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Jan. 5th, 2004 11:28 amI was seriously ill for the weekend, and it didn't help that I had a car accident. Another one. For those not around last summer, someone plowed (literally) into me in a parking lot. She was driving through the car spaces. This time, someone was backing out and banged into my front passenger side. Her car had enough power to push me to the side where, rather unluckily, there was a metal light pole that stopped my car by me ramming into it. This was Friday.
The reason I was even out the day after I get back from China was because I was going to a potluck party and I stopped to pick up a friend. Maybe I was tired. Maybe I was distracted by the looming shadow of all the errands I had to run. Whatever it was - the next thing I knew was the terrific grating sound that can come only from metal meeting metal at ten miles an hour. Slow. But it did a number on my car. -_- My dad gets back today. -_- Technically not my fault, so we don't have to pay for it, but you never know with my dad.
Pray for me.
Then when I got to the party (cause I still went - several people were leaving to go back to different states for the start of winter quarter/semester) another friend plyed a glass of low-alcohol-content drink on me. I resisted at first, but I drank it anyways (peer pressure! Bad! Me! I can't believe I gave in!) Bad idea. It started giving me headaches and what I swear were hallucinations. I had to lie down and moan wretchedly. After a couple of hours, when I was sure most of effect was out of my system, I dragged my banged-up car home and collapsed into bed. Sleeping for, if you can believe it, nearly eighteen hours. I threw up a couple of times, moaned some more, and made my bed a mess. Washed them the next morning.
My throat still hurts and feels swollen, but this definitely took me by surprise. It just came on so sudden and viciously... something I ate was a bad, bad idea.
The fever burned my cells, but luckily! I made notes. So I can organize and try to remember things when I fill (slowly) my journal out.
Ah. I got a lot of anime dvd's while I was in China. It was something odd to discover this little store that had all this anime that I hadn't seen in the states yet, and also some stuff that I've been wanting to get but hadn't a chance to yet.
*beams* Taking advantage of my sick-state, I stayed at home all weekend and watched lots of anime.
Argento Soma was, I think, the best of the three full series I watched. Wolf's Rain fell short of my expectations, and I couldn't help but be wildly disappointed that after the first five or six episodes, it suddenly turns from an anime on brother relationships, on wolf-pack mentality, on the cesspool of humanity and a hell lot of homoerotic subtext (licking! There was licking involved!) to something I still can't quite figure out. I mean, what? Toboe and Tsume spend the first few episodes totally wrapped around each other and then suddenly, you see so little of that playing in except for the occasional scene. It goes from Hige/Kiba and Toboe/Tsume to Kiba/Flower Girl (because honestly, the writers of the show gave so little personality to this female that she could have literally been a flower) and some random side-plot involving Hige. It was weird.
Second, I watched The Twelve Kingdoms. This was pretty good, but for some reason, the anime has a lot of unfinished subplots. Sure the overall plot where Yoko overcomes her insecurities and weaknesses to become Emperess of one of the Twelve Kingdoms is nicely done, with a cool climatic fight near the end (though suddenly there's an extra six/seven episodes about, weirdly enough, Enki and Shoryu, the Taiho and Emperor of En. That was actually kind of bizarre. But going on; there are some subplots (like Taiki) that are just left and I've never seen anything like it. You get into the story and it just ends suddenly with no explanation. We see scenes between the Twelve Kingdoms world and our world, and Taiki is currently in our world, trying to figure out why he has dreams about a wholly different world. It's weird. The subplot just... stops. No explanation. And we plow into a different subplot that involves the former Princess of a kingdom ruled by a fanatical despot. And we see yet another girl who was swept by the seat from Japan to the Twelve Kingdoms. Only, she isn't so lucky and ends up serving a hundred years in servitude. She get's to be immortal, but the fates of these three girls end up being tied together and it ends great. That, I have nothing to complain about.
Another interesting thing about this series is the complete lack of romance. There's almost nothing between anyone, even though you keep hoping and hoping. We get two or three blushes. A scene between Shoukei (the former princess of Hou) and Rakushun (a half-beast, half-man) is hopeful, but not much more. I especially like Shoukei in this series because she really is an ignorant and naive brat who can only do 'oh, pity me' impressions. But after seeing the harshness of the countryside and travelling at Rakushun's side and discovering her loving father was a rule-maniacal despot opened her eyes. She and Lin become the friends and supporters of Yoko, though both originally sought out the Emperess for different reasons. It's a lovely plot, but yes, Twelve Kingdoms seems to lack a lot.
Now: Argento Soma!
Awesome anime. Great animation, absorbing story, multi-faceted characters, and a non-romantic story that somehow naturally gives you some romance at the end.
