Halloween is here!

This little totally adorable creature popped onto my FB feed and I just had to share it! Happy Halloween people!

Why One Piece isn't bad? II

            As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm starting a series of posts about why One Piece isn't bad. In the series, I'll discuss the claimed negatives of One Piece. I'd like to notify before I start, that, by no means, I am offending anyone. I am just telling what I think.

One Piece art back in the old days ... I kind of miss it!

So, let's start with the one I cannot entirely defend: The Art!

         Even I can't deny that the art of One Piece is, well, a bit eccentric, but I think it suits the atmosphere in One Piece. In the first couple of episodes I had a hard time adjusting, but later on I got so used to it that I can't imagine it any other way. Now, I'd rather call it unique, and it's most ertainly not poor in quality. Also, it's not like One Piece is the only anime with weird art. I love Fullmetal Alchemist, but I thought the characters were too chubby and I didn't like that, did that make me dislike the anime any less? It might have discouraged me from watching it at first, just like with One Piece, but I didn't like it any less, for that, when I started watching it.

         So is it okay to think that the art of One Piece is too weird to watch? Well, yes, but I can't imagine someone not being curious to know why a manga with such art is so popular. And is it okay to hate One Piece because of the art, after I read the manga or watched the anime? Well, I personally think it’s not okay since Oda has more than made up for it with a brilliant plot.

Some Manga volume covers, manga and anime art samples

         To the second point, which I can partially debate, but not completely: One Piece defies logic.

I've read many complaints about One Piece not being logical sometimes, and that it doesn't obey laws of physics and such. Did I think One Piece was being illogical sometimes? Yes! Was it because it didn't obey the laws of physics? Absolutley not!

          If you’re expecting the anime you watch to be realistic, then don't go and watch a fantasy anime, and then complain that it's not realistic or illogical. First of all, the world of One Piece is made of 4 seas divided by the grand Line and Red line, does that sound like the planet Earth we live in, to you? Of course, not. Then why do you expect it to follow the rules that apply in the world we live in. Does it look like we have such a thing as devil fruits? Then why does it surprise you that the clouds in One piece are not condensed vapor but something massive with people living on it and to which Doflamingo can attach his strings and swing. I won't deny that I was annoyed by Sanji's nose bleeding in Fishman Island, and going as far as basing event on something so silly, and turning something that was supposed to be for gags into something serious, but this and that are completely different. Why? Because one piece resided to logic in that one. It’s not possible for someone to nose-bleed like that for such reasons, I'd let it pass if it's only for gags, but to make the nose bleeding actually life threatening and base events on that… I didn't like it, half doing things. There's also Sanji changing Duval's look by reforming his facial bone structure; that was another thing that I thought was stupid. I've just noticed both times it's about Sanji! :D No offense to Sanji, he's one of my favorite anime characters and one of the coolest ;and I have to admit I was disappointed at how the mystery of the Merry's repair in Skypea was solved, thought that has nothing to with it being unrealistic, it's just that I was expecting something more interesting. Anyway, I can't recall being provoked by the illogicality in anything else, the anime is a fantasy, in a world that's no ours. It can has its own rules, creatures and phenomena.

One Piece World Map!

Skypiea! <3 

Weatherea... another sky island!

Sanji's annoying nose bleed! -_-

Devil Fruit

                           This is what I think about these two particular points, that some think of as major negatives in One Piece. I'll be discussing other points in tomorrow's "Why One Piece isn't bad?" post. Mata ne! ^_^ 

Celebrating a 100 Post!!

