Hobotaku - Manga Reviews For the Disenfranchised!

Boys Over Flowers

2010-01-12T10:46:00.003-05:00

Overall Rating: A+
Summary: A drama/romantic comedy shojo series created by Kamio Yoko. The TV series is a Korean adaptation of the Japanese manga. The story revolves around Geum Jan Di, a high school girl who works in her family's dry cleaning shop and a fast-food restaurant. The story begins when Jan Di delivers some dry cleaning to the ridiculously posh and exclusive Shinhwa High School. Only the richest and most talented kids are granted admission to Shinwa, and they don't even have to go to class if they don't feel like it. When Jan Di gets there she discovers that the young man whose clothes she's delivering is about to commit suicide. Apparently, he has been getting bullied because the F4 (or Four Flowers) decided they didn't like him.

Jan Di saves the boy before he can commit suicide, and her actions soon become public knowledge, and expose the bullying. The public demands changes at the school, Jan Di becomes known as "Wonder Woman". In order to appease the public, Jan Di is offered a chance to go to Shinwa on a swimming scholarship. Jan Di declines, but her family agrees for her, so our adventure begins!

On the first day of school, Jan Di meets the infamous Four Flowers. They are the most beautiful, popular, rich and powerful boys in the school - Goo Jun Pyo (the leader), Yoon Ji Hoo (the sweet one who plays violin), So Yi Jung (one of the playboys), and Song Woo Bin (another playboy). All of the other students clearly worship the Four Flowers, and try to give them presents and treats. Jan Di is enraged by the boys' behavior, and fantasizes about confronting Jun Pyo.

She finally gets up the courage to do it after he bullies her friend Oh Min Ji after she accidentally slips and drops some ice cream on her shoe. Jun Pyo demands she licks it off, and when Jan Di confronts him he offers to let her take Min Ji's place. Instead she pushes Jun Pyo over.

Jun Pyo declares war on Jan Di, and gets the school to bully her. Jan Di refuses to give in, despite the bullying and the rest of the Four Flowers begin to think she's "interesting". Ji Hoo is totally sweet and offers her a handkerchief when she's covered in flour, and protects her from some boys trying to hurt her. Is it love?

In the meantime, no one has ever stood up to Jun Pyo before. He interprets her actions as a demonstration of love, and begins to develop feelings for her as well.

Who will Jan Di end up with?

The beginning of "Boys Over Flowers" drags a little bit, but once things get going it's a lot of fun. I love stories where A) the main character is a woman, B) the woman stands up for herself, and C) there are pretty boys. I like all of the characters (even the mean girls), and I think they're do a really good job of developing the relationships (Jun Pyo and Jan Di are particularly hilarious). My only complaint is that I wish there were more female characters and that the women interacted more. Regardless, the series is proving to be a lot of fun, and if you like your high school romance/drama with a healthy side of comedy then I think you'll enjoy this one a lot.

What US Media Can Learn About Dynamic Female Characters From Manga

2010-01-07T15:33:00.003-05:00

Last week I came across this article on Jezebel titled "Memo To The Media: In 2010, Add More Dynamic Female Characters" buy Latoya Peterson, and I wanted to spend some time discussing it. The main concept of the article is that while manga has it's fair share of sexism and follows plenty of stereotypes it also has a lot more content for women and by women than you can easily find in mainstream US media.

I loved the article, and was really pleased to see that many of the manga the Latoya recommends are titles I haven't read yet. The one title I had read, Nana, is one of my absolute favorites. Does it portray women in romantic relationships with men? Yes, definitely. The main difference for me between Nana and US-based media representations of women is that it treats them like real people. They also pass the Bechdel test because the two main characters are women, they talk to each other, and they often talk about things other than men. A+

There are plenty of issues with manga and anime and their portrayal of gender (fan service being a prime example), but there is such an amazing variety of options it's easy to find titles that are women-centric, and deal with issues of gender in mature ways. I agree with Latoya's premise and wish that the US would create more material that is for women and by women that presents women as more than accessories, are from different walks of life, and don't have to be made-over to be beautiful.

Monster

2009-12-04T10:37:00.004-05:00

Overall Rating: A+
Summary: A psychological/horror/detective seinen series created by Naoki Urasawa, which follows Dr. Kenzo Tenma. An incredibly skilled brain surgeon from Japan, Tenma seems to have it all. He is working at the Eisler Memorial Hospital in Düsseldorf, is up for a promotion, and is engaged to the director of the hospital's daughter, Eva. Unfortunately, the Director, Heinemann, consistently gives priority to high-profile patients at the cost of the lives of less important people. Tenma becomes increasingly unhappy with this arrangement, believing that his role should be to help those in the most need.

He gets his chance to stand up to his future father-in-law when twins Johan and Anna come to the hospital. Johan is suffering from a gunshot wound to the head, and Anna is clearly in shock only talking about "killing". Their parents are dead, and Tenma decides to operate on Johan even after the mayor of Düsseldorf is brougt in and he is ordered to work on him instead. Tenma saves the child, but the politician dies despite the efforts of other doctors. As a result, Tenma loses everything. He is no longer favored by Heinemann and Eva leaves him.

He confesses his frustration to the young boy, Johan, and soon thereafter, everyone in his way dies of poisoning. Johan and his sister have vanished, and Tenma is the primary suspect. Thus the 18 volume story of how a humanitarian act can cause a rash of serial murders, and Doctor Tenma's journey to find the killer begins.

I became a fan of Naoki Urasawa when I started reading "20th Century Boys", and have enjoyed his take on Osamu Tezuka's "Astro Boy", "Pluto". Now, I'm addicted to "Monster". I'm only three volumes in, but I can't wait to read more. I highly recommend this one.

Nabari No Ou

2009-12-01T00:56:00.004-05:00

Overall Rating: B+
Summary: An action/comedy/drama/supernatural shōnen series (or superdramactedy for short), based on the manga written and illustrated by Yuhki Kamatani. The story follows Miharu Rokujou, an introverted kid with a devilish side, but who otherwise seems pretty normal. Out of the blue, his classmate Koichi Aizawa approaches him to join a Nindō club, which Miharu refuses.

However, the situation changes when Miharu is attacked by ninjas and is defended by Koichi. During the fight, Koichi defends Miharu and explains to him that there is a secret ninja world called Nabari, and that he is destined to be king. Miharu has the secret art Shinra Bansho written in his blood, and as a result he cannot return to his normal life.

Miharu learns that Koichi is a part of the Nabari world, as is one of his teachers (and advisor for the Nindō club), Tobari Durandal Kumohira. The other ninja of Nabari will stop at nothing to learn the Shinra Bansho, and so in order to survive Miharu must learn to use the power himself or get it out of him. Unfortunately, Miharu doesn't want to become a ninja and getting the Shinra Bansho out of him could kill him.

The set-up may sound kind of crazy (and it is at times), but this show plays the different elements of superdramactedy (yes, I made that word up, so what?) off each other well. The plot is interesting and the characters work well together. Throw in a dash of comedy to lighten things up a little and some good old fashioned ninja action and magic, and you have a winning combination.

Nana

2009-10-02T09:04:00.001-05:00

Overall Rating: A+

Summary: A romance/drama/music shōjo series created by Ai Yazawa, and focuses on the lives of young women who are both named Nana. To top it off, they meet on a train when they are both moving to Tokyo and they're the same age (20)! That's where the similarities end. Nana Osaki is a singer in a punk band called Black Stones (or Blast) and is moving to Tokyo to become a star. Nana Komatsu is from a small town and is following her friends and boyfriend to Tokyo, but doesn't know what she wants to do with her life.

As the story progresses, we learn more about each Nana's past, and then their stories merge again when they both want to rent the same apartment and decide to move in together. Nana Osaki gives Nana Komatsu the nickname "Hachi" (after Hachikō), because her behavior is similar to a dog's, and it helps tell them apart (thanks!). Hachi also becomes good friends with the members of Nana's band, Nobuo, Yasu and the very young, and very promiscuous, Shin.

As the series progresses, Blast gains more and more popularity, but the romantic entanglements become more and more complicated. Nana O's ex-boyfriend (who left her to join the band Trapnest in Tokyo) returns, and the two bands become intertwined. Hachi's inclination to fall in love at first site gets her in trouble, and all the other characters have relationships that progress throughout the series.

I absolutely adore Nana. The anime is based on the manga and so far it has been completely faithful to the original series. The addition of the music really adds to the story, since in the manga you have to imagine it. Although it is typically categorized as shōjo, Nana has josei themes. For example, the relationships in Nana are not idealized (a common feature in shōjo), but are instead very realistic, which is one of the reasons I love the series. It's very easy to relate to all of the characters and get drawn in (though that can also be frustrating since they can make dumb decisions!). That said, it retains a lot of the comedy of shōjo-style manga, which helps offset the heavy emphasis on romance and drama. In short, it's one of my all-time favorite series, and I can't recommend the manga and anime enough. Be forewarned, there is minor nudity in the manga series (I haven't seen any in the anime yet), but nothing serious.

Genshiken 2

2009-09-12T17:28:00.001-05:00

Overall Rating: A

Summary: Genshiken is a comedy/slice-of-life anime series based on the manga of the same name by Shimoku Kio. The story revolves around the lives of the members of Genshiken, a college club for otaku, and the adventures (and misadventures) associated with being otaku. The first volume of the anime (and the beginning of the manga) begins with the introduction of Kanji Sasahara, an introverted college freshman who is obsessed with anime and manga, but isn't comfortable with that aspect of his identity. On club day he decides to join Genshiken, a club that's only purpose is to enjoy the otaku lifestyle. He also meets Makoto Kousaka, a fellow freshman who is attractive, laid-back, and completely comfortable with his otakuness. The other club members are Harunobu Madarame, a hardcore otaku who spends all of his money on dōjinshi, Souichiro Tanaka, who is an expert cosplay designer and loves plastic models, and Mitsunori Kugayama, who is stuttering, overweight and an excellent artist. Soon after Sasahara's arrival, two female members join, Kanako Ohno, who loves cosplay and Saki Kusakabe who only joins because she's in love with Kousaka. However, over time Saki comes to be a true member of the club, and even tries cosplay. The first volume of the anime follows the group for roughly the first year of Sasahara's college life, and includes two new members joining a year later, Chika Ogiue, who is obsessed with yaoi and is embarressed about her otaku nature, and Manabu Kuchiki, who is loud and annoying and completely unashamed of his otakuness.

The series follows the group as they travel to Comifes, hang out in the club room, and even go to the beach. At the beginning of the second season, the club has recently been accepted to participate as one of the dōjinshi vendors at Comifes, and Sasahara has become president of the club. Now they just have to complete the dōjinshi and get everything ready, but it's a lot harder than anyone realized.

Genshiken is one of my favorite manga and anime. The anime series is incredibly faithful to the manga, and I'm so excited that they finally made a second season. The first season aired in 2004 and an OVA was made in 2006 and 2007, so it's been a long time in between everything. One of the reasons I love this series so much is that it gives a very realistic take on life as an otaku (or geek), and there just aren't enough of those. All of the characters are well-developed and I recognize a lot of the personalities of my friends in them. I can't wait for volume 2 of Genshiken 2 to come out, but unfortunately I have to wait until October 27th. I may have to reread the manga in the meantime.

If you're a geek, and if you're not I have no idea why you're reading this, check out Genshiken (both the anime and the manga) now! You'll thank me.

X-Men: Misfits

2009-09-03T22:43:00.002-05:00

Overall Rating: A+

Summary: A superhero/romance shōjo series written by Raina Telgemeier and Dave Roman (both of whom used to be regulars on Girlamatic with their comics Smile and Astronaut Elementary), and Illustrated by Anzu, which follows Kitty Pryde, a young high school girl who has the ability to phase through solid objects. In her public school, she suffers from the ridicule of her classmates, and alienation because she is a mutant. However, at the beginning of the manga, Kitty is invited to attend Professor Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters, a school for people like her, and her whole world changes.

For one thing, she is the only girl at the school. As you can guess in a high school full of boys this means she gets a lot of attention. They're also all mutants like her, so P.E. means practicing in the danger room, and science class discusses the differences in DNA between humans and mutants. As Kitty adjusts to life at Xavier's, she catches the eye of the Hellfire Club. Led by Angel, the club seems to have it all - money, looks, and they can get away with anything they want. Now, the Hellfire Club wants to add the only female student to their group as their mascot. It doesn't hurt that Kitty can't take her eyes off of Pyro, one of the club's hottest members, and he can't seem to take his eyes off of her either. Throw in cold-as-ice (pun intended) Bobby Drake, the intimidating but sweet Kurt Wagner, and the radical Scott Summers and you've got an exciting high school. Who will Kitty end up with? Is the Hellfire Club more dangerous than it appears? Just how adorable is Beast? You'll have to read the series to find out!

X-Men: Misfits is everything that is great about the X-men comics shōjo rolled into one manga series. I have been eagerly awaiting this one since it was announced more than a year ago, and it does not disappoint. I absolutely love the character designs for Beast and Colossus, Cyclops works perfectly as a vegan, and the Hellfire Club is essentially a host club like Ouran! Brilliant! Seriously though, if you enjoy either X-Men or shōjo (or both, like me) then do yourself a favor and pick this one up. I can't wait to pick up volume 2, but unfortunately there is no release date information yet. Now if you'll excuse me, I have an Angel costume to go work on.

Sora No Manimani

2009-08-29T13:12:00.002-05:00

Overall Rating: B+

Summary: A romantic comedy/slice of life series, Sora No Manimani is alternately titled "At the mercy of the sky". The story focuses on Saku Ōyagi, a quiet teenager who spends most of his time reading books. At the beginning of the series, his family has just moved back to his hometown as Saku begins high school. He has dreams of a girl he knew as a child who was of a much more...wild spirit then he was, and was constantly dragging him around on adventures. The girl, Mihoshi Akeno, loved star-gazing, and Saku was often dragged along with her on starry nights. Before his family left town they went on a final star-gazing trip, but Mihoshi fell out of a tree. Saku caught her, but broke his arm, and when Mihoshi didn't visit him in the hospital he vowed never to see her again.

Of course, on his first day back at school, Saku runs into Mihoshi who is promoting the astronomy club. She is on top of the school throwing gold stars down on the students, and encouraging them to join the club. Saku tries to avoid her, but that only makes things worse. Mihoshi tackles him in hallways and is always trying to find him after class. Eventually, Saku realizes that Mihoshi didn't abandon him, but instead was in the hospital herself and wasn't released until after he was. He also discovers that the Astronomy club doesn't have enough members to stay a club. He joins up to help make amends, despite his desire to join the literature club.

Thus begins a slapstick romantic comedy centered around Saku and the astronomy club. It's not quite a harem anime, but it's close with multiple women having a crush on Saku, and he doesn't know quite what to do.

I have to say, I'm not usually a big fan of harem anime. They simply strike me as completely ridiculous. Take one awkward high school boy, add in cute girls, some slapstick comedy, and you're done! Maybe I'm just jealous since I was an awkward high school boy, and that never happened to me. As I mentioned though, Sora No Manimani isn't quite a harem anime in my opinion, and although it has some of the common tropes it's a lot more interesting and engaging than the standard fare. The characters are interesting, and that's really what drives slice of life anime. Saku is believable as an awkward teenager, and Mihoshi is hilarious. It's worth checking out for a fun, kind of fluffy series.

Uzumaki

2009-08-21T14:54:00.003-05:00

Warning: Not for the faint of heart. Skip this one if you don't enjoy horror.

Overall Rating: A

Summary: A three volume horror seinen manga by Junji Ito, which is set in the small Japanese town of Kurôzu-cho and follows high school student Kirie Goshima. In the first volume, Kirie finds out that her boyfriend, Shuichi ,is worried about his father, who has begun a strange obsession about spirals. He has begun to collect anything he can find with a spiral pattern, and his obsession goes so far that he stops going to work and instead simply stares at his collection. The situation becomes even more disturbing when Shuichi's father begins making spirals with his own body, and eventually kills himself by contorting his entire body into a spiral.

After his death, Shuichi's father is cremated, and the smoke from his ashes form a spiral in the sky. Understandably, all of this drives Shuichi's mother insane, and she develops a phobia of spirals. She is hospitalized, and Shuichi, scared of what she do if she finds out, has the doctors remove anatomical diagrams of the ear which (of course) contains a spiral. Unfortunately, she realizes that her cochlea is a spiral, and stabs herself with a pair of scissors. This causes her to suffer from vertigo until she dies. Her ashes also form a spiral when she is cremated, and this is only the beginning.

Soon, things intensify: a lighthouse throws out spiral beams at dusk; babies are born, only to sprout spiral-capped mushroom-shaped appendages from their stomachs, and people begin turning into snails. Can this infestation of spirals be stopped, or will it swallow Kirie and Shuichi as well?

My friend Mark recommended this manga to me, and so I borrowed all three volumes from him. Junji Ito does an amazing job of using traditional manga settings and scenarios and making them creepy by adding in spirals and horror elements. For example, in one scene Kirie is at school and things seem normal until a kid who is known for being slow shows up with traits similar to a snail. Over a few days he becomes more and more snail-like until his transformation is complete. At first the other kids bully him as they would normally, but as the transformation continues they bullying becomes more vicious, but the bullies also become scared of the creature. I won't give away what happens next, but it's both creepy and awesome. If you enjoy a really interesting horror plot that builds its creepiness until the very end, then you will probably enjoy "Uzumaki".

Ponyo

2009-08-19T16:30:00.002-05:00

Summary: The newest movie from Hiyao Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli, Ponyo centers around a goldfish named Ponyo (who has a face like a human) and a five-year-old boy named Sōsuke. Curious by nature, Ponyo ends up stranded on the shore where Sōsuke rescues her. The two immediately like each other, and Sōsuke names the goldfish Ponyo, and promises to protect her forever. Unfortunately, Ponyo's father is temperamental and magical (though apparently he used to be a human?) He orders wave spirits to return her to him (he refers to her as "Brunhilde"), and tries to convince her to stay with him where it's safe. Sōsuke is super sad that Ponyo has left, and worries about whether she's okay.

In order to be with Sōsuke, Ponyo uses her magic to transform into a human, but this causes an imbalance in the world. Now Ponyo and Sōsuke have to go on an adventure to restore balance, and save the world.

I think we can all agree that Miyazaki films are ridiculously cute. For example, Ponyo is obsessed with ham. Adorable. If you don't like cute stories that are magical, and appropriate for children then you shouldn't see Ponyo. Also, I'm pretty sure you don't have a soul. You might want to have that looked at.

Seriously though, the plot of Ponyo is a bit strange, but the characters are wonderful and immediately lovable. It's like "The Little Mermaid" with 5-year-old kids and a nursing home for of sweet old grandmas. If you like Miyazaki films like "My Neighbor Totoro" or "Kiki's Delivery Service" then run super fast to the movie theater to see "Ponyo". It's not Miyazaki's best film, but it's still fantastic (in multiple senses of the word). After you catch your breath, buy a ticket, and then enjoy!

