Category: Manga

Ongoing Investigations: Case #001

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I have been eating up Daughter of Twenty Faces every week. I anxiously await the next episode and I love that feeling. I was really happy to hear DoTF was given a 26 episode run after initially having only 13. Being a lover of detective fiction, it is not hard to imagine me glomming onto this show. However, the show is also really good! Albeit over the top but I think that is what is so exciting, it wraps all things detective into it but still manages to surprise you. Episodes nine and ten start to establish some of the stuff we see in the opening and ending. I have a bit of theory and am curious if it is true. Detective stories constantly have red herrings so it’ll be interesting to see this play out.

Finally watched the last episode of Tower of Druaga. I have to say, this series turned out to be pretty good. Finally some decent fantasy anime. I was glad we didn’t get some huge information dump in this last episode, just the end of an arc. I am definitely looking forward to the next season. And it was a good experiment by Gonzo, the whole coming out at the same time as the Japanese. I was really happy with the results.

Watched the finale of Zettai Kareshi (Absolute Boyfriend). This live action comedy/drama is loosely based on the Yuu Watase work of the same name. With all the changes that were made to the story I was surprised, pleasantly, how close the ending came to the original as far as feelings. I was unhappy with a few of the middle episodes, but I liked the approach they took of showing Night becoming human (and Riko realizing it) slowly where in the manga I never really thought of him as anything but. Overall, it’s a cute series for women.

I watched the American live action Fist of the North Star movie. It is mostly a retelling of the first part of Hokuto no Ken, Kenshiro’s fight with Shin. It is definitely a silly movie but it really seems that it wants to reproduce what makes Hokuto no Ken such a popular franchise world wide. Lots of the story details are correct but it seems to miss the spirit overall. It does not help that when ever Kenshiro does his signature moves they come off more silly than fearsome. It’s oddly enough a fun movie if you just want a cheesy martial arts film but a blasphemy if you want the definitive live action Hokuto no Ken.

Also watched the last four episodes of Sexy Voice and Robo another live action comedy/drama. It is also loosely based on an unfinished seinen manga. I originally picked this up because Kenichi Matsuyama plays Robo, you may know him as L. Sexy Voice and Robo investigate weird occurrences but they always end up helping people. It was a lot of fun but also always had a little moral or something in it. It has a hopeful vibe and Niko (Sexy Voice) our 14-year-old protagonist can sometimes be profound.

I watched all of Karin recently. I was in the mood for a light romantic comedy and Karin fit the bill. It’s definitely a shonen romance series, but I can see why it has found a fan following among girls in the U.S. If you add in vampires to anything you have to go out of your way to turn off girls. It can be done but you have to try pretty hard. I am looking at you Rosario + Vampire. I liked Karin and Kenta and the rest of the side cast was amusing. Karin being a blood making vampire is certainly inventive as well. I like how vampires work in the Karin universe. The fact that vampires in Karin drain emotions along with blood is a novel approach to the vampire mythos while still being conducive for comedy. The only thing I have to bringing up is that the vampire hunter’s costumes in this series have to be the goofiest thing on Gackt Camui’s green earth. I know this is a comedy but seriously.

Read the first book of Goong, a very popular manhwa. A prince has to marry a commoner who his grandfather made a promise to. Neither of them are too happy with the idea. Can’t say I’m all that impressed as of yet but it has left me curious enough to pick up atleast the next volume. It has potential. Though no one really captured my attention. The art is only great on occasion, though I know it is long running so that can change. I have been on a shojo romance hiatus for a while so maybe I just wasn’t ready for another foray yet.

I just read book ten of Eden: It’s an Endless World! and Hiroki Endo is more than willing to kill off characters. Every time I think that a character can’t be killed, Hiroki Endo proves me wrong and murders them in epic fashion. Hiroki Endo is also a genius because he will often put a character in several near fatal situations and have them pull though before ultimately killing them. This means you never know if a character is just in a tight situation or they going to meet their maker. All too often you are not worried about characters because you have a good idea of who is going to live and who is going to die. Eden makes sure every book is tense because you have no guarantees anyone lives. I highly recommend everyone try this series because it’s not doing that well but it should be. It’s a gritty cyberpunk series with a good mix of action, sex, and gnostic symbolisms. It should be flying off the shelves.

Picked up Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced 2 and have barely put it down. I loved the original so I am glad to have more with a bit of an updated system, new races, and some new jobs. The laws don’t have the crazy consequences of the first and also as long as you play within the law your clan gets different bonuses. Oh and for anyone that thought the first game was too easy, this one has a difficulty setting. Haven’t gotten into the plot much yet, got sucked into the Ivalice world and am now looking for a mage to help me figure out how to get home. Not sure if I love the main character yet ( I love you Marche!) but I don’t by any means dislike him. And Adelle is nowhere near as cool as Ritz. I am hoping these characters grow on me.

That’s it for this week’s investigation. Look for new ongoing investigations every Friday!

