Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Kimi Ni Todoke & Kamisama Dolls: Reviews coming soon

I have recently gotten into watching Kamisama dolls - one of this summer's series. I am also beginning to watch Kimi Ni Todoke the movie (yes grad school has really lagged me on my must sees).

I will give a review of Kamisama when I finish watching the third episode. As for first impressions, the intro art was really good. I remember seeing screenies on another blog and thought the colour choices was a bit faded but nice. I have to say the same with Kimi ni Todoke - the colour choices aren't a vibrant HD - but it gives everything a nostalgic feeling. Which I think is fitting for older audiences reminiscing about high school times.

Kimi ni Todoke
Nice colours right? Like taken from an old camera

Monday, July 11, 2011

Anime for Kids: Why I'm hooked

Lately I've been hooked on Soul Eater and Fairy Tail as my source of entertainment. Though there's certain things that do bug me, such as obvious plot twists, dry jokes and over-exaggerated characters, there are still things that I thoroughly appreciate - which may be why I have watched nothing but children anime for the past 6 months.

Fairy Tail

Fairy Tail

Imperfect but Young Characters

Rather than making perfect characters, the series creator make sure that each character has a flaw that they have to overcome - which we assume they overcome as they grow with age. This makes it really easy for us to side with the character and cheer them on as they overcome their imperfections.

Full of Spirit

Black Star

Black Star from Soul Eater

Another thing about the protagonists is that they aren't hit with the cautious and hesitant nature of adults. They follow their hearts and go at things full throttle.

Challenge our Assumptions

What I've noticed is that they establish certain roles and relationships that we the audience take as absolute. Examples of these are: Gray and Natsu fight but will always be best friends, Erza is dependable and will always be in the eright, Professor Stein is Shibusen's greatest asset. After making these clear, the series challenge these notions through different events and plot twists. This is a really good way of keeping the viewer engaged.

Foreseeable ends

Igneel from Fairy Tail

Igneel from Fairy Tail

The last thing I am going to talk about is that each of these series have a end=point which will signify the end of the narration. For Fairy Tail, it is when Natsu finds Igneel. For Soul Eater, it is when the witches, kishin, and Shinigami end their war. This doesn't necessarily mean that this is how the story will be resolved - it could end with no resolution (i.e.:Natsu accepts that he will not find Igneel) or minor resolution (i.e.: Shibusen beats Arachne but the war can start again in years time). But the magic with this is that there is an end point - we are assured of avoiding a never-ending anime loop that only makes episodes to generate gross income. This is really important for me personally. I appreciate series that focus more on the storyline than stretching episodes or creating a season hit.

Now if you excuse me, I need to watch this week's Fairy Tail =P

Saturday, July 2, 2011

From Kitty to Gaga to you - make your own hairbow

Made cute and lovable by Hello Kitty and then trendy by Lady Gaga - the hairbow is a hairstyle that will not only make you adorable and cute, but fashionable and stylish.

Lady Gaga

Here is a video done by Cutie on one way to make it.

Basically the steps are as follows:

  • Take the top layer of your hair and make a high off-side ponytail.
  • Split the ponytail into three sections. One for each side of the bow and a little tiny piece for the middle.
  • Use bobby pins to hold the bow in place. Cutie used a backwards comb to add texture to her hair (I skipped this step because it adds way too much flyaways and frizz)
  • Optional: Add cute hair accessory

The first time trying it may take you half an hour or so to get the feel of it. But consecutive tries are much faster. My last attempt at the hairbow only took me 10 minutes and it was my second try at it.

My hair bow

I highly encourage you to try it. It's easy and I got nothing but compliments from it