Cannot sleep obviously

[petronia]

(Have work tomorrow argh. Why is it that flying west turns me into a productive morning person for a week or so, but flying east just messes me up?) Because I'm a mad dork, I bought phonebooks in Narita Airport to read on the plane and lugged them all the way home. Also scored various other manga and novels which I will discuss, but regarding the series I actually follow first:

1) GetBackers. "Voodoo Child" explained. No more CLAMP for you, Aoki-sensei, and while you're at it put down that DVD of Ring 0! Also, clearly KAGAMI x DARK!HIMIKO OTP OMG THEIRLOVEISSOREFLECTIVE. ...I think I'm going to have to finish my WIPs in this series before it josses me more than it has. Not that I didn't predict that there were more members to Fuuga, but.

2) Death Note. No more Lupin III for you, Ooba-sensei! Re-addicted myself to st00pid series argh, must find scans of chapters I missed. Also scored tankoubon 3.

3) Bleach. ......Considering I'm following the official French edition, I shouldn't even have bothered trying to read that, should I?

4) Prince of Tennis. Okay, Konomi-sensei, how about this? YOU WIN. The crack competition is yours, it is over, there was never a crack competition in the first place. You win like that salaryman at the beginning of Miike Takashi's Dead or Alive who did the line of cocaine reaching from one end of the warehouse to the other. HAPPY NOW?

Other books and manga:

(No Juuni Kokki I could find anyway, apart from the most recent one which I supposed wasn't requisite. Just grabbed things off the shelves, as had 4000 yen to blow and 1/2 hour to blow it in)

Murakami Haruki, "Kaze no uta wo kike"
Murakami Ryu, "Love and Pop"
Kikuchi Hideyuki, "Makaitoshi Blues" vol.6 (see, random, seriously)
Kikuchi Hideyuki, "Yuukenshou" (jidaimono ghost stories)

Death Note 3
Real 1 (this is Inoue-sensei's other-other series, and is about wheelchair basketball. By extension it is also about kids who have bone cancer and muscular dystrophy and horrific car accidents. Recommended for those who don't think Slam Dunk is dark enough, who going by the fanfic must be legion. >_>)

Pirated CDs, laugh all you like at the selection because I know you will:

Ono Lisa x 2
Sun Yanzi x 2
David Tao x 1
Lee Jung Hyun x 2
random kpop compilations x 3
bossa nova compilation x 1
BoA x 2
Jay Chou x 1
w-inds x 2 (shut up)
Tackey & Tsubasa x 1 (no seriously shut up, it's just a single)
Kylie Minogue x 1

Comments

[worldserpent.livejournal.com]

Mmm, I'm the opposite. The other direction screws me up hard.

Bleach is getting really good now. I think it's the best thing in Jump currently (well, that I read. Shouldn't say that, considering I don't follow them all). DN is sort of going into a humor cycle (question: do you think Ooba-sensei painted herself into a corner, was always just playing with us ad hoc all along, has a huge uberplot, or other?), Naruto is lame, and Konomi is...well. You said it.

Yeah, he does win, doesn't he? That's how I read the last few chapters, but now I'm getting tetchy and asking, "now just where is the plot here?"

[petronia.livejournal.com]

I'm getting spoilers for all the DN chapters I missed. Now I remember why I stopped reading it... XD;; My impression was that Ooba-sensei had planned on wrapping it earlier, but Jump wants her to continue, so she rewrote the story starting at a certain point (circa Misa's appearance?) to make the prospective scope larger. So it may have a huge uberplot now - GB does, why not DN? - but I doubt it began with one.

PoT: there isn't. This is the countdown to the Nationals (9 days to go!), a traditional space for randomosity and character intros.

[worldserpent.livejournal.com]

Hmm, interesting. I hadn't thought that that could be it. I thought she was just trying to mess with our minds, but I'm now worried whether she can pull it off.

Nine days? Well, how long is that going to be in manga time? Probably several volumes. XD

[petronia.livejournal.com]

DN is an analytical blank for me at this point. I can't judge whether she's pulling it off successfully, as I can't make a guess in the first place as to what the story may or may not be aiming for themes/ideas/moral-wise. I also can't tell what the characters are thinking, what's factually happening, and where any of this is going. Good times. XD;;

(What has changed IMO is L's characterisation. L currently is far more utilitarian in his moral positioning than he was at the beginning, I think, which I'd argue makes for a more interesting story not to mention more consistent with the internal tendencies of Ooba's writing, but there's definitely a shift to contend with. Ack, I shouldn't attempt sense, I don't think I've slept for 24 hours at this point. >_>)

[worldserpent.livejournal.com]

Yes, aren't they? XD I keep telling myself that I'm not going to blog about DN until it's over, only I have no idea when it's going to be over. I can follow the immediate plot, but I don't know how it's going to work thematically. I think it's that we have no idea about how the plotting is working that throws off all the themes.

