heavenly_pearl: (Default)
First off, a reminder that those Petit Chara Sailor Moon and Mercury figures are still available for sale, although if I don't get any takers here by the end of the month, I'm thinking about putting them up for sale on eBay. I should also point out that the two extra Moons I have for sale are actually slightly different than the put-together one that I'm keeping in that the ones for sale have both their eyes opened (like the pic on the box). Same for Mercury: one is the same as the put-together one I'm keeping, but the other has both her eyes closed, with blush stickers on her cheeks.

Now, onto this 30 Day Anime Challenge I found on Tumblr, which is a little different than the one I did previous. Gonna do it all at once, though, just 'cause.

Meme! )

Manga Tag

Jul. 26th, 2015 01:03 pm
heavenly_pearl: (Default)
Found this fun manga meme at a review blog I like to read, so I'd thought I'd bring it over here.

1. What was your first manga? Sailor Moon

2. What is your most expensive manga? Assuming that we're talking about individual books and not boxsets, then probably the Azumanga Daioh omnibus (from Yen Press). The retail price was $24.99 according to the cover, although I know I didn't pay that much. Still, I imagine I still paid around the $15-20 range for it.

3. What was your least expensive manga? The manga I got for free as gifts, obviously! But sticking to manga I paid for myself... Well, I actually bought the two volumes of The Flower of the Deep Sleep off the Amazon Marketplace for only a cent each, but I still had to pay shipping on them, so they ended up being $4 each. Still a pretty good deal, though not amazing. Hmm, I vaguely recall paying a dollar (or maybe $2?) for a manga on clearance at Half-Price Books, but I'm not sure which one it was... Call Me Princess, maybe? Yeah, I think that was the one. It's something I probably would have never picked up unless it was that cheap. (Just checked the price tag that's still on it -- $2.49, but I still don't think I paid that much for it.)

4. What is the most boring manga you own? Miyuki-chan in Wonderland -- pure fanservice, and not even that sexy. Still, it was CLAMP, so...

5. What is your favorite manga series? Fruits Basket! Although if NANA was ever completed, it might knock FB from the top spot.

6. What is the most relatable manga series you own? Kimi ni Todoke, definitely. I identify with Sawako like "woah"!

7. What is one manga you own that is based off an anime? As in the anime came first? Umm... I don't think I have any. I guess the closest would be Story of Saiunkoku, since the anime and manga were both based off the original light novels. (And I'm pretty sure the anime came before the manga.)

8. What is your rarest manga? Well, I don't know about rare in the general sense, but one of the most difficult volumes for me to find was Name of the Flower, Vol. 1, since I had the misfortune to order it right before CMX went out of business. I searched for around eight months for a decently priced used copy. And I still don't own print copies of Red River Vols. 15-17, but I have digital copies, which is good enough. (If I found those print copies for really cheap, I'd probably pick them up, but I'm not going out of my way to search for them.)

9. What is the most reprinted manga you own? I have no idea, really. I guess if you interpret the question to mean which had the most editions, then Sailor Moon might count: chapters in Mixxzine/Smile, Chix Comics editions (the single-chapter floppies), the Tokyopop graphic novels, and the new Kodansha graphic novels. (And I actually own most of those.)

10. What is the most popular manga you own? I imagine it's either Fruits Basket or Death Note, depending on which demographic you're talking about.

11. What is the most damaged manga you own? No question, the Tokyopop GNs of Sailor Moon. I've got pages falling out of a few of those.

12. Which manga has the most amazing art? I'd say A Bride's Story has the most amazing art in a technical sense -- Emma from the same mangaka is really beautiful as well -- but my heart really lies with Yuu Watase's style. CLAMP is no slouch themselves, especially when Mokona's the lead artist, like in Card Captor Sakura and Magic Knight Rayearth.

13. What is the oldest published manga that you own? Well, I know that Sailor Moon was the first manga I bought, but I don't think it's the oldest published, especially if going by when it first came out in Japan. Looking at the dates at MyAnimeList and Anime News Network, it looks like the oldest would be Let's Stay Together Forever, which came out in 1989. (Have no clue about American publishing dates.)

