Tag: Review

J-Drama Mini-Review | Takane to Hana

September 23, 2019

Dear Reader,

As much as I love manga, I’m more of a dorama fan. I like everything from Chinese Wuxia, to Korean Melodramas. In this case, I read Takane and Hana when Shojo Beat started putting out the English editions of the manga. It’s been one of my faves to keep up with, so when I heard that there was a live adaptation in the making I made sure to mark my calendar!

Synopsis via Viki.com:

At sixteen years old, Hana Nonomura (Aisa Takeuchi) was the last person you’d ever expect to be going on a blind date, especially one meant for finding a suitable marriage partner. But when her older sister, Yukari (Arisa Deguchi), refuses to go, Hana finds herself forced to be her stand-in, or risk bringing shame to the entire family. With no other options, Hana agrees to go, hoping to get the entire thing over with as quickly and peacefully as possible; but when she meets Takane (Mahiro Takasugi), everything changes.


The heir of the Takaba Group, 26-year-old Saibara Takane is the epitome of perfection. With killer looks and a fabulous career, he’s the man every woman dreams of having. There’s just one problem, he’s a haughty, arrogant snob who thinks of no one but himself. With such a nasty attitude, his plans to ruin his impending blind date would be easy enough, he just had to be the right amount of awful to chase her away. His plan should have been perfect, but he never expected to meet someone as fiery as Hana Nonomura.


Intrigued by Hana’s complete lack of concern over his looks, position, and money, Takane finds himself drawn to this most unusual girl. When fate brings this spunky girl back into his life, Takane finds himself falling for her but can such polar opposites really attract?


Based on the manga series, “Takane to Hana” by Yuki Shiwasu, “Takane and Hana” is a 2019 romantic comedy drama directed by Yusuke Ishii. 

I found Hana charming, played by Aisa Takeuchi, as she and her friends navigated the ups and downs of high school. Because her older sister has a boyfriend, she ends up going to a marriage meeting in her sisters place. I think Hana is pretty mature, and handles herself well no matter what situation she ends up in. I admire that about her, she just rolls with whatever life gives her. Usually I don’t like live-adaptations as much as the source material, but I think the actors did justice to the characters. So this was a pretty pleasant surprise. 👍

Takane is a spoiled rich kid, and is emotionally immature. Which is why I think they work well together. To the audience Takane’s character is humorous, as makes it his mission to annoy Hana. He is awkward though, as he navigates the world of the middle class, a culture different from his own. I think Mahiro Takasuki did a good job of emulting the essence of manga Takane, so I think fans of the manga will also enjoy the drama (plus Mahiro is super cute, so that’s a plus!).

The Takane and Hana opening OST

Obviously, I enjoyed the drama a lot. It’s only 8 episodes, and they cut a lot of the story out, keeping just the skeleton of the plot. However, it was simple, and I think it encapsulated the essence of the manga nicely! I liked both of the main actors performance, and I even found the side characters amusing. Aisa played her role especially well, because I really felt her emotions when she was happy, sad, or angry with Takane lol.

Overall, I don’t think I can say more without giving much away, so I’ll end my mini-review here.

Though I will say, full disclosure, this story does have a major age gap with Hana being 16, and Takane being 26 (yikes). Age gap relations like this are pretty common in manga, so I don’t usually blink twice when I encounter them out in the wild. I mean, nothing inappropriate happens between them, but they are in a relationship so this might make some people uncomfortable. I personally have mixed feelings about it myself, so I just wanted to acknowledge it here on my blog, and let folks know. I did look up the actors ages, and the gap between them isn’t that bad with Aisa being born in 2001 and Mahiro being born in 1996. In the end, it’s up to you if you want to check it out!

Thanks for reading, and if you want to keep up with my daily life, follow me on IG @insta_rinnn! Otherwise, catch you on my next blog~

Love,

Rin

Skincare Review | &Habit Black Tea Kombucha Mask

March 25, 2019

Dear Reader,

As you may know, Japan is famous for having those everyday face masks, which is a replacement for your everyday skincare routine. You use it for one minute, and then put on your makeup. It’s nice for people who are really busy, or for people need that extra five minutes of sleep in the morning.