Eden of the East

2009-08-11T14:59:00.002-05:00

Overall Rating: A-
Summary: A Psychological/Romance/Mystery series created by Kenji Kamiyama. The story begins three months after "Careless Monday" when 10 missiles hit uninhabited areas of Japan on November 22, 2010. However, the apparent terrorist attack didn't kill anyone and remains a mystery. The series follows Saki Morimi and Akira Takizawa. The two meet in Washington, DC while Saki is in DC as part of a graduation trip. She decides to try to throw a coin into the White House Fountain. Unfortunately for her the throw falls short and attracts the attention of two police officers. That's when Takizawa shows up out of nowhere naked with a gun, and a strange mobile phone. Understandably, this distracts the police officers who chase after Takizawa. Luckily, he is able to lose them and catches back up with Saki who gives him her coat, scarf and hat. What? It's cold out! The two then go their separate ways.

There's something weird about Takizawa. He has lost most of his memories and the mobile phone he has is charged with 8.2 billion yen. In addition, an operator named Juiz answers the phone to reveal that his memories have been removed, and though she can't help him with that, she can help him with pretty much anything else. It costs money (which is deducted from the 8.2 billion total) but she can make it happen. To begin with, she directs him home. When he gets "home" he finds an apartment full of guns and fake passports. As he begins to wonder what kind of person he is the doorbell rings.

Meanwhile, Saki had realized that her passport was in the coat she lent to Takizawa. She managed to catch up with him at his apartment and asks for her passport back. She's headed back to Japan that day, and Takizawa decides to abandon the apartment, grabs a passport for Akira Takizawa, and leaves with Saki. After an embarrassing conversation with a police woman, they head to the airport. Takizawa gets a plane ticket to Japan from the embassy and Saki gets a crush on Takizawa. Unfortunately, the mood changes when they see another terrorist attack in Japan.

This is just the beginning for Saki and Takizawa. Who is Takizawa? What's up with his mobile phone? Is he a terrorist or a hero? Find out!

I loved this series. It's the best serious anime I've seen in awhile and I kept eagerly awaiting the next episode. The plot is well-developed, and the characters are engaging. There was one plot point I had an issue with (don't worry, no spoilers!) but overall the series is fantastic. The anime has been acquired by Funimation to be released in the US. There are also two movies planned to follow the series. I can't wait to see them. If you like your anime to have a solid plot and some mystery to it, then definitely check this one out!

K-On!

2009-08-04T16:50:00.010-05:00

Opening Theme

Overall Rating: A++

Summary: K-On! is a slice of life/comedy/music anime that started out as a four-panel manga by Kakifly. For anyone unfamiliar with Japanese culture, almost everyone in school belongs to an after-school activities club. K-On! centers around the light music club at an unnamed high school, and the four Japanese high school girls who join the club to prevent it from being disbanded (I know, it's a horrible pun). Not the best way to form a band, but I'm sure there have been worse. In the beginning, Ritsu (drums) wants to join the light music club with her best friend, Mio (bass). Mio...has other plans, but Ritsu tears up her application for another club, so Mio is in! Unfortunately, they need at least four members to keep the club going, and all the previous members graduated last year. Mugi (keyboard) joins accidentally as well when she's looking for the choir room, but is easily won over by Ritsu's enthusiasm (as you may have guessed, Ritsu is about 90% enthusiasm, 9% sarcasm and jokes, and 1% follow-through). However, they still need a fourth member to keep the club going, so they put up flyers around the school. Meanwhile, they drink tea and eat cakes to keep their energy up (I am assuming that's why they're doing it, but realistically who cares?)

That brings us to Yui (guitar). Yui is clumsy, and wants to join the light music club because she thinks it means "easy" music, and she wants to play the castanets. Flashback to Yui as a little girl playing castanets. She has no experience playing the guitar or reading music. Not to mention the fact that she doesn't even have a guitar. Oops, but least she's a fourth member! They convince her to join by plying her with tea and cakes, which would work on most people I think. I know it would work on me.

The show actually focuses less on the girls playing music and more of their friendship and the relationship between the characters. When the rest of the club realizes Yui doesn't have a guitar, or the money to buy one, they all get jobs to help her buy her first one. Over the course of the anime, the band (and especially Yui) gets better and better, and the girls become closer friends.

I had heard good things about K-On!, so I decided to track down some episodes. Unfortunately, it isn't released yet in the US so it took me awhile to track it down, but it was worth the effort. If, like me, you have ever wished you were a Japanese high school girl who was in a band, then you will love the show, trust me. I can't count the number of times I said some variation on "too cute" while pointing at the screen and squeeing. It's just that kind of show. In that sense it reminded me a lot of Azumanga Daioh, but with a band. Speaking of which, all of the music in the show is performed by the voice actresses, and it's all very catchy. I have downloaded everything they've put out so far, and I love it all.

In short, this is one of the best new anime I've seen, and I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in this kind of show.

Finally, I leave you with Mio being so moe it hurts. Their adviser makes costumes for them to wear when they are performing, and so it's almost inevitable that she would dress Mio up in a maid outfit. So kawaii! Or, to steal a line from the show, "Moe, Moe, Kyun!"

Ending Theme

Vampire Knight

2009-07-30T12:31:00.002-05:00

Overall Rating: A+
Synopsis: A romance/supernatural shōjo created by Matsuri Hino, which focuses on the love triangle of Yuki Cross, Zero Kiryu, and Kaname Kuran. All three attend Cross Academy - a prestigious private school which is divided into two classes: the Day Class, which is made up of mortals, and the Night Class, which consists of vampires. The purpose of the school is to try to allow humans and vampires to live together peacefully. However, most of the students and staff in the Day Class have no idea this is going on, and apparently think it's normal for a bunch of bishōnen to only come out at night. Clearly they need their beauty rest.

Two people in the Day Class know the secret of the Academy, Yuki and Zero. Yuki is the adopted daughter of the headmaster of the school, Kaien Cross, who is a former hunter. Her earliest memory is of a snowy night when she was covered in blood and attacked by a vampire. Luckily, Kaname saved her from the vampire attack, but she can't remember why Kaname was there or what happened before he showed up.

Zero is a year older than Yuki, and is the child of hunters who were killed by a vampire. He was also taken in by Head Master Cross, and works with Yuki as a prefect for Cross Academy. The Prefects make sure that the Day Class students never learn the secret of the Night Class.

Meanwhile, Kaname is the president of the Night Class, and a pureblood vampire. Purebloods are the most powerful of vampires in the Vampire Knight world, and can control or easily destroy even other noble vampires. However, Kaname chooses not to exert this control and as a result he is respected by all the other vampire noble students. He believes in Head Master Cross' goal of humans and vampires living together peacefully, and his presence keeps the other vampires in check. Normally stoic and reserved Kaname clearly dotes on Yuki, which confuses the other vampires at the school and infuriates Zero.

As the series progresses, we learn more about the past of the three main characters, the society of vampires in the Vampire Knight world, and of course the relationship between Yuki, Zero and Kaname. Who will Yuki choose?

When I picked up Vampire Knight, by Matsuri Hino, I wasn't expecting much. The premise seemed fun, if a little cheesy, but the outfits were gothalicious (yes, it's a word, I just made it up, so leave me alone). Usually I'm pretty good at gauging how much I'll like a manga early on, but this one surprised.

Sure, the story is a little cliché in parts (like how broody Zero and Kaname are over Yuki), or how obvious Zero's secret is, but overall I love the series. So far, six volumes have been released in the US so far, and volume 7 is scheduled to be released on August 4th, and you can check out a preview online at Shojo Beat. Regardless, if you like supernatural romances, then check out Vampire Knight for a fun and interesting series.

Nightschool

2009-07-28T17:37:00.003-05:00

Overall Rating: B+
Summary: A urban fantasy/supernatural shōjo comedy series by Svetlana Chmakova, which follows two sisters, Alex and Sarah Treveney, who are witches. The manga itself (which is an OEL or Original English Language) centers around the Nightschool, an ordinary high school during the day, but teaches magic-based classes at night. At the beginning of the manga, Sarah has recently become a teacher at the Nightschool, and Alex is being homeschooled by her astral, a mysterious creature that is always with her. Why she is homeschooled has not been revealed yet, but it may be a part of a mysterious prophecy...

In the first volume, Alex sneaks off to practice her magic in a cemetery despite Sarah warning her not to. Unfortunately, this turns out to be a bad idea as she accidentally runs into some vampires and hunters. She manages to escape, but the hunters seem interested in her, which is almost probably not a good thing.

Speaking of the hunters, they are the other group that gets a lot of focus in the first volume. They protect humans from the "Night things", but unlike most hunters in this kind of story they don't wantonly kill the vampires, witches, and werewolves. Instead they focus on dangers to humans, and then make sure they are no longer a threat.

I had read a couple of chapters of this when it showed up in the Yen Plus manga magazine (which is where I originally read Soul Eater as well), and was interested in the plot. I ended up checking out the first volume when it was released and I was glad to see my interest held. I really enjoyed seeing the side of both the hunters and the vampires, witches and werewolves. It added a lot of depth to the supernatural aspects of the manga. On top of that, the character development was really solid, and I'm interested to see where things go from here. All-in-all a solid story and I look forward to reading volume 2.

Soul Eater Anime

2009-07-10T10:06:00.001-05:00

Overall Rating: A++
Summary: An action/comedy/supernatural shōnen series created by Atsushi Okubo, which follows the students of the Shinigami Weapon Meister Vocational School. The school is set in the fictional Death City, Nevada, and is run by Shinigami, the God of Death himself. The school serves as a training facility for demons who have both a human and a weapon form, and their human wielders, the meisters.

The role of the meisters and weapons is to hunt down evil humans and kill them before they can become kishin (evil demon gods). Each student and weapon pairing is trying to defeat and absorb the souls of 99 evil humans and 1 witch. Doing so will dramatically increase their power.

The series focuses on Maka Albarn and Soul, a meister/weapon pair who have collected 99 souls at the beginning of the series, and only need to defeat and absorb 1 witch before they level up. Maka is clearly the brains of the operation, and Soul is the brawn. He is too obsessed with being "cool" and attacks head on, while Maka tries to exploit her opponents' weaknesses to defeat them. The two are constantly bicker, especially when they are facing the...um...voluptuous "witch", Blair. Let's just say Soul has a hard time concentrating.

Okay, for those of you who follow Hobotaku regularly, Soul Eater should be a familiar title since I reviewed the manga back in April. I gave the manga a B+ because I wasn't too impressed with the plot, but I thought it was fun. That was before I saw the anime. I hadn't read too much of the manga (roughly one volume's worth, but I can't be sure since it hasn't been released in a single volume yet), and so I stick by my assessment of the manga at the time. However, I had heard good things about the anime, and so I decided to check it out.

Since starting to watch the anime, Alison and I watched it every chance we got, and tore through the 51 episodes we could find. It hasn't been distributed in the US yet, and so we were watching fansubs, but I intend to buy it as soon as it is released here. I will happily say I was 100% wrong about the plot. The plot is fantastic, and nuanced, particularly for a shonen series. That said, it keeps the fun/funny aspect throughout the series, which made it a lot of fun to watch. The character development was phenomenal, and I thoroughly enjoyed the entire run. Now I want more. If you have a chance to check out the anime, do yourself a favor and track it down.

As a note, the anime diverges from the manga around chapter 36 of the manga, which is approximately episode 30 of the anime. After finishing the anime, I picked up the manga again via scanlations at the point where the stories diverge, and am loving it. It goes in a completley different direction, but a lot of the same things are dealt with. Minor characters in the anime get different and more meaningful roles. So, it's official, I now think both the anime and the manga are A+, and I want to cosplay Stein as well as 2 or 3 other characters. I have also made a spreadsheet of many of my friends and who they might cosplay. That's how much I love this series.

Check it out!

Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei

2009-06-26T13:14:00.003-05:00

Overall Rating: A
Summary: Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei translates to "Goodbye, Mr. Despair" in English. Created by by Kōji Kumeta, the series is a shōnen slice-of-life series which follows Nozomu Itoshiki, a pessimistic high school teacher. At the beginning of the first volume we find Nozomu trying to hang himself on a sakura tree. He claims he is a worthless human being with no reason to live, and so he might as well die. However, before he dies, he is saved by the exceedingly optimistic Kafuka Fuura (almost killing him in the process). She claims it's impossible for him to die on such a beautiful day and in front of all the trees (who she gives strange names to like Pink Gabriel, Pink CEO, and Pink Devil).

Kafuka decides to name Nozomu Pink Supervisor, and offers him fifty yen to call him by the nickname, which only leads him further into despair. Nozomu flees to the school where he teaches, and begins his homeroom class, but discovers that Kafuka is in one of his students (SHOCK!) On top of that, every one of his students has a personality quirk or obsession, and the depressed teacher has to deal with them all.

I had no idea what to expect when I picked up Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei. I liked the cover art, and so I read the back cover. The premise of the book sounded interesting, so I started reading...and loved it. It's weird and quirky in all the right ways and a fun read. I recommend checking it out.

DMC

2009-06-14T10:43:00.002-05:00

Overall Rating: A
Summary: A comedy/music seinen created by Kiminori Wakasugi, the series follows Soichi Negishi is a shy young man who left his mother and father to tend the farm while he went to Tokyo to go to college and start a Swedish Pop band. Instead he helped found DMC, short for Detroit Metal City, the most over-the-top metal band in the city. On stage he is Krauser II, a livin legend who killed his parents as a child, and is a true demon from Hell.

Negishi despises the band except for when he is performing. While performing he gets into the Krauser personality, which can get him into a lot of trouble. Now he has to try to balance his life as the lead singer and guitarist for the most popular metal band in Japan against his desire to write sappy pop love ballads. Which will he choose?

I had heard a little about this manga before picking it up, but that didn't prepare me for it at all. This one is definitely for a more mature audience, but the situations Negishi gets himself into are hilarious. The only problem I have with it is it talks a little too much and a little too casually about rape. It's obviously part of the persona of Krauser II, but it can feel a little too over-the-top at times. Otherwise I would give this one an A+

Baccano!

2009-06-02T10:59:00.001-05:00

Overall Rating: A
Summary: Baccano is Italian for "ruckus", and that's the easiest way to describe this anime. It involves dozens of stories which cover different time periods being told simultaneously, and involving eighteen "main" characters. Each of the stories in the series consists of seemingly unrelated plots which intersect each other as they unfold. The stories involve immortal alchemists, mafia operated speakeasies, and insane thieves who dress in garish costumes, and mesh together surprisingly well into an Adventure/Comedy/Fantasy series.

I wasn't sure what to think of Baccano! when I first read the descriptions of the series, but after watching the first disc, I'm impressed. The more you watch, the more connections are revealed and the story starts to take shape. It's a bit of a challenge to try to keep up, but it's not as difficult as I had thought. Definitely worth checking out.

Antique Bakery

2009-05-04T18:31:00.001-05:00

Overall Rating: A
Summary: A cooking/comedy/slice-of-life/shōnen-ai series based on the manga by Fumi Yoshinaga. Keiichirō Tachibana comes from a wealthy family, and was kidnapped as a child. His abdustor was never caught, but Tachibana was rescued. After he was returned to his family they became overprotective of him and indulged him. As the series begins, Tachibana announces to his parents that he has decided to stop being a salesman, and to run a cake shop. The odd thing about his decision is that the one thing he remembers about his abductor is that he loved cake and fed Tachibana the cakes he bought every day.

After receiving his parents support, Tachibana opens the Antique Bakery, and looks for a pâtissier to make the cakes in his shop. He finds the perfect one in Yusuke Ono, a renowned chef. Ono has been fired from every job he has had due to being the "Gay of Demonic Charm". Acording to Stuart, my friend and professional japanese translator, what they are actually saying is something like "Gay Witch", but the subtitles for the version I have translates it as "Gay of Demonic Charm", which is weird but hilarious. Regardless of the translation, any man Ono is attracted to becomes attracted to him. It's this power that has gotten him fired from all of his previous jobs.

At first, Ono does not recognize Tachibana, but Tachibana definitely recognizes Ono. They went to high school together, and Ono came out of the closet to Tachibana by confessing his love to him. Tachibana told Ono he was disgusted by him and that he should die. :(

Rounding out the group are Eiji Kanda, a former boxer who suffered from a detached retina injury and had to quit. His love of pastries drew him to the Antique Bakery where he becomes Ono's apprentice. Finally, there's Chikage Kobayakawa, Tachibana's childhood friend, and the son of Tachibana's family's live-in housekeeper.

These four handsome men run the bakery, flirt, banter, and discuss the finer points of pasteries while humorous and dramatic events unfold in the café.

Alison brought home a bunch of episodes of this anime and described the plot to me, and so I immediately wanted to watch it. I have to say, it was everything I hoped for and more. If you like slice-of-life style anime then I recommend this one. It deals with some pretty heavy issues (homosexuality, alienation, and kidnapping for example), but it balances it with plenty of humor and fun!

20th Century Boys

2009-04-21T12:14:00.005-05:00

Overall Rating: A+
Summary: A seinen science fiction/mystery series created by Naoki Urasawa, which follows Kenji Endō, who owns a liquor store and takes care of his infant niece. The story splits its time between the present day (which is 1999 in the story) and when Kenji was growing up with his friends in 1969.

In the present day, Kenji's friend Donkey has apparently committed suicide, but there is also a series of murders. Kenji believes all of it is tied to a strange symbol which he recognizes as being familiar, but cannot place. At the wake for his friend, he reunites with his childhood friends and they reminisce about growing up together and their "secret base". None of them can quite remember the strange symbol or its meaning, but all of them recognize it. What does the symbol mean, and what is its connection to the friends and the strange cult that is growing in popularity? Most importantly, who is "Friend" and what is their connection to Kenji and his friends?

I really can't recommend this one enough. I picked it up this weekend at Chapel Hill Comics' annual Monster Sale, because I had heard good things about it, and wanted to check it out. Now I'm trying to figure out when I can get back to Chapel Hill to buy the second volume (it's supposed to have come out today). The story and characters are well-developed and by the end of the first volume I am completely hooked. I can't wait to see where things go, and I imagine that once I'm done with the second volume I will be annoyed that the third (and final) volume doesn't come out until June.

Soul Eater

2009-04-07T13:17:00.002-05:00

Overall Rating: B+
Summary: An action/comedy/supernatural shōnen series created by Atsushi Okubo, which follows the students of the Shinigami Weapon Meister Vocational School. The school is set in the fictional Death City, Nevada, and is run by Shinigami, the God of Death himself. The school serves as a training facility for demons who have both a human and a weapon form, and their human wielders, the meisters.

The role of the meisters and weapons is to hunt down evil humans and kill them before they can become kishin (evil demon gods). Each student and weapon pairing is trying to defeat and absorb the souls of 99 evil humans and 1 witch. Doing so will dramatically increase their power.

The series focuses on Maka Albarn and Soul, a meister/weapon pair who have collected 99 souls at the beginning of the series, and only need to defeat and absorb 1 witch before they level up. Maka is clearly the brains of the operation, and Soul is the brawn. He is too obsessed with being "cool" and attacks head on, while Maka tries to exploit her opponents' weaknesses to defeat them. The two are constantly bicker, especially when they are facing the...um...voluptuous "witch", Blair. Let's just say Soul has a hard time concentrating.

