Category: Detectives

Ongoing Investigations: Case #009

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I read Yen Plus volume 2 and generally enjoyed it. I was slightly disappointed that Alex is the main character and Sara is just a supporting character in Nightschool but I still hold out hopes for my dreams. Pig Bride is still my favorite work in the anthology especially now that I am 90% sure Doe-Doe is a gang leader. Sarasah is still an enigma to me. The next part of the story was unexpected but I still don’t have a firm grasp on if I like it or not. I will have to see where it’s going before I can make a decision. Bamboo Blade is still very good and makes me want to watch the anime. I still want to love Sumomomo-Momomo but I continue to be creeped out by Momoko’s character design. I like Higurashi but I wish the manga-ka was not so obsessed with reminding us that the female characters have breasts. I already knew that. Has anyone played the original game? Was the game anywhere near as fan-servicey as the manga or is it just Shonen Gangan’s tendency to throw service into its series? Soul Eater and Jack Frost are still not for me and I don’t think they ever will be.

Read One Piece volume 18 and as usual always fun, always funny, sometimes even laugh out loud funny which becomes a problem when riding the train. This book is mostly lead-up to the big showdown. They finally get the land of Alabasta so they don new desert outfits, we see Baroque works together, and we learn a little about Vivi’s childhood. Finally get to see Ace in action which was great! Certainly has the potential to be a favorite of mine, but I’ll wait till he shows up again to make my final judgment call. Smoker makes another appearance and will be in the next one according to the preview. Otherwise not a lot of action in this book.

I’m curious how much Narutaki will enjoy Alabasta. I know that it’s most people’s favorite part of One Piece so far. And since book 19 is next I am curious about Narutaki’s reaction to it. Those in the know know his love of Zoro and general dislike of Sanji. If one is ever going to tolerate Sanji it’s after the events of book 19. I myself have been enjoying the current arc of One Piece although I have to wonder what Eiichiro Oda has against Zoro because he sure has been beating him up recently. We were discussing it and I wonder if he is trying to give the newer crew members some more screen time by taking Zoro out of the picture for awhile.

Happy to find Chocolate Underground 5 and 6 up! Huntley and Smudger have now found the secret store of chocolate so the real story begins. This show remains fun and keeps me wanting to see the next one. Really anxious to finish this short series. And not really sure how it is going to play out or if it will even have an ending. I am wondering this because the involvement of changing the political climate, maybe there will be a rebellion? I am planning to pick up the novel it is based on as soon as possible.

I watched the first disk of Shakugan no Shana. It’s enjoyable but I think Kohaku is crazy when she tells me she thinks Shana is not tsundere. She has reasons for being tsundere but she is very clearly tsundere. Your enjoyment of Shakugan no Shana mainly comes down to how much you like Shana. I suppose you could be a Yuji Sakai fan but most people are not watching the show for him. They are watching to see Shana fight, watch Shana be bad ass, watch Shana be odd, and watch Shana be cute. I have to admit I was amused when she casually takes over the existence of a dead girl in Yuji’s class. This show also made me realize I’m becoming an old fogey who blogs too much. I keep deconstructing characters into archetypes whenever I watch shows now. I am not so jaded as to dismiss shows for using archetypes yet but is it only a matter of time before I am one of the bitter old farts of the Internet. Only time will tell.

Watched Macross Frontier 20. You win this round Sheryl fans.

Oh, you forgot to mention that apparently we were the only two monsters with unfeeling hearts that were not crying at the end of this episode. I think we were both a little disappointed with how they wrote Ranka. I know why they did it this way but it does not mean I have to like it. I hope this is not a trend because it might make me stop being a Ranka fan. I will never be a Sheryl fan but I might have to give up my Ranka love.

I was truly disappointed, I didn’t believe it would ever go down like that. And what is so funny is that it was probably the only thing they could do to make me dislike Ranka. I will give Ranka a couple of episodes to convince me that I shouldn’t turn my back. Everyone has their moments, it is about recovering from them for me.

