Shinobi Life

Today the final chapter of Shinobi Life was posted, so I figured now would be a good time to do a review of the series!

Title:  Shinobi Life

Mangaka:  Shoko Conami

Length:  13 Volumes (Complete)

Available in English?  Yes, but only up to Volume 7.

Demographic:  Shoujo

Genre:  Romance/Fantasy/Drama/Action

How did I hear about it?  It came highly recommended by my friend.

Kagetora is a ninja from the Edo period and the loyal guardian of Beni-hime.  After they are separated by an explosion during an attack, he falls into a lake and into the future, just in time to accidentally foil the plans of 17-year-old Beni Fujiwara's would-be kidnappers in modern-day Japan.  Kagetora mistakes Beni for his princess and seems to think that the present world he is seeing is some sort of illusion brought about by the enemy.  Thus begins the story of Beni and her ninja boy.

Does that synapsis sound cheesy?  Good, 'cause it is.  Fortunately, the story expands far beyond its gimmicky premise. 

I'll start with the art.  I've often heard Conami-sensei's art described as "unimpressive."  I feel just the opposite though.  For whatever reasons, it really appeals to me.  Her art is simple, with less screentone and shading than has become common these days.  Her lines are angular and jagged, but somehow manage to retain their elegance.  My one complaint is that there isn't really a lot of background detail.  If you're gonna set some of your story in the Edo period, then dress it up!  Show us what your Edo looks like!  But alas, all we got was a bunch of trees.  She depicts actions very well though.  This manga had quite a bit of fighting in it, and it certainly didn't feel stagnant, as some manga action scenes tend to do. 

Okay, so there's screentone here, but look at the empty background!

Shinobi Life begins as your average shoujo romantic comedy with its trusty gimmick.  Our modern-day girl has her sexy ninja boyfriend, and we get to laugh as we watch Kagetora stumble through modern society.  Nyuk nyuk nyuk!  If that's all this manga was, I wouldn't have even bothered with it.  Don't worry, it gets better.  A lot better. 

More names are added to the cast, and it is discovered how one slips back and forth between the present and Kagetora's era.  With this, complicated character relationships are created, and twisty-turny, time-travelling manga is formed.  Any story that involves time travel is bound to be a tricky subject.  Conami tackles it with poise and a great deal of thought.  Is it perfect?  No.  But you can tell she put a hell of a lot of thought into this.  She creates several sub-plots, yet they all flow together like tributaries into a river.  Let me give you a glance at what all we have going on here.

1.  The romance between Beni and Kagetora.  After he learns that she is not his Beni-hime, he has to begin the process of getting to know her as a completely different person.  Meanwhile, Beni must battle through her constant self-doubt.  Does he love her?   Or is he just projecting his forbidden love for Beni-hime?  As they feel each other out, they must also endure the father's strong disapproval of their relationship.

2.  Rihito's relationship with this parents.  Rihito is Beni's fiance, arranged via her father.  While his connection to Beni is important throughout the manga, where his character really shines is in the development of his past.  We see the situation he has endured since childhood, and I was drawn in, eager to see how he would resolve his homelife. 

3.  Hitaki's rivalry with Kagetora.  Hitaki is also a ninja from the Kagetora's clan.  We first meet him in the past, and at first he seems only to want to kill Kagetora for being a rogue ninja.  However, as we flit between past and present and see both the 14-year-old Hitaki and the present one, we learn that there is a much deeper reason for his loathing of Kagetora. 

4.  The spy in the ninja clan.  As Beni lives with Kagetora's clan in the past (dammit, I can't think of the clan name.  Inui?  Something like that...), she learns that there has been a series of strange murders that could only have been committed from the inside.  As this plot unfolds, it holds deep ramifications for one of our main characters.

5.  The death of Beni's mother.  Beni has always been told that her mother's death years ago was an accident, but as we travel to different time areas, the people closest to Beni discover the truth of the circumstances surrounding her death.

All of that sounds like various sub-plots that may have little to do with each other.  I feel that many mangaka out there might have formed their manga into an arc-based shape, tackling one topic at a time.  The wonderful thing about Shinobi Life is that ALL of those plots tie together.  A new development in any of those plots affects all of the others.  The way they're woven together shows how much thought and effort Conami put into this manga in order to help it go above and beyond your average shoujo.  In fact, Kagetora and Beni end up separated from each other for a sizable chunk of the series.  Usually when this happens in a romance manga, the plot dries up, and the reader gets bored.  Not the case here.  There's always something going on.  I never felt bored at all.

I will say that the final chapter was somewhat disappointing though.  After everything the manga takes you through, the last chapter feels like an ending to a different kind of manga.  It's the ending to the quirky romantic comedy that this manga would have been if not for all of its, you know...substance.  I would have preferred something a little more meaningful.

That's one beautiful blood spray.

If you're looking for a shoujo series to tickle your fluttering heart, then look no further.  This manga has a high romance factor with plenty of steamy scenes.  However, if you're looking for something that offers much more than steamy romance, then you've found it here, too.  This manga has high drama and a surprisingly high action level, too.  I can't recommend this series enough. 

5 stars!  (I'm on a different computer, so I'll have to go fish out my stars' images again.  Too lazy to do it right now though)

Naruto Ch. 611 vs. Bleach Ch. 518 SPOILY SPOILERS!!

And now for the latest installment of my incredibly inconsistent Naruto vs. Bleach...chatty...bloggy...thing.  Whatever, who needs a title for it anyway, on to the show!

Naturally, there are SPOILERS.  If you don't want things SPOILED, then piss off! 

Naruto Ch. 611

Actually, this week's chapter wasn't too terribly exciting.  More fighting, blah blah blah.  Oh, but there was this though:

It looks like this chapter is leading somewhere.  Pretty much the whole Shinobi Alliance has arrived to kick Obito's ass.  Now Kishimoto-sensei, my dear, please take note of this.  If you're bringing all these mammajammas into the action, you need to deliver some major awesomeness.  I'm expecting battle of epic proportions.  Don't disappoint me, now!  I don't think there's much else to say about this one.  This chapter felt more like a lead-in for what's to come.  Oh, and btw, I was thinking just the other day that we haven't seen hide nor hair of Orochimaru since his revival.  I was kinda excited about that one.  I wonder when we'll get back to that.  This battle had better be so effin' awesome that I forget all about whatever's going on with our snakey friend.

Bleach Ch. 518

Ok, it hs seriously been months since I was excited about a new Bleach chapter.  This whole business with the Quincies has just made no sense.  The Quincies have been hiding out for two hundred years, biding their time and building their forces, and now they're back, and oopsie poopsie, whaddaya know, they just happen to be so strong that they can plow through vice-captain and captain level shinigami, and even kill off Yama-jii?  INCONCEIVABLE!  (Note, that word must be said with a Vizzini voice).  It's just weak story-telling.  I know that shounen manga requires one to have to suspend belief a little bit, but Kubo has done a fair job of keeping things pretty damn solid thus far.  Why drop the ball now? 

Hopefully, with the recent revelations, we're starting to see where this may be going.  We've got Quincy-Leader-Guy (CBF to remember his name...) paying a visit to Aizen, and let's face it, we knew he'd be back because 1) he's not friggin' dead, and 2)  Kubo wanted to end the series with Aizen's defeat and have him die.  The fact that he kept him alive after being pressured to keep the series going means that he still needs Aizen for whatever it is he's planning in this arc.  So I was expecting that to happen sometime, and that sometime is now.  Aizen has been a fun villain.  So far, the Quincies suck.  They've haven't been developed at all.  Perhaps something a little more interesting is about to go down. 

