(no subject)
Here's a reminder that this girl/lady named luna_meow is still alive wooo~ It's a shame that I'm no longer active in LJ and don't contact my LJ friends anymore because I'm awkward ;_;.
Small updates: I got a new job! I'm currently a clerk in Johor Bahru and I've been working there since April. The first few months really sucked because I had to deal with a broken arm (it happened a few days after my last entry haha so sad), living away from my husband, having a whole lot of things to learn (in which I often fail fantastically lol), having to take care of myself.
Now my arm is almost fully healed (there are limits of how high I can raise/stretch the broken arm, and it's noticeably shorter), I can lift heavy things using both arms, I'm still away from my husband but it's okay since I come home almost every week and we call each other every single day :D The topic always starts off with the same thing, like, "How are you? What are you doing? What are you eating?" but I end up telling all sorts of things, including some of the things I did and where I'm about to go or have gone to.
Okay, I'll stop ranting about myself. There's a longer rant under the cut soon, and it's about my new favourite fandom Daiya no Ace.
So I started Daiya no A, also known as Diamond no Ace or Ace of Diamond, a baseball anime/manga about a boy named Sawamura Eijun, who plays baseball despite knowing almost nothing about the rules, who turned out to have unlimited hidden potentials as a pitcher (and he doesn't even know it). He goes to Seidou High School, a prestigious school known for its baseball team, even though the real reason is that he wants his pitches to be caught by one Miyuki Kazuya, a boy one year senior who opened his eyes about playing baseball there when he goes to the school for a tour.
Well, it turns out that Eijun lacks in so many things in baseball: poor pitching form, poor fielding skills, poor ball control, poor batting skills, poor academic scores, the list goes on and on. Even though he announces to everyone that he will be Seidou's ace, the lack of his skills just tells everyone that, "Nope, he's not gonna be ace, not when he's so stupid," so Eijun accepts the challenge and improves himself to become a better pitcher and maybe, a full-fledged baseball player so that he can be the team's ace before he graduates... or better yet, before Kazuya graduates.
So the basic premise is how a boy who barely knows anything about baseball goes all the way to become the most fearsome and respected pitcher in his school. Nationally? That, we're going to find out in about 200+ chapters? lol
The things I love about Daiya no A is definitely the characters. First of all, almost no Daiya fan can resist the sunshine boy known as Eijun; he may be stupid and lacks so many things, but he's determined, cheerful, is the team's mood maker, and is basically the miracle that Seidou needs because the boy can change the flow of the game from being disadvantageous to winning. There are times when he fails, and there are times when he breaks, but he manages to recover and do it fast, and becomes a lot stronger when he does.
Kazuya is the ikemen of the team, but despite that he has a very nasty personality. Apparently he develops his twisted persona as a defense mechanism for everything involving his personal life, but that does not stop anyone from going, "Hnnnnnnnnnngh," over his features because he's oh so beautiful lol. As a catcher who handles Seidou's main pitchers, his personal favourite is Eijun and he, despite his persona, always watches Eijun's growth and helps the boy his own way.
And then there's Furuya Satoru, Eijun's pitching rival. Unlike Eijun who barely knows about baseball, Furuya already has the talent and skills, he just needs to improve them while Eijun has to start from scratch. Furuya has a surprisingly sad background - he wants somewhere to belong because he has no friends, he doesn't know how to make friends, and his "friends" shunned him due to being an overly powerful pitcher. He, like Eijun, also wants Kazuya to catch his pitches so this ends up as a funny yet pretty healthy rivalry between the two.
Other than that we also have Kominato Haruichi, a girl-like boy nicknamed "Harucchi" by Eijun who has his eyes covered with his bang, but is pretty fierce when it comes to batting. Kanemaru Shinji, Eijun's classmate who monitors all of Eijun's activities in classes and Eijun's lab rat for pitching practices. Toujou Hideaki, Kanemaru's friend who used to be a pitcher. Kariba Wataru, a reserve catcher for Eijun's pitching practices. All these are Eijun's fellow batchmates.
Do I need to add other characters? Yep. Takigawa Chris Yuu, an American-Japanese senior who Eijun worships admires very much despite a bad start between them. Yuuki Tetsuya, the former invincible Captain who sucks at shougi. Isashiki Jun, a delinquent-like guy who's into shoujo manga. Kominato Ryosuke, Haruichi's older brother with narrow eyes and nasty personality (nastier than Kazuya's). Tanba Koichiro, the former ace of Seido who shaved his head bald after losing a game. Masuko Toru, a power batter who eats a little too much. Miyauchi Keisuke, a catcher who doesn't hesitate to touch a pitcher's "balls" (if you know what I mean). These are the 3rd years I can remember.
