GoddessCarlie.com

Maou - Episode One - Review

GoddessCarlie — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 01:38:59 +0000

Maou
魔王
Episode One
Original Air Date: 4th July 2008
Carlie’s Rating:
Rate This Episode: Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

I’m so sad that this is a TBS drama, and so I can’t show screen captures. I’m very very sad, as Ikuta Toma is HOT with his new hair do.

OK, on with the review. Usually with first episodes I’m a bit iffy on them - either they suck or they are OK and it takes a few more episodes for me to really appreciate or get into the first episode. I have to say, with this drama, I am going to be totally biased. I don’t think I can give a proper review. My heart was beating so fast all the way through this because a certain someone looks really good. Yes, I am a sad person.

But I have to say, I really enjoyed this. Ohno was great in his role, although I would love to see him be a bit more charismatic. Perhaps I am picturing this all wrong, but I was picturing from the synopsis that Ohno would be really likeable but a demon underneath, and that Ikuta would perhaps be not so nice on the surface but a really good person who always does the right thing underneath. We didn’t quite get that, but it is no fault to the show, just my assumptions.

I liked the way, I believe it was Toma’s character who said something to the effect of “Who ever did this is a monster with no emotions” (very much paraphrasing this from memory, I could be way off!) and then the next shot is of Ohno’s character crying. It was a nice contrast.

Ohno is the master of the evil smirk.

I have seen many criticisms that Toma was over acting. I didn’t notice, to tell the truth. Perhaps I should pay a bit more attention to his performance, rather than… um.. other things.

Over all the plot is engaging. There are things that remain unanswered and I am curious to see how things pan out. I don’t mind these types of shows but to be honest it isn’t my favourite genre. But I’m looking forward to the next episode.

Love the actors in this show.

It may have been my expectations of the plot or the fact that this isn’t my “genre” but I didn’t get the feeling of “this is awesome” compared to other shows. Besides the thought of “Toma is awesome”.

So yes, expect lots of raving this season from me. I’m sorry, I can’t help it!

p.s. I forgot to mention the shower scene! Less than five minutes in and we have toplessness! For the win!

Image is the Judgement card from the fantastic, as yet unpublished, Shadowscapes deck by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law. I’m soooo buying this deck when it is published. And check out her other work, it’s fantastic.

Learn About the iPhone in Japanese

GoddessCarlie — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 01:08:12 +0000

Is anyone else excited about the new iPhone comming out on the 11th of July? It’s so close yet so far away.

Well, now you can learn more about the iPhone and practise your Japanese at the same time. The iPhone’s guided tour is now in Japanese. It’s basically the same as the English one, but localised for Japan. However, the section on the keypad is awesome, you get to see how to type fast in Japanese.

One of the reasons I’m excited about the iPhone is because of the way Japanese is integrated into it easily. I don’t have to go and change my global settings to make everything either English or Japanese. I can use both easily. I’m also hoping that there will be some good flash card software and other things like this so I can study Japanese on the go.

As you may have guessed, I’m planning on getting it - It’s convenient that my current plan runs out very soon and my ipod is also very old and needs updating. It feels like the timing is perfect! Plus, in Australia at least, the plans are very affordable (even if we still have crap data plans compared to some countries - compared to others though we are lucky). I just hope they don’t sell out before I get a chance to get one!

Anyone else excited about the iPhone? Or is that a silly question?

Goddess Carlie’s Smackdown - Matsujun’s Mop Hair vs. Yamapi’s Mop Hair

GoddessCarlie — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 14:50:31 +0000

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

In the last poll, Shoushi vs Knight, Soushi was the clear winner with 61% of the votes. Congrats Soushi, you won our (and, somewhat, Riko’s too!) hearts.

This round it’s the battle of the Mop Hair Do. Which one does it for you? If any at all. But, you have to choose one. This may end up being a battle of the fan girls, but it’s all in good fun! So, which hair would you clean your floor with? Vote now, and share in the comments!

