Would also love to hear other people’s picks for some of these categories as well! By the way, some of this stuff happens to have come out in years gone by but we first watched/read/whatnot this year so that’s why they’re here, I’ll hear no guff about it! I really enjoy this part of the year, all the posts seem to be more fun and this one is no exception.

Best Anime of 2009 or Show that Infuriates You to No End When Someone on MAL says “If you like this show you will love Dance in the Vampire Bund.”

Tokyo Magnitude 8.0
The noitaminA is your go to animation slot when you are looking for something that is simultaneously different, mature, well produced, and smart. Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 is no exception to this rule. An exceptional look at ordinary people involved in an extraordinary but still extremely feasible situation. It is a superb mixture of intense character study and survival drama. I know some people feel the end is weak but I thought it did well in capping off this  powerful and thought provoking show.

Eden of the East
It is a little bit mystery, a little bit drama, and a little bit suspense wrapped around an intriguing concept. It’s a wonderful series to watch unfold and since Takizawa doesn’t remember what has happened there is a wonderful element of discovery that comes. Takizawa himself is a refreshing and mysterious guy but you always get the feeling, or I did, that he was a good guy even when things looked dubious. Also he loved dogs, can’t be bad. The game was able to engross and impress me from episode one and continued to do so throughout its broadcast.

Anime Man of the Year or You Must be Swift
as a Coursing River

Battler Ushiromiya
Have you ever wished Phoenix Wright could be the star of his own supernatural murder mystery anime? Well if so then someone heard your prayers. In Umineko no Naku Koro ni we have Battler Ushiromiya who is a clear homage to Phoenix Wright with dramatic finger pointing, manly crying, and split between having to do detective work and acting like a lawyer. He may have his flaws but no matter what he keeps marching forward despite numerous set backs and tragedies. Plus he is just plain cool whenever he is on the counterattack. His casual charm and iron clad will set the tone for the anime as much as they do the games it was based on.

Guin
After thinking this over way too much, I finally decided on Guin for a few reasons. First being that after more than 100 books about his quest on the bestseller list, Guin finally got an anime. Adding to that is that Guin may arguably be the most manly character animated in 2009. If you watch just the first episode, this will become obvious. I also read about Guin in novel formthe first time this year myself. And finally, and sadly, Guin’s creator Kaoru Kurimoto passed away in 2009, a woman who was still writing about her most popular creation.

Anime Woman of the Year or I am Woman Hear Me Roar

Canaan
Canaan is a competent kick arse girl with a gun. That is usually all that you need to sell me on a character. The fact that Canaan has her rather slick synesthesia ability which I thought was a very original superpower. She has a stoic and cool feel to her but it she still cares for the people she wishes to protect and gives her all to do so. I also think that her competence on the battlefield but her awkwardness in personal relationships gives her a good mixture of strength and weakness that make her a serious version of Sousuke Sagara. I also think makes her an interesting character to me.

Sawako
Picking a woman of the year became a lot easier the more I watched Kimi ni Todoke. Sawako has a special strength of character that uplifts you, just as she does to the many characters around her. She is humorous and endearing and you never doubt that she will succeed and grow in each new scenario she encounters. Sawako’s positive attitude, even after endearing so much isolation is a true testament to the human spirit and the ability to change.

Favorite Classic Manga Release or Get Off My Lawn and
Read This Manga Instead You Whippersnappers

Astroboy
I bring up Astroboy for several reasons. The first is the releaseof the critically acclaimed manga Pluto in the U.S. which is based on one of the most famous Astroboy stories. While Naoki Urasawa makes the story his own, there is much to be gained from reading the original story. The second is the release of the Astoboy CG movie. It might be weak but it shows the lasting legacy of the Mighty Atom. The third is the fact that premier Tezuka scholar and Astroboy fan Frederik L. Schodt was an excellent guest at Otakon 2009. If any of these things interest you I suggest you pick up Astroboy and see where it all began.

Swan
Okay, so this didn’t just start in 2009 but the fact that it is still being released is something to celebrate. Swan continually wows me with its style, layout, and melodramatic storytelling exemplary of 70′s shojo.

Worst Thing I Watched or My Eyes! The Goggles Do Nothing!

