25 September 2012

diaries of me ~ strange, strange me

sometimes I find funny and surprising things in my room. this is one of them
I have no habit to write down anything I may remember as 'tis, I almost always keep in mind things I have to do or places I have to go to, etc., but things I have no need to remember I do make notes of. there is no sense, for example, in remembering all the numbers of tasks for homework, therefore I always wrote them in my school diary - though very often I remembered them so that I didn't even have to look them up in the diary itself. I also have no habit of writing a real everyday diary with detailed description of what happened during the day. even though I used to speak with imaginary characters in my early diaries, I didn't write something like what people usually do. and I lack the sense of 'order of day/week/...'. therefore, writing regularly was not among my preferences. instead, I wrote random small notes and hid it somewhere to find it afterwards. those notes always contained something not like a diary entry, but something reminding a report or account. the only thing described was the current day, sometimes things that had happened the other day, but no more than that, no greater perspective or general review of the times. those times I didn't even bother to give any priority to events I described or decide what was of paramount importance and what not - however, I properly wrote down not only the date, but also the exact time. this is so not like me...

socionic experience. part 2 ~ putting up with...

why socionics seems really useful to me is that it explains relationship types and thus helps to put up with the inevitable. in other words, everyone has some basic features of his TIM, and those features cannot be changed - because they are the basis. if not for this explanation, 'twould be really hard for me to understand what's going on. this is because I always have to know the reason of everything. knowing it calms me and helps me to decide what to do
friendship, love, romance, rivalry, all the kinds of feelings there exist in the world can be different depending on the particular case - and they do require more accurate definition every time. the fact that I wouldn't exchange people around me for people who are supposed to be more comfortable for my type - I don't know if everyone would agree that this is love, but a special kind of love based on 'habit' and 'being used' because of 'spending a lot of time together' and 'constant relying' on them - certainly. even if this is not a successful 'give-and-take', at least less successful than it could be in case of 'suitable' surroundings, I'll have to put up and sacrifice - because being without this is even worse. well, this is up to a person to decide

Takarazuka monthly calendars ~ August and September

funny pic ~ progress. or absence of it...

this started with me reading a post of an acquaintance of mine in vk.com 
its meaning is something like 'don't give up after a few poor sketches!' and provides several pics from pixiv artists who put their works made during the last 10 years to show their progress
'twas really interesting to look at those. many artists made a huge leap on their 4th - 6th year and developed their style further finally becoming really unique and recognizable
I told my friend about it and we decided to make same things with our works to have some laugh. U's comment to my question was great 
- did you finish it?
- yeah
- how is it?
- not funny. if I can laugh, then it would be a laugh of grief
- how can you say this? we don't need any reason to have fun, remember?
- oh, indeed...
I wanted to contribute to our fun a bit so I also made this. since I had no tablet until I was 13 the earliest images are dated 2005
now that I look at this, 'tis really laughable... well you know, I do believe that there is the same phenomenon of big progress made after 3 years of attempting to draw - 2008 shows a drastic change in outline, colouring and general style. BUT. here the resemblance with pixiv artists ends, unfortunately
so, a brief explanation of the (dark) humour in it
2005 - first attempts at Photoshop. each pic made in several minutes
late 2006 - PS abandoned for Corel Painter which I am still in love with
2008 - style change I spoke of (I mean, I chose my direction to move on and left behind everything else)
2009 - change of colouring brush. yes, this is important for me!
2010 - discovering that the tablet pen reacting to pressure is actually a GOOD thing. change of outline brush caused by the sudden enlightening. twice. change of colouring brush. again
2011 - stupor. stagnation. these 2 pics are all I made in 2011
second half of 2012 - started to draw after a long 'hiatus'. made one pic and realised I want to change the style again. the missing pic will soon be there, probably a bit surprising - even for me
statistics is also funny. I wondered how many pics out of what I've done I can be really proud of. I counted four. and I am currently making the 75th pic in CP, plus there were a few done in PS, which is equal to almost a hundred. well, to say nothing of numerous (I believe, thousands of) sketches and small pictures I tried to draw in my notebooks and just any sheet of paper I had at hand...
this was worthy of making. I really laughed at the result

24 September 2012

my humble opinion on 'Dantalian no Shoka' manga

the more I think of 'Dantalian no Shoka', the more I love it. 'thas been a long time since something strucked me so hard...
I cannot spend a day without thinking of it. I like to listen to the OST. and of course, I decided to get closer to the work. first I need to read manga, and then I will eat the ranobe as well

graphics
let me start with this. I thought actually mangakas who do something like this
are already extinct
erm... I hope this is not a photo, is it?
as for faces, figures, etc - I am completely satisfied. mangaka-san is not an inexperienced girl who only makes shoujo one-shots. Abeno-san has style and grace in her lines, which are recognizable enough to respect
and there is even a bit of Art Nouveau reference... irrelevant, yes, but... I was pleased to see it. at least this is 100% not a photo
as for outside/exterior/streets/nature/panorama/etc. I cannot utter a lot of praises but on the other hand, the frames were never too empty and never looked unrealistic. I felt there were as many details as necessary


