What Does A Priest, A Novelist, And A War General All Have In Common?

Greetings, fellow readers~  (^^)/  This blog post is a bit out of the blue, but is also amusing (to me at least).  As the title states, what exactly do those three have in common?  Who am I even talking about?

The Priest: Genjo Sanzo of 'Saiyuki'

 

The Novelist: Eiri Uesugi of 'Gravitation'

 

The War General: Nakago of 'Fushigi Yuugi'

 

Let's start with the obvious: the blonde hair.  And yes, that's their real hair color too! At some point in each of their manga or anime, their hair is mentioned to be quite unnatural.  In 'Saiyuki', Sanzo's hair is referenced as being like the sun by fellow teammate Goku.  In 'Gravitation', Eiri had told Shuichi that because of his blonde hair and other foreign features, he was taken to New York for a while.  In 'Fushigi Yuugi', Nakago had explained that because his tribe had blonde hair and blue eyes they were shunned by the rest of the population. 

 

All three have a pretty cold personality towards everyone.  From icy glares to mean remarks, these three are pretty rough around the edges.  In the case of Sanzo and Eiri, it is usually one super annoying companion that irritates them to no end.  Nakago didn't seem to have anyone who truly annoyed him as he was just using everyone to get ahead in life.  However, as annoying as those people are to them, the three cared for them deeply:

 

 

Things weren't always peachy for these three.  In fact, their personalities are all due pretty much to the same traumatic experience as a child.  Because they are all so beautiful, they've all experienced some sort of sexual abuse.  I came to realize that these three have that much in common after I read a chapter of 'Saiyuki RELOAD' where we delve some more into Sanzo's past.  Let's start with him. 

"And What Did You Do Over the Summer?" Part 2

Hello, again!  Here is part two of what my summer consisted of.  This one is all about anime.  XD  This one is going to be image-heavy so I apologize for that.  There are also links within the post, so be on the lookout for them.  As a disclaimer, I found all of these images/videos with the help of both Google and Youtube.  Credit is to be given to whoever uploaded the videos and to whoever posted the pictures first.  ^^
 

First, let me say that my sister, brother and I have finally finished the Chimera Ant arc of 'HunterxHunter'.  That was one emotional arc--especially the last few episodes!  Not only did I feel so sad when characters were perishing in awful ways (and you never knew who was next) throughout the arc, I also felt bad for the bad guys too.  :(  But even though the current arc (the Zodiac arc) may be a bit calmer, there is one person that might shake you up:

 

Meet the youngest of the Zoldyck family, Alluka.  His/Her power is rather scary.  Let's just say that he/she is why there is the saying: "Be careful what you wish for".  He/She has the power to grant wishes, but in order to have yours granted, you must do three things for him/her first.  They can range from something menial like giving him/her a piggy-back ride...to giving him/her a body part of yours.  But that really depends on how large the wish of the previous person was.  Basically, the bigger the wish, the more collateral it will be for the next person.  And if you don't fulfill any of Alluka's request by his/her fourth one, well...you (and maybe a few of your loved ones) will become a bloody mess.

 

I believe the highlight of my anime spazzing for this summer would be the amount of otome-based ones I watched:

 

Hakuouki

'Hakuoki: The Demon of the Fleeting Blossom' is probably the start of my spiral into otome madness.  My sister had seen the series before me and loved it so much that she bought it all.  She then bought the PS3 game.  Never would I have thought I'd also love it so much.  This anime/game is based loosley on the famous group, the Shinsengumi.  I believe they're quite a popular theme in some other anime like 'Rurouni Kenshin', 'Peacemaker', and 'Gintama'.  Because this is an otome-based anime, it is reverse-harem.  That means one girl has multiple guys who like her.  And in the game, you have make choices that will put you on a route for whichever man you want to be with.  All the guys you see up there?  Those are your choices.  ^^  I've already completed one route, and his was so good.  Now I'm working on another, and I'm enjoying it.  Now, when I watched the series with my sister and played the game, there was one of the six that totally caught my eye and is now categorized as a "life-ruiner".  His name is Heisuke Toudou: 

You may have seen my previous entry about him.  In history he was the eighth captain of the Shinsengumi and their youngest squadron leader.  I'm not too sure what attracted me to him, but now whenever he shows up on screen I either say "Bae!" or "It's boo thang!"  XD  I played his route first, and I.  LOVED.  IT.  He was way too sweet to me--I mean the protagonist.      

