Category: Manga

Anime & Manga of the Month: September

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Anime of the Month
They Were 11 by Kitty Film

This a short (running just 91 minutes), perfect little self-contained space opera. While it was made in the 80’s it is adapted from a manga made in the 70’s and the character designs reflect that. Ten cadets are sent off on their final test of survival, which happens to be on an abandoned space ship, but when they board the ship there are 11 people in the group. Since the test is randomized no one has a clue as to who is the odd man out. Suspicion, sabotage, and mystery ensue as the cadets form factions and cope with a decomposing ship, rising temperatures, and a fatal disease that is spreading among the crew. They can end the test with a push of a button but then they all fail. All manner of species and personalities clash in this small group, which makes it a pleasure to watch it play out and almost impossible to figure out who the 11th man is.

Manga of the Month
Excel Saga by Koushi Rikudou

While Excel Saga the anime had it’s time in the sun, most people ignore the excellent manga it was based on which is a shame because while I love the anime, I love the manga even more. Where as the anime was a high energy gag a second parody of anime, the manga is a little more subtle with social satire mixed in with its parody of anime tropes. Also I really think Elgala is cute and she’s only in the manga.

Excel, Hyatt, and eventually Elgala are soldiers and agents for ACROSS, an organization bent on world domination. Ilpalazzo, the leader of ACROSS, has determined that he must first take over F city before he can take over the rest of the world. And so Excel spends most of her time going on bizarre missions in hopes of taking over the city and then the world. Ilpalazzo’s old nemesis, Dr. Kabapu, has organized the Department of City Security with his own agents to stop the plans of ACROSS. Technically both organizations are hunting each other but most of the time they are so incompetent that they spend more time fixing their own mistakes, dilemmas, and financial problems than fighting one another.

I must make note that the Viz translation is done my the famous Carl Gustav Horn so they are expertly translated and researched with amazing translation notes at the end. I think learn a little sometime every time I read a new book of Excel Saga. Sometimes the translation notes are as amusing as the comic itself. And that is high praise indeed.

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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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