MY REVIEWS

A Comfort Watch Whilst Working

A corpse has been horrendously disposed of in some unspeakable fashion. An anthropologist and her team consult for the FBI to solve the crime. Repeat. Repeat.

Bones is a rather varied take on the typical crime scene investigation serials, with focus on labwork. Every episode provides a palatable tinge of grossness, and the remains or carcasses are presented in pretty interesting forms. For example, there was an episode where a body was found in a gigantic bar of chocolate.

However, the crimes and their solutions get rather repetitive over time. Bones also couldn't escape the cliche of unrealistically advanced technology magically identifying victims or conveniently solving crimes.

That being said, the character development and cast are absolutely enjoyable, save the main character's "socially inept savant" trope. The villains are exciting to watch and bring a much needed adrenaline pump.

This has become a series that I play in the background whilst working. The plot never escapes too far that I have to restart an episode, and the comedic moments bring a good chuckle once in a while.

Gory, Bloody & Beautifully Brutal

Features a hallucinating teenage crybaby killer by the name of Ichi, striking interactions between rival gangs a ton of brutality and gore. I have re-read Ichi the killer about 5 times, and have loved every single read-through.

What happens when you stick a bunch of japanese mafia in a single building? Well, apparently you get great institutional collaboration! Until a manipulative ex-gang member decides to manipulate Ichi to helping him wreck havoc and gain control over Shinjuku.

It begins with the disappearance of a yakuza boss, and a mysterious number 1 (ichi) written in blood at the crime scene. The gang's second in command, Kakihara, goes berserk in his quest to find out what happened to his boss. Kakihara is willing to put the gang's relationship with the whole yakuza world to get to the bottom of it. He tortures, interrogates and pillages. Other gangs start to retaliate.

In the meantime, Ichi continues slaughtering important members of the mafia in his unique way. His motives unclear.

I hope for a sequel.

Mesmirising Plot & Universe

Pluto is a story revolving around Gesicht, a side character in the famous Astro Boy (originally named Tetsuwan Atom) series. It was written independently of the series, by a different author. The plot can be roughly summarised as: Gesicht is a detective that must catch a mysterious murderer hunting down the 7 greatest robots in the world.

I loved this comic. Urasawa assumes that robots are sentient, and humanity has already accepted them as rough equals, granting them rights similar to those of humans. Wars are fought not by humans, but by robots. It explores whether artificial intelligence can outgrow the first rule of robotics - robots cannot kill humans.

There's even a fictional Ku Klux Klan equivalent, yearning to discriminate and soil the reputation of robots.

Many psychological mangas are incredibly lengthy, and this one was a breeze to read, yet impactful and breeds ideas and imagination of a world perhaps not so far from the present.

Easily My Favourite Anime of All-time

My all-time favourite anime/manga.

The agony and anguish captured in Attack on Titan's pages is reminiscent of wartime. I could feel the desperation of citizens fleeing from the gigantic Titans, tripping over each other, and ignoring the cries of many who were trapped under ruined buildings. The sight of giants who were mindlessly gobbling up their friends and family would activate anyone's survival instinct. There is no fight. Only flee.

The first arc of the manga will always be my favourite. The art was raw, and the inscrutable atmosphere in the city of Shiganshina made for a edge-of-the-toilet-seat read. Even after the protaganists learned how to use 3D maneuvering gear to slay titans, it was never enough to deal with the onslaught of seemingly endless Titans.

There was so much to unpack after chapter 1. What are Titans? Where do they come from? Why do they eat humans? What is the Colossal Titan? Will humanity survive?

I adored the length of this anime/manga, stretching across 4 seasons/139 chapters. Compared to much lengthier and dragged out stories like Naruto or One Piece, Attack on Titan's plot moves fast, but at a pace that preserves the mystery and fosters excitement.

Interestingly, Hajime Isayama conceptualised his fictional monsters after he dealt with an unruly, drunk customer at the internet cafe he used to work at. The drunk man's inability to communicate and reason, even though he was of the same species, inspired the behaviour of the Titans.

A Failed Project in My Book

The hashbrown was soooo bland that I was frankly impressed at how they were able to fry something and keep it tasteless. I can only imagine how long it was frozen before use. The wrap was very average. Less tasty than a KFC breakfast wrap, but at twice the price. I put this hashbrown in my all-time list of blandest food i have tasted. this goes along with the impressive bland eggs from five oars coffee roasters.

I was barely able to get over the hashbrown, and was then hit by pretty shitty spinach that they couldn’t be bothered to drizzle a single drop of sauce on. Perhaps they confused their recipies for humans and dogs.

The only saving graces were free parking at Dempsey Hill, cute dogs, and the good weather.

Some cafes should just do coffee and throw out their food menu.

Decent Writing, Pace is Too Slow

This was the first Agatha Christie book I read, and I was delighted that I wasn’t able to guess the solution to the mystery. I did find it rather long-winded, and I’m not sure if I like the first-person narrative style, but I will continue on to her next novel, The Murder on the Links.