9/30/09 ~ Wednesday 7:30 pm - Tokyo ~ 6:30 am - NY

Status: hungry ~ Listening to: Chained - Back-On (Air Gear OP) Listen or Save

more giant robots

Now that the Gundam has come and gone, *sniff* *grabs tissues* the spotlights shines on the newest robot to save Japan: Tetsujin 28 from the series Tetsujin 28 go. Alas, this one is in Kobe (where the famous, super expensive beef comes from) so I will most likely not have a chance to see it in person. However, it has been confirmed that is finally completed. Japan, the country with thousands upon thousands of models love their 1:1 scales and this one is lifesized and posed for action.

A commentor wants a lifesized Mazinger (from the old series Mazinger Z,) but I'll be in otaku heaven if they ever decide to build an Eva. ^.^ I think I mentioned this before though, the physics of building Eva is not probable without including some kind of scaffolding or harness since the way Eva is structure, the upper body is so much larger then the lower one that it won't really stand. Maybe a kneeling Eva? ^^;

back to Death Notes

New news, but old issues: 8th grader found with Death Note filled with death wishes. Of course, the 'death wishes' are not suicidal but more homicidal. He brought it to school, included a map of the school with possible bomb locations (wow, he hates the place that much huh?) and 'how they die' scenerios. True Death Note fans quickly note, writing 'heart attack' on a death note is redundant so the kid gets an automatic fail.

Since I'm teaching at a Japanese school now, it makes me wonder, were there any Death Note related incidents in schools when the series was still airing? I saw one of my students with a Death Note shitajiki.... If we're talking about repressed emotions and problems, Japanese students have it by the ton. Youth suicide is not an uncommon thing here unfortunately. I'm surprised that a kid isn't whipping out a Death Note and scribbling names all over the place.... (Perhaps they hide it better. ^^;)

1:15 am - Tokyo ~ 12:15 pm 9/29 - NY ~ Status: sad ~ Listening to: silence

words

In all the files that I kept in my computer, there was one I should not have read. A piece of my past that I don't want to recall, but I still do. In all it's clarity, it marks a pain that I still hold inside. Perhaps it's because I'm already saddened that a friend is leaving that this moment hurts so much. No matter the reason, I still hurt.

I don't want to be with anyone anymore, but that does not erase the scars. I will sleep, and perhaps when I dream, I will be better.

9/29/09 ~ Tuesday 10:20 pm - Tokyo ~ 9:20 am - NY

Status: blank ~ Listening to: Boku wa, Tori ni Naru - Kuroishi Hitomi (Code Geass OST) Listen or Save

saying goodbye

Today, I met up with fighter at Ikebekuro Mandarake (for the last time.) We headed to K-books 3 while she made her final Japanime purchases and to use up her points. We then headed to Milky Way for dinner and parfait, my treat. ^.^ I ordered the Mexican pita bread dish and a vanilla caramel parfait.

Over dinner, she gave me a little green Haro along with some 07 Ghost drama CDs that she received from her Chara magazines. *hugs* We headed to take pelicula afterwards. We had so much fun (and time) decorating our pics. ^.^ She had the pics stored on her phone, promising me that she will e-mail them to me later.

We first headed to Royal Servant Butler Cafe and then to B-Lily Butler cafe...only to have them both be closed. (B-Lily still had guests there, but their last orders were 8:30pm.) At least we got to see cute and pretty guys and girl-guys.... ^^; Back to the station we went where we said our farewells while riding on the Yamanote line. *sniff* I left her at Shinjuku while she went ahead to Shinagawa and Yokohama. Her flight is tomorrow and I wish her the best....

9/28/09 ~ Monday 3:10 pm - Tokyo ~ 2:10 am - NY

Status: calm ~ Listening to: Michiyuki - Hikida Kaori (Loveless ED) Listen or Save

Happy b-day, Soubi!

So appropriate that his birthday would fall on the week with so many wonderful Loveless news. But let's get to the main man himself.... There is a gentleness to Soubi which cannot be denied and has a well of passion that is meant to be shared. There are times when Soubi comes to the brink of pouring out his emotions, be it love, despair, hurt and sex...but he comes to a moment where he pulls back and controls himself. His character is one that I will always love. His breaking point surrounds Seimei, the sadistic brother of Ritsuka. And it's Seimei that pushes him to that point, whether he is aware of it himself or not. But Ritsuka is there to heal that brokenness that Soubi found himself.

Many wishes to the loving bishonen of Loveless. I'm sure there is only one thing that he wants and that thing only Ritsuka can give.... ^.^

more NYAF news!

Thx to animemiz for her updates from the con! ^.^ She confirmed from Kitty Media that Crimson Spell vol. 3 will be out in February or March of next year. Yay! Viz will be putting out an awesome fanbook for Vampire Knight (which will be another mustbuy for me. ^.^)Also, Rin-ne (which has only seen online releases) will finally have a book next month. *happy dance* Arigato, animemiz!

9/27/09 ~ Sunday 11:20 pm - Tokyo ~ 10:20 am - NY

Status: satisfied ~ Listening to: DATTE Daihonmei - The Children w/ Hirano Aya (Zettai Karen Children ED) Listen or Save

I am myself

Another beautiful ending to another awesome series. I just saw Pandora Hearts ep. 25 which closed the anime series. It's also quite open ended, but as Pearl-chan pointed out (and I agree,) some major points were actually clarified (unlike 07 Ghost which just had Teito go on a journey) and tied up.

This episode is about Oz coming to terms with himself, accepting himself as he is. Since I kept on confusing his personality with Ritsuka, I'm not sure what to make of him actually. He is self confident, yet depressed at the same time. He is self sacrificing due to his inability to face himself. Kinda like how I feel sometimes... But he declares that he is himself, and not Jack Bezarius. This declaration reminds me alot of the ending to Loveless, since those were almost Ritsuka's lines. Declaring of the self and not accepting other's perception of him. Both stories began with a similar premise at the heart. (Well...sorta since Pandora Hearts started with Oz falling into the Abyss. ^^;) Both Oz and Ritsuka was rejected because of who they are presently. But enough about Loveless, let's get back into the last episode....

The 'coming to terms with himself' seems to be the key in closing the anime series. However, some plot points are cleared up. The reason behind why Oz was pushed into the Abyss and who did the deed...was stated clearly. Oz is a guy who doesn't fool around. There is more to his ability then summoning Alice. There are still many things that the characters need to face, but certainly, this is a good stopping point.

Out of the anime that are closing, I wish there were more of this and 07 Ghost. As is, I have alot more manga reading to do. ^^;

8:40 pm - Tokyo ~ 7:40 am - NY ~ Status: busy

quick stop at Toei Animation Gallery

I woke up late and had a quick bite of breakfast (or early lunch ^^;) before heading to the Toei Animation Gallery in Oimizu Gakuen. I spent about an hour there before leaving (since it was so small.) I grabbed lunch in the form of 2 onigiri at the nearest 7-Eleven and headed to Ikebekuro.

always limited

To get to and from Oimizu Gakuen requires changing trains at Ikebekuro, hence my weekend detour there. I swung by K-books 3 first and found a Allelujah Haptism bromide (to go with Tiera one ^.^) which I bought quickly. I stopped by Animate next and found that they had a Loveless card and stand leftover from last year so I bought that up immediately.

My real reason for visiting Animate was because Pearl-chan informed me that the Pandora Hearts manga artbook 'Odds and Ends' was out with a limited edition cover of Jack Bezarius. Sure enough, I found it immediately and discovered that there was a 2 day special event, ending today. When I bought the artbook, they gave me a little piece of paper so that I can write a note to Mochizuki Jun-sensei and a little slip of paper for a lottery. I forgo the note (since I couldn't write Japanese ^^;) but I went ahead to the area to try the lottery. I stuck my hand in the box and pulled out a clear pebble. >.< I failed of course but received a little red dot so that I could put it on the chart for my favorite character in Pandora Hearts. I was at a loss of who to choose...but then I realized, Raven of course! *sticks dot on the board* He actually is the most popular character since he has almost 3 rows of dots. ^^; The other characters include all the main characters as well as Vincent, Echo and Jack Bezarius. (I asked to take a pic of the chart, but they said no. ^^;) Oz was second in the popularity chart.

There was another girl that was with me and she placed it on Vincent right after I placed mine on Raven. She said something to me to which I just nodded in agreement. ^.^ Even without understanding, I knew, Vincent is a misunderstood character and needs alot of love. He has fans enough though seeing how many dots he has. ^.^

new Loveless manga!

The best part about today's Animate trip? Seeing the ad for the newest volume of Loveless which will be out on November 25! *dances around the room* I'm totally happy that it will be out which means that Tokyopop will put it out sometime next year. Yay!

Lotteria break

I wanted to hurry home to catch FMA on tv, but when I passed by Lotteria, I saw they had a new item: an-matcha pai which was simply redbean in matcha in the apple pie form (of course not apple, but it's a pie.) I bought it and headed to the train where I disregarded all stares as I took pics of my treat.

