New Years

New Year's is the most important holiday in japan and has businesses shutting down from  December 29 all the way to January 3rd.  Around this time of year houses are decorated with ornaments made of pine, plum trees and bamboo, also homes are cleaned to welcome the new year.

On New years eve toshikoshi soba is eaten before midnight for a long life, eating them after midnight means bad luck.  Shrines at this time are preparing for the endless amount of visitors that will come to visit them.   At these shrines people will send out prayers for what they hope for in the year and obtain their fortunes with o-mikuji.

Happy New Years Everyone!

Personal Post! It's Christmas!!

Yes, its finally here Christmas time.  The cold is settling into your bones but the hot chocolate or the warm fireplace are making you hot.  For this time of year of course presents come on this day brought to us by Santa Clause or our loved ones and the feelings of niceness are floating all around.  So nice, of course this is no different in japan, though Christmas is more of a couple holiday than anything else with everyone on dates with their respective other or spending time together with their friends which is not much different  from the way some spend Christmas anywhere else.   Though in japan a sponge cake on Christmas eve is a must to celebrate the season of giving.

Anyway what ever way you celebrate this time of year whether you pick to do it with your family or with your friends I wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas and of course a Happy New Year which is close to coming our way.  I hope that all the Christmas wishes that you long for come true!

MATANE!!!
またね！！！

めりーくりすます
Merry Christmas! 

Anime Time!! Attack on Titan

Based on a manga Attack on Titan take place in world where, titans, giant human like monsters have

rampaged the earth and terrorize humanity.  These titans have wiped out the human population to a point where only a few thousands are left, these humans live withing three walls that protect them from the titans.  The story follows Eren, a boy who wants to join the Recon Corp the military force that is known for fighting the titans and losing most battles against them.  This sets the scene when the out most wall falls to an armored titan, death and despair begins to rampage through out humanity as the first wall falls.  The survivors of this attack live now within the inner walls but famine and lack of food means sacrifice to everyone that has already lost it all.  Eren having seen the horrors of the titan vows that he will kill them all and enlist in the military with this goal in mind.  The story revolves around Eren as he grows and comes closer to this goal. 

If you've been anywhere on the internet lately you've probably heard about Attack on Titan its one of those things that gained popularity quickly and with very good reason.  Attack on Titan deals with a lot of psychological standpoints on human nature as all the characters are changed by the clear realization of the death and the losing of the war going on around them.  Truthfully the anime is impacting in this way and it absolutely gets it point across while at the same time showing a storyline that will keep you wanting more and basically calling then screaming for what will happen next.  The anime also has its twist and turns that at 25 episodes so far will, if not anything, most likely blow your mind.   Now as the second season ended in September and it quickly catching up to the manga I am not totally sure whether the anime will have a third season but an OVA will be made in April so hopefully it won't move away from the original story line too much.  That being said this anime is on the strongly recommended list and is a must watch, the hype its getting is definitely deserved.  That being said.

Matane!
またね！

Senbazuru: A Thousand Origami Cranes

In Japan the crane is regarded as a symbol of good fortune. it represents a long life, since its believed

that they live 1000 years, and of fidelity since Japanese cranes mate for life.  Senbazuru is a word that means 1000 cranes and was popularized by the a legend that says that whoever fold 1000 origami cranes will have a wish granted to them by, what else, a crane.  The legend sometimes says that besides the wish one is granted eternal good luck, a long life or recovery from illness.  Now a days though these thousand cranes are made and given to others as gift hoping that they will have a happy life.

The topic of Senbazuru would not be complete though if we didn't talk about the sad but beautiful story of Sadako Sasaki, because of her the Senbazuru is also a symbol of hope and peace.  Sadako was born during World War II  and was two years old when the bombs fell on Hiroshima even after this she grew up to become a healthy and happy girl.  In 6th grade she was the fastest runner in her school and dreamed of becoming a physical education teacher.  At the age of 11 though she was diagnosed with Leukemia which was caused by the radiation she was exposed to after the bombing.   While in the hospital she heard the story of Senbazuru. So she began making the cranes and hoped that by folding all the cranes she would get well again.  She died by the end of that year, there are some versions of the story that say that she did not finish making the thousand cranes while there are others that say that she did.   Never the less a statue was put up in Hiroshima after her death to honor her and all the children that died because of the bombing.  The statue depicts Sadako holding a paper crane and it reads "This is our cry. This is our prayer. Peace on Earth."  The story of Sadako was also made into a book which tells the whole story of her life. 

