator . . . whoa! If that's already surprising, what's more surprising is his brother's reaction: still emotionless, like he doesn't see the danger of being hit with such a large appliance. Either he's immune to fear or he's confident that his dear brother wouldn't ever hurt him. Shizuo managed to stop himself luckily. But he was the one who got hurt instead.
Shizuo's doesn't seem to be from a rich family. I wonder how the heck those proeprties he damages get paid. Maybe I could understand the current Shizuo is if brother pays for him . . . but from before . . must've been tough financially. Not to mention the hospital bills.

[ REALLY SHORT TEMPER ]

(Oh, the steps before Shizuo starts throwing people/objects: 1) break something 2) throw it on the floor and stomp on it. Seems to be a habit since childhood. Oh Izaya, did you get the stomping idea from Shizuo? Hahah!)

I wonder if Shizuo ever tried undergoing anger management *remembers the film*. Haha! Anyway, it seems that he had really tried his best to do something about his temper, but always failed. Because of that, he doesn't hold back anymore. He doesn't see hope in ever stopping it fully, why bother.
It's funny that Simon and Tom just think it's an adolescene thing. Like Shizuo is just in a rebellious stage. But he's already in his 20's . . .what the . . .haha. You guys still see Shizuo as a baby/kid? That cute but . . .oh LOLz~
It makes me worry about his health though. There are countless illnesses caused by such a temper. Shizuo seems to be an ordinary human aside from his strength so I can't imagine him living that long because of the possible diseases he could get.

[ NOT INVINCIBLE ]

Yes, even though he has super strength, he has his limits. Like when he was a kid, his little body couldn't hold those big objects. He can be injured, have fractured bones, etc.
Even though his grown-up body can handle the big stuff that he carries now, he can still get hurt. Like when he got hit by a car.
Though I admit that it's pretty surprising that he could recover to what he was before despite those numerous accidents. His body sure is something.

[ ACTUALLY TAME ]

As long as he's not angry, he's actually a quiet guy that you can walk around with like normal. He might've been just an ordinary guy, no one special and won't get any attention, if only he doesn't have that temper and strength.

[ VIOLENCE HATER ]

I like it that even with that strength, he doesn't abuse it. He doesn't do it for evil intentions either. He just becomes violent when he gets annoyed or when he wants to stop something that he hates: which is none other than violence.
Ironic that the guy who is popular for his violent actions is actually against violence, huh? Sadly he isn't capable of fighting violence aside from using violence.
But you know . . . the people that he hurt actually deserve them . . . in a way. Like the part when a bunch of guys were threatening the lady that was nice to him. And those gang members that attack him are just asking for it. The guy that claims to have money but has time for women . . . and kids not caring about anything else but videogames . . . .can't blame Shizuo on being annoyed with such people. And Izaya . . . do I need to elaborate on that? Hahahaha! If Shizuo is violence itself; Izaya's evil itself. Haha!

[ TO BECOME STRONGER ]

Believe it or not, the person labeled as the strongest character in Durarara actually wants to become stronger. But no, he doesn't mean becoming physically invincible. He wants to be strong enough to stop himself from doing bad things. It's pretty frustrating when you can't help yourself from doing something you actually don't like.

[ LOVES NICE PEOPLE ]

(Lil' Shizuo . . .I wanna cuddle him~)

Oh more to Shizuo's adorable side. Because of his strength, he's more used to people being scared of him, or hating him. It must've mean a lot to him when people are being nice and unafraid of him.
The part of him and his brother with the nice lady was really sweet. I believe it makes him joyful that there's someone who's concerned about his health. Oh that darling.

[ TO CONNECT TO SOMEONE ]

I think Shizuo has been saying that he wanted to be alone because people close to him might get hurt or something like that. But since no man's an island and Shizuo's such a nice guy that it's difficult not to be drawn to him, he realizes that it can't be helped. Right now he's attached to certain special people, especially his senpai and his younger brother.