New Season “Summer” 2008! Yay!

GoddessCarlie — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 11:32:27 +0000

Hi Everyone. I’ve been sick. In fact, I still feel sick, I can’t shake it! Dammit! But, today I’m feeling a lot better - mainly because this week the new Japanese drama season has begun! I’ve spent most of tonight watching lots of promotional stuff of Maou, Ikuta Toma and Ohno Satoshi’s new drama that aired last night. OMG, I’m so excited. I love tarot, and I love Ikuta.

Even though I didn’t do as well as I usually do at university last semester, plus I was suffering from serious burnout, I got better marks than I was expecting, which is fantastic. In regards to my quest to Remember the Kanji, I’m still at the 600 kanji mark, however I’ve been practising a lot trying to get back up to where I was before. Over the next six months I hope to keep reviewing these as well as slowly increasing the amount of kanji I know.

I haven’t been reading manga, however I’ve been going through my copies of the Japanese Graded Readers, level two. For me, the only problem I really face with them is vocab. I can understand the stories except for a word here or there. Some I can get from context, but others I read the whole story and still can’t guess the word. I want to go through them again with a dictionary.

That’s the news, you’re up to date.

8 Random Facts About Carlie

GoddessCarlie — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 22:58:46 +0000

Yes, that’s me in the photo.

I’ve been tagged by Chris to write 8 random facts about myself. I’ll try to relate some things to learning Japanese, however, it is great to know more about the person behind the blog.

The rules are:

1. People who are tagged need to write a post containing 8 random facts about themselves.
2. At the end of the post you should name several other bloggers to be tagged.
3. Leave a comment for the bloggers and link to your own post.

So here I go:

I hate following the rules.
More accurately, perhaps, is that I can’t follow instructions. I just can’t do it. Following a recipe or sewing pattern? I can’t. I just end up tossing what ever into the mix, hardly ever measure anything. I guess you could say it is the same for following instructions for learning Japanese products. It is so natural for me to adapt everything to the way that I want to do it, I often forget that other people don’t do this and need step-by-step instructions. It’s also the reason why I can’t do origami.
This is also why I wont be tagging people for this meme. If you want to do this, please leave me a comment and I’ll link to the people who respond to this meme at the bottom of this post!
I work in a scrap booking store.
Yes, I get paid to scrap book, I have to make displays for when new products come in. Yes, it is lots of fun. But it’s still retail and so I need to get out. But I am very happy working there (for the most part!) and it is a great job to have while I’m still at uni. Oh, and I can’t wait to scrapbook my upcoming trip to Japan, I already have bought a lot of stickers etc! I’ve always kept a diary and love taking photos, so for me scrapbooking is an obvious step in the journey of keeping memories.
I’m left handed.
Which makes me uber creative. I also write with my book on a 90 degree angle. Not awkwardly like a lot of lefties do, but quite naturally that many people don’t even realise I do it.
I listen to Metal!!
Still searching for good Japanese metal bands that sing in Japanese. So far I’ve only managed to find Japanese metal bands that sound like they are from the 80’s and sing in English. Where is the Rammstein of Japan??
I’m afraid of heights
But I love challenging that fear. I love high thrill rides, even if I’m scared shitless. I want to bungee jump and sky dive in the near future. Also thinking about doing some bridge climbing. I think I’m very fortunate because I think my fear would make rides more exciting. I feel sorry for you non-scaredy-cats.
I don’t mind reading cheesy romance novels.
The thing is, I read books too quickly. It can often be an expensive habit, as often I buy books rather than borrowing from a library. Romance books are cheap. You can get four books for around $11, equalling around 1000 pages too. Often they are satisfying as they are really funny (although, they aren’t trying to be). The only thing is, I only read historical or fantasy romances. I like my books set in other worlds.
I love Amigurumi.
It’s my latest craft based obsession. And it’s Japanese! You can get lots of free patterns at Ravelry.com. Although my creations never seem to go to plan, see point 1.
I can read tarot cards.
Those things freak me out sometimes with how honest they are. I have around 10 packs of tarot cards. I don’t read with them as much as I used to, but it is a lot of fun. As a writer, the archtypes on the cards appeal to me as well. As does the art. My next tarot buy will be Stephanie Pui-Mun Law’s - I love her art work.

