Fairy Cube

Title:  Fairy Cube
Japanese Title:  Yousei Hyouhon Fairy Cube
Mangaka:  Kaori Yuki
Length:  3 Volumes (Completed)
English Translation?  Yes, all released by Viz Media.
Demo/Genre:  Shoujo/Fantasy/Horror/Romance

For his entire life, Ian Hasumi has been able to see fairies.  While he can see the various ones that co-inhabit the planet, he has a particular relationship with what is essentially his evil fairy twin, Tokage.  One day, Ian stumbles onto the scene of a murder and watches the murderer extract a strange cube from the body.  He follows the murderer and learns that fairies are involved in this crime spree.  Ian is given a Fairy Cube, which grants Tokage the ability to finally take over Ian's body.  Now Ian must find a way to make it back to the human world before Tokage hurts Rin, the girl he loves, and before a large corporation's plot to take over the Fairy World can come to pass.

I admit that I may have jumbled a few details of the plot, but I think I have the gist of it down...  It's been several months since I read it, and it wasn't that long.  I really enjoyed it, but it wasn't the kind of series that sticks to you.  Does the premise sound incredibly crazy?  Yup.  Can't deny that.  But oddly enough, it works.  The first volume was a little slow, but as you read on, both the characters and the plot become more interesting.  I cared about Ian's and Rin's relationship.  I loved the imagination in the series.  I also loved how dark it is.  I have not yet read any other series by Yuki-sensei, but from the descriptions, it kinda sounds like "dark" is a trend with her works.  This one will not disappoint in that department.  I thought it was quite refreshing to read a book about evil fairies (not that all of them were evil).

This is a short review because this was a short series.  I really don't have a lot to say about it.  It's a refreshing, enjoyable read.  Will I collect it?  Yeah, probably.  I say that it "didn't stick to me," but I think I kinda want it to.  I definitely want to reread it, and since it's so short, it won't be difficult to collect.  I plan on getting them all in one fell swoop from ebay at some point in the near future.

Totally. Addicted.

I haven't forgotten about my blog already.  In fact, I have a couple started up and saved in my word processor.  I just can't be bothered to finish them right now.  Why?  I'm busy.  Busy with what?

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I realize that I'm hella behind on getting on this bandwagon.  It's only the most popular manga in the world right now.  I put it off not because I didn't think that I would like the series, but because it's so friggin' long!  My To Read list is so huge, and I knew that I would be tied up on this series for quite some time, so I wanted to get some other series out of the way first.  But the time has come.  No more putting it off.  I started it, and I haven't looked back.  I'm currently at Ch. 390 (out of 578), and it's amazing.  Plus, I think I'm on the verge of getting into some really crucial plot points.  The scope of this series is astounding.  So in the time that I would normally be typing up my reviews, I've been reading Naruto.  In fact, I'm surprised that I'm taking the time to type this instead of reading it right now.  Guess what I'll be doing as soon as this post is finished?  I wish I had more time available.  Between work and my internet woes, I'm going at a pace of maybe 20 chapters a day.  That's a reasonable pace, but when you consider the size of this manga, I'm still gonna be reading for a while.

I could talk more, but...I don't want to.  Naruto calls!

EDIT:  I typed this up several days ago, then my internet shorted out right as I went to post.  After that, I just got lazy and never published the draft.  I finished Ch. 578 last night, so I am officially completely caught up on Naruto!  I absolutely freakin' LOVED IT!!!  So now that I have that behemoth out of the way, I think I can get back on my review schedule.  I'm thinking that I may start with this one and Tsubasa (which I also just finished reading), and then go back to my alphabetical deal.

Durarara!!

Title:  Durarara!!
Mangaka: Ryohgo Narita (author), Akiyo Satorigi (artist)
Length:  4 Volumes (Completed)
English Translation?  Yes, 1 volume so far by Yen Press.
Demo/Genre:  Shounen/Fantasy/Action

How did I hear about it?  The anime began airing on Adult Swim last summer.

After a little convincing from his childhood best friend, Mikado Ryugamine decides to move to Tokyo for his high school career.  Upon his arrival, his friend Misaomi gives him the rundown of the city, introducing him to his friends, telling him about the people that you "absolutely never piss off," warning him about the gangs that are about, and most importantly telling him about the legend of Ikebukuro, the Black Rider, which Mikado happens to see in the flesh on his first very day about the town.  As we get the story from Mikado's perspective, we also see things from the point of view of the Black Rider herself.  Her name is Celty, and she is an Irish Dullahan, a type of Death figure.  Twenty years ago, her head was stolen, and she has followed the sense of her head all the way to Tokyo, but is still unable to find it, even after all these years of searching.  As these seemingly unrelated stories unfold, the lives of many who live in the Ikebukuro district become interwoven.

It was difficult to write a description of Durarara (often typset as DRRR!!) without giving everything away.  Though I've only experienced tiny pieces of this manga/anime, I really, really like it, and it makes me sad that I will probably never have the whole story.  It is based on a series of light novels, which are currently at ten volumes and still ongoing.  The anime spans only one season, and I believe it covers volumes 1 - 3 of the novels, and the manga stops after only 4 volumes, which if I am not mistaken, tell a condensed, rushed story of the same length.  Since there's no market for the publishing of light novels in the US (except for yaoi, of course) and little hope of a continuation of either the anime or the manga, this story will most likely remain unfinished in North America.  I realize that that's not a very good argument for trying to convince anyone to read/watch this series.  Still, it's well worth the look.

There is a rather large cast on hand, and while each one's story seems separate and unrelated to the other characters, we slowly watch their paths cross throughout the series.  We see many of the same events through the eyes of the different characters that witness them, and view many strange friendships and alliances that form as the lives of the characters intersect.  I really loved that aspect.  Even within the tiny portion of the story we get, it's great seeing the web connecting all of the characters.  I particularly loved Celty.  Without a head, she can only communicate by typing into her cell phone or a computer (though her thoughts and dialogue are voiced in the anime).  I took a particular interest in the romance that develops between her and the doctor she lives with.  Yes, I know it sounds a little strange, but just trust me, it's well done.  Another favorite character is that of Izaya (voiced by the talented Johnny Yong Bosch in the English dub).  He's not really a villain, but not really a good guy either.  He's an information broker who knows everything about everyone in Ikebukuro and greatly enjoys pulling people's strings just to watch their reactions.

