Manga obsess

cosplay at STGCC

2011-03-02T23:29:00.000-08:00

Ok ok, so this is a really belated post. After all, the Singapore Toy Games and Comic Convention (STGCC) was in December 2010! :) Never mind, you'll forgive me with this photo of Sebastian and Ciel. Love that dress. :)

Just a hiatus

2010-06-27T07:53:00.000-07:00

Just a hiatus for a now, although i'm sure I'll be back here updating soon. :)

Ooku

2010-02-25T23:41:00.000-08:00

Brief Storyline: In the Edo period, a new mysterious disease called redface pox strikes Japan and over the following years wipes out nearly all the males. The population later stablises at 1 male to every 4 women. The social consequences are drastic - females move into traditional male roles, at work and at home. The shogun is now a female and the harem is full of men.

I have my doubts on whether I would have picked this up myself, but since a friend recommended it I thought to give it a try, especially since I am leaning towards josei reads over shojo at the moment. Something with more meat. Well, this one does have a lot of ugly things happening, not least of all the deaths from the disease. No wonder that though it is not smut nor contains very graphic sex or violence, it is "explicit" and no recommended for the young 'uns. Nothing that doesn't happen in a normally rated PG-13 movie nowadays but it is definintely not a sweet shojo.

Although it is in the realm of what is science fiction, the situation is not that exaggerated. The setting is realistic and the people are generally well characterised. It is not a happy story though, and things are brutal. The usual court intrigue and politics is to be expected. Having said that, it is also in a way dramatised.

My Rating:Story: B
Art: B
Recommended?

I just thot the image was nice...;p

2009-05-17T21:26:00.000-07:00

Still not sure if I'm going to read this yet, but saw the image and thought it looked interesting. I think it's the colors that I like.

If I don't read this I'll try to get my friend to write a review. :)

New stuff

2009-05-15T06:11:00.001-07:00

As the twitter says, I had a bit of a spree and got four volumes - Atsu Atsu Trattoria (a one volume shojo), Gakuen Alice Vol. 4 (remember sweetie puked on vol. 3 so that one will be with me forever), Gakuen Ouji (I know, what a joke) and Nabari no ou (Yay!! mais en anglais - c'est tres cher!). I have no idea why I like Nabari no ou so much...why is it? I don't even feel the urge to finish the anime. I think it's the art, the characters, maybe the humour in the darkness of it all.

I saw Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei but decided not. I didn't know that there were satirical mangas but then I should have expected there to be all sorts.

Also saw that Skip Beat 18 is out. Perhaps I should be making another library recommendation...dunno who is enjoying the fruits of my labor with vol. 17 now...;p Actually, I haven't been following this series after volume 15 or so (u know me, I can't take a long series).

I also wanted to pick up Chi's Sweet Home, in Japanese. I read that it's completely in color. There were only two old-looking volumes and they weren't cheap so I left them. I'll try to pick them up when (if) I'm in Tokyo (or anyone else who can, thank you. ;p).

Saw that Pet Shop of Horrors, Vol. 4 is out. I wasn't so keen. Cos I tend not to re-read that series. But we'll see...maybe when I get really bored...like how I'm considering Otomen, which a friend has asked if I'd like to borrow. The art was good but the story sounds erm...loss for words...

Am still on Watashi no + Okusuri. On the first chapter and I'm really not liking the girl. She is childish, arrogant, tactless and rude, not to mention silly.

I think I really need to limit my purchases - jus now already had an avalanche with quite a few of my manga - need more space for them! I seriously envision a large (large!) shelf with them all.

Oh. I still can't find my Ichigo Jikan. I shall assume it's not published yet and blame it on illusion.

Is it me or is it that most English publishers don't really do many oneshots/one volume shojos/others?

Another thing I find strange is the choice of manga that Chuang yi publishes in both English and Chinese. Titles like Midnight Secretary and Gakuen Ouji and a few other silly romances, which I don't find very mainstream.popular (or that fantastic) are published, including smut by Shinjo Mayu but there are no really good shojos, or shonen, for that matter. Perhaps they don't want to duplicate Tong Li and other Taiwanese publishers, but I hope they pick up titles that are more Nabari no ou, etc.

Crown - originally written on 16 Jan, updated 12 May

2009-05-12T03:47:00.000-07:00

Brief Storyline: An orphan girl is suddenly grabbed from her part time job by her long lost brother, Ren, who, with his good friend, Jake, has come to protect her. Apparently they are royalty and targets of a deadly plot to obtain the throne.

The guys are of course bishi (first things first eh? ;p) and I'm pretty sure those who loved Gakuen Heaven would have a field day with this one too (it being by the same artist). The drawing overall is good, although there are some unfilled in eyes and other parts in scenes here and there. In the action scenes, the backgrounds are drawn in rather more detail to help in understanding what is happening. The guys all look rather different so it is easy to tell them apart.

The author and the artist are different and of opposite sexes. Interesting. So, I'm not sure if that colors my judgement that it is not as girly girl as other shojo, besides the "hot guys" (quoted from the author's words) and silly shojo girl. The last few pages give a tiny bit of entertaining insight into this collaboration.

The girl is, as mentioned, somewhat silly, and a bit too sweet, naive and is more like a little pet or elementary school child than a high schooler. Some of her expressions are rather dramatic and cringeworthy. The guys hold much of the story with their skill and action as mercenary soldiers, in protecting the girl from danger but the girl also has a special natural "talent".

A bit bloodthirsty as quite a few people lose their lives. Not as innocent in this respect as most shojo. The two are really merciless. I suppose it is a life or death fight, but still, a more sanitized storyline would have them solve it another way I suppose, but then again, not everything can be sanitized.

The characters have chemistry and there are a few humourous moments in between killings. :) Ok, ok, it is after all a shojo so one isn't expecting fantastic violence or gore and I believe the creators were going after a comedic feel as well. Thus, there are some really cheesy moments played out and some strange scenes. There are also some OTT emotional moments that don't seem to quite gel with the merciless bloodthirsty atmosphere but probably help to make it more shojo than shonen.

Possible Spoiler
The relationship between the brother and sister is ambiguous, and from comments I've read it seems I'm not the only one to get the insinuations. Some feel it's an incest tease but a few predict that there may be a twist there although in volume two there is not much further indication/development of this, especially if you see the first few pages (the weird scene I was referring to).

The guys' relationship also have slight shonen ai overtones in some of the scenes, although I would say that it is rather minor (well, the artist does do this genre). The story is also starting to develop a ~~slight~~ very much reverse harem feeling at the end, with the two bodyguards already (Jake and Ren, her brother) and now another guy, Chrondrite Condor (interesting name yeah?) ~~probably~~ interested in Mahiro. At the end of volume two, there's another guy to join the harem!

I find Mahiro even more unbelievable when this cute little supposedly sweet silly girl sees her Jake and Ren killing people and things blowing up and she is completely unfazed. Nor is she fazed when she is almost killed. Strange.

An aside - the volume one in my hand is this yellow cover one. Is there really a blue colored cover?

My Rating:
Story: B
Art: B
Recommended? Eye candy - quite a few cool bishies. Storyline is atypical and rather fast paced, action orientated, with bits of comedy and unexpected twists.

Licensed by Go!Comi

Divine Melody

2009-05-11T23:58:00.001-07:00

Hahah...realised I had the title of this spelled wrongly earlier.

Was recommended this manga by the salesperson when (once again am on this) I couldn't find Ichigo Jikan (maybe I should just stop searching for it for now). At first had no interest in it, cos I'm not interested in animal+human love, just doesn't appeal to me at all. The cover picture also gave me a so so feeling, cos it looked really cheena. ;p Finally decided to try it when I got bored and there are already 8 volumes out so I can be entertained for a while (in fantizhi/Taiwanese Chinese I mean, in English there are two volumes with the third out soon).

The main protagonist, Cai Sheng, is supposed to be a fox spirit (but yet different "super" type - ??) and the story tells of her relationship with the boy and girl who saved her life. Strangely (or more interestingly?) she can completely change her gender from male to female and vice versa, at will, although she has grown up and lived most of her life as a female. The story delves a lot into how Cai Sheng matures in thinking, esp when it comes to love, particularly human love. It also deals with the clashes in her wants and her duties, as seen/desired by others and being caught in between her love for humans and fox spirits, which are in an antagonist relationship with each other (humans seeing fox spirits as evil and to be destroyed and fox spirits making use of humans for their own ends).

I think the relationships and how they evolve, and relatively good (though not fantastic) characterisation pulls the story through. The drawing turned out to be better than I expected. Cai Sheng doesn't look half bad as a male. Even better than her as a female! ;p

My Rating:

Story: B
Art: B
Recommended? All right reading with an interesting storyline mostly concentrated on the relationships between the characters, but it can get a bit repetitive in some ways.

Latest booktore visit

2009-05-08T21:33:00.001-07:00

Went to the bookstore to look for Ichigo Jikan (草莓时间) which I remember seeing before (now wondering if I saw wrongly as baka updates says there are zero volumes out?? But really thot I saw it cos I remember thinking the girl looks like a elementary schoolgirl...sidetracking) and ended up with Watashi no + Okusuri (baka updates link) (我的爱情魔药) because the cover was somewhat cuter than the rest of the limited stuff there. I didn't even know the Japanese title and had to google for it. Cos the Chinese title is just "My love potion". I was wondering where the other volumes are, but came to realise it's complete at one volume. I'll write a review once I complete it. Hopefully the impulse buy will prove to be interesting, but I should really stop buying on impulse!

Gakuen Ouji

2009-04-23T09:21:00.001-07:00

I couldn't find the English cover online so had to settle for this one. I was surprised to see it in English and our local publisher has published ~~four~~ five volumes of it as well (in Chinese). Surprised cos some of the more popular titles didn't seem to be translated or were dropped whilst this one I'm wondering if it will appeal to that many people.

Just to say it is quite a strange manga that I really wouldn't recommend to those whose sensibilities are still intact. It's a rather brutal turn on the guy being the sex obsessed to the girl/s being the ones. It was amusing but it is rather exaggerated and can I guess, be distasteful for some, as despite it all I still think there is a bit of sexism and the girls are seen as having 1D personalities that only focus on that one thing. Also read comments of those who have ventured further than me and they weren't that good, including something about the guy not being very nice to the girl. I really need decent male protags. ;p (me and my happy endings...).

A.I. Revolution Vol. 5

2009-04-23T08:46:00.000-07:00

I don't usually review manga by volumes, as personally I like reviews to be about the whole series. I find that if they go volume by volume you no doubt have some spoilers. I also prefer to find out about the whole "feel" of the manga series and whether there is actually some worthwhile plot to follow, as I would prefer not to start something I wouldn't want to finish. In a small poll that was on this blog previously, most people had no preference though.

However, just got Vol. 5 of A.I. Revolution today and was a bit disappointed as I guess I expected something different. The story is again segmented into a few characters' perspectives, and this time there wasn't a story about Sui, the main female protag, which is what I really wanted to read about - i.e. her relationship with Vermillion. Instead, it goes into the unfinished business with At-6, a killer robot, and it still doesn't draw any conclusion at all about this issue. Furthermore, the extra story, a twist of Cinderella, is a bit strange, and of course being a one shot is very very rushed.

I did recommend this issue to the library but I ended up buying it as I guess I was thinking of collecting this series. I say "was" as I'm somehow not that keen after this volume, and plus it's another 12 volumes more, and I don't know if I've moved onto something else by then as the release is super slow.

And sigh, as soon as I took the picture above, my girl jumped on it and made a bit crease in the cover. Oh oh oh....

Make a manga avatar

2009-04-22T11:10:00.001-07:00

Been telling more than one person to get an avatar and I think not everyone knows what one is.

I know this may be old to some of you but a friend just linked me to it, ironically after I linked him to a website talking about it.

It's really cute and rather fun (at first? ;p) , so those of you who like "dressing up" those flash people, or rather, those of you who played with paper dolls when you were young, go do one!

Face your manga

W-Juliet

2009-04-22T09:06:00.001-07:00

Someone recommended me this series, saying it was similar to Tenshi Ja Nai, which I had reviewed earlier. Saw W-Juliet (links to good wiki) on and off at the bookstore and finally decided to try it.

So far, after going through a few volumes, I'm getting a bit bored and losing steam. Somehow, I enjoyed Tenshi Ja Nai more, perhaps because it was the first of this plot device that I read. One thing is that the girl is made a lot more boy-ish in this series, and this trait is actually played up (e.g. she has a girl admirer). However, I read that one way to0 long ago to make a better comparison at the moment.

The story itself is rather episodic, whereby they get into one predicament, solve it, rebond, and then wrap up, repeat, repeat repeat. The main background story itself doesn't seem to flow through the volumes.

There is also a bit of a reverse harem, despite that fact that the girl looks so boyish she attracts girls as well. I find this a bit strange. The guy is quite nice, sweet and decent to her.

There is also a sequel to this, which I understand can be read as a standalone (without reading the first series), and which may be better on the eyes, as the guy is now a guy (I mean, no longer disguised as a girl). I haven't read it yet but I saw some comments that that mentioned the girl is no longer pursuing any particular dreams (of acting, etc.) and seems to be just staying at home playing with the dog, whereas the guy is the one out and about having a great career. I guess it smacks a bit of sexism put that way. Actually, such a remark put me off a bit.

