Review: X-Men Days of Future Past

I have always been a fan of the X-Men movie franchise, and this was by far the best of the lot. I'm not saying it just because it combines elements of the trilogy that started it all and what was intended to become a prequel of sorts to the whole thing. Rather, it emphasizes on the probable impacts of time travel (one of my favorite storytelling devices), and that the future is never set in stone if you can do anything about it.

As we're still in the phases of opening weekend, I won't want to give too much away, save perhaps this one quip that only people who've watched the film already will understand completely:

X-Men: The Last Stand never happened. This is what it should have been.

Marvel comics, by-and-by, hardly make any chronological sense with mutant superpowers. Bending reality - time and space included - only serves to their purpose that things can go in any direction possible. And I like those twists and turns as a fellow pseudo-established fiction writer myself. You take Logan who's been through each of the films either center stage or cameo and put him in a situation to alter the desolate future ahead, then you know the task won't be a walk in the park. A guy with anger issues despite being their only hope wouldn't be your best candidate after all.

But what the movie does capture is that you somehow see the richness and diversity in the characters themselves, especially now when you have younger versions of Professor Xavier and Magneto who were much more (or less) different than their older, wiser selves. The dynamics was interesting to watch, and the overall outcome, rewarding.

Though the film itself doesn't give a complete closure on everyone, it does give you the closure you felt unresolved by the end of The Last Stand. At the same time, it opens up a world of possibilities moving forward, which I think is something to look forward to.

Review: Now You See Me

Last May 31, Kai and I had plans of watching a movie. It was a Friday, Mom would be finishing up work late, we had all the time in the world. With all the hype for Star Trek: Into Darkness going on for the past few weeks, we wanted to see if we could still catch it in theaters before it fazed out. Much to our dismay, none of the Ayala Malls (those prominent in Makati anyway) were showing it anymore. The trade-off for that, however, was a new movie had just opened: Now You See Me.

Just like before, I had my own personal reasons why I wanted to watch this:

1. I'm a sucker for magic-themed movies (i.e. The Prestige)
2. I'm a major Mark Ruffalo fan

Kai and I saw the trailer for this movie a while back, and the plot itself was enough to pull in interest. The clincher, of course, was finding out who the cast was, with Mark Ruffalo and Morgan Freeman among them. That being said, it was a real treat and an absolute must to watch it! I immediately reserved us seats for the 6:20 showing. Below is my review. My apologies for any spoilers this might cause. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

The movie starts off with a magic trick. I mean, it has to. Not surprisingly, the audience was baffled by how it happened, and that I guess is one of the great parlor tricks that lures the audience into a continuous suspension of disbelief. As the movie continues on, we are introduced to the four magicians who make up The Four Horsemen, a super group who are guided by some mysterious benefactor later revealed to be a character portrayed by Michael Caine.

When they pull off a big bank heist, this gets the attention of the FBI, where a detective Dylan Rhodes played by Mark Ruffalo is assigned to handle the case. Annoyed at first, he finds himself paired up with an Interpol agent as they chase down the Horsemen. After all is said and done, the greatest twist is revealed at the end of the movie, which I won't bother spoiling since it's just too epic to describe.

One thing is for certain though: Mark Ruffalo is the star of the show. He might as well have been dubbed a magician in his own right, and the pacing of the movie itself never left a niche to get bored, at least in my book. You'll just have to watch the movie for yourself. :) Overall, I highly recommend the movie!

Grave Mania: Pandemic Pandemonium

I would be lying if I mentioned the fact that this entry is just an addition to the raving reviews of this game already out on the web. Of course it would not be as simple as that. Not when I'm part of the development team that brought this game to fruition.

So to salvage what sanity I still have after divulging that fact, let's move on to the (hopefully) impartial review of the game!

Grave Mania: Pandemic Pandemonium is the second game in the series following Grave Mania: Undead Fever. This time around the resident Locas (that's actually their last name!) Bonnie and Johnny expand their zombie-subduing and whacking-to-unconsciousness expertise to a global scale as the zombie pandemic spreads overseas. This time management game is fast-paced, catering to both novices and expert players where difficulty is concerned. The zombie theme is depicted in a less-than-gruesome tone, right up to the finger puppet cutscenes that move the story along.

This second installment tackles the search for the source of what started it all: the cake that turned people into zombies! While it maintains much of the first game in terms of gameplay, it attempts to bring some subtle, welcome changes that is sure to keep you coming back for more.

