moarmanga-blog

[moarmanga-blog]

'Cause songs are tasty enough.

[moarmanga-blog]

Kamisama Hajimemashita! Finally an anime for 2012!

To be honest, I've always had a little place in my heart that was meant for this manga now turned anime so I'm a bit excited. Hopefully whoever directs the manga won't do a half-assed job and make it into a love-love sort of ordeal that I've seen ruin other anime. Sure, Kamisama Hajimemashita has that little shoujo piece in there, but it's much, much more than that. 

It starts basically with a girl named Nanami who doesn't have a place to live because of her idiotic, gambling uncle and meets a guy who gives her a place to live. If you're a manga veteran, OBVIOUSLY there's going to be some catch.

Which there is.

As she arrives at the shrine that the man directed her to, she finds another man with white fox ears named Tomoe. Tomoe is the guardian spirit of the shrine, and if you're a weird Japanophile like myself, you probably would have realized that this manga has to do with Gods. 

Or in this case, Nanami being chosen to become a human God for her shrine. The manga then follows her exploits as the human God, her relationship with other Gods, and, of course, her relationship with Tomoe. 

Again, I really like this manga because I freaking adore shoujo-fantasy manga. I can read shoujo stand-alone with no fantasy whatsoever, but most of the time, shoujo protagonists are so...cookie cutter. They just fawn over the male protagonists and then expect the males to do everything for them. It's a bit sickening.

Fortunately, Nanami is proactive which is a plus. And the romance isn't just thrust upon you out of nowhere. So, you guys know what I'll be watching this fall. Hopefully, they won't screw it up.

They better not. 

[moarmanga-blog]

Just open your eyes and live.

We all know that life is fraught with a lot of experiences, both good and bad. We remember birthdays, celebrations, and relationships, but what we remember most of all are the funerals and the break ups.

For some reason, bad memories resonate more with us than the good. If you ever walked into a store, would you remember the cashier that smiled at you or the cashier that bit your head off? Would you remember the person you love and the happy memories you shared or that one point in your life when he or she broke your heart?

We can't help but remember the bad because, let's face it, if we refuse to acknowledge the bad then we're just setting ourselves up for worse things in the future. I know some people have had some bad things in their past, present, and future, and I know that things may seem grim.

But what this video really taught me is that you need to acknowledge the good as much as you do the bad. If you solely live with these bad memories all the time, they just eat at you from the inside until all you see is a corrupt world and then you become like Kira from Death Note.

Here's a poem that really just says it all out loud:

Let go of your fears, your sense of dread,

Let go of the insecurities that lie inside your head.

Abstain from regurgitating overused words

Like I'm fine, don't worry about me, I'm good.

Show them, show them all how you truly feel

Do not run, do not turn on frightened heel.

You can do it, say it with unrelenting devotion.

Say everything, every underlying emotion.

Do not be afraid, do not be scared,

You have shed your skin, you are prepared.

Lift your heads up, guys, and look toward the beauty of life. Look toward the sky, breathe deeply, drink from the cup of life, and smile knowing this is the life you will pave with your own hands.

You, the good, the brave, and the bold.

Poem name: Along the Horizon

Poem by Me

Video by animated24

Music: "Life is beautiful" by Sixx:AM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x--7j-ylrh0

[moarmanga-blog]

I don't know, I do love eating, and sleeping is epic for stress relief. 

...

Yeah, probably. In the words of my computer self, "I LURV MAH COMPUTER FRANDS! I WANT HUG!" 

[moarmanga-blog]

Believe in yourself, be proud of the person you've become, and pave your future with your own hands. Be proud guys, be proud.

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...Oh Gai, how can anyone NOT love you?

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Give me Naruto or give me ramen! Oh wait...

Naruto, naruto, naruto. I never thought I'd actually review Naruto considering my distaste for most, most, mainstream shounen anime and manga. But I do have to give my props where props are due. 

Everyone knows what Naruto is, but if you don't let me give you the basic synopsis. Naruto takes place in a ninja world divided into different villages where you see the main character, Naruto obviously, at first going through the training to become an official Genin.

Genin's are the beginning class of ninja followed by Chuunin, Jounin, and maybe even Kage. Naruto strives to someday become Hokage, the leader, of his village Konohagakure.

He becomes Genin and then starts more training alongside his teammates, Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno. And of course, the storyline pretty much revolves around them for the most part.

From such a simple start, you would think things would be kind of cut and dry, but we all know what happens in Shonen Jump manga. Most series accepted by Shonen Jump has to stand to the Jump name and be hundreds of volumes long all the while keeping readers' interest. I mean seriously, look back at all the manga that have passed through Jump for the past few years. 

Yu Yu Hakusho, Psyren, Bakuman, Bleach...all of them ran several volumes long and catered predominantly to Shonen lovers. So we all knew that once Naruto joined the mix alongside them, we would be looking at a manga that was going to stay for a while.

