Category: Ongoing Investigations

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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Ongoing Investigations: Case #006

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I read BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad volume 12 and I have a feeling it is going to get the ax with the way things are going at TokyoPop. It’s a shame because we are finally getting to the story past the anime. Everyone is getting ready to tour in America and saying their goodbyes in Japan. It’s is essentially a transition book but Harold Sakuishi keeps it entertaining. BECK is such an amazing manga I can’t see why people don’t care about it. I guess music manga falls in the same category as sports anime and manga. It is one of those genres that people love in Japan but won’t give a chance in the U.S.

Watched Macross Frontier episodes 15, 16, and 17. It has certainly become a show I don’t want to miss a moment of. Obviously we are getting closer and closer to the end and it still keeps me guessing. Still haven’t seen the person who is the main villain. For a few brief moments I thought the love triangle was on equal footing, but not so much now. Sheryl and Alto have to spend some more time together in the next couple of episodes or there is no way you could convince me he would end up with her. I’m inclined to believe he won’t anyway (good!). I have taken to laughing at the karma I feel is biting Sheryl in the butt. Speaking of love, Cathy and Ozma have to be my favorites to see on my screen! It is kind of like if you ever wondered what would have happened if Roy got together with Misa.

We might not necessarily know who the head honcho of the bad guys is but we do know who his two lieutenants are. Oh episode 17 was just awesome for so so many reasons. If you were not sure that Ozma was a Fire Bomber fan this episode all but shows you his Fire Bomber fan club card next to his Mylene wall scroll. I loved the repeated use of Try Again. Even if we never get that Basara cameo we all want this was more than good enough. I want to mention more reasons why 17 was awesome but that is spoiler country. Sufficed to say more love letters to the all the Macross franchise. Oh and take that Sheryl fans! Take that! Cry while you listen to Don’t Be Late!

Finally, finally, finally picked up the first book of Vagabond. I must have been saying I was going to for over six months. Ended up being pretty good, I wasn’t totally blown away by it but it was definitely good and good enough to pick up the second (hopefully in less than six months from now). Inoue’s style seems to lend itself to this story, gives it a more gritty and real look. Also was glad to see the color pages in tact!

I read volumes 6, 7, and 8 of Mobile Suit Gundam: Ecole du Ciel recently and I have to say it’s a pretty good series that is totally falling through the cracks. It’s a Gundam series with a female protagonist. I know that is heresy but they make it work and are not consumed by the vengeance of Red Comet-sama himself. Ecole du Ciel starts after the end of the original Gundam series and is currently in the middle of Zeta Gundam. At least I think they are up to Zeta Gundam. Feel free to slog through the Universal Century timeline to prove me wrong. There are side notes to get you up to speed about certain major events but I feel they are more reminders to people who have watched the original than explanations for neophytes. Don’t be discouraged by that. This is Asuna Elmarit’s story as she fights in the Universal Century. Major events from the TV series are referenced but Asuna’s story is always her own. Characters die left and right, named characters are clearly not safe. It is a character based story but it is still a war story. Another  series that is probably getting the ax now that Tokyopop is dropping stuff left and right. It’s a shame because there is not much out there like this.

Read books 28 and 29 of Samurai Deeper Kyo. After book 28 I was like, why am I reading this? After book 29 I was like, this is why! I am so tired of groups of villains randomly showing up, now we are onto the four elders. Oh wait the girl they fight in the beginning of 28 is a EX-four elder. SIGH. Then we have three crazy magicians. UH. Oh look an elder finally! He has 10 levels of speed. WHAT? I will be glad when we are actually at the last bad guys, but I’m sure we will have to make it through more groups of villains first. Who is next? The five mahrajs? Thank goodness for all the excitement and bloody battling in 29. Plus a critically injured Yuya, spoiler you say, I think not. I mean can the girl do anything except get hurt, kidnapped, or possessed? This series is a complete roller coaster from bad to good. It is far and away too long, but it’s a shonen fighting series so why I am so surprised? But I keep hanging on because I love Demon Eyes Kyo, can’t help it.

My Heavenly Hockey Club keeps reminding be of Ouran High School Host Club if it were written by Ai Morinaga. I like Ai Morinaga but damn. The similarities are too much to be coincidence. They both have poor girls going to a school of rich kids. They both have tomboyish, sarcastic main girls. They both have a girl who is blackmailed into joining an otherwise all boys club. They both have clueless club leaders that are in love with the main girl. They both have twins that no one can tell apart. There are definite differences in the humor and the writing but you can’t even pretend that My Heavenly Hockey Club is trying to be super original.