It was delicious and had pieces of mochi in it. I want another one now....

new housemate

As soon as I got home, I found a group of foreigners at the elevator heading down. Thinking they were my neighbors (since the foreign rental agency has another guesthouse on the floor,) I gave a little bow and headed to my apartment. Minutes later, someone came knocking and I was soon introduced to my new Swedish housemate. She took the room where my Japanese roomie was, not the one next to mine with the balcony. She is only planning to stay until she finds a place with her boyfriend. For now, I can enjoy her company. ^.^

Off topic, even though I attempted to hurry home in time for FMA, I missed it and only saw the last few moments of next week's preview. It seems that Ed and Ling are still somewhere dark and creepy.... ^-^

9/26/09 ~ Saturday 7:38 pm - Tokyo ~ 6:38 am - NY

Status: hungry ~ Listening to: Feeling - Acid Flavor (Hakushaku to Yousei OP) Listen or Save

news of NYAF...animemiz style

I woke up around 11am and lounged around in bed until animemiz called. She just finished day 1 of the New York Anime Festival (which I'm crying about missing) and had so many news to tell me. I'll probably do a post with the licenses that were announced, but she informed me right away that Funimation has picked up a few things including X the tv series and the OVA (which was licensed by Geneon previously.) Upon further research, the Geneon dub will be on the dvd release...which is fine by me since I didn't remember complaining about the dubs. There were some news about Funi and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood...which I'll talk about later as well. ^.^ The 3rd license that animemiz told me about (that I'm thrilled for) is Initial D which is beyond awesome. An old anime seeing stateside is always good. ^.^ Vertical is going to be putting out Chi's Sweet Home manga which is the cutest thing this side of the world. (Still need to see the new series of Chi. ^-^)

Animemiz caught me up some of the highlights of NYAF, including the pre-con party which had a super sweet cake by Food Network's 'Ace of Cakes'. I can't wait to see the pics from the party as well as from the con!

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood VAs

The VAs of FMA's new series are not a surprise since many of the old cast will be reprising their roles. Of course, Alphonse Elric cannot be voiced by Aaron Dismuke anymore since his voice changed (shortly during the recording of The Conquerer of Shambala.) NYAF's Funi panel revealed some changes in casting. Minor changes really with the major announcement being Al's new VA. Scar will be voiced by J. Michael Tatum (Seishirou, TRC,) who is already doing the role in the OVAs. Isaac McDougal will be voiced by Bryan Massey (Ladd Russo, Baccano!,) a generally new VA in the industry. Lastly, Alphonse Elric will be voiced by Maxey Whitehead (Czeslaw Mayer, Baccano!) who is actually a girl. I look forward to hearing her voice in the new series.

On another note, they did note that Aaron will be doing another role later one. I wonder who it is? I hope it isn't Ling (even though he would make such a cute Ling) because of what happens to him.... <.<

Suginami Anime Museum

After a quick breakfast, I went to pay my rent and bought groceries. I then headed to the Suginami Anime Museum in Ogikubo. I spent 2 hours there before heading home. I stopped by the BookOff at Ogikubo station which is quite large, though it has only 1 floor. Such fun....

9/25/09 ~ Friday 7:15 pm - Tokyo ~ 6:15 am - NY

Status: amused ~ Listening to: Danzai no Hana ~Guilty Sky~ - Kosaka Riyu (Claymore ED) Listen or Save

when scanlation group fails...

A shonen scanlations team, Mangahelpers contacted Viz in attempt to provide their services...or get hired perhaps. ^^; I don't know the details of their letter to Viz, but the idea of scanlation teams going legit...is not very probable. (How this is different from Crunchy Roll obtaining licenses...is the basis that they obtained the licenses to do online releases.) As others have commented, the idea is probable in theory, but they executed it quite badly. Alerting Viz (who probably knew of their existence already,) to the fact that they release their titles online via scanlations, is not too good.

Mangahelpers releases popular shonen jump titles like D.Gray Man, One Piece and Kateikyoushi Hitman Reborn!.

9/24/09 ~ Thursday 10:06 pm - Tokyo ~ 9:06 am - NY

Status: hyper ~ Listening to: Finality Blue - Kuribayashi Minami (Mai-Otome 0 ~S.ifr~ ED) Listen or Save

the Bridge of Trials

This episode is soooo confusing to my emotions...that I don't know where to start. Episode 25 of 07 Ghost is the last anime episode. The story is not finished yet, and as I said many times before, seems like it's only just beginning. Teito faces off against Ayanami...but the truth that the battle holds is a surpirse for us all.

Skipping ahead, Teito will be training as a bishop under Frau. *grins* 'Under Frau' has such a nice ring to it. In truth, the latter half of the episode is so filled with BL fodder that I don't understand why they don't just call it a BL or have Teito admit he is homo and get it over with. I won't give much details, but Mikage's seiyuu has a few more lines. In truth the 'appearance' of Mikage and Teito reminds me of the sketch in the last volume in the Yu Yu Hakusho manga with Youko Kurama standing above Minamino Shuichi. (If you know which sketch I mean, that is spoiler enough for you. ^.^) I wonder if they got the inspiration from there.... Besides that, Teito's last lines, "I didn't only lose things." and his next action.... O.O I was literally squealing by that time. *waits for neighbors to pound down the door* It was several kinds of awesome. No, it wasn't a kiss, but something more subtle that couldn't be read any other way. ^.^

As a last episode, it feels very open ended. It feels like how Gundam 00 felt at the end of season 1 and making us wait awhile for season 2. But we don't think there will be a second season. (Kuroshitsuji proved us wrong so, Studio Deen, give us more!) It feels like how Loveless was when it ended. So much more coming and everything is left open. The main point of the series has been established. Teito has grew up a bit and has decided what to do. (In contrast to ep. 1 where he had just ran away and things happen around him with or without his participation.) His feelings for Mikage is unchanged and his friendship with Hakuren still has alot to go. However, we return to Frau and Teito's relationship which will surely grow on their journey together. And don't forget about Teito's necklace which has only been talked about a couple times....

25 episodes is alot for this story to which moved so slowly. They really took their time about it, which was why I was surprised to see it end so quickly. (I guess hoping for an Inuyasha/Dragonball anime length is wishful thinking.) I will be reading the manga for more of the story since my FrauxTeito side wants to see more of them. My heart is reaching out for them....

8:10 pm - Tokyo ~ 7:10 am - NY ~ Status: busy

one card, four more to go

Wow...I can't believe I collected so many Loveless specials already. I need 4 more to complete my specials collection...but I'm still missing 4 boxcards which are next to impossible to find. <.< I bought no. 9 today at K-books 3. I did a quick search, bought the card and left. I didn't stay too long since I needed to head to Shinjuku to change money.

calendar crazy

I'm kinda out of it right now since I didn't sleep much last night (and I worked VERY hard today preparing for tomorrow's classes,) since WL sent me pics for her YunJae calendar. I did 6 months on tuesday and finished them off yesterday. *whew* The pics she chose are really pretty and I might post the calendars up later. Why not now? Well, I have stuff to do like cook dinner and shower.... ^^; I'll be picking out pics for my 2010 calendar soon enough.

If you want me to make you a calendar, just send me 12 pics (high resolution please...not tiny pics) and give me any special dates you want. The calendars will have Japanese, Chinese and US holidays on it...those I think are important. (Check out my previous calendars to know which ones I include.) If you want to add any holidays (like Washington's birthday or Columbus day,) just let me know.

yaoi and drugs...don't mix

I don't need to reiterate the news of Yaoi Press' founder, Yamila Abraham arrested for selling 'drugs'. Long story short, they're not really 'drugs' but more like mislabeled cold medicine. Fraud and other counts are included against her in the arrest and things aren't looking too good for her...but the company itself is fine (since it's two separate incidents afterall) and she will be attending future cons. Getting arrested can't keep fujoshi away from their BL! ^^;

Gives a whole new meaning to 'Yaoi...the antidrug.' (That slogan is seen in many signature sets of BL fans. ^.^)

9/23/09 ~ Wednesday 9:48 pm - Tokyo ~ 8:48 am - NY

Status: indescribable ~ Listening to: Taisetsu na Mono - Yoshida Jungo (Kyou Kara Maoh OST) Listen or Save

manga and bag shopping

Fighter and I met at Akiba Electric Town exit and we headed to Animate first and checked out any new things. (I got to take a look at an open Gundam 00 postcard book and renewed my love for it. I WILL buy it soon!) Then we headed for lunch at Yoshinoya. Our next stop was Mandarake where I saw an old, old, VERY old manga that was close to 900,000yen. O.O If only I could steal it, sell it and buy so many awesome things.... *looks around* Did I type that? ^^;

I was craving ice cream (as usual) and we just happened to see a guy past by with a Baskin Robins in hand. We entered the building he came out of and discovered the store on the 2nd floor. There we had the 3rd and final Autumn Sundae, tiramisu which is one of my favorites. (Well, I like all 3, but this was delicious. Then again, I have to try matcha flavored again since I messed up. ^^;)

After our ice cream treat, we headed to Bookoff. But first, we passed by this crowd of people all on their DSs. o.O I was wondering what they were waiting for, when fighter explained that there was this level in Dragon Quest where you need to be with other people playing the game in order to pass that level...so this is where they all gathered to play.