Sould Eater is one of those manga that's just fun. The plot is kind of strung together, but it's the kind of silly, fun manga to read when you're bored and you don't want to start a 20+ volume series. Yen Press has been releasing books similar to Shonen Jump and Shojo Beat with collection of manga the company is planning to release. Soul Eater is one of those manga and the first volume is due out in October.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

2009-03-27T08:39:00.002-05:00

Overall Rating: A+

Summary: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is a science fiction romance and drama movie with some touches of slice of life based on Yasutaka Tsutsui's novel of the same name (時をかける少女 (Toki o Kakeru) in Japanese). The story starts out normal enough, and follows Makoto Konno, a high school girl, and her two best friends, Chiaki Mamiya and Kōsuke Tsuda through their everyday lives. However, soon Makoto realizes she has the ability to leap through time when she goes back in time when she avoids an accident that otherwise would have killed her.

Throughout the film Makoto consults with her aunt. When I was watching the movie this didn't quite make sense to me (how did she know about time travel?), but when I was looking up information about the movie I found out that the implication is that her aunt is the protagonist of the book, and that movie is set after the book takes place.

Initially, Makoto uses her newfound power to do whatever she wants, and uses it to ace a test, and play karaoke for 10 hours (one of my favorite scenes). However, she soon realizes that her actions can adversely affect those she cares about, and she must use her powers more carefully.

My friends Leah and Will recommended this one to me. It sounded interesting and fun, so I got it from Netflix, and fell in love with it. It's a great movie, and I wish it had been shown in more theatres in the US. Do yourself a favor and watch this one.

Vampire Doll

2009-03-19T13:32:00.002-05:00

Overall Rating: B
Synopsis: A Comedy/Adventure/Supernatural shōjo series created by Erika Kari. The story follows Guilt-na-Zan, a vampire lord who was trapped in a black cross for centuries. He is released by one of the descendants of the exorcist who trapped him. However, when he was "alive", Guilt-na-Zan was an attractive man (well sort of), and when he wakes up he is in the body of an attractive girl (which is apparently made out of wax?!?).

Kyoji, the exorcist who awakens him, has revived Guilt-na-Zan to be his maid (weird), and has modeled the wax doll after his sister, Tonae (weirder). Kyoji threatens to seal Guilt-na-Zan in the black cross again if he doesn't agree, so goth loli Guilt-na-Zan does all the chores.

While in the doll form, Guilt-na-Zan can only use his powers to create cakes and flowers. Only by drinking the blood of Tonae (and Kyoji keeps him on a very strict diet) can he return to his normal form for a few minutes and use the full extent of his powers.

I liked Vampire Doll, but mostly for the comedy. The plot is barely there, but it works because the book is hilarious. For example, there are references to Guilt-Na's "Battle Apron", and even a scene where gang members have their wickedness sucked out by a demon and then start making out with other. If you are looking for something to laugh at with not much plot, then this is a good one.

Otomen

2009-03-10T13:45:00.002-05:00

Sorry it's been so long since my last update, due to personal reasons I have not been able to keep up with Hobotaku, but I hope to start posting regularly again.

Overall Rating: A+
Summary: A romantic comedy shōjo series created by Aya Kanno, which follows Asuka Masamune, a tall, masculine and cool high school student. Asuka is the captain of the kendo team, and excels in judo and karate, and everyone in the school thinks he's the greatest. However, Asuka has a secret - he loves all things cute, sweet and lovely like cooking, shōjo manga and sewing. He tries to hide his love of cuteness and be masculine, but when he meets a girl named Ryou Miyakozuka he falls in love and all bets are off.

For her part, Ryou isn't like most girls. She cannot sew, coo, bake, make bento or do any of the the normally "girly" things. Instead Ryou is tough, is an excellent fighter, and likes fighting movies. She and Asuka become fast friends along with Juuta Tachibana, a classmate who is always following Asuka around.

Why is Juuta always following Asuka around? Will Asuka and Ryou get together? The answers are hilarious and adorable.

Here's the thing, I have been wondering what an appropriate word in Japanese would be for a man who is feminine, but not gay and doesn't cross-dress. Apparently, the word is Otomen.

When I read the back cover of this manga in the Cary Barnes & Noble, I fell in love with the concept since (aside from sewing) I love all the things Asuka talks about and went through a long period (re: High School) where I tried to hide that and act masculine and cool (I'm pretty sure I failed at that stuff though). After reading Otomen, it's now one of my favorite manga (at least that I've read recently) and can't wait for more of it to come out. Volume 2 comes out in May (I hate it when there's a 2 or 3 month break between volumes being released) and I plan to pick it up as soon as it's out.

If you like romantic comedy shōjo manga, and your male protagonists to be a bit girly, then you will absolutely love Otomen. Even if that doesn't describe you I recommend a least giving this one a try. <3!

Moribito

2009-01-15T22:46:00.001-05:00

Overall Rating: A
Summary: A fantasy drama shōnen series based on 10-volumes fantasy of novels. The series follows Balsa, a formidible spearwoman and bodyguard, who protects the lives of others to atone for a past sin. In the first episode, she happens to save the second prince, Chagum, of the Imperial family after an accident. After she proves her skill with a spear, Balsa is tasked with hiding and protecting the child by his mother.

However, Chagum's father, the Emperor, is trying to have the child killed, because he believes the child is possessed by a demon. The Emperor is convinced that the demon will bring misfortune and destruction to the country, and so he has been arranging "accidents" to kll Chagum. If Balsa can save Chagum, then it is the last life she needs to save for her atonement.

I had heard some good things about this series, and Anime Insider claimed it was the best drama of 2008, so I decided to check it out, and so far I'm impressed. I haven't read the novels, but the series has a solid plot, and the characters are interesting. If you like fantasy, strong female characters, and an interesting, involved plot, then I definitely recommend this one.

Claymore

2009-01-08T15:40:00.001-05:00

Overall Rating: A
Summary: This 26 episode fantasy/supernatural/action shonen anime is based on the manga of the same name. The series is set in a world where humans coexist with creatures called the Yoma, which are sentient monsters that eat humans (specifically their guts). The Yoma can take on the appearance of a human, and so often infiltrate villages and kill the villagers off slowly.

To combat the Yoma, a nameless, secretive organization create human/yoma hybrids by implanting Yoma flesh into humans. These hybrids are known as Claymores, because of the large swords they all carry. Villages can hire the Claymores to protect themsleves from the yoma, for a large fee.

All Claymores are wormen, and all have similar features. The latter is the result of the hybridization process, and makes their hair light-blonde/white, and they develop elf-like ears. Despite the protection Claymores provide, they are almost universally feared because of their Yoma heritage.

The series follows Claire, a Claymore who is ranked 47th out of a possible 47. In other words she supposedly sucks. However, she continually demonstrates what a bad ass she is, so there is a great deal of question about why she is 47th. Early on in the anime, she meets an incredibly annoying kid named Raki, who is exiled from his village after his family is killed by a Yoma. Despite his incredibly annoying behavior and the fact that he is often down-right stupid, Claire breaks character and the two become friends. He is the worst part of this anime.

I had heard a lot of good things about both the manga and the anime, and so I decided to check this one out. I immediately liked Claire, and as the series progressed, and I learned more about the Claymore, I got more interested in the plot and supporting characters. Well, everyone except for Raki, whose voice is incredibly whiny and made me wish he would die almost everytime he was on screen. Luckily, there are many episodes where he doesn't appear at all, or only briefly. The other issue is that many of the Claymore look very similar and it can become difficult to tell who is who in scenes with multiple Claymore. I would probably give the series an A+ if it wasn't for those two issues. If you like bad ass women with large swords, and a good plot (and who doesn't?), then check this one out.

Blank Slate

2009-01-06T13:32:00.003-05:00

Overall Rating: B+
Summary: Created by Aya Kanno, this action/suspense shonen ai series is very interesting, if nothing else because it's a lot darker than most shojo. In fact, Blank Slate has little in common with most series under the Shojo Beat imprint, with little to no focus on romantic relationships, love triangles or other typical shojo tropes.

The series follows Zen, an incredibly beautiful and infamous criminal, whose memory has been wiped. Supposedly, Zen is the "worst criminal in history", and has killed a large number of people. He is hunted by the police, bounty hunters, and pretty much anyone else with a reason to want Zen captured/dead (which is apparently 99.9% of everyone).

However, from Zen's point of view, he just woke up one day with an urge to destroy and kill. As he describes it, those two words have consumed him since he woke up, and so he has done just that. While the main character in the series is most certainly Zen, the manga has a secondary storyline about how people who meet Zen change because of his actions.

The first chapter of volume 1 introduces a bounty hunter who is out to take down his number one target, and "control Zen's future" (by which he mostly means kill him). Yet, after pretending to become Zen's partner to get close to him, he ends up being the one who is controlled by Zen, and even sides with Zen in the end.

The first volume ends with the introduction of someone who knows about Zen's past, and gives some hints to what's coming in this suspenseful series.

I saw "Blank Slate" on the shelf at Borders a couple of times before reading a blurb about it on http://www.boingboing.net. After hearing a little more about the series, I decided to pick up the first volume and check it out. It's definitely not what I would expect from Shojo Beat, but the obvious shonen ai vibes seem to be the primary reason it's on the imprint. Overall, I really enjoyed the book, and am excited about seeing the series develop. My only complaint (and why I didn't give it an A) is that it took awhile before Kanno gives you the juiciest plot hooks. That being said, I still thoroughly enjoyed the book, and am excited about checking out the next volume.

Read the first 19 pages of the first volume!

Darker Than Black

2008-12-16T14:55:00.001-05:00

Overall Rating: B+
Summary: Known as Kuro no Keiyakusha in Japan, this neo-noir/supernatural series is set 10 years after a Hell Gate opened in Tokyo. The Gate proved impossible to analyze, and it replaced the stars in the sky with false ones. At the same time, psychics capable of wielding paranormal abilities began to appear.

These individuals are known as Contractors, because they are required to complete a "payment" each time their power is used (for example, eating flowers, breaking fingers, drinking blood). Each Contractor has a corresponding star, which vibrates when the Contractor uses their power. As such, Contractor's are identified by their star's Messier catalogue number. It's strongly implied that the Contractors lack human emotion and are nothing more than cold-blooded killers. For this reason, many organizations use them as agents.

The series focuses on Hei, a Contractor who plays a "nice guy" student from China named Li Shengshun when undercover, but becomes a cold-blooded killer when on his missions. Not much is known of his past, other than that he had a sister named Pai who died when the South American gate imploded.

Hei works for a group known only as the Syndicate, and operates as a part of a team that includes Yin, an emotionless spirit medium known as a "Doll". Yin is passive and rarely speaks, but has the ability to locate individuals and can observe anything near water as long as she is touching water.

Other members of the team include Mao, a Contractor who lost his body and now resides within the body of a black cat, and Huang, the uninteresting field supervisor.

I heard about Darker Than Black a few months back, and had been interested in seeing what it was like. It looked like one of those series that could be interesting or it could be "meh". Luckily, it was definitely the former. While I'm not in love with the series (I prefer series to give me some more depth to my characters), it's a solid concept, and so far the plot is interesting. I am hoping that in later episodes, Hei and Yin get a little more character development, we start to learn more about what created the Contractors, and where the story is going.

Ghostbusters - Ghost Busted

2008-11-21T12:39:00.002-05:00

Overall Rating: B+
Summary: An anthology of Ghostbusters stories set after the first two films written by Nathan Johnson and Matt Yamashita with art by Maximo V. Lorenzo, Hanzo Steinbach, Chrissy Delk, Michael Shelfer, and Nate Watson. If I were to categorize this book, it would be comedy/supernatural shonen.

The stories feature the Ghostbusters in six stories, with different characters taking center stage in each one. In one story, the gang is called in to help out a haunted Broadway production. Shortly thereafter, the director, stage manager, and star quit. As a result, Egon ends up replacing the star, Peter is the new director, and Ray is the stage manager. Needless to say, this leads to hilarity and hijinks.

In another one of the stories, Ray learns that being a Ghostbuster can be pretty mundane at times. Meanwhile, Egon receives a mysterious call from his college mentor, who failed Egon after Egon began focusing on the paranormal. All of these stories build into the main plot, which involves an old enemy, and a group of anti-ghostbusters.

Apparently, this manga series leads into an upcoming videogame.

Who ya gonna call? GHOSTBUSTERS! I came across this in Chapel Hill Comics a few weeks back, and was confused/amused/excited about it. Yes, that's right, it's a manga version of the Ghostbusters that Tokyopop put out. I really, really didn't know what to expect with this one, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the writing. It felt like the Ghostbusters, and was a really fun read. The only major drawback is the number of artists. With the artist chnging almost every chapter, it was really jarring, and made it hard to get a sense of style for the characters. That being said, there were enough common elements, that it wasn't too bad.

If you were a fan of the movies, then I definitely recommend checking this one out.

Captive Heart

2008-11-13T13:54:00.002-05:00

Overall Rating: B
Summary: Created by Matsuri Hino, this Romantic Comedy/Supernatural shōjo story follows Megumi Kuroishi, a 20-year-old university student. As the series begins, Megumi's father, Yōshimi was the head butler for the Kōgami family. However, over the years he became their confidante and friend, and when they go missing in China, their fortune is left to him.

Megumi has become used to living in the lap of luxury and hopes that the Kōgami family is never found. Unfortunately for Megumi, soon after the series begins, his father learns that the family mayhave been found and leaves for China to find them. When he returns, he brings the Kōgami's only daughter (and the sole survivor of the Kōgami family), Suzuka, back with him. At first, Megumi 's dreams of living in luxury are shattered, but when he meets Suzuka, he immediately kneels before her and calls her "princess".

Megumi soon learns that he is descended from a thief, who stole a sacred scroll from the Kōgami family. The thief and all of his descendents are cursed to serve the Kōgami family. When Megumi looks into Suzuka's eyes, he is overcome by the curse and becomes her manservant.

However, true feelings may be beginning to form, and they must figure out what is caused by the curse and what is real.

I can't get enough of the shōjo series that Matsuri Hino, the creator of Vampire Knight, Wanted, and MeruPuri, puts out. This one actually caught my eye before I realized it was her work, and I liked the concept, so I gave it a shot. It hasn't drawn me in quite as much as her previous works, but it shows promise, and I'm still enjoying it. I think that if the characters begin to develop more, and as Megumi and Suzuka's relationship begins to grow, I'll be more engaged. Oh yeah! Keep an eye on Sōgaku, Megumi's best friend. She has a secret, and even though it's not critical to the plot, it's a nice touch that helps make "Captive Heart" more interesting.

Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro-Chan

2008-10-31T12:32:00.001-05:00

Overall Rating: A
Summary: Comedy/gore/magical girl/insane anime follows Sakura Kusakabe, a second-year junior hgh school student. From the beginning, it's clear that Sakura has a huge crush on his classmate Shizuki. Unfortunately (or fortunately, Sakura doesn't seem sure himself), he lives with a crazy angel named Dokoro, a cute assassin from the future whose jb is to kill Sakura, but instead drives him crazy and tries to protect him. Oh, and she kills him, a lot, but she always resurects him with her chant "Pipiru piru piru pipiru pi". Did I mention this show is insane?

The show gets its name from the fact that Dokuro is constantly bludgeoning (and by bludgeoning I mean gory decapitation and dismemberment which somehow manages to be hilarious) Sakura with Excalibolg her gigantic spiked bat. Apparently, in the future Sakura attempts to create a "Pedophile's World" which forces all women stop aging after the age of twelve, and makes them immortal, which offends God (shocking, I know). Dokuro believes he can be redeemed and prevented from going down the path that leads him to create the technology that brings about the future she comes from, and so she acts as his protector by constantly annoying him so he can't think about creating anything (yep, wacky).

Unfortunately, more assassin angels are sent from the future to kill Sakura, and Dokuro has to protect Sakura from her former allies and even her younger sister.

As I mentioned (repeatedly), this anime is crazy However, it's also hilarious and awesome. It takes a lot of the sterotypes of anime and adds in ridiculous amounts of gore and plot so absurd that it's amazing. If you like your anime hilarious and with a little more mature themes, then this one is worth checking out. It's also incredibly short (each episode is only about 15 minutes long and there are 8 episodes), so it's a quick watch.

Ultra Maniac

2008-10-27T11:13:00.002-05:00

Overall Rating: A-
Summary: Created by Wataru Yoshizumi, the romantic comedy series follows seventh-grader Ayu Tateishi, a tennis club member, and her friend Nina Sakura, a transfer student from the magical kingdom who is actually a witch. Ayu is a well-adjusted 7th grade student. She is the best female tennis player and one of the most popular girls in the school, but she has trouble staying cool after she meets Nina.

Ayu and Nina meet when Ayu runs into Nina crying on one of the school benches outside. Nina explains she has lost something very important, and that's why she's freaking out. Ayu, being the nice and awesome girl that many protagonists of shojo seem to be, offers to help find the item, but Nina is reluctant to tell her what it is and runs off. After school, Ayu stumbles across a mini-computer underneath the bench where she and Nina met, and assumes it belongs to Nina. After Ayu returns the item, Nina is exstatic, and keeps referring to a "big secret" she wants to tell Ayu, but is unsure about.

In order to determine whether she can trust Ayu, Nina begins following her around. Eventually, she decides to tell Ayu that she is a witch from the Magic Kingdom. Ayu is all "Say what?!? I don't believe in magic or fairy tales. I haven't even read Harry Potter!!!" Nina is incredulous and then spoils Book 7 for Ayu. Okay, not really. Instead Nina uses her mini-computer to cast some spells to help Ayu. Unfortunately, they have a nasty habit of going wrong.

For example, when she tries to make Ayu the best tennis player she can be, it turns her into a boy. It turns out that Nina is a failure as a witch, and she has come to Earth to prove to people in the Magic Kingdom that she is worthy of being a witch.

I really enjoyed this one, and highly recommend it. Of course, I'm a huge fan of shojo so it may not be for everyone, but if you like romantic comedy manga with a touch of the supernatural, then this one is great. There are some great scenes where Nina's magic messes things up, and Ayu has to try and deal with them. In the scene I mentioned where she's turned into a boy, she isn't used to being in the body, so even though she's supposedly faster she makes a lot of mistakes. Of course, since this is a shojo, she is very attractive as a boy and all the girls develop a crush on her. Classic.

Gurren Lagann

2008-10-21T15:05:00.001-05:00

Overall Rating: B+
Summary: This Shōnen anime takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where humans have been forced underground and live in isolated villages. The villages each have their own leaders and beliefs about the surface world, but few ever venture up to the surface themselves. Due to frequent eartqaukes, which damage the villages, individuals known as "diggers" are constantly digging tunnels to expand the villages.

The series follows Simon, a fourteen-year-old digger from Giha Village whose parents were killed in a cave in. One day, Simon finds a small, glowing drill while digging, and fashions a necklace for the strange drill. After finding the drill, he runs into Kamina, an eccentric trouble-maker who dreams of finding his father on the surface. After recruiting Simon to help, Kamina tries to get past the village chief to break the ceiling of the village and get to the surface, but the chief stops them and throws Kamina in jail. Simon is let go as he is the village's best digger, so they need him too much to throw him in jail. Apparently, he is the rich, white male of the village.

While Kamina is stuck in jail, Simon returns to digging, only to find a "big face" deep in the tunnel. He breaks Kamina out to show him, but they are interrupted by the collapse of the ceiling, and an enormous robot falling into the cavern.