Of course, from Kazuya's batch we have Kuramochi Yoichi, a former yankee with cheetah legs. Kawakami Norifumi, a somewhat timid pitcher with chubby cheeks. Shirasu Kenjiro, a guy who's almost always forgotten. Maezono Kenta, a big-bodied power hitter who makes funny faces when he tries to hit. Asou Takeru, the guy whose achievements are almost always forgotten because he complains too much. Yamaguchi Ken, the guy who loves body-building? Watanabe Hisashi, the keen-eyed scout.
Okay, that's all for the characters. Moving on.
The plot is actually too slow for a baseball manga focusing on one's growth - it takes 9 years to finish 412 chapters and it's only Part 1 and that was Eijun's whole first year in Seidou High. Now we're into Part 2 and we only have 9 chapters running and Eijun starts his second year playing in a big championship which is the Invitational Championship; also known as the Senbatsu and the Spring Koshien (as it's held in Koshien Stadium)... or not. Like really, he only plays in one game, the team lost in their 4th game when this post is written. Eijun does have his glorious moment though; in his debut in Senbatsu as a relief pitcher, he messes up his footing and stumbles down the mound. Yeah, this happens in his first pitch. Even Kazuya, who usually doesn't show any emotions on the field, giggles uncontrollably.
And all of it happens live, on the stadium and on TV.
However, even though the plot is incredibly slow we get to see Eijun going through all challenges and hardships. I'll let you know that Eijun can be a crybaby when he thinks he's not good enough for the team, there are times when his loudness and noise die altogether because of him breaking down, and how he reflects on himself after all the breakdowns in order to move on. Reading how such a noisy and cheerful boy can become frustrated and sad brings tears to the fans, even if they dislike Eijun.
When I first started the anime many months ago I did not think of any pairing to ship, but now? I ship everyone x Eijun (Sawamura) x everyone, everyone x Kazuya (Miyuki) x everyone, and well, pretty much any pairing involving the Seidou team heheh. My OTP though is MiyuSawaMiyu, in which Eijun and Kazuya are paired as the true battery of Seidou, on and off the field because well, they are. Eijun is so fast-paced and determined when he pitches that he doesn't give his opponents any time to think of strategies, Kazuya enjoys catching all the pitches that are full of Eijun's fierce heart and soul. Together they are ruthless and merciless. The only problem with this pairing is that Kazuya, being the invincible Ice King, has his heart covered with very thick ice that it actually takes Eijun some time for it to thaw. It's yet to thaw completely since Kazuya is very stubborn, but readers know how much he loves Eijun because he keeps on gazing and smiling at the boy whenever Eijun is not looking (a term for it is the "Miyuki gaze"). Heck, when he talks about Eijun he has this adorably affectionate smile.
Of all the things I could love about Daiya no A though, one thing that I dislike is the impression of some of the negative fans, especially Furuya's haters. At first, I was one of those who dislike Furuya and want the ace number that Furuya currently holds to go to Eijun instead, but I end up asking, "How can Furuya give up the ace title? Will Eijun be happy receiving his ace number like that?" and eventually I feel like Furuya does not deserve the hate. These haters are so venomous that they want Furuya to break down, to get seriously injured, to basically break the way Eijun has experienced (or worse) that I feel that I'll be happier to see Eijun in his current uniform - number 18 - than seeing him receiving a cursed ace number. It's enough to see Tanba - the former ace - hurt his jaw in a game so making Furuya injured will only be an unneeded burden, let alone making him break down.
Besides, I don't get why do they hastily want Eijun to be the ace when his batting and outside fielding still sucks? If anything I want him to improve his batting (this is very important because this is a really good way to contribute to the team, adding to the attacking power). It doesn't have to take months; the only problem with his batting is his reaction time so obviously he needs some eye-hand coordination training. And his batting doesn't have to be so good it goes home run; as long as he can hit the ball to a good area is plenty.
Back to the nice things: I do love Daiya no A doujins and have read the scanlated ones, most of them being MiyuSawa (since I'm a sucker for these two). And then there's one doujin that I got freaked out reading, I was supposed to not remember it at all but better vent it out than keeping it in mind and shudder whenever I recall the pages. It was of Eijun x Haruichi, Haruichi is like a bitch, it was omgcreepy.
Do I want to buy the doujins? Damn, I do, but I want to spend money on saving and paying debts! ;A; So yeah, saving first, clearing debts first, then when everything is clear I'll use the money to buy everything I want... everything that is entertainment and not necessities lol.
