Bladey

not sure, probably not entirely since it deals with a slightly different angle. Plusy you;d get to see Choi Su Jong, he's a good actor. maybe it's worth giving a try?

have you considered the Great King's Dream? It has been subbed you know.

I'm at the point where the Prince sends Solnan to the bandits- he's out of his mind! But what I loved about those initial scenes was that a)he was clearly smitten from the start- totally smitten and b) he must naturally want to test her character. I love "testing character" plots because then a bond that will emerge will likely be unbreakeable regardless of the switched identity issue that is bound to generate a lot of angst...and of course the Seargant Park is there. I hope he has a lot of screen time!

Who was your first favourite older-younger couple? I think for me what started it all was Almanzo and Laura. I'm nuts about Little House on the Prairie- they don't have TV shows like this anymore.

I see. I know you;re not into romcoms :) Yes, Nine was a surprisingly good time travel. I really liked the final episode in particular. I thought it was a nice frame and left some things open for debate.

Yes, actually I think I worked up the mood to get back to King's Daughter finally so I'll be watching that.

Anyway, I think actually my next target will be Sweet Fuse (thanks for the heads up, i wouldn't have heard about it if you hadn't mentioned it before) It sounds like a standard otome fare so I will not get attached like I have to characters like Dias or Shinjiro. THEN I will likely get Persona 3 as well to experience it for myself.

But before that I think I worked up a healthy mood to continue King's Daughter. Though, like you, I will likely spend most of the time wishing SolHee would disappear or something. But you know actually I think at the start she is shown as having her own complex too. She doeasn't want to be poor. She wants to have a better life. So when you told me that she is a bit more complex later on, I thought that it actually starts early on in the story though it is overwhelmed by her selfishness.

koromaru s.links were wonderful stories, Reise. i love that dog. The game creates a genuine sense of bonding, I feel, and ultimately it is also a story about growing up and maturing to face challenges in life. It's a great initiation story.

That's why in my initial thoughts to you about it I said that Shunji may have to treat FEMC as a stepping block to becoming a better person, should she be forced to die, which I hope and now strongly believe is not the case if only because the FEMC is not cannonical at all. Shinji and FEMC forever haha.

Oh right, I think I asked you that question before and we talked about it in relation to tokimeki but I guess I thought I asked it in a different way because what I've been thinking about lately is that I find myself a little bothered when there is a 30 year old gap between a character and the romantic interest. Somehow, while age is just a number, it doesn't always feel comfortable when a man you date is older than or the same age as your father.

yes! I'm going to subscribe to that mode of thinking too. Shinjiro would get his miracle too :)

Yeah, I know you're right. On ocassion I do enjoy angsty fanfics myself but only if development is good. a lot of it is written by fans who don't have sufficient grasp on how to write a story and they are just using it to vent their feelings. It works sometimes but in this case it annoys me because it seems as if everyone just accepted that FEMC dies.

Any story is difficult to write though and it's easy to criticise. See even wth my Dias fanfic I am having ten thousand changes of opinions because I don't want to make him OOC and I want the mood to be perfect and flutery but creating "fluttery" doeasn't seem to be my strength because I tend to prefer to tell rather than show.

To create a fluttery scene is to rely a lot on subtleties and reading or rather writing between the lines. It's not easy to do. Do you tend to write under the influence of feelings? I find this sort of "inspiration" is great to shape the outline of the story; it;s what comes next- the fleshing out- that is difficult.

No I didn't see the film yet. His name was given to him by his parents, why should he change it? He spent most of his life and was educated in Great Britain, although some of his earlier work was set in Japan too.

It;s all right to get lazy :) Glad you rested. Don;t know, right about now I feel like watching King's Daughter actually. Time to pick the dramas up :)

It soinds like the book gave you a lot of food for thought. I'm glad - that;s what it supposed to do. Ishiguro;s books aren't weepy stories so I would say your taake is about right. As for the rest, I have read the novel a long time ago and in translation. That never works for me if I read an English book in translation. As a result i am hazy on the story details. I have to reread it in English to be able to comment. i remember being struck by the atmisphere of it, and especially the element of mystery. It was meant to be a darker tale. I'm really glad it gave you so much to think about :)

also, as for Sato, Maybe he chooses his roles wisely :P I saw him in tobi, I think, if it's him.