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Ongoing Investigations: Case #008

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So I finally got around to watching Lucky Star. It is the God emperor of slice of life shows for otaku. It’s like a super sugary snack for the the otaku pallet. It has almost no substance and negligible nutritional value but my goodness does it taste sweet. I enjoy it but I have two major criticisms. The first is that Lucky Star tends to drag at points. It’s never boring (to me at least) but it’s never fast paced and the speed of it’s motion can vary from scene to scene. The other critique is that where as SS Astro might pander to the audience at points. . . Lucky Star is pure pander. To it’s credit it never pretends to be anything but 100% crystallized pander. It’s made for otaku and you better want otaku friendly comedy or it’s going to be hell. In fact I could easily see why people would despise this show let alone not enjoy it. Oh and I can hardly tell when the director of Lucky Star changed. Some people make it out like the first 4 episodes are one show and the rest feel like another show. I noticed subtle differences but I wouldn’t have if the whole affair not been so publicized. I don’t think the episode 4 divide will ever win over haters or turn away fans of the first 4 episodes. They are basically two different brands of tofu. Some people will have a noticeable preference but not many.

Just finished reading New Avengers TP 7, it was in my queue of stuff to buy from Amazon and I finally placed that order. Bendis doesn’t disappoint in this lead up to the Secret Invasion (an arc I have yet to read since I wait for TP). I enjoy the witty dialogue along with the looming suspicions of our heroes (and our readers) about who is a Skrull and just how far they have infiltrated. As expected Tony Stark is weighing heavily on everyone’s minds though I am inclined to believe the worst in him. Civil War created some strange bedfellows but I have to say I haven’t enjoyed superhero comics this much in ages.

Your and My Secret 2 continues the trend of being a guilty pleasure. Good enough that I look forward to the next one but horrible enough that I don’t run around saying how much I love it. Nanako and Senbongi are monsters, the jokes can be downright lewd and crude, and the situation is absurd. But it comes together in a way to make it fun as long as you are not too uptight. We all know characters can be horrible human beings and still funny. In fact, sometimes it is better that way.

Birdy the Mighty continues to go along as its average pace though we do start to see the beginnings of a bond between Tsutomu and Birdy, which was what I have been waiting for. It still seems to be just riding the bar as far as goodness goes but it is entertaining if nothing else. Just came up that Birdy is getting a second season so others must be watching as well!

I keep getting this slightly retro anime feel from Birdy the Mighty which I totally dig. It’s certainly not old school but it has the I-was-a-fun-90s-OAV-only-on-TV-in-2008 thing going on. I like the characters but the plots are not super original however they are fun. The animation seems a little weak at times but it’s nothing too distracting. I have heard that episode 7 has really great animation compared to the first 6 but I did not notice that much of a difference. Episode 7 was much darker than others by far though. Birdy is just a fun show that you sit back, turn off your brain, and just enjoy. Japan seems to like it enough that they are giving it a second season but I wonder if it will catch on in the U.S. It seems 90s enough that new U.S. anime fans might not like it but it also seems too modern for old schoolers to automatically back it. Then again many it has just the right blend to draw fans from both demographics. Does anyone who reads this blog know what American fans generally think of Decode? BTW having the villain be named Shyamalan is genius. Take that M. Night.

Zaregoto, I really wanted to like you. I loved NISIOISIN’s Another Note. I like quirky or eccentric detectives just fine. But for me this book suffers from too many eccentric people that mostly make no sense. Ii-chan and Kungisa’s dynamic doesn’t work as well as it could (like in Gosick). It could be the stilted dialogue and internal thoughts of Ii-chan. The mystery itself was pretty good, is also has some classic misdirection and genre tropes such as a locked room mystery and a mansion on a deserted island. The dialogue was all over the place being incredibly philosophical and vague in some places and then being overly simple a-la Blue’s Clues in others. It really suffers from needing a better editor. I may pick up the next book just to see if the writing cleans up.