Personal Post!! I had something planned!

Well I had something planned that was going to be both educational and fun but I looked at my calender and found out that my finals and all the assignments I haven't done for college are due this week.  Because of that I began to be responsible over my homework and over studying and could not for the life of me put everything together in time but if all goes well I will by the end of the month *thumbs up*  But of course I won't be leaving you with nothing to do till then oh no no no I would never think of such a thing I'm leaving hints as to what it is and I could leave a thousand hints but I will do no such thing it would be no fun that way right.  So here's to you figuring it out and me getting out of finals week without many injuries.

Matane!
またね！

Drama Time! Akuto - Juuhanzai Sousahan

In the world there are rabbits and hyenas, a docile rabbit will live its life peacefully but hyenas are out chasing the rabbits then sucking them dry. Can a rabbit protect other rabbits from a hyena? or is it a fight between the hyenas to see who eats the rabbit first?
 
The detectives from the Fourth Section of Minato-cho Police Precincts Togashi Masayoshi, Iinuma Reiko, Shibata Yasuharu and Yamashita Manabu are detectives with the highest arrest record out of all the divisions. An amazing achievement which is shrouded by the rumor that illegal methods are used to get the job done. After the strange death of their chief officer from falling off the roof of a building during a chase a new chief is to be instated.  Satonaka Keiichiro is appointed for the job by the head of police administration , Maejima Ryuzo, as the Fourth Sections New Chief Officer. Though he believed he was demoted he is in fact sent there to keep tabs on the Fourth Sections activities on behalf of the head of police. Working together Satonaka finds that the rumors are true. Has Satonaka been placed into a hyenas play ground? Or are the hyenas really rabbits in disguise?
 
Unlike detective dramas from the past that I have reviewed this one ccertainly had no fall back on comedy going on but still it captivates you all the same safe to say its a mature detective drama.  The story lines in the beginning makes you absolutely doubt everyone and the first episode is a moment where you trust none of the characters to be the good detective they are suppose to be.  Though as the story line progresses you have to use your own judgment to decide whether or not they are doing good or just using justice as an excuse to do as they please.  Togashi Masayoshi the silent but most obvious leader of the detectives makes for a very exceptional character with an unwavering belief in what he does and Satonaka is his opposite although in the beginning he seems sure he wavers in his beliefs after meeting the four detectives from the fourth section. The four detectives were very well made up each with their own stories or background that correlated with the main storyline. 

The most shocking thing about the drama above all things is the ending, a happy ending seems in order after all the events that have happened but for the tone the drama had kept all through it a happy ending is not what you get, the last ten minutes of the drama leave you stunned and wanting to know what happens next.  To know what happened I'm guessing you would have to watch to know.

Till next time!

またね！
Matane!

Anime Time! Amnesia

Based on a video game this anime takes place as the protagonist wakes up on August 1st with no memory of who she is.  In order to restore her memory, with the help from a fairy, she decides to interact with the people around her to figure out who she is.  The thing is that every time she gets a clue as to who the people around her are, she wakes up again on August 1st with memory of what has happened but everyone around her, although they are the same people, change characters and personality if this isn't shocking enough when she wakes up different people claim to be her boyfriend every time she wakes up?! Will she be able to figure out what's going on? And will she ever figure out who she is?

Well this anime I found randomly through some fan art so I knew absolutely nothing about it before I watched it besides the fact that the characters had playing card symbols on them, and because I love love LOVE playing card symbols when used in anime or manga, I decided to watch.  Sadly though this one didn't do much for me I had problems with the characters, since the main character was kinda meek I expected the other characters to shine out above the rest but this was not like that.  But that was before I knew the anime was based on a video game.   The video game is called an otome game (first time I've heard of that) and its basically the player gets to choses who she ends up with, after learning this I found the problems I had with the characters solve seeing as the video game would be ruined for some if their characters changed or turned out not to be what they imagined them as.  From a selling point of view I can understand that the anime was marketed toward the fans so I can't really criticize it for that.  The drawing style is very nice and the plot itself is okay, this is the kind of thing you could watch when you want the trill of a intricate story line without the intricacy.  For a college student who's brain is being fried by exam week (ME)  it is the perfect anime to watch.  Or for the ladies that want to be swooped off their feet by a animated character this is your anime, for the guys though I'm not sure as to whether the guys I know would watch it but if you like cute things the main character is cute and so is her fairy.  Well then,

Matane!
またね！



To all the students who are on mid-terms right now, truly from the bottom of my heart good luck!