I'm not really a big one-shot fan, but I could not resist picking this up at half price.
Summary
This one-shot features 5 individual stories all centering around school romances. They are: Love at First Touch, Expiration Date 2001, Second Impression, Frequency, and Baby Universe.Love at First Touch is about a girl named Eri who develops a crush on a boy named Kohei because he tried to cheer her up with a pat on the head. Ever since this incident, she has found his rather plain hands, very attractive, and gets flustered every time he touches her with those hands.Expiration Date 2001 is about a girl named Miwa who is on the track team and has a crush on a boy on the team named Kenta. When she helps him out in cleaning duties, he gives her a soda that he loves with an expiration date in july 2001. Miwa decides that the date must be important and vows to ask Kenta out before the expiration date (which is in two years).Second Impression revolves around Haruka, who got stuck doing committee work for her school during summer break. When she is coming to school early for one of these committee meetings, she gets soaked by Naoki accidentally. Naoki, who is there for summer school, is very popular and somewhat of a slacker, but it turns out he is there watering the Sun Flowers. The two slowly begin to talk as they attempt to help a sun flower they nicknamed Sunny bloom, and Haruka finds that Naoki isn't as bad as he first appeared.Frequency has a slight hint of supernatural as Kaori finds she is able to hear model student, Morihiro's thoughts after the two collide. However, Kaori discovers that Morihiro isn't as nice as he first appears and it becomes a lot of fun for her to tune into Morihiro's thoughts. However, when Kaori hears his thoughts about Shizuka, she does not understand why she is so sad to know that Morihiro likes Shizuka.Finally, Baby Universe is told from the perspective of a boy, Kengo, who remembers how he and Saki and a few others tried to call UFOs on Christmas Eve when they were children. However, he no longer talks with Saki and there are some strange rumors going around that she is dating an older man. Yet even when they haven't spoken in years, Kengo cannot help but wonder if Saki remembers that Christmas Eve.
My Thoughts
School romances aren't really a genre that I enjoy a lot, but I did find this short story collection mildly entertaining (maybe because I got it for 6 dollars Canadian XD). The ones I most enjoyed were definitely Second Impression and Frequency. Of those two, Frequency was my favourite because the premise was interesting (and I like supernatural stories) and well developed. I also liked the main characters and the fact that the romance wasn't explicit, but rather the ending suggested, quite strongly, that the two characters did in fact get together at a later time.
The other stories were rather cliche and painfully so. I think one of the most redundant was Love at First Touch, you have the shy girl who acts cold to her crush because she is too shy to actually try to talk to him. The boy who is popular but doesn't understand the girl's feelings and just makes it worse for her act. Then you have the scene where the boy, Kohei in this particular story, teases the girl, Eri, by saying that they make a good pair. You then have the girl snap and get angry because she cannot contain her feelings. Subsequently, you have the resolution with the boy looking for the girl so that he can apologize, and when he does, she confesses to him. THE END. yawn. If this wasn't so over done, then maybe I would have enjoyed it a little more. The girl's annoying actions don't help either. I don't like weak girls who cannot handle their emotions. Not to mention, this being a one-shot, the story and characters are rather shallow. I think this one was my least favourite out of the five stories.
The second story is also pretty awful and stereotypical shoujo stuff. Like in the first story, the girl is shy and as such cannot confess to her crush. One of the dumbest things in this story is the girl's obsession with a date on a soda the boy gave her nonchalantly. It's rather sad. I hope I never become so desperate that I look for signs in the smallest gestures, and objects. I found the fact that her friends constantly pushed her to confess also unappealing. Sure, friends are there to support you, but these friends were not just giving friendly advice, oh no, they were quite forceful in their decisions about her life. And just like the first story, after the conflict (this time because the girl said something), the girl and boy make up and date. Again, the usual shoujo stuff.Second Impression, however, was an interesting story, because it wasn't the same characters and story told over a million times. Unlike the usual shoujo heroine, Haruka isn't looking for love, but like the usual shoujo heroine, she's a bit of a pushover, and although I don't like doormats, the overall direction the story took made me enjoy it. What made Second Impression stand out from the other stories was that Haruka didn't already "like" the boy (Naoki) when the story began, rather she got to know him first and then began to enjoy his company. This more realistic take on developing relationships with the other sex was what made me really enjoy Second Impression. Of course, being a one-shot, this relationship is still rather shallow, but overall it is a much better story then the preceding two.My favourite one shot from this volume is Frequency (like I mentioned before). This story really stands out because the main character is drastically different from the others, and this is the only story in the whole collection with a supernatural twist. Unlike the others, Kaori isn't shy, she speaks her mind, which makes for some humourous situations, and she isn't afraid of talking to boys. I really liked that she was able to talk with the boy (Morihiro) as a friend, and not just as a girl crushing on him. I liked the premise of the story as well (girl being able to hear the boy's thoughts), it was cute and funny. Plus I'm a sucker for supernatural stories XD This story alone drastically increased my enjoyment of Times 2.Unfortunately, the last story returns to age old shoujo conventions. Even though it changed things up by making the protagonist male, the basic story was just a modern retelling of boy rescues girl. I was a little disappointed because the third and fourth stories started to improve my experience with this one-shot. Basically, the boy Kengo, is fixated on one girl, Saki. When he learns she is dating an older man, he decides he wants to help her out. Story ends with the two of them looking lovingly into each others eyes.Times 2 isn't horrible, even if I make the majority of it sound as such. It's just that there is nothing new to be found. If you are like me and have read quite a few shoujo school romances, then chances are that Times 2 isn't going to hook you in, because it's just a quick retelling of the usual shoujo heroine and plot. However, if you happen to find this on sale, then it may be worth your time. Likewise if you are new to the genre, Times 2 is a great introduction, or if you enjoy high school romances, then this may be worth your time. All others, stay away. Hmmm....this sounds like a review XD Anyways, not horrible, but nothing exception. I won't be rereading this one any time soon.