plot and characters
'tis true that the anime is far from manga, but isn't this for the better? the manga stories and the anime ones never contradict each other. while the anime had its own advantages and nice points, manga has its own
chapter 8 in vol 4 is simply my favourite. there are two reasons. firstly, I love situations when a character is portrayed to be able to bring peace/soothe/calm/... others. Dalian's 'at least tell me honestly when you have hard times. what for are you my key keeper?' was heartbreaking. yep, 'twas
secondly, the chapter was perfectly composed. the beginning did not give any strange feeling of what was to come, and the gradual change of the world around Huey was just so true, just like it happens when a person falls asleep especially when he/she doesn't feel good. I have experienced a state like this thousands of times, when I was ill, when I was worried about something so that I could not sleep well, or vice versa - when I was sleepy but the room was too cold or too stuffy. this is not insomnia, this is not as if you were fully awake trying to have just a little sleep. and 'tis not a complete state of sleeping either. 'tis the state when you are half realizing what is going on and you think you can judge about it, but something prevents you from sound understanding, something makes you see a nightmare. 'tis not the nightmare like in a horror story, 'tis a nightmare inseparable from the reality. Dalian's retreating figure and the giant hand over the door surrounded by darkness which gave a feeling of terror and I understand absolutely how Huey must have been feeling, his fear, his despair, his weakness in limbs, him thinking 'no, I can't let her go', but him being unable to reach Dalian and stop her, unable to utter a cry - 'Dalian!'. yes, this was a perfectly portrayed delirium
needless to say, I adore the main characters' story and especially Dalian&Huey. and especially dialogues like this
- this is not strange! if I eat this much, this is not strange at all! after I was suffering for so long you say this is strange?!
- I don't. I wasn't saying 'strange' about you, but about Paduck's company
 and also like this... I mean, there should be some humour in the story as well
-  it is dark. moreover, it is cold and I am hungry
- well, this is because... it's night now, and it's winter, and snow is falling. and we don't have anything to eat, either
Huey = captain Obvious >___<
to be serious, not only their story was that exciting. the chapters about Hayling, the assistant engine driver, positively touched me. or not positively? after so many strange people who gave in to sin were portrayed, seeing a man who sacrificed himself in order to prevent the accident was unexpected - and very relieving... I was moved to tears

Dalian Days

let me also put it here. and let me be short. I am mad for Mikumo Gakuto-san that he allowed his stories to be developed in this way. I hate this manga. I really, really dislike it very much
because of this
 and this
 
in other words, I hated characters being not themselves and behaving differently from the original story. to say nothing of the fact that the plot was also far from the original (and never aimed to be close to it) so that it simply looked like a 'if-story' dojinshi. well that would be ok - not with 'Dantalian' and not in SUCH genre. 'tis the same as writing hentai with 'Rurouni Kenshin' characters...

conclusion
read 'Dantalian no Shoka'. don't read 'Dalian Days'
yes, I've become 'Dantalian' fan myself. have been crying for 3 days after I swallowed the 5th volume that the next one wouldn't come out soon and nobody is scanning the monthly chapter (or is anybody?)

p. s. I am used to name Dalian 'Dalian' but she is actually Dariane. 'Dalian' seems more appropriate to me since 'tis believed to be short from 'Dantalian' (which is written with L and ends in N), but well... this is the author's will. I mean, this image is from the raws

lyrics translation! 'naked love' by Tamura Naomi

after I made a video using this song it was only natural that I should provide lyrics and translation but I just didn't feel like doing it. what's different today is my mood. suddenly I understood how much I love this song, despite the fact that I've listened to it dozens of times while making the vid, and what wonderful lyrics Tamura wrote for the song (the fact that I consider the melody wonderful as well is already obvious, I believe). I am not sure songs like this are even popular nowadays but I cannot sit straight when I hear such stories. Tamura sings stories, that's why I love her so much. all of my favourites - 'ano hi no futari wa mou' and 'key of gold' for example, and many others - are songs-stories as well
well... lyrics are as I wrote them down listening to the song. used http://www.xianlai.com/thread-430036-1-1.html for reference

Japanese lyrics
写真の中 無邪気に笑う二人
噂になる前に引き裂かれた
禁じられた恋だったから the end
思い出も涙も閉じ込めた

眠れぬ夜に抱きしめていた
押さえ切れない気持ちを

Naked love 壊れたオルゴールのようなキス
繰り返し奏でた哀しいメロディー
あなたしか見えなくて

突然の再会はこの街で
見違えたよとあなたは微笑む
泣かない私でいることが
細やかな抵抗

Naked love 切れない愛を教えてください
切ないほど愛し合った日々が
心に甦る

言えない このまま引き返せない
見ないで今の私を
その腕を捕まえたい
けれど

Naked love 壊れたオルゴールのようなキス
繰り返し奏でた哀しいメロディー
あなたしか見えなくて

Naked love 切れない愛を教えてください
切ないほど愛し合った日々が
心に甦る

心に甦る

English translation

The two on the photo are smiling innocently –
They were torn apart before even becoming a gossip
Our love was forbidden, so this was the end
I shut both my memories and my tears inside