 

Amnesia

'Amnesia' tells the tale of a girl who awakes to find out she doesn't remember anything about herself.  She is befriended by a fairy named Orion (who is just adorable) and he tells her that as a result of accidentally bumping into her soul he caused her memory loss.  Thus, he is willing to help her retrieve it.  Once again, my sister first watched this series and liked it alot, so she bought it.  As this is also a game, you have five guys (pictured above) to choose from and go their route of the game.  The games aren't availabe in English, but I hope they will be so I can play it.  And I have an idea of who's route I want to start with first:



His name is Ikkyu, but he prefers Ikki.  As you can see, he is supposed to represent the Spade in the deck of cards.  The general idea of his route is that he is supposedly a total womanizer with a fanclub.  Due to a wish he made when he was little to be more liked, he has these 'special eyes' that when a woman looks into them, they fall in love with him.  In the beginning, he takes dating (and love in general) to be a game as he has a limit on how long he dates women (three months), but the protagonist will change that...  ^^  Every time I saw him come on screen, and due to his personality I kept on thinking that Kpop group GOT7's song 'Girls' would fit him just nicely.

 

La Corda D'Oro

This one is all about classical music.  The story is about a girl who attends a school primarily for musicians in the making, but she is there for general studies.  She then befriends a fairy of music named Lily who gives her a magical violin.  Now...the girl doesn't know how to play at all, but when she is using that particular violin, she can bust out with 'Concierto for Violin' with no problem.  XD  That is probably why she is taken interest in by five guys.  Each of them play a different instrument: violin, flute, trumpet, piano, and cello--and they are really good in their field...which makes the main girl feel bad because she's not a true musician.  I haven't really watched it all from the beginning, so it is quite difficult for me to form a better review.  But I can tell you that this one really made me consider if I should learn an instrument.  A violin is looking pretty cool about now, or even the cello.  XD  There is another season with different characters called 'La Corda D'Oro ~Blue Sky~' in which the main girl actually knows how to play the violin, but due to something that happened to her in the past, she doesn't play to her fullest.  The picture above are your options in the games, and (as usual) if I ever get the chance to play I'm not sure who I'd want to choose.  Probably this guy:

This is Kazuki Hihara, and he plays the trumpet.  As I haven't watched the anime all the way through, I'm not sure much about his personality.  But looking at this picture, I am led to believe that he has a bright personality.  And I'm all for that.  ^^

 

"And What Did You Do Over The Summer?" Part 1

Greetings, fellow readers!  It's been a good while, hasn't it?  I really need better titles for my posts.  .__.  And the fact that they're becoming so far and few is becoming a problem.  Anyhoo, let's get to some topics! 

Living the child's dream
Two words: DISNEY WORLD.  That is the main highlight of my summer, and I loved every minute of it.  My family and I spent a wonderful week visiting the Orlando area.  I in particular visited Epcot (twice), Magic Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios.  Though the weather was unruly and the lines were super long at every park I went to I didn't let it thwart me.  I was determined to explore every inch of each of the parks.  Unfortunately, you'd probably need a day and a half to get through everything.  Epcot was the main place I had in mind due to walking through all the 'countries'.  And of course I went ham in the Japan part of the park.  While in Magic Kingdom my main goal was to at least see Mickey Mouse in the flesh.  That almost didn't happen as it stormed pretty bad while we were there.  I kind of felt bad for making a sour face when it was looking like I might have to leave on account of a little rain (it was actually coming down in buckets), but some of our family stuck it out and waited for it to let up a little...and I got to see my favorite Disney character in the flesh.  It was so exciting!  \(^__^)/  Though it's quite an expensive place, it was nice to see families having a good time.  I hope to one day visit again so I can see the things I missed...and to buy this again:

