>> April 18, 2003

*blinks* wow.... I haven't blogged in 2 months.... I think that's a record ^^;;; But other than that, uni's been incredibly busy, work has been incredibly tiring and I've just been all out drained.... thank everything under the stars that it's the mid-semester break.... though with my schedule I'm really not getting much of a break ^^;;; But... 'tis the thought that counts ne??

Inspiration also failed to strike for a new layout... *sighs* which is why I'm keeping Yoh for a while longer till I can find something to do with my existing pics, or find some new pic that screams at me that it's layout fodder..... though prolly not anytime soon ^^;;;

Given the long time in which I haven't blogged, this will prolly be an extremely long entry ^_^ though I'll try to keep it as succint as possible. Starting with:

Recent acquisitions - ie. why I'm so broke... -_-;;

Salty-dog 1 & 2 - *huggles* Gorgeous gorgeous artbooks. Well worth the pretty penny I paid for them, though with the exchange rate as it is, I paid less that I expected to so that was a good thing ^_^ Back to the books.... absolutely gorgeous, breath-taking, gorgeous, amazing... have I mentioned gorgeous?? *wide grin* Love these artbooks, love Minekura Kazuya's artwork. Like I've said before, Minekura Kazuya's work lacks the clean-lines that is characteristic of CLAMP's artworks (which I also adore), yet still remains extremely attractive in a more raw sense...

I love the fact that the characters do actually seem to talk to Minekura Kazuya, and the fact that she gives them pet-names that you know they'd whack her for if they were ever real (*snickers* San-chan~~ *runs from fan* ^____^). This may be something that CLAMP lacks, simply because CLAMP is a concerted effort whereas Minekura Kazuya is a lone-author-artist. Also applaud the change of paper for the pages of Salty-dog as opposed to Backgammon.... going from the extremely glossy to muted texture, I think that the latter suits her work more. Needless to say some of the effects that the paper texture gives to the artwork is absolutely stunning. Also would like to point out that I love the monkey to bits ^_____^ I really really REALLY love that monkey~~

Shaman King DVD Box Set - Yes, finally got my Shaman King~~!!! ^____________^ I love this anime... the ending was absolutely gorgeous.... and I still can't help but think that huger version of Bason looks like a Gundam *snickers* But in general, I love Bason.... he's just so adorable ^_^ Put him together with Ren and you just can't help but wanna huggle them... *LOL* Ending fights were incredible... Lyserg managed to redeem himself slightly in the end... Anna was extremely, but covertly, cute: "Yoh... okaeri..." ^_________^ And the ending sequence was just cute.... *LOL* Overall, love this anime... ^_^ Just a nice light-hearted change from some of the heavier stuff I've been watching... Like

Rurouni Kenshin DVD 13 - will be getting DVD 14 this weekend, but still... DVD 13 -- specifically Sou-chan's episodes never fail to choke me up.... especially at the bit when he's just about to lose it and he says to Kenshin, "If what you do is right, why didn't you protect me??" *sniffles* Poor Sou-chan~~ =P And I'm glad that his 'family' are dead... They didn't deserve such a nice kid.... Maa... eagerly awaiting DVD 14... end of the Kyoto arc ^_^ and the five-hit combo *grins*

Noir DVD 1 & Box - Yes, ended up getting Noir.. with the bonus box and t-shirt... Box was nice ^_^ Looked like the boxes from the region 1 release.... T-shirt sucked major ass... looked like it had been brown-ified -- there were brown smears all over it.. not to mention that it wasn't exactly the nicest piccy of Kirika they could have picked.... =P The back looked better than the front... and let's not mention that it only came in large so that there is absolutely no way I can wear it anywhere but as a nightshirt... =P Noir was also advertised to have surround sound... came home, popped it in and found that it only came with stereo audio option... NOT HAPPY... so overall, I dunno if I'm happy with the Noir DVD.... may hold off getting the rest till I have more cash and more volumes are released...

And just generally, I'm just not happy with the region 4 releases.... the release of Rurouni Kenshin Seishouhen is apparently marketed under "Samurai X" *rolls eyes* which according to the promotion pamphlet, would "appeal to fans of Rurouni Kenshin". Well of course it would appeal to fans of Rurouni Kenshin~!!! It IS Rurouni Kenshin~!!! *growls* assholes.... Not only that, but while the cover isn't exactly the prettiest thing in the world, I could live with it if they hadn't reversed the image... and what does reversing the image do?? Why, it puts Kenshin's scar on his right cheek instead of his left~!!! *grabs Shinken and prepares to skewer Madman a la Fuuma and Kamui style as per May issue of Asuka* Idiots... the whole bunch of them...