Then there's the reveal that Ichigo's mum was a Quincy.  That fact in itself isn't all that exciting, but it holds the promise that all this shit is gonna find its way back to Isshin Kurosaki and everything that went down when he lost his powers and left the Soul Society.  THAT'S what I wanna know about!  We already know that Isshin knows um...Ryuugen?  Was that his name?  You know, Uryuu's pops.  They know each other, so we know that Isshin knew at least one Quincy back in the day.  Simply put, I'm eager to see where all this is gonna go.

Now that I've said all that, lemme dig into this chapter.  First, there's this:

THERE!  In the second panel!  PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, tell me that's who I think it is?  Maybe it's just wishful thinking.  I've been waiting for ages for Grimmjow to come back.  It's gotta be him, right?  Grimmjow would totally call Ichigo a bastard, right?  And Ichigo's worried that he could be causing trouble for the good guys, so that means whoever it is must be a bad guy, right?  Well....Grimmjow was a bad guy...  And he's not dead.  And he's in my top five Bleach characters.  PLEASE BE HIM!!  Just the possibility that it could actually be Grimmjow made me break out my fangirl hands over this page.  Scary shit, man.

But that's not all!  Theeeeeen, there's THIS:

TSUKISHIMA!!  GINJOU!!!!  And Giriko, but whatever on him.  I have to say that somehow, I totally missed the return of those characters.  Um, hello Kim!  They were human they died.  In the Bleachiverse, where do humans go when they die?  The motherfucking Soul Society.  Where the hell else would they be?  Why the hell didn't I think they could come back?  I was disappointed when they died in the first place.  I wondered how we'd ever get the story of what happened to Ginjou. I mean, I knew the story would be told, but I had rather hoped that Ginjou would have been the one to tell it.  I'm so glad that they're back.  I'm sure you can gather that I rather liked them.  Not as excited about the return of Shukaku and Ganju.  I mean, they're alright.  It was fun and retro there for a minute.  Plus, since it's been friggin' years since Kubo-sensei has drawn them, it's interesting to see them rendered in his new, more-polished art style. 

Anyway, I came away from this chapter feeling a little giddy.  I'm looking forward to where we're going from here! :D

Massive Manga Update

Holy heart attacks, Batman!  Have I got some catching up to do!  The reason the reviews have stopped over the past few months have been largely due to computer woes.  It's still not resolved, but I believe that I can work around it.  There have been some great series that I really want to talk about it.  I've been absorbing so much manga that it is has been insane.  Where was I when I last posted?  I don't remember, and right now, I'm too lazy to go back and check.  I think I'll just stay on this screen and wing it.

First off, there was Boys Over Flowers, which has become one of my favorite shoujo ever.  Have I talked about this already?  If so, get ready to hear it again.  I loved the transformation of the characters in that series.  Sure, there are tons of manga out there about girls who meet assholes and end up falling for them, "changing" them in the process into Prince Charmings.  Bah, gimme a friggin' BREAK!  Boys Over Flowers (or Hana Yori Dango, for the Japanese title) takes its time transforming Tsukasa Domyouji from an arrogant, self-centered, violent jerk into...well, a man.  And not in the sense that Tsukushi (the heroine) set out to change him, because she doesn't try to do that at all.  Did you see the film As Good As It Gets, starring Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt?  In that film, Jack tells Helen, "You make me want to be a better man."  That, my friends, is how Tsukasa changes.  Tsukushi doesn't do a thing to him.  Because she's actually smart (a shoujo heroine?  Smart?  Ridiculous!!), she would never have ended up with Tsukasa if he had remained as he was.  No, his change was all because he wanted to do it.  He wanted to become someone that could stand by her through thick and thin.  In another refreshingly surprising twist, Kamio-sensei manages to execute this transformation without having him deviate from his original personality.  He doesn't become some sap.  He's still a smart-ass who enjoys a good bicker with Tsukushi, even in the end.  But Tsukasa the Man would never take it so far as to say something cruel to her or hurt her.  Le sigh... I've already started collecting this series.  I have 14 volumes so far!  Too many more to go...




Oh, Tsukasa... <3

 I've also started experimenting with various other manga.  I got my first taste of the great Osamu Tezuka-sama with Message to Adolf.  This five-volume series is being re-translated and released in two hardcover volumes by Vertical.  I have the first, and the second is due out in December.  I loved the first book.  Message to Adolf takes place in the years leading up to WWII (and I believe war breaks out in the second book).  It begins with a Japanese journalist at the Berlin Olympics in 1936.  His brother, who is attending a German university, is murdered, and his existence is erased entirely.  Now, the journalist (damn, why can't I remember his name right now?), sets out to find out what his brother was involved in and what lead to his murder.  Move forward to Japan a few years later.  The journalist is still trying to track down his brothers killers, and two new characters are introduced.  A young half-German, half-Japanese child named Adolf, whose father is a high-ranking Nazi, and Adolf's best friend, a German Jew whose family has been living in Japan to escape persecution, also named Adolf.  The lives of the two families and the journalist become intertwined as a secret is discovered that could tear apart the entire Nazi regime.  It's an incredible story.  I can't wait for the next book.  I did a pretty shitty job of summarizing it, so go check it out and read about it for yourself!

Surely, I could have looked up his damn name, when I looked up the pic...

I also picked up Red-Colored Elegy, an underground manga from 1972.  I read Jason Thompson's review of it in his House of 1000 Manga column over at Anime News Network, and I thought that I would give it a try.  It's so... something.  I like it, I really do.  It's something that I feel that I need to read a few times through to really appreciate everything.  It's very minimalist, in everything.  The art, the dialogue, the layouts.  It's about a couple barely eking out their lives and the trials they face together.  It sounds boring, but what makes it so interesting is its presentation.  I feel like if it were a film, it would directed by someone like Darren Arronofsky.  Not that RCE has his eerieness at all, but I think I feel like it would match his style of editing and scene-cutting. 

RCE, proving that less is more.

I've also taken my first taste of Fuyumi Soryo's ES (Eternal Sabbath).  It's a sci-fi seinen manga that explores the depths of the human psyche.  I've only picked up the first volume so far, but I'm super excited to dive into this one.  First off, I would like to say that I love Soryo's art.  I loved it in Mars, but here, she does away with the googly eyes, this being seinen and not shoujo.  I don't think I've ever fangirled over someone's art like this before.  There were some panels that I couldn't tear my eyes away from.  I just wanted to drink in every detail.  She's so good.  I can't wait for the next volume to make it here.

I love everything about her art.

Finally, I've also picked up Hot Gimmick.  Several months ago, I had this one on my reading list, but a friend of mine shot it down.  She advised me that I probably wouldn't want to read about a pathetic heroine who is bounces from one horrible relationship to the next.  I agreed.  I don't like that crap.  So I exed this one out.  Then I stumbled in to a Jason Thompson review, and he offered another perspective.  I began to get curious about HG again.  A quick look on Amazon told me that I could get the 12-volume series in 4 VizBig editions for a reasonable price, so I decided to take a chance and buy it without reading it.  I'm halfway through the series, and I love it.  Why?  Before I go into why I love HG, I think I need to visit a little series called Black Bird first.  I didn't like BB.  BB starred a weak, pathetic heroine who is portrayed as being strong.  Her love interest is a controlling and possessive man who is painted as some sort of fantasy ideal.  I really don't like that stuff.  I know people who like it, and to each his own, but it's just not for me.  I found it painful to read about those characters and see their story told as if their relationship is the kind girls should be fantasizing about.  Which brings me back to Hot Gimmick.  Hatsumi is weak and pathetic, but she's never meant to be anything else.  She can never say what she wants to in a confrontation and is incapable of standing up for herself.  She allows herself to be manipulated and loathes herself for it.  Ryoki is possessive and controlling of Hatsumi, and she hates him for it.  But she's also drawn to him because of those rare instances when he slips up and shows that he actually cares for her, even though she knows that he's no good for her.  This is a far more realistic depiction of relationships than what you usually see in shoujo.  Their relationship is fucked up and unhealthy, and that's exactly what it's supposed to look like.  It has been a really fun read so far.

