Unrelated

Textbooks are heavy, they take up a lot of space, and they can cost a lot of money. So of course a lot of people don't like textbooks. But I find them amusing for one particular reason.

Pretty much all textbooks have the most bullshit covers ever. I remember in elementary school our math books had things like plus signs, division signs, some formulas, sample fractions. Now when we get into middle school, the textbooks have some random shit like a globe or a guy running. What the hell? Put some damn math symbols on the math books goddammit. Even my textbook for math now has a picture of a cello on the front. And it's not just math books, it's almost every book. Remember when you were taking chemistry where you got those books that you never used? Remember what was on the cover? Some group of people on a whitewater raft. How the hell does that relate to chemistry? It doesn't. It's just some generic picture that's supposed to LOOK educational.

Here are some examples of generic textbook cover pictures:

- Some people making out (Spanish 4)
- A bridge (Physics)
- A watercolor painting (Psychology)
- A guy kicking a soccer ball (Physics)
- A pyramid (English)

Now some might argue that the pictures are kind of related to the subject. For example, let's take the soccer one. Someone might say, "Hey, kicking the ball requires physics, so that's why they put it on there." Ok, well that's fine and all, but don't tell me you can't put up some DAMN measurements or equations. When I see a textbook, I want to SEE the things I'm learning on the front to get in the mood to study. Not some picture of people bungee jumping or smashing clocks with a hammer or using hand sanitizer.


lol don't take this rant too seriously.

Solid

So as many of you know, the administration at our school is implementing a new rule. And as many of you know, it's bullshit. Apparently, you are not allowed to wear a plain Tshirt anymore because it is "gang related". This rule is shit related. Many people, including myself, think that this rule is ridiculous and unreasonable.

Jeff Tarn is helping me out with this post indirectly. According to him, Mr. Glass "pulled in 5 of those kp guys and they were all wearing white tshirts." So now it is a rule that you cannot wear this kind of clothing. What the ass kind of logic is that? Also, since he wears a lot of solid colors, an SIA told him the same thing that Mr. Glass probably told the 5 other guys. And Jeff also brings up a good point. "to a loot of people plain tshirts is like half or more of their wardrobe which would require them to buy more and tshirts with designs on them cost a lot more. up to $10+ more. you can go to foot locker and buy shirts, 5 for 20, then you go to pacsun, 1 shirt is 20." (By the way, these quotes were ripped straight off of AIM, so I didn't put any major changes in the thoughts) This new rule could cause people to have to get more clothes and generate unnecessary spending.

Jeff also gave his thoughts about tomorrow, which is the day that many students are going to wear plain Tshirts to school in an attempt to obliterate this rule. He says, "i actually think mr glass is okay with giving us all demerits for defiance." I disagree, because if enough students will wear it I think they won't even bother. But it is possible that what Jeff said could happen. It would probably be like a big tardy sweep to Mr. Glass. We'll see tomorrow. Even though Jeff thinks that Mr. Glass will give out demerits, he still will be part of the "rebellion" tomorrow. "[I'm doing this] to be part of the movement and the chance that he'll change his mind and if not him, the rest of the staff." Already, many people are planning to take part in this. We should all be supportive of the whole student body and our rights and show that it's unfair to put this rule on us.

So be sure to wear your plain Tshirts tomorrow to stick it to the man.

House

[The following is an old post off of my AiB blog. I didn't have any ideas to write about so I just pulled this up. And also, the timing seemed appropriate. This was originally posted February 1, 2009.]





I like the word "house" for three reasons.

1) For its common definition - I like being in my house =D.
2) I like house music. Hooray for sick beats.
3) House MD is a kickass show.

Now, I want to talk a little bit about number 3. Just this year, I discovered House, the TV show. I mean, I knew about it, but I had never watched it before because it looked kinda weird. But after I went to a Math&Science Club bonding event, I discovered how great it was. They showed the pilot episode of House and I was hooked.