The picture doesn't show the tremendous amount of people there. ^^; Everyone on their DSs.... *pulls mine out* Wait, I don't have the game....

At Bookoff, we browsed the usual sections before heading to Yadobashi, a large electronics store to find a bag for fighter's laptop. She found a beautiful, black messenger bag that had me drooling over...for close to 9000yen. But it was a sturdy bag and very well made so she got it. ^.^

singing the night away

We headed to the karaoke near fighter's university to sing since they have nomihodai and cheap rates. We put ourselves down for 2 hours, but ended up singing 3. For less then 2500 yen in total! <.< I wish that rate was everywhere. I started with '1000 Words' from Final Fantasy X-2 and worked my way through a list that I made just for today. I sang Every Heart to commemorate the return of Inuyasha: Final Act and Wild Wind to celebrate the new Bluray dvds for Yu Yu Hakusho. Fighter and I sang many songs together ranging from Disney's 'Under the Sea', 'Color of the Wind' to 'Glaring Dream' from Gravitation, 'Anata dake Mitsumeteru' from Slam Dunk and 'White Reflection' from Gundam Wing.

We sang 'Moment' from Gundam Seed as well as some American pop and some oldies. Some songs that I didn't really practice for but sang pretty well was 'Tsuki no Kaasu' (Loveless,) 'Life is like a Boat' (Bleach,) and even 'Arigatou' (Kyou Kara Maoh.) It was wonderful. Why so detailed? I want to recall this evening since it will be the last time fighter and I have karaoke together before she leaves next week. *sniff* We ended our session by singing 'Super Drive' from Gravitation.

She'll be busy the next few days preparing for her departure so our next meeting will be the last. I'm feeling sad already, but I won't think about that too much. We'll be meeting next tuesday at Ikebekuro. I'll be going there as usual either tomorrow or Friday. But it won't be the same....

9/22/09 ~ Tuesday 7:45 pm - Tokyo ~ 6:45 am - NY

Status: curious ~ Listening to: Ame ga Furu - Sakamoto Maaya (Linebarrels of Iron ED) Listen or Save

fallen into the abyss

With a subject like the above, you would think I'll be talking about Pandora Hearts...but I'm really referring to ep. 24 of Fullmetal Alchemist. After a rushy first half of the series, these episodes are starting to have more of a feel and pace of the previous one with humor paired with the right amount of seriousness. And also more RoyxEd-ness. ^.^ Gluttony is rampaging and Fuhrer Bradley is stepping out of the closest...so to speak. It is no big secret that he is a homunculi and Roy wants to know who else knew about this debacle that they call a government. Both Roy and Ed grow up a bit more in this episode...and perhaps the trust they give each other are more apparent.

My favorite moment has to be when Envy saids to Gluttony "You can eat him." and points to Ling. Of course Ed gets one of his brillant ideas and things start to really get moving. I like this Gluttony alot more then the previous one since this one seems to be a tad more intelligent and it talks more. ^.^ My other favorite moment is the scene before that when the Elric brothers plus Roy faces off against Gluttony...or at least Roy tries to face off against him. ^^;

The ending of the episode brings our main characters into hell. Ed's surroundings remind me of the Abyss in Pandora Hearts, hence the misleading subject of my post. The next episode should have flashbacks of Wrath's past. The preview also shows flashbacks of how the little girl met her panda....

ending of several summer anime

Both 07 Ghost and Pandora Hearts started in the spring, but Pearl-chan has confirmed that they'll both be ending in the at the end of the summer anime block. I'm surprised even though that was the report for some time already. Surprised since both stories seem to be picking up and incomplete at this point. Even though I joked about Teito meeting the Final Boss, I believed that there would be more. Pearl-chan noted that since 07 Ghost was done by Studio Deen (Junjou Romantica, Vampire Knight,) if there was a hint of a second season, they would have advertised them already. And Pandora Hearts didn't even look like it was ending...unless you count them finding out the truth of Sabrie...which I don't think they're even that close yet. Both series have ongoing manga stories and I guess the series ending before the actual conclusion of the story is common. Makes people want to read the manga. ^^;

The last episode of 07 Ghost is already out and I'm just waiting for the subs to hit the net. Pandora Hearts subs should be up by the weekend. I have a list of Fall anime to hit and I guess I should be glad that some series are closing...though I'm a bit sad and hoping for an actual ending.... We'll see....

12:50 pm - Tokyo ~ 11:50 am - NY ~ Status: awake

Kouga-sensei's interview

During AnimeExpo, APA (Asia Pacific Arts) was able to speak with Kouga Yun-sensei as well as the esteemed Mizushima Seiji-san and Kuroda Yosuke-san. They were able to ask some questions about Loveless which is what I focused on. (They also asked interesting questions about Fullmetal Alchemist and fan influence, but you can read that for yourselves. The copy/paste of the Loveless interview...

APA: How much Loveless is left?
Yun Kouga: The manga will end at Vol. 15
APA: Will the Loveless anime ever get a second season?
Kouga: Maybe.
APA: Why is Loveless classified as a yaoi? Gundam Wing was more yaoi than Loveless.
Yun Kouga: I don't consider it as yaoi, but my fans do.

Vol. 15 will be the magic number.... O.O We got a bit to go which I'm soooo happy about. I was worried that the grand meeting at the School of Seven Voices was the starting point of the ending...but I'm happy to see that wasn't the case. There seems to be alot more to go. ^.^ Yay! And Kouga-sensei not giving a definite response is awesome...although I don't put that much weight on the possibility due to the fact that this isn't really a series that companies will pick up and animate until an ending is established. So maybe in a few years time? I would love to hear Ritsuka's voice as Ritsuka again. ^.^

I'm disappointed in the interviewer's choice of words of 'yaoi'. The use of the term 'yaoi' highlights the sexual aspect of it when you speak as the term to a Japanese. (The all encompassing term of 'yaoi' as Boys Love in western terms is fine, but it might confuse the person you're speaking to. <.<) Even as a BL, it's true that Loveless isn't a BL story as the focus isn't solely based on Soubi and Ritsuka but Ritsuka and everyone else. I understand what Kouga-sensei means and agree. (It's like CLAMP saying that the relationship between Touya and Yukito or even the series of Legal Drug isn't a BL either. We can revel in the relationship that is there regardless. ^_^ (But mentioning Gundam Wing as a yaoi...shows too much of the western aspect of the interviewer. That would definitely be confusing. Kinda FAIL there....)

Katamari Wedding

We have news about Gundam weddings and now here is a Katamari Demacy one. And it's done by gaijin. O.O It's actually quite tasteful. The wedding party was nice, the flowers with a little prince figure was sweet and the cake was quite formal. (The top of the cake with the groom rolling the ball with the bride stuck on it is very interesting...and very well done. ^.^) I never thought of this wedding concept before, but am happy to see it pull off so well. Yay for Japanime-themed weddings!

9/21/09 ~ Monday 3:15 pm - Tokyo ~ 2:15 am - NY

Status: sad ~ Listening to: Forever - Savage Genius (Erementar Gerad OP) Listen or Save

Usui Yoshito-sensei passed away

The creator of Crayon Shin-chan died this past week. He was missing since 9/12 and they found his body a few days ago and confirmed it on 9/19. I don't know the details of his death besides the fact that he was hiking during that time. It was all over the news...both the disappearance and his death. His Shin-chan series has been a staple to Japanese children's television for a very long time (as is Doraemon) so I don't believe they will be taking it off the air. As the link noted, the manga will continue until December at the very least since Usui-sensei already sent in chapters for them. Afterwards, the ending...I suppose will remain open. Such series as these, Doraemon and Chibi Maruko-chan has no true endings. The children in them do not grow up. They learn from their experiences and 'grow' in that respect, but there is no aging in them.

Usui-sensei was 51 years old, younger then my parents actually and the news sinking in has settled into shock for me. The series has been Americanized thoroughly along with annoyingly dubbed voices (one of Funimation's lesser achievements >.<) but has proved to be popular in the US. I will be shocked with the rest of Japan and my heart will ache for another brillant creator lost from the world.

12:50 am - Tokyo ~ 11:50 am 9/20 - NY ~ Status: sleepy

people watching

I met up with fighter at Harajuku at 11am today in order to try to do some people watching on the bridge near the entrance of the Meji Shrine. We first walked around the shopping area before heading to Leforet, a department store to check out their Lolita clothes. (I love the Hello Kitty hoodie...but it's 9000 yen. ^^;) There was a huge line stretching out of Leforet and we found out there was a special show there along with a guest. We surmised that the majority of people into Lolita fashion would be there and not along the bridge. Sure enough, the bridge was readily empty of interesting people to stare at so we decided to head to the aquarium instead. ^.^

I did capture this pic of two people getting ready to being gazed at.

