[anime & manga] Skip the Beat!

Skip-Beat! (スキップ・ビート!,)

official title

hihihi.... this past 2 week has been very very good... 

i've finished Ouran Host Club, You're Beautiful, and now, Skip-Beat! ^^

Skip-Beat is a shojo manga with a story revolving around a girl - Mogami Kyoko, who has learned life once again after entering the wonderful world of showbiz! 

The 2 male leads, Tsuruga Ren and Fuwa Sho are 2 interesting characters as well. Tsuruga is the white knight and Fuwa Sho.. i dont even know if he can be called a knight for Kyoko (well at least for the Anime version)... but thanks to him, Kyoko opened her world to showbiz where she was able to show her amazing talent as an artist..

There are a lot of hilarious scenes here that are very enjoyable to watch... 
the thing about 'Love Me' department is really crazy... this is where amazing talents who seem to lack something (even the scouts or runners don't know what) go... ^^ 

Kyoko is really impressive... you'd just laugh, and laugh, and laugh during the crazy scenes... at the same time, you'd cry and be touched by her words...

Spending most of my time this weekend just to sit and watch, and finish this Anime is worth it....

hihi... oh and I love the first ending theme sung by 2BACKKA - Namida..

^^

* read the Manga version here [click]

[anime & manga] Ouran Ouran!

official title: Ouran High School Host Club (桜蘭高校ホスト部, Ōran Kōkō Hosuto Kurabu)

(left to right) Kyoya, Tamaki, Hikaru and Kaoru,Haruhi,Honey,Mori

I've had yet another Anime to watch! Ouran! Ouran!

The plot actually is like the plot of Special A. I was able to watch Special A first and I really enjoyed watching because of the lovely pair-up of the lead characters - Kei and Hikari. 

Like Special A, Ouran is a club consists of beautiful, extra-ordinary (captivating personalities) people... exemplary abilities, extra-ordinary character ^^ Tamaki (male lead) with his prince-like physicality, outrageous behavior but at the same time, a genuine person who wants everybody to be happy, Kyoya the brain of the club and the one responsible for maintaining the assets and ways to get merits,the Twins - Hikaru and Kaoru who can never be separated and want everybody to know that they are as one but in reality they need people to know that they are different from each other, Honey and Mori Sempai who always exhibit the master-servant relationship, and last but not the least, Haruhi (female lead), whose also different because of her being androgynous and later on, found the comfort and wonderful friendship within the club... ^^

I can't help but make a comparison... hmm... 
I would say I liked Ouran more! ^^
Aside from the fact that Ouran is all-male group, and Hikari's identity should remain as a He so he can stay with the club, there are a lot more flavors as the story goes along...

In terms of how the characters are played and introduced, in terms of the flow of the story, and the story behind the characters...Ouran gave a deeper meaning and great justification!

Special A is enjoyable but the entire story seems to revolve and focus more on love couples, especially Kei and Hikari. It also has cute side stories of the other members of the club and describes the life of the other characters but the cuteness of Kei and Hikari's love story still stood out.

Ouran has a lot of hilarious scenes... fangirls who are fond of fanfics will really enjoy this! The feelings of the 2 main leads for each other were not obviously declared but as for me, I still felt the excitement and the *sparkles*.. I even cried for a few scenes haha....

I would recommend this to those Anime lovers who are suckers for romance-comedy love stories with conflicting significant stories of friendship and family...

There were some scenes that were not included in the Anime version as per Manga but the overall message of the story was still conveyed!

[anime & manga] Honey and Clover ハチミツとクローバー

Must watch Honey and Clover! 

Since I am in love with young love stories that are of a different kind,
I felt the need to watch the Anime and read the Manga!
This even had a drama series of Japan and Taiwan Version!

I finished reading Bokura Ga Ita last year in online and
I was able to watch the Anime version and I really got addicted to the author's style.
I like these types of love stories haish....

Now I must watch Honey and Clover! I need to! I want to!

know more details about this [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey_and_Clover]

Anime Review: Bokura Ga Ita

This is my most appreciated love story..the most bittersweet story I've ever seen(Anime) and read(Manga). I never thought... hmmm...

The main cast - Yano and Nanami started to notice each other when they were in highschool. The story revolves around the struggles of Nanami, and I would say Yano as well, to make their relationship simple, happy, ... and honest. But it seems that it is not really that easy to achieve. Especially on Yano's part, since he's experienced a lot of hardships and emotional distress. I guess he's a total depression-magnet. The struggle of Nanami to help Yano forget about his beloved girlfriend who died in an accident is really the most touching part for me. The beach scene is one of my favorite bittersweet scenes.
 

"The story is not an Anime or Manga stereotype, you should watch it". This statement came from a friend. And he's a  He. 