On a technical note, succeeding porting is under way, so expect the game to come out on the Mac, iOS and Android devices, as well as localized into several languages. Towards the end of PC development, I found myself taking over where Jamie had left off. That included cinematics (where I had close to little knowledge about but managed to survive thanks to her workshop and my badgering while she was working her stuff) as well as QA lead for the project, but it wasn't a job I couldn't handle. Now with the game finally released (and managing to remain on the Top 10 Time Management Games and Top 100 Games (#2 and #25 respectively as of 2/12) on Big Fish Games!), it's all about looking ahead, finishing strong and pave the way for a hopeful trilogy or third in the series! Team Loca fight!

Try it out/Download it here!

On Rurouni Kenshin + Movie Review

(My apologies for the uber lateness of this, but I was, quite honestly, lazy and caught up with other things to actually continue what I started. Ba humbug)

December 2012.

It's not very often that Japanese movies get shown here in the Philippines, so when SM Cinemas managed to get ahold of the Rurouni Kenshin live action movie (with awesome petitions from Filipino fans!), there was no time to waste when getting tickets were involved.

The initial showdates spanned about a week, so watching the movie within that time seemed to be an absolute must or dare to waste seeing your childhood come to life on stage. Considering this too had been part of our childhood, Kai and I were among the many fans who would stop at nothing to ensure that we had seats.

Amuse Philippines, a fangroup of the Japanese group Amuse (agency of the lead actor Sato Takeru) made arrangements to do block screenings for the weekend showing at SM North Edsa. We immediately jumped at the opportunity and made our reservations. After I made the necessary bank deposits, disaster struck.

Early that week, Kai had gotten into an accident that, put it simply, rendered her unable to walk and had to use crutches for almost a month after that. This meant that we wouldn't be able to make the Saturday showing we had reserved for. We ended up giving the tickets up to our friends while I spent Saturday keeping her company.

When Sunday came along, she had insisted to go and watch it, against my better judgement. Needless to say, I purchased our tickets on SM Cinema's website, and we went on our way (one of the few times I brought the car) to SM Marikina.

Not surprisingly, it was everything we expected and more. The action was breathtaking, the fight choreography was orchestrated brilliantly, and the actors were spot on to the dot of the I. Their portrayals spoke volumes of what the manga started off with, and Sato Takeru, the actor for our favorite Himura Kenshin/Battousai embodied the character to perfection.

It was full of comedy and action just as the original work from the manga to the anime depicted, and watching and experiencing it in its raw, Japanese form was perhaps the best part of it all.

Kai and I were happy campers and it was well worth the trip... if it wasn't such a hit and the showdates extended for about two extra weeks. (xD)

But I give a toast out to our collaborative effort to bring Rurouni Kenshin to the Philippines, and here's to hoping for future titles to come to our islands in the South East.

Review: Les Miserables 2012

The Golden Globe for Best Musical, Les Miserables (2012). There were two reasons why I looked forward to watching this in the theater:

1. I'm a sucker for musical-movies (i.e. Sweeney Todd, Rent, Phantom of the Opera, Chicago, Hairspray)
2. I'm a major Hugh Jackman fan

When advertisements came out for this movie, it had slipped my mind that a movie version of the epic classic had already come out previously (starring Liam Neeson, Uma Thurman and Geoffrey Rush) in the late 90's. I never had the chance to watch that. Admittedly, I never picked up the book due to its daunting thickness as a literary work. I didn't have the privilege of others to have to read it, and somehow I regret it.

But for me that doesn't really matter. It helps me become unbiased and critique it as an art piece than an actual adaptation. I had the privilege of listening to some of the tracks included in the soundtrack prior to watching the movie, and I had chills hearing some of them, notably praising one particular actor I had not known to have a smooth baritone voice. Yes, I'm referring to Russell Crowe. This Maximus who portrayed Javert surprised me vocally, but could not impress me more in his portrayal of the pursuing a bringer of the law. Despite all the bashing against him, I think he did a swell job.

Another of the standouts for me was, of course, Anne Hathaway's Fantine. I would be lying if I said I didn't get chills seeing the desperation and distress she was conveying, and I think I felt the breath knocked out of me when she sang I Dreamed a Dream. Kudos to her, and much more so for winning a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for it.

And of course, there's Hugh Jackman. Hands down, he made the perfect Jean Valjean. Pair that with the fact that he sings so effortlessly, emotes so naturally, it would seem as if he internalized with the character. I remember hearing him portraying Peter Allen in The Boy From Oz, and this project, for him, just fit something he could not be more perfect and more comfortable with. When Broadway meets Hollywood.

