Manga Review 1 Kitchen Princess

I told myself a while ago that I would grow sick of shoujo manga just like I did with fan fiction and then I'd be able to move on with my life. Sadly that has not happened yet. I hope it happens soon because I can only take so much more; this is just an endless cycle of self-destruction I swear. Anyways without further ado: here is my first manga review (even though I wanted to bake today but I woke up late).

{Not Spoiler Free}

One of the simple joys in my life is the joy of reading complete manga. You know why? Because then I don't have to worry about cliff hangers and have to keep 20+ tabs open on my phone just for manga. I don't let people use my phone for this reason. It's quite embarrassing having to explain your obsession with other people who don't understand.

So I came across this manga by accident because I was searching through one shot manga (refer to my love for completed manga) even though this one clearly wasn't a one shot. It's a relatively short manga with around 47 chapters, not including the sections where the author includes recipe. Yes this manga does indeed provide the readers with the recipe to recreate every single thing made in the series which I found to be a nice touch.

This is a bit of an old school manga mostly because it is from 2005-2008, so the eyes are really really big which can get a little scary after a while. Big eyes are cute but this was a little too much.

The story itself was okay. It kind of reminded me of Nisekoi where the main character has a treasured item and spend their whole lives fixated on finding the one who gave it t them, in this case Najika's spoon and her Flan Prince. At first this was a really cute story. Najika was bullied by the most popular girl in school over a boy and then later became friends by said popular girl Akane. The fact that the author humanized Akane by displaying her humanity and weakness as a normal person striving for perfection was really touching. The author didn't have to show Akane having an eating disorder, but I think personally that was a really nice touch to humanize her.

My favorite character is Hagio-sensei. She's such a cute old lady and is always so supportive of Najika. Her presence in the manga is so soothing and when the setting is at Lavender House I inwardly sigh in satisfaction.

Since this was a shoujo manga, romance was to be expected. However, did it have to be like this? Did Sora really have to die? Couldn't she just have realized that her feelings were for Daichi instead somehow? Did they really have to kill off the princely character? No. But they did. I think all three of the guys were kind of similar. Daichi was a bit of a tsundere, Sora was the mature, prince, and Seiya was stuck up which makes them all different. But I felt like they were still vaguely similar. Maybe it was just me reading this manga late at night or what but I just got that impression of similarity.

The fact that the manga ended with Daichi as the Flan Prince made the story feel really satisfying and full circle. It wasn't the best manga I've ever read by any means, but it was still fairly good. Mostly I just liked the fact that it was a cooking/baking manga. I feel like we need more of these in the anime/manga community. Props to the author for this culinary piece and adding to the culinary section of the manga/anime world.

Awh just look at these two!! Just look at them!!!

Still secretly happy that she ended up with Daichi even though it was only through Sora dying that the ship sailed. 

Anime Review 5 Plastic Memories

{Not Spoiler Free}

Ah I'm probably a little late on watching this anime (I'm usually late on the bandwagon anyway) so excuse me. I just finished the anime and to be honest throughout the entire thing I thought it was just okay. After watching the first few episodes I continued watching not out of enjoyment or emotional investment in the characters but more like I felt obligated to finish it because of the hype. So as the story progressed I can say that there were two things I really enjoyed: the natural progression of Tsukasa and Isla's relationship and the small details. By small details I mean the ending scene of the OP and how it changes throughout the series. As someone who normally doesn't watch the OP multiple times unless it's absolutely phenomenal I almost missed this gem of a detail. As the series progresses, Isla's facial expression progresses. It's quite a fun little detail. I also liked the fact that even though Isla was a complete klutz, which to be honest I feel is a little overdone character trait trend, she still worked hard.

I think the most beautiful thing about this series is that it focuses on the human condition; no I'm not talking about poverty or what have you but more about humanity itself. It shows androids and how they can have compassion and they can have souls. It really displays well the fact that a person isn't measured in value for what they are at the physical level but more of what's underneath in a different twist on the well-known phrase 'don't judge a book by its cover.'

