End of an era...

So I just found out tonight that Bleach is over. Bleach is one of the first manga I've ever read. I followed that series for years... and have about 40 volumes at home. Yes, I eventually lost interest or more accurately, didn't follow as obsessively as I used to... but to know that after 15 years, Bleach has come to an end... It truly feels like the end of an era.

I find that the end of a series is always emotional. You never want it to be over, you always want more of the characters you've come to love so much. The longer the series has gone on, the more heart-wrenching the end is... because in many instances, the mangaka is asked to wrap up the series due to loss of popularity/decrease in ratings and therefore, the ending is rushed and not exactly what the mangaka has envisioned :( This is exactly the case with Bleach. Lots of unanswered questions, sigh.

Oh well. We don't get a say :( Now that it's over, perhaps I'll go back and read the parts that I haven't. Even though I haven't been following the series as closely in the past few years, I'm going to miss Bleach, know that it's over... The plot might not have been as strong and stellar as from the beginning, but the art has :)

Re-Read: Deep Waters and Hunter X Hunter

For this month's Re-Read challenge, you guys get a twofer. First, my comfort read of the year, Deep Waters by Jayne Ann Krentz, and a manga series, Hunter X Hunter :)


Deep Waters by Jayne Ann Krentz
published by Simon & Schuster in January 1997

You can read my review here.

The first time I've ever read this book, I was still a teen, still going to the town library and still reading in French. My, so many things have changed right? LOL :)

For years, this book has been on my mind. I remembered parts of the storyline, but did not remember the author or the title - let me tell you, it makes it hard to find the book and re-read it. Then, I decided to ask blogland and I was quite lucky, I got an answer :P So in February, I read Deep Waters and somehow, it has become one of my comfort reads this year.

I'm not going to write a detailed review, since I've already posted one earlier this year... Just write my impressions on my re-read.

My Impressions: Having read Deep Waters not that long ago, the re-read wasn't as powerful. Back in February, when I read Deep Waters, it was like discovering a new book, partly because I was reading it in English for the first time, partly because it's been so long ago... So this time, I wasn't so entranced by the book. The mystery didn't interest me at all and I focused on the romance in the book. I still really like Elias and Charity's characters... they are very different from one another, but somehow, they match. It's kind of fun to see Elias so clueless at times and figuring things out. It seems to me it's always delayed LOL. A lightbulb goes on and then, you see his mind working and finally, he jumps in. I think that only Charity could handle him :) It's also very interesting to see their relationship progresses... I think that back in February, I was so focused on the entire book... I didn't realize that their relationship wasn't that smooth. It seems to me, despite his water talks, Elias has a quick temper and too often, Charity seems to give in. Also, she was nervous and insecure in too many instances :( That did take out a bit of my enjoyment :(

Still overall, it's a pretty good story. I still enjoy their cooking contest and the "sweet" part LOL.

However, I think this is a book that the longer you haven't read, the better it's going to be on the re-read. So maybe I should wait a while before my next re-read :)


Hunter x Hunter by Togashi Yoshihiro

Hunter x Hunter is a manga drawn and written by Togashi Yoshihiro. The first chapter was published back in March 1998 and is still ongoing. There are currently 291 chapters released, compiled into 27 volumes and I have 26 of them in French.

This manga was hugely popular when it was released and even got its own anime adaptation as well as several OVAs which followed the manga very closely (those are the best). The only problem however is that the author is kind weak/sickly. As a result, the art has suffered a lot and he's been going on and off hiatus a lot. However, he should be starting up again (yay!!) and actually, chapter 291 is the first one of this come back. Hopefully, this time, he'll draw more than one volume... because at this rate, we'll never see the end ^_^;

The Story: Hunter X Hunter is the story of a young boy, Gon, who has been raised by his aunt on an isolated island. Much to his aunt's sorrow, Gon has decided to follow his father's footstep and become a professional Hunter. In this world, being a professional Hunter is quite an achievement and speaks loudly of who you are. They are several types of Hunters - bounty hunters, archeologist hunters, etc. Thus the story starts with Gon taking the exam and follows his friendship and adventures. However, the ultimate test that Gon has to face - find his father.