Speaking of Asuka though... the latest issue puts more perspective on the Arashi defection... ie. it's not her fault... which redeems her in my eyes and puts her back into the "cool" category *L* (On a side note, wasn't Sorata's right hand paralysed?? Why is he using his right hand to threaten Hinoto then?? ^^;;;) Sakurazukamori!Subaru still looks drool-worthy..... Fuuma is STILL only just preparing to skewer Kamui.... Kamui STILL hasn't realised his true wish.... And CLAMP are taking a two month break~~~~~!!!! ARGH~~~~~!!!

So to tide me over for the long haul, I've started to download the latest issues of Hikaru no Go...... *sweatdrops* I know... I'm bad... but it's good~!! And let's not forget to mention that Hikaru no Go finished at 75~!! Right after the Sai-hen in the manga... ^^;;; I'm surprised that they finished it, though I s'pose they wanna have a look to see where the manga's going with this latest arc before committing more anime episodes to it... I won't be surprised if they decide to launch a second series sometime in the future. In regards to the anime, love the new opening sequence -- they all look so grown up and BISH~!! ^_^ Love the side-stories and chibi-Sai with his cardboard cut-outs of chibi-Akira and chibi-Hikaru *huggles* Love Isumi-san with the longer hair~~~~~!!! ^__________^ Eagerly waiting to get my hands on more HikaGo... In terms of the manga, I'm just glad that JUMP is a weekly issue and not a monthly like Asuka... even week by week, not too much happens in each chapter yet still manages to leave you hanging... *pouts* I wanna know who wins between Hikaru and Yong Ha.... I'm willing to bet Hikaru, simply coz he wouldn't let Sai down ^_^... And Yashiro looks like Enishi ^^;;; Just thought I'd mention that.....

In other anime, also seen up to 18 of Gundam Seed..... continue to be of the opinion that Frey needs to be jetted out to space without a space suit as soon as possible... either that or dropped into the middle of a firefight.... either way, she needs to die... preferably messily.... Me? Vindictive? nah~~~ *L* Seriously though, I hate her.... it's gone beyond the point of her bugging me.... I can tolerate people who bug me... most of them have at least one redeeming quality.... she on the other hand... *growls* I just wanna strangle her...... I like the blonde girl through ^_^ Can't remember her name.... but she's cool.... Need more Gundam Seed...

Saw more Naruto... Haku died.... ^^;;; strong shounen-ai hints when Zabuza asked to die next to him... The new arc with the whole test thing is proving to be interesting ^_^ Will definitely continue to watch it... despite the fact that I question the casting of Ishida Akira as the red-haired crow dude.... His voice just doesn't seem to fit... More Spiral~~!! which ended at 25, is just getting curiouser and curiouser... but still good ^_^ I like those logic things.... Saw 3 eps of .hack//Tasogare no Udewa Densetsu.... extremely extremely cute~!! ^_^ Appears to have better explanations than .hack//SIGN so will continue this.... which apparently ended at 12.... Everything's ending these days....

Anways, also acquired some pencil boards, one of the original Kenken from Weiss, not the Gluhen Kenken..... *cringe* I've decided that Gluhen Kenken is okay as long as you only see his face and not the entirety of his hair.... Although the new bugnuks are cool~~ So yeah.... what does this mean? This means that I have attempted to watch Gluhen and failed to have it impress me.... although I s'pose I really wasn't expecting it to impress me.... of the seven episodes I've seen, I've found it much more serious than the original Weiss... a lot more mysterious and angsty.... whether this is the reason why it doesn't appeal to me, I dunno....

I usually don't mind not a lot of humour in a series, if it suited the mood... but I think the thing I didn't like about it was that it essentially did to me what .hack//SIGN did to me, tried to keep me so "in the dark" and "in suspence" that I essentially had no clue of what was going on and therefore lost the plot (if I ever gained it in the first place). This whole thing with the G-class and Z-class has me completely confused.... never mind that any talk with something like "A-class" or "B-class" reminds me of youryoku ratings from Yuu Yuu Hakusho..... But yeah... given that it is only 13 eps and that it is Weiss, I'll probably endure it till the end... but... *shrugs* this is more of a completist action on my part, not any real wanting to see it.... *sighs* what did they do to my poor Kenken~~??