And we were right. 

Naruto is nearly six hundred chapters long and doesn't appear to be stopping any time soon. While the amount seems staggering, the manga is actually pretty decent. Because it's manga, you don't get unwanted fillers that you would watching the anime. Seriously, who would want to hand-draw crappy fillers? That would just be a waste of time. 

But then you have the anime. Sure at first it's actually really good. There aren't any fillers and it goes at a decent pace, but then after a while, you start getting the fillers. The fillers are good for presenting a purpose for that short period of time, but in the long run, they aren't really good for much. They don't help with the plot or anything which is freaking annoying.

Gawd, I hate fillers. HATE them! 

I loathe them. 

Fortunately, if you manage to survive the fillers of Naruto you'll get a well-deserved reward in Naruto Shippuden. Shippuden, as far as I know, follows the manga to a T and has no miscellaneous fillers that you dreaded from before. The plot moves at a good pace and it's just...so much better overall. Sure, the main concept is the same. Naruto wants to be Hokage, but by this point everything is different. 

You have a lot of different things going on that's just culminated from Naruto into Shippuden. There are different characters, different plots and sub-plots going on that keeps you interested in what's going to happen next. And the characters themselves are completely different in age and in maturity.

Well, kind of. Naruto is pretty much the same, just a bit more mature. 

Once you get passed the fillers, Naruto is just a damn good anime. However, there's only one problem I have with it.

The freaking...stereotypical damsel-in-distress syndrome. Hardly do I EVER see any of the female characters become the focal point or do something for themselves without the man coming to help them.

Let's look at Sakura, for instance. She has all this talent to be a fine Kunoichi; Kakashi, their team leader, even praised her for her excellent Chakra control. But the only time we ever see her in the spotlight is during that ONE battle in Shippuden where she's fighting Sasori.

Sorry, but what the fuck? I mean look at freaking Hinata, despite being in the main house she can hardly do anything by herself. At one point she does, but after that it's just ALL THE GUYS.

And don't even get me started with Ten Ten. Kishimoto makes Ten Ten and does absolutely NOTHING with her. We see her ONCE during the Chuunin exams fighting and then every other time she's shouting, "NEJI! NEJI! NEJI!" 

What's the point of making a character if you do NOTHING with them?! 

Ugh, well...anyway, other than that Naruto is still pretty decent. I just wish Kishimoto would make the girls have a bigger role instead of sequestering them to the kitchen making sandwiches. 

'Cause obviously, that must be what they're doing ninety percent of the time. 

Oh, and don't watch Naruto dubbed unless you want to be hearing, "BELIEVE IT!" all the time.

...I'm not kidding. 

Song: "My World" by SR-71 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85xZ__BYcjs

Video #1 by Soraya Recio "Temari"

Video #2 by tomrule123

[moarmanga-blog]

Tokyo Girls Destruction

Tokyo Girls Destruction is completely devoid of men. I repeat, devoid of any male life whatsoever. So if you came upon this manga thinking you would see bishounen or romance between guys and girls, you'll have to take your sights elsewhere. It is one of the few manga that features a girl/woman-only cast with proactive protagonists and antagonists.

Which is completely awesome had the manga made no discrepancies anywhere. But I'll get to that later. First off, the plot surrounds a girl named Amesu Kumi, or Amasu as sometimes seen while reading, who enrolls herself in a high school because she's investigating her elder sister Towa's death. The only evidence she has is the school and a mysterious cellphone message from Towa herself asking a Burai Sachiko for assistance.

The high school is strictly girls only as enforced by the only female Prime Minister of Japan and is smack dab in the middle of nowhere on a man made island. While there she learns about the secrets involved with the school, especially the all out war among students after hours, and meets up with a delinquent named Burai Sachiko who is completely badass.

Truthfully, the premise for the story is good and I'm glad that I can see women as more than just doting, timid people in manga. It gets to the heart of the main character's emotions throughout the story, but there's one thing that bothers me.

Throughout the manga, you see Kumi constantly being cornered and tricked into every situation known to man. At one point, one of the girls wants to befriend her shortly after she practically beats Kumi to a pulp for her badge. And what's even worse is that Kumi becomes friends with her! Is there something wrong with this girl or is she just a glutton for punishment?

Sure, she stands up for herself a few times, but when she meets Sachiko it's like all of that flies out the window. There's no more fight, just talk, talk, talk. If I was in Kumi's shoes, sure, I'd want to find out what happened to my sibling, but if I have to fight then I have to fight. I'm not going to take getting beaten up sitting down.

And Sachiko, she initially saves Kumi saying that she didn't do it for Towa, but then later she completely contradicts herself. We see that the only reason she even protected Kumi in the first place was because she was Towa's little sister.

