果てしなく遠い空に

Dramas

2011-08-03T14:13:45Z

Dramas I am thinking of watching....

Japanese Dramas

IS: Otoko demo Onna demo nai sei

“IS” stands for “intersexual,” a term referring to people who cannot clearly be classified as male or female, and who may biologically possess characteristics of both sexes. Rokuhana’s manga primarily deals with the troubles faced by the young Hoshino Haru (played by Fukuda), an intersexual who was registered as a girl at birth but has been raised as a boy.

seen up to episode 2

About: An interesting topic that doesn't really get brought up a lot. Apparently it was based on a true story as well.

Ikemen desu ne

The original Korean version aired in 2009 and starred Park Shin Hye, Jang Keun Suk, Lee Hong Ki, and Jung Yong Hwa. The story revolved around a fictional boy band named A.N.JELL. Park Shin Hye played a nun-in-training who has to pose as her twin brother and take his place in the group, leading to a complicated relationship between the group’s members.

seen up to episode 0

About: I'm mostly interested in seeing this because I saw the Korean version of it last year, and I'd like to see how the Japanese version turns out in comparison.

Ouran High School Host Club

The story revolves around a high school girl named Fujioka Haruhi (Kawaguchi) at the prestigious Ouran Academy, who stumbles upon a group of male students who have formed their own club as hosts. Accidentally breaking an antique vase, Haruhi ends up owing the club a vast amount of money, and she ends up posing as a host in order to repay her debt.

seen up to episode 2

About: I've seen all that has aired so far. I liked the anime, so I was interested in seeing the drama. It's a bit ridiculous though.

Korean

Personal Preference

Jeon Jin Ho is a straight guy who pretends to be gay in order to become Park Kae In's roommate. His hobbies include organization and ironing, and he’s known for his stoic poker face. He’s a stickler for cleanliness, but he also has a talent for figuring out a women’s feelings. Kae In is very trusting even though she has a habit of being betrayed. However that doesn't stop her from giving people the benefit of doubt and Jin Ho is no different. How will Kae In react when she finds out that her gay roommate is not actually gay at all and that he has fallen for her?

seen up to episode 4

About: I streamed this show a bit. It's pretty funny, but Kae In is kinda...gross. ^^;

Tamna Island

The drama is based on a manhwa with the same title. Tamna the Island is set in 17th-century Joseon times as a young English castaway, William, comes to the island and meets Jang Beo Jin, Park Kyu, and Yan. The name "Tamna" refers to what is now called Jeju.

seen up to episode 3

About: Ok, so I saw the first few episodes of Tamra Island and, despite the poor English, the show is actually kinda cute. Unfortunately, I was watching it on mysoju, which is a pain in the but to stream from...

City Hunter

The story takes place in Seoul, 2011. Lee Yoon Sung is a talented MIT-graduate who works on the international communications team in the Blue House. He plans revenge on five politicians who caused his father's death with his surrogate father Lee Jin Pyo and eventually becomes a "City Hunter."

seen up to episode 0

About: This is the show that 90% of all Koreans are obsessed with right now, though I can't seem to make it past the first episode. Some people tell me it doesn't get good until episode 10. I don't really know how I feel about watching it, as it doesn't seem my type of show... but I guess I should give it a shot.

The anime selections have been pretty slim so far this year, so I'm glad to see a few dramas that sound interesting, though admittedly they're all kind of kinky in their own way. Regardless, it'll be nice to watch something in Japanese again.. All I've really been watching lately is Korean, and every once in a while it's nice to get a break from Korean Korean Korean.

Yami no Matsuei Picture Spam: The Devil's Trill, Part 1

2011-08-02T04:12:28Z

A continuation of my Yami no Matsuei "episode discussion". This time we start with episode 4, a brand new arc.

This arc is special to me because it was the first arc of Yami no Matsuei I was able to buy. I foolishly bought it from Best Buy eons ago for at least 20-30 dollars. I have since got the rest of the series for $5 a DVD. But REGARDLESS, here we go! Hope you enjoy, and, as always, comments are welcome. ^^

This episode is extremely long, so I have cut it into three parts for you. ^^

This is a warning not to go out at night. At least not with a red moon

We start our lovely episode with this. The violin is apparently playing itself, which is pretty creepy. Creepier still is the shadow of the player in the background. It really kinda reminds me of these haunted dolls I looked up on the internet once. I could not sleep that night...

It's just a harmless violin, right?

Ugly font again. I wish they'd learn

Off to a much brighter world!

Can you see my hand?</strike>

We find ourselves in a hospital, where a man is pushing his hand onto the camera. Confused? Don't worry, everything will make sense.

We find out that the boy on the left is Hijiri Minase, a young high school student who just had a cornea operation because he, for some reason, was going blind in his one eye.

While the doctor's doing doctor stuff Hijiri looks out the window and sees two ~~stalkers~~ strange people watching him.

I told you they were strange

If you saw the last three episodes, then you know that the characters there are (on the left) Hisoka and (on the right) Tsuzuki. Tsuzuki and Hisoka are shinigami, or guardians of death. What they're doing here, however, is a mystery since it's obvious Hijiri is not dead.

Omigosh, I think I'm in love!

Hijiri is kind of shocked by the two men staring at him.

Regardless, the doctor gets his attention again by asking him if it hurts or anything.

Hijiri, feeling the need to mime everything revolving around violins, mimes his violin and exclaims how happy he is to be able to see because it means he can play the violin again. And you know, see stuff. That's kinda important, right? Right?

Anyway, I think Hijiri's doctor is a moron and I seriously doubt how the guy passed his exams. If you look closely, Hijiri's left eye, the one that was replaced, has a deformed pupil, making it look like a cat eye. Now, I don't know too much about eyes or anything, but I'm pretty sure that if I did surgery on a guy and his eye came out like that I would know I screwed something up. But his doctor is oblivious. I bet he bought his degree on whatever the Japanese Ebay equivalent is.

Stupidity must be contagious as we'll see in a bit.

Here Hijiri is asking if he can thank the donor for the cornea that enabled him to see again. Thank the donor. Wow. I was not aware that they had live cornea donors. I thought that was something you gave once you, I don't know, died? Not something you just give away to people, ~~unless you have a cursed cornea that you got from making a pact with the devil, but surely that can't be it.~~

I love the doctor's pose here. LOL

The doctor tells him that, regrettably, the donor has passed away (duh), but he could go and thank the donor's daughter, Kazusa, who, by the way, is an orphan. JUST LIKE HIJIRI!

Way to be smooth, doc. Just remind the poor guy just how crappy his life is. Not only is his cornea donor dead, his entire family is as well. Nice going.

Anyway, Kazusa lives at some kind of Catholic church with a nun who looks after her. I have to admit that I feel for Kazusa here. She seems to be one of the few intelligent characters in this arc, and she's only a little girl. But since she's so little she has to live with an old nun. It's kind of depressing that she apparently had no one else to take her in, so the church had to do it. Where on earth is the rest of her family? Her mom? Her grandparents? Her relatives? Poor kid...

BACK TO THE TOPIC.

Hijiri looking for the Catholic orphanage, or whatever it is

Hijiri arrives at the church orphanage. Note the black dog in the background

FORESHADOWING!

Apparently hell-hounds are doberman pincers

Hello!

Hijiri's freaking out because a stuffed toy just talked to him. He's been watching too much YAS

Hijiri says hello to Kazusa, with the nun looking on to make sure Hijiri's not some underage pervert.

Now we meet Kazusa, the daughter of the man who gave Hirji his cornea. Hijiri feels kind of connected to Kazusa since they're both orphans and because, as he finds out a bit later, that Kazusa's dad was a violinist (how ironic.)

Hijiri introduces himself and Kazusa asks if she can call him "Hi-chan". Manga Corps., the publisher of this series in English, thought it would be cute to leave the "-chan" in there for the five weaboos who are watching this show in English. But as most weaboos do, they slaughtered the pronunciation of "chan" terribly.

But life goes on...

Hijiri apologizes for taking her father's cornea, as if he were the one who killed Kazusa's father. Kazusa, despite her age, hides her tears and tells him that it's okay, and she's glad that he was able to see again.

She makes him pinky promise that he'll play the violin for her. Hijiri is only too glad to accept.

"First you make a promise
And if you lie,
You'll have to drink poison,
and then you'll die!"

What a song to sing to a little kid. And in front of a nun, no less. And here I always thought "Ring Around the Rosy" was an awful song. It's good to know that Yami no Matsuei has the cryptic children's songs area covered.

After he meets with Kazusa he goes home and angsts for a bit about God knows what.

"I've been in a state of despair since then."

For what? Meeting with a little girl?

"My chest feels tight and sometimes it's hard to breathe"

Yes, Hijiri. That's when you go to the FREAKING DOCTOR. Geez, and I thought Americans were bad about not going to the doctor.

"I feel as though I killed Kazusa's father."

Yes, you totally killed a man that you've never even seen or had any contact with. Right.

"That night I felt guilty about my own existence for the first time."

