Anatolia Story/ Red River

Reviewed by JuliaAerides


Yuuri Suzuki who is magically transported to Hattusa, the capital of the Hittite Empire in Anatolia. She was summoned by Queen Nakia who means to use Yuri as a human sacrifice needed in placing a curse upon the princes of the land so that they will perish, leaving Nakia's son, the youngest prince as the sole heir to the throne.

Red River storyline is the classic 'girl arrives in new world, falls in love and saves the world' concept seen in many shoujo mangas. Whereas other titles of the genre rely on prophesizing the heroine as 'the savior' and bless her with destined powers, Anatalia Story takes a much more realistic approach in its portrayal of Yuuri; Which means there is no all-encompassing wheel of destiny constantly at work here.

One interesting contrast to most other titles of this genre is that although the romantic elements are strong, they do not represent the whole of the content. Indeed, the various interactions between the characters are all integral to the development of the storyline: from loyalty to betrayal, from brotherhood to unrequited love, from friendship to hatred, they all contribute to ultimately shape the direction of the series.

What I must point out is that the artwork is somewhat outdated, which will obviously not please everyone. However, this suits the series very well: in contrast to the usual overly exaggerated shoujo style, or the ecchi infested shounen style.

Anatalia Story is a beautiful story of love, war and betrayal. So sweet and yet so tragic, the sentimental value is unparalleled. And in the end, everything comes together in a tale in order to bring a nation - and most of all, two individuals - together.

Verdict: 9.0

The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1)

Reviewed by JuliaAerides


Percy Jackson & The Olympians is a series of adventure books written by Rick Riordan, based on Greek mythology. Our titular character, Percy Jackson thinks he's a normal kid trying to not keep his record of changing school every year after being expelled from the last one. What he doesn't know is that he is the son of a god. Obviously, this would explain everything.

Percy Jackson is an excellent replacement for readers eager to move on after finishing the great Harry Potter series. The Lightning Thief takes the same approach that Harry Potter did, but with obvious differences. The main character, Percy Jackson, is clearly different than all of his peers in schools, until one day someone tells him he is the son of a Greek god, also called a half-blood, or demigod. Very similar to Harry Potter's situation in the Philosopher's Stone.

Percy Jackson is also paired with two, close knit friends. His first friend, Grover Underwood, is a satyr (half goat and half human) who was sent to locate Percy and verify if he was a true demigod. Percy's second friend is a girl by the name of Annabeth Chase who is a daughter of Athena and one of the longest tenured campers at Camp Half-Blood for young demigods training to be heroes.

Within a few days of being at Camp Half-Blood, Percy is blamed with stealing Zeus’s Master Lightning Bolt, which he didn’t. He is quickly whisked away to fulfill a quest set out by the great Oracle. He also becomes the owner of the sword Anaklusmos (which means “Riptide”)- a gift from his father. In the process, he learns that the Olympians still exist, along with many other figures and monsters from Greek mythology like Titans, cyclopes, and other creatures.

As stated, Percy Jackson is the son of a Greek god set in present time. His mother is a human and living in New York. All the while Percy is thrown head first into a world of myth and completely unknown to him and possibly even the reader. Whether it is the new Mount Olympus being located in New York's Empire State Building or the Underworld of Hades being located under Los Angeles, Mr. Riordan has given great care to making his world seem real.

Verdict: 8.8

Avatar

Reviewed by JuliaAerides

James Cameron has managed to amaze us yet again after more than 10 years with this visually spectacular, incredibly cliche and yet somehow clasic storyline.

So this time our protagonist, Jake Sully is a cripple ex-Marine who takes the place of his dead twin in the avatar program. His job is to befriend the blue skinned race of native people known as the Na'vi and convince them to move from Hometree with diplomacy...or the military will simply blast them away because the Na'vi live on top of the largest mineral reserve there is.

Things are not as easy as it looks as the Na'vi aren't too keen on moving. But after seeing him tarzan-ing around in his blue hyper-active body, it’s clear that he’s never going back to that crippled pasty body of his.

Jake is taken in by one tribe where Neytiri, reluctantly has to teach him the ways of the people. The Na'vi have a saying, "I see you," which goes beyond the visual. It means I see into you and know your heart. As usual our fated couple would fall in love along the way which is bad because she already has a fiance. *Cliche must have no.1, forbidden lovebirds - check* (this is so like pocahontus)

Jake finds himself torn between two worlds when his cover is blown. War breaks out between the two sides *major catastrophy - check*. Eventually Jake becomes drawn in by the natives and begins to question whose side he should be on: with the humans, where he would remain...well a cripple, or with the Na'vi, where he can make a difference. *Cliche no.3 the life changing choice*

That said, the visuals are undeniably amazing. There is not once where you ever thought that it looks fake. The moon of Pandora is brought to life with such lifelike clarity. The details of every plant, every creature are simply astonishing and a wonder to behold. It may be the most beautiful movie I’ve ever seen.

As stunning as Avatar is to look at, there is a strong message throughout the whole film about the importance of preserving the planet and peace and goodwill towards all creatures. To sum it up, this is just one of the best movies ever!!

Verdict: 8.2

Additional review by kuro-hime

Ok, James Cameron made a huge comeback with this movie. Looks like he haven't lost his director touch yet. Well, James Cameron movies has always been different & long.

The story plot of this movie is pretty interesting but it's slightly cliche. It's one of those environmental message movie. And like usual, the main character is somehow the chosen one by the Na'vi, falls in love with a Na'vi and makes a life changing decision-Either he betrays humans or he betrays the Na'vi. But overall the plot was pretty good & engaging.

But somehow, the message that James Cameron portrayed in this movie makes a lot of sense. From the environment all the way to the energy flow. So in a way, this movie opens your eyes.

The graphic...let's talk about the graphic. It's done pretty good & it's pretty believable. It's not one of those lame CGI that you know it's fake. Pandora has a very lovely forest. And the Na'vi looked pretty real.

So I think this movie was really good. I recommend it. (hoho, my first recommended movie) I rate this movie 4 stars. Good job, James Cameron. It was a pretty awesome movie.