You all probably know it, and you either hate it or love it.

Maybe you write it yourself, read other peoples’, or detest it with every piece of your soul.

Y’all, I’m talking about fanfiction.

After reading one page of a list of MuggleNet’s Harry Potter fics, I was suprised to find the ridiculous and definitely out of character ideas.  Dramione…?  What the hell had they been smoking, pardon my PG-13-ness?  I was shocked by the total loss of the book’s plot found there.  (Lately, though, I have been thinking outside the relationships set down in the books and am totally one of those people who agrees that there was at least something going on with Sirius and Lupin way back when they were at Hogwarts…

Lately, though, I’ve begun to think that maybe fanfic isn’t so bad.  The reason?  Well, it’s the fault of fans everywhere on Deviantart and LJ, really.  After I got obsessed with Death Note and read up to v.7 or so, I began to think that maybe those fic-lovers are right.  In a series where there seems to be a lot of character connections hidden for the sake of getting from Point A to Point B, maybe it’s okay for fans to come up with their own plotlines that take you “behind the scenes.”

Thus, I now admit ashamedly that I am completely addicted to checking comments on my first-ever fanfic, a less-than-a-page-long reflection from the point of view of a favorite character of mine.  I won’t tell you where it is because I don’t want “haters getting all up in my face,” but let me just tell you this: it’s pretty great getting a comment from someone you don’t even know saying that your story was “so good and sad it made [them] want to crawl into a corner and cry.”

…when they try and bring religion into it?

A very good, thought-provoking book can be utterly ruined for me when the author does the whole “subtly” hinting you about Christianity thing?  Last night I was reading the novel Returnable Girl by Pamela Lowell and the prologue-ish thing was going along pretty well.

Y’know, until her statue of Jesus started talking to her six-year-old self.  And I don’t mean Hay-zoos Jesus from Deadline.  I mean the actual nailed-to-the-cross dude.

Oh, gawwwwwwsh.

I didn’t even want to finish the book after reading that bit, but I read through it anyway.  And she mentioned it about eight times.  God and Christianity and that crap.

I’m not condemning y’all reading this who believe in that.  It’s fine with me; do what you want to do, think for yourself, all that Beatles-y goodness.  But please don’t try to force it on me.  I’m like one-quarter Jewish and 110% atheist, so I really don’t need your propaganda.

(If you don’t mind that “Lord” and “Christ” stuff, though, you should read it.  It was pretty good.)

Since I couldn’t think of much to fit Violeta’s idea of “characters you hate with a burning passion,” I decided to do an entry about less popular characters.  Here are my top five!

Matsuda from Death Note.  Oh, come on.  He falls off a freakin’ roof, people (kind of.)  He’s kinda cute in a stupid, dejected sorta way, too.  Also, ChibiMatsuda is adorable.  Does anyone else agree on this…?

Kimihiro Watanuki from 3xHolic (I never write all 3 x’s because then it looks stupid.)  Okay, so he is the main character and all, but I don’t know anyone who thinks he’s MADE OF AWESOME.  Which he is.  And cute in a “OMGWTF” sort of way…

Takemoto from Honey and Clover.  I get the feeling he doesn’t have as many fans as Morita/Hagu-chan/Mayama because he’s the “everyguy” character.  Whatever.  He’s still kind of great.  Incredibly nice, a bit of a spazz, thoughtful.  Honestly, if Hagu-chan/Morita = canon at the end, I will fly to Japan and strangle the manga-ka.  Takemoto/Hagu-chan would be so much better.  I don’t even think Morita likes her that much.  Hmmph.  *rant over*

Tohru from Fruits Basket.  Honestly, I don’t see why so many girls hate her… except that she’s stealing their “Kyonkichi” xD.  She’s a really determined person and incredibly brave, too.  I mean, think about all of the bad stuff she’s been through!  Her mom died, there’s all the tragedy with her friends and the whole Sohma family, and I’m sure there are MAJOR problems coming up with Kakeru’s girlfriend and the whole car accident.  Stop being fangirls for one moment and give Tohru the credit she deserves, please!

Breaking my “manga characters” list, numero cinco es (hahaha Spanish) actually a few series that do NOT get enough recognition.  Has anyone out there heard of the Percy Jackson series?  What about Terry Pratchett’s children’s/YA fantasy novels (especially The Wee Free Men and A Hat Full Of Sky)?  I love Harry Potter as much as the next girl, but PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LET THESE OTHER BOOKS GET POPULAR, TOO…

Alright, that’s it.  Off to read 3ec.  Baaaaaaaiiiiiiiz.

