Anime!

So recently I have been watching an anime show that I have been following for quite some time now called Naruto. It is quite incredible although I have to watch it by reading the English subtitles since I don’t speak Japanese; but that is just a minor negative feature to watching the show. It is full of suspense and has a detailed well-structured story line that can affect the viewer greatly at times, which is probably why even those who read the subtitles at times get obsessed; and as much as I hate to admit it I feel that I am obsessed with the show, its naturally addicting.

Now, I don’t know if lots of people have seen the show but it has rapidly expanded its viewer’s rates and is growing to a global level, they have already created an English dubbed version! However, the dubbed versions always come out much later and I like to stay updated with the show. Besides hearing the original voices to any show or movie greatly changes the rate of how you interoperate the show, even if they are in another language. Overall, if you have not seen Naruto or heard of it I recommend it to you, and although you may not like it depending on your taste it has definitively addicted me to a certain point that at times embarrasses me.

Winter Break

We have some back from winter vacation of two weeks now and I was planning to update you on my trip. For my vacation I went to Brazil, more specifically Rio and Iguaçu Falls, unfortunately Rio was rainy the whole time we were there, cloudy skies and beaches just don’t match up to well don’t you think? However, the weather in Iguacu Falls made up all the bad days in Rio, clear skies and a blazing sun ALL day long. This trip was my first ever to a country which spoke a language I did not making it a different experience. It was different to be in a place where you could not communicate, using your hands and facial expressions to simply ask for an empanada at a bakery; to top it all off my dad was convinced he could communicate so he read out loud every portuguese sign we saw simply to embarrass my sister and I.

Iguacu Falls were amazing! Never had I seen so many waterfalls in one place, the vegetation and scenery of the entire area was beautiful indeed. We decided to go under the water falls… twice; once in the Brazilian side and once on the Argentinean (I Honestly Preferred the Brazilian Better). On our flight back home I had the luck of being sick, and trust me it is the most terrible feeling in the world to be on a plane for 6 hours with a plugged nose and terrible stomach ache. Overall, the one con to the trip in my opinion was that retched flight to Caracas. 

What has Happened To Disney?

I’m going to be a little bit off topic again with this post. So I was watching some videos the other day of YouTube when I saw one particular video about the Lion King. As I have mentioned earlier, Disney’s “Lion King” is the only movie that surpasses the Wizard of Oz and I realized I had never spoken about the movie on this blog before today. I don’t know particularly why the movie is so appealing to me; I’m not sure if it is because I first saw it when I was young and really enjoyed it or if it simply is an incredible movie.

Anyways, the Lion King tells of this free land in Africa which is ruled by a pack of lions. The main character is the son of the king, his name is Simba. However, one particular member of the royal line is evil, the king’s brother and Simba’s uncle, his name is Scar. Scar had always envied the king (His Brother) and one day formulates a plan with the infamous hyenas in order to take the throne; this plan was one which involved the death of the king and the heir to the throne (Simba). The plan succeeds to the point where the king is killed; however, Simba manages to escape from the grasp of the hyenas.

I believe what most appealed to me in this film was how free the world was. The story line being so pure yet intriguing, I honestly don’t know what has happened to the old Disney films, better said, the GOOD Disney films. Now-a-days movies are filled with complicated story lines that are overly confusing. I miss those classic films of The Lion King, Aladdin, Little Mermaid, Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, etc. What ever happened to the greatness of that movie era? Are we cursed to producing “realistic” movies from now on with complex plots? Is this was our advancements in movie making have brought us? I wonder if maybe, someday, we will get the chance to produce another one of those movies that use to fill me with laughter, but, I doubt it will happen…

The Son of Neptune

Today I’m going to talk about another book; however, this specific book does not fall under the Wizard of Oz category. The book is called The Son of Neptune and is written by one of the New York Times’ bestselling authors, Rick Riordan. Although the book is slightly off topic, it still reflects a lot of fantasy and mythology. Riordan likes to write books about ancient civilizations and their gods, they are based mostly on mythology and mythological events and people; Riordan has written books about Egyptian gods such as the Kane Chronicles, about Greek gods which is the famous Percy Jackson Series, as well as the Roman series known as The Heroes of Olympus. The book Son of Neptune is part of the Heroes of Olympus Series. I enjoy his manner of writing because without realizing it, you learn incredible facts about the ancient Greeks, Egyptians, Romans and their gods.

WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD! The specific story, Son of Neptune, is one where the world is in a great crisis. The earth, Gaea, otherwise depicted as our loving Mother Earth in modern time, is planning on overpowering the gods and restarting the world from scratch using her children, the giants. To help stop this from happening, the main characters, Percy (Who has lost his Memory), Frank, and Hazel must go to the land beyond the gods (Alaska) and try to put a halt in Mother Earth’s plans. Throughout their quests they meet Northern Giants, Giant Birds, and Sisters of Medusa, all the events adding to the overall excitement on the novel. The Son of Neptune is full of thrills and adrenaline; it is a book which I would recommend to all those who enjoy fantasy and mythology.

Wicked, The Musical

So this past summer I was able to watch the play Wicked, based on the book written by Gregory Maquire. Although I thought the play was amazing, I have never read the book; neither do I intend to do so. I feel there is no point to reading it if the story line is already known to me, it would just be boring because I would be reading something I already know the ending to. (Warning Spoilers Ahead) The play is based on the “true” story of the notorious Wicked Witch of the West in which she is not wicked at all! The Wicked Witch or Alphaba, which is her real name, was an outcast; she was often made fun of and discriminated against because of her green skin which no one could understand, or accept, yet she was always kind and remained pure to her heart.

One day, when she must take care of her paralyzed sister (Wicked Witch of the East) at a school for magicians, Alphaba meets a friend she can rely on. This friend was none other than Galinda (Good Witch of the North), although they considered each other friends they were also rivals which competed for a spot as a magician trainee under the watchful eye of the head master Madam Morrible. Madam Morrible later discovers Alphaba’s hidden magical powers, which enables Alphaba to join the great and powerful Oz in the emerald city.

However, Oz is an evil man, he uses Alphaba’s powers to restrain and commit heinous crimes against all animals. Upon discovering Oz’s ideals Alphaba runs away and becomes known as the wicked witch of the west. Then, Madam Morrible has an idea, an idea that will bring Alphaba out of hiding, so Madam Morrible suggests a change in the weather (Weather is her Specialty). It is here where an old Kansan house is lifted off the ground and dropped on a certain Wicked Witch of the East, Alphaba’s sister…

Now There's an Ending!

I did it! I finished book one in the Oz Series, and it was incredible! The ending was ten times better than the movie’s dream crushing ending. I still can’t believe how much more superior the book is to the movie. WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD The book ends very simply, the cowardly lion was final king of the forest, the lovable tin man became king of the Winkies (Former Subjects of the Wicked Witch of the West) and the thoughtful scarecrow was ruler of the Emerald City, which welcomed him warmly. Most importantly however, Dorothy got back home safely and wasn’t dreaming in the end! You could imagine my joy when I discovered it wasn’t a dream; you could almost feel my childhood dreams streaming back to me!

One major aspect of the book that differed from the movie in a large scale was the way Baum portrayed Dorothy’s companions. WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD Baum made the characters act in an ironic manner in comparison to their feelings. For example, the tin man complained that he was heartless, however, in the dark forest when he steps on a bug he cries for half an hour. The cowardly lion claims to fear other creatures but jumps into battle when Dorothy is attack by flying monkeys. Finally, the scarecrow weeps for brains; however is the group’s true mastermind. I found it amusing that Baum made the characters act in such a contradicting manner. These descriptions made me realize that even if people think they lack essential traits, they are still present and are certain to surface.

What the Book is About...

So I have just recently begun reading the first book in the Oz series, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz written by Frank Baum and am enjoying it more than the movie! The book is full of details that clear up any questions one may have about the movie. For example, at the start of the story (both in the movie and the book) Baum describes the setting as gray and dull; in order to emphasize how Dorothy’s old life lacked color and joy. The author tells us that the Kansas sun has bleached the color from the land and its inhabitants, only to later emphasize the queerness radiated off of the Land of Oz. The book is very simple which amuses me because I do not need to make an effort to understand what Baum is trying to infer. In the introduction of the book Baum explains how fairy tales have evolved over time and how he wrote the book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in order differ from the average fairy tale format and create something new. Although I am enjoying the book, I was told by my English teacher that it is the worst one of the series, surprising me entirely; now I’m anxious to read the next books and hopefully finish all thirteen books before the end of the school semester. So if you have not yet read the book I recommend 100% that you do! Until then… remember to keep following The Yellow Brick Road!