Hyouka- by Honobu Yonezawa

Hyouka is an anime that I have been looking for extensively ever since I found all these adorable gif with a purple eyed girl. It was cute, I could not stop looking for it. Ironically enough, I found the name today by mistake. As soon as that happened, TheBetterCup and I watched the first episode without a second thought.

-What is the cartoon about?

This is the basic representation of the group dynamic.

The story begins with the main character, Hotaro Oreki, joining a school club on his sister’s request. He then meets a fellow member named Eru who intrigues him, somehow getting him to do things he usually would not (this usually occurs when she looks at him and her eyes begin to glisten. Then a surreal image occurs in his mind, and he ends up doing what she wanted without thinking). His best friend later joins as well, followed by a girl who went to middle school with him. Together they make up the Literature/Classics Club. But they solve mysteries together, little simple ones that occur logically and are not all that fantastical as you would think (most of the time).

-Who are the central characters?

Hotaro Oreki is the main character who joined the Classics Club because it had no members, and his sister wanted him to join. He is extremely calm, passive, and apathetic. His life motto is “If I don’t have to do something, I won’t, but if I have to, I’ll do it quickly.” His goal is to conserve energy, but it makes him seem lazy (which he is not, because he does what is necessary only). He stays in the club and gets out of his comfort zone because of Eru. Even though she is energetic and her curiosity requires that he does not fall in line with his energy saving ideas, he follows her whims because he finds he is unable to ever ignore them. She has a strange affect on him that at first he finds troublesome (turns out he just liked her). Oreki is extremely logical and is skilled at solving mysteries in minutes.

Eru Chitanda is the ditzy and extremely curious young girl that joins the Classics Club. She is usually very lady-like, polite, and sensible girl, but when she becomes excited over a mystery she acts almost child-like. She becomes energetic, persistent, stubborn, and a little nosy. She will not stop thinking about the mystery until its solved (but not in an overly done annoying type of way. Do not worry she is likable and realistic character). She has a very romanticized view on the world and her motto is “I’m curious!” She also earns top grades, and comes from a wealthy farming family. The way Oreki solves mysteries is really amazing to Eru, and she admires him greatly for it.

Satoshi Fukube is Oreki’s best friend who also joins the club. He is a complex character. He comes off as cheery, and eccentric, often being sarcastic and making lots of jokes. His motto is “If the joke is not in the moment, it is nothing but a common lie.” He sees that jokes can lead to misunderstandings, and so he is always aware of how it may be taken. Fukube has a perpetual grin, but he is actually self-deprecating. Distancing himself once he begins to get close to others, he is obsessed with not becoming obsessive (over people). He has an impressive memory, and refers to himself as a human “database”. He and Mayaka have known each other since middle school, and they end up liking each other.

Mayaka Ibara is nitpicky, almost perfectionist type of girl (a personality I tend to like in characters because I find them easy to connect to ). She is very strict, rudely straightforward, and impulsive person. She does not always see eye to eye with Oreki (whose energy saving ways baffle her), but they slowly warm up to each other. On the other hand, she and Eru become very close friends fairly easily. She loves manga and is an artist  herself (but she is embarrassed to admit that she is into reading manga). Mayaka gives her friends cute nicknames showing that she cares about them very much.

-How is the Artwork?

The artwork is extremely beautiful (it is the reason why I was so desperate to watch), and very colorful in a way that is subdued, like pastels, not viciously bright and rainbow like. Though the scenery is very detailed, its so simple and soft seeming. It does not bogg down the veiwer’s eyes. It reminded me of water colors, to be honest, and this lent well to the simple mysteries (of the mundane and every day variety) and surrealistic nature. The animation is extremely fluid, and the atmosphere is very lighthearted.

It is so amazing and magical.

-What makes the cartoon awesome? 

The entire story is full of comedic moments that are not very forced. The apathetic character, Oreki, and sarcastic joker, Fukube, dynamic makes a very funny pair. The characters and situations are not to over the top which makes them easy to relate to and keeps them from falling into the ‘basic anime’ plot. Yet even though it is funny and easy going, their is still enough complexity (thanks to Fukube) giveing it enough drama so that the plot is not to boring.

Also to add to how amazing this is, the anime has some magic going for it. It is not magic of the wizarding kind, or of the alien type, nor even of the mystical. The magic here is surrealistic, and usually occur in Oreki’s mind. Instead of using dialogue to show how it is he feels, the creators rely on this method of magical perspective to show Oreki’s feelings. He has strange moments were he imagines things happening. The first scene like this has Eru’s hair almost growing like a tree and it gets you completely off guard. But the softness and simplicity just give it this dream like effect. I really like it.

Lastly the entire story, though categorized as a mystery, focus’s on character development. Much depth is reached through the simple, and mundane activities (which is pretty impressive), and the characters grow well into becoming likable and unique. If this is something you have yet to see, I definitely suggest at least checking out the first episode.

-Blog Barista

 

Mysteries that baffle even Sherlock: the janitor did it!

Daily Myth-Korean: Janghwa Hongryeon Jeon

So Saturday has been a very long day, and I was not planning on making a myth for Sunday cause of how tiring it was but I did it anyways. I could not find any pictures to go with this myth, because if you try looking it up all you will find is the popular, horror movie made based on this folklore. So I decided I would put pretty pictures of girls with flowers, since the titular female characters that were named after flowers. Also as always, if anyone knows who the artists are of these pictures, please tell me so I can reference them.

Todays folklore comes from Korea and is the story of Janghwa and Hongryeon.

 

So the story begins with a man and his kind wife. The woman has a dream one night that a gorgeous flower was given to her by an angel, and surely enough, nine months later she gives birth to a daughter they name Janghwa (which means Red Flower). Then after two years pass, the wife gives birth again to a little girl that they name Hongreyeon (which means Red Lotus).

Their mother dies five years later, and the husband remarries to a cruel woman. She is kind of like Cinderella’s stepmother: evil, jealous, vindictive, and selfish. Anyways, she abuses the girls, but they never complain or tell their father (Maybe that’s their mistake, but just like Cinderella’s story being badly treated and not complaining is seen as a good quality. I personally think both Cinderella and these girls should have stepped up to those women. Just my opinion though). So that woman gives birth to three sons, which made her even more full of herself and cruel (because she gave him boys who would take over his lineage).

After much time, Janghwa becomes engaged, and her father asks the stepmother to help her plan the wedding. This makes her so angry, because not only does she have to help her, but she does not want to waste her sons’s future fortune on these girls to wed. So she hatches a nasty plan to destroy the poor girl’s reputation, life, and future.

One night, she to tells her eldest son to skin a dead rat and put it into Janghwa’s bed. Then, when first it became morning, the stepmother told the father that she had a horrid dream about his daughter and feared that something bad had happened. So together they went to check on her and found in her bed what looked like a miscarriage. The stepmother accused her of having been unchaste, and her father believed it all. Janghwa ran away crying into a forest, and the step mother told her eldest son to follow and drown Janghwa in a pond. After he did just that, a tiger attacked, eating one arm and one leg.

The mother was furious at what happened to her son, so she treated Hongryeon more horribly than she ever did before. Hongryeon suffered so much before, after being unable to bear her sister’s death, her loneliness, and the stepmother’s cruelty, she went to the forest and also drowned (I am not sure if the son did this also, but I doubt it since he was disabled now. Maybe in some versions he never lost limbs and killed her. In other versions, he lost the limbs and the stepmother’s cruelty coxed the girl to suicide). After the two girls’s deaths, every mayor of the town died mysteriously.

One day, a very brave, fearless, and youthful man became the mayor. Two weeping ghost girls visited his office one night. He asked them why they killed the mayors. They denied killing the mayors (I think maybe it was the stepmother trying to keep her secret hidden), and they begged him to let the people know the truth, especially their father. They told him to check the unborn fetus, for he would see that it was a lie.

That next morning he did just that. He called forth the father, the stepmother, and her eldest son, and he cut open the body revealing it was a rat. The stepmother and her eldest son were sentenced to death, and the father released since he too was tricked by the stepmother.

Many years later, the father married a third time. He dreamt that his daughters had visited him. They told him that they wished to be with him once more, and that they would soon return. Nine months later, his wife gave birth to twins, that they named them Janghwa and Hongryeon. The new wife, the father, the sisters, and their two remaining half brothers lived happily together.

If you want to know more, check out this website: http://koreansaywhat.tumblr.com/post/10583721404/fact-of-the-day

-BlogBarista

 

hehehehehehe

Top Favorite Romance Manga

EDIT: THEBETTERCUP AND I HAVE REPLACED HANASAKU IROHA WITH KURAGEHIME. READ ABOUT IT HERE: www.espressocomsaudade.wordpress.com/2014/07/25/kuragehime-by-akiko-higashimura/

Also I replaced Taiyou no Ie with Haru x Kiyo which you can read about here: http://www.espressocomsaudade.wordpress.com/2015/05/15/romance-manga-review/ 

And also I am adding Ao Haru Ride, whose manga was one of the best ever, this will make the list round out to ten instead of nine. I talked about the anime here: http://www.espressocomsaudade.wordpress.com/2015/01/06/three-anime-review-day-2/

Also Horimiya is replaced by Kengai Princess read here: http://www.espressocomsaudade.wordpress.com/2016/02/26/kengai-princess-by-aida-natsumi/

…Romance…

TheBetterCup and I are saps for romantic type manga. Even though we may not have the exact same tastes in manga, we can wholeheartedly agree on at least a small list of our very favorite ones. We basically agree on all of these (except one that TheBetterCup has yet to read that I recommend, and one that I have yet to read that she recommends. But we told each other the plot and agreed that we liked them. Besides she loved hers too much not to include it, and I respect that). Anyways so now we will present our top favorite romance manga.

• Kaichou wa Maid-sama!

Reading this manga not only made me laugh my buns off, but it also made me cry like a baby when I reached the end. Kaichou wa Maid-sama! is about Misaki Ayuzawa, the first female student council president of a once all boys school called Seika. The rowdy male population of the student body is not exactly accepting of its new co-ed standards, and the female minority suffer and cower from the reckless majority. Misaki decides to take matters into her own hands, and tries to reform the school into a safe environment (Who am I kidding.  Shes trying to make it into an actual school).

Kaichou wa Maid-sama!

Misaki trains long, studies hard, and does a dang good job as the student council president, and this has brought her the reputation of an “uptight boy-hating demon dictator” among the guys and hope for the girls. Here’s the best part though, to support her family she takes a part time job, which she is embarrassed would ruin her tough-as-nails image. She works in a maid cafe. She tries everything to keep this a secret, but one day the most popular boy at school, Takumi Usui, discovers her secret. Usui is smart, athletic, and has a cool demeanor, but as the story progresses Misaki finds out that his life isn’t perfect and that he hides a couple of skeletons in his closet.

Overall this is a wonderful manga and definitely worth reading. There is a whole cast of awkward, colorful, and confused characters, that just like Misaki and Usui struggle to accept themselves. A warning though. This manga is one giant ridiculous cliche. Its sappy as heck and predictable at times (but I loved it so much!)

-TheBetterCup

• Taiyou No Ie

Taiyou no Ie

Taiyo no ie focuses on the story of Motomiya Mao and her childhood friend, Nakamura Hiro. Mao is a high school student whose relationship with her parents have never been good. As her family broke apart when she was young, her father has kept himself distant with her and started a new family instead. Through unhappy circumstances, Mao as lost her place in the home. She starts to live with her childhood friend, 23 year old Hiro, whose household and family have always felt like home to her. She helps Hiro to accomplish his goal that one day his brother, sister, and Mao would once more live together.

Taiyou no ie is slice of life, romance, and shoujo manga. Mao is a stubborn character that bottles up her emotions and thoughts. She is always tough and childlike (but not a whiny baby or an idiot), she becomes pleased when she finds out she has a home to go to where someone will be waiting for her. Hiro, on the other hand, is very motherly. He takes care of the home and of the people he cares for. Slowly they have a budding romance that is not weighed down by angst.

-Blog Barista

• Kimi ni Todoke

Ok, it seems that most of the manga I pick center around a character who is misunderstood or struggling with their identity, and I will tell you right now that this manga falls into that category. The story of Kimi ni Todoke focuses on a girl, Kuronuma Sawako, nicknamed Sadako by her classmates, because she looks like the yuurei from “The Ring” (what makes it worse was it started in elementary school. What the heck!?).

Kimi ni Todoke

In reality, Sawako is a timid, sweet girl who longs to be liked by others. Since everyone fears her (and spreads rumors that she has powers and sees ghosts) she is always alone, and this causes her to admire a popular boy in her class, Kazehaya-kun. He is “100% refreshing,” meaning his personality is liked by everyone. Once Kazehaya starts talking to her, however, she begins to open up to her class and even make true, long-lasting friends (her friends are very weird, just like her, and also struggle with acceptance; however, they are wonderful people and very supportive). Eventually, Kazehaya and Sawako find out they “like” each other, and the two of them face “high school” obstacles like bullies, love drama, and finding out what they want to do with their lives after high school.

The part that gets me is that the entire time she thanks Kazehaya for all the changes in her life, but in reality its all because of how awesome she is that all she needed was for others to see that.

