Check out their new album “Abingdon Road”,  its their second album and was released on Jan.27.  So far the new tracks I like are “Souen”, “Sweetest Coma Again” and “Shiosai”. Of course “JAP”, “Strength” and “From Dusk Till Dawn” were already in my iPod months ago.

When I first started reading Konjiki no Gash!! I thought I was going to hate it, because the main character is actually very unlikable in the first few chapters, and the art isn’t the best. But since it had such great ratings I decided to give it a try and kept reading, and I’m so glad that I did, because I would have missed out in reading a really great Manga. In the beginning of the Manga we meet Gash Bell, who is a boy that was saved by the father of the Main character, Kiyomaro. Gash has amnesia but he is doing a favor for Kiyomaro’s father, so he is determined to help Kiyomaro make friends. Kiyomaro is very intelligent, he can answer a math question on a matter of seconds, and can memorize information, since he is so intelligent the other kids in the school bully him, and he has decided to not even go to school anymore.

This was the first meeting between Gash and Kiyomaro, he is naked because he went fishing to get a fish for Kiyomaro.

At first Kiyomaro treats Gash badly, and even abandons him when Gash tries to defend a girl from a bully, but he when he hears how Gash defends him he decides to help Gash. This is when he realizes the power that Gash has, Gash is demon, and he has a book that contains spells, if Kiyomaro reads the spell, Gash can use it. Eventually the main characters will learn that there is a battle between 100 demon kids to decide who will be king in the Demon world, and Gash is one of those Demons. What I love about this Manga is the growth of the characters, Kiymaro goes from being an outcast in school to a person that is brave and will stick up for people that cant stick up for themselves. Gash helps him to become a better person, and Kiyomaro helps Gash find the strength and the desire he needs to fight to become a Demon king.

The two meet a lot of cool Demons, and because Gash is such a caring person most of them end up caring about Gash and want him to become king and are willing to risk themselves for him. The interesting thing about the main characters is that Kiyomaro is the one thats smart, he comes up with all the battle plans and basically directs Gash while their fighting, and Gash on the other hand looks like a 5 year old but is the strong one, he is strong enough to carry Kiyomaro on his shoulders. I’m used to the main character being the strong one, its an interesting switch.  The two characters end up caring so much for each other that at one point Kiyomaro dies to protect Gash, and his book, and as he is dying he hopes that Gash will find another book master, that will help him become king.

On the right: Gash (the small kid) and Kiyomaro On the left: Zeon (the small kid) and Dufort Zeon hates Gash and is willing to destroy Japan to hurt Gash, but he eventually sees how wrong his actions are and grows up. His partner also has the skill that Kiyomaro has, but his is better.

Luckily, Gash has such strength in his fists, that while he is pumping his chest begging him to wakeup he is able to revive him, but it takes him awhile to wakeup from the coma. Once he awakens he finds he gained an ability of his own, he can answer any question once he asks it, for instance, if he is battling someone, and he asks himself, “how do i beat this attack?” the answer will come to his mind. Unfortunately, the power is unstable and he cant use it all the time.

One of my favorite demons in the series is Brago, he is one of the more powerful demons in the series, but what i like is his cool appearance. There are so many other cool demons in the book, there is another one i liked named Danny that has one spell, which is a reviving spell, he can attack and get hurt and then just revive himself. Its hard to get attached to the characters because once you start to care about them, their book is burnt and they are returned to the demon world.

One of the saddest parts of the Manga is that when the Battle ends and the Demon King is chosen (I wont spoil who it is here) the Human world and Demon world is separated and they cant see each other again, but Gash promises Kiyomaro that they will be meet again one day. All in all it was a very cool Manga with an interesting story and great Character Development, it was interesting that one moment you hate a character but they go through something that makes them grow up or realize the mistakes their making, and you end up liking them. I was sad when it ended, its too bad it didn’t end showing Kiyomaro and Gash seeing each other again.

This is Brago, he becomes Kiyomaro and Gash’s rival early in the series.

Won Lei and Lee Yen. Won Lei is a demon, and he knows how to fight really well, he becomes friends with Gash and Kiyomaro, when they help to free him from prison.

