Hotarubi no Mori

Finally finished watching Hotarubi no Mori. Reiko had raved about it  when the short video came out in 2011. When I went to Animate @ Ikebukuro in 2011, they also had a shelf to promote it. 

Learn more about the show here -->> http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotarubi_no_Mori_e

I'm a fan of Natsume Yuujinchou so it wasn't difficult for me to want to watch it. It was however difficult to find time to sit down and watch. I'm now on flight back from Sydney via Scoot Airline. Budget airline has no free inflight entertainment and I have to bring my own.  So I watched this video that I've transferred to my laptop eons ago to watch on other flight trips. 

It's freezing btw ><|||| And i can't wait to get home to my familiar bed. 

And I'm so thinking of changing to a Macbook air. The battery life of my Sony Vaio is atrociously bad :(

The story was very straight forward. There's no twist and no awkward characters. There is however awkward relationships and situations. And the ending leaves you with a deep sigh on your lips   . The video is only 45minutes long. 

Ok spoilers alert! I'm gonna start talking about scenes in the show now ! 

Is it just me or does the beginning feel a little awkward ? Lol the word pedophile kept popping up in my head xD Hotaru is such a lively little girl though. 

But it was nice to watch their interactions and growth in relationship. Gin feels like such a gentle guy. 

I especially feel both weird out and touched ( such contradicting emotions ) at the 2 different scenes when Kid Hotaru and Teenager Hotaru was joking that " this feels like a date" and Gin responded so differently each time. 

Ahhhhh I think the scene where gin responded cutesy-ly "ahh yes it is a date~" to Hotaru was very cute. Aiyoo fangirl tokidoki moment ! It helps that he looks like Natsume xD <3

I cannot make up my mind whether if the ending was abrupt or well timed. 

It seemed well timed because Gin had finally had the chance to invite Hotaru to the Spirit's Natsu Matsuri and the longing-ness and maybe even loneliness in him was taking over him. So the ending though unsatisfying , was timely. 

He said he couldn't wait for another summer ... I wonder what that meant. Is his spiritual body giving way ? 

The part with him passing his mask to Hotaru and then kissing her on it was so beautifully done too T. T so simple yet so touching. 

On the other end, the ending felt abrupt because well I don't know ... I guess I just think more can be told about them ? *shrug*

I was half expecting an evil yokai (demon spirit) to appear to harm either of them and then places Gin in some unexpected situation of touching Hotaru. But it had to be him helping a random child who was tripping -_-; I think if I was Hotaru I would be pretty pissed with the kids for randomly running around. 

I think Hotaru is amazing. She is so in love and had so much courage to go beyond all odds. Even thinking of moving there (which I assume is a rural area ) so as to be closer to Gin. That's a lot of sacrifice, courage and blindness all rolled into one. The logical part of me felt so twist up watching them because I know there can be no true happiness for them because of their fundamental difference. Sigh. 

But I guess like they say, love is blind. And this is fictional. 

That said though , some times Animes make me feel meh. 

Its like a slapping reminder that even a 2d character has a more interesting life than me lol. 

Thor 2 - The Dark World

Watched Thor-The dark world last night and it was goooood! Let me disclaim that I am neither a Thor nor Loki fan. I mean, the first movie was boring. Thor didn't have a lot of scenes in Avengers and Loki was so weak in Avengers he shouldn't have dared to call himself 'god' =_=;;;

BUT this movie changed things xD 

The entire movie was filmed beautifully. I guess the difference for this movie was that most of the scenes were in Asgard (Green screen FTW!) and the graphics were as usual of most Hollywood productions these days; breathtaking. Thor and Loki were given more chances to exhibit their fighting skills. And Loki exhibited that he was entirely capable of handling a handful of Dark elves with just a dagger >_>. And I never knew their mother was also a warrior herself with powers to make illusions/tricks. Jane FOster also had a much bigger role this time which is welcomed since women are always sidestepped in american movies.

There were many scenes this time also made the actors looked so charming *_* Fans of Tom Hiddleston/ Loki will be delighted at the scenes he got. This time, I myself feel a little smittened by the 2 actors too *_* <3

The storyline was relatively easy to get and while the converging of the 9 realms was technically a fuzzy thing to explain much less present on screen. The show managed to display the teleportation nature of the portals that form when convergence happen pretty well. I love how they even made comedic effect of it.  

