Manga List - June 2014

From this month on, I have decided to keep a little post each month reviewing the manga I start reading~
funny story: I realised today (14th june) that I had named this list the May manga list rather than June. I'm so bad with keeping track of time hahaha...

Some of the manga may have come out a long time ago, but occasionally I look through the archives of manga in genres I don't usually read. Sometimes I read really weird manga ne ^^;

I will keep these posts smut-free, and spoiler free!

Let's begin ~

Hiki (ongoing)

"While searching behind his desk drawer, Rin finds a hand drawn map of his neighborhood with a big X marking a specific spot. He doesn't recognize it, because he must have drawn it a long time ago, but he's curious to see what he marked with that X. Three childhood friends join him, and they discover an abandoned chest of drawers at the X location. Wondering if there might be something inside, Rin pulls open the drawers and unknowingly unleashes a horrific chain of events..." - Baka Updates.

Genre: horror / mystery

I felt like reading some horror recently, And this was one of the titles I thought I'd tackle. The manga is incomplete with only 4 chapters out in English on mangafox atm, though I doubt it's going to be a long story anyway. Characters and plotline are both not very original nor developed. The scare-moments are definitely not terrifying for people who like horror, but they creeped me out because I'm fairly weak to jump scares and I stupidly read this at like 1am in the dark on my phone QAQ

Rating:3/5

Ajin (ongoing)

"The story follows a high-school student named Kei Nagai, who is caught in a traffic accident, dies, but immediately revives and learns he is not human, but an Ajin, a mysterious creature that cannot die. Scared, he runs away from humans but is helped by his friend Kai, who joins him in his flight from civilization. He then becomes involved in a conflict between human and Ajin and must choose a side." - Baka Updates

Genre: action / mystery / supernatural

Although it was under horror, it's not actually scary at all. The world in this story is quite interesting, and the logic behind the Ajin is well spun so far. I am on chapter 14 right now (rest haven't been released in English) and the progression has been at a very good pace. There are no filler chapters, and I don't expect there will be for a while at least. The story will probably be quite long (I'm hoping 80ish chapters) which I look forward to! Unfortunately the manga tends to 'forget' about side stories and side characters entirely when it's concentrated on the main story development, but perhaps that doesn't matter much to some people. This title reminds me of elfen lied in terms of the violence, but severed body parts are even more stumpy and detail-less than elfen lied (I wish it weren't so, but this point can be overlooked). The story touches on humanity, but doesn't really dive into the mentality of the bad guys which is a little frustrating. Hopefully it will be covered more in the next few chapters.

Rating: 4.5/5

Yoshiwara Hana Oboro (complete)

"Hana is a normal teenager who goes to school normally, that is until she gets run over by a car... or did she? Suddenly, she finds herself in a weird place known as the "Red Light District"... in EDO PERIOD?! Trying to find a way to get back to her own time, she somehow gets mistaken for a Prostitute and has to escape. Not expecting to be saved by a gentleman, she suddenly ends up in a geisha house.. but then she is bought by the same guy who helped her earlier?!"

Genre: historical / romance

This is one of the few historical setting titles I've read. The english translation is up to chapter 7, but I finished the remaining chapters (up to chapter 13) in Chinese. The character design is really nice - the regular look is clean and elegant, but the expressions are really exaggerated hehe. There is a manga called Nosatsu Junkie that finished a couple of years ago which also had super exaggerated facials that really add to the humor. However, I think the art style itself is a bit love or hate - I used to hate this style, but now I'm okay with it. Up to the individual really.

Unfortunately the story and characters are quite cliche and the logic behind the time-leap doesn't quite add up. But if anyone is like me and enjoys the super cheesy cliche shoujo manga on rare occasions, this is still a fairly good title :)

Rating: 2/5

Meiji Hiiro Kitan (ongoing)

"It’s the middle of the Meiji Era and our heroine, the little Suzu, is sold to the red lights district. However, the rich heir of a dry goods store Tsugaru buys her freedom for no apparent reason. She is deeply grateful for being saved, but she doesn’t understand why he paid so much money for her and the only explanation he offers is “we have a bond.” She tries to unravel the mystery of his feelings and gradually grows from a little girl to a young woman, always by his side. A gentle and slow-paced love story set in the Meiji Era."

