[FIRST IMPRESSION] Samurai Champloo

Plot:

A young man with a hot temper finds himself in a teahouse where the son of the village prefect is eating. The prefect’s son threatens one of the waitresses and she strikes a deal with the man to protect herself. The man, a wanderer named Mugen, launches into action.

Another man, a swordsman named Jin, saves a peasant from being executed by the prefect’s bodyguards. Jin arrives at the teahouse and is pulled into the fight after Mugen deems him a suitable opponent. In the ensuing chaos, the teahouse is set on fire and both Mugen and Jin are captured, before being sentenced to death.

The waitress, Fuu, makes it her responsibility to free the two men so they can help her find someone: a samurai who smells like sunflowers.

[FIRST IMPRESSION] Tokyo Ghoul 東京喰種

Plot:

In an alternate version of Tokyo, where beings known as Ghouls hunt and eat people, Kaneki Ken leads a relatively normal life. He’s painfully shy, but plucks up the courage to ask out a girl who frequents his favourite café. She seems perfect; she’s pretty, likes the same things as Kaneki, and she even seems interested in him too. After their date, he walks her home… and soon realises she wants him for completely different reasons. She’s a Ghoul, but before she can kill him, she’s crushed by falling scaffolding and dies. Kaneki wakes up in hospital, with a strange eye and a new-found thirst for human flesh…

Cowboy Bebop Watch-Along {Part 2/2}

It took me approximately two weeks to watch a 26 episode series so clearly my binge-watching skills are slipping. Here’s part two of my Cowboy Bebop live-blog, but you can find part one here…

Cowboy Bebop Watch-Along {Part 1/2}

Thanks to Viceland actually airing anime on TV in the UK, I’m finally getting around to watching Cowboy Bebop. And because it’s such a popular series, I decided to do something different and live-blog my thoughts at the same time as watching it…

[J-Lit] My Reading List: Autumn 2017

Now that I’ve finished everything on my old reading list, it’s time for a brand new one. I may still be a novice to Japanese literature but I don’t see myself slowing down any time soon…

[FINAL IMPRESSION] Spring 2017 春

For me, finding new series to watch in Spring 2017 was more difficult than usual, thanks to my list of rules that I’d decided to follow. But it was a challenge that I was more than happy to accept, and even if I wouldn’t have usually chosen a few of the anime I’ve watched, it’s definitely given me a break from the countless high school series out there.

To check out my first impression of each series, click the links in the titles.

Life Update 4 (a.k.a. Things Are Changing)

First of all, I want to apologise for not posting anything for the last few weeks. I’ve had one unfinished post and two ideas sitting in the back of my brain with no set completion date and even if I have the motivation to write, I don’t necessarily have the time.

Second of all, I want to explain why. Over the last nine months, I’ve been trying to leave the job I have and start a career that actually uses the degrees I worked hard to earn.  And now, I’ve been successful…

[REVIEW] Attack on Titan Season 2

Attack on Titan Season 2 is Spring 2017’s most eagerly anticipated series by miles, and quite possibly the most eagerly anticipated sequel in anime history. Four years, two live action movies, two spin-off series and a video game later, the franchise that took the world by storm in 2013 doesn’t look like it’s about to slow down.

[J-Lit] My Reading List: Summer 2017

As someone who used to read a lot as a kid, and spent a large portion of high school in the library, I love books.  During university, I didn’t really have the time to read for pleasure, so after five years of academic journals and textbooks, I’ve decided that it’s time to make time.

Here’s what I’ll be reading this summer…

5 Foods I Miss From Japan

It’s now been exactly seven months since I got back from studying abroad in Japan, and occasionally I find myself missing things. They’re small things… like the tune that played when it was safe to cross the road, the vending machines everywhere, and even the toilet slippers. But one of the things I miss most is the food. I wouldn’t call myself a ‘foodie’ but I am a girl who likes to eat. Here are the foods that I miss the most…