Willow's Reviews & Thoughts

There is a season one and a season two (just started).

( Season 1 Raving Here )



( Season 2 Ranting Here )

I'm somewhat ambivalent about Yumeiro Patissiere. While it's like watching Iron Cheft meets Boarding School Adventures plus Fairies with some (so far,) slow paced romance and is enjoyable that way. I wince every-time one of the girls calls the other fat, or a girl decides she needs to be on a diet. I hate that it's expected culture, apparently in both the US and Japan (and who knows where else these days) for weight concern to be a major thing among girls. Especially when these girls are drawn so damn THIN. And the one woman we see who is heavier, while married, nothing is sad about her weight or if baking treats and sweets contributed to it. So then it was 'untouchable' ? But not when it's (english sub says at least) 13 year olds? Though even given that highschoolers often get pushed down to middleschool, with college goers pushed down to highschool, it's still teenage girls with the self conscious worry about weight threading through their lives.

Another thing I'm disliking? After episode upon episode of the main character being treated, hmm, not quite as an equal because she doesn't have the training, but as a contemporary and fellow student and a teammate - I'm very wincy at the idea of some Italian fellow making bets about 'making her his gf' when winning a challenge. For that matter, I cringe a lot at one girl throwing herself over and over and over again at one boy - like a never ending tide. Despite the fact said boy doesn't like her, doesn't like to be touched by her and while I cannot remember him saying no outloud, the fact that I have to search my mind for that at all, brings up more and more the gender reversal scenario of 'She didn't say no, so she must have liked it'. **shudder**

It's also grring to realize the protagonist (female - the main character) seems to have no skills whatsoever in claiming her personal space or autonomy with said Italian. Damnit, I enjoy the show, but this learned helplessness thing... Her being open and honest and forgiving of when people cheat her - at least she gets called airheaded for it. But the inability to smack someone's hand away? I am aware of cultural differences involved and yet it is still so painfully, invasively annoying. I guess because it ends up reading like one of the bars trying to lock women in 'performance of proper femininity'.

But all that aside, binding friendships, people cooking, and faeries that aren't annoying - for 63 episodes!

PS: Yes, the laugh IS very. very. very. very. annoying. Also the American.

PPS: There is a moment that mentions accessibility that damn near won me over despite all that seemingly approved cultural stalking and molestation.

PPPS: To anyone else who may have watched this? Selfish man is SELFISH.

Oh sweet heaven, another anime where I'm all a twitter. MAH JOHNG is SERIOUS BUSINESS PEOPLE. Saki is like Angelic Layer, but with TILES. It makes me think of YUGIOH, only the contestants are all girls, there's gentle if obvious yuri and thought I know nothing of MAHJOHNG (seriously I play mahjohng solitaire so the most I can do is recognize the tiles) it doesn't feel like people are pulling things out their behinds at the last moment.

I am so pouty to discover it's not a longer anime. SO, POUTY. But now I MUST get my hands on the manga. It is so adorable. ADORABLE. Little baby lesbians EVERYWHERE. Ok technically it's all girls school 'best friend' closeness. But having gone to an all girls school, I know for a fact it is a hotbed of weird not quite lesbianism but don't you dare get between a 'couple' or trouble will happen, with them and their (shipping) fans!

Sometimes I'm busy living my life, dealing with things, so that it feels like a surprise, since I'm not currently thinking of relationships, to realize 'Oh yeah. I am SO gay. SO GAY'.

I did not expect to find a slice of life, comedy, school life anime so enjoyable. But I really needed something light, where I wouldn't 'think' and thought, why not. And boom, I was hooked. There was all this meta about cliches, tropes, stereoptyes of Japanese people, tourists in Japan, anime and manga. And that was lovely. But what hooked me was teenage girls just talking - watching conversations flow the way they can in real life, naturally. And watching them discuss everything from periods to how to eat certain foods.

I did not realize I needed that. Well, I mean I know I greatly enjoy female focused things, or at least heroines. But knowing I enjoy a thing, and knowing it fits and fills a hole in me / tells a story I want to hear, are two different things. There are no big references to boyfriends and romance outside of friendly teasing. There is a whole lot of girl and family bonding, worries about school, different people having different goals and interests and ways of doing things...

1 Note. I started skipping the 'Lucky Channel' bits at the end after a few eps, because I greatfly dislike the trope of sullen + angry + violent girl and put upon boy. Tsun Tsun can go bite herself.

I wonder if there's Josei Manga that involves something like that? As most seem to center around if not focus on romantic relationships. If I could find Josei like Lucky Star where the 'girls' are grown up, with or without family that would be wonderful. Oh! yes! No disappeared, invisible, non caring, non involved parents in Lucky Star.

Remember I said I wasn't sure I was going to give a deeper review of CHANGES - Dresden Files #12. Well, I came across a book review that has a problem with it. Has a problem specifically with an issue of bonding and emotional intent, clan building and the sense of responsibility. And now I feel urged to say something, because it never occurred to me that people could find Harry's reactions in CHANGES to be unrealistic.

( Here Be Spoilers )

Let me get this out of the way right from the start; this is a what these people need is a honkey book. There is no getting away from that. None.

But that said, I found myself liking what the particular honkey in this case brings to the table; which is guile and the ability to understand treachery, deceit and betrayal.

( Queen Of The Orcs )

Possible Long List of Manga Willow Has Or Is Enjoying


Hunter x Hunter
--- I adore the friendship between the two young main hunter characters. Even though it has, what I've come to understand is the sports theme of 'try harder, practice more, get stronger, defeat/impress stronger enemies' I really like the theme within the character arcs. I loved the fact that by the time they reached a certain point, with one particular 'bad guy', I'd not quite forgotten the horrific things he'd done. But I was starting to think of him as a heroic type in need of redemption and acceptance. This is possibly true because the second young male character has strong and solid echoes of that possibility in his own storyline. It's just hits all the right spots so far and I'm looking forward to hunting down the anime.


Amatsuki
--- The summary of this manga doesn't make it seem interesting at all.

History isn't Tokidoki's strong subject. He's even forced to do make-up work at a high-tech history museum to bring up his failing grades. After losing an eye to a virtual reality monster in an Edo-period simulation, he finds himself unable to leave the game. Could it be real?

But it absolutely is for me, even though I admit to hunting down the anime (currently only 13 episodes) and liking the anime better. It's cleaner and more tightly focused - which makes sense since an anime of a manga would essentially be a rewrite. I can almost remember everyone's names already because of watching the anime. And I'm trying to hunt down the names Tienten and Gyoten because they were mentioned as the names of higher spirits in The Twelve Kingdoms as well and I'm immensely curious now.

I love the curveballs thrown into 'finding oneself in a heroic journey/another world' kind of experience.