Genre: historical, drama, slice of life, mystery, romance

First of all, I really love the art style of this manga. Suzu has got to be THE cutest heroine ever! It's a little strange in terms of romance because Suzu is drawn as such a young character, while Tsugaru appears quite old. I don't think their exact age is mentioned (unless there was a character profile, I don't usually read those). The age gap is very very big judging by the art so it's a little odd. Of course, the whole illegal age gap romance is in Love So Life! too, but Shiharu is drawn pretty mature and her character is really mature too, so it wasn't so strange... Anyway, romance is not actually a massive part of the story, rather the manga shows Suzu and Tsugaru go through problems after problems with the people around them, mostly relationship problems. It's a little bittersweet and I actually cried at the en

Darwin's Game (ongoing)

"Sudo Kaname suddenly gets involved in a death game through the mysterious mobile app "Darwin's Game."

Genre: mystery, psychological, action

First I would like to say that though I didn't put horror in the genre, there is a decent amount of gore in this manga.

It's a bit like a crossover between mirai nikki and psyren in terms of borrowing mirai nikki's augmented reality setting and reliance on a mobile phone, but the game's premise is more like psyren, although I have yet to read any hints in Darwin's Game about how the game could end. Actually it definitely reminds me of another manga I had read in the past in terms of the zero-point death system and how anyone who loses the game is unable to pass on information about the game... Well, there is Accel World, but I think there was a more gory manga of a similar setting too...
With regards to the actual manga alone, I quite like the art style - it's a little cute and takes away from the otherwise very gory storyline. The paradox of such cute characters in such a twisted game really adds to the psychological theme of the story. So far there are 7 chapters translated online into English, and 15 chapters in Chinese even though it started in 2012!? I hope they can release faster from now on!! QAQ

While I was trying to find what manga Darwin's Game reminds me of, I came across Alive: The final Evolution, which was recommended in one of the forums I peeked in on. The synopsis sounds pretty interesting, so that manga is next!
Rating: 4/5


Alive: The Final Evolution (completed)

"A strange virus is making its way around the globe, causing its victims to commit suicide. In less than a week, it's become a lethal pandemic. Now a group of Tokyo teens who have survived the outbreak are wondering why they are still alive." - Baka Updates

Genre: sci-fi, adventure, action, psychological, supernatural

The setting is similar to Ajin in terms of the main character being 'changed' and is forced into a situation where he is fighting for humanity, despite being hated/hunted by humans. The synopsis for this manga is also terrible, I know, but to say any more than that would be giving spoilers. The storyline develops quite quickly (I'm around chapter 25 and the first large battle has ended), and there are no filler chapters. However, the one time the author attempted to make a gag in the middle of the manga, lol it was so fail. I think the manga has been so serious the entire time that it's not possible to insert gags without being really obvious about it. The fight scenes are coordinated, however the clarity at which the battle plan is explained feels belittling. It's the first time I've felt this way about battle scenes lol ==

Sometimes, I feel like the characters are too 2D - especially Yuichi Hirose whose background and mentality is hardly articulated despite being the direct antagonist (out of the evil bunch) in the story. The art isn't particularly interesting in any way, but I really dislike how they had to make the one crazy bitch in the story a gyaru!!! :<

Comments after finishing the series: I originally thought that my opinion would not change by the end of the manga, however, I was so entirely disappointed with the ending. I don't even remember the last time I have felt so unhappy with an ending. Not only was the ending something I didn't like, it was the number one most cliche scenario I ruled off because it was so cliche. The pacing of the story was perfect up to the last battle, and then it just sort of went berserk. Wtf??? Edit: I just found out that the author Tadashi Kawashima finished writing this series on his deathbed (liver cancer) so that's probably why it's rushed...I'm sure that, given more time, the ending would be much better ><;;

Rating: 4/5


Aishiteruze Baby (completed)

