Secret History of Princess Taiping (2012) 太平公主秘史

Princess An was killed by her mother as a baby, however she was found by her caretaker, Zhaoniang to have survived the incident. Zhaoniang secretly ran away with the baby princess. they wandered into the deserted regions, promising the queen that Princess An will return after becoming an adult. after meeting with Axiena, the leader of a small tribe, they fell in love. meanwhile in the palace, the queen gave birth to Princess Taiping. after Princess An learned the truth about her origins, she vowed to seek vengeance on her mother by kidnapping Princess Taiping and replacing her.

having the same appearance, Princess An and Princess Taiping was sometimes confusing to look at if not for their opposite personalities. Princess An was brought up learning martial arts, making her tough and headstrong, as ambitious as her mother. however, Princess Taiping was soft-spoken, believed that women should steer clear of the political issues. the contrast made Taiping much more lovable than An, for despite how much An hated her mother, she was an exact copy of the queen.

Avril Lavigne: Nylon Magazine 2013

Soul Screamers #6: Before I Wake (2012)

after being killed by Avari, who intended to steal her soul, Kaylee survived the ordeal though being dead. with her soul attached, Kaylee was forced to continue living her life like any normal teenager. covering up her own murder, while faking being alive among her friends. back in school, she had to constantly remind herself to stay visible. to earn her right to stay in the human world, Kaylee had to use her bean sidhe ability to reclaim stolen souls. fighting evil while dating her reaper boyfriend was anything but normal even in Kaylee's life.

having read the last book a year ago, i had forgotten where the story left off. but even without the reminder, the story stood perfectly alone, while bits and parts came rolling back. the book was a fast read, with plenty of action, romance, even mysteries. putting together a group of friends with various characteristics was already interesting by itself. the relationship between Kaylee, Tod, Nash and Sabine only made it tastier.

Avril Lavigne: Nylon Magazine 2013

Parker (2013)

Parker was a thief who vowed not to steal from the poor or hurt innocent people during the process. one day, he was asked to join 4 other guys to form a team, stealing from a theme park. they performed the job flawlessly and after a successful escape, Parker wanted his share and part with them. when he refused to join them for another job, they killed him, disposing his body on the roadside. however, he was alive and wanted revenge.

with Jason Statham as a professional, truly nothing can go wrong. like all of his movies, he portrayed a tough killing machine. his being able to bleed made it even more believable, yet doesn't make him less miraculous. Jennifer Lopez on the other hand, was just a random, foolish girl that get caught up in the action, with her eyes on the money. despite the delicious actions, she was somewhat annoying to look at. the film was obviously not a huge production, but definitely worth the time.

Avril Lavigne: MuchMusic Awards

Avril caught everyone's attention when she arrived on the MuchMusic Awards in the arm of her newly wed husband Chad Kroeger, wearing a black leather headpiece with metal spikes. she won the best international video by a Canadian artist for her single "Here’s To Never Growing Up" and stirred the audience up with its performance.

Soul Seekers #3: Mystic (2013)

Daire died trying to save Dace, but was rescued by Axel, Dace's guardian, a Mystic. unsure of his intention, Daire escaped Axel's captivity and returned to earth. while she was keen on reuniting and spending more time with her family and friends, destiny put her into more challenges. before she was able to find a way to kill Cade without killing Dace, his ex Phyre appear, eager to want him back.

while the book was named over a creature called Mystic, i expected more of them. however, despite appearing for a while in the beginning and also at the end of the book, that was it. i forced myself through the third book since i read the previous 2 books. fortunately, it was the shortest among the three. the story dragged itself through the fights between Daire, Dace and Cade, which was getting so repetitive and tiring that it felt like a waste of time.

Avril Lavigne: Rock N Roll (2013)

after releasing "Here's To Never Growing Up" (2013) as her fifth album's first single, Avril released an audio version of a second single "Rock N Roll" (2013) just last week. while some thought Avril would soften with age and second marriage, they were dead wrong. when she talked about growing up with MTV News, she doesn't feel that she needed to embrace age on her music. to her, it was all about one's spirit and state of mind, doesn't matter the age. she had plan to release her fifth album this coming September, which she collaborated not only with her husband Chad, also with Marilyn Manson.

