Hey guys! Blade and I are trying something new! We had really fond memories of doing the live podcast last year with the ladies over at Rajio Nihon (you can check that out here!).  Since going live was such a fun experience, I figure we'd give it a try!

If you just started watching Random JDrama Sunday or just watching the YouTube channel in general, this is our self-introductions to you! 

If you know us through Henshin Justice Unlimited Girls in Trouble podcast, it's a chance to maybe learn something new!

Either way, drop by, chat, and hang out with us. Comment on this blog post if you've got any questions you're curious about or any talking points suggestions.

We'll be going live Thursday, May 9 at 7:00pm US Pacific Time. We'll be using Google Hang Out and streaming it to YouTube (hopefully). 

Don't forget to follow @angelicnoir on Twitter for any updates! Hope to see you then! <3

One book away from exactly half-way. Not bad, right?

I just finished re-reading The Hunger Games, namely because I re-watched the movie on Netflix this weekend. This book seriously benefited from its movie. Since it's written in first person perspective, having the movie to go by filled in all the gaps I would have otherwise missed in the book. Conversely, I was able to fill in what was going in in Katniss's head when I watch the movie.  

This is seriously why I condone people reading the book and watching the movie, and treating the two like the distinct mediums they are. I think you can get such a nice full experience by doing both. 

I haven't finished the series, so I'm aiming to finish Catching Fire and Mockingjay by the end of May. It'll put me to 31 to June, then it's another 29 books in 6 months. w00t. 

This Hunger Games trilogy is definitely something I'm looking to fully review on my channel once I finish it. It's definitely, definitely worth reading. 

Between losing the Random JDrama Sunday footage from last week and learning Adobe Premiere from scratch, in addition to the general stresses of career and day-to-day living, it's nice to have something accomplished, no matter how small. 

I'm pretty thankful to have something like this reading goal to get me back into some sort of focus and sense of achievement. 

Anyone else have some small accomplishment this past week? ^_^

Admittedly, I knew nothing about GANTZ when my friends asked if I wanted to be there for its premiere in Los Angeles. I just knew it was Nino's movie and that he would be there. So, basically, I squeed and said "YES" before anyone really finished asking the question. 

The best part about that premiere is, of course, being so close to Nino and realizing that he looks, sounds, and acts exactly as wonderful in person as he does on my dinky computer screen.

The sad part is the movie premiere was dubbed in English, so I didn't get to appreciate all his acting glory on the big screen. He even said it himself; it would've been nice to hear his own voice. 

Fortunately, you can buy GANTZ and GANTZ: Perfect Answer on Blu-Ray in its original Japanese with subtitles, quite easily.

The one thing I didn't get to talk about as much, despite the two-part review, is just how amazing the action sequences are. 

Because of the moral ambiguity of the first GANTZ mission (the Onion alien),  I found myself incredibly emotionally invested in both sides of the battle (Aliens vs. GANTZ).  There really wasn't one action sequence where I could just sit back, relax, and enjoy shit get blown up. Every fight scene was emotionally tense, just like any war movie. 


My absolute favorite fight is the subway scene in "GANTZ: Perfect Answer." The aliens were the same shape-shifting type as the multi-armed bodhisattva from the first movie, which made me never want to attend a Buddhist statue exhibit ever. 

The subway scene was everything I could have ever wanted in a closed scene fight. The tension was already high because it was toward the end of the movie, but now there are civilians involved, innocent people left and right get caught in the gruesome crossfire where both sides are using guns with bullet and guns that invisibly explore limbs; also, swords.

For a nearly four hours, I watched Ninomiya Kazunari kick ass and take names in a skin tight leather outfit.  But, man, the subway fight solidified himself as a genuine action hero. I was basically a pile of fangirl goo by the end of it. (Sigh)

So, again, I really can't say enough good things about the live-action GANTZ adaptation. I really hope you guys can check it out and support more movies like this, especially since this particular movie has been internationally licensed. 

Here's some bloopers because it wouldn't be Random JDrama Sunday without them. See you guys next week!  （⌒▽⌒） 

I'm the type of person who enjoys new beginnings and Easter is definitely another day in the calendar when I step from one point in my life to another. Obviously, New Year is one and my birthday is another. 

For me, Easter is a time for family and sunlit reflection. While we do get an official First Day of Spring, Easter is really the celebratory time for me to wake up from a long Winter gloom to something bright and new. 

I filmed a whole lot during my long Spring Break and saving up some money to revamp this website and possibly hire a wonderful friend and graphic designer for a new logo. 

So, I am taking another Sunday off to spend time with family and clean up the apartment a little, instead of posting Random JDrama Sunday or a new vlog. 

But here are some picture previews on what will be coming up on my channel and on this blog! 

I pretty much make lists and goals for myself almost every day. I have wishlists, watched lists, goal lists, shopping lists, to-do lists, so many lists that act as guidelines and sign posts to make sure stay on the road I've carved out for myself. 

Somewhere along the way, however, I have decided to not overwhelm myself with disappointment when I don't meet them. This is why I love this quote from Neil Gaiman. 

It's okay to make mistakes, you should be making mistakes, because it means you're doing something different. It's okay  for me to fall short on my goals because I tried something different. 

I want the goals that I make for this coming year to be Intentions, not  Resolutions.  It's okay to make mistakes because it shows that you're following your intentions, rather than falling short on your resolve.

So, I bring you: my New Year's Intentions for 2013. ^_^

... Because that's just how it worked out. ^_^

I wish everyone a safe and happy holiday weekend! I hope every gets lots of love and eat some pretty fantastic foods. 