On a side-note... Sena bugs me.... didn't see enough of Kyou to really judge, but Sena bugs me.... and Yamaguchi Kappei can't scream.... Don't get me wrong, I like Yamaguchi Kappei's voice.... he's awesome as Ryuuichi in Gravitation.... but that doesn't change the fact that he can't scream... the same fact is exibited in Inu Yasha.... so yeah, Sena bugs me.... why? *shrugs* just a combination of rashness and immaturity that certainly Omi never exhibited despite being the youngest. And just speaking of rashness, Kenken is hot-headed, I'll give him that, but never immature.... so yeah.... maybe rashness+immaturity bugs me... *shrugs* And the fact that he just isn't.... Weiss......... Maybe this is more perception than anything else but Weiss has always just been Ayan, Yotan, Omittchi and Kenken.... and, I'm sure in a lot of fans' minds, it always will be.... So yeah... while everyone else has a cross on their uniform, he doesn't.... ^^;;; like I said, more perception than anything else, but because of this, he'll always seem like the outsider....

On another side-note.... Todou looks like Nagi.... as in the young original Nagi..... not the Gluhen-Nagi-with-Trowa-hair!Nagi.... *cringe* what they've done to Schwarz is nothing short of blasphemy~!! Schu-schu~~ and Crawford~~ Crawford was cool in the original~~ Now he just looks like some old Jiji with his white hair and weird-ass forelock hanging over his forehead..... *shudders* And granted, the original Schu-schu didn't have a fantastic sense of fashion, but at least he had some~~ (and he looked cool in all white ^_^) Where's that fashion sense now???!?!?

Though I am interested to see what Crashers look like.... especially Knight.... ^^;;; Will he have Seki Toshihiko's voice as in the CD dramas I wonder? myah......

But yeah... other than that, not much else to add.... anime marathon for the break with her has been scheduled for Sunday-Monday... of which we'll be watching Get Backers, .hack//Tasogare, Wolf's Rain, Gundam Seed and maybe Spiral.... more on that after it takes place... and now should end this extremely long blog ^_^ Will blog more soon.

Ranting by Shikami Yamino @ 3:21 AM

 >> February 16, 2003

well well.... hard to believe but my four months of spring/summer holidays are finally approaching the last two weeks.... *sweatdrops* Did I do everything that I wanted to do these hols?? ^^;;; Kinda.... I mean, I got my Ps and I got my car.... was hoping to have made enough money for a trip overseas sometime this year... and yeah, I would have made enough to do that if I hadn't had to pay off some of my car *L* So I s'pose the trip o/s will prolly have to wait. But ultimately I think the long break has been good for me.... I'm actually excited about going back to uni/school.. something that I haven't experienced in a LONG while *LOL* So yeah... if I get the timetable that I want, everything should be good ^_^

And with the new semester starting up soon, Chaos will be experiencing a new layout sometime within the next two weeks ^_^ As sad as I will be to let Yoh go.... Still debating who to feature for the next layout though.... *grins* though knowing me, and the scans of my gorgeous X calendar, there's a more than likely chance that it'll be X ^________^ As if it wasn't bad enough that I'm gonna be tempted to stare at Sei-kun sitting on my desk for the entire first month of school... and then have to stare at Sakurazukamori!Subaru for the month of April when all the assignments have to be handed in *sheepish grin* Can't help it~~!! I have a distinct weakness for those two..... ^_^

Myah... in other news, got Rurouni Kenshin DVD 12 yesterday.... *imitates the Saitou/Usui laughing scene* *bursts into laughter* Damn do I love Gatotsu Zero Shiki ^_______^ And Aoshi-sama~~~~!!! I finally got to see Aoshi-sama~~~~~~~~~~~!! And even after all this time, I still have only one thing to say... drrroooooooollll.... *grin* The other good news is that it appears that the Kyoto arc will end in the next two DVD volumes, not three as I previously thought ^_^ which a good thing coz I can save up more money to get other stuff... like my Salty-dogs... ^^;;; I swear every time I say that, it just sounds weird.... Minekura Kazuya is just weird in her way of naming things.... *L*

Anyhoo... will be watching more Naruto in the near future.... hopefully it won't turn out like DragOn-ball.... that would just kill the series for me....

Finally, must state that I am addicted to the Wolf's Rain Opening and Ending... ^_^ Also addicted to the Weiss Kreuz Gluhen ending "Stone Roses" *sighs* Gorgeous gorgeous song.... and even if Koyasu Takehito's voice is getting deeper, he still sounds good when singing ^_^ However, the opening "Gluhen" failed to make a good first impression.... will now proceed to see if it will grow on me... Also in love with "Love of my Life", which I'm told is also part of the Gluhen package.... They've finally learned not to have them all singing at the same time all the time!! *cheers* That's the one thing that I reckon would have made the old Weiss songs just *that* much better....

Itching to see if I can get my hands on that song where the Weiss and Saiyuki boys sing together *grins* now, *that* would be cool~!!


