YuYu Hakusho Volume 14 ~ review

Here's my review for the manga YuYu Hakusho Volume 14. Spoilers alert! If you haven't read this, please be aware that this review will contain spoilers.

A lot of revelations in this volume of YuYu Hakusho. First, readers were re-introduced to the people that abducted Yuusuke in Volume 13; Asato Kido, Mitsunari Yanagisawa and Yuu Kaito. They are not the bad guys and it was actually Genkai (Yuusuke's mentor) who asked them to abduct Yuusuke to test their powers. Then it was revealed that someone had been trying to break the spell surrounding the borders between the human world and the demon world and create a hole between them. If the spell breaks and the hole was created, then demons can easily enter the human world and create chaos. Then Yuusuke and the team found out that "someone" who was trying to break the spell is actually a group of 7 people. Yuusuke team managed to defeat two of them; "Doctor" who can infect other people with deadly virus, and "Seaman" who can manipulate water with a drop of his blood. Finally, it was revealed to Yuusuke team that the leader of this group (and the main villain of this story arc) is Sensui, the former detective of the Underworld, which is the role that Yuusuke currently held. In the last chapter of this volume, Yuusuke finally came face-to-face with Sensui but can he defeat him? The last 3 members of Sensui's team were also revealed with code names "Sniper", "Gobbler" and "Game Master" (another member "Gate Keeper" had been introduced to readers in the first chapter of this volume).

I was satisfied with this volume of YuYu Hakusho because it was balanced between dialogue scenes and action scenes. I like the fight scenes between Yuusuke's team and "Doctor" who seems a bit psychotic. I also like the introduction of a video tape called "Black Chapter" which Sensui used to recruit members to his team. The story behind the video tape brings a bit of a dark aspect to the manga which I love. Another scenes that I love is the backstory of Sensui told by Koenma and why he changed from being a good guy into a bad guy. It somehow made readers sympathetic towards Sensui and shows that he is not just a regular villain who wants to take over the world but someone with a dark past that somehow changed him into who he was today.

It will truly become more intense in Volume 15 as Yuusuke team try to find out the location of Sensui's hideout. Can they defeat him and prevent the hole between the two worlds from being created? All will be revealed in YuYu Hakusho Volume 15.

Image from Amazon.

Fear Factor Celebrity Malaysia ~ 1st impression

Last night was the very first episode of Fear Factor Celebrity Malaysia (Fear Factor Selebriti Malaysia in Malay) which aired on Astro Ria. Hosted by Aaron Aziz, the show which was shot in Cape Town, South Africa, will see 30 celebrity contestants paired in 15 two-member groups compete to win RM200,000. Additional to that, it was also revealed that each pair who win any of the challenges will take away RM10,000. That's a lot of money! So how do I feel about this show?

At first I thought the show started a bit abrupt. I mean the host welcomed the contestants and they immediately start the 1st challenge, without any introduction on the contestants. But then I realized it was better that way, in which they introduced the contestants before each of the team start the challenge. It will be much more efficient that way instead of introducing all the contestants in the beginning and only show the challange in the 2nd half of the show, that would definitely dragged the show down.

The host, Aaron Aziz, seemed a bit formal at first but luckily he got more loosened up after 2 or 3 teams finished their challanges. And the contestants also seemed more alive as more teams finished their turns. But I was a bit unhappy by the comments made by the contestants about their rival teams' personality (like how they react when Iz and Roslan Shah were performing their challenges) and their rivals' physical appearances (Dafi, Elfira Loy and Zoey were the victims of such comments). They may be friends and wouldn't mind for such comments but as an audience, I thought it was a bit rude. There is a fine line between being competitive and being rude, and I think the contestants should be more careful on that.

K-pop Girl groups ~ My Favourite for 2012

Gangnam Style seems to conquer the world in 2012 but when it comes to K-pop, my favourite has to be the girl groups. So it's time for me to look back and see which are some of the best songs of 2012 by them. Here I present you my top 6 favourite K-pop girl groups of 2012 based on their songs. Let the countdown begins.

6) Girls' Generation ~ All My Love Is For You

Girls' Generation is a popular girl group which I believe need no introduction. The nine-members group; Jessica, Hyoyeon, Sunny, Yuri, Sooyoung, Taeyeon, Tiffany, Seohyun and Yoona; has been very successful worldwide that they had been dubbed as South Korea's national group. I love their songs like Gee, Oh! and Hoot, but I found myself a bit less interested in their newer songs like Mr. Taxi and Paparazzi. But their 2012 Japanese song, All My Love Is For You, had caught my attention. It's a powerful and wonderful song, almost like a ballad to me, that captured my heart from the very first time I listened to it. With a song like this, Girls' Generation managed to prove that they are not just relying on catchy pop tracks and dance moves but also on their vocal talent to captivate fans.

Watch All My Love Is For You

5) KARA ~ Pandora and Electric Boy

KARA, which composed of Gyuri, Seungyeon, Nicole, Goo Hara and Jiyoung, is very popular in Japan, so I guess that is why they had been very active in Japan releasing a studio album, two singles and one compilation album there. Electric Boy, one of the single released in Japan, had been my favourite Japanese song by them. It's an upbeat song and the music video retained their cute and girly image just like in their Step music video, which happens to be my favourite KARA song so far. On the other hand, their Korean effort Pandora featured a more mature image of them. It sounded less cheerful compared to Electric Boy but it still gives you an upbeat tempo that will keep you singing along in no time.

Watch Pandora
Watch Electric Boy

Final Fantasy X ~ review

I was a little late in discovering the amazing world of Final Fantasy video game series as I was only introduced to Final Fantasy VIII during my teenage years. But it was Final Fantasy X that became the first game in the Final Fantasy series that I had completed playing. To finally finish a game that I had only managed to adore from afar before, it was truly a satisfying feeling.

Final Fantasy X is a role-playing video game by then Squaresoft (now known as Square Enix) released in 2001 for the PlayStation 2. It was the first game in the series to introduced voice-acting. The game was a critical and commercial success and had sold millions worldwide, which then lead Square to release the first direct-sequel in the series, Final Fantasy X-2.

Final Fantasy X (FFX) is set in a troubled world called Spira, and follows the main protaganist, Tidus, as he became one of the guardian to a summoner, Yuna, as the group traveled Spira on a pilgrimage to obtained aeons and in the end to destroy Sin, a montrous creature that had been creating chaos across Spira. The group also consists of other iconic characters which are Wakka, Lulu, Kimahri, Auron and Rikku.

