Grisaia no Kajitsu (Fruit of Grisaia)

NO, THIS CAN'T BE OVER!!!!

This is a series that I loved so much this season, and I am truly sad to see it go. Apparently there is a second season, so I will be eagerly awaiting this. It was a Visual Novel first, so I need to read that now, and if anyone knows where I can find it, please let me know.

"Mihama Academy—on the surface, a closed learning environment established to nurture students who find themselves at odds with the world around them; in actuality, an orchard-cum-prison built to preserve fruit that has fallen too far from its tree. Whatever the circumstances behind its establishment, Mihama Academy is at present home to five female students, all with their own reasons for "enrollment." For better or worse, each girl has established a routine obliging of her current situation; life moves at an idle, yet accommodating pace within the walls of Mihama. Yet with the arrival of the institute's first male student, the nearly preposterously opaque Kazami Yuuji, the students at Mihama begin to fall out of step with their predetermined rhythms. Will Yuuji prove to be the element the girls around him needed to take hold of their lives once more, or will the weight of their pasts prove too steep a wall to overcome? And in the first place, just who is Kazami Yuuji? While the true nature of the "job" he is wont to alight to at the most haphazard of moments remains shrouded in secrecy, one thing is for certain—his encroachment upon the quiet orchard known as Mihama Academy will prove itself momentous in one way or another. And of course, one cannot discount the possibility that perhaps Yuuji himself carries the weightiest past of any of the students..." (From animeultima.tv)

Even after watching this, I am not too sure of what is was truly about, but it was entertaining. I love how less than halfway through the series, we begin to find out why the girls are at this school, or in better words, what is wrong with their past. The last 'story' is the longest, spanning 3 or 4 episodes but it is very in depth and quite emotional. It's not a  mystery that you can simply predict, but little hints here and there are provided (not enough to piece anything together) but the full story is explained. Yuuji's story is interwoven and explained piece by piece throughout the series. 

The title is subtle yet truthful to the series, where the girls have fallen too far from the tree in which they were grown, they are not doing or being what is expected of them. 

I really do recommend this series, if you do not watch anything else from this season, this is the one. I don't want to spoil any of the series, so I shall stop here.

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

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

Monochrome Factor

I actually watched this alone and over a longer period, but ah well.

This 24-episode anime series is full of deceit. In fact, the deceit is deceitful :O

So, there's this slacker, Akira, who must return to his school one night with classmates where they get attacked by shadow monsters. Up comes a (full of himself) stranger, who explains that the balance between light and dark is becoming unbalanced and so turns Akira into a 'Shin'. Shirogane (the stranger) then fights alongside Akira against the shadow monsters. Full of mystery, light shonen-ai themes and plenty of action, this is a definite recommendation.

Will you figure out where the lies begin and the truth ends? Let's wait and see.

Unconditional love,
Cazzie x

Wolf Children

Not the best film out there, but it was pretty funny.

So the story is about two little children whose father is a werewolf. For various reasons (you can find out by watching this film), the dad is not on the scene, so it centres around the mother (definitely human) who has the struggle of raising two little children who randomly turn into wolves.
As you can imagine, this is difficult in any location, and it shows the sacrifices she has to make for the safety of her kids. It's quite heartwarming, and the children seem to switch their ways around a little. It has funny moments, and sad times.

If you like werewolves, talking animals and family centred films, this is for you. :)

Unconditional love,
Cazzie x

Don't You Get It?

Just a little rant/story of today.

So I was in university (as usual) and this guy in my lecture spoke to me between that and our seminar, and we ended up buying a smoothie down the road. He paid for it and everything, but the longer I spoke to him, the more I thought he was into me..
We got back in the building and had ten minutes to spare, so we spoke some more. He was thrilled to find out about where my family come from, and his family is from a neighboring country. Then we somehow spoke about the 'guys' I'm into. I never outright said that I'm not currently into guys (and maybe I should have), but I did mention Korea and Japan a lot. Then he invited me out for dinner Thursday. Now, I'm used to just going out for dinner with friends casually, so I agreed.

I'm pretty sure everyone knows about my love for G Dragon.

We went to our respective rooms and I later saw him on my way back from lunch. The hugged me and went to (I assume) kiss my lips but I moved so he caught my cheek. He checked that I would text him later today (whoops, I forgot until I typed that), and we left at that as he was going home, and I had work to go through.

This gets me thinking. If I say I'm *only* into East Asian Guys (exclude girls for a second), and you're half Jew/ half African, then I'm not interested.

Also, is this now a date?!

I'm so clueless about these things..

Unconditional love,
Cazzie x

Last Post of the Month :O

This is going to be pointless...

Buuuuut, that means that pancake day is only four days away ^.^ And I cannot wait.