Anyway, so that's a "quick" update.  Currently, I'm reading Ranma 1/2, and I've been reading this damn series for about two months.  It's good, sure.  It's been laugh-out-loud funny many, many times, but really, 38 volumes is too long for this one.  The formula gets old pretty fast.  This would have been a much better series if it were maybe 20 volumes.  I'm pushing myself forward though, slowly but surely.  I won't bail before I've finished it. 

A Devil and Her Love Song

This review is a little more SPOILERIFIC than most of them I write.  Be warned.

Title:  A Devil and Her Love Song
Japanese Title:  Akuma to Love Song
Mangaka:  Miyoshi Toumori
Length:  13 (Complete)
English Translation?  Yes.  4 volumes so far by Viz Media.
Demo/Genre:  Shoujo/Slice-of-Life/Romance

How did I hear about it?  I noticed it on Viz's new releases and thought I would give it a try.

After being expelled from an elite school and transferring to a new school, Maria Kawai's blunt nature immediately makes enemies of her new classmates.  However, her beautiful singing voice and love for the hymn "Amazing Grace" catch the eyes of friends Yusuke Kanda and Shin Meguro.  But is their friendship enough to convince her classmates that she isn't the devil they assume her to be?

Whenever Viz Media licenses a new series, I test it out.  This series already had a handicap since it's a high school romance.  Given its predictable nature, it's not exactly my favorite genre.  Nevertheless, I looked it up online and read the first chapter.  It seemed interesting enough, so I began to collect the volumes as they were released here in NA.  Volume 4 was just released here on August 7th, and after reading it, I decided that I was really quite fond of the series, so I headed online to read the rest of it.  What I could at least.  Though the series is actually complete, the scanlations are a bit behind.  I'm all caught up now, and I'm ready to review the series.

I suppose I'll start with Maria.  So many shoujo titles out there (especially high school romances) are plagued with weak heroines.  I've read (and enjoyed, more or less) High School Debut and Imadoki, and both of those suffered from a bland, cookie-cutter heroine.  Kaichou wa Maid-sama, on the other hand, is one of my most adored series, despite its setting.  I chalk that up to the fact that it has such a unique and strong female lead.  That's exactly what swayed me here.  Maria is certainly no Misaki, but she stands head and shoulders above the majority of her brethren.  Her serious and frank nature is refreshing.  I love that she's not the least bit dumb, and she's quick to realize it when she falls in love with Shin (for the record, I absolutely hate heroines who bumble about wondering why the hell their heart speeds up when they're near a certain guy).  She says exactly what's on her mind, and as the series progresses, she learns to be a little gentler to respect others' feelings.  It's nice to see a heroine who learns as she goes along.  Also, I'd like to add that I loved her design.  Sometimes when she was wrapped up in her winter coat, I could almost believe that she was some glamorous actress who stepped out of 1950s or 60s Hollywood.  She had an "old" beauty to her, and I loved that.

Her love interests were also pretty well done.  Yusuke, at first, came across as a bright and bubbly idiot who was too nice for his own good, but then his serious side starts to shine though, and I took a liking to him.  Shin, however, stole my heart.  If you've read my other reviews, then you know I love a good tsundere character.  He's not the perfect embodiment like say, Ren Tsuruga (of Skip Beat) or something, but he's pretty solid.  Naturally, I was thrilled when Maria chose him.  And then the ball dropped...

Enter Anna, Maria's "friend" from her previous school.  Just when I was thinking that ADaHLS would dance around the usual high school romance tropes, Toumori-sensei drops a big one right into the middle of her series.  Anna is a crappy and petty villainess.  Nothing is more frustrating than seeing the couple you're rooting for being pulled apart by one selfishly jealous brat.  Maria accidentally presses "Send" and thus texts her confession to Shin's phone, which Anna happens to have at the time.  What does she do?  Replies in the negative, then hurls his phone in the river.  Yeah.  Really mature, asshole.  I mean, look at Misaki and Usui (Maid-Sama).  Nothing anybody did was gonna come between them.  What about Rei and Kira (Mars)?  Nothing doin'.  And Mars even had a great villain who was truly sick and twisted, and still, nothing was gonna stop them.  After that frustrating scene, I loved Maria all the more, since she decided that wasn't good enough, and she wanted to hear Shin's answer face to face.  Of course, things can't be that simple though.  Noooo, Maria has something really effed up that happened when she was small, and she repressed the memory.  Anna is all too happy to tell Shin about this and explain to him about how being held by someone could possibly make all those painful memories come back.  Won't she be better off alone and not remembering?  This is when I could really kick Shin right squah in the nuts.  Really?  You're gonna listen to that bs?  Yeah, you find out its true, but what does Yusuke say?  "I don't need to know the details.  If she remembers, then I'll stay smiling by her side."  What does Kurusu say?  "If she remembers, I'll be her shoulder to cry on."  And still Shin won't budge and give in to his feelings.  Look man, learn from your friends.  If she remembers, she remembers.  Just be there for her.

Aside from the frustrating romance, Anna was still shit.  She kept trying to blame Maria for how she (Anna) was acting.  "I hate myself because of you!"  "You corrupted me!"  Yeah, okay, so no one is responsible for you except for you, bitch.  Also, I really didn't feel that Maria was doing anything wrong.  Anna lost her voice, and while everyone else ostracized her because of that, Maria stayed by her side and tried to help her express herself.  What thanks did that get her?  "You put things more beautifully than I ever could, and it made me feel ugly."  Anna pissed me off, yo.

Ok, so I just went on a huge, spoiler-filled rant on this series.  I probably made it sound like I hated it.  Actually, I'm still quite fond of it.  I will continue to collect it as volumes are released, and I'll keep on reading when new chapters are scanlated.  I think this series made me so angry because I liked it.  Toumouri-sensei did a lot of things right, but she did a few things wrong, too.  This series tries to swim against the current, but sometimes it finds itself tugged along by some of the same, predictable plot developments that we've seen in so many other high school romances.

Oh, and one other thing, I loved the presence of music in the series.  I would love more scenes of Maria singing to Shin's accompaniment.

Naruto 598 & Bleach 504 *SPOILERS*

This post contains spoilers.  Lots and lots of spoilers.  You have been warned.  

Naruto Ch. 598

Ok, with a last page like this, if Kishimoto-sensei doesn't finish out this reveal in the next chapter, I'ma fly all the way to Japan to administer a good old-fashioned ass-whoopin'.  For a while now, my number one suspect for Tobi's true identity has been Izuna Uchiha (that's Madara's bro if you have lost track of the names), so all this hinting that he might actually be Obito... Hmm... a girl has to think on this.

Ok, so here's the criteria that I used when coming up with my guess for Izuna.  Oh, and I'm sure that people have been discussing this in forums all over the interwebs, but I cbf to look them up, so sorry if I'm just rehashing things that have been talked about a zillion times.

1.  Tobi must be someone who has had some sort of mention in the story.  I mean, that would be some pretty shitty writing if Tobi loses the mask, and he's all, "Oh hey!  I'm Bob.  Konnichiwa, bitches!"  So, it has to be someone we've heard of.  Otherwise, the reveal has no impact.

2.  Tobi is someone who is presumed dead.  I think the characters in the story would have noticed someone mysteriously disappearing every time Tobi shows up to wreak some havoc.  Also, again we have the impact factor.