Overall, I think this is more for younger tween/teenage readers.

My Rating:
Story: B-
Art: B-
Recommended? Ok, as long as you haven't read too many of this type of plot, and can stand the girl looking like a guy and then the boy looking like a girl.
Similar to: Tenshi Ja Nai

Library recommendation approved!

2009-04-21T00:29:00.000-07:00

To reduce $$ spent, realised I should recommend more titles to the library. No news about my recommendation of Good Witch of the West (but like I said, I wonder why bother since it seems abandoned by the publisher).

But good news is that my Skip Beat Vol. 17 recommendation has been approved! :) I know I know, now we have to recommend Vols 1- 16 to make it worthwhile (tho I think they have a few already). I have already lost touch of this series actually, since I don't watch much tv anymore and think the series on Okto is already over.

I'll recommend the rest of the titles I think are worthwhile later. You too eh? A joint effort should stock the library well. :) For some reason, they only have Fruits Basket and Nausicaa Valley of the Wind (hee) in great abundance.

I've just recommended A.I. Revolution, Vol. 5, which was just out this month. I wish I could just recommend all the volumes in one go...

Check their catalogue first to see if it's already available and if not, go to the NLB website recommendation page to recommend it. Put in the ISBN number or else they may not be able to locate the title (so they say, although I wonder why). You can find the ISBN from an Amazon search and for good measure include the Amazon link as well.

NB: If the link is not working they are most likely doing site maintenance.

Got a bit tired of having to type and retype so wrote NLB a suggestion to allow us to add more than one title at a time and indicate additional volumes of the same title/series.

Merupuri

2009-04-16T06:48:00.000-07:00

Finally bought Vol.1. Had vols 2-4 for a long long time (albeit in English, I never seem to be getting Vol 1 of anything). I prefer the English one, as it seems cleaner and the pictures clearer. Could be due to the fact that the Eng one is bigger. The Chinese words seem many more than English, though that could be my imagination? A bit of eye strain for some of the characters...

Some people didn't borrow this series of mine because there wasn't a vol.1. Ready for it now? Although I know some of my friends still won't borrow it cos they don't want to read it in Chinese.

Had a re-think on this since I bought the last (erm, rather first) volume and realised that it is rather shotacon don't you think?

It constantly reminds me of Bride of the Water God, which I've since abandoned (maybe until they release the entire series, I hear Vol. 3 will finally be out soon), cos it was way too slow. I've sorta stopped reading manhwa cos they seem to be too slow. Well, maybe with exception of Saver which was pretty action packed (but still slow in a sense).

Oh, super cheap thrills but realised the Chinese version had this little color pull out, nothing near poster size (smaller than A4 I think) of the main characters. Colors weren't that nice though.

Cute

2009-04-14T03:54:00.000-07:00

Pressie from husband. Nothing remotely Jap in origin, but cute. Smells good too.

Nausicaa

2009-04-13T05:56:00.000-07:00

Yes, now you know. And here, Greek princess in Homer's Odyssey, which I read when young and had no impression of Nausicaa then.

Oh, speaking of Studio Ghibli works (of which Nausicaa is one), I dug up this old old post of mine (May 2008, ok, so not that old). I've since watched most of Studio Ghibli's anime, including Totoro, Spirited Away, Kiki's Delivery, etc. I didn't watch Ponyo on a Cliff earlier this year though, as I didn't have the opportunity before its run ended. Maybe later if I'm really keen:

Friends introduced me to Studio Ghibli (notably Jean!) after they returned from the Ghibli Museum in Tokyo Japan. Previously heard of Totoro, a popular work by that studio, but never watched it as there were never any English subs. I know I know, most of the films are now distributed by Walt Disney and should be fully English (tho I would still prefer to watch it in Japanese audio and read subs). Actually the most well known film here is probably Spirted Away, which I didn't watch either, cos I think the reviews for it weren't that great if I remember correctly. Anyhow, to cut the long story short, lately have been trawling CD stores for the Studio Ghibli productions after picking up one, "Howl's Moving Castle" (which I just found out is based on a British book!). Despite being quite confused by some points in the storyline, I enjoyed the presentation of the characters, esp the girl and little boy, Markl and the fire, Calsifier. I'm now thinking of getting the book to clear up some points and see if it is nice too. I know some people don't read the book after seeing the movie or vice versa but sometimes I like to do both and each can have its own charm and anyway, most of the time the two are not really identical.

Howl's Moving Castle is probably the first Studio Ghibli anime I watched, if my poor memory doesn't serve me wrong. I also bought the CD and the book. I blogged about it last year too:

Well, found and finished Howl's Moving Castle, the Dianna Wynne Jones book (tho not the one with this cover) on which the Ghibli animation was based on. As I mentioned, books and their adaptations can be wildly different and this was the case here. Can clearly see where the director of the animation has headed in his own direction and frankly the movie has a rather different storyline altogether that only shares two similarities - the aging of Sophie & the contract Calsifier has with Howl. Up for borrowing too...

Oh, realised there's quite an extensive wiki entry on it too! But only to be visited after you read as there are quite a few spoilers.

Generally, in most of Studio Ghibli's works, the anime is very different from the manga/original work. Case in point is Nausicaa, Valley of the Wind. In that it may be confusing that the characters actually even change their traits.

A Kiss for My Prince Vol 1

2009-04-10T04:03:00.001-07:00

Very pretty art, which almost makes up for the lack of excitement in the storyline. Still wondering whether to get Vol. 2. There are 5 volumes altogether, but only 2 out now. It's just that the storyline seems a bit shallow so far so don't know if I'll read it again making my investment worthwhile.

To be frank, the characters don't really grow on me. The girl is too ditzy and just wants to marry into wealth and power, and then the crown prince is really terrible for threatening and scaring her when she finds out he tricked her. The other prince is a bit worryingly disturbing too, and comes off a bit paedophillic. Sounds like it doesn't have much to recommend it, does it?

Kuroshitsuji

2009-04-05T01:17:00.001-07:00

Strangely like this. It's quite shonen ai though. Wanted to find out who did it but the credits here aren't clear. And, what exactly is one supposed to do at that moe website I also don't know.

Doesn't it look like Seb's about to squeeze Ciel's cheek? hahahah...just realised it when I was looking at it again.

Short hiatus

2009-04-03T07:51:00.000-07:00

It's that time(s) of the year again. No, I don't mean submitting our tax returns, although that doesn't help. I'll probably take a break from updating the site and move onto the tweets (see side column) which will help me to keep updating in a fashion during this period.

Actually, in two minds about keeping this blog regularly updated as haven't received much response for it and like I mentioned it hasn't really met its objectives.

If you'd like to contribute to the blog or feedback on it, email me @ mangaobsess(at)simplypeaceable.com.

oh, just when I want to go into tweeting, the twitter website is down...! Discouraging.

What I wanted to say regarding my recent Code Geass craze was this:

Realised the voice talent of Lelouche is the same one as for Kei in Special A! Not to mention Grell in Kuroshitsuji. Didn't expect that, as didn't recognise that at all and neither is that character (Grell) one that I particularly liked. I did like Kei quite a bit though. :) Although the relationship doesn't move at all in Special A...sidetracking...

After wiki-ing Code Geass, I think I may not watch it in the end. It is 25 + 25 (two seasons) episodes long and I'm not sure I'll last (you know me). Plus, apparently it's really sad (read someone describing it as emotional). Erm, that's not me either.

Seduction more beautiful than love

2009-03-30T01:11:00.000-07:00

Manhwa finished at 5 volumes, 2 volumes out in English, ~~vol. 3 out on 4 November 2008.~~ Decided to update this as I have been waiting for the third volume forever and was just wondering if my bookstore wasn't bringing it in. On Tokyopop's website, it is still at vol. 2. Guess there just wasn't demand for this.

Brief Summary: Pretty young teacher is harassed by handsome mysterious student who seems to have a crush on her, or is it something else?

Interesting title isn't it? The other alternative is "beautiful fascination better than love". I do find this a bit slow moving and up to volume 2 there isn't much development of the characters or plot. (Is it just me or are most manhwa rather? Just think Bride of the Water God and Goong/Palace).

I was a bit disappointed with the teacher's character, she didn't seem very mature, but perhaps it was that one bad incident that really brought it out. The guy is as usual a dark horse, dunno what is going on inside his mind at all and there are flashbacks to suggest that something horrible happened in his past (which we're sure to find out later). I think it might be related to the reason he's stalking/having a crush on the teacher. I think I do need a reason; or else it's just not meaningful. Read a comment that it gets creepy in book four, but I wouldn't know since book three is not even out in English yet. I'm just glad it doesn't seem to drag since it's complete at book five. Let's hope it settles all the issues nicely. Frankly the first chapters got me interested but after reading book 2 the interest faded. I'm right now not sure if I'm going to follow the rest.

The art seems quite typical of manhwa, not over cutesy (with long bodies) as is to be expected I guess, as the characters are not young, and also the topic is rather serious.

One of my friends told me she can't appreciate this and the storyline wasn't good, another told me that it was pretty good and the art wasn't bad. So, guess it's really up to the eye of the beholder.

My Rating:
Story: B- (too slow! a bit confusing with the guy's girl friend, etc. angst! I wonder if it's the translation or it's just not coming out in the art what's going on or is it just me?)
Art: B
Recommended? I am on the fence. I just don't know where all this is going. There doesn't seem to be much direction and so far don't really feel much for any of the characters. And, the publisher doesn't seem interested in it anymore so perhaps we'll not see the end of this series for a while (ever?).
Similar to: Somehow reminds me of Akahime Ranshin, but then again I know of only four titles (the other I won't mention since it's not worth mentioning) that involve this female teacher male student relationship as a storyline. The other one that I did find was one of the stories in a volume called Koi Moyou. That was a bit different but quite a rush too as it's only a oneshot.

Cosplay at Liang Court

2009-03-28T02:53:00.000-07:00

Was on my way to Liang Court when one of the peeps I was supposed to be meeting messaged me, "You're going to like Liang Court, there's a lot of cosplay going on". My response - "ok, on my way but now going to start running". :) So, seems like this is the type of reputation I'm garnering with all my anime/manga talk. :)

I only managed to get a few pics, and they weren't all that nice. There were more photographers than there were cosplayers, although there were a good number of the latter. A lot were characters I couldn't guess/didn't know about, but there was unsurprisingly the VK cast (including Yuki, Kaname and Zero) and another friend who I met there told me she saw Sebastian the butler (from Kuroshitsuji). I tried looking for Sebby but couldn't find him.

The Good Witch of the West

2009-03-27T06:01:00.001-07:00

The title made me think of the Oz series straightaway tho there is no relation and the good witch in Oz was usually referring to Glinda of Oz of the South in most of the books.

Anyway, I was not very attracted to the art and therefore I think I've passed this over a few times. But it surprised me when I got hooked onto it. The only problem is, that before you start, you ought to know that Tokyopop has not printed volume 7 for ages and despite me visiting their website and all I'm still none the wiser if they are have dropped this series altogether due in part to the economic downturn and decrease in demand.

I guess if you've read the synopsis you would not be wrong to have assumed it's another pauper becomes a princess fairytale (every girl's dream come true, uh) and in a way it is, but it's not all that cliched because actually the girl wasn't really suffering or unhappy living a simple country life and the royal life ahead of her isn't exactly peaches and cream. Despite it being "fantasy" there really isn't that much in terms of magic or the supernatural and it instead focuses on the court politics (and strangely there are the catty jealous girls you see in most school life shojo, tho' presented in a different era). Sad to say, despite the girl being non irritable most of the time and not falling over this or that, she is rather unrealistic and sometimes more like a fluffy cottony personality rather than a capable intelligent young lady. I'm really glad that it was not too angsty or back and forth like with her love interest.

Halfway through reading this, I realised that I started thinking of Rune, her tormented childhood friend as very like Zero, and Eusis, the cool and sophisticated queen's knight as Kaname. However, in this story, I don't feel so distracted by this triangle as it isn't set up with too much wrenching emotion as was VK's. It's also settled about half way through so there's only the girl and her love interest's problems to seriously worry about (as if that wasn't enough). And, strangely, there is also a bit of shojo ai. Looking at the covers it seems to have gotten darker from volume one to six.

My Rating:
Story: B, a bit more exciting, with different elements of politics, intrigue, etc.
Art: B ok, a bit old style and the characters weren't like really bishie or anything.
Recommended? Ok, but seems also abandoned by publisher so how...??

Learn how to draw manga

2009-03-24T07:28:00.001-07:00

Realised that the community centers are offering a how to draw manga course. Go to PA's website to register at one near you? :)

General Information - Buying and Renting

2009-03-21T20:29:00.001-07:00

Where to buy:

Kino has a large range of English, Chinese and Japanese manga. Get the privilage card to obtain 20% on certain occassions.

Borders has a moderate range of English manga and (as far I know) no Chinese manga. Sign up to their mailing list to get discounts from 20% upwards.

Page One has a moderate to large range of English and Chinese manga.

Comics Connection has a small range of English and a moderate range of Chinese manga.

Popular has a teeny range of Chinese and English manga (mainly Chuang Yi titles).

Where to rent:

San Secondhand bookshops have a moderate range of Chinese manga and rather small range of English manga.

Otaku House (Suntec) has a super teeny range of English manga, mostly Chuang Yi titles.

