Haikyu

How many of you are into sports anime?

Recently, I've become a lover of this particular anime genre. I admit, I originally started watching because I was bored. I had run out of all the fantasy and sci-fi anime that keep me going during the week. Either the shows had reached the end of their season or had been discontinued. Desperate for exciting entertainment, I turned to animated sports.

Haikyu entertains while actually teaching you about the sport of volleyball. There's really no way you could enjoy the story without the brief explanations of all the positions and rules the players on the court actually have.

But of course, one doesn't fall in love with a sports anime because it is educational. The characters are genuinely impossible to hate. As you experience each members back story for why he chose Karasuno high school and why he desires to play the game of volleyball, you can't help but want to see them become a strong team and carry their school to nationals.

My favorite character has to be Shoyo Hinata. He's a bit of a ditz, but he is a nice person. He cares about his teammates and he is passionate about the sport. All he wants it to have fun playing volleyball and playing with other people who love the game. This makes it easy for him to make friends with other players, even if they are from rival schools. Of course, Shoyo is also the shortest member of his team.

In a sport that is dominated by tall people, Shoyo is at a disadvantage. However, the writer has gifted him with incredible leg strength. Even though he can jump higher, he and his team have to develop strategies to help him combat the natural height of their opponenets.

Normally, at this point, I add in an artwork critique. While the art in Haikyu isn't as realistic as I'd like, it doesn't cause the anime to lose points. The cartoony feel of the art really is part of what contributes to making the humorous parts of the story work. And the exceptional voice acting is something that you just can't overlook.

I've just been getting caught up on all the exciting additions to the Karasuno team happening in season 2. Just a note, it is subtitled so if that is a deal breaker for you, I'll be disappointed for you. Have a great week and hopefully this leads you to other great anime.

GATE

Gate is a relatively new anime, at least to me. I came across this one last week while I was babysitting and looking for something new and exciting to watch. The description given didn't give me any real hope as to how good it was going to be, but I was pleasantly surprised.

For starters, the main character is an adult, with a regular job. Why is this special? Because in the story, a gate to another world opens up in Japan. And instead of a teenager being selected to enter the gate and battle whatever lies beyond, we have a trained soldier and his army unit doing the fighting. As someone who's 1 year and 3 months away from turning 30, I am actually getting a bit tired of all the teenage and pre-teen anime heroes and heroines. I want a story that appeals to me and shows grown-up characters responding to situations in grown-up ways.

Next, our hero, Itami, is so cool. No, he's not the typical anime hottie that's physically impossible for any human man to match. He's very much your average looking man. He works to support his otaku hobby and shows no shame about it. That's what makes him cool. He says, "this is who I am. If you don't like it, so what?"

As is the standard with all the anime heroes that we come to love, Itami is intelligent, but doesn't flaunt it. He's strong and sensitive and has good instincts. He is a decent person who does his best to to do the right thing at all times, because if he was a jerk, I doubt we'd have much cause to want to root for him at all.

Since there are only 12 episodes of GATE available, it is hard to say how great the series will really turn out to be, but I think it is off to a great start.

Of course, no post about an anime would be complete without my rating system.
Artwork: 5 stars (The color quality of the images and the sophistication of the drawings is top notch)
Acting: 5 stars (Well selected and talented voice actors really help make this anime what it is)
Script: 4 stars (There are always a few cliches that pop up and lines that get repeated a bit too often)
Story: 4 stars (Not too much originiality about a fantasy world being linked to ours, but the personal spin that GATE puts on it gives it just enough to avoid being another 3 star time waster and something that could be really worth while)

Back to Business

Hello Readers and Anime Watchers.

I know it has been a few months since the last post. I do my best to keep this active, but there are so many books and shows to watch, that it gets hard to keep up with the blog. However, I have been on an anime watching binge lately and there will be a few weeks worth of new posts for those of you who love to see their stories come to life on the screen.

Unfortunately, I have fallen behind on the books side of things. I will do my best to try and keep the posts equally divided among books and television, but I'm only human.

Hopefully, there will be something here that you learn about that you'll want to check out or discuss. Until then...Happy Reading!

They Were 11

For an older anime movie, this one rates high at 5 stars. I can't rank the artwork on the same modern standard that I normally would because it appears to have been made in the late 80's or early 90's (and I can barely remember what TV looked like back then thanks to invention of HD). I'm mostly kidding about that.

This video can be found on YouTube and it is worth an hour and a half of your time. Did I mention that it's dubbed in English? For those of you who don't want to read your TV, then this is a good option if you're struggling to find something to watch.