[ HELPFUL SENPAI ]

Tom might claim that his reasons for hiring Shizuo is just because he makes a good bodyguard and his name makes people pay up and stuff . . . but for certain Shizuo brings more trouble than in helping n the debt collecting, or at least . . . even when if he becomes successful, he still gets to destroy a lot of properties. So I think Tom does care for Shizuo and wants to help him out no matter what. He can't be just using Shizuo; he's really helping the guy. I think Tom has seen the nice side of Shizuo . . . and he's even capable of tolerating Shizuo's temper. And hhhmm . . . it also seems that he's one of those people that doesn't make Shizuo angry.

[ BROTHERLY LOVE ]

Selty: You really love your brother.
(Pfft! As if I will miss my brotherly love fanservice~)

I am so DELIGHTED that Shizuo and his younger brother, Kasuka, actually have a good relationship *a sucker for brotherly love*. Yeah, they had petty fights, but they still hang out together. With Shizuo's violent behavior, it must've been really difficult for him to gain friends. So he only has his brother for company, and his brother had always been there. I find it sweet that his brother was by his side whenever Shizuo gets hospitalized. Kasuka may wear an emotionless face, but he did many things for his brother, shows that he cares for Shizuo a lot.

[ BARTENDER SUIT ]

So now we get an explanation why Shizuo always wears that bartender suit even though he ain't a bartender anymore: it's his brother's present. Kasuka gave him loads of bartender suits in hopes that Shizuo can stay in the bartending job. Kasuka was already a popular celebrity by that time . . . he went all the way to his brother's workplace to give him those (Kasuka's a busy person but he managed to buy stuff for his brother). I think it worried Kasuka that Shizuo kept on switching jobs. I think giving those suits is Kasuka's way of cheering on Shizuo that there's hope for him to stay long in one job. So sweet.
So those clothes aren't just uniform (or character costume, haha). So the bartender suit is actually special to Shizuo . . . nice that it actually suits him~ Hehe. Oh it was so cute when he got pissed off with a bunch of teenagers when they ruined the clothes that his precious brother had given him. Daaaw~

[ CALM HIM DOWN ]

Oh yeah, though it's easy to make Shizuo angry; it's also easy to make him calm down. People that are close to him manage to do that easily.
Kasuka seems to be the expert on that. Their eyes just met and it already made Shizuo feel better. And when Shizuo was so annoyed like hell, Kasuka just gave him a drink then Shizuo has finally become quiet. Haha!
The company of nice people makes him feel better as well it seems. We see Tom and Selty being able to do that for him.

[ FIRST FRIEND ]

Oh Shinra~ Instead of being afraid of the violent little Shizuo, he was amazed instead that he kept on following the boy. Haha! I think Shinra's being your typical weirdo who is interested on anything extraordinary; and in this case, Shizuo has been physically extraordinary. And if I remember correctly, Shinra even wants to take blood samples and stuff from Shizuo, haha!
But still, thanks to Shinra, Shizuo has company even at school. His brother can't be with him 24/7 after all. Shinra's kinda noisy though . . . he's not an exemption to Shizuo's violence. Haha! (Well, his brother hadn't been an exception either after all). But Shinra's not a bad kid so it's no surprise that he and Shizuo got along.
I think Shinra isn't just interested in Shizuo. He had geniunely become Shizuo's friend. At first it was only Kasuka who is at Shizuo's side when Shizuo gets hospitalized. But when Shinra got to know Shizuo, he had visited Shizuo at the hospital as well. Shows that Shinra really cares. So sweet~

[ OTHER FRIENDS ]

Shizuo met Selty through Shinra. I don't think it'll be a surprise if Shizuo didn't have trouble in accepting the reality that Selty isn't human. He seems to be the type who accepts people (or beings) for what they are. He doesn't discriminate. What a nice guy.
And it looks like he's acquianted to Kyohei as well. It could be because they are friends or there's the Dollars connection or both.
It's nice that he's actually in good terms with Simon as well, though we saw them fight in a previous episode. I'm so happy that these strong people can get along despite their disagreements. They make up easily. It's so nice.

[ HATE AT FIRST SIGHT ]

Why are they having the Romeo and Juliet-like scene so often. You know, Izayaliet's on the "balcony" and Shizuomeo looks up from below. Bwahahahhahaha!!!!!!!.