In a sleepless night I was holding
Feelings that I could not suppress

Naked love, a kiss that is like a broken music box –
A sad melody playing repeatedly
Only you are before my eyes…

We suddenly meet again in this neighbourhood
You smile and say you didn't recognize me at once
The fact that I am not crying though
Is my feeble resistance

Naked love, show me endless love
The days when we loved each other to the extent it was painful
Are revived in my heart

If the words are not spoken, we cannot turn back
Don’t look at me now
I want to seize your arms
But…

Naked love, a kiss that is like a broken music box –
A sad melody playing repeatedly
Only you are before my eyes…

Naked love, show me endless love
The days when we loved each other to the extent that it was painful
Are revived in my heart

Are revived in my heart

20 September 2012

my humble opinion on 'Albert Nobbs' ~ can I really call this an opinion?

'tis more about the feelings than a proper analysis or systematized evaluation. probably this is not the case when I can free myself from the impression and think calmly

plot and characters
this is a story that starts peacefully and ends peacefully, not too stirring up and intriguing, but never too boring, on the other hand. this story has the 'balance' that I usually value very much, and this is why I loved it. this is the slice-of-life that doesn't look like complete nonsense
apart from the main character living the life of the opposite sex - and another character being the same - there was nothing outstanding or unusual. there were daily routine things and special events, sad moments that touched me and a pinch of humour to make the story even more enjoyable
even if there weren't much screen time for minor characters, they had enough to let the spectators feel the time and the mores
I am no expert to speak confidently, but I do think that everything looked realistic, and everything was exactly what I would like to see

visual aspect
speaking of what I would like to see - I had enough interior to enjoy, a few streets to cast a short look at, and plenty of clothes to look more closely. one could probably want a greater panorama of the times - views of old Dublin, pictures of lovely countryside, chic salons, or something else - but I doubt the movie was aiming that high. I do believe the atmosphere can be created with less scale but more efforts. and efforts I saw in abundance
by efforts I mean how much attention was payed to every single scene and all the people and items that filled it

acting
strange 'twould be if acting was bad while everything else is absolutely splendid. however, this movie also didn't do without a blot on the landscape. the blot has the name of Mia Wasikowska
when I first saw her in 'Alice' I thought that the poor (terrible, awful, disgusting... I can go on, but I won't) Russian dub contributed greatly to her image of young incapable girl with expressions, gestures - and voice, of course - of a stone. now I see the Russian voice actress didn't change much
Mia did everything written in the script and told by the director-and-whoever-else like a good girl and but never crossed the necessary line to become realistic
this is crying, even if 'tis silent crying
and this is crying
but this is not 
I don't want to say these screenshots convey everything there was, so these three images are probably not enough to explain that some actors and actresses were good and Mia... wasn't as good. however I just could not make myself believe in her when everybody else, every character was a real, credible, living person, including all the supporting roles. I even think that this is an insult from me to mention no names here when all those people played so well, but the post would become too long and I'd like to finish with a praise for all of the crew

conclusion
even though there were hot passions, and tragedies of fate, and love and death, I still believe this is a peaceful story done in pastel colours. and people who are wondering about the main character's way of life, as well as that of Mr Page, can have this as an answer
it's not like
p. s. and the accents! a really fascinating mixture of people from different places (in terms of both geography and social standing) with their own pronunciation... oh I don't know how to express how I loved this aspect, in addition to everything else

19 September 2012

link! Moon Troupe RomiJuri closing nights ~ no traditional closing night jump...

here are Tudou links

they didn't jump in the end. the tradition has died... but this is hardly what troubles me most
while reading lots of blog posts and just short messages of fans who saw the performance I understood one thing. no matter what troupe the person may support, Snow performance is usually considered the best, or shares the victory with Star, or sometimes vice versa - Star wins, but Moon never pierced even a single heart. no one names it the most gorgeous, no one says only good words about it, and if there are any strong impressions of the new Moon, then they are expressed with only one word - 'cute'. Moon is young, Moon is inexperienced, and therefore - Moon is cute. Moon's appeal is 'I will gradually grow to become a full-fledged troupe so please support me'
these are not my words, this is how people react, but I can swear I thought the same while watching these two videos. clumsy gestures, clumsy greeting from the Top, clumsy final... I have to confess I was much more negative in my expectations, in other words - they sing much better than I expected, they act much better (except for Miya-san...), they behave much better... but the feeling they give is much worse than I expected. I don't know this troupe. Moon is still radiant but no longer warm. Moon is strange to me. 'tis no longer my Moon, the Moon I used to know. this doesn't apply exclusively to the last 2 years, I do speak in general
this is in no way a pessimistic post about how I give up on Moon and Takarazuka in general. I only have to state that it will probably take a little longer for me to understand and accept the new Moon. I thought I became more flexible with years and I ceased to cling to what I liked once and stubbornly refuse to change anything. apparently I failed to do so
since July I haven't translated even a single article. though I made a video and scanned two magazines in August I almost forgot about the very existence of Takarazuka. I've even forgotten to check the August and September calendar wallpapers. once, watching one of the clips I made, I noticed one thing. even if I go to see Kiriya-sama's concert, even if I go to see her next musical, even if by some chance I get to see a performance with Aono-sama, this Top Combi is no longer there... better to say, that's not exactly the problem. what's crucial - I miss them. I want to see them again together on the stage of Takarazuka. and I never will
I thought I overcame this feeling, but 'tis still inside me. 'tis not that I constantly think 'oh why they retired, I haven't had enough!' - no, I never indulge myself into thinking so. however, after proper self-analysis (which lasted several seconds) I understood that what discouraged me that much is that particular feeling. the second time in my life when I felt an absolute bliss is already in the past and chances that I will have more are almost invisible. the moment I was striving for is already in the past and I have nothing else to strive for. I thought 'twould be different because there are so many other things to do, but this is the truth  I've realised only a week ago

