Wow, it sucks being poor. I'm stuck eating my roommates' food which just consists of ravioli, and ramen noodles. That is not foshizzle. We ran out of toilet paper last night, and no one is buying any. I grabbed up some scratch change, and bought a roll off a friend. Ghetto, I know. But atleast I know I'm covered until friday. Friday, Wendy (my mother) is visiting and dropping off a bunch of stuff in addition to giving me some money. Also, I'll be finally getting my got-damn financial aid money! Don't know how long that'll long, though. Money goes fast, it sucks. Did I mention I still don't have a job? Ugh! I should just whore myself out to desperate (very desperate) customers.

Lately I've been listening to alot of Beyonce and JAY-Z stuff. I'm sure Rosie would be so proud! Seriously, I just listen to Single Ladies, and Empire State of Mind in a fucking loop. Over, and over again. I saw the video for Empire State of Mind the other day, it was just as I imagined. I wasn't expecting Alicia Keys with the piano though. Seriously, does she have her piano in EVERY video? Alicia must never leave home without it. I need to listen to more of her songs, I haven't heard anything other than No One. Yeah, I'm corny. I know, I know. I still listen to Paparazzi every now and then too. I'm such a piece of shit. I am impressed that Lady Gaga is a guinea. That was ignorant.


Not sure if I mentioned this, but I'm apart of three different clubs at school. Improv Club, Comic Book Club, and Anime Club. Only one of those is really good. I'm talkin' 'bout Improv. We have a blast in that club, doing skits, acting out, and other crazy shit. I had a kinda bad time last week. It was the typical, me not being able to take some simple teasing. I dish it, but I can't take it. It's no big deal, I just have to learn how to grow a backbone. Comic book club is alright, we haven't done anything in it yet. I haven't gone since the first day. Not because I don't like it, but because Emily is in it. I try to avoid her as much as I can. Sorry. The anime club is a joke. We've had six meetings, and we haven't done shit until today. We were suppose to watch Astro Boy but the dumb ass running the club "forgot". Instead we search different anime openings off Youtube. Of course, I suggested the idea. I also pretty much hi-jacked the club.

We saw various intros, including Cutie Honey. Everyone seemed to enjoy it, and laugh at the right parts. Thankfully for them, they didn't say anything bad about it. If they did, I was about to flip out up in that bitch. We also watched Devilman, Dirty Pair, Urusei Yatsura, Ranma 1/2, Cybersix and Machine Robo. I was impressed, they actually knew some old school titles! Hell yes!  They bitched about the opening to Cybersix though. Because you know, it was in English, and anything "American" is "fail". By the way, if you say "fail", don't you ever talk to me. After that, we watched the first episode of Bubble gum Crisis. I haven't seen that in years, infact, I saw it back when it was on the Action channel. I could barely watch the episode due to everyone talking and goofing on the show. Jesus. And they weren't even funny, just corny. "HAHA. LOOK. SHE STICKS OUT LIKE A SORE THUMB WITH THAT RED JACKET. JUST LIKE NARUTO. HA" See what I mean? Oh geez.

After that, I suggested we watch Ebichu. They all thought it was funny, but I was so surprised they didn't get the jokes. In one scene, Ebichu says master has a "dark brown triangle". That joke flew over so many heads, it wasn't even funny. "She's talking about her buccia guys". What a sad bunch of virgins. I mean, really. By the first sex scene, the president of the club freaked out, and clicked out of it. Then I suggested we watched Nekojiru. They all laughed, but all assumed it was old due to it's limited animation. THE FUCKERS! Next week I'm gonna try to see if I can get them to watch Cutie Honey. I doubt it'll happen, but shit, I'll try.

Damn it. I can't stop listening to Paparazzi by Lady Gaga. I'm so ashamed. Quick, someone play something by Beyonce! Anyway, it's Halloween. And it sucks. This is offically the first year I've spent Halloween alone. No friends, no family, nobody. Even my fucking roommates left. Thursday night, my one roommate come in my room saying "Oh yeah, we're leaving for the weekend. Peace." Oh, how nice. But it doesn't even matter. Even if they were here, I doubt I wouldn't done anything with them. Infact, last week they went to a costume party (don't ask me why they did it a WEEK BEFORE HALLOWEEN) and didn't ask if I wanted to go. My friends at school we're all going back home. My one friend Alyssa, is here, but she's sick. So she's useless. And then there's Emily, but she pisses me off. So fuck her. Takeena is at her mother's this week, so she's gonna be a ghost until Monday. Oh, and I have a ton of homework to do. I told myself I was gonna do it all Friday, and Saturday. Guess what? I did one assignment today and probably won't do the rest until tomorrow night. Because I'm smart like that. On a side note, I'm using the computers in the Dorm's computer lab. They suck so much fucking ass. They're all shitty and slow. Forget watching anything on Youtube. Takes an hour just to load a minute long video.

I signed up for this Trick or Treating event at the dorms. I thought it was a gonna be a huge group of college students going around trick-or-treating in the city. Instead, I found out I was going to be giving out candy. Not to children, but to fellow students in the dorms. Fuck. So 5 o' clock rolls around, I slap my halloween make up on (I was basically The Joker - I wanted to look like a ghetto Frank n. Furter, but that didn't work out), and get the candy from the Dorm Office. I didn't get alot of people. The first person that came was a girl in a Bob Marley shirt. I asked her what her costume was. "College Student!". C'mon people. I get you're poor college students... but can't you slapped together something?! Then I had a group lead by a gay, 4 foot , cheaply done Michael Jackson. I opened the door, and said "What do you say?".

"I'm Michael Jackson!"
"...I don't care who you are. What are the magic words?"
"...WELL *gay diva mood* SOMEBODY'S RUDE...."
"...It was a joke. C'mon Micky"

Even though I gave him candy, and seemed to patch things up with him - he went on to talk shit. The next group was like "WE HEARD YOU WERE RUDE". Jesus. I gave them the whole fucking bowl of candy. They were cool though, and greeted me with a Wendy Williams' "How you doin'?". That was sweet, and I of course, returned the gesture. In which they replied "HOW YOU DOIN! You ain't rude!". What a bunch of nice girls. I got some more candy from the office (they probably thought I just fucking ate it all), and got one more group of trick or treaters. They were mainly Fashion students, a girl in all pink (I doubt it was a costume) and a giant gay Latino man dressed as a woman. I opened the door creepily, and tried to channel Tim Curry. They dug it. They then asked me a bunch of questions like "Is this how you always act?" and shit like that. But they were sweet, and said they were gonna say good things about me to the Office. Not sure why but it was sweet of them.

After that I went to the "party". The party was alright, but wasn't real exciting. Everybody was just there for the free food. It was in a small dorm, so we couldn't really dance or anything. They did have some good music playing, JAY Z and Beyonce stuff. I had to control myself from getting on the dance floor and gettin' my Single Ladies on. Joking. It wrapped up within an hour, and I went walking around. Not alot was going on, there seems to be a party next door at Blick's Art Supplies. I would go, but I saw a bouncer. So chances are it's just invite, or you need to be 21. Fuck them. Now I'm chilling in the fucking computer lab listening to Single Ladies. Yes, I finally turned off Paparazzi.

