Synopsis: As a punishment for punching a famous calligrapher, young handsome calligrapher Handa Seishu is exiled to a small island. As someone who has never lived outside of a city, Handa has to adapt to his new wacky neighbors, like people traveling on a tractor, unwanted visitors who never use the front door, annoying kids using his home as a playground, etc. Can this city guy handle all the crazy hardships?

So, Barakamon was one of those shows I started during summer to get back into watching anime. And let me tell you, it was a great choice! It definitely had the summery anime feel, and it was a good relaxing show to watch. The comedy was wonderful and the plot was interesting. I've never seen a show like it, honestly. I loved how much I could laugh in one episode. It was one of those chill, relaxing shows that you don't have to get too involved in. But there were still plenty of feels between the relationships and character development.

Now, I know I only have given it a 9 out of 10, but that was mostly because of the repetitiveness of the show. Yeah, my intentions going into the show were to watch something mindlessly: and Barakamon fulfilled that. However, toward the end of the anime, the repetitiveness seen in every single episode just started to become tiring. That's why it's missing half a rating or even a full rating to make it perfect. In every episode, the storyline for that specific episode was the same as the previous episode. Every episode was unique in its own way, yes, but there were still the tell-tale signs from the last episode, and the episode before, in the current episode of which was being watched.

Of course, even with the mindless repetitiveness, the show still gets a great rating. For one, it's a different plot line. The story revolves around a calligrapher, Seishuu Handa, who's trying to find his own unique "style" of calligraphy after having been told his work was too cookie-cutter, perfect to professional books. His father sends him to a remote island, and there he meets a troublesome 6 year old named Naru who ends up giving him inspiration for his work - along with all her island friends and family. It's a really touching story, and definitely a unique story, at that. 

To me, there wasn't anything interesting about the art style, but I loved the scenery. The sunsets, stars, and other important moments in the show that revolved around nature or the scenery in general was breathtaking. Almost like it was real. And, like most of the modern anime it did have those unique angels that a lot of producers and artists seem to be experimenting with.

The characters were, honestly, something else. Naru and Seishuu's mother were extremely energetic, and made the show unique. Seishuu's mother only appears in the last two episodes, but damn...she is one woman you don't want to mess with! Naru is Seishuu's second hand man, the six year old who hangs around him too much and pulls him into way too many troublesome situations - but even in her young age and clueless ways, she's got a maturity all her own. She teaches Seishuu a lot, and while she's got a lot of growing up to do, Seishuu learns a lot from her and others on the island - sometimes without even realizing it. You don't see too much character development from him in the end, but you do see him grow in subtle ways.

Honestly, there's nothing special about the comedy. It's funny - but it's also, at times, just really stupid and corny. Still, the comedy is so simple, so childish in its antics revolving around the kids on the island, that it just makes you laugh.

I do recommend this anime. It's a simple anime, with simple comedy, and an interesting plotline. It's an easy anime to watch without much requirements. In fact, it was extremely relaxing for me to watch. I enjoyed it, even in its repetitiveness.

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So. I've been reading the Vampire Academy series since it first came out in 2007. I started this series in seventh grade, and it's basically following me all throughout high school all the way until college with the extended Bloodlines series. I have many fond memories with both of these series, and I practically grew up with them if you consider that middle school through high school is often a really hard time in people's lives in the aspect that they're trying to find out their identity. And with that being said, I've always admired and looked up to Rose. She's one of my literary heroes.

When I first met Sydney Sage in the Vampire Academy series, I thought she was a stickler. She seemed boring, clean-cut, and straight to the point. All business, no play. However, her appearances in that series were brief. She was an important character, that much I could gather (and it was a bit obvious), but there was much time to delve on her. Despite how perfect she seemed - she was intriguing. So I was beyond excited when the Bloodlines series was announced. I really was curious about her, and while I wasn't fond of her in the first series - I didn't outright dislike her or hate her. I was simply curious, knowing she was the way she was for reasons unexplained. And I wanted those reasons explained.

Well, I got it in the form of this series. Today, that series ended for me. And I'd like to say I'm not happy with the ending.

Whereas the Vampire Academy ending seemed more final - this ending was much more open. There was no closure for me. Sydney and Adrian end up happy and together, which I'd been hoping and praying for by the second book, and I got it - so yay to that! Because I adore those two together. They bring out the best in each other, and have learned through hardship how to work with the worst of each other. Adrian showed, taught, and changed Sydney in so many ways - along with Jill, Eddie, Angeline, and others. This series was the greatest work of character development through time that I have ever, in my opinion, seen. Sydney went from having her faith set in hardcore beliefs, and being scared of her superiors to a strong and confident young woman who questioned everything around her and the truth of it all. Her questioning turned her into a character that I think a lot of people should look up to. She learned how to fight in her own ways, and on top of it she's intelligent - a trait that often gets bypassed in many sources of literature today. Sydney Sage-Ivashkov is a woman that every woman should look up to.

