And My Blog Turns ONE!

And My Blog Turns ONE!

by eastasianlover ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Happy birthday to my blog! I am glad I am able to maintain it and am still writing though my schedule has always been random. And thank you to everyone who has supported me till now. Please support me in the future too.

About the past year – Reflecting on the last year, there were a lot of changes in my East Asian loving life. I got to experience a country which was a mixture of all the cultures I am fan of. I will call the last year as the most fulfilling year of my college life. Otherwise, I had lost hope with respect to my dreams. There were additions to fan girling not only from South korea and Japan but Thailand too.

Last year was a year of discovery of lost resolves and passions and taking some great decisions and making some great friends too. And I am very happy with my progress. Thanks to all the people who joined me on my journey and helped me out there.

About the recent happenings – Well as I told in my last post, I went to my home for around 9 days and I haven’t been able to come back to my normal life, thanks to the messy food of the mess and the high temperatures in Pilani. It’s so sleepy all around in the afternoon.

On the other hand, I don’t know, but I have become too hungry for good anime and all I keep doing is trying the ones which I once deemed not good enough after reading the plots and asking people for anime recommendations. I have started covering two series in a row, in one day sometimes. Now I realize, I have lost the patience to read manga too.

I am trying with Japanese novels (translated to English) and I got a book from library on Anthology of Japanese literature. I hope I finish them soon. And I started writing for a website too. The topic I chose was anime and manga reviews again since they didn’t have anything related to it before I started. It’s getting a little tiresome though, to be honest.

Not to mention, I am getting tired of people who, when hear anime, only talk about the mainstream ones – Naruto, Bleach, DeathNote, One Piece, Fairy Tail etc. I am not saying that these are not anime or I dislike them. I know they’re the ones that generally introduce people to the world of anime but anime are far more advanced and varied. To use just these names and then say that you’re anime fan, I personally, don’t approve of it. EITHER say you JUST like the series OR watch some MORE anime before claiming you love ANIME!

I must add, that I am still inexperienced even after watching 300+ anime series and movies in last four years compared to the real hardcore fans out there…… Coz coz, when I ask someone for anime recommendation, I get to know that I haven’t watched 5+ series out of 10 being recommended, till that time, just because I won’t like the plot after reading it. But the fact that the recommending person has watched them and I don’t know about them, makes me mad!!! 

About the future plans – I was going to make a page listing all the anime I have watched. I got this idea from a Korean lover’s blog I followed recently. Hmmm…. the list will become too long then. But I need to list them somewhere, at least. That reminds me, Fairy tail has started again. 1st episode with subtitles was released yesterday only. I am not a big fan of long running series. since they tend to be full of fillers but fairy tail was stopped at a very crucial point. And the secret of Dragons is coming out too, slowly.

I am thinking of making a page for different pics like a Thailand gallery may be, so that the people who are just interested in seeing the pics and not reading the posts may refer to there directly.

What else? Oh, my language learning, of course. I have decided to take a small break from Korean as of now. Since I am taking JLPT this July, I want to focus on Japanese till the time I get confident enough for passing N5. I’ll keep working for the vocabulary part for Korean though. Actually my Korean study wasn’t going that good anyway apart from the vocab.

I think I have rambled enough for today. Subsequently, I am gonna write about the anime I have watched. A lot of reviews are to come soon (probably)….

Today’s song – I actually like the Chinese version better for the song – 

Passions and Thank Yous

Passions and Thank Yous

by eastasianlover ♥ 5 Comments

I wasn’t planning to write this post any time soon but I’ve heard about my passion towards East Asia and languages so much in the past few weeks that no time could be better than this.

My friends have been telling me how amazing it is that I have something that I am so passionate about. One of them even said that she might not be dedicated to one thing in her life so whole heartedly as I am to mine. That got me thinking if it was always like that. And I realized that I would still be running in loops had I not met such wonderful fellow bloggers. They might not even know that I exist but I sincerely wish to thank you for teaching me so much about language learning.

My language learning journey for Indian languages has been pretty smooth because I had friends learning the same things with me and I had teachers dedicated to the particular language. No matter what one says, the truth is, it’s a little difficult to manage without teachers or textbooks. No pressure, no direction, self motivation are just the tip of iceberg if we start counting the problems.

So had I been not introduced to the fellow language learners, I wouldn’t have learnt about the preferred books, the levels, the language exchange thingy (I mean I knew people on sites like Livemocha but I never tried outside of it), the time gaps one can utilize and the most important – inspiration.