"Kippei Katakura is a 17-year-old playboy who spends his time chasing girls, careless of their feelings. But when his 5-year-old cousin Yuzuyu comes to live with his family after her mother's sudden disappearance, Kippei is put in charge of taking care of her. As Kippei gets to know Yuzuyu and starts to understand how she feels, he also begins to realize that all girls were like Yuzuyu once..." - Baka Updates

Genre: family, romance, drama, school life, slice of life

I did say to myself I wasn't  going to start a new manga after finishing Alive, but that lasted all of about 2 days. /fail

Aishiteruze baby is actually a ridiculously old title from early 2000s, but honestly it doesn't look that old at all. The manga mostly centres on Kippei looking after Yuzuyu, and the daily things that happen around them. It also has a few extras that explore some of the side characters (which is nice, doesn't distract from the main storyline, and the length is perfect). There's a lot of family stuff in here hence why I put family in genre even though it's not a typical genre category. There's also a persisting romance line between Kippei and his crush Kokoro (yes that's her actual name), which is actually quite strongly intertwined with the family aspect of the story. Overall, the manga was really good - I cried so much like wtf, I don't even remember the last time I read a manga and tears streamed down my face .-.

The only thing I wish could have happened is if they put an afterstory for Kokoro's family. Perhaps it was in one of the extra chapters (I didn't read them all), but I really wanted to know if things worked out with her family :<

Also, the ending was quite abrupt. No actually, it was VERY abrupt. In 10 pages, the author managed to end the manga AND have 2 or 3 pages of 'after story' wtf.

Rating: 4/5

It seems that this month I have been (mostly) enraptured with psychological stories. Perhaps the stress of exam season has really gotten to me hahaha. That and the fact that there are no good new shoujo manga coming out wtf. I'm so desperate for new chapters of Love So Life! that I've gone over to the dark side and started following the Chinese scanlations as they come out... hopefully July will bring some awesome new titles onto the net QAQ


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Review: GEO Olive Brown Circle Lens

Hiya!

Every year I will open a smaller diameter lens for uni use, as 14.5mm is really really bad for my eyes (though 14.00mm is not really that much smaller actually...). Late last year I realised how much I use circle lenses, so I have decided it's best to do a half year / 1/3 year rotation of lenses since my lenses seem to feel dry far before their year is up.

Anyway, My dedicated uni/formal occasion lenses for A/W 2014 are GEO Olive brown!

I've had my eyes set on trying these lenses since high school or something! A long time ago, GEO had a circle lens series named Wing, which may or may not have had a slighter more solid black ring than these olive lenses. The wing lenses were discontinued eventually for some reason unbeknownst to me, and they released Olive as the 'revamped verson'. I've been looking to these lenses since the days of GEO wing haha~ (I feel so old!)

Let's start with the basics-

Specs

Power: 0.00 ~ -10.00

Diameter : 14.2mm

Water Content : 38~42%

Base Curve : 8.60mm

1 Year Disposable

First of all, I don't know why the listings for these lenses say 38-42% water content. Like, is it actually 38, but you think it could go up to 42% so that number is just chucked in there?? Make up your mind GEO! >:l

Actually the truth is, I have no idea how water content in contact lenses is measured or anything. This is just the first time I've seen a label that didn't clearly state the water content % as one number .-.

Again, like my EOS Ice Brown review, I've lost the photo of the lens in its bottle so...here's another stock photo of the lens :D

pixelated as heeeeeeck x'D

The ring around the edge isn't black, but a dark brown. The dark brown isn't actually that dark, so it looks quite convincing on my brown eyes. I generally avoid lenses that have a rather solid ring around the centre where the color ends, instead I prefer lenses that have rays, so it blends better with my iris, but I trusted these would be okay....and they are! Also, the amount of space they leave in the centre is really nice.

I've bought lenses in the past where that space for the pupil is so tiny that i often saw color when i look around. Obviously there's something wrong with the fact that my lenses weren't following my eye movement entirely, but still, not leaving enough space for the iris is an error in design too.

The color of the lens has more red than my iris, so sometimes it looks a bit odd. Especially when I use flash. In fact I think the entire lens color is slightly darker than my iris....

