The Great Doctor (aka Faith) Review

I have only very recently gotten into K-dramas, but I have dedicated myself at full force. There are plenty to watch of course, but to narrow down the path a bit, I have been watching the dramas of particular actors that I like. These include Lee Donghae, Choi Siwon, Choi Min Ho, Kim Hyun Joong, and of course, the wonderful Lee Min Ho (yes, I am aware that these are all guys, give me a break). I discovered Faith while investigating Lee Min Ho, whose acting skills really redeemed the drama Boys Over Flowers for me. The drama ended up completely engrossing me, and I watched all 24 episodes as they came out. The drama did not disappoint, and I have discovered another great Korean actress to watch, Kim Hee Sun. Read on for my observations about this Korean drama.

Lucky Star Review

Lucky Star (Photo credit: Akiraman)

Lucky Star. I can’t type this title with anything less than a great fondness in my heart. This anime was a wonder to behold and I enjoyed every second. I didn’t even have the typical loss of interest halfway through as I do with many anime. This anime transcends the average and sours up to Princess Tutu and FMAB status for me. I giggled, I sniffled, and I grinned. This anime is a great piece of comfort food for the Otaku in all of us, with its endless references and inside jokes. If I can make my love any more clear to you, I had no hesitations about reviewing this anime (unlike Blue Exorcist, which fell victim to laziness syndrome). Read on for more gushing!

Vision of Escaflowne Review

The Vision of Escaflowne Limited Edition box set, released in North America by Bandai Entertainment on July 23, 2002 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I had quite a few expectations for Vision of Escaflowne because my roommate loves it so very much.  She made me wait to watch it until I had seen quite a few others on her list because it is one of her favorites.  The nice thing is that I wasn’t disappointed at all.  This anime is really wonderful and I didn’t see any flaws that could indicate its age.  I really enjoyed this anime and would recommend it to both shoujo and shounen viewers, even if they are like me and tend to watch newer series.  This show is still noticeably original despite everything else that is out there.  Read on for more!

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Review

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I wasn’t particularly excited to read this book because it was a requirement for a class I am taking, but I enjoyed it a lot more than I anticipated.  The book has been on and off the indie bestseller list for at least a year and I understand why.  It tells a compelling story of a woman who was completely unrecognized for a great contribution for decades.  The book was quite interesting and I think it should be read because the subject matter affects us all.  No one can or should ignore the things that Henrietta Lacks has done for us.

ToraDora! Review

Cover art of the first DVD compilation released by King Records, featuring main characters Ryūji Takasu and Taiga Aisaka (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I have finally completed ToraDora! leaving me with only 4 anime on my list of shoujo series to watch.  I wasn’t sure how I would feel about this show, but I ended up liking it quite a lot.  I wouldn’t say it is super different or a game-changer, but it is certainly quite good.  I really enjoyed this anime and it didn’t drag at all.  It was quite addicting and I ended up watching it very quickly.  Both the plot and characters are unique enough to pull the show out ahead of other shoujo anime I have watched and I became very attached to what was happening.  Read on to learn about ToraDora!.

Castle in the Sky Review (film)

Castle in the Sky (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As I continue on with my Miyazaki marathon, I finally made my way to Castle in the Sky, the first film put out by Studio Ghibli. I was pretty neutral on my opinions on this movie because I hadn’t heard much about it, but it blew my mind.  This movie was great and is very high on my list of good reviews, even for a Miyazaki movie.  I was drawn into the story right away and the characters were awesome.  I definitely understand why Studio Ghibli was able to continue their work after putting out a movie like this one.

Azumanga Daioh Review

Azumanga Daioh (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Azumanga Daioh is the third anime I’ve completed off of my shoujo anime list and it was quite good.  I’ve never really watched anything like this show before.  It is completely all over the place, but in an extremely pleasant way.  I found myself laughing out loud a lot during this show and being quite touched at other times.  This anime is great to watch because it is so relaxing and utterly unique.  It takes so many aspects of an average life and makes them unique and special while still allowing you to relate to them.  I enjoyed this show a lot because I have never seen anything like it.

High School Debut Review

High School Debut (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I picked up High School Debut as part of my strong heroines manga project and I wasn’t disappointed with it.  Several of the manga I have read for this project had either weaker heroines or weak writing, but this series was different.  I enjoyed every single chapter of it.  The manga was about 50 chapters, just long enough to be satisfying and just short enough to stay interesting.  I really enjoyed this manga because it was unique while still retaining the elements of shoujo manga that make me love it.  I recommend this manga to any type of shoujo reader because it has something for everyone, including humor and a wonderful love story.  Read on for details.

Boys Over Flowers (K-drama) Review

Boys Over Flowers (TV series) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I did not discover the drama Boys Over Flowers because it was extremely popular.  The first time I heard of it was from a friend of mine, whose Korean friend was cousins with one of the stars.  She asked me if I had heard of him because to my friends I am a fountain of K-Pop knowledge, and when I hadn’t I looked up the show.  It didn’t really cross my mind to watch it until a couple weeks later.  I had just finished Hana Kimi and I found out that a live-action drama was planned.  When I was exploring the page for To the Beautiful You I saw another mention of Boys Over Flowers.  After a bit of research I decided that this drama was worth my time.  I sped through it quite quickly and I enjoyed it a lot.  I discussed this drama with my roommate a lot as she had seen the original anime and I hadn’t.  She had some interesting opinions on the differences she noticed when I described the show to her.  I say this to let you know that my review will not reflect the manga or anime at all as I haven’t read them.  The show stands well on its on and is apparently pretty different anyway according to my roommate.  Read on for my observations!

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!