14. What is the newest published manga you own? Looks like Vol. 3 of Yukarism. (This time, talking about what was released in the U.S.)

15. What are some of the most recent manga you have purchased? The aforementioned Yukarism Vol. 3, Meteor Prince Vols. 1 & 2, Utsabora omnibus, Skip-Beat! omnibus (with Vols. 31-33), Arata: The Legend Vols. 21 & 22... Those are the ones that I remember off the top of my head.

I tag anybody who wants to do this!
heavenly_pearl: (Default)
Inspired by The Mike Toole Show column at Anime News Network, I thought it would be fun to make my own "Anime Alphabet", listing the titles of my favorite series I've watched for each letter of the alphabet. Feel free to make your own list if you'd like!

A Aria
B Black Butler (I briefly considered going with Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon instead, but since I had a few B English titles to choose from, it seemed unfair to go with a Japanese title for this letter.)
C Card Captor Sakura
D Death Note
E Evangelion
F Fruits Basket
G Ghost Hunt (I debated about putting Ginban Kaleidoscope here instead, but I decided to stick with licensed series.)
H Hare + Guu
I I My Me! Strawberry Eggs
J Jigoku Shoujo (a.k.a Hell Girl -- I had to cheat a little with this one and use the Japanese title to find one that started with a J.)
K Kaleido Star
L Le Chevalier D'eon
M Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit
N NANA
O Ouran High School Host Club
P Princess Nine
Q ... Yeah, I've got nothing. If I included manga, I could use Queen of Ragtonia... Oh, apparently when you translate the Japanese title of Excel Saga (Heppoko Jikken Animation Excel Saga), you get Quack Experimental Animation Excel Saga, so that'll work for Q in a convoluted way!
R Rah-Xephon
S Super GALS
T Tiger & Bunny
U Ultramaniac
V Vampire Knight
W Witch Hunter Robin
X X (as in the CLAMP series)
Y Yamada's First Time (but I also considered Yona of the Dawn, only excluding it because it's not complete at this moment)
Z Zero no Tsukaima (a.k.a Familiar of Zero -- Again, as with J, I had to look at the Japanese titles to find one that started with Z.)
heavenly_pearl: (Default)

Chapter 19 of Melting Ice has been posted at the usual places. I've also begun posting Against The Rules over at AO3. For some reason, I completely forgot about it when I posted the rest of my stories there!

Another double dose of meme questions:

23. Best manga/anime villain

He may be the protagonist of his series, but I gotta say the best manga and anime villain in my opinion is Light Yagami from Death Note. He utterly fascinates me with his belief that he is on the side of justice, despite the fact that he becomes one of the most prolific serial killers in history. That dichotomy within him makes him an interesting character to observe and puts him a cut above most other villains, who tend to be evil just because. Plus, he's definitely smarter than the majority of anime/manga villains out there!

24. The best long manga/anime series

Manga - Easy, a tie between Fruits Basket and NANA. (Criteria: Over twenty volumes.)

Anime - Kaleido Star, of course! Honorable mentions go to Super GALS, Card Captor Sakura, Fushigi Yuugi, Sailor Moon, Fullmetal Alchemist (both series), and Code Geass. (Criteria: Over fifty episodes.)

heavenly_pearl: (Default)

16. A manga/an anime that isn't licensed but SHOULD be.

Oh, now here's an easy question: Ginban Kaleidoscope! I want this anime to be licensed so, so much, but I doubt it'll ever happen. It's kinda old (from around 2005 or 2006, I think), and it's a sports (figure skating) anime, which doesn't seem to do very well over here for some reason. Then again, I never thought the second season of Someday's Dreamers would ever make it here either, yet somehow it finally got picked up (thank you, Sentai Filmworks!), so maybe I shouldn't abandon all hope for GK. (Oh, that reminds me that the second season of Story of Saiunkoku would also be a nice licensing pick as well.)

