My Top 5 Shoujo Anime! ^__^

5. OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB
桜蘭高校ホスト部（クラブ）, Ōran Kōkō Hosuto Kurabu

Haruhi Fujioka is a scholarship student at Ouran High School, a fictional school located in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Because of the superlative cost of the school uniform, Haruhi resorts to wearing long slacks, polo shirts and vests. Combined with her large glasses and tousled short hair, Haruhi's look causes her to be confused for a boy.

Looking for a quiet place to study, Haruhi stumbles upon the Third Music Room, the working place of the Ouran Host Club, a group of six attractive male students (Takashi "Mori", Mitsukuni "Hunny", Kaoru and Hikaru, Tamaki, and Kyouya) who spend their time charming and entertaining the school's girls for profit. During their first meeting, Haruhi accidentally knocks over and break a vase valued at ¥8,000,000, estimated to be US$80,000.

In order to pay off the large debt, Haruhi is employed as the club's "dog" and constantly ordered to do menial tasks like serving food or cleaning up. The Club president, without knowing she is really a girl, promotes Haruhi to "host" as soon as he discovers her potential. Even after the truth comes out in the Club, Haruhi continues the charade and is allowed to pay off the rest of her debt working as a host; in order to accomplish this, Haruhi conceals her true identity/gender from the customers. -Wikipedia

There are LOTS of reason why I love Ouran. One of them is the well developed characters. From Renge to Tamaki, everybody has their own story. Two, the humor. I find the antics in OHSHC very funny. Seriously! :)

I actually did a marathon of Ouran High School Host Club manga last night. Too bad there still aren't any news about a second season of the anime because there were major changes in the manga that any OHSHC fanatic would love to see animated. Don't worry, there are no spoilers here.. :D

Just like in Honey and Clover, I can't decide which of them is my favorite character.. *sigh* Before, I love the Hikaru x Haruhi tandem but then again, in the manga.. kyaaaaa.. @_____@ I was turned into a Tamaki x Haruhi fan.. Omg.. :D

Hope they never ever ever ever ever do a Live of OHSHC, I'm gonna kill them if they do! >:-)



This is the ever famous opening song Sakura Kiss by Chieco Kawabe



Now this is also the same artist, but they did some hocus pocus and turned 'her' voice into 'his' voice.. :D cool! ^__^V



Now, I fell in love with that 'guy' version of Sakura Kiss. I can imagine Tamaki singing, haha.. xD



4. LOVELY COMPLEX
ラブ★コン, Rabu★Kon

Lovely Complex is a love story between a boy and a girl. The girl, Risa Koizumi, is 172 cm (5'7") tall—much taller than the average Japanese girl. The boy, Atsushi Otani, is 156 cm (5'1 and a half") —way below the height of the average Japanese boy. Because of this, they are called the "All Hanshin Kyojin" after a popular comedy duo that has a similar height difference.

During summer school, a very tall student (from another class) shows up and Risa immediately falls for him, as she has had bad luck with boys in the past because she is tall. There is a girl that Atsushi likes as well, so Risa and Atsushi decide to put aside their differences and help each other get their love interests. But as they get to know each other better, Risa's feelings for Atsushi begin to blossom, and her love life gets complicated from there. -Wikipedia

I watched the anime of Lovely Complex again the other day. I still laughed and cried on the same scenes.. :) Koizumi's facial expressions still made me laugh and Otani's idiocy still got on my nerves. Overall, Lovely Complex still pulled my heartstrings even though I've seen it for, 3 or 4 times already.. :D

I'd say it's an all time favorite.. :)

XS:
I wasn't that impressed with the Live version of LC, uhm, I guess it's with the girl who played Koizumi. I really don't like her acting, waaa.. Gomen.. T_T










Bon Bon by Hey! Say!, my favorite ending theme.. ^__^




3. NANA
ナナ

Nana Osaki is a punk singer who wants to debut with her band as soon as possible to leave her ex-boyfriend, Ren Honjo, behind. Nana was the lead vocalist in their old band with Ren, and they lived together as lovers. When Ren is offered a chance to debut in Tokyo as a replacement member of the popular band Trapnest (T-Nest for short), Nana chooses to cultivate her own band, Black Stones (BlaSt for short) instead.

Nana Komatsu, the other Nana, is called Hachi (after Hachikō) as she has weak mental characteristics that resemble a puppy. With a habit of falling in love at first sight, Hachi has always depended on other people to help her. When her friends and then boyfriend leave for Tokyo, she decides to join them a year later after having saved enough money.

Nana and Hachi meet in a train by chance, both on their way to Tokyo. After a string of coincidences, they come to live together in an apartment numbered 707. Despite having contrasting characters and ideals, the Nanas like and respect each other.