When I got home, I looked for websites where I could watch more House. I was seriously addicted. Megavideo (long sigh) had it, so I watched it there. And then...it came. The stupid-*** m****r f*****g message that said, "You have watched 72 minutes of video today." I was pissed. So I had to download it and that took a while. But in the end I got my House. And by the way, MEGAVIDEO SUCKS.

For those of you who are like my past self, and don't know what House is, House MD is a medical show featuring Dr. Gregory House and his team of doctors. Each episode they face a new disease and bust their balls trying to find out what it is and cure it before it kills the patient. I love Hugh Laurie's acting and I didn't even know that he was British because he had such a good American accent. I still can't believe he has to fake it all this time.

After watching through the first season and into the second, I notice these episodes take on a repetitive pattern. I'm not saying that it makes the series BAD, but I'm just saying. So a typical episode of House would go like this:

In the opening scene, you're transported into the life of a random person and watch them live out a slice of their life. All of the sudden, you see them suffer the effects of some disease that they have, probably obtained through some event in the past. And then, the cool intro plays. After that, Dr. House and his team will accept the unusual case and try and figure it out. They use a whiteboard to try and organize the facts and pinpoint the disease. The first time, House will think he is a genius and guess at a disease and order his team to treat the patient for it. However, he is sadly mistaken and the treatment causes the patient to get worse. House and his team will go back to go over the facts and look for more possibilities. The team will be more careful this time, because one wrong move could end up with a dead patient on their hands. House will take a daring risk and treat the patient for a disease that nobody else believes to be true. But he does it anyways and the patient is all better.

Some of the optional things that may happen in episodes are:
- Dr. Cuddy will kick House off the case.
- The patient will get a seizure.
- Dr. House breaks a funny. XD
- Fights within the diagnostic team.
- Clinic duty with Dr. House
- Visits from family members of the doctors/loved ones of the doctors/previous loved ones of the doctors
- Patient dies (that's right, not always do they cure the patient)

I remember one scene, House was in the clinic playing Metroid on his GBA. The patient asked him what he was doing and House mumbled, "Level 4...." I laughed because I clearly don't remember there being distinct levels in the Metroid games. But correct me if I'm wrong.

Top 10 Best Items from LoZ

My first post in a while. Many people know about the Legend of Zelda series. It's been a classic since it first came out on the NES in 1987. To this day, the series is going strong and still pumping out great games. Each of the games is unique in their stories, their gameplay, and....THEIR ITEMS.


Hell yes. Admit it. Part of the reason you played LoZ was to play with all of Link's toys. How could you not? They're so fun to use and it's extremely rewarding when you obtain one of them. And once you get them, the game's on. Some of the items are only useful one time, but others can prove their usefulness over and over again.

And that's where this list comes in, the good items. Which ones are the best of the best? We'll soon see.

What makes up this list? Well of course items, but not every item has a chance on here. The items that are staples in every game aren't eligible (for example, swords, bow & arrow, bombs, bottles, etc.). This list should be made up of items that only have an appearance in one (maybe two) games. Also, since I'm making this list, they have to be in games that I've played, or else I won't know the function of the item. So here it is!

10) Gust Jar
This item comes from the Minish Cap. The gust jar is a very efficient weapon. If I had to describe a gust jar in one word, it would be...Kirby. It sucks up everything. Bushes, rupees, hearts, even some enemies. And it has no burnout, so you could hold down the button and just walk around, inhaling everything in your path. But of course it'd slow your movement down. The gust jar has another useful function in certain situations. When you're on a stagnant pond, and all you have is a lily pad, you can use the gust jar to navigate. Just suck up air and poof, fire it in the opposite direction you want to go.


9) Magic Hammer
Magic hammer is brought to you by A Link to the Past. There are quite a few obstacles and enemies in this game that require the magic hammer. But I don't know what's so magic about it. It is useful, despite the misnomer. Flip shelled enemies over on their bellies to slash them. You can also pound annoyingly placed stubs of whatever in your way to go through. And overall, it's just a powerful weapon. I like it.

