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Small update and manga readings
Dec. 1st, 2010 05:29 pmI just noticed I haven't updated since Cody's birthday... wow. I've been slacking. Or busy. A lot of both, really. Mostly Christmas stuff. It snowed here, too, so there's been some time spent shoveling, and of course going out with friends.
The cat has been put on a diet, and seems to be adapting well (as well as can be expected, anyway). The vet recommended reduced intakes of protein and fat so that he can avoid coming down with diabetes. We're hoping it'll help him lose some weight. Because seriously? He's huge. Like a real life Garfield, except not orange. I wouldn't care since he seems happy enough, but I figure he'll end up with joint problems later in life, and that would suck.
In my spare time, I've been reading manga. In particular, I picked up some romance series. The ones I've finished so far are Lovely Complex and Special A.
Lovely Complex was actually a fairly decent shoujo manga series. Like most shoujo manga, it suffers from a certain degree of melodrama, love triangles, unnecessary complications, and - of course - the warm happy stuff (this is what I'm in it for). I wouldn't say it's particularly spectacular or unique (although the concept of taller-girl-shorter-boy isn't exactly a common premise), but it won points with me for having genuine compatibility between the two main characters. Many romances seem content to forget this business of common interests and the spending of time together and what happens during that time, what the two talk about in casual conversation, etc, etc. Lovely Complex had two characters who were very similar and who enjoyed spending time together as friends before romantic feelings were even a question. Granted (as is typical for shoujo manga), they hated each other at first, but the building of the friendship was nice to see as a lead-in to the romance.
Special A... I'd heard good things about this one before I read it, but I don't really know why. Not that it's bad or anything, but what exactly is special about this series? Plucky, clueless girl - check. Boy utterly devoted to her in secret - check. They don't get along - check. Odd side characters - check. Everyone paired off by the end - check (note that this is not exactly a bad thing in my opinion, but it is pretty common). Wacky hi-jicks that may or may not have relevance to the main plot (is there a main plot? It bounced around a lot) - check. Honestly, I... got a little bored before the end of this series. It became too predictable and I didn't feel like I got to know the characters well enough to care much about them. I finished it, but that was more because I was curious about what they'd do to end it than because I really wanted to spend more time reading it.
I'm currently reading Suzuka. It's... kinda meh so far. The constant fanservice is a bit of a turnoff and the main characters tend to irritate me. I may or may not stick it out to the end, but I want to give it a fair chance first.
The cat has been put on a diet, and seems to be adapting well (as well as can be expected, anyway). The vet recommended reduced intakes of protein and fat so that he can avoid coming down with diabetes. We're hoping it'll help him lose some weight. Because seriously? He's huge. Like a real life Garfield, except not orange. I wouldn't care since he seems happy enough, but I figure he'll end up with joint problems later in life, and that would suck.
In my spare time, I've been reading manga. In particular, I picked up some romance series. The ones I've finished so far are Lovely Complex and Special A.
Lovely Complex was actually a fairly decent shoujo manga series. Like most shoujo manga, it suffers from a certain degree of melodrama, love triangles, unnecessary complications, and - of course - the warm happy stuff (this is what I'm in it for). I wouldn't say it's particularly spectacular or unique (although the concept of taller-girl-shorter-boy isn't exactly a common premise), but it won points with me for having genuine compatibility between the two main characters. Many romances seem content to forget this business of common interests and the spending of time together and what happens during that time, what the two talk about in casual conversation, etc, etc. Lovely Complex had two characters who were very similar and who enjoyed spending time together as friends before romantic feelings were even a question. Granted (as is typical for shoujo manga), they hated each other at first, but the building of the friendship was nice to see as a lead-in to the romance.
Special A... I'd heard good things about this one before I read it, but I don't really know why. Not that it's bad or anything, but what exactly is special about this series? Plucky, clueless girl - check. Boy utterly devoted to her in secret - check. They don't get along - check. Odd side characters - check. Everyone paired off by the end - check (note that this is not exactly a bad thing in my opinion, but it is pretty common). Wacky hi-jicks that may or may not have relevance to the main plot (is there a main plot? It bounced around a lot) - check. Honestly, I... got a little bored before the end of this series. It became too predictable and I didn't feel like I got to know the characters well enough to care much about them. I finished it, but that was more because I was curious about what they'd do to end it than because I really wanted to spend more time reading it.
I'm currently reading Suzuka. It's... kinda meh so far. The constant fanservice is a bit of a turnoff and the main characters tend to irritate me. I may or may not stick it out to the end, but I want to give it a fair chance first.
