Ich muss der Brief schnell schreiben...
Paid LT's home a visit. And wow, what a collection he has!! Something I admire - he has two rooms to keep his stuff in, and his collection of recordings simply awed me. Mostly autographed recordings. Singers, as well as pianists. Cecilia Bartoli, Andreas Scholl, Barbara Bonney to Martha Argerich, just to name a few. And his out-of-print books, like those by Fischer-Dieskau and Gerald Moore. Hmm, if only I could get him to lend me the Gerald Moore books (about piano accompaniment)... He said that he was rearranging his collection, so I didn't get to see his DVDs. But I wouldn't be surprised if his recordings number up to more than a thousand. Yes dears, they are really that a lot. And his flair for teddy bears (and soft toys), aww... That softened my impression of him. Pretty sweet of him too. I love that brown furry teddy of his sitting on the piano! ^^ And a lot of rare scores too. Reminds me a little of Frau Lim's place, but I would prefer his - far more cosier than theirs.
And more good news. Looks like there's a huge possiblity I'm returning to coach the primary school choir!! Tralalala~~~ Hopefully it'll turn a reality. My sweet and adorable children, lol...!
Doppelganger? Nein.
I'm going to two-time this blog and my Livejournal. Because Pandora motivated me to revive my LJ. And because I'm weak-willed in nature.
That is all.
All short posts today. Feeling very unfocused, been reading manga all day long. Hence, the short sentences, lol. The more tired I become, the more I want to stay up late. A moron using oxy. Bleh.
Noch muede bin ich...
Woke up to Franz's music today. You know how much glee it was? My parents were listening to Liszt's music in the living room. o_O. And wow.
I woke up to Franz's gentle caress!
This year's New Year is one significant occasion. Because dear Liszt was involved in it.
I was deeply touched, and delighted. Because dear Franz was able to celebrate an Asian cultural event with me.
It was unexpected. Because all my relatives came to know who Franz Liszt is.
Makes me feel I'm the ambassador for Liszt's music or something. Very very glad, and very very in love.
Lol.
Unlike the usual New Year routine we had every year, this year's house-visitation started out really late. So late we even had dinner at Grandma's. And after lazing around (and amusing myself with Pandora manipulating the toddler to smack CY) we finally got our butts moving. And the only home we went to? Pandora's. More amusement! The poor Mr Pooh we (Pandora and I) sat on... Pandora's
unique collection of what-I-shall-not-name... o_O;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; SOB making an ass of himself... Our youngest family member reacting to the name "xiao(3) yi(4) xuan(2)" when I called her that... XDD Got to see
Pandora's Box... of his manga cum anime collection. Kinda reminded me of my past... when my collection expanded from a similiar box to hiding stuff behind my books, and extended all the way to a huge bookshelves and scattered all over my room. Hehe, shall I help Pandora suffer the same fate? *evil laugh + evil thoughts* Every kid in the family is going gaga over Maple, and I don't understand why! SY tried to influence me to play (and train) when I was in their car... Er... =_____= I think anime's enough for me.
And the best for the last. Still at Pandora's home, his father played a DVD about Liszt. There's something different about this video: you have some of Liszt's popular works played over awesome sceneries of Liszt-related places - Hungary, Paris, Weimar, and plenty of his monuments on the video. The best thing is the entire family (Mum's side) was watching it together. ^______________^
So tired from the week's work, and I can't even last till 2am at night... Dozed off on the table hugging my huge pillow, the fan blowing directly at me. When Mum got to my room it was already 3am. Scolded and nagged at me for sleeping like that, lol! Gawd, how I love her! Tonight's full of love! ^^
Der letzte Tag - und das Geschank ist fertig! ^_^
Finally, all my assignments have come to pass!
Still have to teach and accompany tomorrow morning, but that's usual routine, so nothing to whine about. I bade all the choirs goodbye! :) Finally all is over - and I'll celebrate it with a Haruka moment!!
I only have Sharon's and Miki's concerts left to deal with. It's still stressful, but things will get better without the choirs. A LOT BETTER.
Today was my last day with the primary school choir. I prefer the primary to the secondary school ones - perhaps because deep down I am still of their age. Seriously, I feel more natural and at home coaching primary school kids. It has only been two sessions with the primary school choir, and I felt attached to them already. For today, I worked through their competition piece during the first half. After the break I decided not to go through that piece again (because once Lehrerin comes back next week they will have enough of that piece, lol... Those poor children...) but let them sing through their old songs. I got them to "throw" me their scores; I sight-readed all while they sang along. It was almost 3.30pm so I told them to choose their last song - and that turned out to be "Like An Eagle". I don't know what was with me then, but either I was really emotional, or because of the moving lyrics (it's about saying farewell to someone and telling the person his/her guidance and presence will never be forgotten), but I was at the edge of crying. I didn't, of course - because if I did, I wouldn't be able to sightread the rest of the song! Yet, in my heart I was telling myself - these dear children know not of what they sing. And what a song to sing, when it would be my last day (who knows when Lehrerin would call me back again!) with them.
A pleasant result (and reward) from all these choir-coaching this week - the students actually prefer me to Lehrerin! Yep, the students say that themselves. But I understand that's because she was really too strict with the students. She's definitely having a professional attitude for all this, but I thought it's still a little too harsh for the students.
And I'll definitely miss the primary school choir. It has been a memorable experience and a journey of self-discovery. Because I've never expect myself to be able to communicate and relate to young kids so well.
Farewell, my children...
Fell in love with Barber
It's not that age brings childhood back again, Age merely shows what children we remain.A quote from Goethe's
Faust that caught my attention.
I had a huge time gap between Sharon's rehearsal and the school choir I was going to coach later this afternoon. So I spent my time in the library. Was supposed to look for
The Comedy of Errors by Shakespeare that Pandora urged me to read, but it wasn't available. (Hey Pandora, Shakespeare wrote a play
King Edward III!! XD;;;) The next book I tried to locate was Dante's
The Divine Comedy, but you know how lousy the library was? I found
Purgatory (Book II) and
Paradise (Book III), but no
Hell (Book I)!! Now that's over-doing it. Empress is not happy. I can't even continue my
Divine Comedy reading from where I left off. Bleh.
And that's the problem. I wondered why I settled for Goethe's
Faust. Also in poetry form, like
The Divine Comedy, only much more interesting - because it was written in the Romantic Period, duh. Read a little of it in the library, but I still decided to borrow it in the end. I didn't bring any books with me today and I was trying to kill the boredom during long bus/train trips. In the end I dozed off in the train, and only managed to read the rest of the first chapter on the short bus ride home.