As a continuously depressed teenager, my first thought was "welcome to the club, Hijiri.' Now as a sporadically depressed adult, my thought is, "The first time? Really?". You've NEVER felt guilty about your life before? Despite that fact that you're probably freeloading off of the government or your dead parents' money? Really?

Regardless...

BACK TO SCHOOL! SCHOOL IS ALWAYS GOOD

In trouble already, are we, Hijiri

But it turns out that, no, Hijiri is NOT in trouble. Quite the contrary.

The principal welcomes Hijiri back and asks him about playing the violin at an upcoming performance, sure that his "health problem" won't deter him from playing well. Sounds to me like the guy just cares more about this performance than Hijiri's health, but Hijiri is happy to accept. That's just how dedicated he is.

This is the principal. Why he looks this way we'll never know

Back in class, Hijiri meets with all of his friends.

Haiya, guyz!

For whatever reason Hijiri has his own personal fanclub, with both male and female members who are SO GLAD to have him back.

"Is your eye all better now?

"We're so glad to have you back. While you were gone we little people were pushed into a corner"

Something like that. I don't remember the exact quote. But come on, "we little people"? Who talks like that about themselves? Or anyone else unless you're talking about the munchkins from The Wizard of Oz or those wonkas from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

"You know, those....umm...oz people....the little people?"
"You mean the munchkins, dummy?"
"Yeah....those."

I have yet to see the phrase "little people" used outside of contexts like that. I certainly would not expect a group of students to call themselves by that name.

REGARDLESS, the group is extremely happy to have the boss man back again.

Especially this guy, whose sole purpose is to nod in agreement to whatever anyone in Hijiri's group says.

Five minutes back at school and Hi-chan (as he will now be dubbed ) gets into a fight with one of the rich, pompous boys at the school.

I'm too sexy for my...hair? OR something

I am about 95% convinced that this guy has Joey Wheeler's voice from Yugioh, so it is very difficult to take him seriously. But anyway, he comes into the room with his three goonies and goes on to complain about how Hi-chan is the principal's pet and how HE should have gotten the part. Hi-chan argues that he only got into that school because of his dad who is wealthy and Joey Wheeler wannabe is PISSED. He tries to beat the crap out of Hi-chan, but Hi-chan is awesomely strong (for some inexplicable reason) and blocks his fist.

Hijiri: "Stupid idiot. You incompetent rich boys better stay out of this."
Joey wannabe's friends" "Hey, what did you say?"

Stay out of what? Studying the violin? O.o So only poor orphan boys can do that? Guess a lot of my students are in trouble, then.

And seriously, who talks like that? I don't remember the arguments at my high school, or even college, being as ridiculous as that.

Joey wannabe has a pretty awesome comeback though...

"Don't you forget this, Mr. Minase. I'll show you what happens when you come across me!"

He says as he storms out of the room with his goons. I can't say I remember the last time I met a bully who was polite enough to use the word "Mr."... And to be honest, with the weaboo nature of "Hi-chan", I'm kind of surprised he didn't call him "Minase-san" or even "Minase-kun" or something... Way to be inconsistent, Manga Corps.

While Hijiri is busy crowing at his victory, his eye decides to show him who's really boss..And bossly pain it does deliver.

Hi-chan's left eye starts causing him pain, which he attributes to a headache. All of his friends are freaking out, and Hijiri decides to visit the school infirmary to get some medicine.

Now I think Hi-chan is pretty lucky here. Over at my school there WAS no infirmary, so if you got sick you had to go to the main office where they glared at you for asking for aspirin because they were afraid you were trying to take it for something you didn't actually have (no lie). There was a rumored sick bed somewhere in the school, though I never saw it myself. So most students just sucked it up and dealt with the pain until they could go home. But Japan, and the rest of the modern world, are far beyond that. They even employ NURSES for their infirmaries.

Or they're supposed to, anyway...

Meet Tsuzuki, who's apparently filling in for the doctor who is out at the moment.

Tsuzuki, who also seems to have bought his degree from Ebay, tries to be helpful and give Hijiri medicine for a headache.

"Take this herbal medicine!"
"That's for the stomach."

Hijiri finds the right medicine and takes it (without water too. GAG) and leaves the infirmary, telling Tsuzuki to "get it together".

But Tsuzuki is too distracted by noticing how similar Hijiri looks to Hisoka.

"The resemblance is uncanny"

I am not digging the glasses, Tsuzuki.

Later on that day a strange person enters the music room.

Who could that be?

yaminokaitou @ 2011-08-01T13:32:00

2011-08-01T18:32:28Z

So apparently LJ hates long posts?

I've got another big Yami no Matsuei picture spam post coming up... once LJ decides to behave and let me post again.

On a different note, I am suffering from mosquito bites. I think I might have some kind of allergy to Korean mosquitoes, because I get big itchy welts whenever I get a mosquito bite... I NEVER EVER get marks like that back in the States... >_<

I am in constant pain. I can't wait for summer to be over. Constant monsoons and itchy mosquitoes? Korea in summer is like hell.

yaminokaitou @ 2011-07-31T13:06:00

2011-07-31T18:06:06Z

+ Not sure what to post about. I had a roommate all last week, so I wasn't around a lot. One of my coworkers left this week and for some reason they had the new recruit come in a week early. My boss had her in a love motel, but that's no place to stay for an entire week, so I offered to let her stay in my apartment. It was kind of a weird change. I've had my parents stay here before, of course, but that was different since they were family. Regardless, it wasn't so bad. I just had a very strange sleep schedule due to the fact that she wasn't on our time yet.

Anyway, now she's moved into her new apartment now, and she seems pretty happy with it. It's a lot nicer furnished than mine, which makes me a bit jealous, though I do have to say that it's pretty satisfying knowing that you got most of your furniture, even if it's not that great.

+ I've been trying to get back into dramas again. I tried City Hunter, though the first episode is super boring. I've heard it gets better as it goes along, but yeah... I also started re-watching Personal Preference, which features the same actor. And recently the Ouran High School Host Club drama started up, so I started watching that too. I'm kind of at a loss as to what to watch though, as none of the dramas I've seen so far have really peeked my attention. So, any suggestions, f-list?

I've seen:
Korean-
Coffee Prince, Boys Over Flowers, You're Beautiful, Secret Garden, Goong, My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, Full House,

Japanese-
Mukodono 2003, Hana Kimi, Hana Yori Dango, Project Daisakusen, Absolute Boyfriend, At Home Dad, Kimi wa Pet,

Taiwanese-
ToGetHer: Superstar Express

Speaking of which, here are my thoughts about Ouran:

Overall, the episode is really cute, but kind of disappointing. The comic-style comedy with Tamaki's heart actually throbbing out of his chest and getting hit by random concrete kanji is okay in the manga and anime, but not in real life. I really kind of wish they had just left that bit out. The other thing is the actors. I'm okay with most of them, but I don't really like the guy who plays Tamaki. He's not that bad or anything, but he's not fitting looks-wise for the role. He just looks....weird. There's something about his face that just looks off, like he got plastic surgery or something. This wouldn't surprise me either.... -_-

Regardless, I will continue to watch it, if only for the fact that it's so ridiculous. XD

+ This weekend I went to the zoo. We went Saturday afternoon, but didn't get there until about 3:30. The zoo closes at 7:00. The zoo contains a lot of walking, so we didn't actually get to do a lot. Plus it was humid, so the animals were pretty lethargic. I'm planning on taking another trip back there in the fall when it's a bit cooler, so hopefully the animals will be a bit more lively then.

+ I saw the new X-Men movie. It was okay, but I can't say I was super excited about it. I like X-Men and everything, but I guess I wasn't really interested in First Class from the get go. I'm thinking about watching Underworld 2 next, and then marathoning the Harry Potter films. It's been a while since I saw them, and I've never really seen them in complete order before. But now that I've seen them all I feel like I can marathon it. I also really want to track down Mr. Popper's Penguins, I never knew it was an actual movie until recently when my parents mentioned they saw it, but I read the book as a kid and remembered enjoying it. I have the hunch that the movie's going to be absolutely ridiculous, but I want to see it regardless. At the very least I can be amused by it, I guess.

+ This week starts the real level-up tests at work. I am looking forward to having the time to relax. We have to be there, of course, but mostly as a proctor. Proctoring is a piece of cake compared to actually teaching. This time we're going to have a TOEFL representative come and proctor all the classes though, so I'm a bit nervous about that. But I'm sure everything well be all right...at least I hope so. After that then it's three more weeks and then I get rid of these kids and get new ones. That's one thing I'm really, really looking forward to.

Yami no Matsuei, episode 1 pic spam

2011-07-20T18:47:55Z

Descendants of Darkness (闇の末裔 Yami no Matsuei?) is a fantasy manga series created by Yoko Matsushita. The story revolves around shinigami. These Guardians of Death work for Enma Daiō, the king of the dead, sorting out the expected and unexpected arrivals to the Underworld

Today I did the unexpected. I finally managed to download a complete batch of Yami no Matsuei episodes. During high school Yami no Matsuei was my favorite show in the world, next to Escaflowne (strange mix, eh?). After finding Japanese-only online for eons, I finally managed to find the dub version of the show.

