elle_white: (12 Kingdoms: Empress Youko)
 One of my favourite people on Tumblr, adventuresofcomicbookgirl does feminist reviews on anime and manga, looking at their themes and handling of social issues. I was excited that  yesterday she posted a review on The Twelve Kingdoms. This series is an amazing, but still rather obscure. As mentioned in the review, it has extremely detailed world building, phenomenal character development and complex moral situations. There are also amazing, fully fleshed out ladies who go through incredible journeys to discover who they are outside of societal pressures. 

There is a link in the review to both the anime, which is sold on amazon, and the online translations of the original light novels. I personally prefer the light novels because we get to see inside the main characters head in the anime doesn't allow. And as mentioned in the review, the anime adds two characters who were awkwardly inserted into the plot, and really didn't need to be there. However, I would still highly recommend the anime. It has beautiful animation, wonderfully done music and top notch voice acting. And aside from the aforementioned changes, is very faithful to the source material. Everyone should read the review. It's one of my favourite stories, and I can't emphasize enough how amazing I find it. 

elle_white: (Princess Tutu: Face the Stars)
 I should mention that I've started reading Basara. I admit that I find the art style a little awkward, but I love the concept and how it's playing out so far. So I'll continue. 

Debating whether or not I should go see Snow White and the Huntsman. 
elle_white: (Default)
 On Friday, I saw Dickens' Women, and it was brilliant! Miriam Margoyles was wonderful and engaging.

Awesomness )


elle_white: (Young Justice: Caught in the undertow)
 I recently finished watching Full Moon wo Sagashite. It was deeply engaging and beautiful! I was surprised by how much I came to love this anime. I started off reading the manga, but I was so disgusted that I had to put it down. I think this is one of those rare cases where the adaptation is far better the original. The anime is mostly light-hearted in it's first half, but becomes The manga is a much darker story that contains more triggering material. 

The premise for both the anime and manga is the same. A twelve-year-old girl named Mitsuki has dreams of becoming a singer, but she has throat cancer. She is visited by two shinigami, a grumpy and dorky boy called Takuto and an energetic girl named Meroko. They tell her she only has more year left to live. Wanting to make the most of the time she has left because of a promise she made to a boy named Eichi, Mitsuki convinces the shinigmai to help her make her dream come true with their magic. I know it sounds morbid sentimental, and I admit it can be ridiculous at times, but it is handled extremely well, overall. At least in the anime, which is surprisingly light-hearted and sweet in its first half. The second part deals with the darkness inherent in its premise, while being ultimately hopeful and inspiring. 

Cut for talk of sexual assualt and rape.  )

I also felt the friendship between the two main ladies was even more important in the anime, and  was developed in a sweet and epic manner. Meroko feels jealous towards Mitsuki because Takuto is interest in her. This happens in both versions. But Meroko cares about Mitsuki from the beginning in the anime. She feels protective and of her and conflicted about her role much earlier on than in the manga. 

The anime is sometimes criticized for being slow and having too much "filler." But I would much rather have the anime, which slowly develops its characters and their relationships. This version emphasizes friendship, hope and unashamedly giving fate the middle finger. The anime, while not perfect, is a deeply touching story that made me extremely happy. 
elle_white: (Default)
I'm ecstatic  because I got my tickets for Dickens' Women in the mail yesterday! Miriam Margoyles will perform 23 of Charles Dickens' characters. I haven't seen a stage play in years and this sounds amazing! 

The performance is a celebration of 200 years of Charles Dickens, so it's a strictly limited season. I was lucky to get in! I'll post a my impressions after I see it on March 10.
elle_white: (Princess Tutu: I'm the witch)
I just created a Tumblr blog dedicated to Rue: http://fuckyeahrue.tumblr.com/ 

The lady needs more recognition. 

I am more than happy to take submissions!  

elle_white: (FMA: What is this bullshit?)
 Wow, TV Tropes, changing the trope "Pink Bishoujo Ghetto" to Improbably Female Cast isn't cool. It implies that anything with a lady heavy cast is "improbable," and something that should be avoided.  Moderators have said it only applies to cases were it would be unrealistic, like in a military unit during a time when women didn't serve on the front lines. But, the trope originally just referred to anything with a large cast of women, not the improbability of such a cast.  

The male equivalent was changed from "Blue Bishounen Ghetto" to Cast Full Of Pretty Boys, which... has the same meaning. A trope that referred to the large amount of representation women had in a piece of fiction was changed to point out the implausibility of that representation. Considering that women don't often have a great amount of representation in the media, this comes off as a little disturbing. And TV Tropes is a large and influential site. I've enjoyed visiting it, and I've used the trope names from there in the past, but they've been disappointing lately. 
elle_white: (FMA: A lady's best friend)
 It's my mum's birthday today. I took her out for lunch.

I'm planning to see Hugo soon, since it was recently released in Australian cinemas. 

So, what things have you watched/read lately? What was your opinion of it? 
elle_white: (Sailor Moon: Soldier of Love and Justice)
 I recently watched the first few episodes of Shugo Chara. It's really fun, sweet and charming so far. Should I continue watching it? Does it remain awesome later on?

Amu is very awesome and lovable.  I also love the idea that the Guardians are representations of who the characters really want to be and help bring out their true selves.   

I just hope it continues to be amazing! 

This may become the Year of the Magical Girl Anime for me!  :P
elle_white: (Sailor Moon: Senshi)

I recently finished watching Heartcatch Precure. It's a cheesy and quirky Magical Girl anime aimed at young girls... but I unironically love it! I love it so, so much.

This series is really an excellent one, overall. It has some great fight scenes and fantastic, well-developed characters with engaging character arcs. 

 

elle_white: (12 Kingdoms: My constant companion)
 I had an enjoyable, but quiet Christmas with close friends and family. I was just happy to have my mum there, because we thought she'd be spending Christmas in the hospital for a while.

I hope everyone else had a good time during the holidays! 

The Twelve Kingdoms fandom is quite small and the fanworks are normally centred around pairings I have little interest in, but lately the fanartists have produced some lovely and amazing art. They really delight me sometimes with things like this

I imagine things like this happen frequently. Enki trolls Rakushun and Youko is amused by it all, while Keiki watches the shenanigans unfold dubiously. 

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