 

Lucky #7 for TVXQ; Magical #3 for KAT-TUN
About this time of year seven years ago, I became a fan of uber popular Kpop group, TVXQ.  It was thanks to them that I was able to expand from anime and Jpop and get into Kpop.  Though fangirling them as a complete group was short-lived (as they broke up two years later) I still to this day continue to be generally OT5 (a supporter of all five).  Hopefully as this is the seventh year I've been their fan, something good will happen...  I feel it's heading that direction as the members are beginning to talk about each other in a discreet way.  Also, about three years ago I got back into the Jpop scene thanks to KAT-TUN.  And even though at that time they didn't have Jin, I was (and still am) very much supportive of 6nin.  Since three is considered a magical number, I also hope for good things for them too.  And so, I shall end by saying once again Happy 7th and Happy 3rd Anniversary to my two bias groups in Kpop and Jpop.  It's a shame I didn't get to see them perform when they were complete groups, but I shall try my hardest to continue to fangirl over both groups as if nothing has ever happened to them.  ^^

 

 As one of my delusions of grandeur there was a time when KAT-TUN had hosted a fairly long-running television show called 'Cartoon KAT-TUN'.  To this day, I keep wondering how awesomely epic it would have been to see TVXQ as guests on their show.  Can you imagine the terrible gags both Junnosuke and Junsu would do?  And how everyone else would react?  Or each group trying to sing the other's song?  Or just the topics they might talk about?  It really would've been a sight to behold.  ;A;  I know that some did meet each other on music shows, and that was good too, so I guess I'll just have to suffice with that. 

Anyhoo, until next time~!  (^__^)/



Been A Long While

Greetings!  It has been a long while since I've last posted an entry, hasn't it?  Most of the reason is sheer laziness.  But I've also been considering whether or not to actually keep up with this blog.  Seeing as there isn't many commenters, I'm not sure if I could continue.  We'll just have to see, huh?  Anyway, on to the topics!

E3 excitement
Earlier this week (and throughout it) was an event very important to video gamers everywhere.  It's called the Electronic Entartainment Event or E3.  For those who are unaware, it is a yearly event showcasing the latest in video gaming.  Monday and Tuesday were the press conference days for all the consoles and major production companies like Ubisoft and such.  This year, I decided to try and watch as much as I could.  Many of the games weren't my forte' (too many 'M' games), but I'm sure that many were excited to see trailers for long-awaited games as well as some gameplay.  The conference I looked forward to the most was PlayStation and Nintendo's, but I missed out on the latter.  And, as usal, I am always eager to see what Sqare Enix brings to the table...but I missed out on their presentation!  OTL  Maybe next year I'll manage to watch the everyone's conferences. 

How bizarre...
I started playing an otome (Japanese "dating" game) a few days ago, and managed to finish it just recently.  It is called 'Hakuouki' (various spelling is 'Hakuoki') and there are various games in the series.  It also has an anime which I watched before playing the game.  It is loosely based off of the famous Shinsengumi in Japan, and is quite popular.



credit: Otome Junkie

 

The dubbing is so-so, but I must admit that the guys on the show are very handsome.  I honestly didn't think I'd get into this show as bad as I have.  I blame my sister...  =__=  Anyway, as with all otome games your ultimate goal is choose a guy and get into a relationship with him.  All of them are good-looking, ne?  So, you could see my dilemma.  I do have a few favorites; however, I decided upon my first choice from this show, Heisuke Toudou.

