A-Music Week 4

Dear Followers,

Yesterday I prematurely submitted my Common Application, assuming I was supposed to hand in everything pertaining to the application 10 school days before the deadline. Facepalm. While I am somewhat relieved to not have to worry about it anymore, I can’t help but shake feeling like I have done myself a disservice in denying myself the ability to go back and edit some of my information. Oh well. As far as anime news goes, I have recently finished two shows which were both much more satisfying than I initially anticipated.

First, which I believe I mentioned a few weeks ago, is “Mawaru Penguindrum.” I was genuinely surprised at how complex and philosophical the dialogue became in the last few episodes. Even after scanning a few fan forums for an explanation of the first season’s ending left me feeling like I was reading a passage by Slavoj Zizek. “Mawaru Penguindrum” even managed to masterfully craft a reasonable justification for one of anime’s most hated clichés. I’m more than ready for a second season, especially as I wait for “Persona 4” to become marathonable.

Second is “Arakawa Under The Bridge.” I really have no idea why I came across this show. If I remember correctly I was on MyAnimeList looking for recommendations based on Bakemonogatari when I passed over a review. Finding shows like “Arakawa Under The Bridge” make me feel incredibly blessed to be an impulsive YouTube user. After watching a fan-made collection of some of the show's funniest clips, I had more than enough reason to check it out in its entirety. What I found was a show which questions preconceived notions of normality, social hierarchy, and what it means to find happiness.

And, here are some new songs!

1. Sakasama Bridge - Suneohair

2. E - Spangle Call Lilli Line

3. Together - Monkey Majik

4. Namikaze Satellite - Snorkel

5. Gravity 0 - Aqua Timez

6. Distance (M-Flo Remix) - Utada Hikaru

7. After Dark - Asian Kung-Fu Generation

8. Fly Away - Izawa Asami

9. Akaneiroga Moerutoki - Scoobie Do

10. Ma Boy - Sistar19

You Parasitic Life Form,
Noel

A-Music Week 3

Dear Followers,

Yeah... I know I missed a few weeks in between. I was busy whittling down my human character into a standardized test score.

Between my last blog post I had come across a few new items of otaku interest. First, when scanning around on Star Crossed Anime Blog, which by the way writes some handy reviews, when I came across Mawaru Penguindrum. While I wasn't a fan of the character design, a combination of high ratings and supposed plot complexity drew me in. Before I knew it, I was marathoning. The plot is simple. A terminally ill girl named Himari is saved by an otherworldly being who decides to extend her life on the condition that her two brothers must acquire an item known as the Penguin Drum. So far, I have yet to be wowed, but I sense a great deal of potential for this show.

In terms of manga, I came across Ga-Rei on my handy iPhone app. I had heard of an animated version of the prologue, Ga-Rei: Zero, was infamous for its notable first episode in which nearly every one of the main characters die. Being the curious cat I am, I decided to check out a few pages and found something worth reading. Once again, we have a rather simple plot involving the classic Japanese version of boy meets girls against a supernatural backdrop. The art is decent, and the plot is nothing spectacular. I just find the characters likable and am particularly interested in Japanese demonology.

Here we go.

1. Nexus - ClariS

2. DEAR FUTURE - Coaltar Of The Deepers (YOUTUBE ONLY HAS THE REMIX)

3. アルクアラウンド - Sakanaction

4. สุดเขต (เธอGETก็OK) - The Jukks

5. 뷹은 노을 - Big Bang

6. New World - TWILL

7. Orion Wo Nazoru - Unison Square Garden

8. Take-Off - 2PM

9. Core Pride - UVERworld

10. RPG - Food School Punishment

Survival Strategy,
Noel

A-Music Week 2

Dear Follower,

After a crazy week I am back with your weekly dose of Asian music. Today, with some extra free time, I had a chance to explore the interwebs. During the Northwestern Debate Institute, I came across a blog run by Danny Choo. I don't remember what I was looking for when I found it. Anyways, his article, How Discovering Japan Changed My Life, really struck a chord with me for obvious reasons. Reading about how Danny, a young boy from London, came to love Japanese culture, learned the language, moved to Japan, and started his own business has become a source of inspiration for me. If you ever have some spare time, I highly recommend watching his show, Culture Japan. That is, if you are interested in Japanese culture like myself. Anyways, here we go!

