So June’s Monthly Mania is finally here~ Gomen! I said I’d get the post in by last week but I’ll consider Sunday still apart of last week so it’ll be on time! >.< (?) Oh how I am so eager for my summer updates. *Ahem* Anyways, the second issue will include a movie, drama series, video game, and an anime. As usual, I rate to softly (and I had face the consequences), so…yeah. I found it a little more challenging than I thought to find features, but I guess I’m in some sort of a brain block right now. Next month I think will be easier…

Movie

Idiocracy

Cast:

Luke Wilson as Luke Bauers
Maya Rudolph as Rita
Dax Shepard as Frito Pendejo

Summary:

The film tells the story of two ordinary people who are taken into a top-secret military hibernation experiment that goes awry, and awaken 500 years in the future. They discover that the world has degenerated into a dystopia where advertising, commercialism, and cultural anti-intellectualism run rampant and dysgenic pressure has resulted in a uniformly stupid human society devoid of individual responsibility or consequences.

Source–Wikipedia

When a man wakes up 500 years in the future, he discovers that world is so dumbed down that he’s the smartest person on earth.

Source–Flixter

Thoughts:

Well, as I mentioned before, I was going to add some American movies into Blossom Blabber, so I felt like doing one for this issue. I was debating with myself on whether I should do this movie or not because of the type of movie and genre it is but I just decided to anyways, mainly because I all other movies have disappeared from my head for some reason. Idiocracy is a movie that didn’t get as much publicity as it should’ve, mainly because of issues with the film release. It’s rated R, just to let everyone know (I usually ignore ratings, but just so no one complains…however, there is a clean version), since it has some unsuitable content and language, etc. But anyways, Idiocracy was a movie that I found at Blockbusters xD but it looked so interesting, I decided to rent it.

It’s a comedy (black comedy) with an interesting plot, that made me laugh at the stupidity of the characters. This isn’t probably a movie that fit many people reading this’ preferences, and doesn’t really “fit” with what I’m usually doing, but oh well, I like the movie! The movie was really enjoyable and doesn’t get old. I guess to others it’s sort of a love/hate thing, but I loved the comedy, and the main character because of how average he is (average blood pressure, intelligence, too average, and his name is Joe). Especially one scene when he’s trying to explain Brawndo (an energy drink) won’t help crops grow (electrolytes~), they are so stupidly funny. However, the scary part is if that movie might actually be true with their theory of human evolution~ Here’s a quote from the film:

As the 21st century began, human evolution was at a turning point. Natural selection, the process by which the strongest, the smartest, the fastest, reproduced in greater numbers than the rest, a process which had once favored the noblest traits of man, now began to favor different traits. Most science fiction of the day predicted a future that was more civilized and more intelligent. But as time went on, things seemed to be heading in the opposite direction. A dumbing down.

There are some flaws with the movie though, like how it seemed that technology actually got better, which contradicts with the movie’s theme. Or sometimes the stupidity can get annoying, but that’s the point of the movie. They are so stupid that they make you want to hit your head against a desk. O_o

But anyways, a really funny, good, stupid movie, yet with a pretty serious undertone in it. It’s deserves more attention that it gets…But probably won’t be appealing to readers of this blog (since it’s targetted at guys), but I decided to give it a shot (make sure you don’t let go of your intelligence!).

Verdict: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 [8] 9 10

Drama Series

Absolute Boyfriend (Zettai Kareshi)

Cast:

Aibu Saki as Izawa Riiko
Mokomichi Hayami as Tenjou Night
Mizushima Hiro as Asamoto Soushi

Summary:

Izawa Riiko is a temp worker in search of a boyfriend, and she ends up in possession of a “robot” known as Night Tenjo, who is programmed to be the perfect boyfriend. However, this creates a love triangle with a distinguished young man at her company who has feelings for her.

Source–mysoju

Thoughts:

Ah…I read the manga once before when my dad was selling it (he used to sell books online), and I did not like it. There were good parts, but then there were other parts that I did not find appealing AT ALL. So when I was going through the mysoju list I noticed Absolute Boyfriend, but I quickly left it alone. However, I couldn’t help but notice it get such a high rating, and it made me curious why. So I decided to check out some stuff about the drama and…more Hiro Mizushima! I just happen to like any dramas he’s in, whether he’s a main or not. It just so happen that he was the other guy in the love triangle, which put me in a little dilemma. But then I checked out the drama…and I was actually interested.

I think the reason was that they changed the drama adaptation so much, but I just happened to like the changes better. The character relationships and such are so much different, such as Soushi being her boss instead of being her childhood friend, Riiko being dragged to do the project instead of signing up, etc. But I happened to like the way the drama adapted it, in fact, I loved the series. The ending song “Okaeri” by Ayaka is really a soothing song and goes well with the show. The characters were almost all pretty lovable. The bad characters do a good job at being evil and such. I wasn’t really fond of Night at first until later. He was able to grow so much as a robot and was able to let his love for Riiko show despite all of the obstacles which may but a bit corny, but made him oh so lovable for me. I liked Soushi mainly because he was always helping Riiko with her dream to be a patisseur. I was still a SoushixRiiko supporter *gets killed* for the drama. If it was the manga, I’d probably be for Night. But it was mainly because Soushi was a person, and was real (and the drama made me like him a lot for his development). I guess his actor gave made me a bit biased as well. But to be honest, I liked both pairings by the end of the series and was okay with either. It’s one of those rare instances where I’m fine with anyone. Oh well, but it was a good drama that made me cry several times, and one that any shoujo lover should check out.