When I get back to my dorm, I'm going to watch The Rocky Horror Picture show, and take a shower. I need to wash all this shit off. Anyway, hoped everyone else (oh wait... no one reads my LJ) has a good Halloween. Chupopopo!

Anyone who knows me, knows Cutie Honey is my all time favorite TV series. Cutie Honey is a 1973 series created by the genius Go Nagai. It first debuted in Shonen Champion in October 1973, while the anime series by Toei Douga later premiered on NET TV. While both series aired, other manga adaptions of Cutie Honey were printed in Bouken-Oh, TV Magazine, TV Land, Nakayoshi, and other magazines. The TV series aired with 25 episodes, airing from October 1973 to March 1974. Over the years, Cutie Honey has been remade in two OVAs, another anime TV series, a live action movie, a live action TV series, a video game, and countless manga series.

It's just a normal day for Kisaragi Honey. Sneaking out of mass, escaping the claws of her demented teachers, and running away from school. As Honey runs away, she suddenly hears a voice coming from her earring! It's her father! He tells her her earrings act as a speaker so he can communicate with her. Her father then begs her to come home quickly, and mentions "Panther Claw". Honey steals her teacher's scooter, but doesn't really know how to work it. He father tells her to touch the heart on her necklace, and yell "Honey Flash!". She follows her father's orders. Suddenly, her clothes begin to melt away and reappear in the form of a racer's uniform! Not only that, but she's somehow managed to steal a random man's motorcycle! Confused, she continues to race home. Upon arrival, she finds a group of thugs in suits. She beats the day-lights-out of them, but is very confused on how she managed to do that. She looks around her house for her father, and finds him - dead in his laboratory.

The owner of the motorcycle Honey stole, turns out to be journalist Hayami Seiji. He traces Honey back to her house, and demands some answers. He angrily enters, demanding to find this "long haired thief". Seiji finds Honey crying over her father's body, and asked what happened. She's unsure herself, but knows "Panther Claw" must've killed her father. At first Seiji sees this as a big scoop, but (after getting a slap from a hysterical Honey) decides to keep Honey's secret, and promises to help her fight Panther Claw. The manager of Panther Claw's Japan Branch, Sister Jill, orders Black Claw back to Prof. Kisaragi's house. Even though he's dead, they can still find his invention - the "Fixed System of Air Elements". With it, they can create an endless amount of jewels and other things "women desire".

Seiji and Honey investigate the laboratory for clues, and find a robot in the image of Prof. Kisaragi! The robot has a pre-recorded message, and tells Honey everything. Honey is really a transforming android, and inside her body is the Fixed System of Air Elements. The system can create anything from thin air. Even though she is machine, he raised her and loved her as if she were really his daughter ("What is a human? What is a robot?"). He warns her Panther Claw are after the invention in her body,  and she must never let them get it. He bids farewell to his beautiful daughter. Filled with sorrow, and rage - Honey swears to get revenge and kill all of Panther Claw. That night, Black Claw and her minions attack the Kisaragi house. Using her superhuman abilities, and transformations - Honey easily defeats them. However, her battle is far from over, as more underlings are being sent from Sister Jill and Panther Zora.

The first ten or so episodes set up the story and introduce all the characters. There is Aki Natsuko, Honey's best friend and roommate at Saint Chapel Academy. Then we have the demented faculty of Saint Chapel. Tsuneni Miharu, or as she is commonly known as "Histora/Histler" (A pun on "Hisu/Hysteria" and "Hitora/Hitler"). She is a mean, old spinster, who mainly acts as a hall monitor. Miharu is always falling for Honey's pranks, to the point of crying. She knows how to work a whip, and is out to get Honey. Later on, she earns respect for Honey. She later claims Honey "entertains" her. There's Alphonne-sensei, the moustache-sporting lesbian teacher. She spents most of her time hitting on Honey, or groping herself. And finally, we have Principal Pochi, a little fat woman who's very money-hungry. Pochi doesn't show up much, and is usually busy beating the crap out of Alphonne (which is ironic, since in the manga, they were gay lovers!).

We then move on to the Hayami family. First there is Seiji, age 25/26, who is a journalist. He is the first to find out about Honey's secret, and helps her in her battle. Although they're not "offically" a couple, he is often referred to as her boyfriend. Seiji has a younger brother, named Junpei, age 10. He's the typical annoying-younger-brother sidekick, and has a huge crush on Honey. He also has a girlfriend named Mami, who usually hits him for staring at Honey. Junpei and Seiji's father is Danbei. He is  master of various forms of martial arts, and is even a ninja! He acts as a kind of father figure to Honey (although he would prefer to have her as a girlfriend).

During the first set of episodes, Honey battles Panther Claw as they attack her or target some sort of rare treasure (Buddha Statues, Crown, etc.). We're treated to some really wacky characters, bizarre villains, and even more bizarre plots. A perfect example is episode 6 - Dreams Torn, The Black Scissors. The Queen of Toreador, Dirty Marie, is invited to the grand opening of the new theme park, Scissors Land (Oh! How fun!). The theme park infact, is a trap by Scissors Claw in an attempt to steal Dirty Marie's "Queen Ring". With the ring, they will have the throne to Toreador. Episode 6 is a perfect example of how funky and delicious crazy Cutie Honey is. We're treated to strange attractions, like a haunted house in the shape of a coffin. A wax museum with statues of The Beatles, Marylin Monroe, Napoleon, and Tarzan. We're also treated to Honey dressed up as Marie Antoinette, swinging an axe, and beheading Panther Claw minions. The next few episodes, we're treated to an homage to Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds, and a Claw who uses her breasts as a weapon. Episode 12 is very well-known, as it was the last episode Shingo Araki worked on (he did the character designs for the series) and this episode was showcased at the Toei Manga Matsuri of 1974. The episode is about Sea Panther, a minion who was once a mermaid. She joined Panther Claw to get revenge for her sister's death. Episodes 13 through 15 mark the turning point of the story.

( Even more under the cut... )

 


Tokimeki Tonight is an anime series by GROUP TAC based on Ikeno Koi's manga of the same name. The story is about teenager Eto Ranze who is the daugther of a vampire and werewolf. Almost every night, she has to deal with her parents fighting or arguing. Most of the time it's just her mother Shiela (a werewolf) being psycho, and beating up Ranze's father - Mori (a vampire). She also has a younger brother Rinze, and a talking family pet bird - Peck.

When she finally attends a public school, Ranze falls head over heels for the class badboy: Makabe Shun. Unfortunately for her, the rich daughter of a Yazuka boss, Kamiya Yoko already has her eyes on him. When the two girls get into a fight, Ranze ends up biting Yoko on the neck. Ranze is shocked by her actions, and even more shocked that she's transformed into Yoko! She runs home to find out what's going on, and it seems she's come of age. It turns out Ranze can transform into anyone, or anything by simpling biting them and can revert back by sneezing. Her parents explain their people are "Monsters" and come from the "Makai" (world of magic/demon world/yadada). They then show Ranze a "secret door" that leads to the Makai, and explains Ranze will have to marry a fellow monster, as it's the law. Ranze is very upset, as she only wants to be with Makabe-kun.

