And the shaman being referred to is..... Asakura Yoh! Yeah, for those who recognise the name, I am actually going to talk about Shaman King ("SK")(manga version). Granted, SK started its serialisation more than 10 years ago and ended its run in 2004. Hence, 2014 is exactly a decade after it ended. Well, since I recently completed reading the manga (I would say more like.. marathoned it, rather than reading), I figured a dissection or just some thoughts of it would be just fine. Lol.
Initially, I thought SK had the usual shounen plot. Main character meet other characters, started off as either allies and rivals, and eventually all became allies because of a greater cause. Anyway, if you want a summary, wikipedia article can help you much better. For me, I think the driving force of SK is actually the characters' individual development and how well the plot twist can occur ie completely defeats my expectations. For example, like how "Bokuto no Ryu" became a shaman and eventually a comrade of Yoh's during the Shaman Fight(or Tournament) when in the first few chapters, he was portrayed as a 'normal delinquent' and could also be considered as an enemy of sorts.
If there is one thing that I really applaud SK for, it would be the fact that the mangaka (Hiroyuki Takei) uses actual birth dates and year for each significant character. So, it is quite fun, really. Sometimes I make little calculations on each character and give them a definite age at certain point in time. I mean, it is common for mangaka to give birthdays for characters but specific years are definitely not a common practice.
Lastly, the best part about SK is really the ENDING. Nah, not because I want the manga to end! But because the mangaka really wrapped up the story, with some fast-forwarding to the future of showing how the significant characters became and so on.
Well, I know I didn't really go into details and specifics because I was sort of trying to make you read it, rather than me spoiling the whole story for you. And as I have said at the beginning, this is just some of my thoughts and insights regarding SK manga. I didn't make a comparison with the anime because it just doesn't seem fair to compare those two.
Sunday, August 24, 2014
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
Sengoku time! (AniManGaki version!) aka 2014's theme
CHAAAAARGE!!!!! Through the doors and enter a world of the Warring States, where Kei-Chan tries to conquer Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre!!
(Nah, Kei-Chan didn't, actually event-goers, cosplayers and all other related people did. :P)
Anyway, that was how I pictured the opening of Day 1 of AniManGaki (AMG) 2014 to be like. While I didn't managed to make it for both days of AMG 2014, I didn't had the slightest doubt that it will be another awesome year!
And based on the response I managed to collect via the internet, it would seem that most people enjoyed themselves. Of course, there were some negative points too but hey, we can never satisfy EVERYONE, can we?
Well, it was sad and depressing, not to be able to attend an event that I had attended(more like helping out or be a free slave) annually, like a pious devotee, since its inception in 2009, and missing out on all the fun this year. Especially when there are so many things that I was really looking forward to, like Animenz piano performance, Bin Yun's singing performance, the panicked faces of the crew during the 2 days (sadist in me) and the look of satisfaction on event-goers, invited guest, doujinshi crowd, cosplayers and definitely, the whole crew when the event came to an end.
Ah, another thing, AMG was trying to break the Malaysian Book of Records for the longest figurine display! But no information has been mentioned at all regarding that, so nope, no idea what's the outcome so far.
Oh well, I guess that is as much as I can write for not attending an event, which I will definitely be attending next year!
(Nah, Kei-Chan didn't, actually event-goers, cosplayers and all other related people did. :P)
Anyway, that was how I pictured the opening of Day 1 of AniManGaki (AMG) 2014 to be like. While I didn't managed to make it for both days of AMG 2014, I didn't had the slightest doubt that it will be another awesome year!
And based on the response I managed to collect via the internet, it would seem that most people enjoyed themselves. Of course, there were some negative points too but hey, we can never satisfy EVERYONE, can we?