There were others in Lolita outfits, but they weren't at the bridge, just walking around as usual.

my heart in the waters

We grabbed a bite to eat at the nearest convenience store and headed to the Shinagawa Aquarium. The aquarium actually lies near a park. We spent a few hours there before deciding our next destination: Asakusa.

a search for omiyage

Since fighter is leaving Japan at the end of the month, *cries* she needed to buy things for her friends and family. We headed to Asakusa for that reason...and for agemanju which we both love to eat. ^-^ Fighter ended up buying a red umbrella (which is generally used for Japanese weddings ^.^) and fell in love with a wooden pipe. She bought several things for friends and even bought a purple Hello Kitty with butterfly wings clip for me. ^_^ We ate matcha agemanju as I grabbed a few night pics of the shrine. Afterwards, we headed to Doutor coffee shop for a drink (hot chocolate for me) and rest before heading back home.

an end of the summer dance

As I stepped out of the station, I noticed the park had a festival going on. There were sounds of drums and crowds. I found people dancing around a stage. There was a taiko drummer at the top along with people clanging bells. People from the crowd joined in the dancing...along with a foreigner. ^^; There were kids that knew the dance as well. I was contemplating running home and wearing my yukata. ^.^ Instead, I contented with taking pics and vids. At the end of several dances, the men hoisted a portable shrine onto their shoulders and walked away. I spent some time looking around at the various food (takoyaki, yakisoba, chocolate banana, etc) before heading back to my apartment. I don't know the name of this festival, but it may have to do with Keiro no hi aka. Respect for the elderly day which is tomorrow. Monday to wednesday of this week is a national holiday so no school for me! *prepares to sleep in*

9/20/09 ~ Sunday 12:55 am - Tokyo ~ 11:55 am 9/19 - NY

Status: tired ~ Listening to: me typing

fish, fish and more fish

I must be the only tourist that venture into Tsukiji Market at 6am...and not find the tuna auctions. <.<; That gives an idea about how my morning went. ^^;

I woke at 4:50...which is a bit late and so I left a bit later then originally planned. I took the trains to Tsukiji station and just followed a few caucasians down the street (since I assume any foreigner up at this hour in this neighborhood would be heading to the famous market. I was right...but they didn't lead me all the way to the auctions. >.< I found the street outside of the outer markets. They're your usual market goods of veggies, fish, dried fish snacks *muches on a sample* among other things. I found a restaurant that I decided to eat my breakfast at...but later. The inner markets is stalls upong stalls of people selling fish.

Already, the results of the auctions were apparent on their tables: tuna the size of small children (but probably weighing alot more) were ready to be sliced and sold. (Or maybe hacked at and sawed seeing as how large they were.) I tried to keep my bearings since as many people have mentioned, it is so easy to lose your way in there.

Behind the outer market, is a loading and unloading area. Aka. lots of crates and motorized carts. Dangerous area. It is a reminder that Tsukiji is definitely not a tourist attraction (even if it attracts tourists) and is a working wholesale market. Behind the loading and unloading is the vegetable market where there was also an auction going on. I heard people yelling surrounded by crowds of people wearing hats with numbers on them. ^^; I assume it's a vegetable auction. I finally asked one of the foreigners if they knew the location of the tuna auction. Which they did...though their directions weren't terribly clear either. All I know is that it's in one of the buildings around the outer markets. <.< Seeing the time was already past 6:40am, I decided to not continue any further into fishville and just have breakfast. Which I did.

I went back to the restaurant I saw earlier and ordered sakeikuradon along with cold tea and miso soup. Fresh salmon is soooo delicious!

I headed back to the subway and went to school. I don't know if I will go back to the market to see the auctions. If the opportunity presents itself, I will go. If not, it's not a major loss. The outer market reminds me alot of the markets in Taiwan: very wet. (The fish smell isn't really that bad...but that may be because I'm asian and am used to the smell. ^^;) And everywhere around the outer market is pretty dangerous being that there are so many vehicles. Beyond the danger, I don't know if my sense of direction will lead me to the golden door known as the visitors entrance which is where I'm suppose to go through to view the auctions properly. ^^; We'll see....

Sports Festival

Sports Day aka. the Sports Festival is a school event. Every school has one from elementary to highschool (I don't think college has sports day even though they still do have school festivals) and my school's was today. to go there today.

heart and soul

The previous episode of Pandora Hearts left our heroes in what I thought to be the second Tragedy of Sabrie...but it's too early for that. It was just an ordinary attack from the Abyss. ^^; The people of Pandora are basically useless (with the exception of Oz and crew) without their Chains. They can't even shoot straight! 'Aim between the eyes.' Well, we already know the enemies weakpoint, but apparently their auto target and lock system was down because with 6 people shooting, they took down 1 Chain. <.<;

We get to see everyone fight, even Oz and that is a pretty awesome thing. And then it begins to snow. The reprieve that is there is a short one and Alice and Oz draws closer together... *pushes them apart* I don't want you guys to get closer without Gil! Oz is facing what I will refer to as the 'Edward Elric conspiracy'. The enemies wants to keep Oz alive for a reason, much like how the Homunculus wants Ed alive for their own purposes. Plots thicken as more is revealed...though I don't understand much of it yet. (Perhaps it's because I'm so sleepy that I can't comprehend. It's also the reason why I'm incoherent. ^^;) BTW, the episode is called 'Kyrie' which reminds Nero's girlfriend from Devil May Cry 4...though they have nothing to do with each other. ^^;

9/18/09 ~ Friday 11:10 pm - Tokyo ~ 10:10 am - NY

Status: tired ~ Listening to: Gachinko de Ikou! - Buono (Shugo Chara! ED) Listen or Save

ganbarre!

After a full morning of classes, my afternoon at the school was happily class-free with my last class canceled so the students could return home to freshen up for tomorrow's Sports Day. Not all students. Many stayed behind so they could work on the field, practice the exercises (the leaders needed to lead) and decorations, etc. I took the opportunity to slip into the music room to practice for a bit. It was awesome. ^-^

I got kicked out of the room when the students (and another teacher) needed to coil up this looooong string of small flags (from all over the world.) The string went from the third floor (where the music room is) all the way down the stairs, down the hallway and to the basement where it continued. o.O I didn't see where it ended but it was amazingly long.

awesome student

My lesson for today for the 1st year students is Show and Tell..."This is my friend. He likes blah blah blah." They had free reign to choose whoever they want; idols, stars, friends. One of my students chose a member of Arashi. She wrote a suuuuuper long speech about it. And it was practically in perfect English grammer. Her English isn't always this brillant (although she is one of my stronger students) but her love of Arashi made her share so much then what was required. I had hoped my other students would pick someone they like so they could say more about the person, but she was fantastic today. I'm so proud. *sniffs* BTW, one of my warm up "Guess who this is?" pic game had Sakurai Sho and she was practically screaming when I held up the picture. I must say, I chose a really nice pic of him. ^.^ When I asked if the students can tell me something about him, the same student went on and on. Definitely a good thing. ^.^

of manga and ice cream

I arrived at Ikebekuro with time to spare before meeting fighter so I stopped by K-books 3 for a preliminary look. I found and bought a Junjou Romantica manga pencil board as well as the Junjou stationery set...even though I'm never going to use it. ^^; I also bought 2 Zetsuai/Bronze pencil boards for fighter since I know she would love them. I met up with her at Mandarake and we checked out the telephone cards that were in the showcase. We practically made the staff (who opened the showcase for us) wait for about 5 min. as we looked at various series. I'm in love with several cards by Kouga Yun-sensei, Fujimi Orchestra and Yamane Ayano-sensei...but didn't buy anything yet. *nervous laught* We'll see....

After her purchases, we headed to K-books 2 and then back to K-books 3 where I found a mini clearfile of Suzaku and Lelouche manga style (the pic of them back to back with the white and black wings in the background.) I also bought a Tiera Erde bromide card...which means I'm going to end up buying all the others. ^^; That was an impulse buy because the bromides for Tiera are now all sold out in Animate all over. He is a popular guy. We headed to Animate afterwards where I heard Kurama sing 'Romantica Soldier' over the speakers as well as Hiei's character song 'Dark Side'. *happy sigh*

Dinner was okonomiyaki and my choice was tuna. The couple next to us ordere monjya so I got to see how they made it. They put the garlic onto the grill and then shoveled out the lettace from the bowl. Then they pour the water into the middle (after making a circle with the lettace. *takes notes for future ref* After our first round of okonomiyaki, we felt like some more so we chose mochi flavored which both of us never had before.

It was so good! The mochi was so soft and gooey in the heat and the mild taste of it along with the spicier sauce was very fantastic. We went to Baskin Robins to eat icecream: our choice, Matcha Tiramisu. They actually asked what kind of ice cream I wanted and I stupidly said chocolate oreo even though I should be eating matcha since that was what I really wanted. (Why do they even bother asking?) lol I have to try to this again. ^^;

The funny part was that they mixed up our orders (since we both had the same thing, except fighter's was actually matcha) and we each took a scoop and a bite...to discover that we had each other's. We quickly switched cones and continued to enjoy our treat. ^.^

no sleep

Tomorrow, I'm heading out around 5am to Tsukiji Fish Market and then going up to Saitama to school for the Sports Festival. Which means I won't get much sleep tonight. Hopefully, I won't collapse tomorrow...although there shouldn't be a problem since I'm not the one running around. ^^; Oyasumi!