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Anime and Manga of the Month: July

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Manga of the Month
Living Game by Mochiru Hoshisato

Raizo Fuwa has his life turned upside down when the company he works for is going to change their offices. The building his office was going to move into collapses because of shoddy construction before they can move in. Raizo’s boss decides to temporarily move the whole office into Raizo’s apartment until they can find a new building to move into. To add to his problems his boss agrees to hire the 15 years old Izumi Hiyama as a favor to a friend. Since Izumi is a high school drop out she cannot get anyone to rent to her. This eventually leads to Izumi having to move into Raizo’s office/apartment with him. Raizo slowly finds himself falling in love with Izumi who has an enormous crush on him but his office workers and friends keep interfering with every aspect of his life. Living Game is the story of Raizo and Izumi trying to find somewhere to call home.

Living game takes the housing crisis of the time and uses it as a repeated plot device, as a tool for social commentary, and an allegory of the major theme of the manga as a whole. Everyone in the series is looking for somewhere to live but it is always a metaphor for their struggle to find their place in life and in society. I really like that three tiered approach.

Living game is not the greatest manga but it’s much different than a majority of the manga that you can read in the U.S. today. It is a sweet seinen romance with a good mixture of comedy and drama. I like that the pace is brisk but never feels rushed. Raizo and Izumi’s lives are always moving forward. They are constantly changing and growing. All too often romantic comedies will spin their wheels going nowhere to draw out the plot. Raizo and Izumi lives are always organic. They grow into themselves and grow together at a natural pace. I really recommend it to people who liked Maison Ikkoku and any other more adult romantic comedy.

Anime of the Month
Princess Tutu by Hal Film Maker Studio

This is one of those rare shows that was not adapted from a preexisting manga. A duck is transformed into a girl and hopes to fulfill her desire to protect the shattered pieces of a prince’s heart. Ahiru is awkward (as can be imagined) but full of energy, determination, and love. For once it is the prince who needs saving and that is the task set before her. Princess Tutu takes on the role that is traditionally male, but she is absolutely female. She accepts her fate willingly and has a sense of duty despite her personal feelings and the realization that once her role is played she will no longer exist. While love is one of the central themes to this series, what starts out seemingly simple becomes a complex and dark look into the hearts and minds of many characters. Princess Tutu is a perfect fairytale full of magic, love, and mystery. And true to form it is has the darkness that inhabited original fairytales.

Anime and Manga of the Month: June

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Manga of the Month
Dragon Eye by Kairi Fujiyama

Leila is a brand new recruit to VIUS, a large organization of people combating the mysterious D-Virus. Both the organization and the virus itself, which turns the infected into blood thirsty, destructive “Dracules,” we know little about. Through a series of events, some quite amusing, she ends up in the hands of Issa, Captain of Squad Zero. Issa is seemingly lackadaisical, which is probably why the squad only includes himself and now Leila. But he is probably brilliant and you soon learn that his past is filled with holes. The glimpses of his former life bring a lot of much needed tension to the story. This becomes of serious importance as the Dracules begin to move as an organized group rather than a bunch of unthinking monsters. His relationships with some characters are strained while others truly believe in him, as it becomes more clear that some know a bit more about him than others. The cast changes somewhat from story to story as Squad Zero is always borrowing help, this peppers the story with some fun team-ups. The art is well done and the weaponry and equipment is cool which adds to the well done fights. Dragon Eye is a shonen adventure series, but it uses its formula well and creates characters you wish to see through to the end.

Anime of the Month
Black Lagoon by Madhouse Studios

Normally we showcase less known series in the Anime and Manga of the Month but I decided to throw up a better know. title that is in an odd predicament. Geneon went under and so far no one has saved the license. The dub for both seasons is done because they played them both on Canadian Tech TV. I really want someone to pick up the second season there in the states. I think it’s a guaranteed seller with legs.

Black Lagoon is about being awesome and having Revy, the duel pistol wielding awesome goddess incarnate. Black Lagoon is essentially an animated action movie. The story revolves around Rokuro Okajima who gets kidnapped by the pirates of the Lagoon Company but ends up as part of the crew. The Lagoon Company crew is as follows. Rock whose role is to be the fish out of water who has some invaluable negation skill from his days as a salary man. Revy is the muscle. Dutch being the muscular African-American seems like he would be the tough of the group but he is the companies leader and tactician. Benny rounds out the group as the hacker.

The intensity of the series is always turned up to 11. Even in the quieter moments the show have an underlying ferocity. There is also a tendency to throw out realism in favor of style. Revy duel wields pistols not because it’s practical but because it looks awesome. PT boats take on helicopters with mini-guns. People fight with chainsaws, flamethrowers, or throwing knives on chains because it looks freaking awesome. Also the characters are almost always a mixture of fascinating and frightening. Roanapur is an amoral city in which only the crafty and strong make it through the day. Black Lagoon is a fun, gritty, action anime. Viz is going to start publishing the manga soon and I really hope someone will step up to the plate and re-license this series.