If you're a Filipino reading this, you know what a Maria Clara is. A character in Noli me Tangere, she's the stereotype for the nice, sweet, understanding girl. If you happen to be a Maria Clara-type girl, take heart. Maybe Gackt might like you. The Maria Clara is quite the girl he happens to like. I don't stand a chance.

Jihaku (Confession) is Gackt's autobiography. As most autobiographies go, it is subjective, and it is incomplete. But this particular autobiography is even more incomplete than others I have read. For example, if you want to know about his family, in terms of specific details, you will not find it here. You don't get to learn much about his family and his historical background. Nothing about where he went to school, where he lived as a kid, what his parents are. You learn next to nothing about his public career here, besides more personal details about events fans already know. There is plenty of information that he leaves out.

What you do learn is how he thinks, and it is very enlightening. Contrary to the impression he provides, he isn't too different from many people in how he thinks and feels. He just takes more time to think about things. He also feels strongly for convictions that he really believes in. You do not get to learn hard facts about him. You learn about HIM. His personality, and what makes him tick. It gives you a greater insight into his work, and better appreciation for it.

Gackt confirms that he has plenty of idiosyncracies. He likes the dark, he kisses men, he collects knives. Majority of these quirks are explained by him. When he does, he does not seem so weird anymore. The way he explains them is so smooth, and so convincing, that you can't help but agree with him.

You also get to know events in his life that changed him for better or worse. He has a lived a full life, experienced things most people never do, and thus has better overall insight on life because of it. Not all of those events are big things, but he treats them as equally important.

While it is indeed subjective and leans in his favor, the writing style in the autobiography is not proud or condescending at all. It is just as if he wants to make people understand how he looks at life. It does not matter to him if you accept his convictions or not; he is just happy to share them.

Not only that. He gives all his readers the dream to be the best that they can be. He shows them that it is not easy, and that you have to work hard at it. But it is possible, and more than possible. He claims that this is his goal in life: to greatly move people to be the best. He does a pretty good job. His autobiography leaves you thinking not about him, but about yourself.

Kudos must also go to the excellent translation of Jihaku, without which Gackt's words and thoughts would not come across so well. I also appreciated that he kept literal translations and original terms beside words that could not be correctly translated.

I wondered when I heard about Jihaku, what a 30-something man could write an autobiography about. Evidently, Gackt has lived a fuller life than other people older than he, and has been wiser for it. I pray hard that writing an autobiography so young does not mean he forsees a dark future in the next few years. But I am glad that he did write it.

Gackt-sama, sir, I am one of your thousands of international fans, wishing you more success. After all you have been through, you deserve it.

Yes, I am one of the legions of fans of the Korean drama Lovers in Paris. I do not care if I share that audience with househelps and hopeless romantics. It's a nice drama, and I'm watching it.

Lovers in Paris has the distinction for being the drama that finally drew me into the world of the Chinovela. Meteor Garden did not do it, Winter Sonata did not do it. This one did.

In a trip of self-discovery in Paris, an ordinary working girl runs into a very, VERY rich businessman, and gets into his good graces. She also meets this happy-go-lucky young bachelor. Both men have been nice to her in their own ways both in Paris and Korea, and she is confused on who she likes more. To complicate matters, the businessman and the bachelor are related. To complicate matters more, these men are connected to one of the richest, most influential families in Korea!

The story is a nice and unique mix of several stereotypes, ending up with something a bit new. You have your usual love triangle, your usual threat of an arranged marriage, your usual rich-guy-meets-poor-girl story. But seldom you meet all three plot lines in one story. Lovers in Paris has them, keeps track of them, and does not confuse them. Add great characterization to a neat concept, and you have my support.

The main characters are well made. They have many sides to them that make them more interesting to know. What drew me in was Vivian (Tae-young), the heroine. She was so unlike most heroines in most dramas, who accepted what life brought in without too much of a fight. Vivian is practical and level-headed, while she is also a big romantic. She fought for what she thought was right, and wanted to prove that she can live without a man beside her. Carlo (Ki-joo)and Martin (Su-hyuk) are great as well. While they are indeed a bit stereotypical, a good amount of time was spent thinking about their characters, so that their strengths and weakness are shown, and they are slightly different from other similar drama characters. You cannot help but feel for both of them, and see their way of thinking.

I also like it that you cannot just hate the antagonists in the story, with pure malice. There are at least 4 identifiable sources of problems for the main couple, and they have really good reasons for breaking up the relationship. You can't just hate them because they are pretty good people for the most part, and they have been hurt. They see things differently from the audience, but it does not mean that their point of view is entirely wrong.

Another thing that made me watch this is the comedy mixed in with the drama. The series does not take itself too seriously, unlike most dramas. There are plenty of funny scenes, and there are plenty of unimaginably romantic scenes. It lightens up the show, and makes you like the characters even more. It shows the audience the crazier things love can make a person do, as well as the serious, life-changing things love will do.

Thus, the objective is to know how love changes a strong-willed girl, a disappointed businessman and a lonely bachelor. And have a nice laugh and warm fuzzy feelings along the way.