Anime Ventilation 27 Zutto Mae Kara Suki Deshita

MY HEART! I meant to go to sleep because I have work tommorrow, but before I did I decided to watch a JubyPhonic MV (you should watch it because it's so good https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVQ3xAxBLgk) before I slept. And boy, oh boy, am I glad I did! The song she covered was from Honeyworks which was I assume the basis for this story?

{Spoilers}

This may be just another typical shoujo anime movie, but can you ever have too many shoujo anime movies? Nope. Not until the day your heart stops beating and every last drop of romance is sucked out of you.

To be completely honest the animation isn't the greatest. The stage directions are a bit off at some points. But what it lacks in some of the more minor (in my opinion) features it makes up for in a good plot.

It follows 3 main couples (or soon to be couples :3) and their roads to falling in love. Honestly I find it hard to keep track of all of them because the movie is only an hour and there are 7 different main(ish) characters although it looks like it's mostly focused around 2 characters and their dynamic. There's nothing particularly unique about their relationships at the surface, but beyond that it's beautiful. It truly captures the innocence and impulsiveness of youth. It preserves the feeling of fleeting time that all high school kids face (heh *stares off into the distance* that's actually me right now).

Overall I'd say this is a great anime for if you've got an hour to spend watching anime and you want a whole lot of doki-doki's.

(Also cute anime boys amirite?)

Aren't they just adorable?

Manga Review 7 Girls of the Wild's

Okay, I swear, soon I will make another baking blog post. Soon. I promise. *college apps scream in neglect*

{Spoilers}

Gah, I don't even know if I can do this one justice if I'm being completely honest. It was so great. I never considered myself to be a hardcore feminist, but now after reading this I might have to change my mind.

It was so amazing. All the girls were kickass. They're all so powerful in their own ways and yet they never lose that 'teenage girl' vibe. I, as a teenage girl, totally related to them (not the fighting though). I think the hype over this Webtoon was well worth it. This creator poured their heart and soul into this for 5 years okay. FIVE YEARS. And it really shows. It's filled with diverse characters and a unique plot. It follows the antics of a rich girl, a poor boy, a flirtatious girl, and a candid girl (Moonyoung ily). It shows the journey of the poor boy from a submissive pushover to someone who fights back against the wrongdoings of others and stands up for what he believes in. It shows the humanity and struggles that follow the extreme expectations of a big company CEO's daughter. It shows how even when you pour your heart and soul into loving someone, sometimes it can't be forced and something better comes along. And it shows most importantly that women are strong, they are powerful, and they are beautiful. That's the main takeaway from this Webtoon. These girls should not be messed with. They may be average teenage girls in that they all worry about love, but at the same time they're way more than that. They're more than pretty faces. They're more than extremely good fighters. They're so multidimensional that listing every one of their character traits would take days. The creator really poured their soul into making these characters so dimensional and so deep that it would take so long trying to understand each of them at a fully comprehensive level (but to be honest, who's going to do that? This isn't AP Lit, this is FREAKING AWESOME Webtoons). With some comics and mangas there are some dull moments. Not so with this comic. It's full of a lot of everything. There's some romance arcs. There's some angry, vicious fight arcs. There's some sub arcs with side characters. You get the gist. But the real point here is that it's not just a romance or an action or a slice of life Webtoon. This is a masterpiece that incorporates different elements to be this compelling and utterly engaging.

It would be easy to read it through in one sitting. Even though it's 260 chapters it would be a breeze to read through. I thoroughly enjoyed it and hope that others will find it and be enraptured like I was reading through it. Also it's really good fitness motivation, seeing these girls working hard to become stronger. There's just so many good things that you really just have to read for yourself to be immersed in the atmosphere of Wild's High School and the antics of its charismatic students.

Manga Review 6 The Stories of Those Around Us

I am so so soooo sorry for anyone that checks up on this child of mine. I've been so sleep deprived that blogging was one of the last things on my mind. T^T I just wanna pass high school, okay? Anyways, in the midst of being stressed I decided to pick back up this manga? Manhwa? *shrugs*

{Spoilers}

This Webtoon is adorable. I honestly completely adore Webtoons in general. Lots of them are in color, the art is amazing, the story lines are epic goals, and there's no ads! How could it get any better? If you aren't already using Webtoons then gogogo sign up! (Not sponsored btw but I wish)

I have to say that this is a very realistic Webtoon. The plot follows these three girls: one that's a sensible woman that doesn't understand love, one that's in a relationship that's lacking love, and another trying to find her place in society with a loving boyfriend at her side. All three of them seem very relatable and realistic, just like anyone you might meet on the street. I think that's why this particular comic really resonated with me. I think anyone could find themselves in any one of these characters.

