I had a magnificent time this weekend at Otakon -a post about that will come later- and one reason why it was so great was the time I spent watching AMVs. They were nothing short of spectacular… and I want to… try?

But I have no idea what the hell I’m doing. Help me out? Recommend me the right programs? If you know anything about doing all this, push me in the right direction. I want to move you like I was moved by this.

For geeky things, anyway.

I’m a few hours away from Baltimore, and I’m taking an early flight out of Houston.  I’m dead tired, but it should be okay. This simply means I’ll be asleep all the way to Maryland.

For this year, I have vague plans.  All I know, I’d be hanging out with Anna, bless her kind soul for putting  up with me, and maybe meet random internet people.  As for the events, it’s a wait and see kind of thing.  Although, I’m most keen on going to Kappei Yamaguchi’s panel.  And of course, there’s Jo Chen, mostly because of her gorgeous cover arts for BtVS season 8 comic.  Plus, I have a thing for anything related to the Whedonverse.

So writer’s block came around and slapped me in the face once again. It’s not like I don’t have things to say either because I’ve had several ideas pop up in my mind but I’ve been completely unable to put them to words. I think have a good idea of why I never manage to catch my ideas too and that in itself could be another post.. if only I manage to put it into words! Anyway, in order to try and get rid of this miserable feeling I decided to post some simple thoughts on a few of the shows I’ve watched recently. You can never go wrong with spontaneous blurbs!

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Now to most, if not all students, Summertime is a key point in your life. That’s where most of your youth goes. I, myself, have so many summer memories that when it gets to a certain point during the summer, I just stop and go, “This is it”.

Forget my personal life, this applies to entertainment, too. When I watch J-movies or shows, I get considerably excited when certain things happen: School festival episodes, beach episodes -which subsequently leads to fireworks scenes-, graduation episodes, and you know, summer stuff.

My youth, your youth, OUR youth is not coming back so when I get this feeling watching some shows or movies, I’m just satisfied with life. I’m also satisfied with the unorganized rambling you’re about to read. So. Warning: I could just change to another idea on the drop of a dime so this is not the most professional post I’ve written in a while. I just haven’t written anything in a while.

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Taking pages out of Os and Newt, this blogger shares some of the animu world’s awesomest opening music evah.

Okay. Maybe not. But still, they rock.

Never mind the animation sequence. Sure, they are shiny, and they set the tone of the show. Forget that. We’re here to focus on the music tracks.

From bubble gum to punk, from instrumentals to alternative, anime openings are dime a dozen. Most are crap. A few are true gems. Some are forgettable competence. Some are catchy as hell. And then some are musical head-turners, pregnant with unidentified emotion, where one delves further to unlock its mysteries. This is not that list. With a notable exception, I listen to these tracks while I sit back, relax, and enjoy a cold bottle of beer. Think bars with live bands.

Mood and personalities direct our responses to otic preferences. What I enjoy listening while driving differs from the work playlist or from gym music. Keep in mind, what works for me may not work for you.

Tracks are listed in no particular order. More after the jump.

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Less than two weeks away, the countdown to Otakon continues. And without the pretense of hard cynics, I admit I am enthused on the upcoming event. Not only because of the con itself, but for varying reasons. (In no particular order.) One, a four-day weekend, which means, two, I don’t have to work. Three, Kappei Yamaguchi. Four, merchandise, which means, five, a manga binge. Six, no work days, emphasis on ‘s’. Seven, a chance to meet, well, other internet animu people. Eight, again, I don’t have to work. And more importantly, nine, hanging out with Anna. She’s my date for the weekend. I can’t believe I didn’t scare her away last year.

Speaking of last year, I managed to meet a handful of fellow animu bloggers (Os, Moy, and Anna) and a couple of ysp:duh! readers. And I aim for larger numbers this time around, bloggers and readers alike. If you’re interested for a meet-and-greet, a lunch/dinner/snack around the corner, or a quick hello, email me at kirsten4112(at)gmail(dot)com or fire away at the comment section.

I’ll be around from Thursday afternoon and flying out in the wee hours of Monday morn. I actually took off Monday because I ‘know’ I’d want to sleep after a fun-yet-tiring weekend. I’m not as young as I used to be.

I hope no-one minds me doing this, but I thought I’d share a few fun things with my fellow fans every now and then. (Gee I hope this works…)

First Up: I absolutely love Vampire Knight (like duh, Newt + Vampires = Awesome), however the ED theme from the anime is freaking wonderful. Therefore I think it is ringtone worthy. Download (see link below) and transfer to your phone (like I really have no idea) and then we will all be an army of undead awesomeness…. or not.

DOWNLOAD: Still Doll – Ending Theme Vampire Knight

… unless of course your Grandma happens to be Charlie Manson. Thanks to Os, for bringing up the darker side of manga.

It might sound odd to suggest, but I think in all of us there is a part that is fascinated by darker elements in society. Whether we watch live police chases, check for the latest update on a prominent serial killer, or just are plain fascinated by the fact that there are people out there in the world twisted enough to commit some truly horrendous crimes, we can’t deny it. Dark elements, a-la The Joker (F***k I love you Heath Ledger! ) and the lesser known Charles Manson (oh snap… insult incoming!), are a crowd puller, but what does this have to do with a manga?

I will warn you right now there might be a disturbing image after the cut (unless you are already a serial killer – then it will just be fricken filler).

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Pardon last week’s non-appearance of Manga Weekly, dear readers. Yours truly was involved in an Arts and Crafts project for a bridal shower. In case you’re wondering, it was a wonderful event complete with a gorgeous blushing bride-to-be, silly drinking games, and a surprising visit from a, ahem, boom box-toting pizza delivery boy. Hm. I’d love to delve further, but I digress.

Without further ado, on to the programme. School Rumble says bye-bye (temporarily); A rival says hello in Matsuri Special; Dogashi Kaden suckers in this blogger; Double Arts heads for training camp; Another ‘judge’ appears in Code:Breaker; and well-oiled wheels turn in Fullmetal Alchemist.

More after the jump.

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I mean… All Right.

Now me, I’m a total wimp. I hate scary things, ghosts, haunted stuff, things that goes bump in the night, Samuel L. Jackson’s face in The Spere, etc., etc. And this is after I took a class at school solely about Monsters, mind you. Now I like to kill time at my local bookstore and of course, I always end up at the manga section. Naturally, what I usually pick up is shoujo but sometimes I like a change of pace and pick up a volume that just looks interesting. Recently I have discovered four manga that are not that scary, but darker than your average shoujo/josei. -Those things can get dark, amirite? I mean look at Nana. JEEZ, I got so depressed reading that sometimes.-

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