Series Review: Death Note

Death Note
Genre: Shonen; Psychological Thriller/Fantasy
Author: Tsugumi Ohba
Artist: Takeshi Obata [also drew for Hikaru no Go]

Story Premise: Light Yagami is a young scholar with everything in his favor. His grades are among the best in the nation. He's handsome and charismatic. His father is chief of the Japanese police. His future is bright, but he's bored. And most of all, he's sick of the world. Every day he's disgusted by things he sees in the news, and appalled by the behavior of people around him. He firmly believes that the world has fallen to depravity, and that nothing can save it.... Until he finds the Death Note.
Dropped by the Shinigami [or death god] Ryuk, who also happened to be bored, the Death Note grants its owner the power to kill anyone, anywhere. As long as the holder knows the name and face of the one he wishes to kill, he can. He could write simply the person's name, and they will die of a heart attack. Or, he could specify the time of death and the way in which the person will die. The power of a Shinigami is in the hands of whoever holds the notebook.
With the notebook, Light decides to recreate the world and its way of thinking. He decides to use the Death Note to kill those he deems evil, and uses only heart attacks as his trademark to invoke fear in the police and the public. He also uses other causes of death to get rid of those standing in his way under-the-radar. It's his perfect plan to create a utopia free of crime, where the innocent can live in peace and safety. A world where HE will become God.
As Light's power and authority grow, the public dubs their new savior 'Kira.' And soon a challenger arises: the mysterious detective known to the world only as 'L'. L is the world's greatest detective-- and to Light's disadvantage, no one knows L's true name or his face.
The battle of wits thus begins as L recruits the international police and Light gathers followers and fanatics to support him. It is an ultimate game of good versus evil where the winner will be declared righteous. Who is truly justice? And which side will win?

Why you should read it: Death Note is a different kind of manga experience for the more mature and intellectual reader. It does not have all that much comedy, and it's not 'fun' or 'colorful'. But it's just as rewarding of a read if you have the patience/intellect to enjoy it fully.
The most well-known reward of the series is the thought-provoking plot. As L and Light both grow closer and closer to killing one another, and their plans begin to fall into place, it is up to the reader to decide who is truly on the side of justice in their battle of good versus evil. This aspect is never quite clearly defined FOR you, and is left up to you to decide. Is it okay to kill someone who is evil? If so, under what circumstances? Is a criminal simply a criminal, no matter what his intentions are? Should people decide right and wrong for themselves, or should someone else lay down the law for them? These are just a few of the prevalent questions the series raises.
From the get-go, the series has a very dark and somewhat morbid atmosphere. It focuses on the depravity of mankind, and shows how truly warped and sadistic people can be- and even how people who think of themselves as good are just as selfish as everyone else when the going gets rough. It does not sugar-coat anything, or portray any fluffy romance or heartwarming scenes of friendship or family. This is a psychological thriller. Though it lacks any true physical action, it's fast-paced and heart-pounding all the same. It addresses the big issues, like rape and murder, without holding anything back. Even its art style is far more realistic than the average manga, with lots of precise shading and mostly proportional facial features [with the exception of the Shinigami-- though this is because they are grotesque supernatural beings. Trust me, they aren't exactly pretty.]
The way the series portrays people really makes you take a second, closer look at the world around you. It makes you notice a few things-- how some people will give up once anything goes wrong, while others won't give up even when the odds are against them; or how some people simply go with the flow of the world and let others decide morals for them, while others stand firm in their beliefs even when the rest of humanity thinks otherwise. The story highlights the somewhat terrifying powers that true love or blind faith can have over a person. It portrays the way that the most innocent people with the truest of intentions can be corrupted and twisted by pride, by power, and by greed. It even shows another side of the 'good guy' and his role-- that it's not always going to be the easy choice to make and that sometimes the right thing to do will be unclear.
Most older teenage or young adult manga fans will recommend this series. And it's clear why: this is much more than just a fun read, it's a thoughtful, artistic. and insightful plunge into the oftentimes frightening world we live in. Highly Reccomended.