Again, if you want to respond to this meme, just leave a comment linking to it here!

Reviving Remembering The Kanji

GoddessCarlie — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 07:38:24 +0000

I’m excited because it is not long now until I will have a weekly dose of Ikuta Toma when he co-stars with Ohno Satoshi in Maou. Which has nothing to do with the rest of the post which is about Reviewing the Kanji. After a bit of a break from studying Japanese, I am back into it with my quest to Remember the Kanji.

I’m on uni holidays now, so I would like to get as many as I can done in the next four weeks. I’m not expecting to finish, but I would like to come as close as I possibly can. I’ve done the maths, I know how much I need to do in order to get close to finishing. However, I’m not going to try and reach a certain number and put pressure on myself. I’m going to do as much as I can each day, trying not to burnout. Here’s some things I’m planning to do:

Use the Reviewing the Kanji Website to help me come up with new stories. There are lots of example stories there that give me something to start with that I can adapt for my own use. Saves lots of time!!
Use Anki to actually review the kanji. I just love Anki so much, it is the best flash card program that I have used so far, and I have used a few. I have written a post on how I structure my RtK deck in anki for those who are interested.
Because I am now working more hours at work, thanks to reduced time at uni, the good news is I will have a dedicated lunch time (instead of eating on the go between work and uni - not fun). So I plan to use my lunch break for actual study. Just to go through stories that I have had trouble with and need adapting, practise writing difficult kanji etc. This will be things I can do on paper, as when I write things down on paper often I remember them better. I also recommend this Practise Page Generator for RtK keywords.

So, remembering the kanji, here I come (again)!!

Spring Story - JDrama Review and Caps

GoddessCarlie — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:40:55 +0000

Title: Spring Story
Aired: 2003
Staring: Oguri Shun, Nishihara Aki
Carlie’s Rating:
Rate This Drama: Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

Akane is a wannabe fashion designer. Kei is a high school basketball star. This cute drama is about a high school romance, where they quickly grow up, leave school and life gets in the way. Are they ment to be?

I have had trouble trying to find out more information about this drama, but I think it must have aired in 2003. It ran for about an hour as a one off show. Staring Oguri Shun, who is in everything, I don’t think that boy sleeps, and Miss Nishihara Aki, who was the sweet Yuki in Hana Yori Dango.

Akane looks bad with purple eyeshadow. In fact, besides barbie, I’m not sure that there is anyone who does. Um, back to the review…

The main characters do it within the first 10 minutes. That is awesome.

I admire Akane for being her own person. She has to live her own life. She is a very stubborn, strong headed girl. This is both a good thing and a bad.

Kei on the other hand, comes across as very full of himself. Self centred, or at least he pretends to be, probably because I suspect underneath he is insecure.

My biggest complaint about this show is that it moves way too fast. It would have been much better if it was at least an hour longer. Everything could have been fleshed out more, instead everything felt rushed.

I think this show is about finding a balance between personal dreams and love. Both are important. It’s nice to have both.

ヘ(^_^ヘ)(ノ^_^)ノ Oh Yeah!

GoddessCarlie — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 10:00:07 +0000

OK, you may have noticed things were a bit quiet around here. I was going through a stressful end of semester exam period. But it’s over, and so I’m back and ready to focus on things I’d rather focus on. Like this site!! To make up for my absence, I’ve prepared something delicious for you all to enjoy. Well, at least those of us who have good taste! Enjoy!

