Showing posts with label entertainment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label entertainment. Show all posts

Monday, July 07, 2008

top 10 anime of 2007

okay, this topic, i was not suddenly hit in the head by the curiousity cat. but this is more for that person out there bugging me to post something so she could be kept occupied for a few minutes. haha.


in 2007, 2 million anime fans cast their votes for their favourite anime. i'm not much of an anime fan but the result was not what i anticipated.

10. hidamari sketch



Sunshine Sketch centers around a young girl named Yuno who finally is able to get accepted into Yamabuki Art High School, which she has longed for. To attend the school, Yuno moves and starts to live in a small apartment building named the Sunshine Apartments located near the school. Once there, she starts making new friends like her classmate Miyako and the second year students, Hiro and Sae. There is no real plot line to the story but rather the events of the characters' everyday lives are shown as they attend the school together and get to know each other better.


9. Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei


Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei revolves around a very pessimistic high school teacher named Nozomu Itoshiki who, at the very beginning of the series, tries to hang himself on a sakura tree. Despite this effort of self-destruction, he is saved by an extremely optimistic girl known only as Kafuka Fuura (though in her effort to save his life, she almost kills him). She explains to him that it is simply unimaginable that he would hang himself on such a nice day, especially in front of such beautiful trees. She decides to nickname Nozomu "Pink Supervisor" , and offers to pay him fifty yen to call him by that nickname. After having enough of the strange girl, Nozomu bolts to the school and starts his homeroom class, but the attempt to escape was in vain as he finds that the girl is one of his students. Not only that, but Kafuka is just the tip of the iceberg: each and every student in his class represents a new personality quirk or bizarre obsession, posing challenges that the suicidally-inclined teacher must overcome in spite of himself.


8. Nanatsuiro Drops

Masaharu Tsuwabuki is a normal student, though not very social. One day he meets a new student named Sumomo Akihime, and another girl named Yaeno Nadeshiko, Sumomo's close friend. That same afternoon, he suddenly bumps into Arthur, a servant of Nona Yuki from Figurare who at the time was disguised with a mask. The collision causes Arthur to drop a bag full of magical potions; amid gathering up the scattered cans, one of them is accidentally switched with Masaharu's soda can. Upon drinking it, he transforms into a stuffed animal lamb at night. He must collect seven stardrops, in order to return to normal.

There are two primary worlds within the story of Nanatsuiro Drops: the human world called Retroscena, and a magical world called Figurare from which the Stellar Spinners originate. There are currently two schools that teach magic within Figurare: Pramu Cloris and Saint Asparas. According to Natsume, each year the two schools pick their top Stellar Spinners (the one from Pramu Cloris is called Prima Pramu, and from Saint Asparas is called Prima Asparas) to send to the human world to capture seven stardrops in a goodwill competition to improve relations.


7. Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS is the third season of the Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha series. The Nanoha anime was, in turn, a spin-off of the Triangle Heart series of games and OVAs, specifically Triangle Heart 3: Sweet Songs Forever. This season aired shortly after the promotional event "Lyrical Party III" scheduled on April 1, 2007.

StrikerS takes place after the epilogue of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's, aired between October and December of 2005. While the epilogue connected A's to a world six years later, StrikerS advances the timeline another four years, where the main characters have gone on to work for the Time-Space Administration Bureau (TSAB) and come upon a new case. The series focuses more on team-based battles and bureaucracy rather than individual rivalry and school life, due to the change in character dynamics.

6. Gintama

The story takes place in Edo (known today as Tokyo because of the name change in 1868), Japan, which has been taken over by aliens called Amanto since the late Edo period. The samurai of Japan have fallen, and the Amanto placed a ban on carrying swords in public. The story focuses on an eccentric samurai, Gintoki Sakata, his (partial) apprentice Shinpachi Shimura, and a teenage alien girl: Kagura. All three are "free-lancers" who search for work in order to pay the monthly rent, which usually goes unpaid anyway.

