Action-filled Webtoons to Look Out For

Action-filled Webtoons to Look Out For

Sunday, December 19, 2021 / No Comments

Do you enjoy spices of action in stories? Do you love the gritty details in fight scenes? Well, then you've come to the right place. Here are two Webtoons that I feel have the best action I've seen in awhile. 

1. Lookism 

This is a South Korean webtoon, also known as manhwa, published in 2014 and is still ongoing. The title reflects the story quite nicely, 'Lookism' meaning 'prejudice or discrimination on the grounds of a person's appearance', according to Oxford Languages. 

The plot revolves around Daniel Park, a high school student who has been a victim of vicious bullying (for some reason, bullying seems to play a big part in manhwas), because of his heavyweight and supposedly unpleasant appearance. One day he wakes up in a new body - a body of good fit and good looks. And it turns out that whenever he sleeps, he switches bodies!

With his second body's dashing appearance, the "new" Daniel Park takes his school by storm. His stunning good looks sweep girls off their feet and have guys dripping with envy. Just who is this mysterious new kid? As Daniel struggles with the shock in contrast to people's reactions towards him, something else catches his attention - gangs. 

And that's where the fight scenes sprout from. In the midst juggling his new ability, Daniel finds himself stuck in the crossfire between four major gangs. From abduction to drugs, he has to go against some of the strongest fighters who have intentions so evil they will chill you to the bone. I find the fight scenes captivating and dynamic. That's because each of the characters have their own unique fighting style, making them suitable for different types of opponents. Infact, you may even learn about the various fighting styles such as Muay Thai!

What starts off as a simple school life webtoon, with the involvement of gangs, turns into something much more. Lookism includes themes of, well, lookism itself, among many other important ones - family, power, and courage. Daniel's new body exposes him to the ugly side of humans' superficliaity, but also shows him that some people are capable of genuine loyalty. From learning to stand up for himself to understanding others for the actions that they do, Daniel embarks on a fruitful and tough journey about self-love and growth. 

And that's just skimming the message of the Webtoon. Don't overlook the amazing art style and heart-pumping action scenes and trust me, there's a lot of them. If you're an avid reader of action and drama genres, then this is definitely something you should not miss out on. 

2. Weak Hero

Like I said, many manhwas seem to revolve around the topic of school bullies, and this one is no exception. Introducing Weak Hero, a Webtoon about yet another mysterious new student. Except this time, unlike Daniel, our protagonist Gray is actually a real mystery, even to the audience. He's also incredibly skilled at fighting, with his sly moves and deadly strikes that in time, has earned him the title of "The White Mamba". 

Our protagonist Gray himself is an incredibly quiet boy with a shroud of mystery surrounding him. On the surface, he's simply a pretty boy who keeps to himself. However, if you decide to make the decision to cross him, you'll be in for a big surprise. To be honest half of this manga is basically people underestimating Gray and they always end up regretting it. Despite that, it has never failed to entertain me. 

The fight scenes are so riveting that you wouldn't be able to tear your eyes away from the screen. Every crucial detail is captured so artfully and makes you go "ouch" for the vicitims of a powerful fist or leg. 

Other than the attractive art style, this Webtoon also delves into the different layers of relationships between people. Every character has a significant backstory that makes them special in their own way. You'd be surprised at the depth that is behind a seemingly simple villain character, and how complex their storyline can be. Infact, you may even find yourself rooting for some of the villians - which is also a thing for Lookism, too.

At the start of the story, Gray has the intention to keep to himself in the school. Unfortunately for him, it does not work out well - he's basically a trouble magnet with his small demeanour and feminine features. Thankfully, bullies aren't the only thing he attracts. Slowly but eventually, Gray starts gaining loyal allies and learns to trust and depend on others. This journey of self-discovery and enlightment is to me, one of the most heartening messages in this Webtoon. 

And there you go! These two Webtoons have, in my opinion, pretty top-notch fight scenes that will make your heart thump vicariously as you live through the characters. Just be sure not to learn from the wrong characters, though. Gangs are not approved here. 