The Allure Juelian (2013) 倾城绝恋

Princess Meili was a carefree girl who was finally able to live with her father in the town. after her father got killed in a mission, the grandmother of the Emperor decided to care for her. upon meeting Jingxuan they fell madly in love. due to her careless lifestyle, she often land in trouble, one of them killing her best friend. she was punished and sent to work for the palace. she suffered and when she was finally released from captivity, she found out that Jingxuan was appointed by the Emperor to take the hand of another girl for marriage.

while Meili and Jingxuan was the main couple of the series, it also introduced Suying and Yonghe. while the Emperor approved the marriage between Jingxuan and Suying, the grandmother wanted Yonghe for her beloved Meili. despite their love for each other, Meili and Jingxuan was forced apart, having no choice but to follow by the Emperor's words. while it was painful to see them apart, things was further complicated as Suying and Yonghe too, became such lovable characters as the episodes progressed.

Avril Lavigne: Hello Canada

Avril married Chad Kroeger on 1st July 2013, only a year after they started dating. the intimate and emotional candlelight ceremony was held 3-days in the south of France, together with 110 of their closest friends and family. they revealed their official wedding photo to Hello Canada and became the cover for the magazine on the July 2013 issue. complete in black, Avril stood out walking down the isle with her black wedding dress and a bouquet of black roses. they fell in love last year, while recording for Avril's fifth studio album. Chad had proposed on the 8th of August 2012.

Soul Seekers #2: Echo (2012)

still learning how to be a Soul Seeker, Daire continued her magical training where it had gotten even more intense over the days, where she had to become one with the various elements, fire being the most difficult. despite still being madly in love with Dace, the good twin of Cade, they forced themselves apart after learning about Cade's ability to absorb their positive energy, transforming it into his own whenever they got together. before the Last Days approach, destroying everyone and everything, Daire had to kill Cade, which also risk killing Dace. even though they were separate beings, they were connected in ways unimaginable.

the whole book circled around the doomed relationship of Dace and Daire, also Cade, who wanted to take over the world. each with their own mind made up, Daire and Dace approached Cade separately, each aiming to take down Cade before another was killed. this alone looped for quite a while, making their failures frustrating to watch. there were also the prophecy and dreams, similar yet interpreted differently by the duo. if only they would communicate more and stop keeping things to themselves, many unnecessary pages could be avoided. despite the frustrating and awfully slow read due to the complicated if not repetitive plot, the idea itself was originally promising and impressive.

Avril Lavigne: 2013 Billboard Music Awards

avril appeared at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas, with her husband Chad Kroeger (from Nickelback). they got married in France on the 1st of July 2013.

Stuck Between Stations (2011)

Casper was a soldier, who was still haunted by the horrors of war. Rebecca was a grad student, who had an unknown future. they graduated from the same high school and met coincidentally after a many years. they got together and knew each other a little better after he saved her from a bar fight.

the film in overall was having 2 persons walking and talking throughout the screen time. while it was sometimes good, it was most of the time boring. the ending perhaps made the waiting worthwhile but still unavoidably tiresome. with their exchange of traumatic pasts, they bonded simply by talking the whole night away.

Avril Lavigne: Nylon Magazine 2013

avril appearing on Nylon Magazine July 2013 cover.

Soul Seekers #1: Fated (2012)

Daire was just an average girl until the Crows started appearing themselves in front of her, showing her bloodied scenes that only she alone can see, making her felt out of her mind. fearing for Daire's sanity, her mother Jennika sent Daire to live with a grandmother she never met, attending a new high school. Paloma was a wise old woman who recognized Daire's ability for being a Soul Seeker. navigating between the worlds between the living and the dead, Daire had to face the twins, Cade and Dace, for one at utmost evil and another pure.

having loved her The Immortal (2009-2010) series so much, i was surprised to find the Soul Seeker (2012-2013) slightly disappointing. the plot was separated into 2 parts, where the first part was having Daire and Paloma training to control her abilities. the experience itself was absolutely overwhelming, their relationship sweet and touching. the second part was where Daire fell in love with Dace. with Cade being the evil twin and Dace being the good twin, it was obvious who Daire would ended up with. was it love at first sight? either way, the growing speed of their relationship was way too cheesy to feel relatable.

Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo (2006) 時をかける少女

Makoto accidentally obtained the power to travel through time. while it could be used for both good deeds as well as selfishly abused, Makoto used the ability to leap into the past to change little things just to make her life easier. it seemed like every thing was for enjoyment, the accumulation of these insignificant events turned out to change the future with drastic consequences.

despite the simple drawings, the film was surprisingly good. it plot was straightforward if not simple. the repetitive events tend to make us lost track of its main course but before we realized, we were completely engaged. there reached a point where we couldn't figure out how the outcome would be, the possibility for the film to end badly was a 50-50 chance. but it turned out that we had nothing to worry about.

Soul Seekers #0.5: Daire Meets Ever (2012)

having been a fan of Alyson Noel's series, i was so confused throughout this introduction. it focused on nothing else but Daire, first being inside a mental hospital, then the story seemed to start all over again by giving details on her previous lifestyle and her first insane moment, which led her from being transported from one place to another, and ended with her being at her grandparents' house. as for Ever, she was the main character in The Immortal (2009-2010) series, but i can't recall where this character ever appear in this book. for that, i was quite doubtful to start with the series, but hopefully it will turn out to be worthwhile.

Resident Evil: Damnation (2012)

Leon was a special agent sent from the US, to sneak into a small European country to verify rumors that the usage of BOWs (Bio Organic Weapons) in war. however, right after he had been left off, the US government ordered for him to leave immediately, taking back their orders. with the determination to uncover the truth, Leon entered the battlefield to find out more about the BOWs and ending the tragedies that it caused.

it was refreshing to watch an animation that had the exact feeling like we were playing its game. ever since Resident Evil had been made into films, it was rare to feel the atmosphere Degeneration (2008) had successfully achieved. Damnation (2012) managed to increase the effects and had us captivated in this latest installment with a gaming experience. however, its downside for being an animation instead of film, made it less horrifying and gory. instead of focusing on zombies like Resident Evil usually did, it used various creatures for a change.

World Order オフィシャルサイト

World Order is a Japanese band formed by Genki Sudo (須藤元気) after his retirement from Martial Arts. together with 6 other members, the band was well-known for their choreographed robotic dance in public places. their song, Machine Civilization (2012) was the most popular among the 2 albums they came up with, for the song was produced in response to the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Date A Live (2013) デート・ア・ライブ

Shido was just an average high school boy. but on the last day of the spring holiday, an explosion destroyed the town while a girl in armor appeared in front of him. Kotori, his sister-in-law told him about the girl, who was also the cause of a quake in the timespace. Kotori revealed that she herself was the commander of an organization and ordered him to date the girl. Shido's aim was not to defeat the girl, but to make her fell in love with him, thus saving the world.

despite being a harem anime, the plot was rather simple and straightforward, which was proven to be quite enjoyable. the pace was not only fast, even slightly rushed at some point, but still acceptable if not for the "to be continued" wording at the end of the series. with the pace, there were little character development if not for the very few main characters. it was difficult to root for any particular character, but the series in overall was definitely interesting for a harem series.

Avril Lavigne: Here's To Never Growing Up (2013)

"Here's To Never Growing Up" (2013) was released on April 2013, as the lead single from Avril's upcoming fifth studio album. the song was written by her and her friends, who also produced it together. the music video showed Avril playing with her band at a school prom. the most special part about the video was having Avril wearing the same outfit while skateboarding as her first video for "Complicated" (2002). the slow motion effect could also be found in "I'm With You" (2002). the second single "Rock & Roll" (2013) is set to be released as the second single on September 2013.

Avril dated Brody Jenner from 2010-2012 after her divorce with Deryck Whibley. then she got together with Chad Kroeger (Nickelback) on July 2012, after they worked together for her fifth album. after only 1 month of dating, they got engaged and married in France on 1st of July 2013.