 >> February 12, 2003

Add yet another anime onto my ever growing list of addictions. Saw the first three episodes of Wolf's Rain and is absolutely hooked. In terms of potential, this anime has it all. Intriguing and original plot; simply beautiful character designs and animation, by the same people that did Cowboy Bebop; extremely fitting and addictive music, composed by Yoko Kanno, opening "Stray" sung by Steve Conte and ending "Gravity" sung by Sakamoto Maaya. While it won't be everyone's piece of cake, if it manages to fulfill its potential, I seriously think that this will be the next big thing following in the wake of Hellsing and Witch Hunter Robin in the mystery/fantasy/sci-fi genre... Can't wait to see more.... and get the full versions of the openings and endings on mp3... ^_^

Saw more HikaGo, and have one thing to say "poor Hikaru"... seriously, as much as I wanna bash him into the wall for ignoring Sai just before he disappeared, just watching him running around in denial and frantically searching for Sai and then totally break down and have his confidence shot to pieces when he realises that Sai is really gone, you have to feel sorry for him. I think HikaGo is one of those anime that is simply endearing because it has so much human element in it... I mean, aside from the humour and the Sai factor, it takes, what technically is a boring game, and really makes you feel the determination of the players. Probably will continue to watch it ^^;;; even if Sai's not there....

Also saw more Gundam Seed and am of the opinion that Frey is a total witch and should be jetted out into space without a space suit asap. I seriously feel sorry for Sai (not the ghost with the tall hat *L*) if he has to get saddled with her for the rest of his life. *shudders* Granted, her father died and everything but still!! Wasn't impressed with her when she first showed up, but now she totally pisses me off. Hell, she even pisses me off more than Nichol does, and he pisses me off to no end. The new opening is excellent!! "Moment" by Vivian or Kazuma is in my opinion much better than T.M.Revolution's "Invoke" ^_^ Loved it... Gundam Seed is definitely good... addicted... want more.... and just wanna huggle Kira coz he's just dealing with so much at the moment....

Meanwhile, have been watching GTO... which is pretty good for the beginning of the series, and then drops off in the middle before picking up towards the very end. Lotsa seiyuus but *shrugs* dunno... failed to inspire any sort of real like in me. Probably too much of a guy's show for my tastes, with the whole perverted thing going on with Onizuka and his ogling of anything walking on two legs with breasts. I mean, other than that, I quite liked Onizuka and how he handled things *L* And caught the Gundam reference in the third to last episode with the Turn A Gundam tusks *giggles* laughed my head off when I saw that... Artwork didn't really appeal to me and I really only liked the openings... none of the ending songs really caught my eye. Overall... an okay series... nothing too fantastic ^^;;;

But now, is tired.... and should go to bed.... is itching for Rurouni Kenshin DVD 12 which I will get most likely in the next week and a half. Also decided to get Noir when that gets released ^_^ Also wanna the Chobits DVD box set and the Shaman King DVD box set(s) and the new Minekura Kazuya artbooks "Salty-dog" 1 & 2.... *slumps* so broke.... ^^;;;;

Oh yeah... on a last note, okaeri~~~!!! ^________^

Now, onto bed... am needed at work early tomorrow so we can clear out the back room.....

Ranting by Shikami Yamino @ 1:43 AM

 >> February 2, 2003

Happy Chinese New Year to everybody! *yawns* So tired...

Can't believe it's Feb already.... almost school time... starting work again.... am tired off my ass...... but is very much enjoying Kakyou's languid presence on my desk *grins* I swear I love this calendar...

Since I last blogged, my other job has started, and this time, I'm apparently working both mondays and thursdays... ^^;;; at least until uni starts... and even then I think I can work my schedule around working both mondays and thursdays, which is a good thing coz it means more income since I have more expenses now that I have a car.... ^^;;; though admittedly I won't be buying bus fares so that's a load off...

Tutoring will be starting again this next week... on thursday nights... which means that when I actually start uni, I'll be going to uni from 9am till 2pm, be at work from 3pm till 6:45pm, and tutor from 7pm till 8pm which means I'll get home around 8:30pm for dinner.... *cringe* That's a whole 12 hours away.... owwie... *shrugs* but I s'pose I'd rather tutor this student on a thursday night anyway coz it's close to where I'm working... saves me driving out on Friday afternoon, which I can now save free, especially for one tutoring session.

If I get any more students, I'll have to see how I'm gonna fit them in... but hopefully, I can leave Friday and Sunday free coz I really need time to do homework and just relax.... Saturday, considering that I'm working every alternate one, I could probably squeeze in a tutoring session straight after it, especially now that I'm driving to and from work. But frankly, I think this year, about 2 students is all I can really take.... Have way too many assignments to think about taking on the five students I was tutoring at one time last year... *conks out* I have no idea how I managed that...

