Another Asian Entertainment Post
So, when one is on vacation in the middle of Japan, what does one normally do? Why, watch anime and read manga, of course. ;P Amanda, Katee, and I did other things, too, and I'll post about those later, but I wanted to get caught up with everything I've read/watched since I've last updated.
Over Christmas, people posted a bunch of chapters of various manga that I'm reading online. It was great! :D I have now caught up with Bleach. That's really not a manga that I should have stopped reading in the middle of a big fight. I kind of forgot how far into the fight I was and almost had to start at the beginning of it to find where I ended. I did, however, enjoy the insertion of the deux de machina. It was great seeing some of the other people, though one of my favorite people (Hitsugaya) didn't show up. :( I am also now not able to see Kenpachi without thinking of the fanart done by telophase (it's highly amusing and traumatizing at the same time...). Oh, and Nel rocks! Turns out she was a former high-ranking bad guy who really didn't like to fight and when another bad guy tried to kill her, she turned into a little child with amnesia. She regains her powers when Ichigo is hurt trying to protect her, and it's awesome! Sadly, the last chapter ended with fighting still occurring, so hopefully I remember to keep reading it, or else I might forget where I am.
I also got to read another volume of Wallflower/Perfect Girl Evolution, and I've now read through Volume 16. I don't have too much to comment on it, though I did notice that Sunako is staying less in her chibi form and she's having less nosebleeds.
Someone was nice enough to post 40(!) chapters of Skip Beat. I believe I'm now caught up to where it currently is in Japan. Hee. A lot happened, though I won't do spoilers as I know meganbmoore is reading it. I really enjoy the parts where they're acting in the drama. I love the intensity and how they become different people during that time. I'm also enjoying how the manager is totally shipping Kyoko and Ren. It makes me giggle, especially because Ren knows the manager is shipping them and he does what he can to frustrate the manager in that effort. Oh, and learning some about Ren's past was interesting, too.
Now that I'm caught up with all of the manga that I've been faithfully following, me thinks I need something else to read. Hmm...
On to anime. Amanda, Katee, and I started watching Samurai Champloo. I think we watched nine or ten episodes. Both of them had seen the whole series, but I had only seen random episodes that Amanda had shown me. I've had it on my computer for a couple of months, but I just hadn't gotten motived to watch it. It was entertaining, and I think I'll save it for when I'm wanting/needing a good laugh.
When we returned from Tokyo, instead of finishing Samurai Champloo, we decided to start Death Note as Katee had the first ten episodes on her computer. It got to the point where we were using both her computer and my computer to download the episodes so we could keep up with the binging we were doing. We ended up finishing all 37 episodes (though Amanda wasn't able to watch the last four with us). It was a decent anime, though it did start dragging towards the end. It would definitely have been a lot better if the story had ended sooner. When Katee and I were discussing how the anime would end, we figured it couldn't end without being really FUBARed, so we concluded that it would end either with Light (the protagonist) killing everyone who knew he was the enemy they were searching for and taking over the world as Kira or with him being randomly hit by a car. We were rooting for the second option, but sadly, it didn't happen. I was happy, however, that it did end with the truth about Light being known and him dying. I did not like Light (and I highly doubt most people do). He starts out meaning well with how he's using the Death Note, but within a few episodes, he's already turned basically evil and is a bastard. All of us were rooting for him to be killed. There was also a "WTF" moment in one of the later episodes where it seemed like the animators decided to give in to the whims of the fangirls and have a completely random scene that totally slashed L/Light. It was quite disturbing, though we had fun mocking it. I have to say, L was definitely my favorite character. Who wouldn't like a reclusive genius who eats only sweets, sits strangely, is a pro at tennis, and is decent at fighting? He was very entertaining, and the interaction between him and Light was interesting to watch. And, what was up with killing L? That pissed all of us off as he was our favorite character. I was surprised, however, that more of the minor characters weren't killed. I kept expecting them to die in each episode.
Here's the opening credits from the second half of the anime:
I now want an icon from those credits of L spinning in his chair. Oh, and here's a video that shows clips of L from the anime and live action movies (L's the one in a white shirt, jeans, and bare feet):
After Amanda and Katee had left, I decided to watch a drama. Sadly, since all of my bookmarks randomly disappeared, my list of potential dramas disappeared, too. However, I did remember one that I thought might be interesting, so I downloaded the first episode to try it. I ended up speed downloading the rest of it and watched it in less than three days. (I have a feeling if I had been alone this break, I would have watched a lot of dramas...) I found this drama because of Fukada Kyoko, the actress from Kamikaze Girls and Remote. It's called Yama Onna, Kabe Onna (Mountain Woman, Wall Woman). Here's the synopsis of it:
Megumi is a top sales person at the handbag section of a department store. Many people admire, and sometimes even envy, Megumi for her beauty and outstanding skills to sell products to customers. However, Megumi secretly suffers from a complex: she is flat-chested and was once nicknamed "kabe onna" (wall woman) by her former classmate. One day, a new sales person named Marie joins Megumi's department. Unlike Megumi, Marie is extremely busty as if she's carrying mounds (yama) on her chest. On top of her great bosoms, Marie also has her own special way of effortlessly selling the products to the customers. Though feeling a little threatened by Marie at first, Megumi soon realizes that they have more things in common than anybody else: they both take pride in their career and dedicate themselves to helping their customers. Through numerous obstacles, Megumi and Marie foster special friendships with each other.
