Butterflies, Flowers Volume 6 Review

There’s good news and bad news for Choko and Masayuki. The good news is that at last the house of Choko’s parents, which was destroyed in an accidental fire caused by the neighbors, has been rebuilt. The bad news is that now she is moving back, and out of the home she has been sharing with Masayuki.

It’s their last night together, and sadness abounds, but Choko and Masayuki are determined to spend this last night  in one another’s arms—but they haven’t figured on the machinations of Mikihiko, Choko’s brother, who comes to take her home already. But apparently, it hasn’t occurred to him that their going back will mean no longer leaving next to Suou too. (Mikihiko still isn’t aware that Suou is no lady).Masayuki arrives the next morning with Choko’s things, as well as a request for the return of his spare key, since obviously she doesn’t need it. Choko is devastated—she isn’t ready to give up paradise yet, and neither is he. What can she do about it?

Choko and Masayuki are even more lovey-dovey than before, having had their third lovemaking session. To Masayuki’s chagrin, they are going on a company trip—he would have preferred taking her alone, but he has no choice in the matter. They are going to an inn which just happens to have a hot springs. Masayuki hates the way that the woman wait on the male executives, who are essentially boring pigs who like to brag about themselves. And President Yanagi is there as well, which is never good. On the trip, Choko learns that Masayuki once dated a girl who had worked in the administration department. The knowledge disturbs Choko, who can’t seem to get it out of her head, despite Masayuki’s protestations that that was over a long time ago, and Choko is the only one in his heart. A disturbed Choko has a bit too much to drink, and ends up where she shouldn’t. Can Masayuki save the day, and her dignity?

Back at work, a coup seems to be underway to oust President Yanagi. Thanks to Masayuki and Branch Manager Otaki, this effort is foiled and Yanagi saved. Otaki is known to be Yanagi’s successor since Masayuki turned the position down.  There is a catch, though—Yanagi is still determined that his successor marry his niece, Makie. But it seems that Makie is in love with someone else! In an effort to fix things, Masayuki assigns Choko to Otaki as his personal assistant. But it seems they’ve merely thrown oil on the fire rather than put it out!

When she was a girl, every Christmas Choko received a stocking full of candy from Masayuki, her Cha-chan. Now they’re grown up, and it’s Christmas time, and he’s trying to buy her jewelry. But she isn’t interested and tells him all she wants from him is a stocking, like in the old days. They make plans for her to go to his place on the 24th and spend a special night together, then the next day he can present her with his stocking. But the best laid plans of mice and men…. Masayuki learns from Yanagi that Otaki is in no hurry to be married; apparently he is love with someone, and it isn’t Makie. Choko learns that Makie and Suou (in men’s clothes! Le gasp!) have a date for Christmas Eve, which she thinks is wonderful. Until Otaki tells her that she has to accompany him to a party, and if she doesn’t, he’ll make Makie do it in her stead! Choko can’t do that to her friends, so what choice does she have? What does this mean for her plans with  Masayuki?

Masayuki picks Choko up for work the next day as usual, and drops her off to pick up the Chairman. Choko runs into a helpful woman outside their building, who offers to help her with her bags. It turns out this woman once worked there and has returned to do so again! Choko begins to put two and two together, and comes up with an identity for Masayuki’s ex. Things get awkward when Masayuki returns, and it seems that he is too attentive to this newcomer. Choko is definitely feeling threatened—but then it gets worse!

You can read my complete review at Anime Radius and Yaoi Radius!

Even Bad Boys Face Consequences

Look at that face. How can you say no to it? Most women can't. Maybe that's his problem.  For those of you who don't recognize him, that is Hank Moody, author, bad boy and all around sexy guy - the foundation upon which Californication is built, the sexy comedy on Showtime now in its fourth season.

Hank Moody is the ultimate badboy. He does what he wants when he wants to whom he wants. He's a perpetual Peter Pan who's never grown up and doesn't plan to. Why should he, when his extended childhood is just too much fun? He's never even held an actual job in his life, as he admitted in this week's episode - he's never had a boss, his admission rather blowing his attorney's mind.  Oh, if you haven't seen this week's episode, then possible spoilers ahead.