Like any manga, the story is divided into many story arcs. So far, we could divide Hunter X Hunter as followed:

1) Hunter exam (vol. 1 to 4)
2) Celestial Tower (vol. 5 to 7)
3) York Shin City (vol. 8 to 13)
4) Greed Island (vol. 14 to 18)
5) The Insects (vol. 19 to ?)

My Opinion: This manga is one of the best and it's really no wonder that it has so many fans and people are waiting so impatiently for its continuation. This is a fighting manga and the protagonist is very young, Gon and Killua (his best friend) are 11-12 years old when the story started and about 1.5 years has gone by. So Hunter X Hunter is mostly written for a male audience... still, I like it :)

It was great re-reading Hunter X Hunter. I have forgotten how fast the pacing of the story was. It's one great story arc after another and everything is moving swiftly. The whole story consists of clever twists and good ideas. The action is pretty non-stop, but it's balanced with a great story and world building.

I really enjoy the main characters - Gon and Killua. These boys are just fun to read and follow, quite endearing actually. Gon is pure and honest. He's quite direct, but he is not dumb. Killua is more interesting because he has more depth and dimensions... He comes from a family of assassins, so he's been trained quite strictly since he was young... So seeing him with a character so pure such as Gon, you can sometimes see Killua's internal struggles... the many shades of grey that makes up his characters. There are also two other characters worth mentioning: Kurapika and Leolio. They appear quite early in the manga (actually, even before Killua) and become very good friends with Gon... however, after the Hunter exam, they each go their own way. The characters do return for the York Shin City story arc which is very exciting. Anyway, this band of four would be invincible in a couple of years in my opinion :)

So yes, I really enjoy this manga. However, I'm not that much into the last story arc, the Insects one... and to my discontent, it's been the longest story arc :( Part of the problem I think is the slowness at which it's being written - the author having taken many hiatus. I just can't wait till he finishes and moves on. Seriously. I mean, this story arc is almost 1/3 of the whole story... I do hope that there'll be more story arcs after the Insects too. That's the problem with manga... the ending is always uncertain ^_^;

Also, since we're talking manga, we cannot forget the art. I think that Hunter X Hunter's art is very nice, easy on the eye. It's quite simple, but it works. Of course, the art also has suffered while the author was on hiatus (some of the chapters released in the magazines looked like draft @_@ Luckily, the author redrew them for the release of the volumes, phew). Still, it's a good style and I like that he plays with clothings and detailing ;)

Oh and since it's a re-read review, I'll say this... Hunter X Hunter is the kind of story that will withstand time and will become a classic, really :) As a re-read, I think that again, it depends on how long it's been since you've last read it. There's a lot of exciting moments and again, the longer it's been since you've read it, the better the re-read will be... because you'll be sitting at the edge of your seat and turning the pages so fast :)

My Grade: A-. It'd be an A if it wasn't for the last story arc...

Wallpaper meme

Huh, it just down on me that last week, at the same time... I was on a train towards Kristie... Today? I'm stuck at work. Time really does fly!!! Unfortunately, it keeps flying in the wrong direction! ^_^;

Today is the TBR Day. Luckily, I have my book read at the beginning of the month, so all I have to do is write a review :) Only problem is I just have so many things to talk about!! and well, I'm trying to space it out, so I don't inundate everyone's Google Reader. So while I'm writing my review and mulling over what I want to say for tomorrow, enjoy an image of my wallpaper :)

Kristie has revived this old Wallpaper meme. I only have a desktop, so only one wallpaper... and nothing as hot as what Kristie has LOL :) By the way, I do not take responsibility for Kristie's laptop wallpaper. She said she wanted Nico Archambault (the winner of Canada's SYTYCD) as her wallpaper and while I was looking for something more sensible, she chose that pic :P

Anyway, my wallpaper is a from Eyeshield21 - a Japanese manga about American football which has just ended last week T_T While I would have preferred to have more characters from ES21 in the wallpaper, this one just grabbed me. It's sooo pretty - look at the colors! Ahhh, I so love manga wallpapers :D

Blogging muses...