Yoko, a girl wearing a preposterous outfit consisting of a bikini top, hot pants, boots, and a scarf, appears with the robot and tries to take it down with a HUGE gun, but she misses a one-shot kill because Kamina is an idiot (this is a running theme in the show).

Simon takes Kamina and Yoko to show them the "big face", which is actually a small robot! The drill he found earlier turns out to be a key that he uses to activate the robot, which they name 'Lagann'. Together, Simon, Kamina and Yoko use Lagann to destroy the invading robot and break through to the surface.

The surface is a desolate wasteland inhabited by creatures called "beastmen" who pilot "Gunmen" (mecha like the one they just destroyed and Lagann. Simon and Kamina decide to defeat the beastmen so that humans can once again claim the surface, and set off on a journey to fight as many beastmen as they can find. Yoko and Leeron (your standard gay mechanic whose a friend of Yoko's) join them on their adventures.

This show is kind of hilairous. The more I watch it, the more self-aware I think it is. If you don't mind some fan-service and you are looking for a fun series to follow, then you should check this one out. In fact, I probably would have given the series an "A" if it weren't for the gratuitous fan service in the first few episodes. It seems to get toned down after a few episodes though, so I am looking forward to the next disc.

The Plain Janes

2008-10-15T13:44:00.002-05:00

Overall Rating: A+
Summary: Written by Cecil Castellucci with art by Jim Rugg, The Plain Janes follows Jane Beckles, a teenage girl from Metro City who is injured during a terrorist attack. After Jane recovers, her mother is too freaked out by the attack to continue living in the city, and so the family moves to the suburbs. Of course, Jane thinks her life is over in the boring town until she finds some true friends; three other girls named Jane.

Adopting the moniker Main Jane, Jane partners up with Brain Jane, Theatre Jane and Polly Jane to form a secret art gang named P.L.A.I.N. (or People Loving Art In Neighborhoods) to make the suburbs less boring and bring art into everyone's lives.

With the police trying to lock them up, some of the community outraged, and others supporting the group, can art attacks help save th girls from high school and the suburbs, or will the land themselves in jail?

I'm not really sure why I haven't reviewed The Plain Janes before now, because I absolutely adore this book. It makes me nostalgic for the days when I was a teenage girl artist, which is weird since I've never been very artistic (or a girl for that matter). I guess that's what really makes me love this book. It drew me in early on. All of the characters, and particularly the Janes, are extremely well-developed and interesting, and I quickly fell in love with it. I highly recommend checking this one out.
Download a sneak peek here

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion

2008-09-29T14:23:00.001-05:00

Overall Rating: B+
Summary: A Drama/Alternate History series featuring mecha, the anime is set in the near future. In 2010, the Holy Empire of Britannia has conquered more than one third of the world, and sets its sights on Japan. They defeat the Japanese forces easily with the help of their Knightmare Frames (bad ass mecha), and rename Japan Area 11.

The Japanese people, now referred to only as 11's are forced to live in ghettos in the still destroyed areas of Japan while the citizens of Brittania live in the reconstructed areas. However, there are small groups of rebels still fighting against the Empire.

The series itself focuses on Lelouch, the son of the Emperor of Britannia. After the assassination of his mother, and his sister was left blind and crippled, Lelouch swore vengence on the Empire, and has been looking for ways to accomplish that goal. Seven years after the invasion of Japan, he becomes accidentally involved with a group of rebels and runs into a strange green-haired girl named C.C. who gives him the power of Geass. With it, Lelouch can control the minds of others, and he has the power to seek revenge for the death of his mother and to destroy Britannia and rebuild the world into his idea of utopia.

I heard a lot about this series leading up to its debut on Adult Swim, but I kept missing episodes, and so I wasn't able to watch it when it came out. Now it's out on DVD, and so I ordered it from Netflix. I have to say, it's really good, especially when compared to some of the other space opera-esque/mecha series that have recently come out (Aquarion, I'm looking at you). The only issue I had with it was that it's a pretty involved series, so if you zone out, you're likely to miss something important, but it also drags in a couple of places, so it's easy to zone out. However, for the most part I was interested in the characters, and enjoyed the alternate history, and plot intrigues. I definitely recommend checking this one out.

MeruPuri

2008-09-17T17:29:00.004-05:00

Overall Rating: B+
Summary: A Romance/Fantasy/Comedy shōjo series created by Matsuri Hino, which follows average high school girl Airi Hoshina. Airi wants only three things in life - to meet a nice boy, get married at 20, and have an ordinary, loving family. Unfortunately for Airi, her life is about to become a lot more complicated when she drops the strange hand mirror that has been in her family for generations.

When Airi goes back to find the mirror, a 7-year-old boy named Aram is waiting for her with it. The boy acts like nobility, which is to say kind of like an ass, but that might be because he is...in another dimension. Oh snap! Aram's uncle (or something, I think it was his uncle) is trying to take his magic powers away from him and age him prematurely. To escape, Aram has travelled to our dimension, but if he stays in the dark too long he will rapidly age about ten years. The only way to restore his youth is the kiss of his true love, and Aram decides his true love is Airi! Hijinks ensue as Airi tries to help Aram while still going to school and trying to find the normal boy she wants to marry, but what if Aram (17-year-old!) is who she really wants?

MeruPuri is another Shōjo series by Matsuri Hino, who also created Vampire Knight and Wanted. I picked this one up, because I enjoy her other work (and love Shōjo). This one didn't disappoint. It's only four volumes long, but it's a fun story. I particularly enjoy when Aram ages ten years in appearance, but acts like a seven-year-old. I recommend this one to anyone who enjoys Shōjo series and particularly Matsuri Hino's work.

Check out an online preview of the manga here.

Yggdrasil

2008-09-15T15:28:00.003-05:00

Overall Rating: D+
Summary: Created by Lay Mutsuki, this seinen series is set "in the near future, and online gaming is all the rage!" Apparently, that's an important distinction, since no one plays online games these days. In the "near future" the same company that produces the most popular online game also produces the most popular OS and the two are shipped together. Luckily for Koki Tachibana, his father works for the company! Koki has been doing testing for his dad since the game started, and now he has two characters. One who is a pretty standard character and one that's the most powerful character in the game. Unfortunately for Koki, someone has hacked his account and is playing with the god-like character.

Now Koki's has to find out who's been logging into his account before they cause any major problems.

"Yggdrasil" sounded kind of interesting, so I gave it a shot, but I was pretty disappointed. The plot is pretty interesting, but so far none of the characters have much depth. Also, it was billed as being supernatural/fantasy, but so far the only aspects of the story that has been along those lines have been in the online game. Hopefully the series will improve in later volumes.

Wanted

2008-09-11T09:29:00.002-05:00

Overall Rating: B
Summary: A one-shot Shōjo manga created by Matsuri Hino, which follows a young orphan girl named Armeria. The story is set in the 17th-century, and Armeria belongs to a music group that sings for work. While singing for the Governer-General at his mansion, she meets Luce Lanceman, the Governor-General's nephew, and falls in love with him after he gives her an Armeria flower. The same night, Luce is kidnapped by the crew of the notorious pirate, Skulls.
Armeria vows to find Luce and rescue him from Skulls.

Eight years later, we find Armeria disguised as a young man, and she has managed to join Skulls' crew. However, joining a pirate crew isn't all she bargained for, and she quickly ends up over her head. Now she has to figure out what happened to her beloved Luce, and make sure she survives the experience.

Matusuri Hino is also the creator of Vampire Knight, a series I love, so I was excited to see something new from her. On top of that, the story was a vampire romance! What more could a boy ask for? The story is pretty solid, but it's also kind of derivative. It reminded me of a manga version of Princess Bride, which isn't actually that bad a thing. Overall, I enjoyed the characters, and I would have rated it higher if it weren't for the fact that I felt like I had already read parts of the book before. It was still a lot of fun though, and I definitely recommend it to fellow Shōjo lovers.

I, Otaku: Struggle in Akihabara

2008-09-05T15:38:00.003-05:00

Overall Rating: C+
Summary: a Shōnen comedy created by Jirō Suzuki, which follows Sota, your average highschool guy. He's pretty popular, and has an attractive girlfriend, but Sota has a secret life as an otaku. Particularly, he is obsessed with a character called Papico, and he will cancel all of his plans for the chance to buy new collector's items for the character.

This leads to the bulk of the plot when one day he can't find the latest Papico release, the Ultra Limited Edition Wonder Digital Dokidoki Doggy Papico figure. As a result, Sota ends up in a store called Otakudo, where the owner (Mano Takuro) has the hard-to-find item. However, in order to buy the item he has to admit that he is an otaku. Somehow, Sato's girlfriend, Eri, has shown up at the store after following Sota, and Sota ends up confessing his obsession to her. Hilarity ensues.

I picked this one up, because I saw some of myself in it. When I was in high school, I wasn't that popular, hadn't even kissed a girl, and hadn't figure out A) my hair, B) black is a good color on me and B) women like men in eyeliner. I looked like a preppy kid who was trying too hard. I was also hiding my geekiness in the desperate hope that I could become popular. By hiding it, I meant I only played Magic: the Gathering before school in the science classroom and in front of the band room (I wasn't in band, but I was a geek). All of this is to say I really wanted to like this manga. The series seems to focus more on being a parody of otaku than on the trials of being a closet geek. I still enjoyed it, but the characters aren't very deep, and the plot mostly focuses on the small group of otaku and their hijinks. If you're looking for a fun, light read, then this is worth checking out, but if you want a plot and interesting characters, then I recommend you pass.

Check out a preview here.

Ghost Talker’s Daydream

2008-09-03T22:31:00.004-05:00

Overall Rating: B
Summary: A supernatural seinen (18+) written by Saki Okuse with art by Sankichi Meguro, which follows Misaki Saiki, a normal 19-year-old woman who is holding down two jobs to make ends meet. However, her jobs are a bit...odd. Misaki works as a dominatrix and as a necromancer. Working for the Livlihood Protection Agency, she uses her ability to see and speak with spirits to help them find peace and move on.

Misaki works with Souichiro Kadotake, an agent for the LPA, who is a martial artist and afraid of ghosts. To add more zany hijinks to the series, Misaki is an albino and a virgin. Crazy!

I liked the sound of this manga from the blurb, so I decided to pick it up. Honestly, it was about what I expected. It's going for the same kind of dark humor that Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service does so well, and adds a bit of sex appeal. Sounds good, right? Unfortunately, Ghost Talker's Daydream doesn't quite pull it off. For me, it's the sex appeal, which is used too often in unnecessary crotch shots and bad jokes. I think if the series went with less fan service and more dark humor, it could be as good as Kurosagi. As is, it's just okay. If you're 18+ and in the mood for a mature supernatural manga, then check it out, but be prepared. Check out a preview here: http://www.darkhorse.com/Books/Previews/14-972?page=0

The Machine Girl

2008-08-29T13:50:00.001-05:00

Warning: This movie is incredibly violent

Overall Rating: B
Summary: An action/horror film directed by Noboru Iguchi about a young Japanese schoolgirl named Ami Hyūga. Ami was an average high school girl whose mother and father commited suicide after allegations that they murdered someone(s). Now, all she has left is her brother. So, when her brother and his friend are killed by bullies, she swears revenge!

Ami begins tracking down and killing the bullies involved in her brother's death, but discovers the ringleader is the son of a ninja yakuza family. Despite being an amazing fighter, Ami is captured and the family tortures her, eventually cutting off her left arm. Managing to escape, but barely hanging on to life, Ami seeks shelter from the parents of her brother's friend. The mechanics take pity on her (after she beats the mom in an arm-wrestling match) and the father constructs a machine-gun arm for Ami. They then set out to seek revenge for their dead family members.

"The Machine Girl" is a hilarious gore-fest. Defintiely not for the faint-of-heart (I was squirming depsite how fake the gore is), but I definitely recommend it for a laugh. I would have rated it higher, but the movie leaves a lot of loose ends. For example, they never explain her parent's deaths outside of the fact that they were accused of murder. There are a couple of other parts where the scene doesn't really have much context, and they never explain why Ami is such a bad ass. Still, it's a lot of fun, and I recommend it.

Simoun

2008-08-22T13:11:00.001-05:00

Overall Rating: B+
Summary: Set on the planet Daikūriku, which is populated by a humanoid race who are all born female. At the age of 17, everyone is expected to choose a permanent gender and then live their lives that way. The focus of the anime is on two warring nations, the Simulacrum and the Argentum.

The Simulacrum seems more technologically advanced, and is cleaner, while the Argentum has technology similar to that of industrialized nations of the 20's and 30's. This includes zepplins and biplane fighter aircraft. The Argentum's economy has been failing, and pollution is on the rise, so as the series begins, Argentum is preparing to launch an attack on Simulacrum, who are the only ones with helical motor technology. The Argentum believe this technology will help them improve their economy and clear their skies.

The main defense of the Simulacrum is the Simoun, which are aircraft that can seat two and is powered by two helical motors. The helical motor is technology from an ancient civilization, and not even the Simulacrum fully understand it. The Simulacrum's theocracy is centered around these aircraft and their pilots.

In the past, the Simulacrum found the ships during an excavation, and according to their religion, two priestesses descended from heaven and explained to them how to operate the Simouns. Both the ship's power and the Simulacrum's religion center around the Tempus Spatium. They beleive it is this power that allows young women to change their genders at 17 and powers the Simoun.

The Simoun are crewed by priestesses called Sibyllae. The Sibylla (the plural of Sibyllae) have not yet chosen a gender, and doing so disqualifies them as Sibylla. In fact, because of the war some Sybylla have been given permission to delay their choice of gender past the age of 17 to defend the country.

The main weapon of the Simoun is a large glowing green gem, positioned between the cockpits, which produces an effect known as Ri Mājon when the Simoun is flown in the correct pattern. The Simoun Gem is activated before takeoff when the two Sibyllae kiss it after kissing each other (which isn't really explained at all). The Ri Mājon are incredibly powerful and can destroy all the ships in an area if successfully done.

Sibyllae are organized into chors of twelve priestesses. A choir at full strength operates six Simoun, which is sufficient to allow them to inscribe the most complex known Ri Mājon patterns in the sky. The series focuses on one particular Simoun choir, Chor Tempest, which has a reputation as an elite unit.

I decided to check this anime out at Gen Con Indy last week, because it sounded interesting. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I love watching anime at cons. Unfortunately, the crowd there was made up of immature boys who high-fived and giggled nervously every time the girls kissed. I admit to being confused by why they needed to kiss to activate the Simoun, but the behavior of the boys made the anime a lot less enjoyable. Regardless, what I saw of it was really good, and I ended up interested in seeing what happens next, so I will definitely be checking more of it out. Just a warning that you should go into it knowing there are girls kissing and some ennuendo, but it really didn't come off as all that sexual to me. More like when you're in elementry school or junior high/middle school, and you know that you like someone, but you have no idea what to do about it.

Absolute Boyfriend

2008-08-20T15:43:00.002-05:00

Overall Rating: A
Summary: A romantic comedy manga with a splash of science fiction created by Yuu Watase. Absolute Boyfriend is six volumes long and is the story of Riiko Izawa. Riiko is a high school girl with an addiction to buying things online, and has never had a boyfriend. In fact, she is rejected by every boy she asks out. The manga begins with Riiko asking out her current crush, and being immediately rejected.

After the rejection, she is wandering in the park, and finds a ringing cellphone. After answering the call, she returns the phone to an oddly dressed (kind of steampunk actually) man named Gaku. Gaku is a salesman for a strange website called Kronos Heaven, and offers Riiko anything she wants on the site for returning the phone. Riiko responds that all she wants is a boyfriend, and to her surprise Gaku says he can help.

When Riiko visits the site, she learns she can create her ideal lover. Still not believing Gaku, she customizes her lover with options like loyal, intelligent, attractive, etc. and orders him for a three-day trial.
The next day, men wearing outfits as strange as Gaku's deliver a large box to her door, and inside is a life-like figure...who is completely naked (don't worry, there's no nudity). Following the instruction manual, Riiko kisses him to wake him up, which also makes him to be in love with her. Unable to think of anything else, Riiko names him "Night".

Now Riiko has to deal with a man living with her (she lives alone) who wants to have sex all the time, a next-door neighbor named Soshi who may be more than a friend, a best friend who may be hiding things from her and who she is now hiding things from, and how to explain all of this without anyone finding out who "Night" really is.

I'm two volumes into this one, and I am hooked. This is another one Rachel recommended to me, and after "Life" I needed something lighter. "Absolute Boyfriend" definitely did the trick. This one is fun, has some great plot, and the characters are interesting. I also loved the progression of Night's personality. When the manga starts he's basically a robot and a bit silly (and very pretty). As it progresses, he develops feelings, and his rivalry with the serious Soshi provides a lot of humor and depth to the story. If you're looking for something light, then this one is a great choice.

Life

2008-08-14T15:45:00.002-05:00

Overall Rating: A+, but in a kind of disturbing way
Summary: In the drama Shōjo manga created by Keiko Suenobu, we meet Ayumu Shiiba, a middle school student who is intelligent, but struggles with her studies. Ayumu is getting ready for her high school entrance exams, and relies heavily on help from her best friend Shii.

Shii's dream is to get into Nishidate High School, and Ayumu resolves to get in to. Shii always does well in class, and with her help, Ayumu continually improves in her studies. After raising her grades and doing well on the exams, Ayumu makes it into Nishidate, but surprisingly Shii doesn't make it. Apparently, helping Ayumu brought Shii's grades down, and Shii blames her failure on Ayumu.

As Ayumu starts high school, she has started cutting herself to understand her friend's pain and feel completely alone. Fortunately, she meets Manami who befriends her and the two start hanging out.

All of the above happens in the first volume of the series, and gets darker as the volume progresses. After volume 1, apparently Borders starts shrink-wrapping the volumes, and after Volume 6, the volumes go from Older Teen to Mature, so this stuff definitely isn't for kids. In fact, I had to take a break from reading, and then read something light after I got done, because even volume 1 is intense. However, it's also amazingly compelling, and I can't recommend it highly enough. Just go into knowing it's pretty brutal, and realistic in terms of portraying depression, and bullying in Japanese high schools (though it is certainly sensationalized to a degree).

Kasumi

2008-08-08T12:17:00.003-05:00

Overall Rating: A
Summary: In this fantasy shōjo manga written by Surt Lim with art by Hirofumi Sugimoto we're introduced to Kasumi, a normal high-school girl. Well, almost normal anyway. Kasumi and her father move away from the city when he gets a new job, and Kasumi gets enrolled in an elite private school. Fairly typical manga plot so far, but Kasumi isn't a normal girl. On the way to their new home, Kasumi and her father stop in some woods so her father can look at some plants (I think I remember correctly that her father is a Botanist), and Kasumi falls out of a tree she has been climbing. The tree is high enough that the fall should kill her, but she is saved by mysterious lights.

After recovering, she discovers she can turn invisible, but only for as long as she can hold her breath. This power comes in handy when she inadvertently pisses off the fan club of the class president Ryuuki (this is very similar to the fan club in Fruits Basket for Yuki). Led by the Vice President, Reina, the club makes Kasumi's life hell, and tries to get her to leave the school. Fortunately, Kasumi makes friends with Yuuta, whose nickname is Otaku-Ken because he is such a nerd and tries to help her. Kasumi also meets Maiko, a fellow student who seems to have a connection to the mysterious lights, and what is the enigmatic Ryuuki up to?