Well, it was sad and depressing, not to be able to attend an event that I had attended(more like helping out or be a free slave) annually, like a pious devotee, since its inception in 2009, and missing out on all the fun this year. Especially when there are so many things that I was really looking forward to, like Animenz piano performance, Bin Yun's singing performance, the panicked faces of the crew during the 2 days (sadist in me) and the look of satisfaction on event-goers, invited guest, doujinshi crowd, cosplayers and definitely, the whole crew when the event came to an end.
Ah, another thing, AMG was trying to break the Malaysian Book of Records for the longest figurine display! But no information has been mentioned at all regarding that, so nope, no idea what's the outcome so far.
Oh well, I guess that is as much as I can write for not attending an event, which I will definitely be attending next year!
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Reminder on teachers and friends
Hm... This is a common story, which by now I would assume a lot of people had read, but I just can't help other than to post it here, because the story really struck me and has been stuck with me for so long.
So, read on first :
One day a teacher asked her students to list the names of the other students in the room on two sheets of paper, leaving a space between each name.
Then she told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down.
It took the remainder of the class period to finish their assignment, and as the students left the room, each one handed in the papers.
That Saturday, the teacher wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper, and listed what everyone else had said about that individual.
On Monday she gave each student his or her list. Before long, the entire class was smiling. 'Really?' she heard whispered. 'I never knew that I meant anything to anyone!' and, 'I didn't know others liked me so much,' were most of the comments.
No one ever mentioned those papers in class again. She never knew if they discussed them after class or with their parents, but it didn't matter. The exercise had accomplished its purpose.
The students were happy with themselves and one another. That group of students moved on.
Several years later, one of the students was killed in Vietnam and his teacher attended the funeral of that special student. She had never seen a serviceman in a military coffin before. He looked so handsome, so mature.
The church was packed with his friends. One by one those who loved him took a last walk by the coffin. The teacher was the last one to bless the coffin. As she stood there, one of the soldiers who acted as pallbearer came up to her. 'Were you Mark's math teacher?' he asked. She nodded: 'yes.' Then he said: 'Mark talked about you a lot.'
After the funeral, most of Mark's former classmates went together to a luncheon. Mark's mother and father were there, obviously waiting to speak with his teacher. We want to show you something,' his father said, taking a wallet out of his pocket 'They found this on Mark when he was killed. We thought you might recognize it. Opening the billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces of notebook paper that had obviously been taped, folded and refolded many times.
The teacher knew without looking that the papers were the ones on which she had listed all the good things each of Mark's classmates had said about him. Thank you so much for doing that,' Mark's mother said. 'As you can see, Mark treasured it.
All of Mark's former classmates started to gather around. Charlie smiled rather sheepishly and said, 'I still have my list. It's in the top drawer of my desk at home. Chuck's wife said, 'Chuck asked me to put his in our wedding album. I have mine too,' Marilyn said. 'It's in my diary' Then Vicki, another classmate, reached into her pocketbook, took out her wallet and showed her worn and frazzled list to the group. 'I carry this with me at all times,' Vicki said and without batting an eyelash, she continued: 'I think we all saved our lists'
That's when the teacher finally sat down and cried. She cried for Mark and for all his friends who would never see him again.
(Life lessons that came with the email: )
The density of people in society is so thick that we forget that life will end one day. And we don't know when that one day will be. So please, tell the people you love and care for, that they are special and important. Tell them, before it is too late.
And One Way To Accomplish This Is: Forward this message on. If you do not send it, you will have, once again passed up the wonderful opportunity to do something nice and beautiful. But it's up to U to forward this one.
If you've received this, it is because someone cares for you and it means there is probably at least someone for whom you care. If you're 'too busy' to take those few minutes right now to forward this message on, would this be the VERY first time you didn't do that little thing that would make a difference in your relationships?
The more people that you send this to, the better you'll be at reaching out to those you care about. Remember, you reap what you sow. What you put into the lives of others comes back into your own.
