Well, not really a trailer but sort of like a short music video of the OST showing short clips of the movie.
Also, I just have to get this out of the way – those trains and station are so Byousoku-like! Really looking forward to this one.
In case you’ve been under a rock for quite some time now, Makoto Shinkai will be releasing (well, it has already been released in other countries like Australia) Kotonoha no Niwa – a short film about a shoemaker who meets a girl only during rainy seasons. It also feels like Shinkai-san is going back to that theme of ‘distance’.
Just a couple of minutes ago, I had the opportunity to read Shel Silverstein’s ‘fable’, The Missing Piece. As I browsed through the first couple of pages – which is almost 80% blank by the way – I did not expect anything at all.
BUT… As you may have guessed, it will take more than a thought or two to get me to write to my blog again (which has been sorrowfully deserted by yours truly). Having only a pac-man like figure strolling without direction and word usage even little kids could understand, Shel has produced, what I thought to be, one of the most inspirational pieces known to man. The best thing about this is that he didn’t bombard us with lessons and examples, nor did he persuade imposing thoughts. Instead, he did it in a most subtle way that will surely immerse the readers even for a three-minute read.
The story is open to all kinds of interpretations and I could go on and on with my own version of what the story would like to say – but at the end of it all, I think a common, underlying message is the title of this post: “Is there ever a missing piece?”
Throughout history, it was well-documented that jealousy is indeed a part of human nature. We try to succeed by emulating the people whom we thought have met (or even exceeded) the expectations we ourselves have set. We are setting goals and always looking forward to the satisfaction of having achieved that goals so much that we lose track of what’s really important to us and what satisfies us. His happiness may not be your happiness, and yours could definitely not be hers. We are so fixated at the fact that we view everyone around us as successful and happy that we fail to realize the little things that make our everyday mornings worthwhile.
In an attempt to gain the greater glory, to reach the higher pedestal, and to reach that something that we thought is ‘beyond’ – we ask ourselves – “What is it that they have got that I don’t?” To me, this is the concept of the missing piece.
If I were to ask myself, it’d be this: “What more can I do?” This way, I’m seeing the glass as half-full.
How about you, do you feel that you really have a missing piece?
On March 11, I ended by more-than-a-year’s long hiatus on writing by releasing my new light-novel-to-be, The Glimmer of A Candlelight. It took me more than a year to formulate the idea and come up with a little plot to work with. But after all these time of preparation, it didn’t even took me to at least halfway through the plot. So now, I will have to write under pressure – which is what I hope to be the driving force behind this little project of mine.
Historically, I’ve had a bad habit of writing things up and ending up not finishing it. I still think I can finish this one and I hope that it will lead to another, and another, etc.
So, give me a holler whenever you have feedback, suggestions, questions, and whatnot. Enjoy!
FINALLY! The Garden of Words’ official trailer has been released:
If you’re not familiar with the title yet, but are an avid anime fan, you would’ve guessed that it was Makoto Shinkai’s project. Well – you’re right! Right after Hoshi no Ou Kodomo (Children Who Chase Lost Voices), Shinkai-san gets right back to work with a new production – partnering with Comix Wave Films again.
Ok – I’m gonna say it now: IT IS GOING TO BE EPIC!
It’s no secret I’m one of the biggest fans of his works. Though Children is ok, and even though it must have been said a million times now – that it’s Ghibli-esque, I really liked Byousoku much, much better due to the heart-wrenching story line. From the looks of this one, looks like Shinkai-sama is going back to where the fans have absolutely adored – great music, ahead of its time animation (I mean, just look at the quality of that trailer!), and un-paralleled love story.
I must admit I did not understand a single thing in the trailer – so hopefully, I can update this one with English subs in the near future. What we do know is that it’s slated for an end of May release. You can visit the official site here.
Needless to say, I’m looking forward to it. And for the record, I watched Byousoku thrice on the first day I learned of it and have had sleepless nights over it. It’s just… a masterpiece. Judging by the trailer itself, I might just reach that epiphany again.
