Kantai Collection: KanColle

There's something about this anime that took me a while to understand, especially as I hadn't played the game in which this is based. All the girls are ships. Actual battle ships. And there are no guys what-so-ever.

I started the series without a clue as to what would happen, and there was no synopsis that I could find at the time, besides mentioning that it is a TV adaptation of an online card game.
The story follows Fubuki, a new destroyer ship sent into the action packed world of war. That's what it seems to me. Think of each girl as a battleship on water, they need to be repaired and upgraded, and they have weapons attached to them (though not all of the time). And if they sink, they basically die.
Fubuki is new to all of this, she's never been in battle before and so she's really nervous. But the show follows her journey of determination and motivation (two things I lack) to become better and join her idol in a specific group based on rank.

YOU are in this anime. Well, you are the Admiral, like you would be if you played the game, you are the over-seer of everything that goes on. You also appear to be calling the shots and deciding who goes where and who attacks the enemy. However, screaming at your screen will not change the outcome of the anime (I wish it did though).

This explains it better:
"Set in a world where humanity has lost control of the oceans to the "deep sea fleet," the only hope to counter this threat are the Kanmusu, a group of girls who possess the spirit of Japanese warships. The story revolves around Fubuki, a destroyer who comes to the Chinjufu base to train with other Kanmusu. Watch as their stories unfold!" ~ MyAnimeList and CrunchyRoll.

Fubuki game card on CrunchyRoll.

I don't know if I like this or not, there was something about it that made me want to watch the new episode each week, but I also feel that I could have dropped it at any moment if I really wanted to. I was just intrigued at the style this anime took, by involving the viewer. This made me want to watch it, and now I want to see what is in store for the second season which has been promised, even without a date.

Anyway I will leave it here for now.

Unconditional love

Cazzie x 

Absolute Duo

"After losing a loved one, Tooru Kokonoe enrolls at Kouryou Academy so as to gain a "Blaze," a weapon that is his soul manifestation, for the sake of revenge. He was expecting a weapon... What he got was a shield... How is he to seek revenge with something that isn't even a weapon?!" - Anime Ultima.

On the first day of a special school, Tooru meets an innocent looking girl and is instantly intrigued. Sounds like every school anime, you say? Well... It is. Kinda. It has loads of action but it is also harem based too. 

Tomoe and Julie

Tor (Tooru) and Julie both have dark pasts, and they seek revenge for it, but everyone at this school seems to have a reason to be here. Many have a background in martial arts, and in the first day, they are told to fight each other. 

The school has a dark reason for even existing, which is only touched on in the middle and a small explanation is given at the end. 

I liked it, there are enough answers to be satisfied with the anime's existence but there are still enough questions for a season two to come out.  It's not as pervy as some anime's to the point of being annoying, and the plot is both cliché and intriguing. However, like with a lot of anime recently (possible due to my own personal circumstances) I have not felt upset if I don't watch the latest episode straight away. The art style appear to be cute and aimed at a younger audience to begin with, but you quickly realise this is not the case and it is not suitable for your four year old niece.

Tor and Julie

There are plenty of busty girls to go around, even the teacher is a little unorthodox in her appearance and teaching style. But it is worth the watch. High School of the Dead is the closest anime I can think of right now, so I highly recommend this if you've seen that.

Unconditional love,

Cazzie x 

Ookami Shoujo to Kuro Ouji (Wolf Girl and Black Prince)

I haven't posted over Christmas as I went to see family for the week, which means I caught up on my anime today and I am writing the posts now (they will be uploaded over a couple of days).

Firstly, this is the most beautiful ending to a series I have seen in a while, no loose ends, no real questions (that bothered me) and it all wrapped itself up nicely. Being a comedy and reading the synopsis before starting the series, I was skeptical.

"The story centers around Erika Shinohara, a vain 16-year-old girl who tells her friends about her romantic exploits, but she actually has no boyfriend. She claims that a handsome boy in a candid photo is her boyfriend, but it turns out that boy is a schoolmate named Kyouya Sata. She has no choice but to make him her fake boyfriend. Unfortunately, Sata may look like a sweet person, but he is actually an ultra-black-hearted sadist. Sata takes advantage of Erika's weakness and treats her like his dog." (From animeultima.tv)

It reminded me of the film Easy A with Emma Stone, except Erica wanted everyone to know about her fake boyfriend. She is really relatable, in some aspects, but is a typical girl. She wants to impress some new friends, and her lie just gets bigger and bigger, but I found that even though she is the main character, the story actually focuses more on Sata. He is the heartthrob of the school, and every girl wants him, but he is not interested in anyone. 