Written by Potato.

Anime review: Tokyo Revengers

Anime review: Tokyo Revengers

Sunday, December 12, 2021 / No Comments

If you’re an avid fan of isekai anime, you would be well familiar with the plot: main character gets hit by truck-kun and transports into another reality. For someone like me, the isekai plot has got to be one of the most repetitive genres ever (please do not attack me for this) which is why I tend to stay away from it entirely unless the anime intrigues me like the rising of the shield hero, my next life as a villainess and in this case, Tokyo Revengers.

Written by Ken Wakui, at a first glance it seems like a rather generic isekai anime. But if you look closer, it’s about a notorious gang, Toman and our main character Takemichi, known as a crybaby to some, who is set on saving everyone.

Now from this point onwards, i’ll be reviewing this anime so if you have not watched Tokyo Revengers, please skip this article entirely. That is, unless you want spoilers.

The anime starts of with takemichi, the protagonist of the anime as a 26-year-old who lives an unsatisfying life. From constantly feeling inferior to his co-worker at work and then getting picked on by kids way younger than him, life is definitely not as great as his younger self thought. But just when he thought life couldn’t get worse, he’s pushed onto the train tracks one day and instead of truck-kun, train-kun is the one to send takemichi flying back into the past. While preparing for the oncoming train to hit him, he experiences realistic flashbacks of his childhood and is instantly transported back into the year 2005. 

Waking up 12 years in the past, takemichi embarks on a journey with his childhood friends and fights with a group of older boys in hopes of beating them and becoming the top gang. At this point, I was wondering what on earth possessed a group of middle schoolers to think that they could take on a bunch of bigger and stronger guys without getting beaten up heavily. Unfortunately for them, they were sadly beaten up and definitely regretted their decision to go against a gang that’s stronger than 5 scrawny middle schoolers. 

After a series of events like communicating with Tachibana Hina, his girlfriend from the past and meeting her younger brother Naoto, Takemichi then learns that in the future, both brother and sister gets caught up in the tokyo manji conflict. Takemichi learns that in the present, Tachibana Naoto was the one who saved him from the train collision and it was revealed that Naoto is now a police officer who enlists the help of Takemichi to save his sister. In order to to that, Takemichi must travel back in time to alter the past. 

From this point onwards, the plot mainly consists of Takemichi going back to the past and trying to change the future with his actions. In order to do so, he must come into contact with Toman’s top leader, Mikey to stop the future meeting that would result in the conflict. Slowly, viewers get to see the childlike side of Mikey and his fighting skills throughout the episodes to come. 

I won’t go into much detail, But what caught my attention in the first few episodes wasn’t Mikey, who most viewers were fawning over. Instead, it was Toman’s second-in-command, Draken. A close aid to Mikey and his best friend, the two were inseparable and everyone feared them. Pretty soon Draken became my first favourite character from this series. It honestly does not help the fangirling moment after knowing that Draken is voiced by Tatsuhisa Suzuki, who is also the voice actor of some of my other favourite characters like Shinya from Owari No Seraph, Makoto from Free! Iwatobi Swim Club and Takao from Kuroko No Basket.

Toman's second-in-command, Draken

While watching Tokyo Revengers, I was honestly intrigued and found myself wanting to find out what’s next. Before I knew it, I finished all 24 episodes in one sitting. Unlike any other isekai anime which involves the main character getting magical powers, Tokyo Revengers successfully portrayed the main character going back in time without any magical powers (unless you count time travelling) and the mafia together, making it all the more interesting. 

However, there was one thing that I couldn’t place my finger on. Sure, the plot was interesting the way it was, but where were all the adults, especially the parents of the gang members? There were hardly any adults in the anime, which makes it all the more funny because there was no adult there to put those kids in their place. Some may say that having adults would be of no use since they were either oblivious to their child’s extra activities or the adults would be too scared of a bunch of middle schoolers to do anything. Additionally, it was personally a little confusing with all the time travelling at first.

