I’ve been reading the Hakushaku to Yousei novel since last week (slowly, because I was preoccupied with other stuff), and I’m enjoying the read so far. The start seemed a little shaky, I had a hard time picturing the Victorian-esque Western setting due to lack of vivid details, though I’m not really sure if it’s got something to do with my lack of comprehension or the writing itself (I haven’t read enough fantasy books to be a ‘good’ critic). But that’s nothing compared to the priceless antics I’m seeing from the Fairy Doctor Lydia and the Count Edgar, and this is exactly why I actually said I’m enjoying this little adventure.

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While I’m still in a Toshokan Sensou novel reading slump mode, it looks like a group of enthusiastic TS fans finally decided to join forces and translate the awesome novels for other fans and cynics to see. Thanks to AniSuki member Kakulukiam for the heads up, otherwise I wouldn’t have known about this project which started out a month ago. Now you guys can read it and see the true Library War for yourself~ :3

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Wow, hisashiburi~ It’s been a long time since I last wrote about Kure-nai, and now I’m brimming with guilt, shame, and a chunk-load of thoughts accumulated from the episodes that aired. I was planning to post a teaser-spoilers regarding the coming revelations about the fucked-up Kuhouin family after watching episodes 7-8, to prepare people for what is to come, and also to assure people that this anime is neither headed downhill, nor it is going to be just a fanservice show. But then time passed so damn fast and episode 9 already aired (and was subbed) before I know it! T__T My planned spoiler is now spoilt orz. Anyways, as I have realized now, not writing about Kure-nai is a SIN! More so, not watching it! It’s one of the best this season has to offer, no doubt about it.

Just a word of warning, this post is now convoluted due to the horde of thoughts I have. My apologies for the lack of coherence and structure, not that my post(s) have any of such to begin with =[

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After three episodes, well what can I say~! The staff behind Kurenai never ceases to amaze me with what they have done to this anime, transforming the supposedly lackluster novel (at least in terms of the overall pacing and plot progression) into the awesome anime that we see now. They certainly know how to make the most out of an anime adaptation, incorporating foreshadowing, revealing bits of Murasaki’s past and Shinkurou’s dark side with each episode, something which is yet to be tackled in the novel, as far as the halfway point of the first volume goes. Without revealing all this, the anime would not have been as compelling and awesome (for the lack of a better word). With the early revelation of Murasaki’s past, we get to see the complexity and depth of Murasaki’s character, and the reason why she acts the way she does.

From what I’ve read so far, there was not even a mention about Murasaki’s family background; Murasaki just came out of nowhere in the novel, unlike in the anime where we actually see how Benika kidnapped her from the Kuhouin household. We also don’t get to see a glimpse of Shinkurou’s ‘dark’ trouble-maker self, till past the halfway mark of the novel. Instead, we see Shinkurou’s past and how he met Benika, early on in the novel. Though in my opinion, it was a rather sloppy shoved-in-your-face kind of revelation, where you get to see the entire past in an instant (it’s a complete wall of text in the novel, 8 pages worth of Shinkurou past, all at once!) T__T

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I love the tagline of this series, “People become stronger when they find someone they ought to protect”. rawr, so GAR

Not too long ago, I pointed out Kurenai as one of the animes I’m looking forward to in the Spring Lineup. Yes, I’m looking that far ahead. Although I don’t have the actual novel in my hands, I managed to find it *cough* somewhere else *cough* It took me weeks of perseverance, to keep me from buying the novels on impulse. I thought hard, wondering if it’ll be worth my time and money, considering the pile of unread mangas and novels (*cough* Saiunkoku *cough*) I have. I browsed through the novels again, supposedly for dispelling my excitement (the want-to-buy-it kind of excitement) for it, only to end up failing to resist it more orz.

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