Author Archives: Joanna

RUROUNI KENSHIN

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3.5 stars (out of 4)

Released 2012 (in Japan)

Himura Kenshin was once a feared assassin during the Meiji restoration period of the 1860s. A decade later, he now carries a reversed-edge sword to prevent himself from killing again. In Edo, he meets Kamiya Kaoru, the impassioned head of a kenjutsu school which teaches swordsmanship for saving lives, rather than for taking them. The school’s idealistic philosophy appeals to Kenshin, who has vowed to atone for his previous sins by protecting others. However, it won’t be easy for Kenshin to just live a peaceful life. He has many enemies from his violent past, and they all want a piece of him!

Thanks to the Toronto Japanese Film Festival, I was finally able to see this live action adaptation of my all-time favourite manga series. Going in, I tried to keep my expectations low; 2-hour film adaptations of long-running series necessarily have to cut a ton of material, and often, the end result is an empty shell of the original story. Also, the trailers we had seen left us questioning whether Takei Emi had the acting ability to portray Kaoru properly.

Happily, I found the film to be very enjoyable; the many action sequences were spectacular and the important themes were left intact. In the end, I was fairly satisfied with Takei Emi’s performance as well, considering the material that she was given to work with, Kaoru’s role having been significantly underwritten for this adaptation.

There was never any doubt, on the other hand, that Sato Takeru was perfectly cast. True to expectation, he turned in a flawless performance in the lead role, capturing Kenshin’s strength, when forced to fight, and more restrained gentleness at other times.

The movie deconstructs about 4 of the early story arcs and combines parts of them back together into a mostly coherent plot. It worked well for me since I was already very familiar with the original manga and seeing the story told this way felt fresh.

Of course there are casualties: lots of good stuff was cut, not the least of which was that Kaoru and Yahiko didn’t get any chance to show their talents and both of them came off looking rather weak. And as a result of the narrative cutting and pasting, some parts of the movie don’t completely make sense if you stop to think about it. Fortunately, there’s so much going on and the action scenes are so intense, that you’re not really given an opportunity to dwell on the minor details.

Another quibble: I found the scenes with Kanryu and his gang to be a bit jarring compared to the rest of the film. They tended to be more goofball and play-like and the accompanying music was too exaggerated.

I think the director and screenwriter made the correct choices in what must have been a daunting task to create this film. I might sound like I’m unhappy with the ruthless edits that have been made, but that’s what the manga is for! All told, the movie succeeds at being entertaining the way it is and I would love to see it again. I believe it is a worthy addition to the franchise. So yes, despite my complaints, I am giving it 3.5 stars!

Tenchi Meisatsu (TENCHI: The Samurai Astronomer)

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2.5 stars (out of 4)

Released 2012 (in Japan)

This biopic is based on the true story of Yasui Santetsu, a professional go player and recreational mathematician/astronomer, who was appointed by the Shogun to reform the calendar in 17th century Japan. It was becoming evident during that time that the Chinese calendar which had been in use for 800 years was inaccurate.

The film chronicles the various obstacles that Yasui faced in his decades-long quest; scientific challenges, to be sure, but also political opposition to change.

The story was pretty straightforward, nothing earthshaking, but I enjoyed it. I enjoyed seeing the costumes of the period and being immersed in the historical setting. There was also enough levity to keep the movie from being just a dry retelling of what is essentially a tale of math and politics.

Mid-Spring 2013 Anime Ranking

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“It hurts you don’t think of me as a friend.” The issue of trust is a common theme that has come up in several of the titles that I’m currently following. Without getting into too much detail, another frequent theme is: “I have seen the enemy, and he looks a lot like me.”

More than halfway through, this has been a season where a huge divide exists between the shows I’m keenly interested in (the top 5 or so) and most of the others, which I’m just watching anyway.


