After about two days of intense reading, I've done reading the 7th book of Harry Potter. Well to be honest, it was a bit disappointing. Since I-don't-know-which-book, the series have been deteriorating gradually. I mean it's still a good read, but it isn't the first three books anymore. First of all, 740+ pages is too long. Sometimes nothing happens for too long, while sometimes too many happen at the same time. The archvillain, Voldemort is pretty disappointing in this book. He just becomes another ordinary villain, losing the mysterious coolness he exerted before his appearance. There were too many recycled stuff from previous books. The way the main characters act, it's not different from previous books - we don't learn anything new about the trio. And the conflicts - in this case, something about Dumbledore and some trivial, childish fight between trio (which is seen all too often in previous books) - felt strained and not deep enough to have any significant effect. Rowling seems to be reserved in pushing things beyond the borders, which I think would have made things more interesting. The maturation of the characters - mainly, the Trio - wasn't that significant. The way they speak, act, and analyse things is just like it was in the first book. So I guess my main point is that nothing much changes over the series, well concerning Harry and his friends, so it feels kinda repetitive after a while. And in this last installment, the turn of events weren't that dramatic, and even predictable at times. Besides Dumbledore, everybody's action seemed to lack subtlety. What I mean is that the scheming and the fight of wits seemed shallow and even laughable. There were some bright moments though, like the Hogwart's teacher showing their skills, Dumbledore's shady past (but Rowling watered it down a lot) and Harry getting chased by Death-Eaters in the beginning. And one thing I very beh-tahan is that the kids at Hogwarts can duel with the Death Eaters - adult wizards - wor. What the hell man? It's like asking a teenage to have a gun fight with a trained soldier, you get what I mean? In essence, what I'm trying to say here is that, this final book was alright, but it could have been so much better it's a slight letdown.

Now I'm gonna talk about Yakitate. It's been a pretty long trip for me. 69 episodes. I should have finished it while I was in Cyberjaya. But due to some unexpected delays, I couldn't and it took me a few days before I finally got to finish it. Finishing it is like saying good bye to an old friend. It's a pretty good anime, with outrageous events and plentiful parodies. Although really repetitive (Azuma's opponent getting all cocky >> Azuma gets his idea >> Competition day people amazed at Azuma's technique then at his opponent's and back and forth >> Opponent lets judge taste the bread + some reaction + opponent LC again >> Judge eats Azuma's bread + greater reaction >> Opponent couldn't take it bla bla...)and some useless characters (hint: Kawa~), it's really entertaining and refreshing. I especially loved the Lord of the Ring parody in ep. 68 - that's the best episode! Anyway, reluctant as I am, bye-bye to Yakitate nevertheless.

Now, what anime should I watch next??