Even so, I think I have the whole income/expenses thing planned out.... and from the looks of it so far, unless I get into a full on spending spree at the uni cafeteria (which I doubt coz the food there sux ass =P), I should be able to keep up my anime addiction and constant acquisition of anime DVDs and merchandise.... ^^;;; and still have some left over....

Yes, I'm learning to manage my finances *L* It's good experience. Even if I occassionally get a head ache from it..... and bemoan the loss of savings into text books, amenities fees and bloody insurance.... *sighs* I now see what my marketing lecturer was on about when he said some items were "reluctant buy" items... as in people never want to buy them, but are forced to anyway....

Meanwhile, am glad that I didn't put myself down for a subscription to Newtype USA.... Not that it's a bad magazine per say... but really out of date in comparison to the Jap one (obviously)... and just the content doesn't really interest me..... And seriously speaking, I usually get my info from sources on the net and not in a mag... So far, in the four issues that have come out, I haven't seen one that I really really HAD to have.....

In big news today (yesterday), finished Samurai Deeper Kyou.... *grins* was good.... a bit rushed towards the end and I'll probably have to watch the whole thing again so that I can get into the flow of the story more, but what I saw was good. I liked it ^_^ Am now of the opinion that I love Sanada Yukimura and Sasuke.... though, of course I still love Kyou.... Kyoshirou is just a bit too goody goody for me..... and simply based on the tone of voice, I think the person in the last few scenes was actually Kyou and not Kyoshirou.... Kyoshirou has a more delicate voice... Konishi Katsuyuki is very talented..... And seriously, this is the other anime, apart from Gundam Seed, that I could say has an all star cast. Konishi Katsuyuki, Horie Yui, Ogata Megumi, Midorikawa Hikaru, Seki Toshihiko, Seki Tomokazu, Inoue Kazuhiko, Hoshi Souichirou, Chiba Susumu, Koyasu Takehito, Yukana, Hayami Shou... Awesome awesome cast ^_^ Will burn onto my own CDs so that I can have a copy for my collection *L*

Watched more Naruto.... while it is still good up to 15, from what I hear about the next two episodes, I'm hoping that it doesn't turn into something like Dragonball.... *cringe* As in the whole, rather than "enemy of the day" thing, it's more like "enemy of the month". Apparently in ep 16 & 17 there's about two punches thrown, the start of a relatively small special attack and a lotta flashback stuff.... which I have to say that ep 15 was half full of anyway...... *crosses fingers* please don't turn out like Dragonball... that would just kill what is a pretty good series so far....

Will get more Gundam Seed soon ^_^ am itching for that... but now, need bed.... am ready to collapse...

^^;;; oh yeah, forgot to mention, also attempting to read Wild Adapter manga in Jap.... *sweatdrops* am making slow progress, but damn is Kubo-chan cute *L*

oh yeah, *pokes* Ne, today David brought in a whole buncha manga that was given to him by a friend of his. There's not a full set there, but most of it's in Chinese. Some of the titles are: Slam Dunk, Crayon Shin-chan, Kimagure Orange Road, City Hunters, 3x3 Eyes... etc. Do you want any?? I think David was gonna sell them on Ebay though it's unlikely that they'll sell for very much.... They're in very VERY good condition... no dog ears, no nothing... some of them haven't even been taken out of their shrink-wrap... ^^;;; If ya want some, I can ask David to hold them or something for when you get back... Lemme know ne?

*yawns* now it's off to bed...

Ranting by Shikami Yamino @ 2:56 AM

 >> January 28, 2003

still blogging blind.... have no idea what's going on and not liking it!

In other news, according to the latest Asuka issue, the Ho is now dead by strangulation.... ^^;; and in true gory!CLAMP style, there were two scenes of her death, one in Hinoto's vision and one in Kamui's, which was the real thing..... *L* There is debate as to who really killed her coz in Hinoto's vision, it was evil!Hinoto that strangled her, and in Kamui's (the real thing) all we see is a disembodied hand... Going down the list of still living Angels/Seals, it seems unlikely that it would be Karen, Aoki-san or Yuzuriha, and Sorata's probably still trying to find Arashi... Yuuto doesn't seem likely to kill his..... ^^;; I have no idea how to put this lightly, so I won't... and Satsuki probably wouldn't kill her mentor.... Kusanagi on the other hand hasn't appeared in the last several issues and also has really no real reason to kill Kanoe... This technically narrows the list down to Fuuma, Kakyou, Subaru or Arashi.... And as the silhouette that appeared behind Kanoe looked like a short-haired male, popular vote has it that it was Subaru that killed her.... Reason?? *shrugs* Who knows... merely speculation at this point...... And given that despite the fact that it apparently did happen, we do actually just see it as Kamui's vision... which may mean that the shape of the silhouette is completely wrong and that it could be a completely different person ^^;;; Knowing CLAMP, they'll take the plot to hell and back before putting it all together so that it makes some semblance of sense ^^;;; Though I can't say that I'm sorry the Ho is dead..... *L*

