Category: Reviews

January’s Manga of the Month: Afterschool Charisma

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I will admit I have little understanding of what is actually popular on this site other than Narutaki talking about graphic design and Narutaki talking about sex. This explains the fact that when we retired the Manga of the Month last year we discovered it was apparently extremely popular. It just so happened no one ever mentioned it. Ever. So as Natalie Merchant once said we give em what they want. In 2011 Manga of the Month rises from the ashes like Osamu Tezuka’s Phoenix. The Final Denouement is being retired as we try to put out more solo articles on Tuesday through Thursday. Since many of them would have been final denouements in their own right the Final Denouement has become somewhat redundant. Also like a phoenix the tears shed by Manga of the Month have immense healing powers. Hopefully these articles will get everyone to pick up some manga they might have easily overlooked considering how much there is to choose from.

Afterschool Charisma (放課後のカリスマ) by Kumiko Suekane

IKKI has always been VIZ’s attempt to try to broaden the manga market by letting people sample some more offbeat seinen series that would otherwise go over looked. With a few exceptions  what sells in the U.S. is shonen fighting and shojo romance. So while adults might read manga so far most adult manga has not caught on here. Afterschool Charisma is a quirky manga that has some appeal of the popular genres that sell books in the US while still distinctly being off the beaten track to hopefully broaden some reader’s horizons.

St. Kleio is a most unusual experiential school. All the student are the clones of famous historical figures who have been gathered together in hopes that with proper care they can surpass the accomplishments of their originals. Along side these luminary and sometimes infamous copies is Shiro Kamiya, the only student who is not a clone. When the clone of John F. Kennedy is assassinated Shiro learns that everything at the school is not exactly what  it seems. There are crazy cults, Byzantine conspiracies, and deadly experiments lurking in the shadows. Maybe even Shiro himself is part of some greater sinister machinations.

I usually see this manga compared to the old Clone High cartoon on MTV. They are both set at government controlled high schools that have characters who act silly in humorous contrast to their original  historical personas. But at the same time despite all the wacky hi-jinks in Afterschool Charisma we see from the first chapter there is a disturbing  undercurrent to the events at the school. This manga seems like a bizarre and goofy Hetalia at school but quickly turns into a taut thriller. It is definitely worth a look if you want something different that is able to mix humor and intrigue in equal measure.

Dead Leaves: Even a Psychedelic Explosion Can Be Banal

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Last year’s Secret Santa went over so well (though not for us, thank you Texhnolyze!), that here we are again. And once again, we have failed. Someday I know we will get a Secret Santa recommendation that I don’t loath. I swear this is possible.

hisuiconFor the second time a row we have spun the roulette wheel of fortune and the result has been the same. This time we disliked our Secret Santa pick for complete different reasons than why we disliked Texhnolyze. On some level I have to say that is impressive. But our other two choices we far worse. While we had never seen the animeI know the Hell Girl manga was always filled with utterly unlikable characters in a formula neither of us liked. On the other hand while I had heard some good things about Koi Kaze I can almost guarantee, that especially after this season, Narutaki wanted nothing to do with an incest show no matter how tasteful. So we were once again left with a show that was an unknown quantity to Narutaki and something I had vaguely avoided. My prediction is next year we are going to have to watch Mamoru Oshii’s Angel’s Egg and then Narutaki will never participate in Secret Santa again.

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Broken Blade Movie 2: The Split Path, Golem Unicorn

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CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR MOVIE 1


hisuiconNow that board has been set the game can start for real. Movie two is where we see the opening moves for both sides and their initial strategies. Everyone in the main cast wants as quick and bloodless resolution to this conflict but as this movie progresses it is apparent that the point of no return was passed long ago. The cast is forced to make hard decisions that sadly dig them deeper into the positions they never wanted in the first place.

After finally getting a taste of Broken Blade, I was eager to watch more. They did a lot of things right and I found myself engrossed in the setting. The second film really starts pushing the characters into difficult decisions as friends meet again, old feelings are awakened, and violence erupts on the borders.

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