 

 Captain of the 8th division of the Shinsengumi as well as the youngest...he's just so adorable.  And when he get's his hair cut (as shown below)...whew!  =^__^= 

 

 

I really did enjoy going his route in the game--after a few "difficulties".  Lately, it's been him and Son Goku of 'Gensoumaden Saiyuki' that I've been quite interested in these days.  I suppose I really would like to draw them with an original character of mine that I tend to stylize for that character.  I'm notorious for that.  XD  Anyway, I recommend you checking out the anime or the video games if you're into a little romance.  Goodness, I'm curious as to what the other guys' routes are like in the game.  Time to find out, I suppose. 

 

Well, that is all for the day.  Until next time~!  ^__^  

 

'Mi Mi' Review & Happy 8th, KAT-TUN!!

My feels!!
Though this drama is only four episodes long, 'Mi Mi' really struck a chord in me I suppose. *le sigh*

"Is there a certain period of time you'd want to go back to?"


credit: Wikipedia

The story is about a webtoon artist named Han Minwoo who is having trouble trying to remember his first love from high school.  But that's not the only thing!  The very same thing that he's searching for is actually haunting him...  This mini drama switches between the past and the present, and shows you the happiness and pain of having a first love.  Changmin was cast in this drama to act as both the young and older Minwoo while Moon Gayoung was cast to play his high school sweetheart, Mimi.  Watch as the love story between these two unfold.

I was really intrigued by this drama.  I really loved the fact that it had the subject matter of art put into it, as I can relate.  This was sort of a downer drama for me though, as it just seemed to get more depressing with each episode.  At the same time I was thinking: "Darn it!  How awesome would it have been to experience a first love like that in an art room...with Changmin."  >///<  Eh, what can you do?  In a press conference, he made mention that if he could go back in time, he'd want to go to his middle school years to meet many girls.  I guess that would also be a good time period for me too as I'd want to fix some things in my life as well.  :o  How about you, fellow readers?  Is there a period of time you wish to go back to?

Happy 8th Anniversary, KAT-TUN
As of March 22, 2014, KAT-TUN will have officially debuted for eight years.  Of course they've been out longer than that.  The members have made quite a name for themselves, and I'm really glad that they're still well-loved in the fandom (for the most part).  Though they've gone from six members to four, I will continue to support each and every one of them.  I do hope they will keep doing what they love and I shall do my best to keep fangirling them along the way. 

 

Well, until next time~!  (^__^)/

Happy Valentine's Day!

Greetings, fellow readers!  Today is February 14th.  It is a holiday that is known all over the world--Valentine's Day.  A little history lesson:  There was a time in the Roman empire where marriages were banned.  One man who is now named Saint Valentine was imprisoned for helping couples to get married.  But even while he was in there, he was still marrying off people using heart-shaped leaves (I believe).  Unfortunately, he was beheaded.  :(  But that's how we got this loving holiday.

A day where couples get together to enjoy each other's company at the very least.  Most buy their loved ones chocolate, teddy bears, or jewelry on this day, so I'd imagine that those industries see a good amount of money come in.  ^^  In Japan and S. Korea, women will give the guy they like chocolate with handmade ones signifying that she really likes you.  It's all in hopes that they will recieve the same thing one month later on White Day.  Now, if you're single (like me) this might be considered your least favorite holiday in the year.  Many call this day Single Awareness Day, but in S. Korea that day doesn't come until two months from today and is known as Black Day. 

And if you're a fangirl (also like me) then today is where you will spend the day with your bias...in your head.  *insert love song of your choice*  Here are the top five of my bias list who I'd love to spend the day with:

1. Changmin (TVXQ)

Of course he's going to top my list.  He's my very first bias and still remains so to this day.  A few years back, I had also made a post for Valentine's Day specifically for him.  And while I now kind of shake my head at how awkward that post got in the end, the feelings still remain the same.  I would imagine that if we did spend Valentine's Day together, we'd go out to eat at a nice restaurant.  I know it'd still be a bit difficult for him, but he'd try to be more affectionate than he usually is.  And with me being shy, it'd be much harder.  But through the day the awkwardness would wear away, and we'd really enjoy ourselves.  It'd probably end with us sitting in a cafe` having a conversation about a variety of topics.  

