Death Note.

Reviewed by kuro-hime


Death Note synopsis :

Shinigami own notebooks called "Death Note" which are used as killing devices. Whoever's name they write down in a death note will die. Shinigami Ryuk dropped his death note in the human world where it's found by honor high school student Light Yagami.
Light Yagami discoveres that he now he has the power to discreetly kill people and with this power, he plans to change the world by killing off criminals. Soon, he is called KIRA.
L, a super dectective wants to catch KIRA, believing that KIRA don't have the right to kill.
Then, a cat & mouse situation appeared.

Storyline :
This anime has a pretty good story premise. The storyline is interesting. At first, the pace of the story is slow but then it slowly takes off. The 2nd half of the anime gives you a sudden plot twist which you wouldn't expect.

Music :
The background music that are quite nice. It really gives life to the anime, making the anime more real.
The opening & closing of Death Note are quite nice. Nothing special but nice to listen to.

Animation :
The animation is done really well. The art is really nice. The art is different from most anime because of it's not your usual anime art. The art in Death Note looks the most realistic to humans. The art almost looks real. That's what I like about the art. It gives me a break from the usual anime art.

Characters :


The main character of this anime is Light Yagami. The intelligent honor student & perfect son. He is an intelligent person. Wait, heck, he's brillant. He's a genius. Well, he found a death note and uses it to cleanse the world by killing criminals. You get to see his character development as the story passes.
You will either love him or hate him.


Then we have, L.lawliet, the super dectective. He's also a genius. He wants to arrest KIRA. His character is quite weird & interesting. He likes to eat lots of candies. He is definately a loveable character.

REVIEW :
This another must watch anime. This anime has an interesting mental battle and it always leave you wondering who will win the game. It's a very exciting anime filled with suspense.
The ending of this anime leaves you wanting more but you can't have it because it ended. I, personally wanted more! The ending is quite sad and not really happy. But there could be no other ending than this because the author didn't attempt to make a happy ending at all and wrote in a way that drove to this ending.
So I rate this anime 4 STARS!!

G.I Joe: The Rise of the Cobra

Reviewed by JuliaAerides


I haven't have much expectations for this movie~ expecting it to be a usual boring 'world domination' plot recycled many times over. Boy was I wrong~ The pacing was excellent. Not too much explanation but well placed flashback sequence either featuring Duke/Baroness or Snake Eyes/Storm Shadow. Clocking below 2 hours, this is an action packed movie with loads of humour and its fair share of wtf moments that will keep you quite entertained.

Basically, G.I Joe is an elite military force led by the might-die-soon-in-future-sequel leader, General Hawks. His top troops comprise of a complete badass mute ninja Snake Eyes, intelligence expert Scarlet, technical brainiac Breaker and weapon master Heavy Duty.

They are introduced when a soldier convoy got blasted by the bad guys while transporting warheads capable of mass destruction. And naturally the only two survivors Duke and Ripcord became part of G.I Joe to track down their assailants The Baroness who has some history with Duke, rival ninja Storm Shadow, two timing weapon dealer McCullen, and the all time twisted mad scientist The Doctor.

Tech-wise the science gizmo are pretty awsome~ Apparently jamming electrode into a dead persons brain allowes you to replay their last memories. (We should test that theory sometimes~) But I think they seems to overdoing the 'shattering the glass' explosion effect. And somehow the Baroness reminds me of Catwoman- Her leather body fitting outfit is more of a fan service-designed to show of the best of her assets.

The action constantly shifts from dense forests, the streets of France, underwater bases, to high-altitude jet fights and a number of places in-between. The major sequences are both intense and sufficiently humorous with non stop barage of chases, explosions, destruction of mational landmarks and general mayhem across the globe.

My verdict: 7.7

The Undomestic Goddess

Reviewed by Kuro-hime


SYNOPSIS.
Samantha Sweeting-a high-powered lawyer in London, working for one of the best law firms, Carter Spink. Truly a workaholic, her goal in her career is to be a partner in Carter Spink.

Life seems to be running along just fine until she makes a terrible mistake. Thrown head first into the world of home making- A Cambridge educated lawyer mistaken for a house keeper~!! With romance throwed into the concoction can Samantha Sweetings learn that theres more to life than just datelines, meetings and contracts. Oh and did I mention, she actually knows nothing about home making.

Character development
You can actually see the changes in her thoughts and movement. The author paced the story well and she could really give a sudden twist which you wouldn't expect. As for the romance between Samantha and Nathaniel, you can see it grow and you laugh at their awkward situation. And at the end of the story, you really want them to be together... This book is definitely one of my favourites and I highly recommend it to everyone. It's not corny, it's not boring. Instead, it's captivating, unique and addictive!

