Is it Snack Time?

The hardest part about working during lunch is when you start to get hungry, but can't leave the desk to go and have a snack.  Or worse--you CAN leave to go have a snack, but you didn't pack anything and don't have any money for the vending machine.

I have a very noisy stomach, so working around mealtimes is a huge bummer for me, because all I wanna do is munch.  When I'm hungry, I sort of turn into an anime character, if you know what I mean.  I have an insatiable urge to scarf!

I know it's not lady-like, but I'm not even embarrassed.

Imma go snack now.....

Yotsuba&! (Kiyohiko Azuma)

Perhaps the hardest part about being a reader is when you finally finish a good book or series.  As all good things must come to an end, so too must this one.  Sure, rereading is a thing, but it's not the same as experiencing something for the first time.  Recently, I completed the manga series Yotsuba&!, and had that experiences, so, today, I'm going to tell you a little about it.

 

So, Yotsuba&! tells the story of a little girl named Yotsuba, her father, and their friends.  It's a slice of life manga that is part seeing the world through the eyes of a child, and part watching a child experience all these things for the first time--but from the perspective of a parent.  It's incredibly cute and sentimental.  Also, it's laugh out loud hilarious.  I was constantly cracking up!

So, what makes Yotsuba&! so great?  Well, the stories and adventures are never anything too crazy.  If you're not a fan of fantasy, and want a more realistic story, than this is good for that.  Adventures include riding bikes, getting a camera for the first time, and picking chestnuts.  If that sounds dull, then never fear!  Yotsuba's crazy antics are enough to turn any simple story into something much, much more.

Confession time: I really didn't want kids.  For years, I was pretty content with the fact that I don't get kids and kids don't get me.  Mostly, too, I don't think they like me.  I'm not doing anything wrong, but I think they can sense that I'm too serious or that I just don't know what to do around them.  This makes all of us uncomfortable.   But, sometimes, little things start to change my mind.  Reading Library Wars: Love and War, for example, has started to change how I think about romance.  I'm not a huge romantic, but there are a few anime and manga series that are making me reconsider.  When it comes to having children, Yotsuba&! makes me think that perhaps it wouldn't be all that bad.  In fact, it could be a lot of fun.

So, I suppose most of what I've been saying doesn't tell you too much about the series.  And I guess that's because this is one of those series that is hard to explain and do it justice.  It's a slice of life manga.  Okay.  It's about friendship and discovery, but mostly I think about love and family.  It takes everyday things and makes them absolutely hilarious and amazing and fun!

Oh, and the faces.  Oh, the faces.

I have not enjoyed a manga this much in quite a while.  Also, I will say, the first book might start off a bit slow, so give it time.  Soon, you won't be able to stop reading!  Sadly, there is no anime, at least not that I can find.  And I'm not sure if there will be one or not.  But, still...you should totally read this and tell me what you think!  If you have any specific questions, please feel free to post them in the comments, and I will try to answer as best as I can :)

Until next time, dear readers!  ~Emmy

Arsène Lupin, Gentleman Thief (Maurice LeBlanc)

Those who know me well enough know that I'm a huge fan of the anime Lupin III by Monkey Punch (as well as the manga that inspired it, although it's really not as good).  And one day, while I was on a total Lupin III kick, I happened to stumble upon an interesting little fact on the Internet: Lupin III (or "Rupan sansei" as he's known in Japan) is based off a French book series by Maurice LeBlanc about a gentleman thief-turned-detective named Arsène Lupin.  (He's called Rupan in Japan in order to skirt around a copyright issue that originally prevented them from using the name Lupin.  Not that it mattered to them, since there is no "L" sound in Japanese, and they were already pronouncing it with an "R" sound anyway).  Already a fan of the famous anime criminal, I thought it might be fun to go back and read the book that inspired it all.  And that's how I ended up reading Arsène Lupin: Gentleman Thief this summer.  It also helped, of course, that the book fit into my theme of summer mysteries.  

This was a great book!  I honestly wasn't sure what to expect.  After all, I had fallen for Lupin the THIRD, the young, brash, and completely charming GRANDSON.  And sure, he was based off of the LeBlanc character, but that didn't mean that they were going to be the same.  And I'll be honest; they weren't the same.  But, despite this, they were both VERY good.  I really loved this original incarnation of Lupin.  He was funny, clever, charming, and had a sort of confident, mature bearing to him that Lupin III lacks.  While his "grandson" is cocky, over-confident, and pretty lusty, the original Lupin is much more of a romantic.  He does things not so much for the money or the sex, but because it's a charming or romanticized adventure.  It's like Robin Hood: robbing the rich and saving fair maidens.  Whether or not the whole thing is actually like this is up for debate, but this is certainly how Lupin sees it.

More than anything, these stories actually reminded me a lot of the Lupin seen in the Hayao Miyazaki Lupin III film The Castle of Cagliostro which quickly became one of my all-time favorite films as soon as I had seen it.  In this movie, Lupin III seems more mature.  He's not interested in all the ladies and the money; in fact, I don't think he makes any sex jokes at all (as contrasted to his other movies, which has him ogling breasts, chasing pretty girls, or attempting to seduce his on-again/off-again girlfriend Fujiko Mine).  His focus is on righting wrongs and saving a damsel in distress.  And in this book, that's what Lupin focuses on, too.  Sure, he plays some tricks and steals some things.  He even goes up against the greatest detective in literature: Sherlock Holmes.  But, he's not all about childish excitement.  He's more purposeful.  And it made for some great, fun stories with lots of drama and mystery.  I think my favorite was actually the final story: "The Sign of Mercury," which was almost completely over-the-top at times, but it was just so much fun that I didn't even care!

If you read any of the books I suggest this summer, this is one you just have to check out!  And I highly recommend that while you're at it, you give the anime a shot, too.  (A side note, some of the movies are rather bland, and might give you a bad introduction to the series.  Start with Castle of Cagliostro or Lupin III Series 2.)  But, read this book first.  Seriously.  Go read it.