K-ON!! Season 2 OP ED Opening Ending OST Character song Lyric

Kamisama Kazoku Episode 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

2011-06-03T05:24:00.001-07:00

http://minitheatre.org/x264-completed/1195-kamisama-kazoku.html

Contrary to their usual custom of stripping their DVDs to the shivering bone, Bandai provides a cornucopia of extras goodness for the .hack faithful. These include various promos and galleries, as well as a solid—but highly promotional—making-of documentary and a series of short scenes from the movie with selectively altered visuals and humorously re-written dialogue. Worth seeing if only for the outrageous corruption of Atoli's big tirade. There is no English track.

Even though it is one of her earliest, Don't Blame Me, nearly ten years later, continues to be one of Yamada's best. It demonstrates tremendous thematic range, from lowbrow comedy to subtle irony to serious emotional tribulation, and all of it is effective. She also sustains a large cast of interesting, complex characters with admirable skill. And though she writes them into adulthood, she does not elide the fact that life is not just a bed of roses and that love demands a lifetime's worth of continued investment.

Allison & Lillia Episode 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

2011-06-03T05:24:00.000-07:00

http://minitheatre.org/x264-completed/580-allison-a-lillia.html

.hack//G.U. Trilogy isn't called a “trilogy” because it's an actual trilogy. It's a film; the games it was based on were the trilogy. Which is probably why the film starts and ends three times before it actually ends. And why it sardines so many characters into its plot and so much plot into its timeframe. Ultimately it's a big sloppy mess with some snazzy imagery, a few cutting shards of romance, and some excellent acting by a top-flight cast. Which is much better than being a torturous bore.

Suffice it to say that all's well that ends well. The final chapter returns the reader to Makoto, whose loyalty to his cousin has not been compromised by what he has learned about the man's personal life. Kaji and Nakamura, for their part, survive their latest spousal tiff, and the story ends on a whimsical scene where Makoto receives a lighthearted postcard from Kujirai, who has reunited with Takasaki at last. A bonus but basically forgettable one-shot about a boy and his old basketball sempai rounds out the volume.

Strike Witches Episode 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

2011-06-03T05:23:00.001-07:00

http://minitheatre.org/x264-completed/1385-strike-witches.html

Exactly how much you as a fan will enjoy Napier's work depends first and foremost on your ability to accept, for example, an argument that the hentai title “Legend of the Overfiend is finally not so much about sexuality as it is about the transgressive nature of growing up and the iniquity of the parental generation,” and in general, an insistence on referring to anime and animation in general as “texts.” If you are, especially if you are already familiar with the “rules of the game”, the academic jargon, and the references and sources she uses, you should have no problem accepting the points and theories presented. If, however, the very concept of “academic writing” turns you off from the get-go, this is not a book for you.

Yamazaki, who has joined as well just because she wants to be close to Kaji, soon realizes that she is competing with Nakamura for Kaji's affections, throws a fit and indirectly manages to bring the two men together at last. They are outed dramatically on the day of the festival when Miki's sexually explicit videotape of their assignation, which she took without their knowledge, is screened instead of their production. This is, by the way, a great use of a yaoi fangirl supporting character. Her tastes aren't just there to affirm those of the reader's but rather ultimately become the source of a pivotal plot point.

Winter Sonata Episode 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

2011-06-03T05:23:00.000-07:00

http://minitheatre.org/x264-completed/1345-winter-sonata.html

Ultimately, the most important thing to remember when looking at this book is that it neither is, nor attempts to be, the final and authoritative treatise on Japanese animation. It is merely one of what appears to be a growing number of academic volumes on the medium. It sets out to present only one of a number of possible approaches to the academic study of anime, and succeeds quite admirably.

The next chapter abruptly turns back the clock to Kaji's first year of college. He doesn't like school and is seriously considering dropping out. However, curiosity gets the better of him when he sees a man in a teddy bear suit eating croquettes in the cafeteria and finds out that bear guy is a member of the film club. He figures he likes movies well enough, but what he really wants to know is: What manner of students are they? Kaji finds out soon enough and becomes embroiled in their personal lives nearly as fast.

Kamen No Maid Guy Episode 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

2011-06-03T05:22:00.000-07:00

http://minitheatre.org/x264-completed/1223-kamen-no-maid-guy.html

The gay Kujirai and Takasaki (bear guy) have been friends since childhood, and Takasaki is infuriated by the fact that Kujirai, whom he loves more than anyone in the world, seems willing to jump into bed with anyone (and everyone) except him. Kujirai is a standard Yugi Yamada character type, and his laissez faire attitude toward life is certain to conceal depths of drama. Sure enough, it turns out that Kujirai bears a grudge against Takasaki's dad, who he believes ruined his mother, and Takasaki himself is in turn sullied by association. But when the elderly man dies, they discover that they are actually half-brothers!

Many years later, Kotaro awakens to an unrecognizable world where only a handful of humans remain and androids, now called “people,” have taken over the world. And they now believe, thanks to memories that only last twenty-two years, that they were the ones that created humanity! Unfortunately, this future world is rife with conflict, and of course Kotaro ends up in the thick of it, companion both to a rogue prince named Wildeniss (Wil) and a troubled android soldier named Recruit (Ree). Will Kotaro be able to protect his fellow “sleepers” without upsetting the delicate balance between android and human?

Blassreiter Episode 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

2011-06-03T05:16:00.003-07:00

http://minitheatre.org/x264-completed/1137-blassreiter.html

Furthermore, he is not just in it as an affectionate father figure to Maya, as it appears in the beginning, he is, we learn about midway through the show's run, that he is actually in love with her. This, in spite of being eleven years her senior. Needless to say, some of the characters have rather uncharitable remarks to direct his way when the find out about his feelings. Yet prurient interest alone might be enough to bring you back week after week: Is she really gonna end up with the guy in the end? Do they dare?

One day, while taking a meal at his college's cafeteria, Toshiaki Kaji notice something bizarre: a man in a teddy bear suit. The man in question turns out to be Takasaki, and he belongs to the college's film club. Intrigued, Kaji decides to join up and soon discovers that the club's members are a bunch of misfits that include club president Tsuchiya, the promiscuous and openly gay Jun Kujirai, yaoi fangirl Miki, and cult film geek Ikurou Nakamura.

Macademi Wasshoi! Episode 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

2011-06-03T05:16:00.002-07:00

http://minitheatre.org/x264-completed/545-macademi-wasshoi.html

The first couple of episodes in particular play aggressively to the emotions—watching Maya dive into ice-cold water just to retrieve a theater ticket after spending the entirety of New Year's Eve slaving away for it, or listening to her mother declare that she has no talent at all—it's over the top, no question, but you will surely cringe with sympathy anyway. Later episodes adopt what has subsequently become known as the “tournament” genre, and like the many famous properties that utilize this format, it is utterly addictive.

Kaji and Nakamura are instantly attracted to each other, but admitting their feelings isn't easy—especially when Nakamura is so socially inept and insecure and Kaji has beautiful girls like Yamazaki yearning after him. Even several years later, when Tsuchiya and Miki are married and Kaji's young cousin Makoto is around to cause worry, theirs is a relationship that takes great patience and a true investment of love.

Shigurui Episode 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

2011-06-03T05:16:00.001-07:00

http://minitheatre.org/x264-completed/850-shigurui.html

Don't expect a great soundtrack either. The less said about the insipid soft rock opening and ending themes, the better, and the voice actors, despite being cast in an anime about acting, deliver performances of workman like quality. Even Sanae Kobayashi, in heroine's challenging role, rises to the occasion but does not soar.

Beloved boy's love (BL) mangaka Yugi Yamada began earning her chops in the manga business as an assistant to the prolific, veteran creator Satosumi Takaguchi, of Shout Out Loud! fame. Takaguchi has worked in many different genres over the years, most notably shoujo, josei, and BL, and published for many different imprints. Yamada, who evinces a clear stylistic debt to her sensei, demonstrates similar narrative range in the two-volume series Don't Blame Me, her first long series dating from early in her professional career.

Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ Episode 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

2011-06-03T05:16:00.000-07:00

http://minitheatre.org/x264-completed/1141-mobile-suit-gundam-zz.html

Many of the episodes are structured as a back to back comparison of Maya's acting versus Ayumi's; usually they are performing the same play. It's hard to sink into the magic of their supposedly genius interpretations because limited animation, alas, means limited expression. Even the artwork, design, and color palette choices feel mediocre. If seeing is believing, do not expect to believe.

Indeed, the manga begins its tale with a technique more common to shoujo manga and BL—by depicting adult conflicts through the eyes of a child. The child in question is the thirteen year old Makoto, who hero-worships his twenty-seven year old cousin Kaji. After noticing his beloved “Toshi” listed in the credits of a new movie and knowing that it was Kaji's long-held dream to become a cameraman, Makoto heads over to Kaji's apartment to congratulate him.

Shugo Chara! Episode 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

2011-06-03T05:15:00.000-07:00

http://minitheatre.org/x264-completed/1365-shugo-chara.html

The most troubling aspect of the anime, however, is its, well, lack of animated detail. True, the Japanese have transformed limited animation into an art form, but Glass Mask does not in any way break new technical ground. Indeed, the animation quality feels rather substandard even when compared to television series of similar profile. For a classic storyline this would not normally be a problem, but the particular subject matter—stage acting—it becomes a huge liability.

Instead, he finds Kaji demoralized by the film industry and caught in an ongoing fight with his lover “Iku,” who has left him yet again. But he also meets a bunch of Kaji's college friends, two of whom are married and expecting. This Iku resurfaces for the birth, and he and Kaji passionately make up…in front of Makoto, who is shocked to discover that “Iku” is male and his cousin is gay. Oh yeah, and so is the charismatic Nakamura, who takes a very special shine to the innocent Makoto.

Ginban Kaleidoscope Episode 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

2011-06-03T05:10:00.002-07:00

http://minitheatre.org/x264-completed/828-ginban-kaleidoscope.html

The scene in which she, corrupted by AIDA, directs a rage of insecurity at Haseo is a triumph of acting over scripting, and she even somehow manages to make the tiresome “projected spirit saves hero” scene work. Not even Atoli's (and frankly, everyone else's) embarrassingly unconvincing expressions can ruin her performance. Good feral work by Takahiro Sakurai as Haseo also helps, but there isn't as much he can do with his unsympathetic bastard of a lead.

Maya Kitajima is a thirteen year old girl being raised by her impoverished widowed mother in Yokohama, and although she works part time in a Chinese restaurant to help her make ends meet, her passion lies with the theater. A random twist of fate bring her to the attention of both Chigusa Tsukikage, aging former actress and sole executor of the rights to the coveted “Scarlet Angel” play, and Masumi Hayami, the young president of the Daito Corporation. Both are fascinated by the girl, and Tsukikage sees tremendous acting potential in her.

Aria the Animation Episode 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

2011-06-03T05:10:00.001-07:00

http://minitheatre.org/x264-completed/509-aria-the-animation.html

The romantic subplot packs more punch than one would expect given that Haseo and Atoli's relationship is predicated on a brief meeting and an even briefer romantic montage (it's like a training montage, just with two people bonding and no “Eye of the Tiger” or Sylvester Stallone). That it punches at all is thanks entirely to the prodigiously talented Ayako Kawasumi, who brings real range and intensity to the thankless role of Atoli.

It's hard to know which number will be greater: The number “glass masks” Maya Kitajima will don in the course of her rise to acting stardom or the number of volumes it will take mangaka Suzue Miuchi to complete her epic, three decades-old shoujo manga series, Glass no Kamen, i.e. “Glass Mask.” Given these numbers—not to mention the story's popularity with generations of shoujo manga readers—it comes as no surprise that Glass Mask has been adapted onscreen on numerous occasions. The most recent came in 2005 with the 51 episode televised anime series from TMS Entertainment—and I am happy to report that it is an adaptation that does the vigor of Miuchi's original story, if not sadly, its visual beauty, justice.

Kemeko Deluxe! Episode 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

2011-06-03T05:10:00.000-07:00

http://minitheatre.org/x264-completed/771-kemeko-deluxe.html

Characters streak and collide in earth-shattering displays of power, are trapped like Promethean sacrifices in baroque prisons of flame and stone, and sheathed in parasitic darkness that lashes out with the ferocity of their inner demons. Beautiful stuff that can easily make one forget that it's all delivered with the panache (and artificial 3D CG) of a video game; which isn't surprising given that it's directed by .hack game maestro Hiroshi Matsuyama.

The plot through episode 26 can be divided into roughly three phases. The first is Maya's tenure with the well-financed Tsukikage troupe and the early phase of her training. It ends when dishonorable behind the scenes machinations lead to the troupe's disqualification in a national competition, which causes the troupe's funding to get pulled. The second plot arc involves Maya, now seeking acting opportunities under much reduced circumstances, basically becomes a freelancer.

The Tower of Druaga: The Sword of Uruk Episode 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

2011-06-03T05:09:00.001-07:00

http://minitheatre.org/x264-completed/338-the-tower-of-druaga-the-sword-of-uruk.html

Nevertheless, enough of the action set-pieces and bad romantic clichés work to keep the whole mess reasonably diverting, which is far more than can be said for its prequel. The action scenes function on a purely visual level, serving up such flash and dazzle that their inability to viscerally engage matters little.

It is a decidedly slack period in her career, but it culminates into an offer she cannot refuse from the Daito Group. This leads to the beginning of the third arc, where Maya is now a proprietary Daito actress, headlining merchandising campaigns and television dramas. Interestingly, no one episodes is especially standout, either from a positive or negative standpoint. They are all good, and if you happen to like the theater, its exhaustive treatment of one classic play after another will be even better.