Let's start dissecting FFX with its plot. Story-wise, FFX has a very complex story that are quite hard to follow or understand if you do not really paying attention to what the characters are saying during the cutscenes or gameplay. But that not to say that the story is bad, in fact it was rich, entertaining and satisfying. Since the plot deals with the theme of death and a glimmer of hope, the atmosphere of the story are quite gloomy and sad,  which you can immediately feel from the start of the game at the start menu. But it's not melodramatic all the way to the end. To be fair, there are some cheerful moments throughout the game and some pretty good action cutscenes but overall, it is a game with a sad story.

Silent Hill: Revelation 3D ~ review

Silent Hill: Revelation 3D is a horror film released on 26th October 2012 in the US and some other markets like Malaysia. It is a sequel to the 2006 video-game adaptation horror film, Silent Hill and loosely based on the video game, Silent Hill 3. It is directed by Michael J. Bassett and starred Adelaide Clemens, Kit Harington, Carrie-Anne Moss, Sean Bean, Radha Mitchell, Deborah Kara Unger and Malcolm McDowell.

This review is spoiler-free so you do not need to worry if you haven't watch the film yet. ;-)

Silent Hill: Revelation 3D is by no means a better film than its predecessor. There are a lot of room for improvement but it does have a few things that I like. Let's start with the plot. While it is not strong, the plot for this movie is still quite good and most importantly, easy to understand. That is a huge success in itself because Silent Hill video games can have quite a confusing plot with different layer of interpretation which can be hard to be translated onto the silver screen. But with easy explanation from key characters in the film, viewers especially those who are not fans of the video games can find the plot not so confusing.

The acting, while there are no stand-outs, they are not bad either. Adelaide Clemens did a good job as Heather Mason and Kit Harington was quite good too as Vincent. Sean Bean, needles to say, is a great actor but viewers won't be seeing much of him since his character were not featured much in the plot. I love Radha Mitchell so seeing her in the movie although just as a cameo, was a good treat for me, and it also brings back memories of the first movie. But some characters were underused like the main villain Claudia Wolf (played by Carrie-Anne Moss) and Douglas Cartland (played by Martin Donovan).

The special effects, for the most part, were spectacular, but I must say that it was a bit inconsistent. There are some effects which I thought were quite poorly executed and should not be included in the movie. But others like the effects during the transition from the fog world to the Otherworld were great. As for the 3D effects, since I did not watch the movie in 3D, there was not much to say about it.

The soundtrack is the best part of the movie. I think it was quite the same or maybe a rework version with the one from the video games (I would guess Silent Hill 3), but I'm not quite sure. The soundtrack brings out the creepiness and mysterious side of Silent Hill which I think are much needed by this movie. I also noted that the timing for the music was almost perfect. There's a scene in the film when the soundtrack suddenly stopped playing and I thought to myself that it was the perfect silence for the scene.

I was quite disappointed though when the movie became more action-oriented at the end. I feel like it could have been handled differently but still give viewers the tormented and twisted Silent Hill that it is known for. The heavy-action element was irrelevant and somewhat takes away the psychological horror Silent Hill is all about. 

Although Silent Hill: Revelation 3D is not prefect, it is still a good effort in bringing the world of Silent Hill to the mainstream audience. I also feel like the franchise could still grow, and interestingly enough, the end of the movie also hinted to not just one, but two possible plot that the next movie could take. Hopefully, this movie will not be the last of the franchise in movieland.

Images from Wikipedia and the movie official website.

K (anime) ~ Episode 1 and Episode 2 review

Okay, so I had watched episode 1 and 2 of the new anime, K, that had started airing on Animax Asia only last week, and here what I think about it.

In my opinion, episode 1 started really strong with viewers already thrown into interesting fight scenes early on. But story-wise, it is still very confusing what the commotion was all about. But that's normal, I guess, for episode 1 of an anime, or any TV series. Some cool characters were introduced, like Mikoto Suō and Anna Kushina, but my favourite has to be the main character of the show, Yashiro Isana. I didn't know he would be the main character since the promo for the anime seems to show that he would just be a supporting character. But I'm glad that he is, because Yashiro is such an interesting and mysterious character.

The visual for the anime is rather unique, mostly because of the colour that the studio use for the anime. It didn't use normal colouring instead it seems to only utilise a few major colour like blue and red to make up most of the scenes. But personally, it didn't distract me while I'm watching, in fact I think it helps K to stand out from the other anime series. The camera techniques and angles are good and quite high-standard too, like when the camera follows a character while he was on a skateboard or when the camera zoom in  through a glass marble when a character was looking through it. These techniques help K looks "expensive".

Episode 2 focused on another interesting character known as Kurō Yatogami, as he located Yashiro at his school after he initially managed to be captured by him. This episode also featured more humour and shows that K is not all action and serious. I was excited although a bit surprised at first when they included a lot of jokes in this episode, as I think the tone seemed quite different that what was previously set by episode 1. Nevertheless, I'm happy with it, and I think this will be the tone (a mixture of action and humour) that will be set throughout the series.

I still don't understand the whole concept of the world that K was set in. Viewers did see some powers that a few of these characters had in these 2 episodes but nothing were explained regarding it. Homura clan seems to be like a group of organized thugs that are well-known and feared by the townsfolk while Scepter 4 looks like the "police force" of the city. And something about Ashinaka High School, the school that Yashiro attended, that seemed special and somewhat mysterious. I mean, it's located entirely on an island and is isolated from the city. Would the school be explored more in future episodes?

So that's what I think about the anime K, based on the first 2 episodes. Did you watch the anime? If you do, what do you think about it? And if you don't, you can watch it on Animax Asia every Friday at 1:35 am for Animax Same Day Telecast program, or watch the encore telecast at 6:30 pm. K will also has its repeat on Saturday at 11:30 pm with the previous week's episode aired before that.

Images from K official website.

Upside Down trailer ~ A unique romance between two worlds

The first time I ever heard or saw anything about this movie was when I saw the poster in one of the local cinema. The poster looked unique and it piqued my interest to know more about the movie. But sadly, I never heard any news on TV about this movie, not even in the entertainment channels. The story looks interesting, so how come there are no promotion for it? Well, if there are, perhaps I'm the one who missed the advertising.

