SS501, a boy band from Korea, just has to be the epitome of Korean pop music. They are literally iconic to the K-pop industry and I would bet my arm on that fact. Their songs are nostalgic-sounding, catchy, and likable. While critiquing pop music in general isn’t particularly my forte, even an untrained ear can understand that SS501 does a really good job at capturing that “pop” sound, whatever it is. To me, good pop is fun, upbeat, and “dancy.” The best thing about SS501 is that they are versatile in the best way. Their songs explore different areas without losing that sharp touch and that fun spirit. There is also the fact that SS501, and K-pop groups in general, don’t go flaunting around that idea of getting high and drunk and partying. SS501’s songs are pretty much harmless, although typical, but that’s the magic of it: nothing is really serious.

Truly, Hyun Joong and his mates are experts at putting so much sex in a little box on my screen. They’re a pop group I’d actually go see, if only they still made music.

As for K-pop in general, I don’t understand the new K-pop, and I don’t mean this as in their language. All music transition somehow, I know; this is just the path of this particular genre. It’s a bad change in my opinion, but I don’t listen to K-pop very often in the first place so I don’t really care. And besides, even if I did, I would be listening to SS501, no matter how old their songs are.

I’ve heard it been said that a writer is someone who is stubborn. He reads a story, is unhappy with its outcomes, then picks up a pen, or, nowadays he opens his laptop, and makes the story a miracle of his own. I’ve never before felt such a powerful understanding after reading those kinds of words. But for some reason, I have an unsettling unrest in my heart. It leaks out, as that is how the medicine of writing fiction works, but it always leaves me this ill feeling afterwards of never picking up the pen again. Facing your truths is hard.

But, writing is fun. There is a magic in creating a story around a piece of text, or a quote someone said, or another story that’s already been made. The world of literature is beautiful because in the end, there is no “mastery.” All you need to do is embrace your feelings and let them be told. The real master is the amateur.

because I am sitting here waiting at 2:34 AM when school is but a week away for a guy six years older than me who lives seven hours away and likes porn. Put the pieces together. There is also manga on one tab and Ella Fitzgerald on the other following some soothing Brazillian music on YouTube, which, as I’m very well aware of, doesn’t help my situation one bit.

Sometimes my good tastes, along with my curiosity and my tendency to like attractive men, put me in a lot of trouble and anguish.

No spoilers if you regularly read shoujo.

It’s a really, really funny manga. Needed to get this out.

Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun came off as pretty good to me, at first. The scenes were dramatic, and the drawings had plenty of spunk, but as many mangas, that style died out and the drawings just became more simple. That was okay, because the mangaka her/himself still could pull it off. What they couldn’t pull off, though, was the storyline. At first, you had this insensitive, indifferent, smart girl who just wanted to keep to herself, but by meeting Haru, her later love interest, she finds her world expanded with lots of friends and fun. This goes the same way for Haru, so they are both in love. This would have been fine if only the same pressing issue of their love wasn’t dragged on for 30 chapters! Maybe because I am older now, but I think waiting 30 chapters for a kissing scene is insane. I really don’t think kissing is much of a big deal, but I don’t know, maybe it can be.

Kaibutsu-kun has every cliche aspect of a shoujo manga I have ever seen, and I’m sure there is more to come. Basically it’s one of those mangas that don’t have a real storyline, and they just kind of drag on by throwing in events like Valentine’s or a school festival, like most shoujos. You also get random characters lobbed in that don’t really contribute and disappear for a while only to reappear again at the most unfavorable moments. I guess if this wasn’t one of the later mangas I’ve read, I wouldn’t be so bored by it, but there you go. You can’t really call any spoilers in this manga because it’s already kind of obvious. You have the antithesis of the two main guys, one being completely composed and rational, the other being really random and non-understandable. You also get two side “friend” characters, again, one being completely rational and steady, the other being really clueless and airheaded. I don’t really mind these kinds of characters until, like every shoujo, the mangaka has the need to pair everyone up, meaning that Natsume and Sasayan will be paired, and Haru and Shizuku will go together. They’re not really spoilers, they’re given.

The manga was interesting at first, but held onto the introduction for far too long, on too much of a thin string. There were lots of random events going on and somehow you even forget what the matters were. I think the reason why I liked this manga was because of three notable characters: Shizuku, who got me interested in the first place; Sasayan, who seems to be the only voice of reason; and Yamaken, who I think should have a fair chance at Shizuku because he is just so much better. I think one of the good aspects of dragging out Shizuku and Haru’s love was the fact that you really got the opportunity to look deepy at Haru and eventually doubt his love (thanks, Sasayan). Most likely, from a rational mind, he doesn’t really love Shizuku as much as he says and is only tricking himself, or that she was the first person besides some of his family (Micchan’s mom) to give him a chance so that. This is interesting, because while that does give Haru a reason to love Shizuku, it also really shows how frivolous his feelings can be. This is why I think Yamaken needs some more opportunities; he doesn’t even show up half of the time, yet somehow he is regarded as “the rival.”

I read manga to get some quick lessons on life, sort of like advice. It’s trivial advice that could help me sort my problems out. Kaibutsu-kun was a really good manga for me, since I related to Shizuku so much on so many levels. Aside from her, though, one of the main things I learned from this manga was that you shouldn’t rush your feelings. You don’t want to end up lying to yourself, like Haru, because while Haru is likable, I don’t think he knows what love is. He feels love for Shizuku when she does something dramatic like kissing him or touching him, but after several times, he ends up still feeling “empty.” That doesn’t sound like love. Like Sasayan said, it sounds like an obsession, or at least with that feeling of being “full.” It’s important to distinguish whether you are really in love with the person, or just lonely. (There is also being in love with romance, but that’s another story.)

Yamaken ends up being the ideal guy for Shizuku, on lots of subjects, to me, because he knows her faults. He sees her without appeal (her clothing, her looks), and he knows where she shops and her habits; they’re not all the best. Even with that, he also knows how to love her. This is unlike Haru, who just “likes” Shizuku for who she is without further questions. While you may hope for Haru to somehow embrace his love for Shizuku, I think it’s better and much more reliable to put your money on Yamaken. Yamaken knows what he’s doing. He thinks of her a lot, and that’s really unlike Haru. He understands the fact that he likes a girl like her and acknowledges it. We’re still fuzzy if Haru does or not.

But of course, like every other shoujo manga, the helpless guy like Haru always breaks through. I don’t want to judge Kaibutsu-kun too much, but it really looks like it’s going down that path. I think the sole thing that made this manga bearable for me was the drawings, those three characters, and how funny it was. I should have talked about the comedy more, since that was a big element, but I’m pretty much done now.