Otome Yokai Zakuro Episode 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

2011-06-03T05:09:00.000-07:00

http://minitheatre.org/x264-completed/3893-otome-yokai-zakuro.html

If you are, however, this movie will give you everything that Roots did not: action, excitement, and romance. Though not particularly well-written action, excitement or romance. Even taking into account that the film was based on a video game and presumes prior knowledge of the characters and world, it feels choppy and patched together. Action scenes pop out of nowhere and soft-focus sap is dropped in big saccharine dollops at random intervals. It's all strung together by a plot involving Haseo's quest for vengeance and a virus/entity that is causing players to go into real-world comas, but frankly it's treated less as story and more as a frame on which to hang action set-pieces and bad romantic clichés.

The anime, unlike the manga, which began serialization in the mid-1970s, is supposed to take place in the present day. Nevertheless, there is something oddly out of temporal joint about it; many of the settings, particularly those involving Maya's hometown of Yokohama, look like they belong in another age. Either that, or they are timeless—and there is certainly an argument to be made about the persistence of rickety, one room studio apartments and greasy spoon sorts of ramen joints.

Detroit Metal City Episode 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

2011-06-03T05:03:00.002-07:00

http://minitheatre.org/x264-completed/196-detroit-metal-city.html

CPR also suffers from a lack of distinction in its artistry and music. All the character designs are completely stereotypical for anime romantic comedies, although in some cases that is doubtless intentional for parody purposes. The cosplay outfits which pop up at various points get a little more distinctive, and the background art is decent, but the amount of fan service is surprisingly low given the girl-heavy cast. The opening and closing themes are equally bland, and the background music in between is also run-of-the-mill except for some interesting sound effects.

Terms like AIDA, The World, and Epitaph mine the dialogue like anti-newbie booby-traps. To the uninitiated, this will be a ninety-minute light show, a blur of shiny but unfamiliar 3D characters fighting, crying, and morphing into giant neon robot-things. The emotion and satisfaction it provides are entirely dependent on one being at the very least intimately familiar with the characters. If you aren't, you'll get nothing but eye candy.

Chrono Crusade Episode 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

2011-06-03T05:03:00.001-07:00

http://minitheatre.org/x264-completed/2149-chrono-crusade.html

The English VAs, which are a mix of long-time ADV regulars and newcomers, try to compensate for the substandard material by really hamming up the performances, including the use of pronounced accents to reflect the odd speech patterns some of the characters have in Japanese. Most went at least a little overboard, resulting in a dub that often sounds too brash and is likely to annoy fans of the original seiyuu.

G.U. goes to the opposite extreme, packing so much plot and action into its slim 90-minute running time that it is basically incomprehensible to anyone unfamiliar with the franchise in general and Roots in particular. Haseo, Ovan, Shino and a whole slew of supporting faces in essential but lethally truncated roles are thrown at the viewer with a casual disregard for introductions that practically screams “fans only”.

Captain Tsubasa Episode 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

2011-06-03T05:03:00.000-07:00

http://minitheatre.org/x264-completed/1171-captain-tsubasa.html

Some roles are fine (especially Taishi's bluster), but Tiffany Grant's attempt at portraying Yu with a Brooklyn accent and attitude is hideous, and hers isn't the only miscue. It's also an entirely different English cast than the original series, as the first was done by Right Stuf but this one was picked up by ADV. The script stays as tight as one could reasonably expect for a comedy series, even retaining the heavily-used "hot springs panda" insult despite the fact that it makes no sense in English. Overall it's not a disastrously bad dub, but it's not one of ADV's better ones.

In the anime side of the sprawling beast known as the .hack franchise, .hack//G.U. Trilogy fits neatly at the end of .hack//Roots. Roots was perhaps the single most boring anime ever inflicted on the viewing public, a distillation of director Koichi Mashimo's glacial style that had no sympathetic characters, no emotional involvement, and an hours' worth of plot stretched over ten hours of animation—if the endless panned stills that Mashimo used could so be called. It was the television-watching equivalent of Chinese water torture.

Heroic Age Episode 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

2011-06-03T05:02:00.001-07:00

http://minitheatre.org/x264-completed/1024-heroic-age.html

The highlights of the volume are its packaging and extras. In a clever play on the series' subject matter, the cover is printed traditional manga-style, so that the case seems to be opening on the left rather than the right. The back of the reversible cover includes text interviews with the seiyuu for Mizuki and Aya, while a healthy set of Extras can also be found on the disk itself. Among these are clean opener and closer, additional seiyuu text interviews, profiles of the seiyuu (no pictures, unfortunately), and background information and timeline on the Comic Party franchise. Also included is a breakdown of doujinshi-related terms which come up throughout the series.

He is unnerved to encounter Atoli, the spitting image of his lost friend, but cleverly disguises his true feelings by treating her like dog crap stuck to the heel of his boot. Atoli tries to reign in Haseo's destructive impulses, with inevitably romantic results. When Atoli is struck down by the same virus that was apparently responsible for Shino's condition, Haseo must muster all of his abilities to save her from the infection, from her own demons, and ultimately from an enemy who has his own equally compelling reasons for destroying her.

Ikkitousen: Dragon Destiny Episode 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

2011-06-03T05:02:00.000-07:00

http://minitheatre.org/x264-completed/1390-ikkitousen-dragon-destiny.html

The third episode of this five-episode first volume shows that CPR has at least the potential to be entertaining, but with two episodes of stupidity preceding it the first volume is more of a miss than a hit.

Haseo, also known as “The Terror of Death,” is a player in The World, an expansive online role-playing game. Having suffered the loss of his close friend Shino at the hands of a mysterious player known as Tri-Edge, Haseo has become a feared force in the world, a player-killer who will do anything for information on Tri-Edge. Tri-Edge's atack on Shino mysteriously left her in a real-life coma and Haseo is determined to draw her out of it, and miracle that apparently can be achieved by beating the tar of Tri-Edge.

Ergo Proxy Episode 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

2011-06-03T04:50:00.002-07:00

http://minitheatre.org/x264-completed/1372-ergo-proxy.html

Napier, a Harvard-trained PhD and currently a professor at the University of Texas, does not hold her punches. On the very first page of the book, the question is posed – just why is anime worth of being looked at seriously, as more than mere cheap disposable entertainment that, incidentally, happens to also be at the root of a multimillion-dollar industry. Almost all of the rest of the volume, then, is spent answering the question in several ways.

CPR starts off assuming that the viewer is already familiar with the cast from the original series, although a newcomer should be able to work out the basic character relationships within an episode or two. It also starts off really bad, with a mind-numbingly stupid episode of overblown gags about participating in ComiPa and giving Aya coaching on her doujinshi to help her actually make some sales. (We're not talking Green Green-level badness here, but it's truly not good.)

Hourou Musuko Episode 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

2011-06-03T04:50:00.001-07:00

http://minitheatre.org/x264-completed/4466-hourou-musuko.html

The crux of Dr. Napier's argument is that Japanese animation can – should – be approached critically the same way one approaches other media, whether literature or film. Therefore, apart from two chapters discussing anime as something that is, despite the apparent contradiction, both uniquely Japanese and uniquely shaped by influences from abroad, a majority of the book consists of analyses of the ways specific themes are addressed in anime, and the different ways in which several titles can treat the same general theme or concept in completely different ways.

Both Genshiken and CPR share a focus on elements of otakudom, but the approaches they take are entirely different. Whereas Genshiken samples from a broad swath of fandom and takes an introspective and loving look at the nature and philosophy of fandom, CPR focuses specifically on doujinshi and structures itself more like a quasi-harem romantic comedy – in other words, the doujinshi elements are more the setting or gimmick than the actual focus.

Demon Detective Nougami Neuro Episode 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

2011-06-03T04:50:00.000-07:00

http://minitheatre.org/x264-completed/225-demon-detective-nougami-neuro.html

The argument itself is presented largely through citing established cultural and media studies and criticism, and showing that, for example, the writings of Frank Kermode on the theory of fiction, or of Mikhail Bakhtin on “controlled chaos”, can apply directly to anime. Obviously, such a presentation presupposes at least a passing familiarity with a whole range of other academic writing and scholarship.

Comic Party: Revolution (hereafter CPR) was originally made as a four-episode OVA, but those four episodes were later edited and reused as the first four episodes of the CPR TV series. The original Comic Party TV series invited comparisons to the classic fandom parody Otaku no Video, but this follow-up series, with its focus on the crazy world of doujinshi and the people who make them, is more likely to be compared to the much more recent Genshiken. That's unfortunate for CPR, as based on its first volume it is by far the inferior title of the two.

Kyo No Gononi Episode 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

2011-06-03T04:49:00.000-07:00

http://minitheatre.org/x264-completed/126-kyo-no-go-no-ni.html

At the same time, Dr. Napier is not content with a mere catalogue; as one of the first persons to address Japanese animation from an academic standpoint, it is her privilege to also begin to generate a theory that could, at least from a cultural studies standpoint, apply to anime as a whole. She does, and presents a discussion of the three “modes,” or general thematic types, of anime – apocalyptic, festival, and elegiac. As she progresses with discussions of individual titles, exactly what she means by the three terms, and how they can be seen to exist on a layer beyond that of genre or the common divisions associated with anime (for example, shoujo vs. shounen) becomes clear.

Foray once again into the world of doujinshi as we rejoin Kazuki and Mizuki in their college years. Kazuki seems to be spending much of his time with shy fellow doujin Aya, whose books just aren't selling well at ComiPa (aka Comic Party, the series' version of the real-world Comiket conventions). Advice and mentoring is sought from their fellow doujinshi enthusiasts, who are all too eager to lend their assistance. Though Taishi frets over her plans for world domination, Eimi's greatest concerns are actually sparring with “Hot Springs Panda” Yu and making sure that no one knows that she has to take remedial summer school, which she's convinced could prevent her from making a summer trip to the beach. When scheduling conflict between her and Yu concerning the next ComiPa cannot be resolved any other way, a baseball game involving the whole group is proposed to settle the issue.

Touch Episode 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

2011-06-03T04:48:00.000-07:00

http://minitheatre.org/x264-completed/3130-touch.html

As far as the faults and inadequacies of this volume go, they are fairly understandable – though that in of itself does not necessarily excuse them. Napier is a cultural scholar by training; therefore, she approaches individual titles almost entirely from the perspective of plot and context and meaning. There is virtually no discussion either of anime as cinema and the technical merits of the medium, or of the anime “industry” and the fact that it is, first and foremost, a consumer good. Another issue is that in the end of all things, Napier mentions maybe a couple of dozen titles, out of hundreds if not thousands. She does acknowledge this, but in any case, the effect is that in a way, she misrepresents Japanese animation as being far more profound and meaningful and serious than it, taken as a whole, actually is.

MPD-Psycho has not had an easy time of things in Japan. After a stint in Shounen Ace, it moved to Comic CHARGE in 2007, but now Comic CHARGE has been canceled. The manga is still ongoing, with thirteen Japanese language volumes currently available. Hopefully, it will not be compromised further by economic turbulence in the manga industry…but few series manga two such moves unscathed, let alone one, and this reviewer at least worries that the series will never reach a fully satisfactory conclusion. Still, it has certainly been a lot of fun this far, so one might as well try one's utmost to enjoy the ride while it lasts.

Hayate no Gotoku! 2nd Season Episode 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

2011-06-03T04:45:00.000-07:00

http://minitheatre.org/x264-completed/1178-hayate-no-gotoku-2nd-season.html

As always, Sho-U Tajima's artwork is cool and clean—elevating acts of murder to sublime, aesthetic cruelty. Content aside, it is elegant, sensual, and instantly, stylistically recognizable. But in spite of the confident, fluid lines, there is a paradoxically hard-edged quality to the buildings and bodies portrayed. The inky black and stark white, with little grey tones utilized, highlights the series' affective frigidity. Volume seven once again dials down the extremes of violence, and it is possible to view this as a good thing. While an up close and personal exploration of the contents of a woman's skull or a man's abdomen is admittedly a pretty neat trick, any master of the horror genre can tell you that the scariest thing in the world is that which is not shown.

Straightforwardness is also the name of the game in the dialogue, which never gets too heavy, even during long stretches of plot exposition. The complications between Rinne and his father are presented in as uncomplicated a way as possible—because as readers, we all just want to get to the action and the fun. There's certainly fun to be had in the way the characters snipe at each other with one-liners and often make humorous asides, even during drama-filled moments.

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2011-06-03T04:44:00.002-07:00

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Character-wise, there is not much of note going on either. Of course, there are a couple of new flunkies, shadow operatives working for the government, who will doubtlessly end up as so much cannon fodder later on. The most interesting—and even it strains the bounds of what may be characterized “interesting”—is the relationship with miwa's status as XX and her vaguely inappropriate, Lolita-like interest in “our” Amamiya. That was not just girlie flirting; it was her superhuman side demanding its rightful due.

Less artful, however, are the sound effects, which in their English form (all Japanese text has been edited out except for signage) are something of an eyesore against Takahashi's art. The sloppy fonts and conspicuous placement of every "crash" and "bang" simply don't fit in with the delicate linework. As a minor consolation, there is at least a brief glossary that explains some of the tricker cultural and translation issues that come up throughout the story.

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2011-06-03T04:44:00.001-07:00

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No answers are readily forthcoming, though you would be excused for wondering if the solution might not have something to do with “our” Kazuhiko Amamiya. Otherwise, this volume is so tedious in its pacing and brackish in its storyline that it's awfully hard to come up with any other intelligent questions to ask about where things are going. One cannot quite shake the feeling that Eiji Otsuka is trying to blind readers with pseudo-science in order to conceal the many ways in which the plot is beginning to flounder.

When they say that manga has something for everyone, RIN-NE is one of the few titles that actually fulfills that claim, with its effortless shifts between comedy, action, drama, supernatural, and other shades of genres in between. Some of these shifts are more successful than others, and certainly Volume 4 has its moments where Rumiko Takahashi seems to be trudging through the story just so she can get to the parts that she enjoys best.