-TheBetterCup

• Hanasaku Iroha

Hanasaku Iroha

Hanasaku Iroha centers around a sixteen year old girl names Matsumae Ohana. One day, her mother decides to elope with her boyfriend and run away from debtors. So, she sends Ohana to live with her estranged grandmother. Ohana moves from Tokyo to the countryside. While there, her grandmother makes her work at their hot springs inn, and Ohana makes it her goal to become the perfect hostess.

Hanasaku Iroha is a coming of age, slice of life, and romance manga. The romance is not a main focal point in this one, but both Ohana and her friend have love stories blooming. Ohana is an optimistic heroine who is strong willed and realistic. Her best friend, Koichi, confesses to her in the beginning, but she does not realize her feelings till after she left Tokyo and him. While working in the hot springs inn, her new coworker, and friend, Minko has her own love story going on as well which Ohana accidentally gets mixed in to.

-Blog Barista

• ToraDora

So this story is a little different because it revolves around a male high school student, Ryuuji Takasu. He has a gentle personality (like a puppy), but because of his eyes everyone thinks he is some intimidating delinquent (so he has almost no friends). In his second year of high school he is put into the same class as his best and only friend, Yuusaku Kitamura, his hidden crush, Minori Kushieda, and Minori’s best friend, Taiga Aisaka.

ToraDora

But Taiga has an infamous reputation as the school’s “Palmtop Tiger”. Her delicate, child-like appearance contrasts with her brutal personality, and when Ryuuji accidentally bumps into her she takes an instant dislike towards him. Eventually, Ryuuji learns that Taiga is his neighbor (he lives in a dinky apartment with his mother, but Taiga lives all alone in a huge, brand new apartment building). He also learns that Taiga likes Yuusaku, so they agree to help each other get closer to their love interests. Taiga takes advantage of Ryuuji, getting him to do her chores and feed her (but she was just very lonely). They spend a lot of time together, and they see sides of each other no one else sees (but they do try to help each other with how others see them). Eventually Ryūji and Taiga confess their true feelings of love towards each other.

Okay, so all of the manga I talk about I love equally, but if I have to sell one of them to ya’ll, this would be the one I would be shoving down your throat. Why this one? Well each of them have their flaws, but I just loved Taiga and Ryuuji. Ones gentle with a brutal exterior, and the other is the exact opposite. Even though I prefer the magical world of Kamisama Kiss or the very strong character of Misaki, I find that this manga reaches a nice place where the pros balance out the cons.

-TheBetterCup

• Horimiya

Horimiya

Horimiya is one of the nicest manga I have read. It is about a young girl named Kyoko Hori who acts differently at home then she does at school. Her parents are always working, so she ends up doing all the housework and taking care of her younger brother. So she does not have a normal social life. One day she meets a young boy from her class, Izumi Miyamura, that also seems different at school and outside of it. Miyamura goes from being quiet and bookish to being a friendly boy with tattoos and piercings whose grades suck. Together they learn each other’s secrets and share a part of their lives that no one else knows.

Horimiya is a comedy, slice of life, and shonen romance (I had no idea, it reads like a shoujo). Hori is a popular, energetic, and hardworking girl. She is strong and really independent. She falls in love with Miyamura who is laid back, shy, and awkward. He is covered in tattoos and piercings that he has to keep covered up. He has a hard time making friends and tends to space out easily, but he would do anything for Hori. The story goes through their relationship and how it helps them be themselves outside of their homes.

-Blog Barista

• Kamisama Kiss

OK, so this story is also about a high school girl (not surprising) named Nanami, but it has a little more magic in it then the other manga I picked. This is kind of like the girly, modern day version of Inuyasha with a human girl finding herself in a world of yokai, yada yada yada she falls in love and what not. So, one day Nanami’s butt face father runs away because of his gambling debts, and Nanami (all alone because her mom is dead, and she has no relatives) is evicted and left to wander the streets.

Kamisama Kiss

As she, a shelter-less orphan, walks aimlessly she meets this man named Mikage, who is afraid of dogs (he was in a tree and she rescues him from a puppy). In thanks he gives her his house (she is homeless so of course she accepts it, but it is still a little off putting if someone just GIVES you an entire house). Fast forward a bus ride, and she finds its not any house but a shrine. She is greeted by Onikiri and Kotetsu the keepers of the shrine and Tomoe, Mikage’s familiar. But get this, they are all demons (bam! did not expect that now did ya?!). Anyways, turns out Mikage was the Earth deity of the shrine, but when he kissed her forehead (oh did I not mention that?), he bestowed his mark, which presto change-o makes her the first and only human deity. At first she rejects the entirety of the situation, but as she lives with the Tomoe, Onikiri, and Kotetsu, she begins to work hard as a Deity. Nanami eventually falls in love with Tomoe, the fox demon with a “give no sheez” attitude, but he rejects (a lot) because human yokai relationships are forbidden. As the story progresses Nanami struggles with school life, prejudice and jealousy from other deities, and an evil antagonist connected to Tomoe’s bloody past; however, she also makes many new friends, helps yokai and people, and even wins the heart of Tomoe.

The story is full of humor, because Nanami is a girl who just jumps into a situation without even thinking. She gets herself in a lot of stuff, but it always works out because she has so many people willing to help her.

-TheBetterCup

• Suki-tte Ii Na Yo

Say I Love You

Say I love you is my all time favorite romance manga. The story is beautiful and easy to relate to. It focuses on a sixteen year old girl called Mei Tachibana who has never made friends. One day she injures a popular boy in school, Yamato Kurosawa, because of a misunderstanding. Their meeting was brief but it left him interested to get to know her. Through their friendship and blossoming relationship, Mei begins to branch out and befriend others. The story has a lot of darker points that focus on real problems of teens, like bullies, low self esteem, friendship vs fitting in, anorexia, and sex.

Say I Love You is romance, comedy, slice of life, and ecchi shoujo. It is an ecchi because it does have suggestions of sex (but not in a perverted type way. It usually has to do with the pressures of society for people to have sex and what it means to people). Anyways, Mei is anti-social, honest young girl who does not make friends. She falls in love with Yamato, a caring young man that is popular due to his nature of looking out for others. Together they go through the ups and downs of having a relationship and what it means to be in love.

If I can get you to leave this blog wanting to read at least one manga, I hope it is this one. This is truly a well written story. Yeah it focuses on high school, just like all the other stories, but the difference is how realistic this one is. There are no silly dramatic twists and the humor is very natural. It feels like reading someone’s daily life in manga form. Yet because you care for Mei, and you see her thoughts, you get just involved in her choices as much as she does. I loved the manga (anime was so-so in comparison), and it is drawn so beautifully. I HIGHLY recommend it.

-Blog Barista

• Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun

So this romantic comedy is about a girl, Shizuku Mizutani, who has no interest except to dedicate the majority of her attention and time to focus on her academics, and a boy, Haru Yoshida, who a delinquent classmate who never actually shows up. One day she is given the task to deliver the class printouts to Haru (What teacher does this? Whenever I missed school I had to go ask for the printouts the day I came back. It was every man for himself), and Haru immediately greets her as a friend. Mizutani has a distant, passive demeanor, but Haru, despite being a trouble maker, is passionate and willing to help others. The two are never on the same page when it comes to their relationship, and they each confess and reject the other through out the story.

Tonari no Kaibutsukun

Now Mizutani struggles with experiencing emotions, making friends, and out growing her selfish tendencies. I want to point out that she is not selfish in a mean way, but that she does not really function in society and tends not to notice its effects on others immediately, but as she makes new friends and hangs out with Haru she begins change her world. Haru also does not function properly in society. He is very emotional, and even when he tries to protect Mizutani, he often hurts her. He wants to help and protect others (he’s like a superhero), but most people fear him as a delinquent. They are scared because he has a tendency to glare menacingly, but he glares because he is equally afraid of them (and their rejection of him) and he does not know how to react or behave. They also fear him because he gets into a lot of fights. Every time he fights, it is to protect someone from bullies, violence, and maltreatment, but his classmates only see him beating people mercilessly (missing the part where he is protecting the victim). But Haru and Mizutani end up helping each other understand how to properly behave in society. She helps him to better control his emotions and let people see how kind he is. He on the other hand, helps her to feel emotions for others, to focus on other people, and not to only care about school work to the point that it makes her distant to everyone. The two of them are actually perfect for each other.

-TheBetterCup

You can find all these at Mangahere.com

-Blog Barista

Two New Favorites, Check Them Out: http://www.espressocomsaudade.wordpress.com/2016/04/01/cute-new-favorites-romance-edition/

If you succeed at reading all these romance manga, you too can become a love expert like Renge here.

Daily Myth-Egyptian: Bastet and Sekhmet

For today’s mythical creatures we are going to focus on two slightly similar, but still different Egyptian Goddesses: Bastet and Sekhmet!

I chose to do these two together for two reasons. One: through evolution of cultures these two tended to blend and mesh with each other a lot, mostly as one gained power and the other lost it. Two: it is hard to find long stories to entertain with, instead all I can give is facts about them in their culture.

Bastet:

Bastet is a Goddess with the head of a lion. It is believed that she first had a lioness head, but that it changed overtime to be a cat head. She was the War Goddess of Lower Egypt and was also a goddess of fire, protection, pleasure, and pregnant women. She was seen as a kindly goddess (though she was a war god).

Sekhmet:

The there is Sekhmet, a lion headed Goddess of War for Upper Egypt. She was also the Goddess of fire, medicine, vengeance, and menstruation. Sekhmet is seen as fierce and wrathful. She was known to send plagues and pestilence as a form of punishment to those who wronged her.

Why the fire? Well when there was a fire in ancient times, hordes of cats were sent in to draw the fire out, the ancient firefighters were kitties! Both Goddesses are closely connected to the sun god Ra. Both females are at times Goddesses of the Sun; the difference is that Bastet is the mild heat from the sun, on like good days. On the other hand, Sekhmet is the more viscous heat when the sun is cooking you with it’s rays.

In one myth, Ra was in battle with Apep, an evil snake deity of chaos. Ra fought each sunrise against Apep with the help of his daughter Bastet. The battle with Apep was said to disrupt the balance of the world. When Apep had the upper hand earthquakes and storms occurred, and when he swallowed Ra, solar eclipses happened. But Ra was always cut out of Apep before the end of the day. In some renditions of the story, Bastet killed Apep in the night in her cat form (she can see in the dark just fine).

In another myth, Ra became very angry at mankind since they did not preserve justice and balance. For punish meant, he decided to send a peice of his daughter, Hathor, in the form of a lioness which became Sekhmet. She went on a rampage, but she was intoxicated by blood-lust and could not be stopped. To stop her, Ra poured almost ten thousand jars of alcohol on her. She became so drunk, she slept for three days and awoke with out rage. In some versions, she wakes up to see Ptah, God of creation and fertility, and falls in love. Since she is the goddess of destruction and him creation, they became a union that symbolized healing and reestablished balance.

 

Sekhmet and Bastet by TheBetterCup

If you want to know more about Egyptian gods, in particularly Bastet and Sekhmet, I recommend this website: http://www.landofpyramids.org/

-Blog Barista

 

Egyptian Cat Goddesses? So Cute!  -TheBetterCup

Top 5 Favorite Maho Shojo

So for all who may not know, Maho Shojo is a genre for manga and anime. It means magical girl, and these stories revolve around young girls that use magic. Usually the trope is that a magical and cute creature brings these chosen girls items that help them transform. Then they use the power of beauty, kindness, friendship, or other corniness to fight the throngs of evil doers that fail at being bad guys. Any ways, I have always loved magical girl animes, and I have seen SO MANY, but to be honest most of them kinda suck. So here I will list my top 5 favorites because these are good, and they deserve to be watched.

OF COURSE FOR ALL ANIMES, I RECOMMEND THE MANGAS MORE, BUT IF YOU JUST WANT TO WATCH SOMETHING FOR FUN THESE ARE GREAT BOTH WAYS.

The best part about magic girl animes: the super cute clothes and the transformations into them!!!

Look at how puffy her skirt is!

I had so many more (when I say so many, I mean about 20+). But lets be honest, it may be annoying to have nothing but cute gifs in this post. So now let me begin explaining my favorite magical girl animes.

5. Houkago no Plieades

Houkago no Pleiades

It may not be fair to pick this one, since it is not a full on television anime series, but i am still gonna do it. I was not sure if I should pick this or Little Witch Academia, which is a full movie. I picked this one cause I saw it recently, but check Little Witch Academia anyways; it is fantastical. I saw this one recently and I really liked it. It is on YouTube, and it is a short that is divided into four videos, each with about five to six minutes worth of footage. The animation style is topnotch and beautiful. It is heavily witched themed and also heavily star themed so it gave off the feel of Howl’s Moving Castle, but during modern days (in a school).

A young girl named Subaru is on a hill watching the stars when a star shower occurs.  The next day at school, she wishes to go to the viewing room, but when she enters she finds a magical garden instead. In there, she meets a boy named Minato who seems to be sick. When she leaves she steps on a strange green blob that steels her compass and leads her to a room where other classmates (one of whom is her friend) are dressed kind of like witches.

