Book Review: Untamed

Fiction: Untamed [House of Night Series]
[Book 4]
Author: P.C Cast, Kristin Cast
Genres: Fantasy, Mystery, YA
Rating: 10/10

I was in my school library when I finally found the book I was desperately looking for.
[Whoo me!]

I was absolutely psyched to read it. My expectations were high, but they were well met once I finished reading the book. It was totally awesome. I am addicted to this series and can't wait to read the next book in the House of Night series, HUNTED.

A lot of mysteries were revealed in the 4th book. Neferet, Zoey' s enemy, has declared war against humans and is trying to awaken an ancient evil, who is more powerful than anything or anyone. This evil is someone beautiful and dangerous. On top of all of this, there is some kind of darkness surrounding the Academy and is targeting Zoey. Neferet has deceived everybody, and now, they think that this someone is related to their goddess, Nyx [the goddess of all vampires, basically]. Actually, the truth is that he is a fallen angel [a lot like Lucifer], who hates humans, especially women, and is now coming back to get revenge!

The good thing, though, is that Zoey has her friends back and maybe even her boyfriend, Erik Night. Her friends, who were dead, have now come back to life.

The weirdest thing that happened while I was reading this book was that I found myself visualizing everything that was happening. And, I have to say, I have a pretty awesome imagination. The way the author described everything was simply amazing, because it was easy to imagine how beautiful the fallen angel was. I really love this kind of action. Cast's use of words was superb and incredibly visualizing. I really enjoyed this book.

I am anxiously looking forward to the next book.

By: Eli
Edited by: Joey

Book Review: Chosen

Fiction: Chosen [House of Night Series]
[Book 3]
Author: P.C Cast, Kristin Cast
Genres: Fantasy, Mystery, YA
Rating: 10/10





What can I say about this series?I totally love it. These books are a must read.

Tagline?

A 16-year old girl has the future of humanity in her hands and her enemy is the strongest priestess in the House of Night Academy.

~
In the third book of the house of night series, Zoey Redbird struggles to get back her friends' trust and friendship. Her best friend, Stevie Rae, has been reborn from being undead and has acquired a new mark, which is completely different from the normal fledgings [students in the academy in the process of becoming vampires]. All in all, this book has lots of good and bad surprises along with a few steamy characters to die for.

The story is thrilling and filled with action. The drama is powerful, especially when some of Zoey's friends reject the change [into vampires] and die.

I am completely in love with the characters, especially Zoey, who is far from being a mistress in distress. There is a dash of comedy to it and quite a bit of romance, which will leave you completely satisfied at the end.

You can say these series have a litle of everything: romance, action, comedy, suspence, mystery and a touch of something special.

I love this series!

By: Eli
Edited By: Annie

Lovely Complex

Name: Lovely★Complex, Love★Com, ラブ★コン ,Rabu★Kon
Mangaka: Nakahara Aya
Genres: Shoujo, Romance, Comedy, School Life
Rating: 9.7/10

Before I start my review on Lovely Complex, let me write about a chapter in my life that nobody knows about: my brief stint with OchibiChan Scans. I have been an avid reader of Lovely Complex since about...the dawn of time. There has always been something that's been tugging me in a corner of my mind. What can I do to contribute? I don't want to always be a silent reader - reading a chapter, and then spamming the scanlation group for a month until they update again.

Maybe there was something deeper than that. Something that would put this mental harassment to an end. And there it was: the answer to everything. I can, I shall, I WILL become a scanlator. I was pretty handy with Photoshop and I think I could read my fair share of Chinese. So I emailed them and after dinner, they replied saying that they'd love to have a potential translator/typesetter on board. They emailed me two tests to do, a translator one and a typesetter one.

There's a reason why it's called a "brief" stint with OchibiChan Scans. That night, I got to work on the Translator test (they kept hinting at the vacancies in their translator posts...). Unluckily, my mom (with her psycho-Asian mom powers) managed to come into my room at the same time I was in the middle of a quite finicky Traditional Chinese character. Outraged at my association with these "abhorrent Japanese trash", she banned me from doing anymore of this "useless" thing. I managed to email Ochibichan that due to circumstances I was unwilling to say, I couldn't go through with my application.

That's my sad, short (not really) story. Now onto the actual review section.