Yes, L in the thirties got a lot greyer, which IMHO threw 50% of the readers off completely. But are there any tendencies at all in Ooba's writing? Other than to confuse the reader. >_> There are rumours going around that Ooba is a pen name for someone else, but I don't know.) Aaah, get some sleep, :o

[petronia.livejournal.com]

Well, she tends toward moral greyness, for one. ^^; And more general ambiguity/obliqueness. I also get a sense of thinly veiled cynicism - it always seems to me that DN "allows" Raito, L and Misa to be the "heroes" of the story despite their moral murkiness because they're "pure of intent": their motivation is idealistic and selfless, even if it leads them to accomplish terrible acts. It's as if Ooba/the series is saying that that's actually the best that can be expected of human beings given such a circumstance (and indeed we're now being shown the DN used for corporate greed and skullduggery, as if to stress that there are worse motivations than wrongheaded utopianism...). Plus a further level of cynicism in that said purity of intent is implied to be essentially immature.

Basically, it just reads to me like she has a jaundiced view of human nature. XD That's why I say it makes more sense for L to "go grey" in her writing.

[worldserpent.livejournal.com]

Moral greyness indeed, but you see this a lot in mangaka. (Though a lot of people were upset by 33, because with L greyed, they lacked someone to root for.) I also see the "pure intent" storyline a lot in anime; we're supposed to admire the sincerity of a character's heart over whether what they're actually doing is with the right intent or whether it is actually a good idea (or perhaps I just read too much about revolutions and so necessarily am suspicious of idealists. Problem is that morality these days is so put around "selfishness" as being the cardinal sin.). But certainly the series is cynical, because now that the DN is being used by the whatever group it is now acceptable to the government. (And thus L and Light are now both vigilantes! But this time the reader is on their side. OMG, perhaps Kira had the right idea and the government can't be trusted to enact justice... )

if this makes no sense, ask me again when I'm awake ^^;

[petronia.livejournal.com]

I'm not so sure you see a lot of Ooba's kind of moral greyness. In most manga "moral greyness" means you find out something about a villain's past and/or psychological makeup that makes him/her sympathetic, in that you can grok why they're doing what they do, and to understand is to forgive to some extent. Or a character is essentially moral and good but placed in an impossible situation and forced to choose between two evils, which inspires sympathy and pity in the viewer. However neither is the case in DN. Ooba enforces a deliberate neutrality: neither Raito nor L is an easy point of identification, thus the only readerly motivation you have is entertainment - "what's he going to do next?" - as opposed to wanting to see "poetic justice" being enacted because you're morally aligned with one side. IOW she forces the reader into an amoral response, which is disorienting. (Haven't I said this already?)

And yes, but once again, when most mangaka say "pure heart" they mean it unironically, from shounen manga up to those yaoi semes who're admirable for the purity of their feeling despite the fact that they're basically psycho rapists (isn't it a Japanese thing? >_>). I'm pretty sure Ooba is ironic throughout.

Re: if this makes no sense, ask me again when I'm awake ^^;

[worldserpent.livejournal.com]

Mmm, I think there's a little of the first sort going on with Misa, in that she likes Kira so much because he's the "hero" who killed the murderer of her parents. Sometimes, though, I wonder if the point is that the trio (the traditional shounen hero-rival-love interest threesome) are not abnormal human beings, but normal ones, but then we get the traditional horror 'depravity of ordinary people' theme.

Am totally agreed on the "entertainment" POV. Was saying to a friend who quit reading that besides the confusing narration, the other "problem" with Death Note is that it lacks "heart," meaning an emotional core to the series, though there is a huge amount of intellectual interest that makes up for it. I haven't been reading the fic (don't really plan to yet), but I wonder how the amoral viewpoint changes the fandom response. A lot of people seem to be fangirling it normally, for what it's worth.

[incandescens]

GetBackers and Voodoo Child . . . ohhhh yes.