 The way all of the members of Terminal Service treated one another with such respect for their partners and each other was so heartwarming. It was like seeing an extended family's dysfunctional but still caring dynamic. Kazuki's love for Isla enough to change the way Terminal Service dealt with retrievals made my heart melt a little bit (or maybe a lot). And the way all of them were so opposed to Isla working when she could go on dates with Tsukasa was so adorable. All of them nonchalantly giving presents like "oh no that was just extra". They're seriously all the best!!!

Overall I think this anime was kind of a mishmash of feels that reminded me of how Anohana and Angel Beats ended where you know the inevitable will happen and that everyone ends up leaving but you're still unprepared. That's how I felt with this ending. *sigh* Why do androids have to have an end date? (To be honest that part was a little unclear and was probably just a quirk to make the whole plot fall in place so I'll let it go.) Although the whole thing overall wasn't a complete must-watch, it was still pretty good if you're looking for a kind of fluffy, kind of profound type of anime to watch next. The ending made me die a little bit inside, but secretly I'm telling myself that they'll meet each other again in another life or something. Also about the ending I'm kind of internally screaming because I swear if they recycled Isla's body *clenches fist* I think I need some time to reflect on this, it's too upsetting right now. But anyways, it was pretty good for a light-ish watch that kind of shed light on what it is to be human and how the criteria to be treated like a decent human being isn't necessarily being a carbon life form.

This is good life advice. You go Tsukasa.

Anime Review 4 Kiznaiver

I began this bad life choice to just watch all these anime at once because some weren't finished or I was in the mood for different anime. So now I'm finishing all of them around the same time because of my great timing.

Anyways I first got interested in this series because of the pastel gif sets I saw on Tumblr of Nico. I saw her and fell in love. I thought this was going to be a fun and cutesy anime, so, unwisely, without reading any reviews nor summaries of what was to come, I delved in and became deeply disturbed. JUST KIDDING! I've watched worse but this was still kind of a shock from what I had originally envisioned.

{Not Spoiler Free}

The whole concept of this anime is quite intriguing. I think that if people were forced to be connected like this and ended up becoming more connected it would ultimately benefit the world even if this isn't exactly a humane way of doing it. I feel like all peace efforts are portrayed in movies to be a failure (just look at Star Trek Into Darkness, that peace effort was a menace). So in that sense, the peace effort was completely psycho. They messed with teenagers who probably had their own problems and pressured them until they pretty much broke. However, from worldly pressures, diamonds are created; the same could be applied to these people. Out of their lack of shared interests or any other similarity except being in the same class, these seven people were able to form a strong friendship.

There were several exceedingly crazy people that definitely lost sight of the main goal a long time ago which was I suppose the whole basis for the series. It was definitely a emotion twister and a bit of a thriller as I couldn't really predict what was going to happen next. I mean how could you really know what's happening with an anime with gomorins running around and crazy people cutting into other people so they can all share pain? Exactly, it is the essence of unpredictability. However, sometimes it's good not to be able to predict what's ahead and to just go along with the ride.

As far as the characters go the people that created them made them all very diverse in design and demeanor. All of them are so eclectic and even though I mostly mean Nico and Hisomu, in their own ways each of them are so distinctive. Their clear distinctions between them made it easier to connect to them and understand their individual point of views of the situations at hand. I really liked the concept of them all sharing their pain, revealing their dark, unexpected secrets to each other (I mean Honoka's backstory was KILLER (no pun intended)), and how after facing that ordeal they were able to become better friends and realize that even without the Kizna System connecting them that they were still connected through empathy.

All in all I was satisfied with the ending. Everything was resolved and everyone was on the road to recovery. It left me feeling a sense of closure. The ending scenes where it showed Honoka and Yuta's blooming romance (http://miuroko.tumblr.com/post/146462036668 check out this gif set because it's everything) as well as Nico's promise for a showdown with Chidori for Tenga's love left me very amused.  The concept of Kiznaiver was exceptional, the art was great, the OP was BEAUTIFUL and the characters were fabulous.

Because Nico is my favorite

Anime Review 3 Tamako Market + Tamako Love Story

One day at 4 AM after drinking coffee milk tea I made the terrible life choice to watch an anime movie, during which the sun rose and I heard the birds chirp. When I got up later that day I regretted all my life choices, but at the time that seemed like such a good idea. That movie was Tamako Love Story.

