Before anything else, Happy, Happy, Happy Birthday, Peter and Daddy!

Fire From Heaven is my first (and, at the moment, sole) Hunter X Hunter fanfiction.

It was conceptualized and initially penned in November 2002 but has been rewritten and revamped fairly recently. The fanfic is of a semi-epic scale and attempts to introduce Alluka Zaoldyeck, the mysterious child of the assassin family who is yet to play a role in Yoshihiro Togashi’s anime and manga series.

The devastatingly sexy and rather androgynous Illumi Zaoldyeck also figures prominently in the first chapter, where he drinks jasmine tea and clear wine and dresses in semi-formal dinner wear, contodos slacks.

Allow me to share with minna-san the lyrics to a song that is so very apropos for Fire From Heaven. Too apropos, in fact, it is creepy!

Lonely is the Hunter
by KISS

My eggs in one basket, but she threw me a bone
She was dealt a full deck, but she likes to live alone
Ain’t just talkin’ to myself, need a reason to stop
With a flower in her teeth, she drained the last drop
I said girls love money like bees the honey

But lonely is the hunter
You’re my one and only
And lonely is the hunter

Asked her for a refill, sweat flew off my face
She’s a legendary figure, kept me in a cage
She’s a torture chamber, when I seduced her in my bed
She gave a cold reading, success went to her head

In the heat of the battle
The heart cannot rule
I’m such a fool

But lonely is the hunter
You’re my one and only
And lonely is the hunter
Lonely is the hunter
You’re my one and only
And lonely is the hunter

More of my mostly animanga-related fanfiction pieces are available for your reading pleasure at Fuhen, my fic site.

This site is the repository of yours truly’s sundry fics written over the years. So far, I have works on Fushigi Yuugi, Hunter X Hunter and Virtua Fighter.

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I am dedicating the following to all my fellow martial artists, especially those who have retired from competition but still practice their craft as part of their lifelong commitment to being modern-day warriors.

Focus the mind,
cleanse the soul,
keep sight of my target,
concentrate,
be prepared for the unexpected,
concentrate mind and body as one,
achieve tranquility through movement,
integrate spirit and flesh,
channel the powers,
separate darkness and light,
give birth to yourself,
define your existence,
create your divinations,
from strength learn gentleness,
through gentleness strength will prevail,
tell me what you see beyond your fist?
AWAKEN…

This is from Street Fighter 2: The Animated Movie. I cut out some repetitive parts so the ideas will flow more smoothly and beautifully.

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This is one of the best videos I have seen this year!

Less than three minutes long, this anime-style short piece was shared by a friend a while back but I never did get the chance to see it in full until today.

Full credit goes to the brilliant Mike Inel, who is a Philippine-based digital colorist by trade. Visit his DeviantArt page for more samples of his brilliant work.

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A young boy and a girl with a magic crystal must race against pirates and foreign agents in a search for a legendary floating castle…

I got a video CD copy of Laputa: Castle in the Sky, the 1986 classic helmed by pioneering anime director Hayao Miyazaki.

This animated movie not only met my expectations, but exceeded them remarkably. Laputa is, simply put, beautiful.

A young boy, the miner Pazu, stumbles into a mysterious girl who floats down from the sky. The girl, Sheeta, was being chased by pirates, army and government secret agents.

In saving her life, they begin a high-flying adventure that goes through all sorts of machines, eventually searching for Sheeta’s identity in a floating castle of a lost yet highly advanced and powerful civilization.

I was very pleased with the entire movie, having held my breath in anticipation through most of it. The sci-fi/fantasy imagery is simply stunning and the various chase sequences are nothing short of fun and entertaining. The dysfunctional family of quirky pirates provide effortless comic relief.

However, the strongest force in Laputa is the bond between Pazu and Sheeta. It is friendship and love, trust and faith, hope and innocence. We see both these children grow up as the movie progresses. They learn how to deal with secrets and lies and make decisions and sacrifices.

Ultimately, the core of this Miyazaki epic is a story about coming of age, of realizing that the things we seek in life may not be outside, but reside within our hearts all along.

I have the original Japanese dub of the animated movie, with subtitles. However, there is a repackaged English dub released recently that features the voice talents of James Van Der Beek as Pazu and Anna Paquin as Sheeta, among others.

The following movie background and synopsis is from Amazon.com:

Inspired by Gulliver’s Travels, the fantasy-adventure Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986) was Hayao Miyazaki’s third feature, and helped to establish his reputation as a visionary in both Japan and America.

The orphan Sheeta inherited a mysterious crystal that links her to the legendary sky-kingdom of Laputa. With the help of resourceful Pazu and a rollicking band of sky pirates, she makes her way to the ruins of the once-great civilization.