Why dub? Why the hell not? In addition to English being the BESTEST LANGUAGE IN THE WORLD (not), Yami no Matsuei also features some pretty epic voice actors, such as:

LIAM O'BRIEN as KUROSAKI HISOKA (also known for Dist in Tales of the Abyss)

and

DAN GREEN as Tsuzuki Asato (also known for Aya in Weiss Kreuz Gluhen and Yugi/Yami Yugi)

YOU CAN NOT GET MUCH MORE EPIC THAN DAN GREEN.

At any rate, I devoted a half hour of my free time to this wonderfully awful 2001 anime while I shook my head at my previous self for loving this ridiculous show so much (I still love it btw). I am missing some parts, but I'm too lazy to go back and add them in. Not to mention I'm super tired. So enjoy what you've got!

Anyway, picture spam!

No title because you should freaking know what you're watching. If you don't, you have issues.

Crappy CG!! Where is all that smoke coming from?

unsubtitled in the English dub. Naisu. So you're stuck wondering just what the heck this actually means.

quick scan of the work place.

He's the first zoom up we see, so he's obviously important. duh.

Finally we get the main title of the show in putrid red and white font

White vs Black!!! Because White = Evil

Standing around in trench coats. You see this a lot in this show.

This scene freaks me out more than any other. Dolls are scary, yanno?

WATARI!

Tatsumi, who has an obsession with covering his face

SPOILERS!

Our crow-feeted villain, Muraki. Mmhm, sexy.

NUDITY IN THE OPENING!!

More epic standing around in trench coats

because trench coats are cool

I was seriously scared of red moons after this. Any time the moon would change colors I would run inside my house, fearing that Muraki would molest me. O.o

And finally the ending finishes and we get to our show. Yay!

Our first victim! (she always looked like a park ranger to me)
I'm sorry, but if you're innocently walking around late at night when no one else is around, you deserve to be shot. Especially when there's a rogue vampire on the loose. Silly girl.

One of the many random church scenes in this episode

Our nameless victim runs out of luck

Vampire is HUNGRY

Onto brighter and happier places!

Now it is finally subtitled. Yay.

This scene reminded me of Weiss. I almost expected Persia to pop up and be like "Hunters of the Knight, deny these evil beasts their tomorrow!" or something cheesy like that. Gosh, I love Weiss.

Worried looking team.
You aren't supposed to know who these people are and you never will since the show does a lousy job introducing them.

Their names, however, are:

blondie: Watari- Watari is a scientist and always in his lab. Despite that, he's also a guardian of death. He was raised in Osaka, thus he has a Kansai-ben dialect.

the bird: Gushoushin- He is in charge of the library and managing documents, though sometimes he goes out on missions. He has a twin who looks nearly identical to him.

the old man: Konoe- Konoe is the chief of the the guardian of death department. He is in charge of sending the GoDs on missions. He's kinda crabby toward Tsuzuki, but he does care about him deep down. I think.

brown haired guy: Tatsumi- Tatsumi used to be Tsuzuki's partner, but Tsuzuki reminded him of his dead mother (seriously) and Tatsumi couldn't deal with it. So he quit being Tsuzuki's partner. He's now a secretary. He has dark magic and is actually pretty powerful. Despite his cold attitude toward Tsuzuki, he actually does care for him and helps him out quite a lot.

Tsuzuki is "out on lookout", but you wouldn't know that since it's not subbed.

Sunglasses are cooool

Hiding in the shadows. Because he's too embarrassed to buy sweets?

Yes, standing behind the building in sunglasses and a trenchcoat, even though it looks super hot out, is our protagonist, Tsuzuki. Tsuzuki is infamous for being lazy and liking to eat. This has given him a poor reputation among others in the company. Regardless of this, he's actually pretty powerful and has 12 shikigami who serve under him, though you don't find that out till later. Tsuzuki no longer has a partner, so they spend some time fixing him up with one.

Looks suspiciously like Cinnabon.

At least Wakaba-chan returns with the item.

This is one of the few scenes in the series where you'll actually see see Wakaba. It's a shame because she's one of the few actual girls in this show. Wakaba is also a guardian of death, though she has a different partner. She's a lively, cheerful girl with some special abilities.

The boss-man

Pleeease give me back my cinnamon roll. Please!

Tatsumi! "It's not nice to tease Tsuzuki so"

Chibi warning #1

"Let's share it!"

OK, so recently there's been a case of people dying from what seems to be the work of vampires. This is happening in Nagaski, which is in the Kyushu area (I learned all of my geography from Yami no Matsuei). Tsuzuki is supposed to meet his new partner there and take up the investigation. In the mean time, he's got the chicken for back up.

Konoe says that human lives are recorded by means of candles. When a candle burns out, the human belonging to that candle dies and their name is recorded, as well as their reason for dying. But recently many people have been dying before their candles burn out. So naturally everyone is a bit concerned.

The hall of candles, where the record of the dead are stored!

It looks so warm and inviting, until you step inside...

Creepy

A talking chicken. Think what you want.

Konoe gives Tsuzuki 5000 yen for souvenirs. Tsuzuki is sad because he thought it was for food.

The count, who works in the hall of candles

Other than Muraki, he is the creepiest character in this show, even creepier than low pitched talking chickens. His body is apparently transparent and he has an obsession with Tsuzuki. He even has Tsuzuki pr0n on his computer. O.o

Yet the chief drinks tea with him anyway. IT'S BUSINESS, YO!

Tsuzuki heads out to Nagasaki. Five minutes after his arrival, Tsuzuki bumps into a pale girl who leaves a bloody red stain on his shirt. His first reaction? Lipstick.

This girl is obviously suspicious.

"It's not lipstick; it's blood!"

Tsuzuki comes to this conclusion after seeing a vampire-bit boy laying not five steps from where the pale white-haired girl came running.

the chicken, Gushoushin, tries to help Tsuzuki, but gets trapped by ajumma

Tsuzuki, realizing it was the girl chases after her, but he cannot keep up with a vampire. So he runs around some more.Tsuzuki runs to a church, where he meets an unusual character.

Our nemesis, Muraki! (but you don't know that yet)

Muraki is so evil I'm surprised he was not repelled by the church the moment he came in the door, or at least chased around by priests with holy water. But in Japan, it seems, churches are only for show, as Tsuzuki and Muraki seem to be the only people in the area.

A closer look at Muraki

Isn't it awkward to see out of only one eye?

Tsuzuki asks about the girl and Muraki, who was randomly crying inside the church (WTF?) tells Tsuzuki he hasn't seen any girl. Tsuzuki apologizes for disturbing him and heads out.

As the scene pans out, we get a better look at the church and Muraki.

It's symbolism! (See, I told you churches were creepy!)

Running around again, Tsuzuki pauses and considers his options. He could "jump", but that would be too risky. While he's staring off into space, he feels something hard press against his back.

Enter the Emo.

"What should I do? I can't jump in my human form!"

Tsuzuki is worried about jumping in his human form in front of people. He needn't worry. I don't think anyone would notice considering they stand in place the entire scene, not moving or even talking. Lazy, much?

If the people don't notice a sixteen-year-old boy holding a gun to you, they won't notice your jumping, Tsuzuki.

Meet Kurosaki Hisoka

At sixteen, Hisoka is one of the younger guardians of death. He is forced to work with Tsuzuki as a partner. He has special psychic powers that enable him to read peoples' thoughts or see their pasts by touching them or something that they touched. Hisoka comes from a very traditional Japanese family that has a whole slew of issues, but that has no bearing on the actual anime.

I don't know what to say about this picture other than, wtf?

"I saw you sneaking around! You're a vampire!"

Tsuzuki freaks out and is all "he's just a kid" and Hisoka says that he's pretty bad to be caught by "just a kid". It is then made apparent that Hisoka can read minds. Hisoka tries to put a bullet through him for being a vampire, but if he could read minds then don't you think he could figure out from reading Tsuzuki's that Tsuzuki is obviously not a vampire? Plot holes.

Gushoushin picks a convenient time to interrupt

The talking chicken arrives on the screen just in time to prevent Hisoka from shooting Tsuzuki (though since they're dead it shouldn't matter if Tsuzuki's shot, right?). He then goes on to explain that Hisoka is Tsuzuki's new partner.

"He's your new partner!"

And they go eat at Chinatown to celebrate!

Tsuzuki asks some awkward questions. "So, how did you die?"

Not exactly dinner conversation...

Tsuzuki pours himself some red wine, 'cuz that's what the cool kids drink

And Hisoka takes the opportunity to ask him why he's got the lowest position in the company if he's such an elite big shot (this is the first time we hear of this, so don't be alarmed if you're confused). Apparently being a harbinger of death is the crappiest job available, and Hisoka can't figure out why he does it.

Poor Gushoushin can't contain himself as he explains that Tsuzuki, despite his mere 70 years of labor at the company, is in fact in the lowest position, mostly because he's lazy.

Hisoka takes this opportunity to get angry and demands to leave.

"I'm, like, so out of here!"

