Goal 25!

I've set some goals now that I'm beginning my life as an independent and the one that I'm shooting for right at the moment is attaining my CPA license before I turn 25. I am 23 now so I've got around 2 years before I'm going to make myself get it. Here is my plan...

I'm starting my job in January, but I'll order some official transcripts online after I consult my university's registrar about it. I'll also submit an application for taking the CPA exam for the first time -- after I get some ideas about where to start and what to use. I would like to use the Becker, but I'm always open for more inexpensive and effective methods of studying.

Once I get my transcripts, I plan on mailing a copy to my jurisdiction in California and wait to see if I get approved. When I get the "OK," I'll officially begin studying for the exam and hopefully sit for at least 2 sections towards the end of this year when work gets less busy. I'd like to pass a few sections and then finish up studying early the year after so I can get my license by my 25th birthday.

If I get my license before I'm 25, I'll be so happy. If not then 26 isn't too bad... I just would like to be able to return home with my license in hand so my parents will be happy.

Left the Nest

So I moved out of my parents' house today and drove for about 12 hours until I got to the San Francisco bay area, which is where I'll be living and working from now on. It was a very windy trip and I got a little motion sickness, but my parents and I managed to make it to San Fran in one piece and things are good. I really should be sleeping now 'cause I was up since 5AM yesterday, but I just wanted to drop a line and say that things are good. I got the room that I wanted and there was no snow/ice on my trip down south so things are off to a good start ... at least, I'd like to think it is.

射鵰英雄傳 1982-1983

I decided to watch The Legend of Condor Heroes '82 TVB series after so many years have passed since I last viewed it. It's really well-done, a lot better than I remembered it. Of course, the special effects are a bit cheesy at times, but for an '80's television series it's pretty good, in my opinion.

I love Wong Yat-Wah (Felix Wong), Yung Mei-Ling (Barbara Yung), and Miu Kiu Wai (Michael Miu). These three made the series so much fun to watch, especially the chemistry between Felix and Barbara. I think Miu Kiu Wai is one of the best Cantonese actors ever, but he stopped acting for a while to pursue a career as a businessman instead. I don't think anyone else can beat his portrayal of Yang Kang. I also don't think anyone can ever beat Felix and Barbara's portrayals of Guo Jing and Huang Rong.

I tried watching the 1994 TVB version several years ago, but it just didn't seem to have the same sort of sparkle the 1982 version had. Sure, lots more details were added in the 1994 version, but I kind of prefer the somewhat conservative version from '82 over the newer. And then I refuse to watch any other adaptation 'cause drama from the mainland is not always great, and I just plain hate Taiwanese drama so... yeah... Also... I'm not a fan of Ariel Lin =_= so someone would have to drug me and tie me to a chair if I'm going to end up watching the 2008 version. =_= (Ugh... just knowing that she and Jerry Yan are doing an adaptation of Skip Beat is somewhat vexing ... of all people... why those two!?)

Anyway, I watched all 50+ episodes and loved everything up to the end. For some reason, Cantonese drama hardly ever end all too well for me. I keep expecting too much maybe, but the rest of the series is really good. For those who haven't seen Legend of the Condor Heroes, I really recommend the 1982 version.

Freaking Out =_=

Um... trying to find a place to live is STRESSFUL. There's the "please move in earlier," and the "pay in full," and the "other people are interested so... (basically hurry it up)." My brain feels like it's going to explode =_=; I rather live in a more expensive place than a cheaper one if it means having to do all the things I don't want to do =_=! *cries* But the studios are so expensive and I can't afford to live on my own right now. *rolls around*

I'm no good with answering phone machines either so... I don't know how to leave good detailed messages on the phone T__T *weeps* I have no idea what to do T_____T. I don't want to move away from my family T_____T! *cries*

....

Yes... I'm quite stressed right now so venting and whining in my blog is just about all I can do right now amidst all the phone-calling, emailing and detail-discussing, etc. *sigh* My head feels like it's going to just burst open and all the muscles in my body are tense. Maybe I'll go do some yoga and clear my head a bit.

Omiai!?

You'd think by now that I'd be able to let it go when my parents joke around about arranging a match for me with one of their friends' son, but now that I'm at a marriageable age, it's harder to just let it slide. There are times when the idea of an omiai sound kind of neat and something I'm willing to do, and then for some reason, hearing it during other times makes me want to run in the opposite direction. For instance...

A couple months ago when my parents were joking about setting me up on an omiai, I was totally fine with the joke and even laughed with them about it. Just today when we were chatting about my dad's longtime friend and about how this friend asked for a picture of me and then them talking about becoming in-laws really freaked me out. I mean, here I am ready to leave the nest for a new place and I have all these plans that I would like to do once I'm in Sausalito. If I meet this guy, it's like tying me down in a way. The scariest thing about a possible omiai is that if things go well, people are pushing for grandkids and I'm not ready to be a mother.

I know I'm thinking way too soon into the future, but it's always good to be cautious about things =_= Plus, there's no guarantee that I will ever get to meet this guy. My dad is too slow and dense at times to pick up on subtleties in conversation so nothing really ever happens even if the other party suggests that we meet =_=; At times, I curse my dad for being dense and other times, I'm so glad that he is =_=;

The other guy sounds really nice. He's older than me by three years and finishing up dentistry school. He's a bit heavyset, but then again so am I. He's also very shy. Then again that's all I've heard about him.

I don't know why I'm freaking out, but the thought of an omiai is kind of strange to me right now. I guess it's because I'm weird and I think too much. Yeah... maybe I will just stop thinking about it.

A Quick Update

Been busily doing other things than blogging -- as though one hasn't figured that out already ^_^;;; -- so... just doing a quick update.

I've been following my drama and anime like I usually do, but haven't really had time to write anything about any of them 'cause I've been preoccupied with drawing or coloring. I soon won't have any more time to do any of that so I'm trying to catch every second that I can. Photoshop CS2 doesn't really work all that well on my Vista OS so I probably won't be able to draw at all when I move down to the bay area -- my desktop will remain here at home with my parents.

Once I get settled in and decide to live in the bay area for good -- if I really feel that California is a better fit for me -- I will probably move all my lovely belongings with me... but for the time being... I'm going to be so sad T__T. *sigh*

Anyway, just popping in to say that I'm alive~ and I'll probably update more later ^_^

God's Unique Way of Giving Me a Memorable Birthday

I've just had one of the most eventful and interesting birthdays in my entire life. I must say if today was all about the rites of passage to adulthood then I've certainly passed through it well. I've never met so many challenges ever in a day and I am just utterly physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted.

Today was not a bad day. But it was not a good day either. No one died, so that's why it wasn't a bad day, but I spent half of the day in a hospital so it was definitely not good. Well, I guess it wasn't really half day in a hospital, but it certainly felt like it.

My grandmother was in a lot of pain from problems in her back, which caused her to vomit incessantly so I took her to the urgent care center at Riverbend right after I got off work. Then her condition got a lot worse and there were like a million doctors, nurses, and then EMT who came to work on her. When they managed to keep her from losing all oxygen, I had to give a report and such on what happened to her while trying to stay out of the way. It was not fun. I had a momentary flashback to three years ago when my grandfather was patched up to a million machines and the tears just came flooding out of my eyes. I told myself that I needed to be calm about it and I did stay pretty quiet except when the doctors and nurses asked me things, but it was really scary. I swore to God that I would never forgive him if he killed my grandmother on my birthday.

Well, she was still in a lot of pain later, but they transferred her over to the main hospital and I had to drive over to Emergency so I could translate for them. I was a lot more calm once I knew that she was ok, but she was still in pain and then there was the issue with her tumor so I wasn't sure what to think. Everything was just really fast-paced and tense. The doctor gave her some anti-nausea medicine, but because they believed that she took more than one pill for painkillers, they won't give her any more pain medication. I know it's the doctors' jobs not to believe their patients a lot of times, but I told the truth on our parts and they did what they thought was right. *sigh* Oh well.

So... anyway, by the time my mother got to the hospital, my entire body was in a lot of pain from the tension. Every muscle hurt and I was just exhausted. I had worked earlier during the day 'cause I work Thursdays so I was pretty tired already, and then I was tense and rushed for a good three hours straight because of my grandmother's condition. My mother wanted to be the one to take her to urgent care, but because it was really slow Wednesday, she was afraid that people would flood into the restaurant today so she couldn't go. She couldn't find someone else to work either and I had an appointment with my friend and since it was my birthday so she didn't want me to stay at work any longer, but I offered to go take my grandmother to the hospital even if it meant cancelling my date 'cause that took precendence, and so... I ended up going to urgent care and then had all my emotions wracked and fried. It was not a good day for me.

I just wanted my birthday to be a normal day. My plan was to wake up, go to work, and then go to the gym at 3PM, work out, and then go home at 4PM, take a shower, bring some food over to my friend's house and the two of us will have dinner around 5PM, and then come home around 8PM so I can watch Ugly Betty & Grey's Anatomy. This was my game plan, but it just didn't go that way for me. Everything that I just didn't want to happen, just happened.

I mean... the health inspector came to the restaurant yesterday while I was still there and I don't like those people so I kind of hid myself away. And then I had to go to the hospital to take care of my grandmother. After that, even though I thought I could finally relax a bit at my friend's place, my father called me and told me to go pick him and my brother up from work 'cause my mom took the car to go to the hospital. I was just really tired and upset from that 'cause if my brother can drive, I wouldn't have had to take a good hour of my evening just to commute from my friend's house, to the restaurant, and then back to our house. On top of that, I drove my father to the hospital later that evening to bring some food for my mother while he ate in the car.

It was MY birthday and I was working, rushing people to hospitals, chauffeuring people, and just having an awful, emotional rollercoaster of a day, but I stayed calm. I couldn't complain about it, because there's nothing that can be done about why my day was awful. It's not like I can go back and change it. Everything that was out of our power was at work and I didn't even have the energy to get angry with anyone or anything anymore. I'd usually be a lot more bitter towards my brother, I'd be lecturing him on the way home, saying that if only he has a driver's license, then I wouldn't have to cut my birthday short in order to drive all the way out to the other side of town just so I can pick him and my dad up from work. If he had a god damn driver's license, he can just take the two of them home and then I could just relax for an hour longer. But no, that was not to be the case. I was simply and so overly-fatigued that complaining about him not having a license was just such a trivial matter inside my head that I didn't even say anything on the way home. I was just tired and hoped that I wouldn't crash the car.