The main story is that there are only supposed to be 10 applicants for a space academy exam on the ship. They have to manage on their own for 53 days before the exam is finished. If they encounter a problem they are unable to solve, there is a panic button they can push and a rescue ship will be dispatched. Of course, they get off to a bad start when the test begins and their ship has 11 people instead of 10.

Right away they all become suspicous of each other. They assume that the 11th person is there to sabotage the mission. They suspect one member of the crew in particular, because he seems to know more about the ship than the rest of them and he seems to have training and skills that they think no person their age should have. However, this young man is not a saboteur. He is actually a legitimate member of the crew.

One problem after another arises and the young boys (and the two hermaphrodites) figure out how to work together. There are a few explosions and one man hunt, but for the most part, the story doesn't have any drama outside of the social dynamics of 11 strangers in a room.

Yowamushipedal

I'm in tears. The ending was so touching and yet still kept the flare of the show. It didn't lose touch with each character's personality. After two long seasons, the road racing anime ends. It's bitter sweet because I really enjoyed watching this one.

The pure hearted Onoda Sakamichi who learns to road race and make friends at the same time. The way his undying determination inspired the other members of the team. And how just watching the show made all my kids finally want to learn to ride a bike. (That last one's probably the best part)

Personally, I never thought that I would get into sports anime, but this one really made me addicted. You wouldn't think that a person would watch 63 episodes about a single bike race, but I think my attraction to this one really has to do with the main character. He starts off as such an awkward child, but grows into a slightly less awkward kid by the end. And his growth is all thanks to the interaction he has with the members of the Sohoku cycling team. 

I suppose the only thing that I would have liked to have more insight into was the incident about why his mother had his bike fixed so that he couldn't ride very far. They show a few images that makes it seem like he was once hit by a car, but it doesn't seem like Sakamichi remembers it. I would have like to have seen a full episode on that because I just like knowing the backgrounds of characters. 

For artwork, I will give this one 4 stars. It wasn't super realistic the way I like, but it wasn't overly cartoony either. They kept the slap stick moments to a minimum and each one fit the scene it was in. They didn't go out of their way to try and be funny, except at the end (after the episode credits). For story, again, I give it a 4. It would have been a 5 except there were moments when the show really got on my nerves. I get that they have to build suspense, but there were times when they over did it. 

All in all, this one was really good. And since it is finished, you can log onto Crunchyroll and binge watch the whole series from start to finish in about 2 to 3 days. Of course, it might take you 4 or more if you have a day job. 

Parasite: the maxim

I just finished this one during my weekly anime binge, also known as Saturday. I hate that it ended, but I did like the way the author ended it. The ending gave me a real sense of resolution for Shinichi and Migi.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the story, it centers around a teenage boy named Shinichi and an alien parasite. Shinichi names the parasite Migi, which means 'right hand'. He gives him this name because the alien devoured his right arm and took the place of the limb.

Migi is just trying to survive. However, because he is attached to Shinichi, his signal draws other parasites to his host. And the others are blood thirsty. Thus begins the symbiotic relationship of survival between the two species.

This particular story rates 4 stars on my scale, mainly for the artwork and story execution. I did also like the unique take on earthlings versus alien invasion. I don't want to spoil it for you but there isn't a clear winner in the end, unless you count Shinichi.

Why So Vague

I had a friend ask me why I don't get more detailed and really critique the anime I watch.

It's because I don't want to get too detailed when I write about an anime. I don't want to say too much.  Nothing's worse than when someone spoils the best part of a movie for me. Were I to get too detailed, the highlights of the show would slip out and then there'd be no reason to watch it.

Aside from that, I don't want what I have to say to influence your opinion too much. Whether you love or hate a show is up to you. I just want you to give it a try. Anime is a great way to ease your boredom.

The main reason I started this blog was to get a discussion going. I want other people who love books and anime to chime in about the ones they loved or hated and why. Even if you don't wan to comment all you need to do is keep reading or keep watching. Trust me, the authors and artists who created the masterpiece you're indulging in appreciate it.

Counting by 7's

4 out of 5 stars.

While I recently finished this book, there isn't much to say except that I really enjoyed it.

This book can be found in the young reader section of the bookstore. It made me laugh out loud at times and I was even crying by the end.

Honestly, the author did an excellent job of making all her characters feel real. I got attached to the main character, Willow Chance, and I was sad to see the story end. But, it left me with a feeling of pleasure that maybe things would actually work out for her eventually.

I suppose there a few notes I should mention. The cover is cute, yet simple. It is basically white with tiny fish on it. It's not a design that jumps out at you and so, if you're one of those readers who judge books by the cover art, then you would easily pass over this little gem. The book is also mostly told in first person from Willow Chance's perspective. I liked the chance to see the world through her eyes.

