Monday, July 26, 2010

Walking down this road without you... Susumou kimi no inai michi no ue he

Assalammualaikum wbt.

Susumou kimi no inai michi no ue he

or in english

I'll move on, to a road without you...

Why so jiwang?

Oww... been so long since I've updated this blog, a lot of stuff happened, but so lazy and not inspired to write anything...

The title depicts something ending... or someone leaving me...

Well, lately that's how I felt.... and nothing better to describe it then Mr Children, Kurumi... understand the lyrics + the videos~

Oh.. Kurumi in this video is translated as Walnut, but Kurumi refers to a person name, not walnut (the literal meaning)



Love this video + song the first time I saw it... The actors are great, the melody are nice and the lyrics are very meaningful and inspiring~

Especially the last two lines;

hikikaeshicha ikenai yo ne
susumou kimi no inai michi no ue he

guess there’s no turning back,
so I’ll go on, to a road without you.


I dont quite understand the song at first... but my recent experience made me understood... I'm getting older... soon I'll be the ones in that video...

What's happening so far?

1) The end of FMA...

And so one of the biggest shounen (seinen?) title of this generation reach its conclusion, and it could not have been any better, what a satisfying and epic story it has been... I have been following the anime, FMA: Brotherhood as well, its one of the greatest anime series production so far~ especially since there's no filler and it follows the manga (~95% probably)

However, the power of manga is still stronger as shown in the final chapter, its much more memorable and emotional reading the final chapter of the manga compared to watching the final episode of the anime.

Love how Arakawa-sensei explained "the truth", which is the biggest questions in FMA, in just 2 pages, very short and concise, but it answered all the unanswered questions in the series, its a well-planned story indeed~

Plus, the moral/ethics value raised in final chapter is probably my favorite; "Is it allowed for one to sacrifice a handful of people in order to save a lot of other people..?"

i.e. Utilitarian ethics~ :)

Also Greed's and Hohenheim's conclusion were so sad... especially Hohenheim's...

Reading the second last page, where Arakawa-sensei drew the pictures of everyone was just... I suddenly remembered back my first experience of reading FMA, from the first chapter to the final... what a story... and now its ended... I'm quite sad it has to end... nee Kurumi...

Thank you very very much Arakawa-sensei for such a great story~!!
Will be missing FMA~!!

Wish I have the ability to draw manga like HER (YES, Arakawa-sensei is a woman!! I have only known this recently... haha).. perhaps someday I'll way.. BakumannnN!!!


2) The end of Onemanga...

And so this website which in google top 1000 lists of most visited website will finally be closed down...

For those who did not know... Recently, manga companies in Japan has decided to launch an all-out war against illegal posting of manga on the internet~ and so the aftermath can be seen with the closure of onemanga soon...

Owww man....

Hopefully I can still read the less-popular-but-undoubtly-high-quality-manga like The Ravages of Time or Billy Bat somewhere... I would love to buy the manga series I read legally.. but it will never reach Malaysian market... because most Malaysian dont like that kind of genre~ maybe it will be in Kinokuniya but at a ridiculously expansive price... mehh...

Anyway its the author's right to not have their hard work published illegally, do you know how hard it is to draw high quality manga? huh? huh?? and to release in on time every week!! Let's support them by buying the originals (if we can find them~) !!

3) The end of Kenso

I'll be moving out from Kenso soon... noouuuu... I love this house... other people might call it small and all... but I love it... bak kate Zahid "selesa giler kot duk rumah ne.."

I'll be missing that beautiful big tree near my window where birds come and rest and sing~

4) The departure of Zahid

My housemate has left Australia for good and returned to Malaysia, some of his final words to me;

"Riman, aku da dapat sijil, aku dapat First Class Honours!"

He's a genius man... really proud to be his housemate and I really enjoyed his company~ sometimes we talk about silly stuff, but occasionally we had some meaningful discussion about the world... he's the wikipideamon and moviemon, so his general knowledge is very high so he always has something to reply to almost all the topic I talked to him.

Now only his worn-out sofa are left... it is his trademark, his bed for all the years he is in Australia~

When he left, I suddenly remembered the song "Kurumi"...

So yeah... as gay as it sound.. I dedicate the song Kurumi to Zahid~

For all the moments we watched Community~

"Are you perpetually on your way to the gym?"
"Dude, my life is a gym!!"
"Well, wassuppp?? suppp?? suppp??"


That's enough ranting for now..

Got my BGD-A results today... Alhamdulillah~
Should have done better... really should have done better~ So far yet the days when I get to taste a HD...


Oh ya before I end...

I just bought a Media Tablet A3 size... wuhuuuU!!!!!!!!! I bought it specially to activate my Bakuman mode!!

So everyone, sit tight, a Oneshot will be coming to a blog near you soon!!

here's a little teaser... huhu



*it's not colored using my Tablet yet...