(that still cracks me up, even to this day)

Tsuzuki takes the opportunity to steal some of Hisoka's food because he "thought Hisoka didn't want it". Hisoka retaliates by starting a food fight, though in this version they are fighting over the food using chopsticks. Tsuzuki is a total food addict, but he is no match for Hisoka, who has both speed and agility in his favor.

Hisoka wins!

Unfortunately, Tsuzuki spiked that particular food with hot sauce and Hisoka can't cope. He grabs the nearest glass, which happens to be some red wine, and downs in one gulp.

And he's out

Apparently Hisoka is a total lightweight when it comes to alcohol. Even one glass is enough to make him pass out. He better be careful in the future!

Tsuzuki and Gushoushin bring Hisoka back to the hotel and they chillax on the bed while Tsuzuki watches a sleeping Hisoka.

"He's cute when he keeps his mouth shut"

Did I mention this is considered a shounen-ai anime?

There are fireworks in the sky (bad CG!)

Fireworks go off outside and we learn from Gushoushin that the Nagasaki Singing Festival is starting tonight. They turn on the TV to get all the latest news and see a young girl who looks similar to the deathly pale vampire-girl Tsuzuki saw earlier. They decide it might be Maria Wong.

The next morning the sun is out and everything is bright and beautiful. Tsuzuki's in a chipper mood, but Hisoka does not feel so good. He has a hangover (from one glass of wine, seriously?). So Tsuzuki surprises him with a beverage.

Tsuzuki could be an spokesman for this: "It's refreshing. I promise".

Refreshing is great, but I doubt soda or even juice will help anyone get over a hangover.

Hisoka acts all tsundere toward Tsuzuki for buying him a drink.

"It's not like I've accepted you as my partner or anything"</center>

Gosh, Hisoka. Would it kill you to just say "thank you"? >_<

Tsuzuki and Hisoke meet up with Gushoushin in front of the broadcast station where Maria Wong is supposedly staying. Gushoushin takes that time to say ta-ta to Tsuzuki and Hisoka, asking Hisoka to "look after Tsuzuki" (nevermind that it's only been Tsuzuki looking after Hisoka so far). Tsuzuki and Hisoka decide to go and try to find Maria Wong. So they head inside the station.

They are sneaking around here door when they meet Mrs. Wong, Maria's mother.

How does "THIS"

come from "THIS"?

Mrs. Wong is, understandably, upset that there are two strange men standing outside her daughter's room. She yells at them and Tsuzuki makes up some lame excuse about how they wanted to get her autograph. Hisoka, on the other hand, has a set of flashbacks that show Maria leaving her room and apparently heading toward a warehouse, which he activates just by touching the doorknob.

"I can sense her spiritual residue"

Okay, Hisoka. Whatever.

Anyway, the gang heads off toward the warehouse where Maria Wong is busy seducing some poor guy.

Barbie has a new rival

damn, her waist is small!

The poor boy is right about to fall victim to Maria's vampire-ness when Tsuzuki runs into the room with Hisoka. But before they can do anything else, a large dragon appears and Tsuzuki is left fighting it.

Boxes and other things fall off the shelves and one conveniently hits the poor guy. Tsuzuki yells at Hisoka, telling him to stand back and then go save the guy. And Hisoka actually listens. See, Hisoka DOES have some brains! ^_^

"What did I get myself into" is the look he's got on his face here.

Tsuzuki summons one of the twelve gods that serve him, in other words his shikigami. (You are not supposed to know about that yet, either)

"Come forth, Suzaku!"

If you close your eyes really tightly and ignore the cryptic church music, you can imagine this coming from Yami Yugi.

"I summon you, Dark Magician!"

Suzaku is cool, until you find out she has a thing for Tsuzuki

Tolda she was cool

Action packed screen shot!

So the dragon and phoenix fight for a little. Then Tsuzuki yells.

"[Suzaku], EXPLODE!

And the dragon explodes.

Everything ends well. The man is saved and Hisoka and Tsuzuki found the whereabouts of the vampire. But not ALL is well... In the shadows lurks a dark soul whose very actions may spell DEATH for our young shinigami! Oh, and the vampire chick hasn't actually been caught yet.

"I am watching you" Who could it be?

Will Tsuzuki catch the vampire? Will Hisoka stop being tsundere and accept Tsuzuki as his partner? And will we meet more of this mysterious man? Find out next time on episode 2: Vampire's Lure.

Bye-bye for now!

Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Information

2011-07-18T04:35:27Z

release date: Q4 2011
developed by: Nintendo EAD
published by: Nintendo
director: Hidemaro Fujibayashi
producer: Eiji Aonuma

Interesting facts:
+Prequel to Ocarina of Time (meaning no Ganondorf?). It is the earliest game in the series.
+ Make use of the Wii MotionPlus peripheral for sword-fighting, with a revised Wii Remote pointing system used for targeting.
+ Produce Eiji Aonuma has stated that the game's plot is to be comparable to a school drama.
+ Skyward Sword connects to the story of Ocarina of Time, and elaborates on the reason for Ganondorf's appearance.
+ skyward Sword will have orchestrated music, composed by Hajime Wakai and Koji Kondo, who provided additional compositions.
+ The style of the game was inspired by the French artist Paul Cezanne and Miyamoto's love for impressionist art. Realistic visuals were dropped to allow for more exaggerated character designs, emphasizing the enemies' attacks and weaknesses.
+ Birds instead of horses- the traditional way of traveling in Skyloft is by way of bird and every person in Skyloft has his or her own feathered friend to get around with. Link has a special and rare one which allows him to travel through the clouds and access the mainland below.
+ Nintendo is going to try to release it in all the regions at the same time so everyone can play it together, which may explain the delay a little more.

Plot

(Link flying with Zelda, with whom he has affections for.)

Link is born and raised in Skyloft, a group of islands floating in the sky. During the game the player will revisit Skyloft several times, similiar to how Link revisited the town in Majora's Mask repeatedly. Also, like Majora's Mask, there are a lot of gave events which involve the town people that get intertwined into the main story. Link and Zelda go to the same boarding school, and there are teachers and a principal there as well.

(Skyloft- a land separated into several islands floating in the sky)

Link leads a normal life there until one day he discovers the Skyward Sword, which leads him to another, previously unknown, land beneath that is ruled by evil forces. Link uses the sword to travel back and forth between the sky and the land, and as he does so the mystery of why the two worlds became separated is gradually revealed. Later on in the game the sword becomes the Master Sword and assumes the form of a female figure while giving Link advice. (your new Navi)

Unlike previous installments, Zelda is not a princess in SS, but a childhood friend of Link's. They''re also schoolmates.

(Zelda is a childhood friend of Link)

During the game Zelda disappears and Link has to find her. He's opposed on this quest by the Demon Lord Ghirahim, a mysterious and powerful figure who rules the surface world and wishes to kidnap Zelda for unknown purposes.

(Demon Lord Ghirahim. Kinda reminds me of Kefka.)

Battle System

(battle system in Skyward Sword)

The gameplay of SS departs from the normal series' traditional flow of alternating over-world and dungeon exploration. The controls are revised, with swordplay based on the Wii MotionPlus peripheral, which allows one-to-one motion control between the Wii Remote and in the in-game sword.

Battles do not focus solely on timing attacks, but also on their target, such as the directions in which the enemies are hit.

In addition to the sword, there are the following items:
+ a mechanical flying beetle to grab items at a distance
+ a whip
+ bombs
+ a slingshot and bow, both are controlled with Wii MotionPlus.

A stamina meter will allow fro sprinting and running up walls.

Drinking health-restoring potions will not interrupt the gameplay anymore, and the maps were made easier to read, making it harder to get lost.

The player will have the option to turn off the heads-up display.
(The HUD is frequently used to simultaneously display several pieces of information including the main character's health, items, and an indication of game progression (such as score or level).

(Skyward Sword with no HUD)

My Opinion

Skyward Sword looks pretty interesting, though I'm still not sold on the art style, but oh well. I like the idea that Link can actually go over walls this time- it adds to a lot more areas where you can walk around. I also like the idea that Zelda is not a princess this time but a normal girl. But I'm disappointed that we'll have to wait until the end of the year to play this game when it was already announced so long ago. This is almost as bad as Twilight Princess, which was notorious for getting delayed. However, according to Nintendo Skyward Sword will NOT be put on the Wii U and the game itself is complete, meaning we should be able to play it soon. Let's keep our fingers crossed!

Source: wikipedia, IGN
Image source: various

Video Game Post

2011-07-17T05:00:50Z

This is perhaps the first weekend where I've done nothing but lounge around, playing my Wii. And it's been awesome. Seriously.

Not much to write home about. I'm eagerly anticipating Skyward Sword's release. Ever since Nintendo announced they were finished with the game I've been waiting to hear a release date. All I've heard so far is December 31st by some person on youtube, so I don't know how much to trust that... At this rate, it seems, I'll be getting Xillia before Skyward Sword, which is a real bummer since I can't even play the game.