So, I am sorry if you don’t like it or something but I really want to thank you for all the help you have provided me, of course, unknowingly –

FreshKorean,
M,
Orphelia,
Soshi Love,
Learning Korean and My Life,
Korean Vitamin,
ASIANthusiast,
Sanjay,
Joseph,
Kirsten,
darkfire_382.
And yes of course, twoChois (I know I haven’t bought any book from there yet. But the posts themselves are enough for me. I’ll do buy a lot of books as soon as I get to earn my own money 🙂)

Most of the above mentioned people don’t even know me but I really feel indebted to the people above in giving me a hand in my language learning journey.

And I finally registered for JLPT N5. I could have gone for N4 but then I always get stumped in Kanji so I decided to take it easy and take N5. Excited desu!! XD

Next coming is an anniversary post in three days. Can’t believe it’s been one year since I started writing!

How did this happen?

How did this happen?

by eastasianlover ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

I am in very big pinches right now, not one but two two!

1. My laptop has stopped detecting my LAN cable! I can bear anything but not my internet being taken away from me. I am in a biiiiigggg crisis. Oh my net! ヽ(´Д｀ヽミノ´Д｀)ノ

2. I was just trying to refine my earlier posts for grammatical and spelling mistakes and it got published on facebook. L(´□｀L) My anonymity down the flush! (ಥ﹏ಥ)

That was not supposed to happen! *Shoots herself in the head*

Oh BTW, I am sharing net with my friend’s LAN now. Guess will have to get my laptop checked when I go home next week.

Wait! Why do I feel, something like this has happened before? Nevermind! I am out of my mind anyway. And hence the weird post…….

Kanji Card – 生

Kanji Card – 生

by eastasianlover ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

I wake up and find this kanji in my twitter feed. A beautiful and useful one!

Nicolas's avatarNIHONGO ICHIBAN

生

Meaning:to live, to grow, be born, raw

Onyomi: SEI, SHOU

Kunyomi: i(kiru), u(mu), ha(yasu), nama, ki

Strokes: 5  (click on pic to start video)

Vocabulary:

生 – nama – pure, undiluted, raw, crude

学生 – gakusei – student

誕生日 – tanjoubi – birthday

生まれる – umareru – to be born

生きる – ikuru – to live, to exist

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Manga Recommendation: Seiyuu Ka! (声優かっ!)

Manga Recommendation: Seiyuu Ka! (声優かっ!)

by eastasianlover ♥ 1 Comment

Today I bring you a manga which teaches you about the voice actors in Japan. Seiyuu is the Japanese word for voice actor. A story by Minami Aki, many say, it accurately depicts the general hardships, a voice actor faces during their début and further in their career.

Plot – This story is about Kino Hime who joins the Hiiragi academy, a top notch school for voice actors. She is inspired by a Seiyuu called Sakura Aoyama who helped her when she was little. She has kind of complex towards her younger sister who is cute and adored by everyone unlike her. The major problem is, she has very scratchy voice, and that’s why she earns the nickname – Gori Hime (Gorilla Princess). Her another problem is Kudou Senri, the son of her ideal, who is harsh and blunt about Hime’s voice. He doesn’t leave any chance to insult her. In the initial days, she is put in a group of bottom four students in the class.

Seiyuu Ka! 1

Everything changes when she is scouted by a famous voice acting company and she has to pretend to be a guy and hide her real identity from everyone. She keeps improving and making new friends on the way. Plus she changes the hard Kudou Senri in her guy form, little by little.

Analysis – This manga talks about the recklessness of a girl who is determined to prove herself. Human beings’ determination to do something is their biggest weapon is what this manga teaches. It also tells about the importance of friendship in one’s life – unselfish one on the top of that. In terms of values, the 70 chapters have lots of elements to learn. A girl who stands up to face her problems even when her own mother looks down on her, I’m touched *brushes the tears away*

Seiyuu Ka! 2

Other things – Again, if we talk about the art, it’s great! It’s full of many many great looking guys 😉 Has many romantic elements too, not just between Hime and Senri but others too. A good time pass and a great read! I am a sucker for good plot in manga and this one does justice with the plot as well the characters. Also, great to learn about the voice acting industry in Japan since much research has been put before writing it. Highly recommended!

Read here – http://www.mangahere.com/manga/seiyuu_ka/

Today’s Song – Another Naruto OST from Asian Kung-fu Generation 

Side Story 1 – I got myself a language exchange partner for Japanese. I hope my Japanese studies would come on track now, since we decided to write each other everyday. I am very happy and excited.