I reviewed the plot from WIKI before I decided to watch it. Another girl friend said that the story is wonderful and really affected her. Thanks to my other girl friend, she lend me the Anime dvd and she said that she really liked the sweet-teasing parts :) ..haha wow I've got all good recommendations.. I was really glad I listened to them :)

The Anime version only went up to the part where Yano needed to leave for Tokyo with his mom and left Nanami behind. I continued to read the story in Manga version. Before they part, Yano and Nanami made a promise that they would be together--I remember Nanami swore that she won't love anyone until Yano's back with her-- but then another hardship came to Yano while he was about to see Nanami, which made him disappear and forget again about his past--even Nanami. I won't give the details here just read the Manga :(.  The Manga is still ongoing. The story isn't finish yet and I guess I am not the only one who's hoping for a happy ending.

I can only say that I really enjoyed this. There are a lot of elements affecting the relationship of Yano and Nanami and there were many times when they've almost both given up. I guess It is one you can call fact of life issues.....realistic in other words.  Even the art and the way the scenes are executed and organized in the Anime version, they give this kind of impact on the viewer... i don't know....some feeling that would really make you think and wait...and absorb more.. it's really addictive. Others may find the scenes boring at first (that was my first impression actually), but as you go on, you'd just find yourself mesmerized by the things going on between them... you'd become...addicted to the boring moments...long pauses, cliffhangers, "one-eye" faces, silent background.... :)
 
O well that's all I can say .....
If you are interested, read the Manga [ here ]




   

Anime Review: Special A (SA)

another Anime craze!

THE CHARACTERS (from left to right):
Ryuu,Tadashi,Jun,Akira,Hikari,Kei,Megumi


PLOT:
There are 7 "great" students bound by friendship who happen to belong to one special class in a prestigious school. Only the top 7 of the school can belong to this class they called Special A - hence the title. Each of the characters are unique and splendid. The major characters are the top 1 and 2, Kei and Hikari who happen to be rivals and lovers at the same time. :)

S.A has a very light story. This is one of those who won't hurt your minds thinking of what's gonna happen in the end. The reason I like this Anime is because of the way the characters are played. They are all outrageous and beautiful at the same time. And I just keep on smilin and laughin all the time while watchin. Hihihi.


Of course my favorite is the male lead - Kei Takashima. I fell in love with him in just an instant. He has this very calm composure almost all of the time no matter how difficult the situation is... yes, just because he is really great! And did I mention almost? O yeah it's because he only loses to himself whenever Hikari, the female lead, is in trouble. I guess those were only the times you would see him worried. Kei has fallen in love with Hikari since their childhood. Hikari's just soon to discover her feelings for Kei as well. It's because she's busy trying to beat him since she was 6. She really felt humiliated when Kei beat her in a wrestling match when they were still young. Ever since, Hikari always tries her best to challenge Kei... and so the story goes...

Aside from the 2 lovers, the other characters also have interesting stories of their own. Jun and Megumi (top 3 and 4) are siblings. Jun has a special gift of switching personalities- tamed & wild. Megumi always use a sketchpad to communicate. She's saving her voice because when she sings, it's just gonna blow your eardrums. Tadashi (top 5) is the outgoing type and who always eats a hell lot of whatever kind of food Akira (top 6) is preparing. Tadashi always gets those punches, screams and slaps of Akira. It seems that Akira is pleasant to all but Tadashi. Well Akira does not fail the group in every food she prepares most especially the lovely tea sessions. She'll soon discover that it was Tadashi whom she'd really love. Tadashi may have loved her ever since they were a child. Last but not the least is Ryuu (top 7). He may be the last in the ranking but that's only because he has taken care of Jun and Megumi. He has become the solo parent for the siblings for a long time. Jun and Megumi follows Ryuu's commands and they just love to stick with him as if they can't live without him. They are even jealous of Ryuu's animals. O I almost forgot. Ryuu has this special ability of taming any kind of animals he encounters. Sweet!

So if you are an Anime lover and you're the young-at-heart-and-silent-lover at the same time, you will love watching this. :)

*You may also read the Manga version of this story here
 

Feel Better (Shinkirou) by LoveHolic

Since I've been loving the anime vampire Black Blood Brothers, I fell in love with the ending song. Loveholic has a lot of nice tracks. I just found out that the song "One Love" from Spring Waltz (Korean Love Story) also came from them.

Here is the vid:

My Bloody Vampire

Yes again, the Twilight saga has something to do with this post... :)

But actually it is not about it but because of it, my interest on vampire stories really heats up. I have learned recently that there are great vampire anime stories. I am not sure which came first but there are some details or specifics that are too much the same... mind reader, the different bloodlines, different blood types--the ones who feed on human's blood and the ones who choose to feed on just animals.... I don't know there are really a lot of angles there are various histories...uhum.

Some of the Vampire Anime stories that I like are Hellsing, Blood+, and the Black Blood Brothers. Black Blood Brothers is my favorite. Hmm... I'm thinking to be a Compromisor someday.. haha

If you are also one of vampire story seeker and you appreciate Japanese Anime, you might want to check them out!