8) Pegasus Boots
If I remember correctly, this item appears in both A Link to the Past and The Minish Cap. So what's this item do? It makes you run as fast as Sonic. You go so fast that you can't even turn. You go so fast that the enemies you hit are instantly obliterated. You go so fast that you can knock items out of trees if you run into them. You go so fast that the grass you run over is instantly shredded. You go so fast that the screen has trouble catching up with you. You go so fast that you never ever want to walk ever again.

7) Fairy Slingshot
Some might argue that this is the equivalent of a bow and arrow. I say shut the hell up because it fires NUTS not ARROWS. The first point-and-shoot item you recieve in Ocarina of Time was one of the best things you could ever take out of a treasure chest. Why go up close to someone to slash them out with a sword when you could take someone out from far away. Speaking of which...

6) Hookshot
This was pretty damn cool when I first got this. It was in the later dungeons of A Link to the Past, but once you got it, it changed your whole fighting style. No longer did you have to suffer the peril of engaging in close combat with your enemies. You could now just stab at them from the other side of the screen. Link has the best toys. In Twilight Princess, another version of the hookshot was present: the clawshot. I prefer the hookshot more, because I didn't find the clawshot particulary effective in fighting enemies.

5) Gale Boomerang
The boomerang is, in fact, a staple item in most Zelda games. But this is not a boomerang. It's a GALE boomerang. It was pretty different from the regular old piece of plastic we got in the other games. This one could do so much more in Twilight Princess. With the power of wind, you were able to access things a regular boomerang could reach, and things that it couldn't, such as: stray rupees, a heart, some enemies. The throw of the boomerang creates a mini tornado that sucks anything into it and brings it back to you. The only downside to this was that they included this in Brawl. For fighting, I'd prefer the traditional boomerang.

4) Fire Rod
The fire rod was like hell on a stick. In A Link to the Past, you could unleash the power of hellfire onto unsuspecting victims. They could even see it coming and it won't matter because they'll be ash. In one particular boss fight, the fire rod causes major amounts of damage. The damage range isn't limited to that boss either. Many others suffer the burning inferno cast upon them. And that's why this is number 4.

3) Ocarina of Wind
Not to be confused with the ocarina of time, the ocarina of wind was an extremely useful tool in your quest in Minish Cap. Remember the Pegasus Boots? Remember how I told you how fast they were? Well this thing is faster. When you play a song on this ocarina, you are instantly teleported to any warp zone of your choice. That made traveling a LOT easier and I was very happy when I got this.

2) Mole Mitts
This item was given to you early in the game in Minish Cap. It's not useful for fighting enemies, but it is useful in another aspect. Besides the one dungeon that required the use of this item, there are various parts in the game where you can use these mole mitts on weak walls to dig in and search for treasure and heart pieces. It was absolutely essential to have this if you want to 100% the game. Also, if you use this randomly on an open field, you may find big rupees or other rare items.

1) Ball and Chain
This was probably the best present ever. Easily Twilight Princess's best weapon, this is the ultimate domination tool. The name says it all, it's a big spiked ball on the end of a chain that you swing around and throw at people or obstacles. I remember it took about 3 or 4 hits with a sword to kill a certain enemy. With the ball and chain, the same enemy died after 1 or 2 hits. It does have quite a bit of startup lag, but once you get it up and running, you can just destroy any enemy in your sight. I want this. :D

Spirited Away

[I haven't posted in a while, so I thought I'd put this in as a filler. This was a review I wrote for my film studies class about the movie Spirited Away. Since I'm writing it for a class, it's gonna look different from the ones I post up on Blue Yoshi. I wrote it differently, since I'm writing for a teacher this time. So don't take this one too seriously, but if you want to read it, go ahead, here it is. Enjoy.]

Spirited Away is a pretty well known film from a not-so-well-known director. Hayao Miyazaki was the director of Spirited Away and he also brought about other movies, such as My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, and Princess Mononoke. Pretty much all the films that Miyazaki works on are all animated, and Spirited Away is no exception. Because Spirited Away is animated, it does have a lot of room for creative thought, and that’s where this movie really shines.

