Larger than Life... almost

Lookie at what I found in Little Tokyo the other day, now hanging on my bedroom wall :D

Impulse buys like this is why I should not be carrying cash. If only they replace Russia with Canada then it'll be perfect. But then it wouldn't be the Allies anymore would it, which is the group I like better simply coz China, America and Britain is in it ♥

Anyways, Hetalia: Axis Powers is a Japanese webcomic/manga/anime where nations around the world are given human forms and play out history. The series is chock-full of racial stereotypes and non-politically correct jokes I find absolutely hilarious but that could just be due to my obnoxious American side me who secretly enjoys such humor hurhur.

At the world conference:

I love America so much XD His personality is so spot on. 

If you want to give the show a try, I recommend the English dub because its the only one worth watching with its tongue-in-cheek humor and sarcastic narrator. Sure the accents are hard to understand at first but after multiple replays (which you definitely will), you'd catch everything and each episode is only 5 minutes long anyways. Also, despite what fandom seem to depict Hetalia to be, the anime is not bl so no worries~♪ I later found the manga to be more lenient towards it though so you might just wanna stick to the anime like me.

I have a feeling people of my major should not be liking this show but what the heck, guilty pleasures :3

Kaichou wa Maid-sama

So its been ages since I last wrote a review of anything.

Since writing reviews are the things I like to write best because they are so fun I shall attempt to do so again. Also, because I have been going through my folders spring cleaning each and found a bunch of screenshots so why waste it right?

Anyways, Kaichou wa Maid-sama....

...was the last anime I watched in ages that suit my taste which is either a good thriller like Death Note or high school romance comedies with loads and loads of eyecandy which is exactly like what Kaichou wa Maid-sama is 8D

I think all of you should know by now on how ridiculously superficial I can be when it comes to games and animes where looks > content any time. As long its funny, the guys hot and the plot pretty okay, I will like it. Vampire Knight was the only exception where I hated the plot but still succumbed watching till the very end because uhm the guys were pretty. Like really pretty *__* Whereas on the other hand, it takes a reallllllly darn good infallible plot for me to watch/play something severely lacking in the looks department. And even then, I still might not want to bother with it lalala~

Anyways, if you're like me, you'd like this anime. I decide to write reviews of animes I like because I believe there are many girls out there equally as 'superficial' as me and am sick of having to google 'animes similar to Ouran/Furuba' and get tons of results that are FAR from what Ouran and Furuba is -___-

So, basic gist of the story is a high school girl called Misa who is the school president of a former all boys school that is now accepting female students and she was one of the few who got in through a scholarship. She is loud, responsible, independent, doesn't take crap from anyone and prefers the company of girls over guys who she thinks are a bunch of uncouth slobs.

Funny thing is she secretly works part-time at a maid cafe of all places in order to support her family. Now why would a feminist who borderline hates guys choose this job is beyond me but meh. Whatever floats her boat. Oh and she has to keep her job a secret because it will irrefutably destroy her reputation.

Guess who discovered her secret?

Enter Takumi Usui who is the school's hottest guy who takes an interest in her because of her fiery personality that sets her apart from other girls. But she has no interest in him whatsoever. At least initially.

Yes peoples, this is your typical popular hot guy falls for unstereotypical independent girl who thinks she is extremely self-capable and frowns upon guys like Usui but then later throughout the story, slowly falls for him instead and realized that there are just some things only a guy can provide type of anime. In other words, predictable ending, unrealistic characteristics and shallow to the core storyline.

But that's not what we watch it for riiight?! ;D

We watch it for....

1) The endless amount of lol

I love animes that make me laugh and Kaichou wa Maid-sama is no exception. In here, Usui is like a closet pervert who manages to twist every innocent statement into something utterly inappropriate its ridiculous XD He is also incredibly nonchalant about everything and would do/say the most outrageous things ever without a 2nd thought. All with a straight face.

When asked how is he related to Misa

Later in the anime, we get a fleeting glimpse into his real life which doesn't look all dandy because every hot main character who is all sunshine and live like there isn't a care in the world must always have a dark tragic past or family issues. I swear there is a formula for genres like this.

