February: Nearing The End
Hello readers. We are just a week away from yet another month. The first quarter of the year will soon hit its grand finale. The feelings of those times sneaking past our minds while we continue to be immersed in commitments and such are just indescribable. It is nothing unusual though, for many of us would probably shrug those feelings off or remark just how fast time flies. Anyway, there are still relatively slower moments which might prove to be essential, depending on how you see them. Some are naturally self-imposed, like for example when there is a glaring backlog hiding somewhere and you finally decide that it would be useless trying to pull out more hair in frustration as certain things just keep on growing. The revelations are scarier than most horror movies.
Thankfully, some stuff are rather easy to savour and digest in the midst of chaos. I still firmly believe that manga is absolutely necessary to maintain a certain degree of sanity, unless somebody feels that waiting for at least an hour for their favourite anime to stop buffering every few seconds is far more therapeutic. Receptivity in public transport is seriously like a tiny drop of morning dew. Well, I'm surprised myself by just how enjoyable a long bus ride can be sometimes. A hundred odd pages of illustrated panels, speech bubbles, dialogue, narrations, background effects, blah blah blah, could just etch into the mind within a short period of time. Then, you would wish that there was more. I did.
Speaking of which, shortly after I had posted my writing on the anime adaptation of Oshiete! Galko-chan, I got my hands on both volumes of the manga from Books Kinokuniya. The illustration style of its manga artist Suzuki Kenya is vastly different from other titles that I have read so far. The manga is visually a lot bolder, and at times quite graphic though still considered mildly detailed. I believe that the panels are drawn using ballpoint strokes, or something which resembles ballpoint. Maybe a pencil? Whatever the tools are, the manga is indeed refreshing and a treat for the eyes. Pun may be intended. Oh, another interesting fact about it is that at the side of the panel of each page is a brief introduction of the main characters (and gradually the supporting characters) with slight variations like favourite food, hobbies, preferences for intimates, blah blah blah.
Who likes Do As Infinity here? Gosh, it has been a long, long, very long time since I last listened to their music. I still remember Yesterday & Today, which was like 16 years ago or something. It served as the theme song for Nisennen no Koi or Love 2000, starring Kaneshiro Takeshi and Nakayama Miho. Well, I wouldn't be too surprised if nobody else had heard of it. After all, it has been that long. Anyway, I have stumbled upon not one but two albums from Do As Infinity. The albums are differentiated by colour and titled 2 of Us (Blue) - 14 Re:SINGLES - and 2 of Us (Red) - 14 Re:SINGLES - respectively. Clearly, I have no idea what happened to the band. Nonetheless, from the albums it is evident that the numbers are re-arrangements and re-recordings of their hit singles.
I have to say that while the songs are still nice, I'm not much of a fan of unplugged music for a substantial period of time, if anybody could understand what that means. That said though, being able to listen to Do As Infinity after such a long interval is like a timely reunion with a couple of old friends. Familiar songs like Tooku Made, Shinjitsu no Uta, under the sun, and of course Yesterday & Today have immediately connected with my soul. I had a couple of numbers on repeat during my bus ride! That also made me want to dig out the one or two albums from back then which I had bought. Gosh, I didn't realise just how much I had missed those times.
We are just a week away from March. What will the remaining days ahead bring? Meanwhile, read more manga, watch more anime and listen to more music! If you are a gamer, play more games but do remember to rest appropriately!
Eccentrically Yours.
Written by J.Fluffysheep ♪
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