Taking another item from our Seven Seas review pile I am so glad to be able to recommend one of their books without the qualifier “as long as you into this rather bizarre fetish.”  A Certain Scientific Railgun is a fun spin-off from the main A Certain Magical Index universe. Unsurprisingly Mikoto Misaka turned out to be one of the most popular characters from A Certain Magical Index but what was a little shocking is she got spun off into her own series. The Railgun series revolves around her involvement with the student run police organization called Judgement in the city-wide psychic school known as Academy City. Although she is not officially a member of Judgement Mikoto often gets involved with cases due to her roommate Shirai Kuroko. The first major story arc involves a mad bomber who is targeting members of Judgement but that soon leads to a much bigger mystery of a strange item called the Level Upper. Supposedly the Level Upper can exponentially increase your psychic power but it may have sinister side effects as well.  For better or for worse the Railgun series focuses entirely on the science side of the Index universe. Considering how certain people tend to dislike parts of the magical side this might be a strong selling point for the series. The stories are light and fun with Mikoto infusing any story she is in with her energetic and strong-willed self that made her popular enough to get a spin-off in the first place. Saten Ruiko and Kazari Uiharu are good supporting cast who are colorful enough to be distinct without being too loud even if they occasionally come off as the most interesting refuges from all girls slice of life manga. Shirai Kuroko’s over the top crush on Mikoto Misaka is silly enough to either make you chuckle or groan whenever she is on the page depending on if you enjoy her shtick or not. The series wears is yuri undertones on its sleeve. They are strong enough that they are mistakable but not enough to turn anyone away from the story. If you have watched the anime the stories are pretty similar but the manga is all killer and no filler. We there are some breathers most of the time we jump from plot point to plot point pretty quickly. You can tell that the anime threw in quite a good deal of filler material or extra complications to the story. You still get to know the girls of Railgun but they remove most of the slice of life manga feeling that the anime added. So if you liked the anime but wish they just got on with it then this is the version for you. The art is pleasant and captures the characters and action well. Overall it is a welcome addition to Index universe. It just makes me wish that someone would license the light novels but considering the light novel market in the US I realize that is tantamount to asking a company to go out of business. Such misfortune.

Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society was the obvious next title to watch once I finished 2nd Gig. I didn’t realize it would take place two years after the ending of the second season with the Major (mostly) MIA from Section 9. A conspiracy involving missing children, dying elderly, refugee suicides, and a hacker called The Puppeteer combine with the Major right in the thick of things to once again take us on an intense ride to an unexpected end. Both Battou and Togusa are stepped up a little in this movie, which is only a good thing. The scenes in the hospital with Togusa’s daughter are great. And I gave a big thumbs up to the last moments of the film with Battou and the Major looking out the window together. After finishing this I more than ever want a Stand Alone Complex 3rd Gig.

I took out the first two books in the Code Geass: Knight and Queen series from the library. They are an anthology series of mostly comedic doujinshi that are ostensibly divided into stories for boys in the Queen series and stories for girls in Knight series. I found that while there was a bit of a basis in towards their intended gender there was hints of BL in both series as well as some male friendly service on both sides as well. As I have stated in the past I always enjoy seeing different artists interpretations of the same characters so this series was no different. With any anthology the stories are a mixed bag with some really good stories, some real head scratchers and most everything else falling in between. One story stood on in my head as the most aggressive Lelouch and Euphemia shipping I have ever seen. Most of the jokes revolve around either exaggerated personifications of the characters or popular memes about the charterers. That should let you judge pretty quickly if you are going to like these books. They are fun little books even if they are mostly just illustrated forum topics done in a semiprofessional format.

Brave Police J-Decker continues to entertain on many levels. I’m finding myself enjoying the silly one-offs just as much as the more serious ones as I near the end with just 5 episodes let to go. Episode 22 is so amazingly ridiculous that it is a must see. Yuuta and Dumpson travel to the Dominican Republic undercover to infiltrate a robot fighting ring. Things that factor in include evil lucadors, a man dressed as a dog, boobs, and masked robots. Other great episodes include Deckerd’s dream sequence, ghostly school girls, and cloning technology!