Sprited Away’s creativity begins with the actual story. The main character is a girl named Chihiro. Chihiro recently had to move to a new place (for reasons unknown) and left behind her old life, including her friends and her school. She doesn’t have very high hopes for this new destination and just uses the opportunity to sulk. On the drive to the new house, Chihiro’s mom and dad get themselves lost and all three of them end up at what seems to be an abandoned theme park. Hunger gets the better of Chihiro’s parents, so they find food and begin eating. Chihiro has a bad feeling about the situation, but leaves them to eat while she walks around. She soon finds a mysterious bathhouse where she also sees a boy her age. The boy chases her away and Chihiro is left to look for her parents. It soon becomes nightfall and the spirits have awoken. Dodging ghostly figures, Chihiro finally finds her mom and dad, still eating. But when they turn around, Chihiro sees that they somehow transformed into pigs. Terrified, she runs away, yet again. With nowhere to go, she hides from all the spirits. The boy from the bathhouse finds her hiding and tries to comfort her this time. His name is revealed to be Haku, and he wants to help her, first of all by getting a job at the bathhouse. In this way, Chihiro enters the bathhouse of the spirits and gets to work, in hopes of later reuniting with her parents.

You can find many memorable moments while watching Spirited Away. I think one of the best scenes was when Chihiro was flying with Haku up in the skies (Haku can turn into a dragon). During the flight, Chihiro suddenly remembers that Haku, in dragon form, saved her from drowning when she was very little, and by remembering this, Chihiro also remembered Haku’s real name. Before, the owner of the bathhouse stole his name and replaced it, and Haku forgot his real name since then. Now that he knew his real name, he could be the master of his own fate.

Spirited Away was originally a Japanese movie, which is a minor problem. The language gap can quickly be overcome by translation. But what doesn’t get translated is the kind of feeling that the Japanese voice actors can create through their own language. As a result, the English version is lacking in acting skills. People might prefer the English version, and others might like the Japanese version. It differs between people.

For an animated movie, Spirited Away looks amazing. The people who made it paid very close attention to detail, and as a result, even though it’s an animation, it feels realistic. There are some things about it that are not realistic, however. But even these things looked great on film. The different spirits and monsters and supernatural effects were very colorful and detailed. The score for this film is terrific as well. I actually have the soundtrack to this movie because it’s so good. Right when the scene calls for some music, it’s there. And it just enhances the mood. Joe Hisaishi, the musical composer for Spirited Away, did a great job creating music for this movie.

The movie has a good ending (spoiler alert!). In the end, Chihiro makes a deal with the bathhouse owner to return her parents. But she can only return to them if she can figure out which pigs they are. Several pigs are lined up and Chihiro was told to choose her parents. She tells the bathhouse owner that they aren’t in the group. Surprisingly, she’s right. She no longer had to work at the bathhouse and she was now free to go. After parting with Haku and the others from the bathhouse, she sees her parents on the far side of a field. She rushes over and hugs them, crying and laughing, just happy that they’re back. Her parents acted like nothing ever happened between entering the “theme park” and the present. Chihiro leaves with a positive outlook that this new place might not be so bad. What this film teaches you is to try and make the best of things, even when things look pretty scary or intimidating.

So overall, this is a very good film and it was very entertaining to watch. This film is like a big journey that you travel with the characters on screen. You really feel like you’re “spirited away” in this other world. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys good movies. Out of 10, I would give it 9. It’s not perfect, but it’s good enough.

Anime vs Manga

Do you ever see me do any manga reviews on Blue Yoshi? The truth is, I like anime better than manga. For my own set of reasons. But today we're gonna take an unbiased look at anime and manga and try to evaluate each based on their pros and cons.

Well, before I do that, I'll explain why I like anime better.

No actually, it would be easier to do pros and cons first.

LoL I'm arguing with myself.