And oh, there was so many unexpected funny moments in the movie that was very welcomed.There was a big twist towards the end which I shall not spoil xD

Post Japan syndrome

Ever since returning from Japan, I get by almost every nights with my head nodding off at the table. Found it so difficult to do anything, I haven't even managed to go through all the videos and photos shot!! Either that or I was in such a lousy mood I was watching Anime to escape from reality lol. 

Anyway I blogged about the International Drama Festival in Tokyo. I have a tone of things to talk about I just wish I have the time to get everything out. 

This trip has been such a fun adventure and I woke up everyday thinking to myself " I'm having so much fun!" . Kinda makes coming back to reality double sucky :( 

On the side note though , Japan's climate made me break out. I'm not sure if its the dry weather , the creams I used to counter the dryness, the daily thick makeup or not cleaning my face thoroughly enough each night @-@ I'm sure it's a few of them all together blehhhh 

So if there's anything I enjoyed as soon as I came out from Changi airport and that's the humidity. My skin , my eyes, my lips felt relieved instantly. The natural humidity in the air that no amount of facial mist can replace xD 

I have so much things to say and to blog about when I go about my day. But when I get down to sitting in front of my laptop I turn so frustratingly inefficient :( either nothing comes out or it takes too long to produce -,-; I haven't been touchin my costume stuffs either !

There's too much distraction ! And I'm having a headache now T. T

Also my toothache has finally forced me to visit a dentist yesterday. The dentist said I have no choice but to do root canal :( sigh , that is easily $2k out of the window T. T guys please help click on the ads !!!! 

Review: Wrinkle Plus (Super Lip Repair)

Item Name: Wrinkle Plus (super lip repair)
Price: 248 yen
Bought from: Drugstore in Kyoto

Like I mentioned in my DHC Lip cream review, my lips and skin was really not adapting well to Japan's dry climate. I got increasingly worried when 2 lip balms later and the pain/ dryness was still not subsiding. 

I saw this product on sale while on my usual Drugstore pilgrimage. It was the first night of my Kyoto trip and as all the shrines in Kyoto close by 5pm, I didn't have anywhere else to go but Kyoto Central. I wanted to fully maximize my time and daily bus pass you see xD 

You can read more about my Japan trip when I blog about it ! But anyway I digressed x. X;

Anyway I randomly picked up this product because it claimed to be very good. 

Texture:
Very smooth and glides onto the lip. Product can be a little hard in Japan's cold weather and it needs to be applied with your finger.

Color: 

Appears translucent white in the jar, applies clear.

Effects:

This has got to be the best product I bought in Japan. I bought this a week after being in Japan and after using a makeup remover that my skin was allergic to.

Meaning to say, I used it at a time where my lips were really not in a very good condition. They were not flaking yet but my lips was already feeling like sandpaper(little bits of dried skin on top) and the sides had cracked slightly. My skin & lips have the habit of turning red and painful before it starts flaking and my lips were at that hurting stage.

I had used the DHC Lip Cream for 2 days without much help but the moment I rubbed this unassuming looking product onto my lips there was an instant hydration. The pain was gone instantly and i felt so relieved! Granted of course, the effects are not permanent and

you still need to constantly apply it 

Pros:Highly effective and affordable

Cons:Jar design makes applying a little troublesome. Now I just kiss the surface of the product instead of using my fingers ahaha

Review: DHC Lip Cream

Name: DHC Lip cream
Price: 498 yen

Bought from: Drugstore in Japan

After a few days in Japan, it was clear that my skin and lips were not adjusting well to Japan's dry climate. I had to constantly apply lip balm and was coming to the end of the tube, digging the product out with my fingers -__-

Naturally, the logical thing was to purchase one in Japan.

I bought this at a discount from one of the many drugstores in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. It was highly recommended by a friend xD

Texture:Smooth and creamy but not as lubricant as I expected.

Colour: Appears Yellowish in the stick but applies clear.

Packaging:DHC has never been known for fancy designs. Instead they opt for a very sleek cylindrical design in beige and sliver colour. The product however is almost half as much as usual lip balms.

Effects:
Moisturizes the lips averagely. Well it could be the fact that I have very dried lips and I'm used to using very creamy formulas like Nivea's lipbalm henceforth I found this product disappointing. Especially after comparing it's price which, after discounts is still higher than most lip balms.

However I have friends who swear by it, saying it hydrates their lips very well and does not give them any allergic reactions. So my opinion stands solely as mine. 

Pros:Reputable brand known for producing products without too much additives. Less likely to cause allergy reactions I guess.

Cons:Expensive, very little product and not moisturizing enough for very dried lips. Likely will not re-purchase.