It's beautiful the way that they all grow. It's wonderful to see Jung-A realize that her relationship isn't working out and being strong enough to break up with her boyfriend for both of their benefits. It was painful, but also very raw and human. When Mira goes on that blind date and ends up falling for Peace I couldn't help but cringe at her awkwardness that's reflected in any human being that's being honest with themselves. And Summer. Oh Summer. Even though she has the perfect boyfriend she's drawn to a guy that is in a relatable situation. But then she ends up staying with the perfect guy. Although this isn't exactly a perfect solution it really does reflect real life. We often times want to say that we're the bigger person, that if we were in that situation you would do this or that when in actuality all of us want to play the hero but never really muster the courage to go through with it. This Webtoon is amazing at showing us our own humanity by illustrating it in the lives of others.

I really recommend you read this Webtoon. It's only 60 chapters and completed. You know what that means don't you? :3 IT MEANS YOU CAN MARATHON IT IN ONE SITTING! Get hyped. That's when you know to just drop everything because this Webtoon is that good. Honestly all the girls are so lovable and so relatable. The way the author paced the chapters was amazing. You never got lost and you always felt included in their thought process and little meetings they have. There was a good mix of fluffy and plot. It was just overall a melting pot of love for this comic. Read it. Just read it. It won't take a lot of time and you'll walk away feeling the bliss of seeing your (figurative) children grow up and develop as adults and transition into the weird realm which is romance.

Manga Review 5 1/3 No Kareshi

This is actually the second time I've read this particular one shot. Shocking, isn't it? It seemed really familiar, but it wasn't until later that I realized it was the exact same one =_=. Well It was good just for memory's sake I suppose.

{Spoilers}

Keep in mind this is ancient, from at least 8 years ago. But it's funny how some things are just so universal; this universality may or may not be the reason I couldn't recognize that I knew it before hehe. It starts off with Rei lamenting about how she didn't have a boyfriend, bumping into Yuuya who consequentially takes a picture of her with her dress caught on her book. Classic panty flash I guess. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Anyways, their relationship starts to develop as they continue to meet every day at lunch. This changes when Rei sees Yuuya in the junior high division which made her think that Yuuya was a junior high student. (This was around the time that I realized that I had already read this but *shrug*) That would be super scary if that were true since Yuuya is often drawn smoking cigarettes, very scary indeed. Rei, once hearing that Yuuya doesn't like older women, immediately jumps to the conclusion that he's been playing with her this entire time. In actuality it is true he doesn't like older women because PLOT TWIST he's actually a junior high division teacher that's been in love with her for 5 years ever since he was a third year high school student and she was a first year junior high division. To be honest this part was a little creepy. Like what could he have liked about her without really knowing anything about her? 

But all logic aside, this was a nice little one shot. A nice plot twist thrown in there. A resolved unrequited love. Quite nice for a short read-through. Man, oh man are one shots satisfying; not as satisfying as perhaps a completed manga you've followed for a while "but still good, yeah--still good" (Stitch from Lilo & Stitch (yes I did just quote that)). ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Anime Ventilation 26 Anthem of the Heart

JAJANG! (Lol what are my sound effects even?) Here we have another anime movie! *crowd cheers* Who knows how I even found this movie? I feel like a lot of people haven't watched this which is a tragedy since it's super fun and cute, albeit a bit disappointing sometimes. But that's ok!

{Spoilers}

So originally I thought this would be a fantasy movie. From the opening it could be. An egg narrator wearing a hat. A girl obsessed with a castle which, plot twist, turns out to be a love hotel. Oh. Yeah. But then her dad has to come out with another woman out of the love hotel. Oh. And things just don't get better from there. It's just one downhill spiral from there. Since Jun's a chatterbox of a kid she has the inability to read the nuances of adulthood much less know what to say in those times. Which is why she tells her mom about how she saw her dad commit adultery. This leads to the divorce between her parents that she blames upon herself. Although she really shouldn't be blaming herself. It was her jerk dad's fault.