Anime
Anime, as we probably all know by now, is a Japanese animation style that is not only popular in Japan, but in various other parts of the world. It produces series that many of us become attached to. But already, there are some problems. Being that this is comes from Japan, the anime itself is going to be in Japanese. If you speak Japanese, great. For the rest of us, we're screwed. There are only two options available to us now: we can either watch the English dub or the English sub. Let's talk about subs and dubs for a second. Dub means that the anime is now taken over by another company that has to redo the anime with English-speaking voice actors and editing some other minor things. English subbed anime is not done by big companies, but instead, groups of fans that are fluent in Japanese and English translate the anime and put subtitles. This way, the anime is left as it would be in Japan, just with English subtitles. Most people prefer to watch subs rather than dubs. And the general agreement is this: English voice actors suck balls. I also side with this argument, but to be fair, there are some people that like the dubs. Some series have pretty decent dubs. Ok back to anime in general. Anime has a lot of things that manga doesn't have to offer. For one thing, anime is able to make use of music, because after all, it's an animation. Also, while most mangas are in black and white, anime has color. Which may be appealing to some people. Uh oh, I'm not supposed to be comparing yet....shoot. I'm too lazy to go take that out, so just pretend that you didn't see it.

Manga
Manga is the equivalent of a comic book. It's just as popular as anime, and it also originated in Japan. It's a book with pictures and speech bubbles. We do have access to manga as well, but it has it's own problems. The mangas that are processed by other companies and get official translations come by way too slowly. The series may be at chapter 100 in Japan, but what we get in the US as the latest release is chapter 50. But there is an alternative, however, and many people will agree that this is the better option. Online, people scan fan-translated copies of manga and post them on the internet. It doesn't give you that book reading experience, but at least it keeps you up to date with the latest releases. I have read some manga online and I do think that the fans have done a terrific job translating. Not only do they translate, but they explain certain customs and plays on words in Japan that we wouldn't understand in the US. I'm not entirely sure if the US versions of manga have this.


Ok, now it's comparison time. Manga vs Anime. Anime vs Manga.

Mangas sometimes have corresponding series in the anime variety. For example, there is a Naruto manga and a Naruto anime. However, the stories may differ between the two. I remember watching a series, anime style. And later, I decided to revisit the series in it's manga form. When I first started, I was very surprised how differently they started off. Not only are the stories different, but just...how do I explain this? Well, let's take a series for example...Negima. Mahou Sensei Negima is both an anime and a manga. If you do a bit of research, you will find that the anime is 26 episodes long. If you do a little more research, you'll find that the manga is ongoing. WTF? The anime stopped, but the manga still has more to offer. Mangas are like...soap operas then. No wait, I take that back. Don't compare mangas to soap operas. Please. Like I said before, anime has color and sound effects/music to go along with the animation. So if you are a visual person, you'd probably prefer anime. Manga is just black and white, and you have to create your own music and sound effects. Just kidding. If you really do that, you're weird.

Manga and anime are so different. But it's the special things about each one that attracts people. Certain people will like anime and certain people will like manga. It's not really one is better than the other, it's just a matter of opinion.

So the bottom line is this. If you keep moving from series to series and you're a visual person, anime is probably best for you. If you stay loyal to a couple series, then manga is for you.

Anime Review #14: Hidamari Sketch

Oh man. I love this anime, and with good reason. It's so radically different from other anime. Uniqueness is one thing, but this is like a whole other style of anime. I have no idea. I guess it's because it's about art and everything has to be artistic about this anime. It's just awesome.

It's a shortie. 13 episodes long. They also have a second series: Hidamari Sketch x365, which I'm watching right now. And I've heard rumors that a third series will be coming out.

This anime is like the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya in the sense that the episodes are not presented chronologically. But unlike Haruhi, I don't think it makes a difference if you watch Hidamari Sketch in broadcast order or in chronological order. I'm not entirely sure how to figure out the chronological order, but you can either look online for the correct order, or maybe use the dates in the episode titles.