Wow, seems like the blogging muses were present this week-end! I don't know about you guys, but I usually find that blogland is very quiet on the week-end, but to my utter joy, there were many, many posts!! Now, I have to catch up on the commenting LOL :)

So how was everyone's week-end? It was extremely humid in Montreal, but finally, we got some nice weather... I wanted to blog so much this week-end, but I never got around to do it :( Also, my NEW computer is having some kind of bug, grrrrrr, and so Mozilla Firefox keeps crashing. Me extremely unhappy about it at the moment, because I love Firefox and I don't want to go back to Internet Explorer :( but then, I think it'd be stupid to re-format my computer after less than a month just for Firefox... but then again, now would be the moment since I don't have much on my harddrive to back-up... Ugh, sometimes technology can suck.

My sister came back from California yesterday after 5 weeks. It's weird to have my sister home now LOL :) I was able to clean up her room before she came back since I've been using it as storage place while I re-organize my room. I did forget some CDs, but that was it. As for my room, well, sigh. I'm not done yet. I know, I know... what am I waiting for? Well actually, I mostly have to shelve the books... but I run into the same dilemma. I was looking at my bookshelves (hey, I'm going to be able to take some pics now that my sister AND the camera are back LOL) and I'm like: well I already have no more space for hardcover books. Hmmmm, so I guess I'll move everything by one shelve? I'll try to have it done this week-end...

Quickly, here's an update of my To Do list:

1. organize all my books and clean up my chaotic room
2. sign up at the gym
3. return one of the cell phone
4. get a hair cut

I did get a haircut on Thursday. It's a bob... longer in the front, shorter in the back with some layers. It's not that different, but I guess there's a limit of what the hair stylist can do with my original length (shoulder-length) and not going extremely short... it was okay, but more expensive than I expected which sucks.

I didn't get a chance to read this week-end. I cleaned a bit on Saturday and read Nodame Cantabile. I really love that manga. Can't wait to see what happens next as Nodame proposed to Chiaki, but he seems to have rejected her :( Then, on Sunday, again, cleaned a little and then, went to see Iron Man with some friends. Pretty good movie, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it :D Tonight, I'm going to see Kung Fu Panda!! Apparently, it's very funny, so I can't wait for it!!!

By the way, anyone wants to buddy review any of these following books: In the Twilight's Shadow by Patti O'Shea and Nightkeepers by Jessica Andersen? I'm going to have reviews all days this week :D

Ohhh, I almost forgot to ask!! What are the new releases you're looking forward to this summer? There's a couple of hardcovers that I'm looking forward in July and one or two others, but it seems that June and July are very quiet this year...

Manga Mania: Kare Kano

I've been wondering which series to spotlight first for this new feature. Should it be a shounen or shoujo series? One that is completed or still ongoing? In the end, I chose the one that I've been presently re-watching: Kare Kano aka Kareshi Kanojo no Jijō aka His and Her Circumstances.

Kare Kano is a shoujo manga by mangaka Tsuda Masami that was serialized in LaLa from 1995 to 2005 and compiled into 21 volumes. It has been licensed by Tokyopop in English and Tonkam in French and has been completely published in both language.

The Story: High school has started and very quickly, freshmen Yukino Miyazawa (heroine) and Soichiro Arima (hero) have stood out as the perfect model students. However, it is all a front. In fact, all Yukino wants is the praise and admiration when in reality, she's stubborn, greedy and manipulative as well as a slob. As for Soichiro, his motives are more noble: as a child, Soichiro was abandonned by his parents who were troublesome, never-do-well persons and was adopted by his uncle and aunt despite the protest of the family clan. Thus, Soichiro wants to prove his family clan wrong and does not want to attract trouble to his adoptive parents. However, both discover that there is more to life than perfection, such as love and friendship, and decide to show their true selves... but what if their true selves turn out to be dark?

My Opinion: This is a great series and everyone should give it a chance :P We follow Yukino and Soichiro as they make friends, but also get to see their relationship grow stronger and stronger. The manga is mainly focused on Yukino and Soichiro; however, the mangaka cleverly breaks up the story with episodes where we get to know more about Yukino and Soichiro's new friends and see them grow and find themselves.