Shizuo may be such a nice person that it's not difficult to get long with him as long as you're a good person as well . .. however, there's just one guy that is already obviously rotten to the core by just looking at him. Hahahha! They're like destined to have a special relationship . . .it had been special in a negative way however.
Being a violence hater, I guess it's natural for Shizuo to hate Izaya. The bastard may not be doing something explicitly violent, but he has been a trigger or a mastermind on a lot of acts of violence. And he also loooooves provoking Shizuo. It's already easy to make Shizuo angry, what more if you're doing it intentionally?! Haha!
In Izaya's case though. I don't think it's necessary to think too deeply on why he hates Shizuo since he's an evil psychopath. Hahahha! But hhhmm . . . if there has to be a reason, my guess that it's because Shizuo's the person whose actions that our evil manipulator couldn't predict (my reason for that guess might be spoilery, so not mentioning here). I thought that might be the type of person whom Izaya could warm up to, but it turns out to be the opposite.
But well, if you look at the things that they do as a Shizaya fan's perspective . . . they can still be equal to love. Bwahahahha! Their love is complicated. Bwahahahha. And there's also the saying "The more you hate; the more you love" after all. Bwahahahahhaha . . . .
I wonder when Izaya started calling Shizuo with a "-chan". This episode has shown that he used to call him with a "-kun". Oh either way, how Izaya calls Shizuo still has the mocking tone. Haha!

[ TOM and JERRY COMEDY ]

Oh my god these two are so fun to watch. Especially when Shizuo is just chasing Izaya. They're like cat and mouse and it highly reminded me of the Tom and Jerry cartoon. Izaya fits the Jerry role so much because the mouse is often the one being chased . . . and outsmarts the cat. While the cat, Tom, like Shizuo just keeps on chasing the mouse at the sight of it. Without thinking. Oh they're classic comedy. It's more hilarious to see that type of comedy between human characters, bwahehehehehhe.

[ POOR GUY ]

You know, even though Shizuo is the one throwing stuff at Izaya . . . .Izaya deserves it so much for the things that the bastard has done to poor Shizuo.
Shizuo wants to live in peace, but Izaya made a lot of gangs fight against Shizuo. And with Shizuo's temper, it's giving him a bad image. If only those thugs hadn't been initiated by Izaya, Shizuo won't be going out of control in such a way . . .and he won't be involved in gang fights at all.
The most cruel thing that Izaya did was framing Shizuo. Shizuo was already doing well on his bartender job, and hoping to stay on it . . . but having him framed for a crime he didn't do ruined his image worse. That's the most probable reason why he lost the bartender job. Thing would've been okay if only Izaya left Shizu-chan alone. Unfortunately, Izaya was evil enough to drag innocent Shizuo in such a mess.
And more of Izaya's cruelty . . . when Shizuo got hit by a truck . . . he's lessening the alarm . . .and even paid that truck driver who had hit Shizuo for doing a "good job". Well, it doesn't seem that Izaya had planned it, but doing that is like he's encouraging the driver to continue doing more acts like those to Shizuo. And he may also be paying the driver for beating up Shizuo for him. That was really cruel. Yeah, hilarious in a way. But still so cruel. Poor Shizu-chan. *sobs*

[ SHIZU-CHAN NEEDS MORE LOVE ]

Need I say more? xD

Haha, he's actually a shy fellow you know. He doesn't like admiting openly when he's being so touching, hehe. But he's certainly huggable~

I LOVE YOU SHIZU-CHAN!!!!!

[ MORE SHIZUO NEXT EPISODE ]

His and Selty's similar simultaneous reaction's just so cute~

Extra: The non-centric episode post will be done some other time. And ah, the ED single is already out! Go here if you want to see the downloads. Just updated the DRRR!! OP and ED page, hehe.

Durarara!! - Episode 6

It's so difficult to think clearly while watching this episode . . . . I spent so much time laughing. Bwahahahaha!!! It's so hilarious! It's the funniest episode so far. Hahahahaha!

[ BACCANO ]

I SAW CLAIRE!!!!!!!! MY LIFE IS COMPLETE!!! LOLz

AH, the DVD cover with Maiza and Czes was also there. I think I saw Cencoroll . . . . Jigoku Shoujo . . . .I don't remember the others.
Back to Baccano, looks like the password featured in this episode is "baccano". The staff loves their previous masterpiece. Well, they really should because it's a masterpiece. Hehe.