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Ongoing Investigations: Case #005

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So I have been on some 80’s OVA rampage and let me tell you, I see why they don’t make tons and tons of OVAs anymore. Most of them are rather unremarkable. I guess Del Power X was atleast mildly entertaining with its comedy and giant robots. And the robots use wrestling moves, haha. Dream Dimension Hunter Fandora, had no idea what it was trying to be. Was it space bounty hunting? Fantasy? Magical girl? Not really sure. Same goes for Campus Special Investigator Hikaruon. It started out fine but then our investigator changes into a sentai hero for no apparent reason. He was kicking ass as regular ole Hikaru, but the story was pretty lame anyway.

Blue Flames is certainly memorable because it was just that awful. It was insane! They must of thought about what kind of guy would be the biggest douche bag, now let’s make an OVA about him! The amount of stuff he does within 40 minutes is mind boggling. In the beginning, I thought he was a prostitute, but no. Anyway, he seduces this one girl which I really don’t know how since he is so cold. Oh, that’s right as the story goes on we find out he is totally amazing in bed (and allegedly good-looking), enough to make women attempt suicide, beg to be his slave, and buy him cars. At some point he also tells his family screw you and leaves for Tokyo for no apparent reason. One woman tries to kill him, but he disarms her and then has sex with her instead. Everything is then alright. At the end of this mess he is seducing another girl, he slept with about 6 or 7 in total, and you know he is planning to blackmail her rich parents. Not sure how that is an ending. We also come to find out that all of this is somehow going to take him to the top. The top of what exactly? Man with most STDs? ANN I demand you remove the words romance from the tags for this show.

Walkin’ Butterfly is a joesi title I picked up form Aurora Publishing. I am always interested in new josei titles because it’s one of the most unexplored genres in America. Michiko is an extremely tall girl that does not know what do to with her life. Because she is so tall she has never fit in and never really dated. She drifts from job to job and can’t find her place in the world. A mistake occurs when she delivers a pizza to a fashion shoot she winds up getting humiliated by Mihara the show’s designer. After some soul searching she decides to use her height to try to become a model and get revenge on Mihara. I’m not sold on the series yet but I am interested to read more. I was a little caught of guard by the drug use and full frontal nudity. It was not bad or exploitative but I was certainly not expecting it even if it was josei.

Natsume Yuujinchou may turn out to be my favorite new show from our summer list. I watched episodes two and three. It is simple, poignant, and has just enough of an emotional hook. Natsume is also starting to wield some power using the book of friends which adds another layer to the story. I honestly don’t know where this story will lead and that excites me.

I watched Garden of Sinners 3: Remaining Sense of Pain. It was as beautiful as the other two movies. Fujino Asagami, the main subject of their investigation in the movie is definitely an odd character. Her actions are somewhat understandable at points but they do let her off very lightly despite her actions. On a side note, I am also curious if we will ever learn why Mikiya Kokuto is so devoted to Shiki or do they just chalk it up to blind love. He has very good reason to want nothing to do with her but he seems to believe in her no matter what.

Takane no Jitensha was a short TV special. A boy wants his own bike so he and his mother make a deal. If he is in the top 100 at school after the next tests, she will get him the bike. As the story unfolds we find out about a mischievous spirit at the local temple. Takane somewhat jokingly says he will exchange his sister for a higher test score. Quite family friendly with a lesson being learned at the end. A cute story with stints of good animation. Though I wish the spirits were given a little more development.

The World Ends With You is why I watched so little else all this week. It’s a fun little game and an entirely new setting for a Square-Enix game. The main character Neku Sakuraba has found himself with the dreaded plot condition convenience of amnesia in the middle of Shibuya. It seems he has been entered in a deadly game for an unknown prize. Players must find a partner, defeat monsters called noise, and complete certain tasks every day within time limits or be erased from existence. The battle system is fun and fast but the learning curve is quite steep. You will be getting bad ranks on battles for quite awhile. The only other major problem is once you get used to one partner they take her way and add in another partner who plays slightly differently and has no equipment. So basically you have to readjust yourself to your new partner. It’s not insurmountable but it can be a pain. I also have a nasty feeling they are going to do it to me one more time. Hopefully the third partner will not have such a high learning curve.

That’s it for this week! Catch a new ongoing investigation every Friday!

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