Are you getting enough rest?

oh and by the way, I just wonder, is there a point at which age differences between characters start bothering you?

Hi Edina. Happy movie watching then! I am writing. I have a lot of work but am also playing a little bit.

it's really amazing how these game characters can be just so memorable but i do think that Persona overall is a interesting game. See...if only the got the ending right, this would have been the perfect game for me. Romance works better in this type of games where there is space for depth and development.

Pure otome visual novels often operate on merely shallow cliches- with some notable exceptions- whereas games like Star Ocean and Persona have more substance. Otome bishies with all their cliches are fun and all but when a character like Shinji comes along you just know what's good for you XD And it;s then all the more that I long for a happy resolution. So I have decided to believe that she just fell asleep and screw the rest of the canon. Or at least hope that shinji will make a miracle happen. Eh. I will play this soon. It's just he works so WELL in this setting and with THESE characters. It's so easy to like him and his chemistry with everyone. This is just hopeless, I fell from frying pan (Dias) into the fire (Shinjiro)

I did watch videos with Theo. He seemed to be a totally fanservice bishonen type character with all the cuteness they could muster. I mean his behaviour on date requests that I saw is utterly hilarious.

Well I do hope we can find another Shinjiro-type character too. It seems that a lot of english otome titles don't have such a feel for characters

Ha! You know, I do get the sense he is stubborn so I imagine he wouldn;t just give up on her. Just like he didn;t want to go back to fighting, he'd be insisting that she wakes up. And he would prevail. This is very romantic.

But I've read a few deprssing fanfics, everyone is on about the death part. Everyone seems to have accepted the death of the female character as part of the canon so I was glad for your explanations. They make more sense to me, I'm really not about to let Shinjiro lose hope :) I think I just may pick it up after all. His extra scene was just so charged that I can't get it out of my head. This is hopeless :D I know that if I pick this game up I will be excited to get shinjiro but he also comes late in game. All the more reason for him to get a happy ending with the heroine but yes his friendship with Akihiko is also important.

Seriously >>>

Ishiguro is not a Japanese writer. He is British, albeit of Japanese origins. I loved that book. It was one of his more original texs.

Your enthusiasm about WD 18 is making me a liiiittle curious now :P

I agree: tragic endings can be powerful but I think there is enough tragedy everywhere. I have enough of them in classic novels and in some Asian films in particular. Tragedy enobles. But I think happiness achieved as Shinjiro and the fem protagonist too helps one grow, while a tragic ending is devastating. I prefer happy endings as long as they aren't brushed off, like in Star Ocean.

But sheesh I hope i will find that perfect game that would satisfy me. So far they make me happy with characters but not pairiing system or ending. There is always something that has the danger of making me frustrated. In case of Persona I will withhold purchase for a while. Though ultimately I'm sure my love for shinjiro will prevail.

I don't fangirl often but if I do, I fangirl hard and deep, like with Dias. Shinjiro is the next one. I refuse to accept he would lose her.

Well in that case I' choose to believe she only falls alssep. I an treat the female character as a spin-off. So maybe I will get it. Knowing this is easier though. No matter what though, the pairing is thoroughly romantic. Shinjiro is also personable, I believe, he just needs her to rediscover that side. I believe I will end up getting it anyway. At least I'll be able to fawn over Shinjiro and the female protagonist all I want hehe. I can totally imagine that, he is the protective type.

Thanks for sharing all your insights, I do believe I will be able to believe she fell asleep. And I've seen some Theo scenes too. it seems they go on dates. besides didn;t she form a bond with Death itself? I think he said once the battle was over that a new time would now come for both them AND her, so they got the miracle they had sought.

It doesn't surprise me but "traditionlly arins" still sounds a little funny. a wet monday is a wet monday, can be a wet Bank Holida Monday too :) You know, though, this weather is perfect for taking a little break and just warming somewhere cozily.

oh great then it;s growing into the Great Tacyeon Wonderful Days XD

nah, not yet I'm not sure why. Anything interesting happening?

just a simple lemon loaf cake. Nothing heavy :)

I"m sure it will :D This weather is fitting for a "wet monday". In Poland, Easter Monday is usually the day called "wet monday" because traditionally boys would pur a bucket of water on girls. Some people still pour water over unsuspecting passers by.