Side Story 2 – Today was supposed to be my “No Laptop Day”. I am addicted to this guy and my day starts and ends with my laptop. So I decided to have a day when I won’t use it. But damn my plans. There is nothing I can do without it.

Another Eye Opener

Another Eye Opener

by eastasianlover ♥ 1 Comment

Well, I’m here to fool around only. I took two days leave from blogging. Days haven’t been hectic but I’ve been so busy watching tons of anime (so much that I’ve run out of good ones) that I couldn’t take out time for writing posts. (I know the excuse sucks but can’t help it)

So I’ll talk about an interview I heard just today about language learning. The interview I’m talking about was with Benny Lewis, founder of FluentIn3Months.com brought to me by KoreanCloass101. A person who has learnt over 2 dozen languages, he is a figure to be respected. In the interview he talks about his journey of learning languages in three months, setting realistic goals and talk in target language no matter how wrong you are! Obviously I can’t give away everything (it might become a copyright issue), but it did set me thinking straight.

I mean I knew all the points he said, before too. But my habit, I need to be reminded and motivated again and again for the same thing. So getting some inspiration, I will start from a new angle in my language learning journey.

Apart from that what I learnt today is that even though I’ve been into anime and dramas for 4 years but why I couldn’t learn the languages besides picking up some phrases. And to blame are the subtitles. When I read subtitles in English, I start thinking in English only and don’t give much attention to what they’re actually saying. So I started with raw variety shows like TORE! and now I got a site from where I downloaded raw J-dramas. And now I realize I need to learn a lot (I am talking about my level not the whole language. If I talk about whole language itself, then I should say what I know may not even account for 0.1% of the whole). I may be able to pick up the context after understanding four words in a sentence but I’m far from good.

I was very happy when I used to understand the conversations between Japanese people in Thailand. What I ignored was the fact that they were generally between parents and their 7-10 old children (I got to hear such conversations only, by chance). So to say, I may be a level ahead from all the people in here (my college) trying to learn Japanese now, but I have a long way to go when I would say yes, I can actually converse with people.

Today’s Song – Bravblue from FLOW. It’s second opening to Eureka Seven AO I think –

Webtoon Recommendation: Nineteen Twenty One (열아홉스물하나)

Webtoon Recommendation: Nineteen Twenty One (열아홉스물하나)

by eastasianlover ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Do you ever compare your lives to animals and get inspiration from them? I know, we consider ourselves the highest beings on the earth, but like Shaolin martial arts is based on movements of animals, their lives can teach a lot too. That is the theme of this relaxing webtoon.

Plot – Two separate lives, Ju Dong Hwi, our hero, 19 years old and Lee Yun Lee, our heroine, 21 years old are brought together by their love for cats. Ju Dong Hwi is a carefree person, same as a cat. He is the philosopher of the story, who makes the girl and us realize a lot of things about life. He has finished the high school, but doesn’t take admission in a college or a job, just because he wants to live his life to the fullest before turning into an adult at 21 years of age.

Whereas, for Lee Yun Lee, the life has become a big mess after an accident just before her college admission exams when she was nineteen and she lost her life’s two years. Now she has started prep school again, but reluctantly, because she is half embarrassed to see her juniors being her classmates at the prep school and half despaired.

Nineteen Twenty One 2

They both find solace in watching cats and feeding them. Dong Hwi makes her ponder over the facts that animals don’t pity themselves and keep moving on, why people call cats with no owners as thieving cats and such. They start finding answers to the questions they have been struggling with, with all this wondering and self realisation.

On the top of that, they start making the people in the neighbourhood who hit these poor animals for no reason realize, that they are to be loved too. They start learning and arranging about neutering surgeries for the cats so that their number keeps  in check. And with all this, they find love in each other.

Analysis – This particular webtoon is full of things one can learn from it. First of all, kindness towards animals, especially strays, who generally are abused a lot for no reason. With proper care and treatment, they can be managed too, but we need to learn how. One of the solution provided here is neutering surgeries, but again the question comes who’s gonna pay. *Sigh* Money is a big problem after all.

Then it poses a lot of questions about life in general. We should not pity ourselves and treasure our lives and go on, to achieve our dreams. It also addresses the impact of what parents say knowingly or unknowingly, on their children. Ultimately, it forces the reader to think about a lot of things dealing with general life, in just twenty one chapters.

Nineteen Twenty One 1

Other things – Author John and artist Jenna, both have done a great work with the Webtoon. Since the art is generally based on real life photographs, generally from the neighbourhood, sometimes the cats don’t look normal – neither proper pics nor proper cartoons. But everything else covers up for it. Flowers especially are detailed and beautiful. To any person, I would recommend this webtoon, any time, anywhere.

