Category: Romance

Manga of the Month: Penguin Revolution

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Penguin Revolution (ペンギン 革命) by Sakura Tsukaba

It is quite possible that everything, ever, by Sakura Tsukaba will eventually land here on Manga of the Month. Her heroines are a delight and I can’t say enough about her ability to meld romance and comedy with a little supernatural.

In Penguin Revolution, we meet Yukari a peppy, hard-working girl with an odd ability to see others’ potential to be a star which manifests as a pair of wings on their back. One day she runs into beautiful Ryouko whose wings shine brightly one moment but then become small sprouts. Their meeting quickly gets complicated when Yukari realizes Ryouko is actually Ryou, a guy dressed as a girl. Ryou is employed by famous talent agency Peacock which requires its members to disguise themselves so when Yukari discovers his identity he offers her a job as his manager (which actually requires her to dress as a man). Thus begins their journey through the entrainment world, friendships and rivalries, romance, and family drama.

The series is clearly over the top but the emotions resonate as do the characters. Yukari has a positive and infectious optimism, this is balanced out by Ryou who has great potential but is still a fledgling especially compared to many other members of the agency. Their’s is a slow building bond that begins with odd circumstances but becomes a trusting and true romance. This is a tame, fun, and sweet series with plenty of heart that can’t help but leave you with a smile.

Otakon 2011: Makoto Shinkai and Children Who Chase Lost Voices from Deep Below

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As far as directors go, Makoto Shinkai is one of my top choices to hear talk about his work. So imagine my delight when Otakon announced his first U.S. appearance would be right there in Baltimore. Despite being relatively young in the business, nine years, he has produced memorable and beautiful films. To top off his interactions with his fans, we were privileged to see the English-language premiere of his latest movie Children Who Chase Lost Voices from Deep Below.

There was one Japanese guest that everyone was looking forward to (unless you are a major Hetalia: Axis Powers fan) and that man was Makoto Shinkai. He is known for his mostly solitary work on Voices of a Distant Star, his longer work on The Place Promised in Our Early Days, and his stellar work on 5 Centimeters per Second. His distinct visual style and reoccurring motifs make him stand out in people’s minds. So when he came to the U.S. to promote his latest movie, Children Who Chase Lost Voices from Deep Below, even people outside of the normal mega geek blogging circles took notice. Narutaki was able to attend the premiere and a panel while I had a chance to hear him speak at the press conference.

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Paradise Kiss’s Hiroyuki: One Point on Two Triangles

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Paradise Kiss is all about relationships. Friends. Co-workers. Family. Lovers. And Paradise Kiss goes a long way to showing that all of these relationships, minor or major, make a difference and effect your decision, consciously or not. Growing through experience plays a solid tune throughout the series. As each character goes down their paths, some having a better idea of where they are headed than others, no one is alone on their journey. Hiroyuki, the seemingly average man among men, plays pivotal roles in much of the story despite being not quite part of the group.

hisuiconI always took away the message of Paradise Kiss being that what we think we want, what we actually want, what we need, and what we get are all very separate things. No matter how much we may try to get them to be the same we discover life is about dealing with the fact that these four things may never meet up no matter how much we try to make them. All the member of Paradise Kiss kiss deal with these clashes of desires and realities both romantically and professionally throughout the series. But there is one character who on the surface seems out of place. Hiroyuki Tokumori seems to be a minor character who is both above this and apart from this. But on further analysis we see that he is not only a key player in all the lives of the main characters but also just as torn and effected by these conflicts as everyone else.

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