...Ryuu-sama names RomiJuri an 'appropriate' musical for the new Moon Troupe. I wonder if she really thinks so...

18 September 2012

my humble opinion on F. H. Burnett's works ~ or is there any?

I cannot remember now why at all I decided to read and watch 'The Little Princess' - the original book and western movies this time. however, after watching only one movie I lost my interest for this work and decided that I better read other books of the same author, hoping to find some Victorian style in them
yes, I did find. 'Emily Fox-Seton' had incredibly adorable things depicted and described, the characters were charming despite the fact none of them was 'close' to me and I was never too absorbed with the plot. however, the rooms of lodgings, gardens surrounding palaces, parties with exquisite tableware, wild nature in the countryside, everyday trifles were enough for me to enjoy reading a lot
of course I sympathized with Emily, but apart from her, the first half of the book I was particularly interested in Agatha's fate, and when her story ended happily I switched my attention to Hester. needless to say, both stories were disappointing. as soon as Agatha's happiness appeared on the horizon the author ceded to mention any serious details about her, and Hester, as well as Emily herself, were just abruptly ended by Mrs Burnett. that was just... completely not what I expected and wanted to read
the other stories I read are short - and I am happy they are. 'The Dawn' was just full of some unnecessary lecturing and religious preaching I couldn't make any sense of. the woman said there was no death! she had pure spirit! let's forget about what she believed in and what she said.  in reality she was drunk heavily and got under a cart and died leaving her child alone. erm... well, whom I could respect are people less 'enlightened' but more caring
'Surly Tim' and 'Le Monsieur' are just short biographies, or so I would say. they just tell you how hard one's life may be... and nothing else. they are too short to convey what was really inside the souls of the characters, but too long-winded to be count as 'slice-of-life' pieces (I mean one slice, not a number of them)
after reading these 4 I decided to stop. probably there are more good stories among what Mrs Burnett wrote, but I am not in any disposition to search for them in the hundreds of her works

15 September 2012

my humble opinion on 'K no souretsu' ~ wasted time

when one sees graphics with perfect style and unusual frame setting
one might expect to read a work of equal perfection, but then...
usually I either drop a work I don't like, or forget about it soon after reading/watching. I don't even bother to write a proper review on such things. this is probably a unique post for me. I don't want to divide it as usual into paragraphs and the stuff. now that I think of it, the reason to write this post is...
2 great mangakas from Japan - Teranishi Tatsuya-san and Iwata Rentarou-san - came to Vladivostok this year, in spring. needless to say, their lecture was interesting. what I remember most vividly is the following excerpt from a news article
«Самый лучший мангака – это тот, кто делает своими произведениями людей счастливыми», — говорит Тэраниси Тацуя. Успеха достигнет тот, кто хочет стать мангакой не для того, чтобы рисовать манга, а для того, чтобы с помощью манга передать свое послание людям.
'the best mangaka is a person who makes people happy with his works,' Teranishi Tatsuya says. it is the one who became a mangaka to convey his message to people, who will achieve success, not the one who became a mangaka to create manga.

is there any sense in 'K no souretsu'? is there any story at all? are there any personalities in the characters? do they develop? the answer to all the question is no for me. however, even without all this... are there any feelings in this manga? the message to convey, the thoughts and the feelings from the very heart of the mangaka? does the mangaka have any heart at all?
one can find hints on emotions there, but not the emotions themselves. the main character is supposed to love his brother, the girl is supposed to like K and adore him, the woman is supposed to be obsessed with him, and so on. and no message in any of them. nothing, only emptiness
short, laconic chapters. not too much words uttered either. what was the purpose of creating this work?
when one sees a description of a dream like this
 or a dialogue like this
what is he supposed to feel? to understand? to think? to conclude? when one reads about 'morkwall' and never gets any explanation of what 'tis - what is the meaning of introducing such a thing in the plot?
fascinating with originality and the dark mystery aura about it, to the extent that it made me read it till the end. I am against cliches and mediocre works full of fanservice... however... this is too much. this short beautiful emptiness is no better than a dragged out sweet shoujo