As I said before, I thought the book was great. For those of you who worry about your budget, it wouldn't be a waste of $8.99 if you did decide give it a shot. 

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You

This book by Ally Carter is the first in a long series. Personally, I found it to be cute and just the sort of thing I'd be gushing over if I were still a teenage girl. But because I left my teen years behind me 10 years ago, and because I'm a mom of future teenage girls, I obviously found a few flaws with this story.

First, let me say that the story idea was definitely clever. It was creative and fun for me and so I give it an overall 3.5 stars.

The story is told in first person from the main character's POV (that's point of view), which didn't really bother me either. I like reading books like that from time to time. What irritated me was her tendancy to throw in sentences written in foreign languages without a translation. Okay, so the author wants to demonstrate her point about how these girls are teenage spies in training and can speak a myriad of languages. Fine. I get that. But how about translating the sentences for those of us who don't speak French or Russian or whatever? Thank goodness for smartphones and google translate. Ih was able to hold my phone up to the page and get the general idea of the conversation.

I would have also liked a more detailed explanation of some of those 'spyish' terms and phrases. I don't watch a lot of espionage themed stuff, so honeypot is probably one of the only terms I recognized. As the author, she should have considered that just knowing the terms is not enough. She should have considered the reader who would not want to turn to Google or Siri every time a term specific to the spy trade was used. All I'm saying is that a little explanation would have been nice.

There were several areas where I felt that the flow of the story was disrupted by the author trying too hard to remind us that our heroine was a teenage girl. She wrote with abbreviations too often or even broke up paragraphys by interrupting the story with the character's commentary. I found this to be highly annoying.

And my final complaint would have to be how she didn't go into detail about Cammie and Josh's dates. This is a Young Adult fiction novel. And let's face it, teenage girls want to read about how warm and soft a boy's hand feels when he holds a girl's hand for the first time or how soft and smooth his lips were the first time she kissed him. We don't want a quick summary of 'we kissed, but I won't tell you because that's private' in parenthesis. That's no fun. We want the opportuity to be allowed to feel all mushy and starry eyed.

Despite my minor complaints, I will be seeking out Ms. Carter's sequel "Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy", because, as I said before, the book was fun. And that's what fiction books are for. :) Happy Reading!

To Kill a Mockingbird & Go Set a Watchman

"To Kill A Mockingbird" was probably one of the few classics I was forced to read in school that I actually enjoyed. I found Scout to be the kind of kind, smart, no nonsense kind of person that I wanted to grow up to be. Because of the book's setting, there are things that obviously made me angry. There was the whole injustice behind the case and how the townspeople treated Scout's father for doing a proper job representing him.

I found the book to be captivating. And while I don't own a copy of "To Kill a Mockingbird", I'd really like to. This posts comes as my response to Harper Lee's book "Go Set a Watchman" that is scheduled to be released soon. Since I loved her first book, I do not want to miss my chance to own her next one. If it is anything like the previous title, I know that it will be money well spent.

Now, in no way is this post an advertisement or a call for you to buy her book. There will be plenty of local libraries out there that will have a copy on hand. If historical fiction is your style, this may be the book for you. Keep in mind, I will post an update after I've had a chance to read it. Until then, Happy Reading (for you book lovers) and Happy Watching (for you anime lovers).

Yona of the Dawn

This anime has become my new love affair.

The first two episodes blew me away with all the drama. I was sucked into the story right away. Yona is the princess of her kingdom who has her entire life drastically changed in one night. Her father is murdered by the one person she has always held a candle for. With the help of Hak, her friend and protector, she manages to escape the castle.

Yona's story operates on several levels. There is the part about her being the reincarnation of a dragon king and needing to find the four humans who possess dragon powers to help her fight. There is also Yona's journey of growth as a person. As she travels her kingdom, she has to keep her identity a secret. While doing so, she learns that her kingdom is full of suffering people and that many citizens thought her father was an incompetent and uncaring ruler.

She also becomes determined to learn to defend herself so that she doesn't need to rely on the power of others to survive. She's a noble character with a kind heart. She can be naive, but that is to be expected from a young teenage girl who previously lived a sheltered life. There is also the super sexy Hak. While he is a normal human, his strength and talent as a warrior are slightly super human. He is also desperately in love with Yona but she seems blind to how he feels.

By now, you are probably aware that I have a bias toward stories with more serious storylines and realistic artwork. The voice acting is quality as is the story development, thus far. Therefore, Yona gets 5 stars out of a possible 5 stars. Hulu and Crunchyroll both carry the series.