Review: Alice 19th, Vol. 1

Alice 19th, Vol. 1 by Yuu Watase
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a manga I have had sitting in my room. I had read volumes 1-7 while I was in high school in the early 2000s.

I kept it because it felt powerful to me, impact-full I recommended it to anyone I knew who read Manga. The central idea of the Power of Words resonated with my teenage self. In high school I remember seeing aspects of myself in both the main character and her sister.

Yesterday, I sat on the floor of my room and stared at my book shelves until I could no longer feel my legs. I had already put a decent pile of books aside to give to the Used Book Store. This series gave me pause. It has been sitting on my shelf for over 10 years. Was it worthwhile to sit there for another 10? Was it as good as I remembered? Does it warrant a second read, or many more reads?

I decided to reread it and evaluate if it is worth keeping. Is it still as funny, moving, and poignant?

Yes.

I read this volume in a half hour, and I will go through all of them again soon I am sure. It has been like returning to old friends. The lessons and impact have not lessened either. The Power of Words, the courage to speak truth, and bravery to be yourself are all things will be a timeless lessons.

The author in her opening blurb talks about the power of talking to one another in a post 9/11 world, and that power has not diminished. It is still important, and this fun manga has some very hidden powerful words through out it.

As much as I want others to read this, I don't think it will be going to the Used Book Store anytime soon. It deserves a place on my shelf and it shall stay there for many more rereads.



View all my reviews

Robot Restaurant - Robot Wonderland?

This journey down the automaton rabbit hole started with a Pin from Pinterest.  (which, of course, I can not find now.)

It was a blogger post about the 8 cafe's you should visit in Tokyo. There were some odd choices in that list including a "lockup" themed one, and a "school" one.  Those are two places I like for my escape rooms, not lunch/dinner or snack. 

The only one that piqued my interest was Robot Restaurant. (Since there was only one, I guess I deleted it off my board.)  Seriously you should go to their website. The blogger post mentioned it was liked by Anthony Bourdain! While I have not verified that statement, the endorsement made me want to explore this as an option. I mean the serendipity of just reading/reviewing Kitchen Confidential! 

What I found by searching Robot Restaurant has been enlightening, and yet I am still not entirely sure what this experience is. 

The first video I found was electric: 

I watched a few other videos from Japan Vloggers, nothing super exciting or new was added. 

From there I went to the official website which has an English version.

It is about 8000 yen or nearly $80 for the show alone. I don't think that price includes any of the food. Multiple reviews state the price may seem steep, but the quality and uniqueness make it worth the steep price.

I am not sure if I am convinced. I mean if we were going for Halloween or "Dia de Los Meurtos" I might feel differently. I mean look at this video: LOOK!



But I am having fun exploring all the information around this show. I found some gems on their recruitment website.

I mean with "DIVA" & "Enjoy singing, enjoy life." Kinda makes my depressed butt want to move to Tokyo to sing in Robot Restaurant.

There is even a blog that is run by some of the dancers in the show. I think. Google Translate is trying its best, but might have some trouble with this blog.  I think my favorite title for one of their entries is: "I gave a woman war to everyone."  I'm into it.

So Robot Restaurant has ended up not being a MUST-DO for me, but I would be interested with we decide that is something we want to experience.

I mean it has inspired me to want to give woman war to everyone by singing.

It also inspired another more local adventure, but I will get to that one later.