The first few episodes set up the story and are directly adapted from the manga. Ranze deals with her new powers, deals with her rivalery with Yoko, and tries to get closer with Makabe-kun. In episode 5, Shiela and Mori are both summoned to the Makai by the King. Ranze sneaks along, as this'll be her first time there. We are then introduced to Sand, a messanger and servant of the King. He just screams "80's" and looks like the guy from that old movie Labyrinth. As her parents go to speak with the king, Ranze is left in the care of Prince Aron. He is the heir to the throne, and falls in love with Ranze. The King reveals to Shiela and Mori that he has a long-lost son in the human world. He should be a teenager now, and has a star-shaped birthmark under his arm. The King orders the two of them to find him.

The next few episodes are episodic, and don't do alot to add to the main storyline. Ranze slowly becomes closer to Shun, and other people around her. One being Kamiya Tamasaborou, Yoko's father. He's a big goofy-looking guy, who actually has a crush on Shun's mother. He also owns the GYM where Shun practices boxing. Ranze also runs into another beings from the Makai, one being Miel, an invisible girl. Episodes 13-15 invole a short story arc, where Ranze is accidentally bitten by her mother, and becomes a werewolf. But instead of transforming when she sees a full moon, she changes whenever she sees a circular object. Yoko comes close to discovering her secret, and tries to convince everyone Ranze is really a "tanuuki". Thankfully Ranze returns to her normal self (well, as normal as she was anyways) thanks to her grandma Lala. Aron makes a visit to the human world to see Ranze. There he meets Yoko and Shun. He becomes very jealous, and is upset Ranze clearly isn't into him. The next set of episodes are episodic again, but really seem to kick in the crazy factor. One of my favorites episodes (and the first one I saw in Italy) is entitled "Love Letter from E.T.", where Shun recieves a lover letter from someone with the initals "E.T". This instantely freaks out Ranze, and she imagines E.T (dressed as a schoolgirl) with Shun. It later turns out E.T. is really the school thug, Emiko who kidnaps Shun. Insanity ensures, as Yoko and Ranze try to save Shun.

Episodes 24 to 26 are the turning point of the series. Aaron longs for Ranze, and transports her, Yoko, and Shun to the Makai. There he reveals Ranze's secret. With the help of her invisible friend, Miel she tries to escape with everyone. After losing a duel with Shun, Aron sends everyone back to the human world. Thankfully for Ranze, Yoko and Shun don't remember the incident at all. However, this all changes in the next episode. Ranze reveals her secret to Shun, when she transforms into a dog to save a baby. The Eto family must now return to the Makai, and kill Shun. Ranze begs them not to, and says if they kill him, they'll have to kill her as well. Her parents then agree to just leave, and spare Shun. Before they leave, Ranze goes to see Shun and explain everything to him. He can't believe it and doesn't want to say goodbye. As her family travels to the Makai kingdom, Shun follows them. Then Ranze finally reveals her feelings to Shun, and tells him why they must leave. Mori comes to an agreement, and makes Shun swear to keep their true identities secret. He agrees, and Ranze runs into his arms.

In the next episode, the King captures Shun and has him put in the Execuation Ship. Because Shun has seen the Makai, he must die. Ranze goes to save Shun, while her parents go to talk to the King. The King decides to spare their lives, and everyone returns back home. The next episode is about Shun getting into a boxing match with an American boxer named Rocky (yup, this episode is FILLED with Rocky references). It actually is very Shun x Ranze centered, and shows that Shun "chooses" Ranze over Yoko. The remaining episodes are a very mix bag, and really mess up the pacing of the series. You get some episodes directly taken from the manga, and a few new stories like Ranze imaging everyone in prehistoric times. Because the anime ended almost 20 years before the manga, the last episode is completely original.

After nearly 30 episodes, the subplot regarding the "long lost prince" is finally brought back into the picture. It turns out Shun is really the prince! Mori, Shiela, and Ranze are thrilled about this. Ranze is especially happy because this means she'll be able to marry Shun. As they all go to the Makai, Shun is forced to take a test proving he's the true prince. After completing the task, he confronts the King. There he denies being the prince, and states his "star-shaped birthmark" is really a bruise he got from boxing. The king becomes furious, and banishes the Eto family from his kingdom until they can find his son. The door to the Makai is sealed. Everything seems to go on the same as usual. Ranze is a bit upset Shun isn't the prince, but doesn't mind because "he'll always be her prince". Back at Shun's house, he looks at his star-shaped bruise. His mother sees him, and reveals the bruise is actually a birthmark. The next morning, Ranze and Shun are running late for school. He tries to tell Ranze about his birthmark, but Yoko interrupts the conversion. As they run late to school, they all trip, and the series closes with a special ending that features the main cast dancing, while only wearing vampire capes. It was a parody of the usual ending, "Super Love Lotion", which features Ranze dancing only wearing a cape.

I found out about Tokimeki Tonight during a trip to Italy. The series is actually pretty well known there (atleast to the 20-25 age group), and still reairs from time to time. The series grabbed my interest, and I actually downloaded the Italian episodes when I came home. This was back in 2004. At the time Italian episodes were the only ones you could find. The Japanese dub was pretty rare, and was never released on video (aside from some recapping "OVA"s). That all changed in the pass year. I was thrilled to find out the series was being released in Italy with not only the Italian dub, but the original Japanese audio as well! This was great news, and I put out some serious cash to get both boxsets. Unfortunately, I wasn't too happy with what I got. As far as packaging goes, it was great. The company (Yamato Video) did a great job designing the sets. Too bad they did a shitty job with everything else. The picture and audio was decent. I'm guessing they only had the original TV masters, but they did their best to clean it up. Too bad it wasn't good enough. A big problem with the set was that it was EDITED.

The Italian dub wasn't actually censored per see, but a few things were changed/cut. The opening song "Tokimeki Tonight" and ending song "Super Love Lotion" were replaced with the song "Ransie la Strega". A rather cute song, it actually fits. The original title cards were actually shaped like bats, and were narrated by Ranze. The Italian dub uses a generic red screen with the episode title in place, but with the same music. The Italian dub removed the original eyecatchers, which features Ranze holding an umbrella while the series logo appeared. The music for the next previews was original a short instrumental of the opening theme. In the Italian dub, they play the song "Ransie la Strega" which continued onto the ending credits. For whatever reasons, certain episode previews were removed. But the biggest cut of all was in the last episode. Originally the last episode featured a special ending that had the whole cast dancing in a parody of "Super Love Lotion". Instead, only the normal ending theme played. Now, one would expect the DVD release to return all this footage right? 