Don't think I'm going to finish
Faust before CNY. As promised, I got a huge stack of pieces to learn up for Sharon's recital. But she gave me another option. If I find the pieces unmanagable, either because of the difficulty of the pieces or shortage of time, I'm always free to reject this assignment, and she'll pass the music on to another lady pianist whom, I guess, is waiting for Sharon's call... I dunno... I have a feeling this pianist is someone I know. Maybe not of accquaintance, but just someone I saw during some concert.
And she's good.
I know there's always rivalry in work. But I'm not worried about that - mainly. I can't deceive myself saying I don't really care if I'm less skilled to play for Sharon. Because the pieces are really not easy. And I'm sure that lady pianist can manage them better than me. Here's the case - if I accept the assignment and pull through the programme, I most definitely will improve. But that's rather selfish of me. If I can't manage the pieces well (also due to my busy schecule; Sharon's concert is in March), I might affect Sharon, her recital, as well as her reputation. Sigh... This is one dilemma... :(
Sharon's pieces are mostly managable - except Barber's. Oooh, yes, his are scary. Sharon is intending to sing three of Samuel Barber's
Hermit Songs. And the piano part is o_O. As I said, if I can play the piano part well I'll improve on more than just my technique. (And the concert stress will force me to presevere through...) Yet sight-reading through the accompaniment made me fell in love with Barber's harmonies... Wow, there's only one word for it -
lush. Don't ask me why, but it sounded so Joe Hisaishi and Sakamoto Ryuichi, yet the music does have its distinct flavour. The mentioned two composers must have been influenced by Barber. Half-way through my sight-reading I was reminded of Hisaishi's music for
Spirited Away, because at one section it sounded really like it for a brief period of time before switching to another obscure key. The counting is also hell - because there's no time signatures in the first place! Yet, I think Barber's
Hermit Songs are fun, fun, fun. Oh, by the way, this is the first time I ever came across his music. ^^
Eine junge, fleissige Maedchen
Lehrerin is away. That calls for
no SSC rehearsal and voice lesson next week. But, look how much trouble I'm asking for now. If the past week is considered busy (that's what I commented in one of my previous post, I remembered), then this coming week is Hell. Haha, speaking of Dante's
The Divine Comedy!! Gawd, I have this yearning of picking up my reading (of it) again!
Back to the impossible schecule...
Montag - rehearsal, school choir I
Dienstag - school choir II, school choir III
Mittwoch - school choir I (audition), IFC rehearsal
Donnerstag - Klavierunttericht
Freitag - school choir II, teaching
Samstag - teaching
I've no idea how I'm going to find practice time for Sabrina and Sharon. What a mess, lol.
Anyhow, just face the
piano music and live it through - till CNY! Yeah! Can't wait till CNY! And Lehrerin will be back by then and my burden lightened. Also can't wait to give Pandora his birthday gift (if it can be ready before CNY) - can't wait to see that expression on his face.
And I feel like expressing some nonsense in German. Just because I miss posting in German. Just ignore me.
Um das Scholarship werde ich mich bewerben - bald. Ich hoffe, dass ich waehrend das chinesisches Neujahr der Brief fertig schreiben kann. Ich finde Herr Ulf sehr nett, und er ist ziemlich ermutigend. Und viele Fragen! Wie lange ist der Kurs? Und wann? Ich meine, wenn ich das habe (unmoeglich!! buahaha!), ich koennte meinen Arbeit vielleicht aufgeben sein. Bleh. Und ob der Kurs in Muenchen sein, dann kann ich Edward finden! Puenktchen... ^_^;; Aber, was schreibe ich sollen? Laenger? Oder kuerzer...? Ich glaube, es macht viel Spass, weil ich schreibe (und denke) auf Deutsch gern. Hehehee... Oh! Und Hwee wird im Februar zurueck kommen! Yay!!! Ich freue mich auf ihrem Rueckkehr.
Das ist alles...
Er, ich denke...?
*fliehen*
My very first cup of Macha - Bitter, and powdery!
I figured out my life's made up of
Tactics and
FMA. Something ordinary will remind me of either - everyday.
Like today.
I have these two students - a sister and her younger brother, whose name is Edmund. But for the first time today I heard the sister call her bro "Ed". And my brain breaks down after that.
Lol.
Typically me. I bet the mother didn't know why I was grinning. She must have thought it was a relief to be done teaching her children. XD;;
And I thought "Edmund" was enough to remind me of this minor
dead character with the same name from
Monster. Now there's "Ed". I'm a goner.
Oh, and I taught one of my students Liszt today. Poor kids. The things they have to endure with a teacher who more-than-love Liszt, lol.
Bring Kantarou down to earth! - Issue 4
[Note: This issue is image-heavy.]
Before anyone dies of boredom, I will now introduce the anime element into this research (that's the point anyway right?).
The pics are taken using my phone camera, because the video format of
Tactics from Pandora's collection does not allow screen captures. The following screencaps are in the order of the
kuji-in. So far from Episode 1 to 3, Kantarou executes the
kuji-in two times. The animation studio provided two sets of animation of the incantation (
Rin, Byou, Tou, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen), perhaps because of Kantarou's difference in costumes.
Rin
Byou
Tou
Sha
Kai
Jin
Retsu
Zai
Zen
Basically, I'll pick the better of the two images for future issues.
To explain the nine sets briefly:
Rin - similar hand gesture between the two. But I can assure you, the correct "Rin" fingers' position isn't like that. I just need a scanner to illustrate my point, but alas, I am short of one. :(
Byou - simlar hand gesture between the two. 2nd fingers above the 3rd. It's a gesture where you can really break your fingers with, lol!
Tou - here comes the problem. Notice the significant difference in Kantarou's thumbs. The animation doesn't offer a clear shot of this particular hand gesture. I assume it's just too difficult to animate it - take note, the "Tou" gesture is even more complex than "Byou".
Sha - sadly, yes, the animators decided to make Kantarou back-face us during the "Sha" gesture. I seriously think they're just lazy to draw out the complex finger weaving of "Sha". It's as complicated as "Tou".
Kai - similar hand gesture between the two. Clench hands together, with fingers showing.
Jin - similar hand gesture between the two. Like the "Kai" gesture", clench hands together. However, this time round keep fingers in the palms.
Retsu - similar hand gesture betweent the two. The second picture offers a clearer shot. I suspect there's something incorrect with the finger-positioning in the left hand. Will post an image from a reliable source soon to double check that.
Zai - similar hand gesture between the two. Looks like the animators got this hand gesture perfectly clear and right! :)
Zen - similar hand gesture between the two. The first picture looks more correct than the second (the position of the right hand).