OM… NOM… NOM…

So… I was suprised to find that Brian Mandabach (yes, your eyes are not decieveulating you!) had commented on my Kurdt/Kurt complaint.  Thanks for the information, and… oh my god *squeeeeeeeeee* I LOVE YOUR BOOK!

On a less happy note (ha) I just bought volume six of Death Note and… it was a huge disappointment.  There was hardly any good main character stuff, just some thingie about the ugly guy from Yotsuba (LOL) Corp.  WHO GIVES A CHICKEN??  Give us our L/Misa/Light time back, please?  On the happy front… *spoiler* Misa got her memories back (some of them.)  Yay, evil plotting people with pigtails.

Oh, and at the library today, we saw two AWESOME Mello and Matt cosplayers.  I’m dying to cosplay as Matt– I’ve got the red hair, now, so it should be easy(ish) to put something together.

Oh, wow… I remember this manga!  I absolutely LURVED IT in 6th grade… ah, that was the year things were always fun…  Anyway, on to the review.

Yukino Miyazawa is 15 years old and seems totally… flawless.  She gets the top grades in her class, all the boys like her, and she’s a star athlete.  But it’s all a facade!  Yukino just loves attention and popularity.  This would make her an unlikely shojo heroine (they’re all rather genuinely kind and plucky and joyful and… gag me…), but she’s really original and that makes her fun to read about.

But just when Yukino-san thinks that all is going well in her freshman year of high school… a plot device hits her in the form of Soichiro Arima, a suprisingly short-haired (thank the Lord he isn’t another long-haired bishie dude, although he is pretty cute for a manga character) smart guy who beats her by, like, 1/2 point in the entrance exam.  OH, HORRORS!  Yukino decides to get revenge…

…and it doesn’t work.  For starters, Arima seems to like her!  And then he finds out her secret: she’s not the perfect girl she’s cracked up to be.  Yukino realizes that she likes Arima… but it’s too late, he could never like her knowing who she really is… right?

The art is great and the plot is amazing, but what really drives Kare Kano is the characters.  The obsessive Yukino, nice-guy-with-bad-past (0.o) Arima, and the other characters introduced later (diminuitive Tsubasa is so cute/strange… a little like Hagu from Honey and Clover) make it a fun and engrossing read.  I urge you to pick up the manga today!

So here’s a few links to Comics Worth Reading and their lovely reviews instead, so that they can get all the glory.

Dramacon.  Because who doesn’t love a manga with egotistical boyfriends, chibis galore, and hot guys in sunglasses?

Fruits Basket.  Ah… this was the first manga I really fell in love with.  I started reading it in 2006 and have kept on to Volume 18, almost done with the series.  It sounds silly at first, but wait until you get to the double digits.  Then Takaya-san hits you with the heavy stuff.

The saga of Chiyo-chan’s pigtails I mean, Azumanga Daioh has something for everyone, from the adorably spaced-out Osaka to the strange, strange Miss Yukari (who hits students with papers when they eat good food.)

 ….

WAIT, what?  I was just reading a review of Death Note and it said… it said… IT SAID THEY KILLED L!!!  WAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!  THAT IS THE WORST SPOILER EVER!  Forget me reading past #6.  Like, ever,  DN minus L = ridiculousity!  Where is that element of cute that the spiky-haired little prodigy adds to the story if he’s GONE?????  OH MY GOD! *storms off with knife in search of Light Yagami*

….

*storms back on with knife now covered in blood*

And now, back to my list of Comics Worth Reading’s great reviews:

Japan Ai is the book I’ve been waiting to read.  It looks awesome– a trip to Japan!  All the bits of culture I can’t wait to experience when I go there myself!  Yaaay!

Who wouldn’t want to look at a manga called Penguin Revolution?  I can see it now, little black-n-white birdies with powdered wigs and bayonets, fighting the British… shoot, that’s not what it’s about.

Well, that concludes my ramblings for now. Bye-bye, toodles, see y’all soon!

L-lovingly, manga-readingly, and disappointedly yours,

Katie Cullen

Something horrible has happened, and Kat can’t remember what it was.  Well, that happens when you have amnesia.