5. Higurashi

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni takes place during June 1983, at a fictional rural village called Hinamizawa which has a population of approximately 2000. The main character, Keiichi Maebara, moves to Hinamizawa and befriends his new classmates Rena Ryugu, Mion Sonozaki, Rika Furude, and Satoko Hojo. Keiichi joins their after-school club activities, which consist mostly of card and board games (and punishment games for the loser, usually him.) Hinamizawa appears to be a normal, peaceful, rural village to Keiichi.

However, the tranquility abruptly ends after the annual Watanagashi Festival, a celebration to commemorate and give thanks to the local god, Oyashiro-sama. Keiichi learns that every year for the past four years, one person has been murdered and another has gone missing on the day of the Watanagashi Festival. Keiichi himself soon becomes drawn into the strange events surrounding the Watanagashi Festival and Oyashiro-sama. In each story arc, he or one of his friends become paranoid, and a crime is committed. Usually, the crime involves the murder of one of their own friends. While it seems impossible to tell their delusions apart from the mystery of Hinamizawa, slowly the truth is revealed.

4. Ookiku Furi Kabutte

The series, set in Saitama, follows the story of Ren Mihashi. Mihashi was the previous ace pitcher in his middle school's baseball team, but it seems that he only got the position because his grandfather was the owner of the school. His teammates (especially the team's catcher) hated him, and they always lost their games. Mihashi is thoroughly convinced that he is a lousy baseball pitcher and he graduates to high school with extremely low self-esteem. He then transfers to Nishiura high school with plans of quitting baseball, because he does not believe he is good enough to succeed at baseball. However, he is dragged into Nishiura's baseball team by their coach. Assisted by his new teammates (and especially the catcher, Takaya Abe), he grows in stature, confidence and skill, helping his team excel with his own abilities.

3. Kaitei Kyoshi Hitman REBORN

The Reborn! story revolves around a boy named Tsunayoshi "Tsuna" Sawada, who is chosen to become the Vongola Family's boss due to him being the great-great-great grandson of the first Vongola boss, who had moved to Japan from Italy during his time. Also, the other candidates for the position of the head of the Vongola Family died: Enrico, who was the leading candidate to become "Vongola X", died in a gun battle; Massimo, the second, "sleeps with the fishes;" and Federico, the favored son, was found as a pile of bones. For these reasons, Tsuna is the only remaining heir. As such, Timoteo a.k.a. "Vongola IX," the current head of the family, sends Reborn, an infant hitman from Italy, to train Tsuna. Tsuna then unwillingly undergoes training from Reborn.

Tsuna goes through many predicaments in his progress of becoming the Vongola boss including fighting against escaped Mafia convicts, a rival group of Vongola assassins claiming the right for their boss to be the true Vongola boss, as well as rival families aiming to destroy the Vongola Family. Through his experiences, Tsuna unconsciously becomes stronger and more confident, which ultimately makes him better suited as the Vongola Family's boss.

Reborn's main instrument of choice in teaching Tsuna is the "Dying Will Bullet" ("Deathperation Shot" in Viz Media's translation of the manga), which will make the person be "reborn" with a stronger self intent on fulfilling his dying will.

2. Lucky Star

Portrays the lives of several school girls attending a Japanese high school with a very loose humor tone. The main heroine is Konata Izumi, an athletic and intelligent girl who, despite these attributes, is not in a sports club, and her grades remain low. Her laziness at school is due to her love for anime and video games, and she is not interested in much else.

and the NO. 1 is....

sola

Sola's story revolves around Yorito Morimiya, the main protagonist, who is a young boy attending high school. He loves taking pictures of the sky at any time of day and any time of the year. One day, Yorito decides to take a picture of the sunrise overlooking the bay, but is deterred when he meets a strange girl trying to force a vending machine that stole her money to give her what she tried to buy—a can of tomato juice. Yorito helps her with forcing the machine while attempting to strike up conversation with her, despite it being four in the morning. Yorito tells her why he is here, but by the time he has forced the can out of the machine, the girl has mysteriously vanished.

