The Wind Rises

I've been blessed. The film theatre in my town had four showings of The Wind Rises and I got to see it last night! I'm really glad because there aren't many cinemas showing it in the UK and the film theatre is really cheap too!! This was my first time watching anime on the big screen and it was so exciting, the colours were so much brighter and every thing was so much bigger (especially compared to watching things on my laptop) that I really felt like I was a part of the film! Anyway, The Wind Rises is a Studio Ghibli film and more importantly, it's the last film produced by Hayao Miyazaki. So I was really looking forward to it. Here's what I found out!

First of all, the plot. The Wind Rises is a fictionalized biography, meaning that although the characters and key moments are real, the details about their personal life are made up. To be specific, the movie is about Jiro Hirokishi, an aeroplane designer for Japan during WW2. Jiro is incredibly passionate about aviation and as a young boy dreamed of being a pilot, but he's eyesight is poor so he turns his passion to designing. When he grows up, Jiro goes to Tokyo to study engineering but gets caught in the Great Kanto earthquake which derails his train. He spots the maid of a young girl who injured her leg in the crash and decides to help her out. He leaves with out evening giving the pair his name, but his heroic actions left their mark. So when Jiro bumps into the young lady, Naoko, whilst working for company designing planes for the military the two are happy to see each other and begin spending their free time together. So it's not surprising when Jiro confesses his love for Naoko. But with Jiro devoted to his work and Naoko suffering with Tuberculosis they don't have a cliche obsessive relationship instead they have a relationship that's pure and loyal.

Chuunibyou Demo Koi Ga Shitai (Movie)

Some of you might be thinking that yesterday was MCM. So why isn't there an MCM special post today? Well, it's because for the first time ever I'm attending MCM on the Sunday so when this post publishes, I'll be happily strolling through the Excel hall. However, fear not! As when I get back I will be sure to tell you all about it! For now, please enjoy this review.

I'm not a fan of reviewing sequels because it's not different to reviewing a second season and it's only interesting to people who have already watched the show. However, you may remember that two years ago (I've really been blogging for a long time) I reviewed the original anime series of Chuunibyou demo Koi da Shitai. But I think it's all right when the the sequel is in a different medium! Seeing how a series is interrupted into a movie is a completely different experience to seeing it as an anime, and I did do this before with the K-On movie! So hopefully you will enjoy this review even if you haven't the anime (which you really should watch!).

Then again, this movie is not strictly speaking a sequel. It's full title is Takanashi Rikka Kai: Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai!, and technically it's a retelling. So I am forced to re-state the plot of Chuunibyou.

Chuunibyou is a term used to describe the awkward face some children go through in 8th grade, in extreme cases it refers to the belief that you are actually magical and go around casting spells to fight off imagined evils. In the case of Rikka Takanashi, Chuunibyou is more than just a phase and she moves to high school still completely believing in her 'Tyrants Eye'. Yuuta Togashi on the other hand, is has left his alter ego of 'Dark Flame Master' and intends to live his life as a regular high schooler. But Rikka finds out about his secret past and won't let him keep it a secret! She forces him to join a her club with their senpai who wants to nap all the time, their seemingly perfect class rep and Rikka's 'servant' who is every bit as eccentric as her master. As Yuuta and Rikka spend more time together they slowly find more of each other's admirable qualities but things do not go smoothly as Rikka's chuunibyou causes problems with her family and the solution is never straight forward.

Nisekoi

It's been a long time but with a recommendation from my lolita I've got a new rom-com anime to share. My favorite! Ichijo was born as the heir to a yakuza family when another yakuza gang moves into the same town it's his responsibility to stop the fighting. His fathers idea is to pretend that Ichijo is dating the daughter of the other family, Kirisaki. However, Ichijo isn't interested in Kirisaki's rude and violent manner, he prefers the company of Onodera his classmate and current love interest. Also, Ichijo is looking for the girl he met 10 years ago who holds the key to unlock his pendant, it could be Onodera but while he's being forced to play boyfriend to Kirisaki he has no hope of being together with Onodera.

