Sealed Realities

Fanfiction Review: Destino

2009-05-18T15:34:00.000-05:00

Destino
Luna Chick
(Rating – T; Pairing – Inuyasha x Kagome)
Original recommendation post at The Readers Have Chosen

This is quite possibly one of the cases of a fanfiction that could (and possibly should) exist on its own as an original story. Destino is an AU (alternate universe) fic that uses the Inuyasha characters and puts them in a small town in Spain. Like any good story, this one is based on the author’s personal experience and the language, the details, and the tone of the story all reflect that. It also amplifies the fic to so much more than just fanfiction. It’s a story that a former professor of mine would gladly teach in his classes—even though he believed the birth of fandom to be the end of literature*

The immediate criticism I can see of this story is the fact that the characters can appear to be somewhat OOC (out-of-character). It’s not horrible, but I can see it from time to time, but it’s the nature of the story that she was going for and the adaptation of IY to it. Luna Chick does do a great job of capturing some of the basic, foundry character traits though. Kagome is still hard working, dedicated, and unmoved by the societal hatred towards Inuyasha. Inuyasha (not a hanyou, but just a human in this story) is the outcast, hot tempered, without manners, and possessive. Miroku is, as usual, the flirt and Sango keeps him in rein. There is no Kohaku to make her angsty—which just leaves Sango strong and level-headed. Sota and Shippo are both slightly bratty but possessive of Kagome, and Kagome’s mother is still insanely understanding, kind, and open minded.

The twist about the characters come from how Luna Chick fits them into a culture that is so very different from Japan (both current and of antiquity). In order to do this conversion correctly, and I do believe she does, the author has to identify the important characteristics and find a way to explain away those traits in the setting of the fic or give a similar but different characteristics that fit.

For example, Inuyasha’s past has always played a major part of who he is. I don’t think anyone can argue this—especially with the repeated flashbacks to chibi!Inuyasha holding his ball forlornly as everyone else avoids him. Well obviously that specific background wouldn’t work in this setting, even if only for the fact that he isn’t a hanyou in Destino So Luna Chick dealt with this by giving an equivalent social stigma to Inuyasha. You’ll find out pretty quickly what it is, but I won’t give it away here. The basic gist is while Inuyasha’s place in society in the series created this distrusting, gruff character and the author took that characteristic and found a way to use it in her story—creating a great, modern social commentary while doing it too.

Beyond just the adaptation of characters, this fic is just amazing. The first time I read it, I wanted to throw down everything and move to Spain (regardless that my Spanish is horrible). Just like J.K. Rowling, Tolkien, or C.S. Lewis, Luna Chick is able to take you to this world, let you see inside it, and then thrust you into a specific situation that manages envelop you. It’s no longer just about the characters, you are there with Kagome, deciding on her future; with Inuyasha as he struggles with his plans to keep his hometown a float, and with every other character as they progress through the story. And she does this within 25-30 pages! To me that’s one of the greatest triumphs for any author. To completely immerse a person in a story to the point where the reader belongs there just as much as the other characters and Luna Chick accomplishes this tenfold (again, I wanted to move to Spain!).

If you are an Inuyasha fan, this is a must read, in my opinion. If you’re a fan of good fiction—check this it out too. It'll take your breath away.

*He believes that now that everyone believes they can be an author, then the field will be watered down with crap. And that people are losing their own creativity by writing fanfiction instead of exploring their own original creations.

Fanfiction Review: One Glance

2009-04-09T11:18:00.001-05:00

One Glance
neko_writes
(Rating - Varies/Yaoi; Fandom - Kyo Kara Maoh; Pairings - Various, Yuuri x Wolfram)
Originally written for The Readers Haven Chosen

I'm being ballsy. Neko_writes is one of the more active members of RHC and yet I'm reviewing her fanfic, One Glance. But I can't help it. I can't leave it alone. In the span of a year, I read and reread One Glance at least 25 times. Obsessive? Yes...and no. Re-readability is one of the most important parts of any work of fiction. The lasting power of any good story is based on how many times a person can reread a story and not get bored with it. Or how many times a person can read the same piece of work and find something new to admire or ogle over. Beyond just the re-readability portion, One Glance became an inspiration piece for me. It made myself, as a writer, want to strive for a much more in-depth writing process and product.

What I'm specifically talking about is research. Yeah, one of those dreaded words used in English classes to make students do excess, seemingly needless work. Many great authors have said over and over again that the best writing a person can do is when writing stuff they know. For me, that's the easiest type of writing to do. I could write any given amount of stories about an awkward, gamer girl and her dysFUNctional family. But there is an extent to how interesting that would be and how much people would want to read. Not to mention, a limitations in setting and situations. And if brought into the fanfiction world...well, it would be hard to compound fandom into the same template over and over again. Sometimes, we need to know more in order to write well. Sometimes it can't be about just what we already know, but what we need to learn in order to write. That's what I took from neko_writes fic and I believe what most aspiring writers need to be more aware of. Especially in fanfiction.

Now what I'm about to say applies to myself just as much as anyone else. I can honestly say I bastardized Japanese culture and concepts when I first began writing fanfiction in....oh god, it's been way too long to remember. And it's not just Japanese culture here, it's any setting or situation that an author wants to put their characters into. How many times have I read an Inuyasha fanfic that was supposed to be about Kagome in high school, and yet was obviously modeled after the American educational system. For those people who don't know the differences, the biggest (amongst many), is that the Japanese only have 3 grades in high school and they aren't labeled like Americans do either (freshmen, sophomore...etc). Instead, they're just called year 1, 2, and 3. Also, Japanese students stay in one classroom the whole day (with some exceptions, P.E.--for example). It's the teachers who comes to them--a system I'm very fond of, btw. But as you can see, these seemingly small differences can really change how the story comes across. And just by reading up on some of the differences (which you could honestly find on wikipedia) can change the entire structure of a story. Just think of what would happen if Kagome and the mysterious-new kid-who is obviously Inuyasha reincarnation (or something) were stuck in the same room together all school day instead of just bumping into each other in the hallways and having a lot of their classes the same. It changes the perception, it changes the atmosphere, and how the characters would interact and so on. With that said, I do know a lot of high school fics are meant to be transfered to a non-Japanese culture. And that's fine too, as long as the setting is appropriate to the situation, if that makes sense. And by the way, why is there such an abundance of high school fics in fandom? I never really understood that.

OKAY, now that I got that inital part out of the way, let's start talking about the fic that I was going to review: One Glance. First off, besides the fact that I've only discussed Inuyasha at this point, One Glance is actually a fantastical, alternate reality story based in the Kyo Kara Maoh! fandom. Oh, and it's one of the best ones out there. So if you're into the KKM fandom, and you haven't this fic yet, do it now! I'm serious. You should just stop and go read it because that is how awesome it is. You'll laugh, you'll scream, you'll cry, and then you'll want to punch Yuuri and about every other character in the story over and over again. 'Cause seriously, they're all idiots.