Writing Style
Sophie Kinsella knows how to make it dramatic, real and yet funny. The way she writes is very interesting and it makes you connect with the main character emotions and story plot. Although, this book is written in a first point of view, we do not miss out on the story plot.

Review
Honestly, I like this story. I liked the way Sophie Kinsella wrote it. It has a special charm. Somehow, you can relate with the characters. Normally, I don't even read this kind of genre but this book was so interesting and captivating that it was hard to put it down.
No matter how good the plot is, I'm slightly disappointed with the ending. Sophie Kinsella could have given us a little more description to her new life when she turned down the partnership offer. I give this book 4 stars. I'll be looking forward to reading Sophie Kinsella next work.

You should give the book a try!

Record of Fallen Vampire

Reviewed by JuliaAerides

There is a legend that tells of how the world was almost destroyed thousands of years ago by the vampire queen after she unleashed her latent powers. Despite their efforts, the humans were unable to defeat her, and thus resorted to sealing her away until the time they would be powerful enough to kill her. However, the humans are not the only ones after the seal. Having cast aside his kingdom and betraying his own race and the dhampirs (half-vampires), the vampire king is persistently searching, even to this day, for where his queen has been sealed away so he may break the seal and free her. Fearing that once the king and queen are reunited, they shall continue to destroy the world together, the humans and dhampirs hunt the king, using any method possible.-adapted from wikipedia

When I first read it, I was a little skeptical because is this going to be ANOTHER vampire versus humans storyline that can get pretty boring. However, I found it all makes for a very interesting plot and as I learned more details about the story I grew to enjoy it more and more.

In the beginning, I couldn't really develop a connection to every character as the story seemed a little rushed. But I later realised the quick progression in the beginning was necessary to move the story along appropriately, and then from there it continues at a normal pace. And just when you think it all might get repetitive the mangaka throws in a surprising twist!

Record of Fallen Vampire is a promising manga even though it takes a while for a story to find its bearings. Quite cluttered and badly framed at some point, the storytelling is the only strength of this manga. Interestingly, the truth about what that really happenned 1000 years before the story's timeline is shown through the character's biased eyes until the truth becomes clear –the differing perceptions of the same truth.

This is definitely not your typical bloodsucking vampire story and I am impressed about how she made this her very own. In summary, this is mesmerising tale filed with suspense - a supernatural epic. All in all this manga is definitely worth looking into.

My verdict: 8.8

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Reviewed by JuliaAerides


Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince-the 6th instalation of the film. I'm sure that this doesn't need any introductions but just for precautionary measures...

Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter, together with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, his friends from the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The central story arc concerns Harry's an orphan who discovers that he is a wizard,struggle against the evil wizard Lord Voldemort, who killed Harry's parents in his quest to conquer the wizarding world and subjugate non-magical (Muggle) people to his rule.-adapted from wikipedia

In the begining it wasn't clear what the main plot was. But after the first half, the movie began to pick up, paving its way to an unconclusive ending hinting of what that is about to come.

Comparatively, the book was darker and complex compared to its film eventhough it lacks the magic and action of its prequels. Comedic effects are well paced and it did its job well to lighten up an otherwise dark, gloomy and the feeling-of-impending-doom atmosphere.

Watching The Half Blood Prince twice, I have no doubts about the acting abilities of the cast, especially of the supporting ones as the quality of their acting has improved tremendously. But the same cannot be said for Daniel Radcliff who portrays Harry Potter. His acting doesn't reach out to the audience like in his previous work~well at least in this film.

Characters especialy from the romance angle sees development (Infact the first-half is FLOODING with it.)It was interesting watching these characters, grow into young adult and acknoledging their feelings for each other.

Visually the Harry Potter saga has WOW-ed me yet again its amazing effects and atmosphere. The scenes were very much alike to what I imagined from the book. Coupled with its sound effects they kept me constantly in awe.

The Half Blood Prince, in whole is funny, entertaining but somehow when I left the cinema I felt slightly disapointed. Pointless scenes were inserted and others crucial and important to the plot and character development were compressed or removed.

The ending especially was very anti-climatic with the ending not following the book. The lack of explanatory and elaboration of the Half Blood Prince and its relation to Snapes past is its downside as those who have not read the book will not have any idea why is Snape half-blood.

This movie is not for those who are only in it for its action because you won't exactly see any. I was expecting more from a film that I had to wait a year plus for but overall this isn't bad. Not bad at all. It could have been worse.

My verdict: 6.7
~Additional Review by Kuro-hime~

This movie is NOT for those who have NOT read the book because if you didn't read the book, you'll not understand certain things in the movie.
This movie has wonderful effects, the effects are flawless.
However, the transition of the book to the movie is slightly dissappointing. The director only managed to put 60% of the book in the movie.