While the Black Stones begin to gain popularity at live gigs, other issues need resolving, especially in the areas of romance. The story of Nana revolves heavily on the romance and relationships of the two characters as one seeks fame and recognition while the other seeks love and happiness. -Wikipedia

The story line was amazing, the OST was fantastic and, again, the characters were well developed. After I watched NANA, I can barely see. My eyes were swollen, haha.. xD




A manga scan I edited.. ^__^




The song where I got my shout out "You will find me where it's quiet. Listen closely, listen closely." My fave.. ^__^






2. NODAME CANTABILE
のだめカンタービレ, Nodame Kantābire

Megumi Noda, or “Nodame” is a piano student at Momogaoka College of Music. An extremely talented pianist who wants to be a kindergarten teacher, she prefers playing by ear rather than reading the music score. She is messy and disorganized, takes baths several days apart and loves to eat, sometimes stealing her friend’s lunchbox when it is filled with delicacies.

Shinichi Chiaki, is Momogaoka’s top student. Born into a musical family, he is talented in piano and violin and has secret ambitions to become a conductor. An arrogant multi-lingual perfectionist who once lived abroad in the music capitals of the world as a young boy (namely Prague), he is trapped in Japan because of his childhood phobia.

They meet by accident. Nodame quickly falls in love, but it takes much longer for Chiaki to even begin to appreciate Nodame’s unusual qualities. Their relationship causes them both to develop and grow. Along the way, they meet some crazy people (like Masumi, Mine, and Stresemann) and make lasting friendships. Because of Nodame, Chiaki gets the opportunity to lead a student orchestra and begins to have a broader appreciation of people's musical abilities. Because of Chiaki, Nodame faces her fears and enters a piano competition. Opportunities open up as both begin taking risks, stretching themselves far more than they ever thought possible. -Wikipedia

This anime made it to my top 3.. ^__^ I am really thankful to Paula for suggesting it to me. I saw a very good review of this anime in daisuki.com.br but I forgot to check it out, it was Paula who sent me a message regarding Nodame. Pau, thanks uli! :)

This is the outcome of me, watching Nodame Cantabile for the nth time. Hehe, one of my favorite scenes.















And my fave song on Nodame:




1. HONEY AND CLOVER
ハチミツとクローバー, Hachimitsu to Kurōbā

Yūta Takemoto, Takumi Mayama and Shinobu Morita are three young men who live in the same apartment complex and are students at an art college in Tokyo.

One day, one of the art professors, Shūji Hanamoto, introduces his cousin's daughter, Hagumi Hanamoto, who has come to live with him and is a first year at the art school. Upon introduction, Takemoto and Morita fall in love with her. Morita expresses his love for Hagu in ways that scare her, especially calling Hagu 'mousey' and constantly photographing her, while Takemoto hides his feelings and tries to be a friend to Hagu. Hagu herself, though initially timid and afraid of company, gradually warms up to the three.

The group also includes another female: Ayumi Yamada. She is a master of pottery, and is well known by her name "Tetsujin" (Iron Lady). When not at school or hanging out with friends from the college, she helps run the family liquor store. She is very popular with all the guys, whether they are from the shopping district the liquor store is in or the other male pottery students, but Mayama is the only man she is in love with.

Unfortunately, although Mayama considers Yamada a friend, he does not return Yamada's love and is busy chasing an older woman, Rika Harada. Rika runs an architecture studio which she used to run with her husband, Harada before he died in a car accident which also left Rika disabled. Rika Harada and Shūji were very close friends and roommates in college. Mayama is sent by Shūji to help Rika, who has a hard time taking care of herself and running her business.

The story follows these five characters in their love triangles, graduating from college, finding jobs, and learning more about themselves. -Wikipedia

Great animation. Superb storyline. Unforgettable characters. The best soundtrack. I don't have enough words to describe how wonderful this anime is.. ^___^

Listen to Waltz by Suneohair, one of my fave song. Reminds me of Takemoto.. ^__^



Also, a wallpaper I did when I was in Takemoto mode.. :p















There. my top 5.. Nothing much, just wanna share.

I'm currently watching some series:

- Itazura na Kiss (yep, the anime and original version of It Started with a Kiss starring Ariel Lin and Joe Cheng)

- Vampire Knight (I'm so into vampires right now, Kaname-senpaiiiiii! ^__^)

- Saiunkoku Monogatari II (it's a bit dragging, but then again, I like Shuurei-dono's character. Woman empowerment to the highest level! :p)


Do send me a message if you have any news about these animes..

