Spring Fever

I'm currently on my spring break—that is, I'm on my week-long break that the school gives during the month of March. Unfortunately, they're making us come back on Easter Sunday, so I won't be able to spend that holiday with my family. However, I'll be going back a little early so I'm not traveling on a holiday. The bus ride that I take to go home and go back to school is very long and tiring, and I refuse to travel on a holiday, especially for that long.

It's hard to believe that summer is coming closer. This winter has been the longest in at least three or four years—it's almost April and there is still snow on the ground. I think my step-grandmother shares my spring fever, as she is already breaking out her plants and gardening. My grandparents, who I'm staying with for the majority of this break, have a garden, and I know for a fact my step-grandma is just itching to get her hands back into the garden on the weekends. I know my grandfather is also itching to take his motorcycle out for a spin; after all, he brought his tractor out yesterday for a quick drive, but he said it was really too cold to drive it.

I myself have something of spring fever: I'm getting ready to plant some flowers and try to start them from seed. Right now I have no plants—my gorgeous cactus died last fall, and my roommate accidentally killed my chicks and hens I gave her to babysit over Christmas break. I really want to start some forget-me-nots, simply because they used to spot all over our yard the entire summer when I was growing up. They really are pretty flowers. Just to be safe, though, all of the flower seeds I bought from the co-op (local/organic food store) specifically state to “start indoors.” I really want to start from seeds to flowers, but we'll see. I know it takes a long time for some of them to flower, but I'll be patient.

My cactus last summer. Unfortunately I killed it last fall.

Speaking of plants and flowers and stuff, apparently I got a job for the summer at a local farm (not too far where I'll be living for the summer). My grandfather got ahold of the farmer down the road (apparently this farm is huge), and got my sister and I jobs at said farm. Decent wages too. I hope it all works out.

I've also been crocheting a lot. It's pretty funny, I swore I would never crochet, because it was too difficult and so different than knitting. I'm afraid I've become quite addicted, however. I've been crocheting mostly small things. I'm not skilled enough to do amigurumi or anything bigger than dishcloths or 'media device covers.' That is, I have been crocheting a lot of iphone/ipod cases. I made three for three of my friends.

An ipod touch case I recently made and gave to a friend.

Despite my earlier misgivings about the art of crocheting, I really like it. In fact, when I went to Barnes and Noble the other day (IT WAS AMAZING), I bought a book called “The Crochet Answer Book” by Edie Eckman. Seeing as I rarely, if ever, buy books brand new, I think this gives me some promise as a crocheter. I bought the book mostly because it's so hard to remember all of the stitches for crocheting, as well as the specifics of finishing, blocking, and whatnot.

I'd really like to start selling the things I crochet and knit, but for now I think it's going to be more of a hobby and a gift-giving thing than anything else. It really relaxes me, so as long as I can continue to knit and crochet, I couldn't be happier.

In all seriousness, though, spring needs to be here already!

"Another" Anime Review

Hello everyone! I have noticed that my fellow postcrossers (from postcrossing.com) have been reading this blog and seem to enjoy it. As I have this blog on my Postcrossing.com profile page, I figure I should keep this as updated as I possibly can.

The following is a review of an anime I recently watched. I highly recommend it--I did fail to mention in this review that you can watch this series for free on hulu.com and crunchyroll.com; with subtitles of course. There are no dubs, as far as I know. You should still check it out, however.

--------------

If you're looking for a new and exciting anime to watch that won't involve a major time commitment and you enjoy the horror and suspense genre, look no further! Prepared to get blown away by the recent anime mini-series “Another.”

This series, originally a Japanese horror novel by Yukito Ayatsuji, made its debut as an anime mini-series in the spring of 2012 (that is, last spring). The series contains 12 twenty-five minute episodes, with a thirteenth episode as part of a prequel.

The series starts with a young boy named Koichi Sakakiriba, who transfers to a new school. Upon entering the school, he meets a mysterious girl, Mei Misaki, and befriends her. It is through meeting and talking to Misaki that Koichi discovers that there is something terribly wrong that is going on inside the school—and somehow, he has to stop this force that is killing his classmates.

The suspense in this series is pretty intense; the director, Tsutomu Mizushima, does a very good job in making the series as dramatic and as emotionally powerful as possible. Information about 'the calamity,' as it is referred to later on in the series, is given to Koichi and the viewer in very small amounts in the beginning. This witholding of important plot information until the last possible second had me on the edge of my seat. After the main secrets to 'the calamity' are revealed, however, there is less suspense and more of a horror element in the series.

Another tool that the director used in this film was the cliffhanger tactic; there was a cliffhanger at the end of nearly every episode, especially the episodes where a character was about to die or be killed. I should probably mention that if you don't like horror or suspense, it's probably not a good idea to watch this series. There are several graphic scenes that occur throughout the series; the violent and graphic scenes increase dramatically during the climax of the last two or three episodes. This is where the horror element comes in—the characters that do die during the series generally die in shocking, gruesome, and unusual ways, adding to the suspenseful and slightly morbid air of the mini-series.

The main characters from the series "Another." The main protagonist, Koichi Sakakibara, is on the far left.

The characters in this series have unique but hidden personalities—especially the main characters, Mei and Koichi. The character development in “Another” is another reason that this is a worthwhile anime to watch. The characters are relatable and it's fairly easy to get emotionally attached to one or two of them while watching.

The animation, led by chief animation director Yuriko Ishii, really stands out. The storyline in “Another” is characterized by dark and dismal scenes, yet there are some bright and cheerful scenes in the series as well. The animators manage to capture both of these constrasting scenes with talent and expertise. The characters are also beautifully represented, demonstrating their personalities through the animated representation of them.

One last thing that stood out to me while watching this mini-series was the music for the series. The main theme song for the series, “Kyomu Densen” (“Nightmare Contagion” in English) by the band Ali Project was my absolute favorite. Although the theme is meant to be frightening and suspenseful like the rest of the show, it fit the mood of the entire series perfectly. The rest of the soundtrack fit the events and climax of the show and was another element that the series definitely could not do without—like most television series or movies, the music is an integral part of it. This series was no different, and the music fit the rest of the high quality of this anime.

Overall, “Another” is a great anime to watch if you need a weekend to relax or a few hours to spare at the end of a long day. Just be prepared to watch for the unexpected with this series!