The next day, Yorito goes to visit his older sister Aono in the hospital with his friend Mana Ishizuki and Mana's little sister Koyori Ishizuki. Despite it being Aono's birthday, Yorito leaves soon after to take a photograph of the setting sun near an old church on the roof of the hospital. That night, Yorito leaves to buy groceries when it begins to rain and stops on the way home to wait for the rain to stop; while waiting, he runs into the strange girl he met from yesterday again. They talk longer this time and Yorito finally learns her name—Matsuri Shihou. A few days later, Yorito goes looking for the girl in the old church and finds a man wielding a sword before Matsuri.

After a display of Matsuri's astounding powers, Yorito discovers that she is in fact a creature known as a "Calamity of the Night", who has lived for centuries. She is being chased by Takeshi Tsujidou who intends to kill her, but Yorito tries to protect her by bringing her back to his home which is when Yorito asks her to stay with him for the time being.

A "Calamity of the Night", otherwise known as a Yaka is a supernatural being in the Sola story. Yaka have many supernatural powers, such as: a strong physical ability, fast regeneration, and never aging body, among other powers. A Yaka is hurt by direct exposure to sunlight, but the wound can be healed in time if the exposure is not excessive; a Yaka is otherwise immortal unless exposed to too much sunlight or has received fatal wounds. Matsuri explains that a Yaka is the embodiment of human agony and pain and that such creatures are meant to always be alone.

so to those who were expecting bleach or naruto in there are a bit surprised, i imagine.. i might watch a few of these.

(are you happy now?) ':)

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

prison break

i've been very anti-social for the past week. i go out only to go to classes, speak only when spoken to and having my dinner to take-away. no, i'm not in a bad place or in any particular mood. i just feel like prisoning myself from the world at the moment.

so, most of the time, i'm in my room either playing my guitar, jen (yes, my guitar has a name) or watch hours upon hours of downloaded videos. i haven't watched prison break in a long while and have just caught up with it. nothing beats the first season though.. anyway, interesting facts about the show coming your way. enjoy


It was filmed in John Wayne Gacy’s former cell

The producers of Prison Break were intent on making the series as authentic as possible, but viewers had little idea just how close to reality it would tread. The permanent set for the first season was at Joliet Correctional Center, a real penitentiary in Illinois that closed down in 2002. Scenes set in the cell blocks, the infirmary and the prison yard were all shot on location at the prison.

But in an especially macabre touch, show producers determined that Lincoln’s cell would be set in the same one that actually housed Joilet’s most infamous inhabitant, the notorious serial killer John Wayne Gacy. Cast members were understandably queasy about the set and some of the staff refused to enter the cell. But Dominic Purcell hasn’t expressed the same squeamishness and claims that Gacy’s cell is the best locale to shoot Lincoln because “it has the best light.”

Prison Break’s stars were cast at the last minute

Once FOX gave the go-ahead to shoot the first season in 2005, series mastermind Paul Scheuring worked to get everything in place for the new show: directors, crew members and supporting players. But, Scheuring almost forgot to cast the stars. The roles of Michael Scofield and Lincoln Burrows went unfilled until less than a week before the show started filming.

Wentworth Miller was pegged as Michael only six days before the series began and Dominic Purcell was plucked to play Lincoln with a mere 72 hours to spare. Scheuring was having serious trouble finding actors who truly fit the look and feel of the roles and was therefore forced to “sit on pins and needles” until he found the perfect duo at the last minute.


Prison Break was almost a superstar miniseries

The premise of Prison Break is so innately intriguing that it’s no wonder it was a hot piece of property before FOX picked it up as a permanent series. But, the premise of the show begs the question: How long can the story line sustain itself? Paul Scheuring has readily admitted that he initially only conceived a two-season storyline and, as of the start of the second season, he had little idea what direction the story would take in season three. Given the apparent limits of the storyline, it makes sense that it was initially sought after as a possible 10-part miniseries.

