Chouwa Oto

Such a dramatic week guys, and I'm feeling a bit drained! But as promised here are my views on 'ToraDora!' and 'Origin: Spirits Of The Past'.

Firstly ToraDora! A fairly typical love story set in Japan of course. Boy (Ryuji) and girl (Taiga) meet, dislike each other but join forces in a reluctant, mutual decision because each can help the other get the one they want. He has issues, she has issues (major issues!) but eventually they realise that in trying to get their crushes, they have in fact fallen in love with each other. Now admittedly the first episode didn't grab me. I found it too much too soon. But I gave it a chance, as it definitely had potential, and I was not disappointed! One thing that really grabbed me about this anime was their feelings were really gradual, which is sometimes lacking in animes I have watched in the past where they instantly seem to fall in love and spend an excruciating hundred billion episodes figuring out the other one feels the same. Here, each is convinced they are already in love and so remain ignorant of each other for quite a lot of the anime. But the viewers definitely notice the subtle changes as Ryuji and Taiga frequently display their growing affection for one another, and it is easy to spot that their interest in their crushes wanes throughout the series.

Another great part of this anime which I find in few others is that you don't find yourself hating their crushes (Minori and Yūsaku) at all! All the characters develop and grow on you, dealing with their personal issues along the way. Even the bitchy Ami introduced as an obvious ploy to throw the clueless soulmates off track has a few surprises up her sleeve. The anime contains plenty of funny and serious moments to appeal to a large audience and I would definitely recommend this one!

Now for Origin. Again, another love story which in storyline is a sort of cross between 'Laputa: Castle In The Sky' and 'Nausicaa: Valley Of The Wind'. It is set in a post-apocalyptic world where the forest has taken over and few humans survive. Those who do have separated into two main groups, one wanting to control the forest by force, and one wanting to keep peace and live alongside it. The peaceful Neutral City is home to Agito, who stumbles upon a sleeping girl from the past named Toola and accidentally wakes her up. Toola unknowingly holds the key to bringing the World back to how it was before, sparking a war between the two factions. But the question remains, at what cost? Before viewing, I'd heard mixed reviews about the content, but all agreed that visually it was a stunning film to watch. I 100% agree that it is appealing to the eyes! Some of the effects were beautiful. In terms of content, the storyline was simple yet effective, and I didn't have a problem with it. I did feel that the characters were underdeveloped in some instances, especially the side characters, and motivation was not clear for some of the situations that rose. I believe that if the film had been longer (it was about an hour and a half), this could have easily been sorted. All in all though, it was a good film and I think it would appeal to a lot of people to watch. The opening song 'Chouwa Oto' (I bet some of you wondered what the title meant) was beautiful, everyone give it a listen!

Just to catch up, this week I have managed to watch Disney's newest version of 'The Princess And The Frog' (FINALLY!) and found it very different to the usual Disney Film, which was refreshing. Also I've literally JUST got back from watching 'Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance'. I was weary as I hadn't watched the first film and I thought this would hinder me, but I didn't find it hard to follow at all! It was a little cheesy at times, but overall an enjoyable film.

Other than that, I'm tired and very much looking forward to a nice day off tomorrow (again, FINALLY!).

Valentines Day and Masterclass Week

My apologies, dear readers. I have been very ill over the last few days and so couldn't post. Therefore I have a lot of catching up to do!

Firstly, Valentines Day. It can only be described as perfect. I understand that many feel Valentines Day to be overrated (they are normally single) and in a sense I agree, it is very commercialised. However, those who actually tell couples off for being happy on Valentines Day are ridiculous. Many people put a lot of thought into their Valentines Gifts for their loved ones and can't wait to GIVE them. Surely such positive, thoughtless feelings are to be encouraged. I received a beautiful bunch of roses and a box of chocolates (yes I know, I know) which I was very grateful for. As cliche as they are, I've never had flowers for valentines day before and I imagine they were very expensive! But as well as this, I got my favourite present, a cuddly Simba and Nala from the Disney Store! It reminded me that Valentines Day is not just about buying the most romantic present you can find, but buying a present that you KNOW the other will love. It was also a dutiful reminder that I'm going to see The Lion King Musical for my birthday (AHHHSO EXCITED).

Now moving on from Valentines Day. This week has been Masterclass Week for my Performing Arts course at Uni (a sort of half term with optional classes) and I have attended a couple. The first was Puppetry with Steve Allen, who has worked with the Muppets and more notably in my opinion, created the prototype for Ludo in Labyrinth! (Ludo!) His class was fascinating and gave us an insight into how much hard work puppeteering can be (it absolutely kills the arms). We even had a go at making puppets from our hands (again like in Labyrinth, or the Adult Education advert).

The other class I attended this week was a Make-Up/Special Effects class and this on I was very excited about. I was not disappointed! The class focused on Wounds/Cuts/Bruises and was fascinating! You would be surprised how much you can do with a Snazaroo Kit, though I expect you can do a whole lot more with professional equipment. Here are a couple of examples of the wounds we created:

Gruesome huh? I certainly can't wait to do more of this kind of stuff!

As for the rest of my week, obviously I've been ill. But I have been able to finish 'ToraDora!' and watch a movie that I brought a while back and never got round to watching, 'Origin: Spirit Of The Past'. I'll talk more about those next post.