Incidentally, if Himiko dislikes Kagami, does this mean that Dark Himiko will be all over him? :)

(In fact, Himiko's feelings for everyone, not just Ban, may be about to become an issue.)

I think I see how the concept of Voodoo Child as assassination weapon worked, on consideration. Plant the VC near the target under conditions which should cause the VC to care about them (does this mean that VCs who survive their "coming of age" become psychopaths, or "everyone I love is doomed" fraught angsters, or . . . ?) and then wait for the Reflection to kill them. Or is the VC a one-use weapon? Hm.

(Yes, yes, I like Himiko too much and obsess about her.)

(And what precisely is the Akabane-Himiko relation, anyhow?)

(And I want to see this previously unmentioned member of Fuuga. Will they be pretty? Will they be masculine? Will they be . . . )

[solaas.livejournal.com]

(Thank you for infecting my fragile Monday morning brain with Doris Day schlagers. >_< ...queeeeeeeeeeeee sera, sera...)

Now if they could pick up a couple of these new arcs of GB to animate... *wist*

[incandescens]

Oh, if only, if only . . .

After all, we now have the Cards Arc (okay, that's unlikely -- deals with child abuse and has already been audio-ised), the big Shido arc with all the insect people, and now the Voodoo Child storyline plus a Kazuki/Fuuga storyline. (Apparently a Previously Unknown member of Fuuga is going to be involved.)

[petronia.livejournal.com]

Dark!Himiko is supposedly incapable of love. BUT she does like mirrors - a lot. Every time she says "kagami ga suki" I twitch. XD;; I'm assuming this is intentional on the part of Mr. Writer, and is about to get nicely tangled and brain-breaking. If not, it'll sure make for interesting fanfiction.

Black Fuuchouin fellow is her second-in-command, btw. He'll also be participating in the upcoming Endless Tournament (which is being held in Dark!Himiko's honour, hence "Queen's Cup"), because she's apparently the prize and he "wants" her. It is unclear whether this means her body, her power, both, or something else altogether. XD;; Ban and Ginji will be participating for the same reason. Kazuki-tachi are participating because he's after Black Fuuchouin. The fifth member of Fuuga is necessary because each team in the tournament is five members, apparently - I can't tot the characters up so they work, but that's the mangaka's job.

[incandescens]

Excuse me while I purr. I was aware that there was a Black Strings subplot going on and a tournament involved, but I didn't realise that Dark Himiko was already extant (when did she separate from Real Himiko, I wonder?) and organising the tournament. Excellent.

(I don't mind tournament storylines, having already read so many, as long as they're well done . . .)

Hm. If Ban and Ginji need 3 more people for a team, I wonder who they'll recruit? (Akabane and Kagami seem possible choices, and wouldn't that be interesting . . .)

Kazuki/Juubei/Toshiki/MysteriousFourth . . . as you point out, that's not five. Perhaps they intend to bring Sakura along? She used to be Fuuga after all too, I'd assume. It'd be nice to see her get some screen time. Shido and Emishi are also possible candidates, but they did get lots of attention in the last big storyline.

(Of course, if Ban/Ginji/Kazuki/Juubei/Toshiki had teamed up, that'd have been five, but then that would have been far too easy . . .)

I'm beginning to suspect that this is going to tie up all the storyline threads other than the Big Ban And Ginji And Brains Trust And Mugenjou ones. I can live with that, as long as it's done well.

[petronia.livejournal.com]

Ah, wasn't clear. Sakura is indeed in Kazuki's team - Fuuga reconstituted, battleflag and everything - which makes five for him when Other Guy(?) show up (no one's showing animosity to the non-mention of his/her name, only affectionate nostalgia, so I assume there's naught of the same drama there was with Toshiki ^^;). The rest I can't tot up. Akabane is stringing Himiko along with him, saying things like "your fate will come for you regardless but if you follow me you will meet it head-on" - she's already glimpsed dark!Himiko and been thoroughly freaked out. I can't figure out why the sudden burning interest on Akabane's part, though.

