They came!

Hey, what do you know, it's not a figure delivery this time. I came home and did some kanji grinding. Then I looked at the anime for this season and decided I'd try giving a few shows a try, even if I don't think I'd like them from the description (I've found many gems this way). After I loaded my downloads, I played some Pokemon and went into the kitchen to make some fried rice. I sat down at the table with my plate and realize my little brother didn't even tell me I had a package.

ドキドキする

( ﾟ∀ﾟ)o彡°

My dog got in somehow.

Ordered:
・のんのんびより　１ (Non Non Biyori 1)
・空ろの箱と零のマリア (Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria)
・ポンチョ　１ (Poncho 1)
・魔法少女まどか☆マギカ １ (Mahou Shoujou Madoka☆Magika 1)

I normally just get them from my local bookstore, but they didn't have Madoka in yet at the time (I'm sure they do now though) and Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria was sold out. I could ask them to order it for me and ship it to my house though, but when it comes to ordering books I go with BK1 since it comes out cheaper that way. I could have checked some other Japanese bookstores in my area, but was too lazy. Figured I'd just save myself the trips and just order my books online this time. Total came out to 2410円、which is about the price I'd pay if I purchased all these in my local bookstore (the markup prices tend to balance out evenly with the subtraction of shipping costs).　

Came here faster than I thought though. And once again, my bad memory creates nice surprises for me! I'd like to thank Tigoris for some recommendations. I read Non Non Biyori and Poncho and liked them enough to get physical copies. Madoka I got because I wanted to collect the series, and Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria is something I've wanted a physical copy of for quite some time already. Now I'll get back to doing some more kanji and take a break to read one of these guys.

~ Kirari ミ★

I hate beavers

 So today I went out to the Japanese bookstore in Manhattan, Kinokuniya. I always go there to pick up some Japanese stuff, since it's usually cheaper than importing and I can browse around physically to spot titles I wouldn't have remembered to look for if I was searching online. I was quite surprised that a lot of the stuff was more expensive than it used to be. I remember before, I was able to get manga for maybe $2 more than the original yen value, so I'd be able to get a volume of Yotsubato! for maybe $8 or so. But now, I checked the price and those volumes rose to $11! Stupid economy. Value of the yen increasing while the US dollar decreases.

That aside, they didn't have the light novel in stick that I was hoping to buy, which was a bit of a letdown. Guess I'll have to import it if I want it on my bookshelf. While I was in the area I decided to drop by the Barns and Noble around there (48th and 5th avenue? Dunno, too lazy to check right now), and I notice that the sidewalk is more packed than usual, and there are police cars and such. I see a police officer in front of the bookstore talking to a few people. 

"What the hell is this?"

 I was talking to myself when I said that, but some girl creeped behind me and said
"Oh my god, you don't know? Are you even from Earth? lol" (Yeah, she really said "ell oh ell" at the end of her sentence)

So, I have no idea what the hell she's talking about, and she explains to me that Justin Beaver, or whatever the hell his name is, is inside the bookstore for his book signing. That's when I notice the huge line of people, and actually listen to what they're saying to hear every one of them gossiping. "Did you see him going in?", "My friend spent the night here and is still waiting on line, I wanted her to save me a spot but the security won't let me cut!" etc. 

They closed down the whole freaking bookstore for him to do his signing? Of what, his autobiography? Isn't he like 14 years old? What the hell is he going to write about? 

I hate going outside.

~ Kirari ミ★

Video of the week #5

Have tests this week, and all my free time is dedicated to tackling my backlog a bit. I'm midway into the 2nd volume of Utsuro no Hako to Zeto no Maria. Anyway, this week's video:



Some guy playing the rival battle theme from the first Pokemon games. Pretty old, but I doubt many people have really seen it before, so posting it here.

~ Kirari ミ★

Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria 1 review

1st time

"I am Aya Otonashi. Pleased to meet you." 

The transfer student says with a faint smile. 

23rd time

"I'm Aya Otonashi. ...Regards." 

The transfer student says, uninterested, emotionlessly. 

1050th time

"Aya Otonashi." 