But within this specific book of the series, Adrian discovers a curious miracle - which I won't go into detail, because I don't want to ruin the book for those who haven't read. Basically, it's a detail that can change the world of the Moroi and dhampir. It's a secret that needs to be kept, and him and Sydney will keep it at all costs- but for something so amazing, that was even described in the book's synopsis...no one went into too much detail on it. Which is understandable, considering that those involved decided to keep it away from the Moroi world for the time being. But I personally feel as though this amazing thing was glossed over. Especially because, with the way the last chapter played out and how the story ended - the ending was an opening. It's an opening that could possibly lead into more book series, and it definitely leads into many, many more questions needing to be answered.

Compared to the other books in the series, as well, this specific one felt rushed. I'm not sure if was, or if this was a storytelling method Richelle Mead simply wanted to take on for this series. However, I do know it was very fast-paced and wasn't as enjoyable as some of the others. Mead is normally very specific about the details of events in the books and how they play out, especially events that are packed with high suspense and adrenaline. I've always loved that about her writing. But this specific book seemed to be lacking those details. The heist that takes place seemed to be downplayed. Sneaking in and around places and gathering information that could save or doom certain people were downplayed. For all of the seriousness of some of the events that were taking place within the book, The Ruby Circle seemed to be lacking a lot of those key emotions triggered by the author to keep the reader engaged.

I also noticed two editing mistakes in the printing, one of them being extremely confusing, which caused me to re-read the sentence about three times to make sure I understood it. The other mistake wasn't a huge deal. In fact, neither of them were that big of a deal to me. But I do know they may bother some others.

Overall, I still enjoyed the book. It was, very much, the epic conclusion it was advertised to be. It was simply wonderful growing up with these characters and seeing the change in their personalities, beliefs, and more. The development and growing these characters did was outstanding. I can say with my heart I love every single one of the characters within these books, and that The Ruby Circle did justice to their endings...and that, sadly, I'm going to miss them and hope there's more from them someday. If you liked the rest of the series, you'll most likely be happy with how this last book plays out and ends - so I recommend it.

I also recommend the entirety of the Bloodlines series - but before you read this series, make sure you read Vampire Academy!

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So today, I'm going to talk about a Thai restaurant my boyfriend and I discovered in downtown Flagstaff. It's called Pato Thai. Their website, with necessary information about service hours, menu, and their phone number and location can be found here. This restaurant is found in the bustling downtown area, on San Francisco Street - which is one of Flagstaff's most well-known, active streets downtown. There are about three main streets downtown where all the action happens, and this is one of them.

My boyfriend and I went window shopping downtown for Valentine's Day, and we were originally going to go to our favorite, newly-opened as of July 2014 Korean restaurant, which is also Flagstaff's only Korean restaurant (I'll do a feature on it the next time we visit)...but as we were browsing around downtown, we kept passing this Thai restaurant. And the smell coming from it was delectable! The more we passed it to go to certain places, the more we decided that, instead of Korean food, we'd be getting Thai food that day.

To start off with: The place is really quaint. It's small, doesn't fit a whole lot of people - but I'm sure if you called in and made reservations, it'd fit a decent party size. We went around four in the afternoon, and it wasn't very busy. It was just before the dinner rush, I think, so it was still a comfortable, relaxing atmosphere. It was decorated for Valentine's, as well - but ignoring that, the decorations on the wall are traditional and aren't overbearing. It's a nice setup that isn't cluttered for the small building it's in. It's also street side, with nice window seats if you get a chance to sit near them.

The service was wonderful, as well. There are a few people a bit older in age - and by older I mean older than my twenty one years. I couldn't tell you their exact age even if I tried - but most of the servers I noticed were young, possibly college students themselves. Many of the servers working appeared to be Thai, as well, which always makes a cultural dining experience fun. At least, it does in my opinion. The servers were friendly, always willing to come by and check up on those they were serving even if we didn't need anything, and often just came to ask us if we were enjoying ourselves. The food came out fast, efficiently, and thoroughly cooked. The best thing, too, is it was all very delicious! 

Overall Rating: 9/10

Overall Pricing: $11-30

So as far as I can tell, most of their cold drinks come in a glass this tall! It's kinda freaking amazing, if you ask me. Especially since I am a lover of almost all things mango. This iced tea was addicting...and so, so good. I wanted about five of those tall glasses. Or a lifetime supply, honestly. I didn't ask for a refill simply because on the menu it doesn't state whether or not refills are free. Due to the prices being mid-range, I didn't want to put down too much money, so I held back.

Well, this was my first Flagstaff Feature. Hopefully everyone enjoyed it! And if you're in Flagstaff, and like Thai food - check out Pato Thai!