My Love From Another Star

With a title featuring the word 'Love' I believed this was a romance story and just like a majority of romance dramas, there's a love triangle! But you shouldn't judge too quickly, this is no conventional romance. In fact, it's no conventional anything! It's a pastiche of every genre you could think of: romance, drama, detective, sci-fi, thriller, comedy and it's even a bit historical!
To set the ball rolling on this mix-match of themes, this drama is about an alien. That's right, an alien who crashed on earth and quite conveniently looks like a very attractive young man. Also, he has magic powers.

Katanagatari

Have you ever heard of Naruto? Of course you have! It's extremely popular, but I can't stand it!! Know why? Because he makes Ninjas look totally stupid with his bright orange outfit and 'sexy jutsu', it's so uncool! For the same reason, I don't like Katanagatari. Whether it be the characters, the plot, the art or anything else, I loathe it all!
Allow me to elaborate: Katanagatari is based in Japan's Edo era where Strategian Togame is tasked with obtaining the '12 Deviant Blades'. However she's too frail to collect them herself and she's already been betrayed by ninjas, so Togame seeks the help of Shichika - a highly trained martial artist - to be her sword.

From Up on Poppy Hill

A fairly new addition to the Studio Ghibli collection (2011) that my dad managed to find on Love Film. We watched the dub -which I must admit I rarely do- but more on that later. Set in 1963, it's a tale of pure yet troubled love. When a school's clubhouse (the Quartier Latin) is set to be demolished, Shun (passionate member of the newspaper club) performs an outrageous stunt that captures the attention of Umi a young neighborhood child. Umi begins helping out in the Newspaper Club and the two begin to fall for each other. But things aren't that straightforward! Umi's mother is studying abroad in America and her father was lost at sea. When Umi shows Shun a picture of her father he starts acting strange and avoiding Umi. What's preventing the two from being happy together? You'll have to watch it to see!

The Heirs

There's been a lot of hype around this drama since April because of it's all star line-up! Lee Min Ho (Boys Over Flowers and Personal Preference) Kang Min Hyuk (Hearstrings and drummer for CN Blue) and Park Shin Hye (You're Beautiful and Heartstrings) all feature in this drama alongside many more big actors and idols. about the love and friendships of some very rich high school student. In fact, given my great anticipation to watch this drama I've broken my 5-episodes-for-a-review rule so I can tell you about this drama only 4 days after it's premier.

Sukitte Iinayo

This anime marks the end of my long list of suggestions. So be sure to send your recommendations to me because I'm too lazy to chose the anime for myself!!

I've discovered another over-used trope in romantic anime: popular guy falling in love with the unpopular girl. It's very similar to the 'rich man poor girl' theme but with added low self-esteem. It's an idea I absolutely loved in Kimi Ni Todoke, but now it's just a bit boring. Which is unfortunate for Sukitte Iinayo!
Sukitte Iinayo (Say 'I Love You') centers around Mei Tachibana who was blamed for something trivial in primary school and consequently spent 16 years in solitude. But after she kicks the most popular boy in school down the stairs thing begin to change. Kurosawa Yamoto begins bothering her, apparently he fell in love with her when she kicked him (masochist?) and he will not let her go. However after saving her from a stalker, he does get through to her and he reignites her trust in other people. It's also one of those terribly cliched 'troubled past' stories were every one has their history told in a most awkward fashion.

House of Flying Daggers

At the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, House of Flying Daggers reportedly received a 20 minute standing ovation. From big time director Zhang Yimou and starring the beautiful and talented Zhang Ziyi it's no wonder it got so much hype. But what is it all about?