Interested parties of the miniseries included the likes of Steven Spielberg and Bruce Willis. Spielberg actually committed to being executive producer of the proposed miniseries, but bowed out at the last minute to produce War of the Worlds (2005) with Tom Cruise. In 2004, FOX executives were finally convinced that the concept could work as a regular series when they saw the success of the fellow maverick show Lost, which stars Evangeline Lilly.



Wentworth Miller


before prison break, he was in a few tv series and just a hand full of movies. his first tv appearance was in buffy the vampire slayer. he was also in a movie with the very hot and sexy, kate beckinsale in underworld. here's wentworth in all his tv/movie apperances.


Wednesday, January 23, 2008

heath ledger

if you still haven't heard the news, heath ledger is dead.


last night, my sister suddenly messaged me saying only these words, "Abg! Heath ledger is dead!"

the first thing i thought was, oh my god..

followed by, who's Heath Ledger?

with the almighty powerful internet, i googled it. oohhhh... him...


daily telegraph - January 23, 2008 06:35pm

ACTOR Heath Ledger, who was found dead in New York today, had been taking a prescription drug that has been caused bizarre and potentially dangerous reactions for hundreds of Australians.

The three bottles of prescription pills found in Heath Ledger's Manhattan apartment in SoHo contained antidepressants and Ambien.

NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne said that there were three prescription bottles found, all in Heath Ledger's name.

The actor, from Perth who was found dead of an apparent overdose today at the age of 28, had spoken in the past about having trouble sleeping.


i think he was a really good serious actor. he wasn't going for the typical 'mr. heart-throbe' roles. lessons to be learned here: life is short and unexpected. also, no to drugs..

also, in his memory, i'm going to watch 10 things i hate about you. i MIGHT watch his Oscar nominated performance in Brokeback Mountain but i'm not promising anything.. but if i watch it, i can definitely promise a lot of cringing..

Thursday, September 13, 2007

britney spears, kid rock and the girl from highschool musical

i've never talked about celebrity gossips and mindless entertainment news (like perez hilton is famously known for) but i've been watching a lot of tv and youtube lately and here are the some that i feel like sharing.


i watched the video music awards last night. personally, i didn't like the atmosphere of the place. different parties going on in different rooms? so weird. and the usual, 'just seats' in the audience area was changed to tabled hall, made the event really quiet. but anyway, that is beside the point. the main story, which i'm sure you know by now, the legendary britney spears. describing her performance as sloth-like is a understatement of the year. it looked like she wasn't giving any effort at all. and her post-baby body was very obvious. sources say, she sobbed after her abysmal performance. not a comeback that people were hoping for. on the up side, her song was very catchy.. ok, i found it catchy. so sue me..

another big story was the whole kid rock and tommy lee fight. here's what mtv news said,

According to eyewitnesses, Lee — sitting at the same table as Diddy — jawed at Rock as he made his way toward the Bad Boy CEO, with whom he was supposed to present the show's final performance. It wasn't clear exactly what Lee said to Rock, but apparently after his words, Rock slapped the drummer, according to eyewitnesses. Lee, one eyewitness said, attempted to fight back but, before he was able to land a blow, was punched in the face by Rock.

Many inside the venue — including Jermaine Durpi — were oblivious to the fight taking place behind them. Others either tried to get out of the way as security tossed chairs to reach the outbreak or were stunned and didn't quite know what was going on.

Security quickly detained both men, with Lee being immediately removed from the venue. Rock, with his cigar still in his mouth, was held back momentarily until Lee left and calmly walked out alongside security.

"I never hit nobody for nothing before," Rock was overhead saying in the lobby of the casino. "I told him to shut the f--- up."