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2011-06-03T04:44:00.000-07:00

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And of course, said results beg the question: If the goal here is to merge a bunch of named personalities together in order to resurrect the genetic perfection that way Lucy Monostone, and there are multiple copies of those aforementioned personalities, then which personalities are the ones that will lead to the desired goal?

A change of mood and a feisty new character end this installment on an upward note, albeit an inconclusive one: the resolution of the Ageha plotline clearly lines further in the future. But getting there is half the fun, if not all of it, especially with that trademark Takahashi humor. The adventures of Rinne Rokudo may not necessarily leave one gaping in awe or deep in thought—but they're practically guaranteed to leave a smile on one's face.

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2011-06-03T04:43:00.000-07:00

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Actually, this volume is, without question, the least violent installment in this extremely violent series so far. The usual dismemberments, decapitations, and disembowelments just are not to be found in abundance here, though there are a decent number of artistically rendered flat black blood splatters. The most memorable scene of violence is of a vaguely self-inflicted sort; the “real” Kazuhiko Amamiya tries to merge with the Shinji Nishizono personality inside of Tetora—with spectacular results.

Probably one of the most frustrating things about being an anime fan is being thoroughly unable to explain the reason for the obsession to the rest of the world in terms they will actually understand. As fans/otaku we know Japanese animation is wonderful and elaborate and worthy of every minute and dollar we devote to it…but try telling that to a parent, co-worker or teacher, and chances are, the most you'll be rewarded with will be a blank stare.

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2011-04-20T20:09:00.006-07:00

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Cossette, a pretty young blond girl, was murdered in 18th century France by Marcelo, a painter who had fallen in love with her while producing numerous portraits of her. For more than 250 years her spirit lingers in a glass, waiting for a person who would be able to see and fall in love with her, thus providing an avenue for her freedom. Though she is reluctant to take the drastic actions necessary to gain her freedom, since it would mean the suffering and death of one who loves her, she sees her opportunity in Eiri, an antique shop employee who not only can see her but quickly becomes obsessed with her. The spirits of the objects which belonged to Cossette in life sense in Eiri the reborn spirit of Marcelo, however, and respond with great anger, threatening Eiri's well-being. Can Eiri survive the curse of her objects and find a way to be with Cossette, or will his friends succeed in calling him back from the dream realm into which he is slipping? Does Cossette herself value her freedom enough that she is willing to allow Eiri's suffering to happen?

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2011-04-20T20:09:00.005-07:00

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The DVD release of Kaidohmaru shines brightest in its extensive and well-rounded set of extras. The profiles provided for all significant characters fill in some of the gaps in the story and include links to design boards and feature clips of that character in the animation. Character design boards and Manga Enterainment previews and information are also included. Another extra is a 9-minute long Round Table discussion involving the director, animation director, and character designer, which provides some insight into why certain creative decisions were undertaken. The most interesting and original extra is the CG Models feature, which does a visual review of key CG-animated settings and provides extensive details behind the creation of those elements. Fair warning: the text displayed during these reviews doesn't stay on the screen long, so unless you're a speed-reader you'll want to watch those parts with your finger on the “pause” button. The liner of the DVD case includes an attractive mini-poster of the main character and an explanation about some of the artistic elements.

Though it contains no nudity or sexual elements, Kaidohmaru is still quite graphic. Limbs are severed, throats are cut, and people get stabbed, and this is absolutely not something that a horse-lover should be watching. Although the violence isn't excessive or particularly gory, this is not a title for younger viewers.

Finally about the name: although the subtitle text and credits list Kaidohmaru as the main character's name, the extras, title screen, and packaging all list it as Kaidohmaru instead. Which is correct is uncertain.

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The soundtrack for Kaidohmaru, which is infused with medieval musical themes, offers 2.0 and Dolby 5.1 options for both the English and Japanese language tracks. Subtitling options are separate from language options, which is always a plus. The subtitles themselves have some distinct inconsistencies, however. This is most notable in the case of Ohni-Hime, whose name is sometimes translated in the subtitles as “princess” and at other times just left as the original “hime,” with no apparent rhyme or reason as to why it wasn't consistently done the same way the whole time. The English dub is much more consistent about this, with a decision apparently having been made not to translate “hime” when used as part of her name. In fact, the English dub script is as faithful to the subtitles as any title I've seen, with the only differences being the removal of contractions and the addition of a few “filler” words to get the vocals to better match the lip flaps. This results in a dub track which sounds quite strained and stilted at times (which offers up a perfect example of why dub scripts should concentrate more on being faithful to original meaning rather than the most literal possible translation, but that's an issue for another day) and does an inadequate job of matching up words to lip flaps. The original Japanese vocals are actually worse at that, though, so this criticism isn't exclusive to the English dub. Substantial discrepancies can also be heard between the type of voices used in the Japanese and English vocal tracks; Kintoki has a lower-pitched and more male-sounding voice in Japanese than in English, for instance, and the character of Ibaragi sounds distinctly male in English but more androgynous in Japanese.

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Kaidohmaru has all the story elements of a wonderfully intricate historical drama, including an intriguing set-up, interesting central characters, complex political maneuvering, and sharp action scenes. It fails to capitalize on its potential because it tries to pack the whole story into a mere 40 minutes. The result is a truncated featurette which would have fared much better at half again (or more) its actual length. Its story is unlikely to be fully understood unless some research is done into the time period and the character profiles included in the extras are consulted. The ending could have been satisfying with a proper build-up, but as it is the viewer is left feeling that some scenes are missing, too many things are not put into context, and a few too many things are left unresolved. It also suffers from some odd editing choices, such as black-screened cut scenes which are used frequently at scene transitions.

The artistry for Kaidohmaru, which was produced by Production I.G, includes some of the most novel and distinctive stylistic elements you'll see in any anime. CG effects and visuals are used extensively, resulting in some scenes which are beautifully enhanced and others which are too grossly computer-generated to be properly appreciated. Most of the watercolor-based artistry has a faded color scheme and extremely washed out look which makes the whole piece seem like you're viewing it through a smoky filter. According to notes included with the DVD, the intent was to capture the look and feel of artwork from the time period in which the title is set. It's an interesting effect, but one that I could do without, since it makes it difficult to appreciate the quality of the drawings and character designs. In a very unusual move, the early scenes showing how Kintoki came to hook up with Lord Raiko are done almost completely in a crude black-and-white pencil-sketch style with only occasional computer-enhanced coloring. The effect, I'm guessing, is intended to imply that those scenes are all in the indistinct past, episodes which are best left forgotten. Many subtleties are supposedly worked into the artwork, especially effects meant to suggest changing seasons, but even after the supporting documentation told me what to look for I had a hard time spotting these effects. The supporting animation is very good, with many action scenes happening so quickly and smoothly that you may have to slow down the replay just to follow all the moves.

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2011-04-20T20:09:00.002-07:00

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During Japan's Heian era, a young girl named Kintoki, who had been raised as a boy to carry on her family's name, is forced to flee to the mountains after the murder of her parents by her seditious uncle. The harsh life there changes her, giving her a wild fierceness which earns her the name Kai Doh Maru (the meaning of which the anime doesn't make clear) from fearful villagers. Eventually she is rescued by Lord Raiko, who raises and trains her as a soldier. Now 17, she is a core member of the Four Knights of the Ministry of Defense, the guardians of the city of Kyo. She deeply respects Lord Raiko, and has secretly grown to love him—as he has secretly grown to love her. However, the dangerous politics of the time and a threat to all of Kyo from an insanely jealous former suitor of Kintoki put up a formidable barrier to the realization of their budding relationship.

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Fortunately despite the different repeating elements, there seems to be plenty up the author's sleeve to keep the characters busy in the future. Dengeki Daisy may be shoujo but it's not the kind of story that can live off its characters staring into space and pondering how they feel about the other person forever. To spice things up, the end of the volume even ends on a somewhat violent note to lurch things forward a bit. Dengeki Daisy may suffer from the repetition but at least it feels like we're moving forward, even if it is at the speed of molasses. The plot's a little sticky but just sweet and substantial enough to be worth the mess regardless.

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2011-04-20T20:09:00.000-07:00

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Meanwhile the romance between Teru and Kurosaki continues to blossom at its own pace. It still leaves something to be desired in regards to actual chemistry though, with Teru and Kurosaki sharing something more akin to sibling affection than that of lovers. All the same, Teru has admitted to herself that she's in love with Kurosaki. She also realizes that by having told DAISY in the past, Kurosaki knows this as well. It's another secret that everyone now knows and yet nobody really talks about. Fortunately this frustrating trend expires with two new friends Teru makes, both of whom had short roles in the series previously. Teru finally has some sounding-boards her own age to discuss and share everything with and readers will find themselves just as relieved as Teru to finally have some of the secret-tension relaxed.

Physical humor has always been a big part of the series and visually it gets pretty wacky when the artist over-emphasizes and exaggerates the characters' expressions. There are some peculiar visual quirks in this volume where particular frames really stand out. Super elongated limbs and joints that come to extra-sharp points are used for things like humor-engaging kicks or someone being comically knocked to the background. These particular shots utilize some bold, almost rough inking that stand out all the more amidst the artist's usual repertoire of strange yet neatly rendered chibi-style artwork. The rest of the artwork is pretty yet focuses in too tightly. It loses a lot of potential luster by not pulling back more often and letting the art shine on pages not cluttered with so many panels or word bubbles.

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2011-04-20T20:08:00.000-07:00

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Similar to past events, someone in Teru's school has supposedly hacked into the cellphones of several students. Using the name DAISY, they threaten to wipe all the data on their phones if they don't pay for the software to stop it. Expectantly Teru is concerned about DAISY's reputation and well aware it's a ruse. Admirably for a shoujo-lead, she questions the stupidity of following the blind lure of an e-mail message to confront a stranger by herself. It takes the involvement of a new and especially homely looking character (and one with quite a bit of relevance it seems) to stop her from actually doing something idiotic.

This particular chapter ends on a daunting cliffhanger as we see a glimpse of the individual behind these plots. We're left to ponder – is it someone new? Or could it actually be the person it looks like? We can only assume the artist intended it to look like a certain someone. These suspicions are only fueled as a certain deceased character is suddenly being discussed in greater personal detail than ever before. A variety of characters share personal stories and go on for pages about how much they loved him. Whether this is foreshadowing or just idly laid sentiment, it's being laid on thick.

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There's an episodic handling to the story's themselves that works well to frame each chapter while simultaneously strangling them. The volume suffers from much of the same predictability that other similarly constructed series have. You can count on Hikari and Chiaki's entry into a drawing with the same full-page spread as much as you can count on a magical girl transformation sequence mid-through an episode, and then of course followed by the subsequent 'win'. At least the story offers up lots of potential for future stories simply working through students of the school alone. Where better to explore the inner workings of confused and unbalanced individuals? Overlapping factors carry on chapter to chapter which builds up a repertoire of characters so it's not just Hikari and Chiaki meeting new characters doomed to short-term obscurity.

In his first foray into the role of a psychologist-Picasso, Hikari meets with the first of his new to-be friends, Suigaru. Deep-rooted Father issues paint a landscape of loneliness and greed that Hikari needs to decipher to stop Suigaru from hurting others or himself. Eventually Suigaru becomes a helper of sorts to Hikari in future escapades. A fellow student and model named Akane also latches onto Hikari as an admirer and subconscious devotee after Hikari aids her as well. Other excursions following include an S&M bondage tree and Goth-rocker mimicry gone too far with characters who seem aware enough of Hikari's involvement to prove potentially relevant later on. Every story is delivered with a healthy dose of theorizing, a sharp sense of humor and a dash of suspense. Interpretations of the analytic artwork can sometimes feel like a bit of a stretch, such as the purpose of a bunny with chunks missing out of it, but it simply proves that this art like any other is always subjective to its viewer.

Genkaku Picasso at its best is a creative, sharp-witted expose of the human mind, however obscure, and it's played out with finesse through a teenage boy given a second chance to make use of his artistic talents. The concept unique and its vessel amusing, volume one may be too formulaic for its own good but still serves up a no less attention-grabbing assortment of anomalies and gags within its paneled walls.

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What Usamaru takes no shortcuts with however is the art within art . Each of Hikari's drawings is presented in a detailed, pencil-sketch style that well represents what would be on his sketchbook pages after the bouts of artistic-visions. Even when Hikari and Chiaki enter into the dream-states, the locales are still rendered in the same style including the characters themselves now traversing the often bizarre landscapes. It creates a great contrast between the 'mind world' and the real world which makes it not only easy to differentiate the occurrences but also compliments the artistic-focus of the story. Seeing Hikari cry out for his 2B pencil is a nice touch too.

As for the rest of the art, the designs of the lead males do suffer from an extreme case of androgyn-itis which in these instances go past having simply effeminate qualities and into the realm of being easily mistaken for girls. Inconsistencies in the anatomy also creates repeated instances of tiny-hands, big-head syndrome as well. It's all pittance in the grand scheme of things however, Usamaru's artwork teeming with eccentric characters and unique imagery that's overflowing with creativity. Extra fun is had with the art on the chapter covers which combines photographs and art to Hikari's inconvenience. Viz Media's design work on the book's outside covers is also really well done, showing an attention to detail that compliments the atmosphere of the story itself and the original presentation.

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Our 'Picasso' here, Hikari Hamura, is an oddly lovable main character – snarky, opinionated and rather egotistical, Hikari is entertaining in nearly every panel, whether he's flipping out over another strange drawing or his subsequent decisions in how to handle them. It's great that while fairly introverted, he's still forward with his interactions with others, even if it makes him look as crazy as people think he is. While his theories about others' inner workings don't always hit the nail on the head, his inevitable realization of what's truly going on in their minds is astute while still being grounded in common sense. All the while his reasoning for helping others remains tied to his survival instinct so it doesn't feel like a believably self-interested individual is suddenly overwhelmed by a selfless need to help others.