I actually enjoyed this one a lot, even though some of the plot was very familiar. The plot and characters were different enough from Fruits Basket that I really enjoyed it, and the art is very cute (though the lack of noses on some characters distracted me occasionally). Overall though it's a good start to a shōjo series, and I will definitely be checking out the next volume.

Fairy Cube

2008-08-06T15:43:00.004-05:00

Overall Rating: A
Summary: A three volume fantasy shōjo created by Kaori Yuki, which follows high school boy Ian Hasumi. Ian was born with wing marks on his back and the ability to see fairies and the world they live in. Unfortunately for Ian, no one believes him, and have taken to calling him "Ian the Liar". Ian also has a spirit twin named Tokage who hates him and an abusive father who burned the fairy marks off his back when Ian's mother left to prevent Ian from "flying away". Not so great actually.

Recently, there have been a series of murders in the city. The victims have had their backs slit open and the blood spurting out has formed the shape of wings. As a result, the crimes have been dubbed "the fairy murders".

Ian's childhood friend Rin Ishinagi is the only one that ever seemed to beleive Ian's stories of fairies. In fact, he was once able to show her the fairy world. Now she has returned to the city, and Ian's feelings for her are returning as well. Unfortunately, they may cause him even more trouble!

Okay, I picked this one up on a whim in Borders the other day (I thought the title sounded funny), and was pleasantly surprised by how good it was. The characters and plot drew me in and has me wanting to read volume 2 as soon as possible (it's already out but I haven't had a chance to get back over to Borders. I definitely recommend this one to fantasy and shōjo lovers. Check it out the first 22 pages online here

Yoki Koto Kiku

2008-08-01T11:40:00.003-05:00

Overall Rating: B
Summary: Created by Koge-Donbo, this dark comedy series is a parody of a Japanese mystery novel, "The Inugami Clan". The series follows Yoki, Koto, and Kiku Nekogami - three triplets who love each other, their older brother Sukekiyo, and his fiancee Tamayo. However, the patriarch of the Nekogami family dies and leaves the family fortune to his eldest grandson, Sukekiyo, who is off at war. If Sukekiyo does not return within six months, one of the triplets or Sukekiyo's fiancee, Tamayo, will inherit the fortune.

That's when the trouble begins! The triplets plot to take out Tamayo and each other so that they will be the one to inherit the fortune. Each of the triplets has a dream for what they want to do with the money, and a weapon of choice. Tamayo tries to play the peacemaker and is apparently an expert at avoiding weapons and fights in general.

I was a little surprised by how much I enjoyed this one. It's very dark humor with the triplets seemingly killing each other and constantly plotting each other's and Tamayo's deaths. The only thing I didn't like about this one was that it was sometimes hard to follow. For example, early on the triplets kill each other, but then they keep showing up. Whether they are dead and shinigami, or never really died wasn't entirely clear to me. I think this is part of the parody aspect of the manga, but the confusion led to me rating it lower. Regardless, I recommend this one to anyone who enjoys dark humor.

Ninja Nonsense: The Legend of Shinobu

2008-07-27T20:01:00.002-05:00

Overall Rating: C-
Summary: An anime series by Ryoichi Koga, Ninja Nonsense follows Shinobu a kind, hardworking, dedicated, but naive and somewhat clumsy ninja apprentice. The anime is reminiscent of Excel Saga or Nerima Daikon Brothers, and similarly does not have much of a story-arc, or even much plot in a single episode.

In the first episode Shinobu is attempting to pass her ninja exams which include staking panties from specific high school girls. One of these girls is Kaede, who is studying for her own completely normal school exams. Shinobu performs her invisibility spell, and sneaks into Kaede's room to steal her panties. Only one problem, Shinobu isn't a very good ninja, her spell doesn't work, and Kaede can see her while she "sneaks" in. Of course, things don't go as planned, and Shinobu ends up explaining the whole thing. Despite the fact that Shinobu is trying to steal her panties, Kaede takes pity on Shinobu, and the two become close friends for little to no reason.

Yeeeaahhhhh...this was a really weird one. Something I didn't cover in the summary is Shinobu's instructor, Onsokumaru. This thing is freaky. It's a shape-changing creature usually portrayed as a large yellow ball with a face, arms, and a loud deep voice. He's also extremely perverted (he's the one who wanted the panties). He took this from being a weird, over-the-top anime, and took it to another level. An extremely weird level. If you're into absurdist comedies, you may like this one, but otherwise I can't recommend it.

Vassalord

2008-07-23T15:01:00.004-05:00

Overall Rating: B-
Summary: Charley, a cyborg vampire who does the Vatican's dirty work, is the thrall of the local vampire playboy Johnny Rayflo. As the two of them fight crime--and each other--hilarity, violence and sacrilege ensue! But can Charley resist his own desperate cravings for blood? Find out as the devilish duo go up against a childlike vampire princess, a mysterious branch of the Unitarian Church...and each other

The above summary is the actual summary on the back of the manga. I am using it here, because it's why I bought the book. "Cyborg vampire who does the Vatican's dirty work"? That's sounds like three manga clichés I love! I was hoping for something so bad it was amazing, but Vassalord is actually decent. Not amazing, and it certainly falls into clichés, but it's pretty interesting, and it's got some good shounen ai action in there for my friends who are into that. My main gripe is that that there is obviously a lot of history between the two main characters, but it's only really hinted at. I think that as the characters become a little more developed this will be the perfect guilty read.

Emma: A Victorian Romance

2008-07-19T14:48:00.002-05:00

Overall Rating: A
Summary: A historical romance series by Kaoru Mori. Emma is set in Victorian London, and is the story of a maid (surprisingly, her name is Emma) who falls in love with a nobleman named William Jones. Unfortunately, as the heir to his family, William is encouraged to marry into another wealthy family, and his family disapproves of him associating with people of the lower classes. Obviously, Emma is not their idea of marrying material. The series revolves around the tension caused by their love.

Emma is a great story that reminds me more of seminal Victorian novels like "Jane Eyre" and "Pride and Prejudice" that has been made into a anime. It is different from a lot of other anime/manga set in Victorian times as it does not include any fantasy or alternate history aspects to the story. If you like period romances, this one's definitely for you!

Strawberry Marshmallow

2008-07-15T13:43:00.004-05:00

Overall Rating: A
Summary: Created by Barasui, this comedy/slice of life manga follows Nobue and her younger sister Chika, Miu, Matsuri and Ana through their everyday lives. What separates Strawberry Marshmallow from other slice of life comedies like Azumanga Daioh or Lucky Star is that the 16-year-old Nobue drinks and smokes, and acts like an irresponsible adult. In many ways, she fills the adult role that teachers and parents usually fill in these types of series. In other words, she is dysfunctional and the younger characters (everyone else is 11-12) seem more mature at times.

Of course, the group also has it's requisite moe characters in the form of Matsuri and Ana. In one chapter, Nobue forces Matsuri to wear a cat hat and tail, and say "meow" after everything, including when trying to purchase a new hat from a salesperson. Ana (who isn't introduced until volume 2) is from England, but has lived in Japan for five years and has forgotten how to speak proper English. Nonetheless, she decides that she is only going to speak in English and pretend not to understand Japanese, which inevitably leads to hilarity.

In contrast, Chika is portrayed as being the most responsible girl in the group (including Nobue), and is usually the voice of reason and an excellent cook. Miu on the other hand is the "problem child" of the group, says weird things out of the blue, and tries to play pranks on Matsuri and Ana.

I really enjoy slice of life manga and anime, and so it's no surprise I like Strawberry Marshmallow. I've read the first two volumes so far, and 3-4 are on the nightstand. If you enjoy this style, this one is definitely up your alley, but if you have a cuteness allergy, you should probably stay away!

Last Quarter

2008-07-07T14:41:00.002-05:00

(Sorry, I couldn't find a trailer with subtitles)

Overall Rating: B+
Summary: Last Quarter, or Kagen no Tsuki, is a 2004 Japanese film directed by Ken Nikai, and is based on Ai Yazawa's manga (which to my knowledge has not been published in the US yet). The story follows Mizuki Mochizuki, a high school student with a dysfunctional family. Mizuki's mother committed suicide after finding out that Mizuki's father had cheated on her. Mizuki now lives with her father, his mistress (who he has now married, and her stepsister. The movie opens at her birthday party where one of her friends shows her a video of Mizuki's boyfriend, Tomoki Anzai, sleeping with her. Happy birthday!

She confronts Tomoki while his band is playing and throws her shoe at him, and then runs off. This proves to be a big mistake since she has to walk home with only one shoe. While walking home, she hears a song playing and wanders into an abandoned mansion to see who is playing it. There she finds a man named Adam, who claims to know her (which isn't creepy or anything), and that he's from London. When she gets ready to leave for the night (did I mention this all happens really late at night?), Adam asks her to stay, but she leaves.

Mizuki keeps going back to visit Adam and becomes closer and closer to him, while withdrawing from her old life more and more, eventually moving in with him. Everything is going well, until Adam disappears one day with no warning. Then, Mizuki's phone rings and its Adam (she has never given him her number) telling her he had to leave. She asks him to take her with him, and he tells her to meet him. She goes to the meeting place, and sees him across the street from her. Despite all the reasons not to go with him, she decides it's what she wants, and crosses the street. Tomoki witnesses all of this and tries to shout out to her, because it's a red light, but it's too late and a car hits her, putting her into a coma.

After the accident, Mizuki wakes up in front of an endless metal fence with no one around. A young girl shows up looking for her cat. Mizuki helps her find it, and then the girl and the cat disappear. The cat returns almost immediately though, and runs through the gate, where Mizuki sees Adam.

In a hospital, the young girl Mizuki had met, who we learn is named Hotaru, woke up from a coma. She had been hospitalized when she was hit by a car while searching for her lost cat. After leaving the hospital, she continued to look for her cat, and eventually finds one which looks exactly like hers. The cat hops through a fence surrounding an old and deserted mansion, which Hotaru obviously enters (I think the characters in this are really into old, deserted mansions since they keep going into them at the drop of a hat), and is surprised to find Mizuki inside. Apparently, it wasn't all a dream.

Unfortunately, Mizuki has become a ghost, and doesn't remember who she is, only that she loves Adam and needs to find him. Hotaru and her friend Sae try to help Mizuki find Adam and to figure out who she is.

Despite the fact that the main characters tended to make some pretty stupid decisions, I really enjoyed Last Quarter. It had a much more serious feel to it than most of Ai Yazawa's series, but the relationships were very reminiscent of her other work. If you like dark romance stories, and/or Ai Yazawa's work, then you'll probably enjoy "Last Quarter".

Croquis Pop

2008-07-05T00:30:00.003-05:00

Overall Rating: C+
Synopsis: A Manhwa (korean comic) written by KwangHyun Seo, with art by JinHo KoThe, Croquis Pop is the story of Da-Il, the latest assistant of the famous Manwha creator Ho Go. Unfortunately, he sucks as an artist, but he and his dead mom wanted him to draw the hopes and dreams of others, so he's determined to succeed (this speech wins Ho Go over and pisses off the current head assistant). However, Da-Il isn't just any assistant, apparently he has the power of a Croquer, which allows him to enter the “Dead Zone”, a place only the dead can see, and bring his art to life there.

On his first trip to the "Dead Zone", Da-Il encounters Mu-Huk, a spirit that battles the spirits brought to life by grudges. Apparently, Mu-Huk was created by Da-Il, but Da-Il doesn't remember creating the guy. Oh, also, the adventures that occur in the "Dead Zone" are given to other creators (like Ho Go) to draw. Very weird stuff.

Very weird is a great way to describe this one. I kind of like it, and the ideas are interesting and pretty unique, but the plot can get a bit hard to follow and I don't really like Da-Il, which makes it hard to care about what's going on with him. Volume 2 is due out later this year, so I may check that one out as well and see if it improves at all. If you're looking for something a little different in a teen hero story, check this one out. Otherwise, leave it on the shelf.

Nerima Daikon Brothers

2008-06-25T10:22:00.002-05:00

Overall Rating: C-
Summary: A musical comedy series that follows the adventures of Hideki (who has an unhealthy crush on his cousin Mako), Ichiro (Hideki's brother, a host, and the bishi of the show), and Mako (their cousin and self-proclaimed former idol) who form the band, "Nerima Daikon Brothers." The characters have a habit of breaking out in song every few minutes to describe what's going on. The core of the plot is that the Nerima Daikon Brothers live on a small stage in Hideko's daikon patch in Nerima (a ward of Tokyo). Their dream is to build a huge stadium and to perform in front of sold out crowds, but they're always broke.

Each episode involves a new way for them to make money (usually by foiling some plot to take money from others), succeeding, but then losing all the money. All with the help of Pandaikon, a panda who showed up in the daikon patch one day, eats a lot of daikon, has daikon leaves sprouting from his head, and whom Ichiro has an unhealthy relationship with.

This show was pretty funny the first episode or two, but it is incredibly formulaic, so by the fourth episode I was pretty much done with it. If you like anime like Excel Saga (both are directed by Shinichi Watanabe), you'll probably enjoy this one as well as they share a similar craziness. Otherwise I recommend checking out an episode or two for a few laughs and then moving on.

Cy-Believers Volume 1

2008-06-16T12:39:00.004-05:00

Overall Rating: F
Summary: Created by Shioko Mizuki, this comedy/romance series follows a young woman named Rui as she enters Domus Aurea, a new boarding school, and tries to make friends. Unfortunately, it's not easy to find them as after-school clubs are being shut down by Natori, the head of the school's Public Safety Commission, and the man her father has betrothed her to. To make matters worse, Natori is a sociopath (he tries to rape Rui on several occasions), and only wants her because her family has money. Natori is

Rui, for her part, hates Natori, and tells him so every chance she gets (usually right after clobbering him). Unfortunately, the Public Safety Commission apparently has a lot of power, and so it's hard to escape him. Enter Rio and Azumi, two bishi computer geeks with rebel written all over them. They hate Natori (one of them had some childhood friendship with him, blah blah blah exposition crap I couldn't bring myself to care about), and try to help Rui to fulfill the books quota for bad boys with hearts of gold. Together they form a new club called the Cy-Believers outside of Natori's jurisdiction, and begin working against him.

I can't recommend this one at all. I had my hopes up a bit because it involved bishi geeks, but I didn't find it very funny or romantic, and it needs more humor (and less attempted rapes and helpless heroines) to be even half-way decent. I read this one in the Borders cafe, and couldn't get through it fast enough. I told myself I wasn't going to review it until I finished it (it actually took me two tries to get through it), so I rewarded myself with a smoothie from the cafe when I was done. Others may enjoy the humor and characters, but I didn't find anyone remotely interesting or sympathetic.

Lucky Star

2008-06-06T15:15:00.003-05:00

Overall Rating: A
Summary: an anime series based on the manga series of the same name by Kagami Yoshimizu. Lucky Star follows the lives of four high school girls (they look really young, but they're supposed to be in their second year) who have a very...interesting sense of humor. The main character is Konata Izumi, who is athletic, but doesn't belong to a sports team because it would interfere with her primetime anime shows. She does poorly in school, because she only cares about watching anime, reading manga and playing video games.

Lucky Star is very meta, and references a lot of popular manga and anime. For example, in one scene, the characters are playing a beat matching game in an arcade (using drums) and the song they are playing is "Hare Hare Yukai" from "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya", and apparently at some point they actually perform the dance from that song. They also have a segment at the end of each episode called Lucky Channel. The segment is co-hosted by an "idol" named Akira Kogami, and her assistant Minoru Shiraishi. Akira spends about half the segment in her idol personality (cute, bubbly, etc.) and half being cynical and mature. Supposedly, the segment is to give more information on Lucky Star, but it skims over the characters in the anime and focuses on the increasingly abusive work-relationship between Akira and Minoru.

I love this show so far. It's humor is weird and geeky like mine, and it's a lot of fun to watch. Especially if you're a big geek/otaku. There were a bunch of references I didn't quite catch, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. If you like geeky humor, cute animation, and slice-of-life stories, then I highly recommend it.

Aquarion

2008-05-30T13:29:00.001-05:00

Overall Rating: C
Summary: Set eleven years after an event called the "Great Catastrophe", which is basically when most of the world got destroyed and lots of people died. Really a pretty accurate name for such an event. It's not really made clear, but presumably the "Great Catastrophe" was caused by the "Shadow Angels", who are basically humans with wings, who are capturing humans and treating them like cattle. Apparently, Shadow Angels live off of the life force of humans. They use huge spaceships to collect the humans for harvesting, which are guarded by giant robots (of course).

The humans have found (excavated actually, but they don't explain that much) their own giant robots, but have also discovered that they can only be piloted by people that can harness the elements. These robots can then be merged into one super robot (this sounds VERY familiar). Also, apparently merging with the other robots is like sex for the pilots, which is made even weirder by a brother and sister being two of the pilots that "merge" in the first volume.

In the first volume, we meet Silvia and Sirius de Alisia (the brother and sister I mentioned) who are nobles, and Apollo the protagonist who is a street urchin and apparently the reincarnation of a Shadow Angel who betrayed the others for his love of a human (it's strongly implied that Silvia is the reincarnation of the human).

Supposedly, this is a homage to the giant robot shows of the 70's and 80's, but it comes across as simply derivative. Good space opera is hard to pull off in my opinion, and when you're essentially using the cliches of the genre to tell your story I think it hurts the plot. If you're a fan of giant robots, you may enjoy this one a lot, but I can't recommend it.

Linda Linda Linda

2008-05-23T13:28:00.001-05:00

Warning: Video is slight spoiler, but it's also awesome!

Overall Rating: A+
Summary: Linda Linda Linda is the kind of teen coming of age movie that only the Japanese can make. The story focuses on four Japanese High School girls, who get together to form a band. Well, to be accurate, three of the girls, Kei, Kyoko, and Nozomi were already in a band with another guitarist and singer, but three days before the school festival, those girls quit over some drama. To be able to play at the festival, they recruit Korean exchange student Son (the first girl to walk by) to be their singer. Being an exchange student, Son is not fluent in Japanese which leads to some misunderstandings (there's a great scene where she wants to go sing karoake, but doesn't want to buy a drink), but she's enthusiastic which counts for a lot.

The band decides to do covers of the Blue Hearts (a famous Japanese punk band) songs, including "Linda Linda" (which is where the title comes from and what they're performing in the video). With only three days to learn all their parts, the girls get little sleep while they practice.

Although not manga or an anime, "Linda, Linda, Linda" definitely has a lot in common with shōjo, which made me inclined to like it from the beginning. On top of that, The characters are wonderful, and while the pacing can be a bit slow at times, the last third of it is so much fun, that I forgot all about any problems it might have had in the middle third. It made me wish I was a 14-year-old Japanese (or Korean) girl in a band, and I could rock out at a school festival. I bet you'll feel the same way.

Kujibiki Unbalance

2008-05-20T15:53:00.001-05:00

Overall Rating: B
Summary: In order to understand this series at all, you need a little backgrund first. Kujibiki Unbalance began it's life as a manga and related anime series within the world of the manga and related anime series of Genshiken (Go check out this manga/anime, it's one of my favorites!). Confused yet? Essentially, the characters in Genshiken are obsessed with Kujubiki Unbalance. In the manga, we get notes on the series in between chapters and the characters refer to the show. However, in the anime version of Genshiken, they created three episodes of Kujubiki Unbalance as well, and put one episode on each disc, so that you could watch the episodes that the Genshiken characters were watching. It was all very meta.