3.  Tobi was alive when the real Madara was.  I based this one on the fact that he knew so much about Madara's life.  Maybe that one was a bit of a stretch, but I couldn't really discard it since it pointed to Izuna, which seemed likely enough.  I guess this one isn't an absolute must though.

So anyway, Kishimoto-sensei seems to be pointing the finger at Obito Uchiha now.  Of course, this could be misdirection.  I suppose we'll find out soon enough.  If Tobi is Obito, I think I kinda like that.  It could open some new doors.  It would be an interesting development for Kakashi.  Not to mention that I'm curious as to what could make Obito go all "down with existence."  Hopefully, this next chapter will answer a lot of questions.  Though I wonder...maybe he'll putz around with the next chapter and save the reveal for the big 600.  Ya think?


Bleach Ch. 504

Ah, so finally we see a little bit of Yamamoto's and Sasakibe's pasts.  Well, you know what?  Too effin' late, Kubo-sensei!  Sasakibe is dead, and I can't say that I gave two shits when he died.  This would have been so much more meaningful a couple hundred chapters ago.  Sasakibe was probably the most under-developed character in the whole series.  Hell, I don't even remember his name actually being said in the manga until he friggin' died.  Stupid... Anyway, I guess it was interesting to see this stuff, even if it was horribly late.

I'm so ready for Bleach to get on with it.  I mean, the arc with Ginjou and the Execution was promising.  I thought we were about to find out all about Isshin.  Now, all that has been left in the dust in exchange for... Quincies?  That miraculously survived the purge?  For centuries?  Undetected?  That are worlds above even Captain-level shinigami?  Kind of a stretch, don't you think?  Granted, Kubo-sensei didn't plan this stuff from the start.  I remember hearing somewhere that he wanted the series to end with Aizen's death after the great battle at Karakura Town, but like Akira Toriyama with Dragon Ball, he was pressured into continuing the series.  Which brings me to another point.  He intended for Aizen to die at the end of that battle, not be locked up for 20,000 years.  I think the fact that Kubo-sensei left Aizen alive is significant.  He has to have a hand in all this, doesn't he?

Anyway, I've rambled enough.  Tune in next week for more inane blabber!

Unfinished

I have about three unfinished reviews hanging around my word processor.  One for Imadoki, as I was continuing my alphabetical way through the series that I've already read.  One for Kekkaishi, which I started right after I finished reading it.  Then one for Dawn of the Arcana.

Then there's the little project I started with commenting on the new chapters that were being posted...  Yeah,   what happened with that is that I have too many series!  I can't keep up with all that!  Maybe I'll just limit it to Naruto and Bleach.  Maybe a few of my favorite shoujo as well....Skip Beat, Gakuen Alice, and Kaichou wa Maid-sama.  Yeah...that sounds good.  That's only five.  Let's try that.  We'll see how long that lasts.

I'm off all day this Friday.  Maybe I'll get off my lazy ass and try to finish a few reviews.  No promises though!  Haha.  What a terrible little blogger I am!

In another news, I'm finally reading GTO!  I started collecting it way back in high school when it was first being published in America.  I bought the first six volumes, then I just kinda stopped.  Now, about ten years later, I'm finally reading the whole thing.  I'm near the end now.  It's been so funny!  I think it could potentially knock Yankee-kun to Megane-chan out of the top spot on the "Funniest Manga I've Read" list.

I'm Still Alive...and Reading.

Why the lack of updates?  First, there was the hitch with my next entry in my backlog of reviews.  I was having trouble choosing an image to use for Imadoki, the next in line.  That's a stupid reason to get stalled.  Now, I'm thinking that maybe I should just grab whatever pops up, and to hell with whether it tickles my fancy.  Meh.  The next hitch was that I was having trouble writing the review for the "latest" read (at the time), Kekkaishi.  I have a lot of thoughts on Kekkaishi, and unfortunately, nothing is really coming out of me and into my word processor.  I'll try to work a little harder on this.

I'm reading Please Save My Earth now.  I suppose I'm a little late getting on that one, but better late than never, eh?  I chose it as next to read more or less at random.  So far, I'm really enjoying it.  I've still got quite a ways to go!

In other news, I found out something that gave me a super sad face. :(  When I went to order Vol. 12 of Goong, I saw that Vol. 13 was still listed as available for pre-order, despite the fact that it was supposedly released on May 22nd of this year.  Wait a minute.  That's not right.  I popped into Yen Press's website and found that further releases of Goong have been postponed for the time being.  As far as I know, it hasn't been officially dropped, but...  C'mon.  Something tells me that it's not going to recover from this and magically find its way to my shelf.  Dammit!  I love Goong!  I want the whole damn series!  Plus, where Yen Press has stopped, they've really left ChaeKyung and Shin in a pickle!  You can't do thaaat!!  Shit.  Another one bites the dust, I guess.  Still, there is a part of me that's gonna hold out and hope for its continuation.  Ya hear that, Yen Press?  Here's one more person in demand!  Blaaaarg...

Oh, and in case you didn't notice, I quickly saw that trying to keep up with all of the new chapters I was reading just wasn't gonna work.  There's just too many.  I'm gonna try to limit it to any meaningful chapters that I feel the need to discuss.  I realized that it's too late for a couple of recent ones (Naruto and Gakuen Alice, specifically).  I'll try to be more timely.  Yeah, like that will happen...

Cage of Eden 155 + Silver Spoon 41

Cage of Eden Ch. 155

Not much happened in this chapter.  If you take a peek at my review, you'll see that I don't think much of this series.  So why do I read it?  Well...it's no skin off my back to see how it ends, so I go ahead and read the new releases.

Oomori-san really needs to open her mouth about the writing on the tower.  Everyone is trying to figure out "the mysteries of the island."  I don't really get why she hasn't mentioned the inscription to anyone.  You know, that is a rather curious piece of information.  Granted, it was revealed a chapter or two ago, so nothing new was really introduced here, but still, it does make one wonder.  I don't spend too much time theorizing about Cage of Eden, but let's look at what info we have.  The only thing relatively interesting in this chapter was the discussion about when the facilities on the island were built.  If everything was built during WWII, then was the tower inscribed at that time?  If Miina died in 1940s, then who is this Miina?  Perhaps she's not the first Miina Isaragi.  Maybe her family funded the operation and a grandmother of hers or something that shared the same name died there.  That seems too simple though.  So let's assume that the "R.I.P. Miina Isaragi" actually refers to the Miina with the group.  Perhaps she died, and her family has spent all this time trying to use the research gathered on that island to try to recreate her?  That would explain why Miina has no memories and why she knows so much about the indigenous species.  Was she actually on the plane that crashed?  I can't remember.  Fake Miina said that he was hired to dress like her for security reasons, right?  It's been a while since I read it, and I wasn't immersed enough in the world for it to stick, so some of my facts could be skewed.  Did he say that the real Miina was on the plane?  If so, did he meet her?  I guess I could look these things up, but I just don't really care to.  Damn you, Cage of Eden, for not being interesting enough!

I can't really see how they're gonna force Nishikiori to perform an impromptu surgery on Kurusu-sensei.  He's clearly got a few screws loose.  Maybe they'll strike another deal with him, much like Yarai originally did.  Don't know.  Not sure that I care.  Moving on!