During my years in college, my fiction writing professor always stressed to us that, as we write, we need to be sadist. I got this lecture a lot actually, because I fall in love with my characters and don't want any harm to come to them. I just want their lives to be peachy-keen without any harm or folly to befall them. But that makes for a boring story. Characters drive conflict, and conflict drives the story. In other words, characters must have flaws, they much go through hardships--but at the same time, they need to experience the good parts of life. Unless you're on Prozac or Vicodin, then $10 bucks says that everyone out there has gone through the hills of life. Sometimes your on top, and sometimes your on bottom. Some of us may be on top more than most, and some of us may be on the bottom more. But the point is, stories and characters have to have happy moments and sad moments. The sad moments make us angry and upset and then all the more joyful when the happy times comes. Same with life, if you think about it.

But it's at this point where neko_writer really excels. She doesn't let the KKM crew have it easy. In fact, you'll pull your hair at some points when you just wish you could find a manuscript for the story and show the idiot characters what's coming to them. And in this way, she actually keeps the characters more in line with their cannon-counterparts. Wolfram wouldn't be Wolfram if he wasn't firey, hardheaded, and obstinate. There are some character "changes" for plot reasons, but it's not so much that it distracts, even if you're a hardcore fan.

For some logistics of the setting, since I already said it was an AU/AR fic. While it's never officially stated (or at least I missed it if it was), One Glance is set in a period of time that coincides with the end of the Edo period, the period of seclusion, and the beginnings of the Meiji period (many of these "periods" blend into each other). For those of you who are Kenshin (especially the OVAs, called Samurai X in the US) or Peacemaker Kurogane fans, this is the time period they would have been set. History has been changed a bit, obviously, to fit with the circumstances and plot (as sometimes must be done) but this is the time period when the West is really beginning to take an interest in Japan and contact between Europe and Japan is gaining momentive. Hence why good, ole Wolfram von Bielefeld--a German Prince--is in Japan. And the prince part is often stresed, as you'll find out. As an interesting twist, especially given that it's set in a time where the Japanese government is more and more becoming suspicious of the West (hence the seclusion period later), that neko_writes allows a lot of non-Japanese in a courtly setting. But it works, and mostly because it explains why the KKM characters would be in Japan otherwise, without having to change their names. There is nothing that spoils a story more than seeing a JoAnn in school next to Ami, Keiko, and Sakura (again, why so many high school fics?!). So all the Shin Makoku characters make their appearances in this fic (for the most part) but in different ways that match their names. Personally, I feel it was absolutely brilliant decision and so very well executed.

I really hate to give away anything because right from the beginning there are lots of little plot twists. I guess I should point out, after all this, that One Glance is a yaoi fic. But it's KKM, and that's kind of to be expected. Yuuri and Wolfram are engaged in cannon, even if Yuuri is still a bit...oblivious to what that means (funny enough, attitude towards that engagement, in this story, are a switched between characters than in normal cannon). The Shibuya clan rules Japan in this plotline and is entertaining, as I mentioned, guests and advisors from the West. Wolfram is over visiting, not too happy about it either--but that's just kind of who Wolfram is, if you think about it. While there he catches the eye of Yuuri--of course--and finds himself stuck in Japan under circumstances that, in the end, he can't refuse. He isn't happy about this, but he finds a niche; he finds a place within the palace (remember, the Shibuya family rules Japan in this fic), and in the meantime--we get to read wonderfully beautiful and discriptive accounts of the clothes being worn in court--especially the kimono. And you will want to go out and buy antique kimono after reading this fic, I guarantee it. But don't get me wrong, there aren't long, boring sequences of just clothes description (see: Moby Dick and Melville's chapters of Whale species categorization), it's always situated within the plotline.

Another nice thing about One Glance is the fact that, while there is a long, universal plot of this fic, there are several sub-plots, or arcs, involved too. I honestly think this was a fantastic idea when planning out a longer fic. This provides some closure for certain plot devices/points throughout the story, while waiting for the cumulitation of the larger plot at the end. This is how many long stories do it already, especially in anime--look at Naruto, One Piece, Tsubasa Chronicles, and all the long-running series. It works really well to keep people's attention.

There are several other pairings, by the way, other than Yuuri x Wolfram; though some are harder to come by than others. Almost every pairing in here is yaoi, at least with the main pairings. There is also a very sneaky "crossover." Well, sort of. For friends of Prince of Tennis, you'll noticed some cleverly used character names (and characters, technically) melded into soliders that fit into the plotline. I personally was very fond of these characters and their use.

This review, in the end, seems a bit...lacking but the story itself has so much to it that giving away things is very easy. As a historical-fanfiction, which is the best way to describe the genre this would fit in, in my opinion, this story is intriguing. It captures the culture of the period wonderfully (both of East and West), but does so within constraints of fandom. It's a very hard thing to accomplish but neko_writes conquers this in such a way that leaves very little to want. To end this, I really just have to say that One Glance reads like a published novel, and I think that speaks both the talents and hard work of the author and the strengths and eloquence of the story. It's fun to read, and re-read, and read again. I do highly recommend everyone to give it a shot.

Fanfiction Review: Teaching Goku

2009-03-31T11:35:00.002-05:00

Title: Teaching Goku
Author: Quirk
Fandom: Saiyuki
Pairing: Goyjo x Goku, background Sanzo x Hakkai; hints of Sanzo x Goku & Goyjo x Hakkai
Rating:X-Adult
Summary: What started out as a single lesson leads to Gojyo and Goku becoming a couple- but will they manage to stay that way? (Yaoi)
Originally written for "The Campfire" @ The Readers Have Chosen

The Series
First off, Saiyuki is a brilliant series that I recommend everyone watch. It's actually based off a real Buddhist myth (Chinese in origin, if I remember correctly) and builds upon it to something wickedly delicious and pretty bad ass. In ways, it is a typical shonen-series, but the goals and relationships involved can be very intriguing. And yes, everyone thinks Goku = Dragonball Z, well that Goku is named after the mythological Goku, the monkey king born from a rock (but cursed by the gods). Well, unlike DBZ, this Goku is the "real" Goku--i.e. he's the actual monkey king born from a rock and rescued by Sanzo (one of the high Buddhist priests who carries the sacred scrolls around his neck--or wears them, I suppose). But things aren't just typical in this version of Saiyuki (because there is another version, Patarillo Saiyuki which is a completely different series).

No, the Sanzo in this story is not a "good" Buddhist. He is angry, forlorn, emo in the rain, he drinks, smokes, and would probably "enjoy the company of loose women" if he wasn't so intimidating. Oh--and he wields a gun that can kill "demons" (youkai) and a paper fan that can smack the crap out of...well, it tends to smack the crap out of Goku and Goyjo the most. Goku is a "youngster" (still probably several hundred years old but the mental capacity--and the stomach capacity--of a 14/15 year old) and travels with Sanzo as his ward. Goyjo is a half-human, half kappa (a water sprite--ironic since Goyjo hates the water) womanizer who joins the group with Hakkai--a mysterious, zen character with a rather...interesting (and sad) past. The group of four sets off "to the West" to battle youkai and stop the rise of the youkai's head-honcho's who could destroy the human world altogether.

The Fanfiction: Teaching Goku
For people who frequent the Saiyuki fandom, there is a very evident pattern of pairings. This is a mostly male cast (there are...two females in the series that make a frequent appearance as opponents to the group) so the tendency for yaoi is very strong. Of course, having an all male cast doesn't stop yaoi fangirls/boys from making a series yaoi (yes--I'm guilty of this too!) but in this case, with a focus on four males traveling together (and several gay jokes thrown into the series itself), it isn't hard to see why most stories in this fandom are yaoi.