Wrong. Everything that was cut from the Italian dub, remained cut on the DVD. And you know what that means? Even the Japanese version got censored! Infact, every episode on the Japanese track has random skip in music due to the removal of the eyecatchers. Way to go Yamato Video. One thing that did return was the last episode ending. But even that got screwed up. In the normal ending, it begins with a drop of water falling as a hand (Ranze's) reaches out and grabs it. In the last episode ending this doesn't happen, instead it cuts right away with the hand grabbing the drop of water. Infact, the last scene of the episode leads DIRECTLY into the ending. For whatever reason, Yamato Video decided to add in the animation of the hand reaching out. And in the process, once again fucking up the Japanese audio track. Thankfully, shortly after the Italian sets came out, it was annouced Toho Video would be releasing the series in Japan. I've gotten the Japanese set a month ago, and I'm very please with it. Everything wrong with the Italian set was fixed.

The anime was loosely based on the manga, and only covered the first three volumes. The manga continued until the late 90s, I believe, and the story changed over time. The first sixteen volumes deal with Ranze, then focuses on Rinze (her younger brother), and finally on Ranze's daughter. Most fans prefer the manga, and alot of fans didn't really know about the anime.

I was reminded the other day, I haven't posted in awhile. Things have been same old, same old I guess. Maybe not. For the first time, in well, ever, I saved money. By friday (payday) I should have over 600 dollars! I'm gonna try to transfer 200 to my savings account, so I can save up for my trip to Italy. I also want to save up, so I can FINA-FUCKIN-LY BUY THE REST OF MAHOU NO MAKO-CHAN. There has been some drama at work, I'll get to that next.

As of now, we have five cooks, four cashiers, three people at the bowling side, and two managers (plus a mechanic). After a really rough beginning with one cook, I get along with all of them now. The way my hours are now, I usually get to work with each one atleast once a week. In the mornings (and only the mornings) there's Ms. Connie. She's cool, she's from the east coast too (Philly), and I'm friends with her daughter Amber. Connie is super nice, and has a HUGE family. I think she has 6, or 7 kids. It's cute, because they're mostly girls and ALL look like her. It's like a Ms. Connie-army. Then of course, there's Ruby who mainly works the afternoon. We're really close, and I can joke and talk to her like she's my age. We talked about the most horrible, and nastiest things in that kitchen. We find some way to relate any food to something sexual. Then there's Chrisitana, who I had a rough time with. She still occasionally annoys me, just because she's... an annoying person. But she's kinda cool, and we complain to eachother about work. And last, there's JP and Sissy. JP is a cool guy, but I'm surprised he still has a job (or hasn't been written up). He's extremely lazy, and has been a no-show for about five times now. But all he gets is a yelling, WHY. Sissy is my homegirl, and usually hooks me up with food. She's Thai, and has a hard time understanding English at time. Sissy is very loving, and takes care of everyone around her.

The only original cashiers are my job, are Lisa and myself. Lisa has become better to work with, though she's still fuckin' nuts. Grace, my best friend at my job, has quit. I don't blame her. The stuff she was dealing with there was bullshit, and kudos to her for finally getting away from it. She still calls me to check up on me, and is working hard in school. It was sad to see her leave. We've gotten two new cashiers: John and Mike. John is a nice guy, and was a hard workin' employee. Unfortunately, that didn't last long. Now he half-asses everything, doesn't clean half of what he's suppose to, doesn't wear his uniform, and closes early. It's funny because when I'm around, he's up to task and works hard. He's like the singing frog. What pisses me off about John is that he hasn't gotten into trouble. He closed the grill an HOUR early, and didn't even get written up. This REALLY pissed me off, since I got into trouble for giving away a few free drinks. And that was the ONLY bad thing I did. John on the other hand, fucks up with EVERYTHING. He even had his parents come in here and complain because "he didn't want to take the food out to customers". It's hard to believe he actually worked somewhere before. John also only works about two-three days a week, and constantly calls out because of soccer. I also have to wait until 5:00 for his ass to show up. Not fun. Mike is more or less gonna slowly replace John soon. Mike is really, really, really strange. He's very out of it, stinks, and just generally strange. But he's does his job, and can work almost any day so that's cool.

As for the bowling side, we still have Gary and Time. Gary only weeks fridays, and I'm surprised even still wants to work there. Tim works every other day, and torments me. He's constantly prank calling me, making a mess in the grill, or putting condoms in my backpack. But he's cool, and he's the only one there that watches E! and stuff. He's also a total pervert, and is constantly checking out girls who come in. It's funny, I imagine if my papa was still alive, he'd problemly be like Tim (only less annoying) -- talking to me about fine girls he sees and stuff. There's a new girl on the bowling side - Kylie. She's cool, but I couldn't stand her at first. She was too country for my liking, but when I started talking to her she was cool. She's a bit air-headed though. Our managers are still the same: Pam (the battle-ox) and Frank (the fatass). However, I think Frank is being forced to quit soon. It's sad, but now atleast the bathroom won't smell like dog shit anymore.

I talked to China (my oldest sister) recently, and she was telling me how she goes to school with TWO people I know from highschool. The first is my friend Michella, who I've known for awhile and was even in Ghetto Baby. She's friends with China, and was asking when I was coming back to NJ. I always feel warm and fuzzy when I know someone misses me. She couldn't believe China was my sister at first (China is mixed, all of us have different fathers). Then China told her "Yup, check out the nose". It's funny, all three of us have the same similar feature: The pointy nose. We all got it from the bitch (our mother). China and Rose have pointy, but not really big noses. My shit however is HUGE. This is because both my mom AND papa have/had big noses. I don't really mind, it makes it more obvious that I'm Italian. China doesn't like her nose, and Rose never complains. It's funny though, people will say that China and I look alike. But then people say Rose and I look alike. The only common feature I have with Rose (that I don't have with China) besides the nose is the fact were both white, have freckles, and brown hair. Anyway, back to China. China is also having problems with another girl I know named Kayla. Unlike Michella, Kayla isn't *really* my friend. I've talked to her in class, and on the bus before but we're not cool or anything. China really can't stand her, and calls her a "trailer-trash lookin' bitch". Haha.

I can't remeber if I mentioned this, or not -- but I finally finished my comic Somewhere Today. I'm not too, too happy with the way it came out. However I really want to redo the story, and have it self-published. Well, that's all I feel like writing now. Ciao-ciao!

Yeah so, I haven't uploaded my LJ in awhile. I don't know if it's because I'm lazy or because no one reads it. Maybe it's a little of both. Nothing much has been going on. I've been poor since FOREVER. And I figured out why -- My job is cheating me (AND my co-workers) out of money! Isn't that grand? I've been getting 6.07 for MONTHS now, when I should be making well over 6.65 an hour. Such bullshit. Apparently the base is looking into it, and we're suppose to get paid back all that they owe us. Yeah right, I'll believe it when I see it. Let's move on to a rant, shall we?