And here's my first completed work using the tablet + hand drawing


"The Lu Bu of men"
Based on Chan Mou's The Ravages of Time


That's all folks..
Assalammualaikum~

Friday, March 12, 2010

To Smartians and ex-Smartians~

Assalammualaikum,

Congratz to all smartianz who did a good job in SPM~ with the new marking system that is more strict, U all can still make the school proud and maintain the school standard~

From what I know~

32 people get all A's for SMART...

32 people? That numbers might seem small for people from all those elite schools... especially whose schools are in the top ten list... and all those top sekolah berasrama penuh... but for a sekolah harian, that number is great~!!

So what now after SPM??

The possible pathway for higher education:

1) Matrix

2) Form 6

3) UPU

4) Private Pre-U College (for A-level, ADP etc...)

5) Scholarship for local or oversea depends on the sponsor

One thing for sure, getting no 5 does not guarantee you a better future then no 2, for example... you might get no 5, in medicine... but failing half way instead of other who got into form 6 but manage to complete their education and get a better job then you who failed half way...

But!!

You still need to choose carefully your path from here, especially in which course you take (Medicine, Engineering, Law, Business etc.), because believe me many who did not choose carefully will regret it later, and change their course halfway and wasted years of their precious young life...

There are also those who choose a course they like... but end up regretting after they've completed their course... because they can't get a good job from their course and ended working in something completely unrelated to their course....

So choose wisely, especially who are applying for scholarship, because:

1) You need choose your specific course straight away

2) Once you have a contract with your sponsor, its hard to change to another course (depends actually on the sponsor)

3) Once you're contracted (with JPA for example), you cannot simply quit halfway, or else you need to pay

So, overseas study or local study??

Well, in terms of quality of education... not much different perhaps (at least for medic), because you'll still end up as a GP (general practitioner) once you graduate, no matter from where...

No one can say study oversea is better then local actually...

However, kalau nak main salji~ dan merase hidup negara 4 musim~ hehe



Having say that.

Now's a personal message to all SMARTIANS and ex-SMARTIANS who changed school...

Jom ar datang belajar kat Australia!!!
Especially kat University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney!!!

Skrg ne hanya ade due warga smart di UNSW, dan selepas satu sem, yg senior tu (Azleen) akan balik Msia, tinggalah aku sorang...

Aku akan ade di sini selama 5 tahun lagi...

Aku akan menunggu kedatangan anda ke UNSW!!

sbb kt UNSW ade satu pintu ne berlabel SMART @ UNSW

Bangga siot... mane de label MRSM @ UNSW ke, SBPI @ UNSW ke... haha... SMART gak ade...

so satu hari nanti impian aku... kite ramai2 budak2 smart tangkap gamba kat pintu tu sebelum aku abeh belajar~ yeahhH!!

So here's a video for ya~

entitled

~ SMART @ UNSW ~



Yup, that's it...

Gud Luck now for everyone aiming to further their study wherever your choice is!!

Feel free to add me on Facebook (silver_rayz89@hotmail.com) to ask questions~

or on YM (dadeadcrow) for anything

More then happy to help~

especially those aiming to go to Australia~!!

Monday, March 1, 2010

Why medicine?? Simple answer for them... "pedas" for me...

Assalammualaikum wbt,

Today on the first day of 2nd year medicine...

My facilitator asked my group...

Introduce yourself... and what do you want to gain from medicine...

We go around in circle...

Then one of them said...

"I want to become an expert in indigenous health"

then another person said...

"I want to help indigenous people"

These two are local white Australian... young people perhaps around the same age as me..

But the way they treat the indigenous people... they're willing to set them as a goal for their life...

Tapi kite kat Oz ne... yg dengar nye... kutuk2 org asli @ aborigines Oz ne je la....

Siapakah yg lebih menunjukkan nilai2 muslim?

Siapakah yg akan lebih senang berdakwah atau mempengaruhi cara hidup org2 asli Oz ne?

And as a reflection back in Malaysia...

How many of us are willing to set our goals in life... I want to become (a doctor, or engineer, or teacher, or politician) to help poor, especially people living in rural areas in Malaysia~

Sepanjang hidupku di Malaysia, tak pernah lagi aku dengar org Malaysia ckp kat aku (termaksuklah diri sendiri), aku besar nanti aku nak berkhidmat kat hulu2 ke, kawasan pedalaman ke demi membantu orang2 kat sane....

Maybe there are...

But very rare indeed..

But here...

It's a very common thing... to hear...

People willing to set their goals in life to really help those in need~ without being prejudiced~

Bukan meninggi-ninggikan mereka, cume mengambil iktibar~

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Aku dan Abu

Assalammualaikum wbt..

Ini satu sajak (sajak ke... boleh la kot) yg disusun ayat nye dalam masa 15 minit.. oleh itu ayat nya amat childish... namun isi nya telah bermain di otak sejak... sejak... bulan July 2009 gitu... ditujukan khas kepada aku dan mereka yang berada di Land Down Under, Ostrolia dan juga yang bakal fly... terimalah..