Anyway, I'm excited and planning to watch it once it come out here in Malaysia. But when will it come out? I heard that it already released or will be released soon in several territories. The poster that I saw in the local cinema only stated 'Coming Soon', so I'm not sure when is that.

Some background about the movie; Upside Down is a science fiction-romantic film starring Jim Sturgess and Kirsten Dunst. It tells a story about a man who falls in love with a girl in an alternate world which are directly above his own world. He need to fight against the worlds in order to be with her as the residents from both worlds are not allowed to be in contact with each other. You can see what's the movie is about in the trailer above, I think the trailer shows too much. But I'm still excited about the movie, hopefully it will be released soon.

You can also watched the trailer here. Enjoy!

New Animax Same Day Telecast Event ~ K

Animax Asia will be having its Same Day Telecast Event for the new anime, K. The new anime will première on 5th October 2012 at 1.35 am and will have its encore telecast at 6.30 pm.

I've never heard anything about this anime before and my search on the web also ended up nowhere as the main website is in Japanese (and I don't know Japanese!). But judging from Animax's previous anime series for their Same Week / Same Day Telecast program, this new anime should be good too. I guess the only way to find out is to watch the show and judge it yourself.

Don't forget to mark your calender.

Image from K official website.

Fantastic horror films of the east - Part 2

Here is Part 2 of my post about some of my favourite horror movies from Asia. Continuing on from the last post, here are the remaining five films;

6) Dorm (Thailand)

This movie is somewhat different than the other horror films in the list. It's not really a horror movie if you want to be specific but more of a drama. Dorm, of Dek hor as it is known in Thailand, tells a story about a young boy who was forced to enter a boarding school by his father after he accidentally found out about his father's dirty little secret. At the school, being an outcast and still upset about being forced to study there, he met a ghost of a young boy, and after initially frighten by him, they eventually became fast friends.

I like the story, which was kind of sad and nostalgic as I think about it now, and the chemistry between the main two young actors. I also like the fact that it's different than the other horror movies that I've seen. It did have a few scare but the main attraction of the story was definitely the relationship and bonding of the two friends. The movie was also critically acclaimed and had received many awards.

7) Pocong 2 (Indonesia)

Pocong, if you are not very familiar with the Asian (or to be more specific Malay) culture, is a type of ghost where the soul of the restless spirit appear in its form of when it was buried, which is wrapped in white cloth with only his / her face that are exposed. While many movies especially from Malaysia and Indonesia featured pocong, Pocong 2 is especially special for me because of the neat story-telling and likeable casts. Plus, pocong scares me a lot, so it's little wonder why this movie makes it into the list. And also why I purposely left out the spooky poster of the movie.

8) Phone (South Korea)

If I remembered correctly, this is the first Korean horror movie that I watched. This 2002 movie is about a young journalist who was investigating the disappearance of a teenage girl while at the same time been haunted by an unrest soul. It's an interesting film although there was nothing much about the movie that set it apart from other horror films from Asia. I like the actress that played the main protagonist, Ha Ji-won, and I also love the final scene when the ghost finally revealed herself. The scene was rather unique. Phone is a meaningful movie for me because it is one of the movie that open my eyes to the horror genre of Asian cinemas.

9) Dark Water (Japan)

Another movie that open my eyes to the horror movies of Asian cinemas was the fantastic Dark Water. This 2002 Japanese drama-horror film was about a struggling wife in the process to divorce her husband, and her daughter who live in an old apartment building that was haunted by a spirit of a little girl. It was constantly raining in the movie and it set the right tone and atmosphere as the theme and plot of the movie deals with abandonment and longing for love. It had one famous scene that another movie in this list tried to copy, and quite a sad ending. Personally, this is one of the best movie that I've watched, horror or not.

10) Re-cycle (Hong Kong / Thailand)

This 2006 horror film by the Pang Brothers and starred Angelica Lee Sin-Jie is rather unique in which it deals less with ghosts and more with 'unwanted' things. Re-cycle tells a story of a young novelist and her journey through an alternate universe in which all 'unwanted' things reside; abandon buildings, aborted fetuses, old Ferris wheel and even characters on paper that were thrown away. It has a cool concept and a great actress as its main cast. The Pang Brothers and Angelica Lee had teamed up before for the horror movie, The Eye, which became a huge success.

So there you have it, some of my favourite horror Asian movies. To be honest, there are still a lot of good movies out there that I didn't list out, which probably were left out of the list because I haven't watch them yet. So if you think I missed some of your favourite, please leave a comment and let me and the rest of the world know. Thank you for reading!

If you missed part 1, please click here to read the post.

Images source from Wikipedia.

Lightning returns? Another sequel to Final Fantasy XIII

A lot of Final Fantasy fans would probably already know about a new game in the Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy series, Lightning Returns Final Fantasy XIII, that Square Enix had recently announced. It would be a second sequel to Final Fantasy XIII after Final Fantasy XIII-2 and will feature Lightning as the main protaganist again.

As from what I understand, the setting for this game would be different than the previous two video games meaning that it would not be the same Pulse (the world setting in the game) as players had seen it before. From early news, it was announced that the game would be set a few hundred years after Final Fantasy XIII-2 on Novus Partus, a chain of floating islands at the edge of Pulse. A doomsday clock would also be included in the game as Lightning would have to race against the clock to save the world as it would end in thirteen days. The overal look of the game can be described as 'gothic' and feature a lot of black vs white as the main colours.

Lightning Returns Final Fantasy XIII sounds like an interesting game but only time would tell if this entry in the series can live up to fans expectation. The game is scheduled to be released in 2013. You can click here to watch some presentation about the new game.

Animations that make your day ~ Gumball + Phineas and Ferb

The Amazing World of Gumball and Phineas and Ferb are two of some of my favourite animation series that are currently running on television. Let's take a closer look at those two amazing series, shall we?

Phineas and Ferb

This animated TV series co-created by Dan Povenmire and Jeff Marsh is about two step-brothers, Phineas Flynn and Ferb Fletcher, who in each episode made a grand science project or simply exploring, while at the the same time, their sister (step-sister for Ferb), Candace, will try to reveal their activities to their parents. Another plot running simultaneously with that is the plot about a spy called Agent P, which is actually the platypus pet of the boys (also popularly known as Perry the Platypus) who in (almost) each episode will be sent on a mission to investigate the suspicious activity of the "evil villian" of the series, Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz.