Monsters, Inc. (2001)

the Monstropolis city was lived by monsters that centered around the city's power supplying company, called Monsters, Inc. Sulley was their top worker, with the help of his friend Mike. the monsters collected energy from children's screams, going through their closet to scare them in the night. the monsters were told that the children's touch could kill. however, when Boo walked into the monster world, Sulley got to know the little girl. the duo had to send Boo back to her world before anyone else found out.

despite the seemingly scary plot, the animation was lighthearted because of Sulley and Mike. the human-like characteristic monsters made it easily relatable as well. having watch the animation for the nth time, i still fell in love with Boo and her attachment with Sulley. its separation scene still made me cry. while Sulley was a monster with conscience, Mike was the most hilarious and entertaining character ever.

Blood Singer #5: The Eldritch Conspiracy (2013)

before Celia was able to take a breather from the troubles she had ever since she became a partial vampire, partial siren, and partial human, she was invited to her cousin's wedding. Adriana, a clairvoyant siren princess, was to wed King Dahlmar, a king of a small but influential country. things got even more complicated with the terrorists threatened to wipe out the whole Siren race for the mind controlling powers. with the royal wedding planned, Celia was given the role of a bridesmaid as well as bodyguard.

this book had the slowest paced among the 5 books available thus far. Celia continued to be lacking rest while throwing herself into danger for the safety of those she came to treasure. now that she finally settled with Bruno, leaving behind John, i found Bruno less attractive than previously. their possessiveness over Celia were often frustrating to watch if not for their useful ability for being a powerful mage. i was starting to believe Rizzoli when he mentioned in the last book that Celia too, had the gift of intuition. for more than a few times she was able to save others despite a being last minute attempt.

Vanquished Queens (2013) ヴァンキッシュド・クイーンズ

the OVA focused on the defeats of various Queen's Blade characters. the 2-episodes stood independently from its main series as well as side stories. it was an adaptation from its visual book. the defeats alone were enough to attract Queen's Blade's fan. it was obvious that the show focused on plenty of eye-candies, just as its previous sequels did.

Blood Singer #4: The Isis Collar (2012)

being pushed into checking an elementary school for hidden time bomb brought Celia face to face with its terror. when 2 magical bombs detonated and left no destruction behind, Celia was convinced nothing happened if not for the persistent bruise on her leg that she acquired. with her half vampire, half siren, half human blood, she should be completely healed from anything by now. her part of her memories missing, she sought out people she knew for knowledge of the symptoms only to find out she was infected with a bacteria that turned humans into zombies so to spread along the bacterias furthermore.

it was painful to watch Celia being helpless, not being able to remember stuff, also the terrifying headaches. Rizzoli was introduced more thoroughly in this installment. despite being an experienced federal agent, he was neither a mage nor clairvoyant, but his intuition often brought him where he should be when he should be. it was very interesting how accurate he can be. i found myself looking forward to the interaction between Celia and her deceased friend Vicky and sister Ivy, unfortunately there were little amount in this installment. i was often afraid with love triangles, where i would prefer this guy over that guy for Celia, but i was more than pleased to find myself loving both of the guys that even Celia couldn't choose for herself. their gentlemen trait gave off such loving vibes that it was pleasant to read.

The Man with the Iron Fists (2012)

the leader of the Lion clan was summoned by the Governor, assigning them to protect his gold that will be transported through a village. however, he was betrayed by his underlings. his son Zenyi sought revenge but was defeated and rescued by a local blacksmith Thaddeus. the blacksmith was later abducted and tortured by the Lions, severing his arms. he was later saved by Jack, an emissary of the Emperor. Jack created a pair of iron arms for Thaddeus. together with an army of black widows led by Madam Blossom, they fought against the Lions with their lives on the stake.

despite being an English film, the casts were mostly formed by Chinese. their English was surprisingly fluent and clear, where else the blacksmith was mumbling and had us struggled with what he was trying to deliver. there were so many characters throughout the film that it was difficult to recognize each and everyone of them. some died almost as soon as they appeared, others especially with the Lion wigs on, bored on significant appearances. as for the goriness, there were plenty to turn our tummy inside out, action wise very satisfying, especially with Bautista, a WWE wrestler as the strongest man in the film. while everyone seemingly played their character perfectly, the blacksmith was the worst actor ever. while he tried so hard to play the pitiful card, he also failed so miserably.

