First Impressions: Arakawa Under The Bridge

I first encountered the title when I read it off a site that my fiance linked to me. It was a line up of the upcoming animes to be released in Spring 2010 in Japan.

I suppose that other titles should have drowned in my eyes as soon as Ispotted these titles: the much-awaited second season of K-ON!, the hyped up Black*Rock Shooter anime, and my recent shoujo manga favorite Kaichou wa Maid-sama. However, Nakamura Hikaru’s Arakawa Under The Bridge caught my interest easily. The plot seemed simple enough: a high-profile guy, who has vowed to never be in anyone’s debt as long as he lives, met an eccentric woman who lives under the bridge. And as expected,  fate would have it, this woman–who believes she comes from Venus–ends up saving his life and now he owes her big time. He returns the favor by being the woman’s boyfriend…who will live with her under the bridge. Hence the title.

The plot was somewhat cliche, if you think about it. It was simply like an inverse “damsel in distress” plot or a classic tale of  ”guy met a girl and turned his world upside down.” And there, for me, was  the very thing that made me so curious about it. I am a sucker for cliched plots and its endless possibilities. Technically, I know that there’s only one way from Point A to Point B, but you just got to love how different people would (and could) circumvent that simple plot and turn it into an epic tale.

The First 22
In 22 pages, I was introduced to Ichinomiya Kou who lived off the principle of never owing anyone anything. Not even  small favors such as someone else picking up his eraser on the floor. He is a straight A student studying in a prestigious university with “bright future” written all over him, and “one should never create a debt to other people” written all over his necktie quite literally. He lived his life bound by that rule, and that’s exactly what got him into serious trouble.

You see, a few kids stole his pants. And the scene was a remarkably funny panel. It was a picture of a supposed well-groomed boy running with his pants down and a few street kids trying to steal it from him. One could simply deduce how Ichinomiya Kou grew up in a sheltered environment if those runts could bully an almost college graduate into losing his pants. His pants ended up getting hung on a relatively high area of the bridge (stop wondering how the kids managed to do that; I quit after thinking of three ‘plausible’ ways.) Now our high-profile loser was bent on retrieving his pants without anyone’s help–never mind that he looked silly just wearing his boxers at the side of the bridge, risking ‘indecent exposure’ to the girl with a fishing rod who offered to fish it for him.

I simply loved his conflict at this stage. Every time the girl offers help, he would resort to a flashback of how his principle ruled his life–from his manly babysitter to his early exposure at the company, and each memory is amusing. Quite an imagination, that he has. I could say that he was really tempted to throw the towel at the ring (especially when he realized that no matter what he does, he would be showing his junior to the world). But no, he trudged on and protected his reputation as “The Man Who Can’t Be In Debt To Anyone”, which was the chapter’s title. You can either admire his perseverance… or laugh at him for his stupidity. (Come on, can’t the son of the “world’s  best enterprise” call a copter or something and order them to get it for him? Haha.) Therefore in his refusal, he fell (duh) on the water and almost drowned because of the pipe that was weighing him down. When his consciousness returned, not only did he find himself french kissing a fish and still without his trousers, the girl also just informed him that he owed her his life. The very thing that he was avoiding. When I wrote the last two sentences, it seemed so anti-climactic. But when I think about it, I know that the fun has just begun. Just how would he take that ‘devastating’ news? And just what would the girl ask from him? Well the answer is pretty much given, but hey, I’ve just read the first chapter and simply jotting down my first impressions on this creation.

Hook, line, sinker
The art is simple, but not generic anime-looking. In some pages, the characters looks mature. Ichinomiya is usually drawn comically, and I notice that the bridge girl has a rather wide forehead. It’s not your everyday anime art, but the style grows on you after a while. Overall, I find this a quirky read. The transition from one scene to another is smooth; like a well-delivered joke with punchlines coming in smoothly one after the other. Reading through the first chapter of Arakawa Under the Bridge made me feel like I was a fish. Someone cast a line and I fell for the bait: ”Humans are so picky,” said the girl from the bridge. “Here they live with so many people, yet they choose only one person to be theirs.” I was owned; hook, line, sinker. And that was just the first page. There was no dull moment or wasted page in this chapter. I turned the last page, knowing and believing that the next chapter would deliver the same effect to me.

I shall post this now, and will continue to happily read through.

Baby Steps: Just the sort of manga I’m looking for at the moment

Manga Title: Baby Steps
Manga-ka: Kachiku Hikaru
Genre: Sports, Romance, School life

A few months ago, I’ve gone on an extreme manga marathon mode. I’ve read romantic comedies like crazy–from Akuma to Love Song (unfinished), Skip Beat (unfinished; impatiently waiting for the next update), Kaichou wa Maid-sama (unfinished), Cherry Juice, Dengeki Daisy, Gojinko Monogatari, Kimi wa Petto… suffice to say, these are just but some of the titles I’ve read. I sort of grew tired of reading the same plots with a few unique twist for each manga. I love the variation of each mangas artworks though so I guess that’s partly the reason why I kept on reading even thought I can pretty much predict what happens next.