Lovely Complex rates high on my list of good mangas. There are only a few mangakas who draw don't always make their characters look as pretty and composed as [we expect them to be]. One is Nakahara Aya-san. Another one I can think of is the mangaka of Goong (I actually can't remember her name!).

Lovely Complex is the hearwarming story of two people: Koizumi Risa and Otani Atsushi. When you look at the characters of their names, there is something interesting. Koizumi (小泉) means "little spring". Otani (大谷) on the other hand, means "big valley". Their real-life personas can't be anymore different. Koizumi is the tallest girl in her grade at 172cm tall, towering above the rest of the petite and cute girls in her school. Otani, on the other hand, is shorter than the other boys in their grade. He is 156 cm, humiliatingly shorter by about 20 or so centimeters than the rest of the male population.

The whole story revolves around these two odd people. The two of them are always in the same class, where the apparent height difference is constantly picked upon by their peers. The entire school jokingly dubs them as the "All-Hansin Kyojin" after a famous Japanese comedic duo that has the same height difference. Both are very sensitive about their height...leading to meaningless and comedic fights between themselves. Hate slowly turns to like as the story progresses. About half the storyline is concerning Koizumi's attempts to get Otani to like her (he couldn't 'see' her as a girlfriend just yet).

I absolutely loved this series but I was bipolar when it came to the end of this series. Yesterday, the last chapter of Lovely Complex came out. I was happy that it finally came out after about 3 months of dormancy (I even finished the sequel first!), but there was a feeling of disappointment because it had ended.

The art isn't Korean manhwa but I think that there is something special to be found in it. [However simple it may be, it's capable of summoning a whole range of emotions from you]. It seems confusing, but goodness knows how many times my heart throbbed at their angsty antics. Nakahara-san manages to bring a healthy dose of comedy into each chapter. Either with lates (to school, school trips, and eventually even the graduation ceremony) on Koizumi and Otani's parts or with absolute hilarious faces and expressions.

As the story gradually progresses from hate, dislike, neutrality, and then to like, I felt myself melting into the storyline and relating to all of the characters, especially Koizumi. Being 171 cm myself, I remember going back to China and feeling like a lanky giant. I totally felt everything she felt, with all of her insecurities and doubts. Of course, here in Canada, the height complex isn't as prevalent as in Asia so I don't think I have it as bad.

Ending on a final note: read it! I think it is considered as a classic manga, up there with Ouran, Special A and Naruto (which I absolutely detest...I don't even know why I'm naming it...=.=). The manga has been made into a 24 episode drama, a live-action movie, and a video game (what do they NOT make into a video game nowadays?!). I have watched all of them and loved it. Lovely Complex has a fiercely unique plot with equally original characters. It is deep but light at the same time. It explores the psyche of teenage adolescents while maintaining its humor and keeps the romance flowing.

Read the manga.
Watch the anime.
Watch the movie.

Experience the love.

By: Berber
Edited By: Annie

Book Review: The Hunger Games

Fiction: The Hunger Games
Author: Suzanne Collins
Genres: Science Fiction, Suspense, Romance, Action, everything
Rating: 8/10

24 Kids.

1 Winner.

How to be the winner? Be the last one alive.

~

In the country of Panem, there are 12 slave districts surrounding an authoritarian city called the Capitol. Each year, a boy and girl from every district is selected by random lottery for the Hunger Games.

~

The Hunger Games are a grim reminder to all those living in the 12 districts of the consequences of rebellion and the power that the Capitol holds. This control mechanism pits all the contestants against each other in a desolate and hostile environment, where the only method of action is “to kill or be killed”. The winner gets a life of ease, along with special treatments to his or her district. The losers can only lose in one way – by dying.