[ DOLLARS ]

So this episode has revealed to us some of the actual Dollars members and how they're recruited. I am curious how the leader had chosen his/her members. It's like he/she had picked the right people. The four of them look harmless but they turn out to be capable of surprising things! Haha!
Oh my god . . . the part of them rejoicing and singing when they figured out where their friend is . . . . EPIC! Hahahahhahahahah!!!!!!!!! And it is important that Dollars has an "S" in the end. LOLz~

[ ERIKA and WALKER ]

I had been wondering why they often carry bags . . . I thought they're just otaku stuff . . .who would've thought they'd be carrying torture materials as well . . .Hahhahah!!!
GO GO OTAKU CHARACTERS WITH EXPERTISE IN TORTURING!!!! Hahahahahhaa!!!!!!! It was so amusing that they made their victim pick among manga for his method of torturing. Hahahha!
The one they caught gave in in spilling information thanks to these two. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THEM!
Oh they're so crack. They can relate anything otaku-related on anything in life and in the events that happen to them. They had even spotted a younger brother fairy type. Hahaha!
Oh yeah, they were given a message of a "kid breaking a bin". They were horrified on their wrong assumption . . . the kidnapping was true . . .but Walker seemed more horrified that a china bowl was broken instead of a bin. Bwahehehhe . . . I love the joke!

[ WHY KAZTANO IS SPECIAL ]

When Togasu was being depressed over losing Kaztano . . . I felt it was so fake (as in, drama queen fake). And then later it seemed so serious, and he even went to the point that he needs Kaztano greatly (he says he can't live without the guy! WHUTOMG!!!!). The rest took him seriously. SO I thought it was indeed gravely serious. That Kaztano guy might be more than what he seemed.
But after learning that the reason why Kaztano is very important to him was because he sells him tickets closest to his goddess . . . . oh my god I laughed so hard. Hahhahahahahah!!!!!!! YES!! TO WORSHIPPERS!!! GETTING CLOSE TICKETS IS SACRED!!! Bwahahahahhahahaha!!!!!!!!!

[ DOTACHIN ]

(I love the Yuichi Nakamura voice~)

And for Kyohei to actually see that seiously as well . .. Hahahahha! With his looks and orderly attitude, he appears to be the most serious and sensible among the four . . . .but seeing him joining the "morning routines" . . . .wahahahhahaha . . . .
I don't get why the hell he got called Dotachin though. But we're given a hint that Izaya's the one who started that nickname.

[ IZAYA-KUN and SHIZU-CHAN ]

This is a comedy episode . . .a comical DRRR!! episode is not complete without scenes of Shizu-chan and Izaya-kun!!!! Hahahahahahhaha!!!!!!!!
It was awesome that Izaya lucky missed that huge thing. It was cute that he starts running when he has realized that Shizu-chan found him. It was hilarious when Shizu-chan started chasing the running Izaya-kun. They're like a couple of stooges. Bwahahahahha!!!!!!!!
Oh yeah . . . . evil manipulator has said something adorably crack again in this episode: "SUSHI LOVE~ I like fatty tuna"
BWAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!
Ohmygod . . .the way he said it . .. . ohmygod . . . with his character it's freakin' hilarious . . . . but with that line and voicing and his face . . . .I'd want him for a sushi commercial and I'll eat sushi even if I don't eat sushi and I don't like anything fatty. Bwahahhahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So Izaya was there for the discount. I think he's already filthy rich . . . . but it's so cute that he's still into sales and discounts. Hahahaha!
Anywayz, back to the duo, they have this sort of connection with Selty again. Izaya spots her heading for the wrong direction; while it's Shizuo who tells her that she's going the wrong way and points her to the right direction.

[ SHINRA and SELTY ]

OH THESE TWO!!!!