Others include, of course, Sacha Boron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter as the quirky duo of Mr and Mrs. Thenardier. Their quirkiness ooze the weirdness and silliness resonated by their characters they could not have fit them any better.

Overall, it was an ensemble cast that exceeded all expectations. Every scene kept you on the edge of your seats and challenged your tears to fall at every turn. In summary, I'd like to share the new synopsis from Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway presenting their movie at the SAG-AFTRA Awards:

"Wolverine is being chased by Gladiator, Catwoman gets knocked up and for some ungodly reason goes to see Bellatrix Lestrange from Harry Potter and Borat. Then Wolverine agrees to raise Catwoman's baby, and she grows up to star in Mamma Mia!"

Review: The Help

To be honest, I was uniquely intrigued when I saw The Help nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, along with other categories such as Best Actress for Viola Davis and Best Supporting Actress for Jessica Chastain and Octavia Spencer. Out of the four, Spencer came out with the win. From what I picked up from the snippets shown during the airing of the Awards, it revolved around a familiar situation of uber-racist proportions.

Of course, this isn't the first drama I've encountered that tackled something as monumental as white against colored people ,or at least the mistreatment of the latter. Rather, it's not the first movie I appreciated so much when it comes to building a bridge between two races. Two others that come to mind are Hairspray, the musical-turned-movie about breaking status quo, and Something the Lord Made, a medical drama TV movie based on true events revolving around the collaboration of two doctors - one white and one colored (who starts off as a carpenter). These two contrast in many ways but come together where it matters most.

Hairspray, being a musical, underscored its plot through song and dialogue. It remains light but has a lot more to say beyond a show featuring the "nicest kids in town". Behind the scenes there's the issue of racism and close-mindedness with typical high class white women who will do anything to keep things where they are.

Something the Lord Made, on the other hand, is a true tale of the complex partnership of black cardiac pioneer Vivien Thomas (Mos Def) and white surgeon Alfred Blalock (Alan Rickman), who work together to solve the Blue Baby Syndrome. Their story revolves around the prevalent racism of segregation where most - well, all - black employees are no more than class 3 employees.

Ultimately, The Help once again brings the issue of black or white to the big screen, with a flavor of focusing on issues revolving around colored help and raising white children. The movie dons powerful insight into slipping through the cracks show and tell the perspective and overall state of the maids during this oppression. It evokes the freedom and courage to speak the truth behind an anonymity in the midst of racist white housewives whose only concern is to mind theirown kind, complain about sharing bathrooms and bridge tournaments.

This story emotionally moved me to understand where these maids were coming from and the bond that formed between these people and the people they worked for, if it ever was something to be cherished. I guess the best thing I can take away from this wonderful move are the words Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis) imparts to Mae Mobley, the toddler she takes care of:

You is kind. You is smart. You is important.

Review: Ano Hareta Aozora

A few days ago, Kai and I managed to pool our resources together and got a copy of the latest Takumi-kun Series. Sometime last Saturday, I managed to receive the English softsubs for the movie so we could better appreciate it. So here's the review more than a year later since I first mentioned it in my blog here.

1) Gii and Takumi relationship: Happily enough, their relationship remains pretty compact, unlike previous movies where Takumi's phobia regresses or Gii had to leave for an extended period. They're learning to cope, and more importantly, adapt to the prospect of what a relationship is. So kudos to them~

2) Arata and Shingyouji: After PURE, where you already get a great idea on their weird relationship (which I probably more S&M than romantic thanks to Arata's choice of words), they still happily remain as characters intrinsic to the series and still manage to contribute if not push Gii and Takumi in the right direction - towards each other.

3) Gii and Arata: These two "geniuses", or the overly brilliant smart-ass and Student Council President (who I must point out are both Tezukas from Tenimyu!), actually deserve to clash, collide and confide in each other where it matters. After all, Gii's shortcomings are surprisingly already anticipated if not covered up by Arata, so their friendship, if it could even be called that, is one that's well worth the movie's time in stressing. It does make me wonder why it's just Gii owing Arata all the favors. xD

4) Takumi and Shingyouji: Ukes confiding each other is cute. Always was, always will. It's during these scenes where you're more likely to have a better overall idea of what they're thinking about their partners or how much they're so in love or have matured altogether (well, Takumi anyway).