I personally do not like American Style pancakes.. I guess I'm just used to home made British ones. Although, I've never actually made the American ones and I probably just don't like shop bought stuffs. Yes, I wrote 'stuffs'.

My favourite topping is Kaya sauce, which is some Thai sweet coconut thing I found from the waffle man in China Town (my third home). It's delicious, and I only know of the one shop that sells it... (Need to buy some more...)
Other great toppings are; lemon and sugar, jam, golden syrup and fruit, among others. Just anything sweet. ^.^

Enjoy yet another day that is supposed to be religious but now revolves around food. ^.^

Unconditional love,
Cazzie x

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

J.Reyez

What can I really say?

He's Korean.

He's Canadian.

He's kinda cute.

I love his lyrics.

Rap/ Hip-hop is my all-time favourite genre.

I may have re-wrote the lyrics a little wrong as I did them from memory as soon as I got into class, and heard the song on my journey. Haha.

So I discovered J.Reyez years and years ago, when he did a parody of 'Like a G6' on Youtube (I believe it was something to do with a seagull?). Remember when that song came out? That's when I started listening to this guy. I don't know how, but he was already in my subscriptions so I started watching other videos.

This was long before my kpop obsession, as 3/4 years is fairly recent. I found him during my Canadian obsession. I've had a few obsessions over the years xD.

Anyway, I knew that he collaborated with Lydia Paek a lot in his albums, and she features in quite a lot of his videos too. Now, I didn't know she was with YG Entertainment until very late last year (as in, the last few days of December). And, best of all, she's even worked with G-Dragon a few times. <3

So jealous haha.

So J.Reyez raps about his life, and in a way he is a bit like Eminem. He does kpop covers in English, produces his own albums and songs, goes on tour and is quite successful now even if he isn't that famous to everyone. But he still has loads of fans.

I personally think he is quite inspirational as an artist and would love to meet him one day. Anyway, I've gone off topic, back on topic and probably make no sense right now, so this is goodbye.

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

I Miss Home

So Christmas season is upon us, and I am yet to go home and celebrate with my family even though university is over. I miss my bedroom so much, and the past couple of months have been too eventful, (I know I said I would post everything, but I haven't revealed the full story yet) but I wanted to share a couple of images of my room with you.

 I'm almost Japanese, haha. These are the kanji for 'star', 'water' and 'love'. I know the words seem an odd combination, but these are what I was taught at a japanese festival and my first ever attempt at writing kanji. The brush strokes may be a bit off, but if I keep practicing, I should get better. And I always have my japanese friend to help me :)

This is my name in katakana. It can be written two ways, and mine is supposed to have an extra symbol to show that the 'ri' part of my name is slightly longer, so Carina becomes 'カリーナ' and the 'i' is pronounced slightly longer than in my image. I just love how japanese is written, and so I have these in my bedroom to remind me of how happy east asians always are. They're always smiling, I don't think I've ever seen one sad.

This is all for now, I may show more snippets of my room later on (when I get bored).

Unconditional love,
Cazzie x

This is AMAZING!!!

So a couple of days ago, I found this and thought that I must share it with you.

There's a Korean photographer/artist called Jee Young Lee who creates wonderful scenes from her tiny studio room.

Each scene can take up to months to create, but I'm sure you'll think the time is worth it.

What's better is that she does not use Photoshop at all with any of these photographs. That's rare these days.

There are loads more if you just Google her name. So what do you think? Is the effort worth it?

I sure think so.

Unconditional love,
Cazzie x

EXO - European Music Awards (EMAs)

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE vote for this awesome Kpop band called EXO. Check out their Youtube videos, then vote here for me http://uk.mtvema.com/vote#cat=worldwide-act

There's less than two days left, and normally I don't beg.

You can vote up to 100 times per browser, and I used 5 each time I reached the limit. 500 VOTES FROM ME :D
I'm sad, get over it ^.^

So yeah, listen to me for once and vote, pretty please? I have literally spammed twitter about this and well, you're next.

Bye bye sweetie pies x

BusyBusyBusy

Hey, sorry I haven't been posting as much as I usually do, but I've been really busy. So busy that I haven't even managed to search for a job...

So I have mountains worth of coursework to complete, luckily my closest deadline is ten days away... Not that I really have much time left. I finally got one of my photoshoots done, so progress is being made, no matter how slight.  I should also be doing another shoot tomorrow, with a further one during the week.

I have been spending more time with my flatmates, and we are finally all talking again. Also we seem to be getting a little closer, although I found that the more I know about one of the girls, the less I am liking her.

I figured out why I reacted the way I did a couple of weeks ago when one girl had a prank on her. (Not sure if I mentioned the whole story, if not I'll add another post.) I realised that I really liked her. Even though she has a boyfriend, just knowing that she is also bisexual and really nice, good looking, etc. made me fall for her a little. (I really need to make up names for my flatmates.)

