my moral standing is lying down

I'm still in that sampling-a-bit-of-everything mood recently.

I finished Death Note about 3 weeks ago. ( Please do not read if you haven't finished the story. SPOILERS. )

Since then I've been reading the Initial D manga, which is SO AWESOME. The anime stayed really close to the plot, which I'm really grateful for. The things they left out/changed are not hugely significant, but I'm glad that I read the manga and now have those things to flesh out the story even more. They're mostly having to do with Natsuki (whom I like). I'm up to volume 25 right now, and there really aren't too many more volumes scanlated, so I'm both looking forward to reading more, but not looking forward to finishing what I have (vol 27 or 28).

I've actually been watching anime of my own volition! Saiunkoku Monogatari, which at first seems to be very similar to Fushigi Yuugi, but really isn't. The setting is the same, and the part where there's one main girl character and 5+ bishounen characters, but that's where similarities end. The major difference: SHUUREI IS NOT MIAKA! Shuurei actually has a brain, and is both intelligent and clever, and IS NOT STUPID! She can be slightly innocent or naive at times, but in a normal way -- NOT stupidly and unrealistically. The perceived love rivals are also the emperor and a fighter/warrior type, but the romance part is SO much less of a soap opera than FY, and there really isn't very much of a triangle. I'm enjoying it so much; I'm up to episode 14 and have up to 27. I can't seem to find Shadow Dreams subs after ep 27, but I know it goes up to at least ep 39, so I'm wondering if the status is ongoing or dropped...

Also, I've been carrying around Sorcery Rising by Jude Fisher, and reading around 20-30 pages/day during weekdays. I think it's probably the perfect book for my mood right now. It has a pretty slow build-up; not boring, but definitely something I can only read in small chunks at a time. Since I have been excited to do other things when I get home, it's perfect for commute or lunch-time reading. The characters are intriguing, and that's really what's keeping me going with this book. The narration goes from character to character, laying down the foundation for each character's origin, background, and motivation. And only now, at 285 pages in (out of 528), are they beginning to intersect.

I have more to update about (Blood Ties, the TV series based on Tanya Huff's Vicki Nelson books, for example), and more to squee about (Drakengard and The Prestige), but I'll stop here for now and spare you my long-windedness.

Oh yeah, and the movie Clueless is based on Emma by Jane Austen.

I have continued to read manga lately at an insane pace. I finally finished all of the GTO manga that bondagepenguin lent me. It was sooo good! Onizuka is so great, lol. I started reading the Initial D manga again. I'm up to volume 9 right now. I know everything that happens already, and probably will up to around volume 17, since I heard that's where 4th Stage starts. I also started reading the Nana manga, which is really dragging out. I finished volume 11, and sometimes I wonder how I even got that far. It's not so much that it's stupid (which is the only thing that's keeping me going), but it's pretty darn boring. Nothing is happening. *yawns* I've also started reading the Bleach manga (also lent by bondagepenguin), since I can carry those around with me. Only up to volume 3 right now though. Oh! And I read the latest volume (22) of Samurai Deeper Kyo, which is just so great -- I now understand the Hotaru-love completely! ♥ This was actually one of the volumes that I "read" in the original Japanese; really read every word and tried to understand what was going on, so it was really interesting to read and actually understand everything. Also, now having read all the previous volumes and being up-to-date makes a difference. I ♥ Kyo SO VERY MUCH!

After the much-needed break, I started reading Death Note again last night. I am now finished with volume 9, so only 3 volumes left. The writer really keeps you on edge; it's just impossible to guess where he'll go next. Raito is such a despicable character! Anyway, did you know that the artist is the same one who drew the art for Hikaru no Go? Which makes sense once you think about it ~ the style is the same in many ways. But ooh, if she can draw bishounen like Raito, I wish we could have seen Hikaru in his early 20s. <3

louiex sent me this link to someone's post about OMGFUCKINGAWESOME Raito and L figures. They're scheduled to be released in September 2007 and cost 15000yen each. Which is SO not fair because I really, really, really would love to get L, but I just cannot justify spending $150 on a figure. Really. I just can't.

Although I keep trying to convince myself.

I have another 7 months to try.

OMG.

DEATH NOTE.

IT. FUCKING. HURTS.

OMG.

T_T

Just caught up to the most recent episode of House. OMG, where are they going with this anyway? I was really pissed for the whole episode, thinking that if this is what they're doing to House, I'm not watching anymore. Luckily, they did not betray my trust and it ended satisfactorily (and with much relief). Even so, just thinking about it all is making me mad.

Also, I really, really wish that Cameron had died. =D



In other news, I started reading Death Note manga, which is awesome and amazing, as well as very scary. I think it has been a very, very long time since I have worried about the fate of the protagonist. Also, I don't know how the mangaka did it, but I feel kind of sympathetic toward Raito... even though L is pure love. <3

I've also started to watch Prince of Tennis again. Apparently, I'd seen up to around episode 52 previously (just before Hyoutei enters the picture), and have watched up to episode 60 (Kawamura's singles match with... er, that big guy who says "osu" all the time) with Liz. It's all very drawn out, which is what I didn't like to begin with, but it's cute anyway. I'll definitely continue watching it; I would like to actually finish it this time. I also downloaded the manga, so I can't wait to read it and see what differences there are. I do know that there's a match that Echizen loses in the anime, but wins in the manga. *scratches head* Did you know that the manga is actually still going? Yay for manga~!