01. The DEVIL is a Part-timer! (Hataraku Maou-sama!) (ep. 1-9) – Yet another demon X human anime, this time the demon king is a guy and the human hero is a girl. Satan and his General Alsiel, as well as Heroine Emilia, must adapt to their new surroundings after being magically transported to modern-day Tokyo. It’s a simple premise, but the characters are immensely likeable, and it’s just been hugely funny in the small details.

Incidentally, I really like this hard-working demon lord, Maou, for the same reason that I conversely loathed lazy-ass Yamada from “Working!!.” Any employer would be lucky to have someone on staff with such excellent work ethic. Even I, myself, can only aspire to give as much to my company as he does to his!
(streaming at Funimation)


02. Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin) (ep. 1-9) – Mikasa the Giant Slayer! Now this is more like what I wanted from “JACK THE GIANT SLAYER”: terrifying, super-strong, man-eating giants!

The first 2 episodes of this intense and graphic anime were completely grim. Then suddenly, ep. 3 introduced some humour as well, which was a surprising and welcome addition to an already outstanding show.

It’s likely Attack on Titan intentionally took its time developing the characters; that way, we would get a sense that anyone is expendable. I’m glad to see now that Armin is not just a useless sidekick and Jean is evolving beyond the jealous rival role.

And now that we’ve seen some of Mikasa’s background, motivations and vulnerability, I’m admiring her more and more. It’s not often that we get to see such truly strong female characters in anime, and she’s just one of several in this show!
(streaming at Crunchyroll and Funimation)


03. Gargantia on the Verderous Planet (Suisei no Gargantia) (ep. 1-9) – It’s the far future, and humans are embroiled in an endless war with space aliens known as Hideauze. After one battle, Ledo and his A.I./mecha, Chamber, find themselves marooned on the legendary planet Earth, long thought to have been destroyed. He encounters the people of Gargantia, a community made up of ships which have been joined together. They know nothing of the war in space, while Ledo knows nothing about non-military life.

The first 4 episodes handled narrative and character development exceptionally well. The themes presented were understated and thought-provoking. Unfortunately, the following 4 episodes were mostly disappointing and used up the good will that I initially felt for the series.

Similarly, I had been trying not to be annoyed by the canker-sore-like blushes on the bodies of Amy and her friends, but after a while, I could no longer ignore that they serve as a mark of cheap fanservice in a show which should really have more dignity than that.

That said, Gargantia still features probably the sharpest and brightest animation of the season, and things appear to be heating up finally, with the major revelation in the latest episode, so I’m eager to see where it goes from here.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


04. Chihayafuru 2 (ep. 14-21) – Continues to focus exclusively on the Karuta tournament rather than advancing the stories of the main cast. Remarkably continues to be riveting nonetheless.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


05. Space Battleship Yamato 2199 (Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2199) (ep. 1-10) – An updated remake of the 1970s anime, which I have not seen. The crew of the Yamato is tasked with the responsibility of finding a way to save humanity as Earth sits on the brink of destruction by alien forces. So far, the story has been compelling and the characters sympathetic.

06. Uta no Prince-sama: Maji LOVE 2000% (ep. 1-9) – UtaPri 2 is just a light confection, but it’s been pretty consistently over-the-top fun, more so than its predecessor. I like how most episodes manage to incorporate some action scenes even though this isn’t an action anime. Overall, it exceeds one’s expectations of an idol/reverse harem series. Well, the music could be better, but the awfulness can be funny too.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

07. Valvrave the Liberator (Kakumeiki Valvrave) (ep. 1-8) – With its huge cast of characters, the plot is sometimes hard to follow, and the motives of the various groups are unclear. Increasingly, it’s become fun to just enjoy the characters’ antics anyway. Valvrave is almost as convoluted and absurd as “GUILTY CROWN”, although this show is clearly more self-aware and intentionally ridiculous.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

