Fate/kaleid liner PRISMA ILLYA 3rei!! #06: Attack of the Designer Knockoff Noble Phantasms

hisui_icon_4040_round I love going to Otakon but it really messes up my overall schedule. Normally the blog is structured to have material come out on a fairly regular basis but still be flexible when needed. The only thing that really throws a monkey wrench in that is the Type-Moon related content. A convention means the Type-Moon Weekly News Roundup has to be a double feature. While they Rounup can be time-consuming it is not that horrible. But the episode reviews of Prisma Illya are an extra sticky wicket because they take a decent amount of time and they get harder as they pile up. On top of all of that, I just got a new phone so I could start playing Fate/Grand Order again. My old tablet kept crashing so I could not really participate in Onigashima Event and was not able to get a Kinkoti Rider, or do any missions in Chapter 6. Now that Summer Event is going on there is no way I’m going to miss Scathach Assassin. The fact that we stayed long in Baltimore for the final Otakon in that city only compounded everything else.

But as I was writing this I remember that last year was actually worse. Fate/Grand Order just came out and practically demanded my attention. On top of that, I had three episode reviews to do in a row as opposed to two. So I guess what I’m saying is it is just time to suck it up and get to work on these reviews. I mean the action is really starting to kick into high gear so that alone should be great motivation to praise and critique these episodes.
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Manga of the Month: Chocolate Cosmos

Chocolate Cosmos (チョコレートコスモス) by Nana Haruta

narutaki_icon_4040_round I had been hoping for more of Nana Haruta’s romance manga to make it into English. I’m a big fan of her series Cactus’s Secret which was released by VIZ a couple of years ago. Chocolate Cosmos is part of VIZ’s fairly new and small section of digital only releases.

Sayuki is a sharp-eyed and sharp-tongued girl who is really a romantic at heart. While on a trip to the beach with friends, she meets and falls for a guy working at a chocolate banana stand. The feelings seem mutual. But it turns out that guy is actually one of her teachers.

Chocolate Cosmos is pure fantasy in regards to dating your teacher, one in which things can work out pretty OK without any consequences. But the extra touch that makes Chocolate Comsos a little special is actually Sayuki’s exploration of her own feelings and her relationship with a different boy completely.

Sayuki spends a lot of the manga examining what she wants and how to go about it. There is pretty much no question who she has romantic feelings for (and whether he has them for her either), even with her childhood friend Yushi in the mix. But what I found refreshing was the slow reveal of Sayuki’s past feelings for Yushi and how things have changed for her. Their final conversations about those feelings are very satisfying and tread a less familiar path.

The melodrama of the series is very low-key and interspersed with a lot of humor which is why I enjoy Nana Haruta’s stories so much. Chocolate Cosmos is just the type of romance manga one wants to devour in a lazy summer afternoon.

~ kate

Otakon 2016: Such Dog. Much Anime. Wow.

narutaki_icon_4040_round This is the title and dog list in the order they were shown from my Otakon 2016 panel. I ran this panel with Carl of Ogiue Maniax. Thanks all those who came out to celebrate anime dogs!

Anime Hachiko Monogatari
Norakuro
Wanwan Chuushingura (Doggie March)
Cowboy Bebop: Ein
Inu-Yasha: Inu-Yasha and Sesshoumaru
Naruto: Inuzuka Clan
Massugu ni Iko Mametaro
Full Metal Alchemist: Black Hayate
Space Brothers: Apo, voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro
Ginga Nagareboshi Gin: Gin and Ricki, voiced by Banjou Ginga
Ginga Densetsu Weed
Chocotan: promotional video for the manga, voiced by Rie Kugimiya
Kuroko’s Basketball: Tetsuya 2
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 3: Iggy
Kekkaishi: Madaro and Hakubi
Sherlock Hound
Famous Dog Lassie
Humanity Has Declined: Time Paradog
Dogtato
Yatterman: Yatterwan
Yatterman (2008)Yatter King
Casshern: Friender
Brave Police J-Decker: Shadowmaru
Dallos
Maken Liner 0011 Henshinseyo!!
Dance with Devils