Future Diary

I stumbled across this anime and was intrigued by the plot. A very brief description of it would be that it's a combination of Danganronpa and Death Note, with some time travel tossed in.

The main character is named Yuki, a very solitary boy who keeps an observational journal on his phone. He has no friends, by choice, and is in every way an observer of his own life, not actually taking part emotionally. His only 'friends' are imaginary beings, a god named Deus, and a little sprite my creature. One night while talking with his imaginary friends, Deus tells him that things are going to change, and the next day, he finds that his diary posts on his phone have already been written for the day, telling him what will happen. He happily takes advantage of his soothsaying device, until on day, a girl in his class approaches him, and reveals that her phone is also special, also able to predict the future. This freaks him out obviously, but it isn't until that night when he meets Deus, as well as several other faceless strangers, that he finds out what's going on. He, as well as several other people, have been granted devices that tell them the future, and they must use these devices to find and kill each other. When a person has been targeted by another diary user, their own diary will tell them that they have a 'dead end', and they must try to change their fate if they can.
The last person standing becomes god. And all diaries are different, and reflect the personality of the user. Yuki is an observer, so his diary predicts events that will happen around him, but there are other types of diaries too. Yuki then is faced with a battle royale to inherit the seat of god.

I had some annoyances while watching this. Yuki is a very timid boy, which is fine, but he doesn't show any significant growth until very late in the show. He's always whining and crying, and the other characters comment on this as well throughout the story. What was refreshing is that this personality is usually given to females in anime, but all of the females showed various levels of considerable strength, which was nice. Yuno's character, the girl who is apparently obsessed with Yuki, was also troubling at times, but her character became more of a mystery as the show went on, so I was more curious about what her story was than annoyed by her rabbid obsession.

This is definitely not a pg show. There is physical, sexual, and emotional violence, as well as some nudity. It is a pretty good show however. The plot becomes increasingly complex and surprising, and will leave you guessing to the very end, after the credits. It's only 26 episodes long, and that goes by pretty quickly. It's one of those shows that you'll want to marathon. And while you might be annoyed by some of the characters at various points, you won't be bored.

Danganronpa: The Animation (Trigger Happy Havoc)

This is a 13 episode anime that was originally a video game on PSP. It's a murder mystery story about a group of kids who are enrolled in this elite high school, based on a skill they specialize in, only to find that they may never be allowed to leave there for the rest of their lives. The school is abandoned except for the students, and this malicious talking bear. The bear tells them that the only way they'll be able to leave the school will be if they are the only person alive. If ever there is a death in the school, all of the students will meet as a council to try to figure out who the murderer is. If they guess correctly, the murderer will be killed. If they guess incorrectly, everyone except the murderer will be killed, and the murderer can walk free.

This was a surprisingly good show. When the rules of the school were being discussed at the beginning of the show, I initially thought that this plot sounded suspiciously similar to Battle Royale, but we quickly find out that there are some differences that make the two-story lines distinct. Another thing that made me kind of hesitant to get into this show were the character drawings. All of the characters are drawn in a way that is so stereotypically cliché that I almost didn't want to continue the series, thinking that the story would also be just as cliché. While the character artwork is definitely not my favourite, I was able to get past it by appreciating the actual plot.

The story was surprisingly intricate and well thought out. Murder mysteries can by kind of difficult to do, because it's a challenge to come up with a good plot that the audience won't be able to guess right away, but this show does it brilliantly. With each event that takes place, we are shown the evidence that the characters see as they inspect the crime scene, and then go with them to the trial and hear them deduce what they will. The first couple of murders are pretty straight forward, but as they go on, they become increasingly difficult to figure out. Also, as another person is murdered, a different section of the school is opened up, and typically the next murder will happen in the new wing of the school. All the while, the students are simultaneously trying to figure out how they will be able to escape this place and who is behind this torturous game.

It's a fast-paced story that keeps you guessing until the very end. They also play with a few different styles of animation, which keeps things fresh. I know it looks kind of cheesy, but give it a try. You will enjoy it.

You can watch the first episode here for the time being.

