Category: Ongoing Investigations

Ongoing Investigations: Case #019

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I finished off most of the Monaco Cup arc of Yakitate!! Japan with books 13 and 14. As always the over the top, sometimes multiple-chapter, reaction gags from the judges are the high point of the series. The character comedy is secondary but still enjoyable. The actual bread is almost secondary, too. So far we have had a bread that gives someone a glimpse of heaven and a bread that lets you travel back in time to cap off the other arcs. I am curious what will be the ultimate bread that end the next arc to one up the crazy reactions shots we have had so far.

Recently got around to reading the Moribito Guardian of the Spirit novel. I found it enjoyable but felt it could have used another 50 to 100 pages to flesh out the characters and plot a bit more. The characters were certainly engaging enough for this to be done. Plus more Shuga, star-reader, would have been greatly appreciated! Also from seeing the start of the anime, it certainly introduces more fight scenes as the novel essentially has one near the beginning and one big one at the end. Though I am aware that this is a decently long series, Scholastic has made no indication of whether or not anymore in the series will be released. Considering the amount of money spent on the printing of this book (beautiful cover, embossed stamping on the spine, super nice paper and blue ink throughout!), I have to wonder if later books would receive such stellar treatment.

I finished Fate/Stay Night and have to say I am quite content. I was a little disturbed that I noticed a lot of myself in Sakura which possibly explains much of my attitude toward her. I liked all three paths but my Saber prejudice means that I must declare Fate my favorite path. Unlimited Blade Works drags at points but it is balanced out by the sheer awesome of other parts. Heaven’s Feel wraps things up nicely and plays rather differently than the other two paths. I definitely enjoyed the little bonus section you get when you unlock everything. It gives you some interesting insights into the creation of the game. I guess my only option now is either become proficient in Japanese or wait for someone to translate Fate/Hollow Ataraxia. I could also go out and search for the new scenes they threw in Realta Nua but that is more icing than anything else.

Voices of Love was my first leap into Aurora publishing more adult josei line of manga. I picked this one for a number of reasons. One, it was a short story collection so that meant lots of different characters and plots. Secondly, one of those plots was teacher x student. And finally the Aurora website lets you sample 11 pages or so and I was able to establish semi-good art and not a myriad of love scene after love scene. Of the five stories, there was only one that I really didn’t like. I was pleasantly surprised to find an older male character as the lead in one of the stories. Though I felt most of the female characters were not particularly strong. The love scenes mostly come at the end and are a tad graphic, but they were short most spanning 2 to 4 pages. They also have some of the most awkward dialogue in the book but that is easily overlooked. I will probably pick up another title in this line if the story interests me.

I finally got around to finishing Armored Trooper Votoms. I decided to just buy part 4 off ebay. I liked this series but since I am not watching it with anyone I watch it at my own unique pace. Stage 3 is Deadworld Sunsa and it can be divided into two separate parts. We have the first  where Chirico and Fyana are trapped on a warship going through hostile space and are forced to fight people trying to stop the ship. The second is after the ship crash lands on Sunsa and Chircio has his final confrontation with Ypsilon. I enjoyed Fyana having to take care of business when Chircio was injured. It was good to see her actually act like the Perfect Solider she is while still growing as a non-combatant. Chircio has a weird path of character development. Chircio himself has been growing and changing due to the extreme nature of his life. Overall though the growth is slow and easy to miss over short periods of time but easy to see when looking at the entirety of the show. The odd thing is everyone else seem to constantly either mention that he has changed radically or not changed at all. I just find that disconnect rather funny.

Shoulder-a-Coffin Kuro was gotten on a bit of luck. I happened to answer a trivia question right at Yen Press’s Haruhi Day in Kinokuniya and won this little book as the prize. It is a very funny and cute series about a haphazard group of travelers headed up by the mysterious coffin carrying, oft mistaken for a boy, black clad, fake named girl going by Kuro. She along with a lot of bats and one snarky one in particular, Sen, pick up two little cat girls along the way. Where they are headed is still a mystery though they do seem to be looking for someone. It has a melancholy undertone but it is balanced out by the adorable art style and banter between characters. The printing is also nice with many color pages to enjoy. I will have to pick up the next volume indeed.