In the next clip, the other girls are confused as to how she enters. But a star shower happens again, and they jump into action. The green blob, who is their president, transforms Subaru into a magical girl and gives her a broom so she can fly up with the others. They chase after a large star that is called the Engine Fragment, which they are collecting to send the club president back to his home planet. Working together, they are able to catch the fragment, but while they are shrinking it down to an appropriate size, Minato arrives revealing that he is their enemy.

In the third clip, the girls try to fight Minato. Subaru loses concentration when she recognizes Minato and causes them to lose the fragment to him as he escapes. Before leaving, he tells them to have a final battle in three days over the final fragments. Subaru wants to help the girls, but her friend Aoi is against it. After some ‘fighting’ (in which Aoi gives her friend the nasty cold shoulder), they make up.

Finally in the fourth video, the girls\ confront Minato. He attacks the school while looking for the other fragments. As Minato prepares to attack Aoi as she protects t which upsets Subaru as he is destroying a precious place. The battle goes on. I do not want to ruin the ending so I will stop there.The story is super magical and whimsical. It is really entrancing, and I wish it was a full TV series. It has been officially released that they plan on making it a full anime, but up till now nothing yet has happened.

As beautiful as it is, there are like 2 cons. One, I hate how Subaru, herself, and her friend refer to her (Subaru) as ‘a bit slow’. That is not OK. Its mean of her friend to do that and weird for her to call herself that. It is not an interesting character trait, and I really would hate to see the TV series continue with the idea. She repeated the phrase like 6 times in four five minute videos! I found it slightly upsetting. Also, I did not like the end to much. If there is a continuation in the form of a full series, then the ending is great. But if they do not make good on their promise, then I will be left feeling un fulfilled. Either way, the story is so pretty and a lot of fun to watch. I suggest it very much.

4. Sailor Moon

Sailor Moon

Sailor Moon is in my top five because she is my childhood. This anime was the first one I ever watched, she got me into anime and manga. I love Sailor Moon, and till this day, I am still a huge fan. Most people who know magical girls will know Sailor Moon. This is becasue, though she was not the first maho shojo, she is the one that made it famous. She made this genre what it is, and most of the major tropes come from this cartoon. For those who do not know Sailor Moon, let me give a brief plot summary.

Usagi Tsukino, a 14 year old high school student, is a major klutz. She has awful grades, eats too much, is a cry baby, and can be overly dramatic. One day she finds a talking black cat named Luna who reveals to her that she (Usagi) is a magical solider named Sailor Moon Protector of Love and Justice. She also learns that she must defend the universe from an enemy that succeeded at destroying the world in the far future. She meets many people, with differing stories and forms strong bonds of friendship with some team members that at first she did not work well with. Though she is hesitant at first, Usagi grows into a great hero, protecting the world in the name of the moon, she collects other sailor soldiers and, together, learn about their true identities, distant pasts, and pressing futures.

I loved this

Sailor Moon is full of silliness, romance, magic, and drama. It will take twists and turns that you would not have guessed in the beginning. Even some side characters will get story time that will make you cry. And when I say colorful cast, I really  mean it. Not only do you get the whole rainbow in turns of outfits, but you also get all the personality types. As always, the girls learn about love, friendship, and sacrifice. But of course this is happy ending.

The one draw back, is that the story is as stereotypical of magical girls as it gets (it did set those standards). Also, Usagi is a whiny girl and that gets annoying at times. I have a childhood love connected to this, and I understand those who may not be hundred percent in love, but it is an amazing story. If you are not into the more vintage anime looks, a revamped Sailor Moon will be released some time in 2014. It is so cute, but still does not compare to the original for me. Here is the trailer for anyone interested:

3. Kaitou Saint Tail

Kaitou Saint Tail

Kaitou Saint Tail is an anime I found completely by mistake a few years ago. I had not really heard of it before, and it was older so I new the cartoon was not drawn in the same way as the ones now-a-days are. I just started to watch cause I was bored, and I am so grateful I did. Kaitou Saint Tail is one of my most favorite animes ever. The story is so wonderous, and when I watched it, I was completely hooked on it. It is not super dramatic and there is only a light hint to the of romance. But it is so simple and whimsical that I could not stop watching.

Meimi Haneoka is a middle school student that moonlights as a Robin Hood under the name Saint Tail. Each night she steals stolen objects that were taken dishonestly and brings them back to their rightful places. Soon to be nun and classmate, Seira, is the only person who knows of her identity as the night time thief. Seira listens to those plagued by problems and reports back to Meime, aiding her in finding people who need the thief’s help. Yet, the police force sees her as nothing but a common thief and aims to stop her. Her classmate and son of a detective, Asuka is most interested in bringing her down. Meimi, having a crush on Asuka, always makes sure to tell him in advance of her next job, giving him a fair chance in catching her.

So cute!

I do not think I could praise this cartoon enough. It is lighthearted and easy to get into. You learn to love the characters fairly quickly. It gives off an older feel that, at least for me, always seems to bring nostalgic feelings. The few cons is that the characters are a little bit lacking. I love the fact that we start the story with her having been Saint Tail for a while, but I wished it was explained at some point. Also, they are not developed very much through out the series. Meimi does not really have a major personality flaw that could deter her as a hero that she needs to grow out of (like lack of confidence, being a crybaby, being a coward, or even being selfish). Yet for the most part, this anime is fulfilling, and the entire thing leaves a happy impression. I entirely recommend watching Kaitou Saint Tail.

2. Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Puella Magi Madoka Magica

You see this anime, and you think to yourself “This is so cute. It is so colorful and magical. I am so excited to watch this.” You believe that it will follow all the major tropes of the magical genre, and you are not wrong. It follows every rule and every standard of magical girls, except for one: it is not happy. This cartoon is dark. It plays on all the tropes with a dark twist creating a more realistic version of how young girls with great powers would break and why they would even be given such responsibilities. I am not even joking when I say this is messed up and heart wrenching and sickening and awesome.

What…

But…

THEY ARE ONLY 13!

A few years ago, Puella Magi Madoka Magica was very big on the internet. It was as famous as an anime could get, mostly one that was not a shonen like Naruto. Madoka Magica was huge, and I remember trying to start it but stopping because I did not like how their faces were drawn. Three years later, I have become enthralled in the story. It will destroy a person. The drama is beyond exciting, and there is no love story (probably because these girls are too focused on bigger issue problems like despair and depression then to focus on boys). I wish I could better explain to what capacity this anime is psychologically disturbing, but I could not with out ruining one of the best written plots I have ever encountered. Most people will know what cartoon this is, but for those who have been sheltered from this dark gem, please watch it. The battle scenes are ridiculously good, and way more action packed then you would expect. The girls face psychological demons that would completely destory a grown adult , let alone children. And their story haunts the audience even after they finish the 13 episodes (thirteen episodes, THIRTEEN! This told a story that was so complicated and disturbing in the shortest possible time. Developing characters completely and scarring people in the shortest time span that animes go).

The story revolves around a 13 year old girl named Madoka Kaname. She and her friend Saki meet a cute cat creature named Kyubey. It promises them a wish as long as they sign a contract to become magical girls and defeat witches (seems basic enough so far). They do not sign the contracts at the time, and at school they meet a transfer student named Homura who is also a magical girl. Homura tries at all costs to stop Madoka from signing with Kyubey. Together, the three also meet Mami, a magic girl and upperclassman, who lets them accompany her in her battles against witches so that they can learn what it is like before making the leap.

Through out most of the anime, Madoka is trying to figure out if she wants to be a magical girl. While doing so, she witnesses all the darkness that come along with the job. She sees people die, some suffer, and other become monsters. With out giving away to much, she learn why magical girls and witches exist; as well as the endless cycle that creates all their suffering. The ending is messed up. Madoka makes a huge sacrifice that alters all of reality and leaves you unsettled. The entire story is amazing, thrilling, and mind blowing. Seriously go watch it right after you read this post, if this was a book or a movie, it would be huge.

1. Shugo Chara

The story of Shugo Chara may not be as radical as Madoka Magica, but I can promise you it is not your basic magical girl either (at least not completely). Shugo Chara is my number one because it struck a personal cord. This one focuses on average everyday problems that young people may feel, and most importantly, it focuses on the idea of being yourself (corny? yes, but still aren’t most of them). Anyways, I watched this when I felt most unhappy about myself, struggling to like myself and to feel like I am not just trying to be a fake person people would readily accept. Shugo Chara means a lot to me. I really like Amu, and I feel for her struggle.

Amu Hinamori is an elemenatry student struggling to find herself. All her classmates, and even her family, see her as this cool, calm and collected, type of girl who is strong and distant. They praise her for this and love her for it, but really she is just a lonely girl with many faces trying to live up to people’s expectations. She is actually really shy and has trouble being herself in front of everyone. One night, she makes a wish for courage to be herself, and she wakes the next morning with three eggs (pink, blue, and green). From them, these little mini chibi-type creatures are born, personifications of her true self. They are called Guardian Characters and they give her magical powers to battle X-Characters, when a person struggles and is unable to be themselves and their dream selves take over because of their despair. She helps others realize themselves while trying to accomplish her own dreams. Along the way, she makes many new friends. Her enemy is the Easter company that uses kids with these character powers so as to find and harness a mythical and powerful egg called Embryo.

I loved Shugo Chara. The story is amazing, and there are so many parts that are hilarious that it adds to how lighthearted it is. I also love this anime because I ended up growing a taste of music at this time and Buono was introduced to me by this cartoon. I love Buono. Anyways, there is like one and half cons. One: by the end, the story kind of tries to shift away from Amu and to two little kids that represent the torch being passed down. The only problem is that 3 seasons go by this way, and the audience only cares about what will happen to the characters they fell in love with not these new kids. The half comes from the romance part. The love story is great, but Amu is in elementary school and the boy you root for is 17. It feels natural and OK, and because he is all fangirls’s dream, everyone wants him to win (almost everyone). So when you are reminded about the age gap, which is not apparent during most of the episodes, you feel conflicted. No matter, Shugo Chara is wonderful. It is a growing of age story, one of loving yourself flaws and all, and one of friendships and bonds forming on mutual acceptance. There is no story better for me.

Please note that there is a total of 3 out of 5 animes listed where the heroine has pink hair. Coincidence?

-Blog Barista

This is my entire childhood and all of my happiest memories (anime wise) presented in one gif.

Daily Myth:Chinese- Mazu

As always if anyone knows who the artists of the pictures may be, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Mazu, Goddess of the Sea by ArthurJo, via Flickr

Mazu Goddess of the Sea

Mazu Goddess of the Sea via mermaidsofcolor.tumblr.com

Mazu is the Chinese Goddess of the Sea. She protects sailors and fishermen and helps guide those out at sea to the cost. She is worshiped by many outside of China; such as Taiwan, Philippines, Malaysia, and Hawaii.  She is based off of a legend about a mortal girl who became a divinity. She was born as Lin Moniang, daughter of a fisher man, and she had four brothers. Because she did not cry when she was born, her family named her Silent Girl. In paintings she is always seen wearing a red robe, but in most of her sculptures she is seen in white, orange, and gold. She is also shown in the garb of an empress with many jewels and the flat beaded hat of imperial family. It is said that she learned to swim at the age of fifteen (considered very late), but that she had a gift at it and perfected it in no time. Also, she would stand by the shore of the sea ever day in bright red robes so as to safely guide the fishermen back to the shore.  She did so no matter what the weather.

Mazu Statue in Sinwu, Taiwan

The legend goes as follows: Moniang had four brothers and her father that all fished for a living. And one day there was a devastating typhoon. Everyone was sure that the fishermen would die out at sea. So, the family began to pray, and while praying, Moniang ell into a trance like state. She had a vivid dream that her father and brothers were drowning, so she began focusing on them trying desperately to save them. Her mother found her alseep and woke her in the middle of her dream. Moniang’s father and three of her brothers returned the next day, and they reported the miracle that occurred. But one brother had drowned, dropped by Moniang when her mother woke her from her stupor. Afterwards, an immortal gave her a talisman and she became immortal too. At about the age of thirty, she climbed Meifeng Peak and ascended to heaven as a divinity herself. She roamed the country as a Goddess, rescuing fishermen in danger at sea.

With the Wind Ear by Angie Hu (check out her Etsy Angiehuarts)

Thousand Miles Eye by Angie Hu (check out her Etsy Angiehuarts)

In much of her art, Mazu is shown accompanied by these two ogre like creatures. They are two guardian generals and her close friends. One is green with one horn. He is called Thousand Mile Eyes, and he is usually shown as a demon with his hand above his eyes, looking into the distance. The second one h was red with to horns, and big ears. He is called With the Wind Ear. He is typically depicted pointing at his ear. In many occasions, I have seen their colors swapped, but they can usually be identified by their gestures. It is said that they are two demons that Mazu conquered. They were both in love with her and wanted to marry her, but she said that only the one able to defeat her would she marry. So each of them battled with her, and she defeated both with martial arts. Afterwards, they became her friends.

