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.

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.

Vampire Doll

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

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!

Blank Slate

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!

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.

Wanted

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.

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.

Life

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

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.

Strawberry Marshmallow

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

(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".

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.

Love★Com Volume 1

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.

Honey and Clover Volume 1

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

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.

Princess Princess Anime Disc 1 - Boys Will Be Girls

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.