Fade to Black

The third Bleach movie Fade to Black quite nice and didn't disappoint as much as Diamond Dust Rebellion did. So I guess my fears were all unfounded. Phew! What a relief.

It's quite interesting, packed with enough action and fights to satisfy bloodthirsty!Fi, contains captains' and lieutanents' zanpaktou releases (in fighting Minor Baddies), has several flashbacks from the earlier arcs to lend it a tinge of melancholy and has a rather interesting insight into a part of Rukia's past as an orphan in Inuzuri as well as focuses quite a bit on the dynamics between Ichigo and Rukia which had my inner fangirl going "Squee!" However, there's no further development to their relationship than what is already known i.e. Ichigo and Rukia have a special connection, are more than friends, but are not in a romantic relationship as quoted by Tite Kubo. Sighz.

Basically it's about Seireitei (as usual) being under attack under mysterious circumstances. As a consequence, everyone's memory of Rukia was immediately erased. In the real world, Ichigo's memory was also affected temporarily, however, as he slept that night, he dreamed of her and hence suddenly remembered again who she is.

Being the "save-everyone-Ichigo" that we all know and love, he immediately went to Seireitei to sort things out. And as per any Bleach movie (or episode for that matter), Ichigo has to fight against disbelieving Shinigami as well as the Big Baddies to save Rukia once again.

You can watch it Fade to Black here.

Being finicky!Fi, of course I have some complaints of the movie (heh, coz maybe my expectations were too high) with the main one being the quality of the drawings. To me it seems that the drawings are getting progressively uglier. It's like the animators are becoming lazy LOL.

In addition, there seems to be a discrepancy in the plot i.e. Rukia met the twins when she was older than when she met Renji, so where's Renji in the whole flashback thingy?

And wow, they've released the name of Shuuhei's release BEFORE it was revealed in the manga (Karakura Arc), bearing in mind that this movie is already a year old? Cool eh?

But anyways, FtB is definitely a must-watch for Bleach fans.

5 Centimeters Per Second

..... one more time, one more chance...

“5 centimeters per second… is the velocity of the sakura petals falling from the trees… I wonder, if you’ll be there watching them fall with me next year?”

“I will, I promise.”

“Even if I were to send you messages everyday, our hearts will not be any centimeter closer, as you always seem so far away..”

5 centimeters per second is a Japanese anime movie, which is normally not something that I will normally look for when I search for anime as it doesn’t fit any of my “usual” genres. By usual I mean it is not a shounen-y anime with heroes battling villains, nor does it fit into the romantic comedy genre.

In fact, it is a poignant romantic drama with underlying tones of melancholy and loads of nostalgia.

It is certainly no comedy as it is just so… earnest. There were monologues by the main characters throughout the anime which gave deep insight into the characters’ feelings in the anime. Another plus point was that the female characters did not have the squeakily high and irritating voices so common in romance anime. The piano background music in the anime also enhances the mood of the anime, making it one of the most memorable ones, despite being so short.

The animation was also very well done, although the only complaint that I may have is that the characters kinda look similar. But staying true to its Japanese roots, all the characters have dark brown hair and eyes, which is an oddity in the world of anime and manga. The background and landscape were also beautifully designed with breathtaking views and colours.

This anime is broken into three parts and centres around the main protagonist Tohno. It depicts love in a wholly realistic manner, with the beauty and poignancy of first love as well as the difficulties of long distance relationships; unrequited love, understanding and acceptance, as well as the inability to let the past go and the angst when one’s motivation is gone. It is also rather interesting in a sense as it focuses a lot on the male’s point of view yet at the same time did not demasculinize the male lead too much by making him to sappy as some shoujos are wont to do.

The title of this movie as well as the sakura petals are reminiscent of the slowness of life and how people often start together but slowly drift into their separate ways

Below is the entire summary of the anime, so read no further if you do not want any spoilers.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

Young Tohno and Akira amidst the falling cherry blossoms.

The first part introduces Tohno, who as a result of his parents’ jobs, is constantly moving from one place to another. He met a girl Akira, who also suffers from the same circumstances. In addition, due to their frail physiques, neither are very sports-inclined and hence spend most of their time together in the library, borrowing the same books. They’ve managed to establish a good friendship, that not even bullies who enjoy teasing them together as a couple (as children and some adults are wont to do!) can destroy such a beautiful relationship. Both enjoy talking to each other and realize that they are both on the same wavelength. One day, whilst watching sakura petals fall down in the springtime, Tohno promised to watch them every year with Akira. Deep down, both Tohno and Akira probably realize that there is something going on.

However, Akira was due to move again after elementary school. Both of them were devastated. But what can they do as they were merely children, not able to voice out what they feel.

Half a year after the move, Akira began writing to Tohno (this was before the time of e-mail and handphones… snail mail!). Tohno responded eagerly, and hence began their correspondence. Before they knew it, the year has come to a close and it was almost spring time again. This time, Tohno was due to move even further away, which makes train visitations between him and Akira impossible. However, he made a plan to see Akira and the sakura petals once more before he moves and made the necessary arrangements. Akira was to meet him at her station at 7.00pm.

Tohno was optimistic, however, it began snowing heavily. As a result, his train and all the subsequent interchanges he had to make (5 in total!) were delayed due to the snow. His final train was also delayed for almost 2 hours due to wheel friction. Desperation, despair, hurt, hunger… At this moment, Tohno’s feelings were so palpable. Even the viewer sympathises for who has not experienced before, the feeling of letting a loved one down?

The weather was becoming progressively colder such that, despite his heavy heart, Tohno wishes that Akira did not wait for him any more and would just return home.