ENOUGH. For probably the last time for a while it's time to do the character...
ROLL CALL
Yuno - The MAIN main character. There are 4 characters that the series focuses on, but Yuno is the one that we follow most of the time. Yuno is a junior in high school and attends Yamabuki Arts Academy. She always wears X-shaped hairpins, and for that reason, is often represented in the anime as an X. You might not understand what I'm saying right now, but just watch the series and you'll get it. She is a very innocent person and probably the shortest out of all of the 4 main characters. She lives in room 201 in Hidamari Apartments. Oh yeah, she is also called "Yunocchi" by the next character.

Miyako - Also known as Miya, this is the most physically matured person, but the least mentally mature. Also a junior, she lives in 202 at Hidamari Apartments, right next to Yuno. Her room costs way less than the others' and you could see why when you see the inside of it. She's very wild and a fun loving person. Her stomach is bottomless and she's always eating. She loves her friends and is an especially good friend to Yuno.

Hiro - Hiro is one year older than Miyako and Yuno, making her a senior at Yamabuki. She is very sensitive about her looks and always goes on diets to try and lose weight. Even though she tries to avoid food, she always cooks for everyone else at Hidamari Apartments, especially for the next character. She is sometimes represented in the anime by her crazy hair. Well, it's not crazy when you first look at it, but when the weather's just right, it starts moving.

Sae - Same age as Hiro, which means she's also a senior. She lives in 102, right next to Hiro and right below Miyako. She is a writer and only attended Yamabuki because she wants to be able to illustrate her own books. She gets embarassed very easily. She also has a sister named Chika, but you only see her one episode. In Hidamari Sketch x365, you see her more often, however.

Yoshinoya - Known as Yoshinoya-sensei, because, after all, she's the teacher. She's probably even more immature than Miyako, which means she's a crazy teacher. She always cosplays for her class and is scolded by the Principal for it. She has a pretty good relationship with the other girls at Hidamari Apartments.

The Principal - Kinda nameless, but he doesn't really need a name. He's the character that really sticks out because it looks like he's out of place. He just looks really weird. His head is super long. It's like a hot dog. He doesn't really play a big role, other than occasionally showing up and talking to some other people, or scolding Yoshinoya for her crazy behavior.

The Landlady - Also nameless, to my knowledge, she is another character that appears less in the first season but more in the second (the other being Chika). Her name says it all, she's the landlady of the Hidamari Apartments. She's pretty easy going and is a frequent smoker. And she talks in a weird accent, but also cool. Yup...not much to say here.

This anime is another slice of life animes. If you don't remember what that means, it just means that there's no real story. Instead, the anime shows "slices" of the characters lives. So even though it doesn't have a story, it's still successful in developing the characters and making the series entertaining.

This series comes with a LOT of extras. There's probably like 5 OVAs and 2 specials. Which is a lot. I haven't watched them though.

So what's Hidamari Sketch all about? Well, I can't really answer that because, I told you, it's a slice of life. What it's pretty much about is Yuno, Miyako, Hiro, and Sae hanging out at school, but mostly in the apartments. It looks like a fun lifestyle because they make it seem that way. This anime takes slices from all around the year and gives the variety that keeps this from going stale.

Another thing about this anime is how artistic it is. Unlike other animes, Hidamari Sketch has this unique way of making you think and making you interpret different images and symbols. It sure worked for me. I loved Hidamari Sketch.

Some of the music is very artsy too. I tried to find some soundtracks but I failed. Which sucks, because I wouldn't mind putting this in my library.

So is there a downside? Well, as much as I hate to say it, there is. And it's probably the same thing that was the best part about the anime, the artistic viewpoint. Some people might get confused watching the series or not like the way the anime is portrayed. If that's you, you might want to try the manga. I've never seen it though, so I'm only guessing.

I can't really say much about this series since it's so short AND it's a slice of life. But overall, it's a good anime. I'd probably keep watching this. If you're looking for something totally different, try this. It might turn you on. Just kidding. It is good though.

Storyline: 9/10
Characters: 8/10
Mood: 9/10
Uniqueness: 10/10
Overall: 9/10

Summer Retrospective

I wanted to do this post after the Hidamari Sketch one, but I'm gonna do this one before it to save time.