I feel that Blade of the Immortal episode 3 is the litmus test of if you can handle Blade of the Immortal. Sabato Kuroi is the person they are trying to kill in this episode and he is one freaky dude. I think he is freaky enough to turn some people right off the series. However, he very clearly sets the tone for the rest of the show. People are messed up in Blade of the Immortal so you better get used to it. Also, Sabato Kuroi is a Black Sabbath reference I did not catch that but I guess that is because I am not that metal.

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Ongoing Investigations: Case #007

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Boogiepop at Dawn is the fourth book released by Seven Seas Entertainment in the Boogiepop series. Technically this is the sixth book in the Boogiepop series but it’s a good deal of prequel material so it doesn’t break the narrative. I wonder if they pushed this one ahead because of it’s greater ties to the anime. Boogiepop at Dawn is a god send for American Boogiepop fans because it finally clears up and explains several unexplained mysteries, characters, and events from the TV series. We finally get to see the Scarecrow; learn the story behind the constantly mentioned serials killings; learn the story behind the death of Nagi Kirima’s father; and the story of his novels. Boogiepop Phantom was not the easiest anime to wrap your head around in the first place. Not having the light novel background that many of the Japanese viewers had made it even worse. The novel claims to be the origin of Boogiepop but I feel it is more the origin of Nagi Kirima and how she met Boogiepop than Boogiepop’s origin.

Daughter of Twenty Faces 12 and 13 were exciting indeed! And knowing that the series was supposed to end here is not surprising. The show didn’t wrap up all of its mysteries by any means but it threw us a very climatic battle and meeting. And I could see it being over and knowing there is more to the story but you’ll have to read the manga to find out. Lucky for us we have 9 more episodes to go!

I finally got around to reading Vampire Hunter D volume 1 in preparation of seeing Hideyuki Kikuchi at New York Anime Festival. The first Vampire Hunter D movie is based on this book. The movie defers a good deal from the novel but it keeps all the high points. The major difference is Rei Ginsei is the head of his own little gang of bandits instead of being a servant of Count Lee. This lets him be a wild card that is constantly allying with various people to kill D. Other than that I feel we get a greater insight into certain characters, events, and background of the world. We see much more of Ramika and Greco. The framework of Vampire Hunter D is the standard western story of a mysterious stranger who rolls into town to save a beautiful woman and her farm from a corrupt big shot. He makes the story his own by adding elements of horror and post-apocalyptic literature and films to spice up the story. My only real complaint is Hideyuki Kikuchi is obsessed with constantly mentioning how beautiful D is all the time. Each chapter either the narrator or some character comments of how good looking D is.

Macross Frontier 18 made me realize a few things. First off, Brera is totally under-used. I thought he was going to be big but he has basically fallen to wayside as super cock-block and that is about it. I hope that changes. Secondly, I’m not sure where they are going with Sheryl, she was out of character in this episode but that isn’t surprising considering the news she got. The next few episodes will be really important for her character development. Lastly, maybe they have been doing it all along but this episode had a lot of very convenient moments, i.e. Sheryl shows up at the library and Sheryl calls a random person. The second one could actually have merit, we will see. Of course you must accept certain coincidences in anything. And since it was brought up in the last ongoing investigation. I’ll just clarify that I don’t give characters a free pass just because they had something bad happen to them. I don’t automatically erase malicious actions from my mind because they have had some trauma. But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t forgive them if they showed some sort of change or remorse. All of that is yet to be seen. Oh, the new opening while I like the song a lot the animation sequence was pretty blah.

SS Astro is like Azumanga Daioh but the jokes are about the teachers instead of the students. Oh, and someone thought Kaorin should be main character and not minor side character. Also we have a lesbian substitute teacher than has a clear crush on the main gym teacher. It is definitely a seinen manga in humor and style. I really liked SS Astro but I have reservations about it. The characters are charming and amusing. I really liked the school nurse who was obsessed with people getting hurt so she could see blood. My only problem was there is this aura of pandering around the manga that I am not sure I am comfortable with. It’s not a deal breaker but if they turn up the pandering another notch or two it might get too much for me.

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