9/16/09 ~ Wednesday 10:15 pm - Tokyo ~ 9:15 am - NY (EDIT)

Status: hungry ~ Listening to: my tummy grumbling

the secret to special cards...

At K-books 3, they keep their special cards in the glass cases...and binders that are behind the register. I thought that they didn't have any Loveless cards since none were displayed, but when I asked a worker (while she was putting back the Junjou card I inquired about-already have it) if they had Loveless, she went and checked. And brought out a bunch. o.O She was nice enough to sort out the doubles and presented to me what they really had. I was able to find 3 that I didn't have so yay! They're so pretty and shiny....

Besides the cards, I ended up finding two Loveless cellphone straps, a metal one of Ritsuka and Soubi and another just of Ritsuka. I'm pretty sure they have one for Soubi as well so I'll have to be on the lookout for it. If it's from this series, I'm practically collecting everything. ^^;

meeting with a French/Japanese crew

A bit before 8pm, I headed to Ikebekuro station to meet up with my French friend and his crew for his birthday dinner. I couldn't attend (for reasons to hard to explain at this moment) but I was able to present him with a bottle of Spanish wine (yes, I gave Spanish wine to a Frenchman ^^;) and wish him a happy birthday. I also met my ex-Japanese roommate there and gave her a few things that she left behind...including her belated b-day gift that I bought in Kyoto. I chatted with them in English and broken Japanese while absorbing their French and Japanese with broken English. ^^; Tanoshii....

Inuyasha's 'Final Act'

The last 26 episodes for Inuyasha will be starting in October. Wow, as the post mentioned, there are about 21 volumes left of the manga that wasn't animated. These episodes will be very condensed! *adds water* Can't wait!

final boss already?

We're up to ep. 24 of 07 Ghost and already Teito is fighting Ayanami for real. My first thought is that the series is ending...but it only just begun! Teito has only taken the first steps he need to become a bishop...and he hasn't consummate his relationship with Frau yet! ^.^ I don't think this is the final boss fight. It is more of a beginning of the RPGs where the major boss fights the hero and the hero loses.... (I'm not done with the episode yet so I don't know if Teito will lose. ^.^)

On another note, the indentation in Teito's hand from the missing Eye of Mikail...makes me X.x. I can't help but go ewww a bit. And the center of earth? Makes me dizzy. @.@ So dizzy that I had to stop and write this update and wait for the room to stop spinning.... ^.^

And we're not even at the halfway point yet.

EDIT: This episode reminded me of two other series. First...flowers of forgettfulness? I recall Kurama's powder from when he erased a girl's memories in his junior high years. And then there is that scene when Ayanami is reaching into Teito's chest. The first Xenosaga game had exactly the same scene...with also the same thing happening when they tried to touch 'the memory'. *grins* I watch too many things.

There are several BL moments, but the Lieutenant and Konatsu moments are hilarious. (I think the lieuntenant goes both ways: he is uke to Ayanami and seme to Konatsu. ^.^) Of course, Kuroyuri's love for Haruse is nothing to scoff at.... "My one and only Begleiter..." So, that's what they're calling it these days?"

I'll leave you with one last quote. "I should lock you away within my cage. I don't care if it breaks you." *grins*

9/14/09 ~ Monday 8:10 pm - Tokyo ~ 7:10 am - NY

Status: enthralled ~ Listening to: Gorgeous 4u - Fukuyama Jun (Special A OP) Listen or Save

an army at school

This is what an army of Japanese youth looks like:

They're trained supersoldiers ready to fight and battle in mobile suits. They also eat a ton of curry, play soccer like it's their life and torment me half the time. lol j/k I love my students. BTW, the pic above is of the entire school...well, almost. There are a couple more lines of students to the left of the pic that I couldn't fit in. ^^; They're together to do their exercises and start another practice for this saturday's sports day. Sugoi desu ne?

I have more carddass! *evil laugh*

I finally got the last two Kuroshitsuji carddass/mini-shitajiki boards that I wanted today at K-books 3. I also bought two other Fullmetal Alchemist mini-boards as well...since they were there. ^^; I knew these repeat visits will payoff! (Though my wallet feels slightly lighter. ^^;)

as you wish

Before I headed into K-books, I passed by this lovely gentleman...or I should say, butler.

I did a doubletake and was about to walk away when I gathered my courage to ask for a picture. He obliged (obviously since I have the pic ^.^) very nicely and posed like so. I said thank you as he gave me the flier to Royal Servant, a new butler cafe in the area. According to the flier (which has pics of all the butlers,) his name is Kaname. Hmmm...I wonder where fighter and I will be going next? ^____^

Tsubasa ending

Pearl-chan mentioned it to me before and seeing how things are going, I'm not surprised to hear that Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles will be ending. The date is September 30 which is the end of this month and is actually quite soon. 28 volumes is alot for CLAMP (well, not really considering their woman-power) and there was alot going on in this series. Perhaps now they finish TRC, they will bring Xxxholic to a close as well? Inter-related in some ways, Xxxholic is still a standalone series with tidbits of TRC inside. Perhaps Watanuki and Doumeki will start on their own journey together? Maybe not, but we'll see what happens. My only hope is...that they'll finally get back to X! Onegaishimasu! *puppy eyes*

Oh yes, I also want Fay and Kurogane to be together somehow...well, they have to be since Kurogane is Fay's food, but I mean in a romantic-I-want-to-do-naughty-things-to-you kind of way. ^.^ Do you see my head? I think I lost it in a gutter somewhere....

9/13/09 ~ Sunday 5:56 pm - Tokyo ~ 4:56 am - NY

Status: hungry ~ Listening to: Hamatte Sabotte Oh My God! - Hirano Aya (Lucky Star OP) Listen or Save

an afternoon in Mitaka

I woke up at 10am (before my alarm rang and watched a bit of Cross Game to wake up. I breakfasted upon bread with jelly and anman (not at the same time. ^.^) I took my usual route to the Ghibli Museum discovered that my film ticket for the day was Arren all wrapped up near the beginning of Earthsea. Oooo...nice! I headed upstairs via the spiral staircase and tried to see if I can discover new things in the various rooms. First off, I seem to see new Howl's Moving Castle sketches in the sketches and watercolor art lining the room. I'm not sure if they're actually new or I missed them before. I also noticed that one of the panels in the glass roof was all the red fishes from Ponyo. Again, I don't remember if this was actually new or not.... I'm quite observant, so I'll like to believe it's new. ^^; I headed to the roof to gaze at the robot and stone. Then I realized something:

The robot is a hermaphrodite! Look! It has boobs and a bulge down there! Now I can never think it another way...it will always be a herm to me.... *dies*

Theatrics aside, I went back in and watched in envy as all the kids played around the Catbus. As one of the staff walked by, I asked politely, "May I touch the catbus?" More like "Touchie nekobasu ii desuka?" (I obviously don't know how to say 'touch' in Japanese. ^^;) The staff got the idea and said it was fine. ^.^ 'Koko?' 'Hai!' She pointed at the spot near the edge where the front left paw was closest to the fence. I situated myself there and reached out...and patted it a couple of times. I'm sure I was blushing like crazy. I said thanks to the staff and headed to the 2nd floor.

I went around the the Mamma Auito shop and then headed to the book room shop. I finally bought the mermaid sketch postcard that I was eyeing ever since I started my visit to the museum. Besides the beautifully drawn mermaid, the words 'Museo D'Arte Ghibli' is next to it. After my purchase, I headed down to the theater.

the world in the your hands

The Ghibli short was Hoshi wo Katta Hi or The Day I Bought a Star. From the pictures I have seen of the short, this was one of the ones I really, really wanted to see. And I was not disappointed. The story and meaning behind it is more complex then the other features. I unfortunately didn't understand too much of the words, but it was amazing all the same. A young boy traveling down a long road met a woman named Ninia and started to live with her. He took care of her gardens and sold the giant vegetables at the market. He met a frog and a mole who were selling stones/seeds. He received a seed which grew into a planet. It was a sweet story and quite deep. Friendship is in there...somewhere. There is enough material that I wish that Ghibli would actually make a long movie out of it. It's based off of the "Iblard" paintings by Inoue Naohisa. (The paintings were also the inspiration for Whisper of the Heart.) If I could see this movie again (meaning if I decide to go to the museum again even after seeing all the shorts,) I definitely would. ^.^

detour in Nakano

After the movie, I left the museum. (I didn't check out the first floor exhibit, but it was filled with people so I didn't bother.) I headed back to Nakano station and hit Mandarake. I checked out a few things but didn't buy anything there. I picked up a bottle of Soldepenas, a Spanish wine for my French friend whose birthday is this Wednesday. Yes, Spanish wine for a Frenchman...what am I thinking? lol I picked up a few more groceries and headed home...in time for Fullmetal Alchemist!

to capture a homunculi

After placing Winry in the safe hands of the military, Ed rejoins his brother in the fight against Scar. Ling and Lan Fan are still trying to get away from Wrath. Lan Fan then does something that equates self sacrifice. But she shows that self sacrifice doesn't always mean killing yourself. When Ling joins up with Ed, the plan that was in motion (for the past few episodes) move on to the next stage. And Gluttany explodes. I have only one thing to say about that. Ewwwww.... It wasn't as bad in the manga, but seeing it in anime form makes it one of the grossest things I ever seen. It's good...just very gross. <.< Also, May Chang finally makes her reappearance with some quick footwork. She may be bratty sometimes (only very little,) she is awesome with her alchemy skills.