          In celebration of our 100th post, we thought we should do something different. So we decided to reward you with our top 10 lists in various categories. We urge you to enjoy all these things for they are among the finest and you're free to thank us later ;) 
          I would just like to note that these are our top 10 now, maybe they'll change tomorrow or in a year, so there are a lot of other great items out there that didn't make it to our lists because they are not yet discovered or 10 is just such a small number :D __ Summar

          Such a good way to celebrate! I always liked listing! I've never been good at it, though, since I'm the most indecisive person in the world. Anyway, I'd like note that my top 10s are in no particular order, maybe except for number one in each list. I am not even sure that these are my to 10, but they are most probably (giving you a taste of my indecisiveness), since they were the first that came to my mind. However, I assure you, they are all good stuff! :D __ Yosra 

Top 10 Anime

Summar	Yosra
Lovely complex	One Piece
Romeo no aoi sora	Rurouni Kenshin
Skip beat	Hunter X Hunter
Attack on titan	Slam Dunk
Kaichou wa maid-sama	Gintama
Aka-chan to boku	Bleach
Tonari no kaibutsu-kun	Bakuman
Meitantei Conan	Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Digimon	D.Gray-Man
Pokemon	Attack on Titan

Top 10 Books

Summar	Yosra
Harry Potter series	Harry Potter Series
The hunger games series	Kane and Abel
Lorien legacies series	The Kite Runner
ربع جرام	The Hunger Games Series
الطنطورية	To Kill a Mocking Bird
A thousand splendid suns	Jane Eyre
Life of Pi	Shopaholic Series
Oliver Twist	The Mysterious Affair at Styles
Can you keep a secret	Twelfth Night
آدم المصري	Jessica on her Own

Top 10 J-Drama

Summar	Yosra
Hana Yori dango	Hana Yori Dango
Gokusen	Gokusen
Hana kimi	Hana Kimi
Rookies	Rookies
Nobuta wo produce	Atashinchi no Danshi
Smile	Liar Game
My girl	Mei-Chan no Shitsuji
Hungry	Nobuta wo Produce
Zettai kareshi	My Girl
Tomorrow	Tomorrow

Top 10 Movies

Summar	Yosra
The shawshank redemption	Spirited Away
The pursuit of Happyness	Howl's Moving Castle
Big	Ella Enchanted
A little princess	Princess Diaries
Leon: The professional	The Butterfly Effect
Back to the future	Sherlock Holmes
Whisper of the heart	Miss Congeniality
The sound of music	10 Things I hate about you
Howl's moving castle	Pirates of the Caribbean
الحفيد	Flipped

Top 10 Series

Summar	Yosra
Fringe	Sherlock
Chuck	Supernatural
Sherlock	Angel
Merlin	Downton Abbey
How I met your mother	Merlin
Full house	Doctor Who
Suits	Heroes
Forever	Chuck
Finding Carter	Suits
Grey's anatomy	Even Stevens

Top 10 Songs

Summar	Yosra
Counting stars  By: OneRepublic	Monochrome no Kiss -  SID
Demons By: Imagine dragons	Don't Fear the Reaper -  Blue Oyser Cult
As long as you love me By: Backstreet boys	One Summer's Day -  Joe Hisaishi
Wake me up By: Avicci	Sukiyaki -  Kyu Sakamoto
Like nobody else By: My darkest days	Canon in D - Pachelbel
Viva la vida By: Coldplay	Carmen -Bizet
Konya tsuki no mieru oka ni By: B'z	SOS - Abba
Harder we fall By:Jessie J.	Radioactive -  Imagine Dragons
Best day of my life By: American authors	Can't Take my Eyes off you - Frank Valli & The 4 Seasons
Vagabond By: Misterwives	No Leaf Clover -  Metallica

Top 10 Dishes

Summar	Yosra
Cupcakes	Chicken Curry
French fries	Balsamic Chicken
Burgers	Beef Teriyaki
Molten chocolate cake	French Fries
Fried chicken	Grilled Mushrooms
Ravioli	Chinese Noodles
Pizza	Fried Chicken
Taro root stew	Burger
Mushrooms	Alfredo Pasta
Mille feuille	Fish with Lemon & Butter