I realized that in the synopsis, I make it sounds like Yukino is a bad person... but she is not. She's just a bit superficial and self-centered. However, she really makes a great heroine. She comes from a middle class family and is the oldest of three girls. Her family is very loving and loud... and her parents wonder how they produce such a smart and ambitious girl LOL :) Seriously, I would want her as a friend any day :D As for Soichiro, he's almost the perfect guy. Smart, comes from a rich family, very attentive, devoted and a bit on the reserve side... Sigh... As for the rest of the characters, they're quirky and fun and very friendly. It's really fun to read about them :P

As many shoujo series, the series is funny and quite light in the beginning, especially as characters are introduced, but it does become dark and serious about mid-way or 2/3 of the series. There was a lot of thoughts put in the characterization and storyline which results in complex and three-dimensional characters and profound story which puts it above many other shoujo series. I would say that many high school life shoujo series are fun and entertaining, but they lack interesting plotlines and the "conflicts" are often silly. This is definitively not the case with Kare Kano and I think that part of the reason is that the manga is character-orientated. In addition, the mangaka doesn't introduce any love triangle or third love party which makes it refreshing.

I have to admit though that when the series started to get darker, I didn't enjoy it as much, but it was interesting. That was possibly the only thing I didn't like. All the rest, I love and I was definitively hooked. I also love the fact that we got to know more about the other characters, that they didn't stay uni-dimensional, but were given meat and stories. I also enjoyed the fact that the series followed a normal school timeline such as entrance ceremonies, exams periods, field trips with school and vacation. In many series, I find that the timeline is forgotten or brought up only when it's convenient. For example, the mangaka wants to take a break from the main storyline, so he/she will bring up the sport festival to lighten the mood. It is not the case here. Clearly, Tsuda-sensei had plans and knew where she was going with the storyline. Another thing I love about this series is that it feels "real." Of course, some elements are not possible or has been over-exaggerated to be funny, but when it came to the characters, all what they went through was possible: falling in love with an older man, seeing your father re-marry and etc... and that is true especially for Yukino and Soichiro's relationship.

When a series has been running for years, one of the most important element is the end. It's great that the beginning is good, but after readers have invested time, money and themselves so much, it's good to have good endings too. I enjoyed the ending immensely... the best thing about the ending is that it felt right. The storyline ends when Yukino, Soichiro and cie graduate from high school, i.e. 3 years after the beginning of the storyline if I'm not wrong. Not only was it a great "time" to finish, but it was also realistic. It's hard to explain what I mean, but I'll try. Sometimes, so much happens in the series that you feel like it's impossible that all this only took place in this period of time, but it's not the case with Kare Kano. As I said, it feels right and the timeline of 3 years for the whole storyline makes sense. At the end of the story, you see how much all those characters have mature and it really makes you feel great :D

The Art: Seriously, you can't review a manga without talking about the art :P I think that the art of Kare Kano is very pleasant and it suits the feel of the manga. As always in a long series, you can see the evolution of the art as well. The art in the beginning was more old-style with pointy noise and sharp edge, but to my pleasure, it smooths out and becomes rounder. The style of Tsuda-sensei is also very clean with minimal background which makes it easier to read and focus on the characters. With Kare Kano, I believe that her style has become more distinctive as well, more her own and so it's much easier to recognize her works now. All in all, it's a very nice and enjoyable style to read :D And I love her chibis!! (chibis are deformed drawings of the characters like the pic there :P)

The Anime: The manga was adapted in a 26 episodes anime a couple of years back. I don't have the exact date... but it was the anime that hooked me first. Unfortunately, it doesn't cover the whole manga, but only a little than half the storyline (given the fact that the manga was actually not finished when it was adapted). The anime version is a very faithful adaptation of the manga, but the feel is completely different. It's crazy what you can do when you add voices and music :D I'd say the anime is busier and can sometimes be hard to follow, which is not the case with the manga. One of the particularity is that in the few last episodes, it uses some panels of the manga to tell the story. It was a very clever and nice, but at the same time, there was a lot that you had to "read." I haven't watched the dubbed version, but the japanese version with subtitles was excellent and I'm sure you can find some clips on youtube :D

My Grade: A-. I would have given it a A if I've enjoyed the darker phase a bit more :P So please, give it a try, either the manga or anime. You can read the manga here :P If you enjoy, please try to purchase the manga to support the artist :D

Manga Mania

So last week, I asked if people would be interested if I did a manga feature... well I only got one response ^_^; The good news is that the response was positive. So according to the majority, LOL, I'll be doing a manga feature.

I'm not sure how this will work and what I'll be doing for the manga feature and the frequency of it. All I know is that lately, I've finished many series and want to share them with people on blogland. Some of you have asked me for suggestions, what series to start with. That's a hard question to answer. Hopefully, this feature will help you and give you suggestion.