Speaking of which, it seems the price went up? I remember buying Graces F for 65 USD, but now Xillia is 70 USD? What's with that? Is the American money that weak? >_< I'm planning on buying mine locally this time instead of importing it though. Last time when Graces came out I found the game for 50,000 won at the video game markets, so I'm hoping to do the same with Xillia. I will most likely miss out on the pre-order bonus, but...oh well.

In addition to Xillia, the only other game I'm looking into at the moment is Tales of Graces F in English for the PS3, which isn't scheduled to come out until 2012. Lame. It kinda makes me think they should have waited a bit longer to announce it, rather than announce it and then leave us in the dark for a year until it's ready to be released. Oh, Namco. X_X

As for EU games, Xenoblade should be coming out this year. I'm pretty excited about that, actually. Despite the fact that it won't be out in the States, there's a good chance I can get it emulated on my Wii, meaning I'll have the ability to play the PAL version in English! This is a good thing because I played the Japanese version and got completely stuck while the game tried explaining the battle system to me. It was a real pain, and I'm not looking forward to trying it out again in Japanese. I think it might be a little easier in English; at least that's what I hope.

In the mean time I guess I'll keep truckin' along with KoR and maybe even start up a file of The Last Story, since its PAL release is, from what I've heard, 2012. I'm not expecting to be able to play it in English unless it comes out in January or February of 2012, so I guess it's Japanese for me...

So what games are you looking forward to, F-list?

Harry Potter 7-2

2011-07-13T17:49:34Z

Preachin' to the choir, man. I know if Nintendo released these games, I'd definitely buy Last Story, Xenoblade and Pandora's Tower, at the very least.

I just got back from watching the last Harry Potter movie. I'm surprised because apparently we got it before the United States. Anyway, it came out today, so we went to the 11:45 showing. I'm just gonna say this now, I LOVE Korean movie theaters. There were only about 15-20 people in the theater, the majority of them being my coworkers and a few other foreigners. There's no talking during the movie, except by the foreigners, and the seats are arranged in such a way that you never have to worry about having to look over someone's head. And the best part? ASSIGNED SEATING. Yes, this is awesome. We went around 8:00 to get our tickets and came back at 11:40. We found out seats right away and didn't have to look for a row that could fit all of us. And did I mention the lack of commercials? That is awesome too. It's not to say that Korea doesn't have commercials before the movie, but they only had about three, and only one announcement to turn off your cell phone- and that wasn't even voiced. There was no annoying music playing before the movie like there is in the States, the floor wasn't disgusting, the seats were comfty, and you can bring food in. You don't even have to sneak it in. Yep. Korean movie theaters are epic. Oh, and did I mention I only had to pay 7,000 won? (roughly 6.50)

</a>
Harry Potter display. They had a tarot card thing too, but no one was using it.

Transformer 3 set up

And now sleep. I need it badly.

ToS-R remake!?

2011-07-13T14:16:09Z

【噂】『テイルズオブグレイセス』が秋からアニメ化、TOS＆ラタトスクが1タイトルになって3DSリメイク

Is this for real? According to this, they're going to make a Tales of Graces anime in the Fall and they're going to remake Tales of Symphonia and Tales of Symphonia: Knight of Ratatosk as one game for the 3DS.

here's the link: http://blog.esuteru.com/archives/3901495.html

How reputable is this? Does anyone know?

If it is true, I'm gonna have to invest in a 3DS, I guess....

So itchy

2011-07-09T16:44:27Z

My Wii has started buzzing again. It is SUCH a pain. At this point in time I'm seriously tempted to just rom all the games I own so I won't have to hear that buzzing anymore... Once LoZ: Skyward Sword and Xenoblade come out in English, I'm going to go back and put some more games on my Wii, so I might just ask for roms of some of my games...

If that's the case, I'll ask for:

Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Xenoblade Chronicles ENG

Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World ENG
Fragile Dreams
Arc Rise Fantasia ENG
Endless Ocean (not too sure about this one since I have the sequel now)

Interestingly enough, my Wii already has all the other games I own on it. And several games that I'm not really interested at all in...

Today was my friend's birthday, so I hung out with him all day. We went to Itaewon, then COEX mall and finally Seoul Station. Seoul Station was a major disappointment because it seems that they seemed to have closed down my Book-Off. I even asked a guy in the building about it and he told me I had to go to Shinchon. Boo. I was a little disappointed about it, though I'm happy that there is at least the one in Shinchon.

Over the course of a night I seem to have gotten some kind of mosquito bites. I have these big red marks, sorta like welts, on my arms and legs and they itch like crazy. I've been using my anti-itching lotion, but it doesn't seem to be working very well... I made sure my windows are locked securely, so hopefully I won't run into that problem again. >_<

Tomorrow is church! I wasn't able to go last week because I had to help my friend with his computer problem, so I'm really looking forward to being able to go tomorrow. Let's hope it doesn't rain all day like it's supposed to.

yaminokaitou @ 2011-07-01T09:44:00

2011-07-01T14:44:38Z

Still having a shitty time at work. Now I'm being told that my class isn't FUN enough, and that some of the students complained about it. Seriously, what the heck. I just can't win.

I'm kind of starting to regret coming back. I should have just said farewell to Korea this past February and moved on in my life.... I just feel like I'm treading over broken glass, trying not to get cut. I'm really tired of living like this...

I really don't know what happened. I was fine before I left. I can't tell if this is just a bad semester for me or if I somehow lost my touch. I'm beginning to think it's a mixture of both though. I really only enjoy two of my classes this term, and one of them is a split class, meaning I teach only one of the days. I'm really starting to wonder just what it is I'm supposed to be doing, and if I'm just wasting time here...なんか帰りたい

Maybe I wasn't listening to what I was supposed to be doing and made a rash decision, and now that decision is coming back to bite me in the butt. I just have to keep my chin up and work through this semester and hope and pray that next semester is better. That's really all I can do at this time... But it doesn't make me any less upset about what's happening to me. I just wish there was an easy way out sometimes, other than doing something I know I'd regret.

To make myself feel better about everything that is happening, I'm thinking about what I want to do after I finish Korea. I'm thinking about either going to Japan to study for a few months or going home and going back to college to get a master's in TESOL. I have no plans of coming back to Korea, as of now, but I wouldn't mind teaching adults English in the USA. I do like to teach, I'm just no good at disciplining and maintaining a classroom, I guess. If the former, does anyone have any good programs to recommend? I'd really like to go for a three to four month intensive semester in the Spring or Summer, if possible. That way if I decided to go to university I could have some time in Japan before I leave.

Tomorrow we're going to the Japanese prison. I'm going to bring my nice camera. If anyone is interested, I'll post some shots when I come back.

I'm not quite sure how I feel about the voice acting... I'm not very familiar with British voice acting outside of The Lord of the Rings and whatnot, so I'm not very sure how well this is done, but it'd be nice to have the game in English. At any rate, I heard the game is dual audio, anyway. I'm thinking of seeing if I can get it on my Wii once it's released.

Aya's Gamelist

Wii
+ The Last Story
+ Pandora's Tower
+ Xenoblade Chronicles
+ Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

PS3
+ Tales of Graces F ENG
+ Tales of Xillia

That's about it for now. Of the released games in the USA, my list is actually pretty light. Here's hoping Nintendo releases them all in English eventually.

Get out of the screen, Milla, Jude.

2011-06-28T17:03:19Z

I am totally getting the game for this guy:

Alvin, I am coming for youuuuuuuuuuuu. Machinasai!

Clubbing...and other things

2011-06-26T07:50:42Z

So yesterday my coworkers took me....clubbing. It was my coworker's birthday and she insisted I come with. I really didn't want to, but they had done a whole stint for my birthday, so I thought I should go at least once.

We all dressed up pretty and went off to Hongdae, the area around Hongik University that is known for its clubbing. In total we visited three bars and one ska dance place. The second was the best, if only because it was small and I didn't get crushed by people half the time. They gave me some fruity alcoholic beverage, which I tried to drink and gave up after a few mouthfuls because it had an awful aftertaste.

I get yelled at by my one coworker because some guys were giving me "the look" or something and I apparently either didn't notice or glared at them, when really I was just looking away quick because I was embarrassed. So no, I did not get picked up. What a shame. Instead, I spent the whole night worrying about my dress, which had issues, and daydreaming about other things because I was seriously bored out of my skull. Oh, and avoiding being knocked into by other people, especially at the ska place.

To be honest. I WAS a little disappointed because it would have been nice to be pretend dance with a guy, but at the same time I know that the type of guy I'm looking for would NOT be at a place like that. ^^;;

Oh, and did I mention we were having a monsoon? There were more than just a few broken umbrellas. The wind was brutal and it rained all Saturday. Of course by the time we were ready to leave early Sunday morning the rain had stopped. Figures.

So in conclusion, they may be fun places to see guys and try to get picked up, but since I don't like dancing in front of other people, having my ear drums blown out by hearing the word "fuck" to music over and over, or being forced to drink nasty fruit cocktails.

Blech.

On a completely different note, earlier that day I went to Book-Off and got some stuff...

Yami no Matsuei, volume 4
- this concludes my collection of YnM. For now, anyway.

Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride novel
- I found this in Japanese and could not resist. Mostly got for reading practice though, since I don’t have the ability to read my RnK volumes yet.

W-inds CD- It was three bucks and it had Super Lover on it. What could be better?

They had a lot of other neat stuff like the Tales of Destiny 2 OST and an Escaflowne artbook, but most of that kind of stuff was pretty expensive. I was really jealous of the Koreans because there was a whole wall of Korean manwha for 1,000 won, where the cheapest we get in Japanese is 2,000. I didn't see any 07-Ghost, which made me feel kind of depressed. Since the manga's not being released in the US anymore I've had half a mind to pick it up in Japanese, but it's hard finding used copies... I'll have to check out the Seoul Station Book-Off one of these days and see if I have better luck.

I'm looking forward to working this week. There's gonna be a lot of down time, which means lots of videogame time for me. I'll need it, as I actually have to grind again in KoR.... O.o

not feeling too good right now.

2011-06-17T16:20:42Z

I had a pretty lousy time at work these past two days, and to make matters worse I'm coming down with a cold. My head has been hurting since this morning. The only way I can even function is by taking Tylenol and game facing it. It's pretty rough. I've been kind of depressed since yesterday, and my kids' less than positive attitude really didn't help much. My kids today pretty much refused to do any work and spent the entire class complaining how I was "boring" because I didn't play any games. Never mind the fact that we spent the first 10 or so minutes just talking about random crap instead of actually doing work. I was pretty fed up, but I was feeling out of it for the first two hours, so I had a really hard time cracking down on them. I was- am - pretty upset, but I'm really not sure what I could do unless I called out the Korean teacher to talk to them, and that would make me look worse. So instead I just did my best to conduct class normally and figure out just what their problem was. I guess now I'll have to try to revamp the class a little more to make it more interesting for them...

I'm planning on going to Yongsan tomorrow to get my Wii hacked. I'm planning on trying to get the following games for it:

Xenoblade
The Last Story
Tales of Graces
Tales of Symphonia: Knight of Ratatosk

Are there any more Japan-only Wii games you think I should look at?

I'm also considering getting my PS2 hacked, but I'm not so sure about doing it until it's closer to leaving time. If my Wii ends up getting killed I can just replace it later down the line with a Wii U, but I really don't want to have to replace my PS2 if it gets messed up. I do have a Korean PS2, but that would mean having to buy a transformer just to use with the two Japanese games I have for the system. In the end, it's better if I just get my PS2 hacked so I can play Japanese games on it. And I really don't want to use swap magic when I can get it hacked for just as cheap.

Anyway, hoping everything goes well tomorrow and I'm feeling better... X_X

If you're going to Korea....

2011-06-15T17:32:44Z

Since several of my f-list is in Korea, going to Korea or interested in Korea, I put together this list for you guys. I thought about posting it on my Korea blog, but I wasn't sure how many people frequented that page, so I thought it might get more traffic here. Anyway, this is information about what to bring and what not to bring when going to Korea. If anyone things I should add anything more, let me know! Also, if there are any questions that you have on products that I haven't listed, lemme know too! I'm just going over the basics.

Bring This:

+ deodorant- unless you want to pay 5-7,000 won for one stick (if you can even find it), bring it.
+ sheets- you can find them in Korea, but they're a bit expensive
+ shoes- Unless you wear a size 6 (US size, btw), bring your own shoes. It makes life a lot easier.
+ working electronics (eg: computer, usb stick, camera, SD memory cards, external harddrive)- Electronics are expensive in Korea. So make sure you won't have to replace your electronics while you're out here in Korea. Make sure your electronics are compatible with 220v!
+ e-reader- I'm not into e-readers much myself, but if you're big into books it's better just to bring some kind of e-reader. If you have a DS and an R4 card, you can actually turn your DS into an e-reader. Depending on where you live, it can be hard to find English books, though you CAN order books on whatthebook.com, provided you have a credit card or debit card.
+ lingerie- Like shoes, it can be hard to find stuff that fits. Bring your own. Especially bras.
+ clothing- This goes along the same line as shoes and lingerie. It can be hard to find stuff that fit. It's just best to bring your own.
+ bug spray- Koreans prefer roll on liquid spray, which takes forever to rub all over your body. They DO have spray, but the spray is basically to kill whatever mosquito you see. They DO have electric racquets for killing mosquitoes, which is absolutely hilarious, but I still think some kind of bug spray like OFF! just works better. Recommended for late summer when it's super hot and humid
+ bath towels- In Korea, a "bath towel" is about as big as a hand towel. You can find bath towels during the summer at select stores and at Costco, but it's best to just bring your own.
+ local spices- Odds are, the stuff from home will probably be hard to find, so maybe you want to bring your own. (also: honey, maple syrup)
+ cooking spray- they don't really use cooking spray here. They're more into cooking oil.
+ hair gel and other hair products- Korean hair does not equal Western style hair.... bring your own stuff.

Don't Bring This:

+ hair dryers, straighteners, curling irons- They have all of these in Korea, and chances are if your electricity is not 220v your hair care appliances won't work in Korea without a transformer. And who wants to use a transformer just to curl her hair? Any major store will have this, such as Lotte Mart, E-Mart or Techno Mart.
+ DVD Player- If you stop in by Yongsan you can get a region free DVD player that can even play AVI videos off of a usb stick or an SD card.
+ DVD collection- Korea has the fastest internet in the world. Just stream or download what you want. And if that's not enough, you can usually find bootlegs of whatever movie or TV show you want to watch, sometimes before the movie is even out in theaters.
+ dishes- Go to Daiso to pick up dishes and silverware. Do not shop at the normal dish section at Lotte Mart or E-Mart. They should have Daiso in a subway or even in Lotte Mart. It's sorta like a dollar store, and they have everything from dishes to decor to stationary stuff.
+ transformers/converters- I'd recommend getting these in Yongsan in Seoul. A transformer is far too heavy to be hauling on an airplane. Most stores won't have transformers, but those that will usually have 220 to 110. If you need 110 to 220, check out Yongsan. Korea uses European plugs, so if you have European appliances you shouldn't need a plug converter. If you DO need a plug converter, you should be able to find some at E-Mart or Lotte Mart near all the surge protectors and extension cords.
+ cell phone/mobile phone- Korean cell phones are pretty awesome. No dropped calls or anything. No doubt you'll be set up with a cell phone by your employer as soon as you get your alien registration card. Your original cell phone probably won't work anyway.
+ Learn Korean books- You can find these easily in Seoul if you look in the foreigner section. Or you can buy them from whatthebook.com.

And that's it for now! I'll let you know if there are any more updates ^^

Writer's Block: Does this job come with a crown?

2011-06-13T04:02:14Z

Definitely North Korea. I'd want to save those poor people from their moronic leaders and start prepping them for the 21st century. I'd go in there and build schools, bring in food, open up Pyeongyang to country dwellers,and add religious freedom to the mix. Though of course they'd probably hate me...at first.But hopefully after time they'd realize I was doing it for their benefit. I absolutely cannot stand Kim Jeong Il and his family....so North Korea's my definite first.

+ Went to Seoul this weekend with some friends. Myeongdong....Seoul Tower....Seoul Tourist Center...and Itaewon. All places I've been before, but it's nice to go with different people, yanno. The weather on Saturday was absolutely gorgeous, with a slight wind to counteract the heated sun.

We went to the bookstore where I wound up getting Stefan's Diary, volume 3. This is a trilogy based on the Vampire Diaries which tells the story of Stefan and Damon's early days as vampires. I got it because I was bored and it was the only thing I really thought looked interesting to read. I don't like picking books up on random unless it's something like that. Anyway, it was as lame as I thought it would be, but it wasn't that bad overall. There were a few inconsistencies with the original books that made me frown, but I know they're marketing it more toward the people who watched the show, and the show itself is extremely inconsistent to the series. I really, really wish LJ Smith would finish up the last of Night World books instead of milking Vampire Diaries to death...

+ Sunday we had a BBQ after church with hamburgers and hot dogs. I helped set up, so I spent nearly the entire day at the church and had to even skip the message. Too bad because it was an interesting one. Maybe I should see if someone took notes. Being at that church and listening to people has taught me a lot about why other Christians do what they do and believe what they believe. Even if I don't feel comfortable with it, I may becoming less abrasive about it... I don't know. I still don't think I could fully accept it or really understand how God feels about it, but at least I can see how they can justify it-- to themselves anyway.

+ The TV repair man came to my house Saturday morning to fix my TV. After playing around for it for 10-15 minutes he announced that it was "dead" and there would be no service fee since he couldn't do anything about it. The problem with my TV screen is that the picture is inverted. It doesn't fill the entire screen. The color is also distorted, and the picture hops. I tried it out after he left and though the picture is still messed up, it actually fills the entire screen how. Now the colors are just extremely washed out and there are huge lines through the picture. I can deal with the lines, but I'm not so sure I like the color. But I played Harvest Moon to celebrate anyway (that's the only game I can really play in conditions like that). I finally went on my honey moon and now I'm working to get a house level 3 expansion. I only have 100 pieces of wood though, so it's gonna take a while before I can get it all worked out. I really wish there were any easier way to get wood rather than getting them one piece at a time. >_<

+ Another work week...let's hope it goes fast! We're having a picnic in the park this Saturday for church, so I might go to that, at least for a little bit. I'm kind of annoyed because every time they go to a park it's one that's out of the way and can't easily be gotten to by the subway... This time it is in Songdo though, which is a lot closer to where I live, which makes it a little easier for me, I guess.