Aku & Abu

Abu pernah berkata
Die takle terima di alienkan di bumi sendiri
Pendatang datang sini buat mcm tanah sendiri

Abu pernah marah
memang MARAH super ar...
Pabila orang cakap kaum Abu tak berguna
Banyak penyagak, perempit dan penagih juga
Padahal yang berkata itu sekadar penyibuk
Bukanlah anak tulen bumi kupijak

Aku setuju dengan Abu
Kami memang pantang, tak boleh terima
Kalau orang luar nak datang, pijak kami semua


"INGAT-INGAT AR WEYH KORANG TU SAPE!!!"
atau kalau dalam omputihnye
"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, HUH!???"


Kini,
Di bumi land down under
Aku dan Abu berjumpe Abu, the other

Abu pernah berkata
Berhati hati kalau jumpe geng2 Abu ni

Diorang tu kaki pukul juga pencuri


Abu pernah gelak

memang GELAK super ar...

Apabila disebut geng-geng Abu, the other

Memandang rendah dan hina, memang tak berpada

Tak selamat disekeliling mereka katanya

Kelas bawahan, seoalah olah itulah mereka


EH??!!
kalau bahasa jepunnye
"CHOTTO MATTE!!!"
atau bahasa omputihnye
"WAIT A MINUTE!!!"

Aku tersentak melihat Aku dan Abu

Dulu kami berdua pantang, tak boleh terima

Kalau orang luar nak datang, pijak kami semua


Kini,
Aku dan Abu lah orang luar
Tapi kami memijak Abu, the other

Padahal Abu, the other
Adalah umpama Aku dan Abu, di Malaysia



fahamkah akan isinya?
Wahai Aku dan Abu~

Aku & Abu
(GaGaK, 2010)

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

My top 20 of the decade 2000 - 2009

Assalammualaikum...

The first decade of the 21st century is about to end... If you surf the net, you can see a lot of rankings about stuff done about "the best ....... of this decade", like the best movie, the best games, the best music etc... bla bla bla...

When I went back for a short one night stay at Kuantan, I saw this whole pile of comic books in the study room that my family have bought since I was small... It sure brings back memories of the little me buying and collecting all those comics... Some of those I read just for pure fun, but a lot of them have influenced my life in a certain aspect...

So, my top 20 for this decade is... my top 20 manga list from 2000 - 2009... from my primary schools years until now... here goes!!

Oh yeah... the ranking is purely based on my own PERSONAL JUDGEMENT... I guess about 3/4 or even 90% of the manga in here are those that many have never heard off... but it is still great!!

#20 - Dragon Ball - Akira Toriyama

Genre: Shounen, Action, Adventure.



Yeah, I probably safe to say this is the most popular manga in Malaysia... almost everyone knows it... Its also one of the earliest manga I've read, from the start to the finish... and bought all the volumes~ Dragonball is all about action and fighting its influence is still significant to manga authors nowadays even though the series have ended years ago... especially on One Piece whom Oda-sensei himself admit that Dragon Ball elements highly influence One Piece

Extra note: Dragonball prided itself the most the highest selling shounen manga of all time in Japan for years... until this year where One Piece overtook it.. :)

#19 Sengoku Youko - Mizukami Satoshi

Genre: Shounen, Action, Adventure



This story is about the adventure of a demon, half-demon and a human... well, quite typical manga actually. The art is pretty good. However, the storyline is really2 interesting~The character development is well done and certainly keep me wanting for more after each chapter... too bad the translation is very slow...


#18 Mr Fullswing - Suzuki Shinya

Genre: Shounen, Sports, Comedy



Ahhh... and here comes the craziest sports manga ever... its here on this list is not because of the art nor the storyline... but 100% based on its comedy value!! The jokes are very crazy that most of them arent even related to the storyline and came out of nowhere~ Even the first chapter got me laughing like crazy... pure comedy gold manga!! Oh, this manga is about school baseball~

Extra note: It is damn funny!!

#17 Shikeisyu 042 - Kotegawa Yua

Genre: Seinen, psychological, spice of life, tragedy

English translation: Prisoner 042



A story about a life sentence inmate being given a second chance to freedom. He will have to undergo a government experiment where a chip is implanted in his brain and be put under 24/7 surveillance. The chip will explode, killing him if he ever loses its temper. He then worked as a janitor in a highschool. Can he survive being in the highschool without ever losing his temper. A very touching story about the value of life in the prespective of a prisoner.


#16 Kiseijuu - Iwaaki Hitoshi

Genre:
Seinen, horror, psychological, tragedy




Out of nowhere, an unknown breed of species invaded living host of this planet (humans, animals) creating a new being with superhuman powers and abilities to alter their body shape and also feed on other human. The protagonist however only have one of his hand invaded by this species, thus retaining his consciousness but having another being that can talk and attack others in his right hand. At first this story is just about fighting this invading parasites, but then a lot of philosophical questions being raised in this manga especially how humans treat the environment and the survivality of this new species making this one of the best seinen manga I've read. Probably the best storyline in terms of the genre of aliens invading earth and living with humans.

