New Purses Done!

I've finished new sewing projects I had been working on for the past weeks, yay!

Yes, it was slow, but I find the outcome is satisfying.

I've uploaded the new listing in my Etsy shop, and I hope that I get good feedback for these products since I really love the whole creativity process. So here they are!

Rurouni Kenshin - Kyoto Inferno and The Legend Ends

Finally, the last movie of our beloved Battousai - Himura Kenshin is out in cinemas!

For the record, I loved, loved, loved Rurouni Kenshin manga, and the first movie in 2012 - Rurouni Kenshin - I totally loved it! Although I did (and still do) wish that the actress that plays Megumi would have been prettier - but I also admit that despite her not as pretty as I would expect of Megumi, she can 'act' Megumi. And the other complain was how soft Kaoru in the movie. But, despite all those, Rurouni Kenshin was an awesome movie!

When I first heard about the making of Kyoto Arc to a live action movie, I was extremely excited. Then when the news broke out about they've cast an actor for Aoshi Shinomori, it got me thinking how were they going to give backstory for Aoshi since they totally left him out in the first movie. Then there were more casting news coming - and all I can think of was, oh wow, they really go all out for these last two movies.

Then come September, I went to watch Kyoto Inferno with high expectation and I left with a slight disappointment which made me vow to myself to watch the finale movie with somewhat guarded expectation. Kyoto Inferno, although the core plot still followed the manga version, it has many 'adjustments' that left a bitter taste. I was tempted to write about it last month right after I watched it but decided on waiting for the final movie before finalizing what I feel about these movies.

So here we go... *please be cautious that there may be some spoilers. So read with cautions.


The Plot

I'm fully aware that it is impossible to make a movie (or two movies in this case) that is exactly like the manga since Kyoto Arc is a loooooong arc, so some plot sacrifices must be done. But what they did with Kyoto Arc was totally unexpected for me.

Instead of making it about Kyoto (as the name suggested), they made Makoto Shishio want to conquer the whole Japan, and there were more politics in the movies too.

What really pissed me off and literally made me think "what the heck!?" was the part where Soujiro kidnapped Kaoru. It was not in the mange and I don't understand why they made Kaoru such a damsel in distress. They did it in the first movie which was necessary to the plot but not in Kyoto Arc! It doesn't help that I think Emi Takei's Kaoru and Takeru Satoh's Kenshin has no romantic chemistry and more on brother-sister chemistry.

Reading the manga (or even in the anime) where Kenshin said goodbye to Kaoru before his leaving for Kyoto gives a sense that Kenshin indeed thinks of Kaoru as someone important and marks a turning point of their relationship. She is totally devastated when Kenshin leaves anyway (until Megumi gives some tough love lesson and she finally gets her senses back). But in the movie, Kaoru didn't seem care much not having Kenshin around, she is still up and about swinging her wooden sword in her dojo.

 Aoshi is one of the coolest characters in manga and yet the movie does not show him as a devoted captain to his loyal followers whom was killed by Kenshin (not directly by his hands though) and then he holds some grudge to kill Kenshin. The movie shows him as a swordsman blinded by his desire to be the mightiest swordsman who thinks that to achieve that, he must kill Kenshin - WTF!?!?

Lastly, why does Sanosuke show up in the screen always for some comic relief and portrayed like he is kinda dumb or slow?


The Characters

All characters were portrayed almost perfectly. Some of the actors/actresses that although I think, don't have the physical appearance as the manga portrays, they manage to embodied the manner and attitude of their characters nicely - especially Megumi, and Soujiro.

I do wish that they would have had more part for Saitou and Juppon Gatana. We only get glimpses of Juppon Gatana and they were supposedly important part of Kyoto Arc.

Costumes and Make Up

The movies are able to come up with costumes very similar to manga, and I really appreciate that. Especially Kenshin's red yukata and Sano's evil/bad character at his back.
Special mention goes to Shishio's bandage costumes and make up. Salute to make up/costume team!

Actions

The action in the movies deserves praises left and right. The sword combats are awesome and very beautifully choreographed. The team successfully translated anime's style of combats to live action wonderfully that leaves people watching in awe.

Overall

Kyoto Arc movies are still good movies and for those who love action movie, they are a must-watch!
The story is written in such a way that people who don't read the manga will not be confused and be able to follow the story smoothly while enjoying great actions.
Fans of its manga will be happy and satisfied with the live action movies, and maybe only some (including me) wish that it could have stayed true to the manga more.

All in all, I can still say that I like the final two movies of Rurouni Kenshin and I enjoyed watching them, although of course I got some disappointments here and there. But then again, the movies are made for enjoyment purpose, I should not take them too seriously, right?

Weekly Recap: Week 39 (29 Sep - 5 Oct 2014)

I don't have many things to say this week except that I've re-learned few things. I use the word 're-learn' as these are the things that I knew already, it's just that it sometimes takes something to happen in order for us to finally say, "Ah, so this is xx..."


One - Success can only be achieved when you pour all your focus and time to it, and how much you can focus and/or are willing to spend on it relies on how much you WANT it to happen.

Two - Life is short, and it can end when you least expect it - plus, do NOT depend too much on anyone, each of us is strong and capable in taking care of ourselves.
*This is coming after I heard the news that one of my uncles died earlier this week, and how his surviving wife wailed and wailed about 'following' him, sigh...

Three - Do NOT think too much of anything. If you can't figure out something after spending a lot of time thinking and thinking about it, whatever it is, it may not be worth figuring out anyway.
*I spent two freaking days thinking about how to sew one tricky wristlet before I finally realized I wasted too much time on it when I could just think about something else instead.

Four - This last thing is another reminder for me to start EATING RIGHT! I haven't lost my holiday weight (from my Japan trip) and it's been 3 months!! *cries*
The lunch at my ex-flatmates' house this afternoon didn't help either - the food was just irresistible...

Five - Stop thinking and start doing!