1. To get English manga, go to Borders, Kino or Page One. No point going to Comics Connection. Prices at different places are different. Most expensive is usually Borders.

2. Secondhand bookstores only mainly have Chinese manga.

3. Libraries that carry manga are AMK, Jurong East and Central.

4. Prices of different volumes can be different.

5. There are no pre made plastic covers at Popular, Kino or Comic Connection. No idea where to find them. Tell me if you do know.

Scanlations

2009-03-20T10:03:00.001-07:00

An article on Japan Times Online on the research done on manga scanlations. In it, researcher Lee Hye-Kyung believes that "here is a potential for conflict in the future if Japanese publishers decide to take legal action against unauthorized translations distributed by fans based in the United States and Europe." She believes there are over 1000 scanlation groups. The article seems to infer that perhaps when the Japanese publishers feel like doing so they will clamp down on scanlators, especially should/when the manga business becomes more profitable. Apparently, there aren't that many fans as yet (number described as "moderate").

Another article on the future of anime which is described as "in doubt".

Cute!

2009-03-15T05:06:00.000-07:00

On my way back this pretty girl asks me to donate to a charity. Strangely she was also concurrently promoting a perfume. Even more strangely she didn't have the perfume (one is supposed to walk to the counter somewhere in the shopping centre far away to try it). Anyway, she was so cutely dressed, look at the hat! I'm not posting tbe entire pic because I didn't get a chance to ask her permission to blog her pic even though I asked it to take her pic. I guess maybe I was embarrassed to say so? ;p Husband initially kept getting confused thinking that she was a cosplayer when he saw the pic! I thot so for a very small millisecond but then realised it was some promotion. Good strategy since it attracted me, but dunno about the others, cos I saw some people "running" away! hahahahahh. Well, if you recognise yourself as this girl, tell me if I can blog your pic (however small that chance may be thot I should try). :)

Ultimate Venus Vol. 4

2009-03-15T00:40:00.001-07:00

Just got it, just finished it. Husband asked incredulously if that just wasn't really worth the $19! Anyway, it really only slightly whetted my appetite as I quickly went to Gocomi's listing to find out what the future volumes will be about (i couldn't help it, like how I do with wiki-ing, sigh). Seems there are a lot more exciting things happening in Vols 5 and 6 (have to wait till June and Sep 09!!). ;p Oh well.

What to recommend

2009-03-14T03:51:00.001-07:00

Been wanting to write a Recommendation List/Guide for people who have just started reading manga, so they have a few "tried and tested" titles to read, but haven't been able to get down to it. What titles would you recommend and why?

For shojo, I thought I'd recommend Merupuri, which is a short complete sweet rather innocent story that will make a nice first manga.

Nabari No Ou (originally written in Sep 08, updated 13 March 09)

2009-03-13T21:53:00.000-07:00

I'm reminded of this because of the beautiful ending song, called Hikari, and also because a friend wrote a review on it as well.

Anime: Finished, 26 episodes
Manga: Ongoing, No volumes published in English yet - May 2009!! (according to Gocomi's website, let's hope they stick to their schedule), cos if you look below I wrote March 2009 (in Sep 2008). Dunno if that was a typo or they delayed their date.

Starting to really like this manga. ~~But the first volume will only be published in March 2009~~. The characters look a bit different in the anime, a bit more childish and young. Seriously tempted ~~May want~~ to get the manga when it comes out.

Not too dark and pace is quite fast. The characters are nicely drawn - hee, in fact the main character is so "pretty" some people thot he's a girl, though ya, in some angles he really does look like one. And his rather weak character matches that perception. A~~nd, well, so far no boy love! ;p hehhahahh...~~ Oh, sad to say I've to take back what I said about there being no BL, although it is not anything close to yaoi.

~~Will try to write a bit more on this when I've the time.~~Looks like I write about it even when I don't have time.

Wanna see a cosplay of Yoite? Miharu? Thobari Sensei (done by a girl)?
Looks fun. Hahahha...Oh, but some of the fanart really ruin it! No no no no to the yaoi please! ;p

This part courtesy of Simplejoysinlife/Coboypb who watched the anime because of the Ending Song called Hikari (Light). Do have a listen if you have an opportunity, and if you google the lyrics you'll find them very very sad...but I'm sidetracking. Here goes Coboypb's review:

The story is about Miharu, a schoolboy who had some secret art/power in him - he didn't know about it at first and people (who were ninjas/samurai in the Nabari world) were interested in his power. Some became his friends and others just wanted to use the power for their own gains or to create their ideal world. It shows how misguided some people can be by destroying lives around them just to get what they want. There is also goodness where strangers became Miharu's friends and were there to help him. Another important character is Yoite who had the power of Kira and was also called the Death God. The scenes of him and Miharu were very touching as the 2 of them were similar in some ways and they shared a special bond.

I also like how the anime portrays some baddies with some goodness in them and even the good guys had some secrets they were keeping. Things were not what they seemed to be. It was fascinating to see how the story developed. I feel it's kind of unpredictable. Initially, I was attracted to the ninja fighting scenes, then in the later part, it was how the feelings and emotions of the characters were played out.

Most of the guys in the anime (especially Thobari Sensei)look cute and I initially thought one of them (Raiko) was a girl with his pink colour hair. Thobari sensei (another good guy) looks very cool and he was very funny to have a phobia of taking any form of transport.

Additional Ramblings:
Was additionally discussing this and told my friend (above) that I got the goosebumps when the characters appeared on Miharu but she said she thought it was cool. :)

Spoilers (please highlight the text below to read):

There seem to be some notable differences between the manga and the anime. Was discussing with my friend and realised that in the ending of the anime, the memory of Yoite's existance was not erased by the Shirabanshou as it is mentioned in the wiki. She considers the anime version a happier one for this, as I mentioned it was really sad that Miharu no longer remembered Yoite, but then perhaps it's not sad if one doesn't remember/know (the whole purpose of Yoite's wish). But, as a reader/viewer, it's really sad to know. She also mentioned that she thinks Yoite didn't want Miharu to use the Shirabanshou to erase him as it was unnatural and "what's done is done". I think all in all this series seems to set us thinking about deeper issues. :)

Kaname wins over Zero

2009-03-07T04:22:00.001-08:00

So, the results show that Kaname wins 13 to 5 (with a total of 18 votes) on the poll that was in the right column of this blog. I was curious about this question as all through the manga/anime I kept thinking who I was really rooting for.

I'm surprised that Zero doesn't have a strong fan club. A friend was telling me she rooted for him because he seemed to have a more affectionate relationship with Yuuki, growing up with her, building up the bond. Whereas Kaname just seems stoic and doing everything out of a sense of "duty" and destiny.

Found a blog with many discussion comments on this topic...have fun.

Did get it! La croisee dans un labyrinth etrange

2009-03-04T20:06:00.000-08:00

The salesperson at Kino was very helpful and knew exactly where the volume was. At first he said he thought it was out of stock but fortunately (or unfortunately for my pocket?) there was one last copy.

The girl is soooo cute. But of course, my pet peeve - I wish their eyes were filled in! :) The colored pages are fabulous esp her kimono colors. So so sweet.

Realised when I was trying to put tags to this I don't know where in the world it's going. As in, is it supposed to be romance or is it going to be something else. As it is it's just a nice little manga about a bond between the two. Of course if it is heading in the usual shojo style the bond may turn out to be romantic, but as it is, the manga is quite sweet without the romance.

Skip Beat

2009-03-01T05:46:00.001-08:00

Saw that Skip Beat 17 is out...managed to resist. :) Still waiting for Ultimate Venus and A.I. Revolution which I find I more consistently enjoy.

Ikoku Meiro no Croisee

2009-03-01T04:36:00.001-08:00

Isn't this one of the most beautiful covers you've seen?

I'll eagerly await this in English but ~~will look for it in Jap in Kino too~~ (already got it, see post above :)).

Hmmm...maybe I like it for the backgrounds. ;p You know i'm a backgrounds person. The guy isn't bishi but the girl sure is cute (erm, hope it doesn't sound lolitacon). Somehow it reminds me of Otoyomegatari too.

More pictures and description here at another manga lover's blog.

Teacher+ student = jail term

2009-03-01T02:58:00.001-08:00

So, remember my former rant on teacher-student? The sentencing has past and it is 10 months jail for the ex-teacher. The crime is not just about teacher-student, nor is it because it's an older woman, it's about having an intimate relationship with someone who is underaged, whether it's a girl or a boy.

A more personal account, including her MIL and husband's reactions.

I don't blame you cos I wish it were so too...

2009-02-26T02:06:00.001-08:00

Some time ago (weeks?) someone wrote me asking me if I could sell them the Tail of the Moon Vol. 11 for $1. First thing that went through my head - "I have Tail of the Moon Vol. 11? Checking my shelf, yeah, I do! ;p However, after confirming that I sat down to think if this person left out one ZERO (0). I'm not blaming the writer for at least trying but I really really couldn't let it go for $1. My transport down to pass the book to the person or to go to the post office to get it mailed off would actually cost me at least twice that amount! Not to mention the time. I wish it were possible too, cos I'm getting broke broke broke from buying these manga. English manga volumes typically cost around $15-$22.90+! Just check them out at Kino, PageOne or Borders. I lie not. Plus, to be frank, if I'm selling the volume off I probably haven't read it much. Not that it isn't good per se because everyone has different tastes, but probably cos it's an odd volume or I decided not to follow the series anymore. As mentioned before I'm more the less than 10 volumes kinda manga reader and after that you have probably lost me. So, it's probably quite mint and most of the dog ears my volumes have gotten have either been from the store, from travelling back from the store (cos I don't take the plastic bags) and/or my friends (tho I haven't really tracked this as it's not something I'd like to pay much attention to). Once they are back, they are wrapped and read usually rather quickly and then on the shelf (tho not always in that order).

Vampire Knight Bishies

2009-02-25T21:33:00.001-08:00

Couldn't help googling for another picture of the bishies - this one is rather strange since they never wore such clothes in the manga/anime.

And realised...if you can't tire of the visuals, here's a real fan club with tons!

Mei-Chan no Shitsuji

2009-02-25T05:05:00.000-08:00

So cute, wonder if there is really that doll (but then again, I'm a bit frightened of dolls and sweetie hates them). via nikki sorairo's flickr

I don't think this particular manga is really that out of the ordinary but I do find myself rooting for the girl a lot as she's sweet and cute and so far doesn't seem to be too irritating. However, I do wish she were a bit older (13 years old), as it seems a bit incongruous for her love interest to be so much older (altho whether she actually ends up with him remains to be seen), causing some to remark it's lolitacon. And, altho it would be nice to see her grow up and mature, I think if she's only 13 it's gonna take a while! And you know, I can't really last very long in a series. ;p

That this is written by the same author as Love Monster probably deserves a mention here, as that was really an either hate it or love it series. Personally, I couldn't really stomach it and I have seen comments on both sides of the fence. So far no such in this but perhaps it would really be too much since she's only 13.

Possible Spoiler

I was really hoping that she ended up with the older brother butler but then again, I agree with comments that he really didn't treat her with much emotion/romance and I think he could have been more sensitive to her. Like, when he danced with another lady (with whom he seems to have some history) whilst telling her not to dance with other guys and also his nonreaction when she confesses to him that she likes him. In comparison, there seems to be a fan club for the younger brother.

Finished

2009-02-19T09:27:00.001-08:00

Just finished VK Guilty and feeling...well, a bit disappointed. The ending seemed rushed although I wanted some action instead of draggy flashbacks. On who she finally chose, I did ask my friend earlier if it was ambiguous and she said no, but in the end I did feel it wasn't quite resolved and I also felt really really sad for the one that she left. The ending didn't seem like an ending but seemed open to a part 2 of sorts although perhaps on the other hand, one is supposed to imagine what comes next.

A lot of tormented souls (do vampires have souls?)...

A lot a lot of unanswered questions...

Spoilers ahead...Highlight to see.

- like how Kaname is not her real brother, that part was really fuzzy
- the whole association plus elder council collaboration thing was a bit weak on motives and objectives
- the reason Rido wanted just Yuuki's blood, couldn't it have been Kaname's? Another pureblood's? There seems to be some relationship there that isn't quite clearly spelt out.
- kept thinking why Zero didn't make his brother a vampire to save him

Reassessing this and thinking about it, it really is a very sad tragic story. The saddest parts are when the parents died, and Zero's twin died, and when Yuuki takes blood from Zero and realises he loves her when all that's going through his mind is her name.

VK Guilty

2009-02-17T20:47:00.001-08:00

Well, guilty of one thing - starting VK Guilty at the insistence of my fellow manga/anime loving friend. The art and all is great, as per expected. I realise that I've been so reluctant to watch it probably because of a few factors, like that I wanted to wait for the manga to finish and get the entire set and enjoy from the beginning (maybe?) or perhaps it is really cos I don't want to find out who Yuuki ends up with cos I want her to have both of them!!! (more likely?). So I started watching the last season's epi 13 to recap, but the only version on hand was the French subbed. And oh boy did I struggle cos I'm just not used to it and read French oh so sloooooow....But thankfully, it is surprisingingly easy dialogue - hmmm...they don't say much of complexity, do they? ;p

Ok, still wrangling time to watch the rest...

