Saturday, August 31, 2013

Say I Love You

School is just around the corner so it's really time to crunch and roll out all these blog posts. I did promise my tumblr following that I would review Say I Love You. Hopefully it'll be as coherent as possible since I have a  tenacity  to post juvenile  writing.  Say I Love You without a doubt has been one of my favorite mangas for 2013. Maybe it's because I'm a sucker for high school romance stories, maybe because the manga has so much goddamn good art but whatever it is, I'm not alone when I say it's a good piece of work.

According to mangaupdate (a manga database used worldwide), out of 1026 votes, this manga on average is rated 8.45 out of 10. For a manga this is an extremely good average since majority of mangas do not score over a 9/10. I also must note, this manga is not complete and it's currently at its peak, so this score will change over time. 

I was attracted to the manga because it was very highly rated, and often compared to other favorites of mine like Mars, Gokinjo Monogatari (I will review that along with Paradise Kiss), and Denegeki Daisy. I almost did not read this manga because it was characterized as a smut manga. It's actually not a smut manga at all, the author is just usually a smut writer. 


Say I Love You's real attraction will depend on if you can become empathic with the main character. As with all shoujo mangas, the main character has a bit naivety and lacks some real world concept. Mei however represents many of our high school lives; bullied and lack of knowledge of love. As she develops, making friendships and growing her love, we as the audience continually look back on our experiences and compare and root on for Mei.


Scorings

Story: 8


The story line for Say I Love you, starts rather slow and quite unrealistic. The whole love affair between Yamato and Mei, RARELY ever happens in high school. Once the story picks up into their constant "love trials", things get more realistic and juicy. The drama between the constant love triangles and other things that tend to get in between their love tend to be interesting. Maybe as an american, there is many things I see and think to myself "Wow, that just doesn't happen." It could also be just how some things translate into English. 


Art: 10


Good manga are is really hard to find these days. Say I Love You consistently has been wowing me with art since the very first page. Oddly, cover art doesn't really appeal to me.

Literary Value: 7 


Overall as a story, it's a shoujo and it's a manga. What sepperates it from regular shoujos is that it has more adult scenes and thought processes but its a shoujo. A shoujo has a million cliches and Say I Love You is no different in that aspect. The overall story has been done before in one way or another. If you delve even further you come to see quite a lack in literary devices. The only one I can really pick out and say its been used to an advantage would be characterization. 

So my scoring would leave the manga at a 8.3 which is not much different from what the general audience would say. It's a good read that I suggest you to pick up. I'm really curious where the author is going to take this.


Anime


In the meantime of waiting for another chapter to release I did watch the anime for this manga. I solomenly ever watch the anime adaption of a manga because I feel the manga is always better and animes don't do enough justice for the manga. However if the manga is really good I will go ahead and watch the anime . 


The anime did justice in someways and did a lot of injustice in other ways. They took out anything that may of referenced sex, something that was discussed openly in the manga. They changed Mei (the heroine) character, to being this extremely shy person who couldn't even say a sentence without stuttering or simply murmuring. The latter made me quite upset because I loved Mei because she wasnt very shy, she would spew realism in a high school where everyone was carefree. In the anime, they shredded away her independent thinking and made Yamato her knight in shining armor who saves her from of world of loneliness. In the manga, Mei is independent and Yamato is simply a catalyst into helping her developing relationships. 


Other then that. The anime isn't bad. Not incredible either. I can't score it because I am a really tough grader for animes so everyone has their cup of tea. I suggest watching the anime first then reading the manga. It saves you from a whole world disappointment. If I didn't read the manga, this probably would've been an incredible anime.


EDIT:
 I just found out that there is an additional 10 special episodes that I didn't see so I will post a  separate  review and I will TRY to be as  unbiased as possible. 

Thanks for reading!! I hope my writing wasnt that bad this time. Comments, opinions, questions? Leave it down in the comment box, I reply as soon as possible!!

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xoxo Moonangelko 

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Vampire Knight Review

With everything that's been happening lately... I've been swirling out of control trying to keep on top of everything. Like seriously last week I was all depressed and constantly down on my luck. That changed literally in one or two days. From Fashion shows, to College to employment to blogging. It'll only be a day or two before my bad luck returns again. But I'm not going to bother you guys with all this excitement. I'm going to do what you guys have been asking for (well my tumblr following that is) I'm gonna give you a manga review.




Last year I incoherently touched up on the subject of Vampire Knight and rabbled some fangirling thoughts. Despite the ending, Vampire Knight hits home as one of my favorite mangas of all time (that list includes Tokyo Crazy Paradise, XxxHolic, Gokinjo Monogatari and other completed mangas that I will gladly review if you request it in the comment box). When I really like a manga, I read it a million times and if it's that good, you know I'm the person to come to make a review on it.

