Like The Tomato
Nothing here but my musings about daily life, books, anime, and food.
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Roma
- Title: Parasyte –the maxim–
- Episodes: Season 1 – 24 episodes
- Where to Watch: Crunchyroll and Hulu
- Publisher: ntv
I always have misgivings about watching a well-loved anime. And Parasyte was up there. It was highly recommended. It has a 4.8 rating on Crunchyroll for crying out loud. The buzz was high when this anime came out. So there was an apprehension on my part. But my partner picked it so we watched it.
The premise is solid. We follow Shinichi Izumi who was partially infected by a Parasyte. However, these Parasytes that suddenly infect the world are also monsters that enjoy butchering and consuming humans to survive. We see Izumi navigate life in this as he learns to coexist with Migi so that he can survive in this messy world of carnage. For the most part, I loved the action sequences and enjoyed Izumi’s character development. It was good.
My favorite character, hands down, is Migi. There was a mishap when he tried to “consume” Izumi. Instead of entering Izumi’s ear to get to the brain, Migi had no choice but to burrow into Izumi’s arm instead. This led to an unsuccessful takeover of Izumi’s whole body. But he was able to control his right arm instead. From the beginning, Migi’s main focus was his survival. Nothing else. He was emotionless, logical, and smart. He learned the ways of the humans by reading and researching while Izumi slept at night. Migi’s character development was subtle. From just protecting Izumi to working with him to try and fight the cannibalistic humans taken over by his kind. This symbiosis between Migi and Izumi flourished when something happened that forced Migi to fully integrate into Izumi’s body.
Izumi’s change really happened after Migi’s full integration into his body. Where Migi’s changes were subtle, Izumi’s character development was pretty drastic. Complete 180. And I was there for it. I ate it up. It was so good. This boy has been through a lot so I was not surprised why the change in him was so severe and so palpable, visceral. I loved it. I enjoyed it.
There was also another character in this anime whose character development I appreciated so much. And that is Ryoko Tamiya. Oh she was heartless and calculating and scary. Again, these creatures’ main objective is to survive. She wanted to blend in with the humans. Studying their emotions, their patterns, their lives. And when she was introduced, yeah, she was murderous. I mean, they needed to consume humans to survive. But with her constant research, she found a way to coexist with the humans. She gained some humanity in the end. Also awakening Izumi’s humanity that he buried along the way.
There were storylines that I think are not needed. The love story for example. This could be attributed to the fact that I really think Satomi Murano is not a good character. I don’t understand why she was there. I honestly thought she was there to help Izumi to rediscover humanity but she didn’t even do that! All this character did was question Izumi’s changes. She didn’t like it when Izumi was cold and heartless. She didn’t like it when he changed back. I was very aggravated when she was on the screen. I almost wanted to drop the anime just because she was on the screen all the time. And don’t even get me started on the ending. To say that I was disappointed is a huge understatement.
Anyway, this anime was good. I mean, the execution for the most part was great and enjoyable. Like any other anime, there would always be characters and/or storylines that I would not like. Would I watch it again, no. I’m good to just say that I watched the anime.
Hello. How are you? I am okay if you are interested. Life got in the way. Good news: I finally have a job. I started feeling the financial pressure around September. But the good news came in mid-ish October that I got the job I felt excited for. I am pretty sure you can imagine my relief after I got the news. It felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders.
I also found myself in a non-writing mood. I have not been able to journal at all. Much less post anything on here, which is fine. I am not about to berate myself for it. My moods go up and down. And the daily posting kind of burned me out. But I also found it hard to share anything when there is nothing to share.
Aside from the new job, my free time has been consumed by looking at apartments. Because yes, I am planning on moving to a bigger space. With a hybrid position, I need an actual workspace at home. The setup that I am doing currently is less than ideal. It works at the moment. However, I am already annoyed having to disconnect my laptop to hook up my work laptop and vice versa. Take note that I’ve only been doing this for a couple of months and I’m already complaining. Not good.
I was finally able to resume hangout time with my partner. With my mental health in shambles for about six months, I isolated myself. Just embraced the depression and anxiety that took over me. And I need to work on it. Not to shut him off – anyone for that matter – and at least just let him know that I am doing okay. Again, I will continue working on this. Long distance is difficult enough, I don’t need to add more pressure on top of the distance and time zone difference.
I am also trying to get back into routine. Keyword: trying. Some stuff needs to be reshuffled since 40 hours a week have been blocked off for work. To be honest, I am struggling to reshuffle since I have no motivation to do things. However, I know it needs to be done. And so it will be done…eventually. And with that, I hope to post a bit more often here. It might still not be daily, but something – targeting a couple of times a week. I am also trying to get back to reading novels. Not that reading webtoons is not good. But I have three novels on my desk right now that I need to continue with.
