Princess Mononoke Review

Cover of Princess Mononoke

As I march on with my Miyazaki movie project I am becoming more and more pleased with the movies I get to watch.  My last review was of Nausicaä and I was a bit disappointed with the movie.  My experience with Princess Mononoke couldn’t be more different.  This movie was absolutely wonderful and really met my expectations for a Miyazaki movie.  The movie was wonderfully done and I was completely absorbed.  I hold Miyazaki movies to a high standard (the basis is Spirited Away which was the first Miyazaki movie I ever saw.  I think that movie is absolutely perfect) and I am pleased to say that Princess Mononoke met my expectations.  Read on for more thoughts!

Durarara!! Review

(Photo credit: My Anime List)

I started Durarara!! on a whim because I read a bit of the manga adaptation and wanted more of the story.  I am also in the middle of watching a bunch of shoujo anime and it is very hard for me to watch a bunch of shoujo in a row.  I always need a bit of action to break things up.  Regardless, this anime was a perfect choice.  I enjoyed Durarara!! so much, it is definitely one of my favorite anime now.  The show was completely consuming and I couldn’t stop watching.  I would recommend this anime to anyone, regardless of whether you are into romance, action, or a good mystery.  Durarara!! pleases everyone.

To Plan Fun or to Improvise? That is the Question.

English: Pleiades Star Cluster (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As I may have indicated in my past writings, I am a planner.  I love to be organized and I hate for things to go unexpectedly.  This tendency of mine stems from how much I worry and get stressed out.  I have found that the best way of coping with my stress is to plan ahead and make sure that things go exactly the way I expect them to.  Although this is an effective method, it is probably not a completely healthy way to live one’s life because it takes so much thought and time.  Luckily I have a big group of close friends who keep some variety in my life.  Because of my friends I have had experiences in both planned fun activities and spur of the moment entertainment.  This post is going to discuss which one I feel is more beneficial according to my own experiences.

Situational Wisdom

I have always prided myself on being a good listener and giving good advice.  It really makes me feel good to be able to help people with whatever wisdom I have.  Recently I have had some problems with this aspect of my character though.  I have been trying to give a friend advice over a fight they are having, and although I have a lot to say it seems  to me that my advice might not help at all.  The more that I delve into the problem, the less I know about what to do.  This makes me really worried because I really love giving helpful advice.

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind Review (film)

I have been watching a lot of Studio Ghibli films lately as part of the Miyazaki movie project assigned by my enthusiastic roommate.  I have really liked this films ever since I watched Spirited Away, a beautiful masterpiece that I am glad was my first movie of Miyazaki’s.   I have since then watched Kiki’s Delivery Service and Howl’s Moving Castle.  I have also seen Whisper of the Heart, although this movie is not Miyazaki himself.  After gaining more experience into Miyazaki’s movies, I decided to tackle his very first, and in many ways his most famous movie, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.  I enjoyed this movie very much, undoubtedly because it is simply a Miyazaki movie.  Regardless, I had many opinions, both negative and positive about this movie.  Read on for more!

Yesterday I Got a Bike

Although summer is supposed to be uneventful, my summer has seemed so busy!  I have been singing in an a cappella group with my friends, attending a trivia night, reviewing for popGO, and watching shows and reading in my spare time.  I’ve been feeling pretty good this summer as well, because it feels like I am getting so much done each day.  I love writing and now I have time to do it everyday (of course I would rather be writing more and going to work less, but I can’t be too picky).  The big story for today is how I got a bike to go to classes next year.  Read on for my bicycle fails!

Hana Kimi Review

I started this manga as part of my strong heroines project and it did not disappoint.  I really ended up loving it, probably a lot more than I expected to.  The drawing style is a bit different and so I wasn’t sure if I would like the series.  Needless to say, it was very good, so good in fact that I read it in about 3 days.  I’m pretty good at marathoning manga series and this one was definitely worth it.  I would rank it closely alongside my favorites, including Skip Beat! and Ouran High School Host Club.  I recommend this manga wholeheartedly to all shoujo lovers.  Read on for my opinions.

Ristorante Amore Review

Ristorante Amore is an enjoyable little visual novel that I picked up last week.  I finished it in a couple of hours, but its short length doesn’t detract from its value.  This game was created by Cyanide Tea for National Renai Game Writing Month, meaning that it was written in just a month.  The game is very good to be created in such a short time, and though I had some problems with it I found it enjoyable overall.  Read on for my thoughts on Ristorante Amore! 

Baccano! Review

Recently my roommate and I realized that although we talked about anime constantly, neither of us had ever watched a series together for some reason.  Of course we decided to fix this problem by choosing and anime to watch and fangirl over together.  Baccano! became that anime, and I’m very glad we watched it.  This anime series is very good and I really enjoyed watching it.  It was also beneficial to watch it with another person because it could get confusing and violent and it was helpful for me to be able to discuss the plot.  I would recommend this anime to those who love a good plot and piece of art.  If you like series like Durarara! I think you will really like this anime as well.  Read on for my thoughts!

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is my second completed anime in my shoujo anime project after Madoka and I enjoyed it quite a bit.  I really wasn’t sure what to think at first because this show is really strange, but I really ended up enjoying it after I got into it.  I would recommend it to anime lovers because it isn’t your typical series, it has those slice of life elements as well as a really crazy setting.