Saborino is famous for their line of 1 minute masks, and they have a larger variety. However, I personally have never used them, because I was satisfied with my previous skincare routine. The reason why I tried out this line from &Habit is because the idol Jaejoong, shared it on his Instagram. And let’s be real, why else do I try out most beauty products?

Anyway, I searched high and low for this product, but I could only find it on an (indie?) Japanese makeup store I had never used before, or on the &Habit website, which is completely in Japanese.

Product links:

Kirei Station: http://www.kirei-station.com/product/2154

&Habit: https://andhabit.com/shop/%EF%BC%86%e3%80%80Habit/g/gahb002-ahb18002aa/

Product Description (please note I had to pull this from the website, and translate it myself because it’s not a product sold in many English speaking stores, and my Japanese is only subpar):

  • Apply 1 minute before makeup for beautiful skin.
  • 1 sheet has 6 roles, you can quickly do your makeup even when you’re busy everyday. 6-in-1: cleansing, booster essence, lotion, moisturizer, serum and cream.
  • Filled with kombucha serum, cucumber fruit extract, bilberry leaf extract, hawthorn extract, nutmeg fruit extract, grapefruit fruit extract, apple fruit extract, orange juice, lemon juice and lime juice, for moisturizing and nourishment.
  • 32 sheets.

Review:

So, you can use it everyday, but I jut use it on days when I’m super busy. I also don’t think it’s moisturizing enough during the winter months, so I add extra lotion. However, I think if you live in a humid place this should be perfect on it’s own.

I also wash my face the night before, so I’m not that sure what it means by cleansing? I think that’s a bit weird for a face mask, but I’m sure they have science behind it.

I do like fermented skincare products though, so I was intrigued by the kombucha aspect of it. Fermentation is good for helping the skin absorb products better, anti-aging, skin brightening, among other things. I will say that I left it on for longer than 3 minutes, and my skin started to tingle. Probably from the kombucha, but it didn’t irritate my skin any.

Oh, and the mask also smells very nice, kind of lemony? I really enjoy it, because it isn’t over powering.

Overall, I’d give it a rating of 8/10. It was a good product, but not a holy grail for me. It did, however, expose me to the world of 1-minute masks! Once I finish it I may try another brand.

Anyway, thanks for tuning in~ see you later!

Love,

Rin

Review |Horimiya by HERO x Daisuke Hagiwara

October 15, 2018

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Series: Horimiyahorimiya

Author: HERO

Artist: Daisuke Hagiwara

Genre: Slice of Life, Comedy, Romance

Published(eng): Oct. 27, 2015- present

Status: Ongoing

Catch it here: Amazon, RightStuf

At first glance, the ultra-popular Hori-san seems like a frivolous high school girl, but in reality, she’s plain, pragmatic, and family-oriented. On the other hand, the bespectacled Miyamura-kun comes across as an average, gloomy high school fanboy, but he’s actually an attractive young man who has a bad-boy streak and is covered in piercings and tattoos. When these two unexpectedly similar classmates have a random run-in outside of the classroom, a bubbly, sweet tale of school life begins!

Dear Reader,

So, today I’m bringing you a review on Horimiya! My cute babies!!

I would definitely say that Horimiya is my favorite high school romance manga, and I was actually still in high when the series started coming out in Japanese. I would check whatever manga reader I was using at the time, to see if the next chapter had come out yet, and sometimes it would take the fan translator a while to upload so I was always left in suspense.Image result for biting nails gif

Then, one day, Yen Press copyrighted it, and I was forced to wait for every volume to come out just like all the mortals. That’s okay though, I like being able to support the author!

Anyway, Horimiya is a cute Slice of Life manga about Hori-san, a responsible older sister, and Miyamura-kun, an emo boy (what? he is🤷) who dresses like a nerd at school.

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Hori-san is actually very cool and chic at school, but at home she dresses and acts like a middle aged mom (my aesthetic too tbh), because she is helping her parents raise her younger brother while they’re busy with work.

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I like Horimiya because the romance doesn’t happen to quickly, everyone know’s that Hori and Miyamura are going to end up together (I mean I hope), but the series takes it’s time bringing them together. Also, all the side characters are super cute! And they actually serve a purpose (aka, the best friend, a potential love rival), while not being annoying about it.

We get to watch Hori and Miyamura gradually realize their feelings for each other, and experience jealous, while also being “just friends.”