Set in China 859 AD we see the decline of the Tang dynasty. Government is losing control as rebel groups spring up across the country. Most prominently, the House of Flying Daggers, an elusive group who steal from the rich and give to the poor. They've devised a scheme to wipe out the generals best men using Mei (Zhang Ziyi). When police officers Jin and Liu hear that the new dancer may be a member of the Flying Daggers which they've been ordered to annihilate! So Jin is sent to investigate and when he discovers that Mei is blind and shows hatred towards government officials he's lead to believe that she is the daughter of the old leader and a prominent figure to the group. They decide to use this information to track down the Flying Daggers and hopefully slay their leader. Jin is sent undercover as 'Wind' to 'rescue' Mei from prison and have her lead him to the House of Flying Daggers. But on their journey Jin is seduced by Mei's beauty and Mei finds herself falling for Jin's valour and courage. There could be a happy ending for these two lovers, however things are not always as they appear to be...

Brothers Conflict

After the discomfort caused by Oreimo you would've thought that I'd have learnt to stay away from anything remotely incestual. So I thought Brothers Conflict sounded like a good idea. No. I shan't even try to make this sound good!

Ema doesn't appear to have a mother-or at least she really doesn't care for her biological mother. So when her famous father remarries it doesn't bother her. Well, she hardly see her father anyway, the tragic neglected motherless girl. It breaks my heart! No one cares. But her life's going to get a lot busier now that she's made the decision to move in with her new family: 13 step-brothers. Seriously? Who manages to have 13 boys in a row like that? 13! I mean honestly, did she drown the girls? Was she building her own personal harem!?

RDG: Red Data Girl

"Red data girls are girls in danger of extinction. The term is based on the Red Data Book which contains data on endangered wildlife. They are beings who hold a unique, mysterious power so great that all of humanity seeks to own them."
Suzuhara is slow clumsy and shy and finds it very hard to get a long at school. She is a Red Data Girl whose is set to succeed her mother as host to the Goddess. Raised as a shrine maiden in the country side she is easily scared by other people and destroys most the technology she touches. After an encounter with a God of the mountain Suzuhara decides to take her fathers advice and enroll in high school in Tokyo along with her childhood friend Sagara. Sagara is from a family of warriors whose fate is to protect people like Suzuhara but Sagara is repelled by Suzuhara's timid nature at first but as they spend more time together at school and Suzuhara breaks away from her shyness bit by bit.... Well it's a romance do I need to spell it out for you?

A Werewolf Boy

Highly acclaimed Korean movie, "A Werewolf Boy", directed by Jo Sung-hee for his commercial debut. It quickly reached 4.12 million admissions making it the most successful Korean melodrama of all time! But is it really worth all the hype?
As an elderly woman Kim Suni receives a phone call about the sale of her old family home out in the country side and decides to pay the place a visit with her grand daughter Eun Joo. From there she reminisces back to when she was a teenager and her and her mother escaped to the country side. Kim Suni was suffering from a lung problem and it was believed that the country air would do her some good. Not long after arriving Suni finds a feral boy who can't read, write or fully understand what people are saying. Despite his unruly nature Suni's mother is kind enough to adopt him and name him Chul-Soo; for she, like all the other villagers, believe he was one of the many children which were orphaned in the Korean War. Unsatisfied by the way that Chul-Soo behaves, Suni starts to 'tame' him using a dog training book. Every time he acts accordingly Suni will pat his head and from these acts of kindness a bond is formed between the introverted girl and the lonely boy.

Love Rain

Expo was Yesterday!!! But I was more in the TV shows scene this time (Adventure Time, Teen Wolf, etc.) so I won't clog my blog up with a post about that!! Instead, enjoy this review while I get on the train to go to my mum's! :)

Love Rain is a masterful drama that depicts a cycle of misfortune starting in 1970's and repeating itself in the present. It starts when Seo In Ha falls in love with beautiful and kind Kim Yoon Hee, and she falls in love with him. However Seo In Ha's best friend Lee Dong Wook falls in love with the very same girl making Seo In Ha choose between the two. He tries to escape by enlisting in the army and Kim Yoon Hee has to move to America to get treated for her illness. After a long time with no news, every one assumes that Yoon Hee passed away and Seo In Ha tries to make a family for himself but when he finds her in Korea again he's determined not to let her go again. Although not as sweet when they're middle-aged, their love is so pure that you just have to wish for their happiness but with In Ha's ex-wife involved, no-one's going to be allowed happiness. A parallel story of love and pain occurs when Seo Joon and Jung Ha Na meet. Joon falls for Ha Na's cheerfulness and quickly wins her over with his undeniable charm however it's not that simple because Seo Joon is Seo In Ha's son and Jung Ha Na is Kim Yoon Hee's daughter. It's so tragic because no matter what happens you know it's going to end badly! No matter how much you wish for both couples happiness you know it's not possible so through out there's this feeling of dread that almost makes me not want to reach the end!

Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai!

"Chunibyo patients" or people who suffer from "8th grader syndrome": a phenomenon which causes many 8th graders to suffer an utterly embarrassing year of school. After spending a year pretending to be "Dark Flame Master" Yuuta goes out of his way to choose a high school were no one knows him just to escape from his embarrassing memories. But memories of his past still haunt him when he meets Rikka - his cute neighbour and classmate - who is still suffering from 8th grader syndrome. She takes on the pseudo of 'Wicked Eye'. After she discovers Yuuta's past she forces him to join her club along with a senior who loves to nap; the class rep who has her own embarrassing secrets and Rikka's equally eccentric 'Servant' from the year below.  As more of Rikka's life is revealed Yuuta begins to find her demands less and less of a chore and slowly their friendship grows beyond the 'contract' that Rikka inflicted upon him.

There is a certain amount of this which really reminds me of another anime. Eccentric girl drags a mostly normal guy around and makes a club. That's right, there's definitely some Haruhi in this anime. They even have a moe senior!! So if you don't like Haruhi just turn away now.

Sword Art Online

When Nerve gear release their first fully-immersive MMORPG masses flock to buy the revolutionary game that engages all the players senses and is controlled by thought. However, after logging on the players soon discover that there is no way to log out, they are informed that if they wish to leave the game they must clear all 100lvls of the game. But they must do so without dying as death in the game equals death in real life  as the Nerve headset microwave their brains. The story follows Kirito a swordsmaster who had played in the beta and was actually the best beta player out there. After witnessing several people's death within the game Kirito is determined to complete the game and rescue every one from the game. Although at first shunned for the apparent advantage he had over normal players he eventually befriends Asuna, an equally powerful swordsmaster! Together they fight on the front lines to try complete the game but during there time fighting a love line starts to form!

Dog Star

Man is this film depressing! It's like Macbeth or something!It's all about Shiro, a dog for the blind, who is caring for a veteran boxer. Within the first 10 minutes of the film the ex-boxer drinks too much and gets hit by a car. That's just a start to the deaths in this film! So apparently this blind boxer wasn't a very nice man because he is sent back to earth as a ghost who needs to perform a good deed or two to be allowed into heaven. Hence he visits Shiro like some kind of Genie and offers to grant Shiro one wish. Shiro wishes to be a human (he can't talk mind you, so this scene was quite amusing) and naturally Shiro's ex-master uses his celestial and gives Shiro the body of a man who had just killed himself (yes, that's another dead person).
Shiro choose this wish out of a desire to find the family who raised him as a puppy. Although most the family died in a plane crash (that's another 2 or 3 dead bodies) he manages to sniff out Haruka's scent and begins to stalk her. A few more deaths later and Shiro finds out that he's old for a dog and that it'll soon be his time to die so he tries to distance himself from Haruka. But there's a chemistry between the two which makes it impossible for the two to part. Alas, it's a love that can never be, and Shiro has to return to his doggy form.
Through out the film, Shiro's former owner appears to offer guidance or consolation (usually quite bad). Sounds quite sweet but in reality he's just an invisible old man who just gets in the way. True, it would be weird if he didn't hang around but his presence really doesn't add anything to the film.

AIR The Movie

I hope every one had a good Christmas, I know I did!! I got some new anime and manga too that I can't wait to tell you about! Also, this is my last post of 2012! So I wish you all a happy new year and hope you will keep reading in 2013!