But having said that, Tokyo Revengers is definitely worth watching, especially how exciting each fight scenes (again, i’m talking about Draken) are. From the interesting plot and characters to the opening and ending music, and backstories coupled with plot twists that would leave you on edge, it would leave you glued to the screen as you devour episode after episode of this spring 2021 anime. If you can’t get enough of it, read the manga (be prepared for it though) and have fun jamming to the op, “Cry Baby” which is available on Youtube and Spotify. 

I hope you enjoyed this article as much as I enjoyed writing it! If you liked this article, be sure to check out my Jujustu Kaisen review. 

Until next time, 

rika ^~^ 

MapleStory: Lara

MapleStory: Lara

Monday, November 29, 2021 / No Comments

 Hey hey hey my cuties!!

Maplestory celebrated their 6000th day just last week, which brings us to about 16 years of amazing fun. I grew up playing Maple, and man, it's so exciting having new content all the time. On 1st December, there'll be a new character release!

Lara~~ Isn't she just super cute?? 

From now till 1st December, you can pre-create your first Lara character to earn special rewards when she's officially released! Which is really only one day left so hurry!!! There is a pet unique to Lara for pre-creation characters so definitely don't miss out on that.

blue hair! i ended up picking the blue 

trying out the red~

Lara is an Anima, and is based off a sheep, just as Ho Young is a tiger. She had awoken the power of a mysterious bell, and now travels the lands with her elemental spirits. As a Mage, her main stat is INT, and she uses a wand as her primary weapon, with the secondary weapon being an Ornament.

credits to coppersan on youtube!

I'd watched a demo on Lara's skills and man, she's amazing. Her main interaction would be through Dragon Veins (see gif's colored eruptions), where she would summon an elemental spirit to come to her aid, attacking mobs in their range. After the Dragon Vein has been used, it will respawn after a few seconds, and it will respawn as a random element. I believe one of her later skills allow you to change the element of the Dragon Vein though.

She's a solid DPS character with good AOE skills, which makes her great for mobbing, but as she progresses through the job advancements, she gains support buffs which allows her to become quite tanky, making her versatile enough for bossing as well. 

There is also the Tera Burning event ongoing, but unfortunately it won't apply to Lara. It is, however, a great way to try the other classes while you wait for Lara's launch! For every level increase, your created Tera Burning character gains an additional bonus 2 levels, up till level 200. 

I actually created an Adele as my Tera Burning, and it's been a blast of fun so far. The levelling speed is insane, and the plot is also rather engaging. If you've never played MapleStory, now's a really good time to sign up! 

I'm off to continue with Adele while I excitedly wait for Lara's release. Tata for now~~

Written by: ninetylives

Anime Is an Art Piece

Anime Is an Art Piece

Friday, November 26, 2021 / No Comments

Art, as we all know, plays a huge part in making a good anime. And to be very frank, I’ve avoided some shows because the art wasn’t to my fancy. But for some shows, the visuals are absolutely breathtaking and make up a huge part of why they rank so high on my anime list. Here’s some of them: 

1. Howl’s Moving Castle

Roses, cosy cottages, the smell of berry pies ─ these are things that remind me of this anime, Howl's Moving Castle. This 2004 Japanese fantasy film has captivated the hearts of many, including mine and I hope, yours too. 

This anime follows the story of Sophie, a diligent and warm-hearted girl, who is taken on a little peculiar trip in a moving castle. How did that happen? Well, it starts off with her encounter with a mysterious figure, Howl - who’s rumoured to be a wicked magician who’s incredibly powerful. After their brief encounter, she got turned into an old woman through unforeseen circumstances (don’t ask), and goes on a bizarre journey with the most unique creatures. 