08. Space Brothers (Uchuu Kyoudai) (ep. 52-60) – Mutta and his team are training in Houston, currently working on their entry for the Comeback Competition. The narrative continues to be solid, though still a bit slow-paced. This is a really good show, and I would have ranked it higher if it wasn’t for the tedious 3-episode recap at the start of the season.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


09. Ginga Kikoutai Majestic Prince (ep. 1-9) – About a team of promising mecha pilots (ridiculed by their peers as “Fail Five”) who are struggling to meet the demands of their new roles in the military during a conflict with, you guessed it, aliens. The show displays a curious blend of humour and irony and seriousness.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


10. Yondemasu yo, Azazel-san. Z (ep. 1-9) – As vulgar, violent, subversive, ugly as the first series. The first 2 episodes were awesome, partly because I “get” the Moloch fanservice. While I wouldn’t say that subsequent offerings have been terrible, I did think they were less inspired and also occasionally crossed the line between irreverently funny and genuinely offensive.
Also, there hasn’t been enough of Akutabe – or Beelzebub, for that matter. The two of them finally made their return in ep. 9, along with the introduction of a super-pervert villain. It was sooo vulgar, and yet so hilariously over-the-top that I had a huge grin on my face throughout… now I’m actually looking forward to the next episode!

11. My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU (Yahari Ore no Seishun Rabucome wa Machigatteiru) (ep. 1-8) – This anime about social misfits in a high school service club retreads some ground previously covered by shows such as Hyouka, Chuu2byo, Toradora, SKET Dance, Medaka Box…
It does manage to provide some amusement most of the time, even though it pretty much has no plot. I had trouble accepting the misfit gimmick initially, but the characters are getting more fleshed out and I find I’ve been enjoying them better recently. How is it the recurring, random gag about Hachiman’s strange attraction to effeminate Totsuka is funny every time?
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


12. Karneval (ep. 1-9) – If only Yogi were the main character of this series. He’s fabulous, quirky and endearing and the scenes with him are always the best. The actual leads, Gareki and Nai, pale by comparison. Gareki has very little outward personality, and Nai, who seems to get by on cuteness alone, isn’t even that cute (to my eyes, anyway).
So what are Circus and the other factions after and what does it have to do with the players involved? Couldn’t tell ya.
(streaming at Funimation)

13. DEVIL SURVIVOR 2 The Animation (ep. 1-9) – Frequently unintentionally funny. For instance, the way the characters have to hold their cell phones toward the battles, so they can use their apps to fight monsters, is laughable. It probably doesn’t help that I have no familiarity with the game this is based on, but I have only a vague idea of what’s going on. And I feel nothing for the characters, even when they die.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

14. Arata the Legend (Arata Kangatari) (ep. 1-8) – At first, I was cutting this show some slack since it’s based on a seemingly well-liked manga. I wonder if maybe this adaptation has pared down the original story significantly, thereby retaining the main plot, but losing much of its heart? Either way, the result has been mediocre, at best. Ah well, there’s not much on on Mondays, and the OLDCODEX ending song is pretty good.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

15. RDG Red Data Girl (ep. 1-9) – I just don’t get this. RDG takes itself very seriously, but it meanders all over the place and I don’t understand what it’s about most of the time. And, I can’t fathom why other viewers recommend it so much. I can acknowledge that it’s a nice looking series, though; that’s about it.
(streaming at Funimation)

IRON MAN 3

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3 stars (out of 4)

Released 2013

I went into this without seeing IRON MAN 2.  Fortunately, I had seen THE AVENGERS last year.  Viewing the THE AVENGERS should be considered a prerequisite for this film, as there are many references to a traumatic event that happened in New York in the past that the audience is assumed to have knowledge of.

What I liked especially about this current installment of IRON MAN was the really creative use of the mechanical suits.  Let’s face it, watching a super hero fighting in a faceless power suit can get old after a while.  Therefore, I enjoyed seeing that the suit could be used fully or partially, defensively or offensively; pretty much every imaginable permutation was on display.