Ratings

Design: 5/5 - the design is perfect for a 14.2mm lens

Comfort: 5/5 - can be worn from early morning to late evening comfortably. NOT RECOMMENDED THOUGH

Enlargement: 3/5 - I live on 14.5mm+ lenses. For a 14.2, these are pretty good though.

Overall: 4/5 - would purchase again.

I may try other series for 'uni-lenses' but these are definitely a safe option if you don't want to look around and try a whole bunch for yourself :)

How they look on me -

It's really dark, right?

The size is nice and natural!

The tiny flecks of color add to the natural look ~

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No Game No Life [anime]

"Siblings Sora and Shiro are inseparable, both in the real world and in the game world. Their individual skills combined make them an invincible team: Sora, with his astute intuition and penetrating insight; and Shiro, with her remarkable intellect that goes beyond prodigy-level genius. In the real world, they are hikkikomori, reclusive and unsocial, but in the game world, the siblings together form 『　　』 (Kūhaku (空白, blank space), a mysterious group of undefeated online gamers who win every game they play with unbeatable scores. Because the account names of the players are always left empty, they become simply known as "Blank". One fateful day, after beating a mysterious challenger in a game of online chess, the siblings receive an offer from their opponent to be reborn in his world, Disboard - a fantasy world where everything is determined by games. When they accept the proposal, Sora and Shiro are summoned to Disboard by the world's God, Tet, who they discover to also be their former opponent. Together, Sora and Shiro begin their journey in redeeming the weak human race of Imanity and conquering the world to challenge Tet for his title of One True God." - Wikipedia

I love how colorful the show is! The graphics are actually really really pretty *v*

This has definitely been THE most enjoyable anime of the season for me.

Even after watching all the other more lighthearted game-type anime (SAO / Accel World), this was still really refreshing! The entire season was just hilarious with all the slapstick and ecchi humor. It's got a lot of ecchi humor! But it's presented in a way that's not even remotely ecchi haha ~

Just don't watch this on uni computers. I learnt this the hard way after I tried (note: TRIED) to watch episode 6 at uni...

Also, Tenshi told me there are a lot of JoJo references in here! I haven't personally read/watched JoJo so I didn't pick anything up, apart from guessing correctly that Tenshi would love this anime too~

Today the 11th episode released, and  it looks like the 'game' started at the end of episode 10 will be running into episode 12. Which is pretty darn unfortunate because episode 12 releases the day after I leave for vacation. Like seriously, could my timing be any worse??

On top of that, the season is only scheduled for 12 weeks, SO I CAN'T EVEN COME BACK TO A COUPLE OF EPISODES WAITING FOR ME. T__________T

/sigh

There will definitely be a season 2, and possibly an endless number of seasons lol. I'm looking forward to seeing the end of the series though, whenever it may be - Yuu-sensei better write a good ending to this story >:l

Well, just wanted to rant a bit on how I will have to wait three weeks to see the last episode of the season haha. But actually - watch this anime if you have time. It's really funny!

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Review: EOS Ice Brown Circle Lens

Haiiiiiiiii~

This is my second lens review for A/W 2014, of my favourite lenses at that! Woot!

It seems like I am always behind on reviews lol. I (try to) get new lenses every half year, and these have been open since early Feb so they're already reaching the end of their time with me wtf. Time flies by so fast this year!! QAQ

I bought these lenses last year sometime, after I tried on the EOS Ice Violet lenses and absolutely fell in love with the series. There isn't much to say about these lenses - they're just as comfortable as the Ice Violet, the pattern just as pretty, etc. etc.! But anyway I'll go through the whole review shebang cause, why not.

Specs

Power: 0.00 ~ -10.00

Diameter: 14.8mm

Water Content: 38%

Base Curve: 8.8mm

1 Year Disposable

Something I didn't actually pick up the last time I reviewed EOS Ice is that the water content is actually less than some lenses that say 42%. However, these lenses don't dry on my eyes at all! Quite strange? It makes me wonder how much I can trust the numbers written on circle lenses...

Also the B/C on these lenses is 8.8, larger than the usual 8.6! I haven't gotten my eyes checked in a while, but if circle lenses often feel really uncomfortable on you, it's likely to be because the B/C doesn't fit you.