Extra note: this manga contains a very sadh scene... when **SPOILER WARNING HIGHLIGHT to view the SPOILER** te parasite invaded the main character's mother, thus the main character have to kill or be killed by his own mother, an epic touching scene...


# 15 - Doraemon - Fujiko F. Fujio

Genre: Comedy, Sci-Fi.



Here it is, everyone fauvarite blue robot with his 22nd century gadgets~ I'm sure most of my generations have read this manga when they were small. The idea in this manga is very simple yet it left a huge impact in the manga industry. Doraemon has became an idol, a symbol known throughout the world that has popularized Japan. Looking back, this manga influenced me to be interested in the fields of science and environment as those were the main message. Doraemon has been expanded into other series such as:

Doraemon long stories, The Doraemons (Doraemon 7 sekawan), Dorabase (baseball manga).

Sadly, Fujiko F. Fujio died in 1996, leaving a blank hole of what is the conclusion of the doraemon series, did doraemon stay with nobita until he grew up? Did Nobita future changed? What will Nobita and his friend be in the future...??

However, I found one fan-made ending of the doraemon series which can be found on the internet... very well done... a great ending too~ the art is almost similiar to Fujio F. Fujiko's. In the end is the great opening song that we all love... ang ang ang... tatemo daisuki... doraemonnn~


Extra note: From wikipidea.. some of Doraemon's significance in the industry not just in Japan:

On 22 April 2002, on the special issue of Asian Hero in TIME Magazine, Doraemon was selected as one of the 22 Asian Heroes. Being the only cartoon character selected, Doraemon was described as "The Cuddliest Hero in Asia".

In 2005, the Japan Society of New York selected Doraemon as a culturally significant work of Japanese otaku pop-culture in its exhibit Little Boy: The Arts of Japan's Exploding Subculture, curated by renowned artist Takashi Murakami. In Murakami's analysis, he states that Doraemon's formulaic plotlines typified the "wish fulfilment" mentality of 1970s Japan, where the electronics revolution glamorized the idea that one could solve their problems with machines and gadgets rather than hard work or individual intelligence.[citation needed]

In 2008, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs appointed Doraemon as the first anime cultural ambassador[3][4].

Despite having no official appearance in the United States, Doraemon influenced a number of shows on the US-based TV network, Nickelodeon. Doraemon is the predecessor-of-sorts to Butch Hartman's animated TV series, The Fairly OddParents (which airs on the above-mentioned channel), and has the same plot and style of humor. Both series have also met with high popularity worldwide.

In many ways, Doraemon was the first of its kind. It has been considered to be a prototype of the modern slapstick cartoon series for children such as the above-mentioned Fairly OddParents, SpongeBob SquarePants (another US-made show made by Nickelodeon), and Fujiko Fujio's own Kiteretsu Daihyakka.



#14 Crayon Shin Chan - Yoshito Usui

Genre: Family, comedy



Another children manga back to back deserving to be on my list. This is also another children icon, with a cute + funny and not the least perverted image... haha. Shin Chan is on my list not just because of the comedy, but when I read it carefully, there's a lot of family value portrayed in the manga. Despite being a bit weird, the shinnosuke family (Nohara, Misae, Shin, Himawari and Shiro) is actually your normal typical everyday family. The father who works as a salarymen and a bit perverted, a housewive who controls the family and cares about her weight, Shin chan who is... shin chan... a cute little baby Himawari who causes mess around the house (that's what uncontrolled babies do..) and Shiro the dog who is the dog... It's just a story about a normal family with funny circumstances happening in normal life... but in a great and funny way.

Similiar with the author of doraemon, Yoshito Usui died this year in 2009... I'm so sad when I heard the news... Shin Chan's have ended... and also without a conclusion like Doraemon...

Extra note: My personal fauvarite chapter in shin chan is when Matsuzaka-sensei's boyfriend Dr. Tokuro died in Africa... it suddenly became a very touching manga but with Shin Chan still remained as Shin Chan... an epic chapter~

#13 - Pluto - Naoki Urasawa

Genre:
Seinen, Sci-Fi, psychological, tragedy



One of Naoki Urasawa masterpiece, a story about the future where robots live side by side with humans. Robots now have their own families and job. There's even an "International Robots Rights" where all robots must be treated equally like human and other stuff. This manga could be very boring to those who like fast-paced action manga, but for a more matured audience who is willing to read in details and loves sci-fi themes, this is the manga for you. A solid storyline combined with cool characters ~

Pluto is based on Osamu Tezuka's The World Strongest Robot Tetsuwan Atom a.k.a. Astro Boy

Extra note: Pluto received an Excellence Prize for manga at the 2005 Japan Media Arts Festival. The series also received the 2005 Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Grand Prize, which Urasawa also won for his work on Monster.