Wish-a, wish-a, wish wish wish list.. :p

Christmas season na! Para sa 'kin! :p

Kidding, wala pa 'kong pang-regalo.. Anyway, i want to share here that I was pretty amazed with myself today. I created 5 wallpapers. Parang hindi ako nauubusan ng inspiration.. ^__^
If your curious, you can visit http://essie-hime.deviantart.com/


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Kaya ko nasabing christamas season na for me e dahil kanina pa nagpaparamdam ang wishlist. I mean, while I was uploading those wallpapers to deviantart, the word "WISHLIST" on my account's dashboard really had a pull on me..

So para mapagbigyan na din ang "pull" na 'yon, here's my wishlist.

WARNING:
Ah, bawal basahin kung hindi magbibigay! :p
Haha, half-meant? Nyahahaha..
*Meanie Mode!* >:-P

In no particular order:
1. Wacom pen tablet- so I can try my hands on free drawing.

2. Scanner- so kahit walang pen tablet, pwede ko na syang i-free hand sa paper then scan na lang.. :) pero siyempre, mas maganda pa din kung may tablet.. :p

3. Haruki Murakami's books- 'yung much recommended ni Wywy-dono na Sputnik Sweetheart & Norwegian Greenwood. Pero kahit anong title, pwede na. Curious lang talaga ako sa works nya.. ^__^

4. Banana Yoshimoto's books- 'yung Kitchen.. ^__^

5. Either iPod or PSP- nagdadalawang isip pa 'ko kung alin sa dalawa.. (-_-)"

6. Byousoku 5 CM DVD- kahit 'yung pirated lang, basta DVD copy.. :)

7. Honey and Clover Artbook- rare pictures ng Honey and Clover.. ^O,^ ----> drool

'Yun lang! ^___^

Hehe, parang walang wents 'tong blogpost ko na 'to.. Well, anyway. Slowly, makukuha ko din 'yang mga 'yan! Yey! Gambarimasu! ^______^

Hello, So long!

"Sayonara, LUGI!"
- essie-hime

Yeah, I said "Bye Bye" already to my dreams of becoming an editorial assistant with LUGI (LevelUp Games Inc.). I mean, why should I still keep it? First of all, I lack experience. Second, the interview with the Editor-in-Chief didn't go well (sheeesh, I clammed up). Third, there was this yasashii (kind), kakoii (cool), hontoni bishounen (really good looking guy) beside me while I was waiting for my interview and guess what, he's also an applicant for the same position. Hontoni sugoi (really amazing), ne? Atashi no shin was crushed (sorry for the japlish, I can't say it in straight japanese yet, gomen!.. @____@)


*sigh*

From the start, I knew that having an experience in the writing field was a plus but I also knew it that if you lack experience, it wasn't a minus either. Experience, in terms of jobs, is just a proof that you've done those kind of shit before. But that doesn't necessarily mean that you're good at it, does it? If you look at it closer, experience shouldn't really matter because it's always a case to case basis. One might be good at writing these kind of stuff but then again, he might be bad on other stuff, right? And besides, human are very flexible beings, we can adapt and survive!

Oh God. I'm so in ampalaya mode!

Anyway, the interview with the Editor-in-Chief didn't really go as smooth as I expected it to be. Maybe because I tried to guess beforehand every question that he might ask me. You know, Miss Universe/ Job Interview questions like: "Why did you choose LevelUp?" or "If you were given a chance to climb the success ladder, how far do you think you can go?" or I even expected that "Tell me something about yourself" question. Maybe I was disappointed because, well, I did guess one question right. The most idiotic question in an interview, my most hated question. "Tell me..." Ugh! I'm not gonna finish it, so over-rated!

So there, the interview was done in less than 30 minutes while Bishounen-san, who was interviewed ahead of me, took almost an hour. Man, I was really pressured on the idea that he was interviewed before me. It might have been a 'OK' situation if I weren't able to talk to him because then I wouldn't know that he's a former DJ (his term was FM radio announcer, how humble..T_T).

And that he was also from Accenture who paid 100k just to get out of the bond.
And that he was a real estate agent.
And that he wrote restaurant reviews for clickthecity.com and got to be treated like a VIP. *envy*
And best of all, that he's the same age as me.

And that compared to him, I'm.....

Kyaaaaaaaaaa.. I don't even have the right word. He broke my heart, stole my dream!

Haha, just kidding! *hides under the bed* T___T


*sigh*

I mean, how can somebody like him do all those stuff in the span of three years since graduation while I, on the other hand, has done nothing but take calls.

And watch anime.
And read manga.
And watch more anime.
And read more manga.
And then, take calls.

...

...

...

Kyaaaaa, this is absurd! I want a life, life life! I want to go out there and experience how it feels to be like him. How to be like Kaoru. You know, people who do what they love to do.

But then again, Bishounen-san said something that really hit me here *points heart*. Bullseye. He said that if you really do love writing, the only way to perfect it is through practice, practice, practice.

Hmp. I knew that. But darn, I didn't practice.

