Funan Anime Matsuri 2014

Bear with me as i blog about my day through Blogger mobile which really sucks because I can't properly edit my things. They decided to make it so simple, i think the app is pretty useless. 

I went for this event at around 3pm to catch Sakuya. Thronged through the crowd just to get a good spot near the stage and I'm happy I managed to get a spot third row from the stage. Her event starts at 3.10pm so arriving 10minutes before was risky. Anyway, i'm glad the event was on time! 

I did not know which character she was going to cosplay (kinda hoping it will be Undertaker or Kanda) but she turned up as Levi from Shingeki no Kyojin! Not that surprising since it's she don't really need much make-up compared to undertaker (uh, i'm not a cosplayer so feel free to correct me) and her Kanda birthday tribute might be a bit too revealing. She's tiny but  not as tiny as Reika/Fay! I was kind of hoping she might pose a little... maybe she did but I wasnt around. Her wig styling workshop was on Sebby!! I wasnt around for her workshop so i dont know what else she might have done. 

I left after her Meet & Greet and came back at 5pm for Itowokashi! I missed them before so this was my only chance. Gosh  kashitaro was so tall and I LOVE HIS VOICE. SEIYUU VOICE. EHHHH dear kamisama  please bestow me a boyfriend with super eargasmic voice like that of a seiyuu!!!

NO PHOTOTAKING AND VIDEOING AND VOICE RECORDING ALLOWED during the ITOWOKASHI event. Just don't get caught :)

Their english were so cute and they tried their best to speak slowly w basic Japanese. They also sang their new song and they were also selling some Albums! I got mine at $20 since their albums are almost impossible to find here and i'm not sure if they will be selling tomorrow. 

I don't have a list of what songs they sang since I'm not a huge fan.

Since today was also Father's day, i had to leave early and couldnt catch PianoMinion play. Check this lil boy on youtube! Animenzz praised him for his natural born talent skills. 

I'm not being too detailed or spazzy as my battery is flat. I'm typing this speedily so i can go to bed and wake up and 6 for italy/england match and 9 for japan/ivory coast. 

Hope you guys manage to check Itowokashi final performance tomorrow!! 

Japanese Literature - Comrade loves of the samurai by Ihara Saikaku

I wouldn't call this a review, but just some after thoughts.

Written by: Ihara Saikaku
Translated by: E. Powys Mathers
Synopsis: In old Japan, sexual love among the samurai was permissible, and often matured into lifelong companionships. Comrade Loves of the Samuraitouches the subject of both normal and abnormal love with honesty and tenderness. (Goodreads)

xxx

Have you ever read love between the samurai in the 17th Century?

When I first saw this book sitting on the shelves of the Japanese Literature section, I was immediately drawn by the title. Honestly, anything Boys Love (BL) I will definitely picked it up to read. But what made this book special was short stories between samurais, lords, and shouguns, in the 17th century. SAMURAI LOVE!!!!! You don't see it on media because samurais are honorable and prideful men with loyalty so this book was a very good insight on the lives in Ancient Japan ~400 years ago.

WARNING SOME SPOILERS BELOW:

Since this book is filled with short stories, they all end with the same way: by harakiri 

I remember reading on one of the chapters where this gay samurai looked down on women. I got a bit worked up because he said,  

"Women is a creature of absolutely no importance; but sincere pederastic love is true love. 

Both of these men detested woman as a vile garden worm."

/breathes deeply/ Thank god this is 17th century. If my gay friends ever say that, I would've slapped them or throw a thick dictionary at their head. 

Also, was the honor of samurai really that important? A scenario of one of the chapters:

A loves B, but B died of illness. 

On his deathbed, B told A to replace him and love his lover (C)

since A was B's best friend, he gave his promised and looked for C.

When A explained to C about B's dying wish, 

C said he will not be A's lover because he doesn't love him.

However, A said if C doesn't fulfill his friend/lover's wish, 

A will have to perform harakiri because he failed as a samurai

who cannot keep his promised.

Melodrama. But then again, people were so pure in the old days compared to now. I mean, if such situation were to happen I think I'll just tell the third person that he is fucking nuts. 

Another thing I noticed was pages to the Lord are often pretty boys and men in that period tend to fall for them... This was really interesting. No wonder they are always so feminine in manga/anime. However, one thing I'm curious about is, do samurai confuse their love for other samurai/page/lord with friendship and loyalty? It seems like they are attracted to each other based on loyalty. 

AT THE END OF THE DAY, if you are okay with gay love, do try to pick up this book. it's very mild love and it's more artsy/poetic short stories. You can see the honesty, pureness, and tenderness between the men and it makes me think about men now compared to before. 

This novel is definitely one of a fun read, but it satisfies mostly curiosity.

Overall: 3/5

List of resale shops in Japan/Harajuku

I know there are plenty of lists around on the internet but I thought maybe I should do my own when I visit Japan soon. You can choose to take note of this list or even help me drop more recommendations in my comment box. That would be very helpful :)

I'm really clueless with the amount of resale shops in Japan. You see, we don't really have much thrift stores here... probably about less than 5 so when I heard Japan has 'Resale fashion' i was so amazed I want to accumulate a list of shops :)

Psst. I have no idea how long this list will be but I will occasionally update it whenever possible.

• Kinji | www.kinji.jp
• Okoku | www.okoku.jp
• Prismic prism | www.prismic-prism.shop-pro.jp

K-drama: Bel Ami/Pretty Man/Yeppeun Namja after thoughts

Are you a huge fan of shoujo manga or manhwa? 

Are you a fan of bishounen/flower boy/pretty boy?

Are you a fan of rich family stories? 