5) Gii apologizing: I counted. He apologized five times throughout the movie, which was already a rarity if you consider how proud he normally was and the upbringing he normally portrays. Here he's just more vulnerable, and frankly, sorta reminds me of myself when Kai and I end up having an argument. Their argument in this movie reminded me of us actually.

6) Gii running (again): Well, this never gets old. Gii's always the one at fault, but ends up taking the most effort to run after Takumi. It's endearing, really. And I'm glad they kept this for the movie. Making Watanabe Daisuke run is uberly fun. xD

Always

Just finished watching Castle's Season 4 ender - episode 23 entitled Always. Since it already aired in the US last Monday, I'm free to spoil anyone who hasn't had the opportunity to watch it themselves (though I won't be that much of a spoil sport by giving everything away).

Instead, I'll just be writing down a brief review of the episode's chain of events and give my feedback on certain parts!

1. Castle confessing. I saw the sneak peek on Youtube last Monday, and I was flabbergasted by Castle's confession! I mean, who could not be moved when someone tells you this: "I think you are the most remarkable, maddening, challenging, frustrating person I've ever met." Watching through the episode, we find out that there's so much more angst and drama interlaced in that sneak peek that it was a surprise that Beckett actually got even more frustrated to the point of Castle just admitting fault and backed off.

2. Javin's first name basis. Throughout this entire episode, I'm pleasantly surprised that Ryan and Esposito actually call each other by their first names. Whether it's because of the bond they share or whatever, it stresses a fine point that they're close and confide in one another.

3. Beckett calling out for Castle. This was something I've been waiting to hear. On the brink of death as she's hanging on the edge of a building, she finally voices out for Castle. Whether it was a good thing that it wasn't Castle that saved her - though it was his voice that you hear prior to Ryan (and Gates) saving her.

4. Case Tie-Up and Cliffhanger. This episode re-opened the longstanding case surrounding Kate Beckett; her shooting, her mother's case, Captain Montgomery's files, and the identity of the mysterious figure that Castle has been in touch with. Of course, this naturally sparks the notion of a Season 5 so booyah! Did I mention that Beckett resigned and Esposito was on a forced leave? Ryan reasoned out that he had to do it, so it left him and Esposito on rough waters.

5. Rick and Alexis time. It's always endearing how Alexis inadvertently mentions something that metaphorically relates to Castle's own situation with Beckett. She's due to give her valedictorian speech and frets about what to talk about. She admits to being scared of moving on, and Castle couldn't relate more.

5. THE CASKETT MAKE-OUT SCENE. The closing scene for this couple was just so sweet. Rick gets a call from Kate but he rejects it, and after a while a knock comes to the door. Kate is at the door, and Rick flatly asks what she wants, and her reply? "You." This was immediately followed by her walking up to Rick and kissed him, followed by a string of apologies and confessing that when she was on the edge of death, all she could think about was him. o(>u< )o LOVE IT!! Of course, the little make-out scene was just to die for. (*u*)

Castle

Some weeks ago when Kai was sleeping over, we were flipping through channels and stumbled upon Fox channel, where an episode of Castle season 2 was airing. I had seen the commercial dozens of times, and I would see glimpses of this crime drama in passing before I switched to another channel. But on that night, we decided to stick to Fox and watch through the episode. Surprisingly, it was a witty crime drama that has an excellent balance of crime, drama and splashes of comedy. Then again, what would you expect of a partnership between a homicide detective and a mystery writer solving crimes together? Wit, banter and dancing around each other. That sounded familiar.


After grabbing both our interest by the end of the episode, Kai and I decided to try and dig up some more information, and found out that there were already 4 seasons! So of course, acquiring the first 3 was the first step to sate our growing fandom of this new drama. So much so that we've even gotten as far as throw lines at one another in the personas of Richard Castle and Kate Beckett, played by two equally talented actors, Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic respectively.

After watching through the first season and currently on a season 2 marathon, I can say there's so much to work with and I'm looking forward to what Kai and I can do with this pair in the coming months.

That being the case, I'll close this entry with some birthday greetings!
March 27 (because I just unearthed the info): Castle's protagonist Richard Castle, Nathan Fillion

Musical Kuroshitsuji 2

ミュジカル黒執事２。（みゅじかるくろしつじ２）Myujikaru Kuroshitsuji 2. trans. Musical Black Butler 2.