Oh! My life has been consumed with watching true crime docuseries lately. I am not surprised whatsoever. My moods and interests cycle through and I guess my brain likes to consume these kinds of content right now. So that was that.
My November reading has taken a backseat for sure. I got a new job this month. And I am finding a rhythm with things. I mean, I still think that my reading was decent. However, I have not been able to read a novel, which is shameful. And turned to the instant gratification of reading some webtoons.
The only novel I finished this month was Heaven Official’s Blessing Vol 6. I did start reading volume 7 in November but have not been able to continue. My focus kept on wavering. Anyway, I love Vol 6. I mean, I love all the books that I have read so far. I am pretty hyped since the last volume (Vol 8) has been released and I got my copy. And I am excited to get a satisfying ending on one of the best series that I have ever read.
Of course, a lot of manhwa and manga in November. There were a few favorites for sure.
You Get Me Going (manhwa, webtoon). I finished reading the manhwa – this should be the second/last season for this one. And I still think this was a gem. I loved seeing MC and ML navigating their relationship from fuck buddies to actually having a full-on relationship. I was smiling, I was giddy. The communication between the two was top-notch. Green flags all over the place. Yeah, again, love it.
How My Daddies Became Mates (manga, webtoon). This is just adorable. I tend to not enjoy omegaverse too much, the genre itself has a lot of red flags, but this one was really fun. From enemies to lovers to being fated mates and to being dads. It was nice seeing the progression of their relationship. The angst – I mean, they met in high school – so the angst was high! But I love the journey of the main characters realizing what they meant to each other. But then again, I realized that I really enjoy reading some enemies to lovers stories.
Hetakuso Love Step (manga, webtoon). This was just cute. MC and ML in college, ML was a playboy – scared of being hurt. MC was the awkward smart boy that ML found himself falling for. I think what I enjoyed in this one was how organic the relationship was. It was young love. With a lot confusion and a lot of realizations. The first chapter was rough, but not too much to deter me from seeing where these characters would go. And I’m glad I decided to continue on. Again, this was just cute.
Honorable mentions were Walk on Water, Love Plan, and Like a Tidal Wave (manhwa, webtoon). These were enjoyable. At least, I enjoyed the reading experience. They’re not the best but they were worth the time.
I read a lot of manhwa last month. I think my brain wanted to take a break from novels for a bit. So, I read 23 manhwa, 2 graphic novels, 2 manga, and 5 novels. All in all, my reading is still not bad. I enjoyed a lot of the ones I read, and I even found a couple of gems that I really recommend.
Out of the 23 manhwa last month, there are three worth mentioning:
You Get Me Going (manhwa, webtoon). This is a completed manhwa with 2 seasons. I finished 1 season last month and I am currently reading season 2. This is one of the healthiest BLs out there. It is fun, the story works, and the MCs are adorable. This follows an enemies-to-lovers trope, with them starting as coworkers who cannot stand each other, progressing to fuck buddies, then to them realizing that they are falling for each other. This was a gem. The story for season 1 was good, the progression of the relationship was natural, and the communication was great. I enjoyed my reading experience with this manhwa.
XXX Buddy (manhwa, webtoon). This is an ongoing manhwa with 2 complete seasons, season 3 is ongoing. I read the 2 completed seasons while I was in SoCal. What do I like about this one? Again, a BL that showcases a healthy relationship between the MCs. Sure, they started rocky, not quite as enemies but not really friends either. They are coworkers, both leads of their respective teams, and collaborate a lot. One thing is for sure is the fact that they are drawn to each other. They started as fuck buddies as well, but I am at the point of the story where they are realizing that they mean more to each other than casual hook-up partners. Again, the communication between these two characters is top-notch. The progression of the story and the relationship is natural.
Sheep’s Mask (manhwa, webtoon). This is a completed manhwa with just 12 chapters. A quick read for sure but a difficult one. I am not sure why this is under the BL category because it’s not. There is no love here. This was a story of revenge. A private experienced a lot of horrible things during his military service, the MC knew about it and didn’t do anything and even partake in this horrible thing. The private vowed revenge. And that was fair. I cannot fault him for it. This is violent, and graphic. And I found my heart broken after reading the story.
Alpha’s Cage, Fox Hunt (novels, eBooks). These are books 9 and 10 of the Haven City series. So I finally finished this 10-book series. Out of these two, I enjoyed Alpha’s Cage a bit more. A second-chance romance that involves loss, grieving, and letting go. For a novel of only 200-something pages, it packed emotions and it was done well. I think this might be my favorite in this series. Fox Hunt was fine. I just didn’t like the age gap, it was just too much of a gap for me to be comfortable.