Maybe it has something to do with her old friends, who seem to be avoiding her as much as possible and don’t believe that she’s lost her memory.

Maybe it has something to do with the little cat under her old self’s mattress.

Kat has no idea.  But she’ll need to have an idea soon, because she’s lost the friends that she can barely remember.

This book was very engrossing, though it could’ve used a little more figurative language.  The suprise at the end hits you like a ton of bricks and the dialogue seems real, if very British.  Reccomended for reluctant readers who want an introduction to British teen lit.

3/5

So here’s my little round-up of interesting book blabbering for right now…

It takes a very strong man to admit that he likes pink.  741.5 Comics does so here.

Ichigo fangirls, rejoice!  VIZ Media has sold the rights to a Bleach movie.  Manga Maniac Cafe has more on that here.  While I’m still blabbering about Bleach… I want a plushie of Urahara!

Othello was one of my first favorite manga, and here’s a review of 2, 3, and 4.

Oh, no, MORE Death Note?  Yep, and you can find it here– in a review by Lianne Sentar.

Kare Kano?  Hey, I remember that!  Michelle gives it an A+ here.

AAAGH I haven’t read this yet!  Fruits Basket v.19, right here for you folks.

Violeta, my co-worker at the library, posted this on her blog:

“Out of curiosity, which five manga characters would you totally bake homemade cookies for? Here’s my list:

i) Osaka (Azumanga Daioh) because she’s random and so frikkin’ adorable
ii) L (DeathNote) so I could see his thought wheels in action
iii) Nodame (Nodame Cantabile) because she loves food and I’d want to hear her say, “Gyabo!”
iv) Natsumi (You’re Under Arrest) because of her energy and gluttony
v) Hoshino Hajime (Love Roma) just because he makes me laugh with his independence.”

So I’ve decided to follow suit with her manga-licious idea.  Here goes:

 Manga Characters Who NEED COOKIES.

1) L from Death Note.  Because we could drink tea together happily ever afterrrrr.  (A little obsessed much?)

2) Ritsu Sohma from Fruits Basket.  Doesn’t he just NEED some homemade cookies?  Maybe it would make him stop hyperventilating every time he does something wrong…

3) Light Yagami from Death Note.  I think he’d definitely be a lot more cheerful if we gave him cookies.  And oh my god, have you seeeeeeen anything as cute as the above picture?

4) Mr. Tadakichi and Chiyo-chan from Azumanga Daioh (who totally count as one person.  So THERE.)  In Yomi’s words: “Aah… you’re so damn cute!”

5) Edaniel from Bizenghast.  Eating cookies with him would be “ELECTRIC! *boogie woogie woogie*”

Jamie Carcaterra is a fat girl.

Fat.  Girl.  Okay, get it?

She’s heard all the jokes.  She knows all the prejudices.

She has a Fat Boy boyfriend and a Big Fat Attitude.  And she’s happy.  And she’s willing to spread that in her controversial newspaper column.

She’s pretty happy stirring up some Big Fat Trouble, particularly in a hilarious scene when she and her (normal-ish) friend Freddie and (super-ultra-vegan) friend NoNo go into a meant-for-0-sized-girls store called Hotchix.

But then some Big Fat Problems arise– her Fat Boy boyfriend, Burke, suddenly decides that he’s going to get bariatric surgery.  What’s bariatric surgery? you may ask.  Oh, nothing but having your STOMACH stapled to your INTESTINES.  Naturally, Jamie is distraught.  And what girl wouldn’t be?  He’s saying he’s too fat, imagine the consequences on a poor overworked confused Fat Girl.  AKA, Jamie.

And when things go horribly wrong both with Burke and some, shall we say, out of context media reporting, Jamie is left drowning in a mix of pain for Burke, work for the school musical, and… new feelings for her editor, Heath.

Big Fat Manifesto was hilarious!  There were so many great lines in Jamie’s articles that had me cracking up and snorting soda out my nose (not really).  Lines like “Tell me, what in the name of all that’s creamy and chocolate do skinny guys know about being a fat girl?” were just so… accurate.

Any girl, and I mean any girl, who has ever felt bad about her looks will relish in knowing that Jamie is just like them.  Just a size 4x shirt is all that differentiates her from every other teen girl struggling to find her place.

5/5 stars.