Must make a note here that Sakurazukamori!Subaru still looks damn good!! Even wrapped up in one of those cloaks that CLAMP seem to favor...

Finished watching Cowboy Bebop today... have mixed feelings.... on one hand, it was entertaining enough as a series with the necessary amount of comedy and action. The character designs and personalities I have to say are unique, and though Spike isn't you're average run-of-the-mill bishounen, his relaxed attitude still manages to have you rooting for him at every turn. Jet is one of your friendly, gentle giants unless you get on his bad side, Faye the alluring female lead with a gambling problem and Ed, the resident genius/idiot often-mistaken-for-a-boy!girl ^^;;; It's obvious from pretty early on that each of them (save Ed, coz she's just too..... on-crack is the best way I could probably describe it *L* to show any obvious signs) have a problematic past that will at some point in the series come up to bite them on the ass.... Excellent action sequences, great mecha designs and an original concept gives this show massive amounts of potential.

Potential that I'm just not sure it fully fulfilled.... understandably, it is a 26 episode anime so you probably shouldn't have expected too much character development.... but me, personally, I would have loved a deeper look into what happened in their pasts and how it affects their future. This is why I loved the last two episodes and any episode to do with Vicious and the Red Dragon best, because it really showed what made Spike Spiegel tick... And while adequate screen time is given to Jet and Faye... *shrugs* I dunno... I just feel that they could have done just a bit more, especially with Spike's past, to make it truly spectacular..... such as a bit more detail as to why Spike chose to leave the organisation, how his partner Vicious took it and why he ended up trying to kill Spike and vice versa, and what kind of woman was Julia and why was both Vicious and Spike both so hung up on her...

In a two day marathon-like run, I obviously didn't have too much time to reflect on what happened. But overall speaking, I was hooked at most times, especially so during the two double-episode parts. I just don't know if it's something that I would be found watching over and over again.... Undeniably it is a great anime.... *shrugs* maybe not my thing in general...

Also watched the movie "Knockin' on Heaven's Door"... was even more impressed by the action sequences (the fights between Spike and Vincent) and scenery. I liked it, but overall, felt like just another extended episode with a bigger budget. And the whole Spike will date Electra if the coin toss comes up tails thing is slightly contradictory to his dedication to Julia in the series... though presuming that the movie takes place at the end of the series, then it makes a bit more sense since Julia's dead, but then the timeline wouldn't fit because Ed clearly left the Bebop with Ein at the end of the series.... *shrugs* the movie was confusing but pretty good overall. Again, I reiterate that this is one series where I feel that just a bit more detail to the characters' backgrounds could give them the finishing-texture to the depth that they already seem to possess.

So... overall out of ten, I'd give Cowboy Bebop an 8.5... very good... but in my opinion just lacks that little something that would keep it from fulfilling its potential and being an incredible anime ^^;;;


 >> January 27, 2003

*kicks tripod* for some obscene reason I can't access either Chaos, or Sakura Saku, and haven't been able to for the last few days... so in other words, I am now blogging blind.... *blinks* somehow, that came out way too much like a swear word.... *sweatdrops* Anyhoos....

Heat wave!! Can you say heat wave?? And considering that this is me, trust that I would be working on the day when it was 44.6 degrees. I swear I was practically melting... and the shopping centre people are cheapskates~!! They had the air-con on so low that you couldn't even tell that it was turned on!! I am thanking everything under the stars that I drove to work on Saturday in the relatively cool haven that was my air-con-ed car... otherwise, you would have expected me to be just another puddle on the floor the way I reckon I was melting... uhhhhh.... also spent a coupla nights on the floor of my parents' room where it's air-con-ed.... Seriously, I knew that this summer was gonna be frigging hot, but not THIS hot!! At least it's cooled down now to a pleasant 20-something... Hopefully the cool weather will continue for a while...

Watching Cowboy Bebop.... and while it's interesting enough, I dunno if it's something I wanna watch again and again.... or maybe I haven't gotten up to the good bits yet since I've only watched 15 episodes... Will probably watch the rest and the movie tomorrow.... will pass judgement then...