Our new feature! Pic of the week:

nagi, hayate the combat butler, code geass, parody

Ongoing Investigations: Case #018

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So I have been watching Toradora! and got up to episode 5. So far I have enjoyed all them as much as the first. Taiga is still amusing, Ryuji is still girl fantasy fodder, and I have been surprised by the fact that Yusaku has not been clueless. I have to agree with Narutaki’s assessment that Toradora! seems more like a gender neutral romantic comedy rather than the shonen romance it clearly is. I know Narutaki was shocked when Ami Kawashima turned out not to be in love with Ryuji. I imagined him doing a doubletake when I informed him this was the case. I am interested in reading the light novels if they ever get licensed. People who have read them seem to love talking about how much better they are.

Finally volume 4 of Hissing has hit shelves! I really appreciate Yen Press continuing many of Ice Kunion’s manhwa titles. We are really getting into the thick of things as Sun-Nam finally realizes he has a connection to Da-Eh’s family. That could complicate things for these recent love birds. Ta-Jun still dominates as my favorite though I seriously doubt he will win the girl. He will be a bit of a monkey wrench in it all I suspect. Hissing is one of the better manhwa being released state side and continues to be funny and charming. The 5th book is coming out later this month and just one more volume to go after that!

Mirror Moon has completed their fan translation of Fate/Stay Night. So, this means I have started the third and final path, Heaven’s Feel. I personally find Sakura the weakest of the heroines but I hardly dislike her as a character. She is so mild compared to the rest of the cast. It is also the most disturbing of the Fate/Stay Night scenarios. With penis worms, rape, and re-grafted chopped off limbs it goes out of its way to be a unsettling. But it is still good to get a little deeper insight into the mechanics of the Fate/Stay Night world. Also more Rider equals more love. But then again Saber gets the short end of the stick in this path which is not fun. One of the high points is the Tiger dojo’s when you die. Loliburuma Panzer Corp. sums it up quite nicely. It also makes me wonder why there are not more Taiga figures.

Three of my favorite shojo manga-ka are starting new series within a couple of months of each other! Arina Tanemura who is best known for Full Moon wo Sagashite starts her new adventure and romance series titled Sakura-Hime Kaden in December. Nana Haruta, who’s work has not been licensed in the U.S., starts a new serial in January. And Maki Yoko, you may know her series Aishiteruze Baby, will start a new work in February. All of this is happening in Ribon, which is why it remains my favorite monthly manga magazine! All of these writers tend to write shorter series, in the under 10 books range, which I really like. I will report back when I can get my hands on these works!

I sampled the first episode of Baccano! on Funimation’s web site. I have been interested after hearing about its unique setting (1930’s America) and unusual storytelling techniques. A young girl named Carol is trying to piece together how a strange series on seemingly unrelated mysterious incidents are related. Her boss and her trade theories which leads to us cutting back and forth between stories. So far I can’t say that any one story stood out as great but I am interested to see how they all connect. There is also an obviously supernatural element to the story. It was considerably less violent than I had been lead to believe. There is violence and bloodshed but I guess I have become desensitized because nothing in the first episode phased me.

Let me just say, “Thank you Shonen Jump USA!” The past two months of it have been some good chapters for Bleach. Just finished chapters 224-226. We are in a slight break from the impending Hecto Mundo arc. Visoreds with Ichigo have been dominating the pages, whoo-hoo! As well as some Urahara (you clearly know I can’t ever be disappointed with that), Chad training, and Ishida reappeared! Oh the joy! Not sure when this streak will end but I am happy with what I have gotten for the moment.

Despite owning it for quite a while, I got to reading The Twelve Kingdoms: Sea of Wind. It was a good read although nowhere near as epic as the first Twelve Kingdoms novel. The first book was a girl surviving in a fantasy kingdom and eventually gaining the throne. This book is the story of Taiki and him learning who he really is and taking the responsibility of being the guardian animal of a Kingdom. I know Narutaki was super happy about there being more delicious Keiki in this book and him getting more screen time. This story is set before the first book which can make several things quite confusing especially when people are only referred to by their position. I only knew about it becuase I looked it up for Narutaki when he was reading the book.