SELTY'S WATCHING AN ALIEN VIDEO!!!!!!! WAHAHAHAHHA!!!!!!!!!
AND OH SHINRA!!!! He has mistaken in handing the grocery list to Selty instead of the plate number. Bwahahahahaah!!!!!!!! Shinra's reaction when he realized it was sooooo cute~
And oooo . . . we see Shinra in the bath inside. No . . .I'm not a perverted fan over sexy mad doctors. . .. I'm not . . . .I'm not I say . . . .AND NO THAT'S NOT A DROOL!!!!!!! xD Hahahahhahaha!!!!!!!
BUT HE'S SINGING THAT HE'S SPRAKLING NEKID!!!!! BWAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!
And hhhmmm . . .. Dotachin knows Shinra, eh? Ah, if I remember correctly they're of the same age. Anywayz, even without knowing that, it gives a hint that Shinra's connected to Dollars. Hehe.

[ SIMON and the TRIO ]

Though for a comical episode, I find it odd for Kida not to do something exceptionally hilarious . . . but at least he was there. His presence is comedy enough. LOLz
Anri is being worried if her friend got kidnapped . . . . then Mikado continues the topic unintentionally (cute that he got scolded by Kida for it~ They weren't talking. It's just the look. IT'S BEST FRIEND SIXTH SENSE!) and Simon even had to make the topic even worse. hahaha!!! I guess the other sushi shop makes him sad so much that he accuses it for selling human sushi??? Poor guy having wild imaginations .. . . hehehe

[ HUMAN EXPERIMENTS ]

So there's this rumor about humans that won't be noticed to be kidnapped for experiments. It's creepy to think if these things still happen until today. If they want victims, there's so many to choose among the homeless. *remembers a serial murder case episode that is somewhat like that* Frightening . . . .
And it appears that this group also has The Head. I've been seeing theories that the head was transferred to the head of Seiji's girlfriend. But since the head is still there, the mystery now for me is why there's a neck cut. Hmmmmm . . . .
So anywyaz, the one on the top who's handling such a business is none other than Seiji's sister:

[ NAMIE ]

SHE HAS FINALLY SHOWN UP!!! HOOOORAYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, I don't like her type of work. But she is this beautiful evil goddess with a creepy obsession on her little brother (It's so obvious with the way she says Seiji's name and on how she spoils him!)
She is the evil like Izaya. She's my favorite female character in fact. And yeah, I ship her with my favorite guy in the series. They haven't interacted yet, but they're VERY shippable. They make a crazy couple if ever they'll really be one, but oh those two together are so awesome together. Hahahahah!

[ NEXT EPISODE ]

SHIZU-CHAN'S TURN???? YESSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!
AND WE'LL BE SEEING THOSE TWO IN THEIR HIGH SCHOOL DAYS!!!!!!!!!! YESSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!
AND THEY ARE HAVING AN ACTUAL BATTLE!!!!!!! YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YOUNG SHINRA'S ALSO THERE!!!!!!!!! YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Waaaaahhh . . . . .I wanna see this soon *_*

[Novel Review] The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1)

I picked this up mainly because the cover is suggesting that it's some sort of dark fantasy novel. The mysterious cloaked guy in it made me even more intrigued with it.

I saw it on sale, so I bought it at once. The sequel was also for sale, but I decided not to buy that one as well because it has been sort of my rule to not buy sequels unless I've read their preceding books. So I didn't.

Thank goodness I made the right decision. The first book was a failure.

The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1)
by John Flanagan

He had always wanted to be a warrior. The Rangers, with their dark cloaks and shadowy ways, made him nervous. The villagers believe the Rangers practice magic that makes them invisible to ordinary people. And now fifteen year-old Will, always small for his age, has been chosen as a Ranger's apprentice. What he doesn't realize yet is that the Rangers are the protectors of the kingdom. Highly trained in the skills of battle and surveillance, they fight the battles before the battles reach the people. And as Will is about to learn, there is a large battle brewing. The exiled Morgarath, Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night, is gathering his forces for an attack on the kingdom. This time, he will not be denied . . .

Well, it was indeed a dark fantasy novel. Or rather it tries hard to be one. The only dark elements here are the main villains . . . but they don't seem as threatening as how the novel tries so hard to make them seem. After all, it didn't take too many chapters to defeat those creatures. We haven't heard much about the mastermind around the end either. The introduction of the cast, the training days and the moments with the little fights and stuff took more chapters than the actual adventure. And that's what made the novel so freakin' boring.

