visions of clarity...do as infinity

Monday, April 07, 2008

Japan Cultural Festival + Tup Tim

Hello!

Here's my LONNNG belated entry on the Japan Cultural Festival and our visit to Tup Tim along Washtenaw! ^_^

Held at East Hall's Math and Psychology Atriums, the Japan Cultural Festival was an extremely successful event, with a huge turn-out! They had traditional matsuri games, food stalls, performances and even a section for tea ceremony.^_^ My Japanese classmates and I met up to go and squeal over everything.=D And of course, since food is EXTREMELY important, it was the first thing we headed for!

Home-made Takoyaki!!!

Yakisoba!!!

Shaved Ice [Kakigoori I think?] with Strawberry and Melon syrup!!!

Chocobanana!

After we stuffed ourselves silly, we went to explore the performances and games!

The banner in the main atrium with the performances!

Just a fraction of the huge turn-out!

Some of the decorations around the atrium.=)

Traditional Tea Ceremony Demonstration.=)

And of course, what's going out with friends without a few photos?

^_^! Haha. Ari, Anna, Jeldine and I!

Hahaha. Reed is so cute.=P Reed, Ari, Jeldine, Sandra and I!

Dear Bar-ni San trying to act like a cute Japanese girl. AHAHA. Alex, Steven, Reed, Ari, Anna, Jeldine, Sandra and I!

=D Guoluz models the balloon that I won at the pick-up-the-balloon-in-water-with-a-paper-hook game.

Ahh Great Purple Light! You are fascinating!

And then in the evening, we went to Tup Tim! ^_^

Ginger Pork!

Stir-Fried Vegetables!

Beef Red Curry!

Pad Thai!

Mango with Sticky Rice!

I'm looking forward to exploring more of the restaurants in Ann Arbor, and in the surrounding towns.=) Right. Anyway, hopefully these happy thoughts will last me through this horror finals season.(T_T)

And I'm so sad that Kekkaishi is over.=(

cheers
*[-witchstone-]*

[music : Akai Ito Koshi Inaba]
[mood : --]
[food : anything but dorm food]

Labels: Ann Arbor, edibles, Japan, Kekkaishi, Tup Tim, umich

Friday, May 18, 2007

Red Garden

Hello

I just finished the whole series of Red Garden, the anime that finished airing in March on TV Asahi. It was created by GONZO studios and featured songs by Jill-Decoy Association [Jolly Jolly, the opening song] and LM. C [Rock The LM. C and OH MY JULIET., the 2 ending songs].

The only pretty thing about this series is the beautiful starting sequence and the "middle pause" section [where they are supposed to insert a commercial break]. In fact, that, and the storyline, were what attracted me to the series in the first place. Other than that, I'm really not a fan of the drawings. My friend described it as "very old school/80s" and well. Let's just say it's not the prettiest anime around.

I'm also puzzled as to whether I liked it or not.

Overall, there was certainly a gripping storyline that was marred a little by too much angst. But then again, one when is dealing with 4 teenage girls, one DOES expect angst right?

Allow me to quote Wikipedia on the plot:
Kate, Rachel, Rose, and Claire are all students at a private institution set on Roosevelt Island, New York City. Waking up one morning, all feel uneasy and restless as they deem strange that none of them can recall anything about the previous night. Their anxiety escalates when the school announces that Lise, another classmate of theirs, was found dead.

They are then embroiled in a deep dark secret that will change their futures and affect their lives [hence the angst].

Plot was gripping at first but because they also focused a lot on how their experiences affected the girls in normal life, I got a little bored. There are only so many ways to show them angsting around and sobbing their hearts out. The writers also inserted subplots about the girls' backgrounds which proved interesting in some cases and utterly sleep-inducing in others. [One of the girls has absolutely ZERO plot value. Seriously.-_-"]

At first, they had a lot of shocking moments and alluring cliffhangers that just made you want to watch on and on [even though I really was appalled by the drawings. O.o I think I am a strictly CLAMP and shoujo girl. Haha.], they later focused more on the plot development as well as long and drawn-out character development bits.