Sheeta and Pazu must outwit the evil Muska, who plans to use Laputa’s science to make himself ruler of the world.

Castle echoes elements in Miyazaki’s earlier Nausicaä, and anticipates imagery in his later films, from My Neighbor Totoro to Spirited Away.

The exciting flying sequences, appealing characters, and fantastic vision of a steam-powered future Jules Verne might have imagined make Castle in the Sky a must-have for fans of Japanese and Western animation.

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Welcome to Chinatown’s most unique pet shop.

There is a variety of exotic creatures to choose from, each with an intriguing tale to share with the lucky owner.

But be careful, what you see is not necessarily what you get.

“Our motto is to sell love, dreams, and hopes.”

These words, from Count D, owner of a mysterious Chinatown pet shop, seem to fit nicely with the ironic twists of Pet Shop of Horrors.

Count D may sell pets with honorable intentions, yet it is the customer who fails to live within their hopes and dreams, which often results in
tragedy.

Petshop of Horrors was originally a Japanese shoujo (girl) manga created by Mari Akino.

The series was later adapted into an original anime video made up of four episodes, each telling an individual tale about a customer of Count D’s pet shop.

The episodes are entitled Daughter, Delicious, Despair and Dual, dealing with the themes lost love, second chances and redemption, among others.

The customers of Count D’s pet shop have typically undergone some sort of personal loss, and Count D attempts to sell them an appropriate pet to fill the void.

The pets that Count D sells are typically quite exotic, and always come with rules, that must be agreed to by the buyers in a contract. Violation of these rules usually lead to dire consequences, for which Count D cannot be held responsible, per the contract.

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Now considered as a classic anime and manga franchise, Lupin III was created by mangaka Monkey Punch and first released as a manga series in August 1967 in the Japanese magazine Manga Action Weekly.

The tale was inspired by Arsene Lupin: Gentleman Thief, a series of short novels and novels authored by Frenchman Maurice Leblanc in the early 1900s.

Monkey Punch’s new Lupin is, supposedly, the grandson of Leblanc’s character.

The Lupin III anime/manga series has five central characters: Arsene Lupin III, Jigen Daisuke, Goemon Ishikawa, Fujiko Mine and Inspector Zenigata.

Lupin is the notorious “gentleman thief.” He leaves notes informing his victims of the items he is targeting on his current planned heist. No matter how many preventive measures his victims try to take, he always manages to spirit away whatever he wants, wherever it is placed.

The mysterious Jigen, a sharpshooting gunman, is Lupin’s best friend and partner-in-crime.

Goemon is a 13th-generation Samurai warrior and the wielder of a nigh-unbreakable sword.

Fujiko is Lupin’s love interest, who more than often tries to outwit him and take a heist’s loot for herself.

Finally, Inspector Zenigata is an InterPol agent who has devoted his life to bringing Lupin and the latter’s gang to justice, a mission that has been unsuccessful for many, many years in the running.

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Hunter X Hunter (or HXH, as it is more commonly known to fans) was created by mangaka Yoshihiro Togashi and released as a manga series in 1998.

Togashi is the same creative genius behind Yuu Yuu Hakusho (YYH), or The Poltergeist Reports and Ghost Fighters in some dubs.

Both YYH and HXH were initially serialized in the Japanese boys’ comics magazine Shounen Jump Weekly, and later acquired by Fuji Television to be translated into animated media.

Hunter X Hunter has four main characters: Gon Freecss, Killua Zaoldyeck, Kurapika and Leorio. All are boys within the age range of pre to late teens. They first met when they were aspirants in the very challenging, very rigorous Hunter Exam.

All who would pass this test will be given the title, license and privileges of a full-fledged Hunter – from being allowed to kill blacklisted people to getting large loans and big discounts practically anywhere.

Each of our heroes have their own driving motives behind the quest for Hunter-hood, and, as the series unfolds, the characters encounter various physical, mental and emotional obstacles that they have to overcome in order to attain their goal.

Some of them are led to question their beliefs, while others discover brighter or darker paths into tomorrow.

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Probably due to the fact that I am such a big fan of the Hellsing anime and manga series, someone e-mailed me a most interesting link: Imagine Casting: Hellsing.

So far, the unconventionally handsome but very appealing and debonair Vincent Cassel is leading the fan voting race for the role of Alucard.

I have to say that this choice is right on target, pun intended and in more ways than one.

Below are pictures of Vincent, examples of how he will possibly look like as Vlad Tepes and, later on, the Jackal-wielding No-Life King.