But the tragic never lasts for more than a fraction of a minute before we are back to the lulz again thank goodness. As much as I like deeper serious interactions between characters every now and then, too much would only make it gloomy as most typical romance stories are bound to be.


2) the hot bishies that are bound to randomly appear by the dozen like this:

Does not matter that they contribute nothing significant whatsoever to the story as long they stand there long enough to look pretty 8D I always wonder how is it that anime guys can have such outrageous hair colors and look insanely hot but yet when translated into the real world, it looks utterly horrible. I think Aaron Yan from Fahrenheit is sooooo cute but when he dyed part of his hair purple....just no.

Yes, they are girls! Its butler theme this time for the maid cafe. In the world of anime, guys and girls are the same. Physical appearance, hair lengths, makeup, personality are easily interchangeable between both sexes. What really makes them a guy or a girl depends solely on the spoken words of the creator: 'and thou shall be a girl and thee a guy'. You can never tell otherwise really.

More eyecandy:

Quintuplets. Hot quintuplets. I always wondered... if you cheat on another brother and somehow got caught in public or pregnant, no one would ever know would they? Coz they all share the same identical features heh.


3) the 'romance'

I've watched quite a few different genres of romance and romance stories like this are the only ones I can stomach so far. Mainly because they aren't all mushy and full of people crying left and right. Or the girls overly weak and insecure. Seriously, stop being such a loser and go out and do something. Lose weight, wear makeup, buy nicer outfits, make an effort to keep talking to the guy until he knows you exist etc. So simple pffft. Even if you fail, at least you know you tried and probably gained truckloads of undiscovered self-confidence by then.

Anyways!

I like how in romance comedies like this, the guys are not only hot but sexily assertive/protective/confident etc. But yet at the same time have a soft, caring side to them. In other words, the ideal guy that would never exist in the real world because if he's hot and assertive, he's a playboy and an egoistical jerk. If handsome and quiet, no excitement factor. If assertive but has soft, caring side still... nah, very unlikely and if got would probably be lacking in looks. Sad how you can't have all irl.

Anyways, guys like Usui and Tamaki and Takashima Kei and the likes are just way more interesting than those typical purely shoujo ones where the guys are like idk, girls, personality wise. I give them credit for having nice characteristics but half the time they are uhm boring. Fantasies are fantasies for a reason and animes are fantasies no? :P

OH LOOK, ONE MORE THING TO ADD TO THE ALREADY PERFECT LIST:

So ridiculously over-perfect you can never compete XD

Anyways tl;dr, this is one of those mindlessly fun anime designed to make you laugh and fawn over the pretty, pretty characters ♥ You don't watch it for the ending, you watch it for the progression :) I will be irritated if there was a twist and the two main characters don't end up together, not after I spent 23 episodes rooting for them to end up together so predictable endings are most welcomed here.

Give it a try and if you like it and want more animes of the same genres, just ask for recs in the comment box below. Have fun watching ^__^

Special A

AM SO PIMPING THIS ZOMG AWESOME ANIME WHICH I FINISHED YESTERDAY ♥♥♥

FINALLY. Finally an anime interesting enough to attract me. It's been like what? a year? 2? since I last watched an anime and gave up hopes for a smashing comedy romance the likes of Ouran and The Wallflower.

It's been kinda hard to return to the anime world after you cross over to the jdrama world where the guys are real......actually no that is not it. It's just that when you sell your fangirl soul to JE there is no turning back whattheheck lol. But I was bored after exhausting all the good dramas available and needed a break before Massu's new drama airs along with a whole slew of other promising Spring dramas so I can enjoy them properly later =P

Enter Special A (24 Episodes) which I remember it being rec. by a few people but I was too caught up in the awesome lineup of Summer jdramas to care....till now.

It's of those high school comedy romance with lots of bishies which is like MY FAV. GENRE OF ALL TIMES ♥ The plot is simple: Hikari (black haired girl in 6th pic), who was the best in everything since young, lost that title after meeting and losing to Takishima Kei (blond one in 3rd pic) in a wrestling match and since then has always been second to him. In her desire to beat him, she enrolls herself into the same school as him where both are the top 2 students with Kei being forever number 1 much to her annoyance.