Silver Spoon Ch. 41

Ya know, with each chapter, I like this series a little more.  It might bore action fans, but I think it delivers in other ways.  Arakawa-sensei has demonstrated (with Fullmetal Alchemist) that she understands how to write believable characters.  I'm growing rather attached to Hachiken.  I never really would have expected myself to enjoy a manga about life at an agricultural high school, but I guess it's not really about that, is it?  It's about a kid learning who he is and learning to embrace different cultures.  I like how that is reflected in his relationship with Chestnut.  That was the main idea of today's chapter.  Your horse isn't a tool, it's your partner, and you need to think of yourself as part of a team.  There isn't much to discuss about this chapter.  It's pretty simply stated.  In the next chapter, will Hachiken strengthen his bond with Chestnut and finally clear the jump?  As exciting as it doesn't sound, I'm actually looking forward to it.  :)

Naruto 588 vs. Bleach 494 *SPOILERS*

I'll get back on the reviews shortly.  I've been absorbed lately, in various things.  I'm almost finished with Kekkaishi!  I only have five more chapters left.  So why am I typing this instead of wrapping up those last five chapters?  Because I have satellite internet, and it's rainy and stormy outside.  My attempts to try to finish the series were foiled by internet outages.  So, here I am, typing at my word processor instead.

I've decided that I wanna discuss the new releases of the manga that I'm reading.  It's not like I have any readers.  I guess it's more just for my own amusement.

I suppose I'll start with yesterday's releases.  It was Shounen Jump day, and unfortunately, the only Jump series that I've read (thus far) are Bleach and Naruto.  So, onto the new chapters!  SPOILERS AHEAD.  LOTS AND LOTS OF SPOILERS.  IF YOU AREN'T UP TO DATE ON THESE TITLES, THEN YOU'RE ABOUT TO SEE A WHOOOOOOOLE LOTTA SHIT THAT YOU AREN'T READY FOR.

Okay, that being said, let's begin with Naruto!

Naruto Ch. 588

I'm glad to see that we're finally ending the Itachi and Sasuke vs. Kabuto battle.  I was interested in it at first because I kinda like Kabuto, and I was glad to see Itachi and Sasuke able to fight side by side.  I liked finally seeing Kabuto's history.  However, the battle was getting a little long.  One side would whip out an ultimate technique, then the other would do the same.  The battle itself just didn't have the magic and intensity of other fights in the series.  Therefore, it's nice to see it end, especially with an ending that leaves it open for a Kabuto redemption.  I am a little disappointed in how it's ending for Itachi and Sasuke though.  I was really looking forward to them finally being able to have a heartfelt talk with no more lies and airs.  But instead Itachi's just like, "Hey, I'm gonna end the Edo-Tensei now, so I'm gonna go back to being dead.  Have a nice life, bro!"  Hey, wait a minute... I feel gipped.  Really, I do understand why Kishimoto-sensei is doing this.  He's setting this up to be a big Naruto vs. Sasuke fight and during that fight, Naruto will finally get through to Sasuke, who will finally redeem himself (hopefully by dying).  I think if Sasuke and Itachi were to actually sit down and talk, Itachi would sway Sasuke a little bit, which would lessen the impact of Naruto's breakthrough later.  Sasuke's already being pretty dumb though.  Can't he see that yet again his brother has proudly given his all to protect Konoha?  Yet he remains unwavering in his desire to destroy the village.  Hmm...I still kinda like him though...

I'm glad that we got back to the Kages vs. Madara.  Oh, Gaara, how I've missed you.  He's one of my favorite characters, and I'm glad to get back to his fight.  Of course, this battle is already going to be fraught with the same problem as the previous battle.  Madara's already bringing out the big guns.  "Oh, Susano'o ain't enough for ya?  Ok, let's try the ULTIMATE Susano'o.  Yeaaaaahh, booooooyyy!"  Ok, I may have dumbed that down a little.  I realize that I can't complain too much.  This is a shounen manga.  Ridiculous strengths and abilities have been a part of the genre for a long time.  So, I can't be too picky.  For the record, I'm ready for the plot to move forward.

Bleach Ch. 494

I'm really not invested in this whole Quincy arc.  C'mon, Kubo-sensei!  This is the FINAL ARC for Bleach!  It needs to be epic and kick the shit out of everything that has happened already!  The substitute shinigami arc was pretty good and seemed to promise that several reveals were in store.  So far, I just don't see how those are gonna be worked in.  What went down with Ginjou back then?  What were the circumstances that led to Isshin losing his powers and leaving the Soul Society?  THOSE are the things I wanna dig into.  I really don't get the whole Quincy thing anyway.  So the Soul Reapers wiped them out two hundred years ago, yet hordes of them managed to survive and build a super-powerful army that is capable of subduing Espada-level arrancars and killing thousands of Soul Reapers within only minutes of the invasion?  I don't have a problem with having to suspend belief a little bit when it comes to manga, but this is starting to get a little ridiculous.  Not to mention that I don't care about these villains at all.  They have no history, no background.  I've always thought that it was vital for a series to have a good villain.  So far, none of these characters are developed at all.

I suppose the highlight of this chapter is the fate of Izuru Kira.

That's a pretty tough blow, and Akon remarks that Izuru's reiatsu can no longer be detected.  Is he dead?  Is he alive?  Part of me hopes he's alive because I really like him.  The other part of me thinks that Bleach needs another good death.  The Division 1 lieutenant's death had little impact.

As ridiculous as I'm claiming it to be, I'm certainly not gonna give up on the series.  Of course, I'll keep reading.  He simply has to work in the whole Isshin thing, and I can't wait to see what will happen there.  Also, I'm eagerly awaiting the return of one of my absolute favorite characters:  Grimmjow.  He's gonna come back.  He has to.  I can feel it!

So for this week's releases, I think Bleach wins the battle.  What edged it out?  Probably Izuru's injury.  It was an interesting read and leaves one wondering what will happen next.  I'm kinda guessing that Orihime will scurry over and fix him, though.  I'll be surprised if that's the end of Izuru.

Goong Ending SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS

Life has been busy, so the reviews have been on hold for a while.  Also, it's slow going through Kekkaishi.  I'm most of the way through it now, so I'm trying to make more time to read so I can hurry up and finish it.  So much manga, so little time!

When I woke up this morning and checked online to see if any new chapters were posted of any of my ongoing series, I was in for a treat!  To celebrate their third year as a scanlation team, Evil Flowers had a huuuuuuuuge release, which included the final SIXTEEN chapters of Goong, all at once!  I was absolutely giddy.  I immediately dove in and began reading.  Unfortunately, I had to work, so I only got a few chapters in, but as soon as I got back home, I headed straight for the computer and picked up where I left off (sorry, Kekkaishi...reading the finale of Goong took priority...).  This is the part where I simultaneously bash and praise the ending.  Get ready for some mood swings.  As the title of this post suggests, there are SPOILERS AHEAD.  BIG SPOILERS.  IF YOU'RE READING GOONG AND HAVEN'T FINISHED, MAYBE YOU SHOULD STOP HERE.


SERIOUSLY, I'M ABOUT TO SPOIL THIS SHIT HARDCORE.

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YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.


I'll start from the less interesting parts and work my way up to the juicy bits.

Park worked her way through the minor characters throughout these chapters, tying up all the loose ends.  Hangoong regained her memory and accepted the proposal of Eunuch Gong.  I wasn't too wrapped up in that, but it was nice to see that Park didn't forget about them.  Yul seemed to finally take a couple of steps toward Miru, though she seems to be still be her usual conniving self.  I had really hoped to see a somewhat softer side of her for Yul to respond to, but in the end she was still manipulating him.  Yes, I know that her character is for comedic relief and that her antics are meant to be funny, but I only ever found her to be annoying.  I'm glad that Yul has someone else so he can move on from ChaeKyeung, but come on.  As horrible as he has been, he still deserves better.  I would have accepted Miru if she had just shone the tiniest bit of a genuine side.  Throughout the whole series, my thoughts on Yul were back and forth.  In the end, he did redeem himself some, but more on that later.