Mei-chan's Butler (Mei-chan no Shitsuji)

This is a high school drama about a girl named Mei whose parent's die. After their death she discovers that her estranged grandfather is very wealthy  and she will inherit his empire, but first must attend a fancy all-girl reform school to become a lady. This school isn't just any school though. There are no desks, but rather cushy arm chairs and side tables and the campus is a third the size of Tokyo, but the weirdest thing of all about this school is that all of the girls must have butlers.

Mei is sort of resistant at the thought of becoming like these weird people, but eventually finds a reason to stay despite her reservations. Of course there are several people who are against her being there and make life hard for her. One girl in particular, the girl who has earned the highest rank on the lady- scale in the school, turns out to be her rival (in more ways than one), and even after she wins over some of her classmates, it is this adversary who is the real trial for Mei. The girl- butler dynamic is important to the plot. We learn as we watch that being a butler isn't just about waiting on someone hand and foot, but that there is a special bond between master and servant, and that the servants choose to serve.

I thought overall that the drama was interesting in theory, and the story line was well done, but the heroine was kind of pathetic. She was always whining or moping about. When she had a problem she would just stand there dumb-struck until someone saved her or until it was almost irrelevant for her to step forward. I also didn't like the actress who played her. She has one of those faces that seem to always be frowning, or smelling something disgusting, and yet her character was supposed to draw people to her and see how amazing she is. For the most part the characters weren't extremely attractive, but in addition to her unattractiveness, she couldn't act. If they had chosen a different actress to play the heroine this drama would have been much better. As it is though, it's still worth the watch.

The whole thing is actually up on YouTube for the time being, so knock yourself out.

Midori Days (Midori No Hibi)

This show is about a guy who wakes up one day to find that his right hand has been replaced with the top half of a girl. This girl's real body has fallen into a coma and her spirit has attached itself to the guys hand because she has a really big crush on him. The premise is kind of ridiculous, and slightly perverted, but the show was surprisingly decent.

The guy, Seiji, is a sort of delinquent at his school. He's a tough guy who seems to fight more than he attends class. This all changes however when one morning he waking up with Midori as a right hand. Midori is a girl who goes to a different school than Seiji and knows him from the times she's seen him at the train station, but she's always been too shy to go up to him to confess her feelings to him. When she wakes up on his hand however, she's over-joyed. Also, as the figure on Seiji's hand isn't actually Midori herself, but her spirit, she has lost her inhibitions and tells Seiji that she loves him when she first sees him.

Seiji opens up a bit and people at school are less afraid of him as a result of Midori's effect on him. Potential rivals for Midori's love appear when Seiji's softer side comes to light. Of course this is troublesome for Midori because she can't really compete with a real person when she's a hand. Because she's his hand, Seiji has to constantly wrap her up in a bandage to hide her existence from others. Though this routine is a bit aggravating for the both of them, they get used to it over time.

Midori's struggle in the show is ultimately her self-confidence and sense of self-worth. I mean there's nothing abnormal about her emotional state for someone that age, but when she left her body to be with Seiji she ran away from some issues she was dealing with. Part of the show is her ability to regain the strength to brave her situation in life. Seiji on the other hand has no confidence issues he needs to work out. Rather, in the show he slowly opens himself up more to others and finds a sense of balance in his life. Eventually Midori does decide to leave Seiji and return to her own body. After she has returned, will she once again be able to confess her love to Seiji? Will she want to? Who knows?!?!

Overall I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this show, especially after how much I expected to not like it.

 

Here's the intro. You can find the first episode dubbed on YouTube 

The Emperor's Club (2002)

This is a movie about a teacher in what was an all boys school reminiscing about the past, and how one's character dictates one's future.

Mr. Hundert teaches the classics at a prestigious all boy's high school. Every year he holds a 'Julius Cesar competition' which is a series of trivia questions about the ancient world, and the student who answers the most questions correctly get the prestigious title of Mr. Julius Cesar. All of Mr. Hundert's students are hard working, studious boys who take their education very seriously, all until a new student enrolls in the class, a Mr. Sedgwick Bell. This kid isn't very bright, but is very charismatic, and very soon his disregard and contempt for school begin to rub off on the other students.