Okay, that's all. Until next entry, which will be in... a year, again? lol
Small updates: I got a new job! I'm currently a clerk in Johor Bahru and I've been working there since April. The first few months really sucked because I had to deal with a broken arm (it happened a few days after my last entry haha so sad), living away from my husband, having a whole lot of things to learn (in which I often fail fantastically lol), having to take care of myself.
Now my arm is almost fully healed (there are limits of how high I can raise/stretch the broken arm, and it's noticeably shorter), I can lift heavy things using both arms, I'm still away from my husband but it's okay since I come home almost every week and we call each other every single day :D The topic always starts off with the same thing, like, "How are you? What are you doing? What are you eating?" but I end up telling all sorts of things, including some of the things I did and where I'm about to go or have gone to.
Okay, I'll stop ranting about myself. There's a longer rant under the cut soon, and it's about my new favourite fandom Daiya no Ace.
So I started Daiya no A, also known as Diamond no Ace or Ace of Diamond, a baseball anime/manga about a boy named Sawamura Eijun, who plays baseball despite knowing almost nothing about the rules, who turned out to have unlimited hidden potentials as a pitcher (and he doesn't even know it). He goes to Seidou High School, a prestigious school known for its baseball team, even though the real reason is that he wants his pitches to be caught by one Miyuki Kazuya, a boy one year senior who opened his eyes about playing baseball there when he goes to the school for a tour.
Well, it turns out that Eijun lacks in so many things in baseball: poor pitching form, poor fielding skills, poor ball control, poor batting skills, poor academic scores, the list goes on and on. Even though he announces to everyone that he will be Seidou's ace, the lack of his skills just tells everyone that, "Nope, he's not gonna be ace, not when he's so stupid," so Eijun accepts the challenge and improves himself to become a better pitcher and maybe, a full-fledged baseball player so that he can be the team's ace before he graduates... or better yet, before Kazuya graduates.
So the basic premise is how a boy who barely knows anything about baseball goes all the way to become the most fearsome and respected pitcher in his school. Nationally? That, we're going to find out in about 200+ chapters? lol
The things I love about Daiya no A is definitely the characters. First of all, almost no Daiya fan can resist the sunshine boy known as Eijun; he may be stupid and lacks so many things, but he's determined, cheerful, is the team's mood maker, and is basically the miracle that Seidou needs because the boy can change the flow of the game from being disadvantageous to winning. There are times when he fails, and there are times when he breaks, but he manages to recover and do it fast, and becomes a lot stronger when he does.
Kazuya is the ikemen of the team, but despite that he has a very nasty personality. Apparently he develops his twisted persona as a defense mechanism for everything involving his personal life, but that does not stop anyone from going, "Hnnnnnnnnnngh," over his features because he's oh so beautiful lol. As a catcher who handles Seidou's main pitchers, his personal favourite is Eijun and he, despite his persona, always watches Eijun's growth and helps the boy his own way.
And then there's Furuya Satoru, Eijun's pitching rival. Unlike Eijun who barely knows about baseball, Furuya already has the talent and skills, he just needs to improve them while Eijun has to start from scratch. Furuya has a surprisingly sad background - he wants somewhere to belong because he has no friends, he doesn't know how to make friends, and his "friends" shunned him due to being an overly powerful pitcher. He, like Eijun, also wants Kazuya to catch his pitches so this ends up as a funny yet pretty healthy rivalry between the two.
Other than that we also have Kominato Haruichi, a girl-like boy nicknamed "Harucchi" by Eijun who has his eyes covered with his bang, but is pretty fierce when it comes to batting. Kanemaru Shinji, Eijun's classmate who monitors all of Eijun's activities in classes and Eijun's lab rat for pitching practices. Toujou Hideaki, Kanemaru's friend who used to be a pitcher. Kariba Wataru, a reserve catcher for Eijun's pitching practices. All these are Eijun's fellow batchmates.
Do I need to add other characters? Yep. Takigawa Chris Yuu, an American-Japanese senior who Eijun worships admires very much despite a bad start between them. Yuuki Tetsuya, the former invincible Captain who sucks at shougi. Isashiki Jun, a delinquent-like guy who's into shoujo manga. Kominato Ryosuke, Haruichi's older brother with narrow eyes and nasty personality (nastier than Kazuya's). Tanba Koichiro, the former ace of Seido who shaved his head bald after losing a game. Masuko Toru, a power batter who eats a little too much. Miyauchi Keisuke, a catcher who doesn't hesitate to touch a pitcher's "balls" (if you know what I mean). These are the 3rd years I can remember.