HyoRin found something to replace her dancing:  acting.  After all this time, ChaeJun goes to see her, and they seem to be on their way to a reconciliation.  I felt good about this one.  I wish that Park had been able to spend a little more time on this couple.  I really would have liked to have gotten to know ChaeJun a bit better.  I don't think that it was stupid of him to go back to HyoRin.  It had been about three years since they had broken up, and I think old wounds have healed.  Though it wasn't directly addressed, I think HyoRin finally gave up on Shin.  I feel like her decision to pursue a new career sort of symbolized that she was moving on with her life and trying to begin anew.  There shouldn't be anything in the way of her and ChaeJun now.  I liked how later, ChaeJun tells TaeJoon that HyoRin isn't his girlfriend, but that with time, she might be.  I think the two of them will move slowly and build a stronger foundation for their relationship.  I was pleased with their ending.

The King and Queen even got a little closure in the end.  The King falls ill due to stress, and the two of them are able to spend quite a bit of time together, where I think they rediscover their intimacy.  He tells the Queen that he's always known that she hides her true emotions, and that he's only ever pretended not to notice.  However, now he wants her to be more upfront with him and not try to hide what's on her mind.  I think the two of them are on their way to falling in love again (or for the first time?  The Queen has hinted before that she wasn't the most willing to be in that relationship...).

Now, I'm gonna lay out what all went down between ChaeKyeung and Shin.

So where we left off in the previous chapters, our lovely couple were finally back together again after having been apart for nearly two years.  Shin was on his way to being demoted from his position as Crown Prince, and he was ready to live a life outside of the palace with ChaeKyeung.  He had to return to the palace once more to give his consent for his demotion, but he promised that upon his return, he would propose to her once again.  I was so happy...

And then Yul just HAD to go and fuck it all up.  I said my thoughts on Yul were back and forth, right?  They fell waaaay back at this point.  That little fucker didn't show up for the public announcement of his promotion.  Instead, he hopped a plane and left Korea, knowing damn well that this would force his demotion and leave Shin to remain the Crown Prince.  His parting words were something along the lines of how he wouldn't be able to strengthen the position of the King from the inside.  He needed to be outside of the palace to do that, and then he would make sure the council passed the bill giving the rights to the throne solely to the goons (Korean term, not our English word "goon"), and THEN he would be king.  Dude.  That is so convoluted.  And how do you even know it's gonna work?  At least if he had accepted the promotion, he would have been next in line to the throne.  This plan seems to have a lot of "ifs" involved.  And then to REALLY piss me off, this plan is left hanging in the air.  Once we skip to a year later, he seems to have forgotten all about his plane to become King.  What happened, Yul?  Why the change of heart?  That whole plot development just pissed me off.  Sorry, Park.  I didn't go for that one.

So Shin is left stranded.  He was ready to give up palace life to be with ChaeKyeung.  Now, he has to remain the Crown Prince.  Or does he?  He could have just told everyone in the palace to bugger off and ran out the door and back to his love.  But did he? Noooooo.  THAT WOULD BE TOO FUCKING SIMPLE, NOW WOULDN'T IT?  Nope, instead he feels as though it is his responsibility to hang out and be a good little royal since there is no one else in line.  Then his father becomes ill, and he becomes Deputy King (dude, English really needs some better words to describe these royal titles) for a while, so now he's REALLY burdened.  So what does he do?  He basically breaks up with ChaeKyeung. He says he can't leave the palace like this, and won't she please come to the goong and live with him.  Of course, she says no!  From day one, she's been the one having to sacrifice everything.  He promised he'd leave the prison of a palace for her, and now he wants her to chain herself down again?  He tells her that if he had truly meant to leave the palace, then he would have followed her when she left during the divorce.  Of course, he's remembering his upbringing while he says this, when he was taught to "become an emotionless machine" when it comes to making royal decisions.  All he wants is to leave with her, but he feels like he can't.  Despite his desperate pleas for her to stay with him, she says she just can't do it.  It's not the life for her.  Good for you, ChaeKyeung.  I wouldn't have been happy to see her give up everything once more for him.

At this point, I'm sensing a little Serendipity Syndrome.  What's that, you say?  Have you ever seen the movie Serendipity starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale?  Stupidest fucking movie ever.  All you want is for this stupid couple to get together, but they just keep missing each other.  Some stupid little something always comes up.  I fucking hated that.  This is the way it has been for ChaeKyeung and Shin.  After they finally get back together after the divorce, all this shit happens and tears them apart again.  A year passes.  ChaeKyeung is sort of dating someone new now (the Taejoon fellow I mentioned earlier).  They haven't even kissed even though they've been dating for months.  Clearly, she's still hung up on Shin, but at least she's doing her best to try to move on and put him behind her.  Meanwhile, Shin's a mess.  He spends his days getting drunk and going on rants about the one who got away.  I actually enjoyed seeing this rather pathetic side to him.  She did all that suffering after the divorce, and while it's true that he wasn't having fun then either, now he's really getting what's coming to him.  This time, it's his own damn fault that she's not with him, so he deserves to be miserable.  ChaeKyeung held an auction of her things for charity, then accidentally discovered that it was Shin who bought everything.  She starts to wonder if after all this time, he hasn't let her go.  She decides to call him, but oops.  He's changed his number.  Serendipity Syndrome strikes (it will now be known as SS).  Ugh.  But then, wait!  Drunk Shin decides that he just needs to hear her voice!  Though he's changed his number, he still kept hers, "just in case."  He starts to call her......and then hurls his phone away!  SS strikes again!  But!  But!! His tiny little toddler brother picks up the phone and hits "send!"  Finally!  They're connected!  But Shin doesn't say anything to her to identify himself.  He decides that she sounds too normal and must have moved on.  Dammit!  More SS!!  Then Drunk Shin whispers something into his little brother's ear.  The next day for a royal interview, little Sun spills the beans on what big bro said during the very live broadcast.  Shin told his little brother to grow up big and tall just like him.  When that happens, Shin will leave everything to him and leave the palace to marry the girl on the phone.  But alas, ChaeKyeung had decided not to watch the interview.  There's that SS again...  Before I move on with the next part, I wanna say that I did feel a little bit of squeeing come on when Sun was blabbing Shin's secret.  There ya go, ladies and germs!  Shin's true feelings (as if we didn't know already).  It was kinda sweet.

Of course, ChaeKyeung does eventually see the interview, and she recognizes Sun's voice as the child on the phone the previous night.  Now, she's really having her doubts.  Will she truly be able to will herself away from Shin?  She decides to go see him at the Royal Procession celebrating the King's return from his recovery retreat.  However, TaeJoon says that sitting in the back and sulking won't do any good.  This was a really cool moment for TaeJoon, one that almost made me wish that he would catch a break.  He was in the story for only a short time, but that poor guy never stood a chance.  He manages to get ChaeKyeung up to the front of the crowd, and when she's afraid that Shin will see her despite the throngs of people there, he makes an impromptu mask for her.  It's not enough though, and Shin does see her, and with tears streaming down her face, she calls out to him, "Were you serious about me, you bastard?!"

At this point, I'm envisioning the various ways that this series can end.  One of them is that they both decide to move on with their lives.  I tried to decide how I would feel about this ending.  It would be almost bittersweet.  I mean, I loved Paradise Kiss because the protagonists didn't end up together in the end.  But no.  Hell no.  Not for Goong.  These two have been through so fucking much, if they didn't end up together, the whole series would be rendered pointless.  ParaKiss was about a girl learning who she is.  Goong is about boy and girl falling in love.  If they don't end up together in the end, then what a waste of 179 chapters!  Ok, so now I've decided that somehow, they have to find each other.