What makes this story unique, however, is 1) the pairing and 2) the approach to the plot line. And yes there is plot, even though this is one of the best written smexiness I've read, the plot is by far the most important thing to this series. The pairing is, officially, Goyjo x Goku. Normally you see Sanzo x Goku and Goyjo x Hakkai and that's about it. The Sanzo x Goyjo pairing seems to also be frequent--especially in doujinshi (JP). But this story begins right off on a different track, it takes a pairing that most people don't expect and plays with it. She also explore Sanzo x Hakkai in a much darker tone and the Sano x Goku and Goyjo x Hakkai element isn't lost. There is a reason why people tend to put them together and she explores this in a, again, darker angle.

The basic plot line of this story is that Goku wants to know about sex (they're still traveling West). What?! Our precious Goku wanting to know about how to do the nasty?! Yeah--exactly, grabs you there, doesn't it? And of course, who does he ask? Well the only person who we know gets laid regularly in the series: Goyjo. Can't blame him, go for the person who has experience to know. Well--the plot twist, and why he didn't ask the ever kind Hakkai, is Sanzo and Hakkai had been hooking up and their...noise had been disturbing and changing sweet, little, innocent Goku. So, again, he asks Goyjo for help.

What does Goyjo do, the pervert that he is? He calls Goku a "baka monkey" and ignores him the best he can...
...which doesn't work for long and he eventually caves. Goyjo isn't a bad character, he's just very conflicted. He is often called out for "mother issues" in this fanfic, and you can see that within the series itself too. It's a nice personality vice the author was able to extract from the series and apply as a plot device. 'Cause, there is one thing we should never forget about Goyjo--he likes to drink, gamble, and have sex. So here we have innocent Goku asking for advice/help/practice and which is just a foreshadowing that things won't stay the same;that relationships won't stay the same, and the two of them will grow, fight and have hot, hot, sweet monkey smex (literally, considering the characters; see Kappa).

Another plus, plus, plus for this story is her approach to the sex itself. 'Cause let's face it, most yaoi authors are women; and, more so, women who have done very little research on the actual implementation of gay sex. So when they go in there discussing what Character A does to Character B, they don't realize the massive amount of pain that would stimulate, or the physical impossibilities of some it. (To be fair, professional yaoi mangaka in JP do this too!) Quirk approaches the sex in a very realistic manner. [I've been assuming that Quirk is a female, but it's possible that she's a he, and if s/he is, oops--I apologize!] Goyjo teaches Goku about the logistics of gay sex, the proper way to do things, ways to be safe. This isn't a whole "slam, bang, we're finished" kind of plot, this is a, at current, 22 chapter detailed, log of two different characters growing into a relationship that started from "meaningless" sex to something that is changing them both (for the better?).

And just as much as this story has lots of smex--and it does, don't get me wrong--it also has lots of funny moments. Lots of things that drive on the plot, things that'll creep you out, things that'll make you laugh, and things that'll make you cry. I just reread the last chapter posted (Ch. 22; Sept 8, 2008) and my stomach is in knots for what the ending foreshadows (I won't give it away, I swear!). This is very much a "on the edge of your seat" type of story and the writing drives it more home each time. I have never been so emotionally invested in this series as I am when reading Teaching Goku. You can tell that Quirk puts a lot of effort into making each chapter something that fits perfectly into the arc-line and yet keeps it intriguing (not drawn out like so many longer fics do) for the readers. I've reread this story countless amounts of time and it never gets old, for me.

In fact, I think I'll end this review now to go reread it again.

Munto (Updated)

2009-03-04T15:16:00.007-06:00

There are always some anime that just go unnoticed and shouldn't; and unfortunately Munto has been one of those. It's a story that has a simplicity and yet great depth to its plot. The universe, as this series creates it, is a comlex one, but through the OVAs, there is this feel that we're only allowed to see a quick glance into it.

Originally Munto started off as a two-anime OVA (original video animation) released in 2003 and 2005. This year it got its TV permier on Chiba TV, and while it is still running in Japan, it seems that the only group to pick it up is the fansub group m.3.3.w. However, the TV series seems to be doing very well in Japan, as Anime News Network recently reported that it would be getting a new manga-adaptation. Munto seems to be proving its lasting appeal. It went so long without much notice at all, then 5 years after its original release, it explodes back onto the anime/manga mainstream.

Despite being a relatively recent anime, the animation style is something that mimics older anime (though later in the TV series, it changes some). While watching the OVAs, and the TV series as it recycles a lot from the originals, the style is much simpler than some of the newer series. Not that this is a good or bad thing, but it changes the feel of the entire series. From personal experience, I have noticed that younger/newer fans of anime tend to be wary of these older styles of animation, but I encourage everyone to give this series a try.

Again, the plot is simple. The universe is split into different levels: the lower world--Earth as we know it--which doesn't know about the other, upper world (often translated as being Heaven, but don't think the Christian concept of Heaven here). Within the heavens, a war is being waged between the various kingdoms due to the impending threat of the loss of akuto. Akuto is the form of energy used by all the kingdoms that live above the Earth.

Munto (ムント), whom the series is named after, is the ruler of the Magical Kingdom. While the war wages within his domain, and threatening to spread throughout all of the heavens, Munto makes a very pivtal decision: to drop to Earth. This drop to Earth is a big deal, it's not like "oh, I've just stepped off the edge of my floating island." Instead, he has to break through a barrier that separates the two realms and keeps them safe from each other.

The decision to drop comes because Munto needs to find someone. A person who is able to see the world above, even though its invisible to everyone else. The girl, Yumemi Hidaka (日高ユメミ Hidaka Yumemi), is basically the key to solving the problems occuring overhead. She's the way to end the war--and Munto must find her.

But of course, as with any good story, things don't come easy. Again, this is a series that is a must see. The characterization is wonerful and many of the obsticales of the series revolve around Yumemi accepting her ability/role and dealing with the side-effects of having a connection with Munto, a person not without his own troubles and haunted past.

The TV series recaps a lot of the OVAs and then continues the storyline, so if you choose to start with that, then you'll be fine. If you choose to look at the OVAs first, be warned, get both the 1st and 2nd DVD at the same time. You'll be thirsting for more once by the end of each.

UPDATES:
More great news for this series! ANN is reporting today that that Munto TV will finish off in the theatres. It will be a limited released (Tokyo and Kyoto) and will include both new and old scenes as it wraps up the series.

Antique Bakery

2009-02-12T12:40:00.004-06:00

After too many months fallow, I finally finished Antique Bakery (西洋骨董洋菓子店 Seiyō Kottō Yōgashiten). A long time ago, I mentioned Antique Bakery in my post titled, “Let’s Talk about Slash.” From the start I was wary over how the series was being brought to animated form. I’m a huge fan of Yoshinaga Fumi (よしながふみ), I collect all of her manga I can get my hands on, and so I will admit I was probably extra critical on this series more than I would for other anime-manga conversions.

