Anime and Manga Update

Yu Gi Oh Millennium World

 

I like the Egypt theme (although I don't think there's much accurate Egyptian history in here XD) I was checking out volumes from the library. And at one point I realized that I'd accidentally skipped a volume. I couldn't even tell except for one tiny thing that confused me. Heh. I guess the plot had gotten dragged out enough that I couldn't even tell when I missed an entire volume. Though Yu Gi Oh was entertaining.

 

Skip Beat

 

So, a family friend gets really excited whenever she finds anime or manga at the thrift store where she helps. She always asks me if I want them. I've told her several times "saying you have a manga is like saying you have a movie. It could mean anything." But she's always so excited about it that eventually I just told her to read the backs and see if it sounded good. So she bought me volumes 1 + 2 of one series, and 3+ 4 of a different series. I started reading both. I didn't think I'd like this one. It started out with a girl wanting to get revenge on her boyfriend. She joins show-biz to upstage him. But she starts getting interested in acting, and I've ended up getting into the series.

 

Hana-Kimi

 

Continued from the previous post: This was the series where she gave me volumes 3 and 4. So I had to check out the first couple from the library. I've been enjoying this one a lot too! It's refreshing that the main characters are all nice. A jerk shows up sometimes, but despite the main character's unusual situation, she has some really good friends around her.  

Claymore

This feels like one of those manga that went on a lot longer than originally planned. It has steadily been changing track. Now it feels like an excuse to draw a lot of naked women monsters.

 

Bitter Virgin

Man, this one was pretty heavy. But it was good.  It has a perspective that's important to share.

 

Midori no Hibi

I would have liked this one more if it wasn't so pervy @_@ 

Code

This one kind of  left me on edge. It was bordering on kidnapping. The only thing that saved it was that the main character ended up liking the guy.

 

Angel Densetsu

Oh man, this poor guy breaks my heart. He's so sweet, but everyone's terrified of him because of his looks. And it doesn't help that he often jumps to the wrong conclusion and digs himself into holes. 

Over and Over

I think the first chapter of Evva's story is in good shape (it's a prologue, really). But the next chapter has always been annoying. I think I have it good, then I look at it again and it still feels flimsy.

I just redid it once more, adding more detail. I think it will help with the pacing, give more of Evva's character, and provide a stronger link to the prologue.

Chimpanzee

Familiar Faces

I've written a blog post in the past about how running into familiar actors in a new movie is like running into an old friend. (Sometimes at least)

But it also has a different side. If you run into a familiar actor, you're not meeting a new character. It kind of colors your impression of the new character. For better or worse. 

For example, I hate Professor Umbridge. Every time I see the actress somewhere else, I just cannot take her seriously. 

And watching the new Beauty and the Beast, I occasionally burst out laughing because I picture Beast as a certain crazy monkey (That's not really an example though, because I had no idea that the two were the same actor when I first saw them - he's really good at changing his voice).

That being said, some actors aren't recognizable in some roles. I've had many mind-blown instances where I realized that a character was played by an actor I knew, and I had no idea (sometimes for years).

Turning Red

When the trailers for Turning Red came out, I was disappointed. Especially since Pixar actually studied the red pandas I work with. 

They even gave them some Pixar gifts!

When I finally watched the movie, it was quirky and strange. Except I liked it. I think largely because Mei was 13 in the year 2002. I would have been 12 at that time. I could get a good feel for her and her friends. Although it was high school when I was in a group of goofy friends. We'd all get really excited about stuff (one of them even showed us the "boots and cats" beat-boxing). We weren't into boys and boy bands (at least not me, and no one else was very loud about it). But we were hyper about video games and Ghibli and Disney movies (I didn't start watching anime until I was in college). 

I probably would not have liked the movie when I was a teenager. I had little patience for that boy-crazy stuff then XD I would have found the movie more awkward than funny. 

But that was then.

It's fun to have a movie that shows how crazy girls can be. 

I like how Mei is so confidently weird. I wasn't confident about my weirdness when I was her age, but I grew into it. Not that I tried to hide my weirdness either XD But by high school, I had a bubble of weird friends around me which helped me build my confidence and embrace how I was different.

I like that everyone liked the panda when she first appeared - no angry mob appeared to chase her out. Though there was definitely some trouble after the party. 

I like how the jerk ended up as one of the besties. 

I like the dad. He's great. 

I like that Mei and her mom had a good relationship, even though Mei was trying too hard to be perfect. It wasn't one of those movies where the parent doesn't seem to care about the kid. The two of them loved being together. And yeah, it's good if you can be part of what's important to your family. But there are always limits. 

I like that the director said that she just made a movie about stuff she liked, and then filled out the themes and story around it (I've done that too).

The panda at the end was... too big. But I found the movie fun, goofy, and entertaining. I've already re-watched it.

Hey, it's not the first time I disliked a trailer and ended up liking a movie (Frozen).

YANovcon 2022

 I finally got to go back to the young adult novelist convention! I haven't been there since I started working at the zoo. I was always working while it happened. But I took off part of the day so I could go this year. 

It was nice to be back. I so rarely get to interact with the writing community lately.

