Crazy for Palace (2013) 我为宫狂

the short drama was an extension for the running sequels. like all the other sequels in the series, it brought together the past and the present. xx was a young man in the present time, while Liuli was a girl in the past. one day, xx worked in the museum that was originally a palace in the past. he was assigned to label all the ancient items but accidentally cut himself on a vase. his blood brought Liuli from the past, where she crossed over to the present in seeking her identity.

for all the previous sequels, i enjoyed the past more than the present. unfortunately, this short drama gave little details on the past while focusing all the dramas in the present. Liuli lost her memories when she was brought from the past into the present. xx was the only person that could see her, therefore she followed him everywhere, asking him for help. eventually he gave in and during the search, they realized that their past was entwined. the short drama had me felt eager to watch its real drama again. the characters were so familiar that it was impossible not to miss them after all these while.

Miss Monochrome The Animation (2013) ミス・モノクローム

Monochrome-san was originally a character used as a 3D virtual singer like the Vocaloid. the animation followed her on her path of becoming an idol, as well as saving the world from aliens invasion. with each of the episode only 4 minutes long, there were only enough time for some laughs. Monochrome-san was an emotionless character who often came up with random ideas and desires. her manager had to make them all come true. despite the randomness of every occurrence, as well as the lacked of depths in its plot, the series remained fortunately, entertaining.

Lan Ling Wang (2013) 兰陵王

a thousand years ago, the battle between the northern region continued as the Emperors from Chou and Qi fought to conquer the land that belonged to each other. Emperor Yu Wenyong led the Chou army while the Battle God, Lanling Wang, led the army of Qi, they fought for day and night and eventually Emperor Yu was defeated and returned to his own land. Lanling Wang had won the battle with the help of a young witch, Xuewu that left their hidden village. Xuewu had the chance to get to know both Lanling Wang as well as Emperor Yu during the battle.

the series was one of the most addictive series we had watched in quite a while. the romance between Xuewu and Lanling Wang was so extremely heartwarming and heart wrenching following the storyline. i had laughed so hard and bawled my eyes out for them. while most of the characters did extremely well for their parts, it was sometimes frustrating that they had to always hide the truth from only the one they were closest to. the conflicts always succeeded in breaking everyone up, all due to the lies that was supposed to keep them "safe". fortunately in overall, the series was highly enjoyable, sending our emotions on turmoil while being extremely rewarding and satisfying in return.

Kyoukai no Kanata (2013) 境界の彼方

Akihito was a high school boy who appeared to be human, but was actually half demon who had the ability to heal. one day he met Mirai, a freshman who was about to jump from the school rooftop. Mirai was a loner that often got isolated for her weird ability. she was able to manipulate blood, which was unique even among members of the spirit world. disturbing events started to take place after Akihito saved Mirai.

Akihito in short was an immortal boy who couldn't die, while Mirai was a girl who wanted to. they met when Akihito tried to save her from jumping off their school building. she then stabbed him with a sword made of blood and found out that he was immortal. since then, she had been following him every day, trying to kill him and never succeeded. the chemistry between the characters were enjoyable to watch. the supernatural side of the series remained mysterious until the very end. but as in general, the potential of growth was huge and that alone was enough to keep the story going strong.