But this series also made me realize something—Antique Bakery in both forms falls short of having a point, though not for a lack of trying. Well, that’s not quite right. It does have a point, but it does try to be something it isn’t and for that, it becomes confusing and vague—especially near the end. Antique Bakery tries so hard to be like a more conventional, non-boy’s love stigmatized, series (and it isn’t, to point out, a boy’s love series). You could blame this on the ever cursed 12-episode format that kills many a-good stories with its brevity; however, this same plot vagueness appears in the manga too, so scapegoating will only get us so far.

Without giving too much away, beneath the yummy exterior of four men working in a bakery, there is this underlying tale of the store owner’s (Keisuke Tachibana, 橘圭一郎) horrible past. And it is…um, in theory, horrible. I mean, not like Shinji (Neon Genesis Evangelion) bad, or even Lucy (Elfen Lied) bad, but you know, normal world bad—for a child. Anyway, we learn that this incident has permanently dented Keisuke’s (also known as Keiichiro) existence.

In the manga you learn that he is a very capable, intelligent person. He had the promise as a public servant, a lawyer, and a couple other career paths before he told his (rich) family that he was dropping out to start a bakery, a French bakery at that. They encouraged him, as loving parents do, and helped support him. The twist of this series, and thus the attempt to being a different type of series, is the reasoning behind wanting to open bakery—and that all goes back to the horrible events of Keisuke’s past. Irony does strike too: Kei-chan doesn’t like sweets (again, back to his past experiences).

Keisuke hires one of the best French patissier he can, a man named Yusuke Ono (小野裕介). Ono is actually where this series gets its boy’s love stigma from, because, you guessed it, Ono is gay. And not only gay but he is demonically gay. Wow, that sounds a lot worse than it is. In fact, Ono is known for his “demonic charm,” and the ability to turn even straight men gay…for him alone. Obviously this leaves Ono being extremely well laid all the time but it also causes a lot of problems too. He gets fired from a lot of jobs as he has “inner-office relationships” (well, whatever; not an office but you get what I mean) that creates lots of fights. In Yoshinaga-sensei’s doujinshi for the series (yes, she did doujin for her own series; not as uncommon as it may appear—even Kishimoto is rumoured at doing Naruto doujinshi), one of the issues dealt with is Ono’s own recklessness with his relationships and the trouble it brings.

Ono also has a connection to Keisuke before the bakery—they were classmates and while they don’t mutually recognize each other until a little later, Ono did confess to Keisuke in high school. And Keisuke wasn’t so nice about his rejection of it. That changed Ono’s life (that and his own familial…issues), for better or worse. But in the end, these two end up together again. But again, this isn’t a boy’s love series. Only in the doujin does Yoshinaga-sensei go into the boy’s love aspects between Ono and Chikage (and then a crack doujin, pairing everyone together in different situations but that’s completely beside the point, at the moment).

After Ono joins the bakery, a new character is introduced Eiji Kanada (神田えいじ) , one of my favorite characters on the fact that my beloved Miyano Mamoru-kun is the seiyuu (pictured far right; source: http://mamo0608.blog34.fc2.com/).

Eiji is a former champion boxer, who had to stop for health reasons. He loves sweets and manages to convince Keisuke to allow him to apprentice himself to Ono. While we know Eiji’s issues (giving up his first passion: boxing), he as a character is a bit two-dimensional. He’s spunky, short-tempered, and a hard worker (like a typical shonen main character, actually) but that’s about all to him. He does have aspirations—to be a great patissier like his sensei, Ono. And on his part, Ono feels he not only would be a great patissier, but would far surpass him.

‘Cause that is one thing we learn about Ono. He became a patissier not for the love of pastries and cakes; not for the passion that Eiji constantly exhibits, but because he became involved with a man, followed him to France, and then broke up with him. He then apprenticed himself to a French, foul-tempered patissier who schooled him with all he knew. A relationship began later, which comes back to haunt Ono in the main storyline, and much danger occurs. Did I mention this French man was foul-tempered? ‘Cause yeah, he is. But again, Ono became a patissier because it was something he was good at, not because he had the passion to do it, and that is something to remember about him.

Of all the characters, Ono probably has the most impact on everyone. He influences and encourages Eiji. He is the main reason Keisuke’s bakery does well and he provides a forgiving friendship that heals both Kei-chan’s and his past. And then there is his relationship with Chikage Kobyakawa (小早川千影), which is both very sweet and passionate. In the end, Ono is the mother hen of the group—just the mother hen with a kind of kinky side.

And finally, the last character I’ll mention is Chikage, Keisuke’s childhood…friend. After his family’s death, Chikage “worked” for Keisuke’s family and even though both he and Keisuke are full grown men, he continues to look out for his friend. Their relationship is an odd one, because while Chikage is supposedly taking care of Keisuke, it’s really the other way around (most of the time). Chikage is completely inept in almost everything. He is tall, and hits his head on the doors, and he wears dark sunglasses all the time to help protect sensitive eyes—and looks very intimidating for that fact. Not to mention a pretty low intelligence level. In other words, he is handsome, tall, and stupid. But don’t write him off just for that because there is something more about Chikage: a great wisdom for caring about others. He seems to instinctively know when Keisuke needs him, and helps protect the other man from the nightmares that constantly haunt him. Both in the regular series, and in the doujinshi, you see a Chikage who knows the value of people and he cries for Ono who thinks so little of his own existence and worth. It’s heart-wrenching—and even Ono thinks so (in the doujinshi it’s the prelude for hot, steamy fun).

The characters in this series make the series. The storyline is obtuse and confused, at best; but the antics and small story arcs in this series make it okay. You don’t have to worry about a storyline if the characters can carry it on its own. The problem with the series, in the end, is that it doesn’t want to just stay character-centric. It wants that bit of police-mystery (literally) but it throws it in too late. Perhaps if the story centered around Keisuke and his childhood issues; made it more of a forefront and not just the reasons why he opened the bakery, then the end of this series would make a little bit more sense. But as it is, given the mostly light-hearted feelings of the story/characters, the end seems rushed and forced. Again, it feels like it’s trying to be something it isn’t.

It was a nice try though, I suppose. And even with my complaints about the plot line, this series is obviously worth something. It is a very well selling four-volume manga, has at least two doujinshi, a TV drama, and an anime series based off it; so obviously something was going right. But then again, who can hate on a series that features cake? I can’t think of anyone.

Anime vs Manga: Vampire Knight

2009-01-27T11:32:00.003-06:00

Just like the “sub vs. dub” wars, the anime vs. manga debate continues to rage within the different fandom groups. For the manga that were lucky enough to get anime series, and the few that went vice versa (anime then manga), the different mediums provide sometimes startling changes and welcome similarities. But let’s face it; taking anything from print form to animation is going to have to force some things to adapt. Sometimes simply putting characters in motion, like Tamaki (Ouran High School Host Club) can define the series itself (and oh, doesn’t animated Tamaki just make everyone smile?!), but sometimes it can work opposite—especially with the common 12 and 26 episode formats. I can’t tell you how often I’ve cringed at how they’ve adapted and shortened series to fit the common formulas of series that cause such deviations from the manga plot or cutting the plot itself short. Pumpkin Scissors was like this—it left the greater mystery open while forcing a 2 episode arc at the very end to bring some sort of closure to the series itself. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the closure in some form or another, but ultimately felt cheated in the end. And that’s not even going into how they butchered the main (and one of my favorite) male characters to fit this arc. But that’s a horse of a different colour, and a rant for another time.

