Nana

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.

X-Men: Misfits

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.

Eden of the East

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!

Vampire Knight

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.

Otomen

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!

Captive Heart

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. 

Ultra Maniac

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.

MeruPuri

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.

Absolute Boyfriend

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.

Cy-Believers Volume 1

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.

Millennium Snow Volume 1

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.

High School Debut Volume 1

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.

Yume Kira Dream Shoppe

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

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

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.

Train Man

Overall Rating: A+
Synopsis: Based on a true story, Train Man, or Densha Otoko, is the story of an Otaku who intervened when a drunk man was harassing women on a train. Train Man has a huge crush on one of the women being harassed, which likely resulted in him trying to stop the drunk man. After the incident, Train Man begins awkwardly dating the woman he has a crush on with advice from his online friends. Through the course of the movie, he goes from geek to...well not exactly chic, but definitely less of a geek.

I can sum up Train Man in two words, awkwardly adorable. Watching the main character struggle with his otaku personality, and trying to figure out how to impress the girl he is in love with reminded me of when I first started liking girls. Fortunately for me, I didn't have quite so far to go, and I didn't have to resort to help from my equally inept online friends, but I had my moments.

At any rate, the real fun of the movie begins when Train Man starts posting his story to a board he frequents and starts getting advice from his online friends. They consist of a student-age shut-in, three other otaku who hang out in internet/manga cafes, a married couple who don't realize they are both on the same board because they have grown so distant, and a nurse. These 7 "friends" give Train Man advice on hair cuts, places to eat, and more to try to help him win the girl. There are moments of geeky excellence, where TM is able to overcome his otakuness and do some very sweet things, and some moments where it becomes a train wreck, where you keep watching even though everything is going wrong. It all comes together as a movie that feels like it really happened (probably because it did ;-) and had me going "Aw!" a lot and clasping my hand over my mouth. Definitely worth seeing if you like geeks and romance.

Gacha Gacha (Capsule) - Manga Review

Rating: D

Synopsis: Kurara and Kouhei have been classmates forever. Kurara returns from summer vacation in Hawaii as school begins. Apparently, whilst in Hawaii, Kurara has developed multiple personality disorder, and one of her stronger other personalities, Arisa, is an incredibly promiscuous hedonist (as opposed to Kurara herself, who is slightly prudish). Kurara keeps her MPD a secret, but Arisa begins to attempt to seduce Kouhei everytime she appears. When Arisa turns back into Kurara, she has no memory of what's going on, and finds herself in compromising positions with Kouhei (who she blames). Kouhei has a crush on Kurara, and getting close to her means he is severely confused and abused throughout the story.

Note: This is a review of the manga Gacha Gacha (Capsule), not the following manga (Secret).

I attempted to read more than one or two of this manga, but initially I had a hard time following what was going on. Each one of Kurara's personalities are drawn as different people, so it was confusing at first. Then, once I got a hang of the idea that Kurara had multiple personality disorders, they spend most of the time getting Kouhei (who Kurara made promise to help her keep Arisa a secret) and Arisa into compromising position after compromising position.

When Kurara regains herself, she usually smacks Kouhei, and accuses him of attempting to take advantage of her. This scene becomes pretty much what the manga is about for the first book:
Scene
- Kouhei sees Kurara someplace (school, cafe, etc.)
- Kurara and Kouhei begin to talk
- Arisa takes over Kurara and sluts it up (usually getting as naked as possible and coming onto Kouhei as much as she can)
- Kouhei is confused, and indecisive
- Arisa turns back into Kurara, Kurara realizes she is nearly naked
- Kurara beats the crap out of Kouhei
End Scene

More personalities emerge as time goes by, such Meow (housecat), Alice (young girl), and Rin (martial artist). As the series develops, the shared secret that Kouhei and Kurara share helps their feelings for each other blossom into love. I'm afraid I couldn't read that far.

I enjoy mistaken identities and romantically confusing situations when handled in a comedic manner, but this one is very heavy-handed, and I feel sorry for the characters. There's not much amusing about the situations, and you begin to wonder why she doesn't get some therapy, as opposed to enlisting the help of poor Kouhei, who she spends most of her time teasing then abusing.

Vampire Knight

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.