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I was riffling through my hard drive tonight when I came across a few images from a Japanese card game entitled Orion no Shounen.

This set, also known as Juvenile Orion, is a spin-off of the popular game Aquarian Age.

Both sets mentioned, which are issued by Broccoli, have nice bishounen and bishoujo art.

J.O. has an all-boys roster, while A.A.‘s line-up is constituted purely by girls.

The six images of Orion‘s First Impression
release were illustrated by Akurako Gokurakuin.

My favorite character is Tomonori Nakaura, a 24-year-old mystic gifted with the power of “WIZ-DOM.”

Tomonori-kun is one of those holy types that would definitely make getting excommunicated worthwhile.

I really would not mind if the local priests would look like him. In fact, I would be incredibly ecstatic.

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The blue sky must be forever tall and forever clear. That’s the way the world should be.

~ Gentatsu Takatsuki, in conversation with Shigure Takimi, Rurouni Kenshin: Ishin Shishi no Requiem

I was able to meet my longtime friends Genefel and Melody at SM Megamall last Wednesday night for a good old gabfest over hot and cold cups of Starbucks java.

We talked straight for three hours and would have continued until dawn. However, I had to get back to my hotel to prepare for my early morning flight while Gen and Mel both had work the day after.

They gave me the most amazing metal chandelier earrings adorned with glittery crystals. Arigatou gozaimasu again!

I arrived from Metro Manila on Thursday, following a quick, uneventful airplane journey.

The moment I got home, I could not help but immediately pop my newly acquired copy of Rurouni Kenshin: Ishin Shishi no Requiem (Requiem for the Ishin Patriots) into my VCD player.

The movie has a simple, straightforward story that would be appreciated even by someone who is not familiar with the Rurouni Kenshin mythos.

I absolutely loved the charismatic and noble Shigure Takimi, one of the movie’s central characters and arguably Ishin Shishi‘s primary driving force.

His noble warrior’s philosophy and driven, staunchly patriotic character reminded me very much of Katsumoto, brilliantly portrayed by Ken Watanabe, from the 2003 Tom Cruise starrer The Last Samurai.

Yesterday evening, I received an e-mail from the organizers of the National Novel Writing Month that I have been officially accepted and listed as a participant.

NaNoWriMo 2005 will be my first year in the project, so I am really looking forward to all the novel-writing excitement and mania that will ensue when November rolls about.

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In the name of God, impure souls of the living dead shall be banished into eternal Damnation. Amen.

Right now, I am at Netopia in SM Megamall, Ortigas, Metro Manila. The place is so bloody cold. I am also as hungry as hell, so it is all good.

I have been in the big city since Wednesday. Most of my free time I spend here at Megamall, because I just love the place, the activity, and the sheer anonymity that the space affords me.

Anyway, I went to Comic Quest (located at the Lower Ground level same as this Internet cafe) and was able to purchase all 13 episodes of the Hellsing anime series. I am a pleased little vampire.

I am going back to barracks tomorrow afternoon, on the 3:20 PM flight.

As time is of the essence, I might as well get my freezing buns off this light metal chair and get some serious shopping done.

Here is the Amazon.com product description for the Hellsing anime:

The worst enemy of the night is one of its own. A secret war brews in the night – a war where humanity is only a pawn.

The Hellsing Organization deploys in the shadows to protect the mortal world. But now, artificially spawned vampires have appeared, forcing Hellsing to call in their ultimate weapon – the rogue vampire, Alucard!

After he transforms the dying Seras Victoria into a vampire, they join forces to combat the undead army, as well as her own newfound hunger!

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I was browsing through anime/manga fanlistings tonight when I came across the one for Genbu Kaiden. This particular FL is dedicated to the manga installments in the Fushigi Yuugi/The Universe of the Four Gods mythology that tell the story of the Genbu no Miko and her Shichi Seishi.

Due to this rather serendipitous web link encounter, my Fushigi Yuugi passion has been rekindled full blast. Thus, off I went scouring the Internet for FY and Genbu goodness.

Yours truly was not disappointed, as I came across the beautiful, freshly redesigned SuzakuSeishi.com and, to my great delight, TamaNeko.net‘s Fushigi Yuugi: Genbu Kaiden information and translation site.

The latter brought me closest that I have ever been to the Genbu legend. I was introduced to a most fascinating young man, named Rimudo, who is also the Genbu Shichi Seishi Uruki.

Needless to say, he is gifted with extraordinary, highly interesting powers, not to mention dashing good looks. Somewhat a cross between Hakurou of Mount Leikaku fame (Fushigi Yuugi: Genrou Den) and Tatara of the Byakko calling, methinks.