When Tohno arrived at the station much later than anticipated, to his utter joy, Akira was sitting there, patiently waiting, with a bento in hand to welcome him. They enjoyed catching up with each other and finally realized the depth of feelings between both. However, neither dare to vocalize those three words as yet, even though they came tantalizingly close to do so, just prior to Tohno’s departure the next day. And hence ends the first part.

The second part centres around Tohno in high school, and his classmate Sumita who has a crush on him because he always seems different. Tohno, who moved here (probably Okinawa as it was surrounded by the sea), is now into archery whereas Sumita was determined to be able to “ride the waves”, which she constantly fails at currently.

As a result of their after school activities, they both return home together at the same time on their separate motorcycles everyday. Or rather, it’s Sumita who waits until Tohno is ready to depart at their school’s parking lot so that they can return together.

On their way home, they’ll stop at the same convenience store where Tohno will always purchase the same drink and wait for Sumita who has a problem deciding, outside.

Often she would see him messaging someone on his handphone eagerly, though he’ll always stop when she’s around.

Time constantly passes, and it was time for them to decide on their future. However, Sumita is in a limbo as she couldn’t decide on what to do, couldn’t surf at the moment and is still to act on her feelings for Tohno.

However, she realized herself that these are shortcomings that must be overcome immediately. And hence, she set to conquer the waves, which she finally managed to, thanks to iron clad determination as high school days were coming to an end.

Teenage Tohno and Sumita.

Giddy with her victory, she decided to confess to Tohno on that very day. However, although opportunities were given, she found that she just couldn’t, as she finally realized that part of Tohno’s appeal was that he always seem so far away, and that his heart always seem to be elsewhere. Finally understanding him, she realized that a confession would be futile and would in fact hamper her friendship, thus, she desisted on letting him know her feelings.

It was also revealed that Tohno has been composing messages on his phone all this while, but not sending them.

Teenage Tohno and Akira.

And hence ends part two.

Part three begins with both Tohno and Akira in the working force. The setting was once again Tokyo. Both of them had a similar dream of their thirteen year old selves once again, which triggers memories and melancholy for both. This made Akira message Tohno once again, to let him know of her impending marriage. She also tried to call him but couldn’t get through as he never answers her calls. However, Tohno was devastated and had lost his motivation and his feelings which had sustained him over the period of time. The anime ends with both of them passing each other at a railway crossing, however as they reached their opposite destinations, both turned to look at each other. Unfortunately, passing trains hindered their view, and when the crossing was clear, Akira was gone.

Adult Tohno and Akira passing each other at the railway crossing.

If you enjoy this movie you might also like other works from Makoto Shirai who is the author and director of this movie such as Voice of A Distant Star and The Place Promised in Our Early Days. Both look very nice as they incorporate romance into science fiction. However, as they sound sad, I think I'll KIV these two, to let my heart recover, haha.

Note: The music on my blog has been replaced with the OST from this movie which I hope will set the mood and interest to watch this gem of a piece.

The Laws of Anime

I've been watching so much anime nowadays (Kure-nai, Ryoko Case Files, Lovely Complex, Tokko, Library Wars, Kare Kano, Code Geass plus the old staples of Bleach and Naruto, to name a few) that I've actually forgotten half of what I watched. Old age = poor memory I guess. So, I was supposed to write a review for each of the anime I watched to solidify the fact, however, laziness and sluggishness got into the way that I've ended up with lots of half-assed drafts, sigh. However, I came across this cute cute posting bout anime in general, that I felt must be shared with all other anime lovers, if just for the lulz. So, let me present to you, the Laws of Anime!!

Originally compiled and edited by Darrin Bright and Ryan Shellito

---

Law of Metaphysical Irregularity

The normal laws of physics do not apply.

Law of Differentiated Gravitation

Whenever someone or something jumps, is thrown, or otherwise is rendered airborn, gravity is reduced by a factor of 4.

Law of Sonic Amplification, First Law of Anime Acoustics

In space, loud sounds, like explosions, are even louder because there is no air to get in the way.

Law of Constant Thrust, First Law of Anime Motion

In space, constant thrust equals constant velocity.

Law of Mechanical Mobility, Second Law of Anime Motion

The larger a mechanical device is, the faster it moves. Armored Mecha are the fastest objects known to human science.

Law of Temporal Variability

Time is not a constant. Time stops for the hero whenever he does something 'cool' or 'impressive'. Time slows down when friends and lovers are being killed and speeds up whenever there is a fight.

First Law of Temporal Mortality

'Good Guys' and 'Bad Guys' both die in one of two ways. Either so quick they don't even see it coming, OR it's a long drawn out affair where the character gains much insight to the workings of society, human existence or why the toast always lands butter side down.

Second Law of Temporal Mortality

It takes some time for bad guys to die... regardless of physical damage. Even when the 'Bad Guys' are killed so quickly they didn't even see it coming, it takes them a while to realize they are dead. This is attributed to the belief that being evil damages the Reality Lobe of the brain.

Law of Dramatic Emphasis

Scenes involving extreme amounts of action are depicted with either still-frames or black screens with a slash of bright color (usually red or white).

Law of Dramatic Multiplicity

Scenes that only happen once, for instance, a 'Good Guy' kicks the 'Bad Guy' in the face, are seen at least 3 times from 3 different angles.

Law of Inherent Combustability

Everything explodes. Everything.

• First Corollary - Anything that explodes bulges first.

• Second Corollary - Large cities are the most explosive substances known to human science. Tokyo in particular seems to be the most unstable of these cities, sometimes referred to as "The Matchstick City".

Law of Phlogistatic Emission

Nearly all things emit light from fatal wounds.

Law of Energetic Emission

There is alway an energy build up (commonly referred to as an energy 'bulge') before Mecha or space craft weapons fire. Because of the explosive qualities of weapons, it is believed that this is related to the Law of Inherent Combustability.

