Media Log # 5 - One Piece

One Piece (Japanese manga and anime series)

SUMMARY:

                One Piece is a story about a young boy's adventure to find a treasure. The main character is named Monkey D. Luffy who accidentally ate a devil fruit when he was a child. This gave him the ability to be a rubber man, able to stretch his arms, legs, and any part of his body. A devil fruit is something that when eaten, gives power on the eater. As a result, devil fruit users cannot swim in sea water. 

Luffy's main goal is to be the King of the Pirates.

In order to do this, he must find One Piece, a treasure left by a man previously known as the King of the Pirates, Gol. D Roger who was executed by the Marines. Before his death, he announces that his treasure, One Piece, is hidden by him and available to anyone who can find it. This caused the beginning of the Pirate Era wherein countless pirates set out to the Grand Line to look for this treasure.

Twenty two years after Gol's execution, Luffy, inspired by a powerful pirate popularly known as Red Haired Shanks, who saved him when he was a child, sets off to the East Blue Sea to find One Piece and fulfill his ultimate goal in becoming the King of Pirates. As the story progresses, he created his crew called the Straw Hat Pirates because he always wear the straw hat given to him by Shanks.

Luffy befriends a swordsman named Roronoa Zoro who he saved from the Marines, the enemy of pirates. Zoro became the first crewmate of Luffy. They soon meet Nami, a navigator and a thief; Usopp, a sniper and popularly known as a liar; and Sanji, a chef that has immense love for women. One of Usopp's friends were able to give the crew a nice boat to which they call Going Merry. All these meetings resulted to confrontations with enemies Buggy the Clown, Captain Kuro and Don Krieg. As the others join the crew, they encounter Arlong, a fishman and a member of a popular pirate crew, Sun Pirates, who thinks that human beings are inferior to fishmen. Arlong has been terrorizing Nami's town and this caused Nami to leave the crew temporarily. However, after Luffy defeats Arlong, Nami officially joins the crew. They then started to gain bounties particularly Luffy and Zoro. Luffy then soon met Captain Smoker, a devil fruit user able to turn to smoke. He captures Luffy and threatened to execute him but was saved by his father, Monkey D. Dragon, the world's most wanted man by the World Government. They later befriend a doctor named Tony Tony Chopper, a reindeer from the Drum Island that has the ability of a devil fruit enabling him to do things like a normal human being, Franky, a shipwright and Nico Robin, an archaeologist who also has the ability of the devil fruit which enables her to have multiple hands as she wishes.

                                                        

  

As their journey continues, they encountered different trials such as when Robin almost gave herself up to the marines in order to save her crew and they also faced various enemies such as Crocodile, Cipher Pol No. 9 (World Government's intelligence agency). The final battle with the CP9 which determines whether they can save Robin ended, with the Straw hat pirates gaining friends such as Iceberg, a mermaid, etc. Because Going Merry was too worn out to fix, Franky built a new, bigger, and much nicer ship to which they call "Thousand Sunny". They soon meet a musician skeleton named Brook who was supposed to be dead some years ago but was saved because of his devil fruit ability.

Their adventures continue and progress. They meet new enemies and gain new friends. Their bounties go up as they go against the World Government, Marines, and other pirates.

EVALUATION:

One Piece is a very popular manga series in Japan which caused it to have an anime adaptation. The author, Eiichiro Oda is highly respected by people from over the world. One Piece currently has more than 600 episodes aired, with it developing merchandise such as films, OVA, video games, tv specials, etc. The series had sold over 345 million volumes worldwide, making it the best-selling manga series in history. It has been critically acclaimed for its humor and amazing story.

I am a person whom you can call an Otaku. I am very obsessed with different mangas and animes and I have watched countless series but I've never ever been this attached to an anime before.  I can say that I am a very big fan of the anime and the manga One Piece. I could say that it is a part of me that can't be removed. It's something that has been instilled to my mind and my heart.

I've been a fan of the series ever since the early 2000's. The story and how the different characters evolve was very fun to watch. I highly recommend it to people of all ages. It has a unique storyline and every episode was fun to watch. I have watched all episodes, and even the fillers are mostly good. It's an anime that is somehow intense and thrilling but at the same time, funny as well. Even in the most dire situations, there will be times wherein you can't help but laugh because of the humor inserted in certain situations. This is such a brilliant manga and anime by Oda. It's amazing to me how it can still be so interesting even after 600 episodes because certain animes that lasts this long slowly becomes boring because of the plot being too repetitive; however, this manga was able to sustain its greatness! I could not ask for more.

One Piece, for me, is the best anime series that I have ever watched.

References:

Photobucket.com (all images)

Reflection (Media Log)

                To be quite frank, making a media log is quite challenging; however, I do enjoy writing and voicing out my thoughts regarding certain topics. I think that writing media logs has developed my reading ability as I am able to skip and skim more. But, there are times wherein skipping doesn't help me since there are some small details that I missed which are quite important in the story. I think that in order to understand a story/topic fully, proper reading and analyzing of a full text is sometimes necessary. There are times that I feel too lazy to actually make a review as I am not a person who can just think of words spontaneously and write something fast. I have to take my time, possibly much longer than others, especially if the topic is quite complicated. 