My only half-joking complaint is that this movie may be offensive to US presidents and vice presidents.  I could understand if Mr. President was not physically strong or athletic, but he should have seemed a little bright, at least.  Here, he was depicted as nothing more than a damsel in distress; he was not afforded even one smart line of dialogue.  For other reasons, I also found the actions of the vice president to be unbelievable…

FROM UP ON POPPY HILL

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3.5 stars (out of 4)

Released 2011 (in Japan)

This newest offering from Studio Ghibli is currently playing at the TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto.  I went to see it with a group of friends, one of whom had originally watched the film when it aired at the TIFFestival last September and was now seeing it for the third time!  We had the choice of watching the film with the English dub, but we elected to go with a Japanese-with-subtitles screening.

The story itself, which takes place in the 1960s, is actually quite simple and consists of two plots.  In the one, the students at a Yokohama high school are working to save their clubhouse from demolition; and the other is about the budding romance between the main girl and boy, Umi and Shun.  Unlike previous Ghibli films, which have tended toward fantasy and whimsy, FROM UP ON POPPY HILL is refreshingly more grounded in reality.

The clubhouse is a grand old building which has fallen into disrepair over the years.  Never have I thought that removing dirt and clutter and fixing up a place could look so fun.  The movie certainly succeeds at showing the wonder and rewards of teamwork.

Umi’s relationship with Shun, developing over the course of their shared activities in helping with the clubhouse, is presented in an unhurried and very believable manner.

At one point, the narrative ventures into somewhat risqué territory.  The consensus among my friends (all adults) was that it didn’t go far enough in that direction.  However, keeping in mind that this is intended to be a family film, I thought the relatively safe conclusion was both appropriate and sufficiently satisfying.  And you know?  I wouldn’t mind seeing the movie again sometime.

Edit (April 12):  Please also read Bini’s comment!
Edit 2: Sadly, all comments have been lost as collateral damage during the great spam purge of Feb 2015.

Mid-Winter 2013 Anime Ranking

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It’s late enough in the season that I considered doing a season-end post instead.  I decided against it, since unfortunately, endings are frequently disappointing and don’t necessarily reflect my feelings about the show during its run.  Also, a number of shows will be continuing and it’s a bit easier to compare impressions of ongoing programs.


01.  PSYCHO-PASS (ep. 12-20) – I’ve written about PSYCHO-PASS before, so obviously I’ve been enjoying it from the start.  However, even through the often shocking, disturbing events in the first half, I felt a certain disconnect with the show.  It wasn’t until the horrifying development in episode 11 that it really grabbed me in the gut.

I don’t think PSYCHO-PASS has budged from the top of my list since its return this season.  Although the ideas it presents may not be entirely original, the execution has been very effective.  Now, the true nature of the Sibyl System has been revealed; and Kougami is walking a path apart from the MWPSB, as foretold in the current OP.  Only 2 more episodes remain!

I have mixed feelings when it comes to Makishima.  On the one hand, I love how complex he is; on the other, it often happens in anime that when the villain becomes a sympathetic character, his previous crimes get swept under the rug, and I hope that doesn’t happen here.  A couple of recent examples of bad-guy-turns-good that come to mind are Aki in “Kamisama Dolls” and Hitomi in “CODE:BREAKER”.  I remember being bothered by those shows’ failure to address the issue; albeit both series were pretty shallow compared to PSYCHO-PASS.