Unfortunately I lost the photo of the lens inside the bottle when my netbook died, so here's the stock photo.

The stock photo makes the lens look more yellow than it really is. Indeed the lens is more 'yellow' than 'brown', but the yellow just isn't quite this saturated IRL.

I really liked how these lenses have a thin black ring around the edge with small rays reaching towards the centre. At first this was what drew me to the lenses when I had my violet pair, but on the brown it's much easier to see the edge of my iris below the brown/yellow color. The centre of the lenses blend really well with my iris color, which is absolutely perfect. The lighter colors of this series will probably blend better on people with lighter eye color though, to avoid the weird edge-of-your-iris showing...

Don't get me wrong, the halo effect is pretty nice when you look at it from far away, but sometimes (for example, when I look to the far left) it look screepy. Just. Downright. Creepy. ><

Because of their large diameter, I very very rarely wear them to uni. Hence, I've only worn them probably less than a dozen times this half year. They're still super comfortable for long hours (6-~8hrs easily), perhaps because the B/C is right for me? Anyway, I'll probably keep these for a while longer till they start getting dry ^^;

Ratings

Design: 4/5 - color opacity is not enough for this this color

Comfort: 5/5 - obviously

Enlargement: 5/5 - duh

Overall: 4/5 - unfortunately the fact that the edge of my iris is so visible is a big no no. It's fine in photos cause I can meitu the sh*t out of it, but IRL, nope.

A few selfies with these lenses -

Iris. Iris. Iris. fml.

When the iris edge blends well, it looks fabulous ❤

see that halo? That super obvious halo edge QAQ

The teary eye look is so pretty~~~~ (´∀｀)♡

I think the next colors I will purchase in this series are blue and pink. I don't have either of those colors right now, and in fact, I don't think I've tried any pink lenses since EOS Candy Pink many years ago...!?!?


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Fashion Quarterly x GHD Spring Fashion Preview

Hiya!

Super late post again! Arietta at KnotJustAScarf has already been posting up photos from the show for several days now... See all her posts regarding the show here, and her thoughts on the evening here!

I was in the second row, and didn't bring my DSLR so my iPhone photos were pretty shoddy to say the least. Fashion Quarterly finally released their professional photos on fashion & beauty for the show today, so here are my favourite pieces from the show, and some extras around the location, and of course: selfies! ^^

The show consisted of four styles, each with four outfits: Tribal, Art Pop, 70s Glam, and  Embellishment.
I personally didn't like the Tribal set much. Not because it's the polar opposite of gyaru aesthetics, but I just personally didn't like any of the outfits at all.

Also, the photographers didn't capture every full outfit, so all three of my favourites have the shoes cropped off. I'm pretty lucky they had close-ups of my favourites actually, seeing as they didn't publish many photos from the runway.

all high quality images, unless otherwise specified, belong to FQ.

Trelise Cooper sweatshirt, Topshop dres, Chaos & Harmony heels (not pictured)

The above outfit is my favourite in the show. Didn't really feel much for the shoes, but loved loved everything else including the hair/make!

Helen Cherry top, Karen Walker skirt, Karen Walker boots (hardly pictured)

I'm so sad that the photographers cropped off so many shoes. I couldn't see them from my seat so I was really looking forward to these photos.

Plus, the model above had really nice legs and her over-the-knee boots looked so good with the outfit. :<

Karen Walker dress and pendant, Nude heels (not pictured)

How cool is this dress? Seriously. I seem to like a lot of outfits worn by this model. Perhaps she's my bias? hahaha

Behind-the-scenes ~ it looks like so much fun! 

Demo stations and goodie bag contents ~ 

I didn't really like the outfits from the tribal lineup (which this hairstyle is for), but the model looks stunning in this shot! Her 3/4 profile is so nice QAQ

Am I being creepy? Nope.

This is THE only flattering candid of me. In the whole world. Ever. Just leaving it here forever :)

I wasn't even the main focus of the photo. But that's alright, my jawline is fabulous QAQ

Poncho: Honeys, Dress: Forever New, Necklace: Diva, Bag: Galaday, Heels: Wild Pair.
Sorry for the iPhone quality!