Dark!Himiko's existed since their dual birth. A "voodoo child" is the soul of an aborted child, called back before it reaches Meifu, and thus has "two lives". Incidentally (okay not so incidentally) Ban's grandmother charged Maria with returning the Voodoo Children to Meifu where they belong, if Ban was incapable of accomplishing the task. So she's now presumably out to get Himiko. ^^;

[incandescens]

It would be difficult for there to be as much of the same drama as there was with Toshiki. :)

Wasn't Akabane also hiring the GetBackers to "retrieve" Himiko? Hm. Perhaps we're finally going to get some information on his secrets. (Which hopefully won't be that he's Himiko's father or ancestor -- we don't know his date of birth, after all . . .) I can see that approach towards Himiko being quite successful, though; she's always been the sort to want to tackle her problems rather than try to dodge them (cough Ban cough cough) -- in fact, if Ban doesn't tell her anything but Akabane does, I suspect that Ban is on the point of risking losing her trust.

Ah, thanks for the explanation re Voodoo Children. (Hm. That also maybe explains why Ban was so very, very unhappy about contacting Maria over the Cards business. Putting Himiko directly into her orbit is risky. Unless Ban's also trying to show how much control he has over the situation, "and so you needn't bother worrying about it". Must squint at the pictures when I get home.)

(Yes, I realise that this probably wasn't planned at the time, and Maria has been shoehorned into this particular plot as a neat twist since, but hey.)

Ban/Ginji/Akabane/Kagami/Himiko makes a good team, incidentally. :)

[solaas.livejournal.com]

Ban/Ginji/Akabane/Kagami/Himiko makes a good team, incidentally. :)

Bloody frightening, you mean! :D

[petronia.livejournal.com]

Gramercy, yes, that drama was Special. XD

Akabane hired GB to retrieve mirror!Himiko i.e. dark!Himiko, lud knows what any of them expects to do with her when they "get" her (I've missed the beginning of this arc but read up on spoilers, and it does seem that Ban has a very clear idea of what they're up against). Frankly I'm rather unnerved by Akabane's pro-activeness, I'm used to homicidal neutrality from him... Not that he's telling Himiko anything, only that she'll find out more if she goes to the underground tournament with him. They do seem intent on joining up with the GB, so Ban/Ginji/Akabane/Kagami/Himiko doesn't seem too unlikely a proposition at that. I agree with you that it would be interesting. XD

(Ban, Kazuki and Akabane are calling each other on their keitai constantly, like a group of teenagers trying to put together a time and place for bubble tea.)

[incandescens]

Side-thought -- the GetBackers tend to get stuff _back_, they don't just go out and obtain unilaterally. As far as I can remember, it's always been something which the client had some sort of moral or legal right to. What sort or "right" does Akabane have to mirror-Himiko -- or what sort of right does Ban feel that he has?

And I would certainly hope it won't be an easy job, or where would our next multiple-book storyline be?

(Now I'm imagining Ban, Kazuki, and Akabane phoning each other through the afternoon while all out on various "jobs". ("Please excuse me..." and Akabane snaps open his phone as the blood drips in the background.)

[petronia.livejournal.com]

An excellent point. I haven't the least idea, though I have missed those chapters. Akabane must have some sort of right, though, if only to explain the pressing question of "why Akabane now?".

Now I'm imagining Ban, Kazuki, and Akabane phoning each other through the afternoon while all out on various "jobs". "Please excuse me..." and Akabane snaps open his phone as the blood drips in the background.

It's not all that far from the truth, I get the impression. ^^;

[incandescens]

Hm. Perhaps if he hired them to get Mirror-Himiko back _for Himiko herself_, that might work . . . have to wait and see.

As to the phoning, that almost demands a story in itself.

[kickinpants.livejournal.com]

Is that Murakami Ryu book related to that "love and pop" movie, the one from that Evangelion director?

[petronia.livejournal.com]

Possibly. Probably! I knew I heard the name somewhere. I just picked that one because it was shortest. XD

[ayabai.livejournal.com]

OTPTHEIRLUVISSOMIRRORY >DDDDD

[petronia.livejournal.com]

I was seriously also expecting Kagami to pop up when she said his name. ANY TIME NOW. XD

Hey, I'm Chenruodi

[(Anonymous)]

Hey, girl, already arrived?
I thought you ought to be tired out after the over 20 hour's flying journey, and totally couldn't leave your bed.
But surprisingly, you seemed over energetic!
Maybe it's me who is really too weak...
I've send you the Chinese version of "The Legend of Heros in the Galaxy". (Sorry, I know neither the exact English translation nor the Japanese Romanian...find I'm really poor in English expression...)
If you don't recieve it in your Gmail, send me a mail, and I'll send you again, in smaller pieces.