Thousand Miles Eye & With the Wind Ear

There are two versions of how Moniang died. In one story she went up the mountain alone and flew to heaven (as mentioned above). In the second story, she went out to sea to look for her father. While swimming, she became exhausted and drowned. Her body was believed to be found on one of the Matsu Islands. It is said that after she died she forever roams the sea.   If you like Mazu and want to know more, check out this website: http://www.cultural-china.com/chinaWH/html/en/13Traditions1962.html

-Blog Barista

Have a nice day!

Daily Myth-Hawaiian: Menehune

I do not really know if anyone reads these, or if anyone enjoys them. But, I love them because I have horrid memory, and this helps remind me of the myths I have read. Anyways, I hope these can be some what enjoyable for others too, so enjoy.

The mythological character of today is Menehune!!

Menehune Statue from Aulani Disney Resort

Menehune is a Hawaiian mythological creature that live in the depths of the forest. They are dwarf size, and their favorite food is banana (This is why I picked them, I LOVE BANANAS). They are usually depicted as small humanoids having big round bellies, being muscular, and being hairy. Most of them are depicted with large smiles, because the Menehune are happy and playful creatures. If a person is angry, a Menehune will shot a magic arrow in the heart of the person to make them feel love and joy instead.

Disney Menehune Vinylmation

Menehune are great fishermen and craftsmen. They are most famous for their ability to build temples, roads, canoes, and homes. Some structures, whose origin are unknown, are typically considered to be made by the Menehune. According to legend, Menehune built giant temples and magnificent structures in the middle of the night. They were so capable that they would finish their projects the same night they started. They worked at night so that the people on the islands would not see them, and when they were discovered, they would abandon their project.

Menehune in Disney Aulani Resort

In one particular story, the Menehune agreed to build a fish pond for the royal siblings, a princess and a prince. They promised to build it as long as no one would come and see them so so. Yet that night as they worked, the royal pair came to the construction site and witnessed the Menehune, lined up for miles, passing stones down the line to build the pond. The two fell asleep as they watched, and in the morning the Menehune found them. The young pair were changed into twin pillars and placed at the pond which was never completed (it had to large gaps) because they were watched by humans.

The Menehune are also known to be very kind. If they see people in need of help, they help. They have been known to catch fish for those struggling to have food, and to repair homes that have been damaged.

Menehune by Johanna Enriquez

If you are interested, learn more about the Menehune at this website: http://www.sacred-texts.com/pac/hm/hm25.htm

-Blog Barista

 

I felt like being random today

 

One Week Friends- by Matcha Hazuki

One Week Friends

-What is the cartoon about?

The story centers around Yuki Hase, a sweet high schooler who notices a female classmate who is constantly alone, and his attempt to befriend a friendless girl. At first, he interested in her because he finds she has a cute face, but slowly he learns that she is a kind, sweet, young girl who desperately yearns for companionship. He finds that she pushes all her classmates away, because each Monday her happy memories spent with friends are erased. So every week, he re-friends her and helps her experience all the things she missed out in her past with out friends. He also introduces her to others, helps her to stop pushing her classmates away, and even suggest she keep a diary to preserve her happy memories.

-Who are the central characters?

Yuki Hase

Yuki Hase is a second year high school student that fails in math. He is the main character who notices Kaori and her constant loneliness. At first, he was interested in her because she had a cute face, but after spending an entire week trying to befriend her, he begins to like her for her kindness and good personality. Even though she constantly tells him they cannot be friends, Yuki goes out of his way to win her over. At the end of their first week as friends, she shares her secret that her memories of her friends reset each Monday. Even though he knows he will be forgotten, he still befriends her each week. He introduces her to new friends, and helps her regain some memories. He still has a big crush on her, and his biggest goal is to make her happy.

Kaori Fujimiya

Kaori Fujimiya is a second year high school student that exceeds in mathematics. In the begining she is very cold and distant toward most of her classmates. She refuses to make friends because she knows that she will forget them each Monday and she does not wish to go through that anymore. The other students see her very negatively because of how  well she does in math and how distant she is. She does not gain friends till Yuki starts making the attempt to befriend her, and through his help, she gains back tidbits of her memory. She used to be very likable in school, but when she was younger she was in a car accident that caused her to lose her memory. Afterwards she was bullied a lot for her forgetfulness.

Shogo Kiryu

Shogo Kiryu is a second year high school student with very good grades. He is also Yūki’s best friend. Shogo likes to sleep a lot, even during class. He also has what seems to be a cold demeanor. He says exactly what is on his mind with out fear of how it might hurt others. Shogo is actually a bank of wisdom for Yuki and his attempts at helping Kaori. Though at first, he doubts her situation, he realizes it is the truth. He treats most situations as bothersome, and he is quite lazy, but he cares about his friends very deeply.

 

Saki Yamagishi

Saki Yamagisha is a second year high school student. She transfers into the classroom and becomes quick friends with the gang. She is the first person, other than Hase, to befriend Kaori. She is a little clingy to her, and this causes Hase jealousy (since he wanted to be Kaori’s only friend). Saki is Shogo’s primary school classmate, and she used to be bullied for her small size. She is a clumsy and forgetful girl, and she tends to depend heavily on others.

 

 

Hajime Kujo

 

Hajime Kujo is a second year high school student who transfers during second semester. He was a primary school classmate to Kaori. He has a very strict parents that dictate many things in his life. They promised each other they would meet one day in the park, but the next day she had her car accident. She never met him like she promised.

 

 

 

 

 

-How is the Artwork?

The art is pretty simplistic. It is like most shojo manga and animes, the background are not very detailed usually. And this particular anime, though its characters are drawn in a way unique to them, is not my very favorite style (it is really cute though). But every now and again, the background has an extra attempt at detail that makes it gorgeous. So look at these pictures to decide if you like the artwork.

One Week Friends

One Week Friends (This is one of my favorites)

One Week Friends

One Week Friends (And this one)

One Week Friends

 

-What makes the cartoon awesome?

This is basically the type of anime I like. Even though it is not my very favorite shojo (Say I love You is the winner there), it is still a fun anime to watch. I know I am interested to see if Kaori ever fixes her memory problem. It is considered a drama genre, so I am very worried something might go really wrong before they can have their happy ending. I just hope it ends well, and I know I will continue watching this anime to find out.

-Blog Barista

 

Don’t you just wonder what they are yelling about?

Daily Myth:Yoruba: Oya

Oya

Yoruba people are an ethnic group from West Africa, more specifically the southwestern part of Nigeria. They are one of the largest ethnic group in Africa. They have their own language and their own religion (obviously). They have their own pantheon that is interesting and fun to research. So, today we will talk about one of the major Goddesses: Oya.

As always, some of these pictures are hard to find their names, or artists who made them (some may be unknown). So if anyone knows, please tell me so that I can reference them correctly.

Oya by Dylan Meconis (2012) find ’em on flickr

Quick note: The Yoruba believe that there is one major Goddess named Olorun. She is one source of everything in nature and the gods are all manifestations of her on earth. The other beings are actually spirits or deities. So, Oya is an aspect of this Goddess. I will still call her Goddess, but keep that in mind.

Oya is the Goddess of Wind, Fire, Lighting, and Magic. She is also the personification of the warrior-spirit. She has some really interesting epithets, like “the one who puts pants on to go to war” or “one who grows a beard to go for war.”

She is the manifestation of the wind,  creating huge hurricanes. Oya is said to be the spirit of tornadoes (she reminds me of Saci), creating them by twirling her skirt around when she dances. She is also the creator or lightening (her husband, Shango,  is the spirit and creator of thunder and the God of Storms). And most forms of natural destruction are tied to her. She is the deity of Change as well as the cause of Chaos.

To make her even cooler, she is the guardian to the gates of the Underworld. She is often found at the doorways of cemeteries, where she leads people to the underworld. This connects back to her role of change, as she delivers people through the transition of life to afterlife. She can also be seen as a fertility Goddess. Often Gods and Goddesses tend to house some sort of duality to their divinity. In this case, she does bring about life in the sense of afterlife so it makes sense to connect her to life.

Her favorite offering is the eggplant (I just thought that was cute and interesting to share).

Oya

Oya represent female strength and power. She is a warrior and producer of changes in life. She is a protective and fierce force. She has been described has using the winds like a sword, and as someone able to wrap herself in fire. Since she is the lightening and her husband the thunder, she leads him into battle. She has been described as wearing every possible color, except black.

Oya by Lucumi Santeria

She is heavily associated with rivers, mostly the major rivers of the people (like the Niger or Amazon, for those Yoruba people who were brought over to Latin America).

Though she is fierce she is still seen as a kind Goddess. She is both life and death. She represents gentle winds and strong tornadoes. She represents female power as both a gentle motherly woman and an untamed destructive power.

She is also accomplished at hunting. And like Artemis, the Greek Goddess of Hunting, she is identified as the deity of the moon. Her sacred animal is a water buffalo (some say she transforms into this animal), because of its horns that are shaped like a crescent moon.

As the Goddess of Wisdom she is associated with wisdom, and the guardian of the unborn. She herself is mother to nine children.

Want to know more about Oya: then check out this website: http://yorubareligion09.blogspot.com/2012/02/oyayansan.html

 

-Blog Barista

 

Oya: female empowerment

Daily Myth-Inuit: Qalupalik

Here, I introduce Qalupalik.

Qalupalik art by Joy Ang (story by Elisha Kilabuk)

Qalupalik is a water spirit from the folklore of indigenous  people of the Arctic. In Inuit legend, there existed a creature that abducted children that wandered to far from home. Some say she stole them so as to eat them, some say she wanted raise them as her own under the water. She is described as being humanoid with long wet hair, green skin, and long finger nails. She hums to coax the children to the edge of sea and grabs them, putting them into her amautik.

Legend of Qalupalik by Ningeokuluk Teevee (2011)

Inuit Mother Carrying Baby on her Back by Lomen Brothers (1903)

Qalupalik by Joy Ang

An amautik is a parka that an Inuit woman wears. She can carry her baby in a large garment attached to the back of the park. It looks as if the baby the baby is in the hood of the garment, but s/he is not.

There seems to be some debate on whether or not there are multiple Qalupalik or just one. The story of Qalupalik was told to children so as to keep them from being disobedient and wandering to close to the shore of the sea.

She is kind of like the Kappa. A water demon that steals children, the only difference is that she is not always said to eat them. Some stories have been told that Qalupalik feeds on the children’s youth to keep herself immortal. As long as there are misbehaving children that she can catch, she can stay young.

If you wish to know more about Qalupalik, there is an interesting and beautifully done short animated film I suggest seeing. The Nunavut Animation Lab created a stop motion type story of Qalupalik legend, check it out at this website: https://www.nfb.ca/film/nunavut_animation_lab_qalupalik

Joy Ang is an amazing artist, and I loved her drawings of the Qalupalik. She really brings an interesting and truly frightening (while being alarmingly  beautiful) sense to the creature. You can also see more pictures at Joy Ang’s deviantart page: http://joy-ang.deviantart.com/

-Blog Barista

 

Award for Best Nannies goes to…. *drumroll*…. Qalupalik Sisters!!!! (I found this picture at a website http://www.inuitmyths.com/story_qua.htm)

 

 

Steven Universe- Rebecca Sugar

So sometime late last year, or early this year, a new cartoon aired on Cartoon Network called Steven Universe. At first, I refused to watch it, because I thought it would be as bad as Uncle Grandpa, Chowder, or the thing with the orange. Then when school ended, I was bored so I watched an episode with TheBetterCup, and let me tell you, my good people, I fell in love. I have seen every episode of Steven Universe and the simplicity and beauty just draws me in every single time. This is one cartoon I would suggest a thousand times over. It is fairly new, but I hope that soon the fan base grows to a successful level, so that the show can continue to air for a long time.

“We are the crystal gems.” Steven Universe Opening

 

-What is the cartoon about?

The show is based on Earth in a universe where there exists humanoids with magical gems that protect the world. They are intergalactic warriors with gems embedded in their bodies that allow them to summon weapons, shape shift, call forth clones, fuse together, and create holograms. Three of these gems work together to raise a young boy whose mother was their old teammate. The boy is half human and half crystal gem and is learning to harness his powers and use his gem. Each episode is the characters going through daily, normal events and fighting magical monsters. The mixture of reality and magic is one of my favorite aspects. Another part I like, the same idea is in Adventure Time which I also adore, is that its innocent and sweet with a couple of darker undertones. In one episode, the story takes a darker twist when Steven starts to age rapidly and is about to die because he begins to think like an old person whose life is over. That had to be one of my favorite episodes honestly.

Steven Universe takes place in a little town called Beach City by the harbor, with a colorful cast of characters that make each day exciting for Steven and his friends.

-Who are the central characters?

Steven Quartz Universe (episode opening)

Steven is the main male protagonist and the titular character in the TV series, basically the entire show is named after him and about his adventures with other people. He is a crystal gem. He has a rose quartz gem in his belly, right where the belly button would normally be.

Summoning of Weapon

Steven is a short, chunky boy, with curly brown hair. He always wears a red shirt, jeans, and flipflops, and the star (which is on all the gems’s outfits) is on his t-shirt. He seems to be a young boy. I am not sure how old, but I would guess he is around 12 years old. Steven’s mom is Rose Quartz, a crystal Gem that gave up her life to give birth to him and pass on her gem. His father, a human named Greg Universe, is still alive and present in his life.