Blood Singer #3: Demon Song (2011)

while Celia continued to cope with her urge to feed on human and avoid get turned into a full vampire, she was again confronted by the demon that continue to hold dangerous amount of interest in her. she purposefully arranged a weekend spa for Dawna, Emma and herself, just for a little stress released session, only to find trouble following her everywhere. the curse that was laid on her during childhood continued to follow her, opening up an ancient rift between the demonic dimension and earth that was sealed during the destruction of Atlantis. before all demons were released to threaten humanity, Celia had to fight alongside people with demonic experience, not everyone she could trust, to close the rift.

third book into the series continued to be absolutely entertaining and fast read. the pace reduced whenever lacking action, where one just had to held on slightly longer before any action erupted to swap one of their feet. romance wise, instead of focusing on either one of the male candidates, named Bruno and John, nor on the rivalry between the guys, it was refreshing to see a healthy competition going on, even more surprising to see how well they worked together willingly even outside crisis. as always, Celia was a tough chick, but often transformed into such a jelly when it came to the guys. she was uncharacteristically adorable at some point it was difficult not to love her for who she is.

Kono Naka ni Hitori, Imouto ga Iru!: Ani, Imouto, Koibito (2013) この中に1人、妹がいる！兄、妹、恋人

Episode 13 of the tv series was an unaired episode from the series. the story followed Shougo, where he was left a huge inheritance by his late grandfather. but before he was able to claim the inheritance, he had to start attending a particular school and find a girl to marry. with all the girls friendly towards him, Shougo just had to find someone that shared the same interest as his. however the twist was having his long lost sister among these girls.

this extra episode had not much difference compared to the series' 12 episodes. it was a whole independent episode by itself and could covered all the 12 episodes perfectly. mostly it was about what Shougo thought about the girls that surrounded him while giving each of these girl a characteristic that make them different from one another.

Blood Singer #2: Siren Song (2010)

being an abomination that was neither human, vampire, nor siren had been new and difficult for Celia. but before she was able to adjust to her new lifestyle, she was summoned to the siren kingdom, a place she never knew existed until she reached the enchanting place herself. according to Queen Lopaka, she was a princess, a direct descendant of hers. with the knowledge of a new clairvoyant friend of hers, one of the sirens she met was a traitor that held the threat of destroying the already small population of sirens. being caught in the middle of the crisis, Celia was forced to take action as the enemy targeted her when the demon whom the traitor summoned took great interest in her.

second book into the series continued exactly where book 1 left off, where Celia had to deal with courts in the human world as well as the siren's. with her strength and determination, she got through one after another of these challenges until she reached the one that involved life and death. again, the story was so engaging that i could almost finished it in one sitting until the very last confrontation that seemed to drag on slightly. at this point, it was difficult to see who were truly her friends, or in disguise, targeting some benefits for themselves. both the first and second book were equally entertaining, where book 2 stood out furthermore by skipping its technicality.

The Legend of Xi Shi (2012) 西施秘史

the story followed the life of Xishi, one of the renowned Four Beauties of ancient China. from being a commoner, she got involved in a battle and from one way or another, started attracting attention among those from the palace. despite the interesting history background Xishi had, for being one of the most beautiful woman, the series lacked colorful visual that recent series had. it was blunt and had the "dirty" feel to it like battle films. it greatly reduced the attractiveness of its scenes and scenarios.

Kira Kira 5th Anniversary Live Anime (2013) キラ☆キラ: Kick Start Generation

the story evolved around Shikanosuke, who was a student at a missionary school, Oubi Academy. he doesn't put much effort into his studies, not attend his club. all he did was showing up at his part time job. one day, he met a strange girl named Kirari at work. before he knew it, they had formed a band. the band consisted of his childhood friend Chie and a rich but weak girl named Sarina. together their life turned for the better and he finally had a motivation to achieve higher.