~Joanna
When my little brother discovered, by chance, the first Rune Factory in the bargain bin for only 20 CAN, I knew I had to pick it up at such a cheap price. Rune Factory is my 50th DS game! So I finally reached my goal of owning 50 DS games! Now I'm on to 100, or not. hehehe. We shall see.
Sorry about the picture quality. You probably won't be able to make out some of the games. But if your interested in my collection, I have an account on Backloggery.com under the same username, soaring_wings. My whole collection is listed on there ( not just DS games). You can also see how pathetic my beat statistics is ^^;;;;
edit: I currently own 53 DS games. The three not pictured are Dragon Ball Origins, Wario: Master of Disguise, and Magician's Quest: Mysterious Times.
~Joanna
When at Best Buy soon after the launch of the DSi, I was approached by a Nintendo employee who showed me and my brother the new DSi features. They weren't that bad, and the picture function looked like it could be a bit of fun. However, the two colors (black and blue) really are not my colors, so I'll probably hold out on buying one. The lady gave both me and my brother a keychain (pictured) that has the the functions of the new DSi. It's always nice getting free things :D
Oh yes, before I forget, I'm interested in very pale, pastel colors (preferably lavender, but I'll take pink, green, and blue as well) ^____________^ To give an example, I want my colors to be as pale as the current Coral Pink DS Lite.
So I picked up volume 25 sometime in February, but I've only gotten around to finishing it now. The main story ends in this volume, with the other two volumes consisting of side stories about all the characters after the conclusion. This volume has two side stories after the finale, but instead of finding out what happens after the conclusion, we get a look into the past of two characters.
Summary
As Sarasa pleads with Shuri to get up, he sees his mother standing on the ledge across from the window. Shuri yells that she need not die, but his mother only turns to look and jumps off the ledge. Shuri is grief stricken, but Sarasa tells him that she must have loved him, his existence is proof of that.Meanwhile, Ageha is still in the basement with the Yarogumi, and just as an arrow is about to pierce him, Kagero, his owl, flies in front and takes the arrow in his place. The two share one last moment and Ageha continues his fight with the leader of the Yarogumi. Ageha manages to win, but the leader tells him he is not the most skilled of the Yarogumi, just as Hisoka jumps in and cuts Ageha. Against Hisoka, Ageha seems to be losing, but just as Hisoka is about to cut him one more time, Ageha stops his blade with his hand and pierces him with his own. Then he crawls over to the mechanism and attempts to slow it down, so that Tatara will have enough time to escape.Everyone is still escaping, but Asagi is standing in the palace as it is falling apart. However, flying on a kite, Hijiri and Nachi come to rescue him and give him a new reason to live. He and Muratake decide to go with them. Meanwhile Sarasa is having a hard time trying to find the exit. Just then she sees Ageha and he leads her out, when she turns around though, he is gone. The scene shifts to Ageha, he now closes his eyes slowly and lets go of the mechanism, thus bringing the whole palace down along with Ginko and Hiragi. Sarasa asks where Ageha is, but when everyone tells her he never came, she realizes that he must be buried under the rubble and begins digging through it; hoping against all odds that he really isn't dead. Meanwhile Princess Senju sees Ageha with her baby and he tells her to go to Kyoto.
Kakuji informs Sarasa that the people of Byakko village are awaiting Tatara to take revenge and kill the Red King Shuri. Sarasa is grief stricken but she takes up the sword as the crowd cheers, yet she has a vacant look in her eyes and is unable to move. As they stand there transfixed, Senju shows up with her baby and asks Sarasa not to kill Shuri since she (Sarasa) was the one who taught her that hate brings nothing. Then Sarasa, with tears in her eyes rushes at Shuri, drops her blade and they embrace. She cries out that she is not Tatara, that she lied and she is really Sarasa, and begs that they let her be Sarasa once more. Everyone is stunned (expect for her close friends who already knew she was a girl), and Kakuji cries asking her whether she intends to die with the Red King. She just looks at Shuri and the two embrace once more as dozens of arrows fire at them.