*grins* And am just days away from getting my hands on a copy of Samurai Deeper Kyou ^___________^ Can't wait!!

*sighs* And me thinks me'll stop watching so much anime after I finish Cowboy Bebop.... Uni's starting again soon and so's my other jobs so me wanna some time off to prepare.... that's not to say that I'll stop watching all together... ^^;;; Simply that I'll stop my immediate demolition of completed series... like I'm doing with Cowboy Bebop ^^;;; which, by tomorrow, I'll have finished in two days... *sweatdrops* mi....

Also found a way to get my hands on Fushigi Yuugi Eikou Den.... ^^;;; debating whether I wanna watch it though.........

I just need more Kenshin~~!!! The cool fight between Kenshin and Aoshi-sama is in the next DVD~~~~~~~~~~!!!!! Wanna~~~~~!!!


 >> January 22, 2003

worked today... working tomorrow... parents still suck... But I got Kenshin DVD 11~~~~~!!! ^____________^ Finally got to see the "Tori~!! Hougi~!!" argument *giggles* I so love that.... and Saitou sticking his sword through the roof of the carriage at Sano... Kenshin has got to be one of my favorite animes of all time... Can't wait for DVD 12... *snickers* Saitou and Usui weirdo laughing to look forward to.... and Gatotsu Zero shiki~~~~!!!

Finished Witch Hunter Robin.... it was pretty good... *nodnod* Thought the ending was a bit ambiguous but... *shrugs* also thought that it suited the overall muted feeling of the series... all in all pretty good.... *nods* Now I just need to finish Samurai Deeper Kyou... and I'll prolly still continue with HikaGo... even though there's no Sai.... *sniffles* Wanna Sai...

But now that I am in between series... and even though I want to see a long one, have no intention of seeing One Piece simply coz it's approx 140 episodes and still going, I'm gonna go back and see all the classics that I haven't seen before.... like Cowboy Bebop.... ^^;;; Though I don't usually like Yoko Kanno music, I have to admit that "Tank!" is pretty good... Should also see KareKano.... but that can wait... me need more action stuff right now....

Itching for more Gundam Seed.... ^_^ Just needed to say that....

So yeah... that's the latest from me.... btw, when are you coming home?? Got a date yet?? How's the teachers' conference thing going anyway?

Ranting by Shikami Yamino @ 12:57 AM

 >> January 16, 2003

am tired... should sleep... ^^;;; need to drive tomorrow to pick up my car... *grins* Yup yup~~!! Me got a car~~~~!!! *sighs* which is why I am so unbelievably broke at the moment...... I also have to pay insurance...... *slumps* which is seriously gonna put my bank balance into negative figures... at least I start my other job soon, and the school year starts soon as well so tutoring will start up again and I'll have my other sources of income back.... So need that.... as of now, after I pay the insurance on the car, I hardly have enough to start school, eg. books, amenities fees, parking permit.... let's not even mention petrol..... *cringe* Oi oi...

But enough about that... went out to see Bowling for Columbine with my friends today and shit was that a powerful movie... At first it feels kinda weird to be going to a cinema to see a documentary, but it was bloody brilliant!! It just makes you realise how fucked up the world, and in particular America, is when it's possible for you to get a gun for opening a certain bank accout coz the bank is a certified firearm dealer....

The questions that Michael Moore comes up with are definitely confronting, and the statistics that he brings up is pretty shocking. Certainly goes to show that it's not really the gun that's the problem but the finger that pulls the trigger... though of course, that's not to say that guns aren't a problem. I for one can't imagine living in a country where possessing firearms is a common thing.... It also goes to show even more obviously how much of an idiot Bush is and how vague he is when he's talking about "general threats" and stopping the "evil-doers"... can you get any more vague??? And just using Charlton Heston (the insensitive eff-wit that he is) as an example, these rally people are great at stiring a crowd with impassioned speeches yet their arguments could never stand up against specifically targeted questions about the moral issues behind what they preach. *snorts* yeah... 'from my cold dead hands' and 'mixed ethnicity' my ass...

To sum up, and halt my political ramblings, I thought it was an awesome film. One that everyone (mature) should see... It's confronting and shocking and makes you wonder at how far people are willing to go just to make a buck or two, but it's these factors which truly make it an extremely powerful film...


 >> January 13, 2003

Finally... a new layout ^^;; Though as fond as I am of Yoh, I'm feeling very bad about letting Sai go.... *sniffles* watched HikaGo episode 60 today.... and would just like to express my sincerest wish to bash Hikaru's head into a wall for being so insensitive.... *sniffles* Wanna Sai...... Sai disappeared.... Sai~~~~!!! Now I'm starting to sound like her.... But still~!! Sai~~!!! *shakes Hikaru* Hikaru no baka!!