Merry Christmas! <3 Angie

Okay, so yeah, I probably didn't talk too much about what everyone usually talks about when they watch Tokyo Dogs. But this is what an extended blog post is all about, right? ^_^;

First of all, I really can't help it if most of my favorite JDramas just happen to have Hiro Mizushima and Oguri Shun in it. They're such good actors that it's really no surprise to me they land a lot of jobs. But also, props to their managing team for landing them some really well directed and well written dramas and movies.  

Fun Fact: There was a time that I totally avoided watching JDramas (shocking, I know...) I initially thought that JDramas were really just nothing but overacting and over-dramatizing really mundane situations. 

It wasn't until I listened to the HJU Radio Shinkenger episode and they mentioned Tokyo Dogs that my paradigm of JDramas started to shift. 

Granted, Tokyo Dogs wasn't the first JDrama I ever saw, but it was the first JDrama that changed my whole perception of what a JDrama could be. 

Tokyo Dogs has action, it had comedy, and it has a lead female actor who I didn't want to stab in the eye for being so melodramatic. This is probably why I love Yoshitaka Yuriko character, Yuki, so much and I feel she's just really overlooked when people talk about Tokyo Dogs. 

Another quality that Tokyo Dogs had, and the quality I feel all really good JDramas have, is the level of detail and personality they give each character. While the focus is obviously the three lead characters, the supporting characters do not get the short end of the stick. 

There's a lot of hilarious moments from the overeager newbie, Horikawa, and his amusingly possessive girlfriend, Maki. Their dynamic with each other and with the main cast really offers a fun relief from all the dramatic tension of the plot and the relationship development between Sou and Yuki. 

There's also really endearingly funny moments with Sou's family. My favorite is always when Sou's mother calls on her son at the most inopportune time, like in the middle of an undercover case, talking about what any doting mother wants to talk about.  It really just softens Sou's initial hard ass character and shows that he's really a naturally caring person. 

Furthermore, like we said in the video, Marou does take his job seriously, despite his carefree attitude. This gets wonderfully highlighted in episode three where Marou's close friends are suspected of a yakura connected murder.  The conflict that Marou goes through is gut wrenching to watch. It really gives Marou the depth of character he deserves. 

Overall, Tokyo Dogs, like HanaKimi, like Mr. Brain, is honestly one of those JDramas that I can spend hours talking about. It's highly, highly recommended. 

First of all, I really have to apologize for my low voice and not-as-genki energy here. I filmed this three hours after I had just finished Black Friday shopping with my family and I was just... seriously pooped. I hope it doesn't imply that my gratitude and just, sheer love for you guys isn't sincere. Because, seriously, I heart you guys. So. Much. <3  ^_^

When I was in college, I wrote an essay expressing the insecurities I talked about in the video. The surprising part was it got published in a book. 

I talked about how I felt really insecure about being a girl and calling myself a geek because someone else was always better than me in both aspects. My girl friends were far better at the whole fashion, make up, and all the "typical" girly things girls are supposed to be into. On the other hand, my guy friends were the ones who found out about the latest gaming, anime, and comic news and had a great deal more knowledge and background about it. I really felt mediocre in both.

As the years progressed, I obviously no longer totally depended on my guy or my girl friends for all my geeky and fashion resources. However, it really wasn't until I wrote that essay in college and, in the following years after college, that I deeply reflected and eventually learned to accept my own brand of "Geek". Now, I really don't worry too much about being on the pulse of fashion will, in any way, reflect poorly on my ability to build a PC. 

But, it doesn't mean those insecurities went away. Like I said in the vlog, anything I contribute and want to contribute to the geeky fandom community still come with a lot of anxiety of, "maybe I'm just not good enough." Unfortunately, the recent blacklash against the "fake" geek girl only just amplified those insecurities. 

It's really through your support that inspires me to keep working harder to give you guys the content you'd like to see. 

And more importantly, it's your support that has really help me feel more confident and having pride in the things I like and hobbies that I just want to share with everyone. 

I honestly cannot thank you enough for it. <3 Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving weekend ! ^_^ 

I've been meaning to put these out in between posting regular Random JDrama Sunday's (by the way, did you vote for your JDrama? :3). 

As you can see, the amount of crap Blade and I put each other through is staggering. I can't say enough how incredibly fun it is to hang out with her and the randomness that gets caught on camera. ^_^

Unfortunately, there isn't a "Mei-chan" one as it totally slipped my mind and I deleted the files before I could make one. Sorry!

Do keep your eye out for more Random JDrama Sundays and their subsequent silliness next week! Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving! <3

If you know me personally or listen to me well enough, you may have realized I love the hell out of action movies. You know: guy saves the world, guy gets the girl, sh*t blows up, etc.  It's 100% better if there's just people beating the crap out of each other with their bare hands in very clever ways. 

I also love the hell out of creative collaborations, having two unlikely worlds collide. Like a  mystery solving JDrama with an Arashi member with a crazy dirty techno soundtrack. Wrap. Sold. Take all my feels.

So, when I saw the trailer to The Man with the Iron Fists, not gonna lie, I kinda squeed.  What do you mean I get to see awesome kung fu fighting ,with effing Wu Tang Clan as background music, and the same gratuitous violence of that only a movie with Quentin Tarantino's name attached can deliver.  Yes. Yes. EFF Yes.

Did I enjoy the crap out of this movie? You bet I did. 
Did I also think it was absolutely terrible? Why, yes. Yes, I did.