This prompted me to search for some other genres. Maybe I should go back to reading action/thriller/mystery types? I bought Kamen Tantei and wasn’t disappointed. Two high school teens co-writes a mystery manga and won a competition. Turns out that their lead character comes to life to save them during tight spots in their amateur detective investigations at school. I reread Naruto, Bleach and eventually got hooked on Beelzebub. I also turned to reading sports mangas then. I read Crimson Hero (volleyball), Beach Stars (beach volleyball), Bamboo Blade (kendo), Over Drive (cycling), and Kuroko no Basket (basketball) before I finally found gems like Fantasista and Area no Kishi, both of which are heavily into soccer. Fantasista focuses more on the technicalities of soccer and how a ‘provincial’ guy would fare in a junior league through the help of his ace coach sister as a local ‘fantasista’, a term given to players who can stir overwhelming emotions in the audience making them anticipate for every play that he will make. While Fantasista is somewhat a me-and-the-world-of-soccer, Area no Kishi (Knight of the Area) focuses more on the position of ‘knight’ to the soccer ‘king’. It is deeply emotional and made me shed a tear or two. In here, the lead character’s personal life has affected much of his soccer career and team unity is highly explored in this manga.

These two currently remain unfinished as well. And therein lies my want to find more sports manga. They aren’t updated as regularly as the other mangas I’ve been reading and I needed to fill in that void in my sports series. And then I found Baby Steps by Kachiku Hakiru. The manga tells the story of E-chan Marou or “All A”. As expected, he’s a straight-laced, straight-A type of guy at school. He’s borderline obsessive-compulsive with his note-taking and has “honour student” written all over him when you meet him. As a freshie in high school, he decided to exercise at least once a week just to fill in his “honour student planner” (according to his school friend). Before he could even decide on it, his mom pushed him to attend STC or the local Southern Tennis Club where he met Natsu once again, another freshie from class 2 who borrowed his notes and dirtied it accidentally. E-chan, being a perfectionist, has been pushing himself to recreate the sensation he felt upon hitting a ball correctly while he was being temporarily coached by Natsu, who happens to be one of the club’s top players. On one of his practices, Natsu spied the determination and E-chan’s overwhelming focus to make things happen the way it needs to happen and decides that E-chan will be force to reckon with if she and Takuma, another strong tennis player, stop improving.

I’ve read only until Chapter 3 and I’m really liking it so far. It has stirred a powerful interest in me. I wanted to know more about E-chan and I wanted to follow his ‘baby steps’ towards being a pro tennis player. I’m really a sucker for people who try really hard for something they want. It reminds me of the days that I used to practice for a number of hours just to perfect a particular move. It also brings back the feelings of finally being able to do a certain attack with such ease after practicing. It would be easy for any reader to relate to E-chan’s determination and I guess us interested readers would be following closely how Natsu sees E-chan’s skills.

Of course, to spice up this manga is a seemingly love triangle in the making between the normal-looking E-chan, the school idol Natsu, and the tall, arrogant ass-type Takuma. From what I’ve read so far, Kachiku Hikaru has managed to pinch a good amount of comedy and seriousness into this piece. I’ll definitely be looking forward to reading more chapters of this manga.

Currently reading at www.onemanga.com/Baby_Steps.

I’ve got a new project! Yay!

A lot of things has been happening recently: the depressing news about my dying lolo,I’m stressed about house chores and being a good daughter and the weekly travel to Batangas, my nearing wedding, my upsetting body clock… Sigh.

Then I got the most exciting project at work as of late. I am to write a 5-issues worth of script for one of our games. The issue will be an independent publication. I’m practically having a nerdgasm upon receiving this project. This is the kind of break that I needed and I hope that I do well on this project. This is the motivation I’m looking for to finally finish a story.

What we’re aiming for in this comic is to give life to the 4 main characters of the story. I don’t plan any of the stories to become half-baked so I delved deeper into their boxed characterization and researched more about their motives via the old files that I edited. I am to do a background story of the game and make it easier for the players to parallelize themselves in the main characters’ stories. That, and for them to symphatize in the cause. I hope the project turns out right.

Pinned

“Oh, Irelyn, when will you ever learn that life doesn’t have to be so neatly organized?”

~Mother, from All the Wrong Reasons by RockFan

Thud, Thud, Thud goes my Pisces Horoscope for the Day

“Work and life and practical matters are too intense for you right now Pisces to even consider anything progressing on the romantic front. Your emotions are all over the place, and whether you are single or attached, explosive arguments could lead to going your own way when someone or something tries to confine you. Your own sense of independence and freedom is being challenged. It could be a good time to look at why this issue is bothering you, you may encounter it again in the future so deal with it now so the knee jerk reactions don’t occur the next time the issue arises. The past is the past so leave it there, but this does not mean you can not reinvent something new with someone old in the meantime.”