Read here – http://read.egscans.com/19-21

Today’s Song – Well, as I said here, I’ve got a lot of songs now to share. Today I’ll go with this MV which I absolutely love. This song is OST of bleach – 

Image credits – Easy Going Scans

J-Variety Review: TORE!

J-Variety Review: TORE!

by eastasianlover ♥ 2 Comments

It’s really really difficult to find Japanese Variety shows online with some exceptions like Gaki no Tsukai. But those kind of comedies don’t appeal to me. Sometimes it’s difficult to understand what is so funny in there (obviously, I’m not at that level of Japanese). And my quest for Japanese variety shows (with no videos other than youtube working here ¬¬) led me to to two – Hey! Hey! Hey! and TORE!

Hey! Hey! Hey! is a talk show and only eng subs I found for were the episodes where DBSK have appeared. So I’m not gonna talk about that. I did stumble upon this game show – TORE! which made me remember all those game shows they used air on cartoon network and other channels when I was a kid. Takeshi’s castle and Wipeout are still popular because they are still aired on channels like Pogo and AXN.

But TORE! was kind of new to me. I remember seeing a variety show with some temple guards in it but the things are hazy and I’m pretty sure it was an English game show. I don’t remember the format either.

So, yes. About TORE! They say it’s kind of mummification program. Ah! Yes. If you get squeezed by the walls or you fall down through a hole whose end you can’t see from above, you’ll definitely become mummy unless you give the correct answers asked in the show. It’s super entertaining and thrilling. The setting is Egypt kind. The keys, the walls, the Pharaos with the most modern instruments and equipments, you’ll all find in here. I watched one episode only, today and unfortunately, the subtitles weren’t available. ¯\(°_°)/¯

You can actually feel their anxiety during the games. When they fall before finishing the sentence they were saying, the breath stops! I mean I know they’re safe and that the hole may not be that deep that they show, but that’s the magic of directors and the technical staff out there and they work for this only. As their audience, I salute them! (￣^￣)ゞ

For Japanese language learners, it can be very helpful. Most of the words can be looked upon in dictionary and I can already see changes in my kana’s reading speed. The contestants (generally celebrities) have to answer the questions so fast with their lives (kind of) at stake that you have to read things fast if you’re staying with their speed. Of course, you can slow the videos down, but where is the fun in that? One of the most fun way to learn Japanese. Highly recommended.

I’ll post the episode I watched. Happy learning!

Look what I found!

Look what I found!

by eastasianlover ♥ 3 Comments

I found this book in our library! Our university’s library! There are three more novels like this. They are too high levelled for me. But nonetheless, I got one issued. Finally, an authentic Japanese novel! Owning it for two weeks is enough for me, even if I can’t translate the whole text 😀 😀

The Izu Dancer 3
The Cover
The Izu Dancer 2
Reads: A gift to the brothers and sisters of India, Katuro Koga, Japan, 3-12-64 (It’s so old!!!)
The Izu Dancer 1
The Cover Page
The Izu Dancer 5
One of the pages – Original Text
The Izu Dancer 4
The translated text

 

Today’s song – I have switched to Japanese Bands again and found 3! Now I’ve a lot of songs to post with my posts 🙂

Today’s from Scandal. This song is one of the OSTs for Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood – 

 

Manga Reco: Kagerou Inazuma Mizu no Tsuki (陽炎稲妻水の月)

Manga Reco: Kagerou Inazuma Mizu no Tsuki (陽炎稲妻水の月)

by eastasianlover ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

I saw the cover photo on the website and the drawing style – I knew it had to be Ame Arare Sensei’s manga. And I was right. This mangaka’s drawings are so very intricate and delicate. I want to meet Sensei once in my lifetime TT_TT

Genre – Romance, Tragedy

Plot – Four one shots again. First three stories are tragedies and last one is a happy ending (which made the day I read it on, otherwise I would have drowned in the puddle of my own tears).