It's slow-paced, I get it. There's totally nothing wrong with that. But detailing almost everything that was done during the training (or what happened during their school life), and mentioning how each particular training had enhanced a particular skill is just a waste of sentences and paragraphs. The book didn't only waste its pages on that. For some reason it also loves to emphasize on how freakin' talented the main character and his friends are. They are all the best on what they're good at (e.g. the girl who loves to cook is so freakin' good that even the palace chef admired her greatly. And of course, she's better than the other cooks. Of course.)

And of course, the main character is freakin' exceptional and special. Yes, there's this little twist of him excelling in something different from what he thought he wanted. But after discovering it, he turns out to be a natural. And yeah, even though he was new to the spy thing, he managed to rescue a friend, who's supposed to be the fighter between them, and he also managed to save important people and the whole kingdom in fact. He's the hero. It's all him. All him. The amateur was better than those characters who are supposedly the more talented and experienced one. But the main character has to receive all the glory in this adventure. He has to be as great as possible. Oh that's so terrific....

Ah, another character complain. One of the main characters is supposed to be a knight prodigy since he's a natural on the swordfights and all. However, he couldn't handle the three big bullies, because it was three-against-one. But if it's one-on-one he won't have a problem in dealing with them . . . even if he's very badly injured. And he's considered a prodigy . . . riiiiight. But as if it's always one-on-one in real battle. The real skillful warrior can handle a number of weaklings with no sweat. This is a fantasy adventure novel after all. They fight monsters so puny enemies shouldn't have been a problem. *sighs* I acknowledge that author's attempt to make an extremely talented character not to be as perfect as he seems . . . . but the result was a failure.

If characterization is already horrible, the development on the relationships isn't anything better. Especially the romance, because it just happened for the sake of the leading character having a love interest. It went as far as a kiss at that moment but before that, they didn't interact much . . . nor do we see them having a special connection/interaction except for the fact that they've been friends longer than the others.*bangs head on the wall* The interesting bond perhaps is between the main character and his master/teacher. The master seemed cold or indifferent at first but as days go by they slowly warm up to each other. It was a cute development. However, at times it creeps me out when the main character becomes overjoyed when he sees his master smile. I know it's because his master rarely shows emotions and he likes the guy being proud of him . . . but still . . . to be THAT happy everytime it happens . . . for some reason it makes me have wild imaginations . . ..

The only thing, or person rather, that I actually appreciated is the apprentice before the main character, whose name I forgot (starts with a "G" if I remember correctly). He only get to do something cool very briefly . . .he even failed in it. The "rule" of the main character always being better has to be followed. Ugh. Well, anyway, what I liked about him was that he was fun. He's the one who jokes a bit (the other jokes try to be cool but are actually lame. But this guy is indeed lame, and that's what made him funny for me). So in other words, he didn't bore me, unlike the rest of the cast . . . who are all uninteresting. *yawns*.

Overall, it was extremely boring. I was absolutely not pleased on its strategy in wasting pages. It fails in suspense and plot twists as well, because they're so expected and some are delayed on purpose though the answer's already so obvious. The characterizations and character/relationship development gave me the most headaches. Even if it had the friendship love that I adore so much . . . but the best friend pair in this one is so dull to me. I'm so disappointed that this book is just your typical fantasy adventure novel . . . and it wasn't as interesting as it seemed to me.

I admit that this book isn't that horrible. but it's nowhere near great at all. Maybe the succeeding books have improved, but I don't want to take the risk. There are many other interesting books in my to-read list.

If you just want to read a YA fantasy adventure novel, this isn't a bad choice. But if you want something different and exciting, pick a different one for this will just disappoint, in my opinion. Novels are meant to save an avid reader from boredom, not make them bored and sleepy.

D (DAMN HORRIBLE! What a complete waste of time!)
It really wasn't that horrible but it's so boring and typical . . . definitely a waste of time. I regret reading it.
2 Hearts ---> DISLIKE
It was disappointing, but nothing particularly annoyed the hell out of me.