Another aspect I loved about this manga was the presence of technology.  Many of the conversations take place on an online chatroom, and it's some time until the owners of the usernames are revealed.  I like how the anonymity of the internet is used as a story-telling device.  They show how rumors start, spread, and grow, and how you really never know exactly to whom you may be talking when you're on the web.

Yes, this was a difficult manga to describe.  Its only a portion of the big picture, but it tells such a unique and fascinating story with such an interesting cast that I can't help but like it.  It has only recently been licensed here in America, and I've gotten everything released so far (a whopping one volume!).  I would also love to have the anime, but it's not very common, which gives it a rather expensive flavor... I really hope that its run on Adult Swim leads them to release a box set of the whole series at a reasonable price.

Dengeki Daisy

Title:  Dengeki Daisy
Mangaka:  Kyousuke Motomi
Length:  10 volumes (Ongoing)
English Translation?  Yes, 9 volumes so far by Viz Media.
Demo/Genre:  Shoujo/Romantic Comedy

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

Teru Kurebayashi was raised by her much older brother.  When his illness brought him to his deathbed, he left her with a cell phone with a single contact already programmed in.  He told her that Daisy was a trusted friend of his who would look after her in his place.  Whenever she needs any help, is feeling sad or lonely, or just wants to say "hello" to someone, she should turn to Daisy.  A year passes, and though Teru has never met Daisy nor heard his voice, his messages have given her the strength to live on her own, and she has come to love him like a brother.  One day at school, she accidentally breaks a window.  Since she doesn't have the money to pay for the repairs, the school's 24-year-old janitor forces her to work for him to pay off her debt.  What Teru doesn't realize is that the janitor, Tasuku Kurosaki, is her beloved Daisy.

I love Motomi-sensei's artwork.  Her characters are really beautiful.  She draws humor really well, too.  Teru makes some of the most ridiculous faces, and I love it!  I will admit that sometimes her profiles are a little too angular, but that doesn't stop me from really appreciating her art.

This series begins as a more or less typical rom-com.  The first few volumes focus on the developing relationship between Teru and Kurosaki (with lots of funny moments scattered throughout).  However, as the story progresses, the true plot comes to the surface.  We learn early on that Teru's older brother was a genius computer engineer, and it seems that his team was involved in something rather serious, and there are those who believe that he may have left something more than just a cell phone behind with Teru.  I don't mind manga that place romance at the center of everything, but I really love it when a mangaka can balance character relationships with an external plot.

I loved both Teru and Kurosaki.  The age difference between the characters may be a little disturbing when you first hear about it (they are 16 and 24, respectively), but really the situation is handled very well.  Romances usually either involve the couple getting together early on, then having to stay together throughout the series, or the series draws out the romance, only allowing the couple to finally get together in the end (sorry for the split infinitive there).  This is the latter, and I think that really helps with the age difference.  The series takes its time building up a sweet romance between Teru and Kurosaki, rather than having them get together in the beginning and having him paw at her for the whole series.  As I've said before, I'm not a prude, but I find a romance involving those ages to be very unrealistic.  That being said, I applaud Motomi-sensei for creating a story where I didn't give a damn about a little detail like that.

Something I loved about Teru is that she's so funny and quirky.  She cares about others, but she's not ridiculously nice.  She's blunt when she has to be.  While she does frequently find herself in trouble and needing rescued, she never falls into the role of "damsel in distress."  Instead of bemoaning her situation and waiting for her prince to come, she tries to keep her wits and defend herself, which is very refreshing to see.  Kurosaki is classic tsundere.  I absolutely love tsundere characters.  What's a tsundere character?  They're like pineapples:  spiney on the outside, soft on the inside.  He teases Teru and gives her a hard time sometimes, but he's completely in love with her and would do anything for her.  While he does tease her, he never antagonizes her, and he's always there for her when she needs him to be.

I absolutely loved this manga.  It has so much going for it.  Great romance, great characters, great plot... it's just too good!  If you're a shoujo fan and you haven't read it, then what are waiting for?  Am I collecting this one?  Hell yes, I am!  I have all volumes that have been released in North America so far (well, the 9th volume just came out yesterday, and I haven't gotten it in yet, but it's coming!).

Death Note

Title:  Death Note
Mangaka:  Tsugumi Ohba (author), Takeshi Obata (artist)
Length:  12 Volumes (Completed)
English Translation?  Yes, all have been released by Viz Media.
Demo/Genre:  Shounen/Fantasy/Thriller

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

The deaths of everyone in the world are carried out by shinigami.  Ryuk, one of said shinigami, is bored with his life.  To entertain himself, he decides to leave his Death Note on Earth for a human to find.  The one who happens to pick up Ryuk's Death Note is 17-year-old genius, Light Yagami.  When Light learns that anyone whose name is written in the Death Note dies, he decides to pick up the slack where the law fails and execute criminals in order to build a better, more peaceful world.  However, the suspicious heart attacks of criminals catches the eye of L, a computer genius who is convinced that someone is behind all the murders.  A game of cat and mouse begins between the two of them.

As usual, I'll start with a comment on the artwork.  It's great.  Obata has a very clean style that is more realistic than is typical for manga.  DN was very pleasing to look at.  And so was Light. ;)

While I really liked this series, and the plot as a whole, I have to admit that it could get a little tedious at times.  I loved that Light and L were always trying to stay three moves ahead of each other.   It's almost ridiculous the lengths Light goes to in order to conceal his identity.  Even without much action, this series was still exciting.  I loved how you're always kept on your toes.  Once it seems Light or L is backed into a corner, they've thought up a way out, and most interestingly, they thought up this backdoor plan long before the situation itself actually played out.  While this was great, it did have its pitfalls.  There were times when it reminded me of the battle of wits in The Princess Bride ("so I clearly can't choose the wine in front of me!").  If you haven't seen the movie and don't know what I'm talking about...go see it!  It's an 80s classic!  Back to the point, it was during these times that their logic seemed to travel in circles and never actually lead anywhere.  It's like Light would examine all of his available choices, determine what actions L would take to counter, then go through what he could do to counter the counter, and then 15 minutes later, he's still thinking and hasn't found a suitable course of action.  Don't let that bog you down though.  Those slower periods really were few and far between.  For the most part, it was a really great ride.

