Fangirl X squeals endlessly about characters, plotlines, art direction, physics engines and dialogue. Also soapbox rants on whatever she feels like at the moment.
Yeah, so for the past few weeks I've been on a J-Drama craze. I regret nothing. Except for my tendency to almost answer in Japanese to simple questions; the danger of trying to learn another language through television.
Really great series you might want to check out:
Hana Kimi. It's one of those gender-bender types. A girl disguises herself as a boy at an all-boys' school to help one student she met in America who she feels responsible for and who is her idol. Ikeman (handsome males/hotties) drama starring Maki Horikata (who I adore as an actress), Shun Ogura and Ikke Toma. One of the characters (Nakatsu) falls for the heroine (Mizuki) without realizing she's a girl, producing many of my favorite scenes, especially this one. Has many of my favorite actors in it, including Yamamoto Yusuke (Tamki from Ouran Highschool Host Club). Based off a manga of the same name.
Atashinchi no Danshi. It's a comedy about a homeless girl who has a debt of 1 million yen given to her by her deadbeat father. She enters into an arrangement where she marries a rich toymaker for one month to pay off the debt. He passes away, leaving instructions in his will for her to care for his six sons or the debt rebounds. Very sweet, funny drama, once again starring Horikata Maki.
ProDai. The name to this series is actually longer (Proposal Daisuke), but I don't remember it off the top of my head. It's about a man who's been in love with his friend from elementary school his whole life...and she just got married to someone else! With the help of a fairy that lives in the church where the wedding is taking place he is able to time travel to photos from a slideshow his other friends prepared for the wedding to change his many regrets. It's a wonderful comedy that's mostly slice of life with romance. Really sweet.
Tokyo Dogs. About a pair of Japanese detectives busting up an international gun ring and other things. I had to stop watching due to my inability to take the gun violence seriously, but I did like what I saw story wise and will still recommend it. Two of my favorite actors are the main characters.
Zettai Kareshi. I already talked about this one, but I loved it a lot. Though I was rooting for the human the whole time, not the robot. Still, very moving and I did like Night very much. ^.^ The physical comedy in this was really well done, too. Based off a manga of the same name, though in the manga it is a high school comedy while here it is a grown-up comedy.
Kurosagi. This is about a swindler who swindles other swindlers out of their money and gives it back to the victims. He is acting out of vengeance for his own family that had been swindled with deadly results. The female protagonist is a law student who wants justice for the wronged and at first is against what Kurosagi does, but then falls for him. It's a drama, no comedy. Based off a manga of the same name.
That's it for now. Still watching that last one (yes, it stars Horikata Maki), and so far I really like it. I also saw part of a movie that was Japanese yet has Anton Yelchin in it. WTF? Really cute so far, but the site I was watching it on would interrupt it every few minutes with ads, so looking for a new site. Called Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac.
Just saw the debut trailer and publisher interview for Bayonetta 2. Which will be an exclusive release...for the Wii U. *facepalm*
The Wii U is a terrible idea. Other, better people than I have listed reasons as to why. For me it is because the idea of playing on a console is to be playing on a television set. If I wanted a handheld device I would already be playing on one. I have enough trouble watching one screen. Also switching back and forth between the two seems incredibly pointless. It's like an eight-year-old with massive ADHD running back and forth across a room with brightly colored objects in his hands and screaming the same three sentences over and over again until throws them at my face. It's a nightmare, is what I'm saying.
A game style like Bayonetta or Devil May Cry should not be on a device where a stylus is required. The publisher says it's been testing well amongst gamers and I'm inclined to believe these testers are children who have no concept of older games. But that's my personal opinion. Agree? Disagree? Leave me a comment!
So some exciting news already out at E3. Dragon Age III had a debut trailer with Morrigan taking over Flemeth's usual voice over. Also new outfit for Morrigan. She looks kinda like Lulu from Final Fantasy X.