Despite my enthusiasm for the manga, according to mangaupdates (a database for manga readers worldwide),  out of 2589 votes, only 35% of readers would give Vampire Knight a 10/10. Majority of reader vote at a slightly lower range.  Its rating dropped to 7.89 when the manga ended (formerly 8.53 at the manga's peak). This makes Vampire Knight the second to lowest rated manga in my favorite (completed) reads and at the time of conclusion it was the lowest rated manga in my current reads (which is compiled of Naruto, Fairy Tail, Dengeki Daisy, Kaichou wa Maid-Sama etc).

My own personal rating of the manga would be an 8/10.00

Why?

Vampire Knight had a strong beginning. It began publication towards the end of Merupuri's serialization (another manga by the author). Merupuri was a strong story (averagely rated at 8.46, a considerably high rating for mangas) which also had a strong fanbase. That fanbase followed over to Vampire Knight expecting another compelling and charming story. The author in turn, tried to step away from the cute and charming world of Merupuri and give a dark edge to those readers. We fell for it.

Vampire Knight begins actually slow with the first few chapters, repetitive and the art wasn't too charming. I will admit it: The manga was flat. However it showed promise so I and thousands of fans worldwide read more. The author quickly changed things up. The art improved, the storyline became less "typical shoujo" and more detailed. By Chapter 3, majority of that charming and cute crap was cut out and evolved into sinister plot with the only thing with even a reminder to Matsuri Hino's usual writing is simply the heroine. Her heroines tend to be outspoken, dense in matters of love, somewhat submissive, rash... Rather typical shoujo writing in my head.

Most of the fanbase are more interested in how sexy every male character is drawn. I look at the actual writing and art. Vampire Knight storyline kept a really nice fast tempo at first. It constantly gave plot twister which was nice for the average reader. However as Miss AP, I had to delve a little further. Those twisters may satify the average reader but not me. Otherwise this manga would only rate a 6 or 7.Matsuri-sensei incorporated many literary device into the manga. It's so hard to find a literary device in a manga besides a flashback these days. Vampire Knight adeptly uses symbolism, foreshadowing, red herring, and even poetic justice.


But what stops this story from being a 9 or a 10?

To be honest, mangas rarely ever score a 9 or higher. The best ratings tend to be in range of 8.80. Vampire Knight remained strong as a a manga for long ride. As the plot focuses on Zero (one of the protagonists) it has a filling that keeps readers loving the story.  However a major plot twist makes the story reach its climax and it took about 30 to 40 chapters for the manga to complete. The manga was drawn out for too long. The pace drastically slowed and no longer had the zest the readers wanted. Everyone was simply anticipating the end. Towards the end Matsuri successfully revive's everyones interest in the story but several chapters too late. It could of been a resurgence, the story could've went places. Instead she lamely ends the series with a very pathetic and confusing chapter. The intention may of been to leave a cliffhanger but instead we are left with confusion and un-fulfillment.

Overall the story is great. The addition of literary devices, dark imagery, solid plotline, and generous amount of bishies makes the story such a win. I will re-read it a hundred times and I will hope that you guys might be persuaded to read the manga as well. So leave your opinions in the comments. I will definitely being give my commentary of Say I Love You soon and tell me what else you want to hear from me.



Xoxo,
@moonangelko on twitter and instagram.

Follow my blog and my tumblr for some awesome posts.

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

How to make Men Take Us Seriously?



Ladies listen here!


Men have the tendency to categorize women in one of these four ways:
\

Mothers, Virgins, Slut, and Bitches.




None of these categories are suitable for the modern business woman.



But you can create your own image by selecting pieces of each archetype that work for you.


The Wisdom of the Mother


The Integrity of the Virgin


The Sexual Attraction of the Slut



The Independence of the Bitch 





“this leaves men confused and unable to pigeonhole you. What they are forced to do instead is… take you seriously.”


Thank you tumblr for proving a serious point. Why is it that woman must jump  through hoops just so men can take us seriously? There has been so many times I've been categorized these ways by not only men but my fellow women.  Then I got this type of blacklash over my recent post for one of the images I posted. This seriously made me think a little a bit.



What people don't realize that both men and women have insecurities and society  wraps us around the idea that we need to be perfect to find a mate and to succeed in business. However this is not true. Both those scenarios above does happen. But you got to be realistic on the pressure that is put on both sexes. I have guy friends who lift weights everyday for hours because society taught them that they must be super ripped to get the girl they want. They have gone to extremes to achieve their muscles and masculinity. That is what makes them get almost any girl they want. Which is sadly and bizarrely weird in my eyes how girls just throw themselve at these guys who they wouldn't even bat a lash at a few months ago. These same men could not find a job for their life until a while ago.