According to a spokesperson for the Las Vegas Police Department, Rock was cited for misdemeanor battery for his assault on Lee. Rock was not detained or taken into police custody but was issued a summons. He'll need to return to Vegas for a future court date, and if convicted, he faces a $500 fine and up to six months behind bars.

i even read somewhere that kid rock went looking for tommy in his hotel room but kicked down a door with a frightened family inside. he apologized and signed autographs for them.

okay.. i wanted to talk about your beloved highschool musical chick (dunno the name, don't care either) but my motivation for this post is gone now.. watch the video.. hehe. i love what-the-buck.



Saturday, September 01, 2007

it's morphin' time!

as promised, i've come back with a good-read post. it still is as random as my other posts but this one has a sentimental value for me and to those of you who were just a young child in the early 90's. i'm not quite sure how this post came about. it suddenly just popped in my head and i HAD to find out the answers. it's the original power rangers. i remember telling my brother to tape the show cause it aired in the afternoon during my ugama school (religious school) and i'd watch it afterwards. i spent hours playing as the red ranger with my brother being the green ranger. sigh.. memories. but it's been 13 years now. what ever happened to those powerful characters? if you're curious, read on.

red ranger (jason) - austin st. john
after leaving the cast midway through the second season, he has been in a few movies, the last one was in 2003 called footsteps. he wrote a book and made a video, both on martial arts. currently, he's 31 and in Washington DC working as a paramedic. get a load of his picture now.

black ranger (zach) - walter emmanuel jones


like austin, he also left the show in season 2 due to disagreement in wages. he continues to dabble in acting, most notably having a recurring role in FX's The Shield during its first season. he did a few things after he left the show. he did voice-overs for a villain, ironically enough, in the show that he left and also as the main character in a video game, freedom fighters. his current passion is salsa dancing and was the 2004 Mayan International Salsa Championship. he still keeps in touch with austin, his best-friend. click here for his own website.
blue ranger (billy) - david yost
david yost was the only ranger to have been in every episode of the original power rangers. after the 4th season, his role in the show was reduced to a mere advisor to the new rangers. dissatisfied with the new role and the pay that went along with it, he left the show. since then, he moved behind the camera and has worked as a producer for Sci-Fi Lab (a division of Sci-Fi Channel) and manager of licensing for Pioneer Entertainment (selling completed television shows to networks). he is now 38.

pink ranger (kimberly) - amy jo johnson
the most active of them all after the power ranger hoopla, she has kept herself very busy by getting as much media exposure as she could. she guest-starred in another 90's favourite, saved by the bell, in a small role. then, she worked with disney and was a star in a 1996 movie, susie q. she landed a major role in a series, felicity, where she learned to play guitar. she then had a band called, the amy jo johnson band but later disbanded and since then preformed acoustically. now 36, she has her own website dedicated to her music. click here for her site and here for her myspace page.

green/white ranger (tommy) - jason david frank
frank is the longest appearing male power ranger, while amy jo was the female to appear for the longest time. he appeared in the most power rangers episodes, 257 character appearances and 242 actual appearances. he also appeared in the most seasons: seven (Mighty Morphin [3], Zeo, Turbo, Wild Force and Dino Thunder). since then, he made a lot of tv appearances and made a couple of movies but he starred in his last one, fall guy (2006). now 33, he's been married twice and have 5 kids.

yellow ranger (trini) - thuy trang

it is unfortunate to tell you that thuy trang died from a car crash on september 3rd 2001. she and former actress/model Angela Rockwood-Nguyen, to whom Trang was to be a bridesmaid to later that year, were passengers in a car traveling on Interstate 5 between San Francisco and Los Angeles (they were returning from visiting Angela's planned maid of honor) when the driver (another of Angela's bridesmaids) of the vehicle she was riding in lost control. The car swerved violently across the road before hitting the roadside rock face and flipping several times before hitting the safety rail and plunging over the bank. Rockwood-Nguyen, who has claimed she was wearing a seat belt[1], survived despite being thrown out of the vehicle through a window before its final impact; as a result, however, she is now quadriplegic. Trang, who wasn't wearing a seat belt, died from the injuries she sustained.