The S.A. is the elite class of the elites and is made up of the top 7 students: Kei, Hikari, Jun, Megumi, Tadashi, Akira and Ryuu. Typically, they are not only smart and hot but also DAMN RICH. Ouran much? =DDD Needless to say, Hikari is the only poor one. And yeah, none of them ever attend classes and spend every day sipping tea in a greenhouse specially constructed for them.

AND KEI'S DAD (5th pic in green) IS PROBABLY THE YOUNGEST AND MOST USELESS DAD I'VE EVER SEEN SRSLY YOU KNOW ANIME IS REALLY SCREWED UP WHEN THE DAD LOOKS YOUNGER THAN THE SON -_-"

My instant fav. in the beginning was Kei cuz ALSDJFLASDKAF LELOUCH VOICE HOKAY OMG I LOVE LELOUCH LIKE I LOVE MOIST CHOCOLATE CAKE =d Sexiest voice evar rawr~! I tell you that voice is teh sex ♥ So yeah, I'm actually in love with the voice and not Kei really cuz I keep seeing Lelouch every time he speaks srsly Lelouch ♥♥♥ Such a genius badass yet still has a touch of kindness to him so effing LOVE ok ok ok I am going off topic here....

So like I said, this is a comedy romance so guess who's desperately in love with Hikari who is like the densest girl I've ever come across till I feel really sorry for Kei. THE POOR BOY OK having his heart crushed again and again into itty bitty specks of dust by Hikari's clueless and effing hilarious responses to his meaningful romantic ones XD

Kei: "With you, I could go anywhere. Even if our destination was hell."

Hikari: "Hell? I don't want to go there!" *shuns*

She is so obsessed with being his rival that she can't see past towards his feelings really, poor poor Kei. For the most part, every time a romantic scene comes up and you start to feel tugs on your heartstrings, something silly has to go and spoil it all till you end up half crying and half laughing but really the lines in here are WIN

But let's digress a bit.....

Karino Tadashi ♪ My fav. character after midway through the anime (byebye Kei) cuz heck, doesn't he reminds you of Massu what with his love for food and that happy cute personality at all times but oh so sexy when you least expect it persona of his???

Tadashi = Anime Massu

My NEWS fangirl heart cannot help but be drawn to him ahhh...

Then there is Jun -Megumi's twin- who I honestly didn't bother giving a second glance to cuz he looks so young and innocent it makes me feel pedo if I were to fangirl him until I met Inner Jun:

ALDKSJFNLAKJSFA WHAT THE HECK OK IS THAT EVEN HIM 8D OMG I AM ALL FOR INNER JUN CAN YOU FEEL THE SEXINESS JUST RADIATING OFF HIM IN WAVES TILL HE MAKES THE EVER SEXY KEI LOOK LIKE NARUTO OR SOMETHING HOT DAMN I SAY INNER JUN FOR SEXIEST ANIME GUY OF THE YEAR I DON'T CARE OKAY HE SO TOTALLY PWNS WITH THAT SMOLDERING EYES OF HIS *DIES*

But..but..but then there is also Yahiro! The evil villain in the begining who has a secret concerning Akira (the black short haired girl) and is something of a bastard but a very cool suave and not to forget handsome bastard I might add who I immediately found alluring cuz dammit I have a weakness for bad guys in anime though why why why do they ALL turn out to be good guys later on actually beats me. Eg: Lelouch, Itachi (WHRYYY?! I WANTED TO WAIL AFTER 2nd SIS TOLD ME THE TRUTH), Gaara etc.

My bad boy radar sucks =C

Anyway, Yahiro ♥ I have nothing to say but ♥. I know I've been switching fav. like goodness knows how many times already but Yahiro's hidden sweetness behind the cold facade he puts up to protect the ones he loves just kills me. The part where he tries to find Akira's lost phone omg his shy awkwardness there totally strike my heart and guess what?

I'm sold. Yahiro wins.

