Otomen

Otomen (Manga)
Publisher: Hakusensha
English Publisher: Viz Media
Genre: Shoujo, Romance, Comedy
Manaka: Aya Kanno
Rating: * * * *


A story about an almost perfect bishounen, Masamune Asuka. Good-looking, best in kendo and very well-mannered, Asuka is known to be the very cool manliest man in the whole school. But there is always a ‘but’ in everything. Despite his good-looks and manly exterior, Asuka loves sweet and cute things, cooking, baking, sewing, knitting and all other girly things, thus the title ‘Otomen’. Otomen is a pun of the Japanese word “otome” which means mistress or lady who is highly knowledgeable in traditional tea ceremony, flower arranging and other lady-like skills. And “men” refers to the English word of the same meaning. Therefore resulting to a man who excels in lady-like skills. This is accidentally discovered by his playboy classmate Tachibana Juta, who is secretly a manga artist. Juta encourages Asuka to just accept his "gifts" and live the way he wants. But then, Asuka meets Miyakozuka Ryo, the new student skilled in various martial arts. She was raised by her tough police officer father making her strong but lacking in lady-like skills. Asuka becomes attracted to her and is then determined to hide his girly hobbies to woe and protect her. Asuka becomes torn on keeping up his facade or embracing his special.

Through the course of the story, Asuka meets the silent and strong Tonomine Hajime, a rival in kendo and a person who possesses another special skill - make up artist. Similar to Asuka, he is having trouble keeping his girly habits away from kendo.

Another notable character is Yamato Ariake. An underclassman who has a very girly appearance which he despises. He admires Asuka's cool and manly personality. He trains very hard to be regarded as manly and strong rather than being a pretty boy.

And there is Kitora Kurokawa, Asuka's classmate. He is tall and mysterious who is very obsessed in the beauty of flowers. He is also an otomen like Asuka and Hajime, and plans to cover the whole school with all sorts of flowers.

The story is entertaining to read and informative in a way. It contains fun tips and trivia about cooking, baking, knitting and sewing as the story goes. With regards to the storyline, Kanno-sensei weaves the story and allows the past and the future events/situations to connect and develop the story. The art is definitely good, especially with the cute/cuddly things illustrated in the story as well as the sweet treats and desserts that Asuka really loves. This is definitely a wonderful manga. ^___^

Credits:
Wikipedia
leahleys.wordpress.com
kai-leahleys.blogspot.com

Kdrama review: You’re Beautiful

• Title: 미남이시네요 / Minami Shineyo
• Also known as: He’s Beautiful / You’re Handsome
• Genre: Romance, comedy

A.N.JELL

• Jang Geun Suk as Hwang Tae Kyung
• Park Shin Hye as Go Mi Nam (Male) / Go Mi Nyu (Female)
• Lee Hong Ki as Kang On Yu / Jeremy
• Jung Yong Hwa as Kang Shin Woo

Extended cast

• UEE as Yoo He Yi
• Bae Geu Rin as Sa Yu Ri (Fan club president)
• Kim In Kwon as Ma Hoon Yi (Mi Nam’s manager)
• Jang Won Young as Mr Kim (photographer, Nara Daily News)
• Choi Ran as Choi Mi Ja (Mi Nam & Mi Nyu’s aunt)
• Kim Sung Ryung as Mo Hwa Ran
• Jung Chan as President Ahn
• Choi Soo Eun as Wang Kko Di
• Tae Hwang as staff
• Yoo Seung Ho (cameo, ep9)

• Director: Hong Sung Chang
• Screenwriter: Hong Jung Eun, Hong Mi Ran

Summary

Similar to Coffee Prince in a way that the heroine needed to change her appearance to look like a boy. But the story is quite different. Being an orphan, Go Mi Nyu was on the verge of fulfilling her vocation as a full-fledged nun, but things got quirky and she ended up being a singer in a very famous boy group A.N.Jell. Go Mi Nyu pretends to be her twin brother, Go Mi Nam, who originally auditioned to be in the idol group. She had to dress like a pop male idol to sing and dance as a member of A.N.Jell, and the adventure begins!

The story delves into Go Mi Nyu’s background (particularly with their parents) which relates to the other characters and the present situation of her music career. With her current status as an idol, she could easily look for their mother who was said to be a singer before.

I have only watched up to episode 8 and I can say that it’s really interesting. It’s mixed with comedy and drama and definitely some romance ^___^. Love the thrill of getting closer to knowing the truth about Go mi nam’s mother…and i’m still wondering if her brother would ever show up.

credits: dramawiki; leahleys.wordpress

Anime Review: Romeo x Juliet

Category:

Anime Series

Genre: Shoujo, Romance, Adventure

The story is similar to William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet with some twist on the plot and some of the character. It has 24 episodes adopted by GONZO.