The transfer student utters, looking completely bored, not even looking at us. 

13118th time

I look at the transfer student, Aya Otonashi, whose name I don't yet know, standing on the platform. 

"Aya Otonashi." 

The transfer student murmurs only this to her classmates. In a low voice, as if she doesn't care whether we can understand her. Nevertheless, her voice is clear. 

--Yeah. I already know her name. I have just heard it for the first time, though. 

Everyone holds their breath. Not because of her blunt, simple self-introduction which wouldn't even count as greeting. It is probably because she is such a stunning beauty, who stands out from everyone in the room. 

Everyone waits for her next words. 

She opens her mouth. 

"Kazuki Hoshino." 

"...Huh?" 

She calls out my name for some reason. The entire class looks at me with questioning looks. Don't look at me like that, I'm clueless myself. 

"I'm here to break you." 

She suddenly proclaims. 

"This is my 13,118th 'School Transfer'. Even I can't help but get annoyed after so many. So for a change, I'll proclaim war." 

She doesn't spare even a glance for our dumbfounded classmates and gazes at me alone. 

"Kazuki Hoshino. I'll make you surrender. Better give me your most precious thing soon. Resistance is futile. Why? That's simple. Because I am--" 

Aya Otonashi forms a smile and proceeds with her sentence. 

"--always by your side, no matter how much time passes."

____________

So I just finished my essay (10 minutes before deadline, playing YATTA! to celebrate). I wanted to do this earlier, but as I said, got preoccupied last minute with my essay that I didn't even know the topic for, let alone that it was due today. The above is just the very first page or so of the novel, right after the prologue.

So, here's my review of the first Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria novel. I mentioned in my previous post that I was in the middle of reading it and found it pretty interesting. I finished the first volume, so now I think I can do a review on it without spoiling, and still catching some pretty good interest in it.

The story is pretty much a plot that's used quite commonly, a time loop. No, it's not quite like the Suzumiya Haruhi's anime adaptation of the Endless 8 time loop (which was actually only a 30 page chapter in the original) or anything, where everything is essentially the same except for a small part at the end. At the same time, it's not quite like the Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni time loop, where everything is completely different. There's one character, Aya Otonashi, that keeps her memories of the previous iterations. Most of the other cast lose all their memories when time resets itself. 

There are a few rules that are pretty much always followed, such a truck accident that always happens, and always kills one of the cast members. Shortly after this accident, time restarts itself, and the person that died in the accident is brought back alive. Of course, nobody really remembers the incident, aside from Aya Otanashi. But what's causing this loop? Apparently, it's the cause of a wish. There's a box that can grant any wish, and it was apparently handed to someone. So long as the owner of this box exists, their wish will carry out, and the resets will continue. Aya Otonashi attempts to find the owner of this box, and stop the cycle for good.

Interestingly enough, although the start of the story is in chronological order, it's simply to show that each iteration is different from one another, and to show how Aya Otonashi changes over time. The rest of the novel pretty much throws the time line out of whack. You're shown parts from various numbered loops, and they're not all in order. Sometimes you're seeing an iteration from before the one you just read, sometimes you're seeing one way ahead of what you just read. It even goes back to certain repetitions numerous times. It's pretty nice how it does it, and despite how it sounds, it's not really hard to keep track of everything. It also makes it nice way to hide clues for future plot twists.

As you can probably tell from the small part of the first page I pasted at the start of this review, Kazuki Hoshino plays a major role in this story. He's our narrator, and also loses his memories with each reset. However, he doesn't completely lose them. As long as he gets a mental push in the right direction, he can actually remember some of the past events. 

The novel is a pretty quick read. Like most light novels, it's packed with tons of dialogue, meaning it's a lot shorter than you'd think it is from page number (or, in this case, scrollbar length). You can easily finish it in a few hours, even if you're a relatively show reader. It keeps up at a fairly quick pace the whole time, skipping all the loops that are uneventful and sticking to the key time frames.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a nice light novel. It's enjoyable and has some pretty nice plot twists. I'm planning to start the 2nd novel tomorrow.