I’ll admit I have been rooting for Makishima – in the fight against the chief, and also when his associates turned on him at the end of episode 14, but it always felt wrong.  I have not forgotten about the heinous crimes he’s committed, even if he’s now playing the hero against a corrupt system.  I do have reasonable hopes, though, that a show of this calibre might just be able to handle the situation with appropriate delicacy.
(streaming at Funimation)


02.  Chihayafuru 2 (ep. 1-9) – After the introduction of the new members, it’s mostly been about gameplay.  Otherwise, we’ve seen plenty of character development for the new kids, but less for the core cast so far.  Probably because of that, I don’t feel as hooked on the show now as I did the first series.  Regardless, Chihayafuru continues to be solid: funny, exciting, and endearing.  And now at long last, Arata is back!
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


03.  Shin Sekai Yori (From the New World) (ep. 14-22) – Although the actual settings and characters are very different, both Shin Sekai Yori and PSYCHO-PASS involve a future society that ostensibly achieves peace through the restriction or removal of individual freedom.  At this point in both series, the dystopian societies are coming under attack from outside.  That is, our protagonists are mostly on the side of status quo, while the villains are the challengers.  Increasingly, it’s hard to tell who’s in the right and who’s in the wrong.  Shin Sekai Yori has lost some of its lustre for me due to the current focus on the Monster Rat attacks.  I enjoyed it a bit more when the spotlight was on Saki and her group.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


04.  Space Brothers (ep.39-48) – This was trending higher in my ranking in January during the Hibito-on-the-moon arc.  While those episodes didn’t have the usual amount of humour, the storytelling was gripping and it gave the feeling of watching a NASA-themed Hollywood movie.  Now that we’re back down to earth with Mutta and his training, Space Brothers continues to be entertaining, but at a less lofty level.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

05.  MAGI (ep. 12-21) – I was impressed with Alibaba’s display of political wisdom during the Balbadd arc at the start of the season.  The fights that followed didn’t really hold my attention, though.  Recent episodes involving Sinbad have upped the humour content, and I am actually surprised at how funny the current Zagan-dungeon-capturing arc is proving to be, thanks in no small part to Hakuryuu, of all people!
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

06.  THE UNLIMITED (ep. 1-9) – I’m enjoying THE UNLIMITED, and I like the characters well enough, but somehow I don’t feel invested in it the way I do the returning programs.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

07.  Blast of Tempest (ep. 13-21) – Now that the identity of Aika’s boyfriend has been revealed, and the mystery of her murder is seemingly solved, the main outstanding issues have been addressed.  All that’s left is to figure out how to save the world.  Theatre of the absurd at its finest!
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


08.  Tamako Market (ep, 1-9) – Cute and sweet and appropriately inoffensive, but there’s not much substance here.

09.  IXION SAGA DT (ep. 13-22) – This show.  Just when I think it’s getting tedious, it reveals that the feeling is completely intentional.  Anyway, I’m glad the marriage rituals are over, and that Kon didn’t really have to stand in for the princess on her wedding night!  Looking forward to Erec-sama playing a bigger role in the current arc.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

10.  JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure (ep. 9-21) – It took a while for me to get caught up on JoJo, since I didn’t enjoy the first season all that much.  But then they went and killed off the main characters in episode 9, and it’s been so much better ever since!  Episode 20 featured some of the best fight sequences in the series so far.  The death scene was fairly moving too, although I don’t think it affected me as much as it did most viewers (yes, I’m really that cold.)

11.  Hakkenden (ep. 1-8) – I think I’m glad I made it past the first episode, since that was the lowest point so far.  Still, I’m not really sure what to make of the show as a whole.  Hakkenden does manage to be amusing in unexpected ways sometimes.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


12.  AMNESIA (ep. 1-9) – Wow.  This heroine gives new meaning to “personality-less”.  Even if she appears blank to the other characters because of her memory loss, at least we, the audience, should see some wheels turning in her head as she tries to figure out what’s going on; but sadly, no.  This girl has so little energy, I wondered if the writers had confused “anemia” with “amnesia”.  (I laughed when the doctor actually suggested anemia as a diagnosis in episode 8!)  That said, the anime continues to provide entertainment value from the colourful outfits and vague mysteriousness.  Plus, we can make constant disparaging remarks while watching, which is fun.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