One of the most recent, and ongoing, manga-to-anime transformations is Vampire Knight (ヴァンパイア騎士,) by Matsuri Hino (樋野まつり). The manga started in January 2005 and was adapted to anime (2 seasons, 13 episodes each) in 2008. Vampire Knight Guilty is still airing in Japan on TV Tokyo. The manga is currently on volume 10 and is released via the Japanese publication Lala. In the US you can find it published in Shojo Beat (Viz Media)—as well as the usual manga format, which is how I have it. I’ve not read but one volume 1 of Vampire Knight, though I’ve seen the whole first season of the anime. For this review, I’m only going to look at the first volume/episode of each, in kind of a comparative look. The first obvious problem that this is going to provide—just from a pure mechanical aspect—is that obviously the anime’s 1^st episode will cover much more than the 1^st volume of the manga. This is often why anime includes things not in the manga—especially things like the dreaded and often despised filler episodes. It really can’t be helped and isn’t always horrible.

I have to say, it was much harder for me to read the manga than watch the anime. Perhaps this was because I watched the series first and tend to have a hatred of redundancy. In my experience of manga and anime adaptations, the first bits are almost always exactly the same (though Samurai Deeper Kyo is a definite exception).

The main female character, Yuki Cross (黒主優姫, Kurosu Yūki) for the most part seems to be the same naïve, useless character in both manga and anime. Though, from the first episode of the series, I kind of liked Yuki. She had a strong conviction, a haunted past, and an interesting relationship with the various men around her. (Oh—and in case you didn’t pick it up earlier, this is a shojo series; therefore, reverse harem. Not saying all shojo are like this…but let’s face it, a lot are.) My issue with her in the manga is that…well, she seems a lot wimpier. She does give Zero Kiryu (錐生零, Kiryū Zero) a few good punches, and she can be seen as being nimble and monkey-like as with the anime, but…well, let me put it this way. Yuki is one of two members in the Disciplinary Committee of Cross Academy. Cross Academy has two dorms: Sun and Moon; and with these two dorms, two classes: Night and Day. You can see how the vampires and humans fit into each, correct? Sun + day = humans; Moon + night = vampires. Part of the role, and the main reason for, the Disciplinary Committee is to keep the Day class inside during night and to keep them from mauling the ever so bishie Night class. In fact, it seems that there is a monopoly on bishieness that belongs to the Night class. The only guys in the Day class, besides Zero, are kind of…well, like Kagerō Usui ((臼井影郎, Usui Kagerō) from Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei: forgettable and plain. So honestly, what did Headmaster Kaien Cross (黒主灰閻理事長, Kurosu Kaien Rijichō) expect?! But back to the topic at hand, the Disciplinary Committee is also in charge of making sure that the Night class doesn’t harm the Day class—especially since the Day class is completely oblivious to what their night-time counterparts are. To do this, both Yuki and Zero are empowered with weapons…or a weapon each.

Now, common sense would normally dictate the weaker characters get the more powerful weapon (or at least the more easy to use). Does this ever seem the case with anime? No, and it certainly isn’t here. Yuki has this pole staff that, in the anime, generates electricity. I’m not sure about what it does in the manga, except extend from barely nothing (which it does in the anime too). In all honesty, her wielding it reminds me a lot of Nami (ナミ) from One Piece; except, you know, not as bad ass. Her weapon seems to be absolutely useless—or perhaps it’s just when she wields it (but that is going into later episodes of the series, first season). The vampires seem unaffected by the electricity and just hold it so she can no longer use it. She also seems to have very little actual fighting skills. In the manga, daddy-dearest (Headmaster Cross) goes onto a Hughes-esque (マース・ヒューズ, Māsu Hyūzu, Fullmetal Alchemist) rant about how his precious daughter (and son—though Zero denies being adopted by the eccentric man) is the only person that can do the job of Disciplinary Committee. Half of it is because she already knows the truth and doesn’t fear them, but there is this assumption that part of the reason is also because she also has some competency in fighting. I mean, come on. She doesn’t have to be all Buffy (Buffy, the Vampire Slayer), but she could at least show some fighting ability. But I suppose she wouldn’t fill in the meek, sweet, damsel-in-distress role if she could kick a little ass. I mean, it’s a cultural thing, I know. But this is shojo, let girls see that they don’t have to be weak in order to get attention. Don’t have her be the little puppy running after Kaname Kuran (玖蘭枢, Kuran Kaname) or Zero for the good of man/vampire-kind. But perhaps this is just my personal beef with portrayal of women in manga/anime (and most mediums of entertainment).

So Yuki is like so many female heroine in anime/manga—and that is not a heroine at all. She is always in need of saving and this is a constant through both the anime and manga version. While it’s not specifically said, there must be something even more special about Yuki than most people would think. It seems that her blood is something “sweet,” for when there are two girls bleeding in a clearing—it’s the girl who has just some surface abrasions (Yuki) that gets the Night Class’s attention. But those are mysteries yet to be revealed.

As for the other characters, it’s much harder to judge them through the first volume than the first anime. This could, again, be due to the fact that we can see “body movement” and read into the characters more than just on a page. I do seem to like Zero a lot more in the anime version—though I have to state this could be because his seiyuu (宮野真守, Miyano Mamoru) is one of my favorites. He seems to be much more likable in the anime—even though he’s gruff, distant, and a pain in the butt. But perhaps that’s just my preferences. He does seems so sterile*, even with his temper flares and angsty, bishie pouting,—but Kaname Kuran (玖蘭枢, Kuran Kaname), the head of the Night Class, also comes across as being even more sterile. In this way, the manga probably sets up the parallel between the two much better. They seem much more “night and day” of the same person—both entirely focused on Yuki and her protection (because remember, she’s ultimately useless).

Just looking at the first episode and volume, it would seem that the anime really is able to capture the characters more; however, can it capture the plot more is another question. While cross-checking the spellings of names, I ran across a ton of characters I hadn’t even met in the anime, and yet some are suppose to play pretty influential parts to the plot line. I’m thinking perhaps they may come up in the second season of Vampire Knight, but as of right now, I’m leaning to believe that the manga is going to be able to tell the actual storyline much better than the anime could ever do. Because if there is one thing to remember about anime and manga adaptations; more people watch anime than read manga and so anime must be able to accessible to a much larger demographic.

And just my last two cents about the first season of the series, since I have watched it all: it’s so-so. It’s not bad, and it definitely has its moments, but it’s not a “must watch.” If you’re a fan of the manga, check it out. If you’re interested in lots of bishies, check it out. If you’re interested in vampires—eh, maybe not check it out (they’re anime vampires, which is kind of like saying Twilight Vampires—they follow very few of the conventions of traditional western vampire myths). It’s decent, but nothing that I feel is worth purchasing.

*No—not “no baby” sterile, but flat, without dimension sterile.

Sign of a dying industry? Or just the sign of bad business management?