1. Change - Yoshida Brothers X Monkey Majik

2. It's Okay - Untouchable ft. Hwayobi

3. Sakurane - Piko

4. Kaze no Gotoku - Inoue Joe

5. Kira Kira - Domino

6. DisPLZ Me - Nassun ft. Monday Kiz

7. Sen To Rei - Sakanaction

8. 待ち合わせの途中 - Plenty

9. Twinkle Twinkle - (걸스데이) Girl's Day

10. Aoi Shiori - Galileo Galilei

Today's A Good Day,

Noel

A-Music Week 1

Dear Followers,

My schedule right now is very enjoyable. Whether because of the presence of my friends or my knowledge of working the high school system, all of my classes seem a lot less challenging even with my perfectionism. Removing my 4th block class has opened up so many possibilities for my day. At PSEO I see so many Wayzata alumni everyday. Today I saw Amanda Kimberly Lai, Casey Liveringhouse, and what I took to be Kathleen Jiang. Overall, life is good.

In order to keep myself from going mad, I have decided to start blogging at least once every week. I know, I know. I have restated the following words hundreds of times only to fall once more into blogging-complacency. But, I have found a workable solution, for now. In order to motivate me to keep blogging, I have decided to combine my love of Asian pop culture with the activity. Every week during the weekend I am looking forward to listing a few of my favorite songs which I have dow.... purchased recently. Here we go!

1. Wave - Vijandeux

2. Kiss Kiss Kiss - SEAMO ft. Azu, Yukako (Facebook Video)


3. 完全感覚Dreamer - ONE OK ROCK

4. Usual Life - ALA

5. 가식걸 (Shady Girl) - SISTAR

6.  Balance Doll - Prague

7. Wo Ai Ni - Takahashi Hitomi ft. Beat Crusaders

8. Kasanaru Kage - Hearts Grow

9. Melody - No Regret Life

10.  Boo - APink

That's all I have for this week. If any of you are sharp (Ivan) you will notice that many of these songs have been used for Gintame openings and endings. I wholeheartedly recommend watching Gintama, but do so with an open-mind and don't expect to get much out of it. These were some of my favorite songs from my August do... purchasing session. In the next few weeks I am planning on putting up some of my favorite songs as I scour my iTunes. Sayonara~

The X-Axis Of My Table,
Noel

Shipping Up To Boston

Dear Followers,

This weekend I flew up to Boston with my family to pick up my brother Shray. He has been working on a project involving in vivo cardiological catheter imaging in Boston since June at St. Jude Medical. Because I have zero experience in a non-biological laboratory, I learned much when I asked him about his project and daily routine in the laboratory. Somehow the prospect of conducting experiments solely with computer values and mathematical programs seems much less appealing than hands-on work with cells, proteins, and chemicals. Then again, I had given up on being the classic Indian engineer after I had quit UMTYMP.

Going up to Boston for the weekend was really nostalgic for me in the sense that my family is rarely together in one place. My mom is generally out of the nation at any given moment dealing with Medtronic’s international branches while my dad spends most of his time in St. Paul, either finding the best deals on everything we don’t need or managing the apartments he owns with my aunt. For much of my childhood I had to rely solely on my brother which ended up being a very frustrating yet rewarding experience overall, making me a very independent person in regards to nearly everything except cooking. I really believe that if I wanted to that I could provide food for myself, but there’s no way I would ever devote enough time to cooking a decent meal.

There was a dramatic transition in regards to my relationship with my brother which became apparent after we moved to Plymouth. While during the Scenic Heights years I would constantly harass my brother by pushing him off of the couch, slamming the car door on his elbow, and throwing various objects at him on his bicycle without any chance of being reprimanded because my parents were far too busy making ends meet, a physical barrier prevented any further shenanigans in Plymouth. A combination of muscles, hair, and the new responsibility of watching me by himself after school switched the dynamic of our relationship. It would be a decade before a less polar relationship would develop.

Regardless, my brother is one of the people I hold the most respect for in the world. Not only is he one of the smartest people I know without even trying, but he has put up a monolithic set of footsteps for me to follow in. My brother has, for most of my developmental years, been the standard of excellence to which I had aspired. But I do not respect my brother because of some superficial semblance of perfection. Rather, I respect my brother because of his flaws and how he faces them. For obvious reasons I will not go into detail here.