Why I’m Interesting In Translation Over Interpretation

GoddessCarlie — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 01:52:05 +0000

I’m very much someone who communicates better in writing rather than talking. I actually feel somewhat stressed when I am going to meet someone new or I have to call someone I don’t know on the telephone. It’s not that I wont go an do it, I am lucky that I don’t have a social phobia. However, I do feel it on the edge of my mind and so I really don’t like to use the telephone much. Keeping this in mind, I don’t think that Interpretation is the job for me. I wouldn’t mind interpreting for friends and family, or just for a bit of fun, but as a job, even if the “fear” decreases with lots of practise (which I’m sure it would), I don’t see it as something that I would actually enjoy.

Translation on the other hand has challenges in it that I find exciting rather than daunting. Trying to adapt a joke so that it works in the target language sounds like a challenge hat I’m will to do. Trying to find an appropriate register for different dialects/accents within Japan sounds exciting. Transforming a fantastical journey I’ve enjoyed so that others who don’t speak Japanese can also enjoy would give me much pleasure.

In fact, in the next six months I’m hoping that I can push my Japanese larning to a place where I can start translating. Not professionally, but for a bit of fun. I would love to start off with manga, and then increase my skills to articles and then screen translation. That is one of the directions my Japanese language learning has always been heading towards, and it is exciting (for me!) that I feel like I am on the edge of being able to do this.

I am glad that everyone really enjoyed my other post on Translating and Interpreting. I had my exam for this course yesterday and I think I did very well. Over the following weeks I’d like to share with you some of the things I have learned from this course.

Last Friends - Episode Four - Review and Caps

GoddessCarlie — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 05:18:10 +0000

Last Friends
ラスト・フレンズ
Episode Four
First Aired: 1st May 2008
Carlie’s Rating:
Rate This Episode: Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

Michiru stays at the share house while Sousuke stalks Ruka to find out where Michiru is. Meanwhile, Orugin and Eri go pair cup shopping.

They cut the opening sequence! Poo! I really enjoy the opening, I just feel it is so powerful, and they cut it! I don’t mind so much, it means an extra 30 seconds or so of action. But Poo!

It is refreshing to see Nishihara Aki acting like such a bitch after only seeing her in “good girl” roles such as Hana Yori Dango’s Yuki. I can’t help wonder if there is something going on with her bullying though…

I also feel sorry for Ruka. Why can’t we all be treated as equals? It’s stuff like that that pisses me off.

Ogurin is cute in a wall-paper kind of way. Yeah, his character is very bland. I like Eri, but her voice is so irritating! I can see her staring in a Japanese version of The Nanny.

In this episode we learn more about Sousuke from Michiru’s point of view. I feel so bad for Ruka that Michiru doesn’t even see her pain or how she worries for her. Michiru is blind to it all.

Is waiting all night in the rain for someone sweet or sinister (or stupid!). I can understand what they were trying to do at the end of this episode. Someone standing in the rain, waiting for me… that is a stupid yet sweet action. We see this kind of thing in Hana Yori Dango. However, because we know Sousuke’s history, we see it as a sinister action. I can see how Michiru could interpret it as an action of someone who cares for her very much.

BillyWest alerted me to this Mainichi news article where the author can’t understand why Michiru went back to Sousuke at this point. I think that the author of this article doesn’t fully understand what women can go through when they are in this situation. In fact, I can’t either, but I do know someone who has gone through this situation. In this show I see all the “classic” or “cliche” things that people in a domestic violent situation go through. I have seen someone go back to a violent man two times, something that I only understand on the surface. This news article thinks that this show isn’t an accurate portrayal of DV, but in my limited experience I think it is.

Another episode that I really enjoyed.

Um… Perhaps the whole Sousuke drama is getting a bit too melodramatic. A bit repetitive?

I am still enjoying this show a lot.

GoddessCarlie.com

Maou - Episode One - Review

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