14 September 2012

my humble opinion on 'Gekkou Teien' ~ oh I am only joking

'twas really cute to see this as a means to explain about what is to play a character of the opposite sex... ^.^
a pic from 'Gekkou Teien' (which I dropped by the way after the very 1st chapter)

12 September 2012

happy birthday to Aono-sama and Suzukaze-sama ~ I am lazy again

Suzukaze-sama's birthday was yesterday but I was too occupied with... with something...
ok, I forgot to congratulate her yesterday, but I remembered today
I was thinking what pic to post here, and I was choosing between different photos, but... then I understood how much her Kenshin still means to me - the original one, from the TV series
and Aono-sama... hope you're doing well there, without Takarazuka

11 September 2012

Socionic experience. part 1 - just a few subjective observations

If someone comes and tells me I am completely wrong in my predictions about TIMs of people around me I wouldn't be surprised. I only guess about the possible types of my surroundings and I am not absolutely sure my variants correspond with the true ones.

EIE, ENFj, Hamlet 
IEI, INFp, Yesenin

point 1
Hamlets live under the motto 'to make a promise costs nothing.' Tend to promise a lot and keep their promises very seld... well, not always. They don't do it on purpose, they just forget because they don't attach much importance to the promise. This applies of course to cases when they are the part who promise to do smth, not to receive, in other words - if the result of the promise is of great importance to them, they are not likely to forget. Well, who is? Unlike EIEs, Yesenins are not that apt to promising, and when they do, their promises are so vague... that you cannot probably expect them to be followed in their original form... and was there any?
The trick is not to expect too much from them. If you are the one who needs smth from them - better remind, and better constantly. The EIEs I know don't feel offended by me reminding about smth. IEIs are less forgiving, but still. Remember that your value of the promise and theirs may be different. Once there was a time I understood that a friend of mine not only forgot about the promise made, but even never considered it a promise. I felt I was betrayed and I was depressed - until I understood that there was no reason to think so. Just don't demand too much loyalty from them and make sure they understand the importance of promises made between you

point 2
Though Hamlets are negativists, victim type, and are considered as 'tragic' members of the socion, real life is not always the same as theory. They tend to be much more... amiable? well, friendly, at least. can call you with nicknames or some words which have a special meaning between you. often stick to one favourite variant and use it long time. as I am only happy because of this, I never object... and never feel surprised when I see 'wife-chan' or 'mister X' on the screen of my friends' smartphones when they check a message from me
IEIs are described as melancholic creatures, which is true, but one must be ready that they have times when they troll... severely... this may seem unrealistic, but Hamlets are much milder in their expressions and filter their words thoroughly not to be too sharp on their nearest. Yesenins don't. they can be so straightforward that sometimes I need to calm down my two Hamlets who still take offence at Yesenin's comments

point 3
complete absence of logic makes... oops, did I say it aloud?
just joking. I don't want to say that EIEs and IEIs have no logic at all, just 'tis a strange kind of logic. I have ceased already to feel surprised at their sudden 'and Petr went in and said...' while I have no idea of who that Petr might be. in other words, they always suppose you know everything concerning them, including the tiniest trifles of their everyday life, including things they said to other people but you, and including the thoughts inside their heads they didn't even put into words once. when you tell them you don't, they are always shocked. there are cases when they admit that they've just forgotten to tell you, but often they seem to believe that 'tis a natural thing for you to know everything. having known 3 people of these types for many years, I still don't know approximately a half of what they usually talk about. first I was raising my brow not understanding the topic, then I used to get angry, now I am simply letting it go. 'tis much more fun when you keep silent during chats involving people and circumstances you don't know, and several months later an EIE or IEI speaks about the same thing and asks you something, and you reply 'oh but you didn't bother to give any explanation of how it started. I have no idea what you're talking about.'
to put this black humour aside, I am trying to say that in spite of a good intuition of time (white intuition) they tend to mess up the order of events - partially because of the fact they really forget, partially because they feel somewhat embarrassed to start from the beginning. well, I guess so. in most cases you're likely to hear the result of some action or consequences of some incident, but not the reason and the beginning of it. for example, they are likely to say 'I'm off to buy a new headlight' when you've never heard they had a car. the rest depends on you. if the matter is important, you'll have to ask for the basic info from them. if not - you can pretend you understood everything as 'tis (though I doubt this is possible). you can also simply ignore this kind of conversation - as for me, I dislike it when I am provoked to ask additional questions. that's what I call 'to mince' (with the meaning of 'to make difficulties')
only several days ago my friend told me that she was doubting about whether she could go to the trip with me. the same evening I told her a lot about my plans and asked her fervently to agree. she replied nothing particular and said she would take one more day to think over. that 'one' day came and after she asked me about some details I get a message - 'how about this hotel? *website link*' well, that's how they live, can't help it

