I received a copy of Oh! My Brother 1, one of the latest series coming from CMX, and by the same manga-ka as their other recent release, The Name of the Flower. This short two book series revolves around Masago who is rather average in all things and her brother Shiro who is rather extraordinary in all things. When Shiro loses his life saving Masago from a speeding truck, he doesn’t actually go away. In fact, his spirit gets implanted in Masago so he can help her and take care of some unfinished business on Earth. Masago is tied between blaming herself, feeling inferior to her brother, and helping him because she loved him so much. And she is in love with his best friend. Sure that sounds complicated but the story is rather tame, it’s unclear whether or not Masago will really change or grow, in this first book she doesn’t seem to. The story is not surprisingly, rather silly and highly dramatic at times but never seems to do either extremely well. With this premise I expected the comedy to be turned up much higher. I found this better than The Name of the Flower but on the whole it is just a serviceable little series. 

I am very curious to see what my friends that started Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 at the same time I did have to say about the series as a whole. It was an excellent show with a unique premise. By taking such a tremendous but mundane event as a major earthquake you get all the power and excitement of a fantastical plot but with all the weight of story feeling of reality. The major divide in people’s feelings will come with the fact that each third of the series has a different feel. The last third will either make some viewers claim it as one of their favorite series of the year or it will make them walk away feeling very disappointed or even betrayed. It is an ending that has to be experienced fresh for maximum impact. Therefore I suggest you avoid spoilers for this show until you finish it and then let the actuality wash over you. No matter how you feel about the ending you can not deny that it made you feel something. Continue reading →