Category: Anime

Contest + First Look: Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl, We are living in a Judo world and I am a Judo girl!

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WIN THE 1ST BOXSET OF YAWARA!
DETAILS AT THE END OF THE REVIEW.

If you ask most manga fans about Naoki Urasawa the titles that will spring to mind are: Monster, 20th Century Boys, and Pluto. Super cool people who are awesome will also know Master Keaton. Urasawa is famous in the States for his well-written mystery series that are equivalent to literature. In Japan he has the same reputation but people also have a fondness for his softer, earlier works. The most famous being Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl. Yawara! was Urasawa first break out hit. Decidedly lighter than his later works, it still shows his ability to make compelling characters that draw the reader in. The Yawara manga ran for 29 volumes and the anime for 124 episodes. In 1992, when Ryoko Tamura got the silver medal in Judo during the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, she gained the nickname Yawara-chan that she still has today. The Yawara anime ran as a sister show to Ranma 1/2 and often got higher ratings. Sadly while Ranma 1/2 became a huge hit in America, Yawara is basically unknown. This is a real shame because Yawara is a really charming show that is both funny and filled with a good deal of heart.

I have only recently started reading Urasawa’s works such as Pluto and 20th Century Boys but they are certainly a very different story from A Fashionable Judo Girl. The title alone could probably tell you that. However, I don’t really have a clear opinion of Urasawa yet so I didn’t go into this show with an sort of expectation. All I really knew was that Yawara! was a rather popular sports comedy from the early 90’s. It is a rather long series, so here we have sampled the first 18 episodes to give you a taste of it.

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Japan Society: KRAZY! The Delirious World of Anime + Manga + Video Games Exhibit

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An exhibition highlighting parts of Japanese popular culture is not to be overlooked. Though going in I didn’t really know what to expect or how much there would be to see. Just knowing that all these pieces that have influenced not only each other but popular culture in Japan and abroad makes quite an impression. This is going on til mid June so we figured if you haven’t seen it yet maybe you will after this!

I like anime, manga, and video games so this exhibit seemed right up my alley. I usually go into exhibits like these with guarded expectations. You never know when the person who put together the exhibit is an expert on the subject or someone who is catering to demand in the market. I was also a little worried because all three subjects are interconnected but very different. With an exhibit like this I want to get something out of it. I want to either learn something new or gain some greater insight about something I already knew about.

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Ongoing Investigations: Case #043

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I finished the Contraband arc of Liar Game. It ended pretty strongly with a equal mixture of  success and failure for our main characters. I really liked that it was neither a total victory nor a total loss. Nao and Shinichi are definitely in a tight spot going into the next round but they did much of what they needed to do. Liar Game stays a smart series that challengers the reader but does not pull its plot twists out of thin air. How the game works and how the characters pull off their schemes are set up before the reveals are given. A clever person could probably figure out the answers in advance. Norihiko Yokoya has obviously been set up as a reoccurring villain which is the first in the series. Nao is still oscillating between being girl-who-needs-to-be-saved and Shinichi’s partner but at least her character is growing. I am hoping by the end she will have her own unique perception and tactics. I am a little surprised that Fukunaga is staying on as an important side character.

Picked up Key to the Kingdom a while back but just started reading it. So far books one and two have impressed me, it is a wonderfully put together shojo fantasy. We start with Asta, the youngest prince, who has no desire to rule nor to hold a sword. So when the country’s rule lies in the hands of whoever can find the “key to the kingdom” it seems he will be free of such troubles. However, fate has other things in store as Badd, a retainer, drags him into looking for clues to its whereabouts. When a Dragon Man appears on their path it becomes clear that everything is not as it seems. A diverse cast emerges along the road as Asta resists but gets caught up in the complexity of the country’s history. There are many things going in this story including action, politics, mystery, and love. I was surprised that the series is only six years old because the art certainly has a late-80’s or mid-90’s feel to it. A great start to the series, highly recommended!

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