So I'm not exactly the biggest FF fan, but the main character here (Noctio?) seems pretty cool. I'm also a fan of his predilection for hanging off of high places with one hand. There is a return of a buster sword because nostalgia. I am a fan so far of the Japanese track so I'm going to try like hell to get Tony to play with that one instead if possible. XD
Okay, this one's for my fiancé Tony. Thanks to him telling me every plot detail as he read them I don't have to read or watch any of The Song of Ice and Fire stuff, freeing me up to do other things. ;)
This just killed me:
Hope you enjoy. :)
Now for something completely different:
I just finished all of live action Zettai Kareshi (Absolute Boyfriend) and it was so full of feels that I just can't....wow. I loved all the actors in it. I really did. They were great. Shoujo manga translates really well into live action. Sad but true. Also, watch Otomen if you can, that was pure magic!
It strikes! I am helpless to its evil, black power! Live action adaptations have stricken me and I have fallen under their sway! My life before is barely memorable now that I have been swept into the dreamland that is J-Drama...
Believe me, I feel even sillier for admitting this. I can't help it though. The Rurouni Kenshin film started it. I did promise a review, and then didn't deliver (I do that A LOT, don't I?). So I will try to appease the dark spirits of my guilt and longing by doing a mini-review right now:
Rurouni Kenshin is one of my favorite animes/mangas of all time. My first introduction to anime was actually The Vision of Escaflowne, and it was the dub on Fox on Saturday mornings when I was in my early teens (I want to say I was 14, maybe 15 tops). It wouldn't be until years later, my freshman year of college to be exact, that I would watch Kenshin's tale. After Escaflowne, I was introduced to Cowboy Bebop and then hooked. I asked Tony for my next recommendation and he suggested Rurouni Kenshin as it was dear to him (and starting to air again on Cartoon Network). I fell head over heels. Kenshin was my real introduction to Japan as a whole. It taught me the history of Japan through the Bakumatsu (I wanted to understand what the factions represented and why they were fighting) as well as the culture, both current and past. It taught me how the introduction of Western technology and ideals really changed the shape of Japan, how they integrated it, what it meant to them, and what it would mean for the future (current day). Not to mention Kenshin himself, and how much I freaking love him. Also Kaoru. They're one of my OTPs and I have not nearly enough fanart for them because MORE PEOPLE NEED TO MAKE IT AS I AM NO WHERE TALENTED ENOUGH TO DO SO MYSELF.
That being said (babbled), the movie...so the movie has some problems. This was inevitable, as the whole of Rurouni Kenshin can't be easily condensed and make sense, much less the first arc. Instead, they tried to make the first two major arcs run simultaneously (something I kind of admired, actually, as it makes sense for a shorter adaptation) and ended up combining two major villians for this purpose: Jin-Eh is masquerading as Battousai just 'cause he can (previously GoHei's schtick), and he works for Kanryu Takeda who is our somewhat primary villian, along with another assortment of gangsters and ex-hitokiris, one who is supposed to be a combination of (I think) Aoshi and Makoto Shishio....yeah. Sure. Also none of the text on screen was translated. Ever. You want to know what's being said? Fuck you. That's what.
