So I'm going on hiatus again (SCHOOL ;A;). Before that, I'll do a quick update. Those who know me personally will know that I am extreme introvert. I mean... I do go out a lot, but I don't talk to people. I don't socialize. I just... go out.
Most of the time... I don't even go out. Just coz.
When people tell me to express myself, it's through art. Drawing. Writing. Whatever. But with Girls' Night coming up, I'm taking it to the next level. So this year's theme is Magic. The first thing that comes to my mind? FAIRY TAIL.
The number one guild in Era, Fairy Tail. The manga was written and illustrated by Hiro Mashima, and is currently airing its 2nd season.
Yup, I'm gonna cosplay. But not all the way, tho. It's more of a DIY. Coz, you know... I'm a girl, and save the indecency of running topless everywhere. Since I have this dark blue shawl, I am absolutely torn between having to cosplay as Gray Fullbuster or Jellal Fernandes. I actually wanted to go for Natsu too (GAAAH!) but my pink shawl has these blue polka dots on them... and Natsu's hair is not full of polka dots... Pass.
The Ice Mage every fangirl drools over... Gray Fullbuster
Jellal Fernandes
I don't go full throttle with the clothes... I'll use whatever I have that matches their colour schemes. Jellal's eye mark (there-->) is so cool! But I don't have a lip pencil to draw it on with... Marker? Let's hope it doesn't stain.
Hey, Fairy Tail's core is magic, so if you think that it doesn't fit the theme of my Girls' Night... haha, joke's on you. I know, I know... 'Why aren't you cosplaying as the girls?' Erza, Lucy, Juvia, Levy, Evergreen, Mirajane, Lisanna...
They're all pretty, I admit... But their clothes are highly inappropriate for a middle schooler. But what about Gray? He strips all the time! But he still has decent clothes. Erza and Lucy have these completely revealing outfits that make parents doubt that they should let their children watch Fairy Tail.
I'm so hyped up right now, so expect a lot of updates from me :D. Earlier this year, I saw an advert on Animax about Parasyte: The Maxim (Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu) where alien brain-eaters spread their spores on Earth. It looked cool because the eerie setting made Animax look absolutely hardcore (you'd agree with me- coz all it airs is stuff like Assassination Baby and Lucky Star). I didn't start with the anime right away, though. I did a little searching about Kiseijuu, and it turns out it has a manga made prior to the anime. And to be honest, Kiseijuu is a huge achievement for me, because it's the first online manga I've finished ever. Not after having severe migraines, of course (flashing black and whites of the page-scrolling =-=).
So, quick intro about Kiseijuu! Kiseijuu, or Parasyte is a manga series written and illustrated by Hitoshi Iwaaki. It's an old series too, having to be published from 1988 to 1995. Seeing only the covers remind me of a lot of oldies like City Hunter or Cowboy Bepop. It has 10 volumes, and it's of the horror and sci-fi genres. The anime adaptation, Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu (Parasyte: The Maxim) aired in 2014 and ended in spring 2015, ranging around 24 episodes. Recently, it's been adapted into 2 part live action films in Japan: Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu (Parasyte: The Last Maxim) and Kiseijuu: Kanketsu-hen (Parasyte: The Final Act).
The cover of Parasyte's first volume
The promotional poster for the first Parasyte live action film
The manga didn't have much of an emotional effect on me... because I don't get in the hype while reading manga as I do with anime. Well, except for that one chapter in Chocolat no Mahou, but.... Nevermind that. But then again... I did get a little teary while reading Kiseijuu. Okay, a LOT teary. SPOILER ALERT: the part where Migi got severed from Shinichi's arm and Shinichi was barely surviving... WHY?!?!? I've only gone halfway through the anime (episode 6, it hurts my little kokoro T^T), but since I already know what's gonna happen next... I don't mind having a little watching hiatus.
So what do I think of both the manga and anime? Well... The first thing that caught my eye was the art styles.
A screenshot from the anime's opening; only drawn in the manga's art style
The original screenshot from the opening, with the anime's art style
Well... The anime's art style sure made Shinichi stronger (and hotter) than he originally is, that's for sure... even with his nerd glasses on. Fair warning: the manga is EXTREMELY graphic. You've been warned. Not like the anime's any lighter on the gore... but the manga doesn't move, so some of you might tend to stare at the bloody masses. Just don't.
Sure, it has the violence... But it doesn't lack of human emotion: the grief, some light jokes here and there.... It doesn't cease to please. And if you're like me who are those people who watch violent anime whenever you're mad... Go ahead.