Law of Inverse Lethal Magnitude

The destructive potential of a weapon is inversly proportional to its size.

• First Corollary - Small and cute will always overcome big and ugly. Also know as the A-Ko phenomenon.

Law of Inexhaustability

No one *EVER* runs out of ammunition. That is of course unless they are cornered, out-numbered, out-classed, and unconscious.

Law of Inverse Accuracy

The accuracy of a 'Good Guy' when operating any form of fire-arm increases as the difficulty of the shot increases. The accuracy of the 'Bad Guys' when operating fire-arms decreases when the difficulty of the shot decreases. (Also known as the Stormtrooper Effect)

Example: A 'Good Guy' in a drunken stupor being held upside down from a moving vehicle will always hit, and several battalions of 'Bad Guys' firing on a 'Good Guy' standing alone in the middle of an open field will always miss.

• First Corollary - The more 'Bad Guys' there are, the less likely they will hit anyone or do any real damage.

• Second Corollary - Whenever a 'Good Guy' is faced with insurmountable odds, the 'Bad Guys' line up in neat rows, allowing the hero to take them all out with a single burst of automatic fire and then escape.

• Third Corollary - Whenever a 'Good Guy' is actually hit by enemy fire, it is in a designated 'Good Guy Area', usually a flesh wound in the shoulder or arm, which restricts the 'Good Guy' from doing anything more strenuous than driving, firing weaponry, using melee weapons, operating heavy machinery, or doing complex martial arts maneuvres.

Law of Transient Romantic Unreliability

Minmei is a bimbo.

Law of Hemoglobin Capacity

The human body contains over 12 gallons of blood, sometimes more, under high pressure.

Law of Demonic Consistency

Demons and other supernatural creatures have at least three eyes, loads of fangs, tend to be yellow-green or brown (but black is not unknown), and can only be hurt by bladed weapons.

Law of Militaristic Unreliability

Huge galaxy-wide armadas, entire armies, and large war-machines full of cruel, heartless, bloodthirsty warriors can be stopped and defeated with a single insignificant example of a caring/loving emotion or a song.

Law of Tactical Unreliability

Tactical geniuses aren't....

Law of Inconsequential Undetectability

People never notice the little things... Like missing body parts, or wounds the size of Seattle.

Law of Juvenile Intellectuality

Children are smarter than adults. And almost always twice as annoying.

Law of Americanthropomorphism

Americans in Anime appear in one of two roles, either as a really nasty skinny 'Bad Guy' or a big stupid 'Good Guy'.

• First Corollary - The only people who are more stupid than the big dumb Americans are the American translators. (Sometimes referred to as the Green Line Effect.)

• Second Corollary - The only people who are more stupid than the American translators are the American editors and censors.

Law of Mandibular Proportionality

(from A. Hicks)

The size of a person's mouth is directly proportional to the volume at which they are speaking or eating.

Law of Feline Mutation

(from A. Hicks)

Any half-cat/half-human mutation will invariably:

1. be female,
2. will possess ears and sometimes a tail as a genetic mutation,
3. and wear as little clothing as possible, if any.

Law of Conservation of Firepower

(from Tom Williams)

Any powerful weapon capable of destroying/defeating an opponent in a single shot will invariably be reserved and used only as a last resort.

Law of Technological User-Benevolence

(from Tom Williams)

The formal training required to operate a spaceship or mecha is inversely proportional to its complexity.

Law of Melee Luminescence

(from Tom Williams)

Any being displaying extremely high levels of martial arts prowess and/or violent emotions emits light in the form of a glowing aura. This aura is usually blue for 'good guys' and red for 'bad guys'. This is attributed to Good being higher in the electromagnetic spectrum than Evil.

Law of Non-anthropomorphic Antagonism

(from Tom Williams)

All ugly, non-humanoid alien races are hostile, and usually hell-bent on destroying humanity for some obscure reason.

Law of Follicular Chroma Variability

(from Spellweaver)

Any color in the visible spectrum is considered a natural hair color. This color can change without warning or explanation.

Law of Follicular Permanence

Hair in anime is pretty much indestructable, and can resist any amount of meteorological conditions, energy emissions, physical abuse, or explosive effects and still look perfect. The only way to hurt someone's hair is the same way you deal with demons... with bladed weapons!

Law of Topological Aerodynamics, First Law of Anime Aero-Dynamics

*ANY* shape, no matter how convoluted or odd-looking, is automatically aerodynamic.

Law of Probable Attire

Clothing in anime follows certain predictable guidelines.

Female characters wear as little clothing as possible, regardless of whether it is socially or meteorologically appropriate. Any female with an excessive amount of clothing will invariably have her clothes ripped to shreds or torn off somehow. If there is no opportunity to tear off the afore-mentioned female's clothes, then she will inexplicably take a shower for no apparent reason (also known as the Gratuitous Shower Scene).

Whenever there is a headwind, a Male characters will invariably wear a long cloak which doesn't hamper movement and billows out dramatically behind him.

• First Corollary (Cryo-Adaptability) - All anime characters are resistant to extremely cold temperatures, and do not need to wear heavy or warm clothing in snow.

• Second Corollary (Indecent Invulnerability) - Bikinis render the wearer invulnerable to any form of damage.

Law of Musical Omnipotence

Any character capable of musical talent (singing, playing an instrument, etc.) is automatically capable of doing much more "simple" things like piloting mecha, fighting crime, stopping an intergalactic war, and so on... especially if they have never attempted these things before.