I have to admit, for those who want the story out before them bang! bang! bang! within the first five episodes may be disappointed. It's not even until after the tenth episode that the story really starts moving. I, however, love this. Normally, I wouldn't, but consider this: mecha fights scenes bore me. Honest. I'm not that into it, so I usually watch these at double-speed, stopping occasionally if I feel I'm missing important text. But I actually WATCHED every scene. It was pretty incredible, because I get bored easily, and I wasn't bored. At all.
Maybe it was anticipation. I already knew that Maki (Ryu's, the protagonist, girlfriend who died in the explosion that disfigured his face) was visible in Hattie, this thirteen year old girl who would have been eighteen if time had been properly gone by for her. It just screams for romance, and I wasn't disappointed. There's a lot of tension between the two, especially since Ryu hates 'Frank', the alien robot made of different alien parts, because Frank was the cause of the explosion (though truly, it was their own fault for playing Frankenstein), while Hattie loves Frank because he saved her and is her 'fairy'. Yousei-kun. It's kind of... interesting. To say the least.
One of the best things is the utter unpredictability of the series. The mole that we discover in ep. (er... 21?) was completely unexpected. And Ryu is a madman. That was a new experience; you can't help but get chills whenever he smiles, because every time he smiles, it's always in sadistic triumph, thinking that Frank will either a) die, b) get blown up, c) locked up, or d) destroyed. It's a smile and laugh (god, his laughs shiver) born from anger and malice and revenge. It's not pretty. He's no brooding, but honorable hero. He's no silent, strong figure. He's mentally unbalanced, and is not afraid to use violence. He's willing to slap a thirteen year old girl in frustration, and has no pity or sympathy about telling her cruel truths, even if they are truths.
Definitely not your average anime hero/protagonist. Bwa ha ha ha.
In the end, Hattie and Ryu's odd relationship is... well, strong. And it makes me happy. But there's almost nothing there. *grin* Subtext is strong, people.
I also got the HunterXHunter series, Last Exile, Scrapped Princess, and Gungrave. I should have gotten more. -_-
After watching Argento Soma, I've definitely decided to get the US DVD set here. Not Twelve Kingdoms though, because it wasn't worth it. Nor Wolf's Rain, but definitely Argento Soma.
Classes for Winter Quarter
Japanese Civilization
Chinese History 1200 AD - 1800 AD
Han Society and Culture
Creative Writing
May I get a 3.8 average so I can go to Taiwan.
The reason I was even out the day after I get back from China was because I was going to a potluck party and I stopped to pick up a friend. Maybe I was tired. Maybe I was distracted by the looming shadow of all the errands I had to run. Whatever it was - the next thing I knew was the terrific grating sound that can come only from metal meeting metal at ten miles an hour. Slow. But it did a number on my car. -_- My dad gets back today. -_- Technically not my fault, so we don't have to pay for it, but you never know with my dad.
Pray for me.
Then when I got to the party (cause I still went - several people were leaving to go back to different states for the start of winter quarter/semester) another friend plyed a glass of low-alcohol-content drink on me. I resisted at first, but I drank it anyways (peer pressure! Bad! Me! I can't believe I gave in!) Bad idea. It started giving me headaches and what I swear were hallucinations. I had to lie down and moan wretchedly. After a couple of hours, when I was sure most of effect was out of my system, I dragged my banged-up car home and collapsed into bed. Sleeping for, if you can believe it, nearly eighteen hours. I threw up a couple of times, moaned some more, and made my bed a mess. Washed them the next morning.
My throat still hurts and feels swollen, but this definitely took me by surprise. It just came on so sudden and viciously... something I ate was a bad, bad idea.
The fever burned my cells, but luckily! I made notes. So I can organize and try to remember things when I fill (slowly) my journal out.
Ah. I got a lot of anime dvd's while I was in China. It was something odd to discover this little store that had all this anime that I hadn't seen in the states yet, and also some stuff that I've been wanting to get but hadn't a chance to yet.
*beams* Taking advantage of my sick-state, I stayed at home all weekend and watched lots of anime.
Argento Soma was, I think, the best of the three full series I watched. Wolf's Rain fell short of my expectations, and I couldn't help but be wildly disappointed that after the first five or six episodes, it suddenly turns from an anime on brother relationships, on wolf-pack mentality, on the cesspool of humanity and a hell lot of homoerotic subtext (licking! There was licking involved!) to something I still can't quite figure out. I mean, what? Toboe and Tsume spend the first few episodes totally wrapped around each other and then suddenly, you see so little of that playing in except for the occasional scene. It goes from Hige/Kiba and Toboe/Tsume to Kiba/Flower Girl (because honestly, the writers of the show gave so little personality to this female that she could have literally been a flower) and some random side-plot involving Hige. It was weird.