Oh yes.

And here we have Ryuu. Who is probably the only guy I have no interest in. Simply cuz he's too into his animals he bores me. There was one scene though where I almost liked him in which he coolly accepted a delinquent challenge with flashing eyes so determined I was riveted till he had to go and fawn over his wild animals in the next and I'm like wth?

So back to the anime. I think this one could very well top Ouran and I think I have to re-watch Ouran before finalizing my decision but this could very well be my top fav. anime of all times. Not only is it insanely hilarious with witty comebacks and outrageous behaviors but it has the romance Ouran lacked and which I so desperately craved.

You have to admit that the relationship between Haruhi and Tamaki and Hikaru was totally going nowhere until the LAST episode but even then it left much to be desired. Plus I kinda dislike Haruhi cuz her 'I'm not interested' attitude in everything offs me. Special A however balances all the hilarious antics with the anticipated romance between every character.

Almost everyone was paired up slowly but surely except for one (guess who lol) and I'll leave the pairings for you to find out in the anime as I dislike spoilers too. You do not know how hard it is to pick screencaps that doesn't give everything away. The romance in here is heart touching to the max but not sappy to the point you want to gag which is exactly how I like it =D I hate sap. And weak emotional girls who look as if they can break. Which thankfully none of the girls here are.

I only have one minor complaint. Which would be the 2nd ending song omg its such a mood killer since by then the episodes would be getting more serious and omg you cannot tell how annoying it is to have an emotional ending whereby this girl slapped a guy before running away in tears then have the ending song suddenly blare happily CHU-CHURU CHURU CHURU as if ushering in the new year omg never ever pick an upbeat song for the ending srsly.

But other than that? AWESOME ANIME TOO GOOD TO PASS UP SO DO ME A FAVOR AND GO. WATCH. IT. NOW SO WE CAN RANT ABOUT IT TOGETHER

There Is Just Something So Sexy.....

........about being bitten on the neck by a super hot vampire XP

Vampire Knight is the anime of the year that managed to attract me back to the anime world. It is totally my type of anime ok. Read: Full of bishies where the plot is direct with simple terms and explanations so you don't need to think. Omg I dislike animes where I have to exert brainpower to figure out what's going on with DN being the only exception cause L is totally hot so I don't mind rewinding the video many times to understand what he is trying to say and the fact that it is of the thriller genre (my fav.)

Am loving the black suit like uniform on Zero =D

Anyway as I was saying, the vampires are like so freakin hot in here it's a crime because I thought they are supposed to be ugly creatures? Think Nosferatu and Count Dracula.

Oooh, I so love it when the Japanese can change something so hideous into something so damn beautiful and desirable ok.

Grab. Licks. Bite.

So HOT.

Vampire Knight is ♥

Lovely Complex

Christmas dinner this year wasn't all that fun cause this time my cousins were in HK instead. Usually they spent every Christmas at our house since like forever. I miss them badly =(

Anyway, all you anime watchers out there MUST watch Lovely Complex!!!! It's like one of the nicest anime ever next to Honey & Clover. This anime is the only one which has managed to get me back to watching animes after immersing myself into the J-drama world.

The sole reason I actually bother with animes again is cause that guy I met at camp told me that Tegomass sang the OP and ED for Lovely Complex. Now THAT definitely got my attention. Then he, eiChi and Ammy kept rambling about how awesome the anime is till curiosity got the better of me and decided to give it a try. After all, if Tegomass sang for it then it shouldn't be that bad =)

It's about a girl (Koizumi) who is 172cm tall who falls in love with a 156cm guy (Otani) and basically the whole anime is about how they cope with their height difference I think, seeing as I'm only on episode 9 at the moment. (Wiki Link) But all I can say so far is that THIS ANIME IS AWESOME!!!! The storyline, emotions, music, script is great. It can actually make you laugh AND cry at the SAME time. That would be the end of episode 8 where it the situation was so heartbreaking till I cried (*and I seldom do for any movie) yet at the same time, this scriptwriter manage to inject humor into the scene through other characters so I was like crying and laughing at the same time ('Feel like eating bear curry'...lol those who watched would understand)