Juliet disguises herself as a boy until she turned 16 since she is the only surviving heir of the Capulets. The Capulets were annihilated 14 years ago by Lord Montague. Power and rule of Neo Verona was seized by Lord Montague, and since then everyone in Neo Verona believed that the Capulets were the ones who were corrupted and wicked. Presently, Juliet disguises herself as a boy until she turned 16 since she is the only surviving heir of the Capulets. Together with Cordelia (Juliet’s best friend and personal confidant), Conrad (captain of the Capulet guards), Francisco, Curio and Antonio, Juliet continues to live in secrecy inside a theater which William owns. (William Shakespeare’s cameo role here is William who also writes the plays for the theater).

Juliet accidentally meets Romeo during the Montague Rose Ball. She was supposed to accompany her friend and “disguise” herself as a “girl.” As Romeo met Juliet’s eyes, Romeo became intrigued and curious of Juliet’s personality. Juliet, on the other hand, fell in love with Romeo after that meeting. This was followed by another accidental meeting in a ruined structure filled with white irises. They both decided to meet in that place from time to time. Problem and conflict arises when both each one discovers their true identities and background. The moment of discovery starts the whirlwind story of envy and power, and faith and love.

Book review: Meru Puri

Category:	Books
Genre:	Comics & Graphic Novels
Author:	Matsuri Hino

Meru Puri (Marchen Prince) starts off with a prince being cursed and escapes through a mirror portal. The lead of the story is Airi, a 16 y.o. high school girl with a simple dream of having a family of her own with her ideal guy. It’s may seem so shoujo-like, but the story gets more and more interesting as the flow of events follow the adventures of Airi-chan through her ordinary-to-magical high school life. From her ordinary life she weaves into a world unknown to her and journeys on achieving her dream in an enchanting way. Not only does the story make you want for more, but also the artwork of Matsuri sensei. Bishies in wonderful attires and costumes fill the pages of this manga, as well as the details of the clothes and backgrounds. Please note that the full names of some characters may be a bit long and quite of a tongue twister. ^_^

Book review: Shinobi no Onna

Category:	Books
Genre:	Comics & Graphic Novels
Author:	Kayono

This manga is a compilation of 3 stories about ladies achieving their ultimate love in a very unique way

Story 1 – Shinobi no Onna
This Chapter is about a high school girl who seems to be moldy and weird known as Yuuka, but works as the top host , Eiji, during the night at her brother’s club. Leading a double life seems to be an easy task for Yuuka, but things get even more complicated when a beautiful and rich client appears at the club and makes “Eiji” her personal host.

Story 2 – Butterfly Night
This is a story of Princess Sheherazade that was sent by her father to another kingdom to marry the king of another kingdom, King Zamasama, in exchange of invading their country. But on the way to the other kingdom, they were attacked by a pack of bandits lead by the Devil Marim who is known to steal all of women’s treasures.

Story 3 – Lovers in the Tower that Touches Heaven
A story about a dancer who was sold to a “masked monster” for a week. There, she dances as tha masked creature draws her.

The artwork of Kayono-sensei is really amazing especially with the body form and clothing accessories. Lines and details are fine and clean.

Movie Review: Enchanted

Category:	Movies
Genre:	Romance

It starts with a story book being opened to tell another fairytale in animation. There’s the evil witch in a castle, prince charming on his horse, and a princess in the woods together with her animal friends. The evil stepmother witch keeps the prince from meeting his princess in order for her to rule the kingdom forever. Unfortunately for her, the prince and the princess accidentally met due to a troll attack on the princess’ home. The moment they laid, their eyes on each other, it was love at first sight. They decided to get married right away. The next day as the princess was heading for the palace to attend her own wedding, the evil with dressed herself as an old woman and greeted the princess with a gift. The witch told the princess that a wish on a wishing well would be the best gift for her wedding. The princess reluctantly went to the wishing well, but the evil witch pushed her onto it and fell on the bottom of the well. She arrived on a different dimension wherein bits of crystals were attaching themselves to the princess’ body. When she opened her eyes, she realized that she seems a little different. She seems to be in the flesh, and I mean in the flesh. Then she notices alight passing through a small hole. She pushed the thing that holds the hole and found an opening where she can pass through. As she opened it, she saw army busy street and without realizing it, she was actually in a manhole on the streets of New York. And this is where the real adventure begins. She was reality where cruel hardships are a common greeting. Luckily, she was taken in by a” logical man” who works as lawyer and who raises a 5 year old daughter on his own. Her prince charming started to search for her together with her loyal squirrel friend. But the evil queen has kept her watch and sent his right hand servant to prevent the prince from meeting the princess. And the princess’s adventure begins in the busy streets of New York City.