I completely forgot about this movie! I watched the anime long before my blog was around and intended to watch the movie then to but while surfing the net recently I found it again! since it's not a squeal to the anime I figured I'd review it! But really, you should watch the anime, it's really good! Now, back on track about the movie.
So basically the movie is about a traveler  Yukito. He's a lone wanderer who picks up cash by performing a little puppet show. One time he stops by a town with the intent of earning some money at the Summer Festival they hold. But he is soon spotted by Misuzu who gets him to help her do her field work in exchange for a meal. Misuzu's field work is about the legend of the winged beings who lived in ancient times. As we, the viewer, find out more about the tragic story of the winged being who was forbidden to love we watch as Misuzu's life replays the story. It's really sweet how we get to see a bit of the legend and a bit of Misuzu, the two stories where perfectly matched and such a heart-breaker!! The overall effect is almost haunting, but so sweet at the same time! It's hard to explain. although the idea of love is a bit dodgy, it all seemed a bit too sudden to be true.

Kimi ni Todoke

Kimi ni Todoke is one of the cutest romances out there. I looked for the anime after falling head over heels in love with the manga and I'm glad to say, the anime does not disappoint and it follows the exact same plot (for now at least). The story is based around Sawako and Kazehaya. Sawako has no friends, she terrifies  every one with her resemblance to a character in a horror movie and every one believes she is cursed and can see ghosts. Kazehaya is complete opposite, boys want to be his friend and all the girls love him, he's a natural people person. But when these two are put in the same class Kazehaya finds it impossible to leave Sadako alone and begins to help her become part of the class. Sawako makes friends with Yano, Yoshida and Ryo and before she knows it, her feelings for Kazehaya become greater than admiration and respect and Kazehaya finds himself much too embarrassed in front of Sawako. But they are both too innocent! It's not all good though! Because of Kazehaya's popularity, Sawako quickly makes enemies, a concept that she can't quite grasp. With the rumours and the misunderstandings Sawako slowly becomes more open to other people. It's a super cute tale of acceptance, friendship and love. It develops really slowly, but that's what makes it special! I just love this plot line so much!

Secret Garden

Guys! I really need some more recommendations!! Leave them in the comments below!

Another drama based around a rich man and a poor woman. Just like 90% of the drama's I have watched, but really, it can't get old can it!! Gil Ra Im is a stunt woman and proud of it, even if it doesn't give her much money, Kim Joo Won is a multi-millionaire CEO who looks down on every one. But when he mistakes the stunt double with the actual actress he is shocked by his profound interest in her. Thus starts they're strange kind of relationship which can never work out because of they're difference in lifestyles. Kim Joo Won's feelings become even more prominent when Gil Ra Im becomes acquainted with her ultimate idol Oska. Jealousy runs wild and suddenly Gil Ra Im is involved in some pretty complicated love affairs. Things only get more confusing when series of events lead to Kim Joo Won and Gil Ra Im swapping bodies. Rich man, poor woman, I've seen before. As have I seen all the misunderstanding that occur in such situation. I've even watched gender-bender dramas! But NEVER have I seen a body-swap! I can't decide if that novelty is entertaining or just silly.... but it is certainly unique.

Itazura na Kiss

I may be a tad obsessed with this because I'm now reviewing the anime that goes with the dramas Playful Kiss and It started with a kiss. I wasn't going to review it originally, but a friend of mine who doesn't usually watch anime told me it was really good, so I couldn't resist!! But now I have to right up the plot of this show for a third time.....
Kotoko-chan is in F class, the bottom of the school and she fancies the greatest guy in school: Irie-kun, best looking and smartest in the school. He is not, however, the kindest as we find out when he coldly rejects Kotoko-chan's without even a second glance. To make things worse, she goes to her newly built house only for it to collapse in an earth quake. Now Kotoko-chan is homeless and heartbroken, but her father does find them somewhere to stay, at the house of an old friend. Upon arriving Kotoko-chan is shocked to see Irie-kun living there. With Irie-kun's mother's support Kotoko-chan decides to go full out to try win the heart  of Irie-kun. Although the start is horribly cheesy it becomes a very cute tale of romance. The things that happen and the feelings that are shown, don't seem particularly unusual so it feels like you can relate to what's happening!