{Not Spoiler Free}

Tamako Love Story

I'm going to start off with Tamako Love Story because that was the one I started off with and the one that motivated me to watch the series Tamako Market.

Firstly, the whole vibe of the movie was very cheery. The whole time I was watching it I felt very amused. In fact when I rewatched it with my sisters who aren't big romance, shoujo anime lovers at all (I mean when you're 8 you still believe that boys are diseased so who could blame them) they still laughed at Kana's weird antics and at Dera, the fat bird making mochi and were overall amused by the film. The whole vibe of Bunny Mountain shopping district is so quaint and I seriously wish that was an actual place I could visit. If I ever got the chance to visit, that would definitely be on my 'to visit' list.

The characters were all very lovable and they feel kind of like the childhood friends I never had. They were all so bright and amicable. Even Anko who wasn't a big part of the film makes me go 'awh' internally every time I think about her. When I recommended my friend who doesn't like romance anime at all (which I secretly think is a lie because he's trying to be tough or something) he thought that it wasn't amusing at all and even told me so. But honestly there are so many cute and fuzzy, fluffy scenes that make my heart warm. For example when Midori confronted Mochizou about always checking Tamako out his reaction was gold. Honestly he's adorable.( My friend disagreed and said I was weird for liking this 2D guy but really he's super adorable and I was rooting for him the whole time. ) Midori, Shiori, and Kana are all super good friends to Tamako and even though I sorta feel like Midori had a thing for Mochizou she was mature enough to realize that the thing going on between Tamako and Mochizou was really strong so she supported them. Number one friend, quality friendship.

Obviously since it's called Tamako Love Story, the whole thing surrounded the relationship between Tamako and Mochizou. Mochizou is seriously so cute and charming. The scenes where he's anguishing over when's the right time to tell Tamako about going to Tokyo and when would be alright to confess made my heart tighten. I just have a soft spot for awkward romances I guess, but this one was really cute. I'm tempted to make a paper cup phone to play with with my friends at school but they would either a) bully me for eternity or b) not want to use it with me so I'd look lame by myself. >~< I'm super satisfied with the ending. It doesn't end stupidly where he ends up going to Tokyo for real and they never see each other again and I don't think it ends in an overly cliche way. It actually has a slow, progressive buildup that left me rooting for the two of them to live happily ever after. When I had finished it the first time as the sun was rising I remember letting out a satisfied sigh as I turned off my phone and went to sleep. Even just writing about it now makes me feel really satisfied internally. >//<

Oh! The whole reason I watched it a second time (even though I don't like to rewatch anything usually) is mainly because I rediscovered this treasure. Sorry if you don't like nightcore, https://youtu.be/kACinK6edys

Tamako Market

Ah another feel-good anime series, because really you can never have too many of these. So the main reason I even decided to watch these was because I'm going through a mini crush on Mochizou and it needed to stop; it's really an unhealthy thing to develop a crush on a fictional animated character. *sigh*

My first question to myself when I finished the series was 'did that even have a plot?' It took me a while, but even though the majority of the series is fluff, it's still highly enjoyable. It's really more slice of life than anything, so the normalcy of everything is to be expected. Watching this gave me a more immersive feel for the Bunny Mountain shopping district as well as a little more depth into the characters, as well as context to the opening scene of Tamako Love Story where it shows Dera, Choi, and the prince with no context as to who they are. 

Overall the whole thing was very fluffy and something to cheer anyone up if they're feeling down or just kind of monotonous. It really cheered me up and made me feel alive again. Just looking at Tamako made me want to be a more cheerful and lively person like her. She's got a bright future (you know if she was a real person). My favorite episode was Episode 9. Usually for series I never have a favorite, mostly because I take it in its entirety instead of in parts, but to me these felt more like individual pieces put together so this one was my favorite. It really gave an insight into Tamako's dad's life before and how he's really such a sweet guy. His and his wife's love for each other started off in such a heartwarmingly awkward way and the song he wrote for her was so sweet. Plus Anko's little romance with Yuzuki was super cute too. She's so small and precious and her awkwardness definitely matches their father's. Actually, thinking about it, maybe the awkward romance thing runs in the family, all three of them had very awkward relationships. 