So I finally got my hands on a copy of the anticipated Kuroshitsuji musical today!! о(ж＞▽＜)ｙ ☆

Ever since its premiere last May, waiting 5 months for the DVD release was a long wait indeed. Besides watching the performance of previous performers from the first musical (notably Matsushita Yuya and Uehara Takuya), I was very much looking forward to the performance of the new Ciel Phantomhive, Nishii Yukito. Familiar faces from other musicals surfaced here as well; Fujita Rei (FuumaMyu's Mibu Kosuke) and Yousuke Crawford aka Luke C. (Tenimyu's Kite Eishiroh) as Viscount Druitt and Ronald Knox respectively.

I must say there was a huge improvement in contract to the first musical! ﾍ(ﾟ∀ﾟ*)ﾉ First of all, there's a lot more songs this time around; 15 awesome songs spanning the 2 hours!! The songs really took the cake here, actually. The first two songs alone sent goosebumps over my whole body!

There was definitely more comedy here too, especially with Uehara's excellent Grell performance, (guh my eyes have been tainted! (ﾉﾟοﾟ)ﾉ ) as well as drama from two original Shinigami characters, Eric Slingby played by Taisuke Saeki and Alan Humphries played by Matsumoto Shinya. Ciel, although his exposure wasn't as vast, was well-performed and did not disappoint! (o^-')b

By far my favorite songs are Checkmate, Shinigami Haken Kyoutai no Theme and Keiyaku~ You can find them on YouTube if you're interested!

There's probably more I could say about this but for now I'll leave it at this. x) I shall go listen to the soundtrack now.

Otaku-shin

オタク心。（おたくしん）Otaku-shin. trans. Geek Mind.

I'm a bit skeptical of the translation Google Translate gives me when I come up with my entry titles, but that's beside the point. xD

So. Geek Mind. It's a game created by Dom2D and it's a little game on the internet. The objective is quite simple: guess the game from the screenshot presented. If you want to give it a try the link is down here:

http://www.kongregate.com/games/Dom2D/geek-mind

I first stumbled upon this game I believe a week ago when a few of my classmates were playing it after our CS177 class last Saturday. So for the past week we've been playing it after our CS classes, especially during CS152. We eventually formed a little group during that class when even Sir Diy joined in! Yesterday we got a score of 80,025 but were forced to cut it short because there was a class after ours.

Today, I played the game on my own and got astounding results. This was mostly due to the fact that images started to repeat themselves so the time practically piled up to the full 60 seconds time and time again. Earlier this afternoon I notched up a score of 209,050 and just a few minutes ago, brought my all-time hi-score to 306,400. Screenshots below.

I owe this to everybody on the "Geek Mind team": Lev, TC, Sir Diy, Albert, Gabby, Drox

About an hour's worth of gameplay up to level 700+

Two hours worth of gameplay up to level 1100+

Nodame Cantabile

のだめカンタービレ。（のだめかんたあびれ）Nodame Kantaabire. trans. Nodame Cantabile.

I don't remember when exactly I started liking this, or even remember how I got into it, but this manga-turned-anime-turned-live action is, admittedly, a great piece of work. What makes it awesome is the fact that it somehow revives classical music and makes it worthwhile to listen to. There are a number of in-depth analysis of the songs played, and not to mention the love-hate relationship revolving around Chiaki Shinichi and Noda "Nodame" Megumi.

True to the genres of the manga (comedy, slice of life and romance), the live action has its share of exaggerations on the comedy side of things, most prominently Nodame's facial and speech expressions. ("Gyaboo!" @.@)

I guess in the long run what made me enjoy this bit of awesomeness was one of the lead character actors, Tamaki Hiroshi. The charisma, charm and overall stupendous grasp of Chiaki's personality caught on, and it didn't disappoint from start to finish. So kudos to him!

The music performed here are just inspiring~ Thank goodness for classical orchestra songs! ^o^/

Team Batista 2: General Rouge no Gaisen

チームバチスタ２：ジェネラルルージュの凱旋。（ちむばちすた２：じぇねらるるじゅのがいせん）Chimu Bachisuta 2: Jeneraru Ruju no Gaisen. trans. Team Batista 2: The Triumphant Return of General Rouge.

This epic medical J-drama is back with its second season. Nakamura Toru and Ito Atsushi reprise their lead roles as Shiratori Keisuke and Taguchi Kouhei here, their eyes set on a new team: The Emergency Team led by the genius Hayami Koichi, also known as the "General Rouge" portrayed by Nishijima Hidetoshi.

