pre-holiday update

It’s been a long week in just two days, and I’m very happy to have only one day left of work. Bleach anime, and have reached the portion of the series that is made up of 48 episodes of filler, created while they waited for new manga material from Tite Kubo. It’s going to be a long road. We’ve been advised that we could skip these episodes, as they leave the characters exactly where they started in order for the real story to begin again, but for the moment we’re forging on. Unfortunately, the main antagonists for this arc are incredibly dull, and so the only real moments of enjoyment come from watching our heroes interact with each other. Note to anime producers: adding cello music does not make your antagonists more intriguing. It only makes it obvious that you’ve watched The Hunger too many times. Of course, these episodes also have the disadvantage of following the Soul Society arc, which was extremely exciting. I guess we’ll see how it goes.

I also finally read Fullmetal Alchemist volumes 13 & 14, and all I have to say is: Wow. I can’t believe I have to wait until December for the next volume to be released in English. This series continues to floor me. I haven’t been this enchanted with a fictional universe in a very long time.

For the moment, I am out of manga to read. This is an appalling situation, though I suppose it will give me more time for writing, which is good. Still, I’m sure I’ll end up buying something soon. Things I am currently poised to buy are Death Note volume 3, xxxHolic volume 3, Banana Fish volume 2, Maison Ikkoku volume 2, and Bleach volume 3. I’m not sure when Alive: The Final Evolution volume 3 comes out, but I’ll want that too. I’m catching up with everyone else, I realize, but I’m doing it with vigor! If any passers by have recommendations based on what I have already read and liked (which includes everything mentioned above, along with the entire series of Hikaru no Go), I would be extremely grateful.