For a little change of pace I decided to talk about a Fate/Stay Night doujinshi I read. Don’t worry it is a clean Fate/Stay Night doujinshi. Magic Gunner Rin is alternate take on the Fate Universe where Rin is a magical gunslinging bounty hunter that has been hired by Archer to protect his step sister Illyasviel from a mafia enforcers lead by Shirou. Most of the cast members of the doujinshi are people from the game appear in new roles like Lancer, Assassin, Berserker, and Souichirou as mob goons whereas Kane and Kaede are Rin’s assistants. The plot is generally generic and Rin is a bit of your standard badarse gun girl who secretly has a heart of gold but the real appeal is to see the author reinterpretations of the characters. It is fun to see evil Shiro menace the cast looking to gain the power of the Illyasviel and the Holy Grail. The art is occasionally inconsistent with some panels looking far better than others but overall the art is acceptable. But so is the case with a lot of doujinshi. There were only 3 of the 4 books translated but it is worth a look just for its unique take on the original and the fact you could read the whole story in one sitting.

I watched the 1st ONA of Detective Conan VS Wooo which uses Conan and crew to advertise this new series of TVs. The episodes are 6-minutes long and feature Conan’s stunning intellect about Wooo TVs which he uses to solve the mystery. In this installment, Kogoro keeps guessing the culprit in a drama they all watch together but Conan knows his secret to success! Fun and cute and at least an entertaining piece of propaganda. Random fact: I got this series added to My Anime List!

The best of the best in Academy City.

I picked up Solanin on a whim really but I had a good feeling about it. I want to call it a coming of age tale, but have to state it’s the coming of age that occurs in your 20′s after you leave college and are thrust into the “real world.” The story follows Meiko who quits her boring job and spends the next couple of months deciding just what she wants out of life. In the middle of all this is her long-term relationship with musician Taneda and her many college friends who are going through all these questions, too. Each character is in a bit of holding pattern; knowing who you are and what you want to do with your life doesn’t happen at the same time for everyone and Solanin shows what a road it can be. I have to say that I recognized these people, the relationships, and their questions about where to go. It also touches on Japanese youth culture and the difficult economy of find a job, making it all the more relevant to American 20-somethings these days, too. The art has a bit of an indie-feel to it giving it even more duality. While I did find the climax to be a little too melodramatic, convenient for the story, it doesn’t take away from the truth found in these pages. The emotions, reactions, and thoughts seen through the characters of Solanin are utterly genuine and honest. Plus, the ending felt quite right without a concrete conclusion but still a step forward. It just might be one of the best things I’ve read all year.

If there is one thing I know too well it is the feeling of doing just well enough that you are not in deadly peril but light years away from happy. The first half of this book should resonate with anyone who has felt trapped in their own life with plenty of ambition but no real plans. The quiet desperation of being lost is powerful and probably familiar to anyone over 20 today. But the book is not all dark emotions and hopelessness. There are moments of happiness and progress with everyone moving at their own pace, some people doing better than others. But everyone is changing if not always growing and it is sort of amazing to watch. Half way through the book there is an event that comes off a bit like a plot point in an otherwise seemingly organic story. This can be noticeable to some people but I don’t think anyone should let it detract the from the powerful effect it has on the story and themes. This is a beautiful story that really needs more people to read it. I think this is a book that will resonate with many older manga fans and can even be given to people who don’t read manga at all. It is a universal story that reaches beyond the medium.

Since The Simpsons S22 is now on Hulu I decided to see what America’s favorite dysfunctional family was up to. I haven’t really watched the show on any regular basis for many years but I know there is a general consensus among fans that its golden period is long past. I have watched the first 5 episodes of the season and find myself unfortunately agreeing with others assessments. It has more lows than highs and for the most part I didn’t find myself laughing out loud. Sometimes the jokes just went on a little too long, the timing was off. Sometimes it was downright depressing like the opening of [episode 4, check] with the sweatshop making Simpson’s merchandise. But sometimes it did hit the funny bone, most memorable thus far was probably the “Tweenlight” segment of the Treehouse of Horrors episode.