Let's show him in action now:

He's irreverent, irresponsible, and wickedly funny.  Sexy as all get out too.  I think he must have a clause in his contract (David Duchovny, that is, the actual actor that plays the character) that he gets a partial nude scene in every episode.  Not that I'm complaining, mind you, it works for me. This week was with her attorney. We got to meet her boss this week, and he insisted on taking Hank to the golf course. Watching Hank in a yellow golf shirt was priceless - and what he did on that course will have you rolling and wiping your eyes. (Not giving everything away, don't worry).

But even the biggest bad boy has to face the consequences of his actions. Life can't be too easy for them, and Hank is no exception. If  you've been following the show from the beginning, you know that he hooked up with a girl at one of his book signings, took her to bed, and while they were fucking, she punched him - twice. Imagine his surprise to later find out she was only sixteen.  She did seem a lot older and she never said a word. Not only that but her dad was, at the time, engaged to Hank's ex.  Damn touchy situation. Naturally he didn't confess to what happened, but perhaps he should have, cause the truth has a way of coming out, and the longer delayed it is in that coming, the uglier it gets. But before it does, Hank polishes his dormant writing skills and actually pens a novel - a thinly veiled autobiographical novel of the cathartic type about what happened, which he titles Fucking and Punching. The young lady in question, whose name is Mia and is played by Madeline Zima (who also appears in the last season of Heroes as Clare's roommate), spots the manuscript and steals it, and then has the temerity to find an agent (Hank's agent Charlie Runkle's ex-assistant, but that's a whole other story there) and have it published under her name, to great literary acclaim. Shit happens and the truth does come out, but with a price - Hank, who has reconnected with his lady love, loses her and his daughter too.  And oh, he gets arrested for statutory.

Other actions bring other consequences. His relationship with his daughter Becca is an emotional rollercoaster. Becca is a damned emo Goth girl who looks like she could happily hang out with Lydia Dietz of Beetlejuice. At times she is more mature than her father, but at other times I just want to punch her, especially for that doom and gloom attitude of hers. Negativity breeds negativity, sweetie! Just saying!  Hank's ex, Karen, is actually a gorgeous woman, and very cool. She does put up with a lot from him, and he does put her through hell.  He doesn't seem able to be faithful. He needs to learn to keep it in his shorts. But that's part of his bad boy charm, right? And how he does charm the ladies, he really does.

His agent, Charlie, is cute too - not quite as charming, but he has his own sweet personality (although he has moments when he is a major tool himself). Let's look at Charlie.

He's adorable! In the first season, he got fired from the agency he worked for - they caught him on camera too many times whacking off in his office. Later he has a dom/sub relationship with his assistant (the one who later represents Mia) and at one point he falls in love with a porn star of the film he produces - Vagina Town. He goes to work at another agency where his boss, superbly played by Kathleen Turner, demands he service her!  Charlie is a bad boy too, just not in the same league as Hank - and with more and worse consequences.

Bad boys - how we love them. But if  you don't give them consequences, they become one dimensional and boring. No one is perfect. No one is all bad either. A touch of humanity goes a long way.

Who are your favorite bad boys and why?  Tell me, I'd love to hear!

Sleepy Eyes of Death Volume 2 Review

Can a man conceived from the rape of a Japanese woman by a crazed Christian missionary during a Black Mass find true happiness?  Or is Nemuri Kyoshiro doomed to wander forever, with no direction of his own?

