I'm back and "Kilala Princess"

Alas, I have been remiss! Sorry about the lack o' posts as of late—I've been working on graduate applications, studying for the GRE, and just found out my best friend is moving all the way to Denver, CO, so I have been ignoring Smoldering Rose for the past few weeks. Time to make up for my absence ♥

I think the adorable chibi-style princesses in the series' artwork was enough to get me to read Kilala Princess. No lie.

Anyway, this little post features a manga image from Kilala Princess that I colored of Aurora. She's my favorite Disney princess—I can't help it, even though I know she's supposedly all passive and everything. I feel like I have to defend why I like her everytime I mention her (Summary: likes Norse Mythology=likes Ring Cycle=likes Brynhildr=likes Sleeping Beauty fairytale=likes Disney movies=likes Aurora. I basically like her because she reminds me of Brynhildr, the valkyrie, a definitely not passive female character. I wrote a 20-something page paper on it for an Honors course once cause I do stuff like that when I'm defensive).

Despite a lot of mixed reviews (you know, “Kingdom Hearts with a vagina” and whatnot), I found Kilala Princess to be very enjoyable reading. I particularly loved how well-written the excerpts with the princesses are and the story's overall pace. The storyline wasn't horribly predictable, but then again—if you're reading a magical girl manga about Disney princesses and you don't expect it to end happily, you probably don't read much magical girl manga and don't watch that many Disney movies. But if you do, I can pretty much guarantee you'll enjoy this series.

Magical girl is my favorite genre, though I'm not sure how it happened. I always thought magical girl would appeal to the Harlequin-reading, Sex-and-the-City-consuming crowd, not the war-action-film-watching, serious-literature-reading geeky gothy girl. I'm not really into anime/manga otherwise (except Hetalia, as I discovered it right when I was doing my senior thesis in art history on national personifications—it provided well-earned comic relief).

Will post again shortly.

tata,

beatrix

In Honor of Bastille Day, Some Rose of Versailles!

I fell in love with the 1970s historical anime Rose of Versailles (also known as Lady Oscar) when I was still in grade school. It's definitely on my top ten list of the greatest anime of all time. The plot basically revolves around the daughter of a general who--unable to bear a son--decides to raise his daughter (whom he calls Oscar) as man so she may eventually take his place as commander of the royal guard. She ends up becoming a bodyguard to young Marie Antoinette, her journey beginning with strong admiration and utter loyalty to the French crown but ultimately ending in a bloody fight for the future of the French people. Along the way the story takes us through political intrigue, women's studies, military history, famous scandals and forbidden romances, but never without a strong sense of the struggle of each character (be they a noble or a peasant).

Image from her official fanlisting @ rosalie.shoujosparkles.net

My favorite character is Rosalie, a young girl who suffers on both sides of the coin. She lives up through her teenage years in a Paris slum and cares for her aging and sickly mother. When money runs out and no jobs are to be found, she actually attempts to prostitute herself (thankfully, she solicits Oscar first!). Rosalie's life ends up leading her to Versailles where a secret about her birth forces her to choose between living as a noble or finding her own way as a peasant. She is a very dynamic character as are all members of the main cast, and since the story spans many years, the viewer is treated to a very thorough--albeit fictional--historical account that touches on life before and after the French Revolution.

Oh--and just for fun, my favorite and quite possibly the funniest Rose of Versailles music video compilation (in honor of that smexy Swede who stole the heart of Marie Antoinette):

In Neo-Verona Where We Set Our Stage: Romeo x Juliet

The crests of Montague and Capulet, illustrative of the series' unique animation style.

So I've been a little bedridden today and decided to go to Funimation's youtube channel to watch a new series that I'd been meaning to see, Gonzo's Romeo x Juliet the anime (Gonzo also did the animation for Kaleidostar if I'm correct.). It's based on Romeo and Juliet (obviously) but also has characters and plot elements from a large number of Shakespeare's works. The series opens in the floating world of Neo-Verona, where the corrupt Prince Montague has usurped the throne by slaughtering all but one of the Capulet dynasty (a two-year old Juliet). When Juliet turns sixteen, her identity is revealed to her and she must face the man who killed her entire family. Unfortunately--as it goes--Juliet is in love with Romeo, his son. The series has a great soundtrack and I actually liked the Japanese version of "You Raise Me Up" by Lena Mark that is used as the opening (the ending theme is a contrasting heavy rock ballad). I'm on episode eight now and absolutely hooked (OMG Tybalt!), so I'm off to finish all 24 episodes here. Parting from this show is such sweet sorrow. Tata!