Media Log #4 - An Inconvenient Truth

LINK TO DOCUMENTARY: http://putlocker.bz/watch-an-inconvenient-truth-online-free-putlocker.html

An Inconvenient Truth 

Summary:

Inconvenient truth focuses on Al Gore's journey to educate people about how the world is in danger because of climate crisis. Al Gore used to be the vice president of USA during Clinton's administration. In this documentary, he shows important points regarding global warming. He included illustrations about the impact of it  in the world. He pointed out the relationship between the amount of carbon in the atmosphere and the temperature over a 650,000 years period. He talked about the melting of ice in Kilimanjaro, the ocean's increase in temperature that created tornadoes, and the sea levels that were rising because of the melting of the ice. He also mentioned about how many people have died due to high temperature and waves. An example for this is India wherein 1400 people died during 2003 because of high temperature. Photographs of the Earth taken from space were also showed. He stated that these photos have dramatically transformed how we see Earth.

Throughout the movie, he talked about how climate change would affect us a lot in the future. He stresses that climate change is a moral issue and not a political one. He describes the consequences of not caring for global warming and if greenhouse gases is not reduced. He stated that the Carbon Dioxide in Antarctic is much higher now compare to before. This film also showed the voice of critics who believes that global warming is insignificant.

Al Gore says that it is still possible to take appropriate actions and reverse the effect of global warming. This is through releasing less Carbon Dioxide and planting more vegetation to consume the existing Carbon Dioxide. Although the situation regarding global warming appears dire, he still speaks looking forward to the future with hope. He concluded the film by saying that we are all causes of global warming; but, we can all make a change through the choices we make, through the things we buy, electricity we use, and the cars we drive. He said that we are individuals that can make choices. We have a choice to reduce pollution, reduce carbon emissions, etc. The solution is in our hands, we just have to make the choice so that we can make it happen. His presentation concludes with practical advice as to how man can play a role in curbing climate change such as "recycle" "encourage everyone you know to watch", etc.

REFLECTION:

The movie Inconvenient Truth has certainly opened my eyes to see how much damage people are inflicting on earth due to ignorance and selfishness. The environment is degrading fast and it's all because of our doings. This film shows how we are responsible for what is happening in our environment. The environment is suffering endlessly because of how much people are unsatisfied in life and desires endlessly.  

This is certainly an amazing film and an eye opener about the danger we could experience if climate change continues. As much as this film made me think about how many things I could possibly do in order to help; it also made me feel guilty. Realizations about how bad the world is coming onto has crossed my mind  countless times yet I refuse to acknowledge this fact and do little to help save the environment. Small things like reducing the use of air-c0nditioners, other electronics, hair sprays, etc. are small things that I find extremely hard to give up or lessen. This is the problem with people. We refuse to sacrifice the different conveniences, particularly luxuries/unnecessary things even though we know that not using these stuff would help the environment.

It makes me extremely guilty thinking about how I could help make a difference yet not be able to do so. Thinking that I have contributed to the current state of the world makes me feel like I'm not a good person. There are so many things I would want to do to help lessen the pollution, but I have no idea how to even begin. 

Seeing how much the world is changing and how much danger surrounding our future is heartbreaking. Global warming is real and it's not something that can be easily solved yet we do little to prevent it. Maybe this is the inconvenient truth. As the technology in the world increases, the environment continues to degrade. The people becomes more selfish and ignorant. 

Al Gore's a person who I look up to. Having the courage to actually talk about global warming is amazing. I just wished I have the courage to tell people to stop littering or to help save the environment; but, I don't.

Just watching this film made me feel like I have to make a difference. I have to help protect and save mother earth while it's still possible. Because time will come that the earth will die because of us, because of our carelessness and ignorance. We have to save the environment, for the next generation.   

Media Log # 3 - Editorial

EDITORIAL - A call for teachers

Reference: The Philippine Star (2013). A call for teachers. Retrieved on 10 February 2014 from http://www.philstar.com/opinion/2013/10/06/1241995/editorial-call-teachers.

Summary:

Teachers play a vital role in developing national competitiveness. While others have been investing heavily in public education and strengthening institutions, for the past decades, the Philippines has lagged behind many countries because of its inability to be competitive. The government is currently trying to eliminate this trend by raising salaries and easing the workload; however, another phenomenon occurred which is the transfer of teachers from private to public schools since it's starting to regain its popularity. In 2010, the government was able to hire thousands of teachers causing the class sizes to shrink. More can be done for those who takes this type of job. Other countries persist to motion with better pay for educators. Apart from long hours and extra work, teachers in the Philippines need protection in conflict areas and during elections.

There is a shortage of teachers worldwide which is reflected in last year's slogan "A Call for teachers". UNESCO pointed out that for people to achieve global citizenship and cultural diversity, quality teachers are needed. This means that for a foundation for lasting peace, better status of living, and development, there should be quality education for all.