If you want to watch a light hearted comedy, with plenty of character development, this is for you. Also watch if you like Baka no Test, shame there's no cross-dressing though.

Happy Watching.

Unconditional love,

Cazzie

Introducing: Project Happy UK

As a follow up from my previous post, I want to share with you the first video we produced as part of Project Happy.

We currently have a blog set up, with tips on getting through uni, and dealing with stress, among many future topics we will cover in relation to mental wellbeing. You can find it at www.projecthappyuk.wordpress.com  where Sarah and Katharine post weekly on Sundays. (I used real names for once).
We also have a twitter and instagram set up, both with the usernames @projecthappyuk.
Please follow and support us, if you have any suggestions, we will be sure to look into them and see what we can do. You can email us at: projecthappyuk@gmail.com

Thank you as always.
Unconditional love,
Cazzie x

This is not a review :O

So, I know I said that I will be focusing on my studies, at least for the next few months. I seems that I lied to myself. I have found myself playing The Sims 3 and 4 on multiple occasions, watching anime and simply going out.

Sims 4

I've started four new series: Ookami Shoujo to Kuro Ouji, Trinity Seven, Cross Ange: Tenshi to Ryuu no Rondo, and Grisaia no Kajitsu. One of these is a normal length series of around 25 episodes, but you can expect the other reviews around Christmas (I guess that's when they end).

Cross Ange

Not only have I been watching anime, but Grimm, The Big Bang Theory, The Simpsons, American Horror Story and Marvel's Agents of SHIELD are also back on TV. Well, I don't have a TV but Netflix and Amazon are quite useful here. If I can't find them there, there are always Google Searches.

That's all for a quick update from me.
Unconditional love,
Cazzie x

DRAMAtical Murder

I... I... How do I explain this?

Is the title relevant? Vaguely.
Was it good? God YES.

This anime follows the life of one particular character, Aoba Seragaki, a few years after a tragic accident. He lost his memories but still appears to continue his life as normal. He has a pet Allmate, Ren, who accompanies him everywhere, and a series of friends who seem to know more than they let on. Raised by his witty Gran, Aoba isn't as normal as everyone around him, but he doesn't realise that all his friends seem to have secret lives too.

If you can get past the strange names, ie, Clear, Noiz, Virus, then you should at least give this a try. I watched it with my sister and she got confused in the first few episodes but I found it pretty self-explanatory.

Ok, so this anime had so much potential and I really did love it. There's a bit of intrigue and mystery to keep you hooked. Unusual characters crop up and have great backstories (like, seriously? I don't think any of the main characters can be called normal). And this is what I loved. But the last 2 episodes crammed so much into them, the season should have been a bit longer. And the ending :O I hadn't played the game and reading the comments literally explained the last few minutes of the anime for me. Honestly, the last episode ruined it for me, but that shouldn't put you off watching it. It actually answers questions, unlike some seasons I have watched.

Best thing is, I've heard there is a second season coming out soon, so maybe that won't rush the ending. Anyway, it's taken me 3 days to attempt to write this and I really should get on with my university work (the last year is so intensive and I intend to keep on top of things even better than last year).

Unconditional love,
Cazzie x

Black Rock Shooter

8 EPISODES!? Only 8 episodes?

I think this is the shortest series I've ever watched, excluding OVAs, and obviously, it was watched in one session with my friend.

A little fetish escaping into anime?

Can I just say, that by the time I finally realised what was going on in the first and second episodes, and how they related both parts of the story, they introduced a new character to confuse me again. Also, the graphics are amazing. Not just the art, but how they created half of the scenes using 3D animations techniques, and then converted this to the 2D anime we all know and love.

Two worlds co-exist and take on the 'pain' of that world. Black Rock Shooter (yes, that is her name) lives in a world without emotional pain, but solves everything with violence. Her very existence is a battle to stay alive in a world that would no make sense to us. To cope with this world, she can transform her arm into a canon to aid her efforts.

Mato and Yomi

Meanwhile, Mato Kuroi is a middle-school student trying to reach out to befriend a classmate who keeps pushing her away. Although there is a reason for her classmate Yomi Takanashi to stay alone, Mato does not give up easily. This makes her school life a little more complicated than it used to be.

But, how do these two worlds relate? Why is survival for Black Rock Shooter more intense, action packed and filled to the brim with danger? Why does she literally have to fight to survive?

