Wednesday 11 June 2014

Review No. 12: 49 Days (Korean Drama)


Description: Shin Ji Hyun is the typical blushing bride-to-be, she's brimming with happiness and loving her life. Until, she gets into an accident a few days before her wedding and is plunged into a coma. The Scheduler tells her that she can live again if she collects 3 drops of pure tears in 49 days. The catch is that she most live through someone else's body for the 49 days and no one can know who she really is. Naturally, secrets are revealed that she was previously unaware of. 

What I Think About It:

Plot - It tore my heart into pieces. The things that happened in this drama were heart-breaking. I loved and hated it at the same time. I had to take small breaks in between episodes to rein in my emotions which were going haywire. 

Characters/Acting - 

Shin Ji Hyun- Actress: Nam Gyu-Ri - She's just way too cute!!! Her acting was amazing, I loved watching every minute of this show because of her. I really need to watch more of her work.
        
   I loved the naive, innocent Ji Hyun. She's one of those special characters who are unforgettable.                             
Song Yi Kyung- Actress: Lee Yo-Won - Incredible acting skills! I think I'd run out of words if I tried to describe the level of talent she possesses.

Song Yi Kyung's personality was really 'I don't care about anything'-like. It was quite lovable.

Han Kang- Actor: Jo Hyun-Jae

 He's the man whose feeling have been unrequited all his life. He bares the pain stoically in order to keep the one he loves happy. I adored him throughout the entire series.

Kang Min Ho- Actor: Bae Soo-Bin

He is Ji Hyun's fiance. I didn't like him from the very beginning. He's a very detestable character.

Shin In Jung- Actress: Seo Ji-Hye

She is one of Ji Hyun's best friends. She, too, is very unlikeable. However, I still feel for her. Her misguided actions created a lot of messes in her life.

Scheduler- Actor: Jung Il-Woo

I think he was in my top three characters of this drama. I loved all of the scenes with him!

The Ending:
 It was exactly the ending this show needed (though I did not believe this at the time). It was perfectly wrapped in a shawl of melancholy. It ripped my heart to shreds then sewed it back together again. The emotional landslide to reach this point is worth every tear, maybe. Or maybe I just wasted 20 hours of my life. I can't decide, really.

My Conclusion:
 4.5/5 stars. It lost the 0.5 for causing me emotional distress. Other than that, I had no problems with this drama. I'm probably not going to watch it again because it's so sad but it was awesome while it lasted.


Wednesday 4 June 2014

Review No. 11: Tonari no Seki-kun


Description: Yokoi is always being distracted by Seki-kun (the boy who sits next to her in class). This series follows the different games that Seki uses to waste time in class.

What I think about it:
 This was exactly what I needed to get me back on track with my anime watching. It was light and fun and everything I hoped it would be. There is no actual plot to this story but I prefered it this way.  The episodes where really short as well (each one was approximately 8 mins.). It was overall very entertaining.

Characters:


Seki-kun - He was really fun to watch, he had me laughing throughout the entire series. I loved him to pieces!

Yokoi - She kept getting into the games Seki played. She tried to tell herself to study but he was just to fascinating not to watch. Very lovable!

Conclusion: 4/5 stars. This is one of the shows I'll watch over and over again. I'm sure of it! 

Please leave comments......what should I watch and review next?

Wednesday 16 April 2014

Review No. 10: Bride of the Century (Korean Drama)


Description: Na Doo-Rim is a normal girl who lives with her grandmother in a small village near the sea. Her life get turned upside down when she's asked to pretend to be the fiance of Choi Kang-Ju, the Heir of Taeyang Group. There are rumors that this family has an ancient curse placed upon it; the first bride of the eldest son always dies on The Wedding Night. Na Doo-Rim faces many challenges and they only become more difficult when she begins to fall in love with the cold-hearted Kang-Ju.

What I think about it:

Plot- This was so unpredictable! I never saw any of it coming and each time I was blown away by the situations. It was so enthralling that had to marathon this drama over the course of a few days. I just couldn't stop watching!

Characters/Acting- (as always I will only be mentioning a few of the characters here in order to keep this review as spoiler free as possible)

Na Doo-Rim - Actress: Yang Jin-Sung- she's such an amazing actress, her performance was almost flawless. Both her characters were portrayed in totally different lights, they were so realistic, I didn't even have to wonder who I was seeing. I always knew who I was looking at. I'll definitely be watching some more of her work in the future.



I really loved her gentle ways and her fierce protectiveness as well. She's one of those unforgettable characters, she'll probably be in my mind for a long time.