Law of Quitupular Aggultination

(from Daniel Mikula)

Also called "The Five-man Rule," when "Good Guys" group together, it tends to be in groups of five. There are five basic positions, which are:

1. The Hero/Leader
2. His girlfriend
3. His Best Friend/Rival
4. A Hulking Brute
5. A Dwarf/Kid

Between these basic positions are distributed several attributes, which include:

1. Extreme Coolness
2. Amazing intelligence
3. Incredible Irritation

Law of Extradimensional Capacitance

(from Jason Bustard)

All anime females have an extradimensional storage space of variable volume somewhere on their person from which they can instantly retrieve any object at a moment's notice.

• First Corollary (The Hammer Rule) - The most common item stored is a heavy mallet, which can be used with unerring accuracy on any male who deserves it. Other common items include costumes/uniforms, power suits/armor, and large bazookas.

Law of Hydrostatic Emission

Eyes tend to be rather large in Anime. This is because they contain several gallons of water, which may be instantaneously released at high pressure through large tear ducts. The actual volume of water contained in the eyes is unknown, as there is no evidence to suggest that these reservoirs are actually capable of running out. The reason water tends to collect in the eyes is because Anime characters only have one large sweat gland, which is located at the back of the head. When extremely stressed, embarrassed, or worried, this sweat gland exudes a single but very large drop of sebaceous fluid.

Law of Inverse Attraction

Success at finding suitable mates is inversely proportionate to how desperately you want to be successful. The more you want, the less you get.

• First Corollary Unfortunately, this law seems to apply to Otaku in the real world...

Law of Nasal Sanguination

(from Ryan Pritchard and Jason Aylen)

When sexually aroused, males in Anime don't get erections, they get nosebleeds. No one's sure why this is, though... the current theory suggests that larger eyes means smaller sinuses and thinner sinus tissue (see Law #38 above). Females don't get nosebleeds, but invariably get one heck of a blush along the cheeks and across the nose, suggesting a lot of bloodflow to that region.

Law of Xylolaceration

(from Lyndon Harris)

Wooden or bamboo swords are just as sharp as metal swords, if not sharper.

Law of Juvenile Omnipotence

(from Erin Alia)

Always send a boy to do a man's job. He'll get it done in half the time and twice the angst.

Law of Quadrotriscadecophobia

There is no Law #43.

Law of Nominative Clamovocation

(from Luiko-Ysabeth and Adrian Hsiah)

The likelihood of success and damage done by a martial arts attack is directly proportional to the volume at which the full name of the attack is announced.

Law of Uninteruptable Metamorphosis

(from R. A. Hubby)

Regardless of how long or involved the transformation sequence or how many times they've seen it before, any 'Bad Guys' witnessing a mecha/hero/heroine transforming are too stunned to do anything to interrupt it.

Law of Flimsy Incognition

(from Conrad Knauer)

Simply changing into a costume or wearing a teensy mask can make you utterly unrecognizable to even your closest friends and relatives.

Wahahaha. True rite?

That saying, I also want to promote my brother's fanfic, yup, my Little Cute Brother also known as Slimy!Sheldon's fanfic. For a guy, I admit he writes pretty good fluff. Although his style of writing is a bit... pretentious. And too self conscious. But he gets the characterisation down quite well.. Wow, too much praise already!! It could also be because he's my brother and I'm biased. (But then again, if I'm biased, then it should be twice the criticism rite? LOL). Anyways, the most important flaw in his writing is that... he writes Ichigo/Tatsuki!!! Terrible!!! But at least it's not Ichi/Hime or I won't admit we're related anymore. (Must persuade him to write Ichi/Rukia one day..) Anyways, go check it out, it's not too bad, haha. Now why can't I write something besides these inane blog posts, haihz.

Of Shinigamis and Karatekas.

Tales of the Abyss

Now that I'm currently unemployed (and waiting to be employed by the Ministry of Health), what do I do? Nope, not study the pharmacokinetic equations or read anything to do with pharmacy as I'm too lazy lol. The obvious answer here would be: watch anime! (Special thanks to Slimy!Sheldy).

To be honest, I feel now Bleach has reached a slump. And while waiting for it to recover its once grandeur, Slimy!Sheldy has introduced me to several new animes, among which include Tales of the Abyss.

Tales of the Abyss is based on the RPG game of the same name. It was set in a world called Auldrant, which is composed of particles known as Fonins. For much of the history of Auldrant, there were 6 fonins representing shadow, fire, light earth, wind and water, however, recently a seventh representing sound was discovered. Seventh fonist or people who use these fonin are allowed to foretell the future. A religious figure, Yulia Jue, read the planet's memory and recorded her fortelling of the future, known as the score, in which the prophesy fortold a period of turmoil in the world followed by a period of peace and prosperity into tablets. This Score has been mightily contested by the two nations of Malkuth and Kimlasca-Lanvaldear as both want the advantage of knowing the future. There also is an order, known as the Order of Lorelei which was established to maintain peace and to ensure that the Score is followed.

This story centres around a young man known as Luke fon Fabre, who is a scion of Lorelei, son of the duke of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear and predicted to do great things. However, an abduction when he was a mere child has left him with no memories of the past and a 180 degree transformation in personality. As an effect of the abduction, he was coddled by his parents and grew up to be a spoilt young man. Luke does not care for anything; his fiancee Princess Natalia who grew up with him, his best friend and servant Guy nor his parents. The only thing which made him happy was practicing his swordsmanship with his instructor whom he felt "was the only one who understood" him.

One day, while practicing with him, his instructor Van Grants was attacked by a mysterious woman named Tear. In his attempt to protect sensei, Luke clashed weapons with this lady and they were transported far away from his homeland of Baticul into Malkuth. They found their way home and encountered the wise Fon Master Ion and his Guardian, Anise, a cheerful little girl as well as Dr. Jade Curtiss, a general in the Malkuth army who is very brilliant. They also met up with Guy, the aforementioned best friend and made their way back to Baticul where Ion postulated a proposal of peace for both Malkuth and Kimlasca-Lanvaldear. As a sign of peace the party was assigned to a mining city where Luke would act as an ambassador and extend help to the dying people there. The party was expanded by the entry of Princess Natalia, a competent archeress who sneakily joined the party despite her father's plea not to. And the story progresses from here where I shall refrain to let out any more spoilers.

