Ongoing Investigations: Case #129

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So I stumbled upon the first two translated chapters of the that latest installment of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. Part 8 in the series has been named Jojolion and it lives up the amazingly to the high standard of insanity set by the previous iterations of the series. I mean the panel above sums it all up rather well just in case you never read a JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure manga before. It is set just a little after the March 11 Earthquake and Tusnami disaster in Japan. Yasuho Hirose lives in a town that was hit by the tsunami and since that day has had strange unexplained pillars called Wall Eyes popping up all over. One day Yasuho is walking by a cluster of these Wall Eyes when she stumbles upon amnesiac, only wearing a sailor’s cap, with a VERY unusual body. She eventually agrees to help this peculiar man discover who he was and what caused him to lose his memory. This manga has all the hallmarks of a proper Jojo’s manga including an odd but captivating art style, unusual almost inhuman poses, strange and inventive powers, off kilter and amusing humor, and off course musical references. If I go too much into the plot it would ruin some of the fun surprises (like what is so unusual about his testicles) so you should check it out for yourself. For all the hardcore Jojo’s fans it seems that the main character’s name might be Yoshikage Kira which is also the name of the antagonist in Jojo’s part four. Whether this is red herring, just a nudge and a wink, or a connection to part four has yet to be seen.

I finished up World’s Greatest First Love with much jubilation! This was an unexpected treat for me this spring season. It is not a mind-blowing new take on romance, in fact it is incredibly predictable, but that didn’t prevent it from being fun and charming. With the multiple couple perspective it takes on as the series goes on, it helped keep things from becoming too two steps forward one step back for Onodera and Takano. I especially liked the editor who meets the younger bookseller. The resolution for Onodera to stay a manga editor as well as his realization that he has feelings for Takano is acceptable but could easily continue. Since I liked the other couples too, I hope there is another season still to come. Looking forward to the second OVA as well.

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Kara no Shojo: Reiji Tokisaka’s Erotic Detective Agency

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I am always a bit hesitant to start visual novels. I don’t mind some sex in my story telling and I know that the way the Japanese PC game market works is that the conventional wisdom is that you have to throw in some sex to get people to play. I just want to play something with more story than sex and the sex should not make me throw up in my mouth a little. I was interested in Kara no Shojo because it is a historical murder mystery set is post WWII Japan. The question in my mind was is this murder mystery with some sex thrown in for flavor or a sex game with some murder mystery for an air of legitimacy. So when the demo came out I was curious to test the game out to see how much of an impression I could get.

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Otaku NYC: Uniqlo

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Uniqlo is a staple clothing store in Japan, where you pick up your basics for everyday. Their branding is clean and graphic which their store reflects as well. The bonus is they make some awesome limited t-shirts featuring all kinds of popular culture; the most important to this article being anime, manga, and video games.

So lucky for us they opened up one on Broadway. With another location having opened up at Herald Square (thanks Sophy for the info!). UPDATE: And there is also one uptown at 1114 Ave of the Americas and 666 5th Ave.

Just as their clothes and themes change, so does their store interior. They even have a tendency to paper their second floor loft walls with blown up manga pages or add in an arcade machine for a time. Changing it up every couple of months keeps the store a continuously fun place to check out.

Back to the t-shirts, they’re well-made and reasonably priced. And what really sets apart their style is the creative way they work in the different series. They are unique designs, not just an image or a logo put in the middle of a t-shirt. Everything from Detective Conan to Gundam, from Mega-Man to Parappa the Rapper has graced the clothing line.

Be sure to get one of the bags with your purchase, too.