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Miyamura even adopts Hori’s younger brother as his own, and the three of them become a cute little trio!

Oh, I will add that while Hori’s parents are absent a lot, at least they’re in the story. Like, Hori’s dad! Who likes to tease the pair, but is also very protective of his daughter.

Honestly, the whole series is super light, fluffy, and wholesome. I wish my high school experience was even 1/10th this nice honestly! Also, I wish they would make an anime of this already! There is a small OVA series based off the original webcomic (Hori-san to Miyamura-kun), but I need a full on 20 episode series people! *long drawn out disappointed sigh*

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So, to conclude.

Reasons why you should check the series out:

  • Cute couple, who start off as friends!
  • Nice side characters everyone will love 🙂
  • Cute art~
  • Complex characters
  • Nice family dynamics
  • and more!

Hope you liked my short review! Check out my IG for more kawaii photo’s @love_rinnn Thanks for reading ❤

Love,

Rin

 

 

 

 

Review | The Water Dragon’s Bride by Rei Toma

October 1, 2018

Water Dragons Bride 2

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Series: The Water Dragon’s Bride

Genre: fantasy, shojo

Published (eng):  April 24, 2017 – present)

Status: Ongoing

Catch it Here: VIZ Media | RightStuf | B&N

The Water Dragon’s Bride volume 1 features story and art by Rei Toma.

In the blink of an eye, a modern-day girl named Asahi is whisked away from her warm and happy home and stranded in a strange and mysterious world where she is sacrificed to a water dragon god! What plans are in store for her, and what will happen when she comes face to face with this god?

A young boy named Subaru comes to Asahi’s aid, but despite his help, Asahi must endure a test of survival! Will she be able to make it out alive, or will she end up being sacrificed?

**PSA: This is not a sponsored post, but it would be nice if it were! Links provided are for your leisure.

Dear Reader,

So. Today I’m bringing you my first manga review. Currently, there are only 6 volumes out in English, but the next volume is set to drop soon! Honestly I really, really enjoy this series. The story, the art, everything about it is so cute! We have Asashi, a strange red haired girl from the present, thrown into the past (or maybe a different dimension, not 100% sure, but ya know).

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So, then, she meets Subaru, who is a cute little village boy. Sadly, even though he does his best to protect her, his mother– in an attempt to save his sister, sacrifices Asashi to the Water God.

Luckily, the Water God is kind? Well, he’s an ancient relic who doesn’t know what to do with a bride, let alone a child…😅 Anyway, our first impression of him is that he’s an old dude who doesn’t know anything about humans, so he comes off as kind of cruel, but he’s a god, so it’s to be expected.😱

Even though he doesn’t understand humans, he grows fond of Asashi, and decides to spare her. They have a rocky start, but as he learns more about humans, her grows to like her, and even saves her from a fever.

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I personally really like the Water God, especially as the series progresses. Although he becomes more human through Asashi, and more empathetic, I kind of like his initial character. He’s really secluded, bored, and cold– which means he’s lonely, watching the humans from a mirror in the god’s world.

However, I will say “poor Asashi.” She’s really young, separated from her family, sacrificed to a god, and made an outcast by the villagers. Although, you really grow respect for her, because she keeps trying. Even though she dreams of home, she makes the best out of her situation and survives. wdb 1.JPG

Really, the true hero of the first volume is Subaru for always trying to take care of and save Asashi, not just from the clutches of the Water God, but also from his own mother–and the nasty villagers. He’s really a good friend!

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So, I won’t go any farther, because I don’t want to spoil anything!

Reasons to check the series out:

  • Cute art
  • A super cute protagonist
  • A fantasy world that will take you away from you’re everyday life
  • An attractive Water God, who is mysterious and alluring
  • A brave hero
  • And a fun story!

I hope you enjoyed my little review, and I’ll catch you later! Make sure you check out my manga IG for more kawaii photos @love_rinnn Thanks again!

Love,

Rin

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NU’EST W – W. HERE Mini Album Review

October 19, 2017

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Dear Reader,

I’ve been a fan of Nu’est since I was fourteen (has it been that long ? (╥_╥) I feel old lol), and I’ve watched them fall, and now rise, and I’ve never been prouder to be someone’s fan! They’ve really worked hard, so I wanted to dedicate a post to them! Unfortunately (it’s bitter-sweet really), Emperor Hwang is promoting with Wanna One, so he couldn’t participate on this album, but I’m still giving him an honorable mention.