I loved both Light and L.  Light walks the thin line between good and evil.  He truly believes that what he is doing will make the world a better place, but at the same time, he's willing to spend a few lives if it means covering for himself and keeping L at bay.  One minute, he'll have the countenance of a perfect, well-mannered student, then when no one's looking, he's the cold-blooded "Kira" (what the media has named the mysterious serial killer).  Light's two-facedness (is that a word?) was very fun to watch.  L was simply great.  He was a very eccentric individual.  Everything about him, from the way he sits, the way he eats, his manner of speech, was unique.  I loved his speech style.  It was always as if he was talking to himself, half in a daze, even if the room was filled with people listening to his every word.  I loved L.

The best thing about the two of them for me wasn't even the real life game of chess they were playing, but the actual relationship between the two.  When Light becomes involved in the investigation to hunt for...well, himself..., he actually gets to meet L, spend time with him, and form a strange friendship with him.  L is almost positive that Light is Kira, but that tiniest bit of doubt allows him to entertain the possibility that he is wrong and that Light is the first friend he's ever had (I think the page I selected for this post even references that very notion).  On Light's side of things, even though he's desperately trying to find a way to kill L, you can sense that he almost needs L.  Somehow, this frustrating game and strange new "friend" has given him new zeal in life.  I loved the interaction between the two of them.

If I have to mention something bad about this manga, it would be one thing:  Misa effin' Amane.  She easily wins the award for "Most Annoying Character Ever Created."  I'll spare you the details, but she's an idiot.  An immature, childish twit that Light probably should have killed from the get-go.  Yeah...not a fan.

This is a great manga.  I'm gonna bump its stars down though, mostly because there is an event that happens that changed the pacing of the story a bit.  If I did half-stars, then it would probably land a four-and-a-half.  This is well-worth the read, and I wouldn't mind collecting it someday, although it will probably be a while before I get around to it.  I do own the two live-action films (I passed on the third film, which had nothing to do with the manga).  They're pretty good.  The shinigami were added in exactly as they were in the manga, which I loved.  The actor who portrays L nails his mannerisms PERFECTLY.  I don't think I would mind having the anime either.  I've heard that the English voice-acting received a lot of praise.  They used the same VAs for the dub of the films, so I watched a few scenes in English to hear what all the fuss was about.  Excellent.  Very impressed.  It made me really want to try out the anime.

Chrono Crusade

Title:  Chrono Crusade
Mangaka:  Daisuke Moriyama
Length:  8 Volumes (Completed)
English Translation?  Yes, all have been released by ADV Manga.
Demo/Genre:  Shounen/Fantasy/Historical/Action

How did I find out about it?  My college otaku buddy recommended it to me.

The scene is America in the 1920s.  Rosette Christopher is an exorcist nun in the Magdalan Order.  She and her partner Chrono (who happens to be a demon himself) travel across New York City, beating down the demons that are stirring up trouble, usually racking up an impressive amount of property damage in the process.  We learn that Rosette has her own personal reasons for joining the Order:  she's looking for her lost younger brother, who was taken by a demon four years ago, a demon who also seems to share a past with Chrono...

The artwork is nice, if a little busy.  I really liked Rosette (gun-toting nun?  Yes, please!), but I loved Chrono.  The bond between the two of them was great.  There were several side characters, and I felt that they were nicely done as well, which is rather rare for such a short series.  I can't really complain.

I feel like a distinct line can be drawn between the first and second halves of the series.  During the first half, we meet our cast and learn their goals.  The series is pretty funny, and the action is nicely executed.  During this exposition, we learn about the world of CC and, most importantly, establish the bond between Rosette and Chrono.  While not overtly romantic, their relationship is deeper than mere comrades.  Long story short, Chrono derives his power directly from Rosette's soul, which shortens her lifespan.  This not only serves to set up the how the world of CC works, but also gives us a launching point from which to see their care and devotion to one another.  When Chrono is in danger, Rosette doesn't hesitate to open the seal that gives power to Chrono, her own lifespan be damned.  On the other side of things, Chrono is extremely hesitant to use his power and often outright refuses because he doesn't want to shorten her life any further.  It's a very basic concept, but it works excellently for setting a foundation for the reader to understand the air between the two of them.

The second half of the series plunges you headfirst into the plot.  We learn the plight of Rosette's brother and the shades are finally lifted on Chrono's past.  I liked the first half of the series, but I loved the second half.  With brilliant character development and a well-crafted villain, the series plows forward to its beautiful and bittersweet ending that brought tears to my eyes.  I guess I can't go into much more detail without giving something away, can I?

Even if you're not a fan of shounen, I have to recommend CC.  The story and characters are great, and the ending is very memorable and will stick with you for a long time.  Is this one I want to collect?  Yep, and I already have.

Chobits

Title:  Chobits
Mangaka:  CLAMP
Length:  8 Volumes (Completed)
English Translation?  Yes, all have been released by Tokyopop AND Dark Horse Comics.
Demo/Genre:  Seinen/Sci-Fi/Romantic Comedy

How did I find out about it?  It caught my eye on the store shelves, and I decided to give it a try.  This was the first manga I ever collected in full!

In the future, everyone has their very own persocom (a walking, talking, humanoid computer).  Everyone except for Hideki, that is.  Hideki is 19 years old and barely scraping by.  He works seven days a week to pay his bills and attends cram school by night in hopes of getting into a college some day.  He knows there's no way he'll ever be able to get with the times and buy himself a persocom.  Luckily for him, he catches a break one night and finds one lying in a garbage heap.  Once he gets her home and boots her up, it seems that she's not fully functioning.  As all that she can say is "Chi," that's what he decides to call her.  After taking her to a 12-year-old computer whiz kid, he learns that she just might be one of the legendary Chobits, a super-advanced persocom that never made it to market.  While his friend does more investigating, Hideki must teach Chi all about the world.  As his feelings for Chi grow, he talks with the people in his life and learns about the different kinds of relationships people have had with their persocoms.  But is it okay to fall for a machine?