I like Phineas and Ferb very much because of the smart jokes that were used in the show. It was quite befitting since both the  main characters are genius kids. Also not to forget Dr. Doofenshmirtz who often call himself an "evil genius" (although I bet a lot of people might argue with that). The animation are cheerful with bright colours and the characters are well-drawn, likeable and funny. The musical numbers that were featured on almost every episode on the show are entertaining making it even more appealing to kids and adults alike. The plot of inventing or exploring something new every day is also a good plot to encourage the kids to be active and creative in their own everyday lives.

Phineas and Ferb airs on Disney channel (Channel 615 on Astro Malaysia) and had received positive reviews as well as being a popular TV show captivating millions of viewers worlwide. A movie has also being developed for a possible release in 2013. Not a fan yet? Why don't you try to watch a few episodes and decide for yourself whether Phineas, Ferb, Candace, Perry the Platypus and Dr. Doofenshmirtz can make you laugh.

The Amazing World of Gumball

Gumball, as it is also known, is an American / British animated TV series created by Ben Bocquelet, who decided to throw some of the characters that he had created but were rejected into one show and thus, The Amazing World of Gumball was born. The TV show follows Gumball Watterson, a 12 years old blue cat, and Darwin Watterson, his adopted fish-brother, as they go through their everyday lives at school and at home. Their misadventures usually is a result of a simple task that turned into a disaster caused by their silly behaviours.

Gumball is a fun and silly animation series. The show features how the duo tried to solve their problems with their abnormal way of thinking and (as expected) always land them in trouble. I like the jokes in the show, which can be over-the-top sometimes, but simply entertaining. The main characters, which are the Watterson family, have their own unique personalities and their cute voice match their characters perfectly well (good job voice actors!). Other characters that filled the show are varies including a banana, a balloon, a female T-Rex, a baboon teacher and a bread, which makes this show even more interesting and unpredictable. The plot, while simple, can be pretty exhilarating thanks to Gumball and Darwin actions that caused things to get worse than it can ever be.

The Amazing World of Gumball currently airs on Cartoon Network (Channel 616 Astro Malaysia). I was a bit late in discovering this show as I only know its existence in the second half of 2012 while it already premièred in 2011. Well, I guess it's better late than never. Not a fan of this show too? Well, too bad as Gumball and Darwin are the most adorable troublesome (cat- and fish-) kids that I've ever see on TV screen. You should totally check them out.

Images sources: Wikipedia and Wikia

Salam Aidilfitri to all Muslims!!!

I want to wish Happy Eid ul-Fitr to all Muslims all around the world. After a month of fasting in Ramadhan, it's time to enjoy and celebrate all our hard work. It is also the time for us to show our unity and celebrate the festivity as one big family.

For those of you who are not familiar with the celebration, let me fill you in with some explanation. Eid ul-Fitr (also known as several other names in other parts of the world) is a Muslim celebration that marks the end of Ramadhan (in which the Muslims go through a fasting month). The first day of Eid ul-Fitr, which is on 1st Shawwal, Muslims will perform a 2-raka'ah prayer. There are several ways Eid ul-Fitr is celebrated  in different part of the world, but in Malaysia, people usually will go to their hometowns and ask for forgiveness from their parents, and celebrate the festivity together with family, relatives and friends. Different kind of foods are served and family and friends gather around, catching up with each other. People will also go to the cemetery to pay respect to their families and relatives who had past away and do some prayers. Kids are the one who usually have a blast celebrating as they will receive "duit raya" (gifts in form of money) from their elders.

But, with all the joy and excitement in celebrating the festivity, it is important for us to also remember those who are less fortunate than us. Remember that they are others that faced injustice and difficulties in their lives in other parts of the world. Let us all pray to Allah and hope for a brighter future for all people around the world. Amin.

Happy Aidilfitri everyone!

Pendragon Book Three: The Never War ~ review

Title: Pendragon : The Never War
Author: D. J. MacHale
ISBN: ISBN 0-7434-3733-0

A word of caution: spoilers ahead! It might not be much, but it may still ruin your enjoyment of the book.

As I mentioned in my previous post about Pendragon, this book series is definitely one of the best series for children and adults alike. Still not familiar with it? Well, it's about a boy who learned that he is a Traveler who can travel through time and space to different worlds or territories, and have to save them from destruction planned by the main antagonist of the series, the ever-changing shape-shifter, Saint Dane.

In the third book of the series, Bobby Pendragon had to travel to the territory of First Earth, which was Earth in 1973. Found himself in New York but in a time way before he was born, he teamed himself with the Traveler from First Earth, Vincent Van Dyke, or better known as Gunny. He also brought along the Traveler from Cloral (which he had previously explored in Book Two: The Lost City of Faar) Vo Spader, for this new adventure. So it seems like it will be the three of them against Saint Dane, sounds like a piece of cake right? Well, apparently not. They also had to deal with two rival gengster mobs and their leaders, Maximillian Rose and Winn Farrow.

At first, I thought I would not enjoy this book as much as I had with the first two books in the series since the book was set in 1973, and I'm not really a big fan of reading books that were set in the past. Fortunately, I was proven wrong. The plot was well-paced, enjoyable and it got me invested in the story and the characters. Even the action scenes for this book were interesting eventhough they were only fighting normal human beings (the gengsters) instead of fantasy creatures like in The Merchant of Death (Book 1) or The Lost City of Faar (Book 2).

The characters for this book were pretty well developed and I really like the new characters that were introduced like Gunny, the female pilot Nancy Olsen (or Jinx) and the gangster godfather Maximillian Rose. Gunny, for example, had that likeable and calm persona that were important in keeping the team together. He also served like a consultant to Bobby in giving his opinions about certain situations and events. In fact, he might actually be the one who saved the territories from destruction.

Bobby Pendragon, the main protagonist, was also developed well in this book. In fact, we can actually see the improvement in his role from being the newbie in the Traveler thing in Book 1 to begining to take his role as the future leader for Travelers very seriously. He still had a lot to learn though before he become the leader he was destined to be. Mark Dimond and Courtney Chetwynde, Bobby friends back on Second Earth, on the other hand seems to be taking a backseat this time. I'm not sure whether it's because of their lack of character development or simply because they were overshadowed by the many great new characters in this book. Nevertheless, I'm sure they will have a greater role in future books in the series as they had always been so close to Bobby eventhough they were territories apart.