13.  Senyu. (ep. 1-9) – Unfortunately, each episode is only about 3 minutes long.  If there were more content, this might have rated higher, because, of the 2 demonXhuman-relations anime that I’m following (see MAOYU at the bottom of the list), I’m liking this one a lot better!
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

14.  Love Live! School idol project (ep. 1-9) – Initially, Honoka’s sheer enthusiasm in forming an idol group to represent/save her school was fun to watch.  Now, the anime is just kind of boring.  It is neither as sweet nor as charming as Tamako Market, and I can’t even say it’s completely inoffensive.  What’s with that student council vice prez?  She seems like a wise and thoughtful person most of the time, but her boob-grabbing antics are certainly not being appreciated by her victim.  That looks like assault; and it’s not even remotely funny, so why…?
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

15.  MAOYU (ep. 1-9) – First of all, economics-themed anime and me are a bad combination.  I already knew this from my experience with “Spice and Wolf”.  Anyway, I think MAOYU dwells on economics and agriculture too much.  I would prefer to see more quality action scenes and more detailed explanations of their war strategies.  Also, the romance between demon-queen Mao and human-hero Yuusha is too cutesy and forced.  The way I see it, their relationship is more like a marriage of convenience than a whirlwind love affair, and that doesn’t have to be a bad thing.  I could have appreciated seeing their efforts at making the relationship work, at finding common ground despite different upbringings.  Instead, when they’re together, Mao behaves like an insecure schoolgirl and Yuusha is like a clueless milquetoast harem lead.  Disappointing.

Alright, I have to make an exception for the latest episode.  In episode 9, our main characters were relegated to the sidelines while the elder sister maid took center stage, and it was by far the best MAOYU offering to date.  No eyeroll-inducing romance, no fanservice.  If Meido Ane had followed the plan and waited for Yuusha to rescue her, she might have been beaten to death first, so she saved herself!  With words.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

JACK THE GIANT SLAYER

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2.5 stars (out of 4)

Released 2013

I had heard that this film was about man-eating giants and I wondered how it could be rated PG.  Well, it turns out it is pretty light and not very frightening at all.

I think I wanted it to be a little darker.  Because the giants had a penchant for capturing their prey and then properly preparing them before consuming, they just weren’t that scary.  I’m not complaining about the lack of gore, mind you – only one unfortunate expendable character was eaten, off-screen, and that’s fine.

As far as the romance goes, it was passable, but not terribly convincing.  It was apparent that Jack and Isabelle had some things in common, but they didn’t seem to have much personality individually and they definitely didn’t have a chance to develop any chemistry together.  Also, the contrivance of their first meetings relied on unnecessary coincidence, which seemed lazy.

The human villains were pretty stereotypical.  There was some subtlety in the relationship between the two-headed giant General Fallon and his subordinate Fumm, though, which I appreciated.

Most of the one-liners were groan-worthy or fell flat completely.  That sounds really bad, but it could have been worse.  At least the attempts at humour were not actively unfunny or offensive.  High praise, I know!

I complain a lot, but the movie wasn’t actually bad.  As a fantasy-action-adventure, it was generally entertaining and fun.  I smiled the most at the early scenes, presented in animation, recounting the ancient war between humans and giants, and at the breathtaking scenery images in the human and giant realms.

DJANGO UNCHAINED

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3 stars (out of 4)

Released 2012

This western-actioner is pretty much what one would expect from a Quentin Tarantino film.  It manages to be smart and dumb at the same time and there’s no skimping on gore.  It takes place in the American deep south a couple of years before the Civil War.  Like LINCOLN, it covers the topic of slavery, although the 2 films couldn’t be more different in terms of presentation and tone.

Christoph Waltz and Jamie Foxx deliver strong performances in their roles of dentist-turned-bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz and his eventual partner, slave-turned-bounty hunter Django.  Django’s ultimate goal is to rescue his wife Broomhilda from the Candieland plantation, but there’s a lot of character- and plot-development enroute.