Hikari's skepticism contrasts well with the enthusiasm of Chiaki, his once only-friend now fairy-sized sidekick. She's a great compliment to him and the pair's differing reactions to the situations they find themselves in are amusing, plus ultimately aiding in the result. Her interest in psychology likely played a role in the power Hikari was granted as well. Interestingly the story never stops to dwell or flounder on her death which she accepts without complaint. Chiaki's cheery conviction towards everything is a little odd considering the two were just blown up, even amidst all the other weirdness this series offers up.

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Those who've read Usamaru Furuya's other series may find Genkaku Picasso a strangely subdued work in comparison. Those new to his work will find this a perfect baby-step towards being prepared for the more disturbing subject matter of his other stories. Whichever role is yours, the artist's notorious penchant for the weird remains and here it blends with a shonen-styled layout and ingenious creative presentation, which offers up some fun results, even if it's mired in some frustratingly limited storytelling.

Usamaru Furuya wastes no time diving headlong into the story. A few short pages of establishing Hikari's place on the social ladder of high school are prelude to a literally explosive early-climax that kills Hikari's friend, Chiaki, and leaves him to mourn while being a miracle survivor of the accident – so to speak. Turns out Chiaki was merely hiding in Hikari's pocket for the right moment and she explains the prayers she spoke in her final moments that allowed Hikari his second chance at life. Now the boy's drawing up an assortment of strange and confusing pieces of artwork that offer glimpses into the minds of those around them.

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Hikari Hamura is a young man with big dreams for himself and his abilities as an artist, even at the jeers of his classmates. His only real friend and supporter is classmate Chiaki Yamamoto whose interest lies in the psychological. One of their daily visits to a nearby river ends in tragedy when an out of control helicopter kills them both, and yet Chiaki's final prayers were heard, and the two are granted a second chance at life. Hikari now needs to help those around him or else his body will rot and decay back to its state when he was killed. Chiaki on the other hand has been revived as a small angel-winged figure to help her friend on their new quest to unravel the greatest mysteries of all – the teenage mind. Now able to see dark auras of those in need of intervention, Hikari's drawings manifest the inner-self of his 'patients' and it's up to him and Chiaki to decipher them before they're too far-gone to be saved.

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The return of lighter content also means the return of some of Shinbo's stranger comic inventions, like the cutaway house (used to truly surreal ends at the tail of episode 25 and throughout episode 26) and fake cinematic goofs (boom mikes in the frame). The other visual merits are the same as always—ravishing—while the music remains as thoroughly enjoyable and periodically stunning as ever. The last two episodes end by playing the "Neko Mimi Mode" opening over a slow zoom out from an amusing still of the surviving cast.

There isn't a whole lot new to say about the dub (see previous reviews), but it must be said that Elfriede and Gramps romantic banter is absolutely hilarious in English ("honey schnookums!").

The series' booklet covers the usual breadth of information, including a revealing interview with Keitaro Arima, the creator of the Moon Phase manga. The clean opening covers the series' standard opening, while the closing showcases the superb new visuals for the ending song.

The climax is as lackluster as the buildup to it would indicate, but it is blessedly short. The two follow-up episodes revert back to a more humorous time, taking the time to tie up loose ends before throwing all reason and logic out the window and reveling in one episode of unbridled weirdness.

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The bad news: every premonition of sliding quality from the past couple of volumes is confirmed. The good news: it only lasts two episodes. Then the fun starts again. But before you can get to it, first it's necessary to slog through the series' sometimes tedious, sometimes infuriating, consistently disappointing climax. To be sure, there are moments of genuine pathos. Kouhei's reaction to seeing Hazuki with the jougan hurts, and Hazuki's resolution at the end of episode 23 is simply heart-breaking. But the causes and consequences of each moment of honest emotion are deeply dissatisfying. Both moments ultimately pen Hazuki into the role of damsel in distress, an entirely passive role ("Help me Kouhei!") that leaves a nasty taste in the mouth. And Kouhei's jougan, while giving rise to one affecting scene, is obviously a giant deus ex machina cop-out in the making. In fact, the magical battling is generally inferior to that of earlier episodes. Not in its visual execution—that has the same topsy-turvy, color-shifting appeal as always—but in concept. The various battles with Count Kinkel were carefully planned supernatural skirmishes in which strategy and teamwork were crucial to their success. In these episodes, mystical clashes have a "throw generic flashy magic stuff at the enemy until the gears of the deus ex machina get moving" feel. The villains compound the problem with their dearth of menace; the stakes just aren't as high this time around. Toss some ripe cheese into the mix, and the smell it produces is less than entirely savory.

Not that director Akiyuki Shinbo is unaware of this fact. He undercuts most of the truly ridiculous scenes with pointed little visual gags, broad cinematic winks that let the audience know that he's fully aware of just how silly it all is. And then, suddenly, the climax passes. An episode is set aside for tying up loose ends, and does so with a humor spiked with bursts of loneliness and poignancy that almost resets everything that dragged the second half down. Hazuki regains her spunk, the core of mutual loss that was excised from her and Kouhei's relationship returns, and you even thank the creators for their stupid dead-but-not-dead trickery from earlier when you see Elfriede and Gramps getting weirdly lovey-dovey. As an aside, anyone who thinks that the previous sentence was a spoiler, should seriously have their eyes (or their brain) examined. The final episode is an extra story that finally discards anything resembling logic; a twenty-five minute joke about the Mido household being stranded at sea that vents some apparently seriously repressed comic urges on the part of the director. It's a brand of comic stream-of-consciousness that strongly foreshadows the direction that Shinbo's next project, the completely unhinged Pani Poni Dash!, would take. And it's quite frequently hilarious, while still finding time for some priceless Arte cuteness.

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For all the gimmickry, cliché manipulation, and powerhouse characters, though, the real appeal of the novel may come down to something more fundamental: the way it speaks to the almost desperate struggle of many people – especially teenagers – to be something other than ordinary. Kyon dreamed of the extraordinary but ultimately decided that there was nothing wrong with settling for the ordinary, which is something Haruhi cannot do. Her stubborn refusal to give up on her dreams can be appealing, and the irony that she unknowingly has the power to realize her dreams ever lingers in the background.

The novel version of Melancholy is the first novel release by Yen Press, a relatively recent entrant in the manga and graphic novel publishing field. It comes in both hardback and paperback versions, with the only difference in content being the cover art; the hardback version has the original Haruhi-featuring cover, while the paperback version (depicted above) has a less appealing red, white, and black cover. Both versions have 200 pages of story followed by a two-page Afterword, eight pages of full-color art, and a 14-page preview of the associated manga version. Strewn throughout the text are occasional (and highly forgettable) illustrations, but the text, at least, is free of the grammatical errors and typos that have plagued many novel translations so far.

If the writing can be criticized for anything, it is a workmanlike approach that is effective and efficient but never really establishes a sense of individual style. This is a very picky point rather than an actual problem, however. Overall, the novel version makes for a light and fun read which should encourage anyone who has not already seen the anime version to check it out.

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2011-04-11T02:22:00.004-07:00

Fortunately, this volume's second half is quick to jump back into pure action mode, with a riotous mob of Apostles serving as the next challenge. In this case, bringing up characters from previous story arcs is a good thing, since it keeps the series coherent and well-connected, plus Guts definitely needs an update on what Griffith and all his other old enemies are up to. Besides, who wouldn't want to see the world's greatest swordsman fight for his life against a 12-foot-tall armored giant? Taking on sentient warriors is always a lot more fun than chopping the heads off common beasts; it's clear that Guts' latest duel is a whole new level of challenge compared to the troll problem. Yet even this battle has to fall back on magical assistance—sure, it's nice to see advanced forms of ass-kicking and name-taking, but the hero of this series is supposed to have gained his reputation from sheer effort and skill, not because of performance-enhancing armor.

Speaking of sheer effort and skill, the artwork continues to impress on just about every page, whether it involves the shudder-inducing depths of Qliphoth or the explosive clashes of metal against metal as Guts duels against Grunbeld. Even if Kentaro Miura's personal style occasionally seems trapped in time (look at the way he draws child characters and compare against Kazuo Umezu), the level of detail and draftsmanship is the kind that stands out in any era. Miura's complete command of light and shadow gives every moment an otherworldly quality—this is one of the few series that can honestly claim to transport its readers to another time and place—and the attention to backgrounds is a welcome sight when so many other artists are too lazy to be bothered. But the real highlights, of course, are the action scenes, all of which benefit from dazzling layouts and intense pacing. Yet that same intensity and attention to detail can also be the artwork's own worst enemy; the action gets so overwhelming at times that it may take a quick re-read to understand who struck who during a pivotal moment.

http://www.mangafox.com/manga/the_idolm_ster_relations/

read online Ojou-sama wa Oyome-sama Chapter 10

2011-04-11T02:22:00.003-07:00

http://www.mangafox.com/manga/ojou_sama_wa_oyome_sama/

Well, if it's about not rescuing distressed damsels from trolls, then it's about fending off demonic seductresses or battling for survival against 12-foot warriors. This volume of Berserk moves at a breathless pace from one blood-soaked set piece to the next, and at one point in the last couple of chapters, even lives up to the series' name. But constant peril and ever-escalating battle don't always spell good execution; Guts' escape from the cave seems a little too convenient to be true, and the next fight on his schedule gets a bit of a magical assist from an outside agent. The occasional forays into character introspection and personal development also seem arbitrary, placed there only to make the series feel deeper than it really is. But when you're busy having your mind blown by intense fantasy artwork and massive displays of power, do story flaws really matter all that much?

If anything, story flaws are probably the last thing from one's mind when this volume arrives in the middle of the troll rescue arc. The first few chapters are all about pure action and adventure: cutting one's way through nasty creatures, getting the captives out, and letting all the main characters grab their fair share of kills. (Yes, Isidro finally does something useful with that flaming knife of his.) Guts' encounter with a certain member of the demons known as the God Hand also ups the tension level—but the action and drama cuts itself off a little too soon when another character shows up to save the day. Playing the "Get Out of Cave Free" card does help to keep the arc from getting too long, but it's a clunky way to do it. Meanwhile, the occasional moments of internal monologue—Farnese reflecting on her emotional bond with Casca, Guts thinking to himself how much fun he's having—are simply too superficial to be of any real value.

read online Loveplus Manaka Days Chapter 2

2011-04-11T02:22:00.001-07:00

Guts and his band of adventurers find themselves facing untold danger when they venture into a trolls' den to rescue their compatriots, Casca and Farnese. However, this cave is not just any cave, but the Qliphoth, a realm where dark creatures gather. Even if Guts is able to rescue the victims, a far greater evil awaits him—one that could injure his very soul. And that's not the only battle he must fight: out in the nearby forest, the Apostles have launched an attack on the home of the kindly witch Flora, with a familiar old enemy leading them. Guts is being called out for a one-on-one duel, but does he have any strength left after his ordeal in the cave? Fortunately, Flora has left a very useful—and very magical—piece of equipment for him...

http://www.mangafox.com/manga/loveplus_manaka_days/

read online Fallen Angels Chapter 16 manga

2011-04-11T02:22:00.000-07:00

http://www.mangafox.com/manga/fallen_angels/

If you look hard enough, there's plenty to grumble about—after all NHK has never been a work of perfection, more a smart, shaggy underachiever. In addition to the too-convenient resolution of sticky side-character issues, director Yusuke Yamamoto falls back into his habit of letting the guitar score play through scenes that it really shouldn't, and GONZO's visuals remain a tad uneven, often drawing the characters sloppily in medium shots and draining the two big fan-service scenes of all their titillating power with some truly clunky animation. But frankly everything, the rushed side-plots, the occasionally messy art, the poorly animated sequences—it all disappears into the shadow of a final story arc that once again marshals all of the series' unforgiving insight and sympathy for the human castoffs of modernity. It's difficult to care that the fan-service was botched when Yamamoto can suggest a world of self-flagellating shame with little more than a flashback to a raised fist and a sideways shift of harried eyes. Or to care that Yamazaki's life resolves itself far too rosily when Misaki and Sato's relationship is climaxing in a frenzy of misguided self-sacrifice that is both surreal and bizarrely logical. As rough around the edges as they are, these four episodes are NHK at its best: insane, cutting and potent. All that and a happy ending too.

read online One Outs Chapter 102

2011-04-11T02:21:00.002-07:00

Standing at the center of the series' longest-standing emotional entanglement as it swirls into a full-fledged emotional climax, Misaki's performance is this volume's lynchpin. The role requires both actresses to navigate some heavy waters, from intense outbursts to poison bitterness to forced confidence undercut by quavering uncertainty. While Stephanie Wittels can't quite cut the heart out of you the way the understated Yui Makino can, she's grown far enough into the role to make some positive adjustments, particularly Misaki's even-keeled confidence during her final scenes with Sato. Chris Patton, on the other hand, is pure revelation. His Sato is both funnier and more intense than Yutaka Koizumi's, and he communicates with vitality and conviction both the growing sensitivity and the unpleasant underbelly of Sato's personality. He makes his missteps—he delivers Sato's penultimate speech to Misaki with such conviction that it's almost an honest appeal instead of the regurgitation of empty platitudes that it's supposed to be—but they're inconsequential flaws in a gem of a performance. It's a damned shame that fans who bought the first five volumes have had to wait until now (nearly two months after the box sets) to hear it. ADV's scriptmasters, by the way, write with all the fidelity one could desire—with the exception of a few hilarious ad-libs by Patton.

http://www.mangafox.com/manga/one_outs/

read online Wait! Wolf Chapter 32

2011-04-11T02:21:00.000-07:00

http://www.mangafox.com/manga/wait_wolf/

It isn't all (sorta) romantic drama, of course. Sato lives to see his ero-game dreams squished by reality, Yamazaki gets a chance to vent his bitterness at being forced to give up his dream, and Hitomi shows up to bring some closure to her relationship with Sato (and inadvertently screw with Misaki's feelings). And even if discomfiting humor isn't this volume's aim, there are laughs to be had, as with Sato's zombified return to the work-force. But this is Sato and Misaki's volume, and the other aspects do suffer in comparison. Yamazaki and Hitomi's issues are tied up far too neatly, while Sato's escape from the hikikomori lifestyle happens too quickly to be entirely convincing (and also serves rather conveniently as a plot device to worsen Misaki's condition).

read online Look for Oppa! Chapter 39

2011-04-11T02:20:00.001-07:00

http://www.mangafox.com/manga/look_for_oppa/

For the moment, let's set aside the fact that Funimation bungled, with Three Stooges-level finesse, their license rescue of Welcome to the NHK It is, after all, a shame to bellyache with such an immensely satisfying conclusion on one's plate. NHK's stock-in-trade may be the darkly humorous dissection of the social afflictions of the marginalized and psychologically damaged, but its beating heart is the malformed romance between Sato and Misaki. It was certainly good, black fun to watch the series kick down-on-his-luck Sato with big, pyramid-scheme feet, but without any real development in their relationship, volume five had the feel a series that had lost its way. Not so volume six. If Misaki and Sato's relationship is the heart of the series, this volume is all heart.

