How can I be SO SLOW.

The pink cover of the book never did appeal to me as with most pink things. However, the cover did fall somewhere near fuschia actually, so I didn’t really mind it. Kamikaze Girls by Novala Takemoto is known as Shimotsuma Monogatari (下妻物語) and has been adapted to both Manga and film. The website in English is right here.

I bought the book in late october and read it on the way home since it was difficult playing my ndsl while standing in a crowded train. It starts off nicely, and gives one a very tame (in my opinion) of the Lolita culture in the initial pages. But readers will find themselves plunging into an almost bizarre world where the Lolita and Biker Girl Lifestyles are put so close together, they somehow attract – as it did happen with the two main characters of the story.

Now I have been poupee-ing for a little more than 8 months. (gasp!!) And I’ve become familiar with labels like Vivienne Westwood and Baby, The Stars Shine Bright (I LOVE!). The story, since it involved a Lolita, discussed so much about the label that I went to the website to take a look at the stuff I would buy so that when I go to their boutique, the staff would recognize me. My purchases would be full of black items of course. This book became something I couldn’t put down somewhere before the middle of the book (and it’s not a thick book). It is such an easy read and is so entertaining that I honestly just kept going. So yesterday, although I stayed up to watch tv (evangelion 1.0 was on), I still decided to finish it.

I would say it’s a story of a most bizarre but wonderful friendship. And although sometimes we would say ‘I will never (insert something you’ll never do here)’, there are times when you learn to tolerate it and perhaps understand it. The two main characters start off not knowing each other, and then strangely, like diffferent magnetic poles, started to hang out together and yet still retain their distinctive identity. The story really made me laugh out loud at times, and using embroidery to connect the two cultures together, albeit in a rather subtle manner, was such a clever idea on the part of the author.

Now I feel like learning embroidery too, HAHA.

So anyways, it looks like I’m going to look for more books by the same author, and perhaps start searching for the sequel as well.

I actually have another book by Kirino on my shelf (Out) but when my NSDL was flashing it’s lo-batt signal and I didn’t bring my PSP, I dug into my shopping bag and started to read Grotesque.

I didn’t read it as fast as I used to, but I couldn’t put it down. Its intriguing characters relate their story to you, and instead of being repetitive, the plot was all the more engaging and pulls you into the story ever so subtly. I found myself unable to put the book down and since this is more noir than a regular crime-mystery, I started to read this in the nights more often than playing with my game consoles. One can feel the brutal truth for the individuals in the story, no matter how dark and hopeless; Kirino does not beautify reality, but presents it in a most accurate manner. I simply don’t know what more I could ask for.

I’m delving into the second (actually it’s the first) book now. And I sure hope it’s as good as Grotesque. If you’re into modern and noir, this book would be great.

Meanwhile, something else has been keeping me busy.

Stardust. Basically I can’t tell why I so wanted to see this movie but I must say it was rather fun. The effects were pretty good and of course De Niro never fails to please. The best part I suppose (for me) was that the love story isn’t too lovey-dovey, and draggy, if you understand my personality. I guess sometimes I should spend sometime in the fantasy world and I must say the two hours was quite worth it. The movie’s ending its run here soon so catch it while you can if you haven’t already. meanwhile the official website is here.

dream. Again another weird dream. This is weirder than the Giant Hamsters dream though. In this dream I’m a Ranger. I have a ferret with me as a pet and I hail from Argerah. It sure looks like Argh and it could be a figment of my frustration but anyways I must say that I had to give a lecture about where I came from in the dream. Apparently Argerah is a cold country at the northen hemisphere. It’s covered in snow all year round and most of my people are warriors. Ahem.

And so it’s so weird that I had to kill some ogres (there were five of them but my party also helped) and disarm some traps before giving a lecture on Argerah. I have a longsword with me and a medium shield. And honestly i REALLY remembered sticking my sword into one of the monsters. I can even remember how it felt. (That sounds a bit psycho by the way.) One of my friends from Korea happen to be in my party. And the thief is familiar but I can’t remember who he is. (maybe Gambit?!?!) DUH!? What kind of dream was that?~?!

tomorrow. Hash tomorrow. Tired.

I’ve got some chocolates that I need to tell you about. I don’t think they are many and they aren’t candy, so since I hardly eat chocolates here’s the first feature of CHOC SHOCK which can happen any time any day of any week. heh.