~ Kirari ミ★

Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria

So this is a light novel that's been on my "To Read" list for quite some time, but since my backlog is so huge, I couldn't get to it until today. Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria (空ろの箱と零のマリア) is a light novel someone on /jp/ recommended to me a long time ago. Since I just started reading today, I'm not too far into the series. I read about half of the first novel so far, and I have to say that it is quite a nice read. Can't say too much about it since I'm not that far in, but I just felt like talking about it a bit.

The name of the novel's name translates to something like Void box and The Zeroth Maria. I'm going to pick up a physical copy of it sometime next week, I think, so no images of the pages right now aside from those pre-scanned by Baka-tsuki. Basically, the first novel is about these two students that are going through endless repetitions of the same two days over and over. Aya Otonashi and Kazuki Hoshino are pretty much the only two that are aware of the repetitions. Well, Otonashi is, while Hoshino doesn't know until something sparks his memory of the previous worlds. The novel starts off showing a very brief scene of the first loop, just the scene where Otonashi introduces herself to the class, then skips to the 23rd, showing the same part, and skips several times so that the reader can see how much of a toll the repetitions are taking on her by the 1050th loop. From there, the story skips back and forth between loops, labeling them so you can better keep track of the timeline. Showing things a bit out of order does have a rather nice effect, and does eventually lead to some nice plot twists.

９９９９回目

Otonashi is trying to get to the bottom of everything. She wants to find the person responsible for creating this infinite loop, and she wants to put an end to it. I don't want to say too much, partly because I'd rather not spoil, and partially because I'm still only halfway done with the first volume, but it does suck you in. It also separates the different repetitions nicely, so it's easy to pick up and read one section, then put it down for a bit to continue later. May write an actual review for it when I finish, right now this post is more to just introduce it to anyone that may be looking for new reading material.

~ Kirari ミ★

Delivery!

I know a lot of you like showing off your figure deliveries and such, but my crappy camera won't do those justice. So here's my newest delivery! Just what I wanted to see in my mailbox after a long day. I wasn't even expecting this until November 1st, but it seemed Amazon felt rather generous and sent out my books early so they can get to me on the same day that they're supposed to be released on.

Not a long nor interesting post, I know. Right now I'm in the middle of reading (as you can see from the above image). Maybe I'll make another post later today to review these guys or something. I mean, I already read Disappearance, so maybe I should hop onto Suzumiya Haruhi-chan first or something. Back to reading, I'll post a bit later (probably, if I'm not lazy).

~ Kirari ミ★

Light novel translations

So, I've always thought about this, but never really wrote my thoughts down on it. Light novels are a really niche market outside of Japan. I mean, to the point where their translations are usually cut after a few volumes. It's quite sad too, but I think it mostly has to do with the fact that...they're not found in bookstores. I mean, you'll see them maybe the first month they're released or so, but after that bookstores never restock on them, and your only way of getting them is from online retailers.

Now, being someone that buys my books online most of the time anyway, I don't mind that, but I don't see how that's good for their sales at all. Do the bookstores refuse to restock because they don't sell well, or do publishers refuse to release new batches for bookstores?

Lots of light novels never get any attention paid to them. There are some really interesting titles out there that just get dropped because not enough people know about them. I'm sure if word was spread around more about them, more people would be inclined to buy them (they're usually cheaper than a volume of a manga anyway).

But of course, there are light novels that actually do well, but most of those are popular because they already have a popular name within anyone who's into anime or manga. Suzumiya Haruhi's translation seems to be selling well, but that's not surprising really, considering how popular it is. That Death Note spinoff titled L: Change The World (which is actually a novel adaptation of a spinoff movie, wrap that around your head) even managed to make a top seller for some time, according to the New York Times. Of course, Death Note is popular as well. Meanwhile, other nice reads are never picked up because their names are obscure, they were never adapted, or their adaptations weren't anything that really sparked widespread attention.

So what of these titles? They usually just get dropped, and most of the time with no official statement of their discontinuation. Really sucks, there are quite a few series that I got into and was never able to continue because of their discontinuation. I have the Japanese versions of some of them though, just sitting on my bookshelf until I can read them fluently enough to actually enjoy them, rather than referencing an online dictionary every other page.