Same things go for females. It wont be hard for us to find jobs unless your unattractive and chubby. But even then men don't take us seriously. I always found it bizarre how chubby men would be the first to ask me out. I prefer men who are slim or undefined muscular (the ones with some chub and muscle). It mad me insecure actually. I thought it was because I was super fat and only guys who appreciated my curves were fat men (not being offensive, but that's how my vain mind works). But then I got muscular and I realized the same  pattern continued.  Then I realized something, those guys were only coming on to me wasn't because I was chubby it was because I seemed "easy". I was getting attention from my types and I didn't notice it because my head was too wrapped around the fact "Eww chubby guys."

When I worked at Mcdonalds I was classified as the "virgin" and because of that I was "easy prey" and every guy in the world was trying to talk to me at my little drive thru window. Then later on I was classified as the "slut" which was a title I already received in high school. Even so "easy prey". Towards  the end of my little mcdonalds career I became the "bitch". The no one wanted to mess with me at that point. In new career path I've still radiated the title the "bitch".

Now how do I change that? How do we make men take us seriously when it comes to relationships and business?



1. Follow the steps shown above. Take a little bit of each title and use it to your advantage.


2.Appearance DO COUNT! Like @SpokenReason said, no matter what appearances do count. If you dress like a slut, guys will think you are a slut. If you have a tongue ring or a tramp stamp, guys will think you are a slut. If you dress super conservative, guys will think you are a virgin. It's all about dressing just right to give a proper appearance. Guys won't wife a girl they think is a freak. They might hire you just to spice up office life.

3.Don't let drama effect you. Females are prone to drama. How do you fix that? Limit your conversations and interactions with other females above professional level unless you are really friendly with them. Don't be an effing social butterfly, do your work and go the eff home. If you become friendly with anyone, don't talk gossip. Eventually you will make friends without the drama trail of a bitch.

4.Act wise. USE YOUR HEAD BEFORE YOUR MOUTH! 'Nuff said.

Well that's all ladies. Step you shit up and see the money flow. Once you control men, in all honesty, you control the world. These men will be forced to reckon with you and take you as you truly are. A serious woman. 

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

How To Lose Weight/ How to become Healthy




This is the END of all diets.

The simple equation to lose weight is to burn 500 more calories than you eat everyday.

However no matter what you think, a diet will not make you look sexy for more than a day. Because GUESS WHAT! You will gain the weight back in a day.



My goal here to teach you how to be healthy and love your body the way it is. Marilyn Monroe - the epitone of sexy in the modern world- is what a normal girl looks like. She isn't a size 2, she doesn't have perky boobs or a perfect cut stomach. She is average and what made her beautiful was her confidence (and good hair and makeup). If you really think your ugly and lack self worth, I'm telling you invest the money in a gorgeous make over and weave then watch the men roll into your life lol. All jokes aside, lets find the Marilyn in you.




First you have to think- Is my body really that bad that I have to try and diet to look sexy?

Here is the checklist to know if you have a warped body image:

Are you obese?

Do you have a hard time doing physical activities?

Can you run a mile in under 11 minutes?

If you answer Yes, Yes, No- you may need to change your lifestyle around. If you answered anything but that- you might have a problem that isn't your weight. That I can you help on. A way boost your confidence is simply having a healthy lifestyle. Working out actually helps your mood. It keeps depression away. Unhealthy foods just add bad chemicals to your body that shifts your mood and even causes depression. Maybe you don't have confidence in yourself because you are depressed on not seeing the brighter things in life.


Let's face it, we all want to look our best but not all of us are going to have size 2 bodies or perfect curves so take it from us---> My panel of tumblr bloggers and close friends (who are really fit but not perfect according to the media industry) are going to help you achieve the best you! Healthy and fit with our tips. We represent the middle girls.

We aren't stick skinny but we balance healthy lifestyles with school and other factors. We don't have toned tummies or rippling muscles, we are fit and only half way through our health journey.
Nelly (http://c-numberfive.tumblr.com/) is a dancer and Sammie (http://yoursecond-choice.tumblr.com/)  is a cheerleader.

I'm a mix between the two (colorguard).

Nelly is 5'4 and half and weighs 137.


Her body type is all curves. She has a natural hour glass shape with a bit of a tummy but that doesn't mean she isn't super healthy. She has a lot of arm muscle and is very flexible. She stays healthy by doing push-ups, sit-ups, and playing Just Dance 3. She doesn't pay too much attention to her diet. She eats a lot of healthy Haitian Food and whatever else that's in her house.

"I wish I got to workout more, but I don't have much time and I kinda get lazy." Despite that, what keeps her really healthy is her dedication to dance. Being a member of the local Dance Company and dancing to her favorite songs at home keeps her weight constant.