Long time no see :D

It has been almost a month since I last wrote a post in our beloved blog! I'd like to apologize to our imaginary followers who eagerly await our awesome posts (I know you're out there somewhere ;) ). But let me tell you why. First I traveled with my family to our Villa in the north coast in that deserted little "compound" called "Farah 2" :D. Fun little fact Farah 2 was built before Farah 1 and I still can't grasp why they have twisted order or even share the same name. Anyway we spent the Eid there and when we came back, I was preparing along with my mother and brother to travel to Turkey. A country I never thought I wanted to go to, but I'm so glad we did ^_^. Maybe sometime I'll write about that.
After we came back, I've tried multiple times to go back to blogging, but it just felt like heavy weight. I hated not wanting to blog again and just waited thinking maybe I'll come around soon and do it.
Seeing Yosra agreeing with me and the decision to take away the obligatory feeling out of it, I feel good about it again and hope to be able to deliver at least one decent post a day :D
Keep following us and thank you for your patience loyal stranger!

Why One Piece isn't bad?

         This post is the product of too much free time and boredom. Don't be surprised at the fact that I spent a while writing this. I've nothing else to do. That's a fresh graduate's life for you; one that decided to take a break instead of getting a job.

         This was supposed to be a one-time post, or whatever you call it, but it turned out too long; that's why I decided to make it into a series of posts. I wouldn't like to test the patience of our dear fictional reader.

Excuse the old picture. I am just being very paranoid
 about manga spoilers, can't go deep in search. -_-

        

           Well, I've been checking One Piece reviews out of curiosity a while ago. I am up to episode 665, the latest one released, and I never read any before then. I decided to watch it when I did 2 years ago, because I knew it's very popular and because It had too many episodes and I like to watch long running anime. I knew about One piece much earlier than that but I resisted watching it for 2 reasons: the very same reason why I am watching it, too many episodes has already been made, and the art. Now, I am grateful to my curious self that got over the art and decided to watch the anime, for the art simply grew on me later on. Also, I would have missed a lot.

          However, what I am writing is not a one piece review. I review, only, finished shows, and if we take Oda's word for it, then see you after a decade! I am writing this after I read a good deal of reviews. Naturally, I didn't read the reviews that gave it 8+/10. For I have enough reasons to give it such rating. I noticed that the most common rating was a 10/10. A rating I wouldn't give if I'm being fair but one I'd give if I am being emotional. I've been, lately, in the habit of giving ratings based on how much I enjoyed and not how good a show really is. If I am being fair, up to the point I'd give it an 8/10, it has its faults. However, I postpone such decision to the end of the manga and anime, since the end is going to be the major factor, in my opinion.  Back to the point, I said this is not a review, so why am I writing this, because I noticed that one piece rarely got an average score by viewers, it either got very high ratings as by the majority, or a very low rating as of 3-/10 by a minority. Everyone is free to think of whatever they watch as they please. No one is forced to like anything, even if everyone says it's good. I, for instance, don't like Death Note at all, though everyone, literally, is hyped about it. I didn't think Cowboy Bebop was anything special, in spite of all the recommendations and good reviews. I couldn't even bring myself to complete Steins; Gate. This is not me saying those anime are bad, I know they are very popular. It just that we all have different views on things and different preferences. You can never find a single anime that everyone would say is good. One Piece is very popular. It has loads of fans and much fewer haters, but they hate it too much and that's what grabbed my attention. Maybe, they've been provoked by what they thought as exaggerated popularity, when they thought there was nothing special about it. I am familiar with the sensation, nothing provoked me like the extreme hype over Death Note when I thought it was actually boring, and when they decided to make some unpredictable twist to refresh, they brought on its doom, or that's what I thought.