DJANGO UNCHAINED is brutally violent, with copious amounts especially toward the end.  Fortunately, it is frequently amusing too.  Just one example: a pre-raid meeting held by the white supremacists in which they air their grievances about the headgear they are supposed to wear.

Going in, the running time of nearly 3 hours gave me pause, but ultimately, the movie didn’t end up feeling too long.

(On a side note, seeing Dr. Schultz’s cute horse made me nostalgic for another cute horse: Comet, from The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.)

Fifty Shades of Grey

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Fifty Shades of Grey, by EL James

I have a pretty open mind when it comes to popular fiction, so I decided to check out this book.  Not really a review, I’ll just write my thoughts as I go.  I’ll try to keep spoilers to a minimum for anyone who hasn’t read it.  I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that this novel contains pornographic smut, though.  That’s something you should be aware of if you are thinking of picking it up. (Edit: In retrospect, it occurs to me that not everyone will agree with my interpretation of what is and what isn’t a spoiler regarding the events in this story; therefore, be warned.)

Chapters 1 to 8 – brief impression

So far, I can’t say I’m that impressed with the love interest, title character Christian Grey.  Besides his minimal personality traits of being controlling and mysterious, he’s kinda creepy, isn’t he?  Kinda reminds me of Christian Bale’s Patrick Bateman character from AMERICAN PSYCHO.  Even in the early scene in the hardware store, I could tell what he was getting at with his purchases, and I thought it was creepy.  I mean, he and Anastasia hardly know each other, and here he is stalking her and vaguely suggesting that he’s thinking about her sexually.  The only thing that makes it okay is that he’s so freaking hot and she happens to be attracted to him too.  Had he not been so hot, it would have just been gross, and creepy.

As it is, she doesn’t really know much about him, other than that he’s so hot.  This being a book, I just have to literally take the author’s word for it that he’s so hot that nothing else matters, and I’m frankly not that convinced.  Actually, neither of the characters has much personality so far.  It seems like any chemistry they have is purely physical.

It isn’t all bad, though.  Aside from some overused plot devices that I see in anime twice a week, it’s been an easy read and there have certainly been some amusing parts.

Chapters 9 to 16 – brief impression

Well, I’m relieved to see that Anastasia is asserting herself a little bit now.  I also like how her subconscious sometimes calls her a “ho”.  It appears that she does have some self-awareness about her situation and she’s wondering if a physical-only relationship can really be enough.

Hmm, it looks like she’s going to accept the contract that’s going to sign her freedom and self-respect away.  I was hoping she would reject it.  Force him to play by her rules.  After all, the conceit is supposed to be that she believes (and he believes) that he’s not capable of love, and so this contract is the only way she can be with him.  But already I don’t buy it; there has been plenty of evidence to the contrary.

Chapters 17 to 24 – brief impression

In previous chapters, they touched on “creepy” and “stalker”.  Now there’s finally some mention of “love”.  Otherwise, not much development here.

Chapters 25 to 26 and final impressions

Anastasia makes her decision and it happens pretty suddenly.  Well, as anyone knows, it’s not really the end.  There are two more books, and their blurbs seem to give a lot away, actually.

Not that that matters, though, since many of the plot developments in this book were heavily foreshadowed anyway.  What I mean, is that suspense is not an important element to the story.  And while it frustrated me that some things were telegraphed so early on (and Ana was so clueless), I guess I shouldn’t take it so seriously, since the plot exists mainly to justify the porn.

Apparently, some readers have complained about the author’s limited vocabulary.  That didn’t really bother me.  I didn’t expect, or want, this kind of book to be high art.  If I have any criticism, it’s with the dialogue; some of the words/phrases that the characters spoke didn’t sound that natural to me, not American enough, maybe?  Just reading it (as opposed to hearing it) wasn’t too bad, though.

