Vampire Knight, ep. 01-05

I usually don't like watching anime made from manga, just because a) I like manga art better, b) the voices always startle me because they aren't exactly like the ones in my head, and c) the pacing feels off (it takes about two episodes for one volume, which I can read in half an hour).

I am going to completely eschew plot summary and link you here instead, as the first five volumes cover the first volume and a half of the manga. Mostly, all you need to know is that Yuuki is our innocent heroine, Zero is the broody grumpy vampire hater, and Kaname is the overly protective vampire who saved kid!Yuuki.

The switches between SD comedy and Gothic vampire crack worked a lot better for me in the anime, largely because in the anime, each mood takes more time, as opposed the manga, which often flip-flops between mood every other page or so. Also, the sound effects help. But mostly! We get many shots of vampires with glowing red eyes!

And! And! People! There is organ music for the big emotional moments, or the little emotional moments, or really, any moment that involves over-the-top Gothic settings! And! The ending song is set to an extremely creepy scene in which Yuuki is a doll dressed in black, Loligoth style, and she cries tears of blood while her stuffed rabbit's eyes glow red! It is AWESOME!

I cannot wait until SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER!

Please no spoilers for the manga in comments unless it is under <span style="color:#333;background:#333">spoiler text</span>.

Weekend updates

Despite actually accomplishing a good deal this weekend (finishing the knitting on umadoshi's tatami kimono, applying for a visa for Taiwan, taking Ren to the vet, assorted other errands), I feel like I have not done much. The tatami kimono is now blocking, Ren has antibiotics though I am still worried because he is now an elder rat, the visa is out of my hands for the moment, and it makes no sense to pack for Taiwan yet.

Still, there's a lot to do, first and foremost being finding an apartment for school. GAH. Future Roommate is coming down in the middle of the week, and though I can look for places online now, the bulk of it will be done on Friday. My last day at work is next week, and there will be paper work for assorted things. And then Wiscon, and then two months in Taiwan. No wonder I've been feeling incredibly unsettled. I suspect I won't start to feel better until school actually starts and I have a routine again, and even then, it'll be odd being in a different city, with a roommate, with a completely different schedule. Still, at least it will be a schedule, as opposed to the current plan of: fly to Madison, fly to Taiwan, fly to New York, MOVE.

Add extra paranoia for rat health while I am out of the country for two months, get instant freak out!

On the plus side, even though I got to the farmers' market very late, I still got peas! Also! My pea guy is back! Apparently he couldn't bring things over because of a bad shoulder. I sadly didn't get any peas from him this week, since I had already gotten a ton, but there will be next week, now that I know he's back.