So anime plots don’t make a lot of sense. If you’re an avid watcher of anime, you should already know that. But that’s what makes anime unique, right? To add on, what makes this show pop is its absolutely gorgeous animation. For example, just take a look at Howl’s room: 

The decorations framing this room is nothing short of stunning. Just a glimpse of it showcases the dangling bronze crystals, blooming fauna and intricate masks. 

This anime also paints sceneries that radiate a calm and soothing atmosphere as Sophie embarks on her journey. Paired with none other than Joe Hisaishi’s Merry-Go-Round of Life whimsical tune, this is one of Studio Ghibli’s most iconic anime ever created.  

2. Your Name

If you haven’t watched Your Name, you’re seriously missing out. Released in 2016, this anime is the highest-grossing Japanese film of the year and the third highest-grossing anime of all time. It has also won various awards for best-animated feature film, with an ongoing live-action remake by Paramount Pictures. 

In a nutshell, Your Name is about two students who wake up one day to realise that they have swapped bodies. Intriguing premise? Check. Captivating animation? Check. Music with incredible depth and fits right into the equation? Check. 

This show brings forth quite a tunnel of emotions. In a span of thirty minutes, you can go from a ball of giggles to a sniffling, swivelling mess. Every element of this anime plays a part in the emotions and thoughts the audience has. 

The story itself, while containing supernatural elements, is not difficult to understand. But that doesn’t make it boring. In fact, as you continue watching, you’ll get to see its depth and meaning slowly unravel. Every word and action by the characters (even the sides) contain a certain purpose. Themes like compassion and empathy are reflected by the characters and their motivations for what they do. 

Being your typical high school students, they are quite simple-minded and relatable. The way they interact with each other does get bonus points, though. There’s no over-the-top, dramatic and unbelievable expressions - simply the natural, normal reactions you can see yourself making in their situation. 

The animation and sound are what makes this show for me. Every scene, from the traditional village to the city life, is unique and speaks volumes of the way the characters each view the world. What’s the norm to one is something completely different to another. This fascinating contrast, paired with mesmerising visuals, really make this film stand out. The clever use of light flares really makes each scene radiate with emotions and creates an immersive experience, along with its splendid sound design. The voice actors are good at their jobs, and the music flows into the scenarios oh-so-smoothly. 

So if you haven’t given Your Name a try, I would highly recommend you to. It’s an absolute delight to watch. 

3. The Garden of Words 

Alas, we have come to the last masterpiece in this article. The Garden of Words is a drama film consisting of a student who’s an aspiring shoemaker, a mysterious older woman with her own baggage, and of course, a beautiful garden. 

There are many layers to peel off this anime. The way the story is executed is mainly through the dialogue between the two characters, under a roof in the garden, as raindrops drizzle around them. One of them is a 15-year-old boy who feels lost in life and wishes to pursue his passion of creating the most beautiful shoes. The other is a 27-year-old woman who struggles with her acceptance into society. When the two meet, they find a safe space to confide in each other and form a deep connection they have never felt with others. 

The words exchanged between them are simple, yet refreshing. There are no character traits or story plot points stuffed into your face, only genuine conversations. The characters feel like real people with real troubles, not just an element to drive the plot along. Every word and every expression exposes something about the character subtly but never shoves it down your throat. 

I don’t think I have to spend much time talking about the animation - the pictures speak for themselves. Give it a watch and you’ll find yourself unable to tear your eyes away from the scenic shots. 

And that’s it for now! If art is an important part of the anime to you, then I hope you’ll love these pieces as much as I do : ) 

Written by Potato.

Tears of Themis Cafe - A Rant?

Tears of Themis Cafe - A Rant?

Friday, November 19, 2021 / No Comments

Hello hello my cute nuggets!

I went to the Tears of Themis cafe today and man, it was such a disappointment. I don't actually know what I was expecting, but I certainly was not expecting a mess of information. I'll add the images I took as I go through the post, and they'll certainly look out of place, but bear with me.

a photobooth area?