#12 Kimi No Iru Machi - Seo Kouji

Genre: Shounen, School life, Romance

English Translation: A Town Where You Live



The first jiwang manga in my list... ah, Seo Kouji's romance manga is just my type... personally, it is even better then love dramas on the televisyen.. the art, character development and storyline are great. The theme is quite typical, a city girl comes to a small village and live together with the main character, and the main character has a crush on this other girl at school. Your typical love triangle... but told in a great way and beautifully drawn by Seo Kouji.

Extra note: I just love the title... A Town Where you Lived.. Kimi no Iru Machi... :)

#11 Suzuka - Seo Kouji

Genre: Shounen, School life, Sports, Romance



And yet a back to back title by Seo Kouji on the list. Very similiar to Kimi, in fact Kimi is told in the same world as Suzuka, but for different characters and different timeline. Many who read both of them prefer Kimi over Suzuka, but I prefer Suzuka better because... the like the ending (which many hates)... the ending... how the series end... is quite... Islamic in a way... huhu


#10 Akumetsu

Genre: Seinen, Action, psychological



Be prepared for the bloodiest manga eva'!!! Presenting Akumetsu, a zealous individuals with the moto "One man, One kill" out to kill all the corrupt politicians in Japan to make a better Japan. Some say it is a terrorrist act, but others sees him as a hero or martyr. This manga is very realistic in the effects of each murder to Japanese Political system.

Extra note: Originally, Akumetsu is not even on my list of my fauvarite manga... but it all change when I read the volumes leading to the ending.. and the ending is AWESOME!! If I have to give an award of the BEST ENDING in all the manga I've read... it's gotta be Akumetsu!! The ending is so intense it will leave you speechless and breathless... haha. You can't help but fall in love with this "killer" after reading the ending.


#9 The Ravages of Time - Chan Mou

Genre - Manhua, Seinen, Historical, psychological, action



Ok, first of all this is not a manga... but a manhua (chinese manga)... but who cares?

Alright, who's a fan of Romance of the Three Kingdoms here? Me, me!! that's right... me!! I knew Liu Bei, Cao Cao and Sun Ce since I was small... haha. This story is about Romance of Three Kingdom, a period of war in China's history. The art is this manhua is superb, the coolness of the character during its cool scene is beyond any coolness possible.. understand? haha... the strategy and philosophy is also discussed in great details... my fauvarite one is... should a hero defends his honor even though it costs his life OR should a hero defend his life to have another chance even though it costs his honor? hmmm....

Extra info: Be prepared for a story with the largest amount of character to memorize their names and faces for you to understand the storyline... even I got lost somewhere along the way...

#8 Bokurano - Mohiro Kitoh

Genre: Seinen, Mecha, psychological, tragedy

English translation: Ours



Ok, this is the third time this manga's in on my blog... third time in a row...Bokurano tells a story about 15 10 years olds given the obligation to ride a giant robot to fight off other robot invading earth. If they fail, the earth is destroyed. But, if they win, the pilot of the robot will die. Therefore, either way the pilot will die. This is the first manga I've read that from the beggining it showed me that all 15 main characters will die eventually... Definitely a great manga about the value of life~

Extra note: Like Kimi no Iru Machi, I love the title, so simple yet inspiring.. Bokurano... Ours~
#7 - Bakuman - Ohba Tsugumi and Obata Takeshi

Genre: Shounen, School, Romance



From the creator of Death Note, comes Bakuman, a manga about manga... yes, its about the process of the two protagonists in becoming a mangaka (manga artist), a writer and an artist. Initially, I read it just because I myself love to draw manga, and wanted to know the process of becoming a mangaka... however, the plot is really2 interesting and the suspense is also real. A simple theme.. but told in a beautiful way.

Extra note: Reading Bakuman makes me want to draw manga again after I left for a year... yearghhh!! If I can draw a manga that can appear in JUMP magazine... it would be a dream come true.


#6 Fullmetal Alchemist (FMA) - Hiromu Arakawa

Genre: Shounen, Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi,



"Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is alchemy's first law of equivalent exchange"

Two young boy, one lost his upper and lower limbs, another lost his whole body and only remained as a soul in a suit of armor after performing alchemy to revive their dead mother. They lost that, but gained nothing but sadness and regrets. And so, these two brother journey to find a way to get their bodies back. Along the way, they found of the ugly truth behind the truth. This shounen series have my respect because the momentum in the storyline have not fallen down even after a long run. The storyline just get better and better.

Extra note: In 2009 manga sells, FMA sells more then Naruto and Bleach per volume (but less then one piece), making it the second most sold manga per volume for a series after one piece (the 1st).

The manga won the Shogakukan Manga Awards in 2004

The anime won numerous awards... read for yourself in wikipidea. The recent anime, FMA:Brotherhood is the only anime I've seen so far that delivers the same kind of excitement as the manga, which many other "anime based on manga" have failed to do so.