Omega in the Shadows, Omega in the Light (novels, eBooks). These are books 1 and 2 of a 6-book series called Lost Wolves by the same author of the Haven City series. I think you can guess that I enjoyed Haven City so much that I decided to pick another series by the same author. These two books follow 2 omega brothers who happen to be assassins. Omega in the Shadows follows Elijah Kane, an omega assassin. A mercenary hired to kill some high profile questionable people. He came face to face with Rowan Gregor who happens to be working for the CIA and super hellbent on hunting him down. Omega in the Light follows Simeon Kane, another omega assassin who happens to be Elijah’s younger brother. His target, Zev Oren, proved to be a huge problem. Not because he is tough to kill but because he thinks his target is too vibrant and too alive to die. Anyway, I enjoyed these two books. A little bit more graphic on the violence compared to Haven City which I loved. This series also involves a fated mate trope. So far, out of these two books that I read, I liked book 2 a bit more. I enjoyed the progression of the relationship between Simeon and Zev a bit more.
Heaven Official’s Blessing Vol 5 (novel, physical). I cannot describe anymore how much I love this series. I love the very feisty baby Hua Cheng in this volume. I love the shenanigans between these martial gods especially Pei Ming while he was teasing Xie Lian regarding Hua Cheng. I love the revelations that I am slowly getting as I read more in the series. I was laughing, I was annoyed, my heart fluttered. Again, I just cannot describe how this series is just too good for words. I am reading volume 6 right now.
given vol 8 (manga, physical). I waited for this volume until the physical copy came out. This series better not be done. This book still has a bit more internal conflict as Mafuyu struggles to decide if he wants to go pro with his band. There is definitely some tension between Mafuyu and Ritsuka making the latter question their relationship and his boyfriend’s behavior. However, I am excited about the debut of Hiragi’s band where Ritsuka is playing guitars temporarily since given is kind of at a standstill waiting for Mafuyu’s decision. Anyway, this manga better continues, I am more than invested.
I mean, despite the lower number of novels read last month, I still consider October a successful reading month. I also realized that I really enjoy enemies-to-lovers stories. There is some kind of satisfaction that I feel when the characters realize that they are in love with each other. And when they finally confess their feelings to each other, oh the happiness I feel. I am looking into expanding towards that genre a little bit. I also find enjoyment when the communication between characters is so clear. I don’t know why that is not something that can be incorporated a bit more. Anyway, hopefully, I get to keep this momentum up for November.
I mean, I did do some errands earlier today so that was good. But I did feel really tired and kept on yawning the whole day even though I was sipping on coffee pretty much the whole day. All good. All good. I did receive the itinerary of the training on Monday. So that was good. However, the fact that I had to email the manager to get that information was a bit weird. But I am excited to start my new role though. I was able to hang out with my hun today. And we just watched one movie today.
V for Vendetta (2006). I was finally able to watch this movie! Not for the lack of trying! I tried years ago, but I fell asleep and never picked it up again. Okay, full transparency, the first part of this movie dragged for me. The plot was moving too slowly for my liking. The movie picked up for me when the connections were being revealed. It is a good revenge story. I enjoyed it for the most part. However, I did tell my partner that I think I would’ve preferred reading this as a novel instead of watching the movie. I know, there’s no novel so that would never happen. Regardless, I love a good revenge plot, and this movie delivered.
No big plans tonight. Just relaxing. I do have a headache right now. It could be anything really. Most likely just being in front of the computer the whole day or I could be dehydrated. I don’t think I drank enough water today. So I will do just that. I will try to read some more of Heaven Official’s Blessing Vol 6 while listening to a podcast. I am almost done with it. I am too excited to start reading HOB Vol 7 already.
Today was spent with me having anxiety waiting for my background check to clear for a job. I was getting antsy for sure. All I was doing since last week was waiting. And It was not fun. Anyway, I got some good news today, everything has been cleared and this new job wants me to start on the 6th instead of the 13th, which is fine. I have been waiting for this for a while now so I am excited to start my new role.
Anyway, my hun and I were supposed to watch a movie and then some episodes of an anime. But I got so caught up in talking about what happened on Heaven Official’s Blessing Vol 6 that we kind of decided to not watch some episodes of Founder of Diabolism anymore since I took so much time talking.
The Bubble (2022). A look at a movie in production during the pandemic. But you know, more chaotic. It was okay. Not the best for sure. There were some funny parts. But a lot of cringe. And a lot of “okay, sure”. Like I said, it was okay. But then again, I was not expecting much from this movie anyway. So I am not disappointed at all. It did what it did.
Plans for tonight? Just continue reading Heaven Official’s Blessing Vol 6. I am getting to the good part. I mean, Xie Lian is in his dark era and I am all here for it!