I've read a few different series by CLAMP (none of their long ones yet), and so far, this is my favorite.  The art style is precise and cute.  Actually, the whole thing is cute.  And charming.  Yeah.  "Cute and charming" are the words that best describe Chobits, methinks.  Hideki is your all-around nice guy, and Chi is sweet and innocent (fortunately, not obnoxiously so).  The exchanges between them as Hideki teaches her about everyday things are often quite funny.  In general, all of the characters are nicely done.  I enjoyed hearing each person's tale involving the persocoms in their lives.  It really breathed some life into them that each of them had such interesting pasts.

I knew I would like Chobits because I tend to go for these types of stories.  I don't care what the critics say, I loved the films Bicentennial Man, A.I., The Matrix (whole trilogy, mind you!), and I, Robot.  Notice what all of those have in common?  They're all about robots that exhibit their own emotion and/or logic, and the consequences that come with that.  I've always found that to be a very intriguing concept.  While two of those (Matrix and I, Robot) explore what happens when we create artificial beings that realize they are superior to us, the other two are more closely related to Chobits.  Do robots feel love?  Is it wrong to love them?  I love that those films (and Chobits, of course) explore the moral and emotional implications of creating humanoid robots.  Chobits doesn't ever really get deep or anything.  It's more playful with the concept, but it presents an interesting argument, nevertheless.

Chobits is a nice, fun romp that might not be significant enough to stick to you forever, but it really is a delightful read.  As I mentioned before, I own all eight volumes.

Ceres, Celestial Legend

Title:  Ceres, Celestial Legend
Japanese Title:  Ayashi no Ceres
Mangaka:  Yuu Watase
Length: 14 Volumes (Completed)
English Translation?  Yes, all have been released by Viz Media.
Demo/Genre:  Shoujo/Fantasy/Romance/Horror

How did I find out about it?  It caught my eye on the store shelves, and I gave it a try.  It was one of the first series I started collecting when I first got into manga.

For their sixteenth birthday, Aya Mikage and her twin brother Aki are taken to a meeting before their extended family.  There, they are presented with a mummified human hand that causes them both to exhibit strange and powerful reactions.  The patriarch of the family announces that Aki will be taken away and protected as the heir to the family, and Aya will be killed.  Unconsciously using her new powers, Aya escapes and is rescued by the Aogiri family, who explains to her that the Mikages are descendants of celestial maidens.  Aya learns that long ago, a celestial maiden named Ceres was bathing on Earth when her robes were stolen, thus preventing her from returning to Heaven.  The man who took them then forced her to be his wife and bear his children, establishing the Mikage clan.  Ceres swore to keep coming back until she had destroyed the family.  As the reincarnation of Ceres, Aya is now on the run from her family as she struggles to find a way to appease Ceres so she can reunite with her brother.  Along the way she finds herself caught in a love triangle between two men:  Toya, the mysterious man hired by the Mikage to capture her, and Yuhi, the young man assigned to protect her.  Meanwhile, there is one Mikage who has plans of his own for the celestial descendants... (dum dum DUUUUUUUM).

I loved this manga.  Oh, how I loved this manga.  It had it all.  Yes, it has its flaws.  It's not perfect.  But still, there are so many things done right that I find it pretty easy to look past its shortcomings.  I'll begin with the art.  This was the series that saw Watase-sensei transition from one art style to another.  I'm not very fond of the style used in the beginning, but I absolutely loved her style by the end (and in subsequent titles).  For a shoujo writer, she's very good at drawing the strange and grotesque, and there are many opportunities for that here.

The story!  The characters!  It's all so good!  I love that this series is so dark.  I love that we watch Aya develop from a bratty teenager to a mature young woman in the series.  She's forced from her simple and shallow world into one where she has to survive, and this change is not instantaneous.  She grows and develops steadily throughout the series, occasionally backsliding, which I felt made her incredibly human.  I've said before that I'm not usually fond of Watase-sensei's female characters, but I really liked Aya.  Still, the highlight of the series goes to the males.  Aki was a very tragic figure.  Pulled from his sister and told that he is the future of his family, he only wants to do everything he can to bring the two of them together again.  However, while Aya struggles to balance with the one inside her, Aki is slowly being completely taken over by the personality of the one inside him, the progenitor of the family, the man who originally claimed Ceres for himself and still wants nothing but her.  This leads to some dark and disturbing (in a good way) plot elements, as now Aya must now deal with someone who looks, sounds, and feels like her twin brother, but who harbors ferocious desires for her.

The love triangle is particularly engrossing and very prevalent throughout the series.  Toya is the mysterious and incredibly handsome man hired to capture, but not kill, Aya/Ceres.  He remembers nothing of his past before coming to work for the Mikages, but he is inexplicably drawn to Aya.  Because he knows so little about himself, he's hesitant to give a name to his feelings for her or to give himself over to her.   Then there's Yuhi, pure and unsullied.  He's probably the only character in the whole series who never waivers.  He's always sure and steady on his feet (fyi, I was a Yuhi fan, through and through!).  Really, I could talk for days about these characters, but I don't want to move into Spoiler Land.  I guess I'll stop myself there.

Something else I loved was the strength of the villains.  For me, villains need to be either A) a mix of good and bad, humanized with good intentions or just plain misunderstood, or B) so epically evil that they're just plain awesome (see Bleach or Fullmetal Alchemist for that business).  This one falls into the former category.  I absolutely love it when villains are made into three dimensional characters that have more than just "take over and/or destroy the world" on their minds.  Kagami Mikage delivered very well as a villain.

As I mentioned before, this story wasn't perfect.  While the main cast is very solid, there were definitely some missed opportunities.  Some supporting characters introduced in the first half of the series are soon shuffled to the side.  Also, an array of bad guys introduced later on are never properly given a time to shine.  I bet if this series had been just three of four volumes longer, the additions being more chapters of character development for these neglected cast members, this manga would be beyond words.  As it is though, I still bloody loved every page.

If you're a shoujo fan, I think you absolutely have to read this manga.  It's a shame that this one often gets passed over in favor of Watase-sensei's most popular manga, Fushigi Yugi (which, in my mind, is far inferior).  Ceres, Celestial Legend has style, flare, scares, romance, action, comedy, twists, turns, and more romance!  What more could you ask for?  I'll also add that it's one of the incredibly few manga that have brought tears to my eyes.  Needless to say, I have collected all 14 volumes of Ceres.