Overall, The Never War is another great addition to the book series and it was better than I expected it to be. Interesting plot, great action scenes and awesome new characters had helped to make this book a great continuition to the Travelers journey to save the territories. A must have for the book series fans while for new readers, I suggest to start with Book 1, The Merchant of Death, for better understanding of the overall plot.

Image source from Wikipedia.

Fantastic horror films of the east - Part 1

Are you a horror movie fan? If you are, then this post is for you. If you are not a fan of such films, well, it doesn't hurt to know a bit about the movies that fall into the genre right? I'm introducing some of the good Asian horror films out there that I personally love. Some of them had (somewhat) gain recognition through Hollywood remakes but some of them remain unknown especially to those who have not really watch a lot of Asian movies. Asian horror films may be slightly different than their Hollywood counterpart, nevertheless they still have their own charm in captivating the audience.

Listing 10 of some of my favourite Asian horror films, here are the first five films;

1) One Missed Call (Japan)

It is one of the first horror films from Japan that I watched and I certainly enjoyed it. Also known as "Chakushin ari" and released in Japan in 2004, it tells a story of a cursed call from your future self that predicts your own death. What's interesting about this movie is that it downplayed the portrayal of a ghost (especially in the first half of the movie) and replaced it with a fear feeling of knowing your own death in the near future. I like the concept of the story and the haunting ring tone of the death call (creepy and beautiful at the same time). The movie was well made and the plot combined the Asian people traditional belief of unrest spirit and the modern technology of cellphones. As most of you already know, a Hollywood remake had been made with the same title. But personally I much prefer the original movie.

2) Jangan Pandang Belakang (Malaysia)

Released in 2007, it is currently my favourite Malaysian horror movie. Although the story about ghosts who haunt humans are a cliché in Malaysia local drama series and movies, Jangan Pandang Belakang (literally translated as "Don't Look Back" in English) managed to piqued people interest with clever ghost scenes that made audience at the edge of their seats. It may not have the best special effects or story but the flow of the plot and the clever scenes that I mentioned before surely made this film one of the best Malaysia horror movies had to offer.

3) Long Khong (Thailand)

The gore and violence in this movie had somewhat made it similar to the Hollywood splatter films like Saw or Hostel but the supernatural element in it made it unique and recognizable as an Asian horror movie. The film was released in 2005 and also known as Art of the Devil 2 as part of the Art of the Devil trilogy. The film tells a story of six high school friends who were caught up in between curses and spells as they travel to one of their friend's remote village. The images in this movie can be cruel and at times disturbing but it just shows that you should have never play around with black magic. The consequences might not be pretty.

4) A Tale of Two Sisters (South Korea)

To be honest, I was actually confused by the storyline in this movie when I first saw it in the cinema. The present and flashback scenes were shown back-to-back and I had trouble following the story. But once I understand what the story is about, and know what certain scenes in the movie actually mean, then I finally had my respect for the movie and truly appreciate the story. This 2003 South Korean psychological horror movie is inspired by an old folktale and had also been remake into a Hollywood movie titled The Uninvited in 2009. I love this movie not only because it has some really good scary scenes in it, but also because it has a good story with deep meaning and not just a typical horror movie. If you have trouble understanding the story in your first viewing, then watch it again. Hopefully you'll appreciate it like I did.

5) 4bia (Thailand)

4bia is a 2008 horror film that contains four different short stories from four different directors. The first story is about a young girl who unknowingly befriended a ghost via text messaging though her cellphone. The second story is about a group of high school friends who had been cursed by another fellow student who had been bullied by them. The third chapter tells a story about a group of friends who were haunted while they went for camping in the forest. While the last chapter is about a young flight attendant who were having trouble on board a plane with a royal princess for having an affair with her prince husband. It is a great compilation of horror stories from different perspective of protagonists, although I must say that the second chapter is a bit "weak". The way the story were told were great too and can be quite creative like the first chapter that has no dialogue at all. The third chapter were noted for being funny and less serious than the rest but my favourite chapter would have to be the last chapter with the flight attendant. How creepy it is to be on a plane with no one else but a corpse?


So there you have it, five of some of my favourite horror movies from Asia. If you want to find out the other five films that made the list, please click here for Part 2. Thanks for reading!

Images source from Wikipedia.

Silent Hill: Revelation 3D Official Trailer

This is what I've been waiting for. You have no idea how excited I am now that it's finally released. It's the official trailer to the movie Silent Hill: Revelation 3D, the sequel to Silent Hill which was released back in 2006. This movie will be based on the third game in the franchise, Silent Hill 3. But by looking at some of the characters, I think it will be loosely based on the game.

The trailer looks wickedly awesome, and hopefully it will reflect in the final product. I love the Silent Hill video games, and I also love the first film very much, so I pray that this film would be good too.

Silent Hill: Revelation 3D will be released in theatres on October 26, 2012.

You can also watch the trailer right here.

Enjoy!

Salam Ramadhan 1433

We are in the midst of the holy month of Ramadhan, so to all Muslims in the world, I wish you all Salam Ramadhan. May Allah give us all strength to go through the fasting month and hopefully we can reflect ourselves to become a better person. It is a great month for us to be closer to Allah; do Tarawih prayers, recite Al-Quran more often, give sincere donation and do good to other people. And don't forget to pay Zakat. I pray us all success in whatever we do in this sacred month and hopefully we will become a better Muslim / Muslimah. Amin.

To those of you who don't know, Ramadhan is the ninth month and the holy month in the Islamic Calender. In this month, Muslims all around the world will fast during the day (from dawn until sunset), do Tarawih prayers during the night, and pay Zakat (a sort of charity to the poor and less-fortunate). Muslims are also urged to recite the Al-Quran more often, give Sadaqa or donation to those who needed (poor people, homeless people, etc) and refrain themselves from doing anything sinful (like talking bad about other people behind their back or being rude to other people). It is the month for Muslims to learn self-control and discipline themselves to become a better person.

So, again to all Muslims, Salam Ramadhan!

Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories ~ review

Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories, released in late 2008, is a PlayStation 2 remake of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories which was originally released on Game Boy Advance. The game took place in a castle called Castle Oblivion and Sora, along with Donald and Goofy, had to unravel the mysteries of the castle. As they did so, they met with a new set of enemies who seemed to have their own agenda in drawing Sora to the castle.

Plot-wise, KHRe:CoM deals a lot with the theme of memories, hence the name of the game. As Sora, Goofy and Donald travel higher and higher into Castle Oblivion, they start losing their memories of their loved ones and this makes them much easier to be manipulated by the new enemies introduced in the game called the Organization XIII. I have a weakness when it comes to stories with characters losing their memories so I find KHRe:CoM's plot to be very amusing and interesting. Since the game levels are basically ripped off from the original Kingdom Hearts game (because Sora and the gang revisit their memories hence the events in the different worlds of the original KH were relived again), some might feel that the story was a bit repetitive. But luckily the events from their memories and the current events in Castle Oblivion with the Organization XIII were played back to back so the story still feels fresh and not just a repeat from Kingdom Hearts. It is also interesting that the studio decided to include Riku's side of story in the game, revealing what had happened to him after the event in Kingdom Hearts and revealing his part in the Organization's plan as he explores basement levels of Castle Oblivion. It helps to widen the story through his perspective and cementing his position as part of the main characters in the game.

There are not much to be said about the characters of the Disney worlds featured in this game as they are the same when they were introduced in Kingdom Hearts. So it is best to say that, other than Sora and Riku, the members of the Organization took centre stage in this game as we get introduced to them with their unique abilities and agenda. Six members from the Organization XIII were featured; Axel, Larxene, Vexen, Marluxia, Lexaeus and Zexion. Out from the six members, Axel is my favourite character. As for their fighting abilities, I like Zexion the most with his book and illusion power. Not to forget, Namine, a mystery young girl with the power to alter memories who was kept in the castle and manipulating Sora's memories as ordered by Marluxia. All the characters were very well designed and the good voice acting also contribute to the overall appeal of the characters.

Now let's talk about gameplay. KHRe:CoM introduces card system in which players use numbered cards to defeat enemies who also have their own set of cards. At first I was kind of confused with the battle system but after I got used to it, it was pretty interesting and, not to forget, addictive. Unfortunately, the player got to choose which Disney worlds they want to explore first and each world have different difficulty level. If somehow players accidentally pick a harder world as their first level, then it might get frustrating for the players to get used to the card battle system. This directly will impact the learning curve of the game based on which Disney Worlds that the players choose to play first. But a persistent players will find that it is very rewarding to master the system earlier in the game for the later harder boss fights.

I didn't play the original Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories on Game Boy Advance but I do know that this remake has been improved a lot especially on the graphics to suit with PlayStation 2 system. Some scenes with dialogues or FMV (full motion video) were added and I also read that some additional battles were included too but sadly I can't tell which one. The FMV were amazing and nicely done, they also play important part in absorbing players into the new conflict in the game. The overall graphics were somewhat the same with what you see in Kingdom Hearts which means that it is visually beautiful, wonderful and stunning, especially the FMV. And, as I stated before, the voice-acting of the characters were good and help bring the characters to life.

What about the soundtrack or music for the game? I can absolutely say that the soundtrack is one of the best aspect of the game. It follows the mood of the story and accompanies each scenes perfectly well when it comes to the FMV. The music for the gameplay is very easy to the ears as well. Basically the soundtrack are reworked version of the original soundtrack from Kingdom Hearts.

So should you get KHRe:CoM? Consider this; great FMVs, powerful story, addictive gameplay, and wonderful soundtrack. I personally think KHRe:CoM is a lot better than the original Kingdom Hearts even if it is just a side story that bridge the gap between Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II. So the choice is yours. For me, KHRe:CoM is absolutely a wonderful game.

Thank you for reading!

Image sources: KHReCOM and IGN

YuYu Hakusho Volume 13 ~ review

Wow, a gap of more than 2 years between this post and previous post about YuYu Hakusho manga. What a lazy bum I am! No worries, I'm determined to finish writing for all the volumes in the YuYu Hakusho manga series. And here's what happened in Volume 13. Heads up! Spoilers ahead!

The early pages of the manga brought us back to the final round of the Dark Tournament between Urameshi Yuusuke  and Younger Toguro. And as usual, the good guy won (yes, I know, spoiler. Didn't I warned you?) Yuusuke managed to defeat him with the last of his strength. And to put the cherry on top of the cake, Genkai who was supposed to be dead in the last volume had been brought back to life by Koenma. But, what's more interesting is the story of Younger Toguro that were revealed to the readers through conversation between Koenma and his assistant. Apparently, he's not such a bad guy after all. There's a reason behind his rage and anger. 

With the tournament ended, everything become peace and quiet again, right? Wrong! A new threat emerged! Three high school boys with magical abilities had kidnapped Yuusuke (gasp!). It's up to Botan, Kurama, Hiei  and Kuwabara to save him. They were lead to a strange house and must unravel the mysteries behind these guys' abilities before they can save Yuusuke. The highlight for me is the fight (well, it's not a fight really, just a dangerous mind game) between Kurama and one of the boys named Kaito. The scenes were pretty well done and once again we get to see Kurama with his plants-controlling ability and smart thinking in defeating this guy. Kurama is such a great character, I love him!

But a bigger threat is coming. In the last page of the manga, a new antagonist is introduced (only his face, not his name yet) and will be the main bad guy in the next story arc. What are his plans? Everything will be revealed in YuYu Hakusho Volume 14.

Image source from Amazon.

Wonder Girls: Like This Music Video ~ Awesome!

Wonder Girls are back! The K-pop girl group, which is one of my favourite out of all the K-pop groups, had released their new single called Like This. The song sounds very catchy and upbeat, and it seems they are shying away from the retro style they were previously known for. I like the retro style of their previous songs but I think this new image suits them quite well too.

Like This is the lead single for their new mini album, Wonder Party. For those of you who are new to Wonder Girls, the group consists of Yeeun @ Yenny (wearing pink dress with loose white shirt in the MV), Sunye @ Sun (red-haired girl with yellow shorts), Sohee (wearing orange jacket), Yubin (the rapper) and Hyerim @ Lim (in black skirt with blue+green-coloured hair). Some of their big hits are Tell Me, So Hot, Nobody and Be My Baby.

You can also watch the music video here. I hope you enjoy it because I certainly did.