While the main plot is about the two main women, the pride they take in their job, and the trials they go through and the message of being comfortable with yourself and that sometimes the best thing for you is right in front of you, it's really about boobs. Seriously, I don't think I've ever seen that many cleavage shots in my life. However, it was done in such a way that it wasn't degrading, which was nice. While the show was not pure crack (which I wouldn't have been able to handle), it was silly, but not too silly. Oh, and it also had a regional dialect in it, which was cool. I was able to notice how some of the more common words that I know were said differently when certain characters were talking. I was also amused when, towards the end of the drama, the main girl (Kabe Onna) had received three proposals from four different men (the company president for his son (the store director), the assistant floor director, the store director, and the childhood friend). Her coworkers started betting on which guy she would choose or whether she'd reject them all and go to France. I enjoyed it, though I'm still amazed that I watched this drama. Here's the last scene/ending credits of the first episode. It's not subbed, but the conversation is basically the guy noticing the difference in "size" of the two women, and he calls them "Yama Onna" and "Kabe Onna", and then says bye to "Kabe Onna". Oh, and you know it's true love when your childhood teases you about your chest size in front of all of your coworkers. ;P
Because of one of the ladies I stalk, I have now started watching a kdrama (which is currently airing) called Hong Gil Dong. It's basically a Korean Robin Hood. The first episode was entertaining, but it was very cracky, and I'm not sure I can handle that for 24 episodes. It's a "period" drama, and it's making me giggle with the clothes (especially the hats!). Oh, and there were glow sticks and fog machines in the brothel! It's also very jarring to hear Korean instead of Japanese. It was hard enough in America going back and forth between the two languages when watching dramas, but now that I'm here in Japan and hearing Japanese all the time, it's even worse. Here's a couple of trailers for it:
The first one (which is short)
The second, longer one
As I don't do screencaps, I will give you links to a journal which lovingly provides them:
http://dangermousie.livejournal.com/1050937.html#cutid1
http://dangermousie.livejournal.com/1055269.html#cutid1
I am now debating what I should watch now, or even if I should start something seeing as I might not go to bed as early as I should, especially since I'm still feeling sick. Hmm...I'll have to think about it. Oh, and I also hope someone subs the two episode Nodame Cantabile special soon...
Over Christmas, people posted a bunch of chapters of various manga that I'm reading online. It was great! :D I have now caught up with Bleach. That's really not a manga that I should have stopped reading in the middle of a big fight. I kind of forgot how far into the fight I was and almost had to start at the beginning of it to find where I ended. I did, however, enjoy the insertion of the deux de machina. It was great seeing some of the other people, though one of my favorite people (Hitsugaya) didn't show up. :( I am also now not able to see Kenpachi without thinking of the fanart done by telophase (it's highly amusing and traumatizing at the same time...). Oh, and Nel rocks! Turns out she was a former high-ranking bad guy who really didn't like to fight and when another bad guy tried to kill her, she turned into a little child with amnesia. She regains her powers when Ichigo is hurt trying to protect her, and it's awesome! Sadly, the last chapter ended with fighting still occurring, so hopefully I remember to keep reading it, or else I might forget where I am.
I also got to read another volume of Wallflower/Perfect Girl Evolution, and I've now read through Volume 16. I don't have too much to comment on it, though I did notice that Sunako is staying less in her chibi form and she's having less nosebleeds.
Someone was nice enough to post 40(!) chapters of Skip Beat. I believe I'm now caught up to where it currently is in Japan. Hee. A lot happened, though I won't do spoilers as I know meganbmoore is reading it. I really enjoy the parts where they're acting in the drama. I love the intensity and how they become different people during that time. I'm also enjoying how the manager is totally shipping Kyoko and Ren. It makes me giggle, especially because Ren knows the manager is shipping them and he does what he can to frustrate the manager in that effort. Oh, and learning some about Ren's past was interesting, too.
Now that I'm caught up with all of the manga that I've been faithfully following, me thinks I need something else to read. Hmm...
On to anime. Amanda, Katee, and I started watching Samurai Champloo. I think we watched nine or ten episodes. Both of them had seen the whole series, but I had only seen random episodes that Amanda had shown me. I've had it on my computer for a couple of months, but I just hadn't gotten motived to watch it. It was entertaining, and I think I'll save it for when I'm wanting/needing a good laugh.