Cage of Eden

Title:  Cage of Eden
Japanese Title:  Eden no Ori
Mangaka:  Yoshinobu Yamada
Length:  15 Volumes (Ongoing)
English Translation?  Yes, 4 volumes so far by Kodansha USA.
Demo/Genre:  Shounen/Horror/Action/Comedy

How did I find out about it?  It was on mangareader's Most Popular list for a while.  I think it has since dropped off...

A group of third-year middle school students took a class trip to Guam.  While flying back to Japan, their plane crashes, landing them on a strange island.  As the passengers explore the island, they learn that it is home to many large and dangerous extinct animal species.  Charismatic Akira Sengoku becomes the unofficial leader of a group of survivors as they struggle to find a way back home.

I chose this manga because it had several awesome words in its genre description on mangareader: horror, fantasy, action, psychological, romance, comedy, ecchi...ok, so "ecchi" wasn't one of the words that made me say "SWEET," but the other words (especially in combo) sounded pretty nice.  PLUS, the fact that I had only just recently finished watching all of Lost for the first time, I thought that this would be a great read.  Yeah, I was kinda wrong about that.

First, the art wasn't anything spectacular.  Not to mention that most of the art is spent on panty shots and cleavage.  I'm no prude, but the ecchi here was pretty distracting.  There were often frames that made me think, "Wow.  He REALLY wanted to draw that camel toe."

The story and characters are both lacking.  While the premise is interesting, it plays out in a very repetitive manner.  Sengoku's group encounters a new animal species and nearly die.  They escape.  They encounter a new animal species.  They nearly die.  They escape.  Lather, rinse, repeat.  This isn't helped by the fact that the characters are cookie-cutter characters that aren't interesting to read about at all.  Charismatic leader?  Check.  Nerdy megane?  Check.  Optimistic love interest? Check.  Strong, silent rebel?  Check.  And the list goes on.  I've said before that I don't mind cliches in manga, just do them well.  This manga failed that.  These characters might have worked if they were given unique histories and personalities, but they weren't.  We know very little about the characters' lives before landing on the island, and their personalities do not deviate from their given roles.

I was very disappointed by Cage of Eden.  I still read the new chapters, mostly because the plot is finally starting to leave the aforementioned cycle and unravel a bit.  I am a little curious about what's up with the island, but I'm not giddy with excitement when a new chapter is released, and I don't have any plans to collect this manga.  I highly doubt I will ever have the urge to reread it even once.

Bride of the Water God

Title:  Bride of the Water God
Korean Title:  Habaek-eui Shinbu
Manhwaga:  Yun Mi-kyung
Length:  14 Volumes (Ongoing)
English Translation?  Yes, 10 volumes so far by Dark Horse Comics.
Demo/Genre:  Shoujo (or whatever the Korean equivalent of shoujo is)/Fantasy/Historical/Romance/Drama)

How did I find out about it?  Not sure...I think I just kept seeing the name pop up on mangareader and decided to click on it one day.

To end the long drought that has caused much suffering in a small village, a girl is sacrificed to be the bride of the Water God, Habaek (gee, I wonder where the title for the manga came from).  That girl is Soah, and though she hears that the Water God is a monstrous being, she is shocked to learn that he is a small child and that Water Country is a beautiful place.  As she becomes accustomed to life in Water Country, she meets a young man named Mui and falls for him, not realizing that Mui and Habaek are one and the same.  A curse placed upon him forces him to lose his powers and bear the appearance of a child during the day and return to his true form at night.  Living in the world of the gods, Soah learns that all is not peaceful and the power struggles threaten to envelop the new life she has adopted.

I want to begin by saying that the artwork is drop-dead gorgeous.  I don't think that I've ever read a more beautiful manga/manhwa.  I may not be overly fond of the style in which the faces are drawn, but everything else in this manhwa is laced with elegance.  The costumes, the backgrounds, and the environments are all intricately detailed.  This series is well worth the read if only to appreciate the art.

The story is slow.  No point mincing words.  I like the story, but I think if about 40-50 chapters had been cut and the story condensed, this manhwa could have been something spectacular.  None of the characters stood out as particularly "awesome" to me, though I did like Soah and Mui.  I was more enthralled by the style of the characters.  I love the manner of speech.  It's so regal and elegant.  Every move these characters make seems to be full of grace.  That, combined with the plot, yields a positive reaction from me.  While the plot is slow, I love the intrigue.  Who is pulling whose strings?  Exactly whose side is everybody on?  What are their true goals?  The fact that this series can keep me interested in the answers to these questions is good.

While it's not one of my favorites, I do think fondly of BotWG.  Will I be collecting it?  I'm not yet, but I think I really would like to someday.  I have some others on my "must have" list though that I need to nab before I move on to this one though.

Bleach

Title:  Bleach
Mangaka:  Tite Kubo
Length:  53 Volumes (Ongoing)
English Translation?  Yes, 38 volumes so far by Viz Media.
Demo/Genre:  Shounen/Fantasy/Action/Comedy

How did I hear about it?  Um...how would I not hear about this one?  It's only one of the most popular manga in the world...

For as long as he can remember, Ichigo Kurosaki has been able to see spirits.  His life changes when he meets a certain spirit, a girl named Rukia Kuchiki.  She explains that she is a Soul Reaper (actually, a "shinigami."  I wish they had left that word untranslated in the English manga/anime.  Shinigami sounds better to me.).  Soul Reapers are the ones who are responsible for guiding the dead to the Soul Society (this story's version of the afterlife) and for cleansing fallen souls known as "hollows."  She is injured while trying to simultaneously fight a hollow and protect Ichigo and his family.  To give them a fighting chance, she transfers some of her powers to Ichigo.  Unfortunately, he absorbs all of her powers.  Until she can regain what she lost, she has Ichigo carry out her duties in her stead.  Everything is hunky dory until two other Soul Reapers arrive to take her back to the Soul Society to stand trial for granting her powers to a human.  And thus begins a story involving many characters, plot twists, conspiracies, and a hell of a lot of action.