However, here's a brief introduction about manga to start with. For more information, click here.

Manga are basically Japanese comics. In Japan, manga are read by a wide range of people of all age and there is an equally wide range of topics and subjects explored. Usually, manga are serialized in magazines, some as thick as phone books... when a series is popular enough, the chapters are collected into a tankobon or what we call here a graphic novel.

Me, I usually gravitate towards shonen (teenage boy) and shojo (teenage girl) manga and sometimes, yaoi (male/male love). I would say that those types of manga are the most popular in North America and Europe... therefore, most series licensed belong to these categories...

By the way, I have to mention scanslations. Scanslation is the cheap way to get manga. Basically, groups on the net scans manga and translated them into English and other languages. Obviously, the major advantages of reading scanslations is that it's cheap. Of course, it's better to buy the graphic novels and support the mangaka; however, scanslation is also a good way to discover new un-licensed series or read the newest chapters appearing in a magazine.

Thus, for those who wants to give it a try, here is a site Onemanga where scanslations are online.

I'll have the first spotlight tomorrow, so stay tuned :D

Snow and buildings

Boy, we got some snow today! About 40cm of snow... which apparently, equal approximately to 15 inches. It started roughly around 2am in the morning and has snowed almost the whole day... It was definitively hellish this morning to get to work... it took me 4 HOURS to get in... I left at 6am and only got in at around 10ish... Let me tell you, 4 hours is very long when you need to go to the bathroom!!! What are women supposed to do when they are stuck in traffic with no exit? I was stuck on a stretch of the highway for 2 hours! Luckily, it provided me a good excuse to go home early and I did it in about an hour... Not bad when it usually takes me 45min. So basically, a very, very long day. Sigh.

My week-end was okay. As you've seen, I blogged LOL :D I also read the 23 volumes of Hikaru No Go all over again. I just love this series... Definitively in my top 3! Love it, love it, love it. It's also quite realistic in my opinion (okay, except for the ghost part)... since we follow Hikaru and his growth... You see him grow, makes new friends, changes, etc. If you're a fan of manga, you definitively want to give this series a try. It's basically about a young boy, Hikaru, who becomes haunted by a ghost, Fujiwara Sai (he's sooooo handsome!!). Sai lived a thousand years ago and was the emperor's go teacher. (Go is a boardgame where you have to construct territories and stuff like that... so lots of strategies involved). For some reason, he committed suicide, but still wants to play go. About 140 years ago, he haunted another young boy who became the best go player in history - Honinbo Shusaku; unfortunately, Shusaku died young and Sai still couldn't find the Hand of God... so he gets another chance with Hikaru... who doesn't know how to play. However, he learns how to... and also makes a great rival, Toya Akira... both chased each other (or more like Hikaru chases after Akira and Akira, after Sai)... and both embark on the path of a professional go player. I know that summarized like this, it sounds boring... but definitively give it a try! Manga has a way to make things that look boring into really interesting (eg: go, football, baking, etc.). Okay, so anyway, if you have a chance, give it a try :)

On Sunday, I went and help a friend... she's a student master in architecture and next week is her presentation... She needed help with her models... so I spent my day makes little buildings :D I did 24 of them!! but it was all the easy, square ones... My other friend came in a bit later and she did the roof tops. Here are some pics...

Afterwards, we went to eat Japanese as it was an acquaintance b-day. All in all, it was a nice week-end... I just didn't get to sleep that much :( Which might explain why I'm starting to get sick... my immune system is weakening and becoming more susceptible to my sis and dad's germs LOL :)

August TBR challenge - I'm quite desperate

August TBR challenge was a non-romance.

why the heck did a sign up for this, since I'm an almost-romance-only reader?!?!

Okay... end of the month is in what? 2 more days? Yep... so here is my TBR challenge and I was quite desperate :P (do re-read counts? cos if not, i'm doomed as this one is a re-read...) So, I haven't really read any books that are not romance this month ^^; Angie did recommend to read fantasy or sci-fi and I thought, ah well I'll do that. But I didn't have time too... however, I did read a manga :D So instead of a novel, my TBR challenge is a manga - hope it counts/work

Title: Slam Dunk
Author: Takehiko Inoue
Year published: from 1993 - 1997 in Japan in the Weekly Jump. The original edition is 31 volumes long while the re-edition is 24 volumes long.