point 4 
though they can forget about telling you important information, they would remember much about you. this, however, isn't as great as it seems
while I am sincerely thankful to them for the fact that they remember my comments, opinions and ideas, and even my short remarks - which sometimes leads to them buying me an item I mentioned only once as 'cute', or reminding me of funny things there happened, or important moments I forgot - there are times I wish they had no such great memory. every slightest mistake you make, every clumsy action, failed attempt, careless phrase would be remembered - and you would be reminded of it every time when they think it relevant. even if the truth is completely the opposite of what they say, they will remember their own version of the developments. even if something was a joke, they will repeat it so that it gradually becomes a thing that happened in the reality. first you laugh at the joke, then you laugh at the fact that this is a joke repeated constantly. sometimes you may get irritated as well. the funniest thing is that EIEs and IEI I know can even remember such things about each other and eventually hurt the person. the one who is spoken about usually takes offence and starts to argue that there was no such thing. what there really was is sometimes impossible to investigate, but regardless - unpleasant things seem to bring most pleasure to the person who recalls it. 'and you were soooooo drunk hahahaaaa' one of them may say, while the person might be an absolute teetotaller

my humble opinion on 'Emma' manga ~ Victorian romance again

though I expressed my anger with 'Ashita no Nadja' and poured a lot of bad words on it, I wasn't that frustrated all this time. I've been reading 'Emily Fox-Seton' by Frances Burnett. I can't say I loved the book very much, but reading it was such a comforting thing. every little detail was so nicely described...
and suddenly I understood how 'Emma' had the very same aura about it. I came to understand that from the historical point of view 'Emma' was perfectly neat, if I can use the word here
at first I had no intention to read the manga as I thought the story didn't touch me that much... but there appeared two facts that made me change my mind. first, the story was very good in comparison with some other stories I've seen/read, even though I cannot say that the characters in 'Emma' were of my favourite type. and the second thing - the properly created atmosphere redeems for all possible sins. 'Emma' is able to make you see those times, feel the epoch, almost LIVE in it
10 volumes is considerable amount, certainly not a short at least, but I swallowed all in 3 evenings. what's also important - the weather is still good, still warm though already the first sings of Autumn can be noticed, so I can still continue my 'Victorian Summer' - only for a while. I turned on the anime OSTs and they almost made me cry

plot and characters
from the beginning the plot and characters look pretty the same as in the anime, but this time I was... well, not disappointed, but the manga seems to tell the story in a more rushing way... I felt like... deprived of something. several important episodes were not described as fully as in the anime, and they were the case when the anime version wins. such was Mrs Stowner's death, first of all, but also the other things about her. her character and attitude to Emma were the same, but the anime version was... warmer? deeper? how shall I call it... touching, probably. there were a lot of other cases like that, for example the manga version of parting of Emma and William without them meeting in front of his house and at the station. those meetings made the story more dramatic of course. or the two scenes I particularly liked most in the anime were when Emma took down the little guy's pet from the tree - that was much more dangerous than when in the manga she had only to climb on a chair and take the squirrel down from the baldachin, and the episode with Nanette. also, the part when William told Emma about him visiting the Crystal Palace with his mother, and then Mrs Trollope tells the same story so that the spectators are able to guess something... or when Tasha explains that lily-of-the-valley stands for 'hope will come again' in a flower language, or... all those small and nice delights were 'lost'...
however, if I forget about the anime, I cannot blame the manga too much. probably 'tis partly my fault that I read the beginning in a hurry because I've already seen the story, and also because I wanted to read more and more... instead of scenes shown in the anime, manga managed to convey another things. I can say, it managed to portray the society of those days - the dinner at the house of Eleanor's parents showed the higher classes typical meeting, the picnic and riding in boats showed the types of girls there existed, worried about their future husbands being both handsome and rich, constantly chatting, frivolous and light-headed (did I get it right that they were introduced not in the least for the readers to see how Emma and a few other heroines were standing out?), or Viscount Campbell having an affair with 'a woman who's gone astray'
there were also a lot of moments never used in the anime, such as William actually coming officially to the Molders, or relationship between Emma and Hans, and of course, the fact that the story takes an unexpected turn after that, but more that anything - a lot of secrets revealed in 'Bangaihen' and first of all in the last 2 chapters of it
they say when a person loses one of his senses, the other ones become more acute. a blind person can often hear well, and becomes good and feeling the objects with his fingers. this is not a good comparison, but in comparison with anime (in general), manga is 'bereaved' of sound and smooth movements. this is no offence to manga, but 'tis incontestable truth that there are no such things. and since there are no, manga has to convey the story in a different way, this is only obvious. the static pictures have to convey movements, the small frames have to express all the huge picture that mangaka has in his/her mind. this is, I suppose, why manga gives so much stress to details. while still telling a story, it underlines moments rather than general flow of events, or events that take only a short time, rather than global, long ones. what's really noticeable and commendable here are the many beautiful moments captured when not a single word was pronounced. the characters were only assumed to talk or to think of something, but depicted was only the environment
surely the mangaka managed to convey the feelings of Emma so that not to flinch at the sight of the cold dark lonely night was impossible - at least for me
I also loved how allegories were used - if only I got them right. can two creatures who belong to different species be together?
'Bangaihen' part was not used in the anime, so reading it was a lot of fun. Mori-sensei payed attention to smallest details and portrayed an adorable picture of Victorian England. all the stories had a very sweet touch to them and made me understand why I love this period so much. those times were already far from the Middle Ages - dull grey they seem to me - but far from the modern period as well. life became more convenient and filled with lots of new things in comparison with the past, but at the same time the choice was not as great as 'tis now. probably because of this people were able to spot tinier things than we do now, and were able to cherish them more, because they were not that easy reachable. no one says the life of the working class or the poor was easy, but the utmost happiness of one could consist in only buying a few yards of handmade lace or...
all the stories of 'Bangaihen' were inexpressibly lovely. the first chapters about young Mrs Stownar and her husband almost made me cry
the other touching story was the one about Theo of course - I didn't know Mori-sensei is able to draw even animals in such a cute way
inanimate objects can also have their history and... a soul probably. the author is not trying to simply tell us the story of two lovers who got across some obstacles, Mori-sensei is portraying the epoch. one can easily see how she loves the epoch and every single item that existed. note how she gently introduces several images of how different were the ways of using the newspaper dedicating the whole chapter to The Times