Sword of Fire: Nemuri comes upon a woman being chased by a man wielding a sword. She begs him to come to her assistance, as she is justly avenging her husband’s death. The man warns Nemuri that if he helps her, he will only disgrace himself, but what does that mean? Afterwards, she takes him to meet the Chief Retainer, Atobe Shogen, who shows him the Execution License. All seems to be in order, but is it really? It seems that Atobe is in cahoots with the local merchants, one in particular being Narumi, the rice merchant. And they have a secret involving  a group of pirates known as the Toba Suigun, whom the Shogun has ordered the Todo clan to completely destroy. Unbeknownst to him, Atobe diverted half of the pirate’s confiscated treasure to himself. But it seems that not all the pirates’ families have been killed; a few have ended up in Edo. Nemuri finds himself in the thick of things as he contends with the widow Nui, who is not what she appears to be, and the remaining survivors of the pirates. He has to decide when and how to intervene, and he has to figure out just who is telling the truth

Sword of Satan: On a rainy night, Nemuri is approached by a woman who requests that he purchase her for the night. He goes to her home, where he discovers she wears a Noh mask; he demands she remove it. He pays her but leaves rather than sleep with her, not moved by her story. When she kills herself, he wonders if it is some fault of his. He runs into a woman named Orin, whose brother, Banzo the Flying Squirrel, was killed by Nemuri in a fair fight. Orin is determined to get revenge. Nemuri learns that he is mentioned in the dead girl’s will—she left him the money he gave her, and her mask. It seems that she also leaves behind a five year old boy who is not her son, but whom she loved like one. His name is Tsurumatsu, and he says he hates samurai. Meanwhile, we learn that the Iwashiro clan is in trouble; if the heir is not in the fief, the clan will be disbanded by the shogunate. Elder Mizuno and chamberlain Kikimura are hardly innocent in this arrangement, and have less than unselfish motives for wanting the boy returned to the clan. Nemuri has sworn to help the boy in any way he can, now his challenge is to go to the fief where he is being held, and return him to Edo, so that he can live as a carpenter, as he desires. It won’t be easy – Orin is determined to stop him, and he must contend with the Elder and the fighting men of the clan, not to mention the wiles of women who are determined to waylay him from his true path. Can he reach Iwashiro and rescue the imprisoned youngster?

Mask of the Princess: Remember a crazed daughter of the Shogun who caused a lot of death and mayhem in the first Sleepy Eyes of Death series? Well, she’s back and as determined as ever to get her revenge on Nemuri Kyroshiro—she wants his head! As Nemuri seeks the Izutsu’s household, he is accosted by a group of men who offer him a fifteen year old virgin! Interestingly, this virgin is in the household he seeks, so he goes along with them, and once there he reveals that he has been invited there by someone named “Kiku”. As he is being shown the young virgin, who claims to hate samurai, the true purpose of his being lured there is revealed when Nemuri is attacked! His attackers turn out to be the Bushu Hayate group, protectors of Kiku, who is the Shogun’s daughter. Nemuri also meets a man named Ten’ma, who says he seeks vengeance and wishes to learn the Full Moon Cut from him, but Nemuri refuses. Nemuri buys the young girl out of her contract, and helps her find a job. In the meantime, a second woman’s body has been found, murdered, with a black cross drawn on her lower abdomen, beside a message which reads, “Nemuri Kyoshiro molested her!”. Nemuri finds himself the object of interest of Constable Heihachi, but he isn’t arrested. In order to clear himself, Nemuri goes to Hanjo, to the dojo of the husband of the murdered woman. His name is Akamatsu Kanbei. Kanbei accuses Nemuri of killing his wife and prepares to face Nemuri’s Full Moon Cut. But Kanbei has the advantage—he understands how Nemuri’s signature style works! When the young girl, Haru, is kidnapped by the crazy princess, it is up to Nemuri to save the day.