Interestingly, they had musical-ish sequences during the first half of the series where the girls suddenly broke out into song [and luckily not dance]. O.o It wasn't unpleasant I guess but it was certainly weird. They later abandoned this completely so I'm not sure what exactly it was for. Filling up time perhaps?

This series has apparently broken new ground in the anime world by the use of various techniques that have never been utilised in anime before. For example, the voices/sounds were recorded BEFORE the animation and the characters' speech was then synced with the soundtrack. This made the sync-ing much smoother actually.=) They had a lot of US TV-ish filming techniques as well. I'm pretty sure the breaking-out-into-song bit was inspired by the US also.

Character development wise... The lead characters were well-developed. Seriously. They spent 3/4 of the time on it.-_-" This made me a little grouchy because I'm not THAT interested in the angsty lives of rich teenagers. However, it was quite dramatic at times which was rather interesting.

They had great action sequences though, considering that sometimes the animation was quite stilted [funny walking movements for example]. Mostly though, the animation was pretty realistic.=) Yay! Anime is getting better animation wise on the whole thanks to new technology.^_^

Overall, I still say that the plot was interesting though whether I'd rewatch this is doubtful. They only tie-in the title right at the end of the series so watch out for that.=) There are a few unresolved issues if I'm not wrong such as how the girls got together in the first place. But they did develop the rest of the little details so it wasn't altogether terrible.

Still. I'm puzzled as to whether I liked it. Let's see.
The Good
1) Gripping storyline
2) Nice action sequences [the girls get to fight!]
3) The occasional surprise
4) Development of angsty characters was well-done
5) I liked the opening song and the 2nd ending song

The Not-So-Good
1) I really do not like the drawings
2) Unresolved/unexplained issues
3) Occasional slow bits
4) ANGST
5) Too much crying

While this series is complete, there will be an OVA in August called "Dead Girls". Sounds... intriguing?

On a side note, I DESPERATELY NEED A WAY TO SCREENCAP. Windows Media Player doesn't let one screencap DARN THING.-_-" I couldn't get the shot I LOVED! So I've had to find all sorts of ways to get images.-____-" *is annoyed*

And I also finally got down to watching the new L'Arc~En~Ciel PV "Seventh Heaven". Ahh. Hyde. *gestures above* You look great! *beams* The song is almost pop-sy though. What is up with that? And the psychedelic colours in the video.O.o Still, it's not horrendously bad and I like how all the members go for a matching colour scheme! ^_^ And Hyde looks good.=) Yay.

But Hyde really shouldn't attempt to dance.^_^"

Ahh. I cannot wait for more Darker Than Black as well as Kekkaishi to come out! Oh. And NANA. Which is ending soon! *sobs* [I mean, yes, it has technically ended its run in Japan but hello fan-subbers. Hurry!!!] Speaking of which, I will also be starting on Dennou Coil, a new anime series that is supposed to be very good.^_^

Randomly, it's been a busy week. Now I see how my friends at work find watching TV a relaxingly mindless activity.^_^ I'm kind of sad that this will end in less than 2 weeks though.

Hooray for anime! Now to find a screen-capping device.-_-"
cheers
*[-witchstone-]*

[music : Jolly Jolly Jill-Decoy Association (Red Garden OST)]
[mood : tired]
[food : Beard Papa cream puffs + Pineapple Tarts!]

Joyce: You've also got Snow Queen by the way. *raises eyebrows* Which we need to finish soon. *pointed look* And Darker Than Black is really interesting so far! =D

Wendaye: Ahaha. You keep volunteering to be my guinea pig. But do we ever see you? HMM. *ponders* Squee! I think Roy Mustang is a hilarious character. Ahaha.=D And I haven't watched Animax in a REALLY long time. But I really doubt that they are showing Darker Than Black because it would first have to be subbed in Chinese and dubbed in English and it is still showing in Japan I think.=S And squee again! =D I love those bunnies. Beams. I have nyunyu already thankyou.=D SO ADORABLE OMG. Haha.