graphics
there are no words I could use to describe how I loved this side of manga. the anime graphics was made apparently to resemble the manga one, but this principle is not always working. in case of 'Emma' what was looking a bit awkward in the anime at first, stroke me with its beauty in the manga. the level of details is highly laudable, but also faces and general silhouettes were simply astonishing. facial expressions were beyond the reach of many average mangakas, starting with the fact that all the faces were actually different, not just the same shape with a special hairstyle for each person to make him/her recognisable, and finishing with absolutely realistic postures and 'angles of viewing'
sometimes I wasn't sure whether I see a manga page or a true 19th century illustration for a book

conclusion
I could say that the anime ending seems a bit more logical and 'finished' to me. William's family accept his decision, William's father even says he's proud of his son, Emma is living in peace with her husband and 4 children and pronounces words of gratitude to her former mistress, even the other characters weren't forgotten and are shown to have at least a hope for a brighter future
the manga ending is not going as far, but its ending leaves a perfect sense of satisfaction for me. the balance that I always long for was properly established. I couldn't ask for more
no, I even got more than I expected. note the perfect sense of humor of Mori-sensei, very subtle and clever
Tasha in her usual manner
 the strange Molders family
 and my favourite characters, the Indian girls, and drunk Arthur
no 'happily-ever-after' is presented to our eyes in 'Emma'. and though I tend to dislike stories that end in 'and what will the next day bring to him/her/them?', 'Emma' is different. perhaps the developments will be the same as in the anime, this is only what's likely to happen, we are simply not shown how it happens. this however doesn't bereave us of the opportunity to look into William's face together with Emma and find the same hopeful look in it. William is certain, though he said nothing, so must be we
there are people on this Earth who are able to create beautiful worlds, decorate them with beautiful pictures and add soft sounds to make them even more perfect. Mori Kaoru-san managed to do this, and studio Pierrot can do beautiful things once in a while, too. call it escaping from reality or whatever, I love this world named 'Emma', even though this is the same studio which did 'Naruto', 'Bleach', or 'Fushigi Yuugi' and 'Ayashi no Ceres'
now that I read 'Emma' I feel as if once more I adjusted my taste of what real art is. I wonder if I can call 'Emma' a manga that no one can dislike. I mean, people either are fascinated with it, or never have the intention to read it
recommended for those who are tired of cheap artworks full of fanservice, with no serious basis

p. s. if one ever needs any advice on what books to pick up to know more about the period, Mori-sensei recommends some in the end of 'Victorian Guide' book. well, not only that, but also lots of other things are explained there

unbelievable... but still, the reality

and finally... my dear friend U agreed to accompany me to Tokyo! ^____^ we're going. yep. next month. I can't believe...
I am not a superstitious person, so I didn't keep silent about my April trip on purpose because of some 'touch wood' policy, probably that time I was simply too worried and too tired because I had to organize so many things myself. now the process is much easier since I've found a good travel agency which enabled me to choose from a vaster range of ho(s)tels and makes all the necessary documents and confirmations instead of me
so... well... on the 14th of October... Kiriya-sama, wait for me....

10 September 2012

how to buy a ticket NOT to Takarazuka... ~ walkthrough Sunrise Tokyo Promotion

since Kiriya-sama's graduation I've been wondering how to get tickets to her further performances and since I know just a few things concerning this problem I need to write everything down - and when I write something down I can share it as well. who knows, someone may feel interested...?