Sword of Villainy: What do a child at play, a hairdresser, a dancer, stinky water and a dead sensei all have in common?  They are all elements of the complicated plot facing Nemuri Kyoshiro in this eighth episode of Sleepy Eyes of Death! Nemuri’s man Tetsu is a hairdresser who knows how to be in the right place at the right time, telling his friend the tale of a merchant and his family who are tied up while a stranger plays hide and seek with a young girl and searches for something. How does Tetsu know this? Well, he was doing some research of his own, and came away from the storeroom with what he hopes is “prolonging longevity sake”. He offers Nemuri a cup, but when he pours it for him – phew! It smells awful so he throws it on the ground. Nemuri uses an em ber from his pipe and the liquid flares up! The men try to put it out with water, but it only grows hotter! A quick thinking dancer smothers the flames because she knows the secret – this is no sake, it’s stink water from Echigo, and quite combustible! In this episode are wheels within wheels, plots within plots. A group of rebels seeking to gain revenge on behalf of their late sensei, killed in an uprising. Greedy merchants. A woman scorned seeking to get even with the man who used her. Yojimbo with minds of their own. A mad plot to burn Edo to the ground. What can one man—ie Nemuri Kyoshiro—do to avert disaster to over a million people?

You can read my complete review at Anime Radius!

Authors go wild at Love Romance Cafe - today at 12:00 EST

Have you ever wondered what the authors of Silver Publishing are like when they let their hair down? Come and find out today, we're hanging out at Love Romance Cafe, the Yahoo Group.  We've been released and given a day pass, come see what we're like!

Learn about our habits - good, bad, and ugly! Find out what we've written and what we're working on - if you dare!

Warning: Do not feed the authors! Keep your fingers away from their mouths!

Here is where we will be, at 12:00 EST http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LoveRomancesCafe/

Disclaimer: Not responsible for overdoses of fun that may be had at this event. 

Countdown to KawaKon

You may have noticed something new on my blog - the counter on the left hand side.  Hard to miss, isn't it, all red and sparkly and dazzly and full of numbers, right? Countdown to KawaKon, it says. Some of you might be scratching  your head and wondering - what is KawaKon? Well, I'm glad you asked!

KawaKon is an annual convention held here in St. Louis celebrating anime and Japanese culture primarily, but not limited to those topics. This will be our third year having the convention, my second year with it. The convention is being held March 11-13, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Clayton. It's a really nice hotel.

Here's the entrance to the front of the hotel, the entrance to the parking garage is on the right, just out of camera range. It has a large parking garage.

Here is the lobby and registration. If you look down the left side of the picture, at the very end, you can see where the KawaKon registration will be. That's where you'll find me!  :)








This year our voice guest of honor is Quinton Flynn - he's the voice of Johnny Quest, Raiden from Metal Gear Solid, Kon from Bleach and more. Besides a voice guest, we have artist guests and a musical guest. Three River Okiya is back as well, such lovely ladies!  Every year there is a masquerade, always on Saturday, which is very popular and very well attended. Kelly is in charge of that again - she's a super lady who is great at everything, and very talented.  Our whole staff is great, and very eager to please and to make sure that our guests have a great and a safe time at the convention.

Our con chairs are a very lovely couple - Mikhail and Katrina Lynn.  They are experienced in running conventions; besides this one, they are responsible for BishieCon, a boys love convention also here, and a flash Harry Potter convention which will be in July, I believe, and in 2012 they will offer the first Ghostbuster convention - EctoCon. Busy people and quite wonderful!

Besides the Masquerade, quite a number of panels have been prepared on a variety of topics.  Here, check out the website:  http://www.kawakon.com/

There is a Fanfiction contest, and an AMV contest, a Swap Meet for those who want to trade their stuff for something else, a ball-jointed doll tea party, a date auction and a rave. On Saturday night is a ball brought to you by Ciel Phantomhive,  There will be a Host Club party, Whose Line is it Anime, Karaoke - and more!

Friday night, for those of you who like to stay up late, we're showing Repo! the Genetic Opera in which much fun will be had and much music sung and things I can't tell you about.  On Saturday night, it's the classic Rocky Horror Picture Show! The showing of the film will be preceded by a Virgin Sacrifice! Audience participation for this event is mandatory - everyone must dance the Time Warp! Loot bags will be on sale at Registration.