Mr. Hundert speaks to Sedgwick's father, a high-ranking man who seems to care little for his son, and Sedgwick seems to try to improve academically after that. He goes as far as to climb to the top of his class! Unfortunately he places one spot lower than is necessary to qualify for the Julius Cesar, so in an attempt to encourage him, Mr. Hundert switches his name with one of the students who actually got in. Unfortunately, this proves to be a mistake when he catches Sedgewick cheating during the final. Instead of humiliating him in front of the assembly, he asks a question that he would only have known by paying attention in class. The question had to do with the identity of a man named Hamiclar Barca, and could not be found in any textbook, so Sedgewick of course couldn't answer it. After this, he reverted back to his old self, causing trouble and being an all around delinquent.

Fast forward to present day, a very successful and wealthy Sedgewick called together a friendly rematch of the contest and asks that Mr. Hundert conduct the ceremony. What will happen I wonder.

The movie prods the viewer to consider a person's character, and how that character may or may not decide a person's life. More importantly, it puts forward the idea that, no matter how charismatic, successful, or popular a person is, unless he or she makes some sort of contribution to humanity, they will not be remembered. The man Sedgewick was asked about, Hamilcar Barca, was used as an example of this. He was a successful Carthaginian general who led many battles and caused many deaths, but his name will not be in any textbook because he made no contribution to humanity. He made an impact on the world, but unlike Julius Cesar, Socrates, Hammurabi, etc. he did nothing to better man-kind.

The story is well done, and while it's not overly philosophical in nature, it doesn't discourage the viewer from thinking further about some of the ideas they present.

Oh My Teacher

These are some movies I like that either take place in a class room or are about teaching or passing on information.

To Sir, With Love

Dead Poet's Society

The Emperor's Club

Finding Forrester

Mr. Holland's Opus

Dangerous Minds

High School High

Take the Lead

Anne of Green Gables- The Sequel

GTO - Great Teacher Onizuka- there's also a live action drama for this

Karate Kid

Freedom Writers

Blackboard Jungle

Lean On Me

Coach Carter

The Great Debaters

Akeelah and the Bee

Accepted

The Principal

The Substitute

Teachers

Misunderstood Minds

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

I heard great thing about this book and I have to say that I was somewhat disappointed. It was not bad by any means, but I didn't exactly live up to the rave reviews I've read either.

The story follows a young princess named Ani who, when she was born, did not open her eyes for three days. She opens her eyes after her aunt comes to her and this aunt raises Ani with stories of magic. More importantly, her aunt teaches Ani how to communicate with animals. She teaches her how to understand and talk to swans and tells her that there are three abilities people are capable of possessing; people talking- talking so that your words convince your listener to agree with you, animal talking- to talk with animals, and the very rare nature talking- to talk with nature itself. After a certain age, people in the castle start to notice Ani trying to talk to animals and her aunt gets sent away. Ani is penalized for trying to talk to animals and must instead train to be the next in line for the crown, which she is very horrible at. Ani is very weak-willed and timid at this point in the novel (as she remains through pretty much the entire novel) and allows people to walk all over her and feels insufficient at all she does. After her mother discovers that a much larger and more powerful neighbouring kingdom may threaten to go to war with their country over resources, the queen tries to satisfy them by Promising Ani to the heir to their throne, without consulting Ani first. So off she is sent to an unknown land to marry a complete stranger. On the journey however, an even takes place that hinders Ani on her way and she is forced into hiding and eventually comes to hold the position of goose girl for the kingdom's geese. She learns more about herself and eventually overcomes the injustice done to her.

The plot itself I rather enjoyed. I thought it progressed in a very steady and logical manner. It wasn't boring but there were no inexplicable leaps either, so overall light reading in that department. There is a supernatural element to the story as well, but it is not portrayed as magical ability. Ani's ability to talk to animals is presented as a language she is trying to learn rather than a special ability, even though she is the only one who can seem to do it. It was almost like we watch her work through translating a newly discovered lost language rather than tapping into a magical ability.