Lawson tickets
http://l-tike.com/
requires registration, but not a usual one, but the one that requires membership, and membership requires a special card called Ponta. this means you follow some rules and there are some conditions I didn't bother to read. the main obstacle is that you have to fill in the forms like address and phone number which must be Japanese as you'll have to receive your card first. you can only choose from the list the prefecture you live in, so writing you real address in some other country wouldn't do, and without making that card you cannot finish your registration

CNPlayguide
I don't remember any cards there or something, but the registration is the same. if I am not mistaken, there is no list of areas where you are supposed to live, but I doubt that changes anything

PIA
Pia seems a very convenient service for me. registration allows you to do many things - at least this is what's promised on the page for guests, but again, you'll need to write your address and other things. I've already complained about PIA letting Takarazuka use their system for selling their tickets, and one can easily notice how friendly their system is for foreigners because one needs only a Japanese phone number, and that number doesn't have to be proved in some way, only used when you go to pick up your tickets to check whether you really booked those tickets or not. there are two PIAs and I am not happy with this. BTW, Japanese citizens can use the usual PIA to buy Zuka tickets as well

E+
this is the only website where I found information about possibility of buying the tickets for those who 'live abroad'. this is not exactly availability of the service for foreigners because you'll have to write a Japanese address when registering, but at least this paragraph in 'FAQ' section hints on the possibility. I decided to ask directly and this is what I got as reply: ask your Japanese friend to give you his address and use it for registration. ok... if I could do something like this I could as well register at any other website... except Lawson, probably
also, they emphasise the importance of you having a credit card issued in Japan. not only this is mentioned in the FAQ, but also once more they stressed it in the reply I got
if one managed to register, one may try his luck and use his usual credit card to buy tickets. when I was going to buy Takarazuka tickets in April I read the same condition on the PIA website (as I said Takarazuka tickets are sold by the means of PIA system) and I managed to do it with my card that was issued in Russia - only 'twas a multicurrency one

Sunrise Tokyo Promotion
the most foreigner-friendly Japanese website ever. I mentioned already that you can write your real address and phone number when buying. the possible ways of getting your tickets are booking them and then paying for them and printing them in a 2-day period, or the way I prefer - paying with a credit card in advance. though the website scares you with telling that there is a deadline for going to pick up the tickets, actually there is no. I asked directly about the deadline and I got a very, very positive and polite reply (even for a Japanese official correspondence which is always polite) that the deadline is the day of the performance
an important point here is that the place to get your tickets is not the theatre where the performance takes place, but a SevenEleven convenience store. after you finish your payment you see a special page that contains info about the tickets you bought, payment etc., but most importantly - a special number that you will need to get your tickets. you also get a confirmation email, but it DOES NOT contain the number, it only has a link to that page, so you will certainly need to print out the confirmation page, or at least write down this special number which consists of 13 digits. be sure not to mistake it for the number of booking which is displayed first
you can get your tickets in any SevenEleven store anywhere across the country, but 'twill cost you 105 yen per ticket. I think that is affordable. the amount of tickets one person can buy is 4
the only bad point about Sunrise Tokyo is that it doesn't provide you with an opportunity to buy any ticket you might want. the range of tickets available at other websites I mentioned is wider, considerably wider. also, this morning I was deceived by the Sunrise website. the page with the concert info has no link to the page to buy the tickets via Sunrise system, and I only saw it after I visited the home page
nevertheless, Sunrise is the system I used

walkthrough  (or how shall I call this?)
first click the huge button with サンライズオンライン on the page of the performance
or チケット購入... from the schedule page (公演スケジュール on the main page of the website)

 you'll be redirected to calendar of the performance
choose the day and time and click the orange button which is for credit card payment (blue is for cash payment and red square means all the tickets are sold out)
you'll see info about your purchase and offered 2 lists - first is the type of seat (S and A this time) and second is the amount of tickets (up to 4). then click 次へ - 'next'
then you see again the date and time, place, seats type, then row and seats numbers. the blue 取消 is for deleting one of the tickets. click 'next' if you're sure or 全て取消 to delete everything

finally you see the prices and enter info necessary for payment
_____
first line is credit card number (only digits without spaces)
next is card type
next is 'valid until'
next is security code (see reverse of the card, only the last 3 digits)
_____
personal info:
name in English (the same as on the credit card)
surname in Japanese
name in Japanese
surname and name in katakana (this is actual for Japanese who have names that are not always easily readable in kanji. well I simply wrote everything in katakana. probably writing in English would do)
choose your country from the list
postal code
city/town/...
disrict/street/...
building, apartment
province (optional)
phone number
mobile phone number (optional)
email address
email address (repeat)
don't forget to check 上記の利用... which means you've read and agree with the rules. I don't remember if there is anything really important in this section... but Google Translator will help you if you're worried

after you click 'next', this is the first page displayed which only contains the booking number (third line). click the blue line starting with こちらをクリックし... to see the confirmation page
and this is the confirmation page with your confirmation number and info about your payment etc. in the bottom you see how much you'll have to pay in 7-11 for printing the tickets. link to this page can be found also in the confirmation email. don't forget to print the page or write down the number