There is a restaurant in the hotel, but also places to eat within walking distance. There will be a dealer's room and artist's alley for all your shopping needs.I love being on the staff, it's a lot of fun!  So many people in costumes!  Lots of cosplaying!  I love meeting the people.  I get to see almost everyone, working at Registration.  I'm so running the two movie events I mentioned, and I have a samurai panel on Sunday, about samurai in the cinema, followed by a showing of Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo.

We have a pretty remarkable staff at KawaKon - you'll love them too!

Have any of  you been to a convention? If so, which one/s, and did you like your experience?  I'd love to hear about it!

Don't throw me in that briar patch, Brer Rabbit!

*****warning, VD spoilers*********

So, in last night's episode of Vampire Diaries, we have Damon and Rick plotting Elijah's demise using the dagger and tree ash so kindly supplied by John Gilbert for that purpose. Wait a minute there - supplied by John Gilbert? That alone should have been a warning, but apparently the desire to rid themselves of Elijah overshadowed any common sense in that respect, and caused them to forget that JOHN GILBERT HATES VAMPIRES!  He's had no reason to grow any fonder of them since Katherine killed him, and now his biological daughter Elena (who really hates him) is dating one.  But let's move on from there.

So then we get Damon taking blood to Katherine, who is still entombed. Or was, at that point. She knows what he's going to do, and she pleads with him not to. She says that if he does that, she'll be contained there forever, never being able to break the spell. Damon sees no problem with that, and in theory I didn't either. Except that every alarm bell in my head went off, and all I could think of was Brer Rabbit.

Anyone remember that story? Do kids even read that any more?  I dunno, but I've never forgotten it. Brer Fox is clever and he catches Brer Rabbit with the help of a little something he created in the form of a Tar Baby. Brer Rabbit is held fast, as Brer Fox gloats over him, and talks about the ways he is considering bringing about his demise. To which Brer Rabbit pleads - do whatever you want, roast me, hang me, whatever but just don't throw me in the briar patch, please. Brer Fox, being not as foxy as he appears, thinks he'll make the rabbit suffer even more by doing what he doesn't want, and tosses him into the briar patch, thinking he'll be all cut up and suffering and stuff. But surprise! Brer Rabbit gets clean away, and from a safe distance tells Brer Fox, "I was bred and born in the briar patch, Brer Fox, bred and born in the briar patch."

So it was no surprise after Damon and Rick (well, Elena, but that's another story) managed to dispatch Elijah (again), that Damon finds Katherine in his shower.  Duh, Damon.  You did just what she wanted you to, despite how I  yelled at you not to. Sheesh. As soon as she started her spiel, I kept thinking the lady doth protest too much. Doesn't it stand to reason that if the vampire is dead the curse is lifted?  That goes for those who have been bitten by the vampire and haven't died yet - they're safe now too. So what was Damon thinking with?  Or was he? Was he simply playing white knight for Elena in order to save her from her proscribed path of martyrdom (which he excoriated her for in the episode before).

So now we have Katherine on the loose again. She says she only wants to help, but you can't believe a word that woman says. I did love how, once he discovered John's perfidy (if Damon had done the deed, using the blade, as John tried to get him to do, he would have been destroyed), he gave Elijah the nod to off him, because he is certainly not on Elena's list of people I love and don't hurt them. John Gilbert is, I fear, too much of a one dimensional villain for me. Elijah was a better foil. Is he gone?  Seriously, who knows. At some point, Klaus has to enter the scene for any of this to make sense. Are they saving it for the last episode in the season, a cliffhanger that will keep tongues  hanging out in anticipation of season 3?  I wouldn't doubt it.

Last night featured some flashbacks to the original Jonathan Gilbert, ie Civil War times. I'm sorry, my mind wandered during those, they bored me so much. Also, I heard a faux pas. I know I've complained about the differences between the series and the books before, one of them being why did they change the name of the town from Fell's Church to Mystic Falls? I still don't know. But last night as Elena was reading an excerpt from one of the Jonathan Gilbert journals, she said Fell's Church. Is that a major continuity error or what?