This weekend helped killed two birds with one stone. I received a physical justification for prolonging my mental moratorium on working on school work and subscribing to CrunchyRoll’s premium membership 2-week trial on my iPhone (with 720p videos in 3G zones, I could even see myself paying for this service) while having the chance to spend a fun weekend with my family and take on the persona of the youngest child once more. Most of my vacation involved prolonged intervals of walking and driving from one tour to the next. While I disagree wholeheartedly, my parents believe a city tour is the only way to explore and enjoy an area to the fullest. What can you do when your parents hold the credit cards though?

We only really spent half a day in Boston, spending two days in New Hampshire and 1 day in Cape Cod. While I am embarrassed to say so, during my vacation I read my first newspaper ever, the August 19th edition of The New York Times, and was quite pleased with the quality and quantity of information. As such I have declared to keep up with The New York Times on a daily basis if possible, not only for the benefit of my debate season but to be a more engaged citizen overall. What I learned about the events in Libya in one page of newspaper completely eclipsed my knowledge beforehand.

That’s all I really got. I should be much more sleepy considering that I only got 3 hours of sleep last night before my mom whisked me off to the airport to take an airplane back home which was delayed for 1 hour and prevented me from napping for any continuous interval of time. Hopefully everyone is enjoying every last drop of Summer Vacation as school lingers around the corner. In case Ivan is reading this post, Gintama is a funny, but very repetitive show which I am planning to finish completely by next summer. Let me know if you find a download for Red Line as well.

Don’t Puck With Us,
Noel

Where Did My Summer Go?

Dear Followers,

When Summer Vacation began just a few months back, I had decided that I would push productivity to all new highs and accomplish a neat and organized list of goals I had typed out for myself. Not only did I happen to lose that list during the first week of Summer Vacation, but I can confidently say that my productivity has actually dropped to all time lows. Once again my sleeping schedule has become a dirty mess.

Once again I have made the mistake of leaving all of my work to collect dust until August. One again I have made the mistake of trying to learn two very different languages at the same time. Once again I have made the mistake of believing that I am able to control how long I watch anime on a given day.

But then again, Summer Vacation this year has definitely been one of the most enjoyable. Maybe my marginal increase in individual freedom from last year is responsible, but from APYC to Don Pablo's, this Summer Vacation has been full of new experiences. But that's not the purpose of this post. I just really don't feel like cracking open that Spanish 4 textbook and memorizing vocabulary words that I had already memorized in Spanish 3.

I can't remember the last time I blogged. Oh wait, I wrote that review of Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2 for Wes. Hopefully Lucifer has realized by now that I was joking when I wrote it. I guess for me blogging is my outlet for faking productivity when I want to avoid working on something that actually needs to get done. That would help rationalize my drop in blog posts with the onset of Summer Vacation.

I guess I just felt like making a new blog post because Rishi Sinha told me that he would appreciate it if I did. That's enough motivation for me. Sorry if my rants about essentially nothing aren't what you were looking for Rishi. The environment in Bagchi Lab isn't very suited to card cutting, so I can't cut the fantastic articles I found last night.

Today in the morning I went paintballing for my second time. The ride to Maple Plaine involved Avi dogmatically doubting the navigational capabilities of an iPhone and winding around the paintball building for several minutes. Unlike my last experience with paintball, the course in Maple Plaine was very open, containing only a few red and blue inflatable pieces of cover. Learning from my mistakes, I brought sweatpants and a sweatshirt to replace my dress shirt and khakis. My fatal flaw was not bringing a pair of gloves.

As you probably expect with a group of Indians playing paintball, much of our games devolved into a contest to see who could hide themselves the best. Keshav Mangalick was surprisingly skilled, easily taking down most of the other team and then passing it off as nothing with his usual humbleness. I decided to go balls deep and just swarm the other team once the opening crossfire was completed. Surprisingly I got hit significantly less when I charged individual players then when I decided to just play it safe. The only drawback was the experience of having my fingers devastated at point blank by paintball shrapnel. Now people will suspect that my parents abuse me.

Unlike my last paintballing experience I managed to go a whole hour and a half without betraying anybody on my team and then blaming it on Cameryn Luong. Overall, paintballing was definitely the best Hindu Mandir Camp experience yet for me. I didn't realize how much work running and shooting a paintball gun was until I nearly fell asleep on the car ride home. Even Sachin Mangalick was quiet on the way back.

