Kriminality

Naruto:

Naruto has picked up its pace, and I must say that I’m looking forward to the future chapters of this series. I’m sad that one of the characters I liked ended up dead, but that was a befitting end no matter what. I’m still not a fan of Sasuke after 300+ chapters and I still prefer Itachi over Sasuke even now. I like the development of Naruto’s character in the past chapters and the fight scenes were not disappointing at all.

Bleach: 

Bleach on the other hand is pissing me off.  I’m seeing a repeat of the previous arc just with different characters and I’m actually wishing that some of the Espada kill off some of the major characters. Really. I’m not too thrilled with some of the fight scenes I’ve read the past chapters. Some of them were boring as hell. It was nice seeing Byakuya back, uhm that fight scene? Gah, not too happy with it. I hope Kubo Tite decides to end the arc soon.

Prince of Tennis: 

I am fangirling Yukimura in the latest chapter. He is just awesome and I love how he owned Ryoma in that chapter. His replies to Echizen’s smart pants comments are made of win. So, calm and zen-like. It is refreshing to see someone returning all of Echizen’s move without breaking a sweat and without going into super-saiyan mode and doing DBZ-style tennis. Seriously. It will be heart-breaking to see Yukimura lose if ever.

Ookiku Furikabutte: 

What can I say about this series, but it is made of win! Oh Mihashi, how you’ve grown. You’re still that adorable dork that you are during the start of the series, but you’ve come a long way from what you were before you moved to Nishiura. It’s really surprising what a good character development could do for a series.

I’m really glad that CA decided to fansub Oofuri. I know Saizen is doing a really good job at it, but I also like how CA does some of the translation for their subs. I have a minor problem with the fonts they use in their subs, but overall I think the group is doing well. Saizen just released episodes 11 & 12 while CA is up to episode 7 at the present this week so it is looking good at the Oofuri front. Also chapter 51 of Oofuri is so much love. Oh, Mihashi!

The past week I tried to watch the Bountou (Bound) arc of the Bleach anime. It was one of the fastest anime watching I did because I just skimmed through a lot of the episodes since they just bored me to no end. The Bountou (Bound) were some kind of a failed experiment by Soul Society that escaped to the human world. They remind me of the homunculus in FMA only they have these dolls that are sort of like the shinigami’s zanpakutou. No really and some of their backstories are so FMAish. I did like the Byakuya and Ichigo tag team fight with the main Bountou guy at one point.

Shion no Ou is getting more interesting as each episode pass by. I like how the other characters are given enough screen time in the episodes. The politics and games being played behind the shougi tournaments is somewhat fascinating as well. It’s but different with Hikaru no Go in a sense that it does not solely focus on the game of shougi. I’d really like to see some Hikago and Shion no Ou crossover fics. Seriously.

Shion no Ou manga here.

A lot of this season’s anime titles do not appeal to me. So far the only thing that I’m regularly downloading is Mobile Suit Gundam 00. I’m not quite sure about the other new series out since most of the summaries I read didn’t make me curious enough to download them. I really need recs on what to watch this season. There are too many cutesy stuff out there that just grates on my nerves the wrong way it is not even funny any more.

As for US TV, I’ve been following my usual which includes the following:

CSI
CSI: New York
Numb3rs
Criminal Minds
Heroes
House
Bones
SGA
Supernatural

The only new series I’m currently following is Bionic Woman which is not exactly a new series since it’s a remake of the old Bionic Woman TV series. Heck, if they do a remake of its counterpart The Six Million Dollar Man, I’d probably watch it too. I’m downloading Avatar, but I haven’t watched episode 2 to the latest. I’m just not in the mood to follow it yet I guess.

I swear I’d catch up on Ugly Betty, NCIS, Cold Case and the others I just don’t have the time at the present. When I’m all settled and finally have my own place with my sister, I’d be lazy and be a couch potato. As of the present, I’d just go with that list.

Just sharing some stuff. Do drop a note if the links are not working.

Manga

Saint Seiya The Lost Canvas Volume 1
Saint Seiya The Lost Canvas Volume 2

Music

Saint Seya Vocal Hits I
Saint Seiya Hits II - Under Any Kind Of Stars
Saint Seiya Vocal Hits III

PV

M-flo loves CHEMISTRY - Now or Never

One of those old drawings I did of Touya Akira. It’s a rough sketch. I liked the way this turned out.

I really envy people who could actually take the time to write or draw in spite of their very schedules. I see friends who despite the rigorous works they have produce drawings or fiction that are really good. It frustrates me at times since I just can’t seem to find the energy to do anything aside from work, work, rest and maybe the occasional anime/tv/movie watching.

Oh let’s not forget the team building activities thrown in.

There was a time when I practically drew and wrote almost everyday in high school and I was happy. Now that I’m older, writing or drawing seems to be a very difficult task. Maybe I’m just too cynical now or just too tired to let my imagination run wild. Or maybe I’m just too conscious on what people would think of what I did.

For what its worth, I’d like to at least try writing and drawing again not for other people’s sake, but for my own.

I’m getting bored with the current arc in all honesty. It’s just like a repeat of the SS arc just with more powerful villains, with lots of talk and action sequences. Even the latest chapter involving Nel did not surprise me anymore. It’s getting more predictable in some ways. I’m quite disappointed really. Also the Orihime x Ichigo thing? It annoys me. At first it was interesting, but lately it just turns me off. I was never an Orihime x Ichigo fan to begin with. I was indifferent with the pair before, but now it’s one of those pairs that annoys me. I wish Kubo Tite would just get on with the story.

Naruto on the other hand is getting interesting. It’s nice that the current arc is actually going somewhere and hopefully it stays that way. I just hope it does not turn into another Sasuke arc thing. Kudos to the mangaka for actually letting us know now the true name of the fourth and who is Naruto’s parents.

This series is brilliant and amusing I am in love with it. It wasn’t the first time that a manga/anime delved into the topic of baseball, but this title puts its on own touch on the game. I’m drawn to the character of Mihashi and I find him adorable although he tends to cry a lot in the series. I’m just surprised that it isn’t getting as much exposure as some of the other sports series out there like Prince of Tennis. I suppose the fact that it has fewer pretty boy characters might be one of the reasons.

I find the story of Oofuri better in so many aspects than PoT. The story handling is much tighter and character development is quite good in fact. The mangaka handled the funny and hilarious aspects in manga quite well that when it gets inserted within a serious scene it does not seem so out of place. When reading, I feel like I am there with the characters. I feel their frustration, joy, surprise and all other emotions. When I see the characters grow on each chapter, it’s like watching someone you care about mature - taking pride in their accomplishments and empathizing with their pains and joys. That is something I never felt when I read/watched PoT.

I’m currently enjoying the series as it is and haven’t gotten into the shippings of characters yet.  Although I see the Abe x Mihashi oh so early in the story. The canon provides love for this pair like whoa!

Oofuri is fun. It is crack and so much more. This series needs more love.