Top 5 Pixar films

Fans of Pixar's animation films would probably already know that a new film from them, their first fairy tale called Brave, would be out in cinemas by the end of June 2012. Pixar had released twelve films so far but do you ever wonder which of these films took in the most money in the box-office? Here are the top 5 highest-grossing Pixar films based on the worldwide taking.

No. 5 ~ Ratatouille

It's about a rat who dreams of becoming a French chef even though he is a...rat. Obviously a rat and a kitchen do not suppose to mix with each other but the film teach us that if you dream big and determined enough, you can achieve your dream even if you are a rat. Ratatouille took in $623,722,818 in the worldwide box-office and sealed its place in number 5.

No. 4 ~ The Incredibles

When a group of superheroes are retired (or forced to retired), can they live a normal lives like everybody else? Apparently, the answer is no for one superhero and when he takes on a job that requires him to use his super power, he realized there is more to the job than he had expected. A combination of an action film and a family film, The Incredibles took in $631,442,092 in the worldwide box-office and placed fourth on the list.

No. 3 ~ Up

Up is more of an animation for adult when it comes to its theme but luckily the animal characters made it appealed to children too. The film is about an elderly man who was joined unexpectedly by a young Wilderness Explorer in his quest to fly to South America in a house floated by balloons. With intake of $731,342,744 in the worldwide box-office, Up is the 3rd highest-grossing Pixar film.

No. 2 ~ Finding Nemo

As the film's title suggest, the film is about a clown fish who races across the sea to find his son who was abducted by a human diver and be put in an aquarium. Joined him on his quest is a fish with a short-term memory. Finding Nemo is the second highest-grossing Pixar film with a worldwide intake of $867,893,978.

No. 1 ~ Toy Story 3

The third film in the Toy Story series, Toy Story 3 brings back Woody, Buzz and the gang in a whole new adventure as they find themselves in a daycare centre as their former owner prepares to go to college. The film became the first animated film to make over $1 billion worldwide and thus is the highest-grossing Pixar film with worldwide intake of $1,063,171,911.

Are you happy with the list? Are there any of your favourite Pixar's film missed out from the top 5? I was personally disappointed that WALL-E didn't make into the top 5 but it still made a lot of money though. Brave would be internationally released in June 2012, I wonder how well would the film be received by audience?

Images from Yahoo! Movies.

Hunter X Hunter (2011 anime) ~ Hunter Exam story arc review

The first story arc of Hunter X Hunter anime (the 2011 remake) had just finished its run on Animax Asia. It revolves around the Hunter Exam that our four protaganists; Gon, Kurapika, Leorio and Killua, enter in order to become professional Hunters and to get the Hunter license that can open to so many doors and opportunities. Each of them had their own purposes in entering the tough and cruel exam; Gon wants to meet his Hunter dad; Kurapika wants to get his revenge on the famous criminal group, Phantom Troupe, who had murdered his entire Kurta Clan; Leorio wants money to further study and become a doctor to give free treatment to his patients; while Killua just wants to get away from his assassins family.

The Hunter Exam that they entered consists of 5 phases. For the first phase, the candidates just had to follow the examiner through a long run to get to the second phase site. Sounds easy but this phase will test the candidates stamina, and they also had to run past a swamp that filled with ferocious creatures. The second phase involves cooking, but the ingredients that the candidates need to cook are the wild boars, which can be deadly to catch, and the eggs of the spider eagles, which in order to get the eggs the candidates had to jump through a gorge.

In the third phase of the exam, the candidates were left on a high tower known as the Trick Tower and need to find a way to escape from it in 72 hours. In the tower, they were faced with prisoners who were hired as the examiners of the exam. For the fourth phase, each candidates were given a target (one of the other candidates) and were left in an island for several days. While there, they need to fight each other for their badges and collect points to proceed to the next round.

The fifth and final phase of the Hunter Exam involves a one-on-one combat between the remaining nine candidates. One win will guarantee the winner the hunter license while the loser will have another chance by fighting others, but not all candidates have the equal amount of chances. Plus, out of nine candidates, only one will fail and eight others will get the hunter license, if no one is killed of course. If a contestant kill another during the combat, then that contestant will automatically get disqualified and the remaining contestants will officially passed the exam. Tricky.

Now let's talk about the quality of the anime. I did missed several episodes (like phase two of the Hunter Exam) but personally, I think the anime looks really good and well made with great voice acting. I love the voice acting of the four protagonists especially Gon and Kurapika. But some of the best ones are from the antagonists; Hisoka and Gittarackur @ Illumi. The episodes were neatly separated between each other and does not interfere with the flow of the story. But some of the scenes in the anime were a bit downplayed compared to the original manga probably to reduce the violence. The one that I thought were obvious was when Killua killed the serial killer prisoner in the Trick Tower during phase three of the Hunter Exam.

The story is, of course, great. I love to see the different personalities of the characters and how they interact with each other or respond to certain events. Our main heroes; Gon with his cheerful attributes and determination, quick-thinking Kurapika with his calm demeanor, Leorio with his clumsiness and funny comments and Killua with his cool act; have that strong presence that made me always rooting for them. But what I love to see the most is the friendship that bond as the characters gone through the tough exam. It was really inspiring.

Another great part of the anime is the background music in which it brings the adventurous mood of the story. The opening and ending theme are great too. The opening theme "Departure!" is sung by Masatoshi Ono while the ending theme is by the Japanese band Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas called "Just Awake".

I highly recommend this anime to everyone, whether you're a fan of anime or not. It has great plot, great characters and great music. What more could you asked for? If you haven't watch the anime yet, you can still catch it on Animax Asia (Astro Malaysia Channel 715) from Monday to Friday at 7.30 pm with repeats at 10.30 pm.

Images from Animax Asia.

Resident Evil 6 - Captivate 2012 Trailer

I'm too excited to not share this trailer. It's a new trailer for the new game in the Resident Evil video game series, Resident Evil 6. More details can be found in this trailer in regards with the characters. New female villain! Sherry Birkin! Son of Albert Wesker! And Chris Redfield and Leon S. Kennedy aiming their guns at each other?!? Looks to be an epic scene!

Resident Evil 6 is scheduled for release on October 2, 2012 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. You can also see the video by clicking here. Enjoy!