A Certain Scientific Railgun OVA like the rest of the series is a delightful piece of comfort food with some action, comedy, mystery, and suspense. The episode revolves around Mikoto feeling like someone is watching her with the eventual realization that this is hardly an isolated incident at Academy City. As everyone tries to discover what is being the “Someone’s Watching” phenomenon we get each of the 4 heroines to have a bit of time in the spotlight.  We also get a bit of action fan service and the standard fan variety service with a trip to the bathhouse. I can’t say anything in the episode struck me as using the OVA format to its fullest. It mostly seemed like a good way to keep Railgun fresh in people’s minds if they ever wanted to do a 2nd season but Index II seems to be doing a good enough job in that respect on its own. That being said it is a great standalone story that should be a treat for anyone who enjoyed the TV series.

I started reading Joss Whedon’s run on Astonishing X-Men (vols. 1-2) and have been impressed. Kitty Pryde is a major player in this story, kind of makes me wonder if a lot of her popularity stems from here, when she returns as a teacher for the X school. The usual faces are involved otherwise like Cyclops, Beast, Wolverine, and Emma. Things get hairy quickly with the reappearance of a presumed dead ally and the creation of a mutant-gene-eliminating drug. There is plenty of moral ambiguity present in the stories so far, especially when getting to the second volume where some well-known technology becomes sentient. The dialogue is great throughout, which is essential for me, though it does get a bit overly philosophical at times in the second installment. I am only sad that I won’t have the chance to pick-up the subsequent volumes anytime soon.

I will admit that if enough people talk about something I do get a bit intrigued to see what all the hoopla is about. So I decided to check out My Little Sister Can’t Be This Cute. It is pretty much exactly what you expected it to be unless you are incredibly naive or self delusional. While they are not directly going to the incest angle they are playing with it in no uncertain terms. This story should be called My Little Girlfriend-Sue Can’t Be This Cute because Kirino is about as much like a real girl as Hayate is a like a real Butler. Her being into little sister games cries out as pandering. Her being a part-time model is just silly. Her relationship with her brother is only realistic as they want it to be and the rest of the time it is clearly tsundere service. It is not a horrible show. The art is very pleasant and there is some amusing comedy. But make no mistake. This is incest baiting wish-fulfillment fantasy show. Anything it achieves beyond that is secondary.

Surely you can turn The Simpsons into anything!

Mitsuru Adachi once again proves he wants to be writing shonen romance manga but keeps being forced to throw in a sports angle due to his perceived image as a sport manga guy. Cross Game has an ending that while different than Touch left me with that same feeling that the baseball and the trip to Koshien Stadium to just window dressing to the relationship. I enjoyed the series overall especially since I was braced for this sort of ending after Touch. I could tell you how I would have ended Cross Game but I am saving that for next month’s Final Denouement. Overall I think the series was well done and you should not let any criticism I give discourage you from watching the show. It ends well and is a very satisfying if you realize that the romance is the real heart of the series no matter how much the baseball might seem to be the key.

Cross Game started off incredibly strong then dipped in the middle as baseball appeared less and less even going for a stretch of 10+ episodes without the sport mentioned more than in passing. But throughout it all the characters were engaging and admittedly though I complained a lot, I did not give up on the show. Kou and Aoba are an interesting pair because they don’t change so much as realize what has been there all along, and that in itself is a change, but who they are is solid and established right from the beginning. I was equally happy to learn who each of the side characters were like Azuma (who quickly became my favorite) and Akaishi who both show how strong the bonds of friendship are. And within all of this the baseball really delivers, when it is in the story, with real tension and energy. The real problem for Adachi as I see it is that he can write really gripping baseball moments even if he doesn’t want to and therefore I wanted to see more of it. And believe me the ending hits all the right spots between a great last game and the wrap up of the romances I truly felt chills and emotion. The only hiccup with the ending is one piece of unfinished business that’s outcome is never disclosed. Much to my surprise I ended up being happier with Cross Game than I thought I was going to be.