I never know any of the writers or books when I walk into the convention. Mostly because I'm very bad at keeping up with new books - there's a million old ones I'm already trying to get through XD

But despite not knowing any of the stories, I still like to hear writers talk about the craft. The theme of the day was identity. Whether race, or gender, or health. 

One of the things they talked about was banned books. Many states will ban books if the heroes aren't the most typical gender or race. And it's heartbreaking to the writers. They're trying to help different people be understood and accepted, and then their books get banned. And they're obviously banned in the communities that need them the most. Apparently the publishers don't even help protect their own books. Some of the authors at the convention were part of a program that delivers those banned books to the places that need them. To give hope to any kids that are different, and to help anyone else understand them. Otherwise the cycle of hate is never going to break. 

One author was talking about her book with a magic school that had students that were actually diverse. "Unlike She-Who-Shall-Not-be-Named." Everyone laughed when she said that. It was a great line. Turn that author's own phrase against her (Yeah, I still like Harry Potter - I have to be able to separate the creator from the things they create. But it sucks when you expect better of someone - especially someone who wrote something that was a big part of your childhood. Why did she have to talk out against a group of people that already have enough thrown at them?).

And there was one small thing that one writer mentioned. I think through his publishing company, there were fact checkers that helped him make sure the historical information in his book was accurate. That was a relief to me. Even something thoroughly researched will benefit from many sets of eyes checking the data. And I worry about getting things right @_@

So far, whenever I've gone to this convention, I've limited myself to buying one book. but I always write down a bunch of others that I want to check out. 

This time I bought All the Impossible Things, by Lackey. I won't lie. The blurb about living with a petting zoo influenced my decision. I just finished reading it. I liked it. I haven't read enough YA lately, and I want more. Plus I love the Aldabra tortoise. We have a pair where I work. They're still young and will get HUGE. 

Then on the way out, one of the authors asked me if I wanted a free copy of her book. Teen Killers Club, by Sparks. She'd started to sign it to someone, and spelled it wrong. It was a book that I'd written down on my list, so I said yes! I jokingly said that if I messed up a signature, I'd draw a picture over it and pretend it was deliberate. So she drew this cute little leprechaun over the old name. I haven't read it yet, but I will soon.

Unintended Consequences

I love Finding Nemo. It's one of my favorite Disney movies. 

The main plot is triggered when a diver kidnaps Nemo from his home reef. Nemo spends the next chunk of the movie in a tank with other fish, who all want to escape and go back to the sea. Surely the movie is saying that fish belong in the wild? 

And yet Finding Nemo made clown fish so popular that the pet trade has been catching all types of wild clown fish. Now they're all threatened. People don't know that when they buy a clown fish, they're contributing to the disappearance of that species. And it's not just fish that are taken from the wild. Only some pets come from breeders. A lot of them are still taken from the wild, and not always legally.

And another unintended consequence of the movie? After people saw it, a lot of them flushed their fish down the toilet. They wanted to free the fish. But most fish are never going to survive that. Not all places dump their sewage directly into the ocean (thankfully). That water gets treated. And that will kill fish. But even if it didn't kill the fish, you should NEVER release pets into the wild. They usually aren't native to the area, and assuming they survive abandonment, they can destroy wild species and habitats. Even if the pets are native, they can spread disease to other wildlife.

Even domestic pets can suffer from movies. When a popular dog movie comes out, people rush to buy that breed of dog. And then those people often get rid of the dog soon after, flooding the rescue shelters. 

No matter how much you like a movie, you should never get an animal unless you've done all the research, and are prepared to take care of that animal through its entire life. Including vet care. And make sure your animal comes from a rescue, or a good breeder. 

Actually, I read Watership Down in middle school. I loved it, and decided to get a rabbit. I did the research, and finally got a little bunny. She lived twelve years. She was a lot of work, but she was the sweetest thing in the world. So yeah, you can make it work. But an animal should never be an impulse buy. They're living creatures, not toys. 

Movies should be careful with how they advertise animals. But even in Finding Nemo, which seems to discourage people from putting fish into tanks, people will still find ways to misread things.

Maybe all animal movies should come with some kind of disclaimer, or educational content @_@ 

I Want my Bison Back!

I was watching the bonus features on the animated Beauty and the Beast. 

Beast has features of a bunch of different animals, like bear, bison, and wolf. They were talking about designing Beast's human form (and mentioned that they forgot to give him a name). Though in the end, it didn't matter too much what he looked like. After all, the whole movie was meant to get you attached to the big furry beast. Then all of a sudden, he's gone and there's this dude instead. 

I'd never thought of that, but it's true! (Though I'm usually biased in favor of animal people. I love his beast design). They said that no matter what the prince looked like, viewers would always go "I want my bison back!"

 (And they also interviewed some actors who did stage versions of Beauty and the Beast. One actor who played Gaston said that he once dropped his knife during the final fight against beast. So he just had to start slapping Beast. Ultimate improv, that. )

(One more thing! I just saw a Youtube comment that said Beast kind of fills the usual princess role - he's locked in a castle, trapped in a spell, and someone rides in to save him XD )