Other than that, am preparing myself for the psychological roller coaster ride that is about to come in future episodes.... Seriously when you think about it, despite its light hearted moments, the whole Hikaru trying to find Sai thing is distinctly angst and really something that little kiddies shouldn't watch.... or maybe they'll watch it and just not understand it.... This is the exact reason why anime is different from cartoons... much more mature themes in anime... despite the fact that you don't have to see them if you don't want.... This is something I find cartoons in general lack.... *shrugs* maa...

Also expect to finish Witch Hunter Robin within the next two weeks.... five more eps to go and I am itching to find out what's gonna happen at the end now that we know Robin's been classified as a renegade witch and no longer a Hunter. Also am itching to see the end to Samurai Deeper Kyou, which I believe finished at 26.... though dunno when I'll get my hands on that.... NEED TO FINISH SHAMAN KING~!!! ARGH~!!! Just seven more episodes~~~~~!!!!! *growls* Was not able to get more manga today... not happy.... and also come to the conclusion that Ren before he fought with his dad bugs me. Ren after he fought with his dad is just cute *grins* Too bad there are no good piccies of Ren to do a layout... *sighs* would really love a Ren layout.... especially anime Ren... *snickers* who pokes people with his hair... *LOL*

Gundam Seed is turning out to be very interesting.... and the good thing is that the pink-haired "princess" has yet to annoy me... which is surprising ^^;;; Should be interesting... how the whole Kira, Rakus and Aslan triangle thing will turn out.... though given that it'll be a 52 episode anime, there's a long way to go *L* Also saw Gundam Blitz do the whole fading into the background thing and couldn't help but think of Deathscythe *L*

Anyhoos, that's what's new... will now proceed to die in the sweltering heat.... *slumps* At least I'm not working this week...

Ranting by Shikami Yamino @ 7:38 PM






Chaos v2.6

     Believe
            >>

  one day... everything will be all right...

Coverboy:
    Asakura Yoh
Manga:
    Shaman King -- Takei Hiroyuki
v2.6 Theme Song:
    Believe In
Artist:
    Nomiyama Masaki
From Anime:
    Gensoumaden Saiyuki
v2.6 comes with:
    Wallpaper -- 800x600 .jpg
Comments:
    *huggles Yoh* I love this boy! Just his mannerisms and attitude and everything! Therefore I had to make a layout of him ^_^ Plus the fact that he looks so adorable with the whole feather head-dress thing going *L*
    Had the toughest time trying to figure out a name for this layout *sighs* but in the end decided to go with Yoh's trademark phrase ^_^ Though I don't usually share the sentiment, I would very much like to believe that it is true. *grins* It would make the world a much better place...
    Finally would like to publicize that I hate jpeg compressions... I hate the fact that it blurs most of the solid colors and fades the others. Therefore, though it takes this layout longer to load, I still think that the .png format choice was made for the better ^_^

Chaos v2.6 Wallpaper

Currently...
Fav Anime:
    Shaman King
    Hikaru no Go
    Gundam Seed
Fav Manga:
    Tokyo Babylon
    Gensoumaden Saiyuki
    Shaman King
Fav Songs:
    "Anna ni Issho Datta no ni" - See Saw
    "Over Soul" - Hayashibara Megumi
    "Yuragu Koto Nai Ai" - Tamura Naomi
    "Break Through" - Seki Tomokazu
    "Predilection" - Yamaguchi Kappei
Fav Characters:
    Sakurazuka Seishirou
    Sumeragi Subaru
    Monou Fuuma
    Fujiwarano Sai
    Asakura Yoh
    Tao Ren
    Onime no Kyou
    Kira Yamato
Watching:
    Hikaru no Go
    Samurai Deeper Kyou
    Gundam Seed
    Shaman King
    Naruto
    Get Backers
    Spiral ~ Suiri no Kizuna ~
Writing:
    "To Fall From Grace"
    "Omae Shikainai"
    "What Dreams May Come"
    "Breaking Down the Walls"

Lookee~!! Me got my very own Sei-kun!! \^o^/

Chaos

EDv2.0

Sakura Saku

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Chaos v1.0   Chaos v1.1
Chaos v1.2   Chaos v1.3
Chaos v1.4   Chaos v1.5
Chaos v1.6   Chaos v1.7
Chaos v1.8   Chaos v1.9
Chaos v2.0   Chaos v2.1
Chaos v2.2   Chaos v2.3
Chaos v2.4   Chaos v2.5