Then, Genshiken got cancelled, but strangely Kujubiki Unbalance was approved for a 12-episode series, but each of the three discs would have one episode of Genshiken on it (flipping the former format). This review is for the first volume of this series.

The series serves as an homage to, and a parody of, many of the standard themes found in manga and anime, including the influential yet shadowy Student Council, brother-sister relationship weirdness, childhood friends growing apart and then meeting up years later, and more. One oddity of this series is that it is completely different from the series discussed and shown in Genshiken. The character designs are different and the plot differs as well.

I won't get into the previous plot, but both focus on Chihiro, a good-humored but somewhat nerdy looking boy who girls seem attracted to for no apparent reason. In this version, the Student Council is determined by lottery (in the old version there was a competition), and Chihiro is chosen to be president. Tokino, his somewhat-slow childhood friend, and potential romantic interest draws the position of Vice President, a young woman pretentious mad scientist named Renko is the Secretary, and elemantary student Koyuki is their Treasurer. Together, they must prove themselves worthy of being the Student Council for the giant and prestigious Rikkyouin Academy.

The tasks they are given to prove themselves worthy are all mundane so far, but inevitably result in robots, horny pandas, and general hilarity.

This one was really hard for me to review. I love Genshiken, and got the first disc primarily to see the episode of Genshiken on it, but was pleasantly surprised with the quality of Kujubiki Unbalance as well. I'm still not a fan overall, but Renko is hilarious, and I appreciate the parodying of classic manga/anime themes. However, I don't really care about any of the characters, and the plot is really uninteresting. I will be getting the second disc so I can watch the next episode of Genshiken (seriously, if you haven't read/watched this yet, go check it out!) and hopefully Kujibiki Unbalance will improve as well. As it is, I would have preferred the same format as before, with more Genshiken and a few episodes of Kujibiki.

Paradise Kiss Manga Volume 1

2008-05-14T09:46:00.004-05:00

Overall Rating: A+
Summary: A fashion/drama/romance Josei series created by Ai Yazawa (who is also the creator of Nana), which follows Yukari "Caroline" Hayasaka. Yukari is an attractive high schooler, but her life consists of traveling from high school to cram school to home, and back again. The manga opens with Yukari running into Arashi (a punk) and Isabella (a transvestite), who are part of a group of fashion students that call their label "Paradise Kiss". Yukari thinks they are perverts (did I mention she's a bit naïve?), and faints.

When she wakes up, she's staring at a pink-haired woman named Miwako (the cute woman in lolita clothing on the cover), who explains the situation, and that they want her to be their model. She refuses, explaining that she's much too busy with school and doing important things, and that fashion students have it easy. This understandably pisses off Arashi (our spiky haired punk boy on the cover), who yells at her, and Yukari quickly leaves. Miwako runs after her and calls her "Caroline", because she doesn't know Yukari's name yet. As a result, Yukari is referred to as "Caroline" by the Paradise Kiss crew. Regardless, Caroline leaves, but drops her student id.

The next day a ridiculously attractive guy named George shows up, and tells Yukari Miwako has her id (he has it). George gets her to go with him, in theory to pick up her id, to the art school Yazagaku. He then takes her to a hair and makeup artist for a makeover (this mostly consists of giving her bangs). After this stop off, they go meet up with the Paradise Kiss crew, and they put Yukari in a dress they designed, give her back her id, and convince her to be their model.

I love Ai Yazawa. Nana is one of my favorite series, and I am now thoroughly addicted to "Paradise Kiss" after only one volume. I had already watched the anime, and finally got around to checking out the manga. Now I wish I had grabbed the first volume as soon as I finished the anime (or even while I was watching the anime). As with "Nana", "Paradise Kiss" has an excellent plot that really draws you in, interesting characters that develop in interesting ways (even in just the first volume), and is a lot of fun. The series is clearly intended for a slightly more mature audience (there are sex scenes, but they aren't explicit), but if you like Josei/Shōjo manga check this one out.

MPD Psycho Volume 1

2008-05-08T12:03:00.004-05:00

Overall Rating: B+
Summary: MPD Psycho is a psychological horror series written by Eiji Otsuka and illustrated by Shou Tajima, which follows Yousuke Kobayashi a former police detective. The series opens with Kobayashi tracking down a serial killer who severs the limbs off his victims. Meanwhile, Kobayashi is suffering from strange dreams where he sees himself killing people. After seeing Kobayashi on tv, the serial killer kidnaps his girlfriend, and severs her limbs, but keeps her alive.

After Kobayashi tracks him down, the killer tells him that he sees something familiar in Kobayashi and that they are on the same side. At that point, another personality emerges, and Kobayashi becomes Shinji Nishizono. Shinji kills the serial killer and is sent to prison. It is implied that the dreams Kobayashi had been having were actually Shinji killing people.

Most of the above is revealed in flashbacks, and the bulk of the first volume is set after Kobayashi is released from prison. His primary personality is now Kazuhiko Amamiya, a brilliant criminologist, and he has been hired to work with a private consulting agency. The agency is headed up by Machi Isono, a criminologist that asked Kobayashi to consult on some cases while he was in prison. They work to track down and bring to justice serial killers, and tend to deal with the really weird and difficult cases the police have trouble solving themselves.

Eiji Otsuka also writes Kurosaki Corpse Delivery Service, which I love, so I was excited to read MPD Psycho. The two titles are very different, and MPD has little of the dark humor that makes Kurosaki great. However, it makes up for that with a great concept, some really intriguing plot, and interesting characters. The only slight negative is that sometimes it feels like they're trying too hard to shock the reader. MPD comes shrink-wrapped and with an 18+ warning for good reason, and I would definitely caution against reading it if you're squeamish. Otherwise, I'm looking forward to checking out volume 2.

Nightmare Inspector Volume 1

2008-05-02T18:39:00.003-05:00

Overall Rating: F
Summary: An episodic manga featuring Hiruko, a Baku, a dream eater. Hiruko runs a tea house where people come for his help with their nightmares. After negotiating a price (so far it has always been their dream), Hiruko enters their dream and "fixes" things. Usually this means using common sense and being a stoic ass. After "fixing" things, Hiruko sends the client on their merry way (or not so merry since one ends up dying in real life), and then eats their dream. Mmmmm dreamalicious.

In case it's not already obvious, I really didn't like this manga. Every chapter involves different characters and their dreams with the only consistent aspect being Hiruko (who is boring and has the personality of carboard) and his assistant, whose name I can't even remember (I read this one in B&N last night, so I don't have it on hand for reference). There are a lot of manga with this sort of episodic supernatural theme, but this is one of the worst I've read. Do not bother with it, unless you enjoy being disappointed.

Love★Com Volume 1

2008-04-30T15:18:00.003-05:00

Overall Rating: A
Summary: Also known as Lovely Complex, this shōjo romantic comedy is created by Aya Nakahara, and follows Risa, a tall girl, and Ōtani, a short boy. The pair are in high school together, and because of their height differences they are called the "All Hanshin Kyojin" (which is apparently a popular Japanese comedy duo with a similar height diference). The story starts with the two constantly at each other's throats (a sure sign they will be involved in a romance plot), and to make matters worse they're both such bad students that they have to go to summer school.

The first day of summer school, Risa falls in love with a tall boy in her class, Suzuki, and Ōtani proves he's not such a bad guy when he proposes to set her up with him. In exchange, he wants Risa to set him up with her shy friend Chiharu. Of course, hijinks and romantic entanglments ensue! Will Risa and Ōtani end up together, or will they end up with their crushes?

I can't help but love this manga already. It's got the kind of cute awkwardness that I love to see in a shōjo, because it feels more realistic. I spent the first volume hoping Risa and Ōtani would get together, but clearly I will have to keep reading as they aren't there yet. A great manga for the shōjo lover in all of us, and I plan to check out the live action movie soon.

Blood+

2008-04-25T15:33:00.001-05:00

Overall Rating: B+
Summary: Loosely tied to the anime "Blood: The Last Vampire", "Blood +" follows seemingly normal schoolgirl named Saya (the main character of B:tLV was also named Says) who suffers from amnesia. However, we quickly learn that she is far form normal when she is attacked by a creature called a chiropteran. A mysterious (and totally hot) man named Haji comes to her rescue and they make out. Actually Haji is giving her some of his blood (I think) and gives her a wicked looking sword, Saya's eyes turn red, and she becomes a bad ass.

Apparently, Saya's blood is the only thing that can destroy chiropterans, and so she must join up with the Red Shield (an organization set up to fight the chiropteran threat.

Blood + is a great anime if you're in the mood for a pretty intense adventure/supernatural series. The characters are interesting, and the plot is engaging (though it feels a bit epic). The first volume is 25 episodes long and aired on Cartoon Network and is now out on DVD.

Hikkatsu! Strike a Blow to Vivify Volume 1

2008-04-21T14:49:00.005-05:00

Overall Rating: B
Summary: In this comedy/science fiction series created by Yu Yagami, Shota is a young man trying to make a living with his "Repair Blow". The manga is set in a future where geomagnetic abnormalities have made everyday appliances come alive, and Shota has spent the last several years learning how to smack an item just right to fix it. Unfortunately, with his strength, he usually just destroys it. Early on, he runs into Momoko, who was raised by pigeons, who has lost her last 200 yen to a ramen vending machine. Shota promptly uses his "Repair Blow" to "fix" it, and Momoko falls in love with him...clearly she was raised by pigeons. Can Momoko's love help Shota master his "Repair Blow"? Did Momoko really learn "Pigeon Martial Arts" from her foster family? We'll have to read more to find out.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this one, but it's a fun read. If you're looking for a light Shōnen plot that's funny, then this is a good choice. However, if you're looking for detailed characters or a deep plot, you probably want to pass this one by.

Dragon Head Volume 1

2008-04-14T15:10:00.003-05:00

Overall Rating: A
Summary: Created by Minetaro Mochizuki, the series is a psychological horror seinen manga. Dragon Head follows Teru Aoki, a school kid, who wakes up in a wrecked train. He had been traveling home with his classmates after a school trip, and just before entering a tunnel he saw something strange on the horizon. Some catastrophe has occurred, and now most of his classmates and teachers are dead, the tunnel is oddly hot, and is caved in on both sides.

The only other survivors are Nobou Takahashi who is going insane, and Ako Seto who was wounded in the accident. They have to find a way to survive, and escape the tunnel, but what awaits them outside?

Dragon Head and Metro Survive are similar in that they both involve train accidents where you don't know what the extent of the damage is to the outside world. Both also do an excellent job of keeping you in suspense and wondering what's going to happen next. I enjoyed the different perspectives though, and I find Teru a little more interesting as a main character. I'm excited about getting my hands on Volume 2, and I hope the series keeps up the excitement for the 10 volume run, which was recently released.

Metro Survive Volume 1

2008-04-09T10:09:00.004-05:00

Overall Rating: A
Summary: Created by Yuki Fujisawa, the series follows Mishima, who is trying to make a living working as a repairman for Exopolis Tower, a business and entertainment building that is supposed to be the new hotness. Unfortunately, in an effort to get the building completed as quickly as possible, it was shoddily made, and so being a repairman takes up a lot of time. Mishima promises to be home in time for his son's birthday, but his boss is an ass who forces him to take overtime (after threatening to fire Mishima if he doesn't agree. The work ends up taking all night, and on the morning subway train heading home, a massive earthquake strikes and collapses both Exopolis and its underground train lines. Mishima has to survive the disaster along with the other passengers and find a way to get out. Fortunately, his experience as a repairman comes in handy, but can they survive the dangers? Why haven't they received any communication from the surface, and who is that woman on the cover?

Metro Survive is one of those manga that draws you in and then grabs you. When I finished the first volume, I wanted the second one to be out, so I could read more of what happened. I highly recommend this one!

Honey and Clover Volume 1

2008-04-01T17:26:00.005-05:00

Overall Rating: A
Summary: A Comedy/Drama/Romance shōjo manga series created by Chika Umino, which follows three students at a fictional art college in Tokyo. The students, Yūta Takemoto, Takumi Mayama and Shinobu Morita, all live in the same apartment complex. Takemoto is the youngest, and is the shy artist-type one would expect to find at an art school. Mayama is the most reasonable of the three, and is a stark contrast to Morita, who is still in college because he can't wake up in time to go to classes. Morita works a mysterious job where he is gone for days at a time, comes back with lots of money and food, and then crashes for 48 hours.

Enter Hagu, an adorable 18 year-old girl who appears, and often acts, like a small child. She's also one the daughter of one of their professor's cousins (I think that's like 1st cousin once removed or something, but I was always bad at that stuff), and is an extremely skilled artist, particularly with pottery. Takemoto and Morita both immediately fall in love with her, and the love triangles commence (oh yeah, there are lots).

The first volume is primarily focused on introducing the characters, and what their lives are like, as well as establishing some of their relationships.

I admit it, this one sucked me in right away. I am a sucker for good shōjo and this is an excellent example of one. The characters are well-developed, and the romantic entanglements are interesting. I don't want to give too much away here, but it's already drawing me in with the first volume. I will say that the image below is of Morita trying to get Hagu to pose as a "koropokkur" (faerie). <3

Switch Manga Volume 1

2008-03-28T17:28:00.004-05:00

Overall Rating: C-
Summary: This police mystery manga by Naked Ape follows two new recruits to the Narcotics Control Department in Japan, Hal and Kai. Kai looks like your average, cute manga boy, but apparently has a violent, dark side that shows itself in the first volume. It looks like who he is and what triggers his "switch" to dark Kai is going to be a big part of this manga.

Adding to the plot is a new drug called "Dragon Speed" (basically really bad ass speed), which is being distributed by a Chinese drug ring. It's even rumored that a major star, Kyoya Shirai is addicted to the drug. Kai goes undercover to find out if he's an addict, and who his supplier is before Kyoya dies.

The premise of Switch sounded interesting, so I picked it up. The premise held for the first volume, but the characters were pretty bland. I didn’t really get into any of them, so even though the art was cool, and the story was pretty decent, I just wasn’t that interested in the book. I may check out volume 2 to see if it’s any better.

Tweeny Witches Anime Volume 1

2008-03-24T10:34:00.001-05:00

Overall Rating: D-
Official Summary: Alice believes in magic. With all her heart, she believes that magic is possible and that it can be used for good deeds and fun games. But suddenly, she finds herself transported into another world, ruled by a mysterious elite of witches - and these witches don't seem to be in it for the fun. They're hard at work capturing sprites, the native magical beings of the world, and forcing them into slavery. Once Alice realizes that her new surroundings aren't just a dream, she sets out to change things.

I am using the "official" summary for the series, because I only got through one episode. The art is beautiful, and why I didn't give this one an F, but the dialogue is horrendous. Like painfully bad. We even tried switching to Japanese with English subtitles in case it was just a bad dub, but the subtitles were just as bad. Very disappointing, since like I said, the animation is gorgeous.

Mushishi Anime Volume 1

2008-03-14T12:33:00.004-05:00

Overall Rating: B+
Synopsis: A historical fantasy/psychological seinen series directed by Hiroshi Nagahama and animated by Artland. The story follows Ginko, a mushishi master, who travels the land finding and studying mushi, and helping those affected by them.

In the series, mushi are described as the purest form of life, an as being in touch with the essence of life. Mushi have many different qualities and are neither good nor evil. Because of their nature, only some people can see the mushi. As a result, many of the legends of ghosts and other supernatural occurrences are humans trying to interpret the actions of the mushi. Depending on the type of mushi, they may either help or harm humans they interact with, and we see many varieties during the course of the show.

Ginko has lost the use of one eye, had his hair turned white and his other eye turned green as the result of a run-in with a mushi, but we don't learn much more about him in the first four episodes. The few things we do learn are that he constantly smokes to keep away the mushi that are always drawn to him, and that he carries a box on his back that contains medicines to help deal with the mushi.

I really enjoyed Mushishi. The series is a little slow in it's pacing, and the episodic nature of it means the only consistent character is Ginko, but it's an incredibly interesting world. I'm looking forward to watching more of the series and learning more about Ginko and the mushi.

Yozakura Quartet Volume 1

2008-03-10T12:52:00.003-05:00

Overall Rating: B-
Synopsis: A supernatural comedy manga created by Suzuhito Yasuda, the series follows the members of the Hiizumi Seikatsu Soudan Jimusho (Hiizumi's Everyday-life Consultation Office), a group of three women with superpowers and one normal guy. As Del Ray (the publisher) puts it, "Hime is a superheroine. Ao can read minds. Kotoha can conjure up anything with the right word. And Akina . . . well, he’s just a regular guy..."

In addition to being a superheroine, Hime is also the mayor of Hiizumi and has been since her grandmother died (apparently being mayor is hereditary here). She and the rest of the team take care of the town from problems, both mundane and supernatural. Akina is the manager of the team, which apparently involves offering moral support for the women, and gets stuck paying for the food.

The first volume consists of a few stories to give us some connection to the characters and the story. The first one gives us an idea of who the team is, and then we get stories focusing on the women. The one for Hime focuses on a lost dog, that Hime seems uncharacteristically harsh to and then turns into a demon. We also have a story dedicated to Ao, and the fact that she has concerns about whether she has the right to read the minds of others. Finally, we have the story focusing on Kotoha, who wants to take a trip to Germany and we find out just how odd she is.

In my opinion, Yozakura Quartet had it's good and bad points, but the good won out. However, let's start with the bad. The plot of the stories leaves a lot to be desired, with long buildups and not-as-exciting-as-I-was-hoping adventures. However, it has a lot of promise, and the creator hints that volume 2 may pick up some. On the good side, I love the art, the characters are really interesting and fun, and the concept is great. I'm hoping volume 2, which comes out May 20th, will pull me in even more.

Black Blood Brothers

2008-03-05T21:46:00.001-05:00

Overall Rating: D/B
Synopsis: The series is a supernatural action comedy, and it focuses on Jiro Mochizuki, an "Old Blood" (i.e. really fucking old) vampire. He and his little brother Kotaro are trying to get to the Special Zone (yep, that's what it's called), a city where vampires live.

You see, in BBB, humans know about vampires and have created the Order Coffin Company, who mediate between humans and vampires. Unfortunately, there is a group of really bad vampires called Kowloon Children who are pretty much the worst (as we are told over and over again). No one likes them, which is probably why they are so mean. That and they appear to be insane, but whatever.

Anyway, Jiro is a total bad ass, except water and sunlight mess him up. For some reason (I think they explain this at some point) Kotaro does not give even one fuck about these things, but he sucks at everything else except laughing.
Can these two get to the special zone? What will happen when they get there? Dun dun ddduuunnnnnnn!

So, it should be pretty obvious by now that this anime is ridiculous. Jiro at one point beats up his little brother (because Kotaro woke him up) by flipping the bird at Kotaro as hard as he could. Seriously. Jiro apparently has a power called the Hide Hand that lets him do this, which is silly.

Essentially, the anime makes little sense, but it is also hilarious and it's amusing to make fun of the characters and their antics. If you want a good vampire anime, check out Hellsing Ultimate. If you want to laugh at the ridiculous hat Jiro wears, then check out Black Blood Brothers.