A new Mazinger Z TV series is underway... it was suppose to be an adaption of Z Mazinger (a Mazinger remake by Go Nagai) but now it's a Mazinger Z remake. Yeah, we already had one IT WAS CALLED MAZINKAISER. AND IT WAS FUCKING AMAZING. NO OTHER REMAKE CAN COMPARE. Seriously Japan, do we need 500 remakes of Getter Robo and Cutie Honey? How about adapting some of his other series? I'd kill to see an Abashiri Ikka, or Harenchi Gakuen TV series. Character designs, and a voice cast were released yesterday -- and I have mixed feelings. The character designs are directly based from the manga. That's cool, except Mazinkaiser already did that. Couldn't they have modified the designs a little bit? The designs actually look kind of lazy. Second is the voice cast. It looks horrible. Almost all of the actors are new, and only had experience with shitty harem-ish shows. Not cool. This is Go Nagai we're talking about, not fucking Ken Akamatsu. Why didn't they get the Mazinkaiser cast back? Shit, half of the cast was from the original TV series! I'm sure Tomita Kousei would be thrilled to play Dr. Hell again. Which brings me to another issue - Kouji's voice.

Kabuto Kouji is the main character, and has been voiced by Hiroya Ishimaru ever since 1972. He's voiced Kouji in Mazinger Z, Great Mazinger, UFO Robo Grendizer, all spin-off movies, Super Robot Wars, and even in Mazinkaiser. He is Kouji. Why he isn't voicing Kouji in this new remake is a sin. Now alot of fans are saying "well he's old", and "I don't think he could do a whole series". So? There are seiyuu who have voiced certain characters for over 30 years. Just look at the Lupin cast! With the exception of Lupin, they all one atleast one "main" seiyuu for decades. Ishimaru has proven he can still play Kouji after all these years. I know hiring new people isn't exactly bad, Ai Nagano did a great job as Honey in Cutey Honey F (it was her debut). But that's a different story. Honey has never been voiced by one person. Kouji, on the other hand, has been. (with the exception of Go Nagai's CB World, I *think*).

There's another iffy issue about it too - Boss isn't mentioned anywhere. Everyone else from Mazinger is. Sayaka, Prof. Yomi, Shiro, Dr. Hell, Baron Ashura, Count Blocken, etc. No Boss. Why is this? Boss is a fan-favorite character who brings comic relief in a super-campy robot series. Why take him out? Although I'm not too surprised about this. Just look at the Cutie Honey remakes. Half of the original cast hasn't been seen since 1973. Even good ol' Danbei hasn't been in Cutie Honey since 1997.

I'm also worried this whole thing will fall apart. The latest Go Nagai remakes haven't been anything to write home about. The Devilman movie? Trash, completely destoryed everything about the manga. The Cutie Honey movie and Re: Cutie Honey? Both took way too many liberties with the original source. Besides, Re: is just a Gainax series with Go Nagai characters in it. Kikoushi Enma? Generic horror story with Go Nagai characters in it. Hell, the creators even mentioned they were unfamiliar with Dororon Enam-kun. Kotetsushin Jeegu? Shit. Nothing about it was like the original Jeegu, or anything Go Nagai. Cutie Honey the Live? That wasn't a Cutie Honey series. I refuse to believe that was a Cutie Honey series. Nothing about it was like Cutie Honey. See the pattern here people? Most Go Nagai remakes are just shitty new anime series with Go Nagai characters in them. Except their not even Go Nagai characters. They look like them, but they certainly don't act like them. You what the sad thing is? Go Nagai is A-okay with these shitty new series. I nearly cried when he said Miki Hara played Honey perfectly. Last time I checked Cutie Honey wasn't a shatterbrain bimbo who forgave her enemies, and had trouble making friends. Eiko Masuyama played Honey perfectly, not some airheaded bikini model.

God, Jesus, Buddha, Jehova, please someone send me some fucking ideas. I've been in such a slump lately, I really can't make my ideas come to life. I have ideas, but they just don't work. I'm about to finish my current comic "Somewhere Today", but it's taking forever to end it. I wanted to end it like, 10 chapters ago but that didn't work out. Now I'm on the final two chapters, and I just... can't do them. Every time I try to draw, I get sidetracked, or I lose the hype to draw. I even started to think up a new comic. But as the days go on, I lose more and more interest in it. It's suppose to be "tamer" and more "approppriate" than my previous stuff. Meaning this time around, I can actually show it to members of my family. The problem with my other stuff is that I just can't show it to everybody. When I first meet someone, I try not to show my sketchbook filled with yaoi-jokes, constant nudity, and campy dialogue like "I want you to think of me whenever you masturbate!". Alot of people don't share my sense of humor. Sad, but true.

I tried to juggle around some new ideas tonight, but I just can't do it. I draw characters, but they don't come out the way I want them. After two hours of trying to draw, I finally lost my cool. I drove my (brand new) pen into my sketchbook. Now all the pages in my sketchbook are ruined, and my pen is too. UGH. Maybe I'm just not meant to be an artist? I can't draw all that great, and I can't even make my ideas come to life. I need an artistic therapist or something.

Happy New Years everyone! We didn't much last night, we just sat home and watched the CNN coverage with KATHY GRIFFIN AND ANDERSON COOPER! Seriously, that was my party. Jada and I also got drunk off sparkling cider, while I picked at a chicken we bought a day ago at Wal-mart. There wasn't alot of excitement once the ball dropped. We all said "happy new year!" and that was that. No one called. No one texted. Eh. It's sad when the only fun thing for me on New Years Eve is CNN, putting up my new calendar, and watching the Twilight Zone marathon.

BUT DID ANYONE SEE FUCKING KATHY GRIFFIN ON CNN? I LOVE HER.

She was hilarious all night. The best was when the godawful Johas Brothers were performing and she threw something at them yelling "FRAUDS!". Then she went on to say "I'd throw a rock at them if I could", and "What are they doing up? It's too late for them!". LOVE LOVE LOVE HER. But later in the night, Kathy was gettin' yelled at by some asshole on the streets. He was saying something like "you suck" or "fuck you". At one point (before a commercial break) she just turns and goes

"SHUT UP! I'M WORKING! I DON'T COME TO YOUR JOB AND KNOCK THE DICKS OUT OF YOUR MOUTH!"

And that, ladies and gentlemen is EXACTLY why I love her. The funniest thing is, I don't think she was still on camera. Of course this already storm up a riot. Search it on google, and you'll get tons of results on it. The bad thing about this is that alot people thought she said to Cooper. And I'm worried CNN may not have back for next year. I'll be pissed if that happens! LOVE YOU KATHY!

Okay, I just need to say something before I talk about Christmas -- WHAT THE FUCK LIVEJOURNAL. YOUR SHITTY TEXT FEATURES ARE PISSING ME THE FUCK OFF. Thanks!