Now that I can finally say something about my day in this blog, I can really say that it was a pretty awful day. To me, it was a horrible birthday. I didn't even really get to do any of the things I liked. On top of that, my father was pretty insensitive to my feelings and said some things that I usually would have rebutted and tore his head off for, but I just lacked the energy to even care. *sigh*

It was just so exhausting. I kept silent about my feelings in front of my friends, I put on a front to pretend that nothing was wrong, I didn't complain about how it was unfair for me to have to go through something like this today, and I didn't cry in front of my parents because it would make my mother sad. I knew that she felt awful that I had to go to the hospital on my own birthday, so I didn't want that fact to be rubbed into her face. I didn't even tell her why I cried or that I even cried 'cause I didn't want her to feel bad. I did everything I thought I should do, and did not do anything that I shouldn't be doing. When the day was done, and I was finally at home, I couldn't move. Checking my email and returning messages was really tiring, but I wanted people to know that I thank them for the birthday wishes so I returned all of them.

I guess, if I look at it optimistically, it was not a bad day, but it certainly was not a good birthday for me. But hey, at least my grandmother's ok now and resting at home. *sigh* Anyway, it's over now and I'm just glad that things didn't get any worse.

Innocent Love Episode 02

This episode was less exciting and the heroine exhibited almost flawless stalker techniques so it was more of a turn-off than a turn-on =_=; I guess there's that saying of where when you fall in love, you just don't want to let that person out of your sight, so you end up following them... but that's just the first step in the path towards stalker-hood =_=; Well, anyway...

In this episode, Junya wakes the day after Christmas to find Kanon's present sitting outside waiting for him. He picks it up and then wonders who it's from. He later consults Mizuki about it, and Mizuki says that it could be a prank from one of the children, that or someone has a crush on him. Junya doesn't believe either to be the case and they leave it at that.

Back with Kanon, we see that she changes her name to Yamada Kanako while applying for work as a janitor for a train station. She later goes to consult with Shimada Satoyo, an attorney, about her brother, but Shimada tells Kanon that there's no way they can win a trial with all the gathered evidence. Dejected, Kanon leaves the law firm and then notices Junya. She follows him and enters a restaurant called Bar Primo Piano where he plays dinner music.

During another day, Ikeda Jiro, a reporter, goes to visit Akiyama Youji in juvenile prison. He believes that Youji is innocent (or has another reason for killing his parents), and tries to get Youji's side of the story. In Youji's memory, we see him frantically soaking his parents' bodies in gasoline and then lighting a fire. Ikeda asks Youji about who could have killed his parents and says that no one, but Youji could have done it, but Youji tells Ikeda that he is innocent.

One day as Kanon is passing by Junya's place, she notices Iwata Harue on the phone talking with someone concerning her father's condition. Because things seemed to have taken a bad turn, Iwata abandons her work at Junya's place and leaves immediately. Kanon (boldly) walks into Junya's place and notices the piano music box on top of Junya's piano. When she hears a sound behind Kiyoka's bedroom, she approaches the door and Subaru pops out to find her. Mistaking her for a thief, he tells Junya to look around to see if she has stolen anything. Hurt by the way she is being treated, she bolts out of Junya's place and rushes back to her apartment where she rips the picture with Junya into two. (Though seriously... if you trespass, people are going to treat you like a thief =_=;;;) Subaru asks Junya who Kanon is and Junya explains how they met. After hearing the story, Subaru decides that Kanon is a stalker, but Junya doesn't really know what to think. The two head back to Kiyoka's room when they notice that she is smiling. Junya is surprised and goes to shake her in hopes that she has woke up.

Some time later, Kanon goes to her brother's prison to talk with him, but he refuses to see her and has the guard tell her that he has come down with a cold. Kanon wonders if her brother really has a cold or not. As she is walking, she receives a call from Subaru who apologizes for his words and behavior earlier. He also wants to hire her to clean Junya's home and she accepts the job, though pretty bewildered about why this has happened. When she arrives at Junya's home at the appointed time, Junya shows her where to clean and what she can or cannot do. She happily goes about working.

After Kanon has begun working at Junya's place, Subaru and Junya chat about her and Subaru thinks that Junya should move his gaze towards Kanon. He believes that a change is best for his friend, but Junya is dedicated to Kiyoka.

Back at Junya's home, Kanon is humming and singingwhile cleaning and stops when Junya comes home. He tells her to continue singing and she doesn't want to, but then he goes to play the piano and starts singing. She later follows and both are out of sync with each other until their sound somewhat balances each other's. Kiyoka blinks her eyes in the next room as it seems that she may be coming out of her coma maybe one of these days.

Before Kanon heads home, Junya gives her a small music box with the same hymn and tells her that it's a present (since she gave him the piano music box). Kanon is surprised that he knew that it was her and touched to receive the music box from him.

Later on Kanon's way home, Ikeda Jiro is waiting for her as he has tracked her down again and takes her to a family restaurant where he tells her that he wants to help her brother and prove that he's innocent. Though she is wary of him at first, she soon decides to enlist his help when he tells her that he believes that her brother is innocent. She is glad that she has moved out to Yokohama and found someone who is willing to help them.

Another day, Subaru approaches Kanon at the train station and the two go to a park where they chat about Junya. Kanon asks if Junya has a girlfriend and Subaru is silent for a moment before telling her that he has a past lover whom he cannot forget, but she is no longer here so he hopes that Kanon can take care of Junya. She promises to do so.

Later that day, Subaru goes to visit Kiyoka and thinks about pulling the air tube out of Kiyoka's neck. He gets close to doing so when Junya pops in. After Junya approaches the bed, Subaru ducks out of the room.

Meanwhile at Kanon's place, she is making sandwiches for Junya and then rushes over to his house when she notices him and Kiyoka at the piano. Shocked, she drops her box and stares at the two. She narrates and wonders why people lie, realizing that she has been lying to herself about her true feelings as she watches the two .

------

And yes... this episode was kind of an odd one. Kanon was very much a stalker and so she really can't blame Subaru and Junya for treating her as a thief. A lot of things didn't exactly make sense, but I'm just going to take it all with a grain of salt and see if the next episode improves.

Hakushaku to Yousei

I've decided that this is my new favorite anime of the season ^_^ Though I like Skip Beat, Junjou Romantica 2, Nodame Cantabile 2, and some of the other series I've been following, Hakushaku to Yousei is kind of refreshing ^_^. The best thing about it is that it's only 13 episodes long *__*, which means the weekly torture of waiting is a lot shorter than long series ^_^ It'll also finish before I move down to Cali.

Hakushaku to Yousei is about a girl who can see fairies and works as a fairy doctor. Her mother was also a fairy doctor before her, and she's one of the few fairy doctors left. Meanwhile, an escaped criminal -- whom calls himself a count -- is searching for the Sword of Merrow in order to stake a claim in the lands that belong to the Blue Knight. He seeks the help of the fairy doctor to achieve his ambitions at first, but eventually falls for her. The story looks really interesting so I'll be hooked on for a while.

Early Birthday Banquet

Well, it wasn't quite a banquet-type banquet, but I had a lot of fun feasting at an all-you-can-eat Japanese buffet today ^_^ This is my last year to be able to celebrate my birthday with my family since I'll be moving out in two months so I wanted to go out and eat stuff that I like. Another plus about being able to go to Todai today was that my grandmother actually enjoyed the food for a change ^_^; She's really obstinate and picky so every time we go out somewhere to eat, she is always complaining if the food doesn't suit her, but she was packing it all away today lol ^_^ That made me happy.

I had to get up extra early this morning because we went up to visit my grandfather, and the visit went pretty well too ^_^. He's looking a lot healthier and much better since the last time I saw him and I understand his speaking now too. I wish we could bring him back with us, but right now it would be hard especially with the way things have been going for us. But if he's able to hold out another few years, we'll be able to have him back eventually.

Anyway, after visiting my grandfather, we went into town and stopped in at Todai 'cause I've been craving Japanese food. We always celebrate birthdays on the Saturday prior to the actual date if the actual birthday doesn't land on a Saturday 'cause that's the day we all have a half-day off and can spend at least part of it together as a family. I think my family said something about Chinese people don't celebrate birthdays after it's passed too so that's why we went out and all at the buffet ^_^;;;

It was really good. I haven't eaten that much in so long @_@; I must say that the quality has gone downhill since 3-4 years ago, but it can't be helped with the way the economy's been. It was still really yummy despite some quirks here and there ^_^; My parents and I were so stuffed after eating that we skipped out on lunch later and lasted till late tonight after work for dinner.

Speaking of dinner... the business at the restaurant's really picked up these last few days. It's actually busier now. I guess part of the reason is due to gas prices, but it's nice to see more people in the dining hall for a change. My wallet's also growing heavier, which is a great sign for me ^_^ Ah, saving up for moving may not be too painful of an ordeal after all.... .... .... (if only that were true =_=, but at least I'll be able to save up more now if more people pour in ^_^).

Some Tips For Shopping

Something that I should have figured out sooner, but not until now is that I should always buy two pairs of the same work/dress shoes and two swimsuits when I go shopping.

My feet are huge and to find comfortable shoes that are stylish and yet suited for an office environment is extremely difficult for me =_=; The problem with my feet is my width =_=; So if I find good shoes that work, I really should buy two pairs in case I wear one down, that way I don't have to scramble around trying to find shoes again later and go through this headache-inducing experience. Learning from my previous experiences, I finally bought two pairs of the same shoe type this time before my move down to the bay area. I got them in different colors though so I can color-coordinate with my wardrobe.