Let's see... Shanay, Phil, Mel, James, and Lizzy. None of these names actually make sense haha. I hope I remember these... Oh, and Mel's boyfriend can be called Luke and Lizzy's boyfriend shall now be Brian.

Iris stayed over on Thursday (shh, don't tell security) which was fun, and we went to China Town Friday before taking her home and she modelled for me on Thursday (she always models for me).

I'm trying to think what else has been going on.... If I remember, I'll post. I just know there's been a lot but it's hard for me to remember.


Oh, I was also filmed as a presenter for my friend's work, went Filipino food shopping and ate out quite a bit. I'm going to be so poor over Christmas :(

Last Saturday, we went sober clubbing in Piccadilly and I saw a YouTuber but was too scared to say I so I tweeted him :/

Mr. Simple

Stolen from my other blog :o !

First of all, as most people know, I’m really into Korean music, and no that does not just mean Gangnam Style! One of my favourite bands is Super Junior, which consists of 10-15 members at any time. This is due to compulsory military service, so some are away and it is rare to see them all together.

I really like this song and video, not just because it was the first song and video I saw of them, but because of the lyrics. The lyrics themselves are inspirational, letting the listener know that there is nothing wrong with them. The first verse even mentions moods and emotions going up and down all that time, and that it is perfectly normal. It reminds us that life isn’t necessarily easy, but it’s not bad either. We just need to make the most of it and remember that we are all perfect in our own ways.

The video is typical of ‘mainstream music’ where the background changes often, there is a perfectly choreographed dance and various outfit changes. The lighting appears very clinical in the way that the main area is brightly lit, but the individual backdrops are grey and quite bland. The lighting from the floor is unusual although it does minimize shadows. In fact, there are hardly any shadows, which gives the impression that most of it used a green screen.

Super Junior isn’t the only group to have positive messages hidden in them, a few other songs are:
Nu’est – Face
2NE1 – Ugly
EXO-K – Traffic Safety Song

Lyrics used:

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&ved=0CDwQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kpoplyrics.net%2Fsuper-junior-mr-simple-lyrics-romanized-english.html&ei=QMZeUY26C8XHPLbkgdgH&usg=AFQjCNGKry2omo0yHu0sK5j_-ECaKGUASw&sig2=gOU9-qXonbE7YtrUUA33-w&bvm=bv.44770516,d.ZWU

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&ved=0CEcQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fimmortalsoul123.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F08%2F02%2Fmr-simple-album-songs-lyrics-english-translations%2F&ei=QMZeUY26C8XHPLbkgdgH&usg=AFQjCNHAC7WOETkOOp0ttxekDo2gA_dp3g&sig2=U1BWBLe2w0eWz-iJ4dkuvA&bvm=bv.44770516,d.ZWU


Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6TwzSGYycM

Born In The Wrong Culture

Ok, I mentioned in an earlier post that I like anime. That's a bit of an understatement. I wouldn't call myself an obsessed fan but I do love it. Along with all thing Eastern Asian, my family have a huge interest in the music and programmes. Two of my sisters love japanese music, while I prefer Korean. We all watch japanese dramas from time to time, and my mum likes some Korean music (especially when it is sung in English, haha). My sister also listens to some Chinese music, although not much.

Here's a small list of anime that I have watched all the way through, from beginning to end, in no particular order. I have seen various episodes of others, or unfinished series (where I broke my laptop and forgot what episode I was on) but these will not be included. These are also recommendations  to anyone wanting to watch something a little different. Most of these are English Dubbed (in English), although not all of them are.

• Black Cat
• Kuroshituji 
• Kuroshituji II
• Vampire Knight
• Elfen Lied
• Karin
• Ouran High School Host Club
• Rosario + Vampire
• Rosario + Vampire capu 2
• Death Note
• Clannad
• Blue Exorcist (Ao No Exorcist)
• Code Geass
• Fruits Basket
• Gravitation
• Angel Beats
• Mermaid Forest
• Baka + Test: Summon the Beasts (Seasons 1, OVA and 2)
• Toradora!
• Karneval
• Danganronpa
• Daily Lives of High School Boys
• Gosick

I know it isn't very long, and I only really got into it about 3 years ago. I have also taken time out to get on with my studies, and other times I just have too much of a social life to sit down and make time for even one episode. Let's not forget that there are also loads of anime films, Japanese dramas and Korean films to watch. Of course I've seen the anime that actually gets broadcast on TV and as I never know if it's the complete series and I may miss episodes, such as:

• Pokemon
• Sailor Moon
• Dragonball Z
• Power Puff Girls
• Mew Mew Power (Tokyo Mew Mew)
• Pretty Cure
• Beyblade
• etc...

That's all for now, bye :)