Alright, now I can talk about Christmas. The holidays sure have changed from when I was living in New Jersey. No more presents, no more going to see my cousins, no family dinners and no more Tombola. Now it's just me, my sister, and my nieces. Needless to say, my Christmas certainly wasn't anything remarkable. I am happy and thankful that I wasn't alone. My sister was (at the last minute) gonna take a free flight to NJ for two weeks. If she did, I would've been left alone the whole time here -- on both Christmas and New Years. While this would've given me a chance to have a huge sex orgy, I didn't like the idea. Thank God, she didn't catch the flight and was stuck here. Yay. Too bad we didn't do a fucking thing on Christmas. We just sat around the house, marathoning Cutie Honey, Mahou no Mako-chan, and Sailor Moon.

Nia, and Jada got tons of gifts. Most of them coming from Rose's dad, and "Santa" (donations from Rose's job because she's a single mother). I got Jada a Kisaragi Honey doll (which was the only thing she really played with). I got Nia two last minute gifts (after finding an old check for $130) - a Dora cellphone and a microphone. I, surprisingly, got some gifts. Three t-shirts, each picked out by one member of the family. They all came from one of my favorite clothing stores - Man Alive aka the store where I'm the only white person and I LOVE IT (keep those dirty honkies away from me!). Rose also decided to be ghetto and wrap up two sketchbooks that I PAID FOR. Her excuse is "well I was gonna pay for them". While I happy to get stuff, I really wanted that John Waters boxset. But, I'll see about getting that during my next paycheck. Speaking of, I gotta alot of shit to buy next time I have money. Gotta get Rose, my oldest sister China, and my nephew something. Fuck. Money just slips away doesn't it? 

I attempted to call, and text people on Christmas Eve and Christmas. Most of the people I texted etheir didn't know who I was, or didn't reply. I tried to call my cousin Carmella, but she didn't answer her phone or call back (I left a message). It seems unlike her not to call back, but I'll call her again on New Years. I called my family in Italy, which did not go the way I expected at ALL. My aunt Angela sounded pretty down in the dumps (or she was just tired). She's been sounding pretty bad for awhile now, I think it maybe because my Nono Salvatore isn't doing so good. He constantely has to go to the hospital and undergo surgery. I feel bad. Despite acting not so hot, my aunt really wanted me to send pictures of my sister Rose when she was a teenager. It was a strange request, but I agreed to it. Apparently she needs a picture of a "young pretty foreign girl" for my cousin's school project. Hm, I guess searching a picture on google wasn't good enough. On the bright side, they finally got MSN, so I might be able to talk to them more. I kind of wish some of my other relatives used MSN. I know my cousin Rosaria does (she hasn't be online for months). I really wish my cousin Pasquale did, because he can speak English (although in a very broken, sometimes akward way) and is an anime fan too. But last time I checked, his family didn't own a computer.

Now I gotta wait another week for Befana to bring me some shit.

Let's ignore the last depressing post shall we? Okay, so I gotta talk about what I've been watching. Because y'know I'm a geek, I fucking have to. I've been watching abunch of shit these past few weeks. I seriously finished three series in less than a month. That's alot for me. I've been on an old school kick with Sasurai no Taiyo and Mahotsukai Chappy. Both are two classic shojo series that I've been dying to see for awhile now. Sasurai no Taiyo is an extremely over-dramatic, soap operaish series about two girls switched at birth. One is Mine Nozomi, a kind hearted girl who grew up in a poor household. The other is Koda Miki, who is a rich bitch who gets anything she wants (duh). They both share dreams of becoming singers. Mahotsukai Chappy is about a little witch (Chappy) who grows bored of the magic world, and decides to leave for earth. Her whole family follows, including her car-driving talking panda, Don-chan. On earth, she meets many new friends and learns about the human world. I also got to see Kikoushi Enma, but I'll get to that another day.

I first found about Sasurai no Taiyo when I came across the opening on Youtube. If you've ever heard the opening, google it now. The song is just amazing, and is very old school. I love it, I love it. As with most 70's shojo series, Sasurai no Taiyo is EXTREMELY, INSANELY OVER DRAMATIC. It's also extremely cheesy, and very soap opera-y. Take for example, Nozomi's love interest - Funny. Yes, his name is Funny. Yes, FUNNY. HE'S FUCKING NAME IS FUNNY. SEE WHAT I MEAN? CHEESE. CHEESE. So yeah, and he's a complete 70s shonen stereotype. He's got the thick eyebrows, the scarf, the nice car, he's a boxer, and he's a few years older than her. He's like a gay(er) Yabuki Joe (Ashita no Joe). But get this shit, it turns out Funny is really Nozomi's older-long-lost-brother-who-was-given-away-to-a-family-at-the-age-of-3. That's some soap opera shit right? RIGHT? I LOVE IT. Of course this freaks Funny out, and he tells Nozomi to "forget about him". However, but the end of the series it's revealed Funny is really related to Miki, and not Nozomi. So then the relationship works out, in a strange, kind of creepy way. Nozomi literally says "Since we're not related, we can be lovers right?". The animation wasn't too bad, but it becomes a bit too "clean" as the series progresses. Despite being a very emotional, depressing rollercoaster, the series ends in a very "and they lived happily ever after" fashion.

Chappy is a series I've been dying to see since I got into vintage mahou shojo. I saw one episode about a year ago that had a cameo by Devilman (he appears on TV). The series is very cute, and very in the vein of Mahotsukai Sally, with a bit of Sarutobi Ecchan. One of the things that really drew me to Chappy is that Tsuji Masaki is the head writer. I can't remeber if I talked about him before, but TSUJI MASAKI IS AMAZING. He's the best script writer ever, and was the lead writer for Mahou no Mako-chan, Devilman, Cutie Honey, and Dororon Enma-kun. He's amazing, but as far as I know he hasn't really do anything in anime as of late. The other writers on the show were fairly good as well. Unfortunately, this series was produced when Toei Doga was having a "lockdown". So they had to outsource, and there's a bit of a decline in animation in some episodes. There's a bit of inconsistancy, and oddities with the writing. For whatever reason, Chappy is barely in any of the first few episodes. Seriously, most of the focus was on her little brother Jun, and panda Don-chan. Another cool note about Chappy is that most of the voice cast reunited for Cutie Honey a year later. I found it funny Chappy, and her mother have the same seiyuu as Honey and Jill respectively. That's a funny crossover fanart waiting to happen.

Despite being a very happy, cute series -- the ending is insanely emotional, and heartbreaking. In the last episode, Chappy's friends find out she's a witch. Ultimately, the King of the Magic World orders Chappy and her family to move to a different town. The king also erases the memories of Chappy's old friends. Chappy uses her magical baton to visit her friends in their dreams to "say goodbye". After playing with her friends one last time, Chappy and her family leave for their new home. Chappy looks to the audiance and says "Where will we go next? It might be your town!". Okay, I'm not gonna lie I FUCKING CRIED MY ASS OFF DURING THE FINALE. The scene where Chappy, and Jun visit their friends one last time is so heart breaking. This very sweet, lullably-like song plays called "Mahou no Waltz". It's so gentle, and innocent and perfectly captures the moment. I literally tear every time it comes on, and I see Chappy and her friends happily running along.