As is common with most long series, the artwork shifts as time progresses.  I didn't dislike the art in the beginning, but I much prefer the art's later stages.  This manga has a huge cast, and I love how unique all of the character models are.  I believe that took a great deal of imagination on Kubo-sensei's part.  Not to mention the fact that so many of these characters are given pasts and histories.  While he might not go into detail with a lot of them, I thought that it was great just to see where each of them came from.  It's very easy to neglect these little details, but Kubo-sensei managed to create such an intricate web of characters that the reader can interact with emotionally.  That's one of the many things that I adored about this series.

Is the plot perfect?  No.  Despite its flaws though, it's still very well-done.  One can easily tell that Kubo had a good idea of what the big picture was going to be as he moved along with Bleach.  I read it all online first, and now I've been re-reading as I'm collecting it.  I'm constantly discovering little details that I missed the first time around that really show how unified the whole series is.  I love it when you can do that.  The introduction spans roughly the first fifty chapters, then you finally enter the first true story arc.  The story moves fluidly from arc to arc, never losing its momentum, which is quite the accomplishment considering its massive length.

The main cast is very solid.  Ichigo is a pretty typical shounen hero.  However, as the manga continues, I feel that he really begins to shine.  Yes, he always wants to do what's right.  Yes, he cares very much about the safety and well-being of his friends.  But we also start to see his flaws.  He's very confident in his abilities, and yet it almost seems that's he's confident because he's so insecure.  When something happens to one of his companions, he takes all of the blame himself.  He believes that it happened because he wasn't strong enough or wise enough to prevent it.  This really weighs on him, and so when he finds himself in a battle, he doesn't give himself the option of losing.  He has to win.  He pushes himself to his limits every time, and not because he believes so strongly in his cause that he'll do anything to achieve it.  More because losing means that he has failed his friends, and that is simply not an option.  I don't think I explained what I'm thinking very well, but I'll just say that to me, Ichigo is both simple and complex because of this.  We don't really start to see these things until the second major story arc.  That doesn't mean that Ichigo is boring and one-sided until that point.  It means that he is constantly growing throughout the series.  We don't see everything he has to offer right away.

Another character whose development I was very impressed with is Orihime.  She is the bright, bubbly, ditzy, big-breasted (of course) classmate of Ichigo, who happens to be in love with him.  I am usually immediately turned off by these types, but not with her.  For a large chunk of the series, she was just "okay" in my books.  But again, we see that when that second arc hits, Kubo-sensei dives into these characters and expands them.  Orihime has negligible offensive capabilities (at least in the scope of the powerful enemies they are fighting at this point), but her strengths lie in her defensive powers.  She can create an almost impenetrable shield and has the ability to reverse almost any injury.  Thus, she almost always finds herself being protected.  She wants to be by her friends' sides, but in battle, all she can do is hang out in the back, making her an easy target.  This could make her an easy character to hate, but instead, we really start to see her emotions shine through.  There comes a point where she is given a choice, and this choice allows her to do the protecting for once.  We start to see how much she believes in her friends, and how she doesn't want to be a burden to them anymore.  She loses her ditzy visage and becomes an emotionally strong character who would go to the ends of the earth to save her friends.  Again, I'm having difficulty putting it into words.  If you've been reading my reviews, then you've probably already figured this out.  Anyway, I found Orihime's character development to be excellent.  She went from being pretty low on my list to being in my top five Bleach characters.

I feel like I could talk all day about Bleach, but I think I'll end it here.  Suffice it to say, this series has achieved its popularity for a reason.  It's a great shounen.  I think even those who are not typically shounen readers will enjoy this one.  Look out for the anime though.  While it's very well done as well, it has tons of filler arcs in it that break up the momentum terribly.  I definitely recommend reading it as opposed to watching it.  Will I be collecting this one?  Yup.  As of the time of this writing, I have 25 volumes of Bleach.

This series is still ongoing in Japan, and only just a few weeks ago, a big announcement was made:  Bleach is entering its final story arc.  I'm excited!  I'm a little sad that it probably only has a couple of years left on the series, but at the same time, I'm excited because I know that this is going to be a great arc that will answer a lot of questions.

Blank Slate

Title:  Blank Slate
Japanese Title:  Akusaga
Mangaka:  Aya Kanno
Length:  2 Volumes (Completed)
English Translation?  Yes, both volumes have been released by Viz Media.
Demo/Genre:  Shoujo/Drama

How did I hear about it?  I dunno... I think I might have just stumbled across it on Amazon or something...

I'm not sure how much I remember about the plot.  It hasn't been too terribly long since I read it, but it's just that it didn't stick to me very well.  I remember thinking that it was almost a really great manga.  It's definitely not your average shoujo.  Let's see what I remember (too bad there's no wikipedia page to help jog my memory).  The story is about a man named Zen who has no memory of his past.  Hmm...I don't really remember much beyond that.  Zen has a very dangerous set of skills.  I remember that a bounty hunter who was after him became drawn into his world and wound up being his partner in crime, of sorts.  Sorry.  Fuzzy memory is fuzzy.

I remember more about what I thought after reading this manga than what I actually read.  It was very interesting to see a shoujo of this type.  BS was mysterious and dangerous with no trace of romance.  It was a very interesting concept, but unfortunately, it was too short.  I thought that if it had been just four volumes long, instead of two, that maybe there would have been enough time to develop the characters a little bit more.  I remember that there were plot points that were supposed to have a large impact, but because the characters never really became three-dimensional, that impact just doesn't hit with the force it needs (as evidenced by the fact that I can't remember a damn thing about it).  I doubt I'll be collecting this one.

It certainly wasn't a bad manga.  I remember enjoying it, at least.  It's just that beyond its unique take on shoujo, it doesn't stand out.  I would call Blank Slate "almost, but not quite."

Black Bird

Title:  Black Bird
Mangaka:  Kanoko Sakurakoji
Length:  14 Volumes (ongoing)
English Translation?  Yes, 12 volumes so far by Viz Media.
Demo/Genre:  Shoujo/Fantasy/Romance/Drama

How did I find out about it?  It hangs out in the Top 40 list at mangareader.net.

Misao has been able to see youkai (demons) her entire life.  As she nears her sixteenth birthday, their attacks become more and more bold.  There to save her is someone she never thought she'd meet again:  a childhood friend whom she fondly remembers as her first love, Kyo, who is now a handsome twenty-year-old.  She learns that Kyo is also a demon and the head of his clan.  He has come back to make good on a promise he made to her as a child, which was to marry her.  He reveals to her that she is a rare human known as the Senka.  This means any demon that consumes her blood will gain great power.  It is also said that wedding and bedding her will bring great prosperity to a clan.  But does he truly love her or just want her for the sake of his clan?