+ Anyway, have a great night, everyone! I was really tired this morning, but hopefully I'll be able to get back on a normal sleeping schedule now that I've finished Secret Garden.

Life...continued

2011-06-10T04:55:34Z

+I ordered the second season of Hetalia today. Deepdiscount has a sale, so I got both season 1 and 2 for about the same price as one season. Yay. I wasn't thinking of buying it until I saw those prices...Ridiculously cheap. DD actually ships for free internationally, and I was super tempted to ship the second boxset over to Korea. But considering the only thing that can play it is my computer, I'd be better off just downloading fansubs until I go home and can watch my legit DVDs.

+ My TV still isn't fixed. My boss game me a cord for it, but all it does is hook it up to local TV. THAT'S NOT SOLVING THE PROBLEM, PEOPLE. I don't care to see Korean TV; I just want my screen to not be warped. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if it's something that can be solved without just dumping the TV and getting a new one or if the TV can be salvaged. My coworkers keep trying to convince me just to get a 300 flat screen and sell it when I leave, but I think if I can't get it to work I'll just have to live off of handhelds for the rest of the year and maybe get a 3DS once some games come out that I want on it. It really bothers me because I got this apartment exclusively for the reason that I knew it had a TV, and now not only does the TV work, but my rent is 60 bucks higher than my previous apartment and my wages are now 27 instead of 28. At least I am working 27 hours a week though... >_<

+ Speaking of new systems...the Wii U. Most retarded name ever, but the system itself has some potential to be interesting. High Def Zelda looks really cool, and I like the idea of having an extra TV to store video information. It cuts down a lot on what must be shown on the TV. Perhaps I should elaborate for people who don't know about this. The Wii U looks pretty much like a Wii with round corners, but in its controller there is a TV screen. This TV screen can work alongside your TV, perhaps showing you your item inventory and life points, or you can play the game on the controller if you can't use the TV. That's handy if you only have one TV and several people in the house that you need to share it with.

And Zelda HD is gorgeous.

To make matters better (or worse?) Skyward Sword isn't being ported to the Wii U. That means I'll not only get to play it on my Wii, the Wii U will also have a proper Zelda game on its system.

I'm still a little meh about Skyward Sword. I like the idea of living in the sky and whatnot, I just really don't care for the graphics. I'm sure they'll grown on me, but at this point and time I still don't really like them. Still getting the game though.

+ I'm going to Everland (maybe?) this weekend. I invited a bunch of people, but so far I haven't gotten any replies back about going. LAME. At this point I'd rather just go to Yongsan and binge on videogames then stop at Book-Off and look for more books/CDs. I did just get paid, after all. >_< I'm really thinking of hacking my Wii to play all the nice exclusives on it, and since I couldn't get it to work last time I'm thinking of just taking it down to Yongsan and having them look at it. I want to get my PS2 hacked too anyway. At the moment, I'm kind of depressed about being back in Korea, but I know this is the right place for me, at least for now. I wasn't any less depressed back in the States, and at least here I'm making money to support myself.

I just feel so...unnecessary. Like nothing would change if I were gone. Other than my few close friends, no one here or at home really cares about me. The only time they even talk to me is when they need me for something. But when I need them, they fall short. It's just depressing. And it's no different here, except in this environment I don't have my friends to make me feel better, so it's a little harder to cope with. That's partially why I just stopped hanging out with people. The more I hang out with them the lonelier I feel. It just works better for me to have a few friends who actually care about me rather than a huge lot who only call me when it's convenient for them, you know? Anyway, that's the stance I've been taking lately, as depressing as it may seem. XD

Shopping

2011-06-04T17:13:50Z

+ I went traveling with my new coworker today. We went to Gyeongbok Palace, the palace museum, Hongik University, where we went to the Coffee Prince #2 cafe, Kyobo Bookstore, and last but not least Book-Off! There is a new one in that was built near Shinchon station and I've always wanted to go and check it out. Today I found Shinchon station, so my coworker and I both went there to go and check it out.

If you are unaware of what Book-Off is, it's a Japanese franchise that deals in used merchandise, mostly books, CDs and movies. I have a love/hate relationship with the store because I always come out with stuff when I go there, even when I just go to look. We have Book-Off in Korea too, which is pretty awesome since it's, yanno, not Japan and all. The Korean store has a lot of Korean language manga, but it also has a fairly decent Japanese manga section and a J-pop CD section.

Speaking of shopping, every time I go to Book-Off I see the Japanese (or Korean?) version of the Fruits Basket boxset for 15,000 won. It's nine DVDs long. I keep wanting to buy it, but I don't even know the language or subtitle options, and I can't imagine trying to bring something like that back to the States. >_<

Without further ado, here's my purchase for the day:

Originally I wasn't that interested in collecting the Loki Ragnarok series since I never got around to reading vol. 3 (even though I own it), but they had 4 and 5 on clearance for 2,000 won each. So I caved. When else can I expect to get them at this price?

07-Ghost volumes 7 and 8. Since it's no longer being released in English, I might as well try to get some of the Japanese volumes, right? Anyway, They were 4,000 each. They're normally 10 to 11,000 won each, so I thought that was a pretty good since they seem to be in pretty good shape.

Godiego's Great Best Vol. 2 English version. I really doubt most people know this band. Their name is pronounced as "Go-Die-eh-go". They're a Japanese band from the '70s. They did the music for the popular song Monkey Magic. Apparently the lead guitarist worked on the soundtrack for Shin Megami Tensei : Devil Survivor. Anyway, their music is super hard to get online, so when I saw they had a Godiego section I was pretty excited. The CD was a bit expensive (8,800 won) though. Oddly enough they had two copies of the same exact CD for different prices. One was 14, the other was 8. I still can't figure out why the one cost so much more, but I wound up getting the cheaper one instead (which works and looks perfectly fine).

Also bought a DVD from Kyobo Book Centre. They had a bunch of DVDs at the media store in Kyobo for 3,800 won. They had mostly older films like Rambo, but then randomly the had the L Deathnote movie. Weird, huh? It was so ironic that I just had to buy it. Sadly, there are no English subtitles though (only Korean). It's a region 3 DVD player, which means I'll either have to borrow a DVD player to watch it or wait till I go back to the States and use my region free DVD.

The front middle and bottom reads: "Death Note. L: A New Beginning"

Why do I buy a movie for a series that I don't even like? I don't know ~~maybe 'cuz L is hot in it~~. Seriously, if L dies in this movie I'm going to crack my DVD in half. That'll show you, Japan! Hah! (if you get that joke you are awesome.)

Ryuuki looks so retarded on the back. XD

Why is there so much English on the back if the subs are only in Korean? So annoying. >_<

I hate Seoul for making me spend money all the time. I guess it's a good thing I don't live there. X_X

Update

2011-06-03T16:48:56Z

Some updates:

+ My first week back at work is FINISHED. Overall, most of my classes are pretty good, though my one EC3 class drove me insane today. Those kids would just not shut up. I usually enjoy elementary, but these kids were acting ADHD the entire class. I was so glad when 7:25 came around and I could have get my middle school Mega students.

+ Apparently I look like I'm French? One of my students thought I was from the UK and then said I looked French. This baffles me. I can't say I have a clear picture in my mind when I think of French people, and I know I definitely don't have a British accent. They forced it upon me anyhow and I spent a good majority of the last hour repeating the word "water" in a number of different accents. What is that?

+ My TV is still not working. My boss thinks getting a cable should fix its problem. I dunno about that. I personally think it's just the TV...but I guess it can't hurt. I really want to check out one of the thrift stores in Seoul, but the Korean staff won't tell me at work because they're afraid I'll go out and just buy a TV for myself instead of having Mr. Kim fix it. That's well and all, but he's sure taking his sweet time doing it, and it's not even definite that it will work. It's super frustrating. I need to do some farming, yanno?

+ I bought a fan recently. I live on a corner unit and it's surrounded by other apartments, so it gets pretty hot in the summer since there is very little airflow. It's a pretty crappy fan, but it works fine. It's not so hot now, but I'll be thanking myself come August when it's so hot you just want to lay by the AC..

+ I got my new cell phone yesterday. It's an Android, a sort of smart phone. Everyone seems to be really jealous of me about it and they were joking about how they were gonna trade their phones in for the same one as me. Apparently I got a 600 phone for about 25 dollars since it was on clearance. It's funny that a person like me who has no interest in cell phones should get a smart phone. Anyway, I'm still getting used to it, but it seems pretty nice so far. It takes pretty decent pictures too.

+ Tomorrow we're going to Gyeongbok Palace. This is like the gazillionth time I've gone (ok, the 6th), but I'm still excited to go. It's fun taking new people downtown and the last time I went to a palace it was pretty cold. So I'm looking forward to some sun.

