Another week, another column… I think I might like doing this. It’s like a constant stream of thought every week. I’m adding a new category this time… K-pop, by which I mean everything to do with Korean popular culture, including TV shows, music, gossip and others. This week’s entertainment was largely dominated by anime/manga, games, followed by K-pop.
Anime/Manga: Toradora anime has officially ended! (Well, the first season, at least…) And it was a good, well-executed ending, too. Being based on a light novel, the issues that were dealt with in the penultimate and final episodes were a lot more serious than I had expected out of a romantic comedy, and yet it pulled it off well. This ending sort of makes me want to read the light novels now. Also, it looks like the Natsu arc of the Skip Beat! manga has finally come to a successful close. Natsu-sama FTW… but man, she’s harsh. And yet another member joins the Love Me section! Interesting times ahead…
But the biggest highlight of this week has been the manga known as Liar Game. I just read it out of the blue when it was featured on one of the sites I visit often, but boy is it engaging! Essentially, a naive and honest girl gets sucked into a very weird game where participants are each given a lump sum of money and pitted against each other to con, trick or steal each other’s cash. Whoever loses ends up owing the company the amount they lost, and whoever wins gets to keep the extra prize money for themselves. So how’s a poor, innocent, totally-honest girl supposed to survive in this game? By hiring one of the best swindlers in town, of course! A very interesting psychological drama, full of mental battles, tricks and calculation of odds. Plus some philosophical issues raised about greed, fair play, and the natural inclinations of humanity towards either of these. The third round of the Liar Game just ended, and the stakes just keep getting higher and higher…
Books: The best times for reading are when I’m taking public transport on the way to and from work. I can usually get through a couple of chapters each trip. After finishing The Phoenix Guards last week, I’m now naturally going through all the books written by the same author, Steven Brust. His style really is a copy of Alexander Dumas. Except that he knows it. What I find really interesting is the narrator’s voice in his stories. Brust pretends to be a translator of a history academic, Paarfi of Roundwood, who himself is an author of historical romance, writing novelizations of the life major characters in the history of Paarfi’s world. Really interesting when Paarfi’s pompous and loquacious style is poked fun at by the “translator”, Steve Brust. I wonder if I’ll ever be able to write in a similar manner?
Christianity: Sometimes, I wonder what the role of a cell leader is supposed to be. How far should I go in caring for my cell members? I’m naturally introverted and reserved, so I don’t expect much contact with them outside of church activities. And yet, should I make efforts to meet up with them more often, and encourage them to do so as well? How far do we take the concept that the Church is a family? Should we be integrated into each other’s lives fully? How can I find the reserves to care for each one of my cell members, when I don’t have that much depth of feeling in me? I know that the world will recognise us by the love we have for each other, but I really wonder – can I love this way?
Games: I tried playing Piece of Wonder this week. It’s one of the English-translated Japanese visual novels that I went to so much trouble to get. Really like it, but for some reason it doesn’t work too well on my machine. The novel parts are fine, but the battle gameplay (which plays like a console turn-based tactical RPG) doesn’t seem to respond well to mouse controls. It got stuck on Windows XP, and is totally unplayable in Windows Vista. Eh… I should find a way out of this. I really want to know what happens next.
K-Pop: So, I’m moving to tracking another musical group now… it’s amazing how interconnected the Korean entertainment industry is. By just tracking music artistes to variety shows, and then investigating variety shows to find new music artistes, you can get to recognise quite a number of celebrities. This time, I followed YoonA from SNSD to Family Outing, then watched several episodes of Family Outing until I got interested in Big Bang, and now I’m tracking Big Bang. Big Bang is a 5-member boy band specializing in a fusion of hip hop, rap and pop music. What I really like about them is their music video choreography. Three of their biggest hits: Lies, Last Farewell, and Haru Haru (This Day) all have a surprise twist at the end which makes you reinterpret the meaning of the song and the scenes that occured during the MV. Really good. And the themes expressed in these songs are pretty good too. Plus they actually compose and produce their own songs, too, which speaks well of their passion and talent.
Shows: The Cats musical is coming to Singapore! I’m so tempted to get a ticket and go to watch it… How often will I get a chance to see a world-famous musical like this being performed without going overseas? But the cheapest tickets I can get are $70, whereas the good seats cost $140, double the price. Still… it’s Cats. It’s really worth it, especially with an international cast. *sigh* Still have 10 more days to decide before it opens…
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