Human girl falls for otherworldly man... Yeah, that's been done before.  But as cliche as it sounds, I really thought it would be right up my alley.  However, this series just didn't do it for me.  The problem wasn't the premise.  It was the characters.  I know that many people love this manga, and that's great.  I would never antagonize someone for not sharing my opinion.  To each his own, right?  I'm just saying that personally, this wasn't my favorite, and now I shall tell you why.

First, we have Misao.  At first, she's resistant to Kyo because she's not sure if he genuinely loves her or if he's just out to gain power for his clan.  Once she's convinced, she resists no more and falls completely in love with him. This is fine.  My issue with Misao is how helpless she is.  She truly plays the damsel in distress.  These demons are out to consume her, yet she never really tries to defend herself.  She finds herself constantly in danger and consistently fails to offer any kind of resistance.  I'm a sucker for stories where the knight in shining armor performs the daring rescue at the last minute, but I feel that protecting Misao is a full-time job.  Kyo definitely has his work cut out for him.  I will say this for Misao though.  She grows more spine as the series moves along.  Rather than learning to physically defend herself, she does begin to show initiative as the plot thickens.  She doesn't cower in fear when it comes to Kyo's malevolent older brother.  She stands up to the man who threatens her and Kyo's relationship.  I was glad to see that, and I did gain a little more respect for Misao.  She just hasn't quite won me over yet.

Moving on to Kyo.  I don't doubt that he truly loves Misao.  He does prove throughout the series that his love is genuine.  He went to great lengths just to be able to marry her, and he proves time and time again that her safety is his top priority.  I just didn't like the way he was written.  His personality seemed very disjointed to me.  Sometimes he's aloof and seems too preoccupied to pay attention to Misao, then he'll suddenly be incredibly smitten, lavishing attention on her and becoming quite jealous and over-protective of her.  Sometimes he's very smooth and romantic with her, but then he'll suddenly be harsh with her or tease her almost to the point of cruelty.  Ok, so "cruelty" is a little extreme.  More specifically, he often teases her, dangling his affection just out of reach, to the point where she's in tears, then he reveals he was "only joking" and just wanted to get a rise out of her.  I call that being an asshole.  I just felt that overall, his personality bounced from one extreme to the other with no fluid transition between any of his moods.  I just haven't been able to bring myself to like Kyo.

I know I was fairly harsh with the series right then, but honestly, I don't hate it.  I still read the new chapters as they are scanlated.  I'm actually liking it a bit more lately.  I really do like the story.  I just wish the characters worked a little better for me.  If Misao had demonstrated more strength and spirit in the beginning, and if Kyo were toned down just a bit and smoothed out, I think I could really love this series.  As it stands right now though, I'm just not in love.  Currently, I have no plans to collect this one.

Oh, and one other thing... the artwork is very beautiful, no?  I really loved the art.

Beast Master

Title:  Beast Master
Mangaka:  Kyousuke Motomi
Length:  2 Volumes (Completed)
English Translation?  Yes, both volumes have been released by Viz Media.
Demo/Genre:  Shoujo/Romantic Comedy

How did I find out about it?  I'm a huge fan of Motomi's Dengeki Daisy, and I thought I would look into some of her other works, too.

When a new boy with gleaming black eyes transfers to her school, Yuiko's classmates avoid him in fear.  Fortunately, she had already had a brief encounter with him, and she suspected that he wasn't all that scary.  She befriends the boy, Leo, and learns that he was raised by his dad in the wild.  As such, he's not great at socializing even though he's a very nice boy.  There's one catch:  when he's in danger, he goes on a rampage at the sight of blood, even having killed a leopard in the past.  He and Yuiko strike up a somewhat awkward friendship, and as she gets to know him, she learns the secret of his family that saw his father pulling him from the country.

This will be a short review, simply because I don't have a great deal to say about a two-volume manga (some of which was filled with a couple of one-shots by Motomi-sensei).  First off, I'm gonna go ahead and say it:  this series is a little odd.  Leo is very sweet, and Yuiko is plenty quirky.  But a boy who goes a bit mad at the sight of blood?  In the real world, it would never work.  Good thing this isn't the real world, now, isn't it?  It was a very sweet manga.  I love Motomi-sensei's art style and her sense of humor, both of which were up to par here.

All in all, despite its strange premise, the series was cute and sweet.  The characters were fun and entertaining.  The romance was predictable, yet adorable.  It was definitely one of the stronger short series that I've read.  Would I collect it?  Yes, and I already have. :)

Basara

Title:  Basara
Mangaka:  Yumi Tamura
Length:  27 Volumes (Completed)
English Translation?  Yes, all volumes have been released by Viz Media.
Demo/Genre:  Shoujo/Sci-Fi/Romance/Adventure/Drama

How did I find out about it?  My college otaku buddy recommended it to me!

The story takes place in the future in a post-apocalyptic Japan.  The country is now run by a powerful Emperor and his four sons.  In a small village, it is prophesied that the "Child of Destiny" will be born.  When twins are born, the people of the village assume the male child, Tatara, to be the fated child.  The other twin, Sarasa, is raised living in her brother's shadow.  When they are fifteen, the Red King attacks their village, kills their the village chief (their father), and beheads Tatara.  To steady the villagers, Sarasa cuts her hair and claims to be Tatara, stating that it was Sarasa in disguise who was murdered.  With very few people knowing that she is really Sarasa, she begins her quest to seek revenge upon the Red King for destroying her family, but her journey soon grows to encompass the future of all of Japan.  Along the way, she meets a confident (coughegomaniaccough) young man at a hot spring.  When she's with Shuri, she's able to be herself, and the two soon fall in love, neither one realizing that they are in fact enemies, since Shuri is actually the Red King.

The artwork took some getting used to.  It did tidy up a bit as the series progressed, but it was never what I would call "beautiful."  I hesitate to label it "ugly," though.  It's just...a little unconventional.  As I read Basara, I grew accustomed to it and really came to appreciate it (and I still believe that Shuri is a handsome man!).