If you have shoujo manga in 2 out of 3 choices, then this drama is for you.

I just finished this drama and I thought I should just write a bit of my thoughts and maybe do this drama a justice. I watched this drama with a shoujo fan mindset and this is a very light heart-ed drama.

If you heard of this drama, you probably checked the ratings and it is unexpectedly low. I gave it a gamble and went to watch it since the cast were a few of my favorite actor/actresses. It's been long since I last watched a Han Chaeyoung drama and I've been a huge fan of hers since Chunhyang days and also Jang Geun Suk since You're Beautiful. IU was a new lead so it was quite interesting and sorry, I have no idea who Lee Jangwoo was. 

This drama was adapted from a popular manhwa so you will expect dramatic scenes and reactions and unrealistic story. 

Jang Geuk Suk is Dokgo Ma Te while IU is Kim Bo Tong. Ma Te is a pretty boy who uses his pretty face to win heiress's heart to get what he wants (house, car, money... etc) and one day, he bumps into Hong Yoora, who seems to be "stalking" him. He approached her and she knows of his "password" that he needs in order to meet his mother and the answer of his password lies in Yoora's hands after Ma Te's mother sudden passing from an illness. In order to retrieve his password to reunite with his father, Ma Te has to conquer 10 women sent by Yoora to help her kick MG Group's Vice president, her mother-in-law, off her seat. 

Through the 10 women Ma Te meets, he learns and acquire skills needed to surpass MG group's power. However, the women that Ma Te dated, he manages to mature as a better person and take life lessons and values and through his experiences with them, the women also knows more about themselves, especially their flaws. 

J-Movie: Kuroshitsuji/Black Butler Review

Before you read any further, my review may be biased because I am a huge fan of Kuroshitsuji.

When the news of kuroshitsuji live-adaptation film was given a green-lit, i was very skeptical if this will turn out any flop. Many otakus will know when manga-adapted movies all turn out terrible and majority of the films have an awkward flow and plot. Then, when the news of the cast was released, i was even more worried because Ciel became a girl?!?!?!?!??! It's like they are trying to push for a het!sebastian x ciel and then there was this rumor that the identity of ciel will be changed. Also, a mix model for undertaker? My mindset back then was "SHIT THIS IS GOING TO BE A MAJOR FLOP"

When they release the trailer of kuroshitsuji.

I changed my mind about the movie because Mizushima Hiro did a well job portraying Sebastian!!! Still worried about Ayame Goriki portraying as Kiyoharu Genpo (we all know as ciel), but since it was a Warner bros. Japan film, it wouldn't be so bad. I was looking forward to watch the movie but when it was announced the release date, i was a bit sad that it wasn't release worldwide until March!!!

SPOILERS BELOW!

Doushitemo Furetakunai / No touching at all live action trailer

Trailer:


The trailer don't look promising but I'm still going to look forward to this movie!!!!

Kousuke Yonehara as Toshiaki Shima, 
Masashi Taniguchi as Yōsuke Togawa.
Movie out on 31 May 2014

Full article here: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2014-04-22/no-touching-at-all-boys-love-manga-live-action-trailer-streamed

Manga: Bride of the water god

The bride of the water god
Genre: Historical, shoujo, fantasy
Type: manhwa
Synopsis: Soah is a girl from a small village. The Water God is upset and so a long drought has been devastating the village people. In order to appease the god, they marry Soah off to him by sacrificing her to the Water God in exchange for rain. The Water God rescues her to his Water Kingdom, where her new life begins. For Soah, this is a story of her faith ... her life ... her love... (from mangahere)

I've not been a fan of manhwa's because their shoujo manhwas are always almost the same but there are a few that I am a great fan of : Goong, Model, Bride of the Water God, Noblesse, Captive Hearts (omfg this is BL but the best BL ever!!!!!!!)

I can't remember how I first encountered Bride of the Water God, but all I remember was when I first read the story, there were no english scans online so I must've bought the chinese manga to read. What made me reach for this book is the beauty of how the characters are drawn. Although most manhwa has their characters with large round eyes and narrow body and face, this artist drew all the characters like dolls. If you read one of the 4koma somewhere in between, the mangaka mentioned that she likes to draw her characters beautiful and made sure they have elegance, even if the scenes were killing.

The drawings inside are by far the most beautiful and serene I've ever seen and if you want to take a look at some scenery of the water kingdom, you can go tumblr and search for the tag. The thing about historical manga, it is important for a manga to draw their dressing well and she made hers so simple and elegant, just too beautiful. Oh yes, her drawings resemble clamp. Long bodies, long dresses, long hair. Everything is elongated!

Story wise... it revolves around the human girl Soah and how she's an important character in the celestial world. The gods are at war with mainly two sides, shin nong or the emperor (they are both brothers). I really like how the mangaka incorporates chinese tales into the story (i've listened to it since i was young) so i'm not unfamiliar with the stories. Her style of writing seems to focus more on relationships between people, something really classic and full of grace(?????) i know i dont make much sense loll!

When you read Bride of the Water God, you will not feel much violence, everything is quite pretty and peacemaking... basically your heart won't go crazy and make you turn into some violent reader but at times i did go crazy with the stupidity of the characters. There is not much depth into the storyline so you don't have to think so much and just go with the flow. There are fun moments inside but other than that, i think you can expect cliche lines and scenes.

An advice, just enjoy the 2d bxw scenery!!!!

I will re-read the manhwa again because the scanslators are terrible with their translations (sorry!!) and i got so confused with the names and because different people translate it, the story becomes choppy and sometimes it doesnt make sense. So if you are a fan of the manhwa, please buy the original or translated whatever you see in your country and read it again.