Never knew it was possible to do both O_o

On the whole it's really touching and they got the whole high school romance part perfectly down to pat. The confession, agony of silence, rejection etc. Like Honey & Clover and Proposal Daisakusen (drama). Plus it has it fair share of humorous moments too. Really hilarious when it chooses to be. Koizumi's best friends are those you should look out for. Their plans to get them together at the beach was so silly XD I prefer this sort of romance story to those normally found in K-dramas. Somebody faster make it into a drama!!!! I can't wait for a drama!!! Just don't choose the tall-short couple in Proposal Daisakusen as the actors.

But honestly la, can fall in love with someone that short meh? If I were her I'll get Haruka. He's tall AND hot and he likes her like siao. Otani is just like her little brother lidat. Can fall meh??? I find it hard to believe though. I mean a little shorter maybe can la but a difference of 16cm??? I remember reading somewhere where scenarios like this do happen in the world and they actually got married. Got one where the guy is until the woman's knee only!!! All I can think of is how can they possibly kiss and ahem..... You know......

HOW AR???

Oh well, shall resume watching episode 10. Go watch!!! It is nice. Oh and the ED song is in my sidebar. One of the sweetest love song ever and it's not because I'm bias. It really is. Tegomass FTW =D

Gensomaden Saiyuki

I am so sorry for plaguing you all with yet another anime post about Saiyuki. I know I'm taking a risk of losing you readers here but...but...but if I don't get it out of my system now I won't be able to think straight long enough to write a decent post about other things!

That's because I've just finish watching it 2 days ago and ever since then I've got Saiyuki on my brain 24/7 except during Econ/PP classes because the teacher is too damn interesting and the time I stepped into DIY (a place that sells baking ingredients/utensils) and got hit by a wave of vanilla, butter, cocoa and a ton of other heavenly aroma and suddenly all senses (except smell) just shut down and I had this insane urge to go around eating the shop up. Nothing beats the aroma of freshly baked goods and baking ingredients. Better than perfumes!!! So delicious that I want to suck in all the fragrant air around me if such a thing was possible.

Oh man, love DIY. LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!! *goes into dreamy state where the air is filled with the various aromas of delicious smelling baking ingredients*

*snaps out of stupor* Wait, what was I rambling about before DIY? Oh, Saiyuki.........FREAKIN GREAT ANIME! Or maybe I'm just bias because I'm completely besotted by Sanzo (thanks to Abi who ruin me by rambling on and on about him =P ) and immediately associate anything to do with him as awesome. How can someone like an anime character you ask? It's not even real, not like my *insert random actor name* in *insert random drama*....

I know that silly. I um, also don't know how to explain. It's a cartoon I know but a bit different than the norm because it delves deeper into each characters and....ah crap, it's exactly like your dramas just in cartoon form. So if you got your favorite character in your dramas then it is only normal I would have mine in my anime. Anyway who cares about all that...I should tell you the plot.

In case you don't know yet, this is the Japanese animated adaption of "Xi You Ji" or better known as "Journey To The West".

Honestly, I HATE 'Xi You Ji'. I mean have you seen the Chinese drama on that??? There:



See that HIDEOUSLY UGLY monkey?! I always harbor an itch to pull that stupid monkey fur out just to hear him screech in pain for making me listen to his ridiculously pitched voice. Do you know those bobbing head dolls? Well, in his case it's more like neck-stretching dolls (think of an accordion) where his intonations goes up down up down up down.....each time he speaks. GAH! Annoying! And the pig/chu pa kai looks like a retard, I've always wanted to pull his nose off haha. I forgot how the priest look like liao.

Oh, did I mention that "Sun Wu Kong" is known as "handsome monkey king" in certain Chinese adaption? Nah, your "handsome" monkey king....