As for manga, my top choice would probably be Naoko Takeuchi's The Cherry Project, which also happens to be about a figure skater. Hey, Codename: Sailor V and the reprint of Sailor Moon are both big hits, so why not license another one of Takeuchi's titles, even if it is old and features a sport? Second choice goes to Kagen no Tsuki by Ai Yazawa of NANA and Paradise Kiss fame. I still don't understand why it hasn't been licensed, especially since the live-action movie based on it was. It's only three volumes long and by a fairly popular mangaka, so it doesn't seem like much of a risk to me. My third pick is either Appare Jipangu or Epotoransu! Mai, both by my favorite mangaka Yuu Watase. The majority of her series have made it over here, but not these two. Again, they're both short -- three and two volumes, respectively -- and by a popular artist, so why not, Viz?  (Okay, Epotoransu! Mai isn't all that great, admittedly, but one of the male love interests is a Sailor Moon otaku, and that's cool. :P And it's still pretty decent, just not as amazing as some of her other series.)

heavenly_pearl: (Default)

09. A manga/an anime you'd like to see more of

I just finished a rewatch of one of my favorite anime, Princess Nine, and I'm still disappointed that it didn't get more seasons. I want to see the Kisaragi Girls go to Koshien and win! As much as I love the series, the end was kind of disappointing.



I don't mind so much that they lost -- it would have been really unrealistic if they managed to get to Koshien during their first year playing -- but I hated how they lost. If only Ryo and Izumi weren't so preoccupied with their romantic woes, they probably would have had a decent shot at winning the regional semifinals. (I'll give Koharu a pass, since her worries about her father's health were more serious). It annoyed me that they lost because of something like that, and not because they simply were up against a better team.


Another series I would love to see more of is the Fruits Basket anime, another one of my favorites. Granted, they would probably have to do another FMA-like reboot, since some things they added in the anime contradict later revelations in the manga, but it would be awesome to see the entire series animated, especially the last two Zodiac members. (Rin is one of my favorites!)

As for manga, it would be wonderful to see Ai Yazawa finally recover from her mystery illness and complete NANA. (And maybe even see a continuation of the anime?) Also, I recently learned that the Story of Saiunkoku manga is only nine volumes long, meaning that it'll probably end at the same point as the first season of the anime. One of the reasons I started reading the manga is because I wanted to know more of the story past that point, so it's disappointing that it ended so soon. (The second season was never licensed, and the original light novels go on even further.) I'd like to see all of the light novels adapted into manga form. 


Days To Come )
heavenly_pearl: (Default)

Getting a little behind on this thing...

06. Your favorite character

Helios from Sailor Moon, obviously. Did anybody expect me to say otherwise? :P But that's kind of a boring answer to this question, so how about naming my top five male (excluding Helios) and female characters from anime and manga? (In no particular order)

Male Characters
Shigure (Fruits Basket)
Yasu (NANA)
Touya (Card Captor Sakura)
Harima (School Rumble)
Matsuda (Death Note)

Female Characters
Sora (Kaleido Star)
Ran (Super GALS)
Shurei (Story of Saiunkoku)
Yuko (xxxHolic/Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle)
Balsa (Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit)



Days To Come )
heavenly_pearl: (Default)
Quick note before getting to today's question: I settled on a title for my Sora/Leon Kaleido Star fic, so I can finally start posting it. No Longer Alone can be found at ff.net, AO3, and .moon. I'll probably be updating it once a week, since the story is basically finished.

05.A manga/anime you would recommend to everyone

I talk up Kaleido Star every chance I get. More people need to see it, darn it! It's just plain awesome.

As for manga... Well, there's a lot of manga I would recommend; it's hard just to pick one. It would be easy to say either Fruits Basket or NANA, since they're my favorites, but FB is sadly out of print now and NANA is on indefinite hiatus. So I'm going to go with Ceres: Celestial Legend. It has beautiful artwork, a great combination of drama, humor, and romance, and it's an interesting take on the legend of the tennyo.