          None the less, I was surprised by the fact that some people actually rated One Piece with a rating as low as 1/10. I wouldn't give a show however bad it is such a rating. I'd at least by sympathetic with all the effort that was made into it, especially if it had been there for over 15 years. I read the reviews to understand on what basis the reviewer gave it such rating. Well, again I emphasize on the fact that everyone has the right to think of whatever they want as ever they want; that's why I read some of the reviews calmly and with an open mind as much as possible. However, there were a few ones at which I couldn't hold myself from pressing the dislike button. I think it's very childish, but I thought that these were not some personal opinions. The things, based on which they gave the ratings were mostly a proof that they don't get One Piece. Let me clarify first, that I couldn't object to those who dislike the anime but like the manga. I didn’t read the manga so I don’t know about that, and besides that means that their objections are purely technical and I won't object to that. As for who disliked One Piece as an existence, I've got the main points they mentioned in mind and I'll prove that most of them are not true in this series of posts. So, await our daily "Why One Piece isn't bad?" post! ^_^ 

Change Alert No.2!

              This is a bigger one than our last. We started a couple of months ago, a program to follow which is: a daily character and a song, a weekly anime, movie, book and J-drama, and a monthly TV series. However, after 6 weeks of keeping this going, we realized that it won't work. The scheduled posts started to feel like an obligation and "To place yourself under an obligation is to sell your liberty." (Don't mind the exaggeration!) Anyway, the point of the blog was that we'd find somewhere of our own to write, whatever we feel like writing, whenever we feel like it and that's what we are going to do. There'll be no more scheduled daily and weekly posts about certain topics. We'd just write about the topic that rises in our heads the moment it rises. However, we promise our dear anonymous faithful reader who awaits our posts with utter enthusiasm, and who doesn't actually exist; we promise you at least a post per day, the blog shall never be deserted. That was our big announcement and thanks for the attention, our fictional reader! 

JDrama of the Week (6)

JDrama: Nobuta wo produce

Genre: School Drama

Episodes: 10

Network: NTV

                   Nobuta wo produce is a light-hearted, most enjoyable, drama. Kotani Nobuko aka Nobuta (Horikita Maki) is an introvert, with no friends. She has weak communication skills and a creepy smile. She's insecure and defenseless against bullying. Kiritani Shuji (Kamenashi Kazuya) is the cool, popular, high school guy who has the most popular girl as a girlfriend. However, it's all an act. He thinks everyone around him are childish and inferior, he only ges with the flow to have a trouble-less high school life. Kusano Akira (Yamashita Tomohisa) is completely the opposite, which explains why Shuji dislikes him the most. He's the only one he can't even pretend to be able to get along with. He's very laid back. He walks and talks in a peculiar manner, and he's always laughing. He looks like he's always drunk. Though it seems, from that, it's impossible for the two of them to cooperate at all, Nobuta makes it possible. After they both see who helpless and insecure she's they secretly decide to "produce" her as to make her the most popular girl at school. That's how the story of their friendship begins.

                 I like watching Nobuta, it was very enjoyable and funny. I liked everyone's acting. Kusano Akira is, by all means, my favorite role played by Yamashita, and, my favorite character in the drama. I've seen him in Kurosagi and Code blue, but that was the very first time, apart from acting skills, I liked his clumsy and funny but caring character. I liked Shuji less but that's not Kamenashi's fault, his acting was perfect, which why I liked him less, and Maki was fine as always. There were other interesting characters like the vice principle, nice ones like Mariko and funny ones like Shuji's family. I liked the story of their friendship. I like how it developed and I liked how their conflicts were resolved. The soundtrack for the drama was nice. I, specially, liked "Green Willow". Also the theme song "Seishun Amigo" by Yamashita and Kamenashi was very good. Don't be alarmed by the hints of fantasy or supernatural. The story doesn't revolve around them, so they don't really matter. The drama is mostly realistic. 

               Nobuta wo produce is a heart warming drama. I expected to particularly enjoy it beacuse of the many positive reviews and recommendations and it met my expectations,It was very enjoyable.

My Rating: 8/10