And that was the end of the email I received. Maybe you had read it some time ago, but it is a good reminder. I would have love to do something like this for my friends, but then, I am too lazy to compile and rewrite the list. So I shall just stick to spending time with them whenever I can. Lastly, teachers. The awesome-est beings after parents. They know exactly what to do. Especially with the Teach for Malaysia initiative. I have read stories of how the teachers and students life/perception had a shift and most times, it is more heart-warming than heart-wrenching. Oh well, I guess that's it for now. And please, do spend time with your loved ones. :)
So, read on first :
One day a teacher asked her students to list the names of the other students in the room on two sheets of paper, leaving a space between each name.
Then she told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down.
It took the remainder of the class period to finish their assignment, and as the students left the room, each one handed in the papers.
That Saturday, the teacher wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper, and listed what everyone else had said about that individual.
On Monday she gave each student his or her list. Before long, the entire class was smiling. 'Really?' she heard whispered. 'I never knew that I meant anything to anyone!' and, 'I didn't know others liked me so much,' were most of the comments.
No one ever mentioned those papers in class again. She never knew if they discussed them after class or with their parents, but it didn't matter. The exercise had accomplished its purpose.
The students were happy with themselves and one another. That group of students moved on.
Several years later, one of the students was killed in Vietnam and his teacher attended the funeral of that special student. She had never seen a serviceman in a military coffin before. He looked so handsome, so mature.
The church was packed with his friends. One by one those who loved him took a last walk by the coffin. The teacher was the last one to bless the coffin. As she stood there, one of the soldiers who acted as pallbearer came up to her. 'Were you Mark's math teacher?' he asked. She nodded: 'yes.' Then he said: 'Mark talked about you a lot.'
After the funeral, most of Mark's former classmates went together to a luncheon. Mark's mother and father were there, obviously waiting to speak with his teacher. We want to show you something,' his father said, taking a wallet out of his pocket 'They found this on Mark when he was killed. We thought you might recognize it. Opening the billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces of notebook paper that had obviously been taped, folded and refolded many times.
The teacher knew without looking that the papers were the ones on which she had listed all the good things each of Mark's classmates had said about him. Thank you so much for doing that,' Mark's mother said. 'As you can see, Mark treasured it.
All of Mark's former classmates started to gather around. Charlie smiled rather sheepishly and said, 'I still have my list. It's in the top drawer of my desk at home. Chuck's wife said, 'Chuck asked me to put his in our wedding album. I have mine too,' Marilyn said. 'It's in my diary' Then Vicki, another classmate, reached into her pocketbook, took out her wallet and showed her worn and frazzled list to the group. 'I carry this with me at all times,' Vicki said and without batting an eyelash, she continued: 'I think we all saved our lists'
That's when the teacher finally sat down and cried. She cried for Mark and for all his friends who would never see him again.
(Life lessons that came with the email: )
The density of people in society is so thick that we forget that life will end one day. And we don't know when that one day will be. So please, tell the people you love and care for, that they are special and important. Tell them, before it is too late.
And One Way To Accomplish This Is: Forward this message on. If you do not send it, you will have, once again passed up the wonderful opportunity to do something nice and beautiful. But it's up to U to forward this one.
If you've received this, it is because someone cares for you and it means there is probably at least someone for whom you care. If you're 'too busy' to take those few minutes right now to forward this message on, would this be the VERY first time you didn't do that little thing that would make a difference in your relationships?
The more people that you send this to, the better you'll be at reaching out to those you care about. Remember, you reap what you sow. What you put into the lives of others comes back into your own.
And that was the end of the email I received. Maybe you had read it some time ago, but it is a good reminder. I would have love to do something like this for my friends, but then, I am too lazy to compile and rewrite the list. So I shall just stick to spending time with them whenever I can. Lastly, teachers. The awesome-est beings after parents. They know exactly what to do. Especially with the Teach for Malaysia initiative. I have read stories of how the teachers and students life/perception had a shift and most times, it is more heart-warming than heart-wrenching. Oh well, I guess that's it for now. And please, do spend time with your loved ones. :)
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