Kabaya Choco Pudding

Honestly these are very cute. Look what’s outside.

The faces of the pudding are the reasons why I bought these in the first place

Inside these little pudding cups are… little puddings. Seriously, I think it’s a wonderful design and it’s really adorable. But I wonder if the chocolates taste like puddings? Or is it the other way around?

Anyways the little puddings are nice to look at… and … well. nice. I can’t think of what I can say about the taste because it’s quite sweet even though it’s small. Imagine pudding and milk chocolate? Plus, the chocolate doesn’t really give you the melt in your mouth sensation (much unlike Melty Kiss or MnMs of course). But ok, here’s another look at the packaging…

Rating: 5 out of 10
After taste: Ok this is like too too too sweet for me. I don’t really like it at all. But the packaging is really cute. I guess maybe there is someone out there who could give a better review than me? Any takers?
Website: The original site is here http://www.kabaya.co.jp/index2.html The welcome greeting is so funny hehe.

Morinaga Well Cookie

The store owner asked ‘Have you tried this?’.

‘Why, no I haven’t actually.’

‘It’s very popular, I have no idea why. I’ve been re-stocking this again and again.’ she responded in quite an exasperated tone.

‘Hmm… Ok let me try one. I never thought of getting this because it’s got chocolate biscuits.’ Ayu picks up a box and put it into the shopping basket.

The box yells ‘WELL’ at you. It’s either saying ‘well, are you going to eat me or not?’ or ‘get WELL!’ or ‘Well well well….’ depending on your mood that day I guess. The cookies are individually packed in yellow or brown, depending on the flavor. The Lemons are on the left and the Chocs are on the right. Like this

There’s nothing cute about these. No cartoons on the box. No printed images on the biscuits. Nothing vaguely adorable on the individual packages. In fact, my first impression was ‘Hmm, these biscuits are very neat.’ (Read: I have been doing my research and feverishly looking for loopholes, therefore the almost nutzoid idea) But anyways. They do inform you that they are ‘The New Standard Biscuit’.

Within each pack you will find delicious cookies with delectable cream sandwiched in between. The chocolate has vanilla-flavored cream, while the yellow-buttery biscuit has lemon-flavored. I was so glad the chocolate wasn’t actually too sweet; in fact it was hinging towards bitter chocolates.

So… get WELL with these biscuits They are good!

Rating: 7.5 out of 10
After Taste: I can’t really eat much of these but they aren’t exactly sweet, so I guess if I really wanted to I can finish the whole box in a sitting, perhaps.
Website: The official website is here. And look they have another website, it’s got a recipe page as well. Too bad it’s all in Japanese but the pictures make me hungry.

Puccho Gummy Stick – Melon Soda (ぷつちよ　ガミ)

I first saw this on the UHA’s Puccho website. There were two flavors (cola and melon soda) available at the store downstairs and I got them both to try out.

The first one I decided to try was this: the Melon Soda Gummy.

I had doubts about this. I never had Melon Soda in my life. So what is this supposed to taste like? Melon-y with Soda fizz? Soda-flavored Melon? Melon-flavored soda? Anyways, one will never find out without trying right?

Despite the name ‘Gummy Stick’, it just refers to the container. The gummies are really drops. They are a nice translucent white, reminding me very much of Ice-Cream Soda drinks.

They taste like Ice-Cream Soda too. With a hint of a fruit flavor somewhere. But if you didn’t tell me it’s supposed to be ‘Melon Soda’ I would never know what it is. They taste just like… candy, I guess. The texture is just nice though, but I find them too small to chew on much.

I suppose this is more popular that I would think they are because the shop’s just ran all out of them. Hmm, I think if I really needed to get gummies and I am far from everywhere else, these might satiate me for awhile but that’s about all…

Rating: 6 of 10
After Taste: Quite forgettable for me.
Website: http://www.puccho.jp/

Pucca Chocolate – Baked Custard

I’ve always given the Pucca range from Meiji ‘OK’s so far. This time, the light blue of the pack appealed to me more than the flavor though. Baked custard Pucca?! What would that taste like!? (Actually this was another recommendation from Lois, and it helped that I was confident about her recommendations hahaha)

Someone once told me they are all the same. But the person who first recommended the original Pucca (no not the cartoon character) to me actually highlighted that the biscuits are differently shaped. Some are fish and some are octopus (octopi?) and some have only two tentacles so I have no idea what they are. There is one thing that’s the same for all flavors though, and that’s the word ‘chocolate’ after ‘Pucca’. This happens even if the flavored cream is strawberry or in this case, baked custard.