Evaluation:

The author of this editorial clearly states that people in the Philippines need quality education in order to attain peace, a better standard of living and to teach young people to conduct themselves honorably as an adult. I do agree with the statement of the author who implies that we need teachers so that we can catch up well with other countries.

I believe teaching is an honorable profession; however, with education becoming a very popular career and with our past experience in shortage of teacher, most people pass on being teachers even without having the proper classification in teaching. This should be addressed. Also, teachers deserve more benefits from the government but because of our government being so corrupt, they take care of themselves and their benefactors first instead of serving the citizens in the country.

Media Log # 2 - Battle Royale

BATTLE ROYALE 

by Koushun Takami

SUMMARY:

Battle Royale is a story that takes place in 1997. It takes place in an alternate present, wherein Japan is part of an authoritarian state. A group of students from Shiroiwa Junior High School was told to have a school trip. In the town of Shiroiwa in Kagawa Prefecture, while the students were having fun on the bus, they were gassed. They awaken in Okishima which is an isolated and an evacuated island. They learn that they have been chosen to be part of an event called the Program. The Program was officially a military research project, it is a means of terrorizing the citizen, creating paranoia so that they could make organized insurgency impossible.

The 'leader' oriented them about the Program. Fifty third-year junior high school classes are selected annually to participate in the Program for research purposes. The students are isolated and are required to fight their classmates to death. The only way to escape from the island is to survive. The students will be given a collar that is on their neck. This has microphones, tracking devices as well as a bomb. If they try to escape in another way by entering declared forbidden zone, the metal collar with a bomb in their neck will be detonated and thus kill the wearer. The Program ends when only one student remains. That student will be declares as the winner and will receive a funded pension from the government. If no one dies within 24 hours, every collar will detonate simultaneously and there will be no winner.

During the briefing two students angered the supervisor, and thus were both killed violently. After the students were briefed, the students were given survival packs such as maps, compass, weapons, food, etc. As the students were released, people started to kill each other. There were some who refused to kill and was thus killed by their colleagues. There were also some who committed suicide.

In the end, only four students remained: Shuya Nanahara (protagonist), Noriko Nakagawa (love line of Shuya), Shogo Kawada (a survivor from the previous battle), and Kazuo Kiriyama (the main antagonist). During a car chase between Kazuo and the other main characters, Noriko kills Kazuo by shooting him; however, Shogo, not wanting to make Noriko feel guilty of killing shot Kazuo and claimed he was responsible for Kazuo's death. After telling Shuya and Noriko that he will kill them, Shogo shoots in the air twice, faking their deaths for the microphones planted on their collars. The supervisors believing that Shogo's the winner, becomes at ease and Shogo dismantles the collars using information that he previously got from hacking into government servers. Shogo boards the winner's ship, while Shuya and Noriko  covertly followed. On the ship, Kinpatsu (Supervisor) finds out Shogo's plan to help Shuya and Noriko escape. A shootout then occurs and Sakamochi is killed and Shogo dies in peace after telling Noriko and Shuya to keep moving forward on the ship. The two remaining survivors then return to the mainland and attempt to find a clinic belonging to a friend of Shogo's father. From there, they make plans to escape to the U.S., facing an uncertain future as they run from the authorities who have spotted them as they try to board a train. 

REFLECTION: 

Battle Royale is one of my favorite novels because of its exquisite story and interesting way of writing. Although the novel was quite gory and violent, it is very powerful and enjoyable to read. I, myself, have found it to be a very realistic and terrifying portrayal of what a person, in this case, 15 year old students, might feel and what they might do if put in a situation wherein they will have to kill their own friends and classmates to survive. This is an absolutely brilliant book that takes you into a rollercoaster ride. Making you feel happy, sad and angry a lot of times. The target audience of this book is probably more on people around the age of 16 and above. The novel was too violent and too deep for children to understand the concept of the book. It also has mature themes in language, and sexual references. This novel can be classified as a dystopian book, wherein the future is quite bleak and dangerous. It provided a grotesque glimpse of the dark side of humanity.

The main theme of this story is about TRUST. It shows different as well as realistic concepts about trust. Some students believed and trusted their classmates when they should have, while some didn't trust when they should have. This theme was shown all though out the book, and this 'trust' was the main reason why many of the characters ended up dying.

The personal stories of the students were also intriguing. As a person studying psychology, it was very interesting seeing how decisions were carried out all throughout the novel.

I remember reading the book and becoming extremely excited to the point that I could not sleep if I didn't finish a chapter. This book, although some might think is just pure violence, is something that subtly and sometimes obviously gives you life lessons, teaching you how to value your life, how everyone has some dark secrets and sides that would only be exposed in times of complete desperation, and how sometimes the people you ought to trust were those who ought to betray you.

This book is something that is pulse-pounding and makes your adrenaline rush. It's genius and brilliant! I cannot exclaim more how much I love and admire this book. It is something that I would definitely recommend others to read.