And in grand NHK style, it's twisted, somewhat blackened heart. This certainly isn't your parents' anime romance. Misaki's confession of her need for Sato is no mere confession of love; it's an exposure of all of the boiling insecurities, frightened selfishness and emotional confusion of a person who has found their reason for living in another person, but who has been so damaged by life that they haven't the emotional tools to express or even understand what they are feeling. Likewise Sato's bid to save Misaki is no platitude-saves-the-day plot device, but rather the desperate flailing of a man who realizes that his lifestyle has deprived him of the relationship skills necessary to save the girl he cares for. Even more than watching two well-adjusted people finding happiness together, there's something unutterably satisfying about watching damaged people finding someone whose scars match their own and making one last, desperate bid for happiness. Sato and Misaki make a staggeringly dysfunctional pair, but it's hard not to root for them, and, as the series brings all of their combined history to bear in the finale, to feel for them.

read online Alyosha Chapter 12

2011-04-11T02:20:00.000-07:00

http://www.mangafox.com/manga/alyosha/

With grit and cyber-spit, Yamazaki and Sato finally finish their homemade porn game. Unfortunately their sales at the comic market (five copies) destroy once and for all their dreams of becoming ero-game magnates. Yamazaki retires to his family's ranch to take over their dairy business, and Sato finds himself minus his one real friend. Misaki steps in to fill the void, even proposing as a “final test” a New Year's visit to the local shrine. Sato of course gets lost, and when Misaki witnesses his rescue by ex-flame Hitomi, she's conflicted to say the least. Misaki decides to take their relationship to the next level in her usual twisted way, but the result is less than felicitous. In the fall-out Sato comes face-to-face with Misaki's ugly past and his unflattering role in her quest to secure a place in a world that she feels has no use for her. To his dismay he discovers that he must not only cope, but actually help or risk the complete self-destruction of a relationship that neither has the emotional equipment to properly nurture, and at least one hasn't the ability to survive without. But can one emotional cripple really save another?

Bob Dylan in Concert: Brandeis University 1963 by Bob Dylan Online

2011-04-07T02:34:00.004-07:00

Bob Dylan in Concert: Brandeis University 1963 by Bob Dylan

The first half can be divided into two distinct and only slightly overlapping parts: the Helping People part, which spans episodes 1-8, and the Advancing the Storyline part, which spans episodes 9-12 but will clearly continue strong into the second half. The three mini-arcs which make up the former are all stories fairly typical of the first season, ones which mix some occasionally very funny humor with character drama, a healthy dose of sentiment, and in one case another bit of the supernatural. The side story of the girl and the robot alone in the world also sporadically returns during this time. Although these arcs, like most of the first series, give the impression of just serving up juicy little vignettes, only as the story advances through the later episodes does the real reason for their presence become clear: everything up until episode 9 just sets the stage for what happens from that point on.

Who You Are by Jessie J Free

2011-04-07T02:34:00.003-07:00

The school year continues for Tomoya and Nagisa, and with it comes more people for Tomoya to help. First up is Mei, who is still deeply concerned over how much her big brother Youhei's behavior has changed toward her since the fight which resulted in him leaving the soccer team two years earlier. Even shock treatment and a fake girlfriend (of surprising origin!) don't help; only more drastic circumstances will suffice. Next, a dreamy trip down memory lane reveals an incident from Misae's past which connects to her present. Later, Yukine's involvement with gang members opens up an unexpected aspect of her life and hidden sorrow.

Eventually, though, time and the school year progress. Nagisa's shaky health results in her missing graduation and having to repeat again, but Tomoya must move on into society, finding both a job and at least some sense of direction, as most of the rest of the gang goes in their own directions. Nagisa remains a constant source of support, however, and gradually Tomoya comes to realize and appreciate what is truly most important to him. Where one may falter, two can stand strong.

Build a Rocket Boys! by Elbow Lyrics

2011-04-07T02:34:00.002-07:00

All in all, this was an excellent, plot-driven installment to MPD-Psycho that takes the momentum of volume five and then puts the petal to the metal. While remaining true to its theme and overarching narrative style, it manages shed some serious light on a slew of the series' most pressing mysteries to date while leaving us on balanced on the edges of our seats, simultaneously dying for more and terrified of what is to come.

Sing It Loud by K. D. Lang Stream

2011-04-07T02:34:00.000-07:00

Cut to Miwa, on a plane with the rest of her class, on their way back from a school trip to the Philippines. She tries to initiate a complementation, but the person that serial killer Umemiya thinks is Tetora is actually a random drugged boy. However, Gakuso is not concerned. A hijacker has taken over the plane, but there is a person looming behind him—a person we have not seen since the end of volume five… (One guess as to whom that would be.)

As always, Sho-U Tajima's artwork is cool and clean—elevating acts of murder to sublime, aesthetic cruelty. Content aside, it is elegant, sensual, and instantly, stylistically recognizable. But in spite of the confident, fluid lines, there is a paradoxically hard-edged quality to the buildings and bodies portrayed. It was a pleasure to note that, with the exception of the nude shocker in the beginning, volume six thankfully dials down the extremes of violence a few notches. While an up close and personal exploration of the contents of a woman's skull or a man's abdomen is admittedly a pretty neat trick, any master of the horror genre can tell you that the scariest thing in the world is that which is not shown. Nothing we see on the page can ever frighten us as much as what we see only in our minds' eye, and in this volume, the worst of all possible outcomes is left just over the horizon. Bravo.

Drama Y Luz by Maná download

2011-04-07T02:25:00.001-07:00

The true potential Miwa has to rock MPD-Psycho's world, though, is not obvious from the get-go. We are momentarily distracted by government testing of Tetora Nishizono's ability to swap personalities with other people and by the serial killer a la mode, who turns out to be the bomber-stalker from Machi's past. As usual, we see him take out a bunch of innocent bystanders before getting taken out himself. Then, about halfway through the volume, things start to come to head in a big way. Machi and Sasayama are entrusted with Tetora, but the Gakuso Society quickly catches up with them, revealing to Machi by implication that her father was involved in upper echelons the organization. On the Gakuso's ocean liner, they learn that the XY Shinji Nishizono personality is not complete until it combines with the XX personality held by Miwa. The completed personality will then become Lucy Monostone, the perfect killer.

Nine Types of Light by TV on the Radio MP3

2011-04-07T02:25:00.000-07:00

To the undoubted delight of faithful readers of MPD-Psycho who have become impatient with the series' superficial spectacle of dismemberments, decapitations, and disembowelments, the plot of volume six, as they say, thickens. A lot. There is also a major revelation to be found here, which, if not strictly a surprise to veteran suspense readers who were surely wondering if Miwa was ever to have a purpose beyond jailbait otaku eye-candy, definitely adds to the thrills and chills. Author Eiji Otsuka has outdone himself.

The richness of the plot in this volume is quite a surprise, actually; manga that begin on page one with a full-color shot at crotch-eye level of a nude teenage girl aren't typically characterized by their ahem cerebral pleasures. But the ante gets upped almost immediately when we find out that the crotch in question is Miwa's, and that she has been “awakened”—to a tremendous amount of gloomy, misanthropic alienation. Like Toguchi before her, it's clear that she is a time bomb that has just begun ticking. Well, to be more specific, she was at the doctor's to get something problem with her right eye checked out. Ri~ght.

So Beautiful or So What by Paul Simon Download

2011-04-07T02:24:00.003-07:00

So Beautiful or So What (CD/DVD Deluxe) by Paul Simon

Nearly a year has past since Kazuhiko Amamiya disappeared, and Onihigata is ready to pull the plug on the Isono Criminal Research Lab. Even so, Machi remains confident that Amamiya will return. But her confidence is shaken when the stalker from her past resurfaces to blow up more people who have caused her the slightest inconvenience. Something isn't quite right, though. Could the person who is truly behind the killings be…Miwa?! Machi and Sasayama penetrate the secret stronghold of the Gakuso Society and learn about their secret genetic engineering projects. Apparently the key to the ultimate killer is the union of the Shinji Nishizono personality with his female counterpart. That counterpart is Miwa. As for Miwa, she's on a hijacked plane…and guess who's on the plane with her!

Wasting Light by Foo Fighters MP3

2011-04-07T02:24:00.002-07:00

In the end, the saga of Nobuhiro Watsuki prematurely ending Gun Blaze West is probably more interesting than the saga of Viu Bannes actually traveling to Gun Blaze West. Apparently, the pressure of cancellation forced him to write one last epic fight into the series—an indulgent delight of over-the-top abilties and wild, explosive visuals. Unfortunately, all the stuff that happens outside of Viu and Armor Baron's battle only goes to show just why the series was cancelled: slapdash character ideas, contrived storytelling, artistic crudeness, and desperate reader-pandering instead of taking charge of one's own vision. Indeed, "our adventure is just beginning" ... but perhaps we should be glad it ended before things got any worse.

Paper Airplane by Alison Krauss Download

2011-04-07T02:24:00.000-07:00

Subtlety is nowhere to be found in the artwork, and neither is it found in the dialogue—you can't go more than a few pages without Viu spouting tired old catchphrases about how he wants to get stronger. Just because it's one of the guiding principles of the boys' adventure genre, doesn't mean it needs to be repeated constantly. Meanwhile, the rest of the story reads something along the lines of: "I'm going Gun Blaze West!" "No, I am!" "I'll beat you in battle!" "Not if I beat you first!" It ought to be an easy translation job, yet this one manages to miss a few words—yes, readers will actually find a couple of typos in the text. Sound effects also play a key role in this loud adventure, and because they're so prominent in the artwork, the obvious deletion and replacement of the characters actually grates on the eyes in certain places (plus, the translation of "DON" to "DM" just looks like some wacky vowel shortage).

Author's notes don't usually deserve special mention as bonus content, but because Watsuki has so much to say in this volume, readers can get a deeper look into the artistic process than most manga-ka allow. (None of this "Thank you for supporting my work. I like cats" kind of drivel.) The discussion on character and story development reveal an artist in love with action comics, as well as someone very concerned with trying to please every single reader. Things get kind of embarrassing once the cancellation is announced and Watsuki starts apologizing like crazy, but his unused character sketches provide an interesting "what if?" look into where the story might have gone next.

Kare First Love Chapter 57 56 55 54 53 52 51 50 49

2011-04-04T16:02:00.000-07:00

Title: Kare First Love
Categories: Drama Romance Shoujo Slice Of Life
Author: Miyasaka Kaho
Status: Complated
Summary
Coy and self-conscious high school student Karin Karino never paid much attention to boys until she met Kiriya, a popular student from a nearby boys' school. Karin and Kiriya embark on a romantic journey despite Karin's classmate Yuka's best efforts to sabotage their relationship, but Karin soon learns that living happily ever after isn't on the curriculum when she becomes Kiriya's center of attention, as well as embittered Yuka's bull's-eye on her dartboard of hate.

http://www.tenmanga.com/book/Kare+First+Love.html

It's this kind of mind-boggling punchline that is My Ordinary Life's stock-in-trade, which works either to its advantage or its detriment, depending on who you ask. To the show's credit, the animators are clearly putting in the work; a later scene involving a wayward morsel of food turns into an all-out, heart-stopping visual barrage worthy of any shonen action blockbuster. Other times, the animation style is less spectacular but still full of personality, with shifts in style and quirky angles that keep the scenes from getting stale (always the greatest danger of a slice-of-life series). Heck, even the background music defies expectations, with a lightly jazz-influenced level of sophistication—listen for it during moments like the fire alarm gag. Come on, how are we supposed to rag on high school sketch comedies being cheap and lazy when the production team actually puts effort into it?

Still, waiting for those punchlines can feel like a chore, and the disconnected storytelling is difficult to follow if one does not pick up on the characters right away. (Robot girl? Kid on a goat? Who of the what now?) But those who have the patience for everday schoolgirl antics—always a polarizing issue—will be rewarded for sticking around.