#5 - Rookies - Masanori Morita

Genre: Shounen, Sports, School



A story about a teacher reforming a group of delinquent in an infamous school in Japan known for its violent history.The reforms are done through the baseball club. The story is like a combination of GTO and Slam Dunk, with its own original art. The character development in this manga is amazing, you cant help but fall in love with the delinquent baseball team as they violently make their way into the baseball tournament initially by scaring their opponents, but later by their own efforts and skills.

Extra note: Rookies is made into live action drama... although the drama won 5 out of 9 awards in Japan Televisyen Awards in 2008... including Best Drama.. I disliked the drama!! The baseball team are like so JAMBU and have all this "handsome" and "cute" guy... what??@!?!! Its a delinquent team..!! Find a more violent and scary actors!!


#4 Great Teacher Onizuka (GTO) - Tohru Fujisawa

Genre: Shounen, School, Comedy


Oww man, I feel so embarrassed writing about GTO... because its... its.. its like you take Shin Chan, let him grow older and become a teacher... everything fine then.. but the "pervertness" doubled... wait... TRIPLED!!! and thus becomes Onizuka, Great Teacher Onizuka (GTO).

Yup, this manga is ecchi, pervert... I agree, I agree... However, when I read through it again with a more matured mind... ceh... I find it... still perverted... but the storyline is actually very inspiring.

Onizuka is himself a delinquent becoming a teacher and is assigned to this worse and most dangerous class in the school. The story revolves around how Onizuka touches the life of each and every student in the class, while surviving the plot of people trying to take down the school, class and himself. The character development in this manga is certainly one of the best and personally I found this manga very inspiring~ as a student and as a (temporary) teacher~ It made me want to be GTR one day... Great Teacher Riman... haha

Extra note: I love the ending qoutes of this series... so meaningful and nostalgic..

"This things that happened in this school, how will we look at it when we are adults"

#3 Slam Dunk - Takehiko Inoue

Genre: Shounen, Sports, School, Comedy



Its the top three. Actually its not fair to put this top three in a ranking bcoz all of it deserve to be my number one... but I have to make a decision since this is a ranking to number one...

Coming at number 3, is Slam Dunk my #1 Sports manga... also a famous manga in Malaysia... I have the whole collection of Slam Dunk!! An epic baseketball manga. The only downside of this manga... is that it have to end... and that the ending wasn't really a completely happy ending... wanted to see their dreams come true!! The power of Slam Dunk is that because of the manga alone, I knew the rules of basketball, and become very interested in basketball and wanting to play basketball during and after the Slam Dunk craze!! It really inspired me!!

Extra note: Slam Dunk is the #4 highest selling manga of ALL TIME passing the 100 000 000 mark... with the highest sale per volume on the list, beating dragon ball and even one piece~

In 1995, it received the 40th Shogakukan Manga Award.


#2 20th Century Boys - Naoki Urasawa

Genre: Seinen, Sci-Fi, psychological



Even though the 20th century has long gone... 20th century boys lived on!!! An epic story made in 8 years of Urasawa-sensei's life. Nicely arranged, wonderfully told and beautifully drawn. 20th century boys is the best sci-fi story I've read in my lifetime, even better then all those hollywood sci-fi blockbuster! The way the manga is arranged is one of a kind... it left you begging for more!! The hero in this story is so cool, despite having no superpowers... just his crappy song~ I have never felt so affected by a manga series like this, since I've read Slam Dunk and One Piece. Thank you Urasawa-sensei~

For people who never read Urasawa-sensei's work before (like me), reading 20th century boy will seem very very plain and pointless and childish at first..... but once you finally understand the situation... you're stuck in the world... its scary..

Extra note: In response to its epicness~ this story has been made into a movie trilogy, just like the Lord of the Ring trilogy, and is one of Japan's highest budget film.



This series has a sequel: 21st Century Boys, which is an excellent and epic sequel~

20th Century Boy, the title is taken from an old-school rock song by T-Rex entitled "20th Century Boys" . And the reason why this title is chosen is only fully understood (at least by me) in the final chapter of the 21st century boys... so long it took to understand the title



AND NOW THE NUMBER ONE MANGA OF THE DECADE for me.....


Before that here's the recap from number 20 to 2...

#20 - Dragon Ball
#19 - Sengoku Youko
#18 - Mr Fullswing
#17 - Shikeisyu 042
#16 - Parasyte
#15 - Doraemon
#14 - Crayon Shin Chan
#13 - Pluto
#12 - Kimi no iru Machi
#11 - Suzuka
#10 - Akumetsu
#9 - The Ravages of Time
#8 - Bokurano
#7 - Bakuman
#6 - Fullmetal Alchemist
#5 - Rookies
#4 - Great Teacher Onizuka
#3 - Slam Dunk
#2 - 20th Century Boys


and #1...

you guessed it....


It's not on the list yet...


It's....

What? Naruto?? Huhh.........???? Bleach?? Haaaaa........??????


Naaahhhhh....


#1 - ONE PIECE!! - Eiichiro Oda

Genre: Shounen, Action, Adventure, Awesomeness!!