Back Issues:
ThreeTwoOne
Addicted to Tenohira no Hikari - so poisoned...
Woke up after eleven today. Mum went out later in the afternoon, so what does that mean? NIEMAND ZU HAUSE [No one at home] Guess how did I spend the hours before SSC rehearsal; I cleaned my anime shelves. Yes, so watch out everyone, it's going to snow some days later. I did the impossible - normally it'll take me the whole day (i.e. before sunset) to clean and re-arrange my anime shelves, but this time I accomplished the work within three hours. ^^
Emptying the shelves is easy. It's just stacking them aside carefully but any-old-how. Hence my shelves became:
Pandora must be shocked! :P The palace's treasury stripped bare.
A look at my collection while they're in stacks, lol.
(Click at the pics to read the details)
Pics taken with my phone, so don't fret about the quality of the pics. ^_^;;
Bring Kantarou down to earth! - Issue 3
As mentioned earlier, the
Kuji-in’s roots lies in Mikkyo Buddhism. Practices involving the use of
shingon/
jumon (mantras),
nenriki (visualization of symbols) and
in-zou/
ketsu-in (mudras - special ritual gestures formed by knotting the fingers in various complex patterns) are derived from the Mikkyo traditions.
The triple-discipline of
shingon,
nenriki and
in-zou is generally referred to as:
sanmitsu, meaning “The Three Secrets” literally. It is through the study and practice of this discipline that adherents of “mainstream” Japanese Mikkyo Buddhism seek to awaken direct experience of Enlightenment.
However, in the hands of more ‘avant-garde’, shamanic-like, ascetic practitioners of Mikkyo - various groups such as the
Senin,
Gyoja and
Shuhenja/
Yamabushi mountain ascetics -
sanmitsu evolved into a synergistic discipline of wide-ranging and profound practical and mystical application.
Possibly the most famous outgrowth of
sanmitsu is the
kuji-in (or
kuji-no-in). Also referred to as
kuji goshin ho [spiritual protection by the nine syllables of power], and sometimes as
ju jutsu (Hence, if you noticed, the first track from
Tactics Sound File Vol. 1 is also titled “jujutsu”.)
In its complete form, the kuji-in involves the
fukushu [recitation] of the sacred nine-word
shingon: "Rin-Pyo-To-Sha-Kai-Jin-Retsu-Zai-Zen" (臨兵闘者皆陣裂在前) combined with the performance of nine accompanying
in-zou, and relevant
nenriki visualisation; however, each of the nine component 'segments' of
kuji-in has its own specific attributes and function and acts as a triggering mechanism for a very specific given intention.
[The number nine being considered a highly potent number in Japanese Buddhism.]
Sorry if this issue sounded too technical and dry. I’ll try to touch on more interesting issues next time...
Back issues:
OneTwo
Der Satz der Woche [The sentence of the week]
Deutschunterricht [German lesson] was fun today. And after lesson PY and I came up with a loooooong sentence due to obsession with looooong German words. Lol.
Here we go:
Die Musikinstrumentenbauerin und der Kraftfahrzeugmechaniker haben ein Zugehoerigkeitsgefuehl fuer das Vervielfaeltigungsapparat gefunden.
Lovely German. How I love thee.
Night Summary
At my last desperate moments, I gave up on the Net. Too little material that I can trust, and too much unessential information. I guess this is called looking for a needle in the haystack. Because I don't know the correct keywords, I have been groping around in the dark for my research... Bad idea.
During my last desperate moments, I finally gave publishers a chance. Now I know why they exist! ^^ I headed for the Reference Library - my last desperate attempt! And of course, I was rewarded for my effort.
'Tis my first time there, and I was very impressed with the architecture - both exterior and interior. I've a soft spot for "space", and that's what the building gave me! The reference section was between the 7th - 13th storey. Whoa. I was against the idea of tearing down the old library building at the very first moment, but now, witnessing how a one-storey reference area can expand into a seven-storey reference centre, I have to agree that it might be a good idea after all. And I didn't manage to comb the entire research centre - it just can't be done in a day!
Went to the 7th and 8th floor - because the relevant materials were there. And I found the rare publication
Religion of Japan: Arrows to Heaven and Earth - that's the very reason why I even head for the Reference Library in the first place! And then picked up another book regarding the Japanese
mudras (hand-gestures). Told you I'm serious into this crazy research. Yet I realise, unless I am Japanese-literate enough, I won't be able to complete my research thoroughly... There were not many books
in the world written in English about Japan's Buddhism, much lesser about Mikkyo Buddhism. Most of the vital information were only published in the Japanese language. But the two English books kept me occupied for a good three hours, and I am once again enlightened.
And am very motivated in reading Buddhist texts - in Chinese! o_O What am I getting myself into?! But it's the last week I can bury myself in research! Aaaah...! So many information (see? publishers rawks! XP), so little time! Just got a phone call - looks like I'm getting myself another job. Whoa. I need to pace myself slowly, but in vain am I!
Now back to daily life
and anime reviews:
Hellsing concluded tonight. I became hysterical when Alucard came back. But the ending disappoints me a lot. A lot. Why must Integra end up that way? I admire her. A lot. I think Alucard is cool, but in terms of admiration, it's Integra. Her fearless, proud spirit. Isn't it the reason why Alucard swore to protect her in the first place? It's her pride that made me admire her. A lot. To the fullest.
Oh, Pandora, they're showing
Samurai 7 after
Hellsing. You catching it?
Juuni Kokki finally reached Episode 9 - the episode (and the tenth) which I failed to catch the other time round. Woohoo! Love this episode. It's about the revelation that Youko is the new empress of Kei (sorry, I won't submit to using the term 'queen'. empress sounds better.) I always love episodes like that. Two wonderful moments:
- when Youko describes the scene where Keiki bowed to her. Because (as we will know later) of the fact that Kirins can only bow to the ruler, Rakushun and Mr. H (sorry! forgot how to spell his name! :P) confirms the fact Youko is the new-found empress.
- when Shouryuu (the Emperor of En!!) burst into the scene and help Youko fight the monsters after her. Woohoo! Imagine the Emperor in the streets! That's brilliant cool! XD
I'm falling in love with the music in
The Melody of Oblivion! Totally awesome. It's very traditional in style, orchestration and instrumentation being very classical (the composer even included the pipe organ at a point) and "stringy", but very grand! Oh, and Bocca is starting to look like a guy, lol.
Re-watching
RahXephon made me realise why I love that series so much. Characterisation and plot developments are flawless. Banzai.
And I still need to finish my german homework... =_= It's three in the morning. I'm dead meat.
Night, everyone.
