I'm typing this as fast as I can because I'm eager to get into the prequel to
Sugar Rush by Kimber An -
Crushed Sugar!
Apart from today I haven't been able to read all week - I've been busy sewing a picture for a fund raiser at work. I forgot to take a picture...but I do have the picture from the kit, so I'll post that up soon.
Right, I've mostly realised that FLFs will be about anime, which is no bad thing.
This week I finished Noir.
I remember reading about Noir, and thinking it sounded pretty awesome. That is an understatement. When I first watched it, I was a little confused about what was going on, because there is a lot to grasp in Noir. Mirielle is an assassin whose family has secrets she begins to unravel when Kirika comes on the scene. Kirika has lost her memory, but her skills as an assassin beat Mirielle's. There's a reason for that, a reason hidden by the group Soldats. (It's set in France - which might seem strange because it is a Japanese anime, but the French theme works well). The soundtrack is addictive, you know what to expect when certain tracks start up. There are some pretty amazing ways people get killed (not just with guns, every day weapons are used too). I realise that might make me seem a bit...um...well not a good person. But it's just very clever. Every time I watch this series I love it a bit more. I wish there was another series, to find out what happens next, but I guess I can just contemplate what might have happened. There is lots of violence, but little to no blood when people are killed. There is no swearing, and only 1 adult romance scene. I think it's rated 15, which I'd agree with.
I also finished Bamboo Blade.
(from left to right: Satori, Kirino, Tama, Saya, Miya-Miya)
I got into this when a fellow writer said that I might like the story. It's about a school Kendo team, which for various reasons needs to put a girl's team together. There's the captain Kirino, who is always full of energy and motivating her students. She's good at making things, and part way through the series makes little charms for everyone, giving them a super hero identity).
There's Tama whose skill at Kendo is as good as, if not better than her teacher. She's quite young though, and doesn't always grasp what the right thing to do is. She wasn't on the team, but got coerced into it. Originally she said no because her father runs a dojo, so she's always doing Kendo - why should she join a club? It's joining the club which helps broaden her personality. I love her not just because of her skills, but because she learns so much. Plus she is an anime addict, which I found hilarious when I first saw it. She likes the hero in an anime, and she meets a girl who adores the antagonist. They end up being friends though.
There's also Satori, Saya and Miya-Miya (her nickname). All three girls have distinctive personalities. I might have got this the wrong way round (their names are similar), but I think Satori is the clumsy one. She loves Kendo, but gave it up because her school grades are terrible. She studies every minute of the day that she isn't eating/at school. However, Kirino is determined to get skilled players and uses various methods to win Satori over. Saya is already on the team, but she is highly strung, really throws herself into projects and will disappear for days/weeks at a time for no reason. She and Kirino are super close friends and provide a lot of laughs. As for Miya-Miya, she is portrayed as an extremely attractive girl, whose boyfriend is a short geek type person. I only mention that because there's a dark side to Miya-Miya, which the others call 'black' because when she's angry or annoyed, there's a black and purple aura around her which people mess with at their peril! She is a perfectionist and gives herself a hard time.
Other characters include their teacher, the two boys on the team, other Kendo teams & teachers. Oh, Miya-Miya has a girl who stalks and idolizes her. Although it is full of laughs, a few serious issues are explored too (friendships, family taking ill, bullying). I've seen this a few times now, and it always makes me smile. There are mangas of the series too! In English as well:) Go check them out, they're fun!
What with finishing some anime I got to start a new one - Claymore!
Now, I'd seen a few episodes of this before. I think it might be classed as horror (turns out it is dark fantasy) . There are monsters in the world (yoma) which can take on the appearance of a human before causing chaos and eating people up. Then there are Claymore, the name given to females who are half human and half monster. That's how they are successful in hunting the monsters down. People give them a wide berth, and they aren't overly friendly. They have good reason for that, which gets discovered in the anime. A male teen is involved in a monster battle - it took over his brother. The village dump him, and he tries to find the Claymore who saved him. Claire (the Claymore) rescues him and walks off without him. He shortly finds her and stays by her side. He feels that there is love in her cold heart. He's right - at the moment I've watched several episodes which are all about Claire's past. It is a real eye opener into who the Claymores are, and I've got a hint of why they are so repulsed by some people. There are lots of major plot twists, and I'm looking forward to seeing how the rest of the body pans out. There's a lot of fighting, full of blood and gore (lots of gore). Most episodes I end up feeling a bit green because of the gore and the animation of the monsters. I'm about half way through, and this is becoming a much loved anime of mine. f
I've also started watching Alias!
I've seen the first two seasons before, but I got all 5 this Winter so I'm starting from the beginning. One day I thought it would be a nice break to watch it. Sydney works for what she thinks is the CIA, but when her fiance is killed she discovers they are a splinter group who have nothing to do with the CIA. She goes to the real CIA and becomes a double agent. She finds out her father is a double agent too - and she is fighting to shut SD6 (the organisation down). Her friends stand by her but they don't know the truth and get into trouble (one is a reporter...definitely asks way too many questions). I love all the action. That particular day it turns out that I relate more to Sydney now than I did the first time I watched it. I needed tissues. I love all the gadgets that Sydney gets to used (tailored for women), I love the different weapons she uses, the tactics she uses to get away from enemies. It's really good! Got a lot to it too.
I think that's it...no, I've got one more!
Ages ago I saw a few episodes of The Winks Club on TV.
I really liked it, so thought I'd buy the dvds. I looked Amazon UK, and it was quite expensive to get each season as a box set. I tried Amazon.com, but that too proved expensive. In my research to find out where I could get a reasonably priced copy, I discovered that it originated from Italy. I had a eureka moment, and checked whether Amazon France had it. They did! They have every single season as a complete box set! I bought the first one, and it arrived yesterday. It is in French, there are no subs or dubs. That's fine because I can understand 80% of French. I can't knit or sew while watching it though - because I'm not used to listening to French, it seems as though they are talking super fast so I have to really concentrate when I'm watching it. Plus it is a really faced paced one. It's about a girl called Bloom, who discovers she is a fairy, and goes of to learn how to develop her powers. She's quite a strong one, although her father has a hard time accepting it until he sees proof (Bloom helps another fairy battle a monster). It is clearly aimed at teens (Bloom is 16, she and the other girls wear clothes which show off their tummy, they are super skinny with tiny waists, there are guys who the girls seem to fall over, this is possibly everything I'm not keen on in a show but thankfully most of it is really cool). She has a pet rabbit which looks a bit demented, and he follows her everywhere. I think there are at least 4, if not 5 seasons of this, so it'll keep me busy for a long time!
I know that definitely is it for now - I'm off to go and read! Have a great weekend, and I'd love to hear what you've been watching lately.
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