Quick Update

Rather disappointingly, as with too many of my endeavours lately, I've been neglecting this blog.

Just a few random update points though!

1. I've been listening to the new Linkin Park album (Living Things - listen to it here) pretty much none stop since it came out. It's definitely not the most amazing album ever but I really like the sound. As I commented elsewhere, hearing it is like "coming home". It's warm and familiar and I love it :)
2. Downloaded LOADS of new manga series which I am working my way through. I was really impressed by Change 123 ;-)
3. Can't find a decent game to entertain myself with. I've filled time here and there with Jewels Star (Android Bejewelled rip-off) and Crystal Saga Online (browser based MMORPG).
4. Watching LOADS of Steve Job videos, trying to inspire myself I suppose! Somehow I feel too much of the world tries to copy him/Apple though... I almost feel as if I want to say something corny like "be innoviative, not derivative" but how do you do that when innovation is they were all about?!?
5. Can't sleep properly lately, I hate hayfever >.< Does that count as a first world problem? :P
6. Finally... I've managed to %$#& up my toe again playing football :'( I'm still playing but I lament for my toe.

Anywho, life is good really xD

One Piece

The latest manga I have taken to reading is One Piece, which I am getting really into!

Based in an age where pirates dominate the world, the story centres on Monkey D. Luffy, a kid who dreams of becoming "The Pirate King". To achieve this, he hopes to find the eponymous mythical treasure that is the One Piece. Said to be the most valuable in the world, it is rumoured that the previous Pirate King hide it at the end of "The Grand Line", the most dangerous ocean in the world!

Their travels across the Grand Line gives rise to many crazy adventures for Luffy and his crew. As you may expect, there is conflict almost every step of the way. However, what makes the fighting interesting is the existence of "Devil Fruit", which bestow magical powers upon those who eat them! For example, Luffy ate one and become a "Rubber Man", in the same sense as Mr. Fantastic from the Fantastic Four.

Beyond this, the other characters have special traits and abilities as well, which helps to keep things interesting. Rather refreshingly, not everyone is magically overpowered and not every fight is drawn out for the sake of it. Very frequently the strong will simply destroy the weak is one go, which helps to keep things in perspective and keep the action going.

Combat aside, the character development is solid and story is fairly well told. I appreciate that if I was reading the story as it came out every week I'd probably get bored at points, but reading it together I feel the pacing is just right!

I've yet to start watching the anime but it is definitely on my to-do list! In the meantime, if you enjoy Bleach and would like to read some thing lighter and more fantasy based, I'd highly recommend One Piece!

Bleach

My cousin once told me, when we were teenagers, that I would love Bleach. I didn't care to enquire about the cleaning product but when I finally found the manga and got into it, I've never looked back.

Bleach is a violent in nature, cute with humour and is epic on almost all scales. For the most part it centres on pitting the protagonist, Ichigo, against insanely powerful enemies in ridiculously destructive fights to the death. However the violence is rarely mindless and more akin to a game of chess. The subtle undercurrents and relationships between all the characters makes for some awesome scenes.

The story is pure fantasy and really quite addictive. Reading the tale is awesome but watching the anime is pure joy. The humour comes across a lot better when animated and the Japanese voice actors do a tremendous job of bringing life to the characters.

Finally just to finish on the iconic characters of Bleach, they are beautifully drawn and have some real depth to them, to the most point XD (awesome translation in that picture by the way)

MangaWhat

I love reading manga and I've found the most awesome free Android application for it: MangaWhat

Reading the latest mangas is really simple, with multiple sources choose from, including MangaFox, MangaReader, and BleachExile. All of these have a very wide selection and you can find all the chapters there as well.

Which brings me onto the next feature nicely, the download manager. Once you have found a manga you like, you can set up the app to download all chapters within any range (42 to 100 for example). Once they are downloaded, you can happily browse through them all offline. I've downloaded the first 300 chapters of One Piece and that has been keeping me entertained on the tube!

Fun times, hope you enjoy it too!