Whenever I have nothing else to do, I just sit back, take a deep breath, and open up my MP3 and MP4 player (usually my PC) to load the music/music videos that I have stored over the years. Every time I listen to them, it’s like opening up a gateway to the past. For me, listening to music makes me remember all the things that I used to associate myself with during the times I have listened to them. For every words and rhythm, it’s really like and I can see and hear the visuals and the sounds of the yesteryears. But, most importantly, the emotions and the nostalgia springs out my heart, overwhelming me with warmth and joy that I have been blessed with such a pleasant and memorable past.
With that, parting with music is like forgetting who I am and how I have come to be like this today. I can’t even think of a world without music! It even convinced me to do an impulsive blog post (which is always welcome).
Now, if I have to put here one song from out of those favorite of mine, it will have to be the one below. Please do listen and enjoy! ^^
It was only 2 days ago that I learned about the first volume release of this cancelled-game-turned-light-novel by Type-Moon. I managed to read the English translation with lots of thanks to the folks over at Baka-Tsuki. To my ‘slight’ surprise, it immediately delves on darker themes and I felt a very heavy atmosphere on the first few paragraphs. Well, even until the end actually. But it’s an intriguing-dark kind of way, you know what I mean? I just can’t wait to get this turned into anime!
I can’t review it really right now because there’s only this one volume that’s released, so we’ll have to stick around some more and see where this goes. The list of servants, however, have been announced. There will be 14 of them this time around, 7 from one faction and the rest to another faction. You can check here the full list of the servants and if the images aren’t exciting enough, I’m pretty sure their skills and even Noble Phantasms do! I mean just look at this Shakespeare and Frankenstein!
Looking forward to Volume II then! Give me a holler when it’s out, will ya?!
A Heaven where humans and robots are inseparable – that is the final wish of Yumemi Hoshino (also known as Reverie Planetarian in the English version), a robot designed to assist in the showing of a planetarium inside a department store in a world that has left them.
[ Planetrian: Chiisana Hoshi no Yume; planetarian ～ちいさなほしのゆめ～; Planetarian: The Reverie of a Little Planet ] is one of Visual Art’s/Keys visual novels produced in 2004. Unlike the other visual novels, this one is more static in a sense that you do not choose any options at all – so it is a straight-forward storytelling. The story begins when a middle-aged man enters a building in hopes of evading the war machines that are all over the place. Inside, he meets Yumemi/Reverie who offers him to show a special commemorative planetarium projection from a machine known as Miss Jena, for being the 2,500,000th customer (even though he’s not exactly the 2,500,000th). The contrasting attitude of the two makes the reading worthwhile – an energetic, playful, caring, and ever-so-curious Reverie just wanted their customer, only known as “the junker”, to feel comfortable – but he only feels terribly annoyed by her ‘bothersome’ characteristics.
The pace of the whole story feels a bit slow than any of Key’s first novels, so it somehow feels kinda boring at first. But as it reaches the end, it picks up pace, especially when they exit the building to enter the real world that Reverie has been deprived of. From hereon, the story reveals itself to a more serious tone that reaches to a very dramatic ending. One that is completely expected – but I have failed to do so. I’m almost usually very predictive in endings, but somehow, I didn’t see this coming – or maybe, it is that I never wanted it to end ‘that’ way. Having the whole story between the two of them alone and with no other scenario but inside and outside the building, the plot revolves around the evolution of the junker’s feelings and relationship toward Reverie – and that’s what makes it hard to accept how it all ended. In any case, the story really feels Key-like and is definitely a must-read for all fans.
The music is, of course, very appropriate to the story and very pleasing to the ears – adding to the already well-presented mood this visual novel has.
Although the male protagonist does not speak, the emotions are ‘well-versed’ in Reverie. The graphics are ok, and the CG are good too, albeit the very limited occurrences.
Overall, Visual Art’s/Key never fails to produce a top-notch visual novel! This heart-warming story is not to be missed by Kanon/Air/Clannad fans and everything that falls within the same genre. I will definitely re-read it sometime soon. Now, my only wish is for an OVA!!
Enjoy the clip.
