We have how many channels now? o_o
May. 21st, 2010 06:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ladyofthethreadVerizon finally put up fiber optic cable in our neighborhood recently so we had Fios installed yesterday. It’s about the same as what we were paying before for separate DSL and phone service so my parents were eager to switch now that it was finally available here. Plus, we only had regular network TV before and now we suddenly have like hundreds of channels. o_o; I haven't taken the time to sit down and try flipping through all of them yet to see what there is.
Cosplay-wise, I need to get started on Lia this weekend. I got the JP Ryan Robe a la Francaise and Robe a la Anglaise patterns in the mail last week but have been feeling lazy. ^_^; I’m going to mainly use the Anglaise pattern since the skirt in the reference looks like it should be polonaise style but I need to alter the bodice to have a stomacher like the Francaise pattern. Definitely doing a mockup of the bodice and overskirt first.
And I’ve watched some new anime lately, which I hadn’t done for a while. Started on Hetalia a while before Anime Boston as research for cosplay chess since my part involved a Le Chevalier/Hetalia crossover. I guess it’s amusing but too ridiculous and weird at times. O_o;
I watched Baccano while doing the finishing work and kanzashi for my Sakura Matsuri outfit. With all the jumping back and fourth and so many characters, it was a bit of a challenge to figure out what was the real order of events and how they fit together. And I suppose that aspect was what kept me interested although it was a bit overly bloody for my tastes. I finished it and it was okay but I don’t really see myself watching it again.
I finished Umineko last weekend and liked it most out of these three but have mixed feelings about it. I liked the skit for it at AB and figured it might be a good series to check out since I’m a mystery fan. I was kind of dubious though since I couldn’t help thinking that it sounded like an “And Then There Were None” ripoff. People trapped on a private island and everyone getting murdered according to a piece of writing that’s prominently featured? It hasn’t just been done before; it was done 70 years ago by Agatha Christie in one of her most well known novels! >_> I reread the book this week and there was a storm and a message in a bottle explaining what happened, too. There was even a dead woman named Beatrice mentioned. And one of the characters, who was going a bit crazy from the situation and dozing off while writing in her diary, wrote Beatrice was the murderer. That makes me wonder if the name came from there, too, although there’s also a reference to Dante’s Divine Comedy with Beatrice and Virgilia’s names.
So, I started it and it was okay at first although it was a bit overly gruesome for my tastes. (I do read a lot of mysteries but prefer the cozy type without lots of gore and violence.) About halfway through, I got more into it, wanting to see what new twists would be thrown in and who would win in the end. I didn’t end up liking many of the characters though. The family was kind of messed up. And most of the witches, especially Beatrice… Ugh. Pretty/cute costumes but such cruel and ugly personalities. I really wanted Battler to beat Beatrice since she was such a bully. And that ending, after hurrying through the second half of the series to see what happens. ARGH! So, I sort of liked the series but it also left me kind of miffed. -_-X
Anyone have suggestions for other anime series to try? It seems hard to come up with stuff I’d be interested in since I’m not really into action or sci-fi and things focused too much on romance bore me. I also tend to like series with continuing storylines over episodic ones.
Cosplay-wise, I need to get started on Lia this weekend. I got the JP Ryan Robe a la Francaise and Robe a la Anglaise patterns in the mail last week but have been feeling lazy. ^_^; I’m going to mainly use the Anglaise pattern since the skirt in the reference looks like it should be polonaise style but I need to alter the bodice to have a stomacher like the Francaise pattern. Definitely doing a mockup of the bodice and overskirt first.
And I’ve watched some new anime lately, which I hadn’t done for a while. Started on Hetalia a while before Anime Boston as research for cosplay chess since my part involved a Le Chevalier/Hetalia crossover. I guess it’s amusing but too ridiculous and weird at times. O_o;
I watched Baccano while doing the finishing work and kanzashi for my Sakura Matsuri outfit. With all the jumping back and fourth and so many characters, it was a bit of a challenge to figure out what was the real order of events and how they fit together. And I suppose that aspect was what kept me interested although it was a bit overly bloody for my tastes. I finished it and it was okay but I don’t really see myself watching it again.
I finished Umineko last weekend and liked it most out of these three but have mixed feelings about it. I liked the skit for it at AB and figured it might be a good series to check out since I’m a mystery fan. I was kind of dubious though since I couldn’t help thinking that it sounded like an “And Then There Were None” ripoff. People trapped on a private island and everyone getting murdered according to a piece of writing that’s prominently featured? It hasn’t just been done before; it was done 70 years ago by Agatha Christie in one of her most well known novels! >_> I reread the book this week and there was a storm and a message in a bottle explaining what happened, too. There was even a dead woman named Beatrice mentioned. And one of the characters, who was going a bit crazy from the situation and dozing off while writing in her diary, wrote Beatrice was the murderer. That makes me wonder if the name came from there, too, although there’s also a reference to Dante’s Divine Comedy with Beatrice and Virgilia’s names.
So, I started it and it was okay at first although it was a bit overly gruesome for my tastes. (I do read a lot of mysteries but prefer the cozy type without lots of gore and violence.) About halfway through, I got more into it, wanting to see what new twists would be thrown in and who would win in the end. I didn’t end up liking many of the characters though. The family was kind of messed up. And most of the witches, especially Beatrice… Ugh. Pretty/cute costumes but such cruel and ugly personalities. I really wanted Battler to beat Beatrice since she was such a bully. And that ending, after hurrying through the second half of the series to see what happens. ARGH! So, I sort of liked the series but it also left me kind of miffed. -_-X
Anyone have suggestions for other anime series to try? It seems hard to come up with stuff I’d be interested in since I’m not really into action or sci-fi and things focused too much on romance bore me. I also tend to like series with continuing storylines over episodic ones.
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no subject
Date: 2010-05-22 12:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-27 04:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-22 05:29 am (UTC)I've always thought Hetalia seemed offensive, but I've never actually tried it. XD; And the fact that all the countries are personified makes me wonder: Hey, where are these people-countries living, anyway? LOL.
That's pretty something that Umineko was so much like And Then There Were None, especially if the source material wasn't even credited. .__. And having a crappy ending is always disappointing.
But oh! You should try Princess Tutu! I know it starts like a typical magical girls show (the very first episode makes me cringe, LOL), but it quickly gets very intense and gripping. The characters are amazing, the storyline is continuing (all episodes *must* be watched in order on a first-run), and though there is some romance, there are awesome friendships too! It's a beautiful series.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-27 05:02 am (UTC)Yeah, I'm sure some would consider Hetalia to be offensive. Apparently, they have houses and sometimes interact with people who aren't countries, too. This show doesn't make the most sense! XD
I don't mind anime adaptations of Western works but it kind of irked me that Umineko seemed to borrow so much from And Then There Were None without acknowledging it. The characters were completely different and there were witches and magic (the main conflict was actually between Beatrice trying to claim the murders were done with magic and Battler who says magic doesn't exist and it was all human trickery) but the basic situation is still pretty similar.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-27 05:41 am (UTC)LOL. *Weird*!
**nods.** Yeah, it's the not-acknowledging part that's really surprising and annoying. Man. Bringing in a conflict of whether it's magic or not kind of amuses me, though. LOL. But magic in something based heavily on an Agatha Christie book seems very odd indeed.