Black Bird Manga

I first heard about Black Bird after it was awarded the 2009 Shogakukan Shoujo Manga Award and tried to search for the chapters sometime last year but the english translations were late to appear. Being jap illiterate and not so interested that i had to search for the chinese translations, i left it at that and hoped that the chapters would appear soon.

Sooo... i was rather delighted when i saw finally saw the english translations up on a few manga sites. Alas, my happiness was quickly replaced by disappointment after reading up to chapter 7. Perhaps due to the award, i expected more from the plot and certain reviews i read made me wonder why some people like Black Bird so much when it's...... nothing extremely spectacular D=

Misao is a teenage girl who has the unfortunate ability to see spirits and ghouls since young. After Misao's 16th birthday, the spirits and what nots started to harm her and in comes Kyo, Misao's long lost childhood friend and first love she can't seem to forget or remember clearly, to the rescue. It turns out Misao is the bride of prophecy, whose blood gives power to the demon clan who claims her. She also finds out that Kyo reappeared to claim her as his wife after becoming the head of the Tengu clan (aka crow aka black bird)

And so after a few chapters they get together officially but things aren't smooth sailing as Misao faces a dilemma to leave everything precious behind and become the Tengu's wife or enjoy the company of her family and friends but cause trouble for Kyo.

Pheeefffsh i hate summaries and the last sentence isnt completely accurate but you'll understand when you read the manga.

The drawings are average and rather pleasing to the eye with no shortage of bishies though Kyo looks cross eyed in many scenes X__X arrrgh it really spoils the mood when he's supposed to look dashing or drop dead gorgeous. It's a teeny weeny small problem really, but it bugs me alot!

Also, i dislike the sexual references which appear too often and are too bluntly placed, especially in the earlier chapters. Eg: Kyo's ablility to heal Misao's wounds by licking her, kissing to give energy/revive...... And the way the mangaka draws these situations makes me uncomfortable and not at all fangirly. I mean if these are supposed to be fan services, it's not working for me =(

Still there are definitely squeal worthy parts in the manga, like the 8 Great Tengus under Kyo's command 5 of which are all bishies and mysteriously alluring *faints* the other 3 are amazingly adorable chibis *melts* XD most of the parts i squeal at are the funny and cute parts not directly related to Kyo and Misao's relationship. What's the point of reading a shoujo manga then, when you are not interested in the relationship between the male and female protagonists. Sigh....

I've fallen prey... to the one in glasses XD Zenki kun~~

One last point (though i have many more) is regarding the Black Bird manga covers. What's with the strange cover illustrations of Kyo 'torturing' Misao???!! I don't get it, i don't exactly see Kyo as an abusive lover in the series though at times he was mean to Misao was in chapter 2 or 3 when he made Misao admit to needing him to survive by flying with her high up in the sky and then threatening to let go (or something like that) and in chapter 9 while healing her head injury. Still, it doesn't strike me that they have an abusive relationship in general. Again... if it's the mangaka's plot to attract readers by giving such an impression, she must have some pretty strange target audiences in mind.

Whooooopps i seem to have painted a terribly bleak picture of Black Bird.. i didnt mean to! Seriously Black Bird is a decent shoujo manga which a strong fan base and i plan to continue reading it. I'm pretty sure the reason why i have so little positive things to write is due to having too high expectations and the silly fan service (or whatever it's meant to be) which irritated the bile out of my liver and made me immune to the romance in this series

This could take some work

I achieved my goal (mentioned in the last post) of gaining a sense of accomplishment by the end of the week wheeeee~ It came with my 1st pay ever, in my entire 18 years of life. When the work you're doing as isnt personally satisfying, the pay matters a whole lot more. I don't think i mind not reading my fantasy books so much after knowing how much i earn per day XDXD

On the other hand... I really need to buy some clothes for cny. I've exhausted my very limited supply of new clothes because of work and surprisingly it isn't as hard as i thought to mix and match the clothings so that i wear sth different every single day. But i'm not exactly proud of my fashion sense so i can't brag about looking pretty and professional.

Of course, I won't miss my manga updates and will check the manga sites daily but they're currently not the focus of my life. Will be taking time to blog about Black Bird this weekend =DD

Point number 4 generated more responses than i though hahaha XD on both msn and the tagboard so i guess it's worth elaborating on. There's no need to feel excited for me *ahem yufei* cos i don't even see them for more than half a minute per day. 3 seconds when i arrive and say good morning. 2 seconds if one of them comes up to the office to speak to the boss (my eyes have to be permanently stuck to the computer monitor and files) 5 seconds when i say good bye before leaving.
There you go =D not much chance to talk, except on one rare occasion hehehe. Plus they are ehhh... over 25 years old i think? I don't know, it's really hard to tell.

Somehow, i feel that this post doesn't belong here. Blogging about money, clothes and guys all in the same post makes me sound.... different XD in a bad way

The worst decision of the day

Was to take bus 154 from paya lebar mrt all the way to clementi. Was trying to avoid the mrt crowd so i chose the bus instead. Sure, i got a seat but the ride was soo freaking long and the guy sitting beside me across the standing area kept coughing out saliva and viruses and bacteria. I couldn't sleep properly =( Took me 20 minutes longer than the standard mrt ride due to the traffic jam.

I have been looking diligently for a job and was disappointed when i missed a few opportunities but now that i have a proper 8 to 5 job, i don't feel exactly satisfied. Doing accounting -__- Or rather, just keying sales data into a new system. Not that i prefer rotting at home and reading fantasies late into the night.. It's just that.. i don't know.

