ingvild: (Default)
Wow, it's been a while since I posted, hasn't it? I really need to shape up, I've been completely negligent of my online life. Haven't read my friend's page in ages either, or posted any fic, or anything.

Anyway, I recently discovered a new obsession. I used to recommend Gakuen Alice for parents who came into our shop looking for something for their 10-11-year-old daughters, and thought that "hey, maybe I should read past the first three chapters soon". So I did.

I'm not recommending that for young girls anymore.

Don't get me wrong, it's really, really good. Like, so good that I more or less think that the greatest tragedy of Tokyopop going under is that this series won't be translated to the end. So good that I'm considering downloading and actually printing out fan scanlations of the latest volumes. So good that I check every day for an update now that it's going towards the end.

But it's a bit too dark for kids, I think. There's a reason there's a suggestion that one should be 13 to read it. The story surrounding the male lead in particular is quite gruesome. Luckily, the female lead (and central protagonist) is sunny and cheery and a delight, really. It's kind of like Fruits Basket, actually - without Mikan (and in Furuba, Tohru) the story would be too gloomy to handle.

But what should a rec for parents and their daughters now? Any suggestions?
ingvild: (Default)
I'm having a busy week with preparing for Japan and work, so naturally I took the time to get hooked on and read a new manga series, Buso(u) Renkin (by the same guy who did Rurouni Kenshin).

The plot is basically this: Boy sees girl about to be attacked by a monster, pushes her out of the way and gets stabbed through the heart. Girl puts magic rock alchemical device in his chest to act as a heart for him, and reveals that actually, she was just pretending to be helpless to lure the monster out, she's actually a kickass Alchemy Warrior. The alchemical devices, called kakugane, turn into weapons whose shape depend on the user's personality or something. The monsters are homunculi.

The words "alchemy" and "homunculi" are the only similarities with Fullmetal Alchemist. It's more like Bleach, only without the endlessly dragged out story arcs and fight scenes (it clocks in at ten volumes of manga and 26 anime episodes). The main character's power ups are also plot relevant and not a good thing.

Male lead and main character Kazuki is one of those idealistic sweethearts. Female lead Tokiko is awesome. And then there is Papillon.

Anyway, watching this show finally clued me in to why I took to Judau of Gundam ZZ immediately, but it took Kamille of Zeta Gundam so long to grow on me. I'm pretty much an omnivore when it comes to female characters - as long as she has agency and a personality, I don't actually care what the personality is. With male characters, I'm much more picky. Basically, I like two types: socially awkward/dorky and complete sweethearts (often also wide-eyed idealists). Judau, like Kazuki, falls in the second category.

I guess this is also why I prefer Superman to Batman, and Captain Marvel (him with the Power of Shazam) to them both (Superman is a Good Person, while Captain Marvel is both a Good Person and still keeps some of his innocence).
ingvild: (Default)
Some time ago, I did an anime rec week (click the anime or rec tag), which was a little hampered by the fact that those were all the anime I'd watched at the time. Now, I've watched/read a lot more.

This isn't a rec list. It's just a list of all the anime/manga I've read/watched - mostly, sometimes I like just reading little oneshots on scanlation sites. Also, it's only the stuff I'm up-to-date on - like, it's finished, and I've finished it, or it's on-going, but I've read/watched everything that's available in English.

Long lists beneath the cut )
ingvild: (Default)
Final post in this Fruits Basket Love Series. Here, I'll pick one scene from each manga that stood out to me. Spoiles, obviously.

Furuba, part 7 of 7: Outstanding scenes )
ingvild: (Default)
Here is yet another spoilery post, concerning Tohru and the guy she ends up with, and some idiotic fan opinions about it.

Furuba, part 6 of 7: Lovey-dovey )
ingvild: (Default)
In the last post, I mentioned Akito and Akito's damage. This post goes more into that. Spoilers.

Furuba, part 5 of 7: The theme of the story )
ingvild: (Default)
I was thinking about Tohru the other day, and wondered if she could be characterized as a strong person. After a while I had to admit that it was irrelevant: none of the characters in Fruits Basket are strong all the time. Spoilers.

Furuba, part 4 of 7: It's okay to be weak. )
ingvild: (Default)
In the last post, I talked about Tohru's hat, and how its story is picked up at different in the story. Today I mention something similar, but with many other things. Spoilers abound.

Furuba, part 3 of 7: No loose ends )
ingvild: (Default)
In this post, I'll talk about Tohru's baseball cap, and how the story behind it goes into the psyche of not only Tohru, but Yuki and Kyo as well. This post is extremely spoilery for the manga. The baseball cap does not exist in the anime.

Furuba part 2 of 7: The baseball cap )
ingvild: (Default)
It occurs to me that in spite of my intense love for Furuba, I have not posted any thoughts about it. This is a grave oversight on my part, and must be remedied. In this post, I will only link to spoilery stuff, not type anything out. Okay, I'll spoil the first chapter/episode, but only to give an idea of what it is actually about.

Fruits Basket post 1 of 7: Overview + manga/anime thoughts )

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