Hapi Mari Chapter 18 快乐婚礼

2011-03-21T01:16:00.001-07:00

Hapi Mari Chapter 17 快乐婚礼

2011-03-21T01:16:00.000-07:00

Hapi Mari Chapter 16 快乐婚礼

2011-03-21T01:15:00.000-07:00

Men - they're the root of Takanashi Chiwa's problems, which is why she never had the time nor the opportunity to have a boyfriend in her entire life. A full-time office lady and a part-time hostess, she works night and day to pay off her dad's debt from his failed business. One night at her part-time job, a high-class customer has her fired. Then the next day, she's called in to see the president - whom she had never even seen before in the office - only to find out she's to marry him! But what kind of guy is Mamiya Hokuto anyway? Will he become one of Chiwa's problems, or will he save her from them? And will this marriage even last?!

http://www.mangareader.net/436/hapi-mari.html

As Brigadoon bustles forward in its storytelling, one thing is slowly becoming apparent. After so many episodes, Marin still has no clue what's going on around her, and the audience must surely feel the same way. At first, it was part of the glamour, part the “mystique” that surrounded the shadowy story. Who is this mysterious girl? What is this huge secret that Melan is keeping from her? Even Marin is yammering to know what the hell is going on, and when Marin whines even more than she normally does, it's not a pretty sight. Sadly, after all that whining, we're back to square one, except now we've got a naked prepubescent girl lying in a hole on a foreign planet with no explanation as to why. Here is where viewers veer into horny bar mode, metaphorically speaking. If you meet a cute girl at a bar that won't give you the time of day, you have two options. You can either keep wasting your time on a prize that you'll never get your paws on, or you can start hitting on her loose friend. It's the same with Brigadoon. If no one is going to bother telling you what's going on by episode 13 (in a 26 episode series), it's time to hit on a different series. Life's too short to be in the dark for six hours.

Hapi Mari Chapter 15 快乐婚礼

2011-03-21T01:13:00.000-07:00

Men - they're the root of Takanashi Chiwa's problems, which is why she never had the time nor the opportunity to have a boyfriend in her entire life. A full-time office lady and a part-time hostess, she works night and day to pay off her dad's debt from his failed business. One night at her part-time job, a high-class customer has her fired. Then the next day, she's called in to see the president - whom she had never even seen before in the office - only to find out she's to marry him! But what kind of guy is Mamiya Hokuto anyway? Will he become one of Chiwa's problems, or will he save her from them? And will this marriage even last?!

http://www.mangareader.net/436/hapi-mari.html

And like all good jinxes, once you utter these words and reach for the “stop” button, BAM! Something interesting happens. The entire time, the series has been beating around the bush that Marin is the Creis, this thing (since they never tell you) that magically saves Earth and Brigadoon… somehow. For the first time, it's hinted that they have the wrong girl. Her naked prepubescent body didn't do the trick and it's time to search for another naked prepubescent body. It's beside the point that the entire series is about Marin and anyone with insight deeper than a ketchup stain knows that this Surprise isn't really a surprise at all… just an excuse for you to keep watching. And to retaliate for figuring out their wily plan, the scriptwriters punish you by slapping you in the face with an excruciatingly dull recap episode and the world's silliest plot twist—Marin and Melan fall into an alternate world Paradise Sugar Happy Land.

Deadman Wonderland chapter 29 30 31 32 33 34

2011-02-27T05:15:00.000-08:00

Summary

Ganta Igarashi has been convicted of a crime that he hasn't committed, and sent to a new, privately owned and operated prison, where the inmates are the main attraction in a modern day twist to the gladiatorial coliseums of ancient times. Throw in a healthy dose of weird little girl, some new-found super powers, and a little conspiracy theory, and you have Deadman Wonderland.
Artist(s) Kondou Kazuma
Genre(s) Action, Horror, Mature, Sci-fi, Shounen, Supernatural, Tragedy

http://www.mangafox.com/manga/deadman_wonderland/

Famous manga artists are usually best known for their multi-volume series—but take away the long-running storylines, the shifting character relationships, the cliffhangers from one chapter to the next, and what you're usually left with is a creator's heart and soul. As it turns out, Arina Tanemura's soul is powered by youthful romance, and this short story collection explores it from a number of different angles. There aren't many surprises to be found here: the couple of attempts at plot twists are detectable from a mile away, and you get one guess as to how each story ends. But for fans of the "Arinacchi style"—as expressed in her florid art and super-sweet storytelling—this is an unflinching dose of cute, designed to awaken the heart-fluttering schoolkid in all of us.

To call this a collection of one-shots is actually a bit of a lie—the main story comes in two parts, with the romantic angle not really arriving until the second half. Interestingly, "Sweet-Tempered Melancholic" deals out a fair share of action as well, and readers will discover fight scenes involving a clever use for a hair-tie, as well as an impassioned battle for love. Comedy also comes in occasional spurts, with evil ninjas popping out of the background to seize "the secret weapon" and immediately failing in various slapstick ways. By contrast, "This Love Is Nonfiction" is something more conventional, but the story's main conceit—that the main girl has sent in her friend as a stand-in on a date—is a near-foolproof formula anyway, and manages to keep the fun and the tension running high as the characters try to cover up their lies. It's unfortunate, then, that this story totally gives away its twist ending within the first several pages. It's still cute, but it gets a bit tedious waiting for the obvious "big reveal."

Deadman Wonderland chapter 50 english

2011-02-27T05:14:00.005-08:00

Summary

Ganta Igarashi has been convicted of a crime that he hasn't committed, and sent to a new, privately owned and operated prison, where the inmates are the main attraction in a modern day twist to the gladiatorial coliseums of ancient times. Throw in a healthy dose of weird little girl, some new-found super powers, and a little conspiracy theory, and you have Deadman Wonderland.
Artist(s) Kondou Kazuma
Genre(s) Action, Horror, Mature, Sci-fi, Shounen, Supernatural, Tragedy

http://www.mangafox.com/manga/deadman_wonderland/

The two remaining stories are a notch below the others, dishing out more romantic formulas but failing to apply any amusing quirks. "Rainy Afternoons" relies on the very familiar trope of sharing an umbrella together; the idea of it is certainly sweet, but it would not be the first ... or second ... or even tenth time that someone has used a "cute couple in the rain" image. This is also the other story that makes use of a not-very-surprising twist, and once all the key elements are in play, it's just a matter of mechanically connecting the dots to the predictable ending. The last story, "In the Style of Second Love," happens to be Tanemura's debut work—and it shows. This is as routine as love stories get: some girl dislikes some guy, but then she realizes she kind of likes him after all. It's an interesting look at an artist's beginnings, but very rough around the edges.

Even Tanemura's signature artistic style is a little lacking in these early stories of hers—"Second Love" is the most obvious, looking more like an amalgam of early-to-mid-90's influences than anything she actually drew herself. Fortunately, the rest of the book is more confidently drawn: sparkly-eyed characters, fancy background patterns, and busy layouts all show that her style was pretty much set in stone early on. Surprisingly, these works are a little more readable than her current output, if only because Tanemura hadn't yet gone completely berserk with screentones during this period. There are still other opportunities for confusion, though, such as the extreme similarity of character designs (just look at the sketches in the back for disturbing proof that all the boys look the same), and panels that tend to cram up against each other without regard for borders or margins. While the art can be distinctive and appealing, it does take some effort and "shôjo reading skills" to decipher what's going on.

Deadman Wonderland chapter 49 english

2011-02-27T05:14:00.004-08:00

Summary

Ganta Igarashi has been convicted of a crime that he hasn't committed, and sent to a new, privately owned and operated prison, where the inmates are the main attraction in a modern day twist to the gladiatorial coliseums of ancient times. Throw in a healthy dose of weird little girl, some new-found super powers, and a little conspiracy theory, and you have Deadman Wonderland.
Artist(s) Kondou Kazuma
Genre(s) Action, Horror, Mature, Sci-fi, Shounen, Supernatural, Tragedy

http://www.mangafox.com/manga/deadman_wonderland/

Fortunately, the translated text isn't quite as difficult to decode, as most of it relies on middle- or high-school dialogue anyway. There are times when sentence structure gets awkward—usually when referring to someone or something indirectly—but most times, the characters speak in straightforward terms about their emotions. For stories like these, it's a never-ending tightrope walk between sweet and saccharine. Surprisingly, a brief cultural glossary explains some of the Japanese terms brought up in the book (not very common for Viz publications), but sound effects still get the full-deletion treatment and have English equivalents in their place.

Any fan of shôjo manga should probably be familiar with Arina Tanemura, but as for familiarity with Short-Tempered Melancholic itself, that's not exactly essential knowledge. This is obviously not her greatest achievement—debut chapters and early one-shots rarely are—and it's really just a serving of light, easily digestible romance. But sometimes, light and easily digestible is exactly what a balanced manga diet calls for: in between the depressing serious artsy stuff and hyperkinetic megahit action-adventure lies a niche for innocent schoolyard love, complete with sparkly eyes and trembling confessions. It's worth a casual read for those who have the time and inclination—just don't expect too much.

Deadman Wonderland chapter 48 english

2011-02-27T05:14:00.003-08:00

Deadman Wonderland chapter 47 english

2011-02-27T05:14:00.002-08:00

Summary

Ganta Igarashi has been convicted of a crime that he hasn't committed, and sent to a new, privately owned and operated prison, where the inmates are the main attraction in a modern day twist to the gladiatorial coliseums of ancient times. Throw in a healthy dose of weird little girl, some new-found super powers, and a little conspiracy theory, and you have Deadman Wonderland.
Artist(s) Kondou Kazuma
Genre(s) Action, Horror, Mature, Sci-fi, Shounen, Supernatural, Tragedy

http://www.mangafox.com/manga/deadman_wonderland/

ADV originally dubbed and released on VHS this two-episode turkey of a 1996 OVA series in early 2000, and for inexplicable reasons Media Blasters has opted to pick it up and give it a recent all-holds-barred DVD treatment under their AnimeWorks label. Absolutely nothing new is presented here; it's got the same dub as before and no extras beyond dated company trailers. Someone at MB must have taken a liking to it, however, because that's the only way to explain how such a mundane OVA series merited a DVD release.

The plot, story content, and cast composition are as generic as they come. Hibia (Eric in the dub) is the stereotypical “thug with a heart of gold,” a point which the series goes out of its way to emphasize. He sees girls more as a nuisance than something to go ape over, which is necessary to justify why he isn't falling all over such a sexy babe as Nima (Bala in the dub) when she is so clearly willing. Nima is the stereotypical hyper, ditzy magic-using princess-type from another land/planet who is, of course, utterly enamored with the guy she's chosen, and Fujimatsu (Lisa in the dub) is the stereotypical uptight class rep who's secretly interested in the thuggish type. She's also the typical Character Who Illogically Carries Around A Weapon In School And Gets Away With Threatening People With It, although in this case it's a bow instead of a katana. There's also the expected incompetent friends for Hibia and the Characters Who Have Been Wronged In The Past for Nima. The only somewhat original characters are Hibia's father, who's always trying to snap pictures of his son in compromising positions with Nima, and a certain surprise guest appearance late in the second episode.

Deadman Wonderland chapter 46 english

2011-02-27T05:14:00.001-08:00

Deadman Wonderland chapter 45 english

2011-02-27T05:14:00.000-08:00

Summary

Ganta Igarashi has been convicted of a crime that he hasn't committed, and sent to a new, privately owned and operated prison, where the inmates are the main attraction in a modern day twist to the gladiatorial coliseums of ancient times. Throw in a healthy dose of weird little girl, some new-found super powers, and a little conspiracy theory, and you have Deadman Wonderland.
Artist(s) Kondou Kazuma
Genre(s) Action, Horror, Mature, Sci-fi, Shounen, Supernatural, Tragedy

Deadman Wonderland 45

The vocal performances in the English dub are surprisingly good despite a cast composed entirely of second and third-stringers and bit players that only an extremely knowledgeable dub fan might recognize. Lauren Worsham, whose other anime dubbing credits are very limited, is right on the mark as Nima/Bala, but none of the other VAs are bad fits and they turn in at least competent performances. Where the dub could be said to go badly wrong is in its total rewrite of the original script. All of the characters are renamed with more conventional Western-sounding names and what's being said in the dub often bears little resemblance to the subtitles. We're not talking about Cardcaptors or Battle of the Planets-level changes here, and the rewrites are done with enough skill and wit that the series is arguably a little funnier in English, but many scenes play out a bit differently depending on your language setting. I am only penalizing the dub rating for the name changes, but the rating would certainly be much lower for those of a more purist bent.

Despite my criticisms, Tattoon Master isn't outright bad, it's just not good. It isn't a closed story, so it leaves one with the impression that it was intended to be a test-run for a longer series. The lack of quality and originality it shows is a good indicator of why it never amounted to more.

Deadman Wonderland chapter 44 english

2011-02-27T05:13:00.001-08:00

Summary

Ganta Igarashi has been convicted of a crime that he hasn't committed, and sent to a new, privately owned and operated prison, where the inmates are the main attraction in a modern day twist to the gladiatorial coliseums of ancient times. Throw in a healthy dose of weird little girl, some new-found super powers, and a little conspiracy theory, and you have Deadman Wonderland.
Artist(s) Kondou Kazuma
Genre(s) Action, Horror, Mature, Sci-fi, Shounen, Supernatural, Tragedy

http://www.mangafox.com/manga/deadman_wonderland/

With SaiKano coming from Viz later this month, many have wondered how Viz would treat the show. One of the more anticipated new anime to come to North America in 2004, Viz must have known that they would have to treat the SaiKano dub with the utmost care. It comes then as a bit of a surprise that Viz would choose to go with a group of relatively inexperienced voice actors to provide the dub. Voice One is in fact, a school for voice acting with an in-house recording studio that casts the school's students in professional projects. It's therefore unsurprising that the SaiKano dub could have been better, but to be fair, it could have been far, far worse. In fact, given the circumstances, the SaiKano dub is better than expected.