Jang Yi-Kyung - Actress: Yang Jin-Sung


Her cold persona is the exact opposite of Doo-Rim's warmth. She's sly and calculating but she's also a coward. She is the original fiance of Choi Kang-Ju; once she heard of the curse on his family she ran away and her brother convinced Doo-Rim to pretend to be her in order to save his mother's Company and their reputation.
















Jang Yi-Hyun - Actor: Sung Hyuk


Yi-Kyung's brother. Yi-Hyun is the awesome big brother who looks out for his sister and wants the best for her. He's also a worry wart.









Ma Jae-Ran - Actress: Shin Eun-Jung



This lady is Yi-Kyung and Yi-Hyun's mother. She has her own plots behind the scenes. She's really a mysterious character; we don't really know what's going on with her or what to think about her.






Choi Kang-Ju - Actor: Lee Hong-Ki- I saw him act in You're Beautiful and I adored him, I love his music as well. You should definitely check out the band FT Island, Lee Hong-Ki's voice is heavenly!


Ah, the character we were all waiting to get at. He's completely cold and closed off from everyone around him (emotionally). Ah, but he's so adorable with his harshness. As the series continues he only gets more cute.







Kim Myeong-Hee - Actress: Kim Seo-Ra


This is Choi Kang-Ju's mother. She has her own devious plans in action in the background. She is a really unlikable character. I didn't feel emotionally connected to her at all.








Lee Roo-Mi - Actress: Jang Ah-Young 


She is the girl who's in love with Choi Kang-Ju, she has been in love with him since they were children. She wants Kang-Ju as her own and is not afraid to fight for him. She causes a lot of trouble for Doo-Rim in this series.







The Ending: It was everything I was hoping for. If you're watching this drama and you don't know if you should continue to watch it, you should continue. The ending is worth the emotional rollercoaster ride to get there.

My Conclusion: A Brilliant 5/5 Stars. I'm really glad I stuck to this drama because it was just what I needed. Not too long, relatively fast paced, an emotional journey and the best acting ever! I'll keep this one close to my heart for many months.

Saturday 8 March 2014

Review No. 9: 07-Ghost



Description: Teito is taking the final exam to become a part of the Army. After the exam he overhears something that traumatizes him and triggers a long forgotten memory. He attacks one of the examiners as a result and is taken into custody. With the help of his best friend, Mikage, Teito escapes. Where will he go now? Will Mikage be alright without him? That remains to be seen.

What I think about it: The title of this anime is misleading, it has nothing to do with ghosts in the traditional sense of the word. The plot stretches through 25 episodes and everything is building up to the last few episodes. As such, at times it felt as if the anime was dragging on. This isn't such a con, however, as I quite enjoyed getting to know the characters better. There was a lot of action and I was fully gripped by the beautiful visuals.

Sound: The music wasn't really memorable but it fit with the story. It was all very appropriate and the sound effects served to heighten the pleasure of viewing this anime.

Character Analysis:

Teito-  Apathetic (sometimes) and absolutely cute! Teito is adorable and I'm not the only one who thinks so. (Frau thinks so too, I'm sure).



Mikage- Teito's best friend. Mikage is loyal to Teito, he always comes to Teito's aid whenever he is in need. I loved him.


Frau- There's only one word needed to describe him; pervert. Underneath this exterior he is kind and helpful. Unfortunately, Teito will always think of him as a pervert.


Castor- I think of him as the father of the group. He always looks out for the others but he takes delight in hitting Frau for his pervertedness. He's strict but nice at the same time. And he makes life sized dolls and their clothing.


Labrador- The mother hen of the group. He worries about everyone and is almost always smiling. He's the calm, reassuring one in this trio. I adore him! It also doesn't hurt that he's voiced by the same voice actor as Murata Ken from Kyou Kara Maoh.


Ayanami- He is the best villian ever! He's cruel and ruthless. I don't like him very much but I must admit that he's very good at being evil.

Possible Pairings: (these are all BL)

Frau/Teito
Castor/Labrador
Castor/Frau
Teito/Mikage

Conclusion: 4/5 Stars. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and the action was captivating. I'll watch it again someday. Why isn't there a sequel?

Please leave comments! What should I review next?

Wednesday 26 February 2014

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Monday 17 February 2014

Review No. 8: Meganebu!


 Description: Meganebu is exactly what the title means, a glasses club. The 12 episodes focus on the activities and mischief the members of the glasses club get up to at school. And sometimes at home.

What I think about it: Going into this anime, I got exactly what I was expecting; a hilarious comedy that tickled my sense of humor and did nothing for my intellect. This is one of those anime. You know, the ones we watch when there is nothing else to watch and then come out of it having totally enjoyed the show. It was thoroughly entertaining and I do not regret the time spent watching it.