The director missed out several important parts of the book which are the essence of the book. Those essence are the main source of drama and emotions. This movie does not have much action but it's more emotional. (Be it, falling in love or being angsty)

I still have to give credit to the director for creating several scenes which ARE so similar with what readers had in mind. As for the cast, it's pretty damn good. Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) really did a good job of portraying Draco's angst and uptightness.
Hero Fiennes-Tiffin (Child Tom Riddle) and Frank Dillane (Teenager Tom Riddle) did a good job as Tom Riddle of being young yet different or in other words, evil. I wonder where they found the Tom Riddle's because those 2 are really what I would have imagined Tom Riddle to be.

I rate this movie 3 stars too. It could have been better...

Nokia N86 8MP VS Sony Ericsson W995

~Written by Kuro-hime~

Nokia N86 8MP and Sony Ericsson W995 were both announced in February 2009. Both the phones have already been released. Now, both these phones are quite similar with each other. Really, I'm not kidding. These phones are even popular for the same thing...their high-tech camera.
Therefore, this dual is borned. Let the dual begin.

PHONE PHYSICAL FEATURE :

Nokia N86 8MP



SIZE : 103.4 x 51.4 x 16.5mm
WEIGHT : 149 g
FORM FACTOR : Dual Slider
SCREEN : 2.6 inch OLED display

Sony Ericsson W995



SIZE : 97 x 49 x 15mm
WEIGHT : 113 g
FORM FACTOR : One Way Slider
SCREEN : 2.6 inch

Size and weight is definately won by Sony Ericsson because it's lighter. But Nokia is cooler because it has dual slider.


CAMERA, VIDEO AND MUSIC FEATURES :

Nokia N86 8MP
- 8 Megapixels
- Carl Zeiss lens with a wide angle of view(28mm)
- Auto focus & dual LED flash
- VGA camera (phone secondary camera)
- Video capture 30 frame per second.
- Stereo speakers and 3.5mm audio jack
- FM Radio
- Music Player
- Video Player

Sony Ericsson W995
- 8.1 Megapixels
- Auto focus & LED Flash
- VGA Camera (Phone Secondary camera)
- Video Capture 30 frame per second
- Stereo Speaker and 3.5mm audio jack
- FM radio
- Music Player / Walkman 4.0 Player
- Youtube application
- Shake Control

Hmm...very close competiton. I really can't give the crown to anyone. But after consideration, I'll give the crown to Sony Ericsson because it has a 8.1 megapixel camera.

OTHER FEATURES :

Nokia N86 8MP
- HSPDA
- Wi-Fi
- GPS
- Built in digital compass

Sony Ericsson W995
- HSPDA
- Wi-Fi
- GPS

Nokia wins this one because of the extra feature. Not only that, Nokia's web browser is better than Sony Ericsson.

MEMORY :

Nokia N86 8MP
- Internal 8GB memory
- MicroSD slot support up to 16GB

Sony Ericsson W995
- Internal 118MB
- Memory Stick Micro(M2)support up to 8GB

Well, Nokia wins this without any competiton.

BATTERY LIFE :

Nokia N86 8MP
- 6 hours talktime
- 25 hours music playback
- 11 days standback on a full charge

Sony Ericsson W995
- 9 hours talktime
- 20 hours music playback
- 5 hours Video playback

Wow, another hard competition. But I think people would listen to music on their phones more than talk to it. So the crown goes to Nokia.

Nokia won :
- Coolest
- Other feature
- Memory
- Battery life

Sony Ericsson won :
- Lightest
- Camera/Music/Video feature

It's obvious who the winner is. So, the crown goes to the *insert drumroll* NOKIA N86 8MP!!
I really thought Sony Ericsson will win. Oh well... Anyway, Congratulation, Nokia!!

Anyway, what's your say?? Who do you think is the winner of the battle?
I really wonder which your choice? IS it Nokia or Sony Ericsson?

Code Geass Lelouch of the Rebellion

Reviewed by Kuro-hime


Code Geass R1 Synopsis :The series is set after Japan's conquest by the Holy Britannian Empire on August 10, 2010, a.t.b. with their powerful robot weapons, the Knightmare Frames. Japan and its citizens stripped of all rights and freedoms and renamed Area 11. The titular Lelouch is a Britannian prince who was disowned by his father, Emperor Charles zi Britannia, after his mother was murdered. Since then he vowed to destroy his father, the Emperor, and Britannia. He gains an ability through the mysterious power of the Geass, becoming the leader of the resistance movement to fulfill his two wishes: to seek revenge for his mother and to construct a world in which his beloved sister Nunnally can live happily. As Lelouch furthers his conquests, he begins to find questions to his personal belief because of that of those closest to him.