Deserving of its title, ONE piece... landed on number ONE on my list~ despite some haters that say one piece is just purely entertainment and all other nonsense... no one can help but acknowledge the momentum of one piece in this decade!! Not being the #1 manga in online manga website?? Who cares... look at the momentum in its original country... in Japan... 2009 has been a total ownage year by one piece!!

Initially, my first impression of One Piece is like... boringggggggggggg~ what's this "Budak Getah"??? The artwork is weird... But, one day... in hostel, my friend brought a volume of this "Budak Getah", feeling bored... I read it... the volume is about this rubber guy Luffy fighting a lightning guy.. Enel... The lightning doesnt work on Rubber... Enel is shocked... well... I give it credit for being funny...

The next month, he brought the next volume... and this is where I fell in love with one piece... the epicness of this volume... The story of Kalgara and Norland... the story was so ROMANCE that it touches my heart... the man's romance spirit within me lifted and so I realize the awesomeness of One Piece.

Having reading through 569 chapters so far... the great thing about One Piece is that the momentum of the story keeps getting better and better and the secrets of the world of one piece unveiled one by one. After one arc finish, you'll say...this is the best arc, none can beat this... but Oda-sensei keeps coming back with a much more interesting arc that leave you wanting for more... Having its momentum constantly rising is one aspect of One Piece that is much better then the other big titles in this generation: Naruto and Bleach. Despite having a simliarly great start like One Piece, Naruto and Bleach's storyline is now falling down the hill for me... which is why both of them is not on the list.

Naruto's current storyline is so damn annoying... Naruto is annoying becoming this emo character, Sai is like... is it He or She... and what the hell is wrong with him?? Sai is the most annoying manga character I ever encountered, and then Sakura suddenly entering the scene crying and confessing and all... like... what??? why are you crying?? that's too damn emotional... The only cool character left on Naruto is the side characters, because they are not emo.

Bleach... well... I dont think there's a storyline anymore.... just fight and fight... and wasting chapters on telling a background story on characters I dont even care about... but at least the artwork of Bleach is as impressive as ever.

Alright, back to One Piece... sorry Naruto and Bleach fans.. :) Lets just roll it up by presenting the statistic of One Piece ownage of the year 2009, becoming my #1 manga of this decade...

Extra note: In 2009, One Piece owned the manga selling list with 14,721,241 copies, beating the 2nd place Naruto (6,836,494 copies) with more than twice the amount. Its like impossible for any other manga to catch up with one piece momentum this year.
Rank Title Author Total Copies Publisher Cover
1 One Piece Eiichiro Oda 14,721,241 Shueisha
2 Naruto Masashi Kishimoto 6,836,494 Shueisha
3 Bleach Kubotite 6,471,021 Shueisha
4 Fullmetal Alchemist Hiromu Arakawa 5,810,522 Square Enix
5 Gintama Hideaki Sorachi 4,733,511 Shueisha
6 Katekyo Hitman Reborn! Akira Amano 3,694,323 Shueisha
7 Mei-chan no Shitsuji Riko Miyagi 3,076,659 Shueisha
8 Fairy Tail Hiro Mashima 2,886,942 Kodansha
9 20th Century Boys Naoki Urasawa 2,655,379 Shogakukan
10 Saint Young Men (Saint O-nii-san) Hikaru Nakamura 2,614,269 Kodansha


The ranking by volumes were also owned by One Piece, with claimed to top 4 spot.
Rank Title Author Total Copies
Publisher Cover
1 One Piece #53 Eiichiro Oda 2,057,528
Shueisha
2 One Piece #54 Eiichiro Oda 1,963,696
Shueisha
3 One Piece #52 Eiichiro Oda 1,952,551
Shueisha
4 One Piece #55 Eiichiro Oda 1,810,410
Shueisha
5 NANA #21 Ai Yazawa 1,505,575
Shueisha
6 Fullmetal Alchemist #23 Hiromu Arakawa 1,277,733
Square Enix
7 Fullmetal Alchemist #21 Hiromu Arakawa 1,271,340
Square Enix
8 Fullmetal Alchemist #22 Hiromu Arakawa 1,238,354
Square Enix
9 Naruto #45 Masashi Kishimoto 1,222,356
Shueisha
10 Naruto #47 Masashi Kishimoto 1,186,478
Shueisha


One Piece Movie 10: Strong World, broke the Japan's box office records, beating Harry Potter and Ponyo records... Harry Potter opened in 844 screens while One Piece only have 188 screens but it still owns!! Can you believe it?? Luffy beats Harry Potter?? haha.. take that you lame-wizard~



One Piece Film Strong World, the 10th One Piece anime film, opened with 1.038 billion yen (about US$11.7 million) this past weekend. By comparison, Ponyo took in 1.025 billion yen (US$11.55 million) during its opening weekend last year. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince opened on 844 screens in Japan this past July with 990 million yen (US$11.2 million). One Piece Film Strong World opened on 188 screens throughout Japan. 103 of those screens had sold-out showings throughout the weekend. The film's per-screen average was 5.52 million yen (US$62,200) — the record for a nationwide release in Japan.