As soon as she can slip away from TaeJoon, ChaeKyeung makes a break for it, running for the palace as hard as she can (at which point, I envisioned Coldplay's "Fix You" to be so very appropriate).  She arrives, but nooooo, her passage is blocked by the guards!  But along comes Yul, conveniently back from his trip to Africa to tell the guards that she can go wherever she wants.  As he walks away, he knows that he's helping ChaeKyeung and Shin get back together, but he hopes that this can be the first step towards forgiveness.  Dammit, and now I like him again, even though it's gonna take a LOT MORE THAN THAT for ME to forgive the bastard for putting them through all that shit to begin with.

While ChaeKyeung is running to Shin, we see him leave the table where he was seated with his parents to go after her.  He opens a door, and the two meet, after having been apart for yet another year.  A few awkward hellos are exchanged.  Then he answers her question.  Yes, he was always serious about her.  He tells her it will be a while before he can rest easily and leave everything to Sun, but he promises her that he will leave everything for her.  She falls into his arms, and they kiss.  Thank God.  I was gonna be sooooo pissed if we didn't get a nice big kiss out of this ending.  At this point, I forgot all about my frustration and just gave in to the giddy little shoujo fan in me that just eats this shit up.  I may have been a little teary-eyed.  Maybe...

Shin's so cute!  And I love Taejoon's and ChaeJun's expressions in that last frame.

In the end, ChaeKyeung narrates that there was still a wall between them that they could not cross, illustrated literally by the doorway between them.  Though they had embraced, Shin still stood just inside the palace, and ChaeKyeung was just outside.  But one day they will cross it.

....

Wait a minute.

So does this mean that she's just agreed to wait about 18 years before she can be with Shin?  What exactly does this mean, Park?  Are the two of them gonna remain separated, and then get back together after Sun becomes old enough to claim the position of Crown Prince?  Are they gonna date and maintain their relationship and only get (re)married when Sun is older?  Or is she gonna stay by Shin's side while he carries out his duties, and then he'll leave the palace behind to have a quiet life with her?  I definitely prefer option 3.  I like to imagine that the wall between them was only figurative.  That part of me hopes that she does immediately remarry Shin and wait by his side for him to fulfill his promise.  But then again, that disagrees with what I said earlier about how I didn't want to see her give up everything again to have to live in the palace.  So maybe option 2 won't be so bad.  They might still see each other, date, and for all intensive purposes be a couple, only making it official through marriage when he's able to leave the palace.  So, I guess that option could work.  But still, by then, they would be almost 40.  I guess the Queen had Sun when she was in her forties, so it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to think that they could start a family then.

Ok, so there it is.  The final 16 chapters of Goong.  Overall, was I pleased?  Yes.  It may have been frustrating along the way, but I guess it just made it all the sweeter when they finally do get together in the end.  I still bloody love ChaeKyeung and Shin, and this is still one of my favorite series.  I'm up to the first six volumes in my collection, with number seven on its way!

High School Debut

Title:  High School Debut
Japanese Title:  Koukou Debut
Mangaka:  Kazune Kawahara
Length:  13 Volumes (Completed)
English Translation?  Yes, all released by Viz Media.
Demo/Genre:  Shoujo/Slice-of-Life/Romantic Comedy

How did I hear about it?  I had seen it advertised in some of my manga, then found a strong recommendation on one of the blogs I read.

Haruna was a tomboy all through middle school.  She has made it her goal to shed that image in high school, to find a boyfriend, and to fall in love.  There's just one problem:  she has no idea what boys like!  Immediately after entering high school, she meets Yoh, a popular upperclassman.  When she sees how girls throw themselves at him, she thinks that surely he must know what it is that boys look for in girls.  She begs him to become her coach, teaching her how to be a girl that boys will want to date.  He reluctantly agrees, but with one condition:  Haruna must not fall in love with him.  Gee, I wonder where this is going?

I'm really on the fence about the art in this series.  My opinion of it changed from frame to frame.  At times, it seemed really clean and pretty.  At other times, it seemed awkward and childish.  It just felt a little inconsistent.

This is another series that was just plain fun.  HSD never really gets deep, though it does explore the notion that the best person you can be is yourself.  It's a simple, candy-coated moral, but it's a true enough statement that it allows this manga to express itself without ever getting too heavy.  At first, I didn't like Haruna.  She was your average cookie-cutter shoujo heroine.  She was naive, dense, nice to a fault.  Really naive.  Unbelievably naive.  Maybe about halfway through (possibly even later), I did start to warm up to her a bit.  I never outright liked her, but I felt she worked well enough.  I liked Yoh though.  He was a bit more complex.  Haruna just had to learn to be herself, but Yoh had to work out a few issues from his past, though his issues didn't end up being all that heavy when you consider what a lot of other protagonists have had to go through (Fruits Basket or Mars, anyone?).  The supporting cast was functional.  Of Yoh's two best friends, one is a bit too much like Haruna (one was enough, Kawahara-sensei), but the other was a bit snarky, and therefore, more interesting.  Yoh's sister also played a sizable role.  I actually liked her.  She was very conceited to the point of being funny.  I think what made her attitude work was her facial expressions.  Her delivery was calm and aloof, but pleased with herself.  Haruna's best friend was of little consequence.

HSD is a perfect example of a story of a light-hearted teenage first romance.  It's a fun, light read that I think would be good for any shoujo fan.  Do I plan to collect it?  Someday.  I have other titles a bit higher on my priority list though.

Her Majesty's Dog

Title:  Her Majesty's Dog
Japanese Title:  Joou-sama no Inu
Mangaka:  Mick Takeuchi
Length:  11 Volumes (Completed)
English Translation?  Yes.  All released by Go! Comi.
Demo/Genre:  Shoujo/Fantasy/Romance/Comedy

How did I hear about it?  It was recommended by an otaku friend.

Amane comes from a clan that possesses the kotodama, or power through words.  While all in her clan have spiritual powers, only the most prominent of members can use the kotodama, and Amana is the granddaughter of the village chief.  With the kotodama, if Amane knows the true name of a person or creature, she can control it.  Everyone in her clan has a demon familiar by their side, their koma-oni, that feeds off of their life force.  Amane's koma-oni is a dog demon named Hyoue whom she "feeds" through kissing.  As she and Hyoue leave their isolated village to sample the "normal" life for a while, they deal with spiritual problems of both the living and the dead.  This being a shoujo, Hyoue's devotion goes beyond familiar to master.  He has developed forbidden feelings for his human companion.  Even though she is far from her clan, Amane can't escape her responsibilities as signs of a traitor within the family soon reach the two of them.

I wasn't crazy about the art.  It wasn't bad, so I don't think it would be fair to say that I disliked it.  It just seemed a little dated.

Don't be fooled by the cheesy title and cover art.  This was a really fun read.  It was sweet and funny, then later developed into something a little more substantial than that.  I really liked both Amane and Hyoue.  If you've been reading my reviews, you've probably figured out that I'm not usually keen on shoujo heroines.  They typically have a few traits that can be a bit grating.  Amane has "naive" down to a T, but where she really shines is her humor.  It's perhaps not Amane's humor, but more the style with which Takeuchi-sensei wrote her.  Amane is ditsy and naive, which is usually a big turn-off for me.  What makes her work is that she's also serious.  She rarely smiles at all throughout the series, and her lines are delivered completely straight-faced.  She tends to take things literally, which only adds to her deadpan humor.  Despite her denseness, she's quite mature and has a big heart.  It made her a pleasure to read.

