Trylle #1: Switched (2010)

the story started with Wendy's mother's outbreak, claiming Wendy was not her child and attempted to kill her on her sixth birthday. Wendy grew up to be a troubled teen who struggled to blend in. with her brother Matt, and aunt Maggie, they moved from one place to another whenever she was expelled from school. in her new school, she met with a mysterious student named Finn, whom she often found staring blankly at her. their unlikely friendship bloomed until she was found using her persuasion ability on another student. Finn confronted her and revealed that they are from a tribe of trolls called Trylle.

the first book i came across that used Trolls as their main character turned out to be a huge mess. in the book, Trolls apparently looked like any other human being, but having special abilities. Wendy was switched at birth, so she could grow up in a rich family before taken back to the Trolls community, where she was the Princess. Finn was a tracker sent after Wendy. she went about fighting her heritage, running back to her human family, getting kidnapped by some Troll enemies, etc. as the story went, Wendy obviously fell for Finn, who had to save her from every trouble she got herself into. but Wendy herself, was where the story went wrong. she wasn't a lovable character, at all. in fact, she was very, extremely irritating, which also made the read very tiring.

Gone (2012)

Jill lived with her sister, Molly. one year ago, Jill was kidnapped by a serial killer who later abandoned her in the forest, where she claimed to see many body parts. she knocked him unconscious before he was able to kill her and escaped. however, the polices weren't able to find any evidence, only discovering that she had been sent to the psychiatric previously, after her parents' death. one day returning home from work, Molly was gone and Jill believed that she was abducted and the serial killer was back.

the pace was great and the plot was extremely tight and constructive. it was able to held my attention the complete time, feeling disturbingly creepy and strange. not to mention, i was left guessing what would happen next and which one was the real deal at all times. Jill was a believing role, giving great suspense to the thriller. the twists and turns made the ending very satisfying yet managed to remain completely unpredictable.

Risou no Musuko (2012) 理想の息子

Umi was a beautiful single mother, she worked hard to raise her son Daichi. however, she implanted into Daichi's mind that he has to grow up into a successful being and buy his mother a big house. Daichi was raised to be a perfect obedient son who adored his mother. when Umi started her new job at an all-boys high school cafeteria, Daichi decided to enter that high school to protect his mother.

the drama had its fun moments, both in the son and mother's point of view. it was hilarious that Umi had a hidden motive to manipulate her son, while Daichi found ways around being bullied without betraying his mother. they were the same in many ways, being completely perfect for each other. the points delivered were in an understanding manner, though both having a motive, their love for each other were deep and strong, making it both funny and heartwarming.

Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko (2011) 電波女と青春男

Makoto moved in with his aunt Meme and met with his cousin Erio. he was confused to see Erio, thinking that aunt Meme lived alone. but he was furthermore confused to see Erio bundled herself with a futon (布団). she claimed that she was an extraterrestrial being, waiting to receive message from outer space. later Makoto discovered that Erio had been missing for half a year and was found floating in the sea. since then, she doesn't remember anything that happened but believed that it was the act of an alien.

it was a relaxing and lighthearted anime. the characters were all lovable, adorable and absolutely positive. although the anime doesn't have an in depth plot, perhaps even a little absurd, but it was more than enough to connect the characters and boost their development. most of the time, it was not what was expected, where every twist and turn eventually put a smile on our face. the process of knowing each character was fun, each charming in their very own ways, even 39-year-old aunt Meme can turned out to be so lovable!