Summer is ending. It's a given that pretty much everyone is pissed or sad. And why shouldn't they be? Summer is the best. Well that goes without saying. But for me personally, this summer has been one of the best summers of my life. It wasn't perfect, but it was definitely better than the previous summers.

Let's start with the highlight of my summer: DRAGONAUTS. Dragonauts was so kickass, I have to wonder why the hell I didn't do it last year. It's another one of my unique families. We just had a lot of fun this summer. I mean, I wish that I could do this all year. It's so enjoyable to be with these people and rowing boats. I really liked all the gatherings that we had too. We probably had like...3 or 4 potlucks this summer. And they were awesome. I made so many friends in Dragonauts. Some really nice people. The best part was the races at Long Beach. The best 2 days of the whole summer. Even when we weren't racing, it was still a lot of fun just hanging out with the other team members and watching LARD or some other team racing. The races were intense. Again, the best part about summer were these two days. If I could do it every weekend, I would.

In general, I was probably most active this summer. What I mean by that is this - most other summers, I wouldn't leave the house unless I really had to. For example, the summer before this one, I went to Gateway Academy, and then went home, and that was my whole day. The summer before Gateway's summer, I literally stayed home all day. This summer, I actually hung out with friends and cool people and did fun stuff. Makes me wanna redo the other summers.

This summer wasn't perfect, like I said. I had to take a physics class at Cerritos College. Which was bullshit. I didn't see a purpose in taking the class except that it was just something to do. I guess my mom wanted me out of the house.

Still, the other good stuff just overrode this little detail and made this a candidate for one of the best summers of my life.

I'm not sure if my birthday counts as being in the summer, but if it is, then that makes it better. THANK YOU, GUYS!!

So yeah, that was my past look on 09's summer. Stay tuned for one last post, Anime Review #14.

Anime Review #13: They Are My Noble Masters

Hi, everyone. This is a quick filler for other stuff to come, so don't expect too much. It was a short anime, so I just watched it in like, 2 days. For the second time. It's 13 episodes long. Well I'm getting ahead of myself here.

This anime is a lot of things. It's a comedy, an ecchi, and a drama. But mostly comedy. While there are quite a few characters, they're all pretty much main characters, so I guess I should name them all. So let's get started on the -

ROLL CALL
Uesugi Ren - A young man in search of a job. He left his home with his sister, Mihato, because his father was very abusive - a result of his alcohol addiction. He does find a job. He becomes a butler at the Kuonji residence. He and his sister are the newest additions to the family under the household and Ren tries his best to serve and to please his masters.

Uesugi Mihato - Ren's sister. She is a very kind and caring person on the outside that would never hurt a fly. She loves her brother very much and...yeah. On the inside, however, it's revealed that she does things to achieve some of her personal desires. But that doesn't change your view of her a whole lot. She has many tools and items hidden all around her body for some reason, and that makes her a very useful servant in the Kuonji household.

Kuonji Shinra - The eldest sister of the Kuonjis. That makes her the super master of the house. She is a composer and she loves music. She usually has a busy schedule and looks down on people a lot. Even if you're not her servant, she expects you to call her Shinra-sama (which is how you address nobility). There is seriously something wrong with her brain, because she constantly sexually harasses her younger sister, Miyu, and also some of the servants.

Kuonji Miyu - The middle sister of the Kuonjis. She looks like a child, but she's in her twenties. She's a genius and graduated very early. She doesn't even have to leave the house and she still makes money (from all the inventions that she created). For some reason, she constantly walks around the house with her shirt off (but you don't really see it, of course). She also owns a robot named De Niro. De Niro is shaped like an egg and is very useful in most situations. It has a developed personality and it's almost like he's a member of the family. Almost.

Kuonji Yume - The youngest of the three Kuonji sisters. She is a very happy-go-lucky girl and is best friends with one of the other servants in the house, Natose. She is often neglected as the youngest sister, and she gets sad from this lack of attention. She often has fantasies of people paying attention to her because she is some kind of hero or something. And she has pink hair.