2008-07-11T16:34:00.006-05:00

For those people who follow the posted news on Anime News Network, you’ll have noticed the increase of dropped licenses, projects, and companies this year. With the economy in the US doing poorly, many businesses, beyond just the anime and manga industries, are having trouble making ends meet. What’s more, prices have to rise to compensate for the rise in cost of production and labor, leaving many people to finder cheaper alternatives. Cheaper alternatives in the anime/manga industry is, of course, the internet and cheaper means free. This feeds back into the problem as people stop buying retail anime/manga and the companies hurt more.

Taking a page from the Record Industry Association of America, many people in the industry are campaigning hard against the fansubbing industry. Chris Ayers, one of the more outspoken of this claim, uses sensational claims to amount that fansubbing is destroying the anime industry (citing the Geneon incident as an example—see below) and that if “American companies fold then it’s lights out for anime industry in Japan.” [Source: AnimeClubsUnite discussion, original source unknown] What Ayers is claiming is, of course, untrue. Anime existed for a long time before the US began tapping into its money market and will exist for a long time afterwards, though perhaps not at extravagantly as now. What he is trying to do is push people into a panic of “OMG!fansubbing” when really he, and people like him, should be more reasonable.

Looking at Markets

One key thing that seems to be ignored is that, in Japan, otaku (おたく) get to preview their anime in its entirety via TV, before purchasing it. This is contrary to the industry in the US. While Cartoon Network, Sci Fi Channel, and a few others carry select anime series, there are only a few of the dozens of series that comes out each year and often are already old by the time they get here. There have been a few exceptions recently (DeathNote on CN, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann on SFC). Fansubbing has become the way that many people view series before choosing to buy them or not. Now granted, this isn’t as advantageous to the US anime industry as they don’t get the profit from commercials—but only very recently have any of the licensing companies in the US begin to contemplate taking advantage of the internet and grabbing ads at the same time (streaming episodes) and still only do it at a small scale (and not always with subtitles, which many people prefer).

There seems to be this forgotten factor that the anime industry owes a lot of its start to fansubbing. While VHS copies of Ranma ½, Outlaw Star, etc have been floating around for what seems like forever, how anime really started breaking into the US minds is through its availability on the internet. Certainly Cartoon Network helped this process along, there is no denying it. I got my start on CN more than anything else, though I had seen anime before that; but for the “hard core fans” who are fully immersed in the anime-verse (people who know more than just Dragonball Z, Inuyasha, and Fullmetal Alchemist), then fansubbing was what bridges the gap in broadcasting and buying.

And buying becomes a whole different issue. While it has been getting better, the retail DVDs are all but insane in the US. It used to be only 3-4 episodes per DVD, though I’ve seen some more recent ones with up to 6 episodes. Paying for 3 episodes wouldn’t be so bad if it didn’t cost $25-$30 per DVD, and with series that tend to run 26 episodes each, the price for a whole series is approximately $200-$240. And that’s not including artboxes, if you choose to splurge on those extra costs. Then there is the merchandise, which is—for the most part—far inferior to its Japanese counterparts. What often happens with the merchandising industry is that 1) fans import (like I do—Shanks and Luffy are currently standing by my computer, approving what I type—or at least they are in mind) or 2) they buy from merchants who import (many dealers at anime conventions are the primary source). What it all comes down to, more money from merchandise is being fed directly into the Japanese market than into the US market. I do want to point out that compared to retail Japanese DVDs, which often even more outrageous than the US. So while I complain, I also recognize that the US anime industry is making an upgrade to the originals.

What it comes down to, in my opinion, are people being reasonable and responsible. The anime industry needs to realize that fansubbing helps them much more than it hurts them. People get to see the anime straight from Japan (as it’s released) and it builds excitement and knowledge for the series when (if) it gets licensed. Also, many fansubbed series end up being of better quality—at least for the subtitles. Until the industry can match quality, price, and quick output, then fansubbing is almost necessary to keep the industry in the US alive. On the other side, people need to realize that “money makes the world go ‘round” and that nothing is free (of consequences). By only using fansubbing and giving nothing back to the industry (monetarily), then you are hurting the industry. Not so much that you’ll cripple and destroy it everywhere. Instead of just looking at “oh, this is free!” people should approaching fansubs as TV or as a means of previewing. If you like the series support it! Buy the retail, buy the merchandise. Even if you’re like me and don’t like to listen to dubs, buy the US retail for the cover art or the art boxes (I recommend FUNimation for beautiful quality of art), buy Japanese imports but just do something to give back to an industry that is providing for you entertainment. Kind of think of it like this, by buying this Bleach T-shirt, you’re helping support Kubo Taito (久保帯人) and everyone who helps in the creation of Bleach (manga and anime)—which will keep the series going and possibly inspire Kubo-san to produce more (better, different, etc) series and for the manga and anime companies in Japan to fund other series. See? It’s that Circle of Life stuff that The Lion King liked to sing about. Oh~ and for those of you who, like me, don’t have a lot of expendable income, let me tell you a secret. Places like RightStuf, AnimeCastle, and DiscountAnimeDVD hold regular sales (usually weekly) that can reduce the cost of retail merchandise and DVDs significantly. Getting on the mailing list for these companies is highly worth it and you can come up with some real steals.

Here’s the (recent) History

Before the rant on fansubbing, this post was supposed to be on some of the incidents of the recent anime and manga US industries. And here is it:

What is cited as the first “sign of trouble” started in the fall of 2007 when Geneon pulled their in-house distribution. The original plan was to work with A.D. Visual (ADV) and have them take over distribution in the US. This plan would have allowed for Geneon to keep the licenses to their titles but splitting the profit with ADV. However, ADV, at the last minute, pulled out of the deal, leaving Geneon high and dry. They had already fired their marketing and distribution departments and the cancelation was so late in their withdraw that there was nothing they could do but continue on. Until just this month, the future of all of Geneon’s titles were unknown.

But ADV didn’t get to rest on their laurels. They had trouble with the Japanese corporation ARM, which handles the licensing of many titles to foreign companies. In February ADV had to take down several titles from their website/catalog while they renegotiated the status of their licenses. Most of the titles returned before March but at the beginning of July the trouble was announced again, this time with many of their former titles being pulled permanently. This, of course, comes on top of ADVs shutting down their production of PiQ, a publication they started with extended content so that it covered not only anime but science fiction, comics, and other “nerdy things.” (In all honesty, it was trying to reach out to too many and, in the attempt, missed everyone.) And of course NewtypeUSA shut down earlier this year too. As someone who comes from the publishing industry (regional), magazines and newspapers are as a whole are not doing as well as they did in previous years. More and more people are switching to internet sources and the cost of production and postal services (especially postal services) continues to rise. It’s barely profitable to make magazines now and that is if you have a steady subscriber base to begin with, something I can’t imagine NewType ever had (given the average age of anime viewers in the US). NewTypeUSA was hardly reasonable in pricing either (about $12 in stores, $80 for a subscription) and PiQ wasn’t too much better.