And some negatives - I'm finding the plot painfully slow, with some "emotional" bits a bit too drawn out and then some. The dialogue sometimes goes in circles and some parts I could have done without. The drawing of hands were also really weird, with those scenes of Zero and Yuuki a bit ruined when her hands were the same size as his. The proportions were just a bit too much off.

In the poster on top I also find Yuuki a bit less attractive/sweet/cute than she is in the anime. It's somehow as if she's a bit too gaunt or something. I do like her with longer hair but in this she just looks strange.

Am I missing anything?

2009-02-14T07:09:00.001-08:00

I realise there are really a lot of shonen ai/yaoi titles. And sometimes, at forums, I realise the fans are super duper keen on this genre. I just am not one of them. I keep thinking about picking up Kara Keoh Maoh, or After School Nightmare, but when I read, "shonen ai", I think no no. I put it back down again and sigh, the drawing looks good and some parts of the storyline sound good, but but...

Strange to think I started reading manga with Loveless, a really popular shonen ai....didn't know that particular phrase existed at that time of course...

I know this post isn't really about the left aka Loveless but just thot the pic was nice - hee! (erm, well, if you neglect the shonen-ai overtones and focus on concept, color, etc. ;p)

Oh, and just found out that Nabari No Ou is supposedly shonen ai. But seriously it didn't strike me as such, or I think most people, unless they specifically lock on that that part.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-13T09:29:00.003-08:00

Hope all my readers is having a great Valentine's Day whether it's with that one and only someone special or with friends! Have a great weekend too!

Shojobeat

2009-02-10T08:46:00.000-08:00

Wonder how many girls subscribe to shojobeat. The first time I bought it I didn't know what it was all about and was just curious. One thing I liked was that the drawings were so big (in comparison to the bound volumes) and they were also colored for better color contrast.

But, as a friend says, they are not cheap, and I feel it's pretty disjointed cos it's only one chapter of the manga per issue then it's another month. Of course, I guess if you're really crazy about the series they are carrying (like Vampire Knight), you could buy the issues, cut and bind into volumes. ;p But too much work, no? And I know some people can't bear to desecrate magazines/books (I know of one person who refused and actually cringed when I tore a magazine apart for a project. ;p). I read one person actually tearing it apart to wrap files or something.

Of course they are much cheaper if you live the States. Seems everything is. :( And how I am starting to love online shopping...(with free shipping only in the States...sob sob).

B.O.D.Y.

2009-02-04T20:39:00.001-08:00

Came across this a few times but never started it, probably cos for some reason I got the idea that the girl would be rather ill treated by the guy. I have wondered where I got this perception, esp after I read it and it's rather different. I think it's actually from the synopsis at the back where it says, "will she finally wise up?" and "She could hire him to date her, but she'd rather win his heart" making it seem like an arduous journey to get him to like/pay attention to her. So it was rather a pleasant surprise that he's actually rather decent to her, though there are times when he teases and makes use of the fact that she is so naive and gullible.

Story: B+
Art: B
Recommended? I actually only like the art somewhat; the characters aren't really that bishie. There isn't much detail in it and it is just about fine to tell a story with. The story itself is also not spectacular, but it can be sweet. The guy is pretty decent and not violent, whiny, arrogant (well, not too much).

Lovely Complex/Love Com

2009-01-31T06:09:00.001-08:00

Didn't start this one earlier as it's going past 15 volumes. ;p The art is ok but it isn't really in the style that I like. The guys aren't bishonen for one thing. :)

This story is very very very slow. It's totally unlike B.O.D.Y. is all I can say. :) The development is so excruciatingly played out that I just wondered whether I should skip a few chapters, erm, volumes. But I guess in this instance one really can't complain that there isn't any development of the relationship and that they just jump into it without reason. :) It's innocent, and the classmates are for once, not the "push you down, throw garbage on you, put blades in your book" garden variety. There are times when I really felt for the girl as she's dealing with the difficulties in the relationship and loving the guy. I'm not very interested to read on after vol. 7 but apparently there is some angst coming up.

Visit the forum to discuss this!

Kitchen Princess

2009-01-27T22:49:00.000-08:00

Brief Summary: An orphan girl who's very talented in cooking/baking enrolls in a school for chefs to find the boy that saved her from drowning many years ago.

I don't know if I could give a proper review of this seeing as how I read vols 3 and 5 and skipped all else. I couldn't resist and wiki'd it before I started and realised that there's something that happens later I'm not quite sure I like but it's just a personal preference cos I'm such a sucker for happy endings.

The drawing is very cute and sweet and plus, all the characters' eyes are drawn in (ok, another personal preference. ;p). However, the art doesn't go into details and is not very intricate. Besides the pastries, details on clothes and backgrounds are close to nil. In fact, if you notice, most of the panes have no backgrounds at all, except some splotches. But then again, quite a few manga series don't have backgrounds. The two main male characters are cute, but could be twins if not for the difference in hair color. Generally, probably because they are around 14 years old, the characters look very young and child-like. They are the very typical Jap anime/manga cutesies.

The story is quite simple up to vol.5 but I read from the author's notes that from there onwards, she is heading it in another direction. I can't give more details without spoiling but there is a major happening in Vol. 5 that may take the overall story a notch up in complication.

The recipes of the pastries/cakes/etc that are featured in the story are found at the back of the book, together with a few pages preview of the next volume, the latter albeit in Japanese.

I don't have the urge to finish this at the moment.

My Rating:
Story: B-
Art: B+
Recommended? Very simple, sweet story of a girl and two cute boys.

More info:
Wikipedia
Vol. 4 Review and Vol. 6 Review at Comics Worth Reading
Vol. 4 Review at Manga Life

Visit the forum to discuss this!

Using the library

2009-01-20T22:17:00.001-08:00

As mentioned on the right column, there are only a few libraries that really carry manga. Find your book at the NLB catalogue

To save more money on buying, let's recommend some manga to them. Some of the titles they do have now are rather strange! Makes me wonder who does the purchasing, or rather what frame of mind that person is/was in.

This is their reply after you submit your recommendation. I wonder what the "success rate" is like. But I did see a sign in one of the libraries that said they are expanding their comics section. But most of them were marvel/superhero type.

Thank you for your suggestion.

All the suggestions will be given consideration by the appropriate subject librarian. However, not all suggested materials could be purchased for the collection. Due to the large number of suggestions we receive, we may not be able to notify you about our decision regarding your request.

You can use our catalogue to check the availability of the title or further feedback or queries, please email to: helpdesk@nlb.gov.sg

And I got a reply to say they can't find the title. Don't they have Google? And I even included a wiki link! I had to refill the entire page again and cut and paste all the info again. Sigh.

Sighted at the bookstore

2009-01-14T08:25:00.001-08:00

Back from the bookstore again with another unplanned purchase. Something strange, and the worst of it all is that it's the last volume and not the first. I won't mention it here, maybe I'll write a review on it next time. And, another baddie is that I discovered it had a slight dog ear after I was on my way. I really don't like my manga to have dog ears!

Also spotted a few new releases available and some releases I saw but now not, such as Tail of the Moon 14 and Skip Beat 15. Perhaps they have been snapped up?

I also saw and contemplated for not the first time, Kara Keoh Meoh. The second volume is out now. The art seems good and after hearing how my friend liked the anime so much it sounded interesting. The main character seems quite bishi. :) But since it's labelled shonen ai I am not sure. It's somewhat like how I want to watch Code Geass as the drawing looks good and the storyline interesting but still, it seems way too convoluted and long.

Also, the vampire craze continues - I came across this one called Vampire Hunter D, which I understand is quite dark but very popular. Apparently it started with the novel, then the very successful anime, followed now by manga. Had a browse and found that though I found the synopses of almost all the volumes of the light novel quite interesting the art just wasn't my thing. It was a bit messy and the characters aren't in the style that I favor. Blood + is another popular anime, manga, and video game (?).

The strangest coincidence is that I bumped into a manga loving friend, the very one that introduced me to manga. :) And, of course, what else? We got to talking about manga! She was teling me about another new English release - Crown, by You Higuri, who also wrote Gakuen Heaven. Her manga storylines really haven't been my thing though as there seem to be some shonen ai overtones.

Shinrei Tantei Yakumo

2009-01-09T09:50:00.001-08:00

Ongoing Manga

Brief Summary: A girl comes to look for the help of a detective when her friend falls into a coma after a "test of courage" in which she meets a ghost.

He actually looks a bit girly in this cover, no? ;p But somehow I liked it quite a lot for a while, plus the story is all right. The drawing is nice and pretty and the two protags have a lot of chemistry though they are not romantically involved as yet in the first volume.

The guy takes the lead in the mystery solving but the girl is sharp and an able side kick (most of the time). At first, the girl is skeptical but later realises that the guy knows more than meets the eye as he is able to preceive and communicate with spirits/ghosts, including the female protag's dead twin sister.

My Rating:
Art: B
Story: B
Recommended? The storyline is quite engaging so far although it isn't really exceptional.

King of the Lamp, Tenshi Ja Nai and Ultimate Venus

2009-01-08T21:45:00.000-08:00

King of the Lamp

Manga: Complete at one volume

Brief Summary: Five oneshots in one volume, with three on the same premise of a genie helping girls find love. The fourth and fifth ones have light supernatural themes building up to a romance.

Got this as I liked Ultimate Venus and I like the mangaka's drawings overall, for its clean and neat appeal. However, as mentioned below, once again the characters look exactly like her previous ones. For one of the stories, you would not be wrong to think the female protag was the one in Ultimate Venus and wonder if it was an extra/side story of sorts to that.

The first three are rather typical boy meets girl or vice versa and girl falls for him, tries to get his attention/affection. So fortunate there is a genie around the corner that is actually a womanising king that has been given the punishment of helping at least 1000 girls fulfil their love requests. Rather simple stories.

The fourth one seemed a bit different from any that I've read from her so far and it was the most interesting to me, although the ending was again predictable and came a bit too abruptly (mainly cos it's a oneshot I suppose so it couldn't be helped).

The fifth one, as I've also read on ANN, wasn't that good. I agree. It seemed a bit strange and fluffy. It was one of her earlier works.

This volume is a bit more "racy" (is that the word?) than the other series she's done (although nothing explicit). Think she was targetting a bit older readers (teens as opposed to tweens , although in this day and age...). I think I must add that a friend of mine who read this was a bit taken aback by it despite reading (and liking) Ultimate Venus. I would say it's not near smut but as mentioned, there are some intimate scenes. I must say that I wouldn't argue with my friend that we both hope it doesn't teach teenagers that it's a shame not to lose "it" and that sex equates to love, or that one needs to use sex to gain love from the man. Unfortunately, it might. And that's the worry.

My Rating:
Story: C
Art: B-

Recommended? An ok read, but nothing really out of the ordinary and each story is rather too short. A stronger linking background story (the part about the genie) would be have good for the first three stories. As it is the first three are rather disjointed and can be read in any order.

Tenshi Ja Nai

Manga: Completed at 8 Volumes.

Brief Summary: A guy pretends to be a girl and attends an all girl's school because he is in showbiz as a girl. A new student discovers his secret and...(you know where this is going)

This one is a break in the usual routine, being the opposite of the usual girl disguises as guy and gets into an all boys’ school (think Hana Kimi, Ouran High School Host Club and Girl Got Game). Instead, very strangely, it’s a boy that dresses and acts like a girl. Of course that provides the comedy and of course someone finds out early on. The whole premise thereafter becomes rather clichéd again but there are a few original twists and turns.

For one thing, I do appreciate that the girl is not so dotty, immature and ditzy as some others (really tired of the girl struggling with making chocolate for the boy – enough already, thankfully no such thing in this one). She usually has her head screwed on tight and doesn’t loose it to “love”. However, do feel she’s more like the guy in this series sometimes, as the guy is now a “girl”.

There is a bit of reverse harem as well, with at least three guys falling for the girl. There’s even a teacher-student element thrown in, together with blackmail and other side themes. There’s also a serious love rival with no big faults but I shall not give that away.

And then you must have the fangirls (I really wonder after reading all these whether Jap girls are really in any way like this - it’s really too exaggerated!). The guy, as a girl, also has a whole host of them. And fanboys too, obviously. So these cause the girl protagonist grief.

My Rating:
Story: B
Art: B-

Recommended? Interesting for the twist in concept, with many different other side stories thrown in. Not particularly wow, but readable.

Similar: All those others I mentioned above regarding the girl-boy disguises. Actually, it also reminds me of her new work, Ultimate Venus. The characters have you going deja vu!

Also someone mentioned Maria Holic was similar but there are more shojo ai overtones in that one (am not quite sure it is going to be "romance" boy girl style)

Ultimate Venus

Brief Summary: Orphaned girl gets adopted by super rich grandma.

The storyline is quite interesting, but still it is pretty much a Cinderella story where the poor girl realises she is actually a "princess" (I mean in the sense she is now super rich). There is some mystery behind the relationship between her mother and the grandmother that is still waiting to be hatched. There is also some ominous happenings when she's at school that is linked to her being the candidate to inheriting her grandma's companies (and thus wealth).

And then there are the bishi boys/men. There are two main contenders - the guy who is assigned to look after her bodyguard style and a classmate. Later there is another one but I won't give his role away. Their motivations are made a bit more clear in volumes 2 and 3, but the story is still quite slow going. Now after reading volume three, it's starting to develop into a reverse harem. :)

The girl follows the usual shojo school girl character somewhat - rather naive and ditzy, getting easily agitated. On the other hand, at least she's not too clumsy or stupid.