Anyway, to accomplish the two simultaneous arcs they have Kanryu trying to get rid of Kaoru's dojo...because. Jin-Eh takes on Battosai claiming to use Kamiya Kasshin Ryu...because...they actually never freaking explain it. Kaoru makes a big deal of it and it is a plot point and then they just up and forget about it. Forever. It really stuck in my craw. Kanryu is still making opium and forcing Megumi to do it for him to sell to the city with the aim of the rest of Japan, or THE ENTIRE WORLD! MWAHAHAHA! Kanryu's point in this is to demonstrate how low Japan is brought by the West when traditional Japanese idealogy is completely disregarded. He does a pretty good job of it too. The character/actor was clearly a favorite for the director as a lot of the story revolves around him and his facial expressions. Which is fine. He does a good job, but he isn't what I think of for "major shounen villian". In the least. They have Jin-Eh for final show-down villian, and he slaughters an entire prefecture of police (and then some for good measure) and yet he isn't our major villian. Somehow. Except for storming the prefecture and being Kenshin's final enemy in the film, he's just not there. Which really sucked, and lacked necessary impact for Kenshin's emotional/personality change during the fight. That leads me to the next point:
Kaoru hardly exists in the film. I mean, she does, she's there for at least half the major events; Emi and Takeru have major chemistry and almost no romantic one-on-one scenes. In RK, Kaoru is the heart of the series. She is everyone's center. She is the most compassionate character with a real fire burning behind her convictions. She doesn't care about people's pasts (really important for Kenshin's case) and says everyone has something they don't want to talk about AND SHE MEANS IT. Which is somewhat ironic as she's the only one in the Kenshin-gumi that has nothing to regret or forgive in her past. Kaoru represents the purity of the soul, fighting commitment, and how to transmute traditional Japanese ideals into the new era (modern day). She is brave, confident (sometimes overly), kind, and quick-tempered. Kenshin is the yang to her yin (I know that's backwards, but Kenshin is more yang than yin) as calm, cool, humble and downright sad, though he masks it well. Kaoru is weak only when compared to Kenshin and his ilk (others we meet in the series, they're all the best of the best of the best) but would be in the top five if nationally rated. In the movie she can barely fight, and most of the time doesn't even try. This is the opposite of what she's supposed to be. She's supposed to be skilled and hold her own most times. Here she tries for half a second and is immediately taken down by a cut to her arm from Jin-Eh. It was incredibly distressing for a fan such as myself.
All that being said...the movie was still highly enjoyable. The actors were brilliant, the cinematography was amazing, and the fight scenes...the fight scenes you guys. It was brilliant. Takeru Sato was absolutely, utterly breathtaking. He was Kenshin. He had Kenshin's speed and skill and his handsomeness, and it was like watching poetry. Poetry that could skillfully kick your ass. His voice sent shivers down my back at parts and my jaw was permanently on the floor during his stunts. If for no other reason, you have to watch this movie for the choreography alone. Also for this one moment where Kenshin really becomes the Kenshin we know and love (Kaoru gives him new/old clothes, he steps out into the dojo yard and the wind picks up....the peace in his face...). I almost cried.
Yeah, so my "mini-review" was more...me just effing babbling endlessly. Sorry.
So more live action adaptations I've been enjoying:
Yes! Ouran High School Host Club! It's awesome! Seriously. You would not believe. The guy who plays Tamaki...he has the ability to be cartoonish and make it natural. That's impossible for American/Western actors. He's really funny (and fluid). Not hot, but I can live with that because he is super talented.
Also:
Okay, this is the ending and it makes it look all Edo-period, but I still love it. This is Otomen (pun on otome which is Japanese for "maiden" and 'men'). It's about a boy who loves girly things (but doesn't want to be a girl) who has to hide his true feelings and be the manliest boy there ever was due to a promise he made his mother. He falls in love with a girl who was raised to be a boy, so she is terrible at girly-things. It's based off a manga of the same name (no anime adaptation, though) and it is so incredibly awesome I don't have words. It reminds me a lot of Ouran and a bit of Ranma as well. It's well written with a great cast of characters and fun running gags. Please check it out at: Drama Crazy
They have translated anime, J-dramas, and K-dramas! It's awesome!
Oh! Also loved the adaptation for Yamato Nadeshiko no Shichi Henge (Wallflower):
In this adaptation it's really more about Kyohei growing as a person, but I'm okay with that. It gave it more heart than the original. Sunako is more of a running gag than a character, but to be fair she's somewhat more effective that way. It's not like she can be SD in this version, so what else can they do?
So, one of my absolute favorite manga/anime of all time is Rurouni Kenshin. Last August there was a live action film released in Japan that was an adaptation of the first season of the anime (I forget how many chapters of the manga it was...let's go with a buttload, official unit of measurement). I have recently acquired said film and actually plan on reviewing it in detail very soon, along with my usual ramblings on the anime and manga in general. For those who'd like a quick intro (and spoilers) as to the nature of the manga I seriously recommend either reading it or watching the amazing video below by the talented aoisenshi9.