Of course, from Kazuya's batch we have Kuramochi Yoichi, a former yankee with cheetah legs. Kawakami Norifumi, a somewhat timid pitcher with chubby cheeks. Shirasu Kenjiro, a guy who's almost always forgotten. Maezono Kenta, a big-bodied power hitter who makes funny faces when he tries to hit. Asou Takeru, the guy whose achievements are almost always forgotten because he complains too much. Yamaguchi Ken, the guy who loves body-building? Watanabe Hisashi, the keen-eyed scout.
Okay, that's all for the characters. Moving on.
The plot is actually too slow for a baseball manga focusing on one's growth - it takes 9 years to finish 412 chapters and it's only Part 1 and that was Eijun's whole first year in Seidou High. Now we're into Part 2 and we only have 9 chapters running and Eijun starts his second year playing in a big championship which is the Invitational Championship; also known as the Senbatsu and the Spring Koshien (as it's held in Koshien Stadium)... or not. Like really, he only plays in one game, the team lost in their 4th game when this post is written. Eijun does have his glorious moment though; in his debut in Senbatsu as a relief pitcher, he messes up his footing and stumbles down the mound. Yeah, this happens in his first pitch. Even Kazuya, who usually doesn't show any emotions on the field, giggles uncontrollably.
And all of it happens live, on the stadium and on TV.
However, even though the plot is incredibly slow we get to see Eijun going through all challenges and hardships. I'll let you know that Eijun can be a crybaby when he thinks he's not good enough for the team, there are times when his loudness and noise die altogether because of him breaking down, and how he reflects on himself after all the breakdowns in order to move on. Reading how such a noisy and cheerful boy can become frustrated and sad brings tears to the fans, even if they dislike Eijun.
When I first started the anime many months ago I did not think of any pairing to ship, but now? I ship everyone x Eijun (Sawamura) x everyone, everyone x Kazuya (Miyuki) x everyone, and well, pretty much any pairing involving the Seidou team heheh. My OTP though is MiyuSawaMiyu, in which Eijun and Kazuya are paired as the true battery of Seidou, on and off the field because well, they are. Eijun is so fast-paced and determined when he pitches that he doesn't give his opponents any time to think of strategies, Kazuya enjoys catching all the pitches that are full of Eijun's fierce heart and soul. Together they are ruthless and merciless. The only problem with this pairing is that Kazuya, being the invincible Ice King, has his heart covered with very thick ice that it actually takes Eijun some time for it to thaw. It's yet to thaw completely since Kazuya is very stubborn, but readers know how much he loves Eijun because he keeps on gazing and smiling at the boy whenever Eijun is not looking (a term for it is the "Miyuki gaze"). Heck, when he talks about Eijun he has this adorably affectionate smile.
Of all the things I could love about Daiya no A though, one thing that I dislike is the impression of some of the negative fans, especially Furuya's haters. At first, I was one of those who dislike Furuya and want the ace number that Furuya currently holds to go to Eijun instead, but I end up asking, "How can Furuya give up the ace title? Will Eijun be happy receiving his ace number like that?" and eventually I feel like Furuya does not deserve the hate. These haters are so venomous that they want Furuya to break down, to get seriously injured, to basically break the way Eijun has experienced (or worse) that I feel that I'll be happier to see Eijun in his current uniform - number 18 - than seeing him receiving a cursed ace number. It's enough to see Tanba - the former ace - hurt his jaw in a game so making Furuya injured will only be an unneeded burden, let alone making him break down.
Besides, I don't get why do they hastily want Eijun to be the ace when his batting and outside fielding still sucks? If anything I want him to improve his batting (this is very important because this is a really good way to contribute to the team, adding to the attacking power). It doesn't have to take months; the only problem with his batting is his reaction time so obviously he needs some eye-hand coordination training. And his batting doesn't have to be so good it goes home run; as long as he can hit the ball to a good area is plenty.
Back to the nice things: I do love Daiya no A doujins and have read the scanlated ones, most of them being MiyuSawa (since I'm a sucker for these two). And then there's one doujin that I got freaked out reading, I was supposed to not remember it at all but better vent it out than keeping it in mind and shudder whenever I recall the pages. It was of Eijun x Haruichi, Haruichi is like a bitch, it was omgcreepy.
Do I want to buy the doujins? Damn, I do, but I want to spend money on saving and paying debts! ;A; So yeah, saving first, clearing debts first, then when everything is clear I'll use the money to buy everything I want... everything that is entertainment and not necessities lol.
Okay, that's all. Until next entry, which will be in... a year, again? lol