Queen’s Blade
Oh Queen’s Blade you are so bad that you are not even good at accomplishing the simple goal you set out to do. You want to be a dumb little fantasy adventure series with enough titillation to captivate an audience. You go far enough to be grossly excessive in your fan-service but pull back from being porn almost in a chicken sort of way. Also all the humor is rather misogynistic or bizarre. In fact much of the series is just utterly misogynistic. They decided to try to turn everything up to 11 including the breast size but they forgot not to turn the knob for bad up to 11 as well.

Akikan!
Akikan! has a lot more wrong with it than its stupid premise of soda drinks transforming into girls. All the characters are either annoying, creepy, losers, or all of these things in combination. The character designs are awful and the animation quality is way below sub-par. Akikan! is the type of show that makes you say “I didn’t know they made anime this bad anymore!”

Best Convention Guest or I Need to Get an Autograph
with a Haro On It.

The Tomino
As anyone who has read the blog for any amount of time has seen Narutaki and I have very similar tastes. But when it comes to what we are the most passionate about we tend to be very different. But there is one place where both of our passions are about equal and that is for mecha. And one of our favorite mecha directors is Yoshiyuki Tomino. It was amazing to be able to meet the man behind the real robot genre. He was as blunt and cranky as you expected him to be but he seemed to be genuinely appreciative of his fans which was nice to see. Seeing him was the highlight of the year.

Tomino
Tomino Con 2009 was the highlight of many a fan’s year! Obviously we are no exception. What more is there to say other than there is a reason we both put him!

Thing I Wish People Would Stop Talking About
or SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!

Kyoto Animation
I wish people would stop talking about Kyoto Animation fro two reasons. The first is the second season of Haruhi. Yes Endless Eight was a very silly idea that might have been one of the biggest missteps with an anime franchise we will ever see. If they stopped watching Kyoto Animation might have learned some sort of lesson. But it seemed like after a point people just started watching episodes just so they complain about it the day after. The second is K-On!. I wish people would just stop talking about K-On! because I did not think it was that good. Also because if I bring up K-On! we won’t hear Narutaki’s thoughts on K-On! and that would be less than pleasant believe me.

Studio Shaft
I am just tired of hearing the constant internet love letter to Studio Shaft. What little interest I had in them thanks to Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei has promptly been washed away by masses of people decreeing they can do no wrong. The fact that Dance of the Vampire Bund is coming out next month just compounds my disinterest.

Series I Unexpectedly Liked or Chili and Chocolate

Mirai Nikki
Mirai Nikki is a much smarter and more entertaining manga than I first thought it would be. Mirai Nikki turns out to be the smart little thriller with a good mixture of action and psychological horror. The different diaries each had interesting powers and seeing how Yukiteru has to overcome them is fun an interesting because he has to out think his opponents and find the weakness in their diaries. Plus when the manga needs to turn the creepy factor on it does it quite well. It is a fast moving series I am am pretty sure the end is coming soon. I hope it ends as well as it has started and I look forward to Sakae Esuno’s next work. I will say that I am still a little scared by the huge Yuno Gasai fan-base who sort of scare me.

Taisho Baseball Girls
While I was saddened there were no more musical numbers after episode one, it was a wonderful little story of baseball and friendship with just a touch of romance in the mix. Koume is a great lead who is a warm girl on the edge of a modern age. And while Baseball Girls does explore some feminist themes, it does so with the right amount of force for these characters. This is a show I was happy to say was one of the best of 2009.

Favorite Opening or Last Night a DJ Saved My Life

Umineko no Naku Koro ni – Katayoku no Tori
The opening to Umineko no Naku Koro ni is just as epic as the opening to the game and that is no small feat. It has some great vocals with a mixture of Italian and Japanese by Akiko Shikata. The lyrics are a delightful insight into the story if you are paying attention. Also I love that after every arc you will notice that they have added something new to the opening. It keeps the introductions interesting without raising the budget significantly. I can’t wait to see the opening for whenever they make a Umineko no Naku Koro ni Chiru anime.

Eden of the East - Falling Down
Best opening has to go to Eden of the East for me because of its great combination of design and sound. What I loved most was the use of graphics more than animated sequences. And Oasis just rocks.

Best License Announcement or Time to Sell Some Blood

Fist of the North Star
It has been the common sentiment that Fist of the North Star is just one of those titles that would never sell in the U.S. after its previous failure and therefore would never be completed. Then it started streaming online which was mind blowing. Then Discotek Media picked it the DVD rights. For the longest time Fist of the North Star has been one of those series that is popular elsewhere in the world but not in the U.S. Now hopefully the small but dedicated fanbase will get what they have always hoped for.