Rasukan Siluman by Imai Yasue ~ review

What is Rasukan Siluman in English? Honestly, I don't know but you can find this manga translated in Malay in Malaysia and Brunei. This manga by Imai Yasue, originally published in Japan as Watashi No Naka Ni Akuma Ga Iru, has 7 different stories with different horror elements in it. The first story is about a young girl who were trapped in a town where everybody suddenly becomes lazy and selfish, and how the world collapses because of it. The second story tells about twin sisters who can literally feel and experience what their other half felt. To make things worst, they fall for the same guy and begin to hate each other because of it. The third story is about a female student who was selected as one of the candidates who must survive on a deserted island along with several other students. On the island, she suddenly loses control of herself and were afflicted with the 7 deadly sins.

The fourth story is a compilation of 3 short episodes that were all started at a railway station. The first and second episodes don't really have a plot, but the third episode has a quite interesting story about a girl who falls in love with the wrong man. The fifth story is about a young girl who saves a magic cat and were granted 3 wishes. Because of her frustration with her life, she begins to make strange wishes which turn out deadly.

The sixth story is about a young girl who suddenly became a target of a town when she was announced as a murder suspect in a local news. Together with a friend, she made a run from the crowd and try to clear her name. The seventh and last story in the manga, and also my favourite chapter, is about a girl who steal some sort of pills from her friend in which she believes can make her swim faster and become champion in swimming competition. But will the pills cause harm to her body?

Although the artwork in the manga doesn't look very scary and frightening, but the stories do have that eerie feeling of horror as you read them. In fact, the images doesn't have to look scary because the stories already are. But for those horror fans who are looking for gory type of stories like the one you found in Junji Ito's manga would be disappointed. I was confused with the front cover artwork as it was not related to any of the stories in the manga. Maybe it was just an indication to show that this is a horror type of manga. I also notice some error in the drawing but it was really minor and was not obvious. Besides, I enjoy the stories and that what really matters for me.

Overall, Rasukan Siluman is a good horror manga with decent artwork and good stories. If you don't like to read manga with a long story and enjoy reading short chapters of different stories, then Rasukan Siluman is a suitable choice for you.

You can find more info on this manga and other interesting manga titles at Gempak Starz website.

Image from Gempak Starz.

Rating the superhero in The Avengers film

I had watched the movie and instead of a regular movie review, I think I will just write down about what I think of the superheroes that were featured in The Avengers and how they fare with each other. Let's start!

Captain America

Captain America (or Steve Rogers) character was played by Chris Evans. He's a charming character and certainly a gentleman compared to the rest of the superheroes probably because he is a man from the past. It's interesting to see that he's the opposite of Robert Downey, Jr.'s character, Tony Stark @ Iron Man where he is always in a serious mood while Tony Stark seems always in a no-I'm-not-interested mood. He has a strong presence among the other superheroes and certainly will gain a lot of fans (especially girls) with his handsome feature.

Iron Man

Iron Man (or Tony Stark) played by Robert Downey, Jr. incredibly well, just like he did with the previous two Iron Man movies. In my opinion, he is the best played character among all the other superheroes in the film. He grabbed attention every time he is on screen with his witty and sarcastic comments and carefree and almost arrogant attitude. I think he will have the most fans among guys with his high-technology and cool Iron Man suits. And he is more than just a mortal in an armor suit; his strength is equivalent to the other characters like Thor and Hulk and he can fight drones of armies from another world just like the rest of the team.


Hawkeye

Played by Jeremy Renner, Hawkeye aka Clint Barton is the only character in the film who were not featured in the other Marvel Cinematic Universe's movies before. Because of that, he is a bit overshadowed by the other superheroes, but the movie still managed to portray his strength and agility in fighting that made him even more deserving to be in the team just like the rest of the superheroes. With his bow and arrow, he had that charisma and a cool vibe everytime he's in a fight scenes. Hopefully they will feature more of him in the upcoming movies in the series.

Thor

The mighty god of thunder was played by Chris Hemsworth. I feel like his character was a bit downplayed compared to the rest of the superheroes eventhough the incident in the film should be more personal to him because of the involvement of Loki, his adoptive brother. But he still gets plenty of screentime to charm the audience with his godly power. I just hope that they put more emotion to his character than bragging about his strength.

Black Widow

The only female superhero in the team, Black Widow (or Natasha Romanoff) is played by Scarlett Johansson. I'm glad to see that they had developed her character into a more prominent role in the team. She's not just an eye candy or someone's love interest, she's a fighter and she fights alongside the boys against the alien enemies. I like strong female character and Scarlett Johansson certainly played her character well.

Hulk

Dr. Bruce Banner or Hulk as he was called when he turned big and green, played exceptionally well by Mark Ruffalo, seems like the unwelcome superhero in the team. But I'm happy to see that he has a fan in the form of Tony Stark. I like the scene where he had a conversation with Tony Stark aboard the SHIELD aircraft carrier. Mark Ruffalo's interpretation of Dr. Bruce Banner @ Hulk was refreshing and a great addition to the film. His character was certainly my favourite from all the other superheroes of The Avengers. Hopefully  they won't change the actor anymore for this character.


There you have it, my take on the superheroes that were featured in The Avengers. As I wrote above, my favourite pick is the Hulk. What about you?

Images from Yahoo! and Screen Rant.

Carly Rae Jepsen ~ Expanding career, maybe?

When I first heard Call Me Maybe on the radio, I almost switched channel. I thought it would be another new dance track from another new artist. Not that it would be bad if it was true, but I was looking for a song that I knew and can sing along to, I was driving you see, so I need the entertainment. But just I was about to press the button to another radio station, the song started to pick up and finally arrived at its chorus, and I was like, "Hey, this song is not bad!" It's a cute song, catchy with easy tune that people can sing along to even if its the first time people listening to it.

Of course I didn't know who the singer was. It was only on coincidence that I found out that Carly Rae Jepsen was the voice behind Call Me Maybe through YouTube. I thought she was a new artist but then I found out that she was a contestant in the fifth season of Canadian Idol and she already had several singles released in Canada as well. Oops!...My mistake. So she had been active for several years already and it seems that only now she began to expand her career to US and Asia. Good for her. I really like Call Me Maybe and I can't wait to hear other music from her. Hopefully she will gain success in her expanding music career.

You can click here to watch the funny music video of Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen. Enjoy!

Image from Wikipedia page.