She starts crying crocodile tears because her precious Towa died, and begins protecting Kumi solely because her actions remind her of Towa. I don't know if this is attributed to the fact that humans are contradictions or if Sachiko is just a major tsundere like Gasai Yuno. 

Oh well, despite these little hiccups and some typos here and there, Tokyo Girls Destruction is actually pretty good. The art is very fresh and clean.

Since there are no men in this manga, you can probably tell there will be hints of Yuri in it. If you can get passed that or don't mind the lack of bishounen, I recommend giving this manga a try. 

You'll be in for the fight of your life. 

[moarmanga-blog]

Not an official Japanese anime, but hell, I still freaking love Korra. Besides...

...who says American anime can not be represented on this site?

And this AMV represents all the badassery present in the show as well as encourage others to persevere through overwhelming odds.

Go out fighting, guys.

Go out fighting. 

Video by Chiikaboom

Song: "Finale" by Madeon http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0h2u87JwyA

[moarmanga-blog]

Alex Armstrong for the win.

I'm not going to lie. I love this AMV just because it has Alex Armstrong in it from Full Metal Alchemist. 

And as Rasputin, no less. Everything is just timed so freaking perfectly, and when he strikes that one pose during, "Russia's greatest love machine," I laughed hysterically. Even having the girls from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya doing the chorus was just good old fun. 

There are so many anime cameos used in this video that I can't list them all. The major ones that stuck out to me was FMA, obviously, Haruhi, Inuyasha, Chrono Crusade, Bleach, Cowboy Bebop, Dragonball Z, Trigun, Pokemon, and Fate/Stay Night. 

Oh, and I forgot Kenshin, Naruto, and High School of the Dead. Had to actually watch it again to see what I missed. There are more, but they're unfamiliar which means...

I need to WATCH.MORE.ANIME! 

And read more manga.

Either one.

Song: Rasputin by Boney M. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmjdZKfumEI

Video by: Vlad G. Pohnert

[moarmanga-blog]

There's Something About Sunyool makes me smile.

Obviously this manwha's name isn't a parody of There's Something About Mary. Of course not.

Anyway, imagine you're the rich daughter of a politician who has suddenly given you several options from rich men to potentially marry. What would you do? 

Choose one, of course! But not Sunyool, oh no, she wants all of them. All the sexy men!

I kind of envy the girl. She gets to have her pick of any guy she wants just because of her status. That's not to say, though, that her status came easy. Rather than being born into a life of luxury, Sunyool managed to slam her way into her father's life at sixteen after her mother's death. Obviously her father didn't buy it one bit. 

A random child showing up at your doorstep claiming to be your daughter? That's freaking ridiculous! I demand a Jerry Springer-type DNA screening now!

...

Damn it.

With that result, her Cinderella story unfolded, but it didn't come cheap. She worked tirelessly to become someone worthy of her status. Sadly, politicians are about image, image, and image. If one part of the family desecrates that image, then the entire family is in shambles.

And now finally, after several years of work, she gets to choose all of these freaking bishounen. I do wish I was her. Sunyool's marriage is not a typical marriage of convenience or an arranged marriage. She's actually allowed to meet all of her potentials before deciding first and foremost if she wants to marry that person.

Which is what makes this manwha so flipping great. The interactions among the characters are hilarious and it goes to show that some bonds are irreplaceable. And the fact that I'm not confused with the typical right-to-left reading scenario predominant in manga is an added plus.

That's right! You get to read normally, people! Left to right!

I just love this manwha. No matter what manga I read, this is always just in the back of my mind, saying, "Read me again! Do it! Do it nao!" 

Trust me, read this mang-er-manwha. You'll be smiling from ear to ear. 

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I don't know if it's just me, but I like this AMV. Overall, it can use some work on having the scenes follow along in step with the song. When it starts with Soul Eater, it's fine, great, fantastic. But once it switches over to Full Metal Alchemist, everything becomes too fast and the song is struggling to catch up until Black Rock Shooter. 

If you're watching this and looking for some theme in it, you probably won't get it. I don't even know if there's supposed to be a theme here. But what I could get just from the song in general is that things happen. Sure, you'll be afraid at first and you'll want help from wherever it may come from. But if you stand your ground and up for yourself, your fear will subside and your courage will take hold.

Why am I saying this? School is starting for everyone and with it you get some people who are shy or introverted and some who are bullied for no other reason than being different. To them, I say be proud of who you are. Stand up for what you know is right. Have courage. 

Anime used: Soul Eater, Full Metal Alchemist, Kara no Kyoukai, Devil May Cry, Black Rock Shooter, Highlander, Angel Beats, and K-On!

Song: Watercolour by Pendulum http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTtexOw5jtI 

[moarmanga-blog]

The Queen's Knight made me cry, and then it didn't.