Another thing is that... I need to buy at least two swimsuits during the summer, because all my swimming has caused my body to shrink and my suit to become flimsy. So I should buy one in my current size and then one in the next size down. My speed has also greatly decreased these last few weeks, because my suit has become pretty puffy in the water =_=; I know I can go faster, but the suit is just slowing me down. The bad thing about now is that I can't find swimsuits anywhere sold inexpensively 'cause it's no longer in season =_=

Oh well... I can barely fit into my old one from when my body was super-fit =_=; so maybe I'll give that a whirl =_=; I must admit that I don't exactly look attractive in my smaller swimsuit, but it just might help with the speed problem. The drag right now is really annoying =_=

Anyway, that's just my little advice note for myself.

KHR Sub Version Update

So now that I'm all caught up on episodes to the most recent episode 104, my verdict is that R-H has the best translation by far. I think spelling escaped them when it came to names at times, but it can't be helped when you're trying to romanize new character or item names. After episode 102, the typesetting got A LOT better. Episode 90-101 had pretty generic subtitle font for the majority of the episode and only changed it for the opening and ending themes (or ocassionally during the episode), but because it all looked very displaced, the typesetting was kind of annoying for my eyes to look at. It's like when you're in charge of editing and typesetting for manga scanlations, you don't want to use too many font sizes otherwise the page just looks messy. Even if you have the best translation, the quality level drops from not having a clean page edit. So the same goes for subbing. Good typesetting is a must, in my opinion. Then again, I'm awfully picky when it comes to fansubs. If I hate it, I rather watch raws 'cause no words at the bottom of the screen will distract me and the episode will be clean.

The new group, Phantom, that just came out with episode 104 is so-so. The translations are not wrong, but they're pretty literal. A problem that happens with me when I translate manga is that I end up translating the English out pretty literally, but I go back to make it less rigid so it sounds more like spoken English rather than textbook English. It's not easy, but it's something that translators should do and if English isn't their native tongue, then the proofreader (who has Japanese language & culture knowledge) should work on it. Right now, I think what Phantom needs to work on is their timing for the subs, and also make sure that they're catching their grammar mistakes. Also, while the font is not bad, the size and number of lines per dialogue pretty much dominates the visuals so you'd be watching text over someone's mouth (and maybe even nose) at times. So like many other groups before them, typesetting is something Phantom needs to work on to give better, more cleaner versions.

Now, people of these groups are probably going to get all hissy at me for critiquing them so much, saying things like "You should be glad that there are even groups willing to sub out there!" But I did say that if the fansub groups suck, I'll just download raws. It's not like I don't understand Japanese. I may not be 100% fluent in it, but I understand a good majority of it. Even now, I download raws for series that are currently being aired in Japan 'cause I'm not patient enough to wait for subs -- unless the sub group releases quicker than when I get the raws.

Still, regardless of whatever I download, I don't believe that releasing inaccurate translations is a good way of promoting a group, and not trying to make subs look more professional is saying something about the mentality about one's work -- this does not account for the groups that are constantly experimenting for ways to improve. I think that if people are releasing subs, they want to be noticed for the hard work they're doing 'cause it's not easy to translate, proofread, time, encode, quality check, etc., -- it's very time-consuming -- so if they want more people to download from them, they'll need to really improve their version qualities.

With that said, I'll be returning to my episode and then pining for episode 105 to air in a few days.

Katekyo Hitman Reborn Fansub Versions

So I have finally finished my Shinsen-Formula batch of episodes and now searching for the next best group since SHS-FoSu had to drop the project due to receiving a legal threat. I have downloaded just about every single fansub version of episode 90 that I can find =_=; Right now, I can only say that I like Yuuri-san & Kesenai's font, but their translation is just horrible. A lot of it just doesn't make any sense at all, and about 80% of the time the translation is just completely inaccurate. (They seriously need to get a better translator, that or someone who hears intonation better). I think Kesenai translations are not too bad, but Yuuri-san translations are really not too good. I tried watching their D.Gray-man episodes and a lot of times the translations were totally wrong so I've always made it a habit not to download their versions, but since they were joint with Kesenai, I thought that I'd give it a try, but episode 90 was just bizarre =_=; (I should watch episode 91 & 92 to see how the translation is for those, but now that Kesenai is working on the project solo, I think the translation should improve... though I don't know by how much).

I tried out Zano next, but their translation is so-so. The video quality is kind of low and at times they just omitted translations =_=; If you want to treat their version as a raw, it might work, but then the words at the bottom of the screen kind of distract me. In terms of translation completeness, Zano is not too good since it omits things sometimes. YuS-KSN is more complete, but has bizarre translation =_=;

I downloaded a couple other one-time group versions, but don't find them worth watching since those groups usually only release once and then stop. I have a bit of an obsessive compulsive personality so I hate having a million different group versions for a series.

Anyway... the most recent group (perhaps it's joint groups) that I'm trying out is Rumbel-Higure. Out of every post SHS-FoSu group that I've tried so far, R-H is the best translation-wise. The wording may not be the best at times, but the translation is very accurate. The font is also pretty boring and at times irritating to my eyes, but if I had to pick between pretty font and accurate translation, I'd pick accurate translation. (I still really wish that R-H would have better font though =_=; *sigh*)

I still have yet to try out Kesenai solo subs, but if I am going to start using R-H, I may not use Kesenai since R-H is more up-to-date. I'm not very patient sometimes, so I'll pass up "good trans & font" for "good trans and bad font." Plus, I just don't want to save YuS versions 'cause the translation is just too bad for me to want it. Well, we'll see what happens. *sigh*

Innocent Love Episode 01

The story of Innocent Love is centered on a 19 year-old girl, Akiyama Kanon, who is trying her best to live each day happily, but her past keeps casting a shadow over her opportunities. Her older brother is accused of arson and murdering their parents, and thus is in jail. Because of their background, no one wants to hire Kanon and so she leaves her hometown for the big city, Yokohama. In the new city, she tries to make a fresh start and ends up meeting the kind pianist, Nagasaki Junya, whom becomes her first love.

Innocent Love has a very "Last Friends" feel to it as the screenwriter is exactly the same as the one who worked on that particular drama, and Utada Hikaru sings the opening for both dramas. The concept for the opening theme is exactly the same to Last Friend's in which each character has a word attached to their section of the opening sequence. In Innocent Love, the following words are used (for our guessing and speculating pleasure):

Akiyama Kanon (Horikita Maki) - Destiny
Nagasaki Junya (Kitagawa Yujin) - Memory
Toono Kiyoka (Uchida Yuki) - Betrayal
Segawa Subaru (Narimiya Hiroki) - Denial
Akiyama Yoji (Fukushi Seiji) - Sacrifice
Ikeda Jiro (Toyohara Kosuke) - Disclosure
Sakurai Mizuki (Kashii Yu) - Jealousy

From the words in the opening sequence, the audience can guess what each character's personality and story is like. As the central theme to the drama is "Love," my speculations for each character are as follows:

For Akiyama Kanon, her form of love is found through destiny. She meets Nagasaki Junya for the first time in his mansion as a housekeeper and is caught by him when she tries to steal a photograph that shows him smiling at a piano. He makes her take a picture of the two of them together and she feels very happy with their encounter. After she is fired from her recent job due to her getting her background exposed and a coworker framing her for burgulary, she meets Junya again at the church where he plays piano for the choir and realizes that she has fallen in love for the first time. With all these encounters and paths crossing, her love is like something created from destiny.

For Nagasaki Junya, a pianist, time is frozen for him as he is still in love with his (possibly former girl-) friend, Toono Kiyoka, whom is bedridden and relying on machines to keep her alive. She does not smile and is living behind a locked door in Junya's home. Little is known about their past relationship for now, but we know that Junya is very much in love with Kiyoka.

Toono Kiyoka, the woman whom Junya is keeping alive in his mansion, has the word "betrayal" associated with her section of the opening sequence so I can only guess several possibilities to her character. One is that she fell in love with another man and was betrayed so she attempted suicide and failed. Due to her attempt, she is now bedridden. Another theory is that she has a terminal illness and wants to die, but Junya forces her to live by keeping her alive. In any case, the word "betrayal" could mean a great number of things so I'm interested in seeing what her story is.

Segawa Subaru's story is pretty easy to see -- as his word is "denial" which kind of makes it pretty clear as to what type of love he is associated with. Subaru is friends with Junya and though it has not exactly been said yet, it kind of hints at him being in love with Junya. I do not necessarily think that he's gay -- he could very well be bisexual for all we know right now -- but one thing that is for certain is that he is probably in love with his good friend, Junya, and because of this, he feels pain from this emotion. (In my opinion, if Subaru is given a great deal of screen time, this can ultimately turn into one of the best roles Narimiya Hiroki has ever played)

Next is Akiyama Yoji, and with his word being "sacrifice," it makes me wonder what type of "love" he is associated with. My imagination tends to be pretty wild so my theory is that he may not be Kanon's real, blood brother and thus is in love with her. In order to distance himself from her, he might have willingly allowed himself to be arrested and taken to prison even for a crime he may not have committed. Of course, this is just my theory and like I said, I have a wild imagination so it may not be true.

The next word is "disclosure" and I think this only describes Ikeda Jiro's character as a person who is pursuing the truth, not really with the theme of love much. He either wants to prove that Yoji is innocent or find out more about the incident so he knows for certain that Yoji is guilty. He looks kind of shady in a way actually =_=; like a crooked cop...

Lastly is Sakurai Mizuki, Junya's childhood friend, whom is in love with him, but does not have her feelings reciprocated because he does not see her in that way at all. She is jealous of the women who get close to him or even slightly approach him, and tends to have a bitter tone when talking about them. In a way, she may become the antagonist of the drama as jealousy can often kill people ^_^;;;

For now, this story is very nice and definitely my cup of tea. I like tragic stories and I enjoy love stories now and then as long as it's not soppingly sappy and mawkishly romantic. There is a light feel to this drama though it is also pretty dark in a way. I really like it and will definitely keep waching it.