The scene shifts to a group of children, they ask Nagi whether Tatara and the Red King really died. Nagi says yes and the children get angry at Kakuji and run off. Kakuji, a little irratated, asks whether Nagi intends to make of him the monster in the historical accounts of Tatara's journey. Nagi looks out and says the plants Sarasa planted have grown, and Kakuji asks how far did he see this result. Nagi just response with another question, asking Kakuji when did he devise his own plan.The scene shifts back to Shuri and Sarasa. Arrows litter the ground around them, but no one is able to shoot directly at them. The others (those not from Byakko) begin to move toward the two, acknowledging that the journey they took was not with Tatara, but with Sarasa. The Byakko villagers give up and acknowledge that they cannot kill the one who means so much to them. Mako's mom (the boy who was first killed in Tatara's place) tells Sarasa that they always knew it was her, but refused to admit it. Nagi, for the first time since Sarasa cut her braids off, calls her Sarasa and tells Shuri he expects great things from him. He tells the two that they are free to go see the world as Shuri and Sarasa. He then turns to Kakuji would agrees and says the Red King and Tatara are dead.The scene shifts back to Kakuji and Nagi in the present day and he tells Kakuji that it worked out nicely. Then we see Muratake and Asagi wondering in the wilderness. Asagi wonders whether the White Lady was really his mother and asks Muratake if he wants to go to Kumano. When Muratake shows a lot of enthusiasm, Asagi tells him he has changed his mind (oh Asagi you meanie!). We are then showed snippets of the lives of the others, before returning once more to Nagi as he remembers little Sarasa asking if they can make the land greener. As he looks out on a lush new land, he wishes Sarasa happiness. The next page reads "Fin."We are then treated to two side stories, the first, White Story: Fig, tells us the whole life story of Ginko with a much needed resolution to her story. While the second story takes place in Ageha's past. Both story's are rather somber (a drastic contrast to the very beautiful and happy ending of the main story) and both deal with sexual abuse and rape (rather depressing themes). In Ginko's story, we learn that when she was brought back from Awaji Island she was raped by her drunken father and become pregnant. Hating the child, she asked Hiragi to get rid of it when a boy was born, but later she began asking for her baby boy, so Hiragi brought her another child he had found (this he later regretted doing). She named the child Asagi and told him that he was her brother the true Blue King. After the palace falls on Ginko, we are shown the bloody resolution to her tale. Her father, who escaped with Tachibana, is found by local farmers and both of them are murdered.
In Ageha's story we learn how he coped with being sexually abused and raped as a child slave, where he first heard the prophecy that he would die for the woman he loved, and how he rediscovered his roots as a blue noble of the desert. Overall, a very interesting story and it gives Ageha's character yet another level of complexity. It's basically covers what took place with Ageha right before he saved Sarasa and got his eye cut as payment.
My Thoughts
I loved the finale, it was very heart warming without being overally cheesy. I was worried how Tamura-san would end such a beautiful series off, but I worried in vain because Tamura-san did an exceptional job and one that was much better then I was hoping for. I wasn't expecting Ageha to die until the these last few volumes (where he made his intentions clear). So I raise my glass to Tamura-san once more because usually manga does not catch me off guard as much as Basara has. The story was really well written and much thought was given to it. But even though the main story is finished, I still excited about the last two volumes! I cannot wait to see what happens to the rest of the cast after this volume's conclusion :DThe two side stories were really good and added a lot to the rest of the manga. For one, Ginko's actions don't seem so drastic after we learn her whole story. I have to commend Tamura-san once more because the rape scene was well depicted; it wasn't too graphic and was more of a psychological depiction of Ginko's mind at the moment (she was a doll and her father a beast). The subsequent psychological state of Ginko was also well done, it was very believable. Ageha's story was also a believable depiction of his emotional and mental state. I found his reactions both to making love to Aello and meeting Shido very believable.Overall, Basara continues to remain my all time favourite manga since I picked it up a few years ago. I cannot wait to read the last to volumes of this beautiful epic.~Joanna
I love Fire Emblem, so naturally I pre-ordered the DS remake of the very first game. EB Games gave out this decent Laser Cell with a pre-order of the game. The game came out in February, but I've just been taking my time with posting my spoils =PThe game itself is fun, but it's missing a few staples of the franchise; like unit bonding. But it also has a few nice addition as well, like the harm button (which is X) that shows you the range of all enemy units (helpful when your trying to protect your frail units)Also, is it just me, or is this Fire Emblem more RNG harsh than other FE games. I mean 80% of the time, my units get only 0-2 bonuses when they level up. Usually I get at least 3-4 and only on rare occasions do I only get 0-2 from any unit (and I use them all, so this includes the 'crappy' units as well), but with this game the problem seems to be even more apparent. Right now I'm playing on Normal Mode (which is the easiest mode) so the problem isn't too bad (since enemies are low leveled and in smaller numbers), but it will become a problem when I play on the harder difficulties.
Oh and the prologue (which you have to play on normal to see) was alright, but the last chapter was annoying (why do I need to sacrifice a unit!? this does not bode well for OCD players like me. I did sacrifice Jagen, but I was NOT happy about it, not one bit...grr.)~Joanna
I'm not really a big one-shot fan, but I could not resist picking this up at half price.