With a mixture of sadness and triumph I come to the end of the the Universal Century time line by starting to watch Mobile Suit Victory Gundam episodes 1-15. Goodness. People have always said that Victory Gundam is clearly the work of a extremely depress Tomino. They are not exaggerating by any stretch of the imagination. This show has been a meat grinder so far and I can’t see that letting up any time soon. I mean they start killing of people right away and it never lets up. Set 60 years after Char’s Counter Attack and 30 years after F91 Zeon may have become a problem of the past but the Federation must now deal with the threat of the Zanscare Empire. Uso Evin is living next door to his friend Shakti Karin. They are both illegal immigrants on Earth looking to find their parents. Soon Uso is drawn into being a pilot for the League Militaire against the Zanscare Empire. The story itself starts in medias res and takes several episodes to show you how they got to the position they did in the first episode.  The Victory is yet another combining mecha which I have to assume was the in thing at the time but it is surprising to see a mass produced Gundam. As of episode 15 they are finally in space although I don’t think the journey to get out of Kasarelia was a bad as people made it seem. Also so far even better than Zeon they have shown that Zanscare Empire has some really horrible leaders with all types of people in the lower ranks. The Federation is merely selfish, apathetic, and incompetent. Well it only looks like it’s going to get worse before it ends so I will be sure not to watch any episodes while depressed.

Thanks to the IKKI website I started reading Kingyo Used Books (chs. 1-8). It is a very fun approach to healing manga in which manga itself is the healer. Whether it helps people remember their youth, give them hope for the future, or just plain make them laugh a different manga is featured in each chapter and guides these souls on their way. The workers of the Kingyo Used Books store appear in various degrees of importance depending on the story, sometimes making only a minor cameo when a customer comes looking for a manga. They all have their own quirks though and there does seem to be a little bit of continuing plot involving them which comes up now and again. The stories are fun to read, but what really makes this a standout series are the notes at the end about the manga that appear in the chapters, it’s a great learning tool! Sometimes I have heard of the series and sometimes not, but either way there is always some insight into it at the end.

I finished A Certain Scientific Railgun recently. There were a good deal of people complaining about the filler episodes in the middle but overall they were enjoyable fluff. They gave us some more insight into Mikoto Misaka and her friends. The problem comes down to the fact that I did not expect grand things out of Railgun so the plot filled episodes were a treat as opposed to being disappointed when the filler strayed form the main plot. The end ties everything together nicely bringing in all the major plot lines we had into to one final plot. Overall the story works out rather predictability but in a very fun manner. The fights at the end are nice and everyone gets a role to play. Even Saten gets a role to play which is nice to see. (Am I the only person who wants to shout all hail Satan every time I see her?) This show reminded me that since A Certain Magical Index is not being picked up any time soon I should go back and finish that.

I watched the new Bohemian Rhapsody music video by Leiji Matsumoto. The beginning was well done but then it kind of loses direction at a few early points, they just don’t seem to have much relation either storytelling wise or beat wise. However, it crescendo’s incredibly well and climatically, it seems to hit a stride. The character designs are of course old and familiar, the animation is good but there is the added bonus of CG animation thrown in, being me I would have preferred all 2-D animation but it isn’t terribly jarring. Another nice piece of work from Matsumoto.

With the gentle urging of a fellow Hitohira fan I finally decided to go and watch the anime. I prefer the manga but the anime is a wonderful adaptation. Hitohira is the story of a painfully shy girl who after being roped into joining one of the two competing drama clubs learns to be more confident and peruse her dreams. The anime captures all the powerful moments of the manga with the added force of voice acting for any of the scenes where they play is taking place. I enjoyed the manga a little more because I feel it was a tighter story. Everything happens pretty much the same they just take more time to do it in the anime. Also Mugi Asai seems less hopeless when we spend less time with her running away from her problems. I was glad to see a bit of resolution to things that were only coming to a peak in volume three of the manga, which is the last volume of the manga that has been released in English. The anime has a good stopping point but I know that the manga continues the story. I wish that we could finish the manga in the US but I am not holding my breath until that happens.