Bring Kantarou down to earth! - Issue 2
From Carmen Blacker's
The Catalpa Bow: a study of shamanistic practices in JapanOne pair, poised on the edge of a precipitous slope down to the lake, was particularly remarkable. The
maeza stood close to the medium, twisting his hands with ferocious intensity into the nine mudras known as
kuji, repeating as he did so the nine accompanying magic syllables:
Rin-byou-tou-sha-kai-jin-retsu-zai-ZEN!At the last syllable his voice rose to a sharp yell, while with two fingers stiffly outstretched he made the nine strokes of the gate, four vertical, five horizontal, through which no evil influences may pass. He then thrust his fingers fiercely forwards the medium's stomach in the pointed sword mudra, shouting meanwhile in sharp grunting tones the syllables 'A-UN-A-UN!'. These, the first and last letters of the Sanscrit alphabet, are believed to encompass between them the entire universe...
I've yet to get my hands on this book by Blacker (but I'm dying to), and am quoting from the introduction from
Notes on the kuji by David Waterhouse.
I also understand there's the confusion about the second syllable, that if it's "Byou" or "Pyou". Different articles (that I've looked up on) use one or the other; there's no stating which is right or more popular. In the process of my research, I realise that old publications use "Byou" while modern authors, "Pyou". Hence, in my personal opinion, the ancients must have read the second syllable as "Byou", and as time passes, "Byou" slowly evolves into "Pyou". I won't dwell into this trival matter, for there are esoteric interpretations in the nine syllables as well. Pronunciation should be the last thing one should be concern about.
The Melody of Oblivion swept me off my feet. Very promising. Very, very promising! I'm glad I made an effort to record it tonight. Eager to watch tomorrow's episode! Lots of bishounens, lots of purple-headed too!
Lol.
Just one problem: I am not really convinced that Bocca is a guy. And the seiyuu (voice actor) for this character also happens to be Sango from
Inuyasha. I'm so not convinced...
But he kissed a girl, joins the male group during PE lessons, wears a boy uniform. Fair enough. I'll try to accept Bocca as a
he. Er... yea... I'll try... *coughs* The feminine-looking-with-a-girl's-haircut-and-purple-hair Bocca is a
he. *coughs again*
Other than that, the story rocks! The animation is pretty and shiny, and the music is a worthy rival against
Tactics' soundtrack! The plot, is just so engaging. *applauds*
Gosh, look at the number of post today... Suman' desu!
Just as soon as the Net returns to my lappie,
Monster is out! MonsterisoutMonsterisoutMonsterisout!
MonsterisoutMonsterisoutMonsterisout!
MonsterisoutMonsterisoutMonsterisout!
Finallyfinallyfinallyfinallyfinallyfinallyfinallyfinallyfinally!
And I'm done with
Maison Ikkoku 17 - the total number of volumes being 18, I think 17 is actually the conclusion of the story. Everything is resolved, Godai is finally rid of Kyoko's misunderstanding, and Kozue finally moved on with her life. Kyoko really changed Godai - even though it took Godai FIVE YEARS (o_O) to get out of his introvert character, he finally told Kozue the truth, and so I guess Takahashi-sensei managed to make all the fans happy. 'Coz it was a really nice parting scene. And the die is cast! Godai will wed Kyoko. Come on, after 17 volumes Takahashi should reward us for our patience!
Now chaaaarge! Onto the last volume! ^^
Meine letzte Woche ging so schnell - ich kann nicht glauben!
Sharon finally emailed me, and I realise this is the last week of the first half of the year I can slack off... Oh man, dread. Should have spent the past two weeks better!! *whines* Have been staying at home for a looooong time, watching
Ranma from my old tapes (don't ask me why that series, lol! i might as well watch
One Piece right? ROFL!!) and the other animes playing on tv, blogging and researching at the same time, and practising on my instruments (singing to a lesser extent, oops! it's too cold to sing! at least plonging on the keyboard warms you up; try to sing standing up and you'll be frozen product in no time.) Sharon and Reuben are preparing for a recital, and the email I received concerns the scores, which I was informed, will reach me in a week's time. o_O Then it's back to frantic practising?! IFC is also starting next week, meaning double the workload. Whoa, how I love my life =_________=
The concert for Debussy's
Nocturnes is next Friday, so my week's lined out like this:
Montag - Debussy rehearsal
Dienstag - Gesangsunterricht
Mittwoch - (skipping Debussy rehearsal), IFC rehearsal (lots of sight-reading to do on the first rehearsal)
Donnerstag - Debussy rehearsal
Freitag - teaching, Debussy Konzert
Samstag - Deutschunterricht, private rehearsal
Sonntag - more teaching
Nyaaaa... (in a dying tone) Can't wait for CNY to come!
The ever-pouring rain and a tub of ice cream
Hmm, who have you consider addressing as "sama"? And have you actually call the name out loud and instinctively add "sama" at the end of it? Lol, this is an idiotic post. But I'm watching
Ranma right now and feeling as nonsensical as the anime can bring me.
In my present state:Sesshoumaru-sama
Hotohori-sama
Haku-sama
I never fail to address them that way. It's a part of me now, LOLThe random others:
Naraku-sama (though I feel calling him "Naraku" directly adds more evil to the name! ^^)
Hao-sama (that was the phase when I felt cheated after witnessing his death T_T)
Howl-sama (it was funny, I started with Howl, then Howl-san, and subconsciously it evolved to Howl-sama. Lol. The brain is a pretty thing.)
And the present ones:
Ayato-sama (after re-watching
RahXephon since Tuesday I began to call Ayato that way. I don't think he deserve it, but I guess it was sympathy... Oops... Gomen ne, Ayato-san...)
Now for the rest of the addresses...
Shaoran-kun
Chihiro-chan
That's all I could think for now. Okay, back to my research work. =__________=
Mitsuketa! ^_____________^
Pandora!!! I found the complete pic! I'm beginning to like this pic a lot - Kantarou looks great! Haruka not quite so - he looks the same almost every time. He's learning all the bad habits from Keiki, lol.
If you want a bigger scan, I can send it via gmail.
O Liebe, so lang kann ich dich lieben!
Sight-sang+play through Liszt's
O Lieb, so lang du lieben kannst - which Duchess got for me from the States!! *glomps her and squeals*
Ahh... Franz's harmonies are as exquisite as ever! I can't make up my mind which version sounds better - the piano transcription or the original Lied. Me being biased, I guess I'll say both! Actually the differences between the two are significant. (Ya, I know one's with words and the other isn't, but I'm not talking about that!) The Lied brings out the emotions of the poem with Franz's expertise on atmosphere settings (accompanied with lots of sighing...) but the melody is more emphasised and fit perfectly with the instrument in the piano transcription.