It was interesting to see Lexi again, and to see the development of her and Stefan's relationship, and to watch Stefan as the wild child while Damon was the good one. Damon looks cute in his Civil War long hair, by the way.  Makes you wonder how he got to be so cynical.  I guess we'll find out.

I'm still perplexed about Jenna and Alaric's relationship, what purpose it serves. Jenna is such a throw away character, why is she even there? Not sure about Bonnie and Jeremy, mostly because recently Bonnie has turned into a one-dimensional holier-than-thou witch with a stick up her ass, and Jeremy has just gotten past being the emo boy with the weight of the world on his shoulders who thinks he should just die and end it all. That's as annoying as Elena's martyrdom kick.

I presume that at some point, Tyler will figure in the plot again, as well as werewolves, but for now I guess they're focusing on the Originals, and leading up to Klaus. I have to believe that by the end of the season, Katherine will be dead. At least I hope so, she annoys the bejesus out of me.

Does anyone else watch this show? Who do you like, and who do you dislike? What do you think of this season versus last? Do you like the direction it's taking, or do you have ideas as to how the show should go? Tell me what you think, I'd like to hear it!

Vampire Knight, Volume 2 - Review

The Day Class is unaware of Zero’s secret—he is a vampire, and has been turning more and more so over the past four years. If they knew the truth, would they be so quick to embrace him as the rising star of their class? And how will the knowledge of what he is becoming affect his relationship with Yuki?

Yuki and Zero get an unexpected privilege—they get to run into town on an errand for the headmaster. Normally, leaving school grounds is rather restricted. Yuki is determined to have fun, even if Zero seems determined to be a killjoy. She wants them to crowd as much fun as they can into this day. He’s concerned about returning by sunset, but she reminds him that the Night Class is off so they won’t be coming out. No harm in living a little, right? They stop to eat at a café, but when one of the girls who works there mistakes Zero for a member of the Night Class, he becomes agitated, knowing that he smells like them now. He runs off, and Yuki must find him. Only in her search for him, she is found instead—by a vampire!

Headmaster Cross does his best to make mealtime for Yuki and Zero as normal as possible, but his idea of dishes is a bit odd. And bringing up the blood tablets that Zero needs to survive does not enhance that boy’s mood any. Ichijo and Shiki of the Night Class invite them to come to the Moon Dorm after midnight for answers to their questions, and Yuki is determined to go, although not so sure Zero should, not in his present state of mind, when it seems as though he is dying to shoot someone. There she learns about the different classes of vampires – from the level A purebloods to the Level E, who are even below the former humans. E stands for End—former humans eventually fall into this category, and into insanity and thus reach their end, end standing for destruction. Something Zero undoubtedly knows, coming from a vampire hunting family. Kaname welcomes them, and insists that Yuki sit beside him. She resists, but not for long, being irresistibly drawn to him. With his touch, he heals her wounds.

When blood is deliberately let at the party, Zero flees in disgust, with Yuki right behind him, concerned about him. Yuki discovers the truth about Zero and blood tablets, and he is about to take blood from her instead when suddenly he finds himself at the wrong end of a gun being wielded by a vampire hunter who is none other than his former master! His name is Toga Yagari, and he is also an acquaintance of Headmaster Cross, whom he considers to be a twit.  He sends Yuki to bed while he debates with himself on whether or not to kill Zero or to let him live.

The next day, Zero isn’t in school and the vampire hunter is now lecturing on Ethics to the Night Class, in a curious turn of events. He reveals to Yuki where Zero is and she goes to him—to finish what was previously interrupted.

Bonus stories include Sometimes There are Lazy Days Too, in which Yuki and Zero are forced to take a supplementary class, and the teacher refuses to let them leave until they’re done—even if it is sundown and time for them to take up their disciplinary committee duties! In I Must Have Been Born Under the Victim of Circumstances Star, we learn how Idol and Wild got their nicknames. And inVampires Covered in Blood are Prohibited From Entering this Page, we get a brief glimpse into the past which will be explained in the future.

You can read my complete review at Anime Radius and Yaoi Radius!