Good points
1. I am employed and will receive $$$$ =D
2. My colleagues are very nice =DD
3. My boss hasn't scolded me yet
4. There are a few good looking guys working in the factory downstairs (HAHAHA... i can't believe i actually typed this out)
5. Boss is known for his generosity in giving bonuses

Bad points
1. Office is so cold and i'm almost down with a flu from staying up reading for the past few weeks
2. Boss well known for his merciless scoldings
3.My desk is in the same room as the boss (it's supposed to be the secretary's seat but oh well)
And that means i can't even sign into msn/ sms
4. Keying in 2009 data is really boring and brainless
5. Accounting is so far off from what i like to do/ plan to study in uni

Wah shoot it's only the 1st official day of work and i have so much to say. Haha either way i plan to finish the accounting stuff asap so that i can help the others with office work which seem more challenging and can prevent me from nodding off right under the boss's nose. Hope to gain more sense of accomplishment by the end of the week. Go me!!!!!!

P.S I hope my boss doesnt ever read this. If he does.... BOSS I LOVE YOU YOU ARE THE BEST GUY IN THE WORLD K?!

Hunter X Hunter

I can't delay blogging about hunter x any longer XD WHEEEEEE
After chapter 291 came out earlier than expected in dec last year, there was a break due to that wsj issue being a 2-weeks-special (not that the chapters were double in length but oh well) so we had to wait quite abit before the chapter 292 came out.

Still a wait of 2 weeks is NOTHING compared to a year of no hunter x due to the hiatus =(( and at least we don't see no squiggly lines. So so so... i read everything again from chapter 1 to refresh my memory and re-ignit my passion lol it amuses me alot that everytime i read i discover something new, like the scene showing Gon with his hair flattened, followed by Killua in the subsequent chapters. Very subtle fan service but omy.. Togashi knows how to capture his readers' attention and make them squeal. XDXD or perhaps i'm the one who squeals easily -_-

Back to the plot, none of the fights have really started. Gon and killua are waiting for Pitou to heal Komugi before engaging him (or her??) in the fight we've all be waiting for. I'm really looking forward to seeing Gon and Killua fight seriously, especially Killua cos he hasnt met any worthy opponents ever since the successful removal of Illumi's pin which weakened him mentally. Now that the pin's gone.. hehehe i wonder how powerful Killua can be.

As for the King's fight with Netero, i'm not expecting much from the old man so i'm hoping for someone to appear and lend Netero a helping hand during the battle.. eg the spiders or even Gon's father, Gin =D LALALA but imo, that might also indicate the nearing end of hxh which is far too soon since Kurapica vs Genei ryodan isnt done yet (i want to see hisoka against Kuroro!!) The past few chapters touching on Netero's past builds up the intensity but it hasn't done anything amazing for the plot yet, considering the hiatus i was expecting Togashi to resume Hxh with a bang, like Boomz!! So i'd say the new chapters have been quite eh.. boring? Nah, plain is a better description.

Of course, these are all speculations and i'm sure Togashi will manage to surprise us fans with something epic =D Anyway there are so many ways the plot can develop and i sincerely hope Togashi isn't in a hurry to end the series or go on a hiatus again.

--Abrupt end XP--

P.s. It's my ah gong's birthday!!!!

'Thankyou for the trouble'

Went down to orchard recruit express branch to try my luck at getting a job. Took me quite some time to find the specific lifts at tower A which lead to the offices so that was one bleah point.

2nd bleah point: I started off wrongly and the lady thought i was looking for a particular working staff rather than just someone to introduce me to a job and we spent an awkward minute trying to clear things up.

3rd bleah point: It was close to lunch hour and i was given very little time for the interview and to fill in the form. Not being clear in the mind after all that confusion, i only filled in the 1st page thinking that was it. When the lady told me about the incomplete form, i took it back and filled in the last page. Ahhhhh and during the interview, to my horror, she opened the form and there were 2 more pages inside that i conveniently skipped. T____T i think that kinda pissed her off =(((

Conclusion: She definitely wasnt impressed and i only have myself to blame. Before leaving i said sth very stupid--- hence the title of this post

Totoro!!!

You put your mouth here and blow to produce a sound ^^

Totoro: Why you blow at my pigu?!

Totoro: I wear turban!

Totoro: i wear scarf!

Totoro: I got kidnapped! o_o

Happy new year!

A few days late but better late than never right =DD I'm back in singapore and will be uploading pictures shortly when my dad gets off the other computer (which is rightfully mine to begin with)

Taiwan was....... not bad XD maybe i expected too much so there was abit of disappointment when i didn't find the S$1 manga. Still, i managed to get some manga at a reasonable price which i've been searching for a long time in singapore and a totoro 陶笛, also known as a ocarina. Sounds like a recorder but the tone produced is more unstable. As for how cute it looks, hahaha you'll see ^_^

I bought cosmetics whee!! Mascara, eyeliner, eye shadow, blush and eyelash curler. And some skin care products-- toner, serum, lotion. The thing is i'm not very sure how to use them.. and they might not be as useful in Singapore cos it's so humid. Unlike in malaysia, my face was already peeling by the 2nd day and it's impossible to survive without a lip balm.

Just to clear misconceptions, i went to malaysia then flew to taiwan with my relatives from m'sia, flew back the m'sia and lastly s'pore.

Ahaha yufei, stop speculating lah. As if i'd get a bob with my kind of hair. The hair dresser actually asked me if i had permed my hair before cos beneath my facade of straight hair, the inner layer is like maggie mee. And there was not much time to do anything else other than shop in taiwan so yep. Anyway from my recently tagged photos on facebook you can probably tell that i've been cutting the same hairstyle for almost 3 years

Oh yes i watched Avatar normal version in malaysia and it was great =DD