Second, I watched The Twelve Kingdoms. This was pretty good, but for some reason, the anime has a lot of unfinished subplots. Sure the overall plot where Yoko overcomes her insecurities and weaknesses to become Emperess of one of the Twelve Kingdoms is nicely done, with a cool climatic fight near the end (though suddenly there's an extra six/seven episodes about, weirdly enough, Enki and Shoryu, the Taiho and Emperor of En. That was actually kind of bizarre. But going on; there are some subplots (like Taiki) that are just left and I've never seen anything like it. You get into the story and it just ends suddenly with no explanation. We see scenes between the Twelve Kingdoms world and our world, and Taiki is currently in our world, trying to figure out why he has dreams about a wholly different world. It's weird. The subplot just... stops. No explanation. And we plow into a different subplot that involves the former Princess of a kingdom ruled by a fanatical despot. And we see yet another girl who was swept by the seat from Japan to the Twelve Kingdoms. Only, she isn't so lucky and ends up serving a hundred years in servitude. She get's to be immortal, but the fates of these three girls end up being tied together and it ends great. That, I have nothing to complain about.
Another interesting thing about this series is the complete lack of romance. There's almost nothing between anyone, even though you keep hoping and hoping. We get two or three blushes. A scene between Shoukei (the former princess of Hou) and Rakushun (a half-beast, half-man) is hopeful, but not much more. I especially like Shoukei in this series because she really is an ignorant and naive brat who can only do 'oh, pity me' impressions. But after seeing the harshness of the countryside and travelling at Rakushun's side and discovering her loving father was a rule-maniacal despot opened her eyes. She and Lin become the friends and supporters of Yoko, though both originally sought out the Emperess for different reasons. It's a lovely plot, but yes, Twelve Kingdoms seems to lack a lot.
Now: Argento Soma!
Awesome anime. Great animation, absorbing story, multi-faceted characters, and a non-romantic story that somehow naturally gives you some romance at the end.
I have to admit, for those who want the story out before them bang! bang! bang! within the first five episodes may be disappointed. It's not even until after the tenth episode that the story really starts moving. I, however, love this. Normally, I wouldn't, but consider this: mecha fights scenes bore me. Honest. I'm not that into it, so I usually watch these at double-speed, stopping occasionally if I feel I'm missing important text. But I actually WATCHED every scene. It was pretty incredible, because I get bored easily, and I wasn't bored. At all.
Maybe it was anticipation. I already knew that Maki (Ryu's, the protagonist, girlfriend who died in the explosion that disfigured his face) was visible in Hattie, this thirteen year old girl who would have been eighteen if time had been properly gone by for her. It just screams for romance, and I wasn't disappointed. There's a lot of tension between the two, especially since Ryu hates 'Frank', the alien robot made of different alien parts, because Frank was the cause of the explosion (though truly, it was their own fault for playing Frankenstein), while Hattie loves Frank because he saved her and is her 'fairy'. Yousei-kun. It's kind of... interesting. To say the least.
One of the best things is the utter unpredictability of the series. The mole that we discover in ep. (er... 21?) was completely unexpected. And Ryu is a madman. That was a new experience; you can't help but get chills whenever he smiles, because every time he smiles, it's always in sadistic triumph, thinking that Frank will either a) die, b) get blown up, c) locked up, or d) destroyed. It's a smile and laugh (god, his laughs shiver) born from anger and malice and revenge. It's not pretty. He's no brooding, but honorable hero. He's no silent, strong figure. He's mentally unbalanced, and is not afraid to use violence. He's willing to slap a thirteen year old girl in frustration, and has no pity or sympathy about telling her cruel truths, even if they are truths.
Definitely not your average anime hero/protagonist. Bwa ha ha ha.
In the end, Hattie and Ryu's odd relationship is... well, strong. And it makes me happy. But there's almost nothing there. *grin* Subtext is strong, people.
I also got the HunterXHunter series, Last Exile, Scrapped Princess, and Gungrave. I should have gotten more. -_-
After watching Argento Soma, I've definitely decided to get the US DVD set here. Not Twelve Kingdoms though, because it wasn't worth it. Nor Wolf's Rain, but definitely Argento Soma.
Classes for Winter Quarter
Japanese Civilization
Chinese History 1200 AD - 1800 AD
Han Society and Culture
Creative Writing
May I get a 3.8 average so I can go to Taiwan.