The Colonel - He does have a real name, but it's never used in the series. Instead, he is called the Colonel because he was a war veteran and now a butler in the Kuonji residence. I believe that he is the head butler because of his age and power over the other servants of the house. He believes that appearances are important and shows it by constantly combing his hair or trimming his mustache.

Benisu - I'm pretty sure she has a last name too, but they never mention one. She's kind of like the head maid or something. She's usually in charge of the cooking and is very sensitive to bad comments about her food. She is a very temperamental person. She often releases her anger on the lower servants (in good comedy).

Natose - Again, she probably has a last name, but I never heard it. She is Yume's personal attendant. She is a crazy athletic servant and shows off her skills by running super fast and jumping super high. She also wears an eye patch over her right eye, which was a result of an injury from a tsunami that hit Natose's hometown. She pays the most attention to Yume and always tells her to never give up. Yeah. Ok.

Kiyohara Chiharu - Also known as Haru, this servant is the youngest of all the servants. He looks like a girl, but is actually a guy. This person is even more invisible than Yume. Nobody notices him, which can be both good and bad. He's in charge of cleaning and he always dreams of creating a clean world. Cute kid.

Kuki Ageha - Not related to the Kuonjis, this is another person from a separate household. She just looks...weird. Remember Scar from Full Metal Alchemist? Ageha looks like his sister. She has a big X-shaped scar on her forehead and has silver hair. She has her own personal servant most of the time, but he constantly displeases her. However, the servant, Kojuro, has his heart set on serving Ageha with passion. Ageha is pretty violent. She hits her servant all the time (which he enjoys, by the way). And she has this outgoing attitude that takes people back a lot.

So those are the main characters. So what's the story? Ren runs away from home with his sister, Mihato. His father keeps abusing them and Ren is sick of it. So out on their own, Ren and Mihato now have to find jobs. Their job search didn't go well. Ren slowly loses hope when he notices a girl in trouble. He rushes over to help and the girl tells him to take her to her house. So Ren and Mihato go to the house where they are greeted with many thanks for saving this girl, who is now revealed to be Miyu. While they are there, Mihato notices the servants and arranged for the two of them to apply to become servants in the house.

Since this anime jumps around a lot, it's hard to come up with a good summary, but that's how this series gets started and how Ren and Mihato get their jobs as servants of the Kuonji house. The story was pretty good. It wasn't solid, but it was entertaining to watch. Sometimes, I think that viewers are left in the dust about certain things. We don't get to see some characters develop and there are a few plotholes here and there. It was at least coherent, however.

Characters are great. Some are kind of annoying though. Like there's this horny girl (who I didn't mention in the roll call) who always wants to be "punished". *shudder* Ageha can be pretty annoying too, sometimes. It's a minor thing, and for the most part, I liked the characters. We see some of their past lives, and that kind of makes you have a different impression of them. My personal favorite is Chiharu because...well...just look at him.

It's pretty funny for a comedy, and most of the time the series is like this. But at the end, the storyline takes on a drama feel, which I like. It also ends pretty well, so most people would be satisfied with it.

So overall, this anime is a pretty entertaining show, but I wouldn't recommend it to hardcore anime viewers or else they'll blame me for wasting their time. It's meant to be just a short, enjoyable series and that's what it is. So don't expect too much out of it.

Sorry this review was so short.

Storyline: 7/10
Characters: 8/10
Mood: 9/10
Uniqueness: 8/10
Overall: 7.5/10




SOME CLOSING REMARKS
You know, summer is starting to close, which we all are dreading. And so am I, because it means that I won't be posting that much anymore, since school is starting. So I just wanted to take this time to thank all of my faithful readers ^^ for keeping up with Blue Yoshi for these few months. This doesn't mean I'll stop posting, though. I will try to make new entries when I can, but it'll be at a slower pace. Before summer is over, I wanted to do one more anime review (Hidamari Sketch) and maybe an entry about a look back at 2009's summer. So thank you all for reading, and I hope to keep writing for you guys XD.