The series was maybe a little slow to start, but once it got going, I was completely swept up in it.  I loved the sheer scope of it.  As Tatara, Sarasa must travel all over Japan in search of the Four Swords in hopes of uniting the various peoples of the country in her battle against the tyrannical rule of the Kings.  This manga really had a sense of adventure, and I loved that about it.

What was truly the highlight for me though was the lead characters and their romance.  In the beginning, Sarasa's only goal is to slay the Red King.  She trains, she leads her people, all in the hopes of having a face-to-face encounter with him.  After that, she figures she'll just tell everyone the truth about who she really is, then try to start a new life.  However, as she proceeds along her journey, she realizes that it can never be as simple as that.  The Red King isn't the source of their problems, and her people have come to rely on her (or on Tatara, rather) to bring about a change in the world for the better.  She knows that it's selfish to pursue only her own revenge and ignore the suffering of not just her village but of all of Japan.  Something else we also see in Sarasa is her psychological struggle.  She's never allowed to be herself.  In the eyes of the public around her, she must always be Tatara.  She can't even relax around those few who know her secret because they are constantly pushing her forward with things like: "What's next?"  "Where do we go?"  "Think of what Tatara would do."  No matter who she's with, she can't behave like a girl, she can't be herself...except for when she's with Shuri.  She met him by chance, and he had absolutely no reason to make a connection between her and Tatara, so she was free to be Sarasa around him.  Likewise, as the Red King, he finds it refreshing to be around a girl who treats him like a regular man, so he doesn't feel the need to reveal that he's royalty to her.  I really loved Shuri.  Yes, he was over-confident and could be a real pecker sometimes, but he truly was a kind and just man.  Why did he kill her family if he's so "kind?"  A means to an end, which brings me to my next point.  Without realizing it, Tatara and the Red King had the same goals.  They just sought them in different ways.  Shuri hated the way his father and brothers ran the country.  He wanted to do away with them and anyone else who stood between him and the throne.  Once he had gained the crown, he planned to revamp the way Japan was run and make it a better place for the people.  Any lives lost along the way were merely a price that had to be paid.  The legends surrounding Tatara as being one who could topple the royal family made him an obstacle that had to be removed if Shuri were to seek the throne.  On the opposite side, Sarasa/Tatara also sought to make Japan into a place where its people could live in peace.  However, she loathed the loss of life and naively hoped for a way to change the world without throwing away lives (except for the Red King's, of course).  Though they did not know each other's identity, their ideals bled into one another.  Shuri came to value human life and seek more peaceful ways of going about his agenda, and Sarasa learned that she cannot fall apart when blood is shed in a war.

I feel like I said a lot there, but I only scratched the surface of what I loved about this manga.  Was it perfect?  No.  The side characters left something to be desired.  There were a couple that interested me, but for the most part, many of them felt like they were only there to move the plot along.  Nevertheless, I loved this story.  Will I collect it?  Yeah, I plan to.  It will be difficult though.  A couple of volumes have reached "very rare" status.  I still haven't decided yet if I'm insane enough to spend $100 or more on a single volume of manga.  Maybe I'll just collect what's reasonable and then search like mad for a drop in price on those two volumes...I dunno.  I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

As a side note, the music nut in me often stumbles upon songs that fit the situation (in my opinion, at least).  My favorite song for Basara was TRANSMISSIONS' "My World."  For me, it was Sarasa's theme, mostly for the second half of the manga.

Banana Fish

Title:  Banana Fish
Mangaka:  Akimi Yoshida
Length:  19 Volumes (Complete)
English Translation? Yes, all have been released by Viz Media.
Demo/Genre:  Shoujo/Action/Drama

How did I hear about it?  My trusted college otaku buddy made the recommendation!

Near the end of the war in Vietnam, an American soldier loses it and guns down many of his fellow men, only able to utter the words "Banana Fish" over and over again.  Fast forward to New York City in 1985 as that soldier's younger brother Ash, now 17, still struggles to find out what "Banana Fish" means and what happened to his brother.  Ash has lived a difficult life as the pet of Papa Golzine, a powerful man who peddles young boys, and now leads a network of gangs in the city.  Joining the investigation is a journalist and war buddy of Ash's brother, Max Lobo.  Max has connected with a Japanese friend who has come to New York with his assistant, Eiji, to do an article on American gang life.  The group finds themselves sinking deeper and deeper into the secrets behind "Banana Fish" that leads to some of the country's most powerful people.

I feel like that was a very difficult summary to write.  How do I cover the gist without revealing too much?  I really enjoyed this manga.  I wasn't impressed with the artwork.  Like most long series, the style did shift and develop as the years passed, but it was never one of my favorite styles.  That aside, it looked delightfully 80s, which I loved.

Though BF is a shoujo, it crossed over to a pretty wide audience.  There're  no flowers and romance to be found here.  Instead, it's guns and conspiracies.  I believe its classification as a shoujo comes from the relationship between Ash and Eiji.  While there's no romance between them, they share a very close bond that exudes overtones of shounen-ai while never quite crossing into that territory.  So if boy's love isn't your thing, don't write the series off.  If it is your thing, then don't get your hopes up because nothing ever really happens.

The story was great.  You'll find yourself caught up in the investigation along with Ash, as he uncovers the big picture, piece by piece.  Where this story truly shines however, is in the characters.  I adored Ash and Eiji.  Ash has only ever known abuse, betrayal, and violence.  As such, he cares for no one and is well-versed in how to survive.  An injury forced Eiji to give up his dreams in Japan, and now he's thrust from a peaceful life into Ash's world.  Though they come from different worlds and have lived different lives, they understand each other and form an unbreakable bond.  Throughout the series, you watch Ash slowly thaw out as he learns to care for and protect his new-found friend.  On the other hand, Eiji grows and develops into an emotionally strong person who is there to be a pillar to Ash.  I also loved that Eiji slowly became able to protect himself by developing survival skills.

Overall, this was a great manga.  Great character relationships, an exciting plot, an interesting setting.  There's a reason that it's on many lists of classic titles.  While it wasn't the pinnacle of awesome for me, it was still a pretty sweet read.  Also, the ending is bittersweet, and the final volume contains a very nice epilogue that was actually a one-shot spin-off.