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.  ^^

 

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~!  ^__^  

 

Anime, Anyone?

So, my sister--who is more into anime than I am these days--had me watching a couple of anime titles in one day.  Here's my breakdown of what I watched:

Greed Island arc --> Chimera arc
We've been watching the anime 'HunterxHunter' for a while.  It's the recent version that is still airing in Japan.  We just finished the 'Greed Island' arc in which Gon and friends have managed to complete the video game and were ready to meet Ging--Gon's father.  However, who they run into is not him.  Instead it is an old friend of his father who is looking into a certain type of ant that is quite carniverous.  The queen of this kind of ant is trying to make the perfect king, but she needs to eat for it to happen.  Here's the thing...it doesn't matter what she eats.  From other insects to large animals...even humans.  She then uses a process called phylogenesis to mix traits of hers with traits of the animals she eats, thus creating a chimera creature.  But let me tell you, this arc is difficult to handle for me.  Some of the characters die.  ;A;

Free!
After hearing so much about it, we decided to watch the newest anime out there, 'Free!'  As I had mentioned earlier, it is a sports anime based around on swimming.  Of course the main audience for this is aimed towards fangirls because let's face it...guys in bathing suits swimming is sure to gain a girl's attention.  I must say that this anime is very entertaining allbeit nothing but fanservice.  I think the most hilarious part is the ending of each episode where the main guy characters are getting funky in a club.  XD 

Say "I Love You"
This anime is similar to your typical high school slice-of-life romance.  At first, I only saw the intro and was like: "This dude just kissed her.  Does he even know here like that?"  XD  But things get explained as the show rolls on.  It's a fairly short series, and I'm not really fascinated by how a girl in anime looks so helpless in recent works.  But the main girl in this one is a bit different, and the main guy is a real smooth talker!  ^^  He seems to really like her though. 

With that, there are some of the recent anime titles I've been watching as of late.  Until next time~! 

Thoughts for the Day

It's been a long time since my last entry, hasn't it?  To be honest--and I've probably stated this before--I can't really think of much to say these days, let alone come up with titles for these entries.  ^^;;  But I'll keep trying my best as long as you keep reading them. 

'Catch Me' in L.A.
Earlier this month, Yunho and Changmin did their America leg of their Catch Me tour.  And as usual when any of TVXQ comes to the U.S., I never get to go.  This was also the case.  What's upsetting is that they did a whole concert where it was just them.  No SM Town.  Now, I would've been fine with either or, but almost three hours of just seeing them is like...amazing.  *o*  Not only that, but Yunho and Changmin did one of the craziest things a celebrity of their status could do--they went out into the crowd.  Needless to say, I was quite jealous of fans who got to see them up close and personal like that.  But I also heard that some fans were being a bit too touchy-feely.  >__>  All in all, it was quite a successful stop.  Hopefully next time any of the members come for something, I'll be able to see them.

Junsu is 'Incredible'
This week Junsu released an MV for his 2nd album.  The title is called 'Incredible'.  Let me tell you, he's really gone far in a good way.  I personally enjoyed the song.  The last thirty seconds of it...not so much--but that's because I'm a fangirl in love.  XD  There is another song on his album which has an MV called '11am'.  I also like that song because it just sounds so calming.  There is also another song on the album called 'Chocolate Girl'.  Now, this song has gotten a few black Kpop fans talking because of the context of the word 'chocolate'.  Some find it demeaning while others find it lovely that he would even sing a song about a woman of a darker complexion (if that is really what the song is about).  Personally, I do hope he's talking about women of color because...well, I'm one.  ^^  Here's his MV for 'Incredible'. 

 

My E3 experience

Last month I was watching E3.  It was really my first time watching it so extensively.  There are many games I'm anticipating, and after a few years I'll probably buy a PS4.  XD  Some interesting games they showed were 'Watchdogs' and 'The Crew'.  But being a SquareEnix fan, I practically screamed when they showed trailers for Final Fantasy XV (formerly XII Versus) and Kingdom Hearts III.  They're also going to be releasing Final Fantasy XIII-3 and HD versions of Final Fantasy X and X-2.  Oh, how I love SquareEnix.  (^o^) 

 

Howdy Do~! ^o^

Greetings~!  As usual, it's been a while since I've posted something on here.  I've been slacking.  .__.  I'm also having trouble figuring out titles for my posts.  In any case, here are some things on my mind as of late. 

