Oooh! Summer is here!

Yeah, I know it's already summer before August. Just that this post is so belated I'm going to apologize and give virtual ice cream mochi that I just made yesterday.

I would love to update the blog every now and then but real life comes and pokes its head almost constantly these days.

So... instead of posting the summary of Junketsu Kareshi <9>, I'm being kind of lazy and sick again so I'm just going to review some anime going on this Summer 2014.

1) Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun
- This one really is my favorite this season! I'm not joking. Catchy music, satirical story line, funny yet somewhat realistic (in my opinion) at times, and it managed to make me look forward to Sundays here when I can enjoy it among others! If you haven't watched it already, I highly recommend it!

2) Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei
- The story is a bit slow and they understandably couldn't stuff everything from the LN despite stretching a couple of episodes to fit each volume. However, I'm actually looking forward to how they are going to play out the Yokohama Soren-hen. It's my favorite arc by far and volume 7 is among my favorite, so I hope they will do justice to it.

3) Kuroshitsuji - Book of Circus
- Been waiting for this arc! Finally they're taking more from the manga instead of that boring 2nd season... since when did Ciel become a demon? The last time I checked (read: lastest chapter), he's still human. Back to this, I love how cheeky Sebastian is in one of the early episodes. Plus, I think this arc is quite faithful to the manga so I'm loving it so far.

4) Psycho-Pass re-edit
- Awesome. Good. Great. All those missing scenes now put into these 1-hour episodes (11 of them?) are like diamonds to me. The extras complements the already existing episodes and make them great. If you're into the philosophers and thinkers mentioned in the series, more are mentioned all thanks to the inclusion of the cut scenes.

5) Ao Haru Ride
- I think I'd prefer the manga more but I'm just going to stick to this just in case. Although I'm not sure why the lead girl irritates me but I'll ignore that feeling and see if I can hold out. It's good though. Just as I thought one Mary-sue might appear, the author douses me with cold water. Much thanks.

6) Free! Eternal Summer
- Since I followed the 1st season, I decided, heck why not?
Yeah, it's okay. Haru as usual being emotionless most of the time but with another character sowing some dark emotions, it's all good. Really. Otherwise, how on earth would I be able to withstand another Gou maniac (brothers too!) and Gou's pursuit of abs and muscles?

7) Barakamon
- It's funny but it also makes you think about certain things in life. Example: people always look up, but they rarely look down. It's true in a way. It's a gem so it might be worth your while.

Others I'm following and may review in future:
- Aldnoah Zero
- Tokyo Ghoul (must watch!)
- Hanayamata
- Glasslip
- DRAMAtical Murder
- Akame ga Kill!
- Persona 4: The Golden Animation
- Rail Wars!
- Re:_Hamatora
- Zankyou no Terror

Summer 2014 proves to be a really good season for anime. The songs played for these anime are good too and some may even be better than its anime. Right now, I'm stuck on this: Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun OP1 - Kimi Janakya Dame Mitai. It's so catchy my brain wouldn't let go of it.

So until next time. Ja ne!

Hey, it's the end of March!

I don't know how I survived these 3 months and with this recurring illness... but I am really grateful for it. Thank God for that.

So!

I can say I have officially worked for 3 months come Monday. So I'm planning on reading up 'A Bear Called Paddington' for the kids. Now I'm on a mission: Find the book and finish it before Wednesday. I am absolutely serious!

Instead, I had a bad headache trying to find the book. Usually I can look up from genre and then author and voila! In fact, I think I have a better time looking for books at the Japanese section. So I ended up buying Junketsu Kareshi volume 8 純血+彼氏 <8>.

The only thing I have to say is (spoilers - please highlight):

Eriya, you really, really have issues.

My thoughts about Eriya in this volume is that he feels entitled, possibly jealous of Aki and he really has no care for others except himself.

What I could get from the volume is that Eriya has had a couple of pureblood slaves like Kana and he'll never be satisfied until he gets Kana. I might be wrong but that's the impression I had.

Go ahead and read it. I don't know if anyone has translated it so ... yeah.
The positive thing about this volume is that at least the mangaka has brought up the momentum. I hope it will be as interesting, if not more in future volumes. =)

We'll see when it comes to that yeah? Until next time!