If anything bothered me about the novel it would have to be the character Ani herself. Overall I didn't mind the characters in the novel. There was a decent mix up of personality types. Actually I think one of the reasons this story is so like a fairy tale is because many important people who decide Ani's fate are in their own way cruel about it, and those who aren't cruel do nothing to really help her until she gains some self-confidence. It wasn't her weak-willed nature or lack of self-confidence that bothered me however (that is the character and in time she grows beyond her perceptions of her short comings). In fact I applaud the author for keeping Ani so timid throughout the novel, but still forces her to go on despite her timidity. What bothered me was her naiveté. The author would spell out situations that would otherwise build suspense so that the reader is very aware of the plot and is waiting for the heroine to wake up, because even though she is given many clues she is unable to suspect anything until it is actually happening to her, and that was kind of frustrating to me as a reader. I usually like experiencing the story along with the main character, not with the author or the narrator where I know ahead of time what will happen. This is personal preference of course and I'm sure there are several people who didn't mind this. The other thing that I found slightly bothersome was at the end of the novel, her big climax of coming out of her shell and telling off the king, it sounded so juvenile. I was expecting some sort of outburst from her seeing as how she was introverted for most of the novel, but I was expecting that outburst to be somewhat mature and enlightened (which can be done in a passionate way) instead it seemed more like an angsty teenaged 'so there!' which was disappointing.

Despite that however, I did enjoy the book. It was a good read and a nice adaptation of the original.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006)

I saw this film recommended on a forum I occasionally visit, and while I don't usually run off to watch everything recommended to me, the title sounded interesting so I decided to give it a go. Aand I'm glad I did. The story starts off rather slowly and sets itself up like a lot of other high school romance/ slice of life animes, but it slowly progressed into a sort of sci-fi romance, which was really touching. 

The story follows a girl names Makoto who likes spending time with her two best friends, Kosuke, a serious, reserved sort of guy, and Chiaki, a fun-loving joker. Though the three of them have not always been best friends, we can see that they are very close and enjoy spending a lot of time together. The point at which the story takes a more sci-fi approach is on the day Makoto is late for school. She is late more often than not, but on this specific day as she is hurdling down a hill, a train happens to be passing by at the bottom of said hill and she is going to fast to stop. She tries to slow down, but ends up hitting the barrier between the pedestrians and the train tracks and sends herself flying in the way of the train. Just before she is squashed and our story is ended however, time stops and she finds herself transported back in time, and is safe from the squishing. She has some fun with this, though doesn't yet know the significance. Around this time she discovers that one of her friends is developing feelings for her, and because she doesn't wish to change their relationship yet, uses the 'time machine' to avoid his asking her out. At the end she is forced to choose between love and friendship, but not in the way you'd think. The ending is something of a surprise (you can kind of guess what'll happen if you pay attention to the clues), but the events that take place and the choices she makes leave you with a bittersweet feeling that makes the film worth the watch.

For those who have watched the ending, it would be an interesting argument to decide whether the love interest was truly in love or whether he just wanted to preserve a certain object... The aunt's story happens to suspiciously parallel Makoto's, but it was an enjoyable movie in any case.

Jennifer’s Body (2009)

Jennifer's Body is movie about a girl who gets sacrificed to the devil by an indie rock band who wants to make it big, but because she is not a virgin, instead of dying she comes back as a daemon and begins feasting on the boys in her high school. The main character of this movie is Jennifer's best friend, Needy (Anita), who is the complete opposite of Jennifer. Jennifer is the stereotypical popular girl in high school. She's a cheerleader, she's hot/ borderline slutty, and has slept with several of the popular boys. Needy on the other hand is a stereotypical nerd, complete with glasses and a less than conscious fashion sense. She also has a cute boyfriend who is completely devoted to her. The story is told from the perspective of the friend Needy as she watches Jennifer change.