So right off, the reservations. It had been postponed once, and the second time I actually started camping to enter right at noon and I was completely not expecting the overwhelming response! I joined the queue at 12:00:13pm, and I was 480+ in queue. Crikey. 

i wonder if there'll be a giveaway for the standee?

After patiently waiting 2 hours for my turn, I entered the booking page only to realize that there were completely no slots for ToT at all? In confusion, I called the listed number only to be told that they had received calls and they didn't know what was going on and to please send a DM in. I was astounded. Was I going to have to requeue? Did I have to wait another 2 hours? Was I not going to be able to get the limited First Day merch? There were limited edition merch, which was a small figure and a plush, and only purchasable on the first day.

I sent in a DM. To be fair, they responded almost immediately with a new link to the reservation site. I got in, didn't have to queue, and managed to book first day slots. Crisis currently averted. 

Fast forward to today, as far as I know, merch tickets are given out to only the first 20 people in queue everyday, and it starts at 9:30am. There is also a limited amount of merch purchasable each day. This to me was rather ridiculous, if my dine-in slot was in the evening, I had to go specially in the morning just to queue for a chance to purchase merch? Fine, for the sake of limited First Day merch, I would do just that. Considering it was a weekday, I figured reaching at 9:30 should get me within the 20 slots.

I was so naïve. I got there about 9:35am, and there were already 20 people in the cafe, and a whole bunch waiting outside. I joined the mass of people, and started chatting with a couple of them. I figured it shouldn't take too long for the 20 inside to purchase their merch, then perhaps we can also start to enter and see what else there is to purchase. I knew there was the option of pre-order because of the overwhelming response, but limited First Day merch made me stay to wait. 

After almost an hour, barely anyone had left the cafe. What was going on? Who knew? Was nothing inside actually set up for purchase yet or was everyone just taking a painfully long time to decide on what they wanted to buy? 

I had to head off to work, so I left. My new friend informed me a while later that staff had finally exited the cafe to let the masses know that no one else would be let in to purchase merch, and we would only be able to purchase during our dine-in slot. I was stunned. After all that time waiting outside in the heat, for absolutely nothing. If you were a working adult with time constraints or you didn't manage to get an early time-slot, I guess it just sucks to be you?

She also told me that the First Day merch did not exist for Singapore. The cafe in Malaysia had the figure and plush, but not SG. So there was actually no point for me to go in the morning. Amazing. 

Never mind, let's move on to the menu. Because I couldn't tell how large the portions were, I decided to get only the main and the drink. I had asked my new friend to ask the staff if we could add on to our orders if we decide to get the dessert as well. Good news! You can head back to the reservation page, as told by the staff member, and order a takeaway for the same day if you decide that you wanted to purchase more food items. Remember this. 

So, happy with all these information, I made my way back to the cafe in the evening, prepared to get more food and support my fav 2D character. We had to do the safe entry check in before entering, and you can only use the trace together app to check in. They do not support the token check in. 

Once that was done, we were given a buzzer and shown to our seats. We had a long table so we shared with another pair. Kinda weird, but the space was small. You'll have to take your buzzer to the main counter and let them know your invoice number. We did just that and were given the freebies. The coaster was randomized, and we got Marius and Luke. Damn it, I wanted Marius and Artem. Anyone has Artem and wants a Luke?

I decided to add the dessert as well since I was in a mood, but was informed that I actually could not, and they were not offering the option to add on and takeaway. I was confused. The staff this morning said otherwise. You can't, they repeated, but I could always check their socials for updates. That was kind of hilarious to me. If I wanted the add on now, what good would your social media update be if it was not today?  

Oh well, whatever. We got our food and drinks a little while after, and ooh, the food was actually good. We ordered Luke's and Marius' mains, and it was sooooo nice. I especially liked how Luke's had chunky garlic bits in it. The drink was not bad too. 