Alone, as two separate anime series, Mato's story would be too ordinary to be labeled a series in it's own right, and Black Rock Shooter's story would seem too action filled, without a break to be decent. However, the way they interlink and contrast each other make this a fantastic series to watch. A balance of calm and desperation, the way other characters interfere, and the difference in drawing styles to match each world.
I have found a stark contrast in reviews, a number of low scores equal to a number of high scores make this anime just like Marmite. Love it or hate it, at least give it a try. :)

Vocaloid (Hatsune Miku) and Black Rock Shooter. Not the image which inspired the song.

* * This started off as a drawing, turned into a music video sung by Hatsune Miku, and then an anime and film adaptation. Please note, I have only seen the anime series and not the film which is classed as the OVA at 52 minutes. (myanimelist.net) * *

Unconditional love,
Cazzie x

Blood Lad

Arrgh, I've taken so long to write this review that I forgot about it, hahaha.

Do you like anime? Do you like japanese culture? Of course you do :) ! Now... do you like humans, obsess over them? Mayyyybe....
You may be just like Staz then, the protagonist of this anime. Staz is a vampire, not the twinkle in sunlight kind, the original blood sucking, nocturnal kind.
Fuyumi is a human. See where this is going? Does Staz fall head over heels in love with the human girl and marry her to have little human-vampire babies? Or does he turn her into a vampire? Neither really.

Episode 1: Fuyumi enters the demon world by mistake, where she meets Staz. Staz, being completely obsessed with humans, vows to protect her while escorting her back to the human world and asking a billion questions about life there. However, there's a territory war going on outside and Staz is forced to defend his place. That's when the invader manages to kill Fuyumi. Staz returns to his room and finds her remains and clothing, along with a giant deadly plant. This is where Staz finds the ghost of Fuyumi and vows to bring her back to life.

Proceed with the rest of the series. If you like vampires, werewolves, annoying siblings who literally want to kill you, and fight scenes, this may be for you. This is actually light-hearted, with many puns and jokes to contrast with the apparent dark nature this is based on. Seriously though, doesn't the above sound a bit like a horror movie? But the clueless nature of some of the characters make it hard not to laugh.

Fuyumi and Staz. Are these glasses fashionable yet?

And don't worry, there are plenty of large breasts for you pervs out there ;3 I have you covered. Did I mention that a vampire and werewolf are best friends? :O I know right, this definitely isn't Twilight. I think I should shut up now.

Unconditional love,
Cazzie x

APRIL FOOLS!!

Ok, so I have started writing this post at midnight. Exactly on midnight.

1st April. April Fool's Day. Have any plans? I never do.

Back in my school days, my friend had this idea to cut out little fish and stick them on people or put them in belongings. It came from our French teacher saying this is what happens in France, so our friendship group joined in this foreign tradition.

Then there was the time my friend told her mum that she was pregnant. Her mum's reply was "Hahaha, no one would touch you." BUUUURRRRRRNN!

Anyway, I can't think of any more pranks, my memory is terrible and I'm kind of lame. :P

Unconditional love,

Cazzie x 

Annoying

Ok, so I had to tell someone and explain to them that I am bisexual, yet mostly lesbian. He's a guy. Then his first question was "Do you find me attractive?" I'm sorry, but if I tell you that I'm a lesbian, what makes you think I'll find you attractive?

No lie. This was today.

I always find it really awkward to answer. I mean, are you stupid and will I actually hurt your feelings?
Anyway, some people are easier to tell, and they know. But the ones I'm closest to and don't suspect a thing, the ones where I think they will judge me and where I actually care what they think, they don't know.

Emily and Maya in PLL.

Unconditional love,

Cazzie x

Wishful Thinking

Have you ever wanted anything for ages?
A wish that you truly wanted to come true?
Did it come true?

Mine do.

I have made a few wishes in the past, and the ones that I truly wanted with all my heart (at the time) have come true.
Firstly, I wanted to be magic. And at one point I thought I was. Ok, so this may not have come true.
I wanted a twin, someone who looked exactly like me. So I have my sister, and people get us confused all the time even though we think we look nothing alike.
I wanted to be clever. I didn't work harder but I found some things easier to understand. Like maths.
I wished for a boyfriend. Well, I wanted to date this one guy,and over a year later, he was my first kiss and boyfriend.
When I was depressed, I wished to be happy. Now I'm happily managing bipolar disorder, with fewer and shorter depressive episodes.
I wished to go to university (last minute). I picked stupid subjects for A-levels and basically failed, but one university still accepted me. And here I am.

These are what I remember right now, but if I want something bad enough, it does come true. That may be through luck or hard work, but I believe in wishes coming true.