Jiamin: I don't like Kim Jeong/John Hoon! -_-" I really don't see how he's better than Hyun Bin or all those other Korean actors. And no Darker Than Black isn't eerie. Just VERY VERY VERY addictive. The eerie one is *points above* Red Garden. Trust me. I didn't think he was cute at first either but he grows on you! =D Then again, our tastes are quite different. For example, I don't like any of your favourite guys from all those shoujo manga with funny names. I don't know if I should waste anymore time/money on Canele.-_-" I still swear by their Le Royale though. Haha. Beams.

pixiezdust: Yar! I was wondering if they aired it in Singapore. Apparently not. O.o

Labels: anime, Darker than Black, Dennou Coil, Hyde, Kekkaishi, L'Arc~En~Ciel, misc, NANA, Red Garden

Saturday, May 12, 2007

A Baking Day: Millefeuille and Meringue

Hello

Today I baked for my early Mother's Day Gift! [My brother's contribution was urm. Transport. And according to him "moral support by not getting in your way".-___-"]

So I decided to try my hand at making my mom a Millefeuille: The Home-Baker Version.^_^" I say homebaker version because there is no way in the near future I can anything as gorgeously YUMMY as Pierre Herme's little minions. Sigh.

So I shall bring you through the small guide to a Millefeuille!

A millefeuille literally means "thousand leaves", referring to the numerous layers of puff pastry and pastry cream used in its construction. It's an intricate and absolutely to-die-for pastry that one HAS to try at least ONCE. =D

Puff Pastry!!! =D Okay, so I cheated. I bought the ready-made puff pastry and cut it out myself.=X Ahem. Puff Pastry is very difficult to make from scratch in our horrendously tropical weather! *defensive*

Pastry Cream! =D I made the recipe from the book "Paris Sweets". ^_^ It is LUSCIOUS. And fattening. But pretty good if I do say so myself. Haha. It was also a horror to make from scratch. X__x My maid and I were completely panicking because it became custardy over the stove [I thought I had failed by not getting a luscious, smooth product]. But my fears were assuaged by the addition of butter.=D Oh gorgeous dairy products!

So yes, as you can tell, one has to layer the puff pastry and pastry cream! ^_^ And thus my amateurish efforts:

In the process of layering [it sounds more professional when you say layering when one is kind of stacking it together. Haha.=X]. ^_^" You kind of blob the pastry cream on then attempt to spread it prettily on the puff pastry.

Needless to say, I am not blessed in the "good plating" department.=X

But do you not agree that it looks edible anyway? =D

So after clumsily layering the Home-Baker Version Millefeuille plus decoration and plating, I ended up with this!

The berries were shockingly expensive but very good. Haha.=X

Points to Note for next time:
- Use better milk for the pastry cream [I bought the cheapest which my brother AND father both declared dubious. Which is really saying something.]
- Hunt down cheap(er) Vanilla pods! [I couldn't bear to spend so much money on vanilla pods and returned to my darling vanilla extract instead. =X]
- Buy ALL-BUTTER PUFF PASTRY! Never again will I trust this.. this.. VEGETARIAN puff pastry.-_-"
- Alternatively, find time, patience and skill to make puff pastry from scratch!
- Try different toppings/fillings for the millefeuille!

And then because I had so much egg white left over [do not ask. X__x], the first thing I came up with to make was meringues.

I have been DYING to make meringues since forever even though I don't like meringues [I think they are too sweet] because I have been absolutely dying to try getting my egg whites to achieve stiff peaks successfully!

And today, I succeeded! =D

I love looking at whipped egg whites.=D It looks like this huge fluffy and soft cloud.

And I get very pleased when it reaches that stage and doesn't collapse. ^_^ I'm rather strange I know.