I have been happily watching the new Saint Seiya OVA, Lost Canvas. Though our main characters Tenma (don’t mistake him for Seiya, as this story takes place 250 prior to the original series) and Alone are new, many others are  familiar faces but now that I really think about it, they could just look familiar as Tenma does. I know that Gold Saint Aries Shion is the same, but it’s all a little fuzzy. In any case, there is little introduction which makes this OVA rather inaccessible for anyone looking for a point to get into the series. Being that I am already a fan, this phases me not and rather I am enjoying seeing who pops up when. The story is really a sad one of how best friends find themselves on very opposite sides as Tenma is destined to be a Saint and Alone is to be the vessel for the revival of Hades. The episodes revolve around this revival and Hades’ army trying to destroy anything that comes in their path. Through episode 4 the focus was on Tenma and his training, realization, and then we are left on a cliffhanger as he along with Yato and Yuzuriha are in Hell searching. Episodes 5 and 6 we completely switch over to the Sanctuary and a long battle showcasing Pisces Albafica which seemed a bit out of the blue. However, it looks like the coming episodes are back to the main story at hand.

I have been meaning to watch the Dirty Pair TV for a while now. I have always been a fan of the show from what I have seen of it. I know over the years I have watched random episodes in a wide variety of places. The Dirty Pair TV is just as fun as the OAVs. The formula is as always very simple. Kei and Yuri are troubleshooters for an intergalactic trouble shooting organization. They can solve any case but always with a tremendous amount of collateral damage. If you are looking for deep philosophy and personal growth in the Dirty Pair then you are watching the wrong show. The show is just fun and excitement with a tasteful dollop of sexy on top. Kei and Yuri have a nice banter between them like any good buddy cop series. They might always be fighting but you also always see a strong bond between them. Episodes are fun to either marathon or just watch one at a time. Next up for me are the Dirty Pair movies.

The more volumes of Dragon Eye I complete the more my heart sinks knowing that more than likely it will never actually be completed in Japan. Volume 8 is mostly fighting in the tournament that is still ongoing. There are two really intense and wonderfully choreographed battles involving Hibiki in which he shows his many strengths and also a cold determination to make it through. Of course all of these things just add up to him being a really great and quite unreadable character at times. Also a reluctant Issa performs another amazing feat battling against a spell caster. He boasts at the beginning “5 minutes” but it is certainly a good 5 minutes. As seen before, Issa cares little about authority and much more about his squad but is put in his place much to his chargin during this tournament. Though some of the cliff-hangers from the last volume are wrapped up, the actual plot only comes to ahead right at the last moment.

A Certain Scientific Railgun is a fun little action show but my goodness does it have that totally blatantly silly yuri fanservice that anime have been in love with lately. They took one of the most popular charaters from Toaru Majutsu no Index, Mikoto Misaka, and spun her off into her own series. I being a big weirdo actually liked Touma and Index but I can’t say I have any objection to watching a show about Mikoto. It is set in Academy City, that is a city mostly made of schools with students with psychic powers. It seems to be introducing to Mikoto and her friends. We have Kuroko aggressive lesbian roommate, Kuroko’s “police partner” Ruiko, and their mutual friend Ruiko who has no powers. We are shown how the girls meet in flashbacks alongside the cases that they get involved with as two of them are part of the organization Judgment, that polices people with powers. So far the show has had a mostly light and breezy air of fun but the end of episode 6 after the credits shows that might not be the case for long. Kuroko straddles the line between being funny and disturbing but other than that it is a fun little show. I wonder if there is going to be a larger overall story having to do with the frequently mentioned database of students. Are we slowly building up to this story or are they just going to use it to cap off the show?

There are so many great Saints to choose from, but Shion is special this week: