Soon there will be a lot of things coming my way. It's gonna be a huge transition for me. I'm heading off to the land of Anime Expo, Otakon and Crunchyroll. You probably knew it from my last post, I'm heading to the States for college. I'll probably post one about my new room and internet after I got there, now I just want to think about what has been going on the past month.
It has been relatively fruitless, no active work, no active study, no active visual novel. I took the JLPT N2 in July, and it was, well harder than the mock test I got. Still I hope I can pass it. The preparation course was certainly helpful, since I got to learn lots of grammar, which I would otherwise never touch.
After the test, I started reading light novels (raw) again, and I was able to read much, much more fluently than before. Studying really helps. I finished the left overs of my impulsive spending in Singapore: Vol 1 of Shinigami no Ballad and Hanbun Tsuki. They were both quite worth a read. That lead me to reading Shinigami no Ballad, and now I'm at Volume 4 (volume 2 is already translated). The story was quite simple, with lots of conversation and furigana, so it's very easy to understand. They are all quite tragedies (or should I say mini tragedies), since you'd probably guessed it from the name, but nevertheless I do enjoy the nakige genre. Another novel that I touched is Accel World, since I was mesmerized by the author's previous work, Sword Art Online. The concept of virtual reality still plays a prominent role in this novel as well, but there's much more interaction and interconnection between that and the real world. Too bad the protagonist is much less GAR, compared to Kirito of SAO. I finished the last parts of volume 1, after the manga and started on 2. This seems to be a promising read.
The last time I checked AnimeCalendar, I was surprised (shocked also) to discover I had been following 10 anime this season. I really had way too much free time. Now it has dropped to about 5 (I think), and hopefully when I got on campus it will stay around there.
Looking at the last post, well it is really quite prophetic. I started working as QC for a group since last week (to say it more accurately I failed the editor test). You can probably find out which group it is easily using google. It is interesting to look at subs in a whole new way, to criticize instead of enjoy. Still it was much more bearable than English A1.
So that's about it. Hope to post next time from the US.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
Light novel. Yes, light novel
Reading is nice. Absorbing. Exciting. Makes me feel that I am using my time effectively.
After 2 weeks of intensive light novel reading, I completed 4 volumes of Utsuro no Hako, Zero no Maria, 3 volumes of Sword Art Online and the whole of Mimizuku to Yoru no Ou. Thank you Baka-Tsuki and all translator for having worked to provide these for the community. (being a translator for one month I realize how time consuming, tedious and commitment-required it is. Sadly I don't process the qualities to make the cut)
It starts from a recommendation on Facebook. Utsuro no Hako that is. It has a great start, which is basically slapping incomprehensible information in my face. Before that I guess there is a nice cover. The story is basically a mystery, supernatural one, with some degree of blood and gore. Now that I think about it, the story strongly reminds me of Sharin no Kuni and G Senjou no Maou's style where there's always an unexpected twist at the end.
Of course after reading the first novel I'd expect a twist at the end of the second one, but everything turns up and down and left and right and after a while, I decided to turn off my brain while reading. Not a very exciting way, but certainly an entertaining way, as I can skip some logical and inconsistencies in the various time loops (oops I'm not supposed to spoil). In the end the four volumes make a decent stop, however still leaving plenty of room for a (coming, hopefully soon) fifth one.
After going around the few reviews available on web, I decided to follow up with Sword Art Online, as one of the blog suggests to me. It is, as described on the blog, 'cliched story and characters', with typical romance/adventure/MMORPG situations. Since I am a fan of ./Hack (I wish I can get a better grasp of the canon), I don't mind any of that, and the novel really did not let me down. (no, even without chapter 16.5, it's plenty interesting). The story is predictable, but still absorbing enough to keep me reading till the end, especially Volume 3 and 4. I was practically shivering as I read the few last chapters of Volume 4. Haven't got so excited since G Senjou no Maou. Regetfully Volume 2 is not fully translated, so I'll have to wait for later.
Lastly, the just-finished Mimizuku to Yoru no Ou. It won the Dengeki Light Novel award in 2009 (the top prize, no less), and it's one volume, fully translated. The story, pretty depressing at the beginning but began to shine more and more as it progress. Honestly I don't have much of an emotional reaction after reading it, no, not a reaction at all. Sad, I think.
That's it for the translated one. I think I'll proceed to finish the Hanbun Tsuki novel that has been sitting on my shelf for more than 2 years now. It'd certainly take a long time. A long time indeed.
On a side note. Real life. I just got my US Visa. That means all procedure cleared and I'm heading to Colgate University this August. I hope the anime community there is bustling. Maybe I'll join a fansub group, who knows?
After 2 weeks of intensive light novel reading, I completed 4 volumes of Utsuro no Hako, Zero no Maria, 3 volumes of Sword Art Online and the whole of Mimizuku to Yoru no Ou. Thank you Baka-Tsuki and all translator for having worked to provide these for the community. (being a translator for one month I realize how time consuming, tedious and commitment-required it is. Sadly I don't process the qualities to make the cut)
It starts from a recommendation on Facebook. Utsuro no Hako that is. It has a great start, which is basically slapping incomprehensible information in my face. Before that I guess there is a nice cover. The story is basically a mystery, supernatural one, with some degree of blood and gore. Now that I think about it, the story strongly reminds me of Sharin no Kuni and G Senjou no Maou's style where there's always an unexpected twist at the end.
Of course after reading the first novel I'd expect a twist at the end of the second one, but everything turns up and down and left and right and after a while, I decided to turn off my brain while reading. Not a very exciting way, but certainly an entertaining way, as I can skip some logical and inconsistencies in the various time loops (oops I'm not supposed to spoil). In the end the four volumes make a decent stop, however still leaving plenty of room for a (coming, hopefully soon) fifth one.
After going around the few reviews available on web, I decided to follow up with Sword Art Online, as one of the blog suggests to me. It is, as described on the blog, 'cliched story and characters', with typical romance/adventure/MMORPG situations. Since I am a fan of ./Hack (I wish I can get a better grasp of the canon), I don't mind any of that, and the novel really did not let me down. (no, even without chapter 16.5, it's plenty interesting). The story is predictable, but still absorbing enough to keep me reading till the end, especially Volume 3 and 4. I was practically shivering as I read the few last chapters of Volume 4. Haven't got so excited since G Senjou no Maou. Regetfully Volume 2 is not fully translated, so I'll have to wait for later.
Lastly, the just-finished Mimizuku to Yoru no Ou. It won the Dengeki Light Novel award in 2009 (the top prize, no less), and it's one volume, fully translated. The story, pretty depressing at the beginning but began to shine more and more as it progress. Honestly I don't have much of an emotional reaction after reading it, no, not a reaction at all. Sad, I think.
That's it for the translated one. I think I'll proceed to finish the Hanbun Tsuki novel that has been sitting on my shelf for more than 2 years now. It'd certainly take a long time. A long time indeed.
On a side note. Real life. I just got my US Visa. That means all procedure cleared and I'm heading to Colgate University this August. I hope the anime community there is bustling. Maybe I'll join a fansub group, who knows?
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