I added a little something to the meringues to make them less boring! =D

Apparently, there are 2 methods to make meringues.
1) High heat, fast baking will get you crispy and almost hollow meringues.
2) Lower heat, slow baking will get you crispy outsides, chewy and soft insides [like a pavlova].

Mm.

The insides! =D I added chocolate chips and chocolate chunks. Which helped a LOT with the sweetness of the meringues. They had soft, chewy insides and relatively crisp exteriors. It reminded me a lot of cotton candy! =D

I had already reduced the sugar and yet it was extremely sweet. X__x And to think people sandwich ice-cream between merigues?! Still, I have to say that I very much enjoyed the texture of the meringues and if I were to make these again,
1) I'd make a smaller batch.
2) I'd reduce the sugar further.
3) I'd add cocoa powder to give the meringue itself more taste
4) I'd attempt a pavlova!
5) I will find many many people who actually like meringues to be my guinea pigs.^_^

And then I watched Gackt's Jougen no Tsuki concert while baking! =D And I discovered a slightly easier way to screencap. ;)

The dramatic singing.

The dramatic lighting.

The dramatic exit.

xD

And I wanted to post this the other day but I forgot.

Japan had an ice-cream day! =D Haagen Dasz/Dazs set up this event where guests reclined on beds, ate ice-cream and watched a concert!

And I have been DYING to share this REALLY cute Coca-Cola advertisement: Happiness Factory.=D It is ADORABLE! And I really really really like the music they used.

The whole ad is 1.5 minutes long and you can watch it here: Happiness Factory (link). I strongly encourage you to watch it! =D I think it's a very cute and catchy concept but I wonder how they adapted it for TV where they usually play 15/30-second commercials?

Anyway, I've been watching the winter/spring 2007 anime.^_^ I like actually being up to date on the anime scene, it's easier to get fansubs. Haha.=X

Lovely Complex
- Short boy meets tall girl. Set in school, this manga-turned-anime has a predictable storyline but is pretty funny. ^_^ And absolutely for shoujo manga fans.
- Only 1 episode so far.

Kekkaishi
- Demons, exorcists, magic and a male and female protaganist who have to protect their city, school, families, etc and yet carry on with their ordinary lives while hiding their special ghost-busting abilities! Pretty primary-school-ish in terms of the storyline but interesting nonetheless. I love these fantasy animes with fighting themes.^_^ Brilliant brainless watching.
- 18 episodes so far and I'm not bored! That's a good sign.=D I can't wait to see what happens next.

Darker than Black
- A Japanese anime version of Heroes which appears pretty interesting. Plus, although I had initial misgivings about the drawings [not very pretty], the title is far too interesting to pass up!
- 0 episodes so far, I'm going to watch it after posting this.^_^ [edit: it started off REALLY interesting.xD Haha. This looks like something good!]

Red Garden
- Set in New York, this murder mystery anime is resolved within 22 episodes so it's short and sweet. It also involves female protaganists! =D A good thing in my book.
- 0 episodes so far, I'm still getting the fansubs.^_^"

All this on top of Code Geass [on hold], NANA [very slow] and Kyou Kara Maou [even slower]. ^_^

cheers
*[-witchstone-]*

[music : Orenji no Taiyou Gackt & Hyde]
[mood : tired]
[food : JAPANESE FOOD. (T_T)]

Jiamin: Haiyos. I have NO IMAGES OF KEITA. Send me! =D And I don't really have images of Nobu either. Haha.=X And I think Shin is cuter than Nobu. Though Nobu is cute too. Oh. And I think Ren is cool as well. Yasu is cool too! X__x And I like Suzaku too!!! But he's too irritatingly idealistic. At least Lelouch is brilliant though stubborn and occasionally over confident. As for Shou and Nao, I'm saving them for another episode of Midweek Men. ;)

Joyce: I don't actually think Kim Jeong Hoon is that goodlooking. AHEM. No offence! And YOU TWO! Omy. I can't feature THAT many people in one post. Hahaha. Save them for another time!!!

