BONJOUR♪Sweet Love Patisserie

This 5 minute long episode series can be found on Crunchyroll. It is still airing but will have 24 episodes all together. It’s set up very much like an otome series with a host of good looking bishi guys surrounding the very cute main character.

You follow Sayuri a very soft spoken girl who has gotten a scholarship into a very prestigious culinary school. Within the school there are three very handsom and different teachers that each have a culinary specialty. They all seem to be drawn to Sayuri and become fast friends with her which seems a little fast and odd. There is also some interesting classmates she has to deal with on a daily basis some who are very annoying and some who are very friendly. The principle of the school is very strict and seems to have some sort of secret that has been hinted at. She also has some connection to Ryo, Sayuri’s classmate who likes her.

It’s a cute series but very short. Some of it is a little silly but its nice sometimes to watch silly sweet things.

What do you think of this series? Who’s your favorite leading male character? What’s your favorite dessert? :3

Fruits Basket

Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya is a very special series for me. The series ran from 1998 to 2006 and consisted of 23 volumes , it was the first manga series I fell in love with. I started reading the series when I was a young teen and right away I become engrossed in the story and characters. I obsessively awaited the next volume and the three months between them was not fun. Once I got the next volume I just read all the ones I owned over and over again then had to patiently wait for another few months. The year the box set of the anime series came out I got it for Christmas and spent the entire day watching all 26 episodes in one sitting. I enjoyed the anime series but there are some very important things that are changed and the story only goes through about volume 8 of the manga.

The story follows Tohru Honda and the Sohma family who are cursed by the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac plus one outcast Cat. Yuki and Kyo who are the same age as Tohru are the main characters next to Tohru. A few of the members take Tohru in as she is an orphan and for a time homeless. She finds out about the curse after several unfortunate events and is oddly allowed to stay with the family. Usually outsiders are forbidden from learning the secret and avoided. There is so much to the story and each character is well written. They all have their own problems and are all helped by this very special girl to grow and overcome issues.

I can re read this series over and over again, it starts out light and slowly becomes more serious and complicated as the characters grow. It has comedy, romance, and drama. This series will always be high if not number 1 on my favorite manga list. Definitely check it out if you haven’t already.

What do you think of this series? Who is your favorite character out of the diverse characters? Let me know in the comments.

~How I got into Asian Dramas~

I love Asian Dramas! There is not enough time in the day to watch them all! >_<

The first time I watched an Asian drama was when I was in 8th grade and obsessed with all sorts of anime and manga. One of the series I was really into was called “Hana Kimi” it’s a manga series and I was bummed that there wasn’t an anime. While looking for an anime for the series I came across the “Hana Kimi Taiwan drama” and thought it was cool that there was a live-action. From the first episode I dived in head first and never looked back. I would spend hours watching the series and would get in trouble on more than one occasion for taking so much bandwidth up from the internet . I loved the actors who portrayed my favorite characters and began to want to know more about them and the other things they did.

From “Hana Kimi Taiwan” I found the Japanese version and slowly just started to watch all sorts of dramas that were usually based off of manga series. After awhile I backed off the dramas until I was in 10th grade. During this year I met some great friends from Korea while they were here with an exchange program. I quickly became fairly close with them and they would talk about a specific Korean drama sometimes called “Boys over Flowers”. After finding out I liked Dramas we all started watching the series when the episodes would air and then talk about them at school. We would usually chat about Lee Min Ho’s character Jun Pyo with his beautimus curls >_<, no matter what country you are from girls will be girls.

It was great that we could all share something like this drama and it was a great connection. I’m still friends with them and talk to them often over Kakao Talk, I ask them which Dramas they are into and they will suggest several which I will then go start watching right away so we can all talk about them ^_^.

I watch a lot more now being pulled into them again with much intensity because of the series “You’re Beautiful” and “Absolute Darling”, these are some of my favorite series I just watch over and over (mainly just my favorite parts. I find myself cracking up much of the time and have been caught by my husband bawling like a baby other times while watching Dramas. They are fun and light but also serious, I love the stories and like finding a few select actors I take a shine to.

Do you like Asian Dramas? What are some of your favorite series and actors? Let me know in the comments!

Me and My Brothers

Story and art by: Hari Tokeino. The series consists of 11 volumes.

Sakura is 14 and after losing her parents when she was 3 she has now lost her grandmother, leaving her alone. One day she comes home to her 4 older brothers who she apparently lived with before her parents died though she doesn’t remember them at all. Each brother is unique but all dote on their little sister more than anything else.

There is the oldest Masashi who is a romance novelist and is very feminine in his mannerisms and choice of attire most of the time. The second oldest Takashi, a Japanese teacher and a calm gentleman. Tsuyoshi, a “full-time part-timer” who is a little rough talking and acting but is very sweet and bashful when it comes to his little sister. Lastly there is Takeshi the youngest of the four, he shadows his brothers in stature and looks older and intimidating but in reality he is very quite and soft spoken, he also loves gardening.

Sakura gets to know her brothers and has to get used to them being together again. It’s a fun comedy with a dollop of surprising romance and lots of interesting secondary characters. I thought this series was light and silly with its exciting serious moments. Those brothers will go all out for their beloved sister!

If you’ve read it let me know what you thought of it and who your favorite brother was in the comments! 🙂

My little Monster

By Robico, this shojo anime was aired Oct. 1st to Dec 24th 2012.

This series focuses on the relationship between Shizuku Mizutani, and Haru Yoshida. Shizuku’s only interest is in studying for the future so she can get a good job with good pay. Haru rarely attends school because of people thinking he is a monster because of his rough ways.

Shizuku takes some printouts to Haru who sees her as a friend, which he has few to none. He is poor at human interactions but is kind and gentle when you get to know him.  They both have social problems but grow together and make a few other friends as well.

This story has a lot to do with trying to make room for both responsibilities and recreation that is normal for teens. It also shows that sometimes your first impressions of people may be very wrong and that you should get to know a person before making judgments.

Tell me what you thought of this series in the comments 🙂

Say “I Love You.”

“Say “I love you'” by Kanae Hazuki is a romance comedy slice of life shojo manga and Anime. The anime adaptation aired between Oct. 6th and Dec. 30th 2012 it consisted of 13 episodes.

It’s about a quite reclusive girl Mei Tachibana who has a hard time trusting others because of an incident when she was younger. Through a less than desirable circumstance Mei meets the Popular Yamato Kurosawa and shortly after nearly kicks him in the face. Yamato takes an interest in the odd Mei who wants nothing to do with him fearing imminent betrayal. After saving her and continuing to pursue getting to know her Yamato gets Mei to open up to him slowly and she becomes friends with him and a few of his friends.

Many of the characters have their own problems that are very real and common, this story shows how important having friends and being honest with yourself and others is. I really enjoyed this series, it was cute and heartwarming and touched on some very real high school issues many people face.

Have you watched or read Say “I Love You”? What did you think about it? Let me know in the comments. ^-^