"It's time to duel!" 
That's right!  I've been sort of watching the anime 'Yu-Gi Oh!' as of late--well, my sister has.  So far we're on the fifth season of the first series (the one that used to come on television).  I've been in-and-out watching, but I've gotten the gist of most of it.  I must say that the fifth season is really interesting because Atem (the spirit in the Millenium puzzle) finds out more about himself.  And my sister and I must say that the pharoh is pretty good looking (as well as everyone else with a past self). 

"Junnosuke be 'FLASHING' y'all~"
Some time late last week, my top Jpop bias released his solo music video titled 'FLASH'.  Let me tell you... I. LOVED. IT.  It was really good!  He looked really good!  The dancing did remind me alot of an artist named Daichi Miura too.  Alot of the comments were positive for him--most stating that they'd start looking more into him from now on.  It's kind of a shame they haven't from the start.  Here is the music video if you're interested. 

 

"The U.S.A. is really attractive these days..."

Last week, B.A.P. was here in the U.S.A. for a while to do some touring.  I believe it was their first time here, and they enjoyed it very much.  Eventually it was time for them to leave, but I'm sure that the U.S. Babyz will see them again very soon.  Just yesterday, Infinite landed in the U.S. for the first time for a music video shoot.  And even earlier it was said that Namie Amuro and Koda Kumi were also filming for music videos in L.A.  And, of course let's not forget Crystal Kay who has been in New York for a good while already.  And then there was KAT-TUN that was also in New York back in March.  So many Asian artists coming, and I still can't see them!  OTL

 

"Nature Boy's Indian Summer by the Ocean"

Korean singer/actor Jang Geun Suk recently released a Japanese music video called 'Nature Boy/Indian Summer'.  While I found it to be alright, others weren't so interested in it.  It's fine, but there really wasn't any reason to say that Jaejoong shouldn't have retweeted that video.  Some fans are really harsh critics.  .__.  Here is the video in question:

 

 

Also, HoMin--er, TVXQ--excuse me, Tohoshinki released a short music video of their song, 'Ocean'.  Some commented that is reminded them of either One Direction or Jang Geun Suk's 'Nature Boy' song.  So, I don't know if that's supposed to be a bad thing or a good thing.  I think Yunho and Changmin are ready for summer is all.  Shall we join them in some "Ooga Jaka Ola"?  XD

 



 

Getting Caught Up...Sort Of... ^^

Well, it sure has been a while, hasn't it?  Quite a bit has happened since my last post (majority being linked to my ultimate bias).  From mid-February onward was quite eventful in my fangirl life.  On to the highlights!

HunterxHunter
Thanks to my sister, I have been watching an anime called 'HunterxHunter'.  I find it to be quite interesting.  It's from the same creator as 'Yu Yu Hakusho', so it was only a matter of time before my sister took to this anime.  We've been watching the 2011 version as well as the original.  They're both very different in some parts.  But since I saw the recent one first, I'm more into that one.  The story is about a boy named Gon who wants to become a Hunter so that he can find his father who left him when he was young.  He participates in the difficult exam to attain his license and makes friends along the way (who also have reasons for getting a license).  Many issues occur after he obtains it, but you'll have to watch to see what they are.  :D

I actually participated in a birthday project
For Changmin's 25th birthday, I thought I'd actually do something.  So, this time I participated in a birthday project hosted by MAXNATION an official fansite dedicated to him.  The deadline was a few days before his birthday and the notice was given a month in advance.  However, I waited until pretty much the last moment to work on it.  I was trying to gather ideas.  I wanted this card to be special, but not have that "Oppa, I love you!" type of feel.  So, I came up with this:

   

Cute, ne?  Sorry if they're difficult to see.  The shirts on here are origami and I drew out the '2' and the '5'.  I also came up with the poem on my own.  As for him receiveing this card, I do not know...but I really hope he did.  .__.