 Character Analysis: There are 5 members of the glasses club; 4 actual members and 1 provisional member.



Akira Souma - The leader of the club, he is the craziest of the lot. He does things spontaneously and has such a charismatic smile that most of the Meganebu are in love with him. He has an awesome personality and I can totally see why the other members of the club think that he walks on sunshine. Figuratively.


Yukiya Minabe - Akira's right-hand-man. He is the genius in charge of making Akira's dream come true (X-ray glasses). He goes along with Akira's ,often completely nonsensical, plans and somehow manages to make them work. He is a cool Tsundere personality type. I love him!



 Takuma Hachimine - The resident airhead. Takuma is only concerned with cream puffs. He goes along with the rest of the club because it's fun. He has a calm, cool personality. Similar to Yukiya but lacking all of the brain that goes with him. Overall, I think he was also one of my absolute favourite characters in this anime.


 Mitsuki Kamatani -  He is the shota character. He's clearly in love with Akira and lives to follow him about. Mitsuki can be annoying but cute most of the times. He also enjoys harassing Hayato the most.



 Hayato Kimata - He is the provisional member of the Megane club. He's not considered a full member because he uses fake glasses. He is also the one the other members pick on (mostly Mitsuki). He also tries the hardest to remain a member of the club because of all the teasing and such. He's helpful (at least he likes to think so) but no one ever pays any attention to him.

 Possible Pairings: (All of these are BL)
 Akira/Yukiya
 Yukiya/Takuma
 Akira/Mitsuki
 Mitsuki/Hayato

Conclusion: 4/5 stars. It was entertaining and I quite liked it. I might watch it again some time.

Wednesday 29 January 2014

Review No. 7: Say 'I love you'



 Description: Yamato's life collides with Mei's when she kicks him down a flight of stairs. Yamato declares that he's her boyfriend after a few days of friendship. This anime depicts the rough journey of their relationship and the life lessons Mei learns as time goes on.

 What I think about it: It was fluffy and short but filled with a depth of meaning that escapes many of the different genres today. I got annoyed at the kind of monotonous content in places but for the most part I enjoyed taking in this slice of Mei's life.  If you're looking for something to look at on a rainy day, I'd definitely recommend this.

Character Analysis: For the purpose of not giving spoilers I'm going to keep this as short and simple as I can. It will also only feature the two main characters.



 Yamato- I can't remember his last name so, yeah. He is the most popular boy in school; kind and attentive to the needs of others. Mei catches his attention as soon as he meets her. I think his character was kinda cliche. On the other hand, the voice actor for him was Takahiro Sakurai, the same guy who voice Yuri Shibuya in Kyo Kara Maoh. And I love me some Yuri.


Mei- She is the most antisocial girl I've seen in anime so far. My experience is somewhat limited so........take that as you will. She was bullied as a kid and her entire class turned against  her. She believes that she doesn't need friends because people always betray each other as soon as they can no longer make use of you. Such a messed up kid.........and I can see a part of myself in her......is that bad?

Music: Soft and soothing, the opening and ending really puts us in the mood for this anime. I really didn't notice the background music but then again, I never do.

Possible Pairings: Well, all (most) of the pairings are confirmed in this anime......so there's really nothing I can give you on this one.

Conclusion: 3.5/5 stars. I enjoyed this anime while it lasted and I don't see myself revisiting this world any time soon.



Friday 17 January 2014

Review No. 6: Kyo Kara Maoh Seasons I, II and III



  Description: Yuuri Shibuya is a normal high school student. One day, he gets sucked down a toilet bowl and into another world where he is the Maoh (Demon King).  Sounds weird, I know. This series follows the adventures that surround Yuuri and his new friends in this world.

What I thought about it: First of all it was way too long!! I marathoned the entire thing and it took a long while to watch it and there was no conclusive ending. That makes great fanfiction material but seriously!! There's no ending!
                                        Other than that tiny detail, I did enjoy the series. It was action packed and each episode ended with something that kept me hooked enough to continue watching the thing. It was awesome!!

Character Analysis:





-Yuuri Shibuya

  His character is very simplistic. He's naive and oblivious and he claims he's completely straight even though we all know that he's not. He has a set of morals that a set in stone and he doesn't compromise them for anything (or at least he tries not to). I really loved him from the very beginning and he never disappointed me as the series continued (unless you count his stubbornness to acknowledge Wolfram as his fiance). I'm really trying not to give any spoilers so these things are gonna be vague.