After the meal, we went to look at merch. Got up to the counter to pre-order, and asked if there were any larger sized images of the merch, especially the Halloween acrylic standee and the keychains since the catalog was so small. Please take pity on an aging grandma with bad eyesight. Nope, they didn't have any images other that what was on the catalog. That was a little annoying, but fine, we googled. Should have just done that in the first place I guess. We placed our orders, but I'd realized that one of the Marius' keychains was unavailable. ?? Wasn't this a pre-order?

Oh, there was also a limit on pre-orders. I had thought the listed Daily Supply limit was for physical in store merch, but I guess I was too dumb to realize it applied for pre-order limits as well. Or did they not say? I had also realized that a bunch of merch I had previously seen were also missing, but I was at point too tired to ask for anything else. I put in my details and left.

Oh oh I did get something good out of this whole ordeal though, tadah~~~

Hilariously, I had come for ToT, but ended up leaving with KnB merch instead. The overall experience was quite confusing, and rather disappointing, but Aomine always makes me feel better.

As much as I hope Genshin's will be better, I suppose I'll just lower my standards. Thank you for staying till the end of my rant, tata for now!

Written by: ninetylives

Recent Anime to Look Out For

Recent Anime to Look Out For

Friday, November 12, 2021 / No Comments

Do you find yourself watching the same anime over and over again? Is it because you've gotten lazier and lazier to determine which new anime are good and which aren't? Well, fret not, here are some shows that I think are promising and worth a watch. 

1. Komi Can't Communicate

Introducing the new hype of the season: Komi Can't Communicate. It's a comedy, slice-of-life show that's currently airing on Netflix. So what's it about?

The school's most popular girl, Komi, struggles with social interaction. In a sense where she freezes up whenever she has to speak to someone. This is discovered by our protagonist, your average guy classmate, and he decides to help Komi with her quest - make friends with a hundred people in her high school days.

Aside from Komi being a sweet, soft and extremely shy girl who makes you want to take her under your wing and shower her with some warmth, this show has elements of humour that often sterns from how socially awkward she can get. 

This show has the most gorgeous animation I've seen in a while. The music's also pretty solid in the bite-sized episodes. So if you've some time to spare, why not give this a try? Although the story may be simple, you might find yourself relating to Komi more than you'd think. 

2. Blue Period 

I'm sure that many of us, at some point in our lives, have been unsure of the path we want to take in the future. Well, that's high school student Yatora Yaguchi, who planned to breeze through life until he finds out that he has a hidden passion - art. 

As someone who displays a casual, "delinquent-like" demeanour, Yaguchi is surprisingly determined when it comes to pursuing his dreams. When he decides to take a leap of faith and actually put in effort in his art class, he was pleasantly surprised when he realised how much he liked doing art. And the next step? He joins the art club.

In this anime, we follow Yaguchi on his artistic journey and along with him, get inspired by the fascinating beauty of art. The animation is glorious, and accompanied by soul-touching music, you can really feel how much thought was put into every scene, and understand the messages they contain. That's, I feel, what makes this anime so meaningful and worth a watch. 

What does art mean to you? What do you want to express but can't? What has art made you discover? Find the answers along with Yaguchi as you embark on this new path with him, and hopefully, you may find the answers to your own questions as well. 

3. The World's Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated in Another World as Aristocrat 

Long title, I know. But you know, it kinda speaks for the show pretty well. This anime starts off with our protagonist, a highly-skilled assassin, who dies, but is then given a chance to live again, in a new body and a new world. And in this new world, it's bustling with magic and sorcery. 

To me, what makes this anime a level up is the character or our protagonist. He's highly intelligent, with a more or less "deadpan" personality that surprisingly chalks up to his charm. With his talent to manipulate and calm demeanour, you'll find yourself fascinated with the interactions between him and the other characters. 

The visuals are great, and so is the music. The magical elements are pretty cool, and the theme song comes with a catchy beat. I'd say that going by what makes an anime good: the art, music, plot, characters - this anime scores decently for all areas. 

And that's what I have this time round. Hopefully they suit your tastes but if not, don't worry - I'll be looking out for more. 

Written by Potato.