My skeptical opinion about the flavor was immediately corrected after I put the first fish/octopus into my mouth. The sweet aroma of the crispy biscuit coupled with the thick custard flavor made me smile. (As you can see I was doing my work then – and it was regarding my Lit Review so I was quite upset.)

I must say the flavors are very sweet though, and this is one I can’t sit and finish everything in one sitting. The small pack lasted me about three to four days and nope, there’s no inexplicable craving I have for it unlike Fran or something. So this gets another OK from me. Nevertheless, I think I’m one of the few who would say Meiji named these creatures Pucca before the girl in red was. Here’s an tvcm for you!

Rating: 7 out of 10
After Taste: A bit too sweet really, but nice!
Website: http://www.meiji.co.jp/sweets/chocolate/pucca/

Takenoko no Sato Crunch (あじわいクランチ　大粒　）

As you can see it says 大粒.

So I expected it to be much bigger than the normal one. When I opened the box, the Takenokos were wrapped individually. And there are only 7 of them in the box. The packaging, as always, is beautiful. The designs on every corner of the box makes you wonder if they would ever miss out any inch of the box. (and usually it’s a no.)

If you compare the other versions, this one is larger than the normal ones. The chocolate on the biscuit looks really inviting especially with the sheen.

Coupled with the crunchy and fragrant biscuit, the chocolate isn’t overwhelming for me. (no i don’t quite like chocolates on its own) Even if I had to open the biscuits one by one (which usually slows me down) this made me finish the entire box in one sitting. And this is also a limited edition series (it has a kinoko one too) so if you see it, and want to try it out, don’t hesitate. No problem if it costs more – this biscuit is one you shouldn’t miss!

Rating: 10 out of 10
After Taste: Very nice!! No regrets!
Website: Well it was here but it’s not there anymore.

Gelee in Gummy – Green Apple

Another of Meiji’s gummy range. This Gelee in Gummy range boasts two flavors (Green Apple and Plum) and a nice sticker at the back to help you reseal your packet if you can’t finish them.

The candy is very sour (for me – and my tolerance is quite low despite the fact that I love them gummies). However, I don’t feel like the apple flavors punched. AND, there was no ‘gelee’ in the gummy. Or is mine playing tricks on me?

The texture of the gummy is good though and meets my standards. (And I would remind that I really am picky about gummy textures) So that’s points for this gummy! Plus the stickers, I would probably buy these again because they are readily available at the store near my home. But I don’t think I will have a craving for it like I do for Qun.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10
After Taste: I guess I’m still looking for the ‘gelee’ in the candy. But otherwise it’s not bad.
Website: Nothing on the Meiji Website at the moment

Takenoko No Sato (Hokkaido Azuki)　　 たけのこの里　北海道あずき 

Following the entry on the Brown Sugar (or Maple) Kinokos, what could be more appropriate than waxing lyrical about the Hokkaido Azuki Takenoko no Sato.

Just like the kinoko counterpart, the boxes are beautifully decorated and the interior packaging very pretty.

These little bamboo shoots are coated with red bean flavored cream and the flavors are not too heavy. Azuki is a flavor I adore aside from Green Tea, so these were in fact the ones which caught my eye at the store. If you’re a fan of Azuki, you have to give these a shot. I must say however, the flavors kinda linger for awhile even after you’ve finished eating. But that’s not an issue is it? After all azuki is sweet-smelling .

Even though I’m glad I have another option other than strawberry since I’m no fan of chocolate, I don’t think this flavor will replace my favorites though. Because azuki is primarily sweet, it lacks the tanginess that can come with some fruit flavors. However, I wouldn’t say this is all that bad, so it gets the ‘this-is-pretty-good’ from me. PS: I like the color pretty much too haha

Rating: 8 out of 10
After Taste: Lingering azuki flavors but it’s not all that bad.
Website:http://www.meiji.co.jp/sweets/chocolate/kinotake/kinako_azuki/index.html