~
We follow this gripping tale by listening to the narrative of Katniss Everdeen, a girl who takes her sister’s place as District 12’s female representative in the 74th Games. Along with her comes Peeta Mellark, the baker’s son who once saved her family by providing them with some loaves of bread. With these two competing against those who’ve trained their whole lives for a chance at the Games, hope seems slim. And what happens when the two are forced to turn on each other in a place where the “only unspoken” rule is you can’t eat the dead contestants?
~
But this isn’t even the fun part yet. Every moment of the games is televised to the entire nation, and all the citizens are required to watch the gruesome display of supreme power by the Capitol. Sizzling right underneath the subplot of political intrigue is a love story that holds the readers (and the residents of Panem) in complete fascination.
~
Reading about this post-apocalyptic world is grisly, terrifying, and at the same time, exhilarating. The Games are not simply tests of strength or agility, but of both intelligence and the instinct to survive. Suspense and action are keywords that provide the readers with a fast-paced journey through a world where the next page seems too far away. It will be inevitable that in a few years, you’ll be watching Hunger Games, the movie.

"Winning means fame and fortune. Losing means certain death. Let the games begin…"

By: Annie

Book Review: Betrayed

Fiction: Betrayed [House of Night Series]
[Book 2]
Author: P.C Cast, Kristin Cast
Genres: Fantasy, Mystery, YA
Rating: 10/10




The second book of the House of Night series is better than the first.
Following Zoey Redbird's new life as a vampire in training has become even more exciting. Along with becoming the high priestess of the House of Night, Zoey' s life has turned out to be way more complicated.

First, she encounters her ex-boyfriend Heath again and they imprint [When a vampire sucks the blood of a human and they form a special bond.]. Then, she becomes Erik's girlfriend, the hottest guy in the academy. And on top of this, she feels an attraction towards the most god-like teacher in the academy, Loren, and he feels the same way towards her.

Moreover; human students are starting to turn up dead from blood loss and all the evidence points towards the House of Night Academy. She also finds out that her high priestess (mentor), Neferet, isn't who everyone thinks she is. Many secrets are revealed and enemies become friends.

Along with other unexpected surprises that I'll leave for you to find out yourself, Betrayed has become a story impossible to put down. It was hotter than the first book; the scenes were surprising and steamy. It kept me at the edge of my seat and I seriously could not put down the book because of its amazingly well-written plots. The humor - which was in parts you'd least expect to find - was amazing and kept me laughing. The action was thrilling with the new enemies that were made and secrets that were uncovered. Zoey struggles as a new vampire who has been given the mission of finding out the secrets that surround the academy and the teachers themselves.





By: Eli
Edited By: Joey

Boys Over Flowers/ Kgotboda Namja [Need Editing]

Boys Over Flowers/꽃보다 남자 / Kgotboda Namja

Drama Recommendation

I'm surprised that there isn't a post on this yet. Here it is: the most popular drama on the other side of the International Date Line. Kgotboda Namja. BOYS OVER FLOWERS. Korean baby.

I'm sure all of us have watched either the Taiwanese or Japanese versions. I have watched both. :D.

All of these dramas are adaptations of the extremely popular Japanese manga Hana Yori Dango (Boys Before Flowers) by Kamio Yoko. Makino Tsukushi is the only poor student at Eitoku Gakuen, the school of the ridiculously rich and privileged that is ruled by Flower 4 or F4, a group of four boys who come from extremely powerful families: Domyoji Tsukasa, the leader and heir of the Domyoji World Finance Group; Hanazawa Rui, the introverted son of a large company; Nishikado Sojiro, a player who is the heir of a tea ceremony school; and Mimasaka Akira, a madam killer with ties to the underground. If a student gets on the F4’s bad side, he/she gets a red notice and is bullied and driven out of school.(DramaWiki) Even though she is harassed, Makino decides to keep going to school because she is a “tough weed”. She declares war right back on the F4. Her resolve gets the attention of her crush Hanazawa Rui and oddly enough, rouses romantic feelings in her worst enemy, Domyoji Tsukasa. As all dramas are built, there is love, friendships, difficulties, misunderstandings, and love triangles.

The Korean version is a bit different:
Jan-di, the female protaganist of this drama, is the poor but bright girl who has a strong sense of justice and full of vitality. She transfers to an exclusive high school where only the rich go. In there, she encounters with the four rich and quirky boys and experiences love and friendship.
The storyline illustrates the supreme fantasy that a drama can bring out the most. Each of us probably has an experience of admiring or dreaming of something. The drama ‘Boys over Flowers’ is the concentration of the admirations.

I just started watching this when I thought "To heck with French, let's listen to another foreign language!" Of course, I just got to Episode One Part Two on Mysoju.com. Not very far, but that is going to change.