As the precursor to Tamako Love Story I definitely saw some of Mochizou and Tamako's ship slowly sail. It's just so heartwarming to watch. All of it is so adorable and just so great. When I finished the series yesterday I just kept saying to myself 'so great, this is so great' because I really can't describe it any other way without taking the fun out of watching it for yourself. Also I really really like the ED music. It's really bubbly and cute.

Just as an ending I was pondering the idea of having a rating system out of 10 stars or something, but since I find that I like wayyyyyy too many things that the best thing to do is to just give my super candid, scatterbrained reviews and leave it at that. I hope anyone who actually reads this understands that and I hope to bring to you more anime (and hopefully manga in the future) reviews. 

Her reaction is so relatable o(≧∇≦o)

Awh baby Tamako

I saved the best for last ♡＾▽＾♡ 

( I really need to get over my mini crush this is just too much)

Anime Review 2 K: Return of Kings

Hello everyone,
I'd like to just say before I jump into blog post no. 2 about anime that I have been baking, but haven't felt like they were successful enough to share with the people of the Internet quite yet. Still searching for a bomb tart crust recipe.

{Not Spoiler Free}

Firstly, I am aware that there's a first season to this, but I've already run out of things to hype about since I watched it. I tried to be a responsible student and held off from watching it since spring. BUT NOW I'VE WATCHED IT AND THE HYPE IS REAL. THE HYPE IS SO STRONG. My feelings about this run very very strong. I was so tempted to watch this all in one sitting like I (guiltily) did with the first season, but I told myself that I should only watch a couple each day, aka I spread it out over 3 days while I placated myself by reading other manga (is this great self-control or what?).

I love the art and the aesthetic. But even more than the visuals of this, I love the story. The whole concept of this alternate world with kings and their entire world to be quite honest are absolutely mind-blowing. Beyond this, the plot twist and the 'wtf' moments kept me so entertained throughout. I loved the fact that the Green Clan's hideout was literally underground but it looked like an apartment room from the outside. I absolutely adore all the characters, even the ones you're really not supposed to like, for example the Green King. Whoever writes these things is such a genius. With only 13 episodes, the production manages to make you emotionally invested into every single character. My feelings can't handle this kind of emotional duress. But it was so worth it. This season of K kept me constantly engaged, constantly thinking to myself 'oh my god what's next' and had me about to throw my phone across the room (I don't recommend doing that by the way) half the time. Just the fact that I was so emotionally invested in these characters was really the clincher. I think if you had no soul you probably would think this sucked, but as for me the fact that Fushimi pretended to be a betrayer, but was actually showing how deep his commitment to the Blue King killed me I say, KILLED ME. And Awashima's commitment to the Blue King too? I ship it, even though first season I would've sworn that Red King Mikoto and Blue King Munakata were soul mates. That to me was just such a great OTP. Actually the real OTP this time around was Fushimi and Misaki. Their scene together in the 12th episode killed me. Shiro, Neko, and Kuro's clan name is so amazing; the White Rice Party is definitely the number one clan. (Side note though, Neko and Awashima's fan service was completely unnecessary. I loathe fan service because with such a great story line, amazing art, and life-like characters I don't see the need to tarnish that with needless panty shots and cleavage  =_=")

Also with the last episode I was praying that Shiro would come back. I hate it when they end with 'he will be with us in our souls forever' because that ending is really overdone and cliche. So, this way ended on a really satisfying note as a the Silver King's White Rice Party eats together. It definitely shows the beauty of the clans and their loyalty to one another, a kind of family based on loyalty rather than blood. Throughout the entire season I got the feeling of seeing a really close family fighting together in order to accomplish something, and conflicting sides joining together to face a super-ordinate goal. All in all, it was really beautiful and it leaves me SUPER HYPED for the next season this October! Now to decide whether I want to wait for all the episodes to come out and then binge watch them all, or if I want to watch them as they come out.