Surpise! Book haul for March. ^^

Books are peculiar things. They can make you happy, sad, amused, angry, frustrated and so many emotions you never thought you could feel. I once cried while reading 'The Happy Prince'. And books, they have a different story altogether about how they came to be. Sometimes the titles were born from a whim, the books may be written out of desperation, the prose created out of anger and ideas may have come from hope. Books are such treasures that we sometimes have yet to discover the diamond buried in it.

I finally met my friend, Nithiya since we finished college and started working. We're both kind of like 'teachers' now. We both teach kids. We also love books. A trip or meetup at KLCC is never complete without a making a stop (note: looong stop) at Kinokuniya.

So today, there were so many books that caught our interest. If we could, I think we would have bought all the books in the store. I'm serious. We're serial book lovers.

I had to hold myself back. Here's what I bought:
1) Manga: Shitsuren Chocolatier (or rather, my friend paid for it as my birthday present)
2) Light novel: Tokyo Ravens 3 - Chimera Dance
3) I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

aaand! heads up!

4) Junketsu Kareshi 純血+彼氏 Vol. 7 (Yes! You read right!)

I bought 'I Capture the Castle' because it was recommended at the store for writers with writers block. I've yet to see if it's true. (Rating: TBA)

As for Tokyo Ravens LN, I'm buying one book a month. Thanks to my friend, Jian, I didn't have to buy the 2nd book. hehe. I love you. Seriously. (Rating: *****)

I was actually reading Shitsuren Chocolatier while stuck in traffic. Seems interesting. Might follow this one! ^^b Thumbs up! (Rating: *****)

It's been a while since I read Junketsu Kareshi. I actually lost interest in it, but thanks to the cover of volume 7 depicting Eriya and Aki together, I bought it. I am well aware that it's actually time for volume 9 now but really, I fell out of love with it. I'm trying to get back to it... and so I hope the mangaka will make it more interesting.

Here's a pretty spoiler from the volume 7 (please highlight):
(START SPOILER)
Eriya and Aki had a 'conversation'. Earlier, Aki told Kana that he loved her too. Because Kana confessed to Aki that she loves him (upset that Aki's 'fiance' was all over him and Aki was cool with it). So when Aki turned up with Kana in his arms and called out Eriya on the school's rooftop (Eriya enrolled in the same school), Eriya said that Aki was being mean. I didn't pay attention to their conversation but the last page mentioned Eriya saying that the 3 of them are finally together.

Just one thing: Aki, please make up your mind. I get it. You're kinda like the figure that has a precarious situation and lower vampires and other nobles might take every opportunity to bring you down. But please don't play with Kana's heart. You're handsome. But Eriya and Jin are too. 
(END OF SPOILER)

That said, I'm giving Junketsu Kareshi vol.7 the rating: ****

I'm giving this volume a chance because Eriya is now in it. Seems interesting. Hopefully, the mangaka will keep up the momentum and then, there may be a chance of 4.5 stars.

Anyhow... time for me to get back to real life. Work. Work. Work. Responsibility calls.

A Happy (belated) Chinese New Year!

I've been meaning to post a Chinese New Year greeting here but I've been so busy with work. Honestly, I go home, sleep, wake up, go to work. Repeat 5 times a week. I'm teaching new classes lately and it's taking some time to assimilate and getting to know the kids.

Anyhow,

HAVE A WONDERFUL AND PROSPEROUS YEAR OF THE HORSE! ^^b

Here's a bit of a trivia for today:
23 years ago, I was born on the 1st day of the Year of the Goat. So every year, I make it a point to celebrate Chinese New Year on top of my birthday. Each year, it'll be only about 2 weeks apart. Way to make the most of it! hahaha

What's even more wonderful is that I am always blessed with oranges each year during Chinese New Year until my Gregorian calendar birthday.

How great is that!

So here's to taking a break from anime/manga/LN posts. (and I think JLPT results will be posted to my house sometime soon. O_O )

and of course,

Thank you for your support! Celebrating more than 3,000 visits to this blog by giving all of you virtual mandarin oranges! I'll definitely post more manga/LN summary when I have time.

Until then, ja ne!