I'll post again when I watch a bit more and can justify my opinions. I'm just basing my enthusiasm from my other Korean friends' ravings about this drama.

Playing Jan-Di is Koo Hye Sun
























Playing Joon Pyo is Lee Minho

























Playing So Yi Jung is Kim Bum (Annie...I know you love him :D)































Playing Song Woo Bin is Kim Joon



















Gosh...I love them all :D
Watch it here!!

B.

Manga Review: Until death do us Apart [Need Editing]

Seinen: Until death do us Apart
Mangaka: Takashige Hiroshi
Artist: Double-S
Genre: Action, Adventure, Seinen
Rating: 9.8/10

These series is about a blind guy who can pretty much kick butt and a girl who can predict the future.

This ability has gotten her into the sight of various organizations that want her for their benefit.
Despite all of this, she meets Hijikata Mamoru, a blind swords man who is greatly feared by everyone for his amazing skills, along with his companion, Igawa they sweep the streets of Japan for known criminals and so on.
Thought this manga is still ongoing and irregular [meaning you don't know when the next chapter is going to come out], it's one of my favorites among a few, since the art is pretty awesome and kicking, the action is totally amazing, I am a big fan of swordsman plus Mamoru is seriously hot and awesome, his blindness makes him even more intriguing. I fell in love the minute I saw him. Thought his ways of showing affection is kind of harsh, he's a pretty cool character.
The action is always there since there are a lot of people who want Haruka's power, but Mamoru is always there to protect her.
There are a lot of surprising twists, among others that are very cunning, the plot is well written and I hope they keep translating it because I look forward to the characters' futures and their so called-Romance...

Clickie: Until death do us apart

Eli.

Mei-chan no Shitsuji [Need Editing]

This isn't so much of a review than it is a heads up. I was just browsing MySoju.com when lo and behold, guess what I saw?

One: Boys Over Flowers is now the #1 Drama, over Fated to Love You.

Two: There is now a drama for Mei-chan no Shitsuji.

It basically translates to Mei-chan's Butler. This is based on a manga of the same name, done by the same mangaka who authored Love Monster. The general plot of it is (from MySoju, because I'm a lazy bum that can't write summaries):

The story revolves around a young woman named Mei who finally finds the "butler of her dreams", whom she has been searching for since a past encounter.

From Mangafox (be warned that the drama may not follow the same plotline):

Mei Shinonome always has this dream. When she was younger and lost her way in a dark forest, she sang her favourite song, "Mei-chan's Butler", to build up her courage. Suddenly she was lifted up by a man who said he was her butler. Now she can't remember what he looks like, but remembers his shimmering brooch and long slender fingers. Kento Shibata is a pretty boy who, along with everyone else in the class, doesn't believe Mei's dream was once real. Emiri Enari has a crush on Kento and looks down on Mei as her father is a noodle chef. How will Mei find the butler from her dreams and will she get everyone to believe her?

There's love triangles and bunches more.

Just saying...I'm really surprised that they made this into a drama. It looks interesting...Maybe I'll do a review on Mei-chan No Shitsuji later.

Click here to watch it.
Click here for the manga.

(Note: writing "just saying" reminded me of the movie I watched at Cineplex last night with friends: Fired Up. It was hilarious XD There was this one girl that kept saying the weirdest things and then, when all activity hushed and everybody looking at her, she'd say, "Just saying."

B. :)

Manga Review: Kare Kano

Shoujo: Kare Kano
Mangaka: Tsuda Masami
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance, School, Life, Shoujo,
Rating: 10/10

Kare Kano [his and her circumstances], which is number 2 on my favorite shoujo manga list, is about a girl, Yukino Miyazawa, who is perfect at everything in her school. She is both smart and athletic. She has the looks and the personality of a perfect young lady. Everybody admires her and thinks she is amazing. But, that's not her real personality. The real Yukino is actually the queen of vanity - she loves to be praised by others regarding how perfect she is.

Everything goes according to plan until she enters high school. There, she meets her match - Soichiro Arima. He is athletic, smart and good-looking. He soon finds out about Yukino's real personality and that's when everything starts to change.