Why did you get this book? A friend lent me the series and I fell in love with it.

Do you like the cover? They are 31 covers, some are nicer than others, but I like them all. As the story progresses, the art also improves and so the covers are nicer-looking. The good thing tho is that all the covers have something to do with the story since it's the author who draws them. You don't go, huh? :P I'll post later some of my fav. covers.

Did you enjoy the book? Oh, immensely. It ranks as one of my fav. manga :) The story was good and most important in this case, believable. The art is attractive, the characters are well defined and they stay in characters :) You can't help but like it. The games are entertaining and you really want to know what happens next. It's really a good manga with a good storyline.

Was the author new to you and would you read something by this author again? The author was new to me... and I'd read if he did a sequel. He did draw some other mangas since Slam Dunk, but I didn't get the chance to read them yet. But I'll read this author again.

Are you keeping it or passing it on? I'm willing to buy 31 volumes... You bet I keep :)

Anything else? Well, there's been a rumor that the author might write a sequel once he's done with his current work. I really really really hope so :) Anyone who is a sport manga fan, you must read Slam Dunk if you hadn't yet.

French edition by Mangakana and English edition by ... I'm not sure, sorreh. (but scanslations are available)

Manga Feature: Eyeshield21

Hehe, so by now, everyone probably knows that I like to read romance... but I also love manga., probably because most contain romance. In addition, most of the time, you have nice drawings and good comedy. LOL. I mean, everything is pretty much acceptable in manga because it will be considered as overexaggeration while in books, it wouldn't come out the same way. So I'm a HUGE fan. Some ppl think that manga or even comics are for kids, but I beg to differ, they are soooo wrong. They're for everyone and thanx God for it.

People have been complaining in the past few years that manga and anime are getting boring and repetitive... i don't think so... true, not all manga are good, but every mangaka tries to personalize their own story, so :D Manga are categorized in two, well actually, 3 classes: shounen and shoujo. Shounen are usually for boys and shoujo for girls. One style that you often find in shounen are sports manga, i.e. a manga focused on a sport... such as Eyeshield21

Let's start by a confession: I never liked American football (at least, watching professional) So I was reluctant to read this manga. However, my good friend Sam recommended it to me and since we usually have the same taste, I give it a try... and never regret it. The manga is not finished yet and so far, I think there's about 19 volumes out (20th coming out this summer) and the story is far from finished...

Story: Sena is the young hero of this manga; he is shy, small and has pretty much been over-protected by his childhood friend Mamori, who is two year his senior. So Sena new life starts when he enters high school where he wishes he won't be bullied anymore, won't run errands for others anymore and where he'll make new friend. Meanwhile, Hiruma, the devil of the school, and his good buddy Kurita are looking for new members to join the football club as they are only two. Their dream is to participate to the Christmas Bowl and this is their last opportunity.

One day, Sena is being bullied and stumbled in the football clubroom. Kurita thinks that Sena wants to join up, but of course not. Then, he is won over by Kurita's enthusiasm and love for football and decides to become the secretary of the club. However, Sena has a secret skill: he's an extremely good and fast runner which he developped by running errands for others... and unfortunately for Sena, Hiruma sees him and from then, Sena had no choice then becoming a player... with a code name: Eyeshield21 (can't let Mamori know that Sena is playing, or she'd forced him to quit)...

So that's the beginning of the story and as a typical sports manga, they find new players to join the team, everyone evolves so much that you don't know where's the limit. However, it's interesting... really, it is ;D I love the characters :D Hiruma is so devilish! Basically, he blackmails ppl into doing stuff for him and the way he carries guns and other weapons and just fire is hilarious. Kurita is the sweet and nice senior - but he is huge. Sena is a nice character as well :D Anyway, it has a good mix of comedy, drama, sports and romance. What I especially like is that you learn a lot about american football - its rules, but also strategies and stuff like that.

Drawing-wise, the manga is quite appealing. Characters designs are quite simple, but it works and the mangaka's style improves with time.

So on my manga scale: 8.5/10. In other words, pretty good stuff and my next buy for manga.
(licensed in English by Viz and in French, by Glénat.)