Looking Back (2011) - The Reads & The Plays

Right as many would have known by now, I'm a geek. I like comics a lot. I like fantasy a lot. I like toy cars and cute stuff. I can play video games without taking in any food for a long time. And I love the science of arts like crazy. (oh my, since when did science and art merge together?)

The year 2011 was the year I continued to enhance my geekiness and artistic appreciation while somehow slacked off in my writing. I tend to make up for that slacking off this 2012, so I do hope that all will be well. Now I'll be listing a few reads and plays that got me running as a geek this year. Roll the camera!

[MANGA READING LIST]

One Piece: Engaging as ever, the action in this manga never ceased. Ever since my first read of this comic in 2001, One Piece has never failed in showing character development. Though the story may be straight forward a little bit now and then; strong battles and interesting characters make up for it.
Bleach: Well at times I find it boring after the Aizen arc. The story now is getting more fast paced, and there's too much questions that it is making me ask. But then again, the powers are cool and it makes me wanna try and start reading Naruto again.
Beelzebub: It's simple art with a simple storyline. The characters development are good in a sense that there are also a lot of characters like in One Piece or Bleach. But then the story seemed to be getting fast paced, skipping many battle scenes that I was looking forward to read at. Oh well, it is still interesting.
Toriko: A manga about food! Always leaves me hungry and salivating. The author is really good at making the ingredients and cooking look delicious. Even though there are not that many flashy techniques or skills used during battles, it's a good read that leaves your food grumbling.. :P
Sket Dance: A heart warming school manga. It's about a club called Sket Dance helping out with their schoolmates in dealing with their problems. The story is funny, and it's been a while since I really laughed a lot after the comic Ranma 1/2. There's also drama where youngsters can probably relate to. A worthy read, since it's not your usual battle manga.
Fairy Tail: When RAVE ended, it left me with a strong impression of Hiro Mashima. Now his new manga Fairy Tail, the tone is very much alike with probably a different setting and a whole set of new characters. The story this time revolves around magicians, battling evil and stuff. What's important is that there are dragons!
Katekyo Hitman Reborn: An action packed comic about the mafia world. Like usual battle like manga, the story is interesting with the various characters having different set of skills. The story has gotten way better now ever since the end of the future arc, and I hope to see more.
Bakuman: Never once I failed to read Bakuman without getting inspired. Inspirational to any artist, Bakuman offers the story of creating art (in the story's case, a manga) step by step. The issues and challenges are realistic, and it may tempt fellow artists to have bigger dreams and higher hopes. It teaches me the value that in art, nothing is certain. You just have to make things as interesting as possible.

[AVIASI FANTASI]

After a while of searching, I finally got a hold of 2 volumes of this book this year. It was very hard to find one, and I treasure it a lot. And it didn't disappoint me as well. Aviasi Fantasi is a comic made by Nazry (the writer) and Afiq (the illustrator) who call themselves by the pen name Feeqry. The comic is purely Malaysian, and the story is breathtaking. It is an adventure like story where two friends go out on an adventure on a self built aeroplane! I have been a fan of them ever since Misi 8A. And I know they have very good control over the story and character development. The art is good as well. It is very balanced and the pages doesn't look empty at all. It is quite sad when they say the story will end soon due to several issues, but I do look forward to more from them.

[BOBOI BOY]

Yes I know this is not a book nor a game, but this animation is awesome in it's own way. Boboi Boy is a Malaysian animation made with the same artistic concept of Upin & Ipin. However, the difference is that it is an action based story; with powers and evil and monsters and stuff. I did support Upin & Ipin when it went out as a series, but Boboi Boy clearly wins a place as a favourite. Go watch it, it's good! (terbaikkk..!)

[POKEMON BLACK]

It's Pokemon guys! The concept of catching monsters and raising them has always won a spot in my heart. This time Pokemon has several new creatures to catch, and a whole new world to explore. There's also a new concept of battle where 3 Pokemon can battle at once. Though I still find it tiring to do trading, I hope this time I'm able to complete my Pokedex!

[DEFENSE OF THE ANCIENTS]

And yes, I still cannot let go of DoTA from my heart. It has strategy. It has beautiful characters and skills. And it has interesting people playing alongside you. There are 4 new heroes released during Christmas, can't wait to try them out! :D