Melts... Finally, a dream come true at last!
Bring Kantarou down to earth! - Issue 1
Lol, please don't *rolleyes* after reading the title... Somehow my heart (not my mind) strongly insisted on that, so there you go. As promised, I bring you regular updates
from my ongoing research on
Tactics.
Currently I'm focusing on Kantarou and his chants.
In most of the
Tactics episodes Kantarou uses a nine-word spell/chant to exorcise the demons. They are known as the
Kuji-in, and are supposed to fortify one's
chi if the words are uttered with the corresponding hand gestures.
There are the nine words Kantarou chants in the anime:
臨 Rin - Strength of body or mind
兵 Pyo - The direction of energy
闘 Tou - Harmony (with the world)
者 Sha - Healing (of self and others)
皆 Kai - Sensing danger
陣 Jin - Empathy (knowing the thoughts of others)
裂 Retsu - Spacial and Chronological awareness
在 Zai - Control of nature
前 Zen - Enlightenment
(the second may be pronounced as "Byo", like what Kantarou did.)
And the
Kuji-in is found in Mikkyo Buddhism, so you should probably figure Kantarou's religion out already.
[Will provide the brief history of Mikkyo Buddhism in the next issue - frankly, Mikkyo isn't the easiest kind of Buddhism to research on. Materials are rare - either online or from printed publications. However, if I can load Kantarou's nine hand gestures in time, I might focus on that instead in Issue 2]
Ohaiyou!
Nnnngh... it continued to rain when I woke up.
I love the rain, really. It's just the cold that I can't stand. And why windows must always be kept shut.
SSC rehearsal later in the evening, so I'm slacking away first. Gotta practice duh Prokofiev, gotta relearn
Missa Solemnis, can't find the movitation to do so... That's the thing with rainy days... Everything is just too soothing and all. The sound of the rain, though muffled (stupid windows! why must there be windows!), calms my inner soul.
With nothing to do (not really, just don't feel like moving away from my laptop... my butt won't budge ^^;;), I finally had the sense to put on
Howl's Moving Castle Image Album (which Proko helped me get - I never regretted spending that atrocious amount of money) using my hi-fi. Arrrgh, I. am. stupid. I should have played it on my hi-fi ever since I first got it. I played it a zillion times on my computer instead. And now without a computer (desktop, meaning), I retreated to me hi-fi. And...banzai! I mean, duh, a hi-fi will definitely sound better than the com's speakers right? I just don't have the sense to think then... So now I'm soaking and melting in those wonderful orchestration and harmonies of Joe Hisaishi's. Ahhh... I just wanna stay drowned.
Tactics 25
Kantarou said “Goodbye”, then “Thank you”…
…to Suzu.
And welcomed Haruka back by his side, back to his heart.
It was quite a shocking discovery to know that Suzu died during the night of that eventful battle against Minamoto Raikou. And another surprise for us – ‘tis six months since Haruka left Kantarou… When you think about that, both men must have had scars deep within their hearts… And yet they try to live their daily life without each other’s company. However, we know that didn’t go well for them – Kantarou has been disappearing now and then, to the extend that Reiko-san is considering halting his publications and turning to Hasumi for them instead. Haruka, on the other hand, stayed at Sugino’s and was forever spacing out (from Sugino’s own account).
The starting scene was just heart-wrenching. The scenes from Kantarou’s childhood were re-enacted – the two little youkais having this familiar conversation with young Kantarou about a strong creature called the
Tengu, and the young Kantarou reacted excitedly and announced that he will be the one who will unseal this strong creature, whom he will name “Haruka”. It’s the same scene, but the Kantarou who replied them was the current, grown-up image. And the conversation drifted off from the familiar – when Kantarou blamed himself for everything that had happened.
It was actually Suzu’s death that bought up the issue concerning Haruka and Kantarou again. Everyone has been living with sympathy for the two while knowing that their resolution/reunion won’t be taking place in a near future – hence the six months gap. However, when Viscount Edogawa visited Kantarou in hope that he might help exorcise the spirit of his daughter (Suzu), everyone was then aware that Suzu’s soul still lingers in the human world because of her feelings for Haruka… or is it? Kantarou wasn’t able to carry out the exorcism because he was too soft-hearted, and in my opinion – his memories of Haruka also played an important part. So… Kantarou…
Dance to the tune of escapism…And Kantarou chose to let Suzu’s soul forget everybody, and then disappear at her own will, hopefully. Youko shouted at Kantarou for trying to escape reality. Yes, I agree – if Suzu disappear on her own, Kantarou can avoid exorcising her soul and thus escape the pain he might have to bear as a price. Kantarou paid a visit to his childhood friend Yumeyakko (I’ve forgotten the spelling -_-;;) to try to avoid the angst at home. However, she did an evaluation on Kantarou, telling him that he has been very protective of himself, but that in turn will hurt everyone around him. Kantarou has built a wall around himself to avoid getting hurt, but as Yumeyakko said – that is a form of escapism, and it’s doing him no good…
Kantarou took Youko’s and Yumeyakko’s words to heart – very strongly. And after getting so close to Haruka (though they didn’t meet) the next day, Kantarou decided to break down his own wall… and ran for Haruka, who was at the place where he was once sealed. Haruka never forgave himself for trying to take Kantarou’s life, but he decided to talk about it with Kantarou, about his feelings after his attempts to kill Kantarou. Was Haruka afraid of himself? I think so. And Kantarou was afraid
for himself. These two men need each other to heal themselves. Kantarou uncovered the fact that the person who sealed the
tengu was an ancestor from his own Ichinomiya clan. Viewers might be surprised at this, but it made sense too. I was even thinking further – I thought the person was Kantarou’s past life! Haruka was shocked at this piece of information, but said monotonously: “Kantarou… I will never trust you again.” At that point I thought my heart stopped, for Kantarou’s “Goodbye” and “Thank you” from the synopsis kept ringing in my ears. However, Haruka continued, saying that he had decided to follow his heart (instead of his brain, or instead of his instinct? I don’t know…
wakanai…). And then we know – Haruka’s heart had always chose Kantarou, and he (or his heart) knew very well, that his sense of belonging was to be by the side of Kantarou. Yes, that was his only home. So, since Kantarou had asked for forgiveness, Haruka in turn asked for acceptance – for the permission for him to dwell in Kantarou’s heart, even though he might one day recall all his memories and attempt to take Kantarou’s life once again. However, do all these matter to Kantarou? He had said to Haruka once that he’s willing to die for him, and six months ago he had shown that he meant what he said. So what Haruka said was just a formal but unessential gesture – both of you need to trust each other more! Haruka was the most important to Kantarou, so both of them found room in each other’s hearts again. In short, they reconciled as Kantarou gave an informal answer to Haruka in the affirmative. And Suzu, standing by, saw that her wish has been fulfilled and bade farewell to her beloved “family” before disappearing from the faces of the earth. It was at this moment Kantarou said
arigatou, and
sayonara to her fading soul. The last scene was an ideal picture – Kantarou, Haruka, Youko and Rosalie back-facing us, heading for home.
