OTAKU review: "Mirai Nikki (The Future Diary)" (ANIME)

Storyline: 10

Characters: 10

Art: 10

Overall Rating: 10

I actually wanted to watch this anime for a really long time, but somehow I didn't. I don't know why, maybe I just didn't have time for it and when finally I decided to start watching it, my computer broke....  And now I finally got new one and my autumn holiday came, so I decided to marathon few animes and mangas. Mirai Nikki was one of them.

I really loved the storyline. It was quite original and I actually didn't expect most of the plot twists. I never expected that the end would be what it was... I thought that Yuno will kill Yuki or Yuki will realize how messed up Yuno is and kill her first. Well suicide together was a possibility as well. I liked the use of diaries and how each of them had a name, though there was few diaries that I couldn't even understand what they did or why they were called the way they did. I know that most people know this anime for the blood and survival game, but I think it was extremely sad and all that gore and bloodshed came in second place for me. And the end kinda reminded me of Vampire Knight (more precisely the part where Yuki is laying in oblivion with the long hair and all that... That struck me like a scene from straight form VK chapter 63~64). Though don't get me wrong I wasn't happy with the ending. Of course everyone had their own 'happy ending', but I put so much hope that Yuki and Yuno will end up together. It just somehow made me mad.

I loved how every character was very different from the other and that they had an interesting background (at least the ones who's background were showed). I liked the main characters a lot and when most people know Yuno as one crazy biach, I think of her as a girl that had a lot of traumas. I know she's psycho and all, but at the end all I could do was cry and think how hard it must have been for her. I think Yuki was the most boring character. All he was, was a born observer (just like me..). I think it was fun to watch him react to things that happened, but he himself didn't have any baggage that he could bring into the story, except his idiot father. For me 9th was the most interesting character. She brought in something into the story that I can't describe in words. Also she was a simple character and had sense of justice (though in her own twisted way).

I couldn't decide if I should give art 10 or 9 because some of the explosions I saw in anime kinda sucked... Exceptionally the one where the tower blew up. But at the end I think I liked the art so I will give it 10. Like I said I won't be picky when it comes to art. Overall I really liked the anime. I didn't read the manga yet, but I hope it's gonna be just as good or even better.

Well I hope I did better job on this review than on the last one.

OTAKU review: "Kaichou wa Maid-sama!" (MANGA)

Storyline: 7

Characters: 9

Art: 10

Overall Rating: 9

Since I still haven't  reviewed a single anime or manga just KPOP I decided to review one of my favorites - "Kaichou wa Maid-sama!". I decided to review manga and not anime, because manga just ended and I don't exactly remember the last time I watched the anime. Lets start with the storyline -
I don't think that the main plot is original. It's very cliche - rich guy who is denied his inheritance falls in love with a poor girl, at first she hates him, but then she starts liking him when suddenly her sweet childhood friend appears and she finds out that he is still in love with her. That's almost the plot of every drama. I think maybe I should have given the storyline even lower rating, but those little details and plot twists make up for the quite annoying (but still loved by me) cliche plot. Manga manages to be funny and sad at the same time (and that's a sign of quality for me). And usually on stories with this kind of plot at the end everyone acknowledges their relationship, but here at the end we still can see that even after 10 years the grumpy grandpa still stays mad and looks at Takumi just as his doctor. Until the very end the head of the Walker family doesn't even look at him straight just like like he did after he was born. And I really did love the ending witch doesn't happen as often as I would like.
I think that most characters were well thought out and with good background, but there were few random ones, or just characters that served no purpose in the story. I liked that Misaki hated guys because she had a good reason to ( if my father would leave the house leaving a huge debt for us , I would hate every single guy as well) and not because she just hated them... (I watch a lot of Asian dramas as well, so usually if girl hates guys it almost always is explained this way - "I fell in love with him, but he betrayed me, so now I hate every single guy around the world..."). I liked that Takumi was perverted, but not to over the top. Though I think that even main characters had many flaws, but I also think that they compensated each others flaws as well.
I don't know what should I tell about the art besides the thing that I liked it. I don't think that I will ever be strict with the art, because even though I like to draw, I'm not an expert in this field and as long as I like it the ratings gonna be 10. Actually I always look into characters eyes when I need to decide if I like the art or not. Somehow I feel that they are the most important.
So it's my first anime/manga review and I really don't know if I did a good job, but I'm now watching few animes and reading few mangas that I really like so far, so as soon as I finish them I'll try reviewing it and I hope that I'll do better.