2. Junnosuke (KAT-TUN)

Ah, Junnosuke...  If we were to spend Valentine's Day together, he'd try to make it as fun as possible.  He might take me to interesting places: Tokyo Tower, Tokyo Skytree, a museum or two, etc.  And of course, he'd take me to eat out too.  Oh!  And let's not forget about all the karaoke afterwards!   

3. Jaejoong (TVXQ/JYJ)

I think that if I we were to spend Valentine's Day together, we'd be at his house the whole day.  We'd make dinner together, and I believe he would be the one to make the atmosphere more romantic with dim lights and such.

What Even?

Yunho has emotional support & Jaejoong may be heading into the army soon?
Ah, I really do like how Yunho has said that he finds solace talking to a stuffed animal.  I'm sure many of us do the same thing.  Sometimes they make the best listeners.  XD  It's going to be a sad day for many fans when Jaejoong will enlist into the army.  But there may be pluses to it too.  Even though he'll have to go through the same rigorous training as average citizens (thanks to a prior scandal by another celeb in the army a year or two ago) it can also be a resting period from his career....and fans.  I'm thinking that this year, quite a few of the second generation Kpop artists will be heading into the army.  That means the rest of SS501, a good chunk of Super Junior, at least T.O.P. of Big Bang, and four out of five members of TVXQ.  But in my opinion (and to save us the agony), I think they all should go in at the same time and get it over with. 

Kpop English fails
So while I was looking around on YouTube, catching up on MVs of groups I haven't been keeping up with, I came across a video of snippets of Kpop songs and their English fails.  It's basically the English in the song that doesn't necessarily make sense, or how some of the words they pronounce sound really different.  Take a look:

Credit: rightful owners on Youtube

 

Some of my favorites: "You look like a door", "Nothing sober", "Oh. My. God. I'm. So. Hard.", and "You're not a Batgirl".  Too bad they didn't put "WE GOIN' HARD TO THE COFFEE HOUSE" like I said in my last post.  But even though there are quite a few songs with such 'fail', some Kpop artists do know their English:

Credit: rightful owners on YouTube

 

What is this nonsense?

Apparently this has been brewing for a few days, but then exploded.  It is an issue surrounding Kpop group B1A4.  Unfortunately, they got tangled up with the worst fandom to be involved with--Cassiopeia.  Usually when my primary fandom feels any of our members aren't getting the recognition they 'deserve', they tend to call the other fandom/artist/company/whatever out on it.  Things just got more ugly when some BANAs (B1A4 fans) made a wrong move and brought up old scars for both Yunho (poisoned drink) and Jaejoong (adoption issue).  Then Cassies came back and started saying mean things to the B1A4 members via their Twitter accounts  Really, now...what is this nonsense?!  First of all, two wrongs do not make a right.  Second, is it really going to kill HoMin (or JYJ) if they lose once in a while?  I know that what BANAs did was wrong, but if Cassies didn't instigate and just let the group have their win, things wouldn't have turned out the way they did.  Besides, who are Cassies to judge when they've done some pretty crazy things in the past?   How are fans of one group supposed to know what really goes on in another group or their fandom if they're not going to take the time to learn about that group and their fans and how they do things?  This is why I don't pay attention to music charts and rankings as much--if at all.  And my fandom seems to have become more pushier when it comes to trying to vote up HoMin or JYJ on anything these days.  "You're not a true fan if you don't do this."  Nope...I'm still a fan.  I know this also goes on in other fandoms, but since the promotions of 'Something' started, I've seen it get so bad.  And while our members are always greatful for our support, I sometimes wonder if they are also embarrassed by the actions of our fandom.  They've been in the business for 10 years now.  Newer groups are coming out.  It is inevitable that we will have to be on the backburner from time to time.  I'm sure the members know this.  To me, it doesn't mean they're less relavant.  How do you think fans of even older groups feel?  I don't think it's taboo to get into other groups either.  There was something I read on Tumblr a while ago that said: "I may be into alot of groups now, but at the end of the day, I'll always love my original group" (or something like that).  So, Cassiopeia...what do we need to do...?  I know I'm always ranting about this particular fandom, but don't forget that I still consider myself one.  It's just really frustrating when I see multiple fandoms that I like try to tear each other down.  And this doesn't just apply to Kpop.  Jpop and others are also known to do this stuff.  Did I bruise any egos with this?  