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So, without further ado, let me introduce you to the songs~🌸

1. 하루만 (haruman)

Translated as “Just One Day” I see this as their love song to Minhyun with lyrics like “you left without a single word, what can I do about that?” Minhyun had to leave to be in Wanna One but “give me a little bit of time, just one day” and “stay by my side, just for today, I feel like I’m going to go crazy, but I’ll bear it, because you will return.” I felt so sad hearing this song, I miss Emperor Hwang too, but he’ll be back, one day.

It’s a slow song, with a romantic melody, fun beat, and dramatic drop beat!

Find the full lyrics here!

2. Where You At ⭐

 

I think this is my favorite song on the album, I will admit I was a bit skeptical when I first heard it, because it was so different from any of their older stuff, but it quickly grew on me! Now I listen to it all day everyday.

Plus, the lyrics are extremely nice and I relate, “while you weren’t here, my heart longed for you, now it’s bruised, black and blue” which is how I felt when they were away from fans while competing on Produce 101 Season Two, and also how I feel with Minhyun promoting with Wanna One. “I’m wandering here and there, looking for you
I run around, searching but I’m still only in my room,” seriously–me too.

The song is a calm melody with longing lyrics, and a boppy beat.

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Find the complete lyrics here!

3. Paradise (Ren Solo)

I felt like this was a song for fans, everyone knows how much Ren loves and appreciates his LOVES. So yeah, I mean it could be a song for someone special, but I know we’re special to him too, so I’ll just stick to that. “When I’m thinkin ’bout you, yeh yeh, you are my Paradise!” Oh thanks, what a precious bean 💖

The song has a heartfelt melody, and a flowing beat! Perfect for the times when you feel happy and want to listen to an equally happy song~

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4. Good Love (Aron Solo)

HAHAHA, this song is so American, it’s perfect for Aron! I don’t know why, but it’s so hard to find reliable translations for Ren and Aron’s songs! But either way, this was another song about appreciating someone, and how he loved the person in the song, and needed them, hence, he’ll give us “good love.” Which, is so sweet! Paradise and Good Love are tied for me in terms of best solo!

Good Love is a poppy song with a happy beat! Please give Aron some love, and give the song a listen!

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5. With (JR Solo)

This song is so emotional, JR is the rapper of the group, but he sang a lot in this song. Plus there is a choir in the background, and I was just so blown away by this song. I really felt this song was to Minhyun, because JR sings “I saw you shedding tears at the back, I turned away because I felt too cowardly to approach you.” Which, when Minhyun was the only one to make it into Wanna One, he cried so hard because he felt bad no one else made it in, especially JR because he was the most “promising” trainee. So, this song made me really emotional, and JR is such an angel that I can’t even.

The song is a slow and soft melody that will make your heart ache. You can really feel his feelings in this song, and you will ache with him.

Find the full lyrics here!

6. 지금까지 행복했어요 (Baekho Solo)

Ugh, this song is so good. (TW// death of family member) Baekho’s dad passed away this summer, and Baekho was surrounded by a controversy, which I’m going to say why, but this must have been a hard summer for him. The lyrics read, “I am not alone, you really don’t have to worry about me.” And “with how much of a child I always was, did I ever make you cry with my childish ways?” You can tell this is the song of a child to their parent, which I can empathize with as the oldest child of my family.

The song is a soothing song, with an angelic voice that will make you miss a loved one, or home if you live away from them.

Find the full lyrics here!

Bonus: from the Love Paint Mini Album

Daybreak – MinHyun feat. JR

Okay, technically this is JR and Minhyun’s song, but Minhyun did all the singing and JR did all the rapping, so we can all pretend this was Minhyun’s solo! I miss MinHyun a lot, but he’s promoting with Wanna One for the greater good, and I’ll just cheer him on until the end!

 

So, what’s my rating of the album? 10/10, of course! Seriously, all of the songs were really good, and they’ve worked so so so hard over the last six years, I’m so happy they’re finally experiencing popularity.

Buy the album on iTunes/ Google Play or find it on Spotify!

Thank you giving my loves a chance, and reading this fangirl rant! As always, see you next time~ Bye!

Love,

Rin

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