Here are some pics:
The Good Guys (l-r): Natalia, Ion, Jade (he's a guy), Luke, Tear, Guy and Anise.


The "Bad" Guys: Dist the Rose, Largo the Black, Arietta the Wild, Asch the Bloody (did they mean Ash?), Sync the Tempest, Legretta the Quick.

Both this pics would already have let out a spoiler.. :P Also, the "bad" guys is missing their leader which you will find out in due course who..

Basically this story is very reminiscent of any RPG where each class appear to be well represented. You have the swordsmen, Luke and Guy, the mage, Jade, the partial mage/cleric/fighter Tear, the archer/cleric Natalia, the voodoo-master, Anise. Some parts are also reminiscent of boss fights i.e. fighting Largo the Black etc. There is also a smidgen of romance for the inner fangirls/bois. But overall I think this is a good anime. Unlike most, this anime is a thinking anime, which poses the question of free-will and pre-determination. I mean, in a world where everything is pre-determined, what is life then for humans would not have any more free will as everything they do has been fortold. Would people hence follow what has been prophesied, or would they fight to establish their own free will. Other important questions which I felt was touched by this anime included the establishment of one's identity and the question of ideals. Like in the Real World, i.e. today's world, there are no clear cut "evil people" in this anime. Everything lies in shades of grey as battles are fought due to a clash of ideals i.e. people are fighting for what they believe is right. It is similar in today's world where wars start due to differences in ideals and such and sometimes, it is very difficult in knowing who is right and who is wrong (I'm referring here to the Middle-Eastern conflict i.e. Israel vs Palestine but will not venture further into this topic).

Anyways, this is indeed a good watch, although I feel some parts are a bit laggy (and I don't like Tear's seiyuu!). But like I said, the undercurrents of question lying beneath the shiny shiny surface of this anime makes it a worthwhile watch for people who like thinking shows. In addition, the soundtrack is also wonderful and I particularly like the MIDI Luke-tragedy which I felt was just angsty enough for the sad parts in the show.

Life is Beautiful

A song rec, Life is Beautiful by Vega 4.

Life is beautiful
We live until we die

When you run into my arms,
We steal a perfect moment.
Let the monsters see you smile,
Let them see you smilling.

Do I hold you too tightly?
When will the hurt kick in?

Life is beautiful, but it's complicated.
We barely make it.
We don't need to understand,
There are miracles, miracles.

Yeah, life is beautiful.
Our hearts, they beat and break.

When you run away from harm,
Will you run back into my arms,
Like you did when you were young?
Will you come back to me?

I will hold you tightly
When the hurting kicks in.

Life is beautiful, but it's complicated,
We barely make it.
We don't need to understand,
There are miracles, miracles.

Stand where you are.
We let all these moments pass us by.

It's amazing where I'm standing,
There's a lot that we can give.
This is ours just for the moment,
There's a lot that we can give.

It's amazing where I'm standing,
There's a lot that we can give.
This is ours just for the moment,
There's a lot that we can give.

Click here to listen. It's a fitting song to end our stay in Scotland (and study years with) IMHO (although technically, it hasn't ended as yet). Coz no matter what, life is indeed beautiful although complicated. There will definitely be all those little hurts in life for what is life but a bumpy journey right? But let us not forget that this moment is our moment and that the world will be our oyster. (ok ok I know I'm forcing the lyrics of this song to fit the theme that I have in mind and that this song does not just represent what I said but is instead a love song (all songs nowadays are love songs) but still, I think it's nice... Just... emo enough LOLZ.)

The world spins madly on.

I couldn't have said it better myself. :)

Snow

It snowed today.

Pure white flakes descending from the heavens above, buffeted about by the cold cold winds of Glasgow.

To land on the ground, forming an endless expanse.

The pureness, the untaintedness, the brilliant wonder of it all.




Tis' indeed a pretty world that we live in. :)

Even Mr. Snowman agrees... don't you Smiley Snowy Man?

The Snow That Never Drifts by Emily Dickinson

The Snow that never drifts --
The transient, fragrant snow
That comes a single time a Year
Is softly driving now --

So thorough in the Tree
At night beneath the star
That it was February's Foot
Experience would swear --

Like Winter as a Face
We stern and former knew
Repaired of all but Loneliness
By Nature's Alibit --

Were every storm so spice
The Value could not be --
We buy with contrast -- Pang is good
As near as memory --

I'm Grumpy When I Don't Have Enough Sleep

I honestly love answering questions especially those which are pertinent to examinations as I believe that discussing them strengthens the long term potentiation and all those other nifty processes leading to storage of memories in the brain.

I don't even mind rediscussing the whole syllabus and explaining basic concepts that you did not grasp due to reasons common enough to remain unsaid.

But please respect my different time requirements and do not call me after 9pm as I will be in bed then (as I've already told you several times).

It wouldn't be so bad if you call just to ask questions. But to seek reassurance at 11pm two nights before the exam?!

Sorry if I'm unsympathetic but:
1. As you can hear from my voice and the way my words are slurred, you've just aroused me from a very comfortable slumber.
2. It takes time for me to go back to sleep and I require at least 7 hours of undisturbed rest before being able to function.
3. Early mornings are my optimum time. Hence I need to be able to wake up early to study and to be able to do that, I need to sleep at night.
4. Everyone panics before exams. But to call me and to tell me how you are going to fail coz you cannot finish studying and to keep rehashing the same point in different ways, well, I fail to see how THAT is going to help you in any way. It's not like information of the different time dependent oral dosage forms are going to just be magically imprinted onto your brain by such a conversation. You're better off studying/sleeping and leaving me alone.