Steven is an innocent, happy-go-lucky boy. He is almost always optimistic and does not take many things seriously as he should. He is imaginative, and can play the ukulele quite well: singing songs in some episodes, he was the one who created the opening theme song in the pilot episode.

He has yet to harness the powers of his gem, and each episode he seems to initiate it through strong emotions when least expected. His weapon is shown to be a pink shield. He cannot shape shift yet, but he started to kind of by changing his fingers into cats (but that went horribly wrong). He also can summon a giant bubble shield to encase himself and his friends when they are in a heap of trouble.

Steven

One of my favorite running gags is when Steven goes through intense moments in the episodes learning some sound moral at the end that is completely thrown out the window by a small event that causes his attention to be drawn away from what he learned. For instance in one episode, he is waiting for Pearl to return, and he makes a big speech about the importance of patience. Then she enters in right before he reaches the end of what he was saying, and he just stops and yells “Never mind, Pearl is back!” He is a unique character whose extremely positive personality helps him handle the problems and dangers differently then his mature Crystal Gems may. He is very resourceful, optimistic, and confident, and he always tries to fix his own problems before burdening his friends with them.

Even when he is being pushed away or bullied by Lars (a moody teen), he does not seem to get down. There was two times were he has seriously lost his cool. One: he started to think that he was to old to act like a child and got so depressed that he started to age till he almost died. Two: Lars said something mean about Steven’s mom, and he put Lars in his place.

Pearl (episodes opening)

Pearl is one of the three female Gems, that protect the universe and raises Steven. Of the three she may have to be my favorite, but only because I feel like I connect more with her personality. She tends to act the most motherly towards Steven. She kind of nags and gets easily annoyed by immature behavior, but she always means well. She is a perfectionist to the extreme, and she is super in control of most of what she does. The one exception is if Steven is in danger, and she does not know what to do. If that happens she tends to panic and become emotional.

Official Summoning of Weapon

Pearl’s body type is very long and thin. She has pale white skin that matches her gem. She blushes in blue which I found very cute. Her hair is short, orange color, and pointed upward. Her most distinguishing characteristic is her pointy long nose. Her gem is located in the middle of her forehead. The star on her outfit is on the center of her chest on her shirt.

Pearl summons a spear like weapon which she kind of uses as a sword sometimes. She is very good at sword fighting, and her theme tends to focus around ballet. This is probably because it takes focus and rigid training to be good at these things, so they match her personality. Her fighting style has ballet moves mixed with very precise sparring moves.

Pilot Pearl Summoning of Weapon

Human culture and behavior tends to confuse her the most, between the three Crystal Gems. She always tries to be organized, graceful, precise, and controlled. But sometimes if Amethyst says or does something that is immature or if something really bad happens she can become flustered and breakdown. She tends to mother and nag Amethyst as well, which leads to the two of them not getting along as well as they should. When Pearl and Amethyst fuse with each other they create the gem Opal, she can be seen in the episode “The Giant Woman.” She also always seems to use her gem for holograms, and creating clones of herself.

I personally love Pearl the most. She is so cute, hardworking, and controlled. Yet, her flaws make her an interesting character, mostly her dynamic with others. I liked her design and her singing voice in the opening is so soft.

Garnet (episodes opening)

Garnet is the leader of the Crystal Gems. She is really stoic and tends to talk the least, but everything she says is either important or awesome. My favorite quote from her is “Hey! Don’t mess up his funky flow!” in the episode “Bubble Buddies”. It caught me off guard which made it funnier. Anyways, Garnet encourages and supports Steven. She hardly ever doubts him or his ideas. Most of what she says are words of wisdom. She is his mentor, and all the Gems respect her greatly.

Official Summoning of Weapon

Garnet is the crystal gem with two gems. In each of the palms of her hand, she has a garnet gem. She is the strongest member, and the tallest. She has a red brown skin tone, and afro, and she wears a jumpsuit like out fit. She has a very curvy/womanly body with thick thighs and a tiny waist. The star on her outfit is located on her top, wrapping around the left side of her chest to her back. Garnet wears these futuristic sunglasses most of the time that help hide a little known fact about her. If you want to know check out the episode “Arcade Mania”.

Garnet’s weapons are these giant red gauntlet. Her weapon goes well with her personality, because she is super hand on, and muscular person.

Pilot Garnet Summoning of Weapon

She is the most stable member, who almost never freaks out. She has only been shown to cry once. When Steven was aging, she had no idea what to do. Her last resort was violence, and when that did not work tears began to slowly roll down her face. In most situations, she stays very calm. Garnet has the ability to foresee the future , and she is deeply connected to all the energy in the universe. Garnet has a cute British accent. Garnet is the only Gem that is able to swim through lava.

I think Garnet is the one character no one can dislike. She is a really good leader, and she never says things that can be hurtful to another character. I know I said that all the characters are flawed, but I am not sure what her flaw may be. I guess at most she may seem a little mysterious and distant, but she knows what she is doing. Most of what she says, does, does not say, or does not stop, is for a good reason.

 

Amethyst (episodes opening)

Amethyst has got to be TheBetterCup’s favorite Crystal Gem.  She is the most immature and most fun loving of the gems. She acts like an older sister for Steven. She enjoys having fun with him, and will be willing to say things that are misleading because she knows he will listen and do what she says. She is probably Steven’s best friend, other than Connie who is more likely a love interest to Steven.

Official Summoning of Weapon

Amethyst is the shortest member. She has the plumpest body of the three Gems. She has purple skin, and long, wild, unkempt hair that reaches down to her ankles. Her bangs are usually in her face, covering her left eye. She wears black leggings with star shaped holes, and other holes and distresses in them. Her shirt is large on her with one sleeve hanging loosely off her shoulder. Amethyst’s gem is in the middle of her chest.

Her weapon is an energy whip. She is also the Gem who shape shifts the in most episodes. ( I honestly cannot remember a time when Pearl or Garnet shape shifted, but in one episode it was mentioned that all Gems had that ability.)

Pilot Amethyst Summoning of Weapon

Amethyst acts on impulse. She does what she wants, when she wants as long as she can have fun. Even though Crystal Gems do not need to, Amethyst still likes to eat and sleep. She is really childish and even a little lazy sometimes. She is not at all a neat person, and has really bad manners. Yet, when their super intense, emotional situations, she stays strong and does not let her own fears deter her ability to try and problem solve. When Amethyst fuses with Garnet, they become Sugilite in “Coach Steven”. We have yet to see any other fusion between the Gems.

 

-How is the Artwork?

The art is very unique and quite delightful. The scenery and back ground are the most beautiful part. Instead of talking about the style I will just leave you with pictures.

From the episode “Giant Woman”

 

From the episode “Giant Woman”

From the episode “Together Breakfast”

From the episode “Lion 2: The Movie”

-What makes the cartoon awesome?

The simplicity, the innocence, the darker more realistic undertones, along with the beautiful art and interesting characters, all make this show amazing. Speaking of characters, these are magical girls that come in all shapes and sizes. The characters are diverse. Some are short, some tall, some chubby and curvy, some twig like, some very womanly, some are black, white, and some dress like punks. They have really unique personality riddled with flaws and qualities. They don’t all get along and it adds to the real aspects, but mixed with magic it becomes bizarre. I love Steven Universe for these reasons, and I hope more people give it a try just in case they love it too.

 

-Blog Barista

Amethyst at her best

 

 

Daily Myth-Christian: St. George and the Dragon

I know there may be a chance that, by putting this under the category of mythology, I will be making some people displeased and insulted. I just want to say that mythologies does not mean something demeaning. Hindu is a religion that people believe in today, the Greek Pantheon was the leading religion of the time, and folklore are still stories that make a part of everyday life. Mythologies are just a set of stories and traditions that make up a major part of human culture. I love all stories and respect them greatly, whether or not I believe in them, and Christian, Ancient Greek, Islamic, Chinese, and Ancient Egyptian stories are all beautiful religious narratives that I want to share on this site. So with out bias, all will be titled as daily myths, whether or not they are believed in now-a-days or in the distant past, by a great majority or for thousands of years.

 

Anyways…

St. George and the Dragon

Today’s story will be really fun one from the Medieval Era: St. George and the Dragon!!!

Background:

• St. George is England’s patron saint
• The legend has been told a number of different ways (the one I tell is more similar to the one on this website: 

  Click to access dragon-pcps-217327.pdf

  )

• He is seen as a hero who protested against Roman persecution of Christians

The legend begins in a distant place, some say Libya, in a town that was bedeviled by a dragon. Each day, two sheep were given to the dragon in order to mitigate the dragon’s anger. But when the sheep began to fail in appeasing him, young maidens were sent instead. A lottery was used to chose the sacrificial women, and one day, when almost all the maidens had been sacrificed, the King’s daughter Sabra was chosen.

St. George and the Dragon depicted on a German Stamp

As expected, the king was tormented with sorrow and begged his people to spare her in return for all his riches and half his kingdom. They refused, so Sabra was sent to the lake where the dragon went to receive his sacrifices. Saint George was told by an old hermit of the sacrifices, and Saint George became determined to save the Princess. That same day Saint George rode to the  lake and saw the young princess. She warned him of the dragon, but he refused to leave. When the dragon came, Saint George attacked with his spear, but hitting against the dragon scales, the spear snapped.  The dragon attempted to use his poison on St. George, but he was able to protect himself under an orange tree (some say it was enchanted). Protecting himself with the sign of the cross, Saint George wounded the dragon with a lance under its wing. Using the girdle of the princess, he captured the dragon.

Leading the princess and the dragon back to the town, he promised the people he would kill the dragon once they promised to become baptized Christians. The king built a church to Saint George and Virgin Mary and an alter raised whose waters cured all disease.

In an alternate ending, St. George fails in his initial confrontation with the dragon. After some praying, he melts down his amour into a box and locks away his fears and doubts giving him the ability to slay the dragon.

 

If you wish to know more about St. George, check out this website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/saints/george_1.shtml

 

-Blog Barista

 

 

I feel like people may still feel mad at me after this. This is Garnet from Steven Universe by Rebecca Sugar.

Daily Myth-Hindi: Kali

Today’s mythical being is Kali the Hindu Goddess of Empowerment, Time, and Change.

Kali is one of the many gods in the pantheon of Hindu religion. Now, I have always found it difficult to research Hindu gods.There are many stories, told in a number of different ways, and it is so hard to find a credible source that just explains it simply. But in my first semester of university, I took an anthropology class that focused on the Indian culture, and it ended up being one of my favorite classes of the year. So now, I will do my best to share what I learned about Kali.

Kali is portrayed, usually, as a young woman with skin so dark it is black in color. She is typically shown naked wearing a garland of human heads and a skirt made of human arms. She has three blood-shot eyes and a long lolling tongue hanging from her widely opened mouth. Sometimes, in artwork, she has four arms (most common) and sometimes ten (less common). In her hands she holds a severed head, a bowl to catch the blood dripping from said head, a sword, and a trident.

She is a beloved goddess, and even though she is shown as a scary, violent goddess, she is considered very just and gentle. There are multiple stories of Kali’s birth, but most connect her to another goddess named Durga (like she is a form of Durga or a reincarnation of some sorts).

In the first story, there is a horrible demon named Mahishasure. He could not be killed by man, and so he waged a war with the gods in heaven with a demon army by his side. Their was a cosmic crisis, and in angry desperation, the gods shot blaring beams of light, together creating Durga. Mahishasure witnessed the destruction of his army and took the form of giant bull so as to battle Durga.

She fought him and his entire army with many other fierce goddess by her side (all of which were different forms of herself) including Kali. Kali is considered the forceful form of Durga. She is kind of the hands on one that takes action before asking questions. After a horrible battle of Mahishasure vs The Goddesses, Durga tore him from the bull body and killed him with a spear.

After all demons had been killed, Kali, intoxicated with a blood-lust, continued her stampede and bloodshed. The Gods did not know what to do. Shiva the Great God, the male counterpart/husband of Durga/Kali laid down between the corpses. When Kali found herself standing on top of Shiva, touching her holy husband with her feet (turns out this considered rude and unthinkable), she calmed down and stoped her destruction.

In a second story, Kali was born by the combination of all the Gods’s light energies. They created her in an attempt to destroy another demon who for every drop of his blood that spilled a clone would appear. To destroy him, she drank all of the demon’s blood, corresponding with her image as a bloodthirsty, demon killing goddess.

 

If you wish to know more about Kali and stories of her adventures, or if you wish to have more detail of the stories told above I recommend this website: http://www.ancient.eu.com/Kali/

 

-Blog Barista

 

 

 

 

I hate searching through pictures of Indian art. It is not my favorite kind of aesthetics, and I always find it difficult to look at. Kali probably has the worst slew of creepy artwork, and each one slaps you in the face with how scary they are. Kind of like this girl did to that other one. (…so many tears…)

Daily Myth-Greek: Eros

Today I will talk about one of my three most favorite Greek Gods, Eros (the other two being Hades/Pluton and Thanatos).

WARNING THE PICTURES ARE FAMOUS ARTWORKS AND WILL HAVE THE CHARACTERS SLIGHTLY NUDE. IF YOU ARE SOMEONE WHO MINDS PLEASE DO NOT CONTINUE.