Ongoing Investigations: Case #017

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Ai Morinaga saw a clearly untapped niche in the manga market and capitalized on it. Japan did not have (and needed) a manga about abusive homosexual human/frog relationships. The Gorgeous Life of Strawberry Chan fills this void as only it can. It has the standard Ai Morinaga fascination with mean-spirited comedy told with jerk-faced characters. For some reason she does it in a way that I enjoy. I think a good litmus test of your enjoyment of Strawberry Chan is the fact that Strawberry Chan’s owner sticks a straw up his butt and inflates him like a balloon to blow off stress. If you find this funny then try Strawberry Chan. If that makes you feel anything else you might want to go elsewhere.

I mentioned last week that I have been reading a lot of anthologies and a stand out one was X2. This series of shorts is done by the manga-ka of Monkey High! which I recently gave a glowing review of the first book. It captures the sweet and funny moments of new love. It was fun and hopeful and it gave the characters enough of a life that I could understand their feelings in a such a short amount of time. I also ready SOS which had a good range within its pages. We move from happy but dark underneath, to sweet and sad, to hopeful. But one deals with first love in its own way. I particularly enjoyed the last story involving a shooting star, but I am just a sucker for such things.

Maria-sama ga Miteru shows that your lesbian Catholic school fantasy is most probably not as interesting as you would think. I bought the first boxset due to Nozomi Entertainment getting some oddball shows which I encourage with my wallet. Also I have seen that it’s one of those super love it or totally hate it shows. I did periodically crack up with the thought of a roving band of bad girls that go through the school and jump girls to improperly tie their ties and get them in serious trouble. They would never physically hurt them. Heavens no! The disgrace of an off center tie would be worse than any physical pain. Other than that it always seems like it wants to be an over the top drama fest but never dares break the carefully constructed placid world. Slow and subtle are the watchwords for this show.

Man, this show. I grant it that the second episode was mildly better than the first but still it struck me as rather boring. Everyone is proper and quite and it made me crazy! I just wanted to leap through the TV and cause a ruckus! Even the most outspoken and wild girl is still whispering her wildness. It doesn’t move into comedy and it isn’t outlandish enough to be a over the top drama. I am kinda of curious to watch a little more just to see if they can actual get me to feel any sexual tension in this show which there wasn’t in the first two episodes.

Pani Poni Dash! is the exact opposite of Maria-sama ga Miteru. The show has no time to smell the roses because it has the next joke to get to. Pani Poni Dash can be subtle at times. In fact, it’s easy to miss the subtle humor because of the in your face kind going on. There is constant blackboard comedy in the background which is often non-sequitur but sometimes sets up jokes. All the various characters are rather amusing but I can’t say that I really have a strong love for anyone. The ADV pop up liner notes are really well done but are best watched after you have seen the episode once through without them on.

Kaichou wa Maid-sama is everything it should be. A ridiculous, over the top, shojo romance comedy. Misaki is the first female student body president of a recently made co-ed high school. She is an insane hard-ass who is trying to reform the guys. At the same time she is desperate for cash because of her family situation so she has a job at a Maid Cafe. Obviously she wants to keep this a secret but one day her biggest rival Usui happens to see her in uniform. Let the games begin! In only 8 chapters this is what I have learned about Usui, our male lead, he is of course really hot; he is the best student in school; he is also the most bad-ass fighter in the school and probably elsewhere; he is a master chess player; he can cook like an Iron Chef; he can jump off the roof of the school and only have scratches; and he can show up anywhere at anytime (they actual reference and make fun of this fact). I love that it doesn’t just go half way to insane, it is full-throttle!

One Piece came out with it’s newest popularity poll. Nami is back to were she belongs. She will never overtake the popularity monster that is Chopper or the immovable three but at least she is not the least popular of the Straw-Hat crew. I guess they had to remind everyone that she has nice tits and they all come back. Traitors! Your Nami love should be about more than that! I found it interesting that Brook has become popular so quickly but when you are a talking skeleton with an Afro then the only surprise involved was that I was surprised. I was also amused that Vivi was so high on the list because as far as I can tell many American fans still hate Vivi with an unfounded passion.

I wrote up a little blurb on 4chan for the Chunnel. I tried to stay about as neutral on 4chan as possible. I tried to mention both the good and the bad. I know there was so much more I could say but 4chan is big enough and strange enough that you could write a series on scholarly papers on it.