The anime industry wasn’t the only one reporting problems. The merchandising and manga industries have been dropping titles or have been dropped. Most anime/manga merchandise are done online, disappearances can go unnoticed easily. The biggest one of any interest, honestly, is Mythwear. Mythwear was successful in negotiating merchandise licensing for several series and their most popular items were the bags (messenger, courier, etc) feature Hellsing, Fullmetal Alchemist, Gravitation, and Di Gi Charat. Anime News Network reported on July 11 that Mythwear had officially gone out of business, though many retailers had stopped carrying their merchandise already. Is this a definite sign that the anime industry is degrading? Definitely not! As reported in the ANN article, there were some bad business practices from various companies that all came together to ultimately cause the downfall of Mythwear. Other merchandisers, like RightStuf, are doing excellent, even while dealing with slow production times, causing slow restocking of inventory.

In the manga industry, TokyoPop was the company that surprised many by announcing serious cutbacks in the US. TP had already shown some problems when they started to cut back production the UK. If you go to any bookstore that carries manga and look among the stacks, you’ll find that a majority of the manga is all produced by TokyoPop. It’s great news for fans of manga, but it also produces problems and makes it a lot easier to overextend, which can cause reduced profits if sales aren’t what they should be. This could be one reason that the large, manga power house now has to start cutting back. TP will now be split into two different companies (TokyoPop Inc, and TokyoPop Media LLC; both part of TokyoPop Group), their staff reduced by 39 people, and their production cut from 470 volumes a year to 225-240. An interesting fact; however, is that while they’re cutting back volumes being released annually, they still announced at Anime Expo (AX) this year new titles they had acquired.

ANN did reported today that both ADV and TP have announced further the titles they are discontinuing—including the beautiful 5cm per Second (Byousoku 5 cm, 秒速5センチメートル). If you haven’t already picked this up, try to find a copy (US or JP) and watch it. It’s stunning (and very depressing).

However, contrary to this idea that the industry is in real trouble, FUNimation just picked up (to distrubute) at least 21 of the old Geneon titles and picked up the licenses for around 30 old ADV titles. FUNimation, in my opinion, is the best company in the industry and their strength shows with the acquisition of over 50 new titles. And this is on top of their acquisition of One Piece from 4Kids in April of last year (much approving it!), a project that took up a lot of the companies resources and staff for much of 2007. There was also an announcement of FUNi branching out to open a channel on YouTube.

And FUNi isn’t the only company still doing well. Viz Media still publishes Shonen Jump and Shojo Beat and they have lots of very profitable series, including huge names like Naruto and Bleach. Bandai Entertainment is certainly doing well for themselves with Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann and Shigofumi both on their big names list, even though their prices and packaging tend to mimic that of the Japanese DVDs more than other US companies. And other companies are thriving too. All you have to do is look at the recent AX industry announcements and see the tons of titles and plans for this year and the next to know that this industry is still enduring on, despite the problems.

Yes, some productions have slowed—I’ve been waiting for a couple weeks now for two new volumes from my beloved DarkHorse to arrive. (Don’t you like how I snuck them in there?! XD) Yes, there have been cutbacks, problems, and confusion; but all, in all, the industry will keep doing well as long as the economy does well and the fans still do what they do—consume.

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Almost all of my information comes from Anime News Network (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com), and for full stories on what I've mentioned, check out the site or follow the links provided. Thanks!

Let's Talk About Slash!

2008-07-06T00:59:00.013-05:00

So last week marked the end of one of the most recent shonen-ai series, Junjo Romantica (純情ロマンチカ), but the beginning of the much anticipated (slash) series, Antique Bakery (西洋骨董洋菓子店). Both of the series started off as manga and both, by the way, can be picked up in your local bookstore courtesy of Digital Manga Publishing and BLU. Kadokawa USA announced at Anime Expo this weekend that they have officially licensed Junjo Romantica in the US, though distribution rights for the series is as of yet unknown.

Junjo Romantica

純情ロマンチカ

Shungiku Nakamura

As of right now, Junjo Romantica is at volume 10 in manga form (JP; vol. 6 US) and finished its 12 episode anime run. At the moment, the series isn’t scheduled for another 12 episodes unless DVD sales (JP) increase. The series, for the most part, is pretty true to the manga (as far as I’ve read), following three separate pairings and their subsequent trials, tribulations, and trips down memory lane. The main couple is Takahashi Misaki (高橋美咲) and Usami Akihiko (宇佐見秋彦). The other two pairings are Kamijo Hiroki (上條弘樹) and Kusama Nowaki (草間野分), and Miyagi You (宮城庸) and Takatsuki Shinobu (高槻忍).

Usami-san x Misaki (Junjo Romantica)

These two are the focus of the series, and the other two pairings are off-shoots from them. Usami-san is a 28 year old writer of both literature and hentai. He is childhood friends with Hiroki (and Hiroki is officemates with You—see the connection?!). But getting back to Usami-san. Another childhood friend of his is Takahashi Takahiro (高橋孝浩), Misaki’s elder brother. (Again, see the connection?) Misaki is only 18 and, at the beginning, working to get into college (and he does succeed). While never specifically said, it is assumed that Takahiro and Usami are near the same age, so there is about a ten year age difference between the brothers. When Misaki was only 8 both of this parents died, leaving him under the care of Takahiro who was trying to get into college. While Takahiro was accepted into a university, he dropped out to take care of his brother, entering the work force and doing so quite successfully. It was his dedication to Misaki that first attracted Usami to Takahiro but it was Misaki’s empathy towards Usami that eventually found those two together. As you may have figured out, Usami was first in love with Takahiro and for that love volunteered to help Misaki for his college exams; however, his feelings began to change when Takahiro brought home his new fiancé, breaking the writer’s heart. But the love wasn’t lost, just transferred—like Takahiro who soon moved away for business (with his new wife) leaving Misaki under Usami’s care (unknowing of the situation).

The characters in this series all have a lot of humour to them, and a lot of flaws. Usami is a sullen, gruff but confident man (and maybe a little arrogant) who comes from a cold, rich family. He is, we learn, a fantastic writer and both types of his books—literature and hentai—sell very well. Much to Misaki’s dismay, Usami uses Takahiro’s then later Misaki’s name as character names for the hentai manga. Usami’s biggest fault is probably his disconnect from the world and yet at the same time, it’s probably one of the better parts about him. While he is incredibly eccentric, he is fairly true to his feelings, and pretty good at judging other people’s. He is a very dedicated person and while his feelings for Misaki’s grow beyond those of his former love, there is still a connection there that continues after things change. Takahiro, by the way, is the typical caring but clueless character and is both unaware of Usami’s feelings towards him and of Usami and Misaki’s later relationship.

Like his brother, Misaki is a pretty naïve guy. He’s not so clueless that he is roped unawares into his relationship with Usami (well, sort of) but throughout the series he never can quite bring himself to admit what they have. And what they have is a very interesting twist on the whole husband-housewife thing. There isn’t much more to say about Misaki. He’s a very unselfish guy and as much as Usami is introverted, Misaki is just the opposite, leaving him often with his foot in his mouth. He can be a bit self-conscious, and definitely has a need for person-to-person contact. He seems to get depressed really easy, or perhaps just changes his emotions a lot, but he also tries to hide this from others. But luckily for him, Usami can always sniff out what’s really going on inside his very confused little head.

Nowaki x Hiroki (Junjo Egoist)

Of all the characters in this show, I’m in love Nowaki most of all. PAUSE, back up some. I’m sure there may be some confusion over the addition of “Junjo Egoist.” Of the main story, which is Romantica, two sub-stories (offshoot pairings, remember?) are given a different name, though it is still part of Junjo Romantica. Junjo Egoist is the name for this particular pairing. Though, to be honest, I’m not so in agreement that this name fits this pairing. But now, back to Nowaki. I love Nowaki.