Harukaze Bitter Bop

2008-02-28T09:30:00.005-05:00

Overall Rating: C+
Synopsis: Created by Court Betten, the series follows Chiyoharu, a high school boy who used to be a troublemaker. After he and his friends set fire to the school, he became an outcast, and his friends were expelled. Now, he beats himself up over the incident and abandoning his friends. He hasn't seen them since the fire, and is worried they hate him, but he thinks that by continuing in school despite being an outkast, he can make things right. (I'm not sure how that logic works, but whatever).

One morning on his way to school, Chiyoharu witnesses a man jump in front of a speeding train, but instead of going splat, he gets up and walks it off. It turns out that the man is Souza of the North Wind, but he has amnesia and can remember nothing else. He had hoped to knock some memories loose by getting hit by a train, but it appears to have no effect. For whatever fucking reason, he thinks Chiyoharu looks familiar, and wants to hang out with him.

The same day, Chiyoharu meets Kaede, a female high school detective (apparently there is a whole organization of high school detectives), who falls instantly in love with Souza and believes every woman ever wants his hot body. Together they are trying to find out Souza's past, and Chiyoharu's connection to him, and not die (since apparently a bunch of bad ass dudes are trying to kill Souza).

I am torn on this one. On the one hand, the concepts are fun, and the plot is wacky. What's not to love? On the other hand, the manga is a little too wacky at times, foregoing plot in favor of zaniness. Also, Chiyoharu comes off as unsympathetic and more like a whiny kid. I did however like the references to M.U.S.C.L.E. (or Kinnikuman in Japan), which made me nostalgic for the little pink figures from my childhood. In short, I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it.

Glass Fleet Anime

2008-02-20T15:39:00.001-05:00

Overall Rating: D-
Synopsis: A science fiction/adventure anime series, Glass Fleet opens with a space fight between two warring factions. We aren't given much background information, but the effeminate and effete Vetti Lunard Sforza de Roselait seems to be winning. After destroying his enemy after they surrender to him, Vetti promises a new age of justice, but according to Michel (who is narrating/philosophizing) he will just be another tyrant. We then fast-forward a bit (not sure how long) to when Vetti is acting like a tyrant and Michel has begun leading the People's Army in revolution.

For some reason yet to be determined, Vetti does not want to hurt Michel, but does want him captured (there are insinuations that Vetti is in love with Michel). Just when it seems Michel has finally been captured, a strange ship shows up and destroys his captors (while Michel waits unprotected in space, which bothers me. Shouldn't he have been in a suit or something so he could breathe?)

The ship bears the crest of the old Royal Family, and it's Captain, Creo Aiolos Corbeille de Veil, claims to be their descendant. So, you know, awesome.

Despite all the talk of revolution and power to the people, all the women in the series so far are either maids or annoying brats. On top of that, I didn't find any of the characters remotely interesting. They all seemed superficial and I didn't care about either side of the fight. I only got through two episodes before giving up, so it may get better, but I can't recommend it.

Deathnote Manga Volumes 1-12

2008-02-18T09:46:00.006-05:00

Overall Rating: A++
Synopsis: A psychological/supernatural thriller created by writer Tsugumi Ohba and illustrator Takeshi Obata, Death Note follows a high school student, Light Yagami, who discovers the notebook of a shinigami that allows him to kill anyone by writing the victim's name while picturing his or her face. Light's goal is to create and lead a world cleansed of evil using the book, but where is the line between an honorable goal, and mass murder?

The note book has a series of instructions written by the shinigami, Ryuk, who owned the book, and holding the book allows Light to see Ryuk. After confirming that the book works, Light begins a killing spree, wiping out all of the major criminals whose identities are televised. Soon, this attracts the attention of the International Police Organization, and a mysterious detective known only as "L".

Through a stunt that kills a man sentenced to death in prison, L learns that "Kira" (the name the public gives to the mysterious killer of criminals), is located in Japan. L then quickly begins working to determine who Kira is. Light realizes that he must kill L, and it's a race to determine who will survive.

As you can tell from the rating I gave Death Note, I loved this series. Originally, Leah and I debated about how to review it, because we both wanted to, and eventually decided we would come up with interview questions we would both answer. However, since then, Leah has been working on her excellent webcomic Willrad, and her art and jewelry, which you can see some of in her Etsy shop, and hasn't had time to participate in Hobotaku (though I hope she'll be able to come back at some point. So, I have gone ahead with my answers to her questions about the series. I will try not to spoil anything in case you haven't read it, but if that's the case, you should go out now and pick up the first volume. It's one of the best manga I've read.

What sets Death Note apart from other manga?
One of the reasons I think Death Note is one of the best series of Manga is that I wasn't sure which side to be on. How far would you go in the same situation? The characters are all really well-developed, which made me feel attached to both sides of the conflict. It's pretty unusual for everyone in a story to be interesting and well-developed, so that made the plot a lot more interesting for me.

Who was your favorite character in Death Note?
I have to say Light. I loved seeing his development, and he seemed to be the most morally conflicted character. Of course, by conflicted, I mean he was the most willing to compromise his morals, but you also saw a lot of depth to his decisions (and even some different sides to him).

What genre is Death Note? And what other manga do you think it resembles?
I would say it's a supernatural/psychological thriller. You could probably apply a couple of other genres as well. It's hard to compare manga in general, because they cover so many different genres, but I think something like Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad might be closest. Obviously not for the plot, but I feel like the character development and amount of detail in the plot is very close in terms of quality.

If you were offered a Death Note what would you do with it?
Honestly, I would probably go down a similar path to Light if I ended up using it. I would hope to have the willpower not to use it, but I think the temptation would be huge.

Were you satisfied with the ending?
This is a hard one to answer without giving any spoilers, but the short answer is yes. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from the end, but then again, I wasn't sure the series could keep being as exciting as it was. Yet, every volume I picked up I would wonder if it would keep up the intensity, and every volume they delivered. The ending wasn't completely unexpected, but how it unraveled surprised me, and just made me want more. How they would pull that off, I have no idea, but I know there is at least one light (not the character, but the style of book) novel that the creators are putting out that revolves around L and another character from the series, Naomi Misora, set before the manga begins.

My Favorite Ongoing Manga Series

2008-02-11T15:47:00.000-05:00

I got into a car accident last week, so I've been a little behind in my reviewing. So, I thought I would tell you all which ongoing (still being released) manga series I am currently reading. These are some of my favorite series, but it doesn't include Genshiken or Death Note for example, because both of those series are finished.

BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad - In Volume 10 band is trying to take off, and Koyuki is trying to figure out his relationship with Maho (or if there's even a chance to have one with her). Volume 11 is due out on March 4th.

Bleach - The Bleach gang has returned from the Soul Society, now they have to deal with a new enemy, the arrancar, but are they the real enemy? Volume 23 is due out June 3rd.

Fruits Basket - More of the mystery of the Sohma family unravels. Will Tohru end up with either Yuki or Kyo? Fruits Basket 19 is due out on March 18th

Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service - The team is still helping the bodies of the dead find their rightful resting place. Lots of creepiness and dark humor. Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service 6 is already out, but I'm a bit behind. Volume 7 is out on July 25th.

Nana - Nana is trying to become a star with Blast while Hachi (other Nana) tries to decide between Nobu and Takumi. Nana 9 is due out on March 4th.

Ouran High School Host Club - Haruhi is settling in to life at the Host Club well, and the fun continues. I am behind on this series, only having finished 5 volumes, but there are 10 volumes out. I am hoping for some more consistent plot soon, but I still love the hilarity. I have to say though that the anime is even better, and if you can track it down, check it out.

Venus Versus Virus - Gothic lolita + supernatural = win! Volume 3 is due out March 18th

The Wallflower - The boys are still trying to turn Sunako into a lady and keep the fact that she's still lurking in shadows from her Aunt. In volume 4, Kyohei has to pretend to date Sunako to avoid her havign to go on a blind date. This is another series I am behind on. I have finished the first four volumes and love them more and more. Volume 15 comes out on April 15th.

Good As Lily

2008-02-04T14:20:00.001-05:00

Overall Rating: A
Synopsis: Written by Derek Kirk Kim with art by Jesse Hamm, Good As Lily follows Grace Kwon, a young woman who is Korean-American, and a senior in high school. At the beginning of the book, Grace is is about to graduate, and go to Stanford, and it's her 18th birthday. The evening of her birthday, she is visited by herself at ages 6,29, and 70. The older versions of herself have no memory of this happening when they turned 18 (or of the pináta that hit Grace on the head earlier that day).

Grace has to balance the arrival of her other selves, the school play she's in falling apart, her crush on the drama teacher, her 29-year-old self's crush on the same teacher, and her parents expectations. A bit more than the average 18-year-old.

I have enjoyed all of the Minx Comics that I have picked up. Minx is an imprint of DC, and they publishes comics focused on young women. I've reviewed "Clubbing" and "Re-Gifters" in the past, and have enjoyed all three. I particularly like both "Re-Gifters" and "Good As Lily", and I highly recommend both. They aren't technically manga (though I suppose that depends on your definition of manga), but they are excellent reads with realistic female protagonists. Give them a chance, I doubt you'll be disappointed.

Millennium Snow Volume 1

2008-01-30T13:41:00.000-05:00

Overall Rating: B
Synopsis: Created by Bisco Hatori, this shōjo supernatural romance story follows Chiyuki Matsuoka, a young woman in high school with a weak heart. When she was born, the doctors said she would be lucky to live until she was 15. She now tries to live to see it snow as many times as possible.

One evening, she sees a young man in a black coat jump off a building, and she goes to find him, only to discover that the man is unhurt. She learns that his name is Tōya Kanō, and that he is a vampire. He also has the opposite problem that Chiyuki has, he will live one thousand years. In the world of Millennium Snow, vampires also mate for life with a human whom they feed from. The human also lives one thousand years. When Chiyuki finds this out, she offers her blood to Tōya so she can live longer.

Tōya refuses, claiming that he hates humans and blood. The truth is that he doesn't hate humans and he likes blood, but he doesn't want to burden anyone. However, he gives Chiyuki some of his blood when she has a fatal heart attack, so that she can continue to live.

After she recovers, Chiyuki is able to go back to school for the first time in a year, and tricks (it's not a very good trick, so Tōya must not be very smart), Tōya into joining the school so he will be around people more often. Also, Tōya has a bat companion named Yamimaru who talks strangely (I'm not sure why).

After reading the first four volumes of Ouran High School Host Club and loving it, I was eager to check out Bisco Hatori's first manga, Millennium Snow. It has some similar themes to Ouran, for example that both female protagonists grew up with one or both parents dead, but it's not as well done as Ouran is. Still, I enjoy a good supernatural shōjo, and in the first volume a werewolf is introduced at the high school who is also vying for Chiyuki's affections. Good times. The series is only two volumes currently, with it being on hiatus because of Hatori's work on Ouran.

Ouran High School Host Club Opening Anime

2008-01-28T16:31:00.001-05:00

Overall Rating: A++
Synopsis: Adapted from the manga series by Bisco Hatori, the series follows Haruhi Fujioka, a scholarship student at the prestigious Ouran High School. Haruhi is a girl, but she got gum put in her hair so she cut it short, and wears boys clothes. This wouldn't be terribly important, but one day she stumbles across the school's Host Club. The Host Club is basically a place for six idly rich pretty boys to be idly rich pretty boys, and idly rich pretty girls to come and fawn over them and pretend the boys are their fiancées and boyfriends. After breaking an extremely valuable vase, it is determined that Haruhi will work off her debt by becoming a member of the club. Despite the fact that she is neither idly rich, nor a boy. Oh ho dear readers, what will happen next?

I reviewed the manga version of Ouran High School Host Club back in November, but I only recently saw the anime, and I knew I had to review it as well. It's not often that I see an anime that actually improves on the manga. They're certainly out there, but odds are that the anime version of a manga lets you down in terms of plot, and often leaves out important aspects of characters. I'm not sure why, but this anime more than delivers. In fact, I think I may enjoy the series even more in anime form.

I knew I loved it from the opening theme, and it's adorable music and cry of "Kiss kiss fall in love!" The animation is amazing, the adaption is extremely accurate and they add fun things like a little pointer at the vase Haruhi breaks for a couple of minutes before it happens that had me giggling like crazy. Try to track this one down and check it out. If you like the manga it's a must, and if you haven't checked out the manga yet, it's a great Shōjo series.

Alice On Deadlines Volume 1

2008-01-23T13:44:00.000-05:00

Overall Rating: B+
Synopsis: A Shōnen comedy and fantasy series created by Shiro Ihara, Alice On Deadlines follows the misadventures of the Shinigami Lapan and the human Alice. In the book, shinigami are more like the ones featured in Bleach, than in Deathnote. They appear human, have a bureaucracy, and collect souls for the afterlife. They cannot travel to earth in their bodies however, so they must possess a soulless body.

Lapan is a degenerate shinigami who doesn't do his job and looks at porn all the time. As punishment, his boss sends him to take care of a wandering soul (similar to Hollows for those familiar with Bleach) in the form of a skeleton (Lapan was hoping for a sexy woman, though how sexy a woman might be...).

However, due to a mix-up (it hasn't been determined how it happened yet), Lapan ends up in the body of Alice, a sweet, buxom, and living young woman who goes to (of course) an all-girls school. Alice, in turn, ends up in the skeleton that was meant for Lapan. Wackiness ensues.

Lapan, being the letch he is, decides to grope Alice's schoolmates, while Alice (as a skeleton) beats him up and threatens him. Good times. In between hilarity and panty shots, Lapan retrieves the lost soul, and they learn that it will be a year before their situation can be fixed.

When I first started reading Alice On Deadlines, I thought it was weird and kind of fun, but the scenes with Lapan trying to molest young women didn't sit well with me, and the non-stop pervy humor was wearing thin.

Then, they introduced a new character, Ume. Ume is another male shinigami who is the son of the head shinigami (at least that's what's implied). He is also in love with Lapan, and stalks him. He gets special permission to be sent to earth in a young woman's body and starts harassing Lapan. At that point, the book turned truly hilarious, and I enjoyed it a lot more. I will probably pick up volume 2 just to see more interaction between the skeleton Alice, Lapan in Alice's body, and Ume.

Speed Grapher Anime

2008-01-21T14:30:00.001-05:00

Overall Rating: B
Synopsis: A drama/supernatural mystery anime from Gonzo, the series follows Tatsumi Saiga, a semi-famous photographer who took photographs during the Bubble War. Speed Grapher is set 10 years after the war in Tokyo, where the rich have become depraved sex addicts, who attend private clubs, and make deals to get access to what they want. Not too different from real life, right?

Saiga is out to photograph one of these exclusive fetish clubs that revolves around a 15-year-old "Goddess" named Kagura. That's where things start to get messed up.

As he is trying to take a photograph of Kagura, he's discovered. The members of the club prepare to kill him, but Kagura kisses him first, granting him the ability to destroy anything he photographs.

As it turns out, Kagura's bodily fluids can grant people bizarre powers related to their fetishes or obsessions. The club has been hypnotizing her and abusing her to grant those powers to the wealthy. Fun, right?

Kagura naturally wants to escape this life, and Saiga sets out to help free her. Unfortunately, it turns out that she is the daughter of the richest woman in the world, who is keeping her captive. Saiga and Kagura are on the run from people with more resources than them, and bizarre powers. Not a good combination.

I liked this series a lot. Unfortunately, towards the end of the 24 episodes, the plot became a little too convoluted and difficult to follow. However, it does an excellent job of setting up the mysteries of the bizarre powers people have, and how they got them.

I would recommend this one to anyone who likes their anime to have supernatural mystery and sex without turning into Hentai.

Princess Princess Anime Disc 1 - Boys Will Be Girls

2008-01-16T16:52:00.000-05:00

Overall Rating: A
Synopsis: Princess Princess is a Shōjo series based on the manga of the same name. The anime follows Toru Kouno on his first day at a new all-boys school, Fujimori, the most elite school in the area. Things are a bit strange at the school, and Toru immediately notices all the other boys looking at him, and obviously happy to see him. To make things even weirder, his homeroom teacher (who is also male) comments on how attractive Toru is.

As it turns out, the school has a very interesting tradition. Each year they select the most attractive boys to become Hime, or princesses in order to add some excitement for the other boys. The princesses dress up as girls and attend school functions and act as fake idols.

When Toru arrives, there are already two other Princesses, Yujiro and Mikoto, who treat the job very differently. Yujiro seems to enjoy it, while Mikoto obviously hates the job (it turns out that he has a girlfriend and is worried about what she will think). We also find out that while becoming a Princess is, in theory, optional, if someone refuses or quits, they are usually expelled from the school.

It's not all bad though, if Toru agrees, all of his meals, clothes, and other expenses are paid for, and he gets to be late or absent from class with no repercussions.

At first, Toru seemed upset by the idea of becoming a Princess, but after hearing about the benefits, he immediately agrees and becomes the third Princess.

I love this anime. It's hilarious, and has some very interesting gender play going on. For example, there is a scene where the Princesses need to change into the outfits the Home Economics club made for them. The start to change in front of the club, but the members stop them. Confused the Princesses ask "But aren't we all boys?" To which the members say, "We know that, but please don't ruin our dreams." If you like your Shōjo to have comedy and boys dressing as girls, this is the one for you.

Pumpkin Scissors Volume 1

2008-01-14T13:22:00.001-05:00

Overall Rating: B
Synopsis: Pumpkin Scissors is a military drama manga with a healthy dose of comedy created by Ryoutarou Iwanaga. The series is set in a fictional world, similar to Western Europe that does not have wireless communication or automatic weapons. The manga is set five years after the end of the war between the Royal Empire and the Republic of the Frost. Starvation, pestilence, and soldiers who have turned into bandits plague the countryside, and in response the military has created "Imperial Army State Section III" also known as "Pumpkin Scissors" to aid in the war relief effort.

Led by a member of one of the noble families, 2nd Lieutenant Alice L. Malvin, the group is a rag tag team with little funding and even less respect. Some consider the group a waste of resources, and others consider them a propaganda tool for the military, but the team itself seems to take the matter seriously (at least sometimes). Things start to change when they meet Corporal Randel Oland, a veteran of the mysterious 901 ATT. The infamous Gespenst Jäger (Ghost Hunter) squad who single-handedly take down tanks. These dudes are crazy. In the first volume, we meet everyone and see some examples of what the Pumpkin Scissors are working to fix.

I won't lie, I read Pumpkin Scissors because of the name. It sounded weird and interesting so I checked it out. What I got was a world that intrigued me, but not quite enough to really draw me in yet. I'm definitely interested in finding out more about the Invisible 9 (secret platoons of which the Gespenst Jäger is one), and I like Alice a lot, but there isn't a concrete plot yet, and the other characters don't do much for me. Hopefully, Volume 2 will build on this and I'll get drawn in.

Venus Versus Virus Anime Disc 1

2008-01-11T14:39:00.001-05:00

Overall Rating: D
An anime series based on the manga of the same name, Venus Versus Virus follows Sumire, a school girl with the ability to see Viruses. These Viruses are demons who devour the souls of humans. She has teamed up with Lucia and the Venus Vanguard, a team dedicated to fighting the Viruses, and can even turn into a human anti-virus to fight them. Unfortunately, this power is a double-edged sword, and in her berserker state, she is also a threat to her allies.