So this is the consequence. And since he's the one who's always practicing, he might be the new editorial assistant for the New Media department of LU. Congratulations.. :)

So the next time I'm gonna visit LU's website, I kinda know who wrote those stuff. Bishounen-san.

Some people are really amazing.

And I'm one of them! Hahaha, gambarimasu*! Fight-o, fight-o, fight-o!

Tsk, let me be. I'm cheering myself up! :p I know there would always be somebody better than me at what I'm trying to achieve but nobody can do it like I do!

Do, do, do, do, do! Hala, nabaliw na 'ko, gomen!

Oh, and one more thing. Here's the pic of bishie-san. It's from the launch of their station:

I know, he kinda looks like an egg here but hey, he's really cute in person. He reminds me of Billie Crawford.

And Bishie-san, sorry if I posted your picture here. Hope you never get to see this blog post and if ever you do, *bows* hontoni gomen! Sorry! ^___^V peace! Ganbatte!

Yoroshiku, ne!

Papers and Bronze

I want more than what you can give.

More than a 4-digit shoe
Or a coat
That I would forever hang in my closet

More than scribbles on shirts
Or two-lettered signs
That I can barely care for

I know I need them, you know
People on statues
In my pocket

I need a hero, right now
But I also want dreams
Memories

So I'm closing my eyes one more time
Just for a moment, please
Stop saving me.

Reminiscing college days with Neruda.. :D

I can write the saddest poem of all tonight.

Write, for instance: "The night is full of stars,
and the stars, blue, shiver in the distance."

The night wind whirls in the sky and sings.

I can write the saddest poem of all tonight.
I loved her, and sometimes she loved me too.

On nights like this, I held her in my arms.
I kissed her so many times under the infinite sky.

She loved me, sometimes I loved her.
How could I not have loved her large, still eyes?

I can write the saddest poem of all tonight.
To think I don't have her. To feel that I've lost her.

To hear the immense night, more immense without her.
And the poem falls to the soul as dew to grass.

What does it matter that my love couldn't keep her.
The night is full of stars and she is not with me.

That's all. Far away, someone sings. Far away.
My soul is lost without her.

As if to bring her near, my eyes search for her.
My heart searches for her and she is not with me.

The same night that whitens the same trees.
We, we who were, we are the same no longer.

I no longer love her, true, but how much I loved her.
My voice searched the wind to touch her ear.

Someone else's. She will be someone else's. As she once
belonged to my kisses.
Her voice, her light body. Her infinite eyes.

I no longer love her, true, but perhaps I love her.
Love is so short and oblivion so long.

Because on nights like this I held her in my arms,
my soul is lost without her.

Although this may be the last pain she causes me,
and this may be the last poem I write for her.


Saddest Poem by Pablo Neruda

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

This poem is one of the reasons why I love Pablo Neruda.. :) haaaay.. I forgot who made me read Neruda in college but I'm really grateful.. :D

'Yun lang, no time to create another well thought post eh.. Busy-busyhan, ne, Ady-chan? ^__^V

"Believe!"

Inspired? ^___^V

I made another batch of wallpapers from our cosplay pictures..

Hehe, inspired? :D

Nah, just cheering myself up! Here they are:



-- this is for {Kaoru}.. ;) We thought that this shot was "pang-wallpaper", so there, a wallpaper for you.. ^___^V




.. and this wallpaper is to explain why we don't have Mayama, Morita and Takemoto with us.. Ayu and I were on a summer vacation, yey! Haha. I really wished there were 5 of us cosplaying here. I'm just wondering who will play who.. :p suggestions, mga 'tol?


and this is the other version of the HachiKuro wallpaper I posted before:




Yey..

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

A friend told me she noticed that I'm more inclined on editing pictures than writing stories. Hmmmn, that may be true. I wonder..

Cosplay.. ^__^

Got the pictures from our cosplay! ^___^V

Yosh!

Here are some for NANA:



This is the hardest pose to do! I had to pretend I smoke ala NANA but my manly hands won't flick like a lady! Hehe, oh well! Mukha namang OK sya dito.. xD



Ah, my hair is sticking out in a weird way.. I tied my hair into two pigtails, tucked them under the cap then I let the ends hang loose.. :p a "haircut" somehow.. xD




Hehe, when I saw our pictures, this came to mind immediately! i really wanted to put us in the manga! Haha.. :)


Now, here are some of our Honey and Clover Pictures.. ^__^




Ah, serious mode.. ^___^





Hmmn.. :)





Edited our favorite pic.. :) I have another version of this picture, better check it out on http://profiles.friendster.com/capricciosocantabile..

^___^V

Enjoy!

PS.

To Master Vhojie, we are not worthy of your talent kind Sir. Thank you! :D