Hiroki, as mentioned above, is childhood friends with Usami—and as we know from most anime/manga tales, that means best friends for life. And in the “yaoi-verse” that means insto-lovers. Except, not in this case. It’s unrequited and Hiroki must endure the fact that Usami loves someone else (also unrequited: Takahiro is clueless, after all). And HIroki loves in silence for a while until he tricks Usami into having sex. And by tricks, I mean he puts a blindfold on Usami and tells him to think of him (Hiroki) as Takahiro. In the end though, this breaks Hiroki down and severely depresses him. And, as chance would have it, Hiroki meets Nowaki while he’s breaking down (i.e. crying) in a park.

While Hiroki came from a rich family and is working on a degree in literature (woohoo!), Nowaki was an orphan who dropped out of school early to begin working. Like Misaki and Usami, they’re very much night and day and perhaps that is what found them together. At age 24, Nowaki asks Hiroki (28) to tutor him so that he can get into school. At the time of their meeting, he is working several part-time jobs trying to make ends meet and he hopes that he can get a better job if he gets a degree. Hiroki, after some persuasion/pestering, agrees and so the beginning of their relationship begins. Nowaki the calm, quiet type (OMG!VA love~! Nobutoshi Canna (神奈延年)has such a soothing voice) has lots of ambitions, it turns out, which later turns into problems but he’s also very persistent. This persistence is an incredibly good thing when dealing with Hiroki who is hardheaded, quick tempered, and uneasy.

You x Shinobu (Junjo Terrorist)

Of all the three titles, this is probably the one that fits the best. Why? Oh because Shinobu is a sneaky little devil. His name is derived from shinobi (忍), who any Naruto fan will tell you means, more or less, “ninja” and who would be a better terrorist than a ninja? Of the three, this is the one relationship that would probably make not-so-hardcore yaoi fans a bit wary. You is a professor of Literature. He’s 35 years old, an officemate of Hiroki (who he flirts with endlessly) and a divorcee. He has a real goofy side, he doesn’t seem to want to do his work, but most of all that is a comedy act for a deep history of heartbreak.

Shinobu, on the other hand, is a 17 year old high schooler, the son of the Dean of Literature at the university You teaches at, and the younger brother to You’s ex-wife. Oh yeah, can it get any more complicated? Shinobu spent a year in Australia as an exchange student, coming back to declare his love for You and demanding him take responsibility for his (Shinobu) falling in love. You, understandably freaks out, not understanding why his quiet life is being disrupted in such a way and immediately rejects the boy. Things don’t work out so well and You ends up having to babysit him (as a favor to the Dean), thrusting to the men in each other’s lives.

While nothing is easy for any of the three couples, You and Shinobu have possibly the most to overcome, given You’s past, but persistent seems to work for Shinobu as much as it did for Nowaki.

Overall

The animation quality in this series is really well done. It stays pretty true to the original, manga form and it seems to fit not only the series but what is pretty typical of a lot of the newer shonen-ai/yaoi series. I did find the pairing changes a bit confusing, and sometimes very frustrating, but overall, it’s a pretty well made series. Like most fans out there, whether it is this series particularly or of shonen-ai/yaoi, I wish there would be another 12 episodes in the coming fall, but I somehow doubt we’ll get that. It didn’t leave off horribly, though, given that this might be it for this series.

Just a bit of a warning…

I should point out that while the series is considered shonen-ai (there are “sex scenes,” but nothing is ever shown beyond kissing, some licking, and lots of moaning) the manga is considered to be yaoi. Readers beware, while there is some censorship in the manga, there isn’t a lot.

Antique Bakery

西洋骨董洋菓子店

Yoshinaga Fumi

This has been a much anticipated series to be released. The manga form of Antique Bakery is quite well read and Yoshinaga Fumi is one of my favorite mangaka. The manga has already been finished and completely released in both Japan and the US. And for those eager enough to find it, copies of Fumi-sensei’s own doujinshi for the series also exist. It leaves off where the official manga ends, pushing some relationships where a lot of the hard-core yaoi fans know it’ll end up. *wink wink, hint hint* Besides having a gay main character, Ono Yuusuke (小野裕介), this series is not a yaoi series. It’s not even, technically, a shonen-ai series. But it is slash and it was picked up by DMP who often focuses most of their work on shonen-ai/yaoi titles, so approach it with caution if homosexuality is something that you’re uneasy with. Interestingly enough, the Korean live-action drama of this series edited out that Ono was gay entirely, a fact that disappointed many fans of the manga. The anime does not do this.

Characters

There are basically four main characters of this series, though two are more in the foreground than the other two (going by the manga story, not necessarily the anime). Tachibana Keiichiro, or Keisuke, (橘圭一郎), Ono (previously mentioned), Kanada Eiji (神田えいじ), and Kobayakawa Chikage (小早川千影) are the four main workers of the newly opened Antique Bakery. Tachibana is the owner of Antique. He comes from a rich family, though his past is tainted by a traumatic event, which highly influences his personality. While he is a very capable man, he decides to quit a top-notch job to open the bakery—with the full support of his parents (I wish my parents were that supportive!). His father finds the best baker in Japan, Ono, and his mother invests money into the shop.

Ono and Tachibana went to school together, though Ono no longer remembers it when the two meet up again for the opening of Antique. Ono, before they graduated high school, confessed his love to Tachibana but was harshly rejected. Ono was hired after being fired from him previous job and it turns out most of his jobs he can’t hold for more than a year. Why? Because he has the “demonic charm” of a gay man and no matter if the man is gay or straight, they all eventually want/fall for him. Ono, honestly, is a bit loose. He is afraid of commitment and relationships…oh, and he’s afraid of women. No joke, he’s terrified of them, which is why all four main characters are men—in order to keep the French trained pâtissier, he can’t hire women.

And thus enter Kanada. Kanada was a boxer. Notice the use of the past tense there. A detached retina ends his career and instead of returning to his former violent life on the streets, he begins looking for a job—and finds Antique. Along with Tachibana, Kanada seems to be able to resist Ono’s charm, which makes him perfect for joining up with the bakery. Kanada’s not professionally trained in patsry making, but apprentices himself to Ono to learn. He has a lot more respect for the pâtissier than he does for the owner, and the two often butt heads.

The fourth main character is Chikage, a childhood friend and “caretaker” of Tachibana. Except…Chikage is a bit…slow in the head. Don’t get me wrong, he’s not retarded, just slower than most. He’s a bit of a klutz, often gets lost, and as much as he is supposed to take care of Tachibana (whom he calls Waka or “Young Master”), it often ends up the other way around. The tall, dark haired man takes the position of waiter in Antique eventually, though he has lots of trouble. One of his most unique features is his sunglasses, which he wears all the time due to his weak eyes—a fact that not everyone understands or is comfortable with.

Animation Style

When I saw this series first released, I was so very excited and watched it immediately. And immediately I was caught off guard. The animation style is either…innovative or poorly chosen. It seems they were trying to stick very close to Fumi-sensei’s original