A little off-topic, but I got to see Aladdin last night for the first time in years. This was the first movie I ever saw in Theaters, and I remeber watching the closing scene. As I was watching last night, I was surprised at how much of the storyline I forgot. It was almost like watching it for the first time. Infact, I can't remeber the last time I watched it. It must've been, like.. 10 years. I'm not kidding. I know I talk shit about Disney's Little Mermaid, but most of their movies are excellent. And I have to say I really like Aladdin. It's one of the few musicals where I actually LIKE the songs, and don't mind the singing. It's also one of the few Disney films where the kiddy-dialogue doesn't make me red. Also, I forgot how fucking AWESOME Jafar is. Seriously, he's my second favorite Disney villian (My beloved Maleficent being the first). Great design, great voice, GREAT, GREAT VOICE. It's sad to think Jafar becomes more subdued in the Aladdin sequel, and the Hercules TV series. (Uh... how does Hercules exist in the same continuity as Aladdin? Aren't they set 100 years apart??)

Nia and Jada dressed as Chuy and Chelsea Handler from Chelsea Lately. This was our entry to the "Chuy can't Vote so I will" contest. Basically, all you have to do is send in a picture with a sign saying that. As soon as we heard about the contest, Rose suggested we have the two dress up. We never got around to doing it until last sunday. We got Jada a cheesy blonde wig, and gave her a bottle of Grey Goose, and a glass. Nia was easy, all we had to do was draw a moustance and give her a hat. I took a number of shots, but this one was the best. Also, because I just *had* to -- I hide a Cutie Honey book behind Jada.

The day after I sent it in, I was given a release form which Rose signed and faxed. Halloween night I got an email saying:

"Thank you for submitting your photo to "Chuy Can't Vote, So I Will!" Your photo will be aired tonight, Friday 10/31, and don’t forget to exercise your right vote!"

I went nuts, and told Rose. "AHHH!!!!!! THEY'RE GONNA BE ON TV!!! ZOMG!!!!". I sounded like someone winning tickets off Hot 97.1. We were so fucking excited. Jada fell asleep, but Nia stayed awake. At the very end of the show, Chelsea showed off the entries. Ours was the second.

"And doing their best Chuy and Chelsea impersonation, here's Nia and Jada (Ja-DA) from New Jersey... or Jada (Jade-AH)... sorry"

And there they were! My little pumpkins Nia and Jada! (Also, Chelsea got the pronunciation for Jada right the second time). Not to mention Cutie Honey got to make a brief cameo too. Hehe. The audiance loved it, and laughed their asses off. I tried to text, email, and message everyone I could but NO ONE was online or... replying texts. Fuckers. I have more to talk about, but I don't feel like it now. Gotta finish off Mahotsukai Chappy and Sasurai no Taiyo.

Also, I've decided... if Mccain wins the election I'm moving to Italy. There's no way I can deal with Grandpa and that Ms. Moose Hunter for four years.

Last week I finally got the first Mahou no Mako-chan boxset in the mail. And I have to say, I'd dying to get the second box. I'm completely in love with this show, maybe moreso than Majokko Megu-chan or even Sailor Moon. For those of you that don't know (which I'm guessing is uh, everyone) Mako is a modern retelling of The Little Mermaid. It originally aired from 1970 to 1971 on NET TV (now Asahi TV which also aired Sally The Witch, Cutie Honey, and Sailor Moon) and is the third series Magical Girl series by Toei.

( Complete Review )

I don't believe it. Toonami has ended it's 11 year broadcast. After years of quality series like Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z, Ronin Warriors, The Big O, Tenchi Muyo!, and Outlaw Star... it's finally over. It's a sad day people. A great part of my childhood is over.

I've been with Toonami since '97. 4:00 was a key part of my weekday schedule. I first got into Toonami by watching no other than, of course -- Sailor Moon. My friend Chris and I religiously watched every episode, and began taping with the premiere of the "Lost Episodes". Later on I got into Dragon Ball Z, but it wasn't until the Freeza saga that I really got into it. Around 2000 was when Toonami really kicked off. Sailor Moon S, and SuperS were coming out. Dragon Ball Z starting to air the Garlic Jr. Saga. And we got lots of new anime series -- Ronin Warriors, Tenchi Muyo!, Outlaw Star, Gundam Wing, and The Big O.

Most of the new series were edited by Cartoon Network with laughable edits. Naked woman wore digital bikinis. People were getting drunk off "tea". Not a single person was allowed to say "die" or "kill". Basically all references to death were cut. Smoking was eliminated, usually in the form of a "smoking toothpick". Funny thing is, all shows not edited by CN got away with alot more. Dragon Ball Z was allowed to show blood, people dying, and said "die" more than a few times. Even Sailor Moon got away with some bathtub nudity, smoking, and references to death. Then you had other series like Ronin Warriors, which managed to air completely uncut.

Toonami also had a number of cool events over the years. Of course they were the inflight movies, and special marathons. Then they had stuff like "Villiantine's Day". It was a Valentine's Day special showcasing episodes that highlighted villians. After the end of Sailor Moon's five year run, I started to fade out of Toonami. After the last episode of SuperS aired, there wasn't alot of interesting programs for me. The Dragon Ball Z dub was getting completely unbearable. With the exception of G Gundam and 0080, I couldn't stand any of the Gundam series. Then we really got some good series like The Big O, and Cyborg 009.

After the move to Saturdays, I almost completely fell out of Toonami. It just wasn't the same. Most of the shows airing didn't even seem to belong. Zatch Bell? Eh. Prince of Tennis? Are you joking? You could say Toonami died along time ago in my eyes. Oh well. I never thought it would end like this, so sudden. But alas, here we are in 2008, and Toonami ends with godawful Naruto. Sad to think at one point Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, Ronin Warriors, and The Big O aired together.

Until next time Toonami.
[1997 - 2008]

Looking over some old posts at Sailor Moon Uncensored.com, I have found some of the most ignorant comments ever:

"It's sad, but there are a lot of african americans out there who DO go out of their way to "act black". They deliberately blast rap 24/7. They deliberately wear their pants to their ankles. They deliberately refuse to associate with whites except to fight with them, and they deliberately go out of hteir way to speak as incoherently and "ghetto" as possible.

That's "acting black", and I can tell you, working at a school where I see high schoolers all day long, they DO purposely do it. I've SEEN it. To them, it "defines their culture", when really all they're doing is living up to a racial stereotype and behaving like idiots, giving African Americans who live and work intelligently a bad name.

Heaven forbid a white person walk up to them, and spout the word "n*gger", even though they've been calling THEMSELVES and EACHOTHER that all day long."

*turns into Scooby Doo*

...HUH?

"I took a class called "social problems" in college (a really awesome class), and we were discussing jobs and minorities, and this black girl starts ranting and raving about how nobody will give blacks jobs. I stood up, eyed her up and down, and said calmly "Perhaps if some black people would stop wearing robes and slippers to interviews, then they'd get hired." She stared at me with her mouth open, and shut the hell up.