I like gifts haha

Bunny teef! (Arietta looks so business-woman!)

This selfie is also on my instagram I think.

Selfie (filtered) from Arietta's camera <3

Drinks before the show were down in Bedford Soda & Liquor, while the show itself was held in the adjacent building up in the Sapphire Room. Bedford Soda & Liquor was pretty darn hard to find imo. It's in the back of a building with several different bars. I felt so awkward walking through in my dress, sky high heels, and fluffy poncho, while the guests in the other establishments in the building were dressed in work clothes. Definitely something I need to toughen up on ><

Outside the Sapphire Room

Awesome lights inside Bedford Soda & Liquor

Awesome shelves

Hehe this photo somehow looks a little creepy...

Panning left - diner type number signs? Perhaps I've watched too many American movies

Bar counter, and the massive bowl of punch

Grapefruit and something punch. Bitter, but c'mon it's so pretty!

Serious blogger hard at work. Photo taken by not-so-serious blogger (moi).

edit: Forgot to put up this last photo! I got a strand tested at the beauty booth :D

The strand stayed pretty put for the two hours or so before I removed my extensions ^^
Photo courtesy of Arietta Yin

Hope you enjoyed this post! This was such a rare venture into non-alternative fashion for me lol.


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Nail inspiration for my upcoming nailset ~

Hiya!

It's the start of exam season in NZ for us tertiary students, so the uni labs are always super packed now ><

Good luck to everyone with exams in the next few weeks!

My departure for Europe is the morning of the day after my exam (yes I only have one paper with a final exam this semester), so I only have one evening to gel and deco my nails!

Knowing that far ahead of time has relieved me of much stress around the thought of having to figure out what I want to do with my nails in that evening ON TOP OF actually making them.

Truthfully, I still haven't drawn out what I want to do with my nails yet. I've picked out a few nail polish colors, but that's likely to change now that I've decided to use a different set of nail tattoos (with different color scheme).

Speaking of nail tattoos!

I finally did a quick trial of the nail tattoos I bought from my last taobao haul! Little noob me managed to screw up even sticking on a nail tattoo, but thankfully I was able to fix it up and it doesn't look toooo shabby for a first try ^^;

I'm so glad I actually did a test run. If this happened the night before I have to board a flight, I'd totally flip and freak out. Actually.

So yeah, as you can see, the house is a little messed up at the bottom, but it's not too bad. I've learnt my lesson ^^;

Nail tattoos are so much better than nail stickers! They're as thin as I remembered (from a nail salon in China) and you can't see the edge of the tattoo at all, so it looks drawn on!! ☆*:.｡. o(≧▽≦)o .｡.:*☆

I also received my acrylic set today which I'm super excited about! I don't know if I'll get to practice with that before the day I need to use it so...fingers crossed things work out and I have natural talent? Lmao who am I kidding.

Anyway, here is an image spam of the nail art I will be drawing inspiration from, for my upcoming nail set! Hopefully this will be good for everyone in the northern hemisphere heading into summer too :)

I've probably reblogged all the images here from tumblr, but there are also a few extra from instagram and magazines and google/pinterest. Sorry won't be providing credits cause there's just too many photos, and tbh IDK where most came from anyway. On the other hand if you find your image here, tell me and I'll happily credit you.

Sorry about the quality of snaps from my nail up magazine. iPhone camera quality is not the best ><

The tutorials in Nail Up! are really good! I'm so happy its possible to do a marble style nail with normal nail polish (on a small scale, like drawing hearts in latte art), though I doubt the effect would be anywhere near as good as gel. Anywho, it seems that most designs in these magazines are now using gel or acrylic paint, so I actually went out and bought some. I think instead of buying gel, it may be much easier for non-pros to stock up on acrylic paint instead. I haven't tried my acrylic paint yet, and don't know when I'll find time, but I imagine the effect would be pretty good.

Have you gotten a new nail set recently? Please comment images of them if you have! I'd love to see other nail designs too, as my pick is somewhat narrow in regards to the style focus ><~

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