I must say that the characters look too similar to Tenshi Ja Nai, which was written by the same mangaka. Actually, in her extra story in vol 3, the characters look the same as the ones in the main story itself.

All in all, it sounds promising and hope the development gets better and not head down the hill of a routine shojo plot....even husband read it! ;p heeheh

My Rating:
Story: B
Art: B, the characters look alike mostly, and the drawing is clean but the scenes and characters are not very elaborately drawn or detailed. There is just enough to make the panes look pretty mostly.
Recommended? Sounds interesting so far.

More info:
Bakaupdates

Maria Holic

2009-01-08T08:42:00.001-08:00

Brief Summary: Girl enrolls in mission school looking for love...amongst the all female intake. She meets with rude crossdressing Maria and realises soon enough that she is a he.

All this while I was wondering why the female (erm, male) protag looked so familiar and after googling a bit have found out the mangaka, Minari Endo is the same as that for Dazzle/Hatenko Yugi. And just like Dazzle, it has also been made into an anime, although hopefully it won't turn out like the former, leaving the storyline hanging halfway with no further seasons (what were they thinking with that one?).

I don't know if this is actually supposed to be a shojo ai/yuri manga, as it's usually labelled "romance". However, so far the overtones have been quite strong. I'm not into that genre so I'm only sticking around to see what the mangaka's doing with the two protags and curious about the reason why the male protag has to cross dress.

However, having gone through some more of it, I'm not sure it's for me. The storyline is getting stranger and stranger and there are elements I just don't get. I will put it aside. I was hoping for something better than Dazzle, which I think I'll abandon too.

Need new homes..updated

2008-12-31T10:53:00.001-08:00

Was sorting out my manga and realised I've some funny out of the blue volumes of series I am probably not going to follow anymore. Need to try to clear the house and create space...

These are:

1. Pet Shop of Horrors Vol. 4
2. Pet Shop of Horrors Vol. 9
3. Tokyo Pet Shop of Horrors Vol.1
4. Tokyo Pet Shop of Horrors Vol. 2
5. Godchild Vol. 2
6. Godchild Vol. 3
7. Dazzle Vol. 1
8. Dazzle Vol. 2
9. Dazzle Vol. 8
10. Dazzle Vol. 9
11. Special A Vol.5
12. La Corda D'Ore Vol. 6
13. Tail of the Moon Vol. 11 and 13
14. Her Majesty's Dog Vol. 11
15. Mugen Spiral Vol. 1

Most of them are in very good condition (due to me not reading them much; as mentioned, I tend to lose interest if releases are not fast enough).

Email me if you're interested.

Welcome to the manga obsess forum...and does anyone have a bit of spare time?

2008-12-31T10:04:00.001-08:00

There's a manga obsess forum!

I know, I know, there are dozens of manga forums, but realised most of them are overseas. Spent a bit of time tweaking with the codes on this and it should be working. I love black...;p

Well, not much time left to devote to this, or rather, I shouldn't be. In any case. if anyone wants to help me with reviews, you're welcome! just email me.

The guestbook is also at the forum - Sign the guestbook - Be happy to see your note! I'm curious about who visits this blog and how they got here, so do tell a bit about yourself, your favorite anime/manga and how you knew about the blog. You can also tell me what you would like to see on it and you could also give your reviews too! I'd love to hear what other people think of the titles, even if it's very different from my views.

New Look

2008-12-31T03:15:00.001-08:00

Decided to change the usual look of my manga volumes to black (usually they are kraft wrapped). Well, I thought it's black but it may be dark blue. Trying to keep the volumes as mint as possible and usually take quite a lot of care on them. Quite a few of my volumes are out now and not so worried about them actually as I trust the peeps who have them will treat them well. :)

Overheard

2008-12-30T11:36:00.001-08:00

Grabbed another four volumes today, and have already finished them! Overheard this guy at the end of the shelf telling his girlfriend about some of the manga series he's read, all of which I've come across so decided to eavesdrop a bit to see what he'd say about them. He was going on about how great XXXholic (by CLAMP of cardcaptor Sakura fame) was and how it was connected to Tsubasa. Oh, he said that Loveless was a "gay" manga. Hmmm...that's not right in a lot of different ways. It's not really yaoi though the shonen ai is quite strong. Even if it's yaoi I wouldn't call it that, cos yaoi is written for women.

Emma

2008-12-29T02:48:00.000-08:00

Manga complete. by MORI Kaoru

Brief Summary: Rich guy falls for maid, and of course society is against it.

Maybe I shouldn't be reviewing this one since I stopped at two chapters, but I just wanted to note down the disinterest (altho to be fair I know this title has a lot of fans and it isn't that the artwork is bad per se, just that the drawing style isn't really the type I like and the storyline was just so flat).

In the first chapter you have the guy falling for the girl already, without exchanging more than ten words (erm, I didn't actually count). Ok ok, so bash me over the head, that's how shojos go right (is this a shojo?)? But the next thing you know, the guy's friend comes (chapter 2 if I'm not wrong) and falls for her too, without even saying a word this time. What gives? Scratch head.

My Rating:
Hmmm...I think I can't qualify to give a rating, as mentioned above. But I would say I'm not reading anymore (that should give you a hint).

On the other hand, I've read many people's comments about how they are fans of her work and this series, so perhaps there is something I'm missing. Also, her art may appeal to some people more than me. I read that this mangaka really does her homework on the eras that she draws.

Actually, she has another one out called Otoyomegatari which I've found quite interesting. The art there is also quite incredible, so it's quite strange that I have such differing views on the two. But at the same time I also find that story quite slow and meandering in a sense.

Coelacanth

2008-12-23T17:02:00.000-08:00

Ongoing Manga

Brief Summary: A girl on her way home is saved from being caught in an explosion at her apartment complex when she is knocked down and injured by a boy in blood covered clothes riding a bike. This boy drops what looks like a toy fish scale, which the girl picks up and keeps. Ten years later, she meets a man who happens to have the toy fish, in which the scale fits perfectly. She is attracted to him but as he may have an association with the explosion that happened ten years ago, it may be a dangerous liaison as his intentions could be sinister...

The title of this series attracted me. Wouldn't you agree that it's not every day you get one named after a "living fossil" of sorts (very interesting deep sea fish)? :) Intrigued before starting the first page, but the mystery and ambiguous summary actually attracted me as well.

As with the mangaka's other stories, the emphasis is on the mystery (or rather mysteries as there is more than one happening at the same time), which makes it intriguing because it is not a typical shojo love-romance story (but neither is it an action packed dectective thriller). In the story, the girl is not particularly interested in acting as a P.I./detective but she wants to find out more about the boy who "saved" her in the past. So yeah, in a way, it veers towards romance, but there is a darker element as there is uncertainty about the boy's motives.

There are quite a few elements that one glued to the story, wanting to find out the whys that it poses, including why the girl seems to have some strange delusions. Characterisation is not that strong, but the girl seems independent and clear headed enough.

My Rating
Story: B
Art: B
Recommended? Interesting and unique so far.

Fantastic Detective Labyrinth

2008-12-17T20:00:00.001-08:00

Ongoing anime and manga

Brief Summary: At the start of the story, 30 years have passed since a huge earthquake destroyed Tokyo. Only a few people remain in the old city and crime is rampant, some of which are unsolvable by the police and are termed phantom cases. Enter the young detective, seemingly rich cute and innocent little Mayuki, who manages to solve the crimes the police cannot.

I do seem to have a soft spot for detective/crime/mystery type stories, although for episodic ones like this I really focus on the background linking storyline as well. This one is pretty interesting and I tried to check out the full story on it on wiki but there just wasn't much. Surprised that even the episode guides haven't been filled out. Usually fans are more diligent! :) Or, maybe there just aren't that many fans of this?

The characters are cute and well, they are school kids so I guess characterization doesn't get too complicated; however, it's the same thing for the adults as well - there isn't much background on their motivations or personalities. Maybe we'll get to that later. For the children, the twin brothers are very easy to tell apart, something I realised from the beginning as they are quite different. Perhaps that was intentional or else we'd be lost half the time. The main character is cute (shotacon?) and the center of many females' affections. There seems to be a bit of fanservice going on here, with at least two of the women's breasts bigger than reasonable. None of the characters are particularly irritating, which is good. :) The main character is really overly saccharine sometimes until one feels it's unbelieveable and unrealistic. Very girly too for a boy, and I've read some commenters say the voice talent was so obviously a lady.

The one thing that kept cropping up in my mind is that it had some pretty similar elements to Kuroshitsuji - there is the young boy (with blue eyes no less), the cool looking able butler, and the "bumbling" maid, etc. But of course, that one is a darker and I would say the boy there is a lot more cool.

My Rating:
Story: B
Art: B
Recommended? Interesting so far and rather well done.

Similar to:
Has been compared to Matantei Loki Ragnarok, as there is also a young boy who is the detective.

I also see similarities between this and Kuroshitsuji.

Boku Wa Kiss de Uso o Tsuku

2008-12-15T23:42:00.000-08:00

Ongoing manga

Summary: A girl finds herself kissed one day whilst asleep in the library. When she wakes up, she realises that there are four boys in the library and she has to figure out who did it by herself as no one is telling.

This is the best promotion for going to the library as any I've come across (and will likely!). Apparently, being a bookworm (bordering on nerdy?) and well read can get you plenty of attention. For the protagonist here, she is swatting away four contenders! There's the delinquent cassanova looking type, there's the studious one, the shotacon and the sporty (kinda reminds me of Ouran)! Nearly every bishie school shojo type is present. And, so the story goes, after the girl falls asleep in the library, one of them kisses her and it's up to her to shift through all the lies and the boys' shennanigans to find out just which of them it is. Really, a schoolgirl's fantasy to have such a wonderful harem of bishies...now now, just to find out who the kisser was...

Frankly, very unreal silly shojo. There is no real reason given on why the boys like the girl so things are a bit unrealistic and unlikely. :) Husband exclaimed after I told him briefly of the plot, "That can make a story??!!". Oh well.

My Rating:
Story: C
Art: B
Recommended? Very simple story. Eyecandy.

Bokura wa Itsumo

2008-12-12T06:05:00.001-08:00

Ongoing manga

Cute innocent shojo. Two bishi guys, two pretty girls, all childhood friends, though it's not what you think - they don't really pair up, at least not in the beginning, as they are either with different people or not with anyone at all. The characters are really cute (as mentioned) but they are a bit youngish/more juvenile looking. Till now I'm still not getting how old one is supposed to be in their middle school/high school (is it the same as the US system?).

The guys, if they didn't have different color hair, might have ended up looking like twins though. For the girls, it seems like the usual shojo device where you have the main character (Nori) a bit more ditzy than her friend (Saeka), though spunky and happy go lucky.

My Rating:
Story: B-
Art: B+
Recommended? It's a cute story so far.
Similar to: Read someone mention it seems to be a better imitation of Marmalade Boy.
Also by author: Shuu 7

Cute cosplay clothes!

2008-12-09T02:04:00.001-08:00

I know, I know...they would look totally wrong on me.
You can find more of her in Dr. wa Ijiwaru na Kiss de

Or, maybe this is lolita? I just realised what Gothic Lolita is and it's sooo cute! One day, friends. ;p Don't faint.

A. I. Revolution

2008-12-04T06:48:00.001-08:00

Manga complete at 17 volumes, English at 5 volumes - release schedule at Go!Comi. I've recommended Vol. 5 to the library and have also bought it and the review of that particular volume is here.

Summary: A talented scientist has developed an android for fun and passes it to his daughter to teach it. Although she has respect for his work and understands robots, this new robot is something entirely different, being indistinguishable from humans.

I realise I do like Robot stories a lot. I have probably read nearly all of Isaac Asimov's Robot stories (a few times), and "I, Robot" at least twice. But actually, personally, I think the premise of an A.I. android that takes the place (I mean in terms of love, family, etc.) of humans is a bit morally disturbing. The ending of Absolute Boyfriend, another popular shojo robot manga, seems to point to this as well (though I haven't read it in entirety. Felt it wasn't for me after I knew the ending). Despite this, I was once again attracted to this robot series.

Overall, reminds me a bit of Pet Shop of Horrors, not for anything in the storyline at all, but in the format the story is laid out. It seems to be episodic in nature, with each chapter exploring a different angle/aspect of the science-human interaction, whether it be the androids or biotechnology, etc. It shows the different motivations of people with regards to technology and their feelings and thoughts towards the androids. e.g. some would like to dominate and order their robots but others feel that they are equal to them. For this, there are quite a few characters introduced and their relations to robots or technology.

Because of the above regarding the many different plotlines, the story tends to get a bit scattered and we're looking at a lot of different characters, such that the main story gets a bit lost. This is ok up to a certain extent but if you're like me, after a while you'd like to have some development with the main protags, especially the first ones that were introduced, Sui and Vermillion (also see my recent review of Vol. 5).

The art is a bit simplistic. Although I wasn't expecting anything in the likes of VK, the lack of intrinsic detail was probably the low point of this series. The girl is pretty enough most times but I can't really say the guys were bishi. And in some panels, their eyes were not even drawn in! The guys didn't have eye detail in any of the panels. Hey, the eyes are important! ;p OK, perhaps it's because it was written in 1993 and the style is rather different now. However, perhaps the storyline makes up for it. At least one other person has told me they like this better than some of the popular shojo titles as it probably seems to have some depth and meaning.