There is an element of magical realism (it's an actual thing) to this because of the talking egg. This magical quality really enhances the movie and elevates it to a whole other level which couldn't have been achieved with just a depressing plot line.

The plot continues with Jun, Sakagami, Nito, and Daiki being involuntarily put onto the Community Outreach Committee. Although all of them are adverse to the idea at first, Jun sees this as an opportunity for her to find her voice again after staying mute for so many years because she blamed herself for causing her parents' split. Their plan to do a musical slowly built a supportive community for Jun, a coping mechanism for Sakagami, a way to reconnect with Sakagami for Nito, and a way for Daiki to form a new bond with his team. All four of them grow in the most beautiful way as friends and individuals. When the musical all comes together, illustrating Jun's inner thoughts and struggles it seems as though all the pieces are falling into place and things will be okay. Not quite. Instead, with Nito and Sakagami realizing that their feelings had never ebbed since junior high, Jun feels as though her prince is gone and that she's not valued. So her solution? To hide away in the castle and not perform in the musical. Sakagami chases after her which would be romantic in any other context except for the one where he's in love with Nito which is the reality of the situation. Inside the ruins of the closed down hotel Jun and Sakagami are able to clear the air and Jun is able to finally realize that her parents' split wasn't her fault and that her words weren't toxic at all. Also Jun's confession only to directly hear that he loved Nito. Ouch. >~< But after that the musical was a success and the whole class was unified through this effort. It ended on a very sweet, hopeful note with Sakagami and Nito getting together and Daiki becoming Jun's prince, which to me is ironic since at the beginning of the movie the egg said he was her prince and Daiki was the egg in the musical. Foreshadowing much?

All in all it was a very sweet but slightly dark movie. If you're looking for a little bit of fantasy, drama, and turmoil this is a great movie to watch. ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ

I cry. Such an innocent child.

Look at this camaraderie!

My heart sank.

Anime Ventilation 25 Garden of Words

Let's pretend that I didn't delete the note where I wrote everything I wanted to say on there...major life regrets. Sleep deprivation.

{Spoilers}

Calling all pluviophiles! (Or people in a drought like California heh)

Ah, this anime was really pretty. I've seen it floating around the Internet, images of raindrops, images of the two main characters standing on the stairway. All of it was visually stunning. Although in terms of art it's incredible, I have a few problems with the plot. Not that the plot itself is bad it's just a bit...controversial. The only reason I think this is because Takao thinks that his mom is a lush that doesn't work hard and drinks all the time. And when he meets Yukino in the park she's drinking beer in the morning and her only other food is chocolate. I don't know about you, but it seems like she's an adult drinking beer in the park...seems kind of like his mom dontcha think? Don't get me wrong, I see that they're different. She actually pays attention to him and didn't ridicule his dreams. In fact, she's the only one he ever told about his dream to design shoes. Their whole relationship is one full of longing and based solely upon one another's companionship. They build their whole relationship upon the fact that they're both there in the moment. They don't have to talk about much, but in a way that's the beauty of it. They just accept one another and find a kindred soul in a stranger. Things obviously can't stay like that. The whole movie couldn't be about their rainy day encounters because although that would be calming...it would also be too mundane for most people. The real plot twist comes when it's revealed that she's a teacher at his high school that was caught in a misunderstanding. This led to him regretting their whole companionship and made him lose trust in her. However, out of that came the cutest scene. It was the two of them at her house in such a sweet, domestic scene. You could palpably feel the calm comfort in that room. Until he just had to confess there! Which both shattered the mood, but created a very interesting series of events. It led to that beautiful picturesque scene on the stairwell...but it also led us to a very bittersweet ending. It ends off with both of them moving on. There was no real explanation why, but it could be inferred that it was because of his inexperience with life. When he left the shoes where the two of them used to meet every rainy day, with the sun peeking out from behind the clouds it was like a final farewell. It was goodbye to rainy days and running away from responsibilities. In a way, although it ended in a bittersweet way, it was more sweet than bitter because the two of them ultimately positively impacted each other's life. And that in and of itself is a beautiful thing.