You know, Kantarou may not have grown stronger when he unsealed the
tengu, but now, because of Haruka, he has changed. There might be other obstacles to overcome in the future, but Kantarou had managed to confront his first! Our Ichinomiya Kantarou had become stronger. ^^
But hey! When you thought it’s all over, the ED came up with different footage!! What excitement! The first was Ibaragi with her shamisen, saying that it’s not over for the
tengu (the ED is playing as a background music all the time), followed by Minamoto Raikou: “It has only just began,
tengu”, then a short scene of the long-forgotten creepy smiling priest before the ED ends with a comical rendition of Kantarou’s daily life back at the Ichinomiya lodge. Lol!! What a fun way to end the series!!
Leave the crossovers alone – I don’t think I picked out any anyway, lol. Too absorbed in tonight’s final episode! Hooray! Honestly, I went through a fit of anxiousness a few minutes before the playing of the episode! But!
Tactics is over, and I foresee a continuation of it soon,
or in a year’s time, judging from how the ED looks! Perhaps they (the producers) might stall for time – the story/script for the future OVA or movie might be waiting for Kinoshita-sensei (and Kazuko-sensei) to let on more from her manga yet. ^^ Banzai! ‘Tis back to the manga for me!!
Girly Meme
1. Do you have a lot of makeup?Ew... I hate AND abhor makeup...
2. How much do you put on?*ignores you*
3. How long does it take you to get ready?Including shower? Then make that 'round 30 minutes
coz I sing in the shower.
4. Do you put on a lot of lip gloss?Only when my lips are giving me the flashing "dehydration" sign. If not, I don't even use duh gloss.
5. Does your lipgloss smell good?o_O... They just smell orangy. There's no good or bad.
6. Do you carry a purse?Walletwalletwallet. What's a purse really?
7. What color is it?Brown.
8. Do you have a Coach bag?What's that?
9. Do you have a Louis Vuitton?Er... Why should I...?
10. How many purses do you have?Huh? *points to question 6*
11. Do you like to wear nail polish?No. That's stupid.
12. How often do you get your nails done?Never. That's stupid.
13. Do you like manicures?No. That's stupid.
14. Do you like pedicures?No. That's stupid. Anyway, what's that?
15. Do you have a usual nail salon you go to?No. That's cranky.
16. Where do you get your hair cut?Somewhere near my place.
17. Do you dye your hair?NO. That's against my principles.
18. Do you straighten your hair?Nope.
19. Do you have lots of pairs of shoes?Hmm, two simliar pairs of high heels (for work), and four pairs for casual wear (like slippers, sandals and stuff). Also one pair of track shoes and court shoes, but have stopped wearing them years ago. Ehm, is that considered a lot...?
20. What are your favourite shoes?My high heels. Love the design - you won't fall over, and you can run in them ^^
21. Do you wear heels everywhere?Mostly... Oops... They're for work (that's the main reason why I even go out) and performances.
22. Can you walk in heels and not fall over?Duh, I can even chase the bus with them ;)
23. Where do you buy your clothes?No specific place. But my gowns? I only go to
Just, :P
24. Do you go shopping every week?Yup. You mean shopping for manga- and anime-related stuff right? XP
25. What's your favourite store?Kinokuniya (those who know me should expect this answer already)
26. How much do you usually spend?Anywhere from nothing to way too much.
27. Have you ever been in Dior?Huh?
28. Do you follow fashion trends?No way.
29. Do you have a pair of huge sunglasses?Nope.
30. Do you wear hoop earrings?My ears ain't pierced.
31. Do you have a lot of skirts?Long skirts a plenty - work reason again.
32. Do you get your eyebrows done?No.
33. Can you apply mascara without opening your mouth?Huh? Never tried putting mascara on before.
34. Do you wear lots of eyeliner?No. Whatever for?
35. Do you like Pilates or Yoga?Can't do either. But I would like to try Yoga (I found out it's related to Kantarou's power! surprise surprise!)
36. Do you have a lot of magazines?A decent amount - all anime-related magazines.
I think, in conclusion... I barely pass as a girl... XD Nevermind, I'll just continue to be an empress instead :P
Zettai samui desu!
SSC rehearsals are finally starting tomorrow! Hooray! And keep my fingers crossed that Herr Lim won't pick on me. (I'll update you on what happened: I played for a couple of singers for some opera audition on Friday and unexpectedly the feared [and highly respected, that's why] Herr Lim was there among the panel of judges. Then on Saturday he was around at home when I went for my weekly voice lesson... He gave me a suspicious smile I didn't know what to make out of. o_O)
Because I stopped practising the SSC pieces ever since the IFC concerts were over, I knew I had to relearn a lot - because I had really forgotten a lot. What to do? Ran through the first three movements of Beethoven's
Missa Solemnis - after midnight! Gawd, the neighbours will definitely hate me for that. Notes above high G a plenty! I think my parents are at their nerves' end too, oops...!
And now I'm blogging. And busy digging into this huge tub of ice cream beside me. Haha, I never learn! My toes and fingers are freezing cold, so I figured out my head should feel the same way too! XP
Am so sleepy... and cold... But hair's not drying, so I'm having the fan blow directly at me... Adds to the cold... A LOT. Bleh.
Okay, an announcement to make. Started on my
Tactics research last night. And I'm having more than a handful of them now. Will start posting the results of my research perhaps on tomorrow or after. I'm feeling really enlightened now. Makes Kantarou and his powers seem so down-to-earth. No winged-creatures involved, ahem.
Ame ame, fure fure, yasashii na...!