(On top of that lots of the older Greek statues have unknown artists or they are just Rome copies and the original are lost. Anyways if any one knows who made them please tell me.)

Eros
It is actually really hard to find statues and artwork of Eros alone and not as a little baby.

Eros is the God of love and desire in the Ancient Greek Mythology, he most commonly known as Cupid (Rome equivalent). Usually he was represented as a young man with large wings and bow and arrows. In ancient Greece the artwork usually depicted in idealism, and the ‘ideal’ was usually a male youth that was slightly muscular and so on. Eros was no exception to that depiction. The tiny, fat, baby with super improbably small wings did not become a thing till much later in history.

There are two stories as to the origin of Eros. The first idea is that Eros was a primordial god. Hesiod was one poet who mentioned this concept. This idea has two parts also. Some poets mentioned that Eros was a primordial god born to Nyx (less believed in idea), and the second is that he just born with no parents. Now the second idea of his origin is that Eros is the son of Aphrodite, Goddess of Love. This is the more commonly believed idea. I personally think that maybe at first Eros was a primordial god and after much time passed the story evolved to fit the culture including having Eros as son and helper of Aphrodite. Maybe as her cult grew, his role shifted and changed.

With Eros as Aphrodite’s son, later myths came about that included Erotes. These were other young male winged deities, brothers of Eros, that were associated with love and sex, and made up Aphrodite’s entourage or personage. This included Himeros (Impetuous Desire or Unrequited Love), Pothos (Longing), and Anteros (Returned Love). They were also very mischievous using their powers over human love to mess with people. Anteros punishes those who scorn love, and he is depicted with lead arrows. Himeros on the other hand causes unrequited love, and Pothos created yearning mostly for people who were gone (kind of like saudades).

But for the most part Eros is never found alone in most statues that still survive today. He can befound sometimes with Aphordite and maybe the other Erotes, but most of the art show cases Eros and his wife Psyche. This is also the most famous story with Eros, and can be found in Metamorphoses by Ovid. This story is the union of the heart and mind/love and soul, and the best part is that Eros, the personification of sex, does not cheat on his wife, he does not have other children with other ladies, and his only role in stories of love (other than this one) is causing others to get together.

Psyche

So before I tell the story of Eros and Psyche, let me give a brief introduction. Psyche is the ancient Greek word for the soul or mind. She is a young mortal woman who marries Eros and becomes the Goddess of the Soul/Mind. She is usually depicted as a young woman with butterfly wings. Together they have the daughter Hedone, Goddess of Pleasure.

Psyche was a young and beautiful maiden who was loved and adored by many for her exceptional looks. She was so admired that Aphrodite began to feel jealous and sent her son Eros to curse her. He went down onto earth and put a spell on her where no mortal man would love her. But while doing so he accidentally scratched her with his arrow. When she awoke, she instantly fell in love with him, and Eros, startled by her waking, scratched himself and fell in love also. Some stories then go on to say that he felt guilt and sprinkled on her a potion that promised her joy in life.

Her parents became worried that though she was so beautiful no one would marry her. They went to an oracle, and Eros had Apollo tell them that the only creature she could marry was a hideous beast on top of a mountain whose face can never be seen. So Eros waited at the top of the mountain, and she was sent as his wife to live in large and rich palace. Each night, he would come to the palace, and though she never saw his face, he proved to be a gentle and kind husband that she loved.

Psyche was extremely happy, and her three sisters became very jealous. They told her that he was most likely going to kill her and,  by instilling doubt, persuaded her to try and see his face. So at night, when Eros slept, Psyche lit an oil lamp, held a knife in the other hand, and looked upon the face of a God. She was so startled she spilled oil on him, which woke him, and he flew out the window.

Psyche realized the depths of her mistake (Which was not really that bad, cause she just wanted to know who her husband was, and even though the lesson is kind of like if you love a person you should trust the person, it is hard to trust a person who does not trust you. So I think she was in the right.) She desperately wanted to find her husband, and went searching for him, and after some time she went into the temple of Aphrodite and prayed for help. Aphrodite, who talked to Eros and fed him the idea that Psyche was untrustworthy woman who betrayed him, gave Psyche four impossible tasks to complete.

Psyche at the Throne of Venus by Edward Matthew Hale (1852-1924)

At this point, Psyche becomes somewhat an Epic Heroine. She does impossible tasks and succeeds because of her qualities. She goes into the land of the dead and back to the land of the living. She meets temptation, and is on a quest for something great and intangible (love).

For her first task, Aphrodite presented a massive pile of mixed poppy seeds, wheat seeds, beans, chickpeas, barley seeds, and lentils. Psyche was told to separate them by dawn. Some kind ants take pity on Psyche and help her separate the pile.

The second task, Psyche had to cross a river and take some golden fleece from a flock of Helios’s violent sheep. When she went there a kindly river spirit (some say a deity of the river, some say a divine spirit in the reeds) tells her to wait till the hottest time of day. At that time the sheep went into the shade to sleep, and she succeed at retrieving the fleece.

Then Aphrodite gave the third task. Psyche was sent to collect the black water at the source of the Styx (under world river). There she faced many abhorrent monsters that threatened to make her fail, but Zeus took pity and sent an eagle that fought the creatures and collected the water.

Becoming enraged at Psyche’s constant success, Aphrodite gave the final task. She tells her that she must go down into Hades, the underworld, and ask the queen Persephone for beauty in a box. She goes down to the underworld and receives the box, and Persephone tells her not to open it. But her curiosity gets her, she looks into the box. She finds it empty and falls deep into sleep.

Eros learns of all that Psyche has done, and his mother’s game, and goes out to look for Psyche. He finds her in a death like sleep. Now here there are two alternative endings. One: Eros pulls the sleep from her, puts it into the box, and she presents it to Aphrodite. Zeus promises to allow them to marry in return for Eros helping him woo women in the future. Two: he begs Zeus to help, and moved by their love and passion, he brings her back to life and allows them to marry. Either way, he gives her ambrosia the drink of immortality, and Psyche becomes a goddess.

So it is a happy ending to a great story, and one of my all time favorites.

If you feel like you want to read more on Eros and Psyche check out this website: http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/psyche.html

-Blog Barista

 

 

Cupid by Deran Wright
I hate the baby representation of Eros, even though he is cute, cause it is creepy to think a baby makes people fall in love or have sex. Just weird and wrong.

Daily Myth-Brazilian: Saci Perere

For Daily Mythologies, I decided to include folklore because they are just as interesting and fun. Today’s will be another michivious little creature: Saci Perere!!!

Saci as he is depicted in the Turma de Monica (very popular comics in Brazil).

Saci is one of the more famous Brazilian folklore. I remember hearing about him from a very young age. He can be found on T.V. shows, in comic books, children’s books, football (soccer) mascot, and songs. He is probably the best known character of Brazilian stories.

He is usually depicted as a young black boy, any where between the ages of about ten to thirteen, with only one leg and holes in the palms of his hands. He is black as coal, which is what his name means, and he wears a little red cap, smokes a pipe, and sometimes has on little shorts. There are some depictions of him can look a little demonic, but for the most part he is just a normal looking kid (minus a leg).

Saci is super mischievous, pulling pranks on people for chuckles. Like the Kappa he can be shown to do some deeds that are simply annoying and in some places he is shown to be malevolent, but that is rarer.

Saci Perere artwork by Elma. This is a book whose title means Legend of Saci Perere written by Marco Haurelio.

Anything simple that can occur badly in the daily life is considered Saci’s fault. If all the thread in a sewing kit is tangled, eggs go bad, food is burnt, or something is lost, then Saci did it. He is very restless, constantly moving around misbehaving with silly antics.

Saci also has magical powers that assist him in his pranks. He gains his magical abilities from his little red cap. The cap allows him to disappear and reappear where ever he likes, and though he may have only one leg he is still very nimble: he rides dust devils and tornadoes and horses with out saddles very well. He becomes a bird called the Striped Cuckoo (matita pereira) who is hard to catch and whose sad song seems to come from nowhere.

To stop Saci one has to run over a river, because he loses his powers, or throw knotted ropes onto the floor, because he will stop feeling the need to untie them. Taking Saci’s hat is like taking the Kappa’s arm. Since it is the source of his power, he will be willing to do anything for it back.

Saci depicted in the Turma do Perere comics, in which he is the main character.

Saci’s hat is known to have a very bad smell to it, and those who take it from him gain a horrible smell that cannot be washed off.

If you want to learn more about Saci check out this website, but be sure to put it into google translate cause sadly it is not in english: http://www.infoescola.com/folclore/a-lenda-do-saci-perere

-Blog Barista

 

 

In 2005, there was an attempt to make October 31 Saci Day. This was meant to make the holiday on that day (Halloween) less European.

Daily Myth-Japanese: Kappa

I have not posted anything in a little while, and that is because of two reasons: I have not been feeling super well, and also I have been struggling to think of anything interesting. Now I decided to write a daily post about mythologies that I know. I am no expert, and all the info I say here will be from the stories I have read over the past few years.

So let us begin with one of my very favorite mythological beings: the Kappa.

 

I am not sure who the artist of this picture is. There is a signature at the corner of the pictures but I cannot make out a name. If anyone knows who the artist is please tell me. I found the picture at this site http://www.bubblews.com/news/2251824-quotkappaquot-a-creature-of-a-japanese-folklore

The Kappa is one of the more famous yokai in Japanese culture. Yokai are “monsters” and some can have strange powers (like the Tanuki). Kappa are these kind of water demon-monsters that inhabit rivers and ponds. They tend to be depicted as human like creatures with turtle shells, scales, webbed hands/feet, beak like mouth, and a bowl like ‘hole’ on the top of their head that hold water. Their bodies are reminiscent of monkey bodies. They have arms that look a little to long for their proportions and some have been depicted moving on “all fours”. Kappa are about the size of a small child (around 9-10 years old), but are strong enough to attack grown men and horses. Now-a-days you can find very cute pictures depicting the Kappa (like the one above), but usually they are very ugly. They have bobbed hairstyle that grows out of their head except in the middle where the ‘bowl-cavity” is located.

A picture of a Kappa made by Katsushika Hokusai

Kappas are notoriously known for being mischievous. They are tricksters whose pranks can be relatively simple such as farting loudly and other rather rude and annoying behavior, to really extremely malicious such as rape, and murder. Human flesh is a staple in the Kappa diet, especially children who are easily to drown in rivers and ponds.

I have seen them compared to River Imps which is a good comparison for their more innocent behavior since imps are also little tricksters, but Kappas are pretty violent creatures. It was believed that in the anus of a human could be found a little ball called the shirikodama or soul of the person. Kappas are known to take these little soul balls, most likely eating them.

Kappas are not necessarily all evil. Their have been accounts were people befriended a Kappa. They can then be helpful creatures with a vast amount of knowledge in medicine (one of my favorite parts about the Kappa). They are most skilled in bone-setting and taught people how to mend broken bones and fix dislocated joints.

The Kappa Show by Junko Mizuno

Ironically enough, Kappas were known to be noble creatures in some sense of the word. They followed traditional customs of polite behavior very strictly. And if ever a Kappa was tricked into making an oath or a promise, they followed through to the end with out complaint. The best way to stop a Kappa from attacking was to take a very deep bow. The Kappa would reciprocate the bow and lose all the water in the cavity upon his head. This would weaken him, and he would have to go back to the water. Another way is to challenge the Kappa to a battle of skill like shogi (intellectual) or sumo wrestling (physical), for he cannot refuse. Pulling the arm of a Kappa is also helpful. Kappa’s arms can be removed and once taken the Kappa will be willing to make any oath or promise in hopes of getting back the arm. A cucumber is also good to have, because cucumbers are the Kappa’s favorite food.

If you feel like you wanna know more about the Kappa, check out this website: http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/kappa.shtml There is more information, interesting theories, and uglier pictures.

 

-Blog Barista

 

 

The large green man on the right is Kawabata from the anime Namiuchigiwa no Muromi-san (Muromi-san on the shore) by Keiji Najima. He is a super buff Kappa and super Manly-Man (I don’t suggest this anime)

Books Top Ten Favorites

I decided to have a blog, because I really badly needed a hobby. All I do all day all the time is study, other then the time I get to hang out with friends to study, and soon I will no longer have that time with friends. It is actually really disheartening, but you know life is what life is and I cannot complain. The point is that even though I desperately am looking for a hobby, I do have one already. I love to read. I read anytime that I can: by now, I feel it is safe to say that I have read a lot of books.

I read any kind of book, but science fiction has got to be my all time least favorite kind. I really enjoy a good historical fiction though, one jam packed with really events and historical figures. If not that, I love any that are cultural: mythologies, anthropological books, even a biography is great fun for me. I know most people do not share in my taste in written material, which actually kind of sucks cause I have no body to talk to about them, and my sister and friends have learned to steer clear from any of my recommendations since they either to boring or really have sad endings.

Now as willing as I may be to ruin a good anime’s plot, I refuse to give any spoilers of these books, instead I will list my top ten in book recommendations and tell you what makes them so amazing with out giving away their fabulous endings.