In The Queen's Knight you see Yuna Lee, the traditional present-day girl surrounded by three brothers who, like most siblings, annoy the hell out of her. Her mother, who apparently sacrificed much for her children, has gone to study abroad in Germany while her husband picks up the slack. Yuna has a comfortable lifestyle with everything practically handed to her.

She is constantly being helped in nearly every situation known to man whether it is being helped to school by her crush (and even up stairs, mind you), Kahyun, her brothers negating the classmates who bully her, or even her best friend Hae Won Min who helps to give her crush freaking chocolate.

...Seriously? You can't even give your crush a piece of chocolate, yet you can easily talk to him and get on the back of his bike to school?

The only times I've seen her actually stand up for herself throughout the manga is in the bathroom when she tells the girls to pretty much shut up and tell me to my face if you have a problem with me, and her initial reaction to Mari Park by confronting her about the bullying. But after that, she just does nothing and avoids her like the plague.

I hate protagonists like her. The girl is practically babied; yet, she cries herself to sleep instead of legitimately taking action and doing what she can to confront everything. I would understand if she was shy or introverted, but the girl is outgoing and does have enough of a backbone to at least address the problems ahead of her.

After a while of seeing Yuna constantly cry herself to sleep after every five pages or so, I was deeply considering the thought of either burning every copy of this manwha or taking a golf club to my own skull to erase my memory. But, to my relief, the story takes a turn for the better and this is where the fantasy elements start popping up.

As Yuna Lee cries herself to sleep day after day in bed, she continually has dreams of a place, a kingdom, separate from her home: Phantasma. And in these dreams she meets a dashing man by the name of Rieno.

Rieno explains that Phantasma is blanketed by an eternal winter and only the Queen, whom he can only choose, can bring about winter's end and spring's beginning. And guess who is on the list of candidates to become Queen?

Why, Yuna Lee of course!

And suddenly, Yuna's dreams become a portal through which she is transported to the medieval world of Phantasma as it's new Queen. As the story progresses, it follows how Yuna eventually grows out of her crybaby demeanor and becomes someone worthy of the title Queen. And it also follows a love pentagon among her and the people sworn to protect her. At this moment, though, one question should be nagging at your mind.

What happened to the previous Queens and why has the land of Phantasma suffered an eternal winter?

The Queen's Knight will answer this and several more questions over the course of several volumes. And while this manwha is still not fully translated from Korean into English, as far as I can see, you can rest assured that I will continue to follow this story to its bitter end.

[moarmanga-blog]

The one reason why I'll read and watch Bleach.

It's...so beautiful. Just seeing this makes me feel like there's hope for me actually reading Bleach. Before I watched this, the only thing holding me back was the fear that because it was mainstream that it would have as many fillers as Naruto. 

The anime...I'm not too sure about the manga, though.

But hey, if my brother could watch One Piece and love it, and if someone could make this masterpiece for Bleach, then maybe there is hope for me giving mainstream anime a chance. 

[moarmanga-blog]

Better be paying attention, Snow White.

Or Alice is going to kill you.

I'm actually really getting into this manga. It's called Shiro Ari, and while it does involve Snow White, the main story takes place in the Alice in Wonderland universe.

Basically, Snow White is thrust into Alice in Wonderland with the words, "You can only go home if Alice becomes King."  From what I've read, Alice and the Queen of Hearts have been at war with each other, constantly fighting for the right to rule over Wonderland. 

Unfortunately, Alice has been quite unlucky so it's up to Snow White to step in and help him out. 

That is...unless Alice kills her first. 

[moarmanga-blog]

Though I only liked the first and last tracks, this AMV/MMV combo is actually really well done. A lot of different editing styles from various people, but still so good.

And gawd, so many bishounen. So many. I just want to...reach through the screen...

Stupid glass. 

Give me my bishounen. Give them to me!

[moarmanga-blog]

My reaction to Mirai Nikki.

Okay, not really. The manga is actually really good, and the anime follows it pretty well, too. Even the drawings are decent. It's a favorite of mine, and I got to read the manga before the anime was even announced. 

I WAS COOL BEFORE UNCOOL WAS COOL. 

Or before Mirai Nikki was famous. 

And for anyone who has seen or read Mirai Nikki, it is most famous for the Queen of Yandere, Gasai Yuno. Just look at her, people. LOOK AT HER!

She will, quite literally, kill for you. 

Already interested? Good, because if you weren't...I'd start wondering about you. I mean, just look at that face. How can you resist? I certainly can't...

Ahem.

ANYWAY, the story starts off with these two as the main characters. Yes, I know. Derp (Amano Yukitero) and Yandere Queen as the story's protagonists. Already off to an interesting start. Now let's throw them in a survival game with some unlucky candidates. Sounds awesome, right? 

Want to know the best part?

You do?

Are you sure?

There's only going to be one survivor. 

And they get to be God.

I love this story, so...have fun~