Days To Come )
heavenly_pearl: (Default)
04. A character you feel you are most like (or wish you were)

Man, this is a tough question. If it asked what Sailor Moon character I'm most like, I would say Ami. For Fruits Basket, either Shigure and Kisa. (I know, they're nothing alike, yet they're both like me in different ways.) But asking me to choose the character most like me out of every anime and manga I've seen or read... So, I'm just going to list a bunch of characters I feel I'm like, in no particular order.

Ami (Sailor Moon)
Shigure (Fruits Basket)
Kisa (Fruits Basket)
Vash the Stampede (Trigun)
Sawako (Kimi ni Todoke)
Alice (Alice 19th)
Nodoka (Negima)
Shinji (Evangelion)
Mao (Princess Nine)
Miu (NANA)
Mia (Kaleido Star)

Which character I wish I was? Hmm, maybe Sora from Kaleido Star? Or Layla. They're both pretty awesome.
heavenly_pearl: (Default)
From ANN: Sailor Moon Manga Series Gets New Anime in Summer 2013

I...kinda have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, it's more Sailor Moon! Yay! Of course I can't wait to see it. On the other hand, it sounds like it's just going to be a remake, and if given a choice, I'd rather have the series be about something new and different -- like the founding of Crystal Tokyo or maybe focused on Chibi-Usa and her Sailor Quartet. Even setting it during the time of Silver Millennium would be cool. Then again, if they give it the Fullmetal Alchemist treatment and stay faithful to the manga, that would be kind of awesome, too, as long as it's not just the first arc. I'm frankly tired of the first arc, which they already retold (albeit with some major differences) in PGSM. Plus, I admit it, I want more Helios. :P

Now, onto Day 2 the meme:

02. Your favorite manga/anime

My favorite anime? Kaleido Star, without a doubt. Actually just finished another rewatch a few days ago. No matter how many times I rewatch, it never loses its luster.

For manga, my favorite title is currently Fruits Basket, but NANA is a really close second. I have a feeling that if NANA is ever completed, it'll probably jump into the first spot, but they're both fantastic series with fascinating characters, complicated relationships, and a great mix of drama, romance, and humor.

Days To Come )
heavenly_pearl: (Default)

1. Leave a comment to this post!
2. I will give you a letter.
3. Post the names of five fictional characters whose names begin with that letter, and your thoughts on each. The characters can be from books, movies, or TV shows.

The letter she gave me was H.

Helios (Sailor Moon) - Of course he was the first one to come to mind! In case you've never met me before, I LOVE HELIOS. Enough said. 

Hatori Sohma (Fruits Basket) - Who doesn’t love Hatori, right? I think he’s probably the most handsome of the adult characters, and I adore his friendship with the other two members of the Mabudachi Trio (Shigure and Ayame), playing the straight man to their goofy antics. His past is also one of the more tragic of the cursed Sohmas, which just makes me want to give him a hug. (But then he’d turn into a seahorse…)

Kenji Harima (School Rumble) - Um, last names count, right? Almost all the characters call him Harima, anyway, so it's okay. Anyway, he gives off the image of being this cool, tough delinquent, but underneath it all, he's actually...well, kind of a dork. *laughs* But that what makes him so loveable. (I love me some adorkable guys. ^_^) I love his earnest pursuit of Tenma's love, even though it's hopeless -- she's in love with another guy -- and the fact that he's an aspiring mangaka who loves to draw self-insert stories in which he ends up with her in the end. It's just so pathetic that it's cute!

Hachi a.k.a Nana Komatsu (NANA) - Nicknames count too, yes? When I first started reading NANA, I actually preferred the other Nana (Osaki), who was super cool and driven to achieve her dream of becoming a singer. In comparison, Hachi was just a little too flaky and irresponsible, and she sometimes kind of annoyed me. But due to certain spoiler-y events, Hachi was forced to grow up, while Nana fell to pieces. Now I adore Hachi for her strength and perseverance.