Can't find that many comments on this series. Have a feeling that it wasn't that popular somehow.

As for romance, if you're looking for it, this series may not satisfy, at least up to Vol. 5 where I am at.

More information (possible spoiler)
I think this topic is very complex, as I hinted above. It is almost as if making a real human being, and power like that is dangerous to say the least. In any case, one thing that struck me in this series was when Vermillon, one of the robots said that Sui, the human girl he lives with, means a lot to him but not exactly like a sister nor a lover - he has no 'label' for her.

My Rating:
Story: B
Art: C
Recommended: The storyline is engaging so far and there are parts that may even be thought provoking. Overall, it is a good treatment of this subject matter and the parts of "love" (I put in quotations because perhaps it's not the exact word to describe what a robot has for another or a human?) is well thought out and not overly dramatic or unrealistic (as far as I've read). Of course, there is a lot of the usual expected shojo elements plus the usual plot devices and concerns of robot-human interactions we have seen elsewhere, like in Isaac Asimov's robot stories or in more recent robot stories (such as Chobits, which probably is different compared to this, probably as it was attracting the male audience with some slight fanservice, but I'm side tracking...) and shows. I'm curious and wondering where this will head and will probably keep looking out for future releases.

Penguin Revolution

2008-11-28T02:59:00.001-08:00

Completed manga
by Tsukura Sakura

A simple sweet story about teens in showbiz, seems to be written for younger audiences (tweens?) The somewhat complex storyline twists on one hand but doesn't really delve enough into the characterization on the other hand. I wish there was more depth in the characters, especially Ayamori. Despite him being a protaganist and star in the story, he comes off as rather bland. The other male protagonist (starting to sound like a harem? Ya, come to think of it she does have these three bishis and at least two of them have shown interest in her, so perhaps...) isn't much better. The usual shojo devices and feel. Despite the bishi guys, for most of the story, the romance element isn't much there. The story/premise taken by itself is rather unbelievable so be ready to suspend disbelief completely.

My Rating
Story: C
Art: C+
Recommended? Just ok for a light read and innocent characters.

Also by author/artist: Makakushi No Kuni, Yoroshiku Master, Amai Kamiato, Birthday Presents, Shiro no Keiyaku, Tonari no Inuyama-kun

Absolute Witch and Ban Hon Sa

2008-11-24T19:56:00.001-08:00

Brief Summary: In a land of magic in which all the powerful witches have disappeared for hundreds of years, four men find and raise an abandoned baby girl who happens mysteriously to be one. Her adventures follow...

Another Korean manhwa that may turn out to be quite long. That, to me, is the only drawback, as I'm not keen on stories that are too slow or convoluted (though I know not everyone is like me, as evidenced by the votes on the right :)).

The pace so far is quite good, and the characters are interesting and drawn very pretty. But I'm not quite a fan of the back and forth timeline either, although it is not as confusing as some. The heroine seems quite headstrong and smart, quick witted, and I hope she will develop even more in that direction.

My Rating:
Story: B
Art: B+
Recommended? So far so good. Interesting storyline.

Ban Hon Sa

Another one from the same author. Interesting and different. The description says "fairy tales" but some of it probably I would classify as horror and supernatural rather than fairy type of tale. Most of the supernatural creatures/spirits seem to come from Korean roots.

My Rating:
Story: B-
Art: B+
Recommended? Was somehow draggy and disjoint at first, but seems to be getting better.

Skip Beat on Okto

2008-11-21T07:20:00.000-08:00

Didn't realise that the rather popular romance/comedy shojo manga/anime, Skip Beat, is on Okto at 11pm on Fridays until I read the wiki entry. It comes out about a week after showing in Japan if I'm not wrong. So it isn't that delayed. The subs are a bit different from the fansubs; I actually trust the latter more. :) Episode 7 correlates quite closely to vol 3 in the manga.

Not too sure about finishing the manga though, as it's 22 volumes and counting! Not sure if I have that patience...but so far it's an interesting story, refreshingly different and though the girl is a bit ditzy at times she hasn't been oppressively irritating...yet..

I've just gotten onto the second half and so far find it quite innovative how the heroine solves her problems, especially in her acting. The writer sure is creative. However, as it goes onto vol 13 and 14, the storyline gets a bit more convoluted and complicated.

My Rating:
Story: B
Art: C
Recommended? A bit different in the sense that there are quite a few different scenarios which avoids it being too repetitive and is a bit more creative. However, I'm getting a bit tired, as it's rolling onto 22 volumes and counting.

Shojo gals

2008-11-20T07:00:00.001-08:00

Realised as I went through some forums (I like to read comments generally, even if it's at the NYtimes. ;p) that people are looking for a different shojo gal after going through the same formula too many times. Ya, me too. I think there's a "movement" for that more intelligent gal who doesn't get bullied, keep falling down, and isn't just "sweet" for sweet's sake. The first ditzy gal I came across was in Loveless (was it Yuiko) and she irritated me quite a fair bit. And I actually got tired of Itazura Na Kiss' Kotoko. Wished she wouldn't be hanging/clinging/crying/falling over the guy all the time.

Any to recommend?

Monkey High

2008-11-16T21:20:00.000-08:00

Ongoing manga

A rather strange but cute shojo. Quite a sweet (and so far innocent) story that seems more for a younger audience. The guy is a bit childish but that's his character style and he's supposed to resemble a monkey(thus the title). A very unlikely "hero" for a romance but refreshing. The girl is the "cooler" one, calm and composed. It's heartwarming when she realises that his endearing and innocent ways are what attracts him to her, despite his silly and not so sophisticated ways.

I would say this is different just for the fact that the guy is not your average oh so cool rich kid. He's just the kid next door, sweet and unassuming, a bit too silly and immature. However, the story does get a bit repetitive from chapter to chapter when the same formula runs that the girl gets embarrassed with the guy but then realises how sweet he is...then, repeat.

My Rating:
Story: C
Art: B-
Recommended: ok, for a different story but think in some ways it is a bit repetitive.

Full House Kiss

2008-11-16T05:31:00.000-08:00

Ongoing Manga
Author: Yuwa Shiori

This is the somewhat common formula of having the girl become an orphan and coming to stay with some handsome guy (or guys in this case) due to some dire consequences (I think we've read one or two like this?). The only thing that stands out is that there is some underlying mystery concerning the deaths of her parents and the disappearance of her sister.

The guys are all different and the girl is so far not that silly but she is not that smart either.

Strangely this is based on/related to ? some game which I've never seen before but the description I read on wiki was quite funny and strange (and a bit ambiguous).

My Rating:
Story: B-
Art: B-
Recommended: Interesting, but besides the mystery it's also quite typical.
Similar to: I saw quite a few comments that this is very similar to Fruits Basket, but I've not read that so I can't say. I haven't really gone through Wallflower but in essence there is a similarity, though I would say the emphasis for that one is really quite different.

More info:
Bakaupdates

Pet Shop of Horrors and Tokyo Pet Shop of Horrors

2008-11-14T08:38:00.000-08:00

Completed manga
Ongoing follow up Tokyo series

Brief Summary: In a pet shop in Chinatown the owner, Count D, will be able to recommend you the perfect pet, with some conditions, some of which you may not be able to live up to...

Ok, this may seem like a different addition to the site (it is not shojo romance obviously), but this actually has a rather "special" (for want of a better word) place in my manga "journey" (for want of a better word) as it's the first manga I searched for and read myself and bought. Ok, those of you who know should know why (and those of you who read my below reviews can chance a guess since I hint at being partial to some things ;p).

Perhaps in my rush now it's not the best time to review this, but I've been wanting to add this for ages. This manga is probably the widest read of those I've tried to introduce to friends. :) Seemed the most acceptable to both guys and gals, though some thought it was a bit too weird-ish. We've had debates on Count D, the main character, and whether he's ultimately good or evil. There seems to be some morals somewhere but you get a bit lost on whether it's kangeroo court or real justice.

The episodic nature of this series makes it easy to start just about any volume, as long as you get the basic of that Count D sells strange pets that have special/strange/eerie/supernatural/dangerous qualities. These pets may also take on human form in some people's perceptions as well.

The first stories are actually a different format from the latter stories, especially when it gets to the new "Tokyo" series. The stories range from "huh? What was that about?" to "oh, that was cool". Some are quite intriguing and the pets' qualities are usually surprising or horrifying. There are some stories which seem to have some morals as well, or lessons to be learnt. The underlying story of Count D and his dad, and grandad and where they come from, who/what they are (and their motivations), is given an ending too as the story wraps up in the original series, but somehow it wasn't as satisfying as I was hoping it would be.

Anime and Tokyo Series

Four of the original stories were made into an anime, which weren't bad overall. And after the first 14 volumes were completed, the artist started another set based on the same Count D but set in Tokyo instead of Chinatown, USA. I guess it was just so popular so she decided to go back to the same formula.

My Rating:
Story: B (it ranges actually)
Art: C, the art is not that great and "clean" and there are no bishis. :)
Recommended? Interesting premise and some stories are better than others. Easy to pick up at any volume and perhaps reading a few volumes would give a better idea of the series than jus one or two stories.

Beauty Pop

2008-11-14T08:32:00.000-08:00

Ongoing Manga

Thought this would be a bit different as there is some refreshing storyline about the girl having some talent (hairdressing), but in the end, I don't think I'll continue to follow this as they just keep showing episodic makeovers of different people in different situations, and there isn't much interaction between the girl and the guy and if you're looking for romance it's kinda disappointing when you don't find any after a few chapters. Ok, so I didn't finish this so perhaps it gets better. Those who read it will have to enlighten me cos I'm dropping this from my reading list until I get really bored/free.

My Rating:
Story: C-
Art: B-
Recommended? As far as the first two volumes or so goes, I don't think so.

Some short shojos

2008-11-12T05:46:00.000-08:00

Kimi to Scandal! Very typical shojo type story, with usual storyline of famous star boyfriend and typical girl.

Hetare Venus: Strange one shot stories with romance + horror, so so and all the usual teen angsty stuff.

Beast Master by Motomi Kyousuke: Looked strange and I didn't like the look of the guy, but actually quite a sweet read. Her other ongoing one called Dengeki Daisy was also interesting.

Will update by and by...

2008-11-11T07:34:00.000-08:00

Read a lot more good and bad (more of the latter unfortunately!), and will try to keep up with reviews, but probably won't be able to do so, or will do it at an ultra snail's pace until December when I can pick up a bit more baring unforeseen circumstances. But in the meantime, if you have any title you are checking out and want to know if I've read, just email me or leave a comment here. I'm also hoping to do a bit more of an analysis on manga in a more scientific sense and have lined up some readings for my "lit review" already. Hopefully that gets off the ground. (those of you who know me know I'm the sort to get into these details - I over analyze ;p).

I also go backwards to all my posts and update them by and by whenever something strikes me or if there are new volumes, developments, etc. so do check the posts. Actually, they aren't very chronological. Also, sometimes I put down something unfinished and actually want to say more but didn't have the time.

Actually, going back over my reviews, I realise that a lot of the stories I actually gave bad reviews for. I might want to lump them all together, like all the sensei-student ones that weren't worth reading.

Earl and Fairy/Hakushaku to Yōsei

2008-11-07T20:37:00.000-08:00

Complete first season anime and manga/light novel

Pretty characters, interesting concept, so far. Not sure where this is heading, but there is a rude little talking cat (you know I'm partial)! ;p The two leads are pretty and the girl seems headstrong and not the silly ditzy type though i hope she would stand up for herself and resist the charms of the guy a bit more. Hopefully she has some talents beyond looking pretty and helpless. Eye candy, she's always wearing the most elaborate clothes too.

The male (whom a lot of people say resembles Ouran's Temaki) is suave and quite the lady-killer, though in the whole anime so far, we don't have him really interacting with any other women except Lydia (the female protagonist). Raven, the manservant, probably has a fan club of his own. I love some of his lines and how he says them with a poker face (easy for anime! ;p). In contrast I find some of Edgar's lines a bit too outrageous and not very appropriate - as in, they are in a life and death situation but he says something completely frivolous. Of course that's his characterisation and perhaps also in the plot it's about not panicking Lydia but in the end it just seems funny.

Tried this out on husband but he wasn't keen. It's really too shojo I think, and there is really a lot of talking.

My Rating:
Story: B, a bit confusing at some parts, maybe too melodramatic (but probably not as much as Vampire Knight...)
Art: B, the guy is a real bishi! ;p
Recommended? So far so good. Eyecandy. I think the pretty characters and art attracts and the storyline is unique, but it isn't as exciting, probably cos it's quite slow and there is a lot of talking. The ending is somewhat of a mess, with too many loose ends.

Vampire Knight Guilty

2008-10-25T06:04:00.000-07:00

Guess by now many people are already back glued to Vampire Knight. For me, not too much interest anymore, strangely. But the characters are still pretty/bishi. Not sure why they decided to name it "Guilty".

Was discussing VK with husband and told him the debate's hot on whether she'll choose Zero or Kaname and I asked him his opinion - answer: Not interested, don't care, I don't watch it because of that! ;p

Ya, it really made me think guys and gals are really watching things for different reasons. Is this what we call selective attention and perception?