Wolfram von Bielefeld: 
 Yuuri's accidental fiance. There is probably only one thing you should know about him. He's hopelessly in love with Yuuri. Everyone can see it except Yuuri. And he has a jealous streak a mile wide. He has a fiery personality, his element is also fire, and he's supportive of Yuuri through almost everything. Of course, he masks his support by calling Yuuri a Wimp every once in a while (or all the time). I really liked him throughout the series and I kept hoping that his relationship with Yuuri would progress more and more.





Gwendal von Voltaire: 
 He's really strict and tough looking but he's a big softie inside. I adored him and his serious frown lines. These few lines are not enough to explain him, I know. But there is nothing else I can say without giving away details of the show, you know.



Conrad Weller:
 Yuuri's godfather. He's Yuuri's personal bodyguard and friend. Conrad is almost always smiling, it's really creepy sometimes because we can never tell what he's thinking. He's a cool character.




Gunter von Christ:
 He's Yuuri's tutor in all things related to the Demon Kingdom. He can be a bubblehead at times but he's amazing with the sword. He's probably the most perverted in the series (behind Murata that is).




Ken Murata aka The Great Sage:
 He is probably my favorite character from this series. He's just so wicked with his little knowing smirk. And he's manipulative and perverted. He's just awesome, got it. I love his character and he's so cute with his glasses! (ok, I admit it, I have a glasses fetish).

Okay, I think that's really all of them I can describe without ruining anything for those of you who haven't seen it yet.

Possible Pairings:
 All of them are BL again.
 Yuuri/Wolfram
 Gunter/Gwendal
 Murata/Shinou 
 Murata/Shouri

 I didn't include Shinou or Shouri in the character analysis because they come later in the series and are vital to the plot, so yeah.

 Conclusion: 5/5 Stars. I absolutely love this series and I intend to watch it again some day.

 Please leave any comments you have. What should I review next? Did you like Kyo Kara Maoh?



Friday 3 January 2014

Anime Review # 5: Free! Iwatobi Swim Club

Description: There were once four friends; Rin, Makoto, Haruka and Nagisa, who all swam in a relay together. The four friends parted after the race and they were separated for years. In their boring high school life their friend, Rin returns but something is different. He's no longer the boy they thought they knew, now he's Haruka's rival and he's determined to beat him in a race.

What I think about it:  Abs galore. That is the first thing I thought when I saw this. It looks really shallow in pictures and posters and stuff but it really isn't. It deals with friendship and the problems that can come from misunderstandings. It's short, only 12 episodes with 2 specials but a lot happens emotion-wise in those 12 episodes. We dip into their lives and I don't think I wanted to leave, judging by the amount of fanfiction I read after.
                                     I enjoyed the fact that this anime does not have any sort of whirlwind romance, although the pairings are hinted at if you look close enough. It's mostly BL (boys' love) so if you're not comfortable with that then just watch it like a normal-no-romance-anime. I'll put a section for possible pairing somewhere in this post so keep reading if you want to see that. Or, you could just skip to it.

Characters:

Haruka Nanase- 



 His face is almost always blank (emotionless) but viewers can tell (or at least I could) that he feels a lot under that mask. He loves water and I'm sure that he would live in it if he could. I really like him even though he's so passive most of the time.
 Check out my english translation of his character song. He has two but I've only translated one. Let me know if you'd like for me to translate the other on in the comments below.

Rin Matsuoka- 


 

 Haru's rival. He is arrogant, competitive and aggressive. I love him anyways. He really quite a softie deep, deep, deep, deeeeeeep down inside.
 I haven't translated his character song yet but I'm working on it.

Makoto Tachibana-





 He's the 'mother hen' of the group. The wonderful best friend that understands Haru like he's the back of his own hand. He's completely lovable. <3
 Here's one of his english translated character songs. I haven't translated the second one yet. Another work in progress.

Nagisa Hazuki-



 He's the cute one who comes up with crazy plans and makes everyone else follow him. He manipulates Rei a lot and well, he's just too adorable for words!!!

Rei Ryugazaki-



 The last member of the swim team. He's calculating and depends on logic a little too much. He lets himself be manipulated by Nagisa. He loves beautiful things and shies away from things that he considers not beautiful. And the Glasses!!!! Need I say more? He's a cutie!

Possible pairings: 
Rin/Haruka- This one is my favorite.

Makoto/Haruka

Rei/Nagisa

Makoto/Nagisa

Makoto/Rei

Which ship do you like? Leave your comments. If you don't like BL then keep your thoughts to yourself and save yourself some energy.

Conclusion: 5/5 stars. This is definitely a favorite. I'll revisit it again some time in the future.