Skip Beat Chapter 130

Kyoko is just amazing *__*!!! I just finished reading the raws and I love this chapter! I think chapters 128 & 129 have been pretty good, but chapter 130 really shows how great of an actress Kyoko is becoming. Just by the way she treats Makino, she manages to convince the director into taking her suggestion of having all the girls in her Natsu-group wear their uniforms without a necktie so they look more fashionable and more fitting of their roles. However, when Chiorin takes off her tie, her role "Yumika," just does not seem to fit into the group at all. The director compares Chiorin with the Natsu-group as a group of triangles and quadrilaterals with one circle (Chiorin being the circle) so she seems really out of sync with them. He then calls her out of the group and asks for her to change her character's image (he says "雰囲気" which means to change the way she's portraying her character, and the way she looks so she will match better with the Natsu-group). At hearing this, Chiorin is shocked and angry. Even though she has set the stage for Kyoko to fail, she has to change herself instead.

Meanwhile, Makino confronts Kyoko, saying that she knows that Kyoko knows that she (Makino) did it (took the necktie), so why didn't she (Kyoko) say something about it? Kyoko says that it's because the director was only going to get angry, and since things have worked out pretty well now (in which Kyoko was able to show off her Natsu in a way), it's better this way, plus they're "friends." After a brief conversation, Kyoko manages to get the respect of her co-stars in a way.

Back with Chiorin, she is pissed that the director has decided to go along with Kyoko rather than punish her. Plus she is angry that she has been outdone by a newbie in a way (as she has 4 years of entertainment experience compared to Kyoko). With revenge on her mind, the stage is set for chapter 131 ^_^.

And with all that said, I can't wait for chapter 131! I wonder how Chiorin is going to battle it out with Kyoko and if things are going work out for our heroine or not. Chiorin is pretty evil looking in this chapter, so I have a bit of a bad feeling about this. I hope that Kyoko manages to get over this ok ^_^;;; Chiorin looks pretty dangerous. Alrighty, next chapter comes out 11/15. Can't wait!

Skip Beat Episode 03

So first to start off, currently there are two English subbed versions of Skip Beat out right now. One is by Chihiro and the other is Ureshii joint with Yoroshiku. I started downloading Chihiro first, but I really wish they'd just choose one format and stick with it. If they like .mkv then please do .mkv, if they're going to do .avi, then please do .avi. If they want to do both, then please do both =_=; I'm a bit of an organization freak so I like it when all my episodes are in one similar format or by one fansub group -- unless they had to discontinue and another group picks up after them, etc.

Anyway, as for the subbed versions, Chihiro's version does not translate the theme songs so if you were planning to learn the lyrics or something, you'll just have to learn by ear ^_^ (j/k, but the no translation part is true). I like their translation to an extent, but like all fansubs out there, it's not 100% perfect. I've watched a lot of Yoroshiku's translations and I generally like them, though I don't watch much of Ureshii's so I'm not sure about them, but if they're paired with Yoroshiku, it should be fine... right? Well, I tried watching the first episode Ureshii-Yoroshiku put out and the translation is fairly accurate, but I think Chihiro's wording really nailed it for me a lot of times. The fine line between literal and colloquial can be blurred a lot of times and I think that's a problem that a lot of groups have, frankly speaking. I wasn't fond of the way the Ureshii-Yoroshiku version worded some things, but it's not all inaccurate, it just sounds funny sometimes. Chihiro definitely did a better job at wording some parts, but I might end up sticking with Ureshii-Yoroshiku.

Well, enough about subbed versions. Who knows, maybe another group will pick up Skip Beat and begin subbing it or something in the next few weeks. I really wish that a better raw provider would release the raws though =_=; Low quality raws kind of burn my eyes =_=; (I really shouldn't complain 'cause there aren't many raw groups providing Skip Beat raws, but still... I wish they could be better versions *sigh*)

And now onto the real subject (episode summary) of this post...

The third episode basically concludes the first volume of the manga, which means episode four will start volume two. In this episode, we see the conclusion to the LME newbie selection audition and Kyoko failing it at the very end after a reaction test. Kyoko accepts the result after conversing with Sawara-san and cries over what's become of her life because of her past (always wanting others to love her, following Sho, etc.) once she gets home (Darumaya). Meanwhile, Lory Takarada is troubled over Kyoko's application and the decision to drop her. He wonders whether she's worth keeping, or if he should just drop her off completely.

The next morning, Kyoko tells the Taisho and Okami that she's going to search for another part-time job and give up looking for a job in entertainment, but Taisho gets angry at her words, because her willingness to give up so easily disappoints him. Back at LME, Lory Takarada has summoned Sawara and apparently has something in store for Kyoko. Sawara looks pretty happy about the news and believes that Kyoko will be back at LME very soon. Thus end episode.

I have a feeling that the next episode will cover chapters 6 & part of 7 if not all of 7. The preview makes it look like it covers mostly chapter 6, but doesn't show a whole lot of chapter 7. If things move two chapters at a time, it'll probably show one of my fave scenes in 2-3 more episodes ^_^. I really can't wait to see Kyoko in a kimono~~!

Also, chapter 130 should be out in Hana to Yume today, I believe ^_^ Hopefully the raws will be out soon~~! *grin*

Kateikyoushi Hitman Reborn

So I finally started watching (or more like half-watching) Katekyo Hitman Reborn, which is a funny shounen series, but only if you have lots of time, patience and up for silliness. The first 18 episodes is basically character development, with episode 19 as a lead-in to a new arc and then we finally meet a real boss in episode 20. I only decided to download the series after being sucked in by all the 6927 or 8059 artwork in DA, and then found that it's really funny to watch. At first, I was kind of just sitting in front of my monitor with my eyes looking like O_O; <-- this the entire time wondering what in the world I was watching, but then it really grew on me.

I have to say that I love Hibari Kyoya and Rokudo Mukuro right now though ^__^; Both are my favorite characters and Hibari's theme is one of my fave pieces in the soundtrack ^_^. Mukuro is a pretty intriguing character so that's why I like him, and Hibari is just really *__*! I love the cool, aloof, and solitary types ^,~ Hehe. I like Tsuna too, but only on days he's not crying "Tasukete!!!" and screaming ^_^; I can't hate Tsuna though 'cause if you think about it, he's just a regular middle school kid who got this crazy situation thrown at him from nowhere so it's no wonder that he's so against it. I mean, if I were in his shoes I'd be pretty irritated with things too so in other words, all his actions are pretty understandable ^_^.

Anyway, I really like this series and am glad that I downloaded it. I like the arc-central episodes better than the filler-like ones though ^_^; (Although some of those filler-like episodes were originally drawn in the manga too ^_^) For instance, the Varia arc had me at the edge of my seat often 'cause I haven't really read the manga yet so I only wanted to know what happened next. (I've started reading some chapters now that I'm this into the anime series). Right now, I just started the "Future Arc" so my batch of episodes are dwindling ^_^;;;

There's a really nice thing about starting a series 2 years after vintage date and that's being able to do a series marathon as opposed to waiting every week for a new episode ^_^; I also watch it without critiquing the series much and enjoy it more ^_^; Right now, a majority of the drama and anime I watch, I usually critique 'cause I only have one episode to work with at a time, but when I have a whole batch to watch, I just cruise right through them without thinking much of it ^_^; I just know that I really am enjoying this series right now ^,^

I definitely recommend KHR, but only if you're a fan of gag-comedy, supernatural, shounen series. The first two or three episodes took me some adjusting to, but once I started just watching it for the fun of it, I got into it. I must say that I didn't exactly focus on watching it until episode 19 though ^_^;;; (I was kind of half-watching, mostly listening to the first 18 episodes while working on a piece of fan art ^__^;;;;)

Anyway, I have like 20 something episodes left to watch till I'm all caught up with most current episode so I'm going to go do that now~

Shanghai Typhoon

When I first downloaded this drama, I was wondering if I would like this drama or not 'cause it seemed like a typical love story between an obstinate and unreasonable heroine with a handsome, wealthy, foreign stranger, but then it turned out much better than I thought it would be. I have to say that I was not a fan of Misuzu, the heroine, at first, but gradually she grew on me and we can see why she turned out the way she did.

Shanghai Typhoon is about an elite sales manager, Nomura Misuzu, of a lingerie company in Japan who gets sent on a business trip to Shanghai. She meets the handsome businessman, Cao Fei, there and both become attracted to each other, but cultural differences and business tactics cause the two to constantly fight. Misuzu later causes a strike in a Chinese factory and because of this, resigns from her job and decides to try something else. However, because finding employment in Japan is not easy and due to her causing a commotion at her previous workplace, she is unable to find a new job. On top of that, her long-time boyfriend breaks up with her because she is unwilling to commit to marriage and he meets a nice woman from an omiai set up by his boss. When everything seems to be going up in smoke for Misuzu in Japan, she decides to go back to Shanghai to try her luck there. Several reasons why she picks Shanghai is because 1) it is the place she hates the most; 2) a flower arranger named Mitsui Kaori says that there are lots of opportunities in Shanghai; and 3) Cao Fei (though she fervently denies it).

When she first starts living in Shanghai, she meets Toono Mari, a woman who works for real estate, and is introduced to an apartment in an inexpensive part and supposedly good part of town. However, the apartment turns out to be really unreliable and leaky so she ends up living with Mari. When she finally settles in with Mari, she starts looking for employment in Shanghai, but is turned down by many places and in the end is tricked by a couple of "potential employers." After much hardship and being tricked by people, she finds Mitsui Kaori and starts working for her, but has a bad attitude about things and ends up getting herself fired.

The later part of the series, Misuzu becomes a lot better when she stops blaming things on other people and Shanghai, and actually tries to make an effort in liking this new life she's chosen. She grows close to Kaori, Mari, a young Chinese girl named Lin, and Cao Fei. She also learns about the father who's disappeared from her life ten years ago, and in resolving things between them, she matures and grows up. She ends up finding what she really wants to do in Shanghai and takes the city by storm with her innovative idea.

Shanghai Typhoon has both Japanese and Chinese language with some English. Actors and actresses speak with accented Japanese or Chinese, but it's not too bad. The series also depicts living in China pretty accurately. A lot of the things that happens in the series are things that my family often tells me to watch out for and such when going to China to visit. I find watching the series pretty educational in a way so I stuck with it. There are times when listening to broken Chinese kind of bug me, but overall, the series is pretty nice.