Winry travels back to Rush Valley and Ed and her have their 'moment' on the platform. I can't exactly remember what Ed said to Winry, but I remember thinking it was sweet. (The EdxWinry part of me is happy even if the RoyxEd and Elricest side of me is not. ^.^) We then move to the secret crew that Roy has gathered about himself...and Ling reveals the nation's greatest secret. It's an episode filled with action and it ends at a cliffhanger. I enjoyed the pacing of the episode and the slight humor with Riza's appearance is suitable for the circumstance. Makes me kinda wish that I had my FMA manga with me. (Well, I do, I wish I had the ones that these episodes are about with me. ^^;)

9/12/09 ~ Saturday 9:02 pm - Tokyo ~ 8:02 pm - NY (EDIT)

Status: busy ~ Listening to: rain outside

the big gate at Asakusa Temple

In actuality, the famous Kaminari-mon doesn't lead to Asakusa Temple but the Sensoji Temple. Asakusa Temple is a smaller one at the right of the main temple. It's one of the places that I wanted to visit so I decided to go there today. ^.^ Lots of pics of food and buildings. I took a brief stop at Shibuya afterwards so there is a pic from there as well. I'm determined to see more 'sights' in Tokyo so my weekends are going to be busy!

looking for painful memories

Onward to find more memories! And heavier spoilers then usual since the latest episode of Pandora Hearts is too interesting to let up. The subject of today is the truth behind Tragedy of Sabrie...which lies in Alice's memories. But such a weighty subject matter has to balanced with humor. Something that is a short-lived joke is Oz's bodyguards aka. 'escorts'. Seems that Oz has an entire battalion of cute guys following him around...watching him sleep, take a bath.... (lol When I thought about 'escorts', I thought about them all dating Oz...but Gilbert won't like that. ^_^) It's short lived since Break got rid of them, but it was fun while it lasted. What I'm confused about is that they didn't appear (and disappear) in the story until now, but they were supposedly there from when Jack spoke through Oz and gave the order for the Four Houses to 'Protect Oz!' Plothole? *falls through*

The plot moves along a bit as Gilbert attempts to talk to Vincent about Sabrie...to which no answer is given. I won't say much more about that scene, but the BGM for it was awesome! (I know I mentioned it many times, but I can't wait for the soundtrack to come out since the music is amazing! ^-^) The series come full circle as we step into a location from the past and then...a burning city. Does history repeat itself?

9/11/09 ~ Friday 8:58 pm - Tokyo ~ 7:58 am - NY

Status: hungry ~ Listening to: Happy Material Return - Mahora Gakuen 3-A (Mahou Sensei Negima Shiroki Tsubasa ALA ALBA OP) Listen or Save

no willpower

At K-books 3, I first picked up a Kuroshitsuji fortune coin (the blue one with the butterfly) since I've been eyeing that without seriously thinking of buying it...until today. Then I didn't find anything else I wanted. However, I decided to give the clear files a look (since they usually don't have much so I don't check there everytime I go.) O.O First, I found the Yu Yu Hakusho pencil board that I wanted and then a X clear file of Subaru and Seishirou. I couldn't put those back down. ^^; I also found and bought a Junjou Romantica clear file for Pearl-chan (the one with Usami and Misaki on the front and the rest of the cast on the back.) I went to K-books 2 and (thankfully) didn't find anything else. I dropped by Animate and saw that they had finally put out the last of the Junjou Romantica pencil boards...the 2nd one with all the characters. Since Pearl-chan requested it, I bought one for her. Very happy with what I got. ^-^

Engrish at school

This was put up a loooong time ago, but I never got a chance to take a picture of it. Afterall, it's a sign in the girl's restroom (the one that teachers use) and I don't usually bring my camera in there. ^^; I don't know if it's place up anywhere else though. Since it's in Engrish, I don't know if the sign was directed towards me especially. (It wasn't there when school first started....) But I digress.

Me: Sure? lol (I mentioned the sign to fighter and she responded with 'Just like in Kyou Kara Maoh!' I didn't even realize that! roflol) As the native speaker at the school and eikawa sensei...I wonder if I should say something. ^^; But it makes me grin everytime I go to the bathroom now so I don't think I'll say anything. ^_^

9/10/09 ~ Thursday 7:46 pm - Tokyo ~ 6:46 am - NY

Status: amused ~ Listening to: me typing

headless Gundams

Now, I'm not sure if the picture on animevice is of them taking the Gundam down (and not from the time when they were putting it together,) but since the post is about the deconstruction, I will lean towards that. And it's a headless Gundam. I don't know whether to laugh or to cry. For now, I'll just stare at it dazedly.

Bookoff hopping

After school, I headed to three bookoffs on my way home. I first went to the one in Akabane (where I usually change trains) and then I stopped at Jujo station. My last one was the one near my own station. Didn't buy anything, *gasp* ^.^ but I was pretty close to picking up a few things. Not sure if they're purchases I wanted to really make, so I held myself back. Willpower! lol

Tomorrow will be my usual Otomedori day...and I probably won't have any willpower at that time. ^^;

12:22 am - Tokyo ~ 11:22 am 9/9 - NY ~ Status: calm ~ Listening to: 07 Ghost on the computer

falling feathers

I have one thing to say about 07 Ghost ep. 23 and it's that Teito in an army uniform (the kind that Ayanami and his crew wears) is totally hot! (Kinda a spoiler...more of a hint. ^.^)

Okay, I have more to say about this episode then that, but I totally love that moment! *swoons* It's the second exam and everything is 'real'. The emotions and the battles. There is a bit more then 'fighting your worse enemey' but revealing that will be too much of a hint for this spoiler-free post. ^-^ We can see the 'exam' of the three main examinees, Teito, Hakuren and Ouida. (I suppose it'll be too much to include Liam's exam as well.) Because of that, we find out a bit more about Ouida (and I get to hear more of Romi Paku's voice. ^-^) Teito's battle is the hardest as he faces Mikage's past, him being torture and such. (BTW, when the dude in front of the tied-up Mikage started to put on his gloves, I totally thought he was going to feel him up or something! ^^; *sigh* Only in my BL dreams....) If being his friend brought him so much pain, what is Teito to do? I wish I could tell him, there is nothing that he needs to atone for. Friendship...and love is worth everything.

"He is my precious..." Friend? Lover? How about 'seme'? lol Emotional thoughts aside, Frau stepping out to meet Teito is sorta like "Now, I'm going to go meet my girlfriend' kind of thing. Just a thought.... Next episode is going to be another Ayanami vs. Teito. Hopefully, he isn't too tired. Burupya, cheer him up!

9/9/09 ~ Wednesday 11:45 pm - Tokyo ~ 10:45 am - NY

Status: satisfied ~ Listening to: Hatsukoi Parachute - Hashimoto Miyuki (Akane-Iro ni Somaru Saka OP) Listen or Save

hand that heals

I love comedies...but I think I like my FMA to be serious. The new season was a mix of seriousness with comedy, but it doesn't really pull it out as well as Pandora Hearts...for some reason. But ep. 22 was serious. I think for that reason, this has been another truly powerful episode. I think I'm more moved by this one then the one with Riza crying. (And in the manga, that scene was heartwrenching.)

We return to the scene of Ling vs. Wrath and it quickly turns to Elric brothers vs. Scar. They're trying to stall (so that Ling can get at a homunculi) so they start talking. You know, old battle stories, flashback scenes of a certain chimera *cries* and Winry's parents. The expressions that Winry shows from the news of how her parent's dies reminds me of the breakdown of Louise in Gundam 00. Shock, horror, anger which leads into revenge. Winry picks up a gun and points it at her parents' killer. (I'm soooo happy it isn't Roy like in the first series. ^.^) Ed stops her saying "Your hands aren't meant for killing people. They're for helping them live." I love this line in the manga and I'm so happy they kept it in the anime. It's an essential line so I was pretty sure that they'll keep it.

There is a flashback to Scar's past which shines a bit more on the Ishablans during that time. Seems that the idea of the forbidden art of alchemy is not forbidden in this series. Or at least there were people that wanted it. Still, what happened with Scar and his brother.... Waking up to find that your brother is dead and his arm is on your body, that definitely is a traumatizing moment. Too much spoilers? In either case, I love this episode for the overwhelming emotions and messages that it brings.

