The Castle of Otranto

As I did last semester I am going to review the book I have to read for class. Since I am taking two literature classes I should post about a lot of books. 

The first one I have finished is for my Gothic Imagination class called "The Castle of Otranto" by Horace Walpole. It is considered by some as the first Gothic novel, but to be honest I was not overly impressed. I think it was because I had a hard time figuring out what was happening. Walpole does not use quotation marks or paragraph breaks between dialogue so if two people are having a rapid conversation it is hard to understand who is saying what. The story itself was rather predictable, but that is because more popular stories have followed his model.


In a very short review Manfred's son, Conrad, dies right before he is married leaving no male heir for the throne. Manfred gets the idea to divorce his wife and marry Conrad's fiancée Isabella so he can have a male heir. There is so much more that goes on, but it all goes back to the fact that Manfred's grandfather stole the throne from its rightful heir and everything that happens is because the throne was taken. I don't want to ruin the story, but it is really weird and not overly interesting to me.    


It is a short read, only 101 pages, so you won't feel like you have wasted your life reading it, but one read was enough for me. I give it a two out of five stars because even though I know it was first the other Gothic novels I have read were much more compelling and interesting.

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac

So I can't even explain how happy I am that my friend introduced me to this movie, I love it! It was just so perfect! Now I am not really in to the Japanese movie/shows/music scene but this movie has changed my mind. It is based on a book (written in English) which I now want to read! The story line is so compelling and the characters make you fall in love. I laughed, cried, and loved so much in this movie. Also the ending (which I am not going to tell you) is very believable and something that you could see happening in real life. There is so much I want to say about this movie, but I can't even put it into words (and I want to be an English Writing Major?)

It is the story of Naomi Sukuse who, as you might have guess, gets amnesia after falling down the stairs at school. The movie is about her life after the accident and how much she changes. At first I was a little unsure about her character, but I soon fell in love with her. Maybe because I could identify with her a little as being kind of shy and unsure myself (though she has a better reason for it then I do) or just because the acting was amazing, but I was rooting for her. She is a photographer which adds a very awesome aspect to this movie with all the work they do with pictures and capturing moments. At the beginning of the movie she tells us this is a love story and by god it is the best love story I have watched in a long time. It is lovely, heart gripping, and as I have said before believable. 

*screen cap courtesy of my friend*    

This is Mirai Hasegawa, Naomi's best friend, and my favorite character in this whole movie. He is sweet and someone you can see existing in real life. He is the editor of the yearbook and that along with Naomi. This works with the whole pictures theme. I don't know what it was exactly that made me love him, maybe it was all the perfect mixes he made for Naomi, or how he was always smiling even when he was hurts, but I fell for him completely. I don't want to say too much more in fear of ruining the movie, but he is my favorite.

This is Yuji Minwa who helps Naomi even though they did not talk before the accident. He is mysterious, moody, and sexy. He is the kind of boy that every girl falls in love with because he is just such a complex character. Again I don't want to give away too much, but what he does for Naomi is too sweet, caring, and romantic that it is hard not to love him. Naomi also does a lot for him and helps him as well. The kissing scenes between him and Naomi are just too perfect not to comment on, but there is just so much more to this movie.

Now there is another male character, Ace, but I can't comment about him without giving a lot away (I have used that phrase so much). He is Naomi's boyfriend before the accident and his part in the movie isn't as large as the other males I have mentioned.

There is so much more I would like to say, but just go watch the movie. The whole thing is on youtube with subtitles and I promise that you will enjoy, if not love, it. If nothing else you get to watch very attractive guys for about 2 hours. It gets about 7 out of 5 stars in my book and I want to own it on DVD.