I guess I should probably talk about Hindu Mandir Camp as a whole, but I really don't feel like doing that right now. That will probably be a post for the weekend. Hindu Mandir Camp is really the same as it has been every year, except this year I feel really detached from all of the activities, probably because I have had to miss so many. This year I was able to sleep soundly during the sleepover however, even though my laptop was laying out in the open the whole night. I don't feel safe in that auditorium. Not one bit.

Well, I am probably going to go to Dairy Queen to get an Oreo Cheesequake and reminisce about my days in June when I could get one everyday and not feel September creeping up on me. When scouring YouTube a few days back I came across the following Naruto ED. I really hate the direction that Naruto has taken, but this ED reminded me of my Wayzata East Middle School days when Naruto was way more enjoyable. Fantastic animation, colors, and music.

What's Going On?
Noel

Message To Wes: HP Sucks

Today I had the pleasure of seeing “Harry Potter And The Deathly Hollows Part 2” with my best friend forever Wes in Evanston. Earlier Rotten Tomatoes reviews had left me waiting in anticipation. Once in the movie theater, I nonchalantly put on my pair of hipster-vision glasses and sat down. Within 30 seconds of the film I had reached a single daunting conclusion: “The Deathly Hollows” is an incredibly condensed, soggy piece of crap.

First off, David Yates has managed to fail to capitalize on the simplest maxim of movie making: follow the goddamn book. I am not one to default on classic examples, but Yates has produced what I like to call Linkin Park’s cover of “Rolling In The Deep:” complete rubbish.

Yates may have missed the most important part of the book: Harry Potter does not live. The fact that even an illiterate 6-month old child wouldn’t miss such a fundamental part of “The Deathly Hallows” leaves me deeply concerned. Then again, the integrity of Hollywood directors has been in question for years. When Yates conveniently passes over this integral part of “The Deathly Hallows,” even the most unengaged moviegoer can’t help but feel like they have simply received a cheaper version of the original.

Viewers who haven’t had the fortune of reading J.K. Rowling’s masterpiece will never feel the emotional pull of when Harry sacrifices his life in vain only to allow Voldemort a complete and devastating victory over the wizarding world. Rowling’s portrayal of evil overcoming good is a central theme of the series which really brings the content home for many readers. The watered down version presented by the film is, in many ways, an example Disney’s marvelous euphemism which is “The Jungle Book.” But more on racism later.

“The Deathly Hallows” contains less production value than “Twilight” which was no doubt shot on a $500 budget. The special effects, or “magical effects” as Dr. Griesbach explains, were hardly pleasing. After watching the masterpiece that is “Transformers: Dark Side Of The Moon,” Yates couldn’t even force a yawn from this moviegoer.

Yates must have been hard-pressed for cash considering how in the final scene of the movie the main cast is simply dipped in makeup to fake the appearance of the passage of many years instead of finding suitable actors. Dan Fitzmier clothing, wigs, and wrinkles surprisingly doesn’t make for a believable set of adults.

Speaking of the main cast, the performance given by Radcliffe, Watson, and Grint is dismal at best. The rudimentary dialogue in “The Deathly Hollows” is really fleshed out by Radcliffe’s melodramatic acting style. While Watson performs her cult-of-domesticity character role by remaining quiet for much of the film, Grint doesn’t even provide any comic relief by asking Watson for a sandwich at any point during the film.

Not only did Yates adulterate the innocent school girl that is Hermione Granger with the image of a skimpy, English prostitute, but his failure to give Ginny Weasley even the slightest hint of sexual appeal was a costly mistake. Every scene with Harry and Ginny felt like a cheap Japanese porno. In fact, Heyman has managed to capture phenomenon which is even more awkward on film. Every elementary school child who has even skimmed the first lines of “The Sorcerer’s Stone” is completely aware of Ginny’s undeniable sex appeal. Shape up Yates.

Throughout the film Yates has injected his own ignorant commentary on the American racial matrix. Yates idea of saving face following allegations of racism by the Supreme Court during early filming is giving the only two major African American actors in the film a single line, hardly saving face. Even with such a concession, Yates has managed to put forth his own racist political agenda with perverted notions of the socio-economic order.