So far I've watched 9 of the 12 episodes, and I must say it's built up to its climax with its subtle mix of new and old; with the focus of a new team of doctors in the Emergency Center and their personal struggles and political tie-ups, along with a classic mix of the Shiratori-Gucchi combi. We're nearing the end but from here on out, the last three episodes are sure to keep the suspense going until the most opportune moment.

As a fan of the series, I can strongly admit that Team Batista never disappoints!! (TuT)b

Reunions + Alice

So while I take a short break from reviewing for my Finals tomorrow, I wanted to make a quick entry on yesterday's events. Most prominently was the reunion with my grade school barkada. Kai was the one who organized the get-together, and it goes without saying that we're beginning to see a trend in these reunions: people are always late, we're never complete and there's always a consistency in the order which people get to the venue.

But before I go into the details of said reunion, allow me to take a little detour to discuss something else rather briefly. Alice in Wonderland. OMG. Kai and I watched it yesterday. We were about 30mins late since we were debating if we would still watch it despite having front row seats (which is bad for your neck), and ended up watching. It was my treat anyway. xD

And I've got to hand it to Tim Burton. The story was awesome and there was a great mixture of comedy, drama and subtle hints of romance. *coughIshipHatterandAlicecough* ^_____________________^

Truly awesome~ It was entertaining to recognize some of the voice talents (like Alan Rickman, Christopher Lee and Timothy Spall) as well as the cast members themselves (Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and Anne Hathaway).

Anyway, that aside, back to the reunion! To put things simple enough, it's nice to see old friends again. xD We really need to work on punctuality and proper planning, though.

Samurai High School

One reason or another, I had a feeling that this j-drama series would leave me with a good feeling of taking the time to watch it. Samurai High School, comprised of 9 episodes follows the story of one Mochizuki Kotaro (played by Haruma Miura), who is possessed by his great-great-great-great grandfather with the same name, a general from the Sengoku period some 400 years ago who died at battle.

By virtue, Mochizuki is a senior high school student on the verge of graduating and preparing for entrance exams into university, who gave no effort into studying and joked around very often. When he came to be possessed by the samurai after his visit to an old historical library, he gains a friend in the form of Nakamura Tsuyoshi (played by Shirota Yuu) after saving him from shoplifting threatened by some group of girls from their school.

After just watching the final episode, you learn to realize just how defining the plot is. It seems you learn a lot from a samurai possessing you. Hahaha. I think what I learned can be best summarized by what Kotaro said to his classmates and teachers in the final episode:

"I... made a friend. He is conceited, stubborn, and to make matters worse, he died at age 17. But he told me... "Although you are alive, you are not living!" This made me furious! But truthfully... I realized something. Because until I met him... I had always buried my true feelings by joking around. I... I had completely given up on myself. Now... inside of me, there are so many things that I've learned from him.

As long as one doesn't fight, one cannot win.

One cannot give up until the end.

One should admit one's mistakes... if... one believes there was one.

It's wrong to blame others for your own failures.

Do everything you can to live fully since you're on this earth anyway.

That is why... I will fight. Please let me fight!"

Admirable, wouldn't you agree? ^________________^b

I brand this J-drama series a MUST WATCH!!!!!!

Musical Kuroshitsuji

So some weeks ago, I stumbled upon a musical of an anime/manga series Kuroshitsuji (translated to Black Butler).

The primary reason I wanted to watch this musical was because of Sakamoto Shougo, 4th cast Echizen Ryouma of the Tenimyu franchise portraying Ciel Phantomhive. Doing my research, I discovered that aside from him, there were about two other Tenimyu actors featured in the musical, namely Aoyagi Ruito (1st Hyoutei cast Mukahi Gakuto) and Uehara Takuya (Shitenhouji A cast Oshitari Kenya) portraying Yuuki (original musical character) and Grell Sutcliffe respectively.

I admit, I haven't followed the manga or watched the anime, so this was a completely unfamiliar realm I was entering, but I pursued and watched through the musical anyway. What I found interesting if not amazed at was the actor portraying the lead role - Sebastian Michaelis -, Matsushita Yuuya. The first song he sang was Yes My Lord. And I am not exaggerating when I say that his voice is somewhat heavenly and polished. But then again, what you would expect from an artist with a powerhouse voice like Kimeru (1st cast Fuji Syuusuke)?

So going through this musical, I found a few more interesting songs that now nestle within the playlists of my iPod. One of which is a duet performed brilliantly by Shougo and Ruito's characters that heavily remind you of Final Fantasy in terms of its essence and music. ^____^

All in all, this was a good watch and has gotten me to read through the manga. Yei~