Ryuusei na Kizuna Episode 01

This drama is really entertaining for me. I know that it's a murder mystery concerning three siblings who swear to find their parents' killers and avenge their deaths, but the interaction of the characters in the beginning of this episode just cracks me up. I really love watching Ninomiya Kazunari, Nishikido Ryo, and Toda Erika play the Ariake siblings. They do a fantastic job at their roles and are very skilled actors.

Nishikido Ryo just wows me at times, especially with his ability to talk extremely fast about sex ("Sports & Open Bath") lol ^_^; After the opening sequence, he and George talk about "infidelity" and he really pushes his benefactor on the topic lol ^_^; I still remember his role as Sousuke in Last Friends, which I believe is one of his best roles to date. The way he portrayed his character was so good that I'm still freaked out by his Sousuke role. Right now, watching him play the "da-me" younger brother, Ariake Taisuke, is refreshing and really funny. He's always been given cool roles (and cool in several different ways, I guess), but this is the first I've seen him act as a dumb character. He's really cute. Ah, he also works at a porn video rental shop in this drama lol ^_^;

Ninomiya Kazunari plays the eldest brother, Ariake Kouichi, who can be described as the serious, hermit-like character who spends more time at home and in front of their computer than out and about hanging with friends. He's a hardworker who is prudent and proper about things, but will do anything to protect and take care of his younger siblings. He is also good with technology and teased by his younger brother and sister a lot. In short, his character is the anti-social, but cares about the family type. Ninomiya plays the role very well and you just can't help, but love him.

Toda Erika is the youngest sibling and sister, Ariake Shizuna, who is very cute, sweet, innocent, and yet not ^_^; She and Taisuke get along a lot better than with Kouichi, but loves both brothers the same. She is pretty naive and wants the best for her family as well, but is easy to anger and deceive. In the first episode, she is frequently harrassed by her superior at her company when he sticks a million sticky-notes on his desk, computer, papers, on her clothes, back, and then finally on her face. Because she cannot take anymore of his sticky-noteness, she quits the company and starts a skimpy part-time job until Kouichi plus Taisuke stops her. She also finds out later -- after she quits her job -- that the sticky-notes used to harrass her were actually a form of affection, because the boss is attracted to her, but she decides never to care about it anymore. She later also gets swindled 300,000 yen (which is roughly $3000), and in order to get the money back, she tries to swindle someone else with the help of Taisuke, but both are caught and stopped by Kouichi, who shows them a plan of his own.

Basically the first episode shows snippets of the past with the present, while incorporating much of the episode to how the three siblings cooperate to save each other and "defeat their enemies." For instance, a good portion of the episode shows the process in which Kouichi directs his two siblings in tricking the host, whom Katsuragi gives all her money to, to return the 300,000 yen to Shizuna. The way the whole plan is carried out though is just so funny. Kouichi actually writes a script as to how things are supposed to go, and then Taisuke infiltrates the host club as a newbie named Mitsuru and learns of Kazuya (the host)'s likes, dislikes, and weaknesses, which surprisingly turns out to be gothic-lolita shoujo manga ^_^;

After discovering that Kazuya likes gothic-loli, Shizuna dresses up as Kazuya's ideal girl (from the manga) and gets him to fall for her. Once the hook is in deep enough, Shizuna's play character, Shiori, tells Kazuya that she has to go away to Canada 'cause her doctor has told her that the air there will be better for her health, but she needs 300,000 yen. Upon reading her last letter, Kazuya makes Mitsuru (Taisuke) go and withdraw 300,000 yen from his account to send to Shiori (Shizuna). And thus, Shizuna gets her money back ^_^

At the end of the episode, we learn the real reason why Shizuna actually quit her company. A co-worker asks her about the Ariake murder case when asking Shizuna about her name, and Shizuna reacts to it. After that experience, things have become awkward in a way and she can no longer work in that environment, so she quit. Upon speaking about the subject again, the three reminisce how they discovered their parents' death, how they vowed to hunt down and kill the one responsible for killing their parents and look out into the city.

So in short, this series is quite entertaining despite how dark it is supposed to be. I really enjoy it a lot and think it has quite a lot of potential. I want to read the novel now too, except it'll probably take me forever 'cause it's not like I'm exactly completely fluent in Japanese ^_^; I really am looking forward to the next episode.

Natsume Yuujinchou Season I

I must say right now (after finishing the first season) that I absolutely love Natsume Yuujinchou. It is a feel-good sort of series with lots of nostalgia so though I say it's "feel good," it also has a lot of sentimental, sweet, and sad parts as well. Some of the scenes are so cute and sweet that you just melt while watching it, and there are parts so sad in a realistic way that it just takes your breath away with how great the storytelling technique is with the series.

Right off the bat, the first episode gets the audience's attention and lets people know of Natsume Takashi abilities and Madara's existence. We learn about the Book of Friends and why spirits are after it -- while some wants their names returned to them. We also learn that Natsume Reiko, Takashi's grandmother, used to be able to see spirits and she is the one who created the Book of Friends; however, why she has never really called out any of those spirits names -- once she's collected them -- remains a mystery.

After season one, Reiko's loss of interaction with the spirits is still an enigma to the audience and hopefully after season 2, we'll understand why. I love the character development in season one and the build-up to understanding Reiko's personality. From what we have witnessed so far, Reiko is not really one who likes interacting with humans, and probably pretty irresponsible -- as shown from all the late library return stubs plus books she's never really taken back -- however, we're not sure if that really is the case or not.

Anyway, I highly recommend watching Natsume Yuujinchou if you're one who enjoys nostalgia, somewhat traditional Japanese storytelling-like style, good artwork, good music, and bittersweet-ness. I really can't wait till season 2, though it may be a while before I can download again 'cause I'll be moving in late December and have no idea when I'll have internet connection again @_@. *sigh* Oh well~~

Earl and Fairy, Kuroshitsuji, Celeb to Binbo Taro

I started some new series and I can say right now that I really love Hakushaku to Yousei and Celeb to Binbo Taro. I have not started watching the new Nodame Cantabile yet 'cause I'm waiting for people to sub in avi versions rather than mkv, but anyway... yes, I love HtY and CtBT 'cause they're definitely my cup of tea.

First Hakushaku to Yousei (Earl and Fairy), is an anime with veterans Midorikawa Hikaru and Nana Mizuki as the lead roles. Midorikawa plays Earl Edgar J.C. Ashenbert, a beautiful blond-haired, mauve-colored-eyed, man known as the legendary Blue Knight of fairy ancestry, who is searching for his family's treasure, the Sword of Merrow. He basically abducts the beautiful, Lydia Carlton, a fairy doctor, to act as his guide since she can see fairies and together, the two go to find this valuable Blue Knight heirloom. A lot of people are after the two as well, since Edgar is the Blue Knight, and Lydia is the only person who can see fairies. Those who want the sword for themselves try to either kill Edgar, or kidnap Lydia. For now though, the two are together on Edgar's ship and it is still uncertain whether or not Edgar can even be trusted.

I really like this series and the music for it too. I kind of disagree with the ending theme though 'cause I'm not a big fan of Midorikawa's singing =_=; (I just don't think he has the talent for it...), but I really like the opening. The artwork is really nice and I like 19th Century fashion so this is definitely a series for me ^_^. I'll probably keep watching this series 'cause I find it so charming.

Next is Celeb to Binbo Taro, which is a drama starring Kamiji Yusuke and Ueto Aya. The story has a Yamada Taro Monogatari sort of feel to it since both title characters are poor as hell and live in a shack, but the difference is that Celeb to Binbo Taro is about a poor 30-year-old widower with three children who comes to work for a 23-year-old hotel & fashion mogul (and probably ends up falling in love with her), while Yamada Taro is about a high school kid just trying to get by in life and do it happily. There's also this Driving Ms. Daisy sort of feel to it too, but I can't seem to put my finger on how similar the story seems to another drama that I've watched before =_=;;; (Binbo Danshi maybe?) Anyway... the story is pretty simple, but very funny as well. It's kind of a cookie-cutter type of story, but one that you can't really get tired of 'cause the elements are pretty hilarious.

Another series I started is Kuroshitsuji, which I can't seem to get into. Though I like the cast and I think the story has potential, the first episode kind of bored me. I am surprised that Sakamoto Maaya really sounds like a boy in this series. I've only heard her voice as the girly-pitch that I remember so well from many of her roles (minus Haruhi from Ouran Host Club), so hearing it sound so shockingly boyish is well, pretty refreshing for me ^_^. (I guess my reaction right now is the same has hearing about Paku Romi or Saiga Mitsuki playing women roles rather than guys since most of their roles happen to be men)

Anyway, Kuroshitsuji has nice artwork and the cast is really good, but I guess it kind of reminds me a bit of Jigoku Shojo in a way. I've never been able to get into that series 'cause Enma Ai only says the same thing over and over again so I get bored easily. I think I may stick around for a few more episodes to see if it's worth the long haul, but I'm exactly a big fan of it right now.

Skip Beat Episode 02

This episode was not too bad and is moving the story at a good pace. Lory Takarada's appearance was so funny and about the best part of the entire episode. I think my wanting to watch events that are closer to date kind of make these beginning episodes feel like a drag at times. I wish I didn't have to wait every week for a new episode T__T.

Anyway, in this episode we basically see Kyoko looking around for talent scouts to scout her, and then going to LME to find the head honcho so she can become a celebrity. She also torments Sawara-san for many days and nights before he gives her an audition form so she can enter for the newbie selection process. For some reason the "Sawara torture" scene seems so much funnier in the manga than actually watching it. Not quite sure why, but that's how I feel.

