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!