The story was a decent one... but was suspiciously like the film Ginger Snaps, a werewolf horror with the exact same plot. The difference was that ginger snaps was done better, the plot ran a bit smoother and the character relationships were done a bit better as well. The character of Jennifer was portrayed in regards to her sexuality most of the time. Even before she was turned into a daemon she talks casually about sleeping with various boys in their high school and uses her body to get what she wants. After she gets changed into a soul-sucking monster, we don't really see her change, just emphasize what was already there. In Ginger Snaps however, Ginger morphs from a social outcast into an animal, riding on her instincts. of course, if I'd never seen Ginger Snaps I wouldn't be overly critical of Jennifer, but I have and I prefer the growth displayed by Ginger to the cardboard sexpot Jennifer represents. But I would like to say that at the end of the movie when Needy 'broke up' with Jennifer, I felt that Jennifer was really struggling with the fact that she was no longer human and no longer had control over her actions, that was the only time I was interested in Jennifer's character on an intellectual level. The character Needy's struggle was more evident as she was the story teller and the audience had to witness the change through her eyes. We get to see how she changes because of her relationship to Jennifer and having to deal with what happened. But again.... Brigette from Ginger Snaps did it better. She was less a victim and more a proactive... fighter of the paranormal. Needy on the other hand was... well, needy. She obeyed Jennifer before the change, and after the change sniffles and goes emo for a bit. She researching possible explanations for Jennifer's behaviour and tries to fight her at the end but I didn't really buy it. Needy was a much more dynamic character than Jennifer was though. and her boyfriend was sweet.

Overall I'd say it was a decent movie. I thought that the actors did a good job of playing out their roles and I don't have any issues with the plot despite a few inconsistencies. I would watch it again and would probably enjoy it, but it's not the best movie in the genre, and is not even an original in the genre. I like the genre though, so it's ok. For people who haven't seen Ginger Snaps though... I recommend that you see it, as it is what this wanted to be.

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

This story ran pretty smoothly and wasn't at all a difficult read. It's about a shy girl who can see fairies but is told by her grandmother to ignore them or face the consequences. Then one day the fairies start singling her out as if she were someone for them to take note of and one even comes to her school to try to get closer to her. She decides to confront them and finds out that she's been selected as a candidate to break a curse.

She has a guy that she likes, Seth, and a romance develops between the two. Though I really liked the character of Seth (he seemed like a really easy going guy, with lots of piercings) I found his immediate acceptance of the situation to be somewhat unbelievable. If there had been more hesitation at what she was saying in the beginning and then the unquestioning faith I think it would've been more believable. But the relationship between the two was a good one. He was a steady guy and was always very supportive of her. A healthy, 'modern' relationship.

The story in itself had the feel of a faery tale... meaning a tale about faeries. It was almost reminiscent of O.R. Melling's Fairy Chronicles. The situations were believable and the story had life and emotion. overall a pretty good read.

Vampire Kisses by Ellen Schreiber

 This story is OK, though it could been better if more effort was put into it. The author doesn't really go out of her way to create dynamic and compelling characters. She surrounds characters with certain feelings and stereotypes, but she doesn't actually do any of the work. This didn't really bother me though, as it does in some other books, because the story is more plot driven than anything else and it's just a light read... nothing intense. 

Basically the story has been done, but it's readable and enjoyable if you like this particular kind of story. so I recommend it, but don't expect anything new.

Boys Over Flowers: Hana Yori Dango by Yoko Kamio

 This was the story that got me into manga. Some arbitrary stroke of luck had me stumble across the j-drama when it was coming out and I watched the whole thing (the jdrama is much better than the older version so don't worry if you watched that and didn't like it). So after the first season I was kind of impatient and looked it up and found the anime, which is monstrously long, but worth it I guess, and I've been watching anime on tv since I was a kid so it was an easy transition, then I found out there was a manga... which began my current obsession that is manga.
 
The story is good. I'd like to think of it as one of the classic shoujos, especially compared to a lot of what's coming out today, over hyped drama. The drama in Hana Yori Dango was kind of angsty, as it was a high school drama, but I'd argue not overly so... or maybe there's worse out there, take your pick. There are quite a few problems the heroine faces, but there is a logic to them so her feelings make sense. Though sometimes you just want her and Tsukasa to get over themselves. The art is not my favourite but the story makes up for it, and to be fair I have seen far worse art out there.
 
Anyway, it'll be a trek no matter through which medium you go for the story (though I recommend the manga because it's always better and the anime/ dramas usually change things). It is long, but a lot happens so it's worth it, and if you get into it it'll feel a lot shorter than it actually is, and you'll wonder where it all went when you're close to the end.
 
Every shoujo aficionado should in some way or another acquaint themselves with this story because it's one of the good ones.