 

Now, onto nicer things...

 

Changmin in a minidrama

Well, it's not on KBS, and it's short, but Changmin is going to be in another drama!  He says that he wants to show us how much his acting has improved since 'Paradise Ranch'.  The minidrama is called 'MiMi' and he plays as a webtoon artist.  From what I'm seeing, Changmin is a webtoonist who lost his high school sweetheart 10 years ago.  But, she comes to visit him as a ghost.  So...I guess it's like a ghost love story...like 'Fatal Frame III: The Tormented' in a way.  XD  Let's see if I can handle the kissing scenes like I did for 'Paradise Ranch'. 

 

Well, that's all for now.  Until next time...if I have any readers left.  (^__^)/





Well, Well, Well...

All right!  First post of 2014!  \(^o^)/  Greetings, everyone.  I hope your holidays were great.  Let's jump into things, shall we?

"She's got that 'Something'"
Pretty much as soon as the clock struck midnight, Yunho and Changmin released a music video titled 'Something.  It kind of reminds me of a cross between TaeTiSeo's (a subgroup of SNSD) 'Twinkle' and Maaya Sakamoto's 'DOWNTOWN'--all of which have that 1920-1930s swing feel.  At first, it took me a while to get into the song.  It seems to be a recurring thing where I can't get into their songs until much later.  But now, it's growing on me.  I do like how the music video was set up.  But then there were the scenes where they had the ladies all over them...   ಠ_ಠ  *jealous fangirl*  I could've just sat around and looked pretty while next to Changmin too.  Here is the music video if you have yet to watch it:

 

They also released the album 'TENSE' not too long ago with quite a new genre that they're dabbling into.  There is a song on there called 'TEN (10 Years)' which I'm guessing is a dedication song to the fans for ten years in the business.  It's rather bittersweet for me.  *sigh*  I fear that if Jaejong, Yoochun, and Junsu don't release something music-related as JYJ then they might be forgotten.  It'd be even better if they could come back together as five.  What I really dislike is that fact that some fans say that Yunho and Changmin don't give a s**t about the other three or vice versa as they move on in their careeres.  >:/ 

 

Changmin leaves 'Cool Kiz on the Block'

I'm really sad about this.  While I do admit that I did watch the show mainly for him, I've become really into watching all the teammates as they played various sports.  But Changmin decided that he should leave the show so he could better focus on the promotions for 'Something'.  Now he won't get to see the Winter Olympics in Sochi.  I will really miss his presence on the show.  I predict that the viewer ratings will drop due to this which is also sad. 

 

By gosh...it's finally happened...

After kind of evading them for a while, EXO has wormed their way into my fangirl heart.  I'm still not familiar with faces and names, but I've got half of them down.  This all happened about a week ago as my sister and I were watching their little t.v. show called 'EXO Showtime'.  If I were to pick a bias as of right now, it'd most likely be Chanyeol and Tao, but Xiumin and Chen also catch my eye. 

 

A boy who loves his fuzzy hats--Chanyeol

"Please buy me this"--Tao