Something serious - The Penal Code

2008-10-17T02:39:00.000-07:00

After a friend told me about an article in the local press in which a 32 year old lady wrote about her 20 year old husband, we got to discussing the older-woman-younger-man relationship (with a rather large age gap where the guy may be barely out of school and the girl already in a career). This led to the discussion of teacher-student relationships. Then, rather coincidentally, it was reported in the news yesterday that the first person to be charged with having sex with a minor is a (bispectacled - ok, you wonder why that was included in the news reports) 32 year old teacher and the boy is a 15 year old student. Of course, now there are speculations of whether he is her student. This popular genre, romantized in so many mangas, is no joke. She may be heading to jail for ten years.

Another point we had been discussing, and were unclear about, which was surprisingly answered through this article - the minor need not be a girl, even consensual sex with an underaged male is now an offence. This is after the change in law to protect minors regardless of sex since Feb this year. All along, we knew the Women's Charter protected female minors but now the Penal Code protects male minors. Equality of the sexes? Reminds me too of the amendment in the rules of dog licensing...(but let's not sidetrack)...

I think, as I wrote about before (some iffy things about manga), there seem to be some elements that may be downright dangerous or immoral in manga, that is framed as being seductively appealing. Is this type of story going to promote such behavior as it may glamorize the situation or have people thinking it is right or even fantisizing about it? There is no telling, with media effects being a very iffy topic as there are so many other factors to consider. However, I would still say that at the very least these stories put the idea of such into our heads. That is the least. I think at the most, it could encourage us to think more about it. As the popular saying goes, media tells us what to think and how to think about it. To me, the stories seem to say, it may not be acceptable but it can be so fun. (erm, not!)

Did a search on google news and found at least another two similar reports on this topic on the same date. It seems this type of criminal act occurs rather often! Everyone seems to remember also remember a particular teacher-student relationship that spanned more than a decade.

Flower Ring/Hua Qian

2008-10-08T04:36:00.000-07:00

Manga complete at 2 volumes

The story is somehow very simplistic and the characters don't seem to be very well developed. It doesn't have me rooting for any of them. The attacks by the rival seems to be superficial and kiddish. Actually, all the characters seem kiddy, and not just because they are drawn that in that style. The girl seems too demure and a pushover and the mom a tyrant. The guy is a bit bland too.

The only redeeming feature is the drawing and as with most historical mangas, there's opportunity for intricate interesting costumes. However, with long hair, the guys look like girls!

Another thing is that they have these traditional Chinese idiom competitions and the meanings are pretty much lost in translation.

Frankly I didn't finish this and I don't think I will. It just doesn't illicit much interest after the first few pages of plot setting. After that you sense it'll be a typical shojo which it pretty much is. There aren't really any plot twists or developments either, but then again it's only two volumes long (and despite that I still couldn't finish it!).

My Rating:
Story: C-
Art: B+
Recommended? Just for the art, but the story, sigh....so no, don't think so

More info:
Bakaupdates

Cultural Festival

2008-10-07T11:19:00.000-07:00

Ok, another rant, though I already have a feeling I"ll have to finish this one by and by. Just wanted to express amazement (is that the word?) that there are so many instances of cultural events - there's one in nearly every school life related manga! Let's see...Gakuen Alice, check, Special A, check, Ouran High School Host Club, Ultimate Venus, yep yep yep....A lot more...And, the thing is, most of their cultural activities (except Gakuen Alice where the children are really too young for the concept) are bulter/host clubs. ??? This tried and tested formula seems to be getting repeated a bit too often. There needs to be some other ingredient.

7 Jikanme Rhapsody

2008-10-03T10:20:00.000-07:00

Manga Complete

This is probably one of the best teacher-student short mangas I've read. And what I like about this is how (ok, the premise is still silly) the teacher is so level headed and knows exactly what a teacher-student relationship should not be. Ok, maybe this sounds very ambiguous, but I'm really trying to not spoil it for you.

One thing I didn't like though, was the smoking by the Sensei (a bit hard to see but the scene is above). Yep, that gets on my nerves cos I don't know why mangas have to protray them like that, and then draw them in such "cool" positions. I just feel it gives off the wrong impression, even in this day and age when people know about lung cancer and all. Especially for teens since we know these mangas are targetted towards them and we also know for a fact that smoking is harder to quit the younger you start. Ok, ok, I'm getting off my pedestal, jus that well, with all the stealth marketing and product placement, you just never know!

Regarding the art, the two characters are ok, not extremely bishi or pretty but ok. I think the guy looks like the other teacher in Faster than a Kiss which is this mangaka's work too (No surprise?). He can look a bit dorky at times. ;p And, this author's a guy?? Think first time I've hread a guy's work, most mangakas are ladies.

My Rating:
Story: B- (cliched!)
Art: B
Recommended? A bit (teensy) refreshing, you can give it a try if you've not had too many of these student-teacher stories, but if you have, you can also give it a miss.

Similar to: All the rest! The characters understandably look like those in Faster than a Kiss (cos same artist).

Teachers...

2008-10-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

Wow, at this point I must say that there are LOADS of shojo with this teacher-student thing going on. What gives? I read someone else commenting the same and that they've never fallen for a teacher and can't understand it. Me neither. Firstly I think the students are really just that - students. The maturity is just not level. The girls are interested in little trinkets, polishing their nails, winning the next game, getting to school on time, their hair in place (ok, no offense to any students reading this post ;p I'm saying this is how the girls are portrayed in these mangas)...etc.etc...surely the more mature and older male teachers are thinking of other things? Well, erm, sometimes they are, and it leads to trouble, if you know what I mean! Ok, so this genre is a fantasy. I get that. Here are some with bishi teachers and the premise that starts it all:

1. Chocolate Chaos: Nothing special in how they get together. The girl just happens onto the teacher during an outing to the beach.
2. Crossroad: The girl basically uses the teacher as emotional support from her problems at home with her brother (brother-sister relationship).
3. Aakahime Ranshin: Female teacher gives extra lessons to a student who isn't in school much as he is involved in kabuki.
4. 7 Jikanme Rhapsody: Girl gets close to teacher who runs counseling sessions on love.
5. Secret Kiss: Very simply, the "teacher" is the girl's cram school instructor.
6. Faster than a kiss: Girl and her brother are orphans and the teacher sort of "adopts" them through marrying the girl.

Basically, the elements of this genre focus on the fact that this type of relationship is frown upon (irony isn't it?) and so they try to hide the relationship from others in school.

For more, click on the teacher-student label.

Kare Kano/Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou

2008-10-03T03:42:00.000-07:00

Manga finished at 21 Volumes

Brief Summary: A girl's hard earned popularity is jeopardized by a new male transfer student who seems to be just (if not even) smarter and good looking. A one sided rivalry ensues but soon develops into something else.

Didn't pick this one up at first cos of a few things - the drawing is simple and didn't really appeal to me (guess it was the style of the time), the storyline seemed childish and I really didn't see myself going through 21 volumes of it! Decided to read it cos well, it's available in the library.

The pace is quite fast and despite the rather youngish look and actions of the characters, there are a bit of endearing mature issues addressed starting in the volume I'm left at, volume 5. The same issues of girl bullying and a love rival are included but they are treated a bit differently, in a bit less exaggerated way I suppose. The girl is seen to be quite level headed and despite her initial outbursts of irritation at having him usurp her star position, she doesn't get silly in being overly jealous or possessive. You get the feeling that the author is trying to say that despite having a relationship you don't need to be clingy to have it grow, sometimes being apart can be a good thing too. I think that's what's refreshing about this series, although at the same time, because it is so balanced and "nice" it doesn't seem to illicit strong feelings from me and I don't really have a strong urge to keep following it because it seems so safe and secure and the complications seem entirely solvable in a sane manner.

Overall the series has a sweet innocent feel to it so far. I understand that the later issues have them progressing in their relationship outside of school and into adult life so perhaps the series itself will get more and more mature and complex, rather than dealing just with the usual school issues it now does.

My Rating
Story: B
Art: C
Recommended? Didn't really like the art, it was too simplistic and the people weren't bishi enough! But the story is rather sweet if not convoluted and ambling along sometimes. It is after all, 21 volumes!

More information:
Baka updates

Zenbu Kimi No Mono

2008-10-03T03:29:00.001-07:00

Brief Summary: Girl agrees to go out with arrogant popular student council president to save her flower arranging club from being closed down.

Cute little one shot. A bit meaningless fun. Just that the characters are pretty. :) Of course, it's your usual oneshot shojo girl falls for pretty boy and all the fangirls show their claws. The whole story is one big shojo plot device. So typical you've seen it everywhere. Sigh...

My Rating:
Story: C
Art: B
Recommended? If you've got nothing else on your plate (really nothing else).

Chocolate Cosmos

2008-10-01T20:15:00.000-07:00

Brief Summary: Girl enters high school wanting a relationship. Meets an attractive guy during a beach outing with classmates and discovers he's actually her home ed teacher. But that's not going to stop her!

Attracted cos the characters seemed pretty but passed it over initially as it seemed a bit too kiddy. Well, having gone through it, it follows the usual shoujo teacher-student plot (started it not knowing it was one of those). The girl takes one hour to do her nails (ok, ok, is it my age? Just felt she should be concentrating on something more productive) and the teacher actually takes an interest in that. Strange? He is a bit effeminate now that I think of it. ;p He is the home ed teacher but guess really that doesn't make a difference. A man that can cook is a good idea.

Not much out at the moment so will write more later, but frankly I may not get down to it as I may not even read any more. It isn't a very compelling read.

My Rating:
Story: C+
Art: B
Recommended? Very simple, straightforward so far. If you're crazy about teacher-student...

Bitter Virgin

2008-10-01T19:56:00.001-07:00

Manga completed at 4 volumes

Brief Summary: Girl with a tragic past transfers to the school. Boy classmate happens to overhear her confession at church and starts to feel compassion for her.

Well, find the title quite misleading. Thought it was smut, but realised it wasn't after reading some of the synopses on it and also going through it myself. In fact, it's rather innocent.

Dealing with rape and abortion, I also thought it would be quite sad or traumatic reading considering what happened to the female protagonist but it was rather ok (or perhaps it was cos I skimmed through those portions).

Find the premise rather interesting and different from the other shojos and as well implemented as could be I suppose.

My Rating:
Story: B
Art: B
Recommended? For something different from your usual boy meets girl at school. But could be a bit disturbing, even tho it is rather tastefully done.

Ojousama wa Oyomesama

2008-10-01T08:43:00.001-07:00

Manga, ongoing
I might get this whenever it's licensed in English. Have to be extremely selective now as realised my collection is really piling up and I'm lacking space for all of the books!

The main draw for this is the art. Very beautiful characters, well, just the two of them really so far, with the rest not featured much. But the premise is rather unbelieveable and weird. Not sure where this is headed in terms of plot/storyline and you definintely have to suspend disbelief. Hopefully the girl keeps her head screwed on tight (she's rather unbelievable as it is) and deals with the bad guy attitude of the male protagonist.

My Rating:
Story: C
Art: B+
Recommended? Think it'll be a rather ditzy read. I hope the girl remains spunky. Of course you wanna see them together, but think there will be difficult days ahead. :)

Crossroad

2008-09-30T20:43:00.000-07:00

Manga complete at 7 Volumes

Brief Summary: Three unrelated teenagers who lived together as siblings when young are forced to live together again after seven years of separation.

Ok, admit my summary is the pits. After going through the manga, it seems to be a mix of everything. There is brother-sister, and there is teacher-student, both very popular "forbidden love" themes that are probably supposed to bring out some angst and emotional frustration.

There were some elements that I found confusing in this, such as the girl's relationship with the teacher (and realised later I'm not the only one as someone else has commented they stopped reading this because of this part which they can't get at all). It was ambiguous yet hinted of very deep feelings. It became quite central to the story, and although I am supposing the main focus was still the relationship between the "brother and sister" who are actually both adopted and therefore unrelated, it caused a strange sidetrack/diversion.

There was also the relationship of the male protagonist (the brother) and another girl which was also confusing as they seemed to like, yet, be using each other. And then, this relationship of the brother doesn't seem to bother the girl protagonist in any big way (isn't is supposed to be that the rival is there to create major heart rending problems?) and so it goes the other way around too with the girl's relationship with the sensei (teacher). At the end, it doesn't even appear the brother knows about it. So this is a different treatment as jealousy isn't the main aim here. There is something else. It is a strange story.

My Rating:
Story: B
Art: B-
Recommended? Ok, but think need to spend more time figuring it out. Or maybe on the other hand, just don't read too much into it. This mangaka has another series going called Cy Believers. Sounds erm, just as confusing.

Kare First Love

2008-09-30T20:26:00.000-07:00

Manga complete at 10 volumes
Wikipage

Once again, only read two chapters. It was quite a flat story. The guy falls for her for no apparent reason (as usual he's the "prince" of the school and she's the nerdy plain jane). I actually started this because the drawing seemed really pretty, as can be seen on the cover the girl looks really pretty. But in the story, she's so self conscious that she allows it to affect the relationship and she allows a classmate to sabotage and poison her relationship and further erode her self esteem. Felt kinda irritated with her being such a doormat whenever it happened. Because there is no real basis for the relationship it felt kind of shallow.

Well, this story goes on for 10 volumes so hopefully it gets better.

Should I?