It rained all day… Lovely… :) My footwear was so slippery (totally no friction with my feet, lol!) I had to walk barefoot down that long stretch of road to my students’ house… Sigh (in a good way)… It was really fun – I think it was my first time doing this, izzit? The rain got heavier around three-plus; the time when I was almost done with Edmond. So I was forcibly housed-in by the rain. The family was very kind to treat me to tea and movie. Cool. So I stayed for an hour before bidding goodbye and started on the long walk out to the main road – barefoot again! ^^ Glee, glee, glee! I then went shopping for music scores – for both me and my students. They call for new books again, and still, there’s one that I’ve been looking for some time already that was still out-of-stock! The Schumann Lieder scores weren’t available too, darn… But since I was there, I had to buy something for myself! So I grabbed a copy of Brahms’ Lieder instead. Ah, glee again. It continued to rain in the late evening, and so I chose to walk the unsheltered areas of the route to the station, singing Schubert’s
Suleika I in the rain. What a great feeling… Ahh… Water should be my element – wait, it is right? And in the end I didn’t head for the train station – instead I bought ice-cream! Whahahaa!! I’m mad! Ice cream in this cold weather. So I was walking around the shopping mall feeding this sweet-tooth of mine. Was holding the cup with my left hand – and five minutes I had no feeling in that hand. And I was freezing cold. Good thing my brain didn’t freeze and so I didn’t walk into a glass. Lol. Cold, cold, cold. ^^
Tactics 24
The continuation of the previous episode’s cliffhanger is quite disappointing. You would expect Kantarou to be put into more emotional struggle, and Minamoto to torture Kantarou even more (Gawd am I sadist… But drama! The keyword is
drama!) Seems like Mu is the heroine of the day (or night :P); she saves everyone, and hence releasing Kantarou from the stress to cancel the name-bond.
Feminism at work again. This time around it dominates the whole episode! As mentioned above, Mu saves Kantarou and Youko, and the question lies – how did Mu appear in the scene? Seems like Rosalie is the one who opened the portal for Mu to get to the scene. Later it was Suzu’s prayers (wait a minute, why do prayers always have to be part of the finale? Oh, that is so cliché…! *palmface*) that helped Haruka find his heart (and thus returning to his usual self). So – the ladies (except Youko, tsk tsk) are the stronger gender in this episode! It is really scary, considering the fact that
Tactics focuses on the relationship between Kantarou and Haruka, and suggests shounen-ai (or even yaoi).
Aha! Fan-service for ladies! And yet the anime is still well dominated by feminism while the two gents continue to love each other. Wow… The depth of this anime – and the artists’ intentions are really hard to understand. See? Returning to this episode, the gents really didn’t go far – Kantarou gets to express his feelings for Haruka, the
tengu struggled with his transformation and suffered a whole lot more, and Sugino arrived at the scene somewhat too late, lol. Oh, Sugino’s arrival spoiled the whole heart-wrenching atmosphere! Stupid Sugino!!! *smacks his head a whole lot more
and ignore Mu who is sucking me away* My eyes were watery (cos that’s after the part where Kantarou tells Haruka his feelings) when Sugino had to “break in” by saying witty, comical, and insensitive things (well, forgive him since he is oblivious to what happened just now) like “Huh?! You mean I came too late?” and then whined about his failure to “save the day” in time. I guess it’s the animator’s way to storytell short and sweet:
Stop angsting over this scene! Bring in Sugino so that we can proceed to the next! And effortlessly enough, the group left the scene, with Haruka going separate ways from the rest.
I want to touch on the last scene between Kantarou and Haruka. Saved this paragraph for my babbling :P It was that scene where Kantarou told Haruka he has something important to say. All of us (even Minamoto) anticipated that Kantarou will finally cancel the name-bond. But the outcome was unexpected (not quite, I kinda predicted it, but if Kantarou call off the bond, we get to see Haruka’s true form). I’ll try to re-narrate the scene… Kantarou slowly approaches Haruka, telling him that he has always admired him. However, he also made the point that he do not admire what Haruka has become now (half-transformed
tengu) And the sad part: Kantarou admitted that even after meeting with the
tengu, he did not grow stronger but had stayed the same. Instead, Haruka had become the most important person in his heart, and that he could never bring himself to call off the name-bond. So, at the climax, he looked into Haruka’s
blue eyes and told him to kill him, since he desired it so much. Let me explain. Once Haruka arrived at the scene he immediately tried to attack Kantarou a few times. Minamoto was actually the one to protect him because if Kantarou dies, it will be impossible to cancel the name-bond. So when Kantarou allowed Haruka to kill him, I wanted that to happen too! Not that I suddenly feel hatred towards Kantarou after a few minutes into the episode, but so that the name-bond will exist for eternity. I like the idea of this alternative ending, though it might be a cruel thing to Haruka, knowing that he, in the end, still manages to kill Kantarou. But of course that didn’t happen! I don’t want to include more spoilers here, but just that nobody dies at the end. The three villains lack character development! I can’t believe they just “walked off” like that. Oh come on, that’s a weak closing of the chapter (for them)! Back to Kantarou’s confession – there was something that touched my heart deeply -
youkai to jinnen wa nai, dehanaku kimi to boku… [Bleh, broken Japanese!!] Okay, I meant to say, or that Kantarou meant to say to Haruka -
It’s not about demons and youkai, Haruka, but about you and me!Awww…
Finally some crossovers to pinpoint:
1. the youkai that trapped Kantarou in the illusion -
Juuni Kokki2. the bell Kantarou heard in the illusion -
Inuyasha3. how this episode ends (meaning the battle is concluded in the second last episode, while the last is meant for more emotional resolve) – similar to
Peacemaker KuroganeAnd the angst continues: I stepped closer to the tv to watch the final synopsis (for tomorrow’s episode), and that makes it all
unworthwhile.
Kantarou said “Goodbye” and “Thank You”… *kneesfloor* Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!!!! If Kantarou and Haruka should part, then I don’t want to watch the last episode!!! *runs away sobbing*
Tactics 23
The opening was a recap of what took place last night -
Chi da!.
Wash the river with blood, Haruka…
Instead of continuing with the melancholic atmosphere, the start of the episode brightens things up a little, which is a good idea. Even people like me need a break from the heart-wrenching angst sometimes. The snippets of humour helps a lot – with Sugino sneezing, those scenes with Mu and the ermine, which had found a second “home” in Mu’s mouth, and how helpful Mu’s “sucking” powers can be. Lol, that really ease the storyline a lot. Arigatou…!
Yet, the minimal humour wasn’t enough to cover up the gloom of the story… And the plot gets darker and gloomier… Once again, the pain in my chest returned, and so did the lump in my throat. We learnt that three days have passed since Haruka left Kantarou. And the effect on Kan-chan was great… From Youko we know that Kantarou hasn’t been eating or sleeping for those three days, and even Reiko-san sympathized with him… Kantarou had become a workaholic – all that to distract himself from the pain from his heart…
Kokoro no Kizu… Kantarou was acting strong, but his cover almost blew when he solemnly told Reiko-san “You won’t understand.” while back-facing her. So Kantarou chose escapism, seemingly. How about Haruka? He chose to speak not. He went to visit Sugino, but then refused to speak up when Sugino questioned him. Haruka’s silence made me wept… We understood later why he did that. While Suzu confronted him, Haruka shouted that he was “after all an Ogre-eater
tengu”, and that he will “have no friends”, and “has to be alone”.