BONUS: Check out these cool Kiseijuu tracks by Amanda Lee and NateWantsToBattle!
Recently, I went out for dinner with my family and at that particular restaurant, Spider Man 2 was on. It was reminiscent to be able to watch my number 1 favourite Marvel hero... but when you get older, you finally see things. Like, really see things.
Compared to the 2012 and 2014 remakes, I prefer the old Spider Man trilogy, the ones with Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst and James Franco :). And I absolutely adore the bromance Harry and Peter have together! Ok, sure, many will say Andrew Garfield is hotter (actually I prefer Dane DeHaan over him :/) but the teen angst, the complete nerdiness.... Tobey wins!
Sorry Andrew. Tobey Maguire will always be my Spider Man!
If you ask me who's the better Spidey's girl, Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) or Mary-Jane Watson (Dunst); I would definitely go for MJ. But then again... both girls annoy me. How do they annoy me? They're going with that on-again-off-again thing with both Peters (Dunst x Maguire; Stone x Garfield).
I don't get girls like that.
Girls who flip at their guys without waiting for an explanation. Don't believe me? In Spider Man 2, MJ gets so mad with Peter for him not being able to show up for her play. Then she goes forthe 'everybody's seen it then why can't you show up' thing. Sure, whatever. But why wouldn't she listen to Pete's explanation first? I mean, that guy was held back by that git of a hopper!
The only thing that bothers me whenever I rewatch the Spider Man trilogy is MJ's attitude towards Peter. But nonetheless, the inner kid in me squeals whenever I see your friendly neighbourhood Spider Man swing through the streets. Don't get me wrong, I love other Marvel heroes, like Iron Man, Hawk Eye, Deadpool (he's not technically a hero, but... come on- who doesn't like Deadpool?)... But Spider Man appeals to me the most, with his sarcasm and complete nerdiness!
Hehe, just to rant. Expect more from me soon! Nao out!
Yeah, if you haven't noticed... Since I've entered middle school, nobody calls me Ajisai anymore. It's always Kenjirou Nao (my pen-name whenever I write or do manga). Anyway, back to the point.
You guys remember me talking about WSC 2 years back right? Well, I joined again last year (I actually WENT to the Globals in Singapore) and this time... I'm back. I didn't want to, actually, since I have this pretty huge exam in October (phhbt, I have huge exams every year since last year =-=) so I really wanna lay back. But the teacher in charge this year told me to do the paperwork and had my name on it. I wanted out (coz my parents would flip) but I didn't dare to raise a finger, especially when I accidentally flung a water bottle at him prior that night. So this is how I ended up in this mess.
I've finished half of my research (again, I'm in charge of Arts and Literature), and I've decided to take a break and update this dust-collecting blog. And WSC's what I'm gonna rant about today. Sorry guys.
The thing is, I'm forced to enter it this time (like I explained earlier, remember?). And my mum isn't all that approving of it. Why? Let's see.... the core subjects in my major exam this year are Math, Science, History and BM... And what am I greatly awful at? Math, Science (I'm a Bio nerd, so I usually get high marks for my Biology tests; it's the Chemistry and Physics marks that bring me down), and History. It's 50-50 for BM, so I really can't say. Basically, I'm worst at the core subjects. And you know what I can score at? English, Computer Science (Photoshop, baby!), Civil Studies, Phys Ed... But those three aren't in the major exam. And seriously, even though I'm in the last IGCSE batch, English is like a minor thing in PT3 (to the teachers that is. For my family, if you get a B for English, you're a DISGRACE!).
Why am I suddenly rambling about my exam? Because that's what my mother's worried about. My dad's the chill parent, but he's scary when he flips. He's like an Andesitic volcano (Chemistry reference ^o^)! My problem is that I easily lose my focus (that explains me always changing the topic, huh?). But when I do focus, I usually ace it. They're afraid that if I join WSC, I won't pay attention to my studies and just focus on WSC. I knew that was coming, but now my name's in the paperwork, I can't back out now (actually I can, but it's gonna cause trouble with the teachers and the advisory board, so I'd rather not). I told my dad I was tired coz I was doing all this research. When he asked what for, my mum grumpily replied that it was for WSC. She was napping, but we were watching Megamind and her mood was ok. But I can't clarify.
So yeah. She's not very happy with me joining WSC. I don't want to this year, but I can't back out. Not without getting burned with the vice principal. And the advising teacher. Let's just hope I jusut win something this year. Maybe a medal or two can cheer both of them up. Of sorts.