Anime Versus Manga: The Death Note anime is, in short, fantastic. Its dark, muted colors and suspenseful operatic soundtrack, along with wonderful jobs by the voice actors in both Japanese and English, are the perfect vessel for portraying the drama and darkness of the title.
The art style is creative, and often harnesses colored filters, slow motion, and strange visual effects like 'cracked glass' or 'glowing edges' to give things the surreal and mystical feel they have in the manga. The characters, though simplified a bit, are very accurate to the manga renditions, down to their outfits and their facial expressions.
The soundtrack is just glorious-- it uses a lot of very suspenseful music, often with operatic choirs singing in other languages, to really help with the psychological suspense of the plot. It seems that there is a perfect song for every major scenario in the manga; so perfect that they sound just like what you heard playing in your head when you read that particular scene. I also love the various opening and ending themes so much that I downloaded them all for my iPod. The voice actors are all perfectly cast-- I personally love L's voice in both English and Japanese. The actors are so talented that they make everything seem so real, and every word has an impact.
If I had one complaint about this anime, it would be about the way it ended. For the very last episodes of the anime, the creators took a slightly different approach from the manga's ending. I don't want to give anything away by explaining the differences, but it's certainly something you will notice.... Though I do personally like the way they portrayed Light in this episode, even with the differences.

Art Review: Yuumei of Deviantart.com

Anyone who draws in the anime style is familiar with how condescending people can be towards it. Apparently it's not 'real art' and doesn't take any effort. I can understand to a degree why some people would be tired of the art style, what with the hoard of 12-year-old Naruto fans who suddenly insist that they're artists because they can draw a half-decent Fanart copied directly from a manga page.

However, some people aspire to break this mold. Some people develop their own anime-influenced style that impresses just about everybody. Some people can use this under appreciated style to depict truly beautiful and breathtaking artwork that you want to look at over and over again, just to marvel at how gorgeous it is.

I discovered one such artist on DeviantArt.com. She's a chinese-american digital painter who goes by the username 'Yuumei', and is extremely well known on the site for her work. Anyone who looks at her pieces can see why.

Yuumei does a good deal of commision works and Fanart, but is also incredibly creative and makes many unique pieces of her own. She's even expanded beyond the basic drawing, and is known for her 'flash comics'-- stories that she wrote herself, illustrated through a series of beautifully detailed scenes. Her first popular flash comic, '1000 words', detailed the story of a young girl trying to prevent her parents' divorce, with the help of an artist. It's a very touching story, and the soft illustration style really enhances the feeling one gets from the comic.

Her current flash comic series, Knite, follows a band of youths in China who attempt to restore wonder in the eyes of their people. Their nightly mission is to light up the sky with 'stars'-- elegant kites with Christmas lights strewn along their strings, creating a natural and beautiful atmosphere against a smoke-covered, moonless sky. The lush and mystical drawings for the comic never fail to draw you into the story.

Knite is mostly a message from Yuumei-- about both her Chinese heritage and her views on protecting our ecosystem. I'm not big on economic protection myself, as I think there are much more important things. But Yuumei's artistic view of the beauty of nature manages to get through even to people like me. After having read Knite and understanding the concept behind it, I've grown to really appreciate the beauty of the night sky.

Yuumei's other works include numerous Fanart pieces, mostly for the titles Death Note and Fullmetal Alchemist (which also raises the point that she has excellent taste in manga.) She has a very artistic view of everything, and so she manages to present even familiar concepts in a truly beautfiul and understanding way, and one that I have yet to grow tired of.

The concepts illustrated through her original pieces never fail to strike me and stand out in my mind, even long after I'm finished looking at the illustration. Some of them carry a certain melancholy vibe with them, but the message is never negative. This is because she's a truly kind person who wants to inspire people through her artwork.

To see more of her amazing artistic accomplishments, click the link to see her DeviantArt Profile!

http://yuumei.deviantart.com

Movies I'm Looking Forward To: Avengers

Avengers Movie Poster

In case it wasn't already obvious enough, I happen to be a bit of a nerd. Even before my anime days, I grew up on shows that some of the other kids regarded as 'nerdy' (in other schools, that is-- in my school all the cool kids were nerdy.) These shows included the classic superhero shows and movies, my favorites being those from Marvel (with the exception of Batman and the Teen Titans.)