In short, how would you like it if I call you at 3am (normally I'm up by then) to bemoan on something like my worries for the exam (which surprisingly, no one ever believes - sigh) or my lack of a social life?

Maybe I should just remember to unplug and silence my phones at night. Or maybe I should learn to apply Gobi's Famous Problem Solving Skills. They seem quite effective to me. LOLZ.


On a separate note: GOOD LUCK EVERYONE! :)

I Love to Crap (An Exam Oriented Post)

Figuratively of course. Not literally.

When I look back in the past, it seems that it's the only thing I'm actually good at.

I've refined this technique over the years, crapping in debates in secondary school when I don't have a script nor any points (since I'm often the third speaker in Parliamentary Debates who's just supposed to rebut everything the opponents say), crapping sometimes when Million asks me super tough questions in A-Levels (I really got to thank her for my strong foundation in Chem though - it's thanks to her relentless whys that I actually got to thinking more than just memorizing all those facts), crapping bout lecture notes when they are actually not self explanatory, crapping during exams when I forgot the facts and so on.

But these are too much:
1. Explain the differences in CNS pharmacokinetic profiles of DepoCyt and conventional cytarabine following intrathecal administration. (8m)
- Depocyt has a longer half life of 87+/- 15 h hence distributes evenly in the CSF compared to conventional cytarabine with a half life of 2-3 h.
- Depocyt is eliminated via biphasic elimination whereas conventional cytarabine follows a first order decrease.
The end.

Seriously, what else is there to write bout these to merit the 8m? Absorption here doesn't play a role since they're administered directly into the CSF, neither will metabolism (via deaminases) since they only want the CNS pharmacokinetic profiles. Sighz.

2. Explain how the stratum corneum prevents water loss from the skin. (10m)
- By acting as a barrier to water loss.
The end.
And really that will be the end of all my marks too :P.

Ok, technically I can talk bout the structure of the skin bla bla bla but that really will not contribute all the other 9m.

Anyways, these are all too boring to talk about for long since they really a sleep-inducing topics. So to make this entry somewhat palatable, I bring some funny Bleach stuff.

Cute rite? Haha. Renji vs Ichigo for Rukia! With Byakuya as the judge in the background too. LOLZ. By Etania.

"Oh, Rukia! Our children have already grown so much!"

"Shut up." Kaien said grumpily from his seat. "Why do you keep that stupid poster up, anyway?"

Rukia sighed, putting dinner on the table. "Idiot."

Like father like son. LOLZ. By TigerShinigami.

Now, that makes life a little more bearable. :)

Fade To Black

Promotional posters and the movie guide for the newest Bleach movie, Fade to Black is already out.

This 3rd movie hopefully will do better than its predecessors in being more than just a shounen filler extragavanza.

Anyways, this movie sounds and looks promising, basically it's about Rukia and the rest of Soul Society losing their memories due to some incident.... hence, it's Ichigo to the rescue again! However, what makes this different compared to the other movies is that KT has some input in this movie - the title of the movie, Fade to Black is his idea as well as the Japanese subtitle - Calling Out Your Name.

Fans of Ichiruki all over the world are also eagerly awaiting this movie as there has been not much development in the Hueco Mundo arc where the focus was mainly on Orihime - so, is this a hint of what to come pairings-wise in Bleach as KT apparently has a say in this movie? Will there be anything concrete occuring? Is this a subtle acknowledgement of Ichiruki? Well, maybe FTB will answer some of this burning queries but IMHO, this is and will remain just a filler. Granted, Byakuya saving Rukia against the Bounto Yoshi and in Memories of Nobody are fillers as well and he really did save her again in the canon arc (i.e. against Zommari). However, it must not be forgotten that fillers are merely fillers - i.e. no further progress on Hitsu/Karin despite the soccer episode, Ashido is about to be forgotten, Cloud, Nova and Ririn are memories of yesterday, to illustrate a few examples. Maybe I'm being pessimistic, but I think it's better to go with low expectations and to be pleasantly surprised rather than vice versa (despite being a BIG fan of Ichiruki as well).

Enough with all this meaningless chatter, here are some FTB movie goodies:

Kubo: From the 2nd movie the subtitle was brought up by me. From the time when I first heard that the memory of Rukia will be disappearing inside everyone an image came into my mind that Rukia’s memory of Ichigo and the gotei 13 will be disappearing. From there the meaning of “Disappearing into black” became the subtitle “Fade to black”.

After coming up with the English subtitle "Fade to Black” they asked me to come up with the Japanese subtitle (laughs) So after carefully digesting the scenario I searched for some scenes that can be the key word or words that I can use, and found that in the plot, someone calling out someone’s name, especially in this story where Ichigo calling out Rukia’s name was a strong expression that even though no one else remembers you I do, and I found out it had an important meaning behind it. So that’s how I came up with the subtitle “Calling Out Your name”

- An excerpt from an interview with KT about his role in the upcoming movie.

Go here for another tidbit of a translated interview with Ichigo and Rukia's seiyuus as well as links to Bleach TV for a sort of behind the scenes of the movie (too bad it's not subbed though) - credit to Bleachness.

If you're interested to know what happens in the movie, go here for the translated version of the movie (of course it still doesn't beat watching it but we'll make do with what we have).
- credit to all the people on Ichiruki BA.

Here's the movie preview on the current episode's opening and closing credits.

Another trailer for the movie - the background music is the movie's theme song by Porno Graffiti - supposedly a famous band in Japan.