Kare Kano fills my thirst for the perfect shoujo manga. On top of the amazing art, the characters were flawless and the various plots were something to scream about. The romance was extraordinary and cunning. The various problems that the main characters faced had depth to it, the comedy was hilarious and original, and the story itself was a masterpiece. It was written with immense detail; Tsuda Magami made sure you understood each character and its circumstances.

I found the whole story mind-blowing and something unique. Although some said the story dragged out, I think it was due to the setting and the many characters that were introduced. It took place in high school, and the memories of it were precious to the characters themselves. The drama and romance kept me at the edge of my seat.

If you are looking for a manga that has drama, romance, and everything in between, check this one out. It is truly a masterpiece.

By: Eli
Edited By: Joey

Manga Review: Othello

Shoujo: Othello
Mangaka: Ikezawa Satomi
Genre: Comedy, Psychological, Romance, Shoujo
Rating: 9.5/10


A long time ago, I realized that some mangas are really rare and hard to find. Therefore; you had to cherish them. For instance, this little piece of work, which I completely adore and hate at the same time, Othello.

The main character suffers from Multiple Personality Disorder, where two or more distinct personalities exist within a single person. I've come across a few mangas with this type of psychological genre which are really hard to find, so I'm happy it came to my mind.

Yaya is a naive and incompetent girl who does what everybody tells her to do. But, she is too ignorant and gullible to even realize that others treat her like a dog. Then, in comes Nana, a girl who's hard-rocking and butt-kicking and doesn't let anybody tell her what to do - the complete the opposite of Yaya.

These two girls are quite the opposites, but they are, surprisingly, the same person. You will come to hate Yaya or pity her, since her stupidity is something out of this world. I didn't like her, because she was over-the-top ignorant and never did anything against her "friends." But that's what the mangaka was aiming for. She wanted the characters to be complete opposites, like fire and ice. Yaya being weak shows how Nana comes out and solve the problems that she faces.

The thing about this manga is that it made me hate Yaya and love Nana. Along with romance and comedy, this is a manga that you will surely like. The art is also pretty. Nana's superhuman strength is something to laugh about and her boastful personality is strong and independent - something that Yaya is lacking.

Overall, I give this manga a 9.5 out of 10. I don't know about you, but I hate main characters in mangas who are weak and aren't able to say no.


To check it out: Othello

By: Eli
Edited By: Joey

Manga/Anime Review: Death Note

Shounen: Death Note
Mangaka: Ohba Tsugumi
Artist: Obata Takeshi
Genres: Drama, Mystery, Shounen, Supernatural, Tragedy
Rating: 10/10

This morning, while I was listening to the song Alumina by Nightmare (the first ending of Death Note), the manga came flashing through my mind. After watching the anime and reading the manga, I fell completely in love with the music that came with it.

To me, this manga/anime was awesome to the core. It was something outside the box, highlighted by its originality and creativity. The intense action filled scenes will surely leave you wanting for more.

The story goes like this: Light Yagami is an ace student, and he's bored out of his mind by the normality of the endless days ahead of him. One day, he finds a notebook dropped by a Shinigami, or a Death God, who also happens to be suffering from the same boredom. Ryuk decides to spice things up a bit in the human world with a Death Note. This note book is able to kill all the people whose names are written in it.

As time progresses, there arises various national and philosophical conflicts. You can say that the anime/manga begins to take on a political theme, and that's where the famous detective L gets introduced to the plot. Who wouldn’t be curious when criminals start to turn up dead in great numbers?

I'm not a fan of mangas/animes involving political themes [ex: Ghost in the Shell] where it involves high authorities. In fact, I hate them because occasionally, I can't keep up with the high class vocabulary. However, this manga was definitely an exception. Besides the art which I instantly fell in love with, I love shinigamis, and the whole theme of death. The story was not difficult to follow, especially when the characters happen to be strong and overwhelming. Despite the tragedies, there’s also a lot of humor (surprisingly).In addition, the constant battle between good and evil, or perhaps what's considered to be good and evil, continues until the very end. Among all the problems that were present, the mangaka never left the main topic – [that the fight between light and darkness is subjective, and there are times when the line becomes blurred.] In the ongoing war of fates, the conflict between Yagami Light and L's is something that won’t resolve even after death.

I seriously recommend this.

To read: DEATH NOTE
To watch: Death Note~

By: Eli
Edited By: Annie