That's why I've seen pretty much every superhero movie made in the past ten years, and I have yet to be dissapointed... (Actually, scratch that. I was dissapointed by Spiderman 3 and Captain America, and wasn't terribly impressed with the Fantastic 4 films.)

In recent years, Hollywood has been running out of movie ideas. Sure, they've been making superhero movies for a long time, and I'm not complaining... I'm doing the opposite of complaining. I'm as tired as anyone of seeing sequels and remakes ruin a franchise, but Marvel has been doing just about everything right (so far) to keep that from happening, even as they continue to make more and more movies.

I loved Ironman and Ironman 2, enjoyed Thor, and was okay with Captain America and the last couple of Incredible Hulk movies, but anyone familiar with the Marvel franchise was thinking the same thing throughout all of these movies: Are they going to make an Avengers movie?

And finally, it happened. My family and I were sitting at the kitchen table eating dinner when the commercial for the upcoming Avengers movie came on. For a moment we reverted to being children, and basically went ballistic. From what I've seen in promotional posters, actor interviews, commercials, and previews, I like just about everything. I hope to be seeing the movie the first day it comes out!

Avengers illustration (Yes, it depicts different Avengers than the ones in the movie...sue me, it's a nice picture,)

Band Review: Eyeshine

I'm sure that I'm not the only one who's tired of sell-outs when it comes to music. So many artists change the sound they love just to make more money. It may not even be their faults-- record companies try to appeal to the masses, and take whatever artists they can and tailor them to what they think the public wants. This process has created a world where very few artists are true to themselves and their own desires... A world full of auto-tune and false glamour and overdone sex appeal.

However, a few bands refuse to be taken in by all this. As a consequence they're forced to remain unsigned, but a few have gathered cult followings of their own despite not having record deals. I've recently joined the fan base for one such unsigned band, and I'm quite impressed with what I'm hearing.

The band is called Eyeshine, and their genre is mostly rock, occasionally falling into side categories like punk or indie. However, it's consistent. It doesn't quite sound like anything on the radio nowadays, and that's because the sound is not affected by record companies and their agendas... The band writes their own music, whichever way they want to.

In fact, one song titled Never Gonna Fake It is a specific jab at a producer who told them that they'd have to change their sound if they wanted to make it big. Their response, through the song, was that they're satisfied with the fanbase they have and wouldn't change for anybody.

There's also an added bonus for anime fans like me. The lead singer (and lead guitar player) of the band is Johnny Yong Bosch-- a name recognizable to anyone who knows anime. Say what you want about him as an actor, but he's a fantastic musician (though I personally love him as both.)

Johnny is a well-known anime and video game voice actor, most recognized for his role as the english voice of Ichigo Kurosaki of Bleach. His other well-known roles include Lelouch Lamperouge of Code Geass, Izaya Orihara of Durarara, Vash the Stampede of Trigun, and Nero of Devil may Cry 4.

Though Johnny tries to keep his music and his acting separate, any fangirl can admit that she would enjoy knowing what Ichigo would sound like if he were to sing for us... I get occasional enjoyment out of pretending that it's Ichigo. But all nerdiness aside, Johnny has a great voice. It's very natural and just a little gruff-- absolutely perfect for the sound.

All in all this band needs more attention, and maybe one day they'll earn themselves a record deal (while still making the music they like, of course.) To start listening, you should visit their official YouTube channel (theeyeshineband), where you can see all of the music videos and get a lot of behind-the-scenes looks at the band. As far as song reccomendations go, my personal favorites are Alone, Here Comes the End Again, Tearing Away, and Dance with the Angels.

Official Website: http://eyeshine.net/

 

Series Review: Fullmetal Alchemist

 Official series artwork for the Brotherhood anime

 Fullmetal Alchemist

Genre: Shonen; Sci-fi/Action

Author: Hiromu Arakawa [other works include Stray Dog and Hero Tales]

Story Premise: Alchemy. It is the science of deconstructing and reconstructing matter-- but it is not an all-powerful art. In order to obtain something, something of equal value must first be lost. And for some alchemists,this seems to be painfully true.