Code Geass R2 Synopsis:
It's been one year since the failure of the Black Rebellion and the supposed death of Zero. Britannia has assigned Area 11 a "correctional education" status, where Elevens are made an example of by brute force, to try to prevent any future uprisings and suppress rebellious thoughts. Unsuspecting high school student, Lelouch, oblivious to his rebellious past as Zero, stumbles upon a scheme on his life and the life of a mysterious woman known as C.C., who reveals to him his forgotten purpose and his "true" self. Destroying his assailants and declaring himself Zero once again, Lelouch sets out to finish what he started.

Storyline :
This anime has one of the best story plots ever. It is fast-paced filled with action, emotions and drama. This anime is very addictive. Every episode hooks you even more. This story has many twists and turns. The sudden plot twist is so good that you never guessed it.

Music :
Code Geass R1 :
The songs are pretty good. I liked the first opening which is "colors" by FLOW and the second ending which is "Mosaicku Kakera" by Sunset Swish
Code Geass R2 :
I really liked all the both the openings which is "02" by Orange Range and "World End" by FLOW. I didn't really like the endings.
Background music :
The background music are very well done. It really suits with the anime. Songs such as masquerade, continued stories and Tori ni naru are really soft and nice. The background songs do drive in the emotion of the anime even more.

Animation :
The animation is done very well. Of course, it's done very well. This is a high-budget anime from Sunrise Studio and the animation is done by the best. CLAMP are the mastermind behind code geass character design. The animation has CLAMP signature all over it but then, I'm not complaining. I really like CLAMP's work.
Maybe, the characters are drawn a little too thin or unreal but this is an anime, it's not suppose to be real. Other than that, the art is excellent.

Characters :


The title character and protagonist of the show, Lelouch Lamperouge is a seemingly ordinary student at Ashford Academy. In reality, he is Lelouch vi Britannia, the exiled son of the Emperor of Britannia, after his mother's assassination. When he gets caught up in a battle between the military and Japanese rebels, he gains the power of Geass, and begins a quest to utilize this power to destroy Britannia under another identity known as Zero.


C.C. is one of the most important character in Code Geass as she was the one who granted Lelouch has Geass. Much is not known about her except that she's immortal and wishes to die.

C.C. is not her real name; she involuntarily reveals her real name to Lelouch in her sleep, but it is muted so the viewer cannot hear it. (I wonder why?? Damn Sunrise for being so secretive. Until today, people still argue on C.C's name in forums.)

C.C is quite a mysterious and sarcastic person when she is having a conversation with Lelouch. At the same time, she is also very kind. Their relationship is quite weird, honestly. And one thing that makes C.C so lovable is her penchant for pizza's and she will go to extreme length to get it.


Suzaku Kururugi is Lelouch's best friend and his worst enemy. Suzaku character is a little odd and hard to understand. But when the story ends, you will understand him a little deeper.
Suzaku isn't really a favourite character due to his thinking and actions. There's even a Suzaku must die fanclub. However, I think Suzaku is an important character in the series and he is actually a nice character if you can accept his reasons.

Awards :
Yes, code geass has awards. Yup, it's that good.
Fukuyama Jun won best leading best voice actor for his performance as Lelouch in the Seiyu Awards 2007
Ami Koshimizu won best voice actress in a supporting role for her performance as Kallen Stadtfeld in the Seiyu Awards 2007
Code Geass R1 won the best TV anime series award in the 2007 Tokyo International Anime Fair
Best TV Animation at the 12th Animation Kobe Event.
Best TV Animation at the 13th Animation Kobe Event.
Code Geass was voted most popular and Lelouch was voted most favourite character in Animage's 29th Annual Anime Grand Prix

Review :
This is a must watch anime. It's the best of the best and you can expect one hell of a roller coaster ride from code geass. I rate it 5 stars.
People compare Code Geass with Death Note and Gundam because people claim that code geass = gundam + death note. That may seem to be true but even so, Code Geass has it owns identity.
Only complain I have is that the plot is sometimes a little too fast and confusing. Other than that, it's pretty damn epic! (Yes, I'm using the word "epic")

~Additional Reviews by Chi no Hana~

Code Geass is a very theatrical series - rather complex storyline, intricately woven characters, and a good dose of philosophy, as well. Its animation style is clean and crisp, and of good quality.

The characters are not exactly realistic looking but they're all unique in their own way - you have the typical angst ridden lead who would do anything to gain his goals Lelouch, then there's his EXACT opposite, christlike, idealistic, personality lacking goodboy Suzaku.

Code Geass has great rewatch value. It has flaws that prevent it from being a classic, yet it has every element to be a "must watch" anime - making it both exciting and interesting to follow.

Verdict: 9.0