Nausicaa

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. 

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

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. And, 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. :)

Finished

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

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.

Fantastic Detective Labyrinth

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.

Skip Beat on Okto

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.

Pet Shop of Horrors and Tokyo Pet Shop of Horrors

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.

Vampire Knight Guilty

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?

Vampire Knight

Manga: Ongoing
Anime: Season one of 13 episodes completed

The manga and anime are both hugely popular, having a following of both males and females. It probably appeals to the guys as well due to its darker side, dealing with the topic of vampires. Of course, you still have the bishonen (we’re talking the same artist as Meirpuri here after all).

The relationships between the characters get pretty intense and the love triangle has everyone rooting for one of the two male lead characters (who both have issues). The storyline also delves into vampire history and characterestics so there is a lot more than the love story (though I would say it's still central). And, you still have the silly giggling school girls of most shojos, despite the objects of their attraction being less than alive.

My Rating:
Story: B
Art: B
Recommended? Exciting but apparently too emo for some of my friends! A bit slow and too much talking were other comments.
Similar: Strangely, this unrelated manga/anime called zombie loan has been compared to this, albeit in a very superficial way. Two of the main characters of that are similar in looks to Kaname and Zero (brown and white/silver hair) and one of them has a gun too.

Special A

Manga: Ongoing

Had no special (sorry for the pun) interest in this either, even though I saw it placed on the “featured” shelves of the bookstores. Seemed popular enough. Decided to at least watch one episode and found that it was rather lighthearted and innocent, albeit the characters didn’t seem as interesting or colorful (or rather skewed and tormented?) as those in Ouran High. I think I’m getting hooked on the second opening theme song though. ;p (the others weren't so well done I felt)

The girl is quite spunky and cute, but unfortunately she lacks a bit of depth most times. She is also seen to be ranked second to the guy, Kei (the whole premise of this story actually) and that’s a pity, cos he seems to go so far beyond her despite she being talented and smart. It is hinted that he has natural genious/talent whereas she tries hard. That’s kinda sad in terms of gender equality (but then guess one shouldn’t expect that). In a later episode she even falls to a much lower position/ranking than him at school.

Another difference in this one is that the guy actually likes the girl before vice versa. This means she is not hanging all over him or trying to get his attention romantically all the time. And surprise surprise, despite he being overly calm and collected, I can’t actually classify him as a jerk. The pace of the first few epis was quite slow but the later ones are picking up.

In my opinion the manga is a bit difficult to read and not so clearly laid out. I have stopped following this as it seems these two will just never get together. The romance just doesn't move but stalls and stalls...



My Rating:
Story: B
Art: B
Recommended? There are some interesting elements especially in the later epis.

Author also wrote "You're my Girlfriend" which is a short four chapter read. It's rather silly and unrealistic, because there isn't any endearing reasons for the boy to like the girl so much and do so much.

Dazzle

Manga ongoing.
Anime 10 episodes complete.

I started watching this one after someone mentioned the clothes or them looking good I think it was. The anime is actually somewhat confusing and distorted so it may not be good to be too interested in the details, cos everything is rather abrupt. I kept thinking I had missed an epi when one guy suddenly joins the group (I’m still wondering if I did…).

I think the girl is drawn very pretty in the anime but lacks oomph in the manga. Maybe it’s cos her startling blue eyes aren’t portrayed in manga. The guy looks younger and better in the manga though. The manga is more comprehensive and easier to understand and the story sequence is rather different from the anime, which I read someone opinioning as very messy and mixed up (and I thought I was the only one). Someone also said the effects and execution weren’t good but to me it was ok.

This doesn’t seem to be a very popular manga and I’m not sure why. Perhaps the stories are disjointed (but then so are many others) and the motivations of the characters aren’t quite apparent. The storyline does get a whole lot complicated, with cloning, possible murder, etc. etc. It's like a murder/thriller/sci-fi/goth/angst all mixed up in one ball. Just wondering where all this is going when I read in vol 9 (I think it was) that the mangaka said this would be around for a long long time....oh dear, I don't think I've the patience for it already!!

My Rating:
Story: C - strange, convoluted, difficult dialogue, boring bits
Art: C+
Recommended? Not too sure. It's not really that interesting at some parts. Very oddly put together.

Gakuen Alice

Manga: Ongoing
Anime: Complete at 26 episodes, should be a season 2

Actually, didn't want to pick this one up at first as it didn't appealing at all, as I'm not really interested in those mangas/storylines about elementary children (I completely couldn't stomach strawberry marshmellow) - I mean, how complicated can they get right? And I'm not that into cutesy. But happened across this anime and decided why not, to see what the fuss was about, cos apparently this seems to be qutie a popular series. The thing is that it is simple and cute, and I think the saving grace is that there is something more interesting in the form of the "Alices" (special powers), and the mystery of the school, etc.

The main protagonist, Mikan is cute, but she's also kinda (very?) silly. Overall there's a lot of comedy involved with her character's actions and especially in her interactions with her "best" friend Hotaru. I really can't stand the latter's attitude and behaviour somethings. It gets on my nerves!

Overall, it's just a light anime but fun. I heard the manga is better, but I'm not sure I'd want to get it. A friend and I calculated that it would take me perhaps 5-6 years (depending on how many chapters this manga eventually has) for me to complete it, if I really wanted to, that is. Seems like they are releasing four English volumes a year, each with around 5-6 chapter. With already 100 chapters (in Japanese) so far, there should be more than 20 English volumes. I guess I'm not really going to collect so many but it's more because I wanted to see the difference in story and feel between the anime and manga. As the story delves into the school and the children's activities there are a lot of little stories that are quite stand alone. It also goes into the relationships between the children and it can be rather touching.

Descendents of Darkness

Manga:
Anime: Finished

Well, it's not all shoujo and hearts and flowers. :) This one sure isn't at least. Preoccupation with death and the afterlife is more like it, added to a cops and robbers and detective series kind of feel.

Apparently, as a friend says, this series is very popular amongst women. :)