'Moonlight Prince' airs...but soon gets cancelled
It was a short-lived program, but I found it amusing.  Of course the main reason I watched it was because Changmin was one of the fixed hosts of the show and it showed on KBS (a channel I actually have).  In Korea, it began airing in mid-January, but for KBS World, it came out much later.  The show is basically a variety show created to be like a book club.  As in they talk about books.  It was also Kang Ho Dong's creation as well as his return to television after a long hiatus (it's a long story).  I know it might sound boring, but there was a reason it came on late at night in Korea...some of the comments they had might have been 'inappropriate' for the sensitive audience.  But I found them to be very hilarious!  And, of course, since Changmin is on the show...he brought on those snarky comments like it was nothing!  Alas, it wasn't enough.  The viewer ratings were pretty bad.  Most found it "too boring" to watch.  But I think there was another reason.  This leads me to my next highlight...

How I Became A 'Multi-fan'

I bet there are a few of you wondering how I got into Asian music in the first place (and why I love it so much)?  Well, I suppose I'll tell you!  Hey...it's not another rant post.  XD  So let's begin! 

Thinking about it, my lovbe for Asian music started when I was a younger child.  I'd have to say my first contact was with a Japanese group called DREAMS COME TRUE when they sang 'Eternity' for the animated movie, 'The Swan Princess'.  The song was in English, but I count it.  ^^  There is a Japanese version called 'The Signs of Love' as well which sounds just a good.  It still didn't quite get us into Japanese music though.  Then, we moved to Japan and there was an anime series we would watch called 'Akazukin Cha-Cha'.  The opening was catchy, so my sister and I would attempt to sing to it.  This song is called 'Kimi Iro Omoi' and we later found out that it was a cover done by SMAP.  It was about 1996 when we did this.  So, now we were attempting to sing in Japanese.  Over the course of time we watched a few anime that came to the U.S., so we did hear a few other anime songs--VERY few.  But with the help of a website (that no longer works) we were able to open ourselves to other singers.  'Yubiwa' would have to be my very first Maaya Sakamoto song...and now she's my ultimate favorite Japanese songstress.  'First Love' and 'Hikari' helped to learn about Utada Hikaru.  Actually, it was 'Simple & Clean' that got us into Utada because Kingdom Hearts was coming out.  We thought it was just a regular American singing it at first, but we came to find out she is Japanese-American.  This was around 2002.  At the same time, we heard about GACKT with his song 'Seki Ray'.  It was also on the website that is no longer around.  Over time, we had started hearing more and more Jpop through anime and whatnot.  Recently, I came back into Jpop (more like fangirling a group) with the aid of my Jpop bias group, KAT-TUN--first with 'Rescue' and then with 'Run for You'. 

My Otaku Side...

Well, as many of you may know from my posts, I am very much into Kpop.  But did you know that I am also into anime?  It's probably because I don't talk about it much.  You see, I used to be a big otaku (fan) of anime and manga, but it seems to be dwindling.  The same goes for video games. 

I don't watch any of the new ones that come out, and I rarely watch the ones that I already own.  It's like I'm more focused on Kpop celebs more than anything else right now, and when it comes to spazzing...I'd rather talk more about Kpop than anime.  Not only that, but I used to watch anime for the cute boys and fantasize that if they were real, I'd date them. But now that I've seen Changmin, I've totally lost that idea. ^^;;  It's not like I've totally lost interest in anime, but I've been into it for 10+ years and I was just wanting to give Kpop the same chance.  Sadly, my fellow Kpop spazzers (my sister and cousin and a few friends) seem to be dwindling and moving back into anime.  Nothing wrong with that, but it is rather lonely.  :( 

My lack of anime and manga also doesn't mean that I have given up my dream of becoming a manga-ka (comic artist) either.  Sure, I don't draw as often as I should.  But there will be a day when I do.  Right now, I'm just focused on other stuff.  Besides...I'm rather slow and a bit lazy to draw the boxes, so I know I'd probably never reach the deadlines. 

After thinking about it for several days, I've concluded some reasons why I'm losing interest in anime to begin with:

• Too many people are into it now (it's not like how it used to be 10 years ago)
• My television is messing up, so I can't watch any of my DVDs
• This whole lawsuit with TVXQ vs SM is keeping me to Kpop

With that last point...if SM would just give up already and end the lawsuit and everything went back to it's normal way, I'd be at ease knowing the members are okay and dive into anime and manga for a while. 

Well, that is my stance on anime.  I don't watch it often, but I haven't totally aboandoned it.  It may not be a subject that I talk about much, but I don't mind talking a bit about it from time to time.  Well, that is all.  Peace out~!