     Has anyone read J-List’s posts? or are you on their mailing list?  If not, I recommend that you do read their posts for it gives you a little insight on Japan from Peter Payne’s, owner of J-List, point of view. He often writes about his experiences as a resident in Japan and the on- going things there. It’s interesting to hear of someone living in Japan regardless of where you are from since the culture itself can be difficult to get accustom to.

     J-List Sells a lot of cute and interesting things from over there, even snacks! We have purchased from them the Japan i-Tunes card. We have yet to purchase other things they offer, as for snacks we already buy from a store nearby, Tate’s Comics, of course J-List has a vast selection but its good to know we have something nearby to satisfy our cravings at anytime! 

        Among the interesting posts, there are a few that has cool information that foreigners  normally wouldn’t know about. For example, Vending machines accepts large bills ( 8,937 JPY/ $100 USD), Construction signs saying they are sorry for the inconvenience of the work being done, Different flavored snacks and drinks like aloe yogurt or milk-bread, and so on.

      One of the reasons why I enjoy reading his posts is because his insights on Japan makes you feel a bit closer to the culture knowing that the experiences and info. you are reading comes from someone who lives there versus looking to read the news or wiki information on-line. So give it a read or two if your curious!

By: Shiono Etorouji

Genre: Action, Adult, Adventure, Ecchi, Fantasy, Mature, Seinen.

Status: Ongoing

Review:

Ubel Blatt is the name of the Manga that I am currently following; You are probably wondering what in the world does “Ubel Blatt” mean? Well, it means Evil Blade, its connected to Koinzell who is the main character of the story. Koinzell is on a mission,  he wants revenge on the seven people that took his life. How can he get revenge if he died? Well, Koinzell is not just a kid like he appears in the picture above, he died 20 years before the Manga starts, when he was 16 years old. He was famous during that time because he was able to acquire the title of  “Blade Master”. He could see someone perform an attack and be able to imitate it right away. Because of his skills he was chosen for a special mission along with 10 other people. Unfortunately, seven of the warriors were too afraid to finish the mission, but four of the warriors completed the mission. The other seven warriors waited for the four warriors to return and together they killed the four heroes.

Koinzell was attacked by all seven warriors, his body was cut into pieces and his eye was scarred, by his best friend Glenn, who was jealous of Koinzell. When he had barely any life left in him, he ate the body of a fairy and was able to regenerate himself. Everyone believed he died as a traitor. Koinzell spent 20 years training and getting used to his new body, since he ingested fairy blood, his appearance changed. He has special powers when he can see the moon, it enables him to use black swords that come out of his arms. He can also transform into another form with huge wings, but he only took this form once. Unfortunately, the body of a fairy is very frail so he cant perform his special attacks the same way he could as a human, so when there is no moon, he is weaker now than when he was human. Even though he is 36 years old he looks like a child, its funny to see him act as an adult, he drinks alcohol, and he flirts with women. Some women respond to the maturity that Koinzell displays, and the interesting personality that he has, one moment he can cruelly chop off someone’s head, and in the next he will show compassion and kindness to people that are being attacked. There isn’t much romance in this Manga, although in the beginning he does have a momentary relationship with one woman that falls for him, but he just feels pity for her, and lately he seems to be developing feelings for a girl named Ato, that follows him, he even gives her his blood to save her life, since he has the blood of the fairy in him.

He has saved the lives of many people, and because of this there are many people that admire him, and some who follow him on his journey and are willing to risk themselves for him. The seven warriors that lived, gained honor and received positions of authority and power. The interesting thing about this Manga is that what is right and wrong isn’t so clear cut. Koinzell wants revenge, which is understandable, but a few of the “heroes” have brought peace to their lands, and because he is killing the heroes, people are trying to take their positions and gain power and fights are breaking out. However, many people died because of the lies of the seven warriors,  a lot of fighting and confusion happened because people were angry with the family’s of the dead warriors.  This Manga is rated adult, so if you are going to be reading it, be forewarned that there is a gore, and rape. Its worth it to ignore it, because the story and characters are so interesting it doesn’t even matter, and i am curious to see what else will happen  to Koinzell once he does kill all the seven warriors, and whether or not he will gain back his human body…

This is the other form that Koinzell has…

     Cool Japanese make-up tutorial by Catalina. In this video she demonstrates how to apply a “Japanese” look. Be cautious of the fire used on the eyelash curlers and don’t get burned!    Check her out on her sites http://www.youtube.com/user/cl2425 and http://www.cl2425.com/.

