Sunday, May 27, 2007

Summer activities and dial-up hell

Well, moving back home for the summer has put a cramp in my already sporadic blogging schedule. Here's what I've been up to. I'm currently addicted to Yakitate! Japan. A 69 episode series about bread. Yes, that's right, bread. Now before you start to wonder what could possibly make this show the least bit enjoyable, let me just assure you that it does NOT take itself seriously at all. In that respect, it's similar to Ouran High School Host Club and how that show makes fun of shoujo manga and anime clichés, so too does this series make fun of the shounen sports drama. It has everything from the outrageous skills of the hero, explained in this case by the existence of "solar hands" or hands that are warmer than normal which provide the perfect environment for yeast to ferment. There are even mysterious, masked bishounen and super powerful enemies who dedicate their lives to bread making. While this may seem like something more akin to a manga artist's drunken bet, something about this series just works. Among the ridiculous plot devices and unusual storyline is actually a very good series, where ethnic stereotypes abound. ;) Definitely recommended if you enjoy the occasional sports drama and enjoy stepping back and laughing at the absurdity of it all.

Also, two weeks ago marked my 5th consecutive trip to ACEN and the convention's own 10th anniversary. One of the things I picked up while there was Ichigo Mashimaro. Arguably one of the most moe series in existence. Check it out if you don't believe me. A disturbing note to those who read the manga, check out some of the chapter break pics, you may notice various Aphex Twin references there. Such as his logo on the girls' shirts. Come to find out, Basarui, the manga-ka is a big Aphex Twin fan. I think that just made the series a whole lot creepier.

I probably won't get to post any pictures until fall, or at least until after I start summer classes on June 18th. The pics and screen caps are just too hard on my 56k bandwidth, sorry.


As for other stuff I'm currently enjoying: Hayate no Gotoku (highly recommended and lolitastic), Nodame Cantabile (fun little romantic-comedy),
Naruto Shippuuden (Naruto is good again!), Manabi Straight! (need to get caught up. Also moeblobs.) , and finally I'm thoroughly enjoy a series called Ghost Hunt we're watching currently at the IU anime club. As a fan of shows like Most Haunted, this series is proving to be quite enjoyable.