Drained

It takes a few weeks to get my energy back in Sanity’s Safe Area, but it only takes a few hours and some well-phrased sentences to drain me of my “Happy Mode.”

It’s an old and overused line already: I’m tired, I’m suffocated, and I’m overly pissed off already. I woke up to lazy Sunday morning with nothing but thoughts of hoping that  the December days would pass by me every time I blink. My Sunday plans had been shot down the drain; all the excitement I was trying to pool or muster for the past few days have dissipated after a well-aimed head shot a few hours before I woke up.

I never got out of bed. I read some fiction off my cellphone to help me clear my mind; escape from whatever was bothering me again or else I’ll succumb to the old me’s moments of breakdown whenever I’m alone. I drifted in and out of sleep for the whole day, wishing that I was on another Time when I open my eyes. Of course, that was shooting for the moon.

I’ve never asked for more than what’s necessary. I just wanted to live a simple life: just me dictating what and how I use my Time. Most people have said that I’ve a lot to be thankful for. Sure, thanks; but that doesn’t mean I can’t wish for an improvement.

The ideal situation I’ve been wanting seems normal enough. I sometimes lose a sight of me. And it seems like I’m going back to square one. New level, but still square one. It’s clearly fucking me up. I could write and rant the whole day and any reader would not have an idea what I’m talking about. I’m just tired and whenever I think of other different situations, I just feel weak-kneed. It feels like I’m never gonna find my solace from “that”. I’d have disappeared once again to a place far away from “that” if only I didn’t have a gold band on my finger. It’s the only thing that’s been keeping me hopeful. I just hope I’m strong enough to sustain the crush, because I feel that my old wounds are slightly opening again.

I don’t want to go back to that dark place again… Please don’t push me back there again. I’m tired. I love you and all but you drain the life out of me… Just, please.

[random] 1

I found pieces of you
Scattered among each thing I do
Your presence–prevalent, persistent
A memory that won’t quit.

Current Addiction: Karma by Bump of Chicken via Tales of the Abyss

I blame Kei for this.

He got a copy of the anime version of this old RPG “Tales of the Abyss” for me a week ago when I craving for an anime marathon. I watched it over the weekend and completely fell in love with the anime. I liked it so much to the point of wanting to play the game. It’s a story about a guy named Luke von Fabre who was destined to bring prosperity to Auldrant, as prophesized by the great Yulia in the planet’s Score. But an RPG wouldn’t be complete without some group trying to stop this from happening or the protagonist’s group of friends (or reluctant comrade in arms) to support him. Tales of the Abyss completely blew me away. The anime was well-paced, has a good mix of humor, beautifully rendered fight scenes and very memorable characters. *sob*

Aside from its engaging story, it has an equally beautiful soundtrack. Its opening song was sung by Bump of Chicken (“K“, “Tentai Kenzouko”) called Karma (or KARUMA) and the lyrics couldn’t have been more apt for the anime. I’ve been listening to it for days already and trying (helplessly) to sing along with it. Just hearing its opening strains in the anime gives me the goosebumps.

Karma by Bump of Chicken – Opening Song in the Anime:

The Incredible Adventures of Fish Girl, Vampires from the Opera House and the Battle with Stone People

The Incredible Adventures of Fish Girl, Vampires from the Opera House and the Battle with Stone People

They were after us

My dad and I were off to somewhere. He was driving and I was in the passenger seat. It was raining. The sky was purple…

I was standing on the bed in the guest room near the tinted sliding window, a flimsy translucent pina cloth covering my nakedness. My mom was on the floor doing something with a bunch of scraps of cloth with an impassive look on her face. My dad was in the garage reaching out through the window and trying to grab my cover. I slap his hands away and cry out for him to quit what he was doing…

I slapped his arm once again and when I look at my hand, I was clutching a silver necklace with a pendant in the shape of a cornucopia.I was assaulted with a flashback of the pendant’s history: it was owned by a dwarf who fell in love with a human woman. He gave up the essence and his nature of being a dwarf–his image, his powers–and turned human to wed the woman. A battle happened in his old world and he was summoned back as a human. He died and his wife was carrying his child.

The Missing Cherry in The Dart Board

The Missing Cherry in The Dart Board

Has it ever happened to you? You know something’s up, but you cannot exactly pinpoint where these strange vibes are coming from.

For weeks I’ve noticed a shift in my working environment. Maybe I was merely amassing this general feeling because I was feeling it too. Disappointment and dissatisfaction, that is. It seems like there’s a brewing conspiracy here. Something that could get me fired. Or if not, something is going to happen and I would end up being responsible for it.