Hyoue is a pretty standard tsundere character, so natually I loved him.  He teases Amane and can give her a hard time sometimes, but he's truly completely devoted to her and doesn't hesitate to put himself between her and danger.  I loved the dilemma between the two of them.  I feel like there aren't enough shoujo out there where it's the boy who first realizes his feelings.  His feelings for Amane are often the butt of Takeuchi-sensei's jokes, but eventually, it does take a turn for the serious.  Hyoue's feelings are absolutely forbidden, and even if there was nothing standing between them, what kind of relationship could form between a mortal being and a demon of great longevity?  Interesting, very interesting.

This was a fun read for this shoujo fan.  It was the perfect balance of heavy and light, and all wrapped in a nice fantasy package.  I haven't started collecting it yet, but I'm planning on it as soon as I finish up one of the series that I'm working on now.  I wish this review could be a little longer and more detailed, but it's hard to write about something I read so long ago.  Maybe I'll update this after I collect it and refresh my memory.  This is another series that makes me wish I had done a half star system.  It's more a 5 than a 4 though, I suppose...

 

Goong

Title:  Goong
Manhwaga:  So-Hee Park
Length:  27 Volumes (Completed)
English Translation?  Yes.  16 Volumes so far by Yen Press (omnibus starting from volume 9)
Demo/Genre:  Shoujo/Slice-of-Life/Romance/Comedy/Drama

How did I hear about it?  It was recommended by an otaku friend.

The story takes place in a fictional version of modern-day South Korea in which the royal family still exists.  Chae-Kyung is just your average high school girl.  However, she happens to attend the same high school as Shin, the Crown Prince.  A few awkward encounters between the two leave them with a low opinion of each other.  When Shin receives pressure from his parents to marry, he is informed that if he cannot find someone suitable, they have a long-since arranged marriage to fall back on.  When the only girl in his life turns down the caged life of royalty, he is slated to marry...Chae-Kyung.  Yeah, who saw that one coming?  It turns out that her grandfather was a close friend of the late former King and was the only person to treat him as a man and not a royal.  To thank him for his friendship, he arranged the marriage of their grandchildren.  Chae-Kyung and Shin begin their tumultuous relationship as man and wife, but can they truly learn to love each other?

At first, I rejected the artstyle.  Then, as I read, it grew on me until I found it to be beautiful.  I absolutely love it now.  Also, her SD drawings are absolutely RIDICULOUS, but in a funny way.  Seriously, it's so outrageous that it's hilarious.  If you don't like the art at first, give it a bit.  You might be like me and just need it to grow on you.

I really liked Chae-Kyung.  She's spunky, independent, and willful.  Most importantly, she doesn't put up with Shin's shit.  At the start, Shin is an asshole.  There's no sense mincing words.  He's an outright asshole.  Usually, that doesn't fly with me in manga (Black Bird, anyone?).  However, I feel that it's a compliment to the manhwaga that she created an asshole that I wanted to get to know better.  I felt that there was more to him, and I wanted to stick around to watch him grow.  I'm really glad that I did.  His cold and selfish exterior slowly melts away until he becomes someone worthy of Chae-Kyung's love, yet it never feels like he becomes someone else.  His growth and development feel like a natural reaction to his circumstances, so it doesn't feel out of character at all.  I loved watching Shin mature throughout the series.  I said before that Chae-Kyung doesn't put up with him, but then I turned around and pointed out that she loved him, indicating that she felt that way even before he "became worthy" of her.  I wasn't necessarily contradicting myself.  After she realizes how she has come to feel about him, she even tells someone (one of her only confidants) that her love for him isn't because of who he is, but what he is.  She's been placed in a completely different world, cut off from her friends and family, and he is the only constant in her life right now, and the only person she can rely on.  Had it have been someone else, she would have fallen for them, too.  Just because she loved him on some level, she didn't sacrifice her dignity.  When he picked a fight, she stood her ground and bared her teeth (figuratively and literally.  She bit him once, haha).  That being said, I don't doubt her love for him in the slightest.  I believe it may have started that way, but as Shin came to love her as well (and manned up, so to speak), I believe she genuinely fell in love with him.  I cannot express how much I love Chae-Kyung and Shin.  IMO, they were very well-written characters, and they made this series for me.

There was a turning point in the plot, and I've read that many readers didn't like what was happening so much.  Many say that it slowed the series down and frustrated them.  For me, I actually really loved it.  Though, I'll admit that my love for this plot point is heavily influenced by an outside source.  You see, there was a conspiracy between James Blunt and my iTunes that resulted in me loving this manhwa immensely and being so moved by what happened that I actually cried.  I friggin' CRIED.  And it's all James Blunt's fault.  And my iTunes.  They worked together on that one.  James Blunt wrote a very appropriate song, and my iTunes just happened to land on it at just the right time.  Shuffle, my ASS.  It's a CONSPIRACY, I tell ya.  Anyway, outside source be damned, I loved the drama.  Every time I hear that song, I think of Chae-Kyung and Shin, and my heart aches.  Who cares how I came to love something?  It just matters that I do.  Oh, and I can't tell you what song.  If you haven't read the series, it would be an uber-spoiler.  I don't think that it would be hard to figure out though (the plot or the spoiler).  Still, I shall retain my silence.

I doubt the pic is a spoiler.  If you can't read the premise and figure out that our two protagonists will eventually fall in love, then you clearly haven't read much shoujo... O_o  I had to choose it because it was one of the most beautiful pages I've encountered.  See, this is my sappy side.  It's small, but it does exist.

In summation... Goong is laugh out loud funny, yet very moving and beautiful.  The lead characters are spectacularly written, though the supporting cast is a bit lacking.  Though the series has completed its run in South Korea, the scanlations are a little behind, so I haven't been able to finish the series yet.  I can't wait to see how it ends!  Yen Press is releasing the manga in the US, but don't be fooled by the volume numbers!  Starting with Vol. 9, they packed 2 volumes into each one.  So though they've released twelve physical volumes of Goong, it actually covers volumes 1-16 of the original release.  Does that make sense?  Anyway, I am in the process of collecting it right now, and I have four volumes so far.

Gate 7

Title:  Gate 7
Mangaka:  CLAMP
Length:  3 Volumes (Ongoing)
English Translation?  Yes.  2 volumes so far by Dark Horse.
Demo/Genre:  Shounen/Fantasy/Action

How did I hear about it?  I've read other works by CLAMP, and I was curious about their current series.

Umm...the plot....Let's see.  There's a guy named Chikahito, and he met a girl named Hana while on a trip to Kyoto.  Then he met her again after moving to Kyoto for school...and now he lives with her caretakers.  Turns out, she's some kind of warrior against supernatural things, and then there's a lot of history in there somewhere...  Yeah, I just can't get a good grasp of the plot, probably because this manga just can't hold my attention.

One good thing I can definitely say about G7 is the art is great, which one should expect from CLAMP.  It's a very beautiful manga.  Unfortunately, that's all that really interests me about it.

Many of the references in Gate 7 will be lost on those who aren't Japanophiles, which I am not.  I know some basic Japanese history, but I don't think I'm quite on the level that this manga requires.  I'm not a fan of Chikahito.  Big-eyed boys are never a big draw for me, and it's rare that I find myself taken by one (I can think of a couple that I have liked though).  Also, I can't quite figure out his purpose yet.  The manga is still in its early stages, so perhaps all will be revealed at a later time.  Currently though, he's pretty useless.  I'm not too fond of the girl either.  Hana is a loli-type, but perhaps a little too much so.  She's just too childish for me to take seriously.

It's hard for me to formulate an opinion of this manga, seeing as how it's so new, but so far, I'm not taking to it.  I continue to read the new chapters as they're released though.  I think I'm hoping that at some point, some turning point will happen in the plot, and I'll find myself liking it.  Only time will tell on this one.