As a requirement of the SUNY system at her school Fashion Institute of Technology, she is required to a fitness course which will help her from gaining the dreaded Freshman 15.

Her tip to all you? "Workout Buddies! They help you keep motivated."




And as you can guess the other person in that photo is Sammie.

Sammie is 5'5 and weighs 130 lb.



Now Sammie is extremely health conscious. She workout daily and eats healthy 150 % of the time. She stays healthy by running daily and being conscious of her eating habits. She also has a very curvy shape, mostly in her boobs and then she is skinny everywhere else. She is somewhat flexible but has a lot of muscle
Her exercise of choice? Running daily. She keeps up at it and stays healthy because of it.

"I try my best to workout a lot and stay as healthy as possible. I want to be healthy now so I don't have to worry later." Being a cheerleader really helps. Dance is also in her forte which she does when ever she's home alone.


Her tip to all of you? "Music will keep you moving. Invest in good headphones that will stay in your ear while you jog." 



Now as for me who genetically isn't going against good odds because strong healthy figures hasn't been in my family. I'm 5'6 and a half and weigh 152. During the school year my weight fluctuated at the worst 168 and the best 140. At my current weight, I'm not exactly my healthiest because I've been so focused on working and making money but at least I'm not at my working-at-mcdonalds-everyday weight. Right now my weight is kinda higher than usual because of angry over eating and pms (oh lord) but I cannot say that I am not happy with my body and it's assets. Sure I don't have a big butt but I have big boobs and guys, no matter how much I weigh, find me attractive. (When I started losing weight, my then boyfriend who was a pretty thin guy got mad because I was losing my ass so goes to show, skinny isn't always attractive).


I stay healthy by dancing. I don't enjoy running that much unless I am properly motivated. I do occasionally do shuttle runs because they are quick. I do sit ups, jumping jacks, and jump rope weekly and I dance daily. If I have time I'll go outside and spin a rifle, flag or baton and perform some of my old show routines and create new routines to the latest songs. Sometimes I work 6 days a week so I miss out on working out and eating right, so I walk a lot. Instead of taking the bus, I will walk about 5 or 6 blocks home or I'll take the stairs. It's little things that make the effort.

I eat healthy when I can. Mostly healthy sandwiches and Haitian Food. The things that kill me however would be sugary coffee drinks which I really survive on.

I have several tips to all of you.

  • Avoid Gyms, especially if you don't have a car. I had a gym membership but I had to toss it aside because I had no way of getting there. I only enjoyed the gym for the elliptical but other than that I had no motivation to get to the gym. I suggest gyms for city dwellers. If you live in the suburbs like I do, jogging around ur neighborhood or working out from home is better. 
  • Counting calories do not work for long. It's a waste of time and effort. Just keep working out until you feel the workout in your system.
  • Working out is better than dieting. When I used to diet, I used to always feel fatigue because I was only eating about 800 calories a day. It wasn't enough to support my active lifestyle 
  • Furthermore Dieting is stupid. It doesn't actually help much. It's all about lifestyle change!
  • Don't buy processed diet food or fast food salads. ITS ALL A LIE TO STEAL YOUR MONEY. Just make food at home. It's as simple as making a god damn sandwhich. 
  • Find something that you have fun doing. I love to dance so my workout is extreme dancing. Not simple club dancing. I do choreo that tests my flexibility and my overall ability as a dancer. 


And the biggest thing is, never be ashamed of your size. All of us had that problem. We had to come to terms with our bodies and realize no matter our size guys will always want to fuck us.
People will shame you for your size. I had a friend who is really tiny, skinny but curvy and has a good body. She FAT SHAMED me for years. There was nothing wrong with my body at the time this first started. I was skinny as a stick just had a little bit of a belly going on from my baby fat. She made me feel like I wasn't good enough because I had a wider bone frame then her. Whenever we ate out she automatically assumed I would eat a salad or made sure I ate the smallest proportions of anything we may share. I felt pressured to diet and it ruined my metabolism. It took years to rebuild it and I still can't process food as I used to because metabolism deteriorates with age. Then when I became in love with gyaru my obsession to be super thin and have a heart shape face became worst. I have round face, full figure, and beautiful features already. I had to come to terms with it. I am already beautiful and I cant change. Now I look to more real idols like Demi Lovato and Adele. I'm kinda upset over Xiaxue's radical weight lost but it what makes her happy lol.

The main message is WE are not super thin. We are perfectly healthy girls with curves. You don't have to be super thin to be sexy. We are promoting healthy lifestyles not superficial ones. In the model industry I am considered plus size but that is simply a label that does not show whether or not how beautiful I am. Nor does it measure the level of success I will have. Ladies LOVE YOUR BODY and be happy with it. Because you are unique and beautiful no matter what. I hope you all find the Marilyn in you.