2008-09-29T02:41:00.000-07:00

Came across Mars, another manga by the same author as Eternal Sabbath, and the characters look similar. I'm wondering whether to read it. Seems as angsty and dramatic as ES and even more so, dealing with rape, abuse, suicide, etc. etc, and plus, the couple (did you get it's a romance?) fall in and out of love throughout the manga (talk about tormented!). Well, these were elements in ES as well. So maybe it's too much for me right now.

Some iffy things about shojo/romance titles

2008-09-28T09:24:00.000-07:00

Generally, it would seem that most of the shojo/for teens’ storylines are harmless, but then again I’m not a psychoanalyst. Of course, the josei/mature/smutty ones have a few elements that are questionable and perhaps outright against morality. Some things I think may be disturbing are:

1. Slapping – It’s not that common actually, after reading so many, but I think this happens rather once too often. I think any guy worth his salt (erm, his girl) would not ever resort to having to slap her, even if it’s a heated fight. I’m no expert in domestic violence but it starts from somewhere, even a slap.
2. No no no becomes yes yes yes – I don’t know whether in this day and age it still promotes the wrong thinking. I really hope that most of us are enlightened and realise that it’s a story.
3. Love and Lust are the same thing - it isn't, as those of us who have fallen in love can testify (erm, hopefully). Anyway, falling in love through one kiss is impractical and downright stupid if you ask me.

Eternal Sabbath

2008-09-28T05:57:00.000-07:00

Manga: Complete at 8 Volumes

This is definintely not your shoujo. In fact, if you're looking for romance, though there is, you'd have to read a lot, a lot before you got to it. But the refreshing part is really that the girl (being a neurologist and of course MD) is very smart and not dotty in the least. She isn't easily controlled by emotions of love/lust. Though in the beginning she is looking for a partner that is not her one and consuming goal.

The plot is interesting, very sci-fi, ok believable (you know you have to suspend disbelief in such situations anyway right) and not entirely too complex or the other extreme of being too flat. The characters are nicely developed and the pace is good.

There are a lot of difficult problems and issues discussed too, in topics such as morality, death, genetic engineering, research, abuse, etc. It is in a way, actually quite "heavy".

The art is different from many of the shoujo and is more rich in details and tones. The characters are drawn realistically (though still beautifully) and the guy, probably still qualifies as a bishi. :)

You can find a VERY detailed "summary" (oxymoron?) at Comics Worth Reading.

My Rating:
Story: A
Art: A
Recommended? Yes actually, but only if you lean toward sci-fi.

Wild Ones

2008-09-23T21:54:00.001-07:00

This seems to be a really popular series. It hasn’t really interested me that much so it has me skimming through it rather that seriously taking it in.

The guy and girl are drawn young and pretty and it does seem geared towards a younger audience who’s looking for a typical shojo. There is the very popular guy in a very popular theme – to have the guy be beholden in some way to the girl (like he’s her employee – e.g. bodyguard, butler, gardener ??). In this case, because of the influence of the girl’s grandfather, he has to protect and stay with her because he’s been assigned to be her bodyguard. So, that becomes a bone of contention in the love story cos it’s like does he do the (sweet) things he does because he likes her or out of duty?

My Rating:
Story: B
Art: B
Recommended? If you want a simple love story with the usual cliches.

Some overly repeated elements

2008-09-23T21:48:00.001-07:00

The girl agonizing over making chocolate for the guy for Valentine’s day.

Enough already, why can’t the guy be the one getting the perfect gift for the girl (so far only seen this in Dazzle and that wasn’t even romantic)?

Fangirls causing the girl grief wanting to beat her up for being with that popular guy.

Sigh, are schoolgirls (of high school age mind you) really that shallow and crazy? No one should beat up anyone because of some fickle minded stuck up arrogant guy.

Not very clear but here, someone is pushing the female protagonist down a flight of stairs, in Zenbu Kimi no Mono.

Someone (either the girl or guy) falling sick or erm, just plain falling down (and being caught by the other party).

Oh come on, are they always so careless and lacking grace? Can’t we have some other way of growing the relationship?

This is from Chocolate Cosmos, where the student visits the teacher and he's having a fever (sound familiar?). In the end he kisses her in his feverish state.

This one is from Faster than a Kiss. This time girl is the one that is sick. Check out the digital thermometers in both images. Looks the same doesn't it? :)

I’m sure you can think of more…if you do, send me the element description and a sample. I'll post it here. :)

From Far Away

2008-09-23T21:44:00.001-07:00

Manga completed at 14 Volumes

Brief Summary: A girl gets drawn into another world where she is the key to awakening a monster.

This topic isn’t new, just think of Escaflowne, Anatolia, Queen’s Knight, Kyo Kara Meoh and even Amatsuki (I’m sure you could name many others), where someone is sucked into another realm/world and, somehow despite being rather plain and nondescript in the normal world, is now a special person of some consequence there.

And then there is the romance, though this isn’t exactly your typical hearts and flowers shojo. In fact, I was wondering all the time whether this was written for males or females. There is a deep romance element but a large part of the story is centered on the royal politics. The fight scenes are also spectacular, going on for quite a few pages a time. So it did seem more for guys, but then again, I know some girls like their fight scenes too, and the romance part didn’t seem like something the guys would be that interested in (I could be wrong).

The characters have good chemistry, especially the two protagonists. Of course the guy’s got issues (and the girl is sweet and nice) but they are settled later on. The drawing isn’t bad but the characterization seems more towards the older 90s style, which you can see from the girl’s hairstyle. The guy also isn’t your typical bishonen, though he seems cool enough.

The story is rather typical with bad guys galore, but there wasn’t really adequate explanation on the whole concept of how she became so special - some similar stories would have had her ancestor or something coming from this world into ours sometime in the past, and having a lineage in the fantasy world to begin with (e.g. Meripuri). With this one, it wasn’t really touched on at all (or did I miss it?).

My Rating:
Story: B
Art: B
Recommended? There are so many titles with the same topic so if you’ve read a few you may be weary already, but if you haven’t this isn’t a bad start I guess.

Bloody Kiss

2008-09-22T20:57:00.000-07:00

Manga: Complete

Brief Summary: A high school girl inherits an old mansion from her grandmother and finds that there are two vampires living there already.

Interesting concept but predictable shoujo romance. The characters do lack a bit of depth and whatever torments they professedly have aren't really settled at the end of the manga. Only the romance part is kind of, in a way, developed.

The vampire is a bishi of course, and the other one, apparently a servant, doesn't act very servant-ish and kind of plays a strange bit part. Have seen some comments that this manga is a bit strange, and ya, in a disjointed kind of way I think.

Just as a side, I also wonder how come the grandmother didn't show up earlier in the girl's life, as she was supposed to be very poor and all.

My rating:
Story: C+
Art: B
Recommended: I guess if you can't get enough of the vampires scene. Ya, why not? It's only 6 chapters.

Akahime Ranshin

2008-09-22T12:10:00.000-07:00

This oneshot manga actually got me started on the teacher-student genre but actually was disappointed in all the ones I found after this one. I particularly like this because it is quite subtle and sweet. The ending is left to your imagination. Usually I like a better clear cut ending, but I guess it was good this way too (altho I wouldn't mind if they came out with part 2).

Some other things I liked were that this is a female teacher and male student, whereas most with this topic is the other way (male teacher who smokes too much more likely). I also like that the guy is not overly hyper, perverted or agressive and isn't childish in the least really. That's nice for once, cos the difference between the student and teacher isn't so exaggerated, which I think is good or else it makes the whole relationship unbelieveable. There's jus some good chemistry between the two protagonists.

My Rating:
Story: B
Art: B
Recommended? Good for a quick read.
Similar: Can't think of any in particular at the moment.

New Header

2008-09-22T12:04:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Phantasmagoria for the new Manga Obsess header!

It's Love

2008-09-19T07:04:00.000-07:00

Manga: Complete at 7 volumes

Brief Summary: An orphan is taken in seven years before the manga starts, by a family with three boys. She is bullied by all three but they all have the same reason they don't want her as a sister - because they've all fallen for her!

Discovered this manga/manhwa quite by accident. The characters are rather beautifully drawn, and quite characterestic of Korean drawing style that I've seen so far in Goong and Bride of the Water God (is it just me or do they like to have two pigtails or buns?).

Basically this is a reverse harem, with the three guys being brothers, all different and successful in their own ways. It's a tormented sweet innocent story, but at least the girl is not the one that keeps working at the relationship. It's nice to see the guy (in this case, guys) working at it for once! ;P All the guys care for her in their own way and it's kind of sad to know that she can only have one of them! ;p

My Rating:
Story: B-
Art: B-
Recommended: Keeps you in suspense!

Hadashi de Bara wo Fume

2008-09-13T10:38:00.000-07:00

Manga: Ongoing

Brief Summary: A poor orphan girl who lives with her brother and all the little baby orphans he picks up ends up having to "sell" herself to a rich man (to be his "pretend" wife) when her brother disappears and she is at her wits end trying to make get money to feed the brood.

A few people have already commented that this offering from the author of "Tail of the Moon" will be just another shojo and have even offered up their suspected endings to what is now only a 3 volume complete manga. ;p A few people aren't quite enthused with the girl, who has been described as silly, dumb and unrealistic.

What I really like about this is that the girl is drawn so sweet and cute. The guy is not bad too but of course his character sucks (what'd you expect?) right now so hopefully he'll get better and hopefully the girl, who's innocent and a country bumpkim won't get buillied too much. :)

As this is still in its infancy there isn't much to say yet, but so far so good and will keep following it.

My Rating:
Story: B
Art: B
Recommended? The characters are drawn very pretty so the art itself is quite redeeming. It's actually quite a different feel from her previous works.
Similar to: Hanayomesama wa 16sai

Tail of the Moon/Tsuki no Shippo

2008-09-13T10:25:00.000-07:00

Manga: Completed

Was looking for a short manga, and came across Tsuki no Toiki, which is the precursor for this one. After finishing that one, it led me to this one, as the characters follow on as well.

Seen an ad before at the back of shojo volumes but it just never appealed to me, probably the look of the two main characters. The guy is ok but the girl is drawn to look very very young and almost puberscent and that makes them an oddly matched couple. I so wish the girl had been drawn more mature.

Have read a few commentors write that they find this a bit childish. Well, it's quite common for the girl protangonist to be just that and unfortunately she is shown to be unsophisticated, bumbling, clumsy, unrefined and all....but of course, with a good heart. Sounding a bit like Itazura Na Kiss? Ya, in a way it does remind me of the many so mangas I've already reviewed below. The difference probably is the time period? This one is a ninja period manga and that put me off a bit (though, I did also get absorbed in Nabari No Ou).

Though I can appreciate some of the things she goes through, as it's nice to see her grow up through having those experiences. Unfortunately though, some of them are really quite silly. As I finish the last volume, 15, I'm left a bit disappointed. The ending is a bit abrupt and perhaps, even, cheesy (not to mention unbelievable)? I would say more but being too specific would spoil it for those who haven't read it. I can see now where the comments on it being a bit simple/childish come from. The sequence of events is a bit choppy and I get the feeling of being stopped and put into a new scene in staccato like steps. The characters' feelings are really expressed very well and are also chopped off mid-emote. I just don't feel too much for them after a while. Felt it had potential but somehow there was something amiss. I had to down the rating of this one to a B- from a B.

And, for some reason, the fonts on this manga are huge. Somehow contributes to the kiddy feel.:)

My Rating:
Story: B-
Art: B
Recommended? Typical but there are some endearing parts.

Kiss/Hug

2008-09-12T08:44:00.000-07:00

Manga: Ongoing

Another high school manga, but a bit more adult-ish. Not sure by how much so far. The characters so far have a lot of chemistry and hopefully the storyline will develop something more meaningful between them.

A bit of a spoiler but you won't be able to miss it after the first two pages anyway; and that is that there is some text to indicate that this relationship does not continue as the protagonist is referring to this period as a memory rather than in the present tense. Actually kind of sad to start out knowing that and perhaps I may not want to continue reading. We'll see.

My Rating:
Story: C+
Art: B-
Recommended? A bit different feel, not so silly. But dunno where it's going right now.

Zettai Heiwa Daisakusen

2008-09-11T12:25:00.000-07:00

Manga: Ongoing

Basically quite cute and innocent, but it's quite obsessed with the idea of the fact that the two protagonist's countries were at war. Characters are drawn nicely although they have a very "young"/immature look.

So far, every chapter seems to be a repeat of the prior one in a sense as they get angry with each other, then something happens that forces them to become closer and then they get angry again with each other. Need to wait and see how it turns out and whether there is a more complicated storyline.

Eeks, just realised her eyes on the cover are red, I wonder why?

My Rating:
Story: B-
Art: B-
Recommended: If every chapter is going to be so similar, you can give it a miss after reading a few.

Girl Got Game

2008-09-10T12:10:00.000-07:00

Manga: Completed

This started out promising, with a premise like Ouran High but instead of a host club it's a basketball club. The drawing is also nice and the girl turns into a pretty boy.

But later on, the story gets kind of twisted and a bit strange and the characters are simplistic and 1 D. The girl is immature at times and tends to go off a tangent which is quite unexpected of her original representation.

My Rating:
Story: C-
Art: C
Recommended? A bit too simplistic, perhaps if you've got no other mangas or were huge fans of Hana Kimi.