The episode covers every detail in chapter two and three and ends with Kyoko ready to perform Katsura-maki. Though the next episode should be entertaining, I think I won't be as entertained until episode 05 or 06 when she enters the Love-Me section. I want to watch the acting test with her wearing a kimono and such. I guess this means another 3-4 weeks, huh ^_^;

I'm pretty interested in the manga right now though and can't wait till chapter 130 comes out. I really want to know how Kyoko puts Makino in her place and if Chiorin becomes friends with Kyoko, or reveals her true colors and is also put in her place. I can see how Chiorin is annoyed and angry with Kyoko since it's out of jealousy, but since jealousy is such an ugly thing, I really find it hard to like her at the moment. On the other hand, I really like the dimwitted Ma-Rumi, 'cause she's honest, straightforward and cute. (And that's saying something, usually the dim ones grate my nerves)

I also want to know more concrete details about Ren's violent past. Not sure exactly what to think about it 'cause Nakamura's storytelling seems kind of off-the-wall a lot of times. From my understanding of the story up to now, my theory is that Ren probably has a similar past to Ogata (the director of Dark Moon) in which people always compared him (Kuon) to his father, Hizuri Kuu, back in America. That or he only got jobs because he is the son of Hizuri Kuu, or no matter what he does, his father always overshadows his work so then people don't think of him as talented. Another reason is that Kuon might get a big head for being the son of Hizuri Kuu and think he is a great actor when he is not... though I don't think that is the case 'cause in the Kuon-Kyoko scenes, we learn that no matter what Kuon does, his father is always above him so he cannot be better.

Also, Kuu has mentioned to Kyoko that Kuon used to be a quiet and sweet child, so I'm assuming that people always told Kuon that he's second-rate compared to his father, which then made him into a dark, twisty and angsty teenager who got fired from work often so to unleash his rage, he went on a violent rampage and beat up just about anyone who annoyed him.

We know that Kuu and his wife, Julie, really love their son so they probably would want the best for Kuon so they wouldn't intentionally do anything to hurt their child, but their presence must be so big that Kuon feels as though he can never surpass his golden parents. And thus since Kuon probably rejected help from Kuu and Julie, Kuu has no choice but to seek help from his first boss, Lory Takarada. Since no know really knows Kuon in Japan -- but know him in America -- it makes Japan the perfect place for Kuon to get a fresh start and to regain his confidence (plus dissolve his rage). And so Kuon trained himself to become a gentleman, to learn and study as much as he can about Japan, acting, etc., plus control his rage so he can then bring his new image, Tsuruga Ren, to life. Ever since going to Japan, Kuon has not once stepped out of his Tsuruga Ren image, and has made a promise to Takarada that he will never become Kuon again until he has mastered his acting. (Whenever that will be is the question though =_=)

In any case, I think the stage is set for an explosion or breakdown eventually. If this story goes in typical shojo direction, Tsuruga Ren's real identity will be exposed, things will go really crazy and it'll be all chaos. Of course, I don't know if that's what's going to happen or not, but I do feel as though there's a dormant time bomb in the story. I'm really curious as to when and how this story will end ^_^;

But above all things, I'm a Kyoko x Ren fan so I really hope the two will be together in the end. She won't fall in love again, but it seems that she's falling for Ren without really realizing it ^_^

Skip Beat Episode 01

Though the coloring was funky -- well, it might have been the version I downloaded -- the character design and storyline actually stayed pretty true to the manga. I was very impressed. At first I thought that the design looked close to Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge, but it actually looked a lot like Nakamura-sensei's artwork.

And then there's the voice acting *__*!!! It was perfect! Inoue Marina was just awesome, she had like 8 different versions of Kyoko in just the first episode and she was just superb. They could not have picked a better seiyuu for her ^_^. I really liked Miyano Mamoru too as Sho. At first, I was thinking... "Miyano... playing an ass??" I don't believe I've ever heard him portray a real bratty character before so I was really wondering if it'd work out, but I kind of like him as Sho. Konishi Katsuyuki only had like a few lines in the first episode, but I actually like his Ren too. He sounds more like Komui from D.Gray-man minus the silliness, but it's probably appropriate for Ren since he's only twenty. There are times when main guy characters who are only twenty have these really deep, 30~40-year-old-like sounding voices and I actually feel that Ren is 20 years-old in the anime. Of course, Konishi-san is well over thirty, but I like his voice ^__^

I really can't wait for the next few episodes to come out. One of my favorite scenes is Kyoko vs Matsunai Ruriko in the acting battle so I'm looking forward to watching that. I also like the Curara commerical audition, and when Kyoko becomes Ren's manager for a short while during the time that Yashiro-san is out sick, and Sho's PV session too ^_^. I wonder how many episodes this series is going to have. I haven't seen a long running shoujo serial for a while now, only shounen (adventure) epics. Most shoujo series only have 24-26 episodes and if it's extended, then they do season by season. The only somewhat long-running shoujo that's out recently is Nana at 47-ish episodes, but this is only one season until Yazawa-sensei finishes the manga. I wonder if Skip Beat will be doomed to 24-26 episodes or go for 40+ episodes in one season.

Speaking of doomed anime series... I wonder if this is all there is to D.Gray-man @_@; The very last frame of the episode says "Fin" and they even had Krory wake up at the very end rather than have him stay in a coma. I really wanted to see the hilarious looking chapters of "moving-out-of-headquarters" with the ghost taking over Krory's body and then infecting everyone with the zombie vitamin. *sigh* Oh well, I guess overall it's a good ending.

Anyway, back to Skip Beat...

After watching the first episode, I have ALL my Skip Beat manga out now. I'm going through and reading all the volumes I have and then online to read the most recent chapters. I just read chapter 129 today in Japanese and I have to wait until the end of the month for chapter 130 =_=; Kyoko is so good *__* She has gotten so much better and the story now is actually a lot more interesting than the last few volumes. (There was a time in the manga when things seemed to have moved slowly or off course, but it feels a lot more interesting now after Hizuri Kuu came to visit Japan with Kyoko as his caretaker and she is playing the role of model-like bully, Natsu).

I really can't wait to watch more of the series ^_^

Let's Talk Economics

As much of a fan of politics as I am, I tend to choose opting out of discussing it. Why? Because politics is something that not everyone can agree on and I rather not deal with having sour relations with people I love from now until election day. Rather than talk about whether Obama is better than McCain or Biden is better than Palin, or vice versa, the most important issue currently at hand is the state of our economy and the financial impact we have around the world.

They say that one is only as strong as the weakest player on a team. When we talk banking and investing, the United States is not just one team and the rest of the world is divided up into other teams, the entire world including the US is ONE team. Why do I say that? Because any investment bank that has any relations with the dollar, or ties to a US banking firm, or has dealt with US investments overseas, has basically been taking nosedives into bankruptcy for the past few months. Things are especially worse right now after a historic 778 point drop in Wall Street and many people are out of the job.

A lot of the large investment banks have closed and a lot of people have lost their jobs, not just in the US, but also in other parts of the world like England, and even Switzerland is starting to have trouble with the Swiss banks. Tens of thousands (and probably now hundreds of thousands) of people are being laid off and not very many places are hiring people at the moment. People have less money and even less faith in the financial system. Everyone is affected, and not one day goes by that I haven't cracked open the newspaper and found even the slightest shred of good news. I wish this bad spell would just be over. I know we can overcome this trial, but it's going to take a LONG time.

Just yesterday, the Hong Kong news showed people sleeping on the streets of Portland, Oregon because so many are jobless and now also homeless as well right now. The funny thing though is that those camping out in Portland are not Oregonians. The campers are from California or Washington. Because it is illegial to sleep on the streets in both of those states, these jobless nomads have traveled to middle ground Oregon and decided to sleep there. The citizens of Portland are not happy about this and want something done about it, but we've yet to learn more about it.

Also, on another note, something for people who bank at these banks to know... Bank of America Corp, JPMorgan Chase & Wells, and Citigroup Inc., are now known as the Big Three. This means they have bought just about every failing bank in our financial system and all together make up 1/3 of the investment banking industry -- perhaps it's just overall banking industry. For those who are wondering, "Well, how does this affect me if I am with BoA, etc.?", the answer is quite simple. You should expect LOTS of changes in banking policy, in fees, and less sympathy. When a bank shoulders a lot of debt, it will use any method to get themselves out of the red. I can see these three banks charging more for overdrawals, for bouncing checks, and other penalty fees, etc., so I suggest that everyone stays on their toes when banking from now on.

As for the bailout plan that was passed in Congress... Yes, it blows, but suck it up 'cause if it doesn't pass we're all doomed to die. If we don't pass it, we die, if we pass it, we equally die, but at least we are doing something about saving the economy. And no, I'm not fond of the idea of paying out thousands of dollars in taxes per year for the next thirty years of my (what can very really miserable) life, but because of the way this country is constructed and because the rest of the world is counting on us to do something, we have to just bite the bullet and do this.

I agree, it is very unfair that we taxpayers have to pay for the mistakes of the gamblers on Wall Street. I mean, what these people have done with the housing market and stock investing is no different than walking into a casino and losing all your money. When you go to a casino and lose everything, do they give you money at the end of the day? No, they don't. So why should the taxpayers have to do anything to save the asses of these investment losers? They are the ones who are at fault and they are the ones who have crashed our system, so shouldn't they be the ones to fix it?

Well, that is not going to happen because our government supports Corporate America. The very reason why capitalism even exists is because of the way we have been taught to invest our money. Many Americans do not have savings, the concept is quite foreign to them. We have all been taught that if we have money, we should invest in stocks because that is where we can make MORE money. By investing in the right companies, we can make huge profits. By investing in any company, those businesses have the opportunity to utilize our money for expansion, which leads to them putting money back into our pockets. This is how we have been taught. We need to give businesses more money so they can use it to generate more value and wealth.

Basically speaking, we have been taught to live in a credit and debt-inflicted world. By giving our money to businesses, the companies owe us shareholders, so they are technically indebted to us. When we buy our houses, furniture, cars, etc., we pay on credit and gradually make payments with interest until we can pay everything off. So now that when banks don't have any more money left to lend people, and mortgage securities are totally weighing us down, and Wall Street is taking nosedives to hell, everything we have been taught until now is no longer going to help us, but rather hurt us.