This Coffee Table Alliance scene was golden

Anime Review 1 Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai

Baking and binge watching anime/reading manga are my favorite pastimes. And while sometimes it's not possible for me to drop all of my school work and responsibility that goes along with becoming a high school senior, I do continue to indulge myself with anime and manga. So, after a long incubation period where I mentally debated whether or not I wanted to put something like this on this blog and combine the two or whether I should create a whole other blog entirely, I decided to go for it and just let my creation become what it wants to. Why should I have to conform to consistency after all?

So without further ado, here is my first anime review (I'm sorry these won't be super high quality, but more for enjoyment). 

Recently I've just finished watching Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai. I first heard about this anime through gifs on the Internet of a super cute girl with an eye patch. At that time I was probably in the middle of school work or some other life stressor so I hadn't had a change to watch (binge) until recently when hell (I mean school) ended. 

Upon watching the first episode, I was hooked. It's not every day in school anime you come across such an eccentric character as Rikka Takanashi after all. But it wasn't just her. It was the whole idea of the middle schooler syndrome. It made me think about how just a few years ago that was me and all my friends and it really made me nostalgic about how awkward and weird we were. We were all trying to find who we were (still are) and became extreme weirdos. Looking back on that was like seeing the world from the protagonist Yuuta's perspective of being embarrassed by their immature behavior. 

Beyond my own sentimentality, the character development is splendid. Throughout the 12 main episodes I really got to know all of the characters as well as the backstory for why Rikka clings to her middle schooler syndrome so strongly. The reason why she adopted that particular fantastical style of middle schooler syndrome is also totally sigh-worthy (>///<) Beyond Yuuta and Rikka, my favorite character was Dekomori. Her twintails firstly were super cute and her steadfast loyalty to Rikka even through their conflict made me want her as a real life friend. Even though Dekomori holds a special place in my heart and RikkaxYuuta is a true ship, my spirit animal is Kumin-senpai. Napping Club? Sign me up. After junior year sleep deprivation I'm all for napping. ALSO I can't forget the most hilarious part: Yuuta's little sister and Rikka's older sister. You'll know what I'm talking about when you watch it and get to those moments. 

Even though this anime was obviously a romance considering love is in the title, this is a really deep anime. The whole issue of identity and accepting yourself no matter the past you once led was really prominent throughout. Also the ending was truly beautiful about facing ourselves and how facing ourselves can lead to some interesting results that we face throughout our lives. 

Overall, this was a really cute anime that I recommend you watch if you haven't already because of the original story idea as well as the overall message 

Cinnamon Sugar Baked Donuts

So here's the thing: After my long hiatus because I've not yet fully committed myself to blogging (yet) and finals are finally over, I thought to myself "Hey it's time to get in shape". But as we know saying things and doing things are two completely things and my point is that instead of doing some Blogilates I made donuts. I know I'm a terrible person. The redeeming quality about this recipe however is the fact that these are baked not fried. You're welcome I just saved your caloric intake just a smidge.

Ingredients
1 stick and 2 tbsp + 6 tbsp butter
1 + 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup cake flour
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions
1. Mix together the 1 stick and 2 tbsp of butter with the 1 cup of sugar.

2. Mix in egg and scrape down the sides of the mixer.

3. Sift the flours, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt together.

4. Add flour mixture to the butter-sugar mixture.

5. Turn the mixer on low and slowly incorporate the milk into the main mixture.

The batter should look somewhat like this:

6. Put batter into a plastic bag (no tip required) and cut a medium sized hole.
7. Grease your donut mold (or else your donuts will look ugly)
8. Pipe your donuts into your now-greased molds.

9. Bake at 350 degrees F for 17 minutes or until your donuts look golden.
Now I bet you're wondering what you'll do with the leftover sugar, butter, and untouched cinnamon. You're gonna make a diabetes coating for your glorious donuts!
10. Melt butter in a bowl. 

11. In another bowl combine the cinnamon and sugar.

12. When your donuts are still warm, coat both sides with the butter. Then quickly toss them in the cinnamon sugar to coat them with heaven's sugary granules.

13. Now enjoy your cinnamon sugar (somewhat healthy) donuts.