And I'm still butthurt than Tokyopop discontinued Welcome To The NHK before I got to buy a copy. It wasn't even on sale for that long. I've already read it, but I want to keep it for my collection. Too bad it's impossible to find now, unless I wanna drop $150+ on a copy. Aren't we in 2010? We have on demand printing now. I'd pay an extra $10 or so if they just freaking print 1 copy from an online order placed on their site or something. But that's just me getting a bit into a personal rant.

On the other hand, after a really long hiatus, Tokyopop began publishing the new volumes of the Karin novels. Where the hell did that come from? Whatever, I'll probably buy those, but I don't really have the urge to start reading 6. They're fast reads though, so I'll get to it eventually.

What bout you guys? You guys read any light novels, or had any series you were reading before but then got shut down? It'd be nice to be fluent enough in Japanese to actually read them without translations, but we all know how lazy we are.

~ Kirari ミ★

Zaregoto review

 Alright, time for my first review post. I've never done reviews before, so excuse me if it seems a little amateurish. For this review I decided I'd pick a light novel series. Picked something I actually felt like promoting a bit to keep sales up, since light novels tend to do very poorly outside of Japan.

Zaregoto is from Nisioisin, which most of you probably know as the author of Bakemonogatari and Katanagatari, and, as the cover says, the author of the Death Note spinoff, Another Note, but I'm sure to you guys Bakemonogatari is more known. The cover itself may remind you of Katanagatari, since it was done by the same illustrator, Take. Y'know, the guy who likes drawing pretty flower patterns in the hair and clothing of his characters? Yeah, him.

Zaregoto was actually the debut work of Nisioisin and Take. This book was originally released 2002 in Japan. If you haven't heard about it, DelRey decided to publish a translation of it in 2008, and the second volume's translation was finished sometime earlier this year. It'd be nice if the translation project was a tad faster. The long gap between releases worries me, since I've seen many light novels drop mid-translation.

That aside, I'll talk about the actual story itself. The first book takes place on some secluded island owned by some prestigious young lady who likes gathering the world's greatest minds on her island to keep her company. For this cycle of guests, she decided to add a culinary expert, a genius engineer, a world renowned artist, an all genius, and even one of the world's most famous fortune tellers. Along with the engineer, Kunagisa, comes the protagonist of the story, who she calls Ii (we never actually get his full name). Compared to everyone else on the island, he's nothing too special. He did get specialized education before in a very prestigious school, but he dropped out of the program. He's mostly there as Kunagisa's escort, since she wanted him around.

All is fine and dandy. Ii goes around learning about the guests on the island (who are mostly female, aside from the assistant that the artist brought along). Just a laid back vacation, he came simply because he was asked by his close friend, so it isn't as if he had anything in particular planned.

But then, on this secluded island filled with some of the world's greatest minds, a murder occurs. Yes, Zaregoto is actually a mystery novel. As expected, our protagonist takes up the role of detective and tries to solve the case.

The cast is filled with interesting characters, and throws in some nice twists here and there to keep the mystery fresh. In fact, the protagonist of this story reminds me a lot of the average /jp/er in some ways. It's really enjoyable to get into this guy's head, especially in the 2nd novel when you really get to see more about his personality.

Without going any further to prevent spoilers, I have to say that the first novel was quite the enjoyable read. The second novel in the series is even more interesting, but I may save that for another review.

I really recommend anyone out there looking for a nice read to pick this up, even if you're not into light novels. There's certainly not much about the first novel that sets it apart from traditional mysteries, aside from the Japanese names and cutsey Japanese illustrations of the characters at the start of each chapter. If you are into light novels, and haven't read this one yet, then you've got even more reason to pick it up. On Amazon you can find it for fairly cheap right now, but I've no idea when this thing will stop being printed. Not that I'm saying you should pick it up RIGHT AWAY, but it'd probably be a good idea to not wait another year or so to pick this title up.

~ Kirari ミ★