When all's fails, I suggest going back to basics. Use cash and invest in savings (credit unions are great places to go). Before cellphones, fancy personal computers, iPods, and XBox 360's, we led much simpler lives. When businesses could be started with just $1000 dollars on hand and not all the paperwork we are required to fill out now, we used to do things in what we call "the old fashioned way." Life was so much simpler then because our methods ensured basic survival. So, one of the ways we can help ourselves now is to use cash when we go out shopping. Lose the plastic and bring out the greenbacks, then throw all the change into a jar that you don't touch until vacation time or it's all full. In times of dire straints, we have no one but ourselves to count on and if we do not lose the urge to pay everything on credit, we cannot (and should not be able to) whine about not having money later. You dig your own grave, so don't you DARE complain about it.

As a final word, the future of our economy looks quite bleak, but we'll be able to crawl out of this black hole eventually... just probably not now. And whoever is elected to be president this coming November, will probably do their utmost to solve our issues, but they probably won't get the job done in four years. When that happens, please remember that we're all human and we all tend to be stupid on so very many occasions, so please remember to give a fair evaluation of the work our future president's done when the time comes.

I feel that what happens in November and the next four years is partially by our hands as US citizens, so we should remember not to place all the blame on the White House if the next president also proves to be incompetent. Did we or did we not elect them to be there? So if they fail, the credit is given much to us as it is to them. With that said, I can only hope for the best and good luck to everyone. We all need a little of it.

Trying My Hand at Fanart

I've been possessed by Crisis Core and lately I've just been itching to draw Aerith x Zack-related artwork so I tried and tried and tried, but I'm just no good at it. Drawing takes me forever now and I really don't have the mental stamina for it =_=; *sigh* But I just am so in love with this couple... What to do to =_=;;;

I've also been hovering over DeviantArt this past week since Code Geass is over so a lot of artists have done drawings concerning the ending ^^. Just wanted to snag all the good ones and put them in my faves folder before I have to flip through a billion pages to find them. I'm quite picky about what I like so I'd best start early before I end up staying up late flipping through pages in DA just to find good artwork.

Lastly... I can't believe it's October already @_@. Time is short and thinning out for me in terms of staying here with my family. I'm starting to get pretty nervewracked so I'm unleashing all my stress on anything that distracts me... which is probably a terrible idea, but oh well.

An End to A Few Select Favorites

The anime did an excellent job staying true to the manga and it was a very, very impressive adaptation. Just finished watching it while cleaning my room today -- well, I guess it was more like me cleaning during the opening & ending, while watching it during the actual 20 minutes of story. Out of the several anime I've been watching this season, I've got to say that Antique Bakery was one of the few that got my interest hooked on. The animation style was kind of poor, but the direction was really good. Now I really want to go and dig through my closet for my manga ^_^ This is one of my most favorite stories ever written on the face of the planet, and also the first Yoshinaga Fumi work that got me hooked on all her stuff. I worship the ground she walks on and look forward to more stories by her ^_^

My other favorite story, D.Gray-man, is stopping at 103 episodes today -- well, I guess it's technically yesterday in Japan. I'm a bit sad that there's no more D.Gray-man to watch after this one, but it can't be helped. There really isn't a lot of storyline material to work with after the "Attack on Headquarters" arc since Hoshino-sensei took a couple hiatuses. If they went on with the production, they'd only have enough material for maybe 5-10 episodes at most. It'll probably be a year or two before they can start a second season for the series. I think if that is the case, it is a wise choice on their part. I only hope that it doesn't end up like Fruits Basket where it will NEVER EVER finish ^_^.

Itazura na Kiss wrapped up earlier this month and the anime adaptation was pretty good too. Though it omitted quite a lot of elements found in the manga, it still stayed pretty true to the original. It's a shame that the mangaka died before the work could be completed, but the anime still ended pretty nicely. I also finished watching the Taiwanese version of the drama, and though it was quite painful on many occassions, I sat through and finished it. (Yes... I still wonder why I did it) Well, I actually skimmed through most of it and only watched the parts that somewhat interested me. I can't tell if Taiwanese actors are truly awful at their profession or the directors need to be hacked or the dialogue in Mandarin just sounds so corny and wrong to begin with @_@ (Wrong as in very mawkish and disturbingly sweet in a sickening way). Maybe I'm just not supposed to watch Chinese/Taiwanese dramas, listening to their sappiness kind of drives me off the wall.

Well, anyway... rather than think about how disturbing Taiwanese drama is to me, I'd like to focus on some more fun things ready to come our way ^_^. Nodame Cantablie season two is starting in a few weeks. Vampire Knight is continuing off where it left off in season one -- though I've yet to watch season one as well -- a very cutesy-looking anime called Hakushaku to Yousei (The Earl and the Fairy) seems to attract my attention, Junjou Romantica 2 will continue from where it left off, and SKIP BEAT has finally been made into an anime. I really do not agree with the animation design, but I can live since Miyano Mamoru, Konishi Katsuyuki and Inoue Marina are the leads ^_^ I love all three~ I think Inoue Marina will do a great Kyoko and I am trying my best to envision what Miyano-san will sound like doing Fuwa Sho, but it's not really working so I'll just have to wait & see. Konishi Katsuyuki will probably do his deep, Soubi-like (from Loveless) sounding voice ^_^ for Tsuruga Ren.

Anyway... probably should stop watching so much stuff and get around to doing the important things... but I still have Dragonauts & Natsume Yuujincho to finish and Katekyo Hitman Reborn to make a dent in =_= otherwise my computer's going to explode. (I have way too many episodes on this hard drive right now)

Code Geass R2 Episode 25 Final

The ending was surprisingly good. Rather than the trainwreck I was expecting, it really delivered a pretty good solid ending that exceeded my expectations and made me cry. Some elements didn't make much sense, but I'm not about to complain. The bigger picture made up for the lack of explanation of the smaller details.

So... rather than a good 20 minutes of fighting -- which was what I was actually expecting -- we only get half the episode of confrontations and battling. Kallen and Suzaku have one final confrontation and she proves to be quite a match for him, as even his "live on" geass is having trouble keeping him alive. At the end of their skirmish, Kallen's Guren shuts down but she manages to pierce Suzaku's sakuradite core, which causes his Lancelot frame to explode with him inside of it. Since Kallen's knightmare frame no longer has any power, she falls off the edge of Damocles and is caught by Gino's Tristan despite how beat-up it already is.

Meanwhile, Anya and Jeremiah are locked in a pretty heated battle, which ends with Jeremiah tearing off the cockpit covering and about to stab Anya when she says that she has no memories. He realizes that she's been geassed before and uses his geass cancellor on her.

At the same time, Lelouch did not disappoint me at all in any way with the way his character development has gone. When confronted with the choice of geassing Nunnally or not, he actually chose to geass her and take the key to Damocles. If this had been some other story, the main character usually becomes weakened in front of their loved one and fails to carry out their plan so then everything fails and they die. However, the nice thing about Code Geass is that the writers made sure Lelouch stayed true to his character and he actually geassed Nunnally to get the key. He did so after learning of her intentions being the same as his, and due to his promise to Suzaku of carrying out their "Zero Requiem" plan, he had to have the key by all means so he geassed her. Right before she breaks free of the trance, he tells her that he loves her, which she doesn't hear. When she snaps back and sees the key in his hand, she tries to chase after him in the floating chair, but cannot move any further at the stairs and falls down. Lelouch only keeps moving away and then declares to the world that he is now the ruler of the world, meaning that he's won the war.

Two months later, Lelouch controls everything in the world and is known as a dictator. He parades through Japan with Schneizel and Nunnally chained to his float (almost reminds me of Princess Leia from Return of the Jedi). The world news has no choice but to report everything he does as justified since he will kill anyone who defies him. All of the people who have rebelled against Lelouch are now also paraded out to be humiliated and killed, except for a few who managed to go into hiding (like Villetta whom stayed behind in Peng Lai and Cornelia plus Guilford). When Villetta sees Ougi tied up in a prisoners trap, she wants to rush out and save him, but Cornelia stops her.

Just then everyone notices a familiar figure in the distance and sees that it's Zero. The Black Knights and everyone else are shocked, and even Lelouch looks astonished. Jeremiah orders for the Knightmares to fire at Zero, which he successfully dodges with quick speed and agility -- in that very familiar zig-zag that we all remember quite well of some other athletic being than the former. Jeremiah then decides to take on Zero, but he successfully jumps on him, lands on Nunnally's platform before launching himself up to where Lelouch is. Zero takes out his sword and takes the stabbing pose after swiping Lelouch's gun out of his hands. Milly, Rivalz, and Kallen all look shocked to see this, but Kallen then understands Lelouch's true aim as she sees Zero ready to kill Lelouch.

In a flashback, we see that this has all been a part of Lelouch's plan. Suzaku survived his Knightmare explosion despite the fact that the public views him as deceased -- there is even a gravestone set out for him -- and in the flashback, he asks Lelouch if it's really ok with him to die. Lelouch says that the world now directs all their hatred toward him and so all it needs is for a hero to kill him. He hands Suzaku the Zero mask and tells him to give the Black Knights the legend of their hero. He also promises to die at Suzaku's hands (as a way to atone for Euphemia's death). He also tells Suzaku that he believes geass to be a wish-bringer. Because one cannot do some things, the geass asks of others to do it for them. So he believes the geass brings about wishes and the wishes of the people are for tomorrow.

Back in the present, Suzaku as Zero stabs Lelouch and the emperor collapses against the masked hero. Suzaku is crying inside the Zero costume, while Lelouch looks content as he leans against him. Lelouch tells Suzaku that this is a punishment for Suzaku as well (Lelouch dying and Suzaku living are their ways to atone), that Suzaku has to live forever behind a mask and be the hero of the people. He can never go back to being Kururugi Suzaku and will sacrifice his happiness forever for the people. And upon hearing this, Suzaku tells Lelouch that he definitely accepted this geass (meaning the wish of bringing justice to the people). Suzaku then removes the sword from Lelouch's chest and Lelouch staggers to the edge where he tumbles and slides down the slope to where Nunnally is chained to. Eyes wide and shocked, she notices his satisfied and dying expression and takes his hand. After-images of Lelouch's plan with Suzaku and C.C. are revealed and Nunnally understands her brother's true aim. She tells him that she loves him and begs for him to open his eyes. Meanwhile, C.C. is praying in a church and she cries for Lelouch's death as well. Back on the parade float, Lelouch's last words are "I destroy words and create them..." When he finally dies, Nunnally sobs while the rest of the crowd breaks into joy and chaos as they release all the prisoners and chant, "Zero." Toudou is shocked and in disbelief, but Kallen says that Zero (Suzaku) is Zero (their hero), to keep Lelouch's plan going. The scene is incredibly heart-breaking as we listen to Nunnally's sobbing throughout the chanting.