With no further ado I will now list my top ten favorite books:

(They are kind of in an order of preference but not really)

10. Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

This book was a doozie. I really adored the book, I loved all characters (even though I feel the book would have been one million times better if Kafka himself was not part of the story). The book alternates between two stories that slowly move towards each other till finally connecting on a metaphysical plane. Kafka, a fifteen year old boy whose real name is never revealed, runs away from home. He finds shelter in a private library until a murder occurs and police come looking for him. The other part of the story tells of Nakata, an old man who suffered a strange occurrence as a little boy that has left him with the ability to speak to cats. After strange events take place, he goes on a road trip that leads him to his purpose in life. The book is crazy, and a considerable amount of what happens can arguably be occurring metaphorically. I loved the story. It makes you feel a certain type of way by the end.

9. Once Upon a Time by A.A. Milne

Once Upon a Time is one of Milne’s lesser known books, and actually it is kind of hard to find. I came across an electronic version on accident one day. The story is a basic fairy tale made mental. It opens up on a kingdom with a king, princess Hyacinth, and Countess Belvane (a woman who the princess never liked). On day the neighboring king, with his magic boots, flies over the patio of the king and princess during their breakfast. A load of shenanigans ensue and the two kingdoms go to war; while the king is away, Countess Belvane tries to take the throne from the princess. This book is a lot of crazy, and every one just accepts it as normal. Everyone seems absolutely mad, with the exception of the Hyacinth and Coronel (the prince’s companion). The story is a typical fairy tale, but the characters are anything but stereotypical. The villain has motives that are not that bad, and he princess needs no saving from a prince. The valiant prince that does appear is vain, the horrible magic spell is not at all that scary, and everyone’ s idea of normalcy is completely odd. The book is great!

8. Violin by Anne Rice  

I read this book a few years ago, so the story is not very fresh in my mind. I can fully admit that few people actually like this book, but it one of my all time favorites. I am still fiercely hunting for this book so as to add it officially to my personal library (since I read it by borrowing it from my high school library). The book is about a woman named Triana whose husband has just died of AIDS. At the same time a ghost named Stefan appears playing a long violin. The story is really hectically written and can get disturbing at times with how focused on death it is, but this all adds to the mood of the story. The ghost and the girl go through a great deal, and Anne Rice unveils their pasts by having the characters go through time. The story is mystical and surreal, and once again the ending was just so beautiful. It was weird and other worldly, but that made it so amazing to read.

7. For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway

I have read many war novels, and this one picked up only because I really like the 1920s and 1930s. I did not know what it was about, and I had yet to read a book by Hemingway. The book is written as if all the characters have been speaking Spanish the entire time, and everything that was said was plugged directly into Google translate. What comes out is not necessarily colloquial English, it is still understandable but heavily accented in a way. This adds to the book, making the story more vivid, evoking within the reader genuine sentiment. This tells the story of a young American named Robert Jordan who is part of the International Brigades aiding the antifascist guerrilla units in the mountains of Spain. The story has action, war, love, and sacrifice that bring the reader on an emotional roller coaster, all the while focusing about 500 pages on how a guerrilla unit is preparing to blow up one single bridge. The ending itself is a really shocker. Hemingway gives hints to the ending the entire time, but really it still gets you.

6. Child of Vengence by David Kirk  

The story of Bennosuke begins in the later half of 16th century Japan. It is a coming of age story focused on a young boy whose mother died when he was younger and whose father has been gone his whole life serving Lord Shinmei. Raised by his uncle, a monk, Bennosuke worships his father and dreams of being a samurai too. One day though, his father returns and after much happens he trains Bennosuke, as well as revealing the story of his mother’s death. His feelings of admiration toward his father are shattered, and he goes on a journey as a samurai, finding that it does not go as well as he had dreamed. All of this climaxes at a crucial battle, that changes everything for the history of Japan. It keeps you entranced, and you will not want to put the book down once you begin.

5. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey

One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a famous book. It is told from the point of view of Chief Bromden, a Native American patient within a psychiatric ward. Throughout most of the book, it is believed that Chief is both mute and deaf. He focuses on the antics of a newly admitted patient, a boisterous rebel named McMurphey. McMurphey is an antihero who promotes gambling, drinking, rule breaking, and freedom between the other patients who are all oppressed within the ward. He challenges the head honcho, Nurse Rached who governs with an iron fist. The book shows the darker sides of the psychiatric ward, demonstrating how the institution dehumanized patients. It also brings the reader’s attention to a paradox of civilization, attempting to be human in system that works like a machine. The story quickly takes a dark turn by the end, and leaves a heavy impression on the reader afterwards.

4. Freedom or Death by Nikos Kazantzakis

Freedom or Death features the story of Greek Christans’s rebellion against the Muslim Turks on the island of Crete in 1889. The audience follows the escapades of two major characters in the village of Megalo Kastoro: Captain Mihalis a hot headed Greek focused on the ideal of freedom, and Nuri Bey a Turk and blood brother of Mihalis. On more than one occasion, I have seen this book described as an epic, and it truly does have that feeling to it. The book has an unceasing motif of grandeur and heroism. Captain Mihalis is an epic hero who embodies the value of his culture, patriotism, yet is extremely flawed. The ending is one of the best parts, and will leave you speechless. The reader becomes enthralled within the story, becoming a Cretan and feeling the oppression, thanks to Kazantzakis’s visual writing style. The book is very Greek (obviously) and brings the culture to life before the audience. As a Greek myself, this book really hit home and has had a lasting affect on me.

3. The Egyptian by Mika Waltari

The Egyptian is based somewhere in 1300 BC during the reign of the Pharaoh Amenhotep III and his religious change he attempted to enforce in Egypt. The story focuses on the life of an Egyptian man named Sinhue. He is educated and has a pretty good life, but bad decisions make it so that he has to travel throughout the known world. Bad things just seems to follow everywhere he goes. Through many disastrous events he goes through great adventures. Full of colorful characters, the unfortunate life of Sinhue is wonderfully written. This book is really sad, but the story is gorgeous and full of historical references.

2. Metamorphoses by Ovid

Metamorphoses is a narrative poem describing history from the creation till the existence of Julius Caesar through mythologies. The major theme of these myths is change. People becoming creatures, changing into different genders, and transforming into flowers or objects. There are many myths recounted in this one book, so I cannot explain the ‘plot’ per say. It is just chock full of mythology, glorious mythological stories. For that reason alone, this is one of my all time favorite books that I would recommend to anyone.  Section 3, Book VI to Book XI is the part that I adored the most. This part is called The Pathos of Love and tells the stories of Narcissus and Echo as well as Eros and Psyche (TWO OF MY FAVORITE GREEK MYTHS!!). Anyways, this particular book just pacifies a nerdy interest of mine.

1. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

I first heard of this book in high school around the ninth grade. My literature teacher at the time, a wretched woman that made many students cry in the front of her class (including myself) for having a centimeter off on the margins of the major essays, mentioned it one day in passing. She had said that the book was horrible and then continued on with what ever it was she was talking about. That night I asked my mother if she knew the book, and she said that she loved it. I had to read it then. One Hundred Years of Solitude tells the story of a mythical town called Macondo. The novel fixates on a single family, telling the story of humanity through their generations. Anything that can be thought of as human, happens to the singular family. Life, death, industrialization, war, lust, poverty, wealth, sadness, joy, search of truth, corruption, capitalism, purity, family, and most of loneliness. The way Marquez writes is enchanting, is words flow as beautifully as musical notes does from a piano. The story never lags, the reader never loses interest. By the end, you become so invested with the family that it feels as if you have lived an entire other life (which you kind of have). The style makes the entire book. Marquez is writing genius inclined towards magical realism. In this ‘genre’, the most bizarre scenarios are told as if they are completely normal. The book is full of magic, and that is just made as a natural part of a mundane and realistic setting. I don’t believe I can explain the book any better then as it is described in the goodread’s description, that “in the noble, ridiculous, beautiful, and tawdry story of the family, one sees all of humanity, just as in the history, myths, growth and decay of Macondo, one sees all of Latin America.” By now most everyone knows that Gabriel Garcia Marquez has passed on. He died April 17, 2014. It is extremely saddening to see such a wondrous write go. He was a great man who wrote books of Latin American culture like no other man or woman has done before. He is truly my very favorite author, and I am grateful that I have read One Hundred Years of Solitude.

Wow picking only ten was actually hella hard. Some honorable mentions include: As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner, Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie, Catch 22 by Joseph Heller, The Counte of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, and Eleven Minutes by Paulo Coelho.

As of right now I am currently reading Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff.

-Blog Barista

 Story of my life

Vocaloid (Top 10 Songs)

Have you ever imagined that somewhere in the world there exists singers that are loved by millions and that are not human? That concerts are held, whose tickets are quickly sold out, yet the audience comes to watch an holographic projection? Well there does exist such a thing; they are called Vocaloids. They are singing voice synthesizer that gained a great deal of popularity. They are a voice bank of sounds, taken from a real singer, meant to be used by music producers and fans to create music. Vocaloids gained popularity through their CV singers or Character Voices, ones that have characters that come with the voices. They became so famous that some vocaloids that were only meant to be voice banks, such as VY2, gained a fan made character that was soon adopted by the company in some of his music videos (like in Fools from The Stars). 66 Roro has been used as the VY2 ‘mascot’, even though he is not the official character of VY2 he does tend to be the face that accompanies the voice.

(From the song A Clingy Boy Sticking for 15 Years featuring VY2, it is soooo sad).

But I am not here to try and explain what vocaloids are. I feel a little bad that many westerners look at this and call it stupid, without giving it a try or even some respect. You may not like it but that does not mean the people from whom this was made did not put in effort. Any ways getting back on point, I personally love VY2 as 66, and most of all I love vocaloids. I have known of them since I was a child. They are wonderful and brilliant.

(Nekomura’s promotional art featuring Hello Kitty gear)

My very favorite vocaloids include: Iroha Nekomura a cat girl developed in collaboration with Sanrio (creator of Hello Kitty), Flower the mascot of V flower, and 66 Roro the mascot of VY2.

(V Flower’s Mascot- concept art of Flower)

What makes vocaloid so special? They sing many genres. You can find screamo, punk rock, ballads, traditional, techno, funk, up beat songs, and very sad ones. They also come in a variety of voices. The cast is so colorful (literally) that you can find at least one that you like.

(From the MV of the song Bad End Night featuring Miku-blue haired female, Kaito-blue haired male, Meiko-brown haired female, Gakupo-purple haired male, Luka-pink haired female, Len-yellow haired male, Rin-yellow haired female, and Gumi-green haired female).

These just so happen to be the most famous ones, the ones you are most likely to come across. The stories are the best part of the music video. They are so well done, and so much detail is put into them. They push boundaries, many of them being really really creepy and many of them being so sad that you may just start to bawl. (I recommend the Daughter of Evil and Servant of Evil. They are two songs from a collection of songs that make up one story. The entire story makes up one of 7 parts in the Sin Series. They are just so amazing). But really though, I wish I could explain every single song and the MV, they are just so beautiful. But I will not, instead I will list my ten favorites. If anyone wishes for an MV to be reviewed or explained, or you want more details or have questions, leave them in the comment section I will gladly answer and explain.

(Hatsune Miku returns in 7th Dragon 2020-II)

 

With no further ado I will now list my top ten favorite vocaloid songs:

10. Party x Party

This is sung by Miku, Kaito, Len, Rin, Meiko, and Luka. This song is super fun. As it is fairly new, the animation is amazing even switching through 3D style and little cut out figures. The song is wonderful and jazzy, which is always a plus. But best of all the story line is a play on the name. Miku is a girl at home who is bored and wants to throw an awesome party, so she decides to go on a quest to do just that. At the NicoNico Pub (I loved that tip of the hat!!), she creates a video game party of a diverse cast and travel with them to the boss level. There it is revealed that she is the boss and a large party is hosted. It ends with Miku offing her video game and going to sleep. The idea is super creative making this song loads of fun.

9. Tailor Shop on Entoizaka

This song is one from the series of Sin. The Tailor Shop on Entoizaka represents Jealousy and is sung by Luka. The song has an alluring oriental sound that also feels a little sad. It begins with Luka, a tailor shop girl, who believes her lover/husband is cheating on her. So she kills his lover (Meiko) and takes her kimono. Then she spots him with another woman (Miku), kills her and takes her green sash. She repeats this with a third, younger girl (Rin) he was with and takes her yellow hair pin. Finally, she wears the outfit and visits him, killing him with her scissors. It is then revealed that a family of four had been murdered and that the man had no idea who Luka was. Really Luka had killed a man’s wife and 2 female children before killing the man of her obsession. The song is well made, and seriously messed up. All of which makes it great. 😉

8. God is an Energy Cheapskate

God is an energy cheapskate is sung by Gumi in the perspective of the god who created the world as if she had a budget she had to keep to. The song is cute and catchy, if not a bit creepy at first. Gumi is a goddess who created the world and is constantly thinking about the money it consumes. Through out most of it she mentions how cheaply made earth and humans are and that these faults make them difficult to manage. Somewhere at the end of the second 3rd of the song Gumi explains how these faults also create beauty such as love, which she becomes embarrassed after two humans kiss (I bet they did more than that). Anyways, she decides to sell the planet and go on a vacation. The animation was super cute, and even though the video was green and gray the entire time, it was still super wonderful and gorgeous. I loved the story, which was really funny, and Gumi’s henchman was a Kappa, the coolest mythological monster in all of history.