When we returned from Tokyo, instead of finishing Samurai Champloo, we decided to start Death Note as Katee had the first ten episodes on her computer. It got to the point where we were using both her computer and my computer to download the episodes so we could keep up with the binging we were doing. We ended up finishing all 37 episodes (though Amanda wasn't able to watch the last four with us). It was a decent anime, though it did start dragging towards the end. It would definitely have been a lot better if the story had ended sooner. When Katee and I were discussing how the anime would end, we figured it couldn't end without being really FUBARed, so we concluded that it would end either with Light (the protagonist) killing everyone who knew he was the enemy they were searching for and taking over the world as Kira or with him being randomly hit by a car. We were rooting for the second option, but sadly, it didn't happen. I was happy, however, that it did end with the truth about Light being known and him dying. I did not like Light (and I highly doubt most people do). He starts out meaning well with how he's using the Death Note, but within a few episodes, he's already turned basically evil and is a bastard. All of us were rooting for him to be killed. There was also a "WTF" moment in one of the later episodes where it seemed like the animators decided to give in to the whims of the fangirls and have a completely random scene that totally slashed L/Light. It was quite disturbing, though we had fun mocking it. I have to say, L was definitely my favorite character. Who wouldn't like a reclusive genius who eats only sweets, sits strangely, is a pro at tennis, and is decent at fighting? He was very entertaining, and the interaction between him and Light was interesting to watch. And, what was up with killing L? That pissed all of us off as he was our favorite character. I was surprised, however, that more of the minor characters weren't killed. I kept expecting them to die in each episode.
Here's the opening credits from the second half of the anime:
Click to viewI now want an icon from those credits of L spinning in his chair. Oh, and here's a video that shows clips of L from the anime and live action movies (L's the one in a white shirt, jeans, and bare feet):
After Amanda and Katee had left, I decided to watch a drama. Sadly, since all of my bookmarks randomly disappeared, my list of potential dramas disappeared, too. However, I did remember one that I thought might be interesting, so I downloaded the first episode to try it. I ended up speed downloading the rest of it and watched it in less than three days. (I have a feeling if I had been alone this break, I would have watched a lot of dramas...) I found this drama because of Fukada Kyoko, the actress from Kamikaze Girls and Remote. It's called Yama Onna, Kabe Onna (Mountain Woman, Wall Woman). Here's the synopsis of it:
Megumi is a top sales person at the handbag section of a department store. Many people admire, and sometimes even envy, Megumi for her beauty and outstanding skills to sell products to customers. However, Megumi secretly suffers from a complex: she is flat-chested and was once nicknamed "kabe onna" (wall woman) by her former classmate. One day, a new sales person named Marie joins Megumi's department. Unlike Megumi, Marie is extremely busty as if she's carrying mounds (yama) on her chest. On top of her great bosoms, Marie also has her own special way of effortlessly selling the products to the customers. Though feeling a little threatened by Marie at first, Megumi soon realizes that they have more things in common than anybody else: they both take pride in their career and dedicate themselves to helping their customers. Through numerous obstacles, Megumi and Marie foster special friendships with each other.
While the main plot is about the two main women, the pride they take in their job, and the trials they go through and the message of being comfortable with yourself and that sometimes the best thing for you is right in front of you, it's really about boobs. Seriously, I don't think I've ever seen that many cleavage shots in my life. However, it was done in such a way that it wasn't degrading, which was nice. While the show was not pure crack (which I wouldn't have been able to handle), it was silly, but not too silly. Oh, and it also had a regional dialect in it, which was cool. I was able to notice how some of the more common words that I know were said differently when certain characters were talking. I was also amused when, towards the end of the drama, the main girl (Kabe Onna) had received three proposals from four different men (the company president for his son (the store director), the assistant floor director, the store director, and the childhood friend). Her coworkers started betting on which guy she would choose or whether she'd reject them all and go to France. I enjoyed it, though I'm still amazed that I watched this drama. Here's the last scene/ending credits of the first episode. It's not subbed, but the conversation is basically the guy noticing the difference in "size" of the two women, and he calls them "Yama Onna" and "Kabe Onna", and then says bye to "Kabe Onna". Oh, and you know it's true love when your childhood teases you about your chest size in front of all of your coworkers. ;P
Because of one of the ladies I stalk, I have now started watching a kdrama (which is currently airing) called Hong Gil Dong. It's basically a Korean Robin Hood. The first episode was entertaining, but it was very cracky, and I'm not sure I can handle that for 24 episodes. It's a "period" drama, and it's making me giggle with the clothes (especially the hats!). Oh, and there were glow sticks and fog machines in the brothel! It's also very jarring to hear Korean instead of Japanese. It was hard enough in America going back and forth between the two languages when watching dramas, but now that I'm here in Japan and hearing Japanese all the time, it's even worse. Here's a couple of trailers for it:
The first one (which is short)
The second, longer one
As I don't do screencaps, I will give you links to a journal which lovingly provides them:
http://dangermousie.livejournal.com/1050937.html#cutid1
http://dangermousie.livejournal.com/1055269.html#cutid1
I am now debating what I should watch now, or even if I should start something seeing as I might not go to bed as early as I should, especially since I'm still feeling sick. Hmm...I'll have to think about it. Oh, and I also hope someone subs the two episode Nodame Cantabile special soon...