Much later, Kallen narrates all that has happened since Lelouch's death. She is now attending Ashford Academy once more and her mother has moved back in with her. The world has become a much better place and uses words over violence to solve matters. Nunnally is now a major politician with Zero as her advisor and Schneizel (under geass) serving them. Villetta and Ougi have married and now own a bar. Tamaki and the rest of the Black Knight members help out at the bar (or frequent it as well). Meanwhile, Jeremiah and Anya work at an orange plantation (what irony) and Damocles is destroyed. Elsewhere, C.C. is dressed in countryside garments and resting on top of a hay wagon and she talks to a dead Lelouch about how the power of the geass should make one alone, but he has proven that that is not the case. The screen pans to a small origami crane and thus concludes Code Geass.

Impression:
Very well done and I'm very satisfied with the ending. If they ever do anything else with this series, it will most likely be C.C.-centered and an OAV, but for now the series is definitely over. C.C. didn't get to die like she wanted to, but perhaps this leaves some room for Sunrise to make an OAV to end her story as well. For now, we have ended Lelouch's part. After all, it's technically Lelouch of the Rebellion that we've just watched. In any case, even if they don't make any more of anything for this series, that's ok 'cause I like it the way it is.

As for Suzaku living as Zero for the rest of his life, I really think it's a good way for him to live in a way 'cause he's wanted to die all this time to atone for killing his father, so what other good way is there to die than to live as someone else for the rest of your life? It's sad, but I felt that it was very fitting. Someone has to look after Nunnally after all, and Lelouch needed to die to atone for his own sins so it was perfect. I guess in the end, all I want to say is that I'm so happy that Suzaku didn't die T__T. He really is my favorite character regardless of any of his flaws.

Listening to all the other people rant and rave about Lelouch dying despite being the title character while Suzaku, Ougi, Nina, and Villetta lives is kind of stupid. I mean really... I personally don't find much fault in any of the other characters other than Nina, but since she's been redeemed, I can't really hate her all that much. With all that Villetta and Ougi went through, it's no wonder that they'd betray Lelouch, so hearing people badmouth them is kind of dumb. I personally like the couple and am glad that they survived.

I'm always such an oddball, I like all the characters that others hate... But yeah... I loved the ending ^_^

Nana Chapter 78

Though I expected it, I didn't think of it so sudden. The chapter reminded me a bit of Princess Diana and her car crash death. Because the paparazzi chased her and her lover down, they sped and crashed. Same concept at the end of chapter 77 and carried over to chapter 78. So now we can finally and officially say that Nana and Takumi named their first child Ren 'cause of the original Ren. You don't usually give someone the same first name unless the first is already dead or they were your relative (like grandmother or father).

I'm pretty sad. I kind of expected that something would happen to Ren since the first future-related chapter, and I never thought it would be pretty, but this was very sudden. Reminds me a bit of reality in a way, of how things can just all change in the blink of an eye. Makes me so sad. Especially the part where Nana (Hachi) was asking Takumi, "What about Nana? What am I supposed to tell her!?" And how Ginpei tells Yasu that he can't seem to tell Nana and Yasu says that he will have her hear it directly from him. Meanwhile, Nana's in Osaka and has no idea what happened. I'm guessing a major meltdown is going to happen in either chapter 79 or chapter 80.

Seems as though all the stories I've been reading or watching have just been making me cry, cry, and cry. I'm just so sad at the moment after reading this chapter.

Code Geass R2 Episode 24

Prepped and ready to go onto the final episode, one can't help but wonder how all of this is going to resolve =_=;;; Basically, after episode 23, this episode seemed kind of blah, but Sunrise may surprise us... who knows.

Some highlights:

- Poor Nunnally fires plenty of F.R.E.I.J.A. warheads while thinking that it will stop Lelouch from winning this war, and Schneizel omits tons of important info, making her think that she isn't firing on innocent civilians
- Nina has grown up and not the same psychotic, table-humping girl as she was for the last 45-something episodes
- Nina, Lloyd, Cecille, and Sayoko leave Lelouch as according to plan and saves all the hostages
- Cornelia isn't dead!!! Yay ^,^!!! And Guilford is also alive!! (But that... hobo look really doesn't suit him ^_^;;;;)
- Lelouch uses the same tactic on Schneizel as he does on Mao
- Schneizel falls under the control of Lelouch's geass to work for Zero (This came a bit unexpected and weird, but ok)
- Diethard dies ^_^ (He really deserves it after proving that he's really an ass)
- Kanon looks as though he's being raped when a guard holds him
- Nunnally opens her EYES (Yes, it was kind of scary actually)

The whole episode was kind of low-key compared to episode 23, which was battle-epic, but it wasn't horrible. I've only been left with this feeling of "this really can't end well." No one really knows what to expect anymore after all these directionally-challenged episodes, but we'll just have to wait and see.

Going to watch the final episode after blogging this so I can just finish the series. I'm kind of ready for this trainwreck to end. I hope it doesn't turn out like Neon Genesis or X-type ending. Need something a little different. Otherwise, I'm going to be really bored and wonder why I tried.

As for predictions, I still think Suzaku is going to live and Lelouch is going to die. I wish Lelouch wouldn't die, but I think that's the only way this series is going to resolve... peacefully... maybe... Then again... maybe everyone dies?

"The Price of Freedom"

I really enjoy this song for some reason, probably because it's the scene when Zack fights his best to make it back to Aerith and then dies.

Currently, I'm listening to the Crisis Core OST and though I have to say that I'm not the world's biggest fan, it's not an awful soundtrack. I still miss Uematsu and his brilliant classical-like style, but the rock-feel to the recent Final Fantasy titles isn't horrible... just not as preferable =_=;

I swear... I do love Gackt, but for some reason having a character based off his looks and having him being an influence on the series is kind of disturbing for me... Not sure how to describe it, but rather than be excited and bouncing around like a lot of fangirls probably are, it just bugs me that there's a character who looks like him =_=; I feel like J-Pop or J-Rock is invading something that feels almost sacred to me. Final Fantasy VII is a classic in its own right and the music is perhaps the best out of the entire series compilation so listening to this Gackt-like rock-ness in the music really bugs me =_=; (Just like in Dirge of Cerberus... it just bugs me)

Well, aside from music become really pop or rock-like, I enjoy a few select tracks from the OST including Ayaka's "Why," which I have to say is an incredibly beautiful song with lyrics that seem to match with the story. I was not exactly into the song at first 'cause it seemed to just bounce into the ending scene and didn't sit right with me, but now that I've actually really listened to the lyrics, I feel that it's a very fitting song. It's very beautiful ^_^

The ending theme for the game is very nice too. It's basically a medley comp of Final Fantasy VII's world theme, the Price of Freedom, Shrina Headquarters, FF7 battle theme, Aerith's theme, and Crisis Core theme, but it brings back all this nostalgia and I love it so, so, so very much. Brings back lots of good memories. I really do want to play the old game again. *sigh* (I really do not have the time though =_= or should I say... I really shouldn't even dare)

Anyway, it seems that there are intentions to remake Final Fantasy VII, but since all the original staff and crew are busy with other big projects and have very conflicting schedules, they can't go ahead and make it just yet. I must say though... if they ever get around to remaking it, it will be one of the biggest projects ever =_=; I can just see them redoing EVERYTHING, and I mean EVERYTHING. All graphics will be updated to PS3 style, so world maps, text-style, translations, and such will be updated. There will probably be voice recordings, and rather than the traditional bubble speech, they'll have the caption-like text at the bottom. All translations really need some revising, and it just overall won't be an easy project @_@; I don't know if it's even worth the trouble, but I do hope they remake it.

I really shouldn't be thinking about gaming so much =_=; but I can't help it...

Grey's Anatomy Season 5 Premiere

I almost forgot that the season premieres for Grey's Anatomy and Ugly Betty were on tonight since I've been so busy with lots of different things. Yes... lots of different things from procrastinating on important things to actually working in order to save money for moving down. I need to start studying for the CPA exam, but I don't really want to =_=; *sigh*

Anyway, since I remembered it was on, I decided to watch Grey's tonight. Unlike the last few seasons, I wasn't as excited as I used to be. I wonder if this means that I've lost interest...? I still liked the episode, but I've become more critical of the series than I usually am. Can't explain why either ^_^;;;

Well, it was a good season premiere and I liked it, but it was not as gripping as some of the other premieres. In any case, I'm sure there will be an encore next week since the following episode will not air until two weeks later. That one looks interesting though ^_^;

Ugly Betty was good and as expected, she didn't choose either Henry or Gio, which was the right choice, in my opinion. Her clothes have gotten a lot flashier, she's got her own apartment, her father's started working at a burger joint where the manager (played by Lindsay Lohan) used to bully Betty mercilessly (and is now bullying Ignacio), and she is now working at Player, basically a "sports illustrated/playboy" hybrid magazine where Daniel has been transferred to. However, who knows what will happen after the next episode ^_^

The season premiere for Ugly Betty was very good, I think it was probably more exciting than watching Grey's Anatomy tonight. I can't wait for the next episodes to air though ^_^. I feel as though I should actually go through all the older Grey's Anatomy episodes, but I don't really have the time at the moment ^_^;;; I still have DVD box sets for Ugly Betty S2, Brothers & Sisters S1&2, Pushing Daisies S1, and Private Practice S1 to get =_=;;;; *sigh* I'm just too poor for that right now though ... *sigh* Saving is tough =_= Life has too many temptations.