7. Witch

Witch is sung by Len and Rin Kagamine, but the MV features Luka, Gakupo, and Miku. The song is great (mostly at the parts were the narrators, Len and Rin, echo the word Repent), but what makes it so great is the story in the music video. Luka is a young girl who has fallen in love with the Prince Gakupo. Miku, a priestess, sees this and tells Gakupo that Luka is believed to be a witch. Gakupo. a strong follower of the church, helps Miku bring Luka to the stake even though he loves her. The best part about the story is that there are many interpretations. I interpreted what happens afterwards in two ways. Luka escapes growing large black wings flying away. Either Miku was right, and Luka was a witch that was trying to trick Gakupo into falling in love with her; or Miku loved Gakupo and lied about Luka being a witch, and Luka ends up being an angel. I personally like the second one more, mostly because the way she was crying, I could not see Luka as an evil witch.

6. A Classy, Tactful Fire Extinguisher

Number six on my list is also sung by Gumi (many of them are actually). This song is really nice: it is upbeat and the guitar makes it fun to listen to. The story is about a girl who may be dating a fire extinguisher. He is really good boyfriend, and they make promises to each other. In the end only the fire extinguisher is able to keep his promise and dies doing so. It ends up being so sad. This song starts silly and ridiculous and by the end, you cannot help but like and respect that fire extinguisher. He does not seem as silly then. The art style is the best part. The color scheme is mainly pink and blue, and the fire extinguisher’s face is reminiscent of older shojos. I loved the song so much, and the art style, and the story. It is super cute, and super silly, and even more sad. That part where she sings and it coincides with her crying is just so well done.

5. Tokio Funka

Tokio Funka is sung by Gumi. To be honest, I have no idea what the story could be. I loved this song for the song. It is a mix of traditional japanese music and Techo or Dubstep (I am not a person who knows a lot about music, sorry). It is super awesome. And the art work is so lovely. The mix of traditional japan with those weird alien like creatures was just too cool and Samurai Gumi is too cute.

4. Children’s War

Children’s War is sung by Rin and Len Kagamine. They are portrayed as an annoying sister and spoilt brother combo who get under each other’s skin and declare war. The entire song is them fighting with each other and in the very end it is shown that they end up in a draw. The song is really catchy. The upbeat rhythm and repetitive words and phrases add to the chaos that is their battle. The song is entertaining, boisterous, and a cluster of fun.

3. Fools Among the Stars

I may be cheating with this one, but it is actually 3 songs that make up one big story. But there was no way I was going to pick between them. The songs tell the story of the myth of Tanabata, a sad story about Hikoboshi VY2 and Orihime VY1. The myth says Orihime, daughter of the Sky King, meets Hikoboshi and they fell in love. However, once married, Orihime no longer would weave cloth for the Sky King, and in anger, he separated the two lovers across the Amanogawa. They were only allowed to meet on the 7th day of the 7th month, but they cannot cross the river when it rains (This is a shortened version. The myth is really gorgeous and I suggest you look it up and learn the full story). In the first song, Hikoboshi is trying to to find  a way to cross the river while it is raining. The notices that Kappa are the only creatures able to cross, and decides to become super strong so that if he can defeat a Kappa he can then cross the river. While doing so, he goes through a bunch of funny scenes and ends up forgetting what his main goal was. Finally, he goes to the Milky Way and spots a Kappa. They fight, Hikoboshi is no match, and he is thrown to the other side of the river. In the second song, Orihime is dealing with her sadness and accidentally comes across very dumb yokai and help them tie their shoes. At that point they become devoted to her, and she sets up a mafia type business made of dumb monsters. Her business also causes her to become distracted, and at one point a Kappa comes to her seeking work. When she finally goes to the Milky Way, she asks the Kappa to help her and sends him to bring Hikoboshi to her. She is really surprised to see them begin to battle. Finally the last song is told from the perspective of the Kappa and is sung by Gumi. The Kappa desperately needs a job, and goes to Orihime (who he has heard is hiring dumb monsters) for one. She asks him to help her get Hikoboshi, and he agrees because he needs the job. When he goes to the other side to fetch him, Hikoboshi attacks and they begin to fight. During their fight the Kappa hits Hikoboshi to the other side of the river where he is able to meet Orihime. The Kappa at first is saddened because he knows that the two banks have different flows of time. Orihime has aged a lot, but the couple is still so happy to be together. The Kappa cannot believe that they are not more sad that after finally meeting it had to be in this way, but the couple explain that they are happy because they are in love and finally got to hold each other. The Kappa then begins to cry.

I could not separate these songs because they are great together. And there was no way I was not going to include them. The art is so beautiful, the colors are magnificent. The story is beyond charming. Not only is it based on mythology, but it was super happy go lucky at first and ended up being very sad. The sadness is made even more poignant when the audience, just like the Kappa, find out that the two characters are too happy to feel upset that time passed, because they love each other. I cried, for sure, and I have a feeling others did too.

2. Error

This one is also cheating at some point. This song is sung by IA (a Vocaloid) and Namine Ritsu (an Utauloid). An Utauloid is the exact same concept as a Vocaloid. The difference is that it is the free version of the program with premade voice banks. Ritsu is a fan made Character Voice that has been officially accepted. In this song IA’s voice is a little drowned out, which is fine, because I loved how Ritsu sang the song. There is no video but the song alone is what was so beautiful and powerful. I liked how the chorus swells and how desperately Ritsu seems to be singing. The song, itself, is gorgeous and that is the reason it is number two.

1. A Teacher, Detained

This song is my all time absolute favorite. It features v flower as the voice, and the Flower mascot shows up in the MV slowly infesting. The MV and song were designed by HoneyWorks. I love the song, I love the art, and most of all I love the story. The blonde boy, younger one who is in dispute with the teacher, has shown up in other HoneyWork songs. In this one I am not 100% sure how he is related to the teacher. He could be a childhood friend or a brother, but what ever the case it is apparent that the teacher and the boy knew each other from childhood. The boy and the teacher do not get along, as the teacher treats the boy like a little kid. But then it is shown afterwards that the teacher as he grew up and gained responsibilities lost his friendships most likely becoming estranged from the younger boy and misses him. So the boy in the end tells him that he doesn’t have to put up a tough guy act and be alone, that they are still friends. I just loved the song.

Anyways, those are my top ten. Now I am no music expert, I just said what I liked and they are only my opinions. I would love to hear yours as well. Please tell me your favorites in the comments.

-Blog Barista

Look at her go

Samurai Champloo- by Shinichiro Watanabe

Once again, my sister has proven to be a great source of finding anime that fits my tastes. This one in particular is spectacular, I only feel shame that in my 15 years of watching anime I had not heard of this before. The show Samurai Champloo was created in 2004 and ran until 2005, having 26 episodes total. The story line is amazing, the artwork is thrilling, and the characters are instantly likable. SPOILER ALERT

-What is the anime about?

The story is about a trio who travels in search for a ‘samurai that smells of sunflowers.’ The first episode introduces the three characters and sets up the plot. A young girl, working in a tea shop, is saved by a vagabond. In another part of town a samurai stands up to a dishonorable lord before going to the tea shop where he and the vagabond begin to fight each other (a misunderstanding occurs). They are equally matched and the tea shop burns down. The samurai and the vagabond are captured and tortured by the dirty lord and they are sentenced for execution in the morning. The young girl helps them to escape, on the condition that they help her find the sunflower samurai. The entire episode was extremely funny, with strange little tidbits catching the audience off guard (like when the samurai is seen in a large pot bathing during the tea shop fire or when the girl puts the fireworks in her shirt and they look like boobs). Just as a forewarning to those who do not like this, the anime is bloody and does have foul language.

-Who are the central characters?

Fuu is the main female character from the trio. She is the young lady that worked in the tea shop as a waitress, and the one that saved the other two from execution. She has no family, the tea shop owners suggested she go with them since she is alone, and she is the one in search of the sunflower samurai. Through out the show, she keeps the vagabond and the samurai from fighting and attempting to kill each other. It is later revealed that the sunflower samurai is her father, who left her and her mother when she was a child. Fuu is 15 years old and her name comes from the word for small, brightly colored birds.

Mugen is the vagabond of the trio. He is the one who helps Fuu in the tea shop as samurais of the corrupt lord where harassing her. He loves to get into fights and has an unconventional fighting style. He is very much similar to the gangster yanki characters completely violent and buck wild. Mugen sports blue tattoos around his wrist that signify he has been in prison prior to meeting Fuu and Jin. He wears geta shoes with metal plating that he uses during battle, adding to the strangeness of his fighting style. He is rude, vulgar, and a womanizer (all traits that get him into trouble). Mugen is an antihero, who may seem like a lowlife at first, but is so much more complex then that. (Mugen is my personal favorite. I love antiheroes, they are usually my brand of awesome, and this includes chicken boy Mugen.) Mugen is 19 years old and his name means limitless or infinity.

Jin is the final member of the trio. He is a ronin (samurai with no lord or master) with very stoic personality. His fighting style is very much by the book making him a foil to Mugen. He and Mugen wish to fight each other through out the entire anime, and in the end, accepting that they are friends, neither wishes to kill the other anymore. When Jin was younger, his own sensei attempted to kill him and died by Jin’s hands. Jin is disciplined and always cool and collected during battles. (He was not in the slightest freaked out when an old man hit on him, suggesting male love, in the second episode). Jin is 20 years old and his name means justice or benevolence one of the codes by which a samurai must live.

-How is the Artwork?

Another amazing attribute of this anime is the art style. I am not even one hundred percent sure how to describe it. The director is the same as that of Cowboy Bebop and the art style is quite similar to that. The characters are lanky and move in strange languid ways (mostly when they fight). They can get really ugly at times but it just adds to the beauty of the art. The entire show is dramatic and full of cinematic visual style. The landscape is rendered in lush watercolors that contrasts the darkness that feels to creep into most of the scenes. If not a darkness the cities tend to be shown with mostly grey, brown, and tan color scheme (not at all vibrant in colors).

-What makes the anime awesome?

The anime is based in feudal japan and is chock full of allusions to real life people and happenings. It is a hybrid of a feudal Japan, urban street flavor, and off-beat comedy. The sound track is brimmed with hip-hop music and Mugen’s fighting style borrows frequently from break dancing. Seeing inconsistencies in the time period by references of modernity is hilarious and adds to the viewing experience.

-Blog Barista

 

 

 

But seriously though, that smile…

 

Hoozuki no Reitetsu- by Natsumi Eguchi

My sister called me up one day while I was at school. I had been under a lot of stress, and I gave myself absolutely no time to do anything of enjoyment, only study. She called and told me that a new anime came out that would be right up my alley. So I decided I would exercise that day for 30 minutes and watch an episode. I fell desperately in love, and each day as I exercised i would watch one episode, giving me motivation to stay fit and having 30 minutes a day to myself.

-What is the anime about?

It is about Hell and the daily situations that occur. Basically Hell is run as a business, and the story revolves around the daily problems occurring and how they are dealt with.

-Who are the central characters?

The main character, and the one from whom the name of the anime is taken, is Hozuki. He is the deputy that runs hell like a strict business. He is a sadistic demon, cold blooded and a little cruel. Though on the other hand, he enjoys cute things, fluffy things, and gardening. He is very intimidating and good at almost everything. Another central character is Enma the Great King of Hell. He judges all that die and come to Hell. He is kind of a dunder-head and gets pushed around a lot by his ‘underling’, Hozuki. He is also Hozuki’s godfather. The next character is Hakutaku, a Chinese Celestial Beast. He is a pharmacist that lives and works in Heaven. He is also a notorious womanizer and rival of Hozuki. The cast also includes many other colorful characters that are all unique and interesting.

-How is the Artwork?

The animation style is purely breath taking. It is done to look like the sumi-e ink style artistry. It gives a very oriental aesthetic distinctively antique. Seeing as how a lot of anime are very ‘western-enthused’ with Victorian era styles and such, this attempt at traditional art is super wonderful. The monsters and other mythological creatures are kept ugly, not made to look ‘kawaii’ or extremely handsome (except for Hozuki). It is nice to be able to see a diversity in character design, culturally and in looks. 

-What makes the anime awesome?

It alludes to many religions and mythologies around the world. Many episodes speak of Japanese myths, some mention Greek myths, Egyptian deities, and even Christianity is connected to this. Having so many references to other culture’s religions is a dream come true for myself. You learn so much, and the dark humor makes it even better. It is a comedy slice of life that focuses at a part of culture that is usually over looked as boring or old. The fact that this anime holds almost a magical realism (type of genre google it) is what attracted me. Some may not be able to find it funny, and much of the jokes need prior knowledge of legends or even bdsm to get (they make lots of sadism joke in this).

It is bizarre and lovely, but sadly for many it will be hard to appreciate because of the dry dead-pan humor and the fact that prior knowledge in cultures need to be known to enjoy it.

-Blog Barista

 

 

I wish I could grow such a garden.