Some of you may remember when I reviewed the manga here, and gave it a glowing review. When I heard they were making an anime of the manga, I was excited to say the least. That excitement quickly turned to disappointment and confusion less than five minutes into the anime.

The anime version of the series doesn't introduce the characters, drops you into the middle of plot with no explanation, and has inserted a random small girl into the story for apparently no reason other than to pander to the audience. The characters you recognize from the anime (the leads Lucia and Sumire in particular) act nothing like their manga counter parts, and are far less interesting.

The result is a pretty anime, that leaves a lot to be desired from fans of the manga (speaking of which, the second volume is out, and it's great!).

I gave it a D instead of an F, because it wasn't devoid of promise, and I think that if I hadn't read the manga I would have given it more of a chance. As it is, I only made it through 2 and a half episodes before deciding I was just going to get more frustrated the longer I watched.

If you haven't read the manga yet, and watch the anime, let me know what you think, and then read the manga. It's a lot better in my opinion.

Fall In Love Like A Comic Volume 1

2008-01-09T10:47:00.000-05:00

Overall Rating: D
Synopsis: Fall in Love Like a Comic! (should be Like a Manga) is a romantic comedy shōjo manga by Chitose Yagami. The story centers around Rena Sakura, a mangaka and high school student, and Tomoya Okita, a hot high school boy. Rena wants to get a boyfriend in order to write better romances, so she proposes that Tomoya be her boyfriend to help her. This leads to the inevitable "I'm actually in love with you" moment, where Tomoya declares his love for Rena. This leads to shenanigans as their relationship is tested by Rena's success as a mangaka, and Tomoya gets an acting role in a movie adaptation of her work.

You know those series where the male and female lead have a clear attraction, but never seem to get together? That's frustrating, but can be interesting. Fall in Love Like a Comic! is frustrating because the plot is about a mangaka making her work more believable by falling in love herself. If we apply this concept (you have to be in love to write a good romance), then I would have to recommend that Chitose Yagami fall in love. The romance between Rena and Tomoya feels forced and unbelievable.

Where I had been hoping to find a new twist on high school romance (a mangaka trying to find inspiration), all I got was a romance I didn't care about, and some half-decent jokes. The only thing humorous in the book is how many times Rena melts (literally her body is drawn as going all "melty" or “mero mero” when Tomoya holds her. In short, I recommend skipping this one.

Last Exile Anime Review - Disc 1

2008-01-07T11:40:00.001-05:00

Overall Rating: A-
Synopsis: A steampunk anime by Gonzo Studios, and falls squarely in the adventure category. The story follows Claus Valca and Lavie Head, two orphans who make their living as couriers. Claus is an expert pilot (apparently, just like his father), and Lavie is his navigator in the steampunk world of Prester. Of course, they make some money on the side running races in their vanship.

Unfortunately for Claus and Lavie, they get caught in the middle of a war between two countries, Anatole and Dysis, when they run into (almost literally) another courier with a package with a 7 Star (they had just finished a 3 star run, their most difficult one yet) danger rating. The "package" is a small girl named Alvis Hamilton, whom they must deliver to the battleship "Silvana".

Silavana is a neutral party in the war, and everyone seems to be afraid of them. Probably because when they enter one fight, they might help you or shoot you down. You don't fucking know, they're crazy like that. On top of all of that, there are crazy-looking robot ships that are hunting the girl down, but we have yet to learn why.

So far, I want to love this series. I almost do, but it's going to take at least another disc worth of plot before I can commit. It's showing a lot of promise though. Regarldess, it's gorgeous, and if you love steampunk half as much as I do, check this series out.

Socrates In Love

2008-01-03T10:50:00.001-05:00

Overall Rating: A+
Synopsis: Also known as "Crying Out Love, In the Center of the World" in Japan, this manga is an adaptation of the Japanese novel written by Kyoichi Katayama. The story follows Sakutaro "Saku" Matsumoto as he looks back on his relationship with Aki Hirose. From the beginning, we know how the story ends, with Aki's death, but the journey there is compelling and touching.

The two meet in junior high, and from the beginning have a clear connection to each other. Everyone else thinks they're dating, and it's pretty clear they both want to be with one another. They share audio diaries, go on excursions together, and enjoy summer vacation. In High School, they finally give in to their feelings, and start dating. Unfortunately, it's then that things start going wrong, Aki develops Leukemia and it doesn't look like she's getting better. Can young love survive this tragedy?

Socrates in Love made me cry. I'm struggling to describe why I like it so much without sounding cliched, but the characters and story felt real, and the relationship between Saku and Aki reminded me of how it felt to be young and in love. Despite the weighty subject matter (like I said, you know that Aki is going to die from the beginning of the book), I wanted to find out more about the characters, and found the story very engaging. This is an excellent manga, and I highly recommend it, but be prepared and have some tissues ready.

Mail Volume 1

2007-12-17T16:52:00.003-05:00

Overall Rating: B
Synopsis: Created by the artist from Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, Housui Yamazaki, the series follows private detective Reiji Akiba, who specializes in the paranormal. Volume 1 opens with a nude model shoot, which immediately tells you why the books are wrapped in plastic. The shoot is in a river, and according to the location scout, it was beautiful. Apparently, it flooded, and everything from trash to a skeleton got washed into the area.

The photos reveal even more creepiness. Aside from the nude woman, there is also a headless girl in the photo. This is when we're introduced to the eccentric (a nice way of saying very weird) Akiba. He believes that the dead try to communicate with us every day, and that if we read their "mail", then we can help put them to rest. Sometimes, the dead aren't cooperative, so he also has special bullets with prayers on them that help put the more unruly spirits to rest as well.

I like Mail, but I hope it picks up steam. There are a lot of parallels to Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, which I love, but it doesn't quite capture the dark humor. It's more like Trigun meets horror, which could be fantastic if the series builds up steam.

Check out more manga and anime reviews at Hobotaku!

High School Debut Volume 1

2007-12-12T16:59:00.000-05:00

Overall Rating: C
Synopsis: A shōjo manga created by Kazune Kawahara, the series follows Haruna Nagashima, who has just entered high school. In Middle School, Haruna was dedicated to softball, and didn't get involved in much else. Now, in High School, she has decided to apply the same dedication to finding a boyfriend. There's only one problem, she doesn't have a clue how to get started.

At the beginning of the manga, we see Haruna in ridiculous outfits (well, not that ridiculous, but pretty bad), and awkwardly standing around at dating spots. Fortunately, she accidentally runs into Yoh, who gives her some advice. She decides she wants him to coach her, and help her find a boyfriend. It doesn't hurt that he is a hottie.

At first, Yoh refuses, but eventually he relents, on one condition. Haruna is not allowed to fall in love with him!

So far, High School Debut seems thoroughly average. The plot is your standard high school makeover, with the hot guy coaching the plain girl on how to be more attractive. Will they end up falling in love with each other? I hope not, since that would be boringly typical for a plot like this. I'm hoping for something more along the lines of The Wallflower, an excellent makeover manga about a goth girl and four bishōnen. Unfortunately, this manga isn't doing much for me. I don't love it, but I don't hate it either. Hopefully, the plot will pick up some, and the characters will become more interesting.

Hell Girl Volume 1

2007-12-10T21:15:00.001-05:00

Overall Rating: B+
Synopsis: Hell Girl is a series of short stories that detail the suffering of different people. Typically, there is an antagonist who causes them to suffer, making the individual's life miserable. Fortunately, there is hope for these unfortunate souls (OOoooo dramatic!). Heard about through whispers and rumors, there is a website that can only be accessed at midnight. Known as Jigoku Tsūshin (Hell Correspondence), should someone submit the name of their persecutor (or really just anyone you hate), the Jigoku Shōjo (Hell Girl) will visit them. She has a creepy voice and red eyes, and will offer you a straw doll with a red string wound about its neck. If the string is pulled, she will send your persecutor to Hell by way of trippy hallucinations. However, if you condemn your persecutor to Hell, your soul will also be sent to Hell when you die.

I really like Hell Girl so far. The only reason I didn't rate it higher is there is a lot of repetition of the way the Hell Correspondence works, and the fact that each episode is an unrelated short story. However, they seem to be setting up the series to follow Ai (Hell Girl) and give her more of a background. That holds a lot of promise, so hopefully as the series progresses, it will get even better.

Tekkonkinkreet

2007-12-05T11:19:00.001-05:00

Overall Rating: B
Synopsis: Originally titled Tekkon Kinkreet in the Japanese release, the title is a play on "Tekkin Concrete" the Japanese term for reinforced concrete. The movie was directed by Michael Arias, animated by Studio 4°C, and adapted from "Black and White", a one-volume seinen manga series by Taiyō Matsumoto. Set in the fictional Treasure Town, the movie centers around a pair of orphan kids who live on the city's streets, Black and White. Black is older and tougher (some say he's the toughest kid in the city), and protects the child-like (and perpetually snot-nosed) White). Together they make up the gang known as Neko (or Cats).

Black & White seem to have some special abilities, such as the ability to fly (or at least jump and glide further than a normal person could), and being pretty fucking bad-ass for a couple of kids. The first part of the movie focuses on the duo as they confront rival orphan gangs and even the local yakuza.

Things are going well for Black & White until a mysterious snake-faced entrepreneur with blue-skinned giant assassins show up. He begins working with the some of the local yakuza to tear down Treasure Town and replace it with an amusement park. Since Black and White are against the idea, he sends his assassins to kill them.

The most interesting (and confusing) part of the movie comes when White is seriously hurt and then separated from Black. Without White's influence, Black goes insane and even more violent than he already was. Can Treasure Town, and Black, be saved?

When I rented Tekkonkinkreet I was expecting a fun movie about orphan kid gangs with cute animal names "fighting" each other over territory. What I got was a very strange, pretty messed up, and pretty awesome movie. It's not what I expected, and it felt really slow in parts, but I definitely recommend it. Especially if, like me, you're into philosophy.

Yume Kira Dream Shoppe

2007-12-03T16:22:00.000-05:00

Overall Rating: D
Synopsis: This fantasy shōjo, created by Aqua Mizuto, we meet Rin. A mysterious shopkeeper, Rin makes dreams come true, but only for a steep price. The shop in question, Yume Kira Dream Shoppe, is magical and (as is driven home at the beginning and end of almost every chapter) flies through the sky at dusk.

If you happen across the shop, or Rin hears your wish, he may grant it in exchange for something valuable in return. For example, in one story a tree wishes to become human. In exchange for granting the wish, Rin asks for the trees leaves. He travels with a stuffed animal named Alpha, who has been animated by Rin's magic.

I picked this book up on a whim, and regret it. From the description, I was hoping for something along the lines of xxxHolic, which has similar (but darker and more interesting) themes. Unfortunately, Yume Kira Dream Shoppe insists on ending every story with a sugary sweet happy ending and a reminder about how awesome the shop is. That was fine the first chapter or two, but it got old quickly.

On top of that, each chapter is a short story, and the only connection between stories is the shop. As a result, it was hard to care about any of the characters or situations presented. I recommend you steer clear of this one.

Re-Gifters

2007-11-30T10:18:00.000-05:00

Overall Rating: A
Synopsis: The series is created by writer Mike Carey and artists Sonny Liew and Marc Hempel for DC Comics' Minx line. It follows Jen Dik Seong (or "Dixie"), a high school girl from a poor Korean American family. Dixie's passion is training in the ancient martial art of hapkido. The only problem is that her training keeps getting messed up, because she has a HUGE crush on a boy in her class, Adam. In order to impress him, she buys him a very expensive statue of one of the first Hapkido warriors with the money her parents gave her to enter a Hapkido tournament.

Now, Dixie has to figure out how to get into the tournament, and win Adam's affections.

I really enjoyed this book. Hell, I could almost just leave it at that. Re-Gifters is a fun, cute book with realistic characters and a well-done plot. It reminded me a little of the Karate Kid, if the main character was a young Korean American girl, and the story was a lot better. Oh, and Daniel-san had a crush on "Sweep the Leg" Johnny. Check this one out.

The Wallflower Volume 1

2007-11-28T21:49:00.000-05:00

Overall Rating: B
Synopsis: A Shōjo comedy/romance manga created by Tomoko Hayakawa. At the beginning of the manga, Sunako Nakahara confesses her love to a boy, who utterly rejects her and tells her she's ugly. As any reasonably young person would do, Sunako then discards all traces of her femininity, and retreats into odd and morbid hobbies, such as collecting skulls.

Fortunately, Sunako's aunt owns a mansion that four gorgeous boys live in (huh?). Apparently, the boys pay rent to live in the mansion, and the aunt offers them free rent if they give Sunako a Pygmalian-esque makeover, and she becomes a "perfect lady". The boys set to work, and hilarity ensues.

Often, Sunako is shown as an exaggerated version of her true self that looks like a female version Cartman from Southpark. Will these gorgeous boys succeed? Will Sunako's inner beauty shine through?

I passed over The Wallflower several times before checking it out. I'm not a huge fan of the art, but I love the ridiculous plot so far. This works pretty well as a comedy/romance Shōjo, and I'm interested in the characters. The series is ongoing, so I'm not sure how long they can keep the plot interesting, but I'll definitely be reading it for awhile. It has a lot of potential.

XS Hybrid Volume 1

2007-11-21T17:06:00.000-05:00

Overall Rating: B
Synopsis: Created by S. Ji-Hyung, the series is a science fiction story, and one of Dark Horse's new Manwha (South Korean manga) titles. The story is set in a future where some humans have become "hybrids", with special powers, and follows Mina, a tomboy with psychic powers (clearly one of the hybrids). These hybrids police the planet, or kill many, many people, or both.

A lot of the plot in the first volume focuses on Hinchang, a normal kid who is in love with Mina (despite the fact that she put him in a coma years before. That's love.) Hinchang spends most of the book saving Mina from being attacked by another hybrid (who looks cool and has psychic powers), and various other mysterious men (re: bad guys) who are trying to capture/kill Mina.

I like XS Hybrid, but I don't love it. I don't think there are enough really good science fiction manga/manwha, and this one comes close. Basically, I want to love it, but it hasn't grabbed me yet. I think it's because I'm not totally thrilled with either Hinchang or Mina. Hinchang isn't really interesting aside from apparently being a daredevil, and Mina seems incapable of defending herself, despite having psychic powers. Hopefully, both will develop into interesting characters in later volumes.

Shugo Chara! Volume 1

2007-11-19T16:15:00.000-05:00

Overall Rating: B+
Synopsis: Created by Peach-Pit, the series is a shōjo manga that follows Amu Hinamori, a student at Seiyo Elementary. Amu has a reputation for being stylish and cool (that's her to the left), but she's really very shy. One night, she makes a wish that she could be her real self, and the next morning she finds three brightly colored eggs in her bed. Each egg eventually hatches a Guardian Character, angel-like beings able to change Amu into a new personality. She also has to deal with the Guardians of Seiyo Elementary, a student council group who have their own Guardian Characters (and a really stupid looking cape).

Of course, the current Guardian King at Seiyo (Guardians are based on cards, so you have King, Queen, Jack and Ace) is Tadase Hotori, Amu's love interest. As an example of how a Guardian Character can affect someone, whenever someone refers to Tadase as "Prince" (his nickname), he changes into a violent, egotistical king who wishes to rule the world. Fun, right?

I grabbed the first volume of Shugo Chara!, because it looked ridiculously cute. So far, the first volume has delivered on that cuteness in spades. The plot is interesting and while it has some familiar aspects (for example, student council being treated like royalty, and the main character having mixed emotions about joining said council), I like the concept of Guardian Characters, and it's different enough to be intriguing. Hopefully the series will live up to its promise.

School Rumble Volume 1

2007-11-16T13:27:00.001-05:00

Overall Rating: D+
Synopsis: Created by Jin Kobayashi, the series is a romance comedy that follows Tenma Tsukamoto. Tenma attends Yagami High School, and is in love with the stoic Oji Karasuma. Meanwhile, the male protagonist, Kenji Harima, a delinquent, has developed a crush on Tenma. Both Harima and Tenma have difficulty telling their respective crushes how they feel, and so (of course) hilarity (supposedly) ensues.

There is also a large cast of supporting characters, and I could go into great detail about all of their various relationships to the main characters, but unlike Cromartie High School, the supporting cast doesn't consist of a robot, a gorilla or Fred Mercury (at least not that I've seen).

When I picked up volume 1 of School Rumble, I was hoping that it would be in the same vein as Cromartie High School. A large cast of interesting characters that I wanted to read more about and made me laugh. Not so much. Volume 1 utterly failed to get me interested. I didn't hate the characters, or the plot, but I just didn't care about either. I'm wondering if, like Cromartie, this one's better as an anime. For its sake, I hope so.

Bombos vs. Everything Volume 1

2007-11-14T12:15:00.000-05:00

Overall Rating: F
Synopsis: Created by Maximo V. Lorenzo, the series follows the titular Bombos, a paperboy who talks and fights too much. In the series, paperboys are a guild that involves a lot of strange challenges and fighting, and very little paper delivery. In the world of Bombos, there is only one goal, to get out of the backwater town he lives in, and move to the "totally awesome" city of Bokonon. To accomplish this goal, Bombos must win the mysterious (and somehow at the same time uninteresting) Qualifiers, overcome the bizarre challenges his editor-in-chief throws at him, defeat his annoying rival Veng, and dealing with his feelings for his friend Addy.

I like checking out American manga to see what's being done in that style these days, so I tried checking out Bombos vs. Everything. This book was a big disappointment for me. The art looked cool, and I was hoping for something in the vein of Scott Pilgrim or Black Metal, but the series is trying too hard. Maybe it will get more interesting in Volume 2 (apparently the series is a trilogy), but I can't recommend this one. If you're looking for good non-Japanese manga, pick up Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O'Malley, East Coast Rising by Becky Cloonan, Black Metal by Rick Spears and Chuck BB, or King City by Brandon Graham instead.

Kitchen Princess Volume 1

2007-11-12T18:37:00.000-05:00

Overall Rating: B+
Synopsis: Written by Miyuki Kobayashi and drawn by Natsumi Ando, Kitchen Princess is a shōjo cooking series that follows Najika Kazami. Najika is an orphan from Hokkaidō, who lost her parents in an accident. After the accident, Najika thought about trying to kill herself to be with them again. Before she falls into a river to drown, a small boy catches her. He gives her his flan which has a silver spoon it. As he runs off to join his parents, Najika promises to make him the best treat ever. Eventually, she learns that the emblem on the spoon is from the Seika Academy school, so she sets out to become a great cook and get into the school.

However, after getting into Class A (the special class) at Seika Academy, Najika learns her problems are only beginning. She has to figure out who her "Flan Prince" is, and suffer the insults of the other girls in Class A. It turns out that every kid in Class A has a special talent, and the girls in Najika’s class think she doesn’t deserve to be there. She also meets and befriends Sora and Daichi Kitazawa, two brothers who hate each other, but are the most popular boys in school. They also realize what Najika's special talent is, her amazing cooking.

I liked the title of Kitchen Princess, so I decided to read the first volume. It's a cute manga, and the only reason I didn't give it an A is because the plot isn't very original. That being said, I love that they print the recipes for everything that Najika makes in the back of each volume. Especially since so many of the recipes sound delicious!