Sengoku Basara
Not only was I personally super excited that this series got licensed, but it is also a smart choice by Funimation. Crazy fighters and over-the-top characters in an insane interpretation of feudal Japan animated by Production I.G. That is basically a winning combination for me right there. Did I mentioned choreographed dancing samurai in the opening? Fun times all around!

Best Short Manga or Sometimes I Would Like to Read a Manga Series Under 30 Books Long

Tanpenshu
Tanpenshu is a short story collection in two books by Hiroki Endo the author of Eden: It’s an Endless World! The stories are often self-indulgent as Subatomic Brainfreeze said when he commented on the blog but I feel if you are going to be self-indulgent do it in short story form. It is a great collection that shows Endo’s range as an artist and storyteller. It is a good mixture of funny stories with dark stories but all of them are mature tales. It is a great read if you are looking for something a bit out of the ordinary.

Palette of 12 Secret Colors
I have basically spent all year praising Nari Kusakawa up and down to anyone who would listen, this I will continue now. Palette of 12 Secret Colors features an exotic island where the birds and their “palette’s” (human partners) provide the colors of the world. Cello is training to be just that but with only middling success and a string of clumsy color accidents under her belt. As such see often talks with Dr. Guell and things go forward from there. These two have such a hilarious chemistry that it is infectious. It is lovely the way that romance and choosing a future are combined here with an emphasis on what loving someone means. With all of Nari Kurakawa’s series there are elements of magic combined with romance and humor topped with heaps of charm.

Most Horrible Piece of Merchandise or Things Too Tacky to Place Next to Your Big Mouth Billy Bass

1/8 Sheryl Nome NA Ver PVC Figure
I realize that one of Sheryl’s biggest appeals is that she has a smoking hot body. I don’t think anyone is going to disagree with that. So as expected you are going to get some rather risque figures of her. But this figure crosses the line from sexy to downright vulgar. Her outfit is a bit gratuitous but it’s nothing that is inappropriate for a sexy figure. The thing that makes this figure utterly reprehensible is Sheryl’s pose above that huge shell with the phrase Rise Up !! on the base of the figure. It is about as unsubtle as you can get. It just makes the figure so crass that I can’t see anyone but people who buy the figures with the clothing you can take off or the figures with the “real” breasts to buy one.

Char figures that you can put your own face on
I wish I was making this up. To be blunt, no one should want to see their own face in place of Char’s. NO ONE.

Funniest Series or The Best Medicine

Hyakko
I said it once and I will say it again. I really feel that Hyakko is an unappreciated series. It is an excellent school based comedy with wonderful characters, good comedic timing, and a lively sense of energy that can be all too lacking in slice of life series. Torako is a great energetic and spunky girl to interacts off the rest of the class quite well. These is also a good amount of male characters who get face time which are easily forgotten in certain shonen school comedies. Although the manga has not been licensed the anime is streaming for free.

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s
Yes, it is unintentionally funny but funny nonetheless. They have card duels (which is pretty funny itself) on motorcycles! Everyone in prison (there is a prison arc) has decks of cards which are used to decide who is boss! I am ready to marathon this show!

Favorite Mecha Anime or The Char Aznable Award for Excellence

Shin Mazinger Shogeki! Z-Hen
As Narutaki joked if we did not include this series in the list several people we know would probably jump us and then force us to edit this list so it was included. Possibly multiple times and even in categories where it did not belong. But this is for a very good reason. This is Yasuhiro Imagawa firing on all cylinders. It is not just an excellent giant robot show it is an excellent show all together. It has great characters, a full structured plot that was mostly written out from the start with amazing twists and turns, more Go Nagai references than you can shake a stick at, and of course blood pumping robot fights. If you watch one hardcore mecha series this year it should be this one. I mean it has Rocket Punch! 100 Rapid Shots! and what more could you ask for?

Eureka Seven
Okay, yeah I am way behind on the Eureka Seven fan train, okay? I just watched it this year and it makes me wish I had done so much sooner! It was a wonderful combination of characters and their growing, changing relationships. Both the looks at love seen through Eureka and Renton plus Holland and Talho captured me almost instantly. And equally thrilling is the shows combination of mecha and surf culture, very fun and unique. To round it all out is a world of mysteries that are slowly, but surely, revealed. Eureka Seven had everything I wanted in spades.

