Gakuen Alice

Yeah, I know it's an old anime. But I'm not going to write about it's anime adaptation, but rather, the original manga.

For those who haven't watched this yet, I'll give you my warning. The anime is really short and you'll be left wanting a season 2. So I recommend that you read the manga first. 

Genre: Comedy, Supernatural,Romance, Drama
Written by: Higuchi Tachibana

SUMMARY...

Mikan Sakura and Hotaru Imai were the stars in their town. But everything will change when Hotaru is transferred to a mysterious and prestigious private school somewhere in Tokyo.

Worried about her best friend, Mikan Sakura went to Tokyo by herself. There she discovers Alice Academy, a school for "gifted" children. Little did she know that she is one of them herself. 

Mikan will discover new friends and classmates (and romance :D), and she will discover a little something about her past...

WHAT I THINK...

The author, Tachibana Higuchi, balanced the light and heavy aspects of the story perfectly. The plot is actually well developed, as you can really see the character's development from childhood to their teenage years. The manga teaches us that not everything in life is happy or wonderful, but at the same time it teaches us that everything will turn out alright. 

You'll never get tired of  it. Every chapter leaves you wanting more and I assure you that you will finish the whole 31 volumes in no time!!!

I really enjoyed reading the anime. I am patiently (kind of) waiting for the final chapter of the manga to be released. Please, Tachibana Higuchi, release it already!!!

Special A

Hanozono Hikari was used to being undefeated in all aspects of things- academics, physical fitness and yes, even martial arts. but that all changed when one day, Takishima Kei- son of the CEO of Takishima group of companies, defeated her in a match of martial arts.

Since then, Hikari swore to defeat Takishima in every aspect: studies, sports, or in any other competition. Presently, Hikari entered Hakusen Academy in order to beat Takishima.

The anime follows the story of Hikari's mission to beat Takishima. As time goes by, she develops a strong bond of friendship with the rest of the top seven students of the Academy, collectively called Special A.

Genre: Romantic comedy, School story
Written: by Maki Minami

WHAT I THINK...
Special A is one of my fave anime ever!!! It made me smile, laugh, cry and symphatize in just a span of one episode. The graphics are amazing, and the songs are too. 

Each of the character's personalities are so unique and well developed. You'll surely be attached to them.

Special A taught me that no man is an island, that everybody is programmed to live with others, to need others.

And of course, you'll fall in LOVE with Takishima Kei. Hahaha. Honestly, you will.

House of Hades

The latest book of the Heroes of Olympus Series by Rick Riordan is out! Rejoice!!! Woohoo!!!

Unlike the first three books, House of Hades feautures the narration of all the seven demigods: Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Frank, Hazel and Leo. And (for me) it doesn't end in a cliffhanger, although I would like to read more.

The characters are as witty, funny and clever as ever. You'll be amazed (again) by Annabeth's strategic thinking, enjoy (again) by Leo's jokes and be at awe (again) with Percy's power.

HERE ARE SOME MAJOR SPOILERS:
1) Nico is gay.

I know, it's a lot to take in. Our favorite son of Hades is GAY!!!! No!!! It can't be! But yes, he is. He admitted this to Cupid, the god of love. He said that he had a crush on Percy Jackson. Awww, your handsomeness is wasted, Nico!!

2) Leo fell in love.

Another fact that's hard to take in. Leo fell in love, and this time, the girl fell in love with him too! Leo was stranded on Oygyia, the island of Calypso. At first, he and Calypso didn't get along, but as time passed by, they learned to love each other. Cheesy, right? When it's time for Leo to leave, he made a romantic promise to return for Calypso. And I think she really meant it.

3) Frank became praetor.

Frank was given by Jason the emergency praetor position towards the end of the book. Jason had to do this because Frank needed the authority to command a legion of dead Roman soldiers in order to kill the monsters in House of Hades

4) Percy and Annabeth survived Tartarus 

Yehey! We can all relax with relief now. Percy and Annabeth survived the impossible, of course with a little help from the good titan, Bob (Iapetus). They even survived the encounter with Nyx, goddess of darkness, and the god of the pit, Tartarus. 

The Mortal Instruments Trilogy

Who among you watched the movie City of Bones lately?

If you did, then lucky you, cause I haven't watched it yet. :(

But I guess that, like the Twilight Saga and the Percy Jackson Series, it doesn't exactly follow the book's plot.t

Am I right?

Well, it's the producers' choice anyway. The movie is directed by Harald Zwart and was written by Jessica Postigo. It's based on the lovely trilogy by the lovely author, Cassandra Clare (which is by the way, one of my favorite authors)

Let's talk about the posotive and negative sides of the movie...

NEGATIVE

1. Doesn't follow original plot.
2. Isabelle should be more of a chick than Clary, not the other way around (no offense to the actors).
3. Clary's hair isn't red enough. And I'm pretty sure she's supposed to be shorter too.
4. Jace's hair is curly, not wavy.

POSITIVE

1. I suppose they did well with the special effects.
2. The cast was picked nicely.
3. Simon is hot! :)
4. Even though the movie doesn't exactly follow the book's plot, there's still a lot of action, suspense, and romance. :)

Does anyone here wants to give me a link as to where I can download the movie?

Anyway, it's always better to read the books than to hit the theater and watch its movie adaptation.

The original Mortal Instruments Trilogy, City of Bones, City of Ashes and City of Glass is an original plot owned by the lovely author, Cassandra Clare. Recently, a post-series has been published, City of Fallen Angels and City of Lost Souls. The sixth and final book, City of Heavenly Fire, will be published in May, 2014.

You can read the first three books separately and not find a cliffhanger at the end of the third book. If you want a glimpse of Jace and Clary's boyfriend-girlfriend life, then you should read the next books.

I learned a lot of things from these books, like random Latin words that comes in handy at school and lots of random history facts that comes more handy at school. It also taught me valuable life lessons, like not discriminating the third gender and to always be strong and never give up. :)

Cassandra Clare incorporates the concept of angels and demons with the modern world perfectly. You'll fall in love with Jace, the witty, playful and quite the badboy of the New York Institute. You'll be amazed by Clary's artistic talents and her complete love for her family and of course, for Jace.

Honestly, you'll enjoy reading it. :) So I suggest you should either by the books or download the ebook. The ebooks are available in http://www.epubbud.com

The prequel series, The Infernal Devices, can be also found there. It currently composes of three books, Clockwork Angel, Clockwork Prince and Clockwork Princess. It focuses on the story of Jace's ancestor, Will Herondale and is set in Victorian England, ten years after the peace treaties between the demon-fighting Shadowhunters and Downworlders (vampires, fairies, werewolves, and warlocks) was signed.

If you already read the Mortal Instruments, you'll find enough comforting elements in the series to love it and enoy reading it.