Sugar Sugar Rune: Initial Thoughts About Chocolat

This is how Chocolat Meilleure / Kato, the main
character in Sugar Sugar Rune looks like. One of the most 
noticeable things about her is her red hair and green eyes, 
which immediately reminded me of Lily Evans 
from the Harry Potter series

Just saw the first episode of the Sugar Sugar Rune anime and manga series by Moyoco Anno.

These are my initial thoughts/impressions about Chocolat Meilleure / Kato, the main female character.

(*Warning for possible spoilers for episode 1 of Sugar Sugar Rune)

One of the first things that anyone will notice about Chocolat is that she has red hair and green eyes. Being familiar with the Harry Potter series of fantasy books by J.K. Rowling, I immediately thought of Lily Evans, Harry’s mother, because she too has red hair and green eyes.

But, then again, I suppose this just goes to show that such a color combination isn’t exactly unusual as there are a number of other characters from other shows/series with that hair and eye color. Anyway, nothing wrong with Chocolat’s looks. Her personality/character, on the other hand…

So far, I’m not sure that I like Chocolat’s character or her personality. Maybe it’s because of how obvious it is that she’s the main character.

I mean, the show is titled Sugar Sugar Rune, but, right away, you can just tell that the protagonist is none other than Chocolat Meilleure. I’m already seeing/noticing the blatant main character favoritism. For instance:

• She gets the heart-shaped heart-holder while her best friend and rival Vanilla Mieux / Ice gets a diamond-shaped one
• Even her wand looks and seems more special than Vanilla’s. Just listen to Queen Candy’s speech about their wands and it’s clear that the redhead got the better wand

I also find myself wondering what is it with Kato and wanting to summon the guard dog of hell?

She kept talking about this and even asked Rockin' Robin if he can summon said creature. She even tries to summon it herself though she fails.

What is with her obsession with the guard dog of hell? Is this just meant to be seen as comical?

Is this just for comic relief purposes? Or is there a significance to this? Who knows? So, what do you think about Chocolat so far?

*Note:
- Pics are enlarged product images from Amazon.com; links shown above via Amazon's Native Shopping Ads widget

Mou Nakanaide Ranma 1/2 Song Quote Analysis

“Cheer up and don’t cry anymore. Once tomorrow comes, everything will change.”
- Mou Nakanaide (song from Ranma ½)

The above quote is part of the lyrics of the song entitled "Mou Nakanaide." The title means "Don’t Cry Anymore."

It's the 6th opening theme song from the Ranma ½ anime and manga series by Rumiko Takahashi. It was sung by Senou Azusa.

Ranma ½ is a comedy starring a lot of characters with complicated relationships. The main protagonist is Ranma Saotome who ends up falling into a cursed spring (called Jusenkyo), which causes him to turn into a girl whenever he is drenched in cold water.

This particular quote from the Mou Nakanaide song seems pretty inspiring at first and that is true, but, it’s also true that this phrase can be quite depressing when you really look at it. It’s inspiring because, don’t we all want someone to be there for us?

Don’t we all want someone to tell us to cheer up and not cry anymore? Don’t we want someone to reassure us and tell us that everything will be okay, that things will get better? We all want a shoulder to cry on, right?

We all want someone that we can talk to, someone who understands us and someone who will listen to us and be there for us.

The quote also comes across as hopeful with the second sentence.

It’s a sign of reassurance that we shouldn’t give up, that we should continue moving and fighting because, when tomorrow comes, things can get better, things can change.

But the entire quote from the Ranma ½ song can be depressing too and it’s not just because of the word “cry.” It’s because, if someone is telling you to cheer up and stop crying, that means that you’re feeling really sad and down, right?

It means you’re feeling depressed and that you’re experiencing a lot of worries and problems.

Maybe, you might even feel like giving up already. Maybe you feel like it’s no use to keep on fighting and that nothing ever comes of your efforts anyway, so you might as well just end it all.