Amazon.com gives the following skinny on the Genbu Kaiden manga:

As referred to in Volume 12 of Fushigi Yuugi, Takiko Okuda was the first of the priestesses to enter “The Universe of the Four Gods.” With this latest work from the pen of best-selling artist Yuu Watase, Takiko’s full story is told.

When schoolgirl Takiko Okuda attempts to destroy her father’s translation of “The Universe of the Four Gods,” she is instead literally sucked into the story, becoming the Priestess of Genbu in an epic journey to find the seven Celestial Warriors.

In her first encounter, she meets the mysterious Rimudo, one of the Celestial Warriors who has a tattoo of the Chinese character for “woman” on his chest.

As it turns out, it’s there for a good reason: Rimudo can not only summon the wind as one of his special powers, but also transform into a woman!

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He bids the flowers of Spring
Mount the tree-top that men may raise their eyes
And walk on upwards paths
He bids the moon in Autumn waves be drowned
In token that he visits laggard men
And leads them out from the valleys of despair

The above verse is an excerpt from a character’s invocation in the Noh drama Atsumori, penned by Zeami Motokiyo.

It is the story of a warrior-turned-priest, Rensei, who meets the ghost of a man he had slain in battle, Atsumori. We staged this play in college, part of a four-act, all-Asian extravaganza entitled Dream.

Some time after the breakthrough staging of Dream, our theatre group TAGISAN was invited to join the Iloilo Theatre Company. Along with groups from other universities, we collaborated on an innovative post-modern, Asian-spiced rendition of T.S. Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral.

The costumes from both Atsumori and Murder in the Cathedral were, naturally, based for the most part on Noh get-ups. Included in our research for authentic inspirations in the outfits were the most notable and intricate masks worn by the characters in the Noh drama to represent a greater metaphor than just their individual persona.

I was able to locate the Noh mask images that I downloaded some time ago:

These are mere icon-size versions as the original images were quite large. From left to right, they are:
· Fusikizo: Youth, vigor
· Okina: Age, wisdom
· Hannya: Demon, primal instincts

Do the last two names listed above sound familiar?

They most certainly do, as both Okina and Hannya are characters from Rurouni Kenshin, also known in some parts of the world as Samurai X. In the series, these men are part of the Onmitsu Oniwabanshuu.

Okina, represented by a Noh mask of a grizzled old man, is the elderly (but still delightfully hale) Nenji Kashiwazaki, mentor figure and fount of wry wisdom. Hannya, the ninja who perpetually hides his visage behind a fearsome horned mask, is likewise represented by a Noh mask of a laughing horned demon/spirit.

The fusikizo mask could be applied to, arguably, Aoshi Shinomori. He became Okashira (leader) of the Oniwanbanshuu at the age of 15 and his actions were pivotal in determining the direction that these ninjas would take in the new Meiji era. In the Noh drama, it is always the youth who takes action, driving the story onwards.

There is something about this triumvirate that rather strongly reminds me of the Freudian Id (Hannya), Ego (Fusikizo) and Super-Ego (Okina). Somewhat interesting parallels, as the Noh began to take form roughly five hundred years ago, way before the word “Psychology” got its meaning that we know of today.

On the other hand, I may just need some more coffee.

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Today was, indeed, the airing date of the final episode of Dragon Creation, the Filipino-dubbed anime incarnation of CLAMP’s Soryuden manga.

The show wrapped up with the four Ryudou brothers going back into the book of ancient Chinese legends and once more assuming their places above earth as the Four Dragon Kings of Heaven.

It was one of the simplest yet most well-executed endings I have ever seen in an anime series.

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I was able to watch GMA‘s Filipino dub of the anime Dragon Creation, originally known as CLAMP’s Soryuden in manga form, for the second straight day.

The show airs at four in the afternoon, followed by Slam Dunk, the latter no longer telecast in the Western Visayas area because Bacolod City’s Ratsada show takes up its time-slot.

However, I believe Dragon Creation, or at least its recent seasonal run or some such, will wrap up tomorrow. Come Monday, taking its place in the afternoon anime mini-marathon will be Cat’s Eyes, a predominantly mahou-shoujo-kaitou story but perhaps a tad grittier than, say, Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne.

From what I saw in the trailer, the illustration technique in this new program could be likened to that of Voltes V and Daimos. The protagonist/heroine of Cat’s Eyes looks remarkably like a bitchier, more buff version of Erica in Daimos.

Likewise, I could not help but note that the heroine’s purpose in being a kaitou is to retrieve stolen art pieces, which is a photocopy of Dark Mousy’s reason for existence in Yukiru Sugisaki’s D.N.Angel.

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