Unconditional love,
Cazzie x

This Is Strange..

I am finding less and less people attractive. Ok, that came out wrong.

What I mean is, I still find people attractive, but I don't find myself attracted to them. Make sense?
Take, Dan Howell for example. He has the cutest dimples, he is attractive and is usually the type of guy I would like.

G Dragon. From the beginning I have felt something. It's not necessarily physical but I love the way he looks. I'm contradicting myself too much... But with both of these guys, I want to hug them. In the past, I would fantasize about what it would be like to be in a relationship with them. Now I only think of friendship. Nothing more.

Now there's this girl I like. We text all the time and she's so adorably cute. Yes I want to be with her, but I can't tell if it's physical or not. I think about her all the time, but I want to leave it a while before we go any further because I don't want to find that we're better as friends, or I don't actually have these feelings... Every relationship requires some physical attraction (a mistake I made several times in the past), but underneath that, there has to be a connection.

I think I might just be a lesbian. I've always liked girls, but I have had crushes on guys too. But recently 'guy friends' have been putting me off them, by getting too close to me. By trying to be close, it's pushing me away. Oh, and I never came out to my parents... So this could be interesting if we date.

I don't even know what this post is anymore. Just a little bit of venting I guess.

Unconditional love,
Cazzie x

Tattoos

So, what are your views on body ink?

I personally love them, but there are a few things I would never get, such as:

• Names of partners
• Bands
• Fleeting phases
• Huge pieces.

Although I do have one tattoo (shh, don't tell my dad) which are the japanese characters for 'love' and 'luck'. I have been obsessed with japanese culture for a number of years now, and realised that as a child I preferred anime over cartoons (not that I realised at that age). My love for the japanese has only grown, and my tattoo is in a place that would not normally be seen by the way that I dress. On my ribs.

Earlier today, (instead of doing uni work) I decided to draw out my next tattoo. It's been nine or so months since my first one and I've had this idea for almost the same amount of time. Birds symbolise peace, usually, and this is my attempt at drawing a swallow. I might go to one of my friends that is good at art, and get them to draw or alter my design a little to make it look better. Swallows represent loyalty to a partner or family, the promise of coming back and unconditional love. I wanted one of the blue disney birds to copy and this was my best attempt.

I've planned everything for it, except if I want it in colour. I might just go for a little shading. I want to go back to the same parlour as my first one, unless my friends have any better places, but they have closed and moved to another building further away from me. I want it on my shoulder too, on the opposite side to my first one.

Everyone I have spoken to about it, likes it. But I just need to wait for some more funds first.

Any ideas, or comments on this?

Unconditional love,

Cazzie x 

Dungarees!!

These have to make a comeback this season. I mean, who doesn't love them?

So I bought a pair in the Christmas sales in New Look, and I've noticed that they still have styles in store at full price. I've been addicted to dungarees for years, I have always loved them.
Some guy stopped me in the street yesterday, just to say that he loved them. We just chatted about how they should make a comeback this season, and wondered if they would suit him.

Like the first image.

This season, when the sun comes out with some warmth, I'm going to be wearing my dungarees rolled up a little, with a crop top. And white Converse of course. I adore my Converse, so if I can find an outfit that goes with them, I will wear it.

Oh, full length dungarees of course, the short ones just look like playsuit imitations... But dungarees can be worn in many different ways to show cute sides, and tomboy ones. It's all in the accessories and other clothing you choose.

I don't think I should ever do a fashion blog...

Unconditional love,
Cazzie x

P.S. If you find some skinny jean style dungarees, let me know because I really want some. Especially the high waisted ones. <3

Anime

Do I watch too much anime? Well..... Is there such a thing? ;3

Probably. This is procrastination at its best. And considering the amount of work I have to do, this list is a bit much. Since starting back at uni at the beginning of the month, I have watched:
Pandora Hearts
Yumikui Merry
Special A
Mayo Chiki
Kaichou wa Maid-sama!
Mirai Nikki
Spiral: Suiri no Kizuna
Loveless
11eyes

Yumekui Merry

Special A - Sakura

Spiral

Loveless

11eyes

And I tried watching:
Starry Sky
To Love-Ru
Moonphase
Maria Holic
MM!
Yuru Yuri

So um... Maybe I started these around Christmas actually, the list seems a bit long for two weeks... Make that almost two months. :) And these are what I actually remember, my laptop history doesn't seem to go back very far...

How do you procrastinate? Do you watch anime too?