And that’s a reason why someone would want to tell you these words from Mou Nakanaide. If you weren’t feeling sad and depressed, if you’re not already crying your eyes and heart out, then no one would need to say these words to you, right?

*Notes:
- Image with added text was modified by Freya Yuki (CC:BY-SA) based on the image by ishizu123 (CC:BY-SA) from deviantArt
- Pic is meant to symbolize the featured quote from the Mou Nakanaide song
- The rest of the pics are enlarged product images from Amazon.com; links shown above via Amazon's Native Shopping Ads widget

The Golden Apples Yu-Gi-Oh! Card: How Is It Related To The Golden Apple Of Discord?

The Golden Apples is one of the cards from the Yu-Gi-Oh! card game. What is so interesting about it? How can it be related to the golden apple that appears in Greek Mythology?

You can see an image of The Golden Apples card to the right. This is actually a Trap Card. The single apple shown in the art of this card can be related to the golden apple that appears in Greek Mythology.

This apple is also known as the Golden Apple of Discord or simply the Apple of Discord. This fruit actually started or was the cause of the Trojan War.

What exactly happened? How can a single piece of fruit start a war? And what's the relation of this apple to the Yu-Gi-Oh! card in question?

All this began during the wedding of the parents of the hero named Achilles. Eris, the goddess of discord, was not invited to the wedding of Peleus, the king of the Myrmidons, and Thetis, a Nereid (a sea-nymph), but she came anyway.

She brought a golden apple with her. On it was inscribed 'for the fairest'. Understandably, all the women present at the wedding wanted the apple. This caused everyone to quarrel and argue amongst themselves.

Eventually, the rightful owner of the golden apple came down to a choice between 3 goddesses- Athena (goddess of wisdom), Hera (queen of the gods and goddesses) and Aphrodite (goddess of love and beauty).

Since no decision could be made, the 3 goddesses agreed to let Paris, the son of Priam and Hecuba (king and queen of Troy), be the one to judge and choose which one of them was the fairest and most beautiful.

To help him choose, they resorted to bribing him with Hera offering him power (she said he could be the king of Europe and Asia), Athena offering him wisdom and skills in war and Aphrodite offering him Helen, the most beautiful mortal woman in the world.

Paris awarded the golden apple to Aphrodite. He did get Helen, but this started the Trojan War because Helen was already married to the king of Sparta (Menelaus). Thus, the power and capability of The Golden Apples Yu-Gi-Oh! card can be explained or likened to the power of the golden apple that started the Trojan War.

One single fruit led to a fight between goddesses, which eventually caused an all-out war that lasted for years. In the same way, one single Trap Card can allow you to gain life points and even special summon a token with attack and defense equal to the life points that you gained.

So if the battle damage you got was 3000, then the life points you'll gain will also be 3000.

In effect, you don't lose any life points, but you do gain a powerful Malus token, which you can use to defend yourself and attack your opponent.

However, The Golden Apples isn't without its limitations. There is a catch, of course, in the same way that the golden apple in Greek Mythology didn't start the Trojan War right away.

It's also like how the 3 goddesses needed Paris to decide which of them should get the golden apple. But in order to get him to decide, they had to resort to bribery. This can be likened to how the Trap Card cannot be activated even if you take battle damage as long as you still control a monster on your side of the field.

Once your field is empty and you take battle damage, you're free to activate the card, which can be likened to how Paris finally chose to give the golden apple to Aphrodite. Being able to special summon a Malus token thanks to fulfilling all the card's requirements can be likened to how Paris was able to get Helen thanks to choosing the goddess of love and beauty.

*Notes:
- Image with added text was modified by Freya Yuki based on the image by Sandro Botticelli (Public Domain) from Wikimedia Commons
- Pic shows the Judgment of Paris
- The rest of the pics are enlarged product images from Amazon.com; links shown above via Amazon's Native Shopping Ads widget