9:02 pm - Tokyo ~ 8:02 am - NY ~ Status: hungry

a little bit of Loveless

My trip to Otomedori produced two Loveless mini clear files, one of Ritsuka and the other of Soubi. They're just the perfect size to store my Loveless postcards...once I get around to buying them. ^^; *happy sigh*

when Japan is actually slow

I'm never selling doujinshi to Ikebekuro Mandarake ever again...not that I ever plan to sell my doujins. ^^; I had some Slam Dunk doujins that were given to me by the wonderful WL...which were nice and all, but I'm not collecting them. So I took them to sell at Mandarake. I waited nearly 1.5 hours. o.O I didn't have to wait on a line since they gave me a number. But the numbers jumped all over the place (since they separate buying back doujins and buying back manga) so I had no idea when they'll actually call me. Next time, (which I don't think there will be a next time,) I rather go to Shibuya Book Off or K-books. Or another Mandarake.

9/8/09 ~ Tuesday 10:02 pm - Tokyo ~ 9:02 am - NY

Status: amused ~ Listening to: Heartbreaking Romance - Ito Kanako (Hatenko Yugi OP) Listen or Save

practice practice practice

September is the month for sport festivals at schools. My school's Sports Day will be on 9/19. Even though it's on a saturday, I will be attending since this'll be my first one. ^-^ Basically, it's an entire school sports meet with classes competiting against each other and sometimes, girls against guys. There are many events, and one of the major ones is the 3 legged race...or may the 3 times 40 legged race. ^^;

All the students legs are tied to another student. They have been practicing throughout their gym periods as well as afterschool. It's amazing how fast they go even tied together. Teamwork, minna! Ganbarre!

another weekend at Ghibli planned

Afterschool today, I hurried to a Lawson's so I could buy the ticket for the Ghibli museum. Got one for this sunday. ^-^ The short will be about a boy and the world...another short that I wanted to see. Yay!

9/7/09 ~ Monday 8:10 pm - Tokyo ~ 7:10 am - NY

Status: hungry ~ Listening to: tummy grumbling

a bit of Junjou

My stop at Ikebekuro today produced some more finds from Junjou Romantica...but nothing really as awesome as the umbrella I got...which may be a good thing (for my purse.) I bought a pink bookcover that is covered with Suzuki-san as well as one panda and one chick on the covers. (It was an extra from TresTres last year.) I also bought two oversized picture paper postcard thingee, one of Misaki and the other of Usami. If only they have the others too.... *searches some more* They also had the Junjou dvd box covers...the ones that are also extras that are made out of paper. The pictures on them (unfolded ones) are sooo nice...but there are so many and for 630 yen each, I rather buy the cards. ^^; *puts them away* See? I have willpower too!

9/6/09 ~ Sunday 10:55 pm - Tokyo ~ 9:55 am - NY

Status: busy ~ Listening to: Hitohira no Hanabira - Stereopony (Bleach ED) Listen or Save

english books galore

I met fighter at Shinjuku and we headed to a Book off near Meguro station. It was quite large...although their BL manga section left much to be desire (as is their artbook/irasuto sections.) However, their English/foreign section was gigantic. I decided to buy Stephen King's 'The Eye of the Dragon' as well as Lewis Carroll's 'Alice's Adventure in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass'. Both have been fav reads for a very long time and I always want to read it again. (I have 'Alice's' book at home...though it's a hardcover one and quite large. A small paperback one is nice.) The store also boasted a cafe that sold coffee, breads and umbrellas among other things. Quite a nice store. I'll definitely be returning to sell some random foreign books that my roommates (and predecessors) left behind.

food and gundam...almost

We headed to Osaki station where we ate an early dinner. I chose the udon and curry set which was yummy.

In the upper left corner, you can see a bit of my bag: a dark blue Junjou Romantica bag. It held my books and something important for tonight. ^-^ After eating, we headed to Tokyo Teleport where we walked Shiokazekoen to see what remains of the gundam since the dismantling has started. *cries* There was a fence around the gundam...and everything was dark. However, we gazed lovingly at it...and tried to take pics. Tried being the operative verb here since none of our cameras could capture the gundam in our sights since there was no light. ^^;

If you squint at the pic, you can see the bare outline. ^^; There are tons of Gundam pics in the dark (thankfully) so I'm happy to have those committed to memory. As we walked away, I blew it a kiss (not really ^^;) and bid it farewell. 'Sayonara, Gundam!'

playing with fire

We walked along the beach near Aquacity. Our super secret task for the evening? Fireworks! My roommates left me alot of fireworks to play with. Fireworks are allowed all year in Japan...although many parks and beaches don't allow it. We noticed a 'no open flame' sign at one side of the beach, but decided to go faaaaar away from it. Anyway, if we get caught, we'll only get a warning. Of course, fighter and agreed to play the 'I'm a gaijin so I didn't know.' card as well. ^.^ *evil laugh*

The road next to the water and the beach were filled with couples, but we found that away from Decks was an expanse of beach with only a few people on it. We settled down near the water and proceeded to light the sticks. My matches were soon gone due to the strong wind. ^^; We bought a lighter at a nearby Family Mart and had more luck with our game.

There were several kinds of fireworks, but we had the most fun with the sticks that lit more easily (and disappeared more easily) then the ones I played with in Taiwan. We played for a good 10 minutes before a policeman spotted us and walked over. We said our apologies (in English) and the elderly policeman responded with a simple 'No'. He was very nice and we cleaned up after ourselves. ^.^

We checked out view, the many boats near Rainbow Bridge and gazed at the waters and sky before heading to Decks to find our ice cream treat. We chose a crepe place inside the mall. The entire 4th floor of the mall near Joyopolis is like retro Japan. There was also a Cospa store there selling anime shirts for over 3000 yen each. >.< The crepe store we ate at had a jukebox, a piano and a black bass cello in the corner. The walls had pics of idols that were probably famous in the 1970s and 80s by the looks of their hair. ^^; It was an interesting place.

12:55 pm - Tokyo ~ 11:55 pm 9/5 - NY ~ Status: happy

sketches have arrived

I ordered a set of Junjou Romantica genga/douga a few weeks ago. I delayed the payment until the end of August since the seller allows us to order more if something new comes up. And it did. My first order was a kissing scene of Usami and Misaki and the second was another kissing scene between Hiroki and Nowaki. ^.^ My two fav couple.... Info and pics about the cels are on my cel page. *dances around the room*

another artbook...maybe

I woke up early today at 10:30am (which is early for a sunday ^-^) so that I could go to the post office to pick up the sketches package. (It came yesterday morning...but I was deep in dreamland at that time and didn't hear the knocking on the door. ^^;) After getting my package, I dropped by the Bookoff near my apartment and bought a RG Veda artbook. CLAMP put out two RG Veda artbooks and I picked one up several years ago during my previous trip to Japan. But I don't know if this is the same one. ^^; I'm going to buy both of them just in case. (Anyway, they're used so they're cheaper then new ones.)

As I posted in the chatterbox, I have updated the BL quotes page with new quotes from Kyou Kara Maoh. That was the result of my KKM watching spree for the past week.

Going to meet up with fighter later where we have plans that have to do with fire. *evil laugh* Check back and see what it could be! ^___^

9/5/09 ~ Saturday 11:45 pm - Tokyo ~ 10:45 am - NY

Status: calm ~ Listening to: Pandora Hearts on the computer

three wishes of heaven

In 07 Ghost ep. 22, Teito and Hakuren reaches the second part of the exam. Gone is the animosity and tension between them and the examiner (good thing too ^.^) and we have a little reprieve from the examination itself. (The scene of Oiuda and Liam passing through their doors made me cheer quite loudly. ^.^)

The reprieve concerning the past confused me a bit. I also wonder why Castor was sure Hakuren should see the door as well...afterall, he didn't lose someone. (Hmmm...it's starting to sound like one of Harry Potter's movie...about being able to see something because of the person saw death....) But Teito saw what he needed to see which became more of a battery for him to regain his zaiphon abilities. And on to the next exam!

Surprise attack and a confrontation. I wonder if who Teito is meeting an illusion? No more hints from me! *closes mouth*

If I met the Chief of Heaven before I was born on Earth, I wonder what my 3 wishes would be? Eat all the ice cream I can? Well, that wish would be too easy to fulfill and I'll be dead before I knew it. ^^; Protecting someone sounds like a good one. Seems Mikage had the right idea. I doubt I'll be as innocent enough or selfless enough to make such a wish now....

the truth in dreams

Pandora Hearts ep. 22 delves back in to the recesses of Break's mind. It is his past, his experience in the Abyss that we're looking at...but he seems only to be an observer. The Will is speaking to a young boy. Their words paint the picture known as the Tragedy of Sabrie...but they may actually not be the ones behind it. (Well, obviously, since the Baskervilles are the ones who instigated the event.) But it throws many things into a loop...like the Will of the Abyss' mind. ^^;

Again, there is the contrast of serious conversation, threats and the slight humor of Reim cleaning his glasses. He can't really stop his master from doing things and Oz can't be held back when he is supported by so many. The subject of friendship comes into play again and another bond is formed between the quad of heroes. The subject of weakness is also there. Whether changing the past was the right thing or not...is not a question at all. Kyaaa...what an awesome story!