Edward and Alphonse Elric, two gifted young alchemists, spent the majority of their childhood as misunderstood orphans. Their father left them with no explanation when they were just toddlers, and their mother died of a sudden illness only a couple of years later.

In a desperate attempt to bring their mother back to life, Edward and Alphonse broke the greatest taboo of alchemy and committed the 'worst possible sin'... but the attempt failed, and there was a terrible rebound. With 'trespassing in the domain of God' comes a hefty price-- Edward lost an arm and a leg. Alphonse lost his entire body and was locked into an empty suit of armor that can feel nothing. At a young age, both brothers learned the solemn truth of human life: People don't come back from the dead. Not ever.

Now, with Edward armed with steel prosthetic 'automail' limbs, the brothers burn down the house they once called home and leave their hometown to begin their journey towards regaining what they lost. Edward joins the Amestrian military's state alchemist program so that he and his brother may support their quest. Edward is the youngest person to have ever passed the test, and is admired by just about every alchemist in the nation for his genius. But despite this, he is hated by many of the common citizens, for the state alchemists are considered to be the military's 'walking weapons.' Even so, Edward decides it is his duty to shoulder this heavy burden to pay for his sins.

To allow them to restore their former bodies, Edward and Alphonse seek the greatest power in all of alchemy- the legendary Philospoher's Stone. But along their journey to uncover the stone's whereabouts, they begin to unravel a huge and ancient sinister plot. This dark conspiracy involves the entire country, and villains who aren't exactly human-- and it may involve the Elric brothers far more than they might think. Is everything they know about alchemy, and about their country, a lie? Who are these strange evil people, and what do they have planned for the citizens of Amestris?

Why you should read it: Arakawa masterfully creates many three-dimensional characters that we grow to know and love throughout their quest. From page one, readers feel a connection with the Elric brothers and their tragic story of loss and the heartache of loneliness, which tugs on your heartstrings. Most people have lost someone important. Most people can imagine how painful it must be to be alone in the world. Most people can understand that it's hard to live like an adult when you're only a child, and that it must be terrible to feel hatred towards oneself. Because most people know this sort of life would be hard, they can empathize with the pain Edward and Alphonse deal with on a daily basis.

The hot-headed, rude, and impulsive, yet soft-hearted Edward and the polite, selfless, and sweet Alphonse make an incredibly powerful and intelligent duo whose adventures and feelings never cease to draw you in, whether they're just enjoying themselves or fighting a powerful enemy. Their close bond as brothers, and as best friends, is touching to say the least.

The other main characters are also wonderfully developed and extremely varied in personalities; from the ambitious and seemingly selfish and cocky Colonel Roy Mustang [the Elric brothers' commanding officer] to the strong-willed and energetic Winry Rockbell [the Elric brothers' childhood friend and Edward's secret love], and many more.

And though these characters are lovable and funny, they're also real- each has their own demons that they must constantly struggle to overcome and lessons that they strive to learn. Many of them have dreams and ambitions that seem far out of their reach. And on top of that, most of them are inspirational-- they learn from their mistakes and continue to move forward. They learn to see the consequences of their own actions. They learn what it truly means to be human, and why that is such a precious thing in a world full of darkness and hatred. They learn to overcome every obstacle, to depend on and protect one another, and to never stop seeking the truth, no matter how hard it may be to face.

The story is extremely fast-paced and dynamic, with twists and turns in every chapter that never fail to shock readers. They can't help but keep turning the pages to know what comes next! As the plot that envelops the military and the entire country slowly begins to be revealed, readers are horrified by the evil of the story's villains and by the cold-heartedness of their ruthless actions. Readers cheer the heroes on, praying that they can defeat and overcome these sinister people and put a stop to their dastardly plan.

The villains of the series are the sheer epitome of evil, including corrupt officials, monsters in human flesh embodying the seven deadly sins, and a man who could perhaps be the devil himself as their leader. They work from the shadows without a single thought for anyone else, and only see their selfish goal. From the revenge-crazed and heretical Scar [who eventually makes a surprising turn] to the psychotic and sadistic Envy, readers hate to love and love to hate these characters.