Here's part of the lyrics:
Tonight where does the moon illuminate
With the thick clouds covering the sky
Tonight who will you be embraced by
You wander in the lost road you escape the wind by the thunder cloud
You even start hating your true self
You even pretend you are a traveler
Alone, you let the rain pour on you
If you are going you rather go to a wasteland
Tonight, I wonder if you can you see the moon
Even, tonight if you can't find the place where the moon illuminates I will make sure I'll find you.

Sounds pretty shippy (I like! :P).

Despite trying not to, I can't help but feel quite excited bout this movie.. Looking forward to next September then (when the subbed version will be out). :)

Bleach Parody

When I read this, I was like... OMG ROFLOL!

It is superbly humourous! Think Tite Kubo @ Uryu Kubo as a fashion designer (instead of a mangaka) who's famous, with well known faces as his models: Kurosaki Ichigo, the main front face of his line, Inoue Orihime, with her generous bust, Chad, as his favourite foreigner who enhances Orihime's pics, Abarai Renji, a world renown model, Kuchiki Rukia, the antithesis of Orihime and the delicious Kuchiki Byakuya.

Not to be forgotten too are the fans of his fashion line (not going to mention coz don't wanna spoil the fun). LOL.

Really well written, and the pics - gosh, the way they're interpreted are just priceless.

Nice.

River of the Night Sky

I'm going back to Bleach fandom! Episode 197 is just full of Byakuya's charisma, that I couldn't help but start to re-fangirl him again.

In my quest to find out everything about Byakuya, I found Yozora no Kawa or River of The Night Sky, a Byakuya character song from Bleach Beat Collection Season 4 - Byakuya and Rukia. I find the tune haunting and sad, yet calm and stoic, resigned to fate much like the Captain of the Sixth himself. Byakuya's seiyuu sang the song, and although he wouldn't win any singing awards any time soon, his deep melancholic voice fits it perfectly. The translation is also poignant, but is rather ambiguous on whether he is singing to Rukia or Hisana. Here, have a listen.

Here are the lyrics and translation:

Kanashimi no iro o oshiete iru you na
Shizuka na yozora ni
As though teaching me the colour of sadness
In the peaceful night sky

Kizukanu to shitara
Kizukasete hoshii
Shirubeki subete o
If you don't understand
I want to make you understand
Everything that you ought to know

Tooku ni mieru nuguenu namida
Mamorikirenai kotoba ga hibiku
From far away I can see your unwiped tears
The words that I can't hold on to are ringing out

Sekai ga owaru nara
Sono toki ni wa wakaru darou ka
Kotae o shiranu mama hitotsu mune o tojita
If the world should end
Surely in that moment you'd understand
That without knowing the answer, my solitary heart closed

Kanashimi no oto ga kikoenai you na
Sewashii sekai ga
The hectic world goes on
as though the sound of sadness can't be heard

Mukiau koto o toozakeru nara
Sukoshi kobameru odayaka na hibi
If meeting face to face is still a distant thought
Then I'll reject just a little this peaceful daily life

Subete o tsuranuite
Tsuyoku arou kokoro midasazu
Saigo no negai sae kanaerarenu yoru ni
Penetrating through everything
A heart with strong resolve won't be swayed
Even on a night when a last wish can't be granted

Yozora ni azukete wa
Tojita mama no kokoro no kawa wa
Dare ni mo shirarezuni shizuka ni kagayaite
Relying on the night sky
The river of my closed heart
Silently shimmered without anyone knowing

Sekai ga owaru nara
Sono toki ni wa ieru darou ka
Afureru omoide o nazoru you ni tsugeyou
Hitomi ga kasanatte hitotsu mune ni saita
If the world should end
In that moment, surely, I'd be able to say it
Like tracing the overflowing memories, I'll tell you that
Reflected in your eyes was the bloom of a solitary heart

I guess I just have a soft spot for all these stoic, powerful characters. LOLZ.

Akatsuki Fic Recs

Yeah, I like the Akatsuki too despite them being the villains of the series.

Despite their horrendous choice of robes (seriously, black with red clouds?) and the fact that they paint their nails back (despite being majority men).

I think they're interesting and it's cool to see their back-story.

And they're a real diverse bunch of people too. Where else would you get a shark-nin, a religious zealot, some weird two-faced guy and a guy who enjoys transient beauty all at once?

It doesn't hurt that hot Itachi is also one of them.

So, in the spirit of Akatsuki-ness, here's some fic recs for you all! Note that they're mainly of the humour genre. Adds to the fun IMHO.

1. Piano Man and Church Boy
Hidan and Itachi have to work together to assassinate their target, and due to circumstaces beyond their control, have to crash a wedding to do so.

2. Paying a Compliment
It was a fact of life Kakuzu had come to accept. When you were as good looking as Hidan, people tended to treat you like a god. Funnily enough, Kakuzu couldn't recall ever getting the same treatment.

3. Inamorato
Nobody told Tobi that out of all the calendar holidays, Valentine’s Day was the last one to be passionately celebrated in the company of seven homicidal men. Crackfic.

Malay Song Recs

Am listening to some Malay songs currently. I actually quite like those angst-tinged songs, despite the fact that many Chinese (at least those that I know) don't. But then again, one man's meat is another's poison, and although I enjoy certain Chinese songs too (Jay Chou, Michael), with Malay songs at least I know what they're singing about as sad to say, I'm a banana (though most of the time the lyrics are not *that* profound).

Among my favourite songs include:
1. Kau Ilhamku by Man Bai
One of the very first Malay songs introduced to me, a rather mushy (jiwang) song about someone being the inspiration of another.

2. Belaian Jiwa by Innuendo
This song is so famous in Malaysia that it is a staple in singing competitions and karaokes. A rather soothing song, methinks.

3. Mungkin Nanti by Peter Pan
One of my favourites. An angsty song on the probability of reunion and the pleading of one not to relive the past.