That's how it is here. I know all blacks are not like that, so nobody please jump on me. But a lot of the black people here, where I live, ARE. They go to interviews in slippers and pajama bottoms. Almost all of them are on welfare. They make up most of the teen mother population in our town."
...

HUH?!

Sad thing is, those are posts from one of the Admins.

Well after a shitty week, it seems like everything is going over well. I finally got ahold of my counslor, who was really nice on the phone. She told me she had my diploma all corrected, and I could pick it up this week. Also, she said she would be (re)sending my transcript to the art school. Hooray. I also FINALLY sold off my Mazinger Z boxset on ebay. I've been trying to get rid of it for awhile, but no one would bite. The auction actually ended last week, but I just now got a payment. I'll be sending off his set tomorrow, or later this week.

I'm kinda upset to sell off the boxset, but... in all honesty I just didn't like Mazinger Z. I really liked the manga, and the Mazinkaiser OVAs but Mazinger Z was just.. eh, boring. It didn't have that "thing" Devilman, Cutie Honey, Dororon Enma-kun, Majokko Tickle, and UFO Grendizer had. Which I would say is Tsuji Masaki, but he didn't work on Grendizer. I guess I'm just a not a big giant robot fan. I'd rather use my money to buy other magical girl series, or finish some series. (Sailor Moon for example...)

Also, I'm extremely happy because I've finally got the first Mahou no Mako-chan boxset off Yahoo Japan. This is a series I've been dying to get my hands on, and I'll have the first 24 episodes soon. I used a new deputy service - Celga, who I've heard mixed things about. But so far, so good. Their fees are ALOT cheaper than Rinkya's, hopefully the shipping will be just as good. Now I'm worried about how I'm gonna get the second Mako-chan boxset. For some reason, it's harder to find than the first one, and usually goes for ALOT on auctions. Grr!

I also want to rant about something. Why didn't the Italian dub of Sailor Moon dub all of the vocal songs? I mean, they only dubbed a few songs (Eien no Melody, Watashi-tachi ni Naritakute, Route Venus, and all of the songs in Sailor Stars) and they came out GREAT. I would've loved to hear an Italian version of the opening song, or Ai no Senshi. Besides, they usually don't replace vocal songs ethier. Alot of scenes with vocal songs are left with no BGM. It really kills the mood, and makes everything akward. Just try watching the battle scene with Serenity and Beryl with only voice acting, and SFX. It's SO akward. They've only replaced songs twice in the dub. Ai no Senshi in episode 68 was replaced with a karaoke-version of Eien no Melody. The other time was in episode 99, where they replaced Azusa Nigou with a karaoke-version of Tuxedo Mirage.

Another upsetting fact is, none of the Italian dubbed vocal songs were ever released. Only the opening themes. What a shame! I was already upset the English versions of Aino Senshi, Watashi-tachi ni Naritakute, and Sailor Team no Theme were never commerically released. But now I have to cry because none of the Italian dub songs were ethier?! *cries*

By the way, give some of the Italian songs (only in the episodes, duh) a listen. The Starlights songs were really great in Italian, and Minako's Italian actress did a beautiful job at Route Venus!

Well I've been pretty busy, sorta lately. Well I started my job at the Galaxy Grill at the Bowling Alley. And it's easily the best job ever. I do little to nothing. It's almost never busy, I get five dollar discount on meals, free drinks (plus coffee and cappucinos woo!), get to watch TV, and sit around doing nothing. The most work I do is at the end of the night when I clean. Even that isn't alot. And I get paid 7 bucks an hour. Suck it Braum's! So far I've worked by myself once, but I haven't had any major problems. I have pretty much everything done to pat, aside from phone orders. I still manage to fuck those up.

My co-workers are all cool. There's Allena, who um... doesn't seemed to be well liked. Mainly because she half-ass cleans. But she's cool, and whenever I work with her she usually takes care of everything. She's always there for me too. Whenever I need help with something, I just hit the pager and she storms out of the smoker's room. So she's real cool. Then there's Grace, who's really nice. She's very on top of game, and usually has the place spot-less. She usually studies there, and ask me for some help ("Harlem is in New York right?"). I met her husbend the other day, and they are the cutest couple. There's also Diana, who doesn't usually work the grill but has trained me one night. She's super nice, and a great help. She's also the first person to realized Rose is my sister, NOT my mom or girlfriend. So Dianan gets huge brownie points for that. I still don't understand how anyone can think Rose is my mother. I mean she's young (she acts looks and acts like an 18 yr. old to me) and has two young children. What do people think? She had me in elementary school, then had two kids years later? Pfft.

There are three cooks, all of which I've worked with thus far. First there's Justin, who's cool. He quick with orders and puts up with my messups ("Can you make that to go? I forgot to write it down"). One of the other cooks kinda complains about him, saying "he hates taking orders" and "shouldn't sit in the office inbetween orders". But he's never complained to me, and he's always quick. Then there's another woman, who'se name I still don't know. She's nice, but she is a snail when it comes to cooking. She's also the cook who's had complaints and orders come back. Urgh. Then there's Ms. Ruby, who's extremely nice. Ruby always gives me the heads up on stuff, and fills me in on little "this" and "thats" of the grill. Apparently her son went to Highschool, and that makes me nerveous. I don't who he is, but I hope I wasn't a dick to him. I mean, I'd run in the hallways yelling at random people "FUCKING WHITE PEOPLE WALK TOO DAMN SLOW". Yeah, I don't have alot of white friends. My managers are both cool, and pretty laid back. My sister's friend still works there,  jokes aside he's really cool but I've only worked with him once. 

Going back to my school, those fuckers are really pissing me off. First off, I still don't have my new diploma. Even worse, my college still hasn't gotten my High school transcript yet. WHY?! My counsler told me it was sent out BEFORE school even ended. I've tried to call a number of times about both problems. But whenever I call it's ethier "Ms. Williams isn't in today" or "She won't be in the week" or like today, the call just doesn't go through. What the fuck? I love Mrs. Williams, she's great and everything but I'm a bit disappointed in her. I doubt my beloved NJ counsler Mrs. Chunn would ever do this (she was always on the ball. Ah, Mrs. Chunn I miss you!). Grr, this is what I get for going to a school in buttfuck Oklahoma.

Also, I started burning Tokimeki Tonight on DVD. Now, I'm not a bootlegger or anything. This is actually the first anime I've ever burned on DVD. The only reason I'm doing this is because Tokimeki Tonight (sans some OVA clipshows) was never released on VHS or DVD. There was suppose to be a boxset in Italy, but I haven't heard anything about it. I guess the deal fell through or something. So until GROUP TAC releases the series on DVD or something -- I'm burning my own copies.

 

Fujio Akatsuka, creator of Moretsu Ataro, Osomatsu-kun, and Himitsu no Akko-chan died today. He was 72, and died of pneumonia in a Tokyo Hospital. According to ANN, he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in 1998 and then bed-ridden since 2002 due to a brain hemorrhage. He is creditied for creating the first ever magical girl manga - Akko-chan.

Rest in Peace, Akatsuka-sensei.