One actor, who, by the way, represents a certain dreamy Owen Jones, simply chirps in “yes sir” to none other than a white wizard in the middle of the film. Very classy Yates, evoking long begone notions of Confederate-fashioned deference in order to push your racist presuppositions toward African Americans upon millions of young Harry Potter fans.

On top of this, Yates plays on modern racial stereotypes when he chooses to make every last one of the quidditch players in the final scene African American. For some reason, Yates chooses to exclude portraying African American wizards from participating in constructive educations practices at Hogwarts. That’s ok. Racist. I just added “quidditch” to my Word 2007 dictionary muggles.

At the end of “The Deathly Hollows” I was left with so many unresolved questions that I felt like I was judging a novice debate. What does Harry Potter do for a living and is he obliged to pay his taxes as a wizard? What happened to Dumbledore’s phoenix which was released in “The Chamber Of Secrets? Why doesn’t Harry go for the Cho Chang route which is infinitely more desirable? Why are all of Harry’s children all hipsters? And most importantly, what is Dumbledore’s sexual orientation?

In conclusion, “The Deathly Hollows” receives a failing grade. Instead of fueling J.K. Rowling’s geopolitical schemes to reestablish England to her former glory by purchasing overpriced movie tickets, everyone would do well to download a pirated copy from the internet or to simply avoid the film altogether. “The Deathly Hollows” is a simple reminder of one single fact: Wes is incredibly easy to bother.

Good Riddance Hogwarts,
Noel

GOSICK (B, 85.00%)

In a semi-fictitious Europe, several years of marked peace have passed since the Great War. However, behind the scenes a different kind of war wages between the Academy of Science and the Academy of the Occult to determine who will reign supreme in the new coming age. Caught between this war are citizens who are very much connected to the myths and legends of the past but yet very aware of the new technology and reason of the future.

I remember coming across “GOSICK” when scouring UTW for my weekly “Fractale” update. I was simply looking for more shows to consume when I was drawn into “GOSICK.” Even today I do not understand the significance of the show’s name. The show wasn’t very spectacular. While the animation was crisp and the character designs were unique and really captured the feel of the era, “GOSICK” was nothing more than a weekly mystery show, kind of like an anime “Scooby-Doo.”

This weekly mystery show switches between two extremes, very much indicative of the one-dimensional personalities given to Kujo and Victorique at the beginning of the series. The mysteries are either so simplistic that even Diego Rayas could figure them out or so ridiculously impossible to solve that Victorique must have honestly had a copy of the script with her as she was working through them. Either way, Victorique always goes through the task of explaining EVERY detail to Kujo.

That is, the show wasn’t spectacular until the second half. After Kujo and Victorique begin working on the case of Coco Rose, everything begins to fall into place and events pick up quickly. The ending of the series marks a dramatic turn in character development with Victorique breaking out of her cliché smarty pants character and Kujo becoming more than an overly kind dim-wit. A lot of character emotions are fleshed out very well in the second half like I would have never guessed.

That being said, the second half of “GOSICK” is very, very rushed. I understand that the directors had to fit several novels into the second half, but several elements of the storyline could have used some more screen time. SPOILER- For example, the distance between Victorique and Kujo isn’t really emphasized considering they are only separated for a few episodes. -SPOILER Brian Roscoe is given NO character development and my only impression is of a love-deprived maniac.

With all this in mind I continue to believe that “GOSICK” is a show worth watching. There is some unique factor about “GOSICK” which always brought me back every week. Maybe I simply love the era portrayed by the show. Maybe I love how in the second half I was really able to connect with the characters. Victorique’s father is a jack-ass. Maybe the fluid animation was enough to keep me hooked. I don’t really know.

If you are willing to wait a few episodes, “GOSICK” is a good show for you. I do not recommend skipping to the second half of the series considering that you will be very, very confused and the relationship between Kujo and Victorique will seem shallow. On that note, what the heck is going on with Victorique’s brother’s hairstyle?

Story: 7/10 – First half is Japanese “Scooby-Doo;” Second half is wonderfully crafted yet rushed; Nearly every question answered.

Characters: 8/10 – One-dimensional characters until second half character development; Unique and enjoyable characters.

Animation: 10/10 – Wonderful animation w/ no recycled frames; Clothing design and background successfully capture era.

Music: 9/10 – Enjoyable OP w/ melodramatic ED; Background music is very well done; Character singing leaves much to be desired.

Charming Monster,
Noel