Unconditional love,
Cazzie x

Love vs Lust

The age old question, am I in love, or is this lust?

What is love?
Love is unconditional, it is a mutual caring and protectiveness over another person. It can not be easily broken, and there will always be 'something' there even if you don't see each other anymore.
The film Frozen depicted it really well with Anna's True Love being her sister. This is love. Think about family love.

What is lust?
Lust is that tingly feeling you get when you see someone. It's the flirting, the kissing and the sex. Lust is physical more than emotional. It's exciting and makes you feel amazing, but can sometimes be short lived. Think more about the beginning of a relationship.

These definitions are in my opinion, not factual. I'm not saying that love and lust are completely different, because they are usually found together in a relationship.

I am constantly questioning if I actually love someone or not. So I meet this person, feel all tingly inside, want to be with them all the time, have so much care and emotion for them, but realise later that it wasn't love. Or not the love that I thought it could be.

I love people so much, and I can say it freely to my friends, but as soon as I met a potential partner, my lips stay sealed. I really do love everyone, until they give me a reason not to. My emotions run strong, really strong and it takes me forever to figure them out, but when I do, you'll know for sure. But I don'y want to say that I love someone, if I actually lust over them.

Unconditional love,
Cazzie x

Perspective

So I was sitting there in the bar and this guy comes up to me and he said "My life stinks" and I saw his gold credit card and I saw the way he was looking at people across the room and I looked at his face and you know, what a good looking face, and I just said, "Dude, your perspective on life sucks". ~ Mika, Blame it on the Girls.

Every situation can be perceived in different ways by different people. And Mika makes a very good point in the beginning of this song. No matter how much you have, you can see the down-side, yet you can always see the best in bad situations. Try and be grateful for what you do have, instead of wishing you have what you don't. 'My life sucks' and 'FML' (back in my day) are thrown around way too much. 

I went back to my old town today, and well, everyone looked so miserable. My mum was driving, and we burst into laughter creating lives for the sad people and laughing at them. We probably looked crazy together, but laughing is so good for you. Especially as I actually saw the sun for the first time in ages. 'I swear she was glaring at the man crossing the road. Nahh, actually she was glaring at me. She hates me laughing.' Just silly things like that. People seem to get more jealous(?) and sad when they see others enjoying life. But I don't care what they think, I was singing in the shops, laughing at everything, jumped up and down in excitement over some doughnuts (my town doesn't seem to stock them ANYWHERE at the moment) and just enjoying life. We laughed at my mum screaming 'Flood!' everytime she saw a large puddle in the road, as if the cars behind could hear her warning.

Basically, enjoy the little things, and happiness will follow. I know this sounds too easy to be true, but it works for me (most of the time ;3).

Unconditional love, 

Cazzie x

Beauty

I'm pretty sure I've posted this before but I can't find it.

Beauty is all around us, in nature, in design and in people. I'm not talking about physical beauty today though.

A person can be beautiful on the inside by the things he or she does and says. It can be their passion for a hobby. It can be the way they talk to people. Afterall, 'actions speak louder than words'. And 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder'.

Basically, someone out there will love your ideals, and find you beautiful. If someone can love you and go past your looks, you're on to a winner. Everyone is beautiful in different ways, and no amount of make-up will change true beauty. Just be yourself. <3

Unconditional love,
Cazzie x

G-D & T.O.P

So I might be having a little obsession over G-Dragon and T.O.P!

Their music and fashion, and G-D's face and voice. OMG, I'm practically falling in love. So husky and smooth at the same time. I don't know how to explain it. I just love his voice.

I read an old interview last night about how he treats girls, whether he's dating them or not. He's like the perfect guy, and doesn't think twice about being a gentleman, it's just him.

I spent the entirety of last week (with the exception of when I wasn't able to gt on YouTube) going through all of their videos together.

Can I hug him now? Just a hug? A little one...

If I could meet GD, I would either fangirl so much, or pretend not to care and explode with happiness on the inside. I mean, his perfectly chiseled cheekbones and straight nose. It's probably all make up but I don't care.

And he's so quirky. I love his fluffy black hat,it goes almost everywhere with him. Oh and most importantly, his English is amazing :D *dies from excitement*

Unconditional love,

Cazzie x

Sayy Whatt!!

So, I was talking to someone I met through a friend on Facebook and he said "You and your boyfriend are cute together".

We met in a club for a mutual friend's birthday, and I took my cousin with me because he had come to stay with me for the week.

He thought my cousin was my boyfriend...!
And we make a cute couple...!
I have no boyfriend...


THAT IS ALL.