With Mark Atherlay as Shuji and Melissa Hutchinson as Chise, the lead voices are extremely well cast, as their voices match the characters to a T. Unfortunately, Mr. Atherlay's delivery of his lines is rather wooden, particularly in the slow, reflective dialogue that makes up most of the first epsisode. Later in the episode, when the action picks up, Atherlay gets a different opportunity to show his ability, and the stiffness in his voice disappears. Regrettably, he still seems to have a problem getting the right emotion across at the right time. Chise's Melissa Hutchinson is the only other voice with more than a cursory line or two in the first episode, and while she doesn't feature nearly as predominantly in this episode as Shuji, she does get the chance to show off more of her acting ability with a broader range of emotions, all without any of the woodenness that plagues Shuji's actor.

Deadman Wonderland chapter 43 english

2011-02-27T05:13:00.000-08:00

Summary

Ganta Igarashi has been convicted of a crime that he hasn't committed, and sent to a new, privately owned and operated prison, where the inmates are the main attraction in a modern day twist to the gladiatorial coliseums of ancient times. Throw in a healthy dose of weird little girl, some new-found super powers, and a little conspiracy theory, and you have Deadman Wonderland.
Artist(s) Kondou Kazuma
Genre(s) Action, Horror, Mature, Sci-fi, Shounen, Supernatural, Tragedy

http://www.mangafox.com/manga/deadman_wonderland/

Visually, SaiKano is a bit of a treat. While none of the characters are particularly original in their designs, they are all distinctive from one another. It's nice to see an anime set in contemporary Japan that manages to create unique characters without resorting to giving them blond, purple and blue hair. The animation is crisp and the colors rich. Each character is drawn with a bit of color to them, be it a bright blue blazer, or a red hair piece. Combined with backgrounds and props of all sorts of rich, yet appropriate colors, it makes for a show that is a delight for the eyes.

What stands out the most about SaiKano is the plot. Regardless of any failings in the English or Japanese voice acting, by the end of episode one, the viewer will be entranced by the story. The first three quarters of the first episode are a slow-moving introduction to the characters and their relationships, but all this is turned upside down during the last 4 minutes when SaiKano shifts into high gear. The characters that we've been introduced to, and have come to know in their native environment, are thrust into the most unnatural of situations. Chise is transformed from a quiet and weak high school girl into a weapon of mass-destruction that protects Japan from invading forces. This could have easily devolved into a typical sci-fi-shounen-action series, but instead it remains focused on the characters' relations with one another and does not shy away from showing the pain and brutality of war.

read Suki-tte Ii na yo Chapter 21 Free

2011-02-16T00:26:00.004-08:00

Read Say I love You Manga Online

From Karma Falls Scanslations: Mei Tachibana has spent her 16 years without making either boyfriend or friends. One day, she injures a popular boy in school, Yamato Kurosawa, because of a misunderstanding but for some reason it seems that he takes a liking to her and one-sidedly claims that they’re friends. Furthermore, he not only protects Mei from a stalker, he does it with a kiss…?!!

Genre(s) Comedy, Romance, School Life, Shoujo, Slice Of Life, Smut

Name:
Say I love You
Alternate Name: Suki tte Ii Na Yo, Say I Love You, Suki-tte Ii na yo

http://www.mangareader.net/1145/say-i-love-you.html

Serious, single-minded Shota has so little personality himself that adding in two much more colorful recurring characters becomes an absolute necessity to maintain a reasonable comic tempo. Hot-blooded, imaginative Momoko walks around with a pigeon on her heard, regards pigeons as her parents, and fantasizes about making Shota her husband, although Shota seems oblivious to her affection. Kanji is your typical con man, one who can show an honest side but more often just acts like a fast-talking swindler. Towards the end of the volume female karate expert Asuka, who also appears destined to become a recurring character, enters the picture but has little time to establish much of a personality beyond a fiery devotion to revenge. With her introduction the story seems to take a serious turn, though given the construction of the first three chapters that trends seems unlikely to last.

Yagami's artistry uses background art sparingly, instead focusing more on the characters and what they are doing. His character designs do not conform to normal anime stereotypes but do not stray far from them, either, with the pencil-thin Momoko, with her sleeveless Chinese-style top and lanky build, garnering the most distinctive look. Shota, by comparison, can look satisfyingly manly but is most consistently noteworthy for having a more specifically Asian design than the norm for anime titles, while Kanji is most noteworthy for a somewhat caricatured appearance featuring incredibly big lips. The artistry, on the whole, is not among the sharper or more refined examples of manga art out there, but it gets by for what it needs to do: depict the jokes in a funny fashion and convincingly portray what passes for action scenes.

read Suki-tte Ii na yo Chapter 20 Free

2011-02-16T00:26:00.003-08:00

read Suki-tte Ii na yo Chapter 19 Free

2011-02-16T00:26:00.002-08:00

Read Say I love You Manga Online

From Karma Falls Scanslations: Mei Tachibana has spent her 16 years without making either boyfriend or friends. One day, she injures a popular boy in school, Yamato Kurosawa, because of a misunderstanding but for some reason it seems that he takes a liking to her and one-sidedly claims that they’re friends. Furthermore, he not only protects Mei from a stalker, he does it with a kiss…?!!

Genre(s) Comedy, Romance, School Life, Shoujo, Slice Of Life, Smut

Name:
Say I love You
Alternate Name: Suki tte Ii Na Yo, Say I Love You, Suki-tte Ii na yo

http://www.mangareader.net/1145/say-i-love-you.html

'Based on a Playstation game'...uh-oh. That's usually a signal of pain to come, but thankfully with Arc the Lad it isn't *too* bad.

This show underwhelms right from the beginning, with the very simplistic and boring menus on the DVD, and no extras aside from a few trailers. It continues in this vein with the truly lame opening song and its synthesized trumpets. I can't express how lame the opening song is... It sounds like it came straight off a video game from 10 years ago. As for the music during the show, it's average fantasy orchestral stuff and doesn't really make much of an impression. The ending song is a slight improvement, but the efforts to sing in English are only half-intelligible at best. The dub, on the other hand, is surprisingly decent. There's only a trace of the stilted delivery that plagues so many anime dubs, and many characters are quite well done.

The art is nice and clean, although there's a prevalence for dark, muted colours that makes it sometimes difficult to distinguish scenes and elements and doesn't really engage the eye. The animation is about average, delving occasionally into cheap still-shots and pans. The character designs are fairly nice, but again tend towards dark and muted colours (with the marked exception of Lieza and her pastel yellow dress). The monsters can be rather grotesque, and add to the 'dark' atmosphere.

read Suki-tte Ii na yo Chapter 18 Free

2011-02-16T00:26:00.001-08:00

read Suki-tte Ii na yo Chapter 17 Free

2011-02-16T00:26:00.000-08:00

read Suki-tte Ii na yo Chapter 16 Free

2011-02-16T00:25:00.002-08:00

read Suki-tte Ii na yo Chapter 15 Free

2011-02-16T00:25:00.001-08:00

Read Say I love You Manga Online

From Karma Falls Scanslations: Mei Tachibana has spent her 16 years without making either boyfriend or friends. One day, she injures a popular boy in school, Yamato Kurosawa, because of a misunderstanding but for some reason it seems that he takes a liking to her and one-sidedly claims that they’re friends. Furthermore, he not only protects Mei from a stalker, he does it with a kiss…?!!

Genre(s) Comedy, Romance, School Life, Shoujo, Slice Of Life, Smut

Name:
Say I love You
Alternate Name: Suki tte Ii Na Yo, Say I Love You, Suki-tte Ii na yo

http://www.mangareader.net/1145/say-i-love-you.html

What began as a fairly run-of-the-mill shounen romance series has become, in typical CLAMP fashion, a genre-bending, thought-provoking story that unfortunately has already turned away high-minded anime fans thanks to a bunch of early episodes that focused more on panties than on substance. The end of Chobits winds up being something that would appeal to a huge range of anime fans; anyone who appreciates touching romance and understated drama punctuated by beautiful animation and high production values will love this. It's too bad a metric ton of panties sent discriminating anime fans away screaming about 15 episodes ago.

Fans who have stuck it out through all 24 episodes of the series will be richly rewarded here. While the ending isn't totally ‘complete’ (there are still a few unanswered questions at the end of the series), what we see is the apex of the relationship between Chi and Hideki, which in itself is a metaphor for man's relationship to technology. Once the series hit its stride around episode 15, the show started getting somewhat philosophical and began exploring the nature of a man who loved a synthetic being more than a real one. Hideki winds up choosing Chi, who he dearly loves, over another flesh-and-blood woman. It's an interesting question that hasn't been explored in any other anime series thus far, and Chobits does an admirable job of examining every angle.

read Suki-tte Ii na yo Chapter 14 Free

2011-02-16T00:25:00.000-08:00

Read Say I love You Manga Online

From Karma Falls Scanslations: Mei Tachibana has spent her 16 years without making either boyfriend or friends. One day, she injures a popular boy in school, Yamato Kurosawa, because of a misunderstanding but for some reason it seems that he takes a liking to her and one-sidedly claims that they’re friends. Furthermore, he not only protects Mei from a stalker, he does it with a kiss…?!!

Genre(s) Comedy, Romance, School Life, Shoujo, Slice Of Life, Smut

Name:
Say I love You
Alternate Name: Suki tte Ii Na Yo, Say I Love You, Suki-tte Ii na yo

http://www.mangareader.net/1145/say-i-love-you.html

Usually shows about dedicated robot maid characters wind up being disgustingly sexist manifestos that unwittingly espouse a message about subservient women being superior. Chobits started out this way, and could have become another casualty a'la Mahoromatic, but with these final episodes (and, indeed, the last 3 discs or so of the series), the show redeems itself and takes another route. Chi is still shown as being ‘superior’ not only to other persocoms but to human women as well, which is a dangerous thing to suggest. Fortunately, Chi spends most of the end of the series suffering with an identity crisis, and comes to the conclusion that there's only one person for her and that that person must love her completely and, subsequently, must treat her right in order to deserve her love in return. The show still presents the insulting ‘perfect woman’ archetype (why anyone would love someone who's as blank and personality-free as Chi is, I'll never know), they sidestep the really offensive things the character type suggests by making the story more about romance and mutual love than gender politics. It isn't perfect, but it's a big step forward for this genre, and that should be appreciated.

read Suki-tte Ii na yo Chapter 13 Free

2011-02-16T00:24:00.000-08:00

Read Say I love You Manga Online

From Karma Falls Scanslations: Mei Tachibana has spent her 16 years without making either boyfriend or friends. One day, she injures a popular boy in school, Yamato Kurosawa, because of a misunderstanding but for some reason it seems that he takes a liking to her and one-sidedly claims that they’re friends. Furthermore, he not only protects Mei from a stalker, he does it with a kiss…?!!

Genre(s) Comedy, Romance, School Life, Shoujo, Slice Of Life, Smut

Name:
Say I love You
Alternate Name: Suki tte Ii Na Yo, Say I Love You, Suki-tte Ii na yo

http://www.mangareader.net/1145/say-i-love-you.html

The animation is produced by MADHOUSE, a studio with a reputation for quality that has a tendency to drop the ball about halfway through any given series. A viewing of their wildly popular TV effort Trigun shows that their animation quality goes up and down inconsistently. Chobits, animated digitally, is a fluid and beautiful affair that only cuts corners at opportune and appropriate moments. There's nary an awkward moment in the animation. The music is also appropriate and catchy; the new ending theme is a welcome variation from the last one, which was a little dull and didn't adequately reflect the more melancholy and serious tone of the end of the series.

The dub is inconsistent, but it manages to stay on track, mostly thanks to a solid and affecting performance from Crispin Freeman as Hideki. Hideki is a rare shounen hero, a milquetoast who winds up asserting himself and becoming a respectable person by the time the series ends, and Freeman's textured performance gives the character's transformation credibility. Chi is, well, Chi, and there wasn't a lot the English cast could have done to spice up the character. Sumomo is suitably annoying; the Japanese voice was ridiculously cutesy and the English voice follows suit, albeit with less successful results. A lot of the background characters and female voices are disappointingly generic and don't add much in terms of quality to an already-struggling dub. The Japanese voices might be better, considering the level of performance, but then you'd miss out on Freeman's excellent voice work.

Kimi ni Todoke 61 Kimi ni Todoke Chapter 61

2011-02-08T03:21:00.006-08:00

* Adapted to Anime
* Award-Winning Work
* Friends Become Lovers
* Friendship
* Lifestyle Change
* Outsider
* Popular Boy
* Shy Girl
* Slow Romance
* Social Outcast

Genre
Comedy Drama Romance School Life Shoujo Slice of Life

http://z10.invisionfree.com/Loyal_Kiss/index.php?showtopic=652

The artistry sets the mood by heavily favoring a dark color scheme. Although some nice backgrounds and wall art can be found, the artistry as a whole is not particularly sharp or refined.The oni have very generic looks for their type, while one cannot look at Jiro in his Shuten Doji form without thinking of the Super Saiyan version of Goku. Some of the human character designs also look remarkably simple and goofy for this being such a serious series. As is typical of '80s OVAs, the fan service favors more realistic proportions and body forms than the “hard body” approach commonly seen in more recent fan service fests. Animation quality is respectable, as one would expect of an OVA release, but it does employ several standard fight scene short cuts.

Perhaps the series' strongest technical merit is its soundtrack, whose mix of haunting vocals, gentle piano-driven pieces, and ambitious fully-orchestrated scoring sounds like something that might come with of a Hollywood film. Sound effect usage is also particularly effective. The same, unfortunately, cannot be said of the English dub. All of the English VAs are ADV second-and-third-stringers, and the lack of experience and talent shows. Performances in the first two episodes range from awful (especially Jiro's father) to decent (some of the villains), but are often too wooden and/or oddly-accented to be effective; in one case a performance even substantially alters the attitude of a character. The dub quality improves significantly in the third episode as a different VA takes over the title role and episode-specific roles are just generally performed better, but it drops off again for the fourth episode. The first episode in particular also takes extreme liberties with the original script, in some places completely rewriting scenes and/or changing significant details. The dub script becomes more accurate as the series progresses but is never entirely free of major inconsistencies with the subtitles. The subtitles themselves also show their age, as they use some grammatical conventions not in common use anymore. (Heiankyo instead of Heian-Kyo or Shuten Doji as one word, for instance.) All-in-all, it's one of ADV's weaker dubbing efforts.

