Ichigo Jikan

Brief Storyline:
A girl (15 years old) goes to her new school and discovers that the dorm she was supposed to be staying in is under renovation and she has nowhere to stay. After some begging, the school admin gives her the key to an apartment, which she later discovers is where the Chairman (aged 16 yrs!) stays...

As some have already commented, the guy looks like he's around 20 and the girl looks pubescent. The story is quite basic shojo fare and I think if you have read enough shojo you would know what to expect to happen from page one onwards. The guy, despite his cold tsundere look, is actually pretty decent to her. She, on the other hand, is somewhat ditzy but still bearable. She is also supposed to be rather smart, where studies are concerned.

The storyline is a bit confusing at the end where new elements are added in a rush. There are some bits of other plot concerning the guy's competition as Chairman of the school.

Possible Spoiler
The mom is rather silly though IMHO. Actually, her words of encouragement for them to "get it on" were a bit of a put off to me. I mean, she was like meeting that guy for the first time and there was no guarantee he would take any responsibility.

Spoiler (highlight to read)

Also think it would have been nicer if she had actually been proposed to, rather than have the guy tell the whole world that they were getting married without even asking her first.

Storyline: C+
Art: B+
Recommended? Suspend disbelief and just enjoy the art and some sweet moments between the two.

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

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. :)

Update: Yikes, I never did get down to reading this although I believe the series is still with me! I think I need to get going on that.

Crown - originally written on 16 Jan, updated 12 May

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

Latest booktore visit

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!

Merupuri

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.

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.

B.O.D.Y.

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).

Shinrei Tantei Yakumo

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.

Emma

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.

Boku Wa Kiss de Uso o Tsuku

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

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

A. I. Revolution

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

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

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

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.

Monkey High

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

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

Beauty Pop

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

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.

Flower Ring/Hua Qian

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