1. Kagerou no Shou – Kagerou was sold by her parents to become an oiran (read ahead). She was a bold child and became friendly with the person who transported her to the red-light district named Ryuuji. Before he left her there, she asked him to be her first customer. Now, years later, she is ready to take the customers but Ryuuji doesn’t have enough money to buy her services even for one night. Does her dream come true? Go and find out! TT_TT

2. Inazuma no Shou – Wakana is another oiran, and beautiful and popular one on that. She wants to free herself from the shackles of the prostitution and lures out rich men into giving her expensive presents which she pawns in order to save money. One of them is Mitsunori, who is a high ranking person in society and a shy guy who wants Wakana’s services only. But Wakana gets disappointed when Mitsunori gives her inexpensive presents out of love. After spending one proper night with her, he disappears for three months. On the other hand, Wakana becomes pregnant with his child. In the end, he comes to buy her out and make her his wife. What is the end to this love story? Go and find out! TT_TT

Kagerou Inazuma Mizu no Tsuki 2

3. Mizu no Tsuki no Shou – This is one of those stories, which start happily and you’re happy happy. And suddenly, tragedy befalls and all you can do is ponder what happened. This is the story of Suigetsu, who by chance meets her brother one night as a customer. Her brother promises to buy her out in future. But the poor guy he is, he can’t afford her services everyday and no one knows the secret that they are cousins. His master also gets surprised when he asks him to bring him there again considering he had been reluctant till now. But Suigetsu gets terminally ill before losing her virginity. Her brother tries to obtain medicine illegally but are his efforts enough to save her? Go an find out!  TT_TT

4. Nagasaki Bojou – This was the most different and definitely the most informative one. It is about the times when foreigners started coming to Japan. Otaki is chosen to serve in a colony of Dutchmen. It would be her first time but she has apprehensions about a foreign partner, the language barriers and other things. She is very reluctant but her luck, she meets a super nice guy who cares for her and doesn’t touch her without her consent. They fall for each other and Siebold (her partner) proposes to her. In the meantime, her very beloved senior catches a really bad illness. Otaki, against the rules, return back with the permission of Siebold. When discovered, she is asked to server other customers since she ran away. In the end, Siebold takes her as his wife before everyone’s eyes. Slap in your face, you bad people. Take that!!

Analysis – The topic is same as Hira Hira. Setting is kind of same, just that it deals with the time before Geishas appeared. The courtesans at that time were called oirans, and everything was much more complex and difficult during their time. More you can read here.

The theme is told by the title itself. It means something you have near you but you can’t have it – something on those lines. The major difference in both of the pieces is that the first one was more concerned with their lives, this time it’s more about love.

Kagerou Inazuma Mizu no Tsuki 3

Again, it teaches that human beings have no right to tamper with the lives of other people and treat them as trash. These ladies were the most intellectual and artistic beings of their times. They were in the power to reject the most influential people. But they weren’t in this position or profession by their choice. Call it fate or circumstances of their parents that they had to do the work against their wills.

They are not to be demeaned in any manner, no matter what! After all they are also human beings, with pride, feelings and emotions.

Other things – Art is awesome as expected from Ame Arare Sensei. I have read a lot of historical manga but those sharp lines, those details, from eyelashes to the flowers on their dresses, that is something I admire a lot about Sensei. If you read this sensei, I’m your very very very big fan, though I have read only 8 stories of yours.

Warnings – Doesn’t have that much details but contains a few scenes which may offend some people. But since topic is sensitive, scenes need to be so, to deliver the right emotions. So read on your discretion! It is definitely NOT hentai, take my word.

Read here – Kagerou Inazuma Mizu no Tsuki Manga

Today’s Song – Haha, this is a funny MV. It will definitely help after reading the manga, I’m telling you:

Fandrawing Post 4 – Saiunkoku Monogatari Chibi Ran Ryuuren

Fandrawing Post 4 – Saiunkoku Monogatari Chibi Ran Ryuuren

by eastasianlover ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

I know I should be writing but I have an exam tomorrow and I haven’t started preparing for it yet. So I won’t be able to write, just for today. But I want to keep my daily streak. Hence the fan drawing, two days in a row. This is from a historical anime called Saiunkoku Monogatari. Very interesting anime but it’s story is kind of incomplete. It needs another season. >.<

About Ran Ryuuren, he is the most carefree and my favorite character in the anime. Though he has lots of responsibilities on his shoulders, he doesn’t take stress. Keeps travelling and playing flute, like he has no care in the world. But he is, most of the times, the first one to help, where he can reach. The coolest character!

Side Story – Finally, I gathered courage and told the closest friends to me about the blog. And they misunderstood the name (as usual, since it’s name contains lover ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)! Just would like to clarify that my blog’s name means that I love East Asia and NOT that I have a East Asian lover. I did have apprehensions about this. *Facepalm*

Fandrawing Post 3 – Holo from Spice and Wolf

Fandrawing Post 3 – Holo from Spice and Wolf

by eastasianlover ♥ 1 Comment

Not my latest creation but it used to be one of my favourites at the time I drew it. Holo’s fierce eyes. From the anime Spice and Wolf

I hope I haven’t posted it yet  (^.^)