All in all I think this is a great movie to watch if you've got a spare 45 minutes or so. It's a relatively short movie and I would watch more for the atmosphere and the visual aspect than anything. But it does have an aspect to it where you can start connecting dots yourself to kind of reach conclusions before they're unveiled. So it's a little bit mysterious; hey, if you like mystery maybe watch this one to unveil the secrets before they're explicitly stated!

I think this is the most iconic image of the movie

I might be a little too obsessed with the rain and sunshine (motifs perhaps?)

Aren't these just stunning?

Absolutely beautiful. Just breath-taking.

Sigh, I have conflicting feelings about this.

Sources: http://i.imgur.com/ruxxIAp.gif, https://media0.giphy.com/media/49GpAgeHyrV72/200_s.gif, https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/1d/26/a1/1d26a13e19a8c91b9fdb8af269008979.gif, https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/66/6c/15/666c1553007a18c91c0b0d095bd776a3.gif, https://media.giphy.com/media/117tuXPBYe2Cuk/giphy.gif, https://66.media.tumblr.com/73e7741ab8b545dcdf216c51c48d8dc2/tumblr_mp11cclsmR1qbvovho1_500.gif

Anime Ventilation 24 Cheer Danshi!!

You know what sports anime was super good this summer 2016? This one of course!

{Spoilers}

There may be some of you out there that might be thinking to yourselves 'pffft cheer-leading isn't a sport' and to you I say 'oh ho ho, au contraire my friend.' I genuinely believe cheer-leading is a sport. It's so dynamic and athletic.

This anime is quite the ride. It's got the basic plot of any sports anime with a not so great team training hard and finding a coach and then succeeding as a team. However, what makes this so different is each of the individual characters. It shows the beauty and uniqueness of cheer-leading as a sport because through the members it displays the camaraderie they have for each other and how they support each other physically and figuratively. All of them rally together to overcome their differences and discover things about themselves that they never would've learned or come to terms with without the team. They showed that competition doesn't have to be a vicious thing; it could just be about having fun and lifting each other up in a positive way. This message in and of itself is beautiful and makes the series invaluable.

Each of the characters, even the most minor ones, are given a chance to shine as they all explain their journeys through cheer-leading with one another and how the sport has impacted their lives. Seeing each one of them grow, like Kazu and Haruki when they came to realize that it was a good thing that they had a friendly competition going on between them, really enhanced the overall value of the series. Also Takeru and Hisashi when they come to terms with one another is really realistic of how people can originally not see eye to eye, but eventually learn to respect and attempt to understand the other's point of view. It was especially nice that it ended up where Ton was the one with the girlfriend which is kind of ironic in anime since it's usually the most good looking guy that gets the girl or has the love interest in the series. This made it the slightest bit more original, which made it even more of a standout as such a dynamic and diverse anime.

Overall I would recommend this if you're looking for a sports anime with a lighter mood to it. This one has a bit of drama, but it's more inspiring and would be good to watch with anyone of any age. I believe that with an open mind, anyone could watch this anime.

This is super cool

Mizoguchi is such an inspiration. He learns that his words are just as valuable as the words of people he quotes. Learning the value of one's own voice is something I think is very underestimated and undervalued.

I just think they're super cute, hardworking, and talented individuals.

Sources: https://66.media.tumblr.com/5e89331134889156fa9bd60ab31f98d6/tumblr_o9upegHvB51vtkohso2_400.gif, https://67.media.tumblr.com/8ddb7fe7f72b0dd30d8d25154e04d795/tumblr_o4lobfmeK11tbp5fpo8_500.gif, https://67.media.tumblr.com/7529aabbba8938587e9352d9112fee95/tumblr_oa6kzjRfzX1vz6xlmo1_500.gif, https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7v3sLF_JFSlgVOFg6YOiYJgnSdX5mI6zK_2Ni9LvLdwoaW2T3gZQIfrI4fHN2_2CXOjmN7AowBzugaGx0Ut5WyFqBFv0fCRKn3hGMFrb3XeT7p9JIe3-1ZSHHrSbejvX5y8EdzPVLYgA/s1600/CHEER+DANSHI.jpg