Labels: anime, baking, Darker than Black, edibles, Gackt, Kekkaishi, Lovely Complex, Meringue, Millefeuille, misc, Red Garden

Thursday, May 03, 2007

Jigoku Shoujo Futakomori + New Anime!

Hello

Jigoku Shoujo Futakomori [地獄少女ふたこもり] has finally ended with 26 episodes under it's belt. I'm quite sad that I won't get to see Enma Ai and her crew [Hone Onna, Ichimoku Ren and Wanyuudou] anymore. The series ended with a sort-of conclusion that was well... I mean, it certainly ENDED but it wasn't terribly satisfying.

However, there was an open-ended ending where they suggested the possibility of another Hell Girl appearing in the future. But without Ai and her companions, it won't be quite the same unless they can somehow endear the viewer to the new replacements.

The last few episodes were pretty creepy and revealed a lot, once again, about the brutal nature of human beings. This series really explores these issues about human beings in general. =)

They also didn't really explain Kikuri's presence or function. Nor did they leave us with a certain conclusion on Ai's assistants.

However, the second season has been much more interesting and they have delved more into the past of Ai's assistants. The storylines are easy to follow, less ridiculous and much more exciting. [Though there are the occasional lapses..] The animation quality has also been pretty good and consistent throughout the whole series which pleased me immensely.=D

Jigoku Shoujo, aka Enma Ai.

Wanyuudou

Hone-Onna

Ichimoku Ren xD xD xD

I'm sad though, that they didn't end off with Ai's signature line, "ippen shinde miru".=P It's a classic to me now.xD Haha.

So since I've finished Jigoku Shoujo Futakomori, and NANA is taking FOREVER to come out, and Code Geass [which was voted the most popular anime series in Japan currently by the way. ;)] won't continue till summer, I have to distract myself with another series! =D Thus I have switched to Kekkaishi.

I chose it because they appear to feature pastries quite a bit and it's about sparring magicians or something to that effect so how bad can it be? =D *hopeful* Besides, apart from the hideous lead character [at least the images I saw were bad, maybe he'll grow on me..], the monsters and things in the show look quite cute.^_^ I should be able to watch it madly over the weekend if the downloading goes well and then I can decide whether it was worth the effort!

Otherwise, I can wait a month more for the summer anime to be released and then start following then.=D

Or I could always start on Death-Note. L and Light are pretty appealing characters! =D Or I could always succumb and watch Nodame Cantabile which is, sadly, hideous but is supposed to be nice to follow. Or... Hmm. Tokimeki Memorial looks retarded but superbly shoujo and thus, wouldn't be too disgustingly boring. D-Gray Man is really popular too.

But actually, Le Chevalier D'Eon sounds SO retarded, I am actually secretly dying to watch it.xD Haha. Even though the plot sounds quite lame, I'm hoping it'll be interesting.^_^ Haha. And it's set in France! O my. How bad can it be? *bounces away*

Or I could just go spend one ENTIRE day at Jiamin's house finishing Hana Yori Dango 2! =D Not a bad idea actually. And we still have Snow Queen to finish! Wee!

Suddenly, May looks like a very appealing month.^_^
cheers
*[-witchstone-]*

[music : NightmaRe SNoW (Jigoku Shoujo Futakomori OST)]
[mood : ^_^]
[food : wagashi!]

pixiezdust: It's pretty right! =D Caught my eye too.xD

wendaye: I still don't know what your Taiyou no Uta is about!!!!! X___x Omg start watching Code Geass already!!! Haha.=D

Jiamin: Qing Ming photos = Cultural Exchange!!! =D Haha. Ahem. And yes.. the dotty seahorse is pretty scary but I like the first image [above the seahorse].=D =D =D And Gackt is charismatic okay. You cannot deny his PRESENCE!!!! xD Haha. And yay! Hana Yori Dango 2! I must invade your house to watch.=D Beams.

Labels: anime, Jigoku Shoujo Futakomori, Kekkaishi

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