All in all, this is a heart-pounding and tear-jerking read that you will never be able to forget, and will miss when it's over. Highly Reccomended.

Anime Versus Manga: The anime based off of Fullmetal is a source of confusion for a lot of people. This is because it has something rare to a manga series: TWO completely separate anime titles.

When the manga was still in its very early stages, it reached a huge level of popularity and an anime was in high demand. So, despite the limitations of the story's progression, Funimation decided to produce an anime anyway. At first the arrangement worked for the most part.

The anime was quite successful, but it had no choice but to dwell from the storyline a bit to take up time while Arakawa worked on the manga version. Certain story arcs were lengthened and several non-canon filler episodes were added. But it became clear rather quickly that it would be difficult to keep up an entire anime series using these methods.

And so, Arakawa contacted Funimation and requested that they continue with the anime without relying on the manga story at all. In other words, she gave them the creative liberty to finish the story whatever way they wanted to. That is how the first Fullmetal anime came to be, and because of this it is completely different from the manga story-- it doesn't even have the same main villain as the manga!

Years later, hardcore Fullmetal fans desired an anime that was closer to the manga story. They wanted to see their favorite scenes and characters portrayed with movement and color. And so, Arakawa and Funimation agreed on the production of a second anime-- Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.

The fan frenzy surrounding the release of the title was, simply put, INSANE. By this point the manga had advanced much further, and many characters and scenarios needed to be formally introduced to the silver screen. Both the manga and the original anime series had also gathered a new hoard of fans. This presented a unique fan base oppurtunity, and one that I can safely say is a whole lot of fun. Fans of the original anime, fans of the manga, and fans of the new brotherhood series could all get together and discuss the differences in the titles, and which they preferred.

Both series have successfully reached the end of their run, and the manga was also wrapped up in mid-2011. Many people did not like the idea of having two completely different anime titles for the same manga, but I personally love the idea, and here's why: We get to know the cast that much better. As I stated before, the anime began while the Fullmetal manga was in its very early stages. We got to know the Elric brothers through two separate story lines that eventually went in different directions. We got to see different sides of the story and different dimensions to the characters. And by the time Brotherhood came around, everyone already knew the cast SO WELL despite the fact that the manga was not even in its final stretch yet! Yes, by the second episode of Brotherhood, you literally feel like a part of that Brotherhood (and I suspect that's why they named it that.)

One last tidbit: I personally disliked the approach of the original anime and greatly prefer the manga storyline and the brotherhood anime. Brotherhood is a rare example of an anime that portrays the manga story PERFECTLY.

Really gorgeous fanart I found online (credit to original artist)

First Post!

Creating a blog is something that I have wanted to do for a very long time, but never quite had the courage to do. It was only recently that I realized there was really nothing to be afraid of... All I needed was something to write about. So here I'll summarize what kind of things to expect from me (assuming I don't forget about this whole thing...)

-Anime and Manga: This would include reviews, reccomendations, countdowns, character spotlights, author/artist spotlights, anime films, voice actors, product reviews, theme songs, Japanese lessons, and more!

-Video games: Basically the same thing as under Anime/Manga. I play a lot of games myself, and will try to review as many titles as I can. I'll include news from game informer and such if I can.

-Books, TV, and movies: More reviews, favorite actors, favorite movies, lists/countdowns, Movies/Books/Shows I'm looking forward to, Author spotlights, and more.

-Art: I'm an artist myself, so expect some things from me. I'll include artist spotlights, poetry, etsy users, deviants, tutorials and helpful links, product reviews, product wish lists, good art sites, and more.

-Wierdness: Random little-known facts, favorite Ripleys facts, wierd news reports, the paranormal and unexplained, etc. I love mythology and the paranormal as well.

-Music: Artist spotlights, favorite songs, favorite classics, bands, cool album covers, music shows, etc.

-Rants: Opinion articles, really.

-Funny and Cool Stuff: Jokes, Awesome cosplay, food art, sidewalk art, snow art, funny signs, web comics, and the like.