Anime Addiction: UltraManiac

Since I am AnimeGirl and all, I decided to finally talk a bit about Anime. So here is to the launch of ANIME ADDICTION!!!

First off, one of my favorite series: Ultra Maniac.

I reviewed the manga last year, and now it's time for the anime.

Ayu Tateshi isn't interested in magic or fantasy or anything of the like. A very pragmatic and mature 14 year old, she worries mostly about school, tennis and her long time crush Tetushi Kaji, and she never really believed in magic and fantasy. But its hard to deny magic when your new best friend is a bumbling witch.

While I can't tell you how Ayu and Nina met (because that chapter is shown mid-way through the series), lets just say that Ayu was left with no option but to help Nina in her quest to gather the Holy Stones, which will help her improve her magic level and bring honor to Nina's family - particularly to her grandfather - back in the Magic Kingdom. In return, Nina wants nothing more than to help Ayu to finally confess her feelings to Tetushi, but Nina's magic frequently lands them both in trouble and they often have to act silly in front of Tetushi and his best friend Hiroki.

There is a more defined narrative arc in the anime than in the manga, we know from the start that when Nina gets all the stones, she'll have to go home - and possibly marry a prince - but just as with the manga there are tons of charm in this story, cute outfits and the portrayal of a strong friendship between two young girls who are very different but love each other very much. And there is romance, of course!

Ultra Maniac is one of my favorite anime series, I go back to it again and again because it just gives me such warm fuzzies and it's so, so funny (there is a truly hilarious episode when Nina turns Ayu and Hiroki's pets into people! Not to be missed, trust me!).

Alex's Personal Favorite

Ps - if You look closely, you'll realize that Ayu is actually the anime girl from my avatar *grins*

Book Blogger Hop #8

Back to the book blogger hop!
Book Blogger Hop is a weekly meme hosted by Jennifer@Crazy For Books

This week's question.
Post a link to a favorite post or book review that you have written in the past three months.
My answer:
I'm going to say that my favorite post of the last three months is my review of Insatiable by Meg Cabot, I've read almost all of her books and I truly liked Insatiable and it took a lot of work not to over-gush over it.

What about you?

At the Movies: 10 Things I Hate About You

Once again, favorite Back to School Movies!

Loosely based on Shakespeare's Taming the Shrew, 10 Things I Hate About You focuses on two very different sisters: Kat (Julia Stiles) and Bianca (Larissa Oleynik). Bianca wants nothing more than to be popular and date Joey - and older, popular boy who also happens to perfectly embody the song You're so Vain - while Kat doesn't care about boys or what people think, which has earned her a reputation for being hostile and crazy.

But it so happens that Kat and Bianca's dad won't let Bianca go out unless Kat does so too. Enter Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who's so in love with Bianca that he would do anything to get her to go out with him, even if that means getting a date for Kat. And the only guy willing to attempt to date Kat is mysterious and brooding Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger).

Ah, how much I love this movie? let me count the ways! It's, by far, my favorite Heath Ledger-movie, but aside from that it makes me smile every time I watch it. Taming the Shrew is such a timeless story and I think that 10 Things I Hate About You makes it justice.
Personal Favorite

Cover Love #11 - Bright Young Things

Isn't it a pretty cover?
Bright Young Things kicks off a new series by Anna Godbersen (don't know if there are going to be 3 or 4 books, I can't remember). You can read the prologue and first chapter here.

Summary:

The year is 1929. New York is ruled by the Bright Young Things: flappers and socialites seeking thrills and chasing dreams in the anything-goes era of the Roaring Twenties.

Letty Larkspur and Cordelia Grey escaped their small Midwestern town for New York's glittering metropolis. All Letty wants is to see her name in lights, but she quickly discovers Manhattan is filled with pretty girls who will do anything to be a star. . . .
Cordelia is searching for the father she's never known, a man as infamous for his wild parties as he is for his shadowy schemes. Overnight, she enters a world more thrilling and glamorous than she ever could have imagined—and more dangerous. It's a life anyone would kill for . . . and someone will.
The only person Cordelia can trust is ­Astrid Donal, a flapper who seems to have it all: money, looks, and the love of Cordelia's brother, Charlie. But Astrid's perfect veneer hides a score of family secrets.
Across the vast lawns of Long Island, in the ­illicit speakeasies of Manhattan, and on the blindingly lit stages of Broadway, the three girls' fortunes will rise and fall—together and apart. From the New York Times bestselling author of The Luxe comes an epic new series set in the dizzying last summer of the Jazz Age.

Can't wait to read it!

As Seen on TV: Drop Dead Diva

When aspiring model/actress Deb died in a car-crash she decided she was not ready to let go of life yet. Not used to not getting what she wants, Deb caused a bit of a stir up in heaven and ended up being sent back to earth, and to the body of Jane Bingum, an overachiever lawyer who also happens to be a physical opposite of Deb's former appearance.

Jane is plus-sized, dark haired and a few years older than Deb was, Deb - formerly blond, thin and gorgeous - is not too happy about that but since the choice is Jane's life or no life, Deb settles into her new identity, reluctantly at first but eventually growing to like herself with the help of the only two people who know what's really going on; her guardian angel Fred and her best friend Stacy.

There is also another perk to being Jane (aside from her money and awesome car) as it turns out Deb's fiance now works at the same law firm Jane does. And if Deb was not ready to let go of life, she's way more unprepared to let go of Grayson.

When during the summer of 2009 I happened to watch the first episode of Drop Dead Diva I experienced a case of love at first sight. From the start this series was funny and had lots of heart. Deb's struggle to settle into a life completely different than her own, the way she found herself caring for other people - while before she had been a little shallow - and how she tries to make peace with a body image that her former-self would have found unacceptable is awesome to watch.

This summer, with the second season, I loved to see Jane grow, she doesn't think herself as Deb so much anymore even though she still loves Grayson, and I loved this episode where Deb thanks Jane for all the things she gave her unknowingly, like an awesome singing voice; dark shinny hair and a brain that has never let her down (I admit I cried at that a bit), because it's not that Deb was dumb but she relied on her looks to get her by.

The second season ended in a huge cliffhanger, true, and I'm already counting the days till it's summer again and I can continue enjoying her adventures.

And I couldn't let summer end without mentioning Drop Dead Diva, 'cause it did liven many a weekend these last few months.

Take your time to catch up and don't miss it next year!

Personal Favorite