Have you been thinking about going to Japan and are wondering how you’re going to meet someone there? Well, if you’re interested in picking up a Japanese girl, this site says that Japanese girls love “high-tech gadgets” so its best to approach a girl that is carrying a cell phone, and then say: “Excuse me, could you tell me what kind of phone you have? I need to buy a birthday gift for a friend of mine, and I know she’d love a new cell phone. Yours looks really cool." Japanese girls love to take pictures, so with that you can start a conversation and eventually ask her out on a date!

If you want to know how to pick up a Japanese guy go here. I was surprised to find out that Japanese guys are really shy. So, if you think you’re going to go there and the guys will swarm you just because you’re a “foreigner” your in for a huge disappointment. The article even says; “In fact foreign women are among the loneliest of people in Japan.” Looks like its the girls job to go after that cute guy you see while walking around Japan.  Such a hard job! If you want more tips visit the two links for the entire article, and good luck!

Source:

Picture

   Review:  Hei comes back for a second season with a different goal, working for a different agency, striped of his powers, looking his worst and looking after a girl on the run from the FSB and the MIAC Bureau’s as well. Yin is not really seen until later episodes, the Japanese government and section 3 captured her and they call her Izanami, she is kept sedated in a containment box.

    This season’s story mainly revolves around Suō Pavlichenko, a thirteen year old girl who is separated from her father, Dr. Mikhail and brother, Shion, after one of the bureaus raided their house in search for her brother.  Suō later meets Hei and July, all three head to Tokyo together, while she is in search of her mother and Hei is following leads on to where Yin might be kept. Suō  starts to like Hei and July starts to like Suō. ( for some reason I find that funny and odd). When Suō becomes aware of her contractor ability she starts training with Hei and July.

The story itself is entertaining, you see some characters from the first season again and some new ones with cool powers.  Although contractors are known for not having human emotions, Suō’s character seem to show some emotions at times which made some episodes drag a little. I would have liked to see more of her using her ability to the fullest and taking over for Hei since he could not use his ability, instead she would either hesitate before shooting or miss. Hei would still save the day without his powers, of course, but I still don’t see why they couldn’t make Suō’s character a bit more heroic. I did like how both July and Suō get to live normal human lives at the end and how they make you believe Hei  is still alive at the end.

     The second season is good but not as good as the first one, hopefully if they do a third season they can explain more of the new world Shion created and of the kid that wakes up with the same ability that Yin had.

 Genres: drama, psychological, science fiction, supernatural

Episodes: 12

Screen Shots:

     Ayumi Hamasaki, a Japanese Singer-Songwriter, Record Producer and Actress. Born and raised in Fukuoka,Japan. At the age of 14 she moved to Tokyo to pursue a career in Entertainment. Expanding her musical style from Trance to Rock as well as Electronic and Pop, using different instruments such as piano,orchestra,gospel choirs,traditional Japanese and Chinese strings,guitars,music boxes,etc… Her lyrics are focused on her feelings and experiences. Ayumi also won a Japan Gold Disc Award for “Best New Artist of the Year”. As of 2009 Hamasaki continues to work in the studio.

Funny video commercial on how to lower High Blood pressure:

A short video clip on a Japanese show, very funny!!

Funky old commercial on DS:

Ever wonder about all the different types of Japanese Fashion? Want to know what’s new for 2010? Well check out the video below for starters! Some of the dresses and shoes are actually cute…

The weird thing about the US is that if you show up to school dressed like the two kids below you are basically giving permission to the school bullies. So try this fashion at your own risk.

What’s new in fashion for the young and cute Japanese boy, you might ask. Well, the guys get to dress punk, styling a French inspired hat (I think?) and ripped shorts with leggings, very manly!

And the latest on Japanese Fashion is the lovely ensemble in the page below. Who wouldn’t want to walk around the streets dressed like this? Yes, ladies take out your dancing shoes and buy these lovely dresses.

Well, looks like there is not much that’s new in the Japanese Fashion world, I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing…

Picture Source:

Punk boy

Red plaid shorts

Blue and Purple Dresses