Wow, life takes over fast, doesn't it? Haven't been able to play SWTOR in a while, either. I want to say "Hello!!" to Rach and Eli for being awesome people! Also, Rach, I've been meaning to e-mail you, I haven't forgotten! Just suck is all...
I did get to watch all of Bioshock Infinite...and boy if you don't want spoilers don't read anymore after this paragraph. I can safely say that it was an amazing experience that had me glued to the television and I wasn't even playing. Mostly because FPV gives me motion sickness and I suck horribly at it. Literally. When I pick up the controller there's a strange vacuum noise...
Here be spoilers:
Okay, so the first thing I noticed was that a) Elizabeth looked exactly like Belle from Beauty and the Beast except she had blue eyes and b) she had the same AI duties as Elika (except for combat). Yay for Magical Girlfriends! Er, whoops...daughters, I guess? I'll cover that in a bit. Elizabeth was your perfect AI companion, collecting resources for your usage only, help in combat with her magic tear powers, and even giving you money. If you leave her alone she even interacts with the environment. She is pretty awesome and again, reminded me heavily of Prince of Persia's Elika. Courtney Draper did an amazing job (especially as an-almost novice) and I'm dying to get the OST just for her singing. Gameplay was otherwise pretty standard Bioshock fare which wasn't broken so it didn't really need to be fixed. The moral choices in this game were different in that no matter what you did or didn't do the outcome was usually the same and had little to no impact on the ending. That was new, at least.
Your main character is a fully realized individual with a detailed background, emotional state, face, and voice. I love Troy Baker so much, and it was a real treat to hear him throughout the game (and not being Snow!). It was also nice that Booker was actually important to the story itself and the actions taking place instead of being merely incidental to the events around him. It was a nice change of pace for Ken Levine and I think it worked really well. Infinite was all about the outcomes of choice and it was enjoyable to see this thematically, even if in-game it wasn't completely relevant. Tony and I really enjoyed the whole "There but for the grace of God go I" dichotomy presented in the Booker/Comstock character(s?). Tony really approved of the idea of baptism introducing a quantum state which I latched on to when he presented it as such. One of the voxophone recordings by Comstock sealed it with the plight of the sinner who "drowns" in the baptism. It's a neat concept we've been discussing for a while now.
I know it irritated some people to high heaven (my good friend Joel being one, and I tell him to shut-up every time he opens his mouth on the subject) that your actual choices as the player don't count for much, but I think in a game like this it works. It creates a linear path (and we know I'm all about linear story-telling) and doesn't have the issue of trying to resolve why certain characters would still be allowed to live or what to do if they were dead and trying to justify the choices players make. The tone doesn't have to shift wildly between the puppy-kicking psychopath or the holier-than-anyone-goody-two-shoes morality system you find in most games nowadays. I found that to be a refreshing change as it allowed for more morally ambiguous actions or left the player questioning if what they did really was the better option either gameplay-wise or character-wise.
My favorite character was actually Rosalind Lutece, though. A) she was voiced by the incredible Jennifer Hale, b) she had the best lines, and c) she was part of a Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead routine, which is a sorely underused concept. Triple thumbs up for the Luteces and their incredible, slightly sinister accordion theme!
Anyway, these are my half-baked thoughts as I stave off sleep for longer than I should. Leave your favorite moment in the comments if you'd like. Mine was Elizabeth being mistaken for Lady Comstock by the gate to Comstock house. Anyone know if that was the voice of the Claptraps for the Borderlands series?
I'm a female twenty-something that grew up as the only girl with two brothers my age (I'm a triplet). I'm a self-proclaimed nerd/geek/what-have-you who obssesses over TV shows, movies, books, Tudor England, Japanese culture and history, anime, videogames, manga, and comic books.
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