Verdict: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 [9] 10

Where to watch it: mysoju [Link to watch]

Video Game

MySims

Summary:

Explore a new world with MySims™—it’s your world to transform! Move to a town that has been struggling lately. With a little creativity and some help from the locals, you can make this place thrive. Improve the town to attract new characters, from Chef Gino Delicioso and DJ Candy Supergroove to arcade owner, Vic Vector and Cap’n Ginny, the town pirate. Discover what the residents want and need, so that you can help them enjoy life in your Sim’s new town. Design a hot tub or jukebox from scratch, build homes and businesses from the roof to the front door. Uncover special decorations and patterns as you explore the growing town. From the furniture and objects to the buildings to the town as a whole – each of your creations is unique. In MySims, what you make… makes all the difference!

Source–Official Site

Thoughts:

Well, ever since I’ve gotten MySims, they’ve released many new versions of it, but I’ll just stick with the original (since it’s all pretty much the same elements, just at different places). Honestly, the DS version wasn’t as great as the Wii version, even though I might not have given it a great chance. MySims is a spin-off of The Sims franchise, adding more of chibi-like characters and limiting specific options and giving it more of a plot and goal sort of thing. I enjoyed the game fairly well, however, I didn’t get to play with it often, and I think I got bored with it after awhile. It’s a fun game though, for those who like building things and enjoy a cutesy fluffy game. I enjoy games with building, so I guess that was what appealed to me. It isn’t as great as the normal Sims games, but it’s fun in its own way. I guess it’s more fun to relax with, without worrying about dying characters and grim reapers. Since I enjoy the chibi-ness and cute-ness of the characters, I enjoyed the character designer a little more than the Sims (at least 1 and 2, haven’t gotten 3 yet). The characters are all unique, and you get to discover more areas, but the main goal is to build things for people. I found it fun yet repetitive. I guess it can get boring real quickly, but overall pretty fun when it lasts.

Verdict: 1 2 3 4 5 6 [7.5] 8 9 10
(Yeah, I like cheating with my scoring for video games xD)

Website: http://mysims.ea.com/home.php

Anime

Kaze no Stigma

Summary:

Yagami Kazuma was originally part of the Kannagi family, a respected family of fire users who have an affinity to fire. However, after being easily defeated by his cousin Ayano and having no talent whatsoever in fire magic, Kazuma is banished and casted out from his family. 4 years later, Kazuma finally returns to Japan, this time as an exceptionally powerful wind user. A series of murders on Kannagi family members have occurred with his arrival. While most of the family including Ayano is convinced Kazuma is the culprit, he honestly isn’t. These events begin an all out war against the Kannagi family, with Kazuma and Ayano right in the middle of it. Based on the novel by Takahiro Yamato.

Source–MAL

Thoughts:

Gosh, I love this show. It isn’t outstanding in either originality, plot, or story, but somehow I had grown to love it a lot after watching it. Maybe it’s the comedy, awesome action, or the slight hints of romance (I’ll get back to that later). I found this show when looking for characters like Ikuto *feels embarrassed* in which Yagami Kazuma was brought up. I looked at the show, and it seemed to have that magic action theme I like, yet it was placed into the romance and comedy genre I loved as well. So how could I resist? I checked it out, and it was a good show. I fangirled over Yagami a couple times, and I had moments where I laughed, cried, and everything in between. If only there was a second season…u_u

It’s a more serious show than last month’s feature, and had some drama in it, but I loved most parts. The story wasn’t bad. I guess you could say that there were funny moments, and the action wasn’t bad either. I guess the story was somewhat mediocre to me. The music was like a typical shounen-like opening, but it had that relaxing feel I guess you could say? The music for episode 12 just added so much more to the effect. Dx Ah yes, the characters. I like all of the characters, especially Kazuma. He was funny and a cool character who always made Ayano act so tsundere-ish, which was why I loved the character interactions so much. I enjoyed the romance scenes between the both of them…however, there was one thing that got me mad: they’re cousins. x.x Their chemistry was good and all, but sheesh, they could’ve been second cousins at least and I would’ve been okay, but they were cousins. :( You kinda forget about that later in the series though after all of those romance scenes. Katherine McDonald made me laugh at her terrible English (it seems like Eden of the East is the only show that actually gets Americans to speak English), but that’s how animes usually are when they try to get Japanese to speak English. Her misunderstanding of Japanese is hilarious as well. Ren is also such a great little brother, you can’t help but want to cuddle him at some moments. Overall, the characters are great, and so is the show. It has that perfect blend of comedy, romance, fantasy, and action all in one to make it great for a large audience. Although it can be forgettable, there is some sort of charm to it that makes me like it so much.

Verdict: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 [9] 10
It probably deserves an 8 on standard ratings, but I liked it a lot personally and so it gets a 9 from me.

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I hope you all enjoyed this issue! I wasn’t really satisfied with how it turned out, so I have better ones planned for next month. Shugo Chara post is probably going to be posted tomorrow. Sorry for the delay of this post too! >.<