4. Hidupku Kan Damaikan Hatimu by Caffein
The newest song on my playlist. No idea who or what Caffein is but the song is in a similar vein to the previous ones, so...

5. Tak Kenal Maka Tak Cinta by Francisca Peter & Roy
An oldie oft heard on Lite FM. On how to love someone without knowing that person.

Ok, back to my intro. Sighz.

Ino Fanfic Recs

Well, I KNOW I should be actually writing out the introduction to my (boring) research paper and not go off and read fanfics, but.... the temptation was just impossible for me to resist. So, looks like I gotta get up early tomorrow to compensate for today's laxness. But before I go off to bed, here's what caught my attention these past few hours... INO FANFICS!

Who's Ino, you may ask. Well, she's Sakura's on-again-off-again friend/rival for Sasuke's affection. She appears to be very superficial in the anime, but could actually be more than what she appears to be as her character isn't developed very much. She's pretty (prettier than Sakura!) and has the potential to go much further as she possesses the Yamanaka bloodline limit of infiltrating others' mind.

So, anyway, as her character intrigues me, I went off searching for Ino-centred fanfics and unearthed some nice ones. Here they are:

1. Little Blonde Girl
Of all the people Uchiha Itachi could be jealous of, it had to be his little brother And over a little blonde girl, no less.
A humourous one-shot on Sasuke's asexuality... and why Itachi should have just killed him off. LOLZ.

2. Akatsuki Over Flowers
AU Meteor Garden Naruto style! Ino is an ordinary girl with a strong personality. But when she enters Iwa College,she faces the wrath of the most popular bullies, the Akatsuki 4. Will she survive? ItaIno SasoIno ItaInoSaso.
A monstrous epic mirroring Meteor Garden. Very nicely written, funny, and intriguing. Too bad the author does not intend to continue her work.. :(

3. Point of Tangency
The mission was simple. All she had to do was to make Uchiha Sasuke fall in love with her… and then stab him in the back. That is, until a certain Hyuuga Neji came and screwed things up. SasuInoNeji.
Another upcoming and promosing AU fanfic. It involves Ino, Sasuke and Neji; the three hot stuff of Naruto. What more can you want?

4. In My Imagination
Sakura is the new girlfriend. Ino is the old friend. She at first feels threatened, but now she just wants to know what had happened two years ago... SakuSasuIno ItaIno SakuNaru
Yet another AU. A nice piece where the author weaves in the dynamics of the Uchiha family
troubles convincingly.

Pharmacist Rocks!

Haha, found a great blog by a Malaysian pharmacist working a hospital somewhere in Malaysia. It's very informative especially for pharmacy students who are going to enter the workforce soon. It's also VERY eye-opening (especially on the kerenah of the doctors LOLZ). Wow, would you look at all the pharm care issues presented? No wonder people have no faith in Malaysian healthcare system.

Without further ado, I present everyone with Dispensing With Sanity. It's one of the best opinion filled blogs I've ever read. You rock, Mark!

Thought Provoking

A meaningful post by Mustaqim (one of the few meaningful ones on his blog :P) on the role of a health care provider (actually he was talking about the role of doctors but I feel that it is applicable to all health care providers). What he posted was true, too often we, as health care providers only provide medical service and tend to see the patient as a disease state rather than a living, talking being with feelings. Too often we fall into the trap of failing to treat them emotionally as well. Let's just hope that we all realize this failing and try to stop ourselves from falling into such a trap.

Bleach Pic Recs

Nice pic rite? It's cool that it's done with the theme of Zombies Ate My Neighbours (loved that game). And the placement of Aaroniero/Kaien as a zombie is simply hilarious. But what cinches it all is the goodie at the back - Orihime being chased by an evile zombie! LOLZ.

This was done by a brilliant artist by the name of Gogeta-gal-159. Go visit her profile at deviant art for more pics.. :)

Bleach At The Beach

I'm on a Bleach-y roll here!

Here's another rec from me - an omake chapter of Bleach at the Beach.

It's funny, it's hilarious, it's filled with all the characters we love, and it's wonderfully Bleach-y.

Also love the sibling love between Byakuya and Rukia. LOLZ.

The ending is also cool - with a cameo by everyone's favourite Hitsugaya!

It's just something to brighten up my day. :)

Hitsugaya Toushiro's Roots

Hehe. I found out that Bleach Wikia actually exists! Cool rite? The info there is also pretty accurate except the fact that they said that Senna was more popular than Rukia. WTH. Riiiiiite. Then, pray tell why Senna only merits a page in fanfiction.net whereas Rukia has 142 pages?

But I digress. In reading about Hitsugaya, I found something super cool. I found a chapter (by Tite Kubo himself) on Shiro-chan's roots, i.e. how he found his sword, why he became a Shinigami even though he told Hinamori that he's not interested (in the flashback episodes when she first joined the Academy), the first time he met Matsumoto...

Read bout it here.

It's pretty nice and well done (though the movie kinda suck - see my short review on Diamond Dust Rebellion here). Should be a treat to all those Hitsugaya fans.

And here's something I didn't know bout Hitsugaya (courtesy of Bleach Wiki)

Back in his childhood in West Rukongai, he was so skilled with spinning tops that he became the local undefeated champion. He works very hard, but his motive seems to be that if he finishes quickly, he can return to his afternoon nap. He believes in the saying "a child who sleeps will grow up", and hopes to grow quickly, a wish shared by his subordinates. Naturally, they do not voice this fact in front of him.

LOL. He likes sleeping??! Hard to believe that, as he's always chastising Matsumoto for sleeping on the job. And the part where he wants to grow up quickly, that's just too funny for words.

Now, I'm crossing my fingers on a nice piece on Rukia in anticipation of Fade to Black. LOLZ.