Shurei Hong (Story of Saiunkoku) - I’m almost finished renting the first season of Saiunkoku from Netflix, and I’m bitterly disappointed that the second season was never licensed in the U.S. (I definitely plan to check out the manga, though.) Shurei is a great female lead. She’s the daughter of a impoverished noble family who dreams of being allowed to take the Imperial Exams (barred for women) and becoming a government official in order to help the citizens of the country. Not only is she book-smart, but she’s pretty wise to the ways of the world, and doesn't let her hormones distract her from her goals even though several beautiful men are in love with her (including the Emperor) . She’s really just one hundred kinds of awesome.   

heavenly_pearl: (Default)

Right Stuf is having their annual 12 Days of Anime sale, but there's not really much I want on the sale list. I mean, all four boxsets of NANA are on sale for about $24 each, and I'm kinda tempted to get them, but that's still about a hundred dollars for one 47 episode series. It would probably be cheaper to wait for them to come out with a complete series boxset instead.

I'm actually really tempted to blind buy The Slayers Super Bundle they're offering -- all five seasons for only $80. That's roughly about a hundred episodes! Talk about a great deal, and I've been wanting to see it forever. (It's forever in the "Save" queue at Netflix, so I haven't been able to rent it.) Still, eighty bucks is a lot to pay for a blind buy... 

There's also good deals on the Azumanga Daioh boxset ($25) and the El Cazador de la Bruja bundle ($30)... Huh, I guess there were more series I wanted on sale than I thought. (Not even going to mention all the series I want that happen to be a part of the separate weekly sale.)

Gah, I can't decide!
heavenly_pearl: (Default)
Somebody knock some sense into me.

So, Right Stuf is having a Viz sale, which is great, because most of the manga series I'm currently following are from Viz. I'm planning to order Arata: The Legend Vol. 2, Butterflies, Flowers Vol. 3, Rasetsu Vol. 5, and NANA Vol. 21, along with two two-volume completed series: Flower in a Storm and What a Wonderful World. (May also pick up the three volumes of Ooku: The Inner Chambers that are out, but I keep waffling about if I want to start a new on-going series just yet, even though NANA is now caught up with the Japanese release with no word on when it'll resume.) That's not the problem.

The problem is what is is in the Bargain Bin. Look at these prices:

Hell Girl boxset - $17.99!
Magikano boxset - $9.95! (No, that's not missing a "one" before the "nine". It really is a complete 13-episode series for under ten dollars.)
Red Garden Part 1 and 2 boxsets - $8.99 each, for a total of $17.98 for the whole series!
Suzuka boxset  - $11.99! (For a 26-episode series, to boot!)

Argh! So cheap, which would be fantastic if any of those titles were on my "Must Buy" list. Unfortunately, none of them are.

Yet I still want them! (Well, not so much Magikano. Despite the super, ridiculously low price, it's a really stupid series.) They're so cheap!

Somebody please tell me that I do not need to waste money on series I only kinda-sorta want just because they're cheap.

*strongly considers adding Suzuka and Red Garden to the cart anyways*
heavenly_pearl: (Default)


Fruits Basket is over! *sniffles* I've known how it ended ever since the final chapter came out in Japan, thanks to spoiling myself silly, but it's so wonderful to finally be able to read it for myself.

I actually didn't cry as much as I thought I would, but the last volume wasn't really all that sad. In fact, I pretty much smiled the whole time while reading it. It's just so wonderful to see these characters, who have been through so much, get the chance of a "new beginning" of sorts. There were parts that made me tear up some, of course, but overall, it was quite an uplifting ending, in my opinion.

Beware of spoilers )

Despite that last thing, Fruits Basket is definitely now at the top of my all-time favorite manga list, and I honestly doubt anything will ever take it's place. It's just that good. ^_^

(Well, maybe, maybe NANA, which I'm loving more and more with every volume I read, but it'll be a difficult goal to reach.)
 

Yay!

Aug. 2nd, 2009 08:23 pm
heavenly_pearl: (Default)

Manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga, manga!

Hehe, sorry. >.< Don't mind me, I'm in manga heaven at the moment. We finally got a chance to go to the bookstore today, and I totally loaded up!

The loot?