+ I finished watching the Korean drama My Girlfriend is a Gumiho. The ending was kinda lame, but it was a cute drama overall. Not one of my favorites, but cute nonetheless. I'm now watching Secret Garden. Only thing is, the file and my computer hate each other, so the video skips all the time. What a pain. I might try streaming it somewhere else instead... For all my drama friends, are there any more Asian dramas you'd recommend?

+ Lastly, pictures of my new apartment. Y/N? The layout is the same, but obviously the furniture is different. Lemme know what you guys think. ^^

And now off to bed.

...

2011-05-28T16:09:34Z

How did I manage to pick the only apartment that has a TV that doesn't work? I don't get it. It worked when my friend was using it. What happened? I'm really ticked off since I dragged my Wii and PS2 overseas to play them. I'm just glad I decided not to take the PS3.

I'm thinking of going into Seoul and just buying a used TV that I can sell before I leave Korea. I already had to buy a microwave oven, and now this. What a pain. Plus, apparently my apartment is the most expensive. And the view isn't even that great. I think I want my old apartment back. Sure, the TV sucked; but at least it worked.

Not to mention, my washing machine is retarded.

I am so angry right now. X______X

EDIT: Place your votes, people.

Should I...

a) Go to Yongsan (electronics market) and try to buy a used TV there for cheap that I can sell later?

OR

b) Should I just forgo having a TV for a year and live solely off handhelds?

Resonance of Fate

2011-05-26T03:41:35Z

Just bought Resonance of Fate. And I leave Friday morning for Korea.

Why do I do these things to myself!?

We Got Married

2011-05-06T19:41:41Z

in Harvest Moon.

After three months of courting, I finally got married to Chase from Harvest Moon: Animal Parade. It was a long, trying courtship full of hardships (he didn't even get me a birthday present! The nerve!).

In AP, the blue feather is much easier to get (thank goodness). Instead of risking your life mountain climbing, you must climb up the mine and arrive at the top between 17:00 and 19:00, where you will receive a blue feather! Then you can propose!

I waited till the next day to propose. Went to Chase's house and gave him the blue feather. He told me he wanted to do this "somewhere more private". I am not sure where somewhere more private is than his own house, but nevertheless, I followed him. To the church garden. How is that private!?

Anyway, touching scenes below.

If someone told me this IRL, I would marry them in a second. Not having to cook? How awesome is that.

exchanging vows.

the kiss

getting everyone's blessings! (people obviously don't dress up for weddings here ;-;)

Aya is super embarrassed

Next morning. THAT'S RIGHT, PET. I have him whipped already. XD

Still have the honeymoon to look forward to as well.

An interesting thing about HM: AP is that you can take your husband for a "walk" with you. I find this highly amusing. You'll be walking along, doing your daily chores and he'll follow you around like a doggy. My husband hates 3/4 of the town festivals, so I find myself forcing him to "take a walk" with me so I can at least get him in the event pictures, even if he refuses to participate.

Oh, Harvest Moon. If only my IRL love life matched my HM one, I'd be married three times over...

Playing operation on the Wii

2011-05-04T05:10:04Z

Today I did something I've been threatening to do for months: take my Wii apart.

Ok, technically I didn't take it apart, my cousin did. BUT THAT IS BESIDE THE POINT. My cousin, (who shall remain anonymous), who has done more tinkering with this sort of thing than I have, was over at my house today. I was talking about how I was gonna take the Wii apart and chickened out, and he suggested we try it. So I was like, "Ok, why not."

Good decision or bad one? You decide.

Anyway, it turned out the Wii uses two different kinds of screws, Phillips and some retarded Y shaped one. Which we didn't have a screwdriver for. Of course. And my dad is a carpenter and everything. We have screwdrivers up the wahzoo, but nothing that matched what we needed.

Off to the hardware store!

We returned from the hardware store with a screwdriver kit that promised to work well for video game systems and small electronic devices, such as cellular phones. (It wasn't even 5 bucks either!) Anyway, we managed to open her up, but a ring came loose (I don't know the terminology for this because I am dumb). This is important to know because that ring was the bane of our problems for the rest of the night, as we had no idea where it went originally and none of the online guides even mentioned it. It figures.

So after removing a bazillion screws, we opened the case

Not finished yet!

What you see up above is what your Wii looks like without her clothes on! Isn't she lovely? The disc drive and other important crap are all there underneath the silver hood, or what we called the "plate". You must unscrew the plate to get to the real meat.

Take the plate off and we see the culprit behind the heinous crime of distracting me from achieving full pleasure from my game and abusing my ears. As you can see, the face plate of the Wii is detached from the system and lays next it it, connected only to its brethren by a few strands of thin wires. These wires are muy importante and must not be messed with at all. From the back you can see the Wii plugged into the power. That is necessary for fixing the Wii. It must be plugged in. Oh, and those green tiles? DO NOT TOUCH THEM!

Anyway, the next step is to find a game. It doesn't matter what the game is. It can be your favorite or least favorite. It won't scratch them or anything like that (this isn't the 360, gaiyz). Pop the game in the front. You can see it spinning around. Cool! Now look at the culprit! When I opened my Wii I noticed the left side had a crease from being bent. THIS IS THE CULPRIT! Nintendo's first line of Wiis were retarded and prone to have this occur if you are dumb and carry the system around with a game in it. My parents carried my Wii all the way from the US of A to South Korea with Wii Sports (was that even worth it?) in the system, all the time not knowing there was a game in it. And such was its fate.This is why I avidly suggest that people REMOVE the game disc from the system when the system is not in use and CHECK the system for games before moving it around.

ANYWAY. The fix is simple. Let the game spin around first. Then take a pair of tweezers and simply bend the bent piece of metal until you no longer hear the noise and then you're finished! If you're worried about the disc you can turn the system off while you're messing around with the metal, but I don't think it really matters. Anyway, after that it's time to sew her up! This is where we had problems, as my cousin was dumb and didn't LABEL the stupid screws, so we didn't know what screw went where. And at the end, we had one extra screw that we didn't know what to do with, and the faceplate was missing a screw, which means it's a little loose. I used scotch tape to tape up that corner. To this hour I am still convinced that the poor screw is all alone stuck somewhere in the system. ;-;

So please, please, please don't be dumb like my cousin and just put the screws on the table. Put them in a bag or in a cup or something and label the cup. >_<

On the plus side, even though my Wii's a little lighter without its screws, it seems to work ok. The loudest thing about it now is the fan. I just hope it stays that way, at least until May 15 when it apparently gets a price drop down to $150.

-The End-

Writer's Block: See you on the dark side

2011-05-03T03:14:27Z

I would sell my ticket on Ebay and just take money instead. I don't want to be stuck in a space suit, and also because I'd rather have that money to spend on other things. I am a boring individual; it's true.

So today I went to the bank and ordered a new debit card. I kinda doubt my card has been hacked, but since Sony keeps jumping around with the topic (one minute: YOUR CREDIT CARDS MIGHT BE STOLEN! the next: NO, IT'S OK! THEY HAVEN'T!), I figured it'd be best if I just got a new one, just in case. ^^; Anyway, it was free and until I get my new card my old card still works fine, so it's not really that big of a deal. I'm also checking my account every day just to make sure nothing fishy is happening with it.

Today was my second youngest niece's third birthday. She loves yellow, so the theme this year was the color yellow. She got some really cute presents, including a sunflower purse and a big bee umbrella. It was nice to spend some time with the family since I'll be leaving them so soon again... In some ways I'm looking forward to going back to Korea, but I know I'll miss stuff like that. ^^;;

Starting to study Japanese again, though I think I might have to move from Bumpo 3kyuu to 2kyuu as 3kyuu is way too easy. I'm hoping that when I go to visit my friend in a few weeks I'll be able to find some good Japanese and/or Korean study books at the used bookstores by her house. I desperately need to study again. >_<

3DS

2011-04-28T03:13:22Z

So now that Tales of the Abyss 3DS is going to be released in the US, I am totally getting a 3DS. Maybe for Christmas...

But I want one in red, like this:

Anyway, Games I want are as followed

Harvest Moon: A Tale of Two Towns

Why: The game seems interesting, and I am a HM fan anyway, so why not?

Why?: Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is one of my favorite Zelda games, and I've been itching to replay it. I have it for the GCN, but the controls are awful. Plus, the new graphics are a real incentive. I'm just not looking forward to having to race for Epona again.. >_<

Why?: Kid Icarus Uprising, yeah. I love Pit. I even downloaded the NES version, though I sucked terribly at it. Anyway, I'm really excited about playing Kid Icarus Uprising, especially about the miracle of flight. ^^

Why?: Tales of the Abyss 3DS, obviously. According to rpgamer, who read it in Nintendo Power, ToA 3DS is getting a US release date. ToA on the PS2 is extremely laggy and buggy, so I'm looking forward to playing it on a handheld. Hopefully, ToA 3DS will play more nicely than its original....

So what games are you all interested in, and who's planning on (eventually) getting a 3DS?