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Until now, I have zero idea on what XYJ is all about. I only know they are on journey to the West which I only know because of the title. But assuming that Gensomaden Saiyuki is an exact version of XYJ (I think it is, the internet say one) then I know more now. First off, the characters are way hotter than the Chinese ones:

From left: Cho Hakkai, Son Goku, Genjo Sanzo and Sha Goyjo

Yes, Son Goku is Sun Wukong and now that's hot. And the monk got lovely blond hair! Hakkai is the pig (now if pigs are like that, then being called a pig would be a compliment instead of an insult) while Goyjo is the water sprite (whatever that is. I have no idea what part is that in the original XYJ) 2nd, the script is better.

Like all anime, everything is twisted like how Sanzo is portrayed as a somewhat rebellious monk who doesn't believe in Buddhism and breaks all rules by smoking, drinking , gambling, killing enemies blablabla. I think the only thing he kept was his chastity. Something which Goyjo lost a long time ago and continue to lose it, if you get what I mean. Hakkai killed a thousand demons who killed his beloved. While Goku is short of nothing but cute =)



I forgot why they go to the West also *sheepish grin* but I believe it's something to do with bringing peace back to Shangri-La while slaying demons along the way. Oh, and to prevent the revival of the Bull Demon King? I forgot. Haiyar, I think the plot is the same as XYJ, whatever XYJ plot is. Oh, the OP and ED and BG music are awesome too.

I like the English dub better!!!! *prepares for onslaught of disbelief and insults hurled by devoted anime fans* I know, I know all you die-hard anime fans out there hates English dubs and swear by Japanese dub till the day you die and I understand that also because most English dubs suck. US people have no talent really, I dread the anime part when I get there. BUT! This one exception ok? I still say the Japanese voices are nicer but the English script is nicer (I watch both versions so I CAN say) and the voice-over although not the same, still fits the characters.

SANZOOOOO!!!

If the Japanese version was hehe funny, then the English version is HAHAHAHA....plop! (that is the sound of you falling out your chair in laughter) funny. The scripts were re-written and are a hell lot funnier. Fine I admit, it's a bit Americanized ki but well, I have nothing against that do I? Not when it's for the better. Plus, Sanzo IS blond. The arguments are the best I've seen since Fruits Basket. If you're talking about the gore/action/butt-kicking factor then it isn't that high. The villains just burst into a million particles and there is hardly any blood =( Bear in mind though that this anime was produced way back in 2000 where waist-high jeans were all the rage and my dream was to marry Kian from Westlife (I know, eww. But I was still a seh kia then ok! *shudders*) On the bright side, the storyline is still interesting enough to keep you captivated till the end. Tons of guys I know watched Saiyuki before.




Am driving myself crazy now trying to find Saiyuki Reload and Saiyuki Gunlock in dual audio. All of them is in bit torrent format and I cannot forward a port to save my life. The only port I know is where ships dock. Tried using MiRc but the bloody thing keep disconnecting me. But I really want it in dual audio! So basically I'm spamming all forums making them help me solve my problems hahaha.

I love Saiyuki =D

*I promise I won't blog about anime tomorrow =P


**Btw, just because I like Sanzo does NOT mean I endorse smoking, drinking, gambling etc. Fantasy is fantasy while reality is reality. I dislike people who does all those things in real life.

Blood+

GAAAAHH!!! You STUPID girl!!! Fight la dammit!!!! I didn't download all these episodes just to see you cowering in fright you wimp! Just bloody accept your past can?! Get your sword and start slashing all those chiro- whatever monster that is OKAY! What happened to the cool kick-ass movie Saya?

SUPER FRUSTRATED WITH THE ANIME AT THE MOMENT!!!

Stupid girl. The ONLY one who can kill those monsters and she just stand there like idiot while her loved ones all die around her. KILL!!!! OKAY?! KILL IT!!!! You dope! People dying ar!

Stupid anime. Where got blood....even if got also not cool one. I expect it to be like the movie where she slash every monster open coolly. I mean, IF it has to be somewhat gory then at least be more cool la ok? Not some lame blood wounds or a bloodless dismembered limb or two.

Better not continue to disappoint me. Bloody girl better start fighting. I'm like putting Saiyuki on hold here to see her cut up some ugly monster and she's holding her head screaming "no no no". Toot. I see also wanna scream in exasperation!!!! Gah!