Kimi ni Todoke 60 Kimi ni Todoke Chapter 60

2011-02-08T03:21:00.005-08:00

* Adapted to Anime
* Award-Winning Work
* Friends Become Lovers
* Friendship
* Lifestyle Change
* Outsider
* Popular Boy
* Shy Girl
* Slow Romance
* Social Outcast

Genre
Comedy Drama Romance School Life Shoujo Slice of Life

http://z10.invisionfree.com/Loyal_Kiss/index.php?showtopic=652

Endlessly enthusiastic, playful and never dull, Eyeshield 21 turns what could have been yet another incredibly rote, by-the-numbers sports manga into one of the most entertaining and fun titles on the shelves today. It's easy to say that the most refreshing and interesting aspect of Eyeshield 21 is the fact that it's about American football, a sport that isn't really popular at all anywhere else in the world except on its native turf, but that would be doing it a disservice.

Sports manga doesn't exactly have a reputation for being highly original or engaging. Nine times out of ten the story follows some wimpy or otherwise less-than-impressive kid who discovers, thanks to some magical coach or freak accident where he catches a baseball or something, that he's a natural and then proceeds to lead the team to victory. Make no mistake, Eyeshield 21 falls into this trap just like every other sports manga on the planet, but it quickly does away with the notion – especially in this volume, when the story starts to really simmer – that somehow Sena's turn as the Deimon Devil Bats' newest star player is going to single-handedly save the team. No, what we have here instead is basically a manga-style take on The Bad News Bears; a bunch of misfits and weirdoes who like an unpopular sport succeed in spite of the fact that they're all misfits and weirdoes. This particular volume reinforces the notion that this isn't really just Sena's story, it's telling the story of an entire team.

Kimi ni Todoke 59 Kimi ni Todoke Chapter 59

2011-02-08T03:21:00.004-08:00

Kimi ni Todoke 58 Kimi ni Todoke Chapter 58

2011-02-08T03:21:00.003-08:00

* Adapted to Anime
* Award-Winning Work
* Friends Become Lovers
* Friendship
* Lifestyle Change
* Outsider
* Popular Boy
* Shy Girl
* Slow Romance
* Social Outcast

Genre
Comedy Drama Romance School Life Shoujo Slice of Life

Kimi Ni Todoke 58

Lip service needs to be paid to the art, which is really unique. Extremely sharp edges and wicked angles bring Eyeshield 21 to life in a way almost unique to the page rather than the screen; it's difficult to capture the kind of frantic motion every panel exudes in animation, which is one of the reasons the manga version of this story may be better than the upcoming anime series. It's also ridiculously detailed, and the trappings of the game are rendered with almost scientific care. Sure, the panels are really busy sometimes and the progression from one scene to the next can be occasionally confusing, but it's a small price to pay to enjoy such unique and textured art.

If you can't stand the game of football, though, Eyeshield 21 may not be for you. Although the game scenes are thrilling, those unfamiliar with the sport may be a little lost given all the complex jargon they throw around. The author is assuming that the reader is somewhat familiar with the terminology, which makes it rather surprising that this manga was a hit in Japan, given how unpopular the sport is there; nevertheless, people who simply find football to be inexcusably dull might not appreciate this title.

Kimi ni Todoke 57 Kimi ni Todoke Chapter 57

2011-02-08T03:21:00.002-08:00

Kimi ni Todoke 56 Kimi ni Todoke Chapter 56

2011-02-08T03:21:00.001-08:00

Kimi ni Todoke 55 Kimi ni Todoke Chapter 55

2011-02-08T03:21:00.000-08:00

* Adapted to Anime
* Award-Winning Work
* Friends Become Lovers
* Friendship
* Lifestyle Change
* Outsider
* Popular Boy
* Shy Girl
* Slow Romance
* Social Outcast

Genre
Comedy Drama Romance School Life Shoujo Slice of Life

http://z10.invisionfree.com/Loyal_Kiss/index.php?showtopic=652

Due to various North American publishers' fluctuating relationship with Kodansha, Del Rey has been publishing popular mangaka first debuted by Tokyopop for several years now. Koge-Donbo's Kamichama Karin, however, is the first (and, hopefully, last) property to be split down the middle between the two companies. The original, seven-volume Kamichama Karin manga has been published in English by Tokyopop, while the sequel series Kamichama Karin -chu-, where Chu is a pun on the number two and the sound of a kiss, has recently begun release from Del Rey. In Japan, both were originally serialized in the shoujo manga magazine Nakayoshi, with a ten month interval separating one from the other.

Although you can, theoretically, read Kamichama Karin -chu- without having read its prequel, this would not be, generally speaking, advisable. The manga seems to assume that you already know who all of these characters are and why they matter…and if you don't, well, understanding why they are who they are and do what they do just is not Koge-Donbo's number one creative priority. For example, if you are wondering exactly how Kazune and Karin came to find out that they were actually husband and wife in another life (or something) and how HIMEKA (who the heck is she?) was their daughter, you are going to keep on wondering. Also, at one point late in the book, a quirky personage wearing eyeglasses and a cape hops down from a tree and accuses Karin of taking away his reason for living. He was a once-divine antagonist of some sort from the previous storyline, this much is clear, but you learn nothing else about him. Karin does not even address him by his real name! This bit of plot about “Glasses Man” just dangles alone in the atmosphere, completely unattached to other events in the new series. There is really no recap of the plot thus far anywhere in the first volume, and allusions to what happened before are frustratingly coy and vague.

Kimi ni Todoke 54 Kimi ni Todoke Chapter 54

2011-02-08T03:20:00.000-08:00

* Adapted to Anime
* Award-Winning Work
* Friends Become Lovers
* Friendship
* Lifestyle Change
* Outsider
* Popular Boy
* Shy Girl
* Slow Romance
* Social Outcast

Genre
Comedy Drama Romance School Life Shoujo Slice of Life

http://z10.invisionfree.com/Loyal_Kiss/index.php?showtopic=652

On the other hand, fans of the franchise may be pleased to know that the new series gets right down to business without rehashing what has come before. Unfortunately, whether you care a whit about that business is another matter entirely. Never mind that the target audience here is elementary school girls. Even taking this inconvenient truth into account, the plot of Kamichama Karin -chu- remains, to put it bluntly, exceptionally derivative and dumb. Purposefully so. The whole conceit about a future child of the heroine's materializing the past to warn the cast of present day threats has been ripped whole cloth from Sailor Moon. Yet after the three “Noble Gods” have been found and the characters' brief spell as kindergartners is over, the threat of the “Seeds of Chaos” is inexplicably forgotten, dropping so quickly off the face of the page that you will be reeling. Instead, the final third of volume one focuses on a bout of insipid relationship angst between Karin and Kazune. She thinks he is going to England to study abroad and, made miserable by the thought of being apart from him, is determined to stop him. Turns out, however, that everyone was confused and it is his sister, making her first appearance in the new series, that is going. It's a badly composed, pointless story that is bound to leave you feeling as irritable and confused as Karin herself. And because it comes at the end, you are bound to be left with an especially bad impression likely to discourage further reading. This is not parody. It is sloppy plotting. Plain and simple. If anything is being mocked here, it sure as heck is not the magical girl genre—it's the readers hoping for an interesting, coherent storyline.

Watch Online Bleach Episode 304 English subbed Free Download video

2011-02-01T09:07:00.000-08:00

Bleach
DVD 2 Synopsis
Chad's flight from the parrot-pursuing Hollow comes to a head as the Hollow reveals both his own shocking identity, and the reasons behind his "game." Then, a purchase by Rukia from mysterious shopkeeper Urahara ends up getting Ichigo's body hijacked, and introduces viewers—at long last—to Kon, the mysteriously uncute mascot that features prominently in the opening. But, before the dust can settle, it's time for the Kurosakis' annual visit to their mother's grave while Rukia's transgressions bring a hunter from the Soul Society around to investigate.

Related anime:
Bleach Rock Musical (musical special)
Bleach the Movie: Memories of Nobody
Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion - Mō Hitotsu no Hyōrinmaru (movie) (sequel)
Bleach: Fade to Black - Kimi no Na o Yobu (movie 3) (sequel)
Bleach: Jigoku-hen (movie 4) (sequel)
Bleach: Memories in the Rain (OAV)
Bleach: The Sealed Sword Frenzy (OAV)

Bleach 304 http://www.mediafire.com/?dw1mn9t17aguaw3

watch Bleach Episode 304 part 1

watch Bleach Episode 304 part 2

Bleach
DVD 2
The conclusion to Chad's story peels away the terse stoicism that hides his almost foolishly compassionate core and Ichigo gets some backstory (can you say tragic past?). All of which is hidden under layers of blatant appeal to the adolescent in us all that wants bad guys to get trashed, good to prevail, the hero to become the strongest of all, and most of all, for everything to be overpoweringly cool. And indeed, from the dramatic poses and wild wardrobes of its primary cast, to the all-important fights, coolness reigns supreme. Bleach executes the classic fight formula (build up to the fight, make the audience want it, and then give it to 'em) with such effortless panache that the inevitable moment during which Ichigo drops in to kick monster ass, with sword a-flashing and steel guitar fanfare a-blazing, is simply—yep you guessed it—cool.

Danball Senki Episode 8 Eng

2011-01-27T05:08:00.006-08:00

Danball Senki Episode 7 Eng

2011-01-27T05:08:00.005-08:00

Danball Senki Episode 6 Eng

2011-01-27T05:08:00.004-08:00

The official website for the Danbōru Senki television anime series is streaming a 197-second promotional video. The anime adapts a "near-future, plastic-model-building role-playing game" which Level 5 (Dragon Quest VIII, Professor Layton, Inazuma Eleven) will ship in Japan on March 17. In the game set in 2050, the player controls tiny battle robots called LBX (Little Battler eXperience) as they battle it out in dioramas built from reinforced cardboard.

The anime will premiere on TV Tokyo on March 2.

Danball Senki Watch online

It would be convenient to blame the staid visuals on budgetary shortfalls, but that would overlook their true shortcomings. The problem isn't the unconvincing way that characters move on occasion, nor the every-anime character designs, but rather the stodgy artistic choices made by the director Tetsuya Watanabe (Zone of the Enders). The more detailed backgrounds are wasted on all-too-familiar settings juxtaposed in uninteresting ways with the character designs. A prosaic eye for compositions, uninventive editing, and an insistence on close-ups and stolid, centered shots, recalls nothing so much as made-for-TV movies of the week. The script and acting receive little support from the visuals and must fight to create empathy and emotion entirely of their own accord. Luckily they succeed most of the time, helped by the soundtrack and a few visual elements—especially Haruka's atrophied physique—that work well, but the lack of visual invention, purpose, and poetry lends Rumbling Hearts a blunting dullness that sets it apart from its artier, and superior, compatriots like SaiKano and Koi Kaze.

Danball Senki Episode 5 Eng

2011-01-27T05:08:00.003-08:00

The official website for the Danbōru Senki television anime series is streaming a 197-second promotional video. The anime adapts a "near-future, plastic-model-building role-playing game" which Level 5 (Dragon Quest VIII, Professor Layton, Inazuma Eleven) will ship in Japan on March 17. In the game set in 2050, the player controls tiny battle robots called LBX (Little Battler eXperience) as they battle it out in dioramas built from reinforced cardboard.

The anime will premiere on TV Tokyo on March 2.

Danball Senki Watch online

Visual prowess aside, the director does have solid grasp on the use—or more accurately, the lack thereof—of music in supporting drama. What little music there is tends towards quietly depressing piano solos, but the real advantage of the soundtrack is its long stretches of excruciating silence, during which the only sounds are voices of the characters as they converse. The scene in which Takayuki and Haruka talk by the beachside with only the lonesome calls of the gulls for accompaniment is a masterpiece of spare audio design. It takes great confidence in one's actors to let them emote without musical cues, and all else aside, it appears that Watanabe had enough sense to do just that.

Danball Senki Episode 4 Eng

2011-01-27T05:08:00.002-08:00

The official website for the Danbōru Senki television anime series is streaming a 197-second promotional video. The anime adapts a "near-future, plastic-model-building role-playing game" which Level 5 (Dragon Quest VIII, Professor Layton, Inazuma Eleven) will ship in Japan on March 17. In the game set in 2050, the player controls tiny battle robots called LBX (Little Battler eXperience) as they battle it out in dioramas built from reinforced cardboard.

The anime will premiere on TV Tokyo on March 2.

Danball Senki Watch online

Funimation's propensity for rewriting their shows usually isn't an issue as they are fairly careful not to make offensive or artistically unsound alterations, but there is cause for trepidation with Rumbling Hearts (starting with its unfortunate renaming). The delicate balance of emotion required and its absolute reliance on its actors makes Rumbling Hearts potentially unsuited for Funimation's usual brand of hands-on script alteration, and sure enough there are several examples of questionable choices.

Shinji's confrontation with Takayuki loses some of its emotional implications in the rougher, cruder rewrite, some lines from the Japanese are excluded altogether, and for those of us too stupid to figure out who symbolizes who in the children's-book metaphor, the sex of one character is changed so as to simplify things. On the other hand, the emotional core of the series is beautifully preserved, and the performances (particularly those of the female cast) are excellent, packing just as much of a wallop as their Japanese counterparts. It isn't a perfect adaptation, but just be glad that the bull only squashed a couple of plates while passing through the china shop.