Fruits Basket 23
NANA 15-17
Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles 21-22
Tsubasa: Those With Wings 2
Short-Tempered Melancholic (short story anthology from the mangaka of Full Moon wo Sagashite)

And I was very tempted by the new omnibus edition of CLAMP's Clover, but it's one of their abandoned series, so I can't decide if I really want it or not. :( Besides, I had already spent more than I intended since I didn't originally plan to get Short-Tempered Melancholic, and I wasn't expecting the new Tsubasa: Those With Wings to be out until Tuesday. Oh, well.

Now that Fruits Basket is over, though, I have to decide which series I'll start collecting next. Hmm... I'm almost definitely going to get Death Note, but I have my eye on the manga boxset at Right Stuf and am just waiting for a sale on it before ordering it. I'm not sure what I'll start buying individually, though. There are quite a few contenders: Skip Beat!, Ouran High School Host Club, La Corda d'Oro, Nodame Cantabile, Sand Chronicles, V.B. Rose... I'm sure there are a few more titles I'm forgetting. *sigh* Such a tough decision; I want them all! *laughs* 
heavenly_pearl: (Default)
Yeah, as I feared, Sims 2 is making it mighyt difficult to concentrate on NaNo. *laughs* I held out until I reached about 2100 words today, but by three o'clock,  I just had to quit and play Sims. The game was calling out to me, "Play me! Play me!"

Evil, eeeeevil game. But, oh, so fun.

Anyway, it was a okay birthday, I guess. I couldn't decide if I wanted a cake or to go a little non-traditional with birthday brownies, so my mom was nice enough to make both. Yum. Plus, we also had barbeque. Double yum. As for presents, of course I got the Sims, but Mom thought a $20 game wasn't enough, so she also let me pick out about $60 worth of manga from Right Stuf. I ordered all four volumes of Cherry Juice, the one-shot manga Shirley (from the mangaka of Emma), Vol. 2 of Sugar Princess, Vol. 7 of Fushigi Yugi: Genbu Kaiden, and Vol. 13 of NANA. Everything is either backordered or on pre-order (though coming out tomorrow), so this is one time I'm actually hoping Right Stuf will take their time in sending me my order.

'Cause new manga and Sims 2?

I'll be in big trouble.

Now, off to play Sims!
heavenly_pearl: (Default)
I was looking at Right Stuf, getting the release dates for the next volumes of the manga series I'm currently collecting, and realized that other than NANA, which has a volume coming out in early September, most of my series aren't updating until November (no doubt for the holidays). *sigh* That's three months with only one new manga volume to look forward to, unless I decide to start a new series.

Oh, well, I guess that'll at least give me the chance to save my money for buying Christmas presents. And I'll probably ask for the November releases for Christmas anyway (since they all come out after my birthday), so, yay, saved money. I guess.

Although I'd rather have new manga.

*goes through manga withdrawal*
heavenly_pearl: (Default)

You know, I normally consider myself a very patient person, but it's been almost a month since I ordered the last volumes of Absolute Boyfriend and Yurara from Right Stuf, and I still haven't gotten them. :( According to my Order Status page, Absolute Boyfriend has been "Reserved for your order" for a couple of weeks now, but Yurara is still backordered. Gah! Can't they at least send me the Absolute Boyfriend volume so I'll finally have something new to read? It seems like forever since I've read a new manga volume! (Looking back, I think my last manga splurge was all the way back in April. Oh, my, two whole months without new manga!)

Yeah, I know, I shouldn't be complaining. I ordered them with my Trigun DVDs, so I got free shipping, and I know they're just trying to cut back on their shipping costs by mailing the order in as few packages as possible, but I can't help it! I feel like a heroin junkie looking for her next fix. *laughs*

Well, hopefully the order I placed yesterday will be in soon. Right Stuf was having a sale on in-stock items, so most of what I ordered was, of course, in-stock: Vash and Wolfwood keychains (so cute!), NANA 10, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles 17, and Full Moon wo Sagashite 3, 5-7. Only Vol. 4 of Full Moon and Vol. 12 of xxxHolic are backordered, and I'm crossing my fingers that they either get in soon or don't hold up the rest of my order.

I NEED NEW MANGA!!!!!!

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