Must the creatures of the wild always return to nature? Kantarou questioned as he glanced at the scar of the ermine’s scratch.
And because the name “Haruka” served as an obstacle to the
tengu’s complete transformation, Minamoto decided to lure Kantarou into a trap – and we witness Kantarou’s desperation… to confront Haruka and at the same time, his strong desire for Haruka’s return to his side… However, it wasn’t possible… Well, not yet – Minamoto’s aim was to force Kantarou to break the “name” bond between him and Haruka. The episode ends with a cliffhanger – Youko in demise, Kantarou threatened, and Haruka in the middle of his transformation while Suzu stood watching by…
Tactics 22
I was at the verge of crying throughout this entire episode… So much pain… So much angst… Sigh… Kantarou… Haruka… The first half of the episode I was calling out Haruka’s name, because he was suffering so, so much… And at the second half… It was Kantarou’s name I was repeating… This is really one angsty couple… Sigh…Kantarou was still at his solemn mood… Even decided to make himself tea instead of relying on Youko. Shows that he wasn’t the Kantarou we know any more. Kantarou was still busy at his research (regarding Haruka or Minamoto perhaps?) and neglected his writings he was supposed to produce for Reiko-san. And this time round he didn’t fret as usual, so the research work must mean a lot to him… Haruka was still spending too much time on the roof spacing out… Sigh… Luckily Youko, Suzu and Rosalie were there to brighten up the atmosphere a bit. But it was obvious that everyone was worried about both of the gents… Haruka was still distancing himself from his “family”. Does that mean he’s avoiding the company of humans now, or just building a wall around himself from just about anybody? The scene where the demon game was played (between Kantarou, Youko, Suzu and Rosalie while Haruka was within hearing range) was one of the worst and most painful scenes from the overall of
Tactics. When the game came to the point where Kantarou landed on this space regarding “a demon exact revenge on you for his imprisonment, take 5 spaces back”, all hell broke loose. Well, at least for Haruka… The four players didn’t know those words would agitate the suffering tengu… I can’t believe Kantarou insensitively reacted to his play with “Why revenge on me? I wasn’t the one who sealed the demon!” And from then on every single move each player took struck Haruka mentally hard. My chest hurts – it hurts from the angst… Haruka rejected Kantarou a lot of time tonight… And prior to his transformation later at the mansion, Haruka actually intended to kill Kantarou subconsciously. Kantarou was also very distracted in executing his demon-busting work – and worries a great deal about Haruka… When Haruka killed the
Abura Akago, everyone including me was shocked… Nooo, Haruka!
Dame yo! Yame te, Haruka! How far will Minamoto go to help Haruka return to his true form, and destroy the bond between Kantarou and Haruka? We only have three more episodes to go…
Tactics 21
I’m glad things are really getting more serious now. Only four more episodes to go… Yes, I’m counting down the days… Sigh…
Tactics will only end next year… Arrrgh… So slow! Lol – I’m anticipating the anime ending too much!
Because of what happened previously, Kantarou has not been his normal self. From the start of tonight’s episode to the end of it, there’s not one comical expression from him at all. Okay, maybe some exception – Hasumi leaving Rosalie under Kantarou’s care and the latter was giving him a cunning look. Haha, that’s one new expression of Kan-chan. However, after that, he became really serious and quiet in the house while the girls (Youko, Suzu and Rosalie) played on. He was busy writing stuff down and researching books, talking very little and no schemings of his at all. At first I find it suspicious and thought “whoa, Kan-chan is actually doing some work. That is too rare.” And then it made sense – Kantarou is unable to keep his mind off the previous incident, and is researching deep into the matter. There’s hardly any Haruka x Kantarou moment – Kantarou knows that Haruka is still feeling emotionally terrible after the close shave of regaining his past memories and also for Yuri’s case, and knows that he needs some time alone. There’s the air of melancholy throughout that scene, Kantarou keeping himself busy in his study while Haruka silently sits on the roof. Physically near to each other, their heart and mind are very far apart indeed.
The presence of Kantarou at home is also a convenience – since Rosalie has a body which is easily possessed by demons, the girl is always shape-shifting into some other strange youkais, and just a call away, Kantarou will be right out of his study, and – “Rin!” The youkai is exorcised. Mu managed to stay on screen for more than ten minutes, and you know who’s going to appear next. Yes, Sugino came charging towards the Ichinomiya lodge… Alas, everyone except Kantarou had left for Asakura (some area nearby). So who will face Sugino’s wrath? Kan-chan of course! And unlike the usual times, Kantarou continues on with his writings and research while answering Sugino with a no-nonsense tone that Mu wasn’t around. The only comical thing I can pick out is Sugino’s reaction: he expressed relief when Mu wasn’t sticking around with Kantarou. Tsk tsk… So Sugino only meant to keep his wife away from Kantarou, lol. Hey… can’t he see that Mu is also pretty sticky towards Rosalie now? Hohoho. And at that moment Kantarou found a vital clue regarding the “Sorcerer’s Stone”, and got the white-winged to fly him over to the Asakura area. Now that’s something rare too. That Sugino was actually convinced by Kantarou on carrying him across the skies when we know by heart that Sugino is a proud creature. Seems that the serious tone in Kantarou’s voice allowed this to happen. Good for Kan-chan ^^
What happened at the end was really angsty… And it’s still not clear what transformation did Haruka really go though. The climax was full of tension and anticipation…that I can never express well. Another new track from the fantastic OST – during the moment between Haruka and Suzu. In previous episodes there was a prominent track with a sad melody – and it appears again tonight, only in a completely thematically transformed melody. There’s more of a jazzy touch as well as a carefree feel to it. It’s no longer sad, but more or less suggests a sentimental approach. The shamisen music (Ibaragi’s), unlike the previous episode, is now accompanied with the sound of a sho. That reminds me so much of
Gagaku! I miss the sounds of the
Gagaku [ancient Japanese court music]…
Crossover section:
1. Haruka on rooftop - Susumu from
Peacemaker2. the name of the place Asakura -
Shaman King3. the Sorcerer’s Stone - the Philosopher’s Stone from
Fullmetal Alchemist4. the possessed Rosalie (last scene) - Joshua from
Chrno Crusade
OMG! I'm thru!
Finally, finally, some connection!!!!
*squeals myself to death!!!!!*
I'm on my lappie now... Thank God it's working!! But it's lagging...
Please let this post get posted...! I'm so living in isolation now - exactly a week without internet... Wow, I'm still surviving...
