Miscellaneous jumble

I don’t ever seem to have time enough for anything lately, so just a few brief items today.

I’m having a lot of frustration while trying to write these days, and I expect it’s a bit of anxiety over the self-imposed deadline I have coming up which I don’t think I’m going to make. For the most part, I’ve made peace with the fact that I’m not always going to make the deadlines I set for myself, and that it is still good to set them, because I’ll still get further along than if I did not, but I think in this case I may have paralyzed myself a little bit with the urgency of it, and how much important I’ve placed on it. I guess we’ll see.

In any case, time to move on to my topics of the day, Bleach, Bakuman, and Princess Tutu!

SPOILERS AHEAD!

First of all, we have gotten up to episode 22 of Princess Tutu, and I am on the edge of my freakin’ seat, I tell you! Because we’re watching this series with a friend, we’ve been stretching it out, just a few episodes a week, and though that means I don’t get to have that awesome total immersion experience I love so much, it certainly has served to build up some powerful tension and anticipation! I didn’t expect the series to make such a major shift so close to the end, but the introduction of Fakir as the direct descendant of Drosselmeyer, and Ahiru’s abduction to wherever-the-hell she is has brought things to a whole new level, and I am mesmerized. Please, those of you for whom this series is old hat, I beg you not to spoil me for whatever is coming! I’m really quite in love with this series, and with my new personal OTP, Ahiru/Fakir, which I realize may come to a horrible end. I do hope, at least, that before the end, Ahiru is able to come to the full realization that Fakir is much cooler than Mytho. Hee. Also, I have a deep desire for Rue to overcome the really horrific self-esteem issues that have been ingrained in her as Kraehe by her nasty Raven father, and for her to be able to live as Rue instead, who is talented and beautiful and worthy of being loved, but I’m really not sure at this point how any of this could work. Oh, Princess Tutu, you’ve got me all starry-eyed. What a wonderful thing.

As a side note, I must say that one of the advantages to being so new to the animanga world, is that I get to enjoy so many older series as if they were brand new, and at the same time, gobble up what truly is new as well. Which brings me to…

Bleach chapter 325: I tend to get bored during the fights, so admittedly I’m better off waiting for full volumes to be released than reading chapter-to-chapter, but lately I haven’t had the patience. That said, there hasn’t been much interesting in Bleach for me since 322, which I talked about here. I have an odd love for Yumichika, and even more for his friendship with Ikkaku, so of course what caught my interest in the new chapter is the very last page. I told a friend yesterday that I have a secret desire to see Yumichika go “all Willow Rosenberg” on the guy Ikkaku was fighting, and though I don’t expect to see it happen, I can pretend, at least until the next chapter is released. :D Seriously, though, Yumichika’s real power is pretty terrifying, and I would really love to see him use it to save or avenge Ikkaku, even if that wouldn’t go over well with the rest of 11th Division, or probably with Ikkaku himself. I’d like to see someone from 11th Division do something out of personal feeling rather than the screwed-up honor of fighting or whatever it is they all adhere to, and if anyone was going to do it, it seems to me Yumichika is the best candidate, since I’m not convinced he’d have any interest in 11th Division if Ikkaku was not so devoted to it.

Bakuman chapter 5: I did not expect to like this chapter at all, based on what I’d heard from friends, but I actually do. I’m still not invested in the fairly ridiculous love story, and still put off by the sexism I’ve seen so far, but what does interest me is Mashiro’s growing determination and passion for what he’s trying to achieve. His sudden dedication, his rabid desire to know everything he can about creating manga, and his intense focus on improving his skills really resonate with me, and remind me of my own obsessive nature, I suppose. Perhaps I’m even envying his youth and potential a bit. In any case, I’m finding that part of the story really satisfying, and, okay, I’m enjoying learning about pens, what can I say? In any case, as long as the career focus remains, I’m definitely still interested in this manga.

Thus we have reached the end of my incoherent jumble of items for the day. A quick thanks to everyone who has been recommending manga to me recently. I’m really looking forward to digging in to a bunch of new series!