BTW, I'm all up for incest pairings and everything...but I'm still holding out for GlbertxOz. The VincentxGilbert pairing seems one sided...since all Gilbert sees is Oz. However, I don't mind Vincent in love with Gilbert. Afterall, more brotherly love is always nice. ^-^

9/4/09 ~ Friday 11:15 pm - Tokyo ~ 10:15 am - NY

Status: satisfied ~ Listening to: Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! - Buono! (Shugo Chara ED) Listen or Save

more to my collection

After a looooong day of classes, I met up with fighter at Mandarake. I found a booklet in the doujinshi of Kouga Yun-sensei section. The title is '5 Purojin Amajin' something (kanji I don't know) with 5 mangaka in it: Kouga Yun-sensei, Hagiwara Kazushi-sensei (Bastard!!,) Tamura Yumi-sensei (Basara,) Tatsuneko-sensei (Pendulem) and the legendary, Takeuchi Naoko-sensei (which needs no introduction.) Between Kouga-sensei and Takeuchi-sensei, I knew this was a must-buy...even if I don't know what is in it. ^-^ The first half of the book features a couple of pages of random published artwork for each mangaka, the first being Kouga-sensei. *cheers* The second half of the book features 50 Q&A for each mangaka with a few pictures in between the questions. The book was released in 1997 so no pics of Loveless, but it features artwork from her shoujo stories like Gestalt. Totally happy with it.

Fighter sold some of her doujinshi before we headed to K-books 2 and 3. I found a Gundam 00 mini-shitajiki that I was missing as well as a regular sized shitajiki from the Kuroshitsuji special collection. I bought both of them. ^-^ We headed to Animate next where we discovered an event on the 9th floor. Turns out to be a Spray event featuring the games Gakuen Heaven, Kichiku Megane and the newest addition, Steal!. They had two carnival games you can play to win things (like a signed manga from Higuri You.) However, the ring toss and dart board are not my strong suits so I didn't play. ^^; Throughout many of the floors, Yu Yu Hakusho music was playing to commemorate the blu-ray dvd release. *walks down memorylane*

Afterwards, we ate at a ramen place where I presented the Butler Hello Kitty phone strap to fighter. (Besides being an early going away present, it's to celebrate fighter passing her level 2 Japanese proficiency exam. Yay!) We followed up dinner with ice cream at Baskin Robins where they have 3 autumn flavors that were matcha, chocolate brownie and tiramisu. We both chose the brownie one and will return for the rest. ^-^

Taking it easy tomorrow. Afterall, it's a weekend. ^.^

9/2/09 ~ Wednesday 9:55 pm - Tokyo ~ 8:55 am - NY

Status: hungry ~ Listening to: my tummy grumbling

back to work and otomedori

I have a full day of classes on friday so I spent all of today writing out the lesson plans for those classes. Tomorrow, I will be continuing by preparing the materials. Since friday is also the next step in the speech contest, I stayed afterschool in order to hone the already well spoken speeches. By the time I left the school, the sky was already dimming a bit (being that it was already 5pm and the sun sets around 6:30pm.)

I headed to Otomedori since I've been planning to go (and possibly return to my mon/wed/fri visits. ^^;)

be our messiah and newfound treasure

When I was walking along Sunshine 60 Road, I noticed this lovely poster:

Of course, it's the movie poster for Higashi no Eden. It states what is already known: the first movie The King of Eden will be out on 11/28/09 and the second movie Paradise Lost will be out on 1/9/10. Also, it's interesting to point out, that our lovely duo (and Takizawa is clothed) is in NY. Times Square to be exact. I wonder what that will mean for the first movie since it's already been implied that the first one will be a recap. (And the duo never been to NY. They met in D.C.) I'm still looking forward to the movie though...recap and all. Afterall, I am loving the Eva movies and they're practically recaps. ^.^

I headed to K-books 3 first and found the FMA mini-shitajiki that I missed out on buying the first time...Roy, Ed, Al covered in sakura blossoms. I snatched that up quickly and browsed some more. I came across a surprising discovery: the Junjou Romantica umbrella. o.O I had it in my hands and I was actually about to put it back down...but I didn't. It's another 'if-I-don't-get-it-I'm-going-to-regret-it' moments. I'm still surprised that anyone was willing to part with it. It's completely new and still unopened (which I basically ruined since the first thing I did when I came home was to open it. ^-^) Satisfied, I made my purchases. My next stop was k-books 2 but I didn't get anything else before I headed back to the subway.

kittymania

In Japan, if something cute is on display, people will surround it and take pics of it. Upon entering the station, I discovered a crowd of people around the owl statue. I made my way over and caught sight of this:

Two kittens asleep on the statues. How they got there, I'll never know (and probably no one else does) but everyone had their cellphone cams out taking pics of them. I wanted to be Japanese and pull out my cell as well, but took out my camera instead. I'll get better shots this way. ^_^ And of course, I couldn't help but grab a shot of Japanese pic mentality.

It reminds me of Higashi no Eden and the country's reliance on cellphones. We're certainly coming to that age. I assume the kitties will soon be on the 'Eden' site with the profile of 'homeless kitty resting on owl's head', 'kawaii neko' and 'take me home'.

9/1/09 ~ Tuesday 7:28 pm - Tokyo ~ 6:28 am - NY

Status: hungry ~ Listening to: Megumeru - Mag Mell (Clannad OP) Listen or Save

last day of vacation

Going back to school tomorrow.... ^^; Sounds weird saying it since it doesn't mean what it really means...well it does, but not in the way it did when I was a student...but I'm digressing again. <.<

Today, I actually stepped outside of the house (and just not to throw out the garbage or walk across the street to buy fresh fish for dinner.) I actually hopped on the train to go to Akihabara. I wanted to check out a few things and relax a bit (outside of the apartment) since my work starts tomorrow. I headed to Animate first and bought two butler Hello Kitty cellphone charms. One is for fighter as her going away present *sniff* and of ocurse, one is for myself. Since we met in Ikebekuro (Otomedori) it would be appropriate. I ended up buying it in Akiba since the ones in Ikebekuro were all sold out. ^^; I drooled over new things, mainly the portrait art for the 4 Gundam pilots. They're sketches in color pencil-type art, 4 piece set for a bit over 1000yen. Not expensive, but not something I general buy since they're bigger then pencil boards. *sadface* Something else that came out that I will buy at a later date is Gundam 00 postcard book. Of course, I'm definitely picking that up. ^.^

Then I headed to Mandarake and checked out the usual doujins and manga before heading to Bookoff for more doujins and manga. They ended up moving the section and now all the doujins are messed up...meaning I had to sift through all the different series, big boobs, lolitas covered in cum covers to find FMA djs (not that I'm complaining.... ^.^;) Sadly though, no new 'Hermaphrodite' doujin.

McD's for dinner

I walked by a McD's and discovered that the tamago double mac choice was going end on 9/3...so I went and bought one. Only I bought the cheese tamago double mac. ^-^ Took it home to eat and although it doesn't look too pleasant *points at pic below* (as fast food pics go) it was still quite tasty. There besides the yummy sauce, there is also bacon above the egg. Oishi!

There is the less protein version in a simple tamago mac (with a single beef patty) and the heart attack one with triple patties and 3 slices of bread...but I chose the one in the middle. My subject is misleading though since I will be cooking fish and soba for dinner since I'm craving soba (even though I ate some last night.) This is my pre-dinner snack...though having a double mac for a snack is not really a snack.... (Tell that to my tummy. ^-^)

12:43 am - Tokyo ~ 11:43 am 8/31 - NY ~ Status: restless

connected in body

Completely forgetting that some anime episodes take a week off during the Obon season, I kept on looking for Fullmetal Alchemist ep. 21...until I realized that it was going to be on this past sunday. And I missed watching it on tv. ^^; However, the subs came out quickly and I was soon back on track. *waves flags*

Roy is alive and so is Havoc. We open with the famous scolding scene between Roy and Riza with commentary courtesy of Havoc. Then we're back with the Elric brothers discussing the possibility of bodily decay with Winry. (And the famous 'I'm short' statement with Ed. ^.^) Plot is moving along nicely with the characters discovering a bit more about their world and perhaps a bit more about the Fuher that are running things...possibly behind the scenes. For those that don't follow the manga, the homounculi are further referring to 'Father' that could possibily be the familiar father figure (or lack thereof) of the Elrics. Who could it be? ^^;

I'm excited for FMA but perhaps my excitement died down a bit plotwise since the anime is being so true to the manga. And it's the second time around anime-wise. Still, I have become used to the new voices and I'm finding Envy's voice (Conan, Kati Mannequin) everywhere in what I'm watching these days. Not a bad thing at all. ^-^ And the journey continues....

marathoning KKM

Not really, but for the last 3 days, I've been doing nothing besides watching Kyou Kara Maoh. I started with random episodes from season 3, then turned to the OVAs, season 2 and from the very beginning. I was mostly watching for when Yuri got his daughter and then watched everything else in between. ^^; Basically, I watched scattered episodes, going backwards, then watched the series from partially the beginning. I've find that watching keeps my mind occupied lest it falls to less pleasant things. What kind of 'less pleasant' thoughts...we'll address another time. Hence the lack of updates, I've literally done nothing here. ^^; I guess I could be vegetating since once school opens I won't be able to vegetate any longer. (P-chan will be scolding me for wasting time like this...but I guess she might not since it is the last days of my vacation afterall.)