Jacquie’s 2012 Year in Review – Music

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While it seemed to me that there was a veritable dearth of good music in 2011, that certainly didn’t seem to be the case in 2012.  Maybe nothing sounded good in 2011 because I was too affected by the disbandment of D’espairsRay, and I just needed some time to open my heart to new music.  Whatever the reason, there were plenty of tunes that caught my attention in 2012 and kept me entertained.

 BEST ALBUM:

DIVISION, by the GazettE.  Despite the fact that the tracks were divided into a Rock half and a Digital half, the album played together as a very cohesive whole.  The band may have experimented with things like dubstep, auto-tune, and unusual time signatures, but they fully understood that the songs just had to sound good.

My top 3 favourite songs of 2012 were all from “DIVISION”: beautiful and painful Kagefumi, musically complex Kago no Sanagi, and sad and ominous Yoin.

BEST SINGLE (A-side & B-sides):

RADICAL HYSTERIA, with B-sides COBRA and IN CREATURE, by BORN.  There was no clear winner for this category, and I was reluctant to choose this, since it’s something of a re-release (RADICAL HYSTERIA was the B-side of COBRA in 2010.)  However, RADICAL HYSTERIA is one of the best songs that BORN has ever created, in my opinion, and it really did deserve to be released as a single.  The addition of the third track, IN CREATURE, made for a solid record overall.

Runner-up:  WE aRE, with B-side COLD CHAIN, by abingdon boys school.  This was a strong comeback single for abs, and it might have won if the band had included simple instrumental versions of both tracks.  Instead, there were multiple, useless karaoke versions of just the title track.  I took marks off for that.

Rounding out my top 20 songs, in alphabetical order by artist:

  • COLD CHAIN, by abingdon boys school (B-side of “WE aRE”)
  • Muyuu no kago, by AND
  • RADICAL HYSTERIA, by BORN.  Their “Stupid life clip” for this song was the most amusing PV I saw last year.  It deconstructed the band’s usual scary-sexy image and revealed them to be a bunch of goofs.
  • MISS TAKE –boku wa mistake-, by BUCK-TICK.  Ridiculously hooky, this is one of the best BUCK-TICK songs I’ve ever heard.
  • ATTITUDE, by the GazettE (from “DIVISION”)
  • DERANGEMENT, by the GazettE (from “DIVISION”)
  • DRIPPING INSANITY, by the GazettE (from “DIVISION”)
  • Ibitsu, by the GazettE (from “DIVISION”)  OK, I’ll stop now.
  • DARK SHAME, by GRANRODEO (OP of CODE:BREAKER)  The theme songs were the only good thing about that anime.
  • A FLARE, by lynch. (one of the lead-off singles from “INFERIORITY COMPLEX”)  I wasn’t that much into lynch.’s music before, but this song was just the kind of pretty-but-heavy that I’m a sucker for.  Because of A FLARE, I purchased the album as well as some of lynch.’s previous works and I was pleasantly surprised.
  • G.G., by MUCC (from “SHANGRI-LA”)  The first MUCC song I’ve ever liked.  Normally I can’t tolerate Tatsurou’s singing.  Not so with this song.
  • Munashiki 「Sei」 no Guui ≒ 「Shi」 no Shini, by NEGA (from “VANITAS”).  This 12-minute opus was an unlikely lead-off single for “VANITAS”.  Even songs that I consider to be good will usually lose my attention after about 3 minutes; this song didn’t bore me even after 12.  Anyway, I guess they knew what they were doing because I ended up buying the album.
  • CATALRHYTHM, by OLDCODEX (ED2 of Kuroko’s Basketball)
  • ZERO SATISFACTION, by ROOKiEZ is PUNK’D
  • S, by SID.  The first SID song I’ve ever liked.  They’re not usually this heavy.
  • 0 GAME, by SPYAIR
  • vanity, by ViViD (B-side of “message”)  ViViD’s recent singles had been so tame and generic-sounding that I almost didn’t listen to this track.