And to wrap it all off.... This year, ONE PIECE officially became the highest selling shounen manga of ALL TIME, surpassing dragon ball~!! Kanpaii!!


All the sources in this whole list are taken from:

1) www.wikipidea.com
2) www.animenewsnetwork.com

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the pictures used in this post

And so the decade ends tonight, it sure took a long time to make this list.. but that's what happen when you're in my shoes... Nothing to do on the eve of new year~!!

And so you have it, based on unpopular demand, my top 20 manga of the decade!!

Friday, December 25, 2009

The power of the pen....

Assalammualaikum wbt

It's been so long since I opened this blog..... arghhhhhhhhhhh~

It's not that I do not have anything to write...

I'm just..


Just...


To lazy~

But now I'm inspired again~

Yaeghhhhh~!!

Inspired by the power of the pen... or ink...

I really enjoy reading seinen manga... seinen is a genre for older matured reader which has really deep and complex storyline and philosophical message... Some of the best seinen manga I've read;

Parasyte

When parasites possesed human creating a new breed of species. Explore into the role of human in this universe especially in terms of nature. Have great action plus interesting storyline

Shikeisyu 042

About Prisoner number 042 who undergo a trial program for inmates. He is released into the society works as a janitor in a school. He has a chip implanted that will kill him if he ever lose his temper. This story is very moving about the value of life in the perspective of a prisoner.

Bokurano

The most depressing manga I've read so far. The main theme is about death, death and death.... but certainly has a deep message about the value of life, family and sacrifice.

Akumetsu

The most bloodiest and gore manga. About people killing corrupted politicians. Have great action. Out of all the completed manga series I've read... this manga has the best ending ever, the ending is so cool and intense!!


So I decided to find some new seinen manga to read... clicked the genre seinen on onemanga to filter the search... one of the top one is... a manga that I would never have guessed...


Affected me so deeply...


Awaken or should I say inspired something that has been sleeping inside me...


It start with a number...



By Naoki Urasawa

20th Century Boys


The 20th Century Boys

I noticed this title a long time ago but never bother to read it... bcoz it seemed childish... but I noticed its seinen... so I gave it a try... The first few chapters was like... "WHAT??" what is this manga about? It's like.... weird.... But still I kept on reading.. knowing that a lot of great manga like One Piece, Bokurano and Parasyte require quite some time to get used to but once you get the feel of the manga... it suddenly became great...

It's really hard to describe the feeling of reading 20th century boys... What I can say is... I can't let go of the laptop once I started reading... Naoki Urasawa's style of manga just pulls you deeper and deeper into his world...

When I finishedd 20th Century Boys, I wasted no time and move on to its sequel.. 21st Century Boys...

Eiichiro Oda (the author of One Piece) is certainly my #1 shounen (boys, young adult) mangaka (manga artist)...


Oda-sensei (One Piece)

and now Naoki Urasawa perhaps is my #1 seinen mangaka!!! Brilliant talent in a different genre~ He's really2 good and produce epic masterpieces. He won many awards through three of his manga; 20th century boys, Pluto and Monster.


Urasawa-sensei (20th Century Boys, Pluto, Monster, Happy!)

Just recently I finished reading Pluto, a manga about robots based on Osamu Tezuka's The World Strongest Robot Tetsuwan Atom... a.k.a ASTRO BOY! And it was great as well~!! There's also a lighter story about Tennis entitled Happy!, it's also superb!! Urasawa-sensei is a genius


Naoki Urasawa's Pluto


Pluto based on Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy

I mentioned earlier that something awoken in me when I read 20th Century Boys...


And that is the desire to draw~


The dream of being able to move this world using my ability!!


Bcoz in 20th century boys, the protagonist Endo Kenji... with his simple song managed to inspire the world in times of peril, and there are also manga artists character in the story who works hard to produce manga that can change the world~ The scale of the dreams and conviction in the manga is on a very epic scale but it is told beautifully by Urasawa-sensei that it became so inspiring!!


Endo Kenji


Urasawa-sensei... thank you for a great masterpiece!! 20th Century Boys!!




Oh, and one of the characters... Endo Kanna... is probably the first female manga character that I fell in love with... she's just great.. a strong beautiful girl with such a lovable personality... if she was a real person, I'd go and marry her right away.. :) But beware... she has ESP.. huhu


Endo Kanna - my#1 female manga character :)


One day.... I'll draw a manga that can change the world!!!


"Friend" the main villian in 20th Century Boys


With this new conviction I started to draw again...











But I'm just too lazy..... down....


Oda-sensei and Urasawa-sensei... they're both great... they are my inspiration in the field of art~ I wish I had the artistic ability and creativity like them~ their hand using the pen... certainly has the power to move the world... to move millions of people~ just by making a comic strip called manga~



After reading the work by these two, it made hollywood stories seemed childish.. huhu, if you love a great story... grab a hold of their artwork (One Piece & 20th Century Boys)