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KPOP review: "김재중 (Kim Jaejoong) - Just Another Girl'

Music Video: 9

Song: 10

Overall Rating: 10

I actually love Jaejoong. He's one of my favorite artists out there. And I have huge respect for JYJ. I think it took really a lot to go against the system. I even feel as if when they were in DBSK they were more like just entertainers and idols, but now they're true artists. Just few months ago I was still listening to his song "Mine" non-stop. He's my bias from JYJ, even though I love others just as much, but Jaejoong makes my kind of music. I love that rockish feel that most of his songs have.

The song is addictive. It just grows on you. When I heard it first all I thought was "It's a nice song..." but nothing in particular stood out to me. After I listened to it a second time for next few hours I would unexpectedly just start singing "You're just another girl~~~" (if my parents would've been home they would've thought that  I've gone crazy). I loved the lyrics as well. They were quite original in my opinion. Most of the songs say things like "Baby I can't live without you" or "You're the best thing that ever happened to me" but in this song it's just put as it really is - "Don’t blame me and leave; Cause you’re just another girl". There's a lot of fish in the sea. A lot of girls and most of the songs want to put it in a way where you seem to be some kind of hero or something. I loved that the lyrics were more realistic than most of the songs that I've heard. Just like always Jaejoong's voice was one of the richest and most beautiful I'll ever hear. Also this song wasn't as aggressive as "Mine" was, but you could still feel that vibe in some places.

But I didn't like the M/V as much as the song itself. There was a lot of those oddly lit boxes that I hate. I loved the beginning  it promised that there will be some kind of story line and then BOOM box set. I don't have anything against that box where he sings with a band behind him playing, but the one where he just stands and sings..... It made it look like he's isolated from the outside world and I never appreciate those kinds of M/Vs. I loved that he was wearing clothes that you could see someone wearing while walking on the street. Sometimes those super flashy outfits just distract you from the M/V and the song itself. While I really did hate the box set, I loved those short cuts where it seemed that he was outside or at least in a room where, from the looks of it, someone could live. I loved the ending, Jaejoong even looked kinda creepy there.

Overall I loved the song and M/V (at least for the most of the part). I can't wait till there will be the whole album out so I could get it. I have his first mini album "I" on my phone and I love listening to it. I would also like to see another M/V from this album...

KPOP review - "Trouble Maker - 내일은 없어 (Now)"

Music Video: 10

Song: 10

Overall Rating: 10

So when I heard their first single "Trouble Maker" I really didn't like it. I liked the beat, but I hated the performances and M/V. It seemed to me that Cube Ent. only wanted to sell Hyuna's body and not her musical abilities. Also most of the people seemed to know Hyunseung as 'the guy that was with Hyuna in Trouble Maker'... I was really dissatisfied with Cube Ent. and sub-unit and I really didn't expect something like Now.

First when I saw that they released new song I was like "Well it won't hurt to check it out..." and how I love the choice I made! The song turned out to be amazing! I heard it just yesterday and I can't stop listening to it. I'm actually even listening to it right now. I think this song showed Hyunseung and Hyuna's almost perfect singing ability. I liked that Hyuna went for lower notes most of the time because they fit perfectly for her voice. And I know that Hyuna's actually a rapper, but I like her singing a lot more than her rapping. I think she should sing more.
M/V wasn't your typical K-POP M/V as well. They weren't IDOLS, they were just normal (and extremely good-looking) people that were in love. They showed the side of their life where they party, and then self absorbed world where the only thing they care about is each other. And I loved that they weren't just dancing in a box set isolated from the outside world (but I did appreciate their great dance cuts) they were in club, then puking or suffering terrible hangover. I loved how Hyunseung was standing in front of the mirror and the Joker make-up would be on his face and then disappear every time that your attention would be focused somewhere else.
I think for the most people it seems to sexual, but I think that they did wonderful job balancing 'artsy' and 'sexy'. And that Bonnie and Clyde ending was just perfect.... I want to hear more of stuff like this from Trouble Maker.