If I Never See This Type of Character Again or Characters Who Will Be the First Against the Wall
When the Revolution Comes

Fake strong female characters
I am just sick in tired of female characters that are supposed to be strong but are anything but. I don’t need every female character to be strong but don’t sell me a false bill of goods. Don’t give me the strong swordsman who is just a princess waiting to be kidnapped with and armor and a sword instead of a dress. Also don’t give me weak women who pretend to be strong by being total monsters and they try to sell me on the being fine either. Made real strong female charaters or don’t make them all.

Teenage girl who has the brain capacity of an 6-year-old
I think that pretty much sums it up, but if I have to elaborate I will. I’m not saying every girl needs to be genius level intelligence or anything, but really could they atleast go an entire episode without falling down for no reason or perhaps talk at a level someone their age should? I see this more than should happen and really it leaves the worst taste in my mouth.

Yuta Takemoto is effectively the main character of the story. He is a directionless art student who falls in love with with Hagumi Hanamoto, the niece of one of his professors. His friend and super senior Shinobu Morita falls in love with her at the same time. But Hagu is a shy and extremely sheltered young genius and finds it hard to interact with others. Takumi Mayama is a also their friend who is poised on graduating. Their mutual friend Ayumi Yamada is in love with Takumi but he only has eyes for Rika Harada a young widow whose soul is a broken as her body. We see all of them go through school and try desperately try to find where they need to be after college.

I think one of the biggest appeals for Honey and Clover is it’s more mature setting. We get so many high school anime but it is a nice change of pace to see a solid dramedy set with some older protagonists. I think these older characters who eventually have to deal with jobs and more mature relationships is refreshing while still having the vibrancy of the college experience. All of the characters are very relatable and amusing. You will feel triumph at their successes and heartbreak with their losses. The comedy is extremely well done and prevents the series from being gray colored slice of life quagmire. Shinbou could get his own spin off series and all the women and most of the men reading would probably buy two copies each. Honey and Clover is a amazing series that captures the highlights and low points of being young enough to have the world before you but old enough to know how scary that is.

• Learn more!
• Get it!

Palette of 12 Secret Colors by Nari Kusakawa

I have absolutely fallen in love with the work manga-ka Nari Kusakawa does. My most recent passion is for Palette of 12 Secret Colors which takes place on island that houses the most beautiful birds in the world. Cello a “palette” in training (and many others) use the birds’ bright colors to change ordinary things, like cloth and rocks, into precious treasures that are sought the world over. But Cello’s magic doesn’t work like anyone else and usually manifests itself best when she is in danger but her unique abilities get her into some interesting situations. Cello is positive, funny, passionate, and easy to love. As the story goes on we see Cello struggle with how she wants to use her palette skills after her training is complete. However, most things take a back seat to the budding romance between her and the school nurse. She often turns to Dr. Guell, he is blunt but funny and caring, so much so you can’t help but root for these two to come together. Things between these two move along at a brisk but believable pace through a series of mostly humorous incidents about town involving the birds of the island, random students, thieves, and old friends. While the majority of time is spent on Cello or Dr. Guell, there is a colorful side cast that liven things up constantly from Cello’s rambunctious dad who forms an amusing kinship with Dr. Guell to Yoyo and Olga’s scheming to keep their masters apart that ensures funny happenings both in the background and foreground of this manga. Palette of 12 Secret Colors is a charming combination of fantasy, romance, and a huge helping of comedy. And with a mere 6 books to collect, it shouldn’t be missed!

• Learn more!
• Get it!

Read through Palette of 12 Secret Colors books 2-5. This series is just delightful, it never fails to make me smile. Things progress quite nicely between Cello and Dr. Guell through a series of mostly humorous incidents about town and involving the birds of the island, random students, and old friends. There are some particularly hilarious chapters focusing on Yoyo, Cello’s bird, and Olga, Dr. Guell’s companion, both of whom have it in for their masters budding romance. Also, Olga takes it upon herself to sort of boot camp Cello in studying to be a palette. From this I learned the saying “Four pass, five fail,” which is apparently a very common saying in Japanese schools by which it means four hours of sleep (spending the other 20 presumably studying) and you will pass your tests. I also found the friendship between Dr. Guell and Cello’s dad ceaselessly amusing. Besides these sort of trip ups on the road to love, I am pleased to say there haven’t been any love rivals. Looking forward to book 6, which is in the mail, to the surely funny but sweet conclusion.

Saki has been a fun little series with varying degrees of mahjong and yuri fanboy relationship fanservice. I think Narutaki summed it up quite well with, “Men are so easy.” I still stick by my guns and state that I liked Saki more for it’s mahjong than for it’s pandering but part of me wonders if almost everyone who watches Saki says that. And how many of them are lying? That being said the mahjong is usually pretty fun in Saki. It is not the crazy intense madness of Akagi but sucks you in. If Akagi is all about the razors edge life and death struggle of the professional gambler taken to a melodramatic extreme then Saki is about the friendships and passions of team mahjong taken to a melodramatic extreme. The fact that most of the characters are pretty well fleshed out for the amount of screen time they get helps this as well. Since you care about all the characters playing the games they become that more more intense. Unsurprisingly this seems to be popular among the otaku crowd in Japan so there are hints that a sequel is in the works provided Gonzo does not go out of business before that can happen. The ending is full of scenes from later in the original manga filled with hints that the mahjong only gets crazier. I will admit I always get the urge to eat tacos after watching Saki. And that is hardly a negative. Still it was a fun ride and I would easily watch a second season.

Caught up with Cross Game by watching episodes 22-28 in quick succession. I must mention that there is a new part before the show begins where Momiji either sings a song about how to draw Nomo or asks you a trivia question, very cute! The actual show is slowly climbing in intensity as Koshien looms closer and more attainable. There is some great development of Aoba as she finds girls baseball to be a challenge she never considered. While I don’t know if it will happen on screen I hope it is implied that she will go on to transfer schools or whatever it takes to really get to play baseball. The relationship between her and Kou seems to be thawing, albeit slowly, but it gives you a smile to see her heartfelt cheers for him in the last couple of episodes. Also, almost unbeknownst to me, I have become a big fan of Azuma and really enjoy his friendship with Kou. This just solidifies the great back forth all of the teammates share. All of these things, all of the characters, come together so nicely making Cross Game a practically perfect sports show.

I will readily admit that I am not super familiar with the origins of the Black Rock Shooter. I know that she generally became popular when a song featuring her by the dojin music group  Supercell became popular on Nico Nico Douga. I also know the song was made using Hatsune Miku. But all of that does matter. What matters is that she has an attractive character design, and intriguing style, and she fights with a sword and a machine gun. While it does not outright sell me on that alone I am now intensely interesting after seeing the pilot. Apparently in the concept Black Rock Shooter is some sort of magical girl. Other than that she has a cool looking rival with a scythe. I’m not getting my hopes up too much but I am curious to see how well they pull it all off.

D.Gray Man 14 had a lot of great things in-store including getting to see a long awaited character make his appearance as well as interacting with the cast. We also see the conclusion to this small puzzle as the exorcists exit the ark which was a very intense few books resulting in a lot of destruction and development. But even more shocking in this book is some implications in Allen’s past which really starts to shed light on a few things. This also really got me excited and thinking really hard about some clues left for us. Oh, also, this guy appears who totally looks like Hitler. D.Gray Man 15 hurry up!

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days is a prequel game to Kingdom Hearts 2 with Roxas as the protagonist. It details his life while he was a member of the yaoi doujinshi friendly Organization XIII. This gives a little fleshing out to what was mostly implied to have happened between Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts 2. It has most of the Kingdom Hearts game play with a twist but nowhere near the radical twist seen in Chain of Memories. I can’t say I am super thrilled with the grid system they use but it is functional. I just find it odd that your levels take up customization space. You go on various missions for Organization XIII as you learn what a bunch of nasty people they are. You usually have a partner from the organization with you on each mission. The AI on them is competent but unspectacular. It seems designed so that you can rush through the game just get to the plot but you can also take on a bunch of side missions and bonus materials if you like. There is also a mission mode that allows for cooperative play as well. I have yet to test that out but cooperative play is almost always a good thing. Still from what I have played it seems a decent addition to the Kingdom Hearts franchise. I am curious how much it ties, if at all, into Birth By Sleep.

Since I can’t stop talking about Cross Game, this is the pic of the week:

I am slowly going through all that CMX has to offer by manga-ka Nari Kusakawa. I read the first book of Palette of 12 Secret Colors. It is about an island that houses the most beautiful birds in the world. Along with them they train wizards (called palettes) who use the birds’ bright colors to change ordinary things, like cloth and rocks, into precious treasures that are sought the world over. We follow Cello, a wizard in training, who is anything but ordinary. Her magic doesn’t work like anyone else so she has a hard time learning the basics (she is so bad she has been held back a year in school) but her unique abilities get her into some interesting situations. Cello is a great lead, she is positive, funny, and easy to love. Dr. Guell, who is obviously the love interest, is blunt but funny and caring, so much so you can’t help but root for these two to come together. It continues to show her ability to weave fantasy, romance, and a little comedy into a charming combination. This series is after Recipe for Gertrude and you can really see her art style becoming more refined. I am looking forward to getting the rest in the series.

Color of Earth by Kim Dong Hwa strikes me as the Oscar bait of Manhwa. It is a prestige release. You release this to win awards and to great praise from reviewers and comic experts but never get more than a handful of mainstream sales. It is a historical, slice of life comic about a young Korean girl named Ehwa and her journey towards womanhood. It depicts Ehwa discovering her first feelings for a boy which parallels her widowed mother finding a new love. It is quite frank about the physical changes and emotional changes of growing up. Overall I found in enjoyable if very sedate. The characters were enjoyable. I was slightly amused by their constant use of metaphor during conversation. It was a stark contrast the the very base matters that are often the point of discussion. The character designs are simple but effective and have a traditional ink drawing feel to them. The backgrounds alternate between being very ornate especially with some of the full page spreads to totally nonexistent during conversations. Most people are going to be captivated immediately or quickly turned off by either the slice of life nature and earthy tone of the book. Still it is a good read for people who want their comics to have the weight of more award-winning prose.

Color of Earth touts itself as a unique work and I would agree. It easily pushes itself with its matter-of-factness of learning about one’s sexuality but at the same time tends toward metaphor and innuendo in people’s conversations. As we follow Ehwa she often finds herself at a loss because of the way people phrase things. It goes to show that even though she has to learn these things, it can be hard to get people to give you a straight answer. And unfortunately that is what Ehwa really needs. But like everyone else in life, you learn about things eventually and get it all straight in your head, sort of. The mother and daughter relationship is at the forefront and the most interesting development in this book. As we go along they become more like confidants rather than parent and child. This seems to happen for a number of reasons, not the least of which is they don’t have any men in the house. The art is very classic feeling. It fits the time period of the book and makes it seem more like fine art than sequential art at times. I’d say this series is worth checking out just based on having never read anything else like it. I can’t say it is a story I would normally read, but it is has a charm that requires me to finish reading it.

After watching Turn A Gundam I decided to throw myself into one of the most unpopular Gundam series, After War Gundam X. After five episodes I really can’t see what people really hated it. It is clearly a post apocalyptic series because there is a guy with a mohawk . . . who is a bandit . . . in a mobile suit in the first episode all Fist of the North Star style. After a bitter war between the Earth and the colonies there was massive colony drop that killed off 99% of the population. We start 15 years after that in which Garrod Ran is hired to save the mysterious girl, Tiffa Adill. During the rescue Garrod and Tiffa come into the possession of a legendary Gundam X mobile suit. He soon discovers that everyone want Tiffa and her mysterious Newtype powers. You can tell this series comes directly after Gundam Wing by looking at the art designs. Garrod looks like the love child of the five Gundam pilots from Wing with a personality that is most reminiscent of Duo’s. Tifa is your stock mysterious girl with magical powers. All the other characters so far have been fine. No one in the show is in the running for my favorite character ever but no one is so horrible that they have earned the reputation that Gundam X has. Maybe the show goes down hill later on but so far it’s fine.

Finally able to pick up a copy of Swan’s first book. As you should all know by now, I have an affinity for the 70′s manga art style. Japan’s ballet is a baby compared to its history in the rest of the world, but there is plenty of talent. Great dancers from all over the nation are invited to compete, the top chosen will receive private lessons from famous dancers all over the world. This is done is hopes to expand Japan’s ballet reputation internationally. We follow Masumi, who is unexpectedly invited to the school for private lessons after being eliminated early on in the competition. She has had poor training but her staunch supporter, famous Russian dancer Alexei Sergeiev, sees great potential in her. Masumi is uneasy and has self-doubt but she is determined. I am enjoying both her and the many people she encounters including some of Japan’s best youth dancers. I am also learning a lot about ballet. Swan is as beautiful a 70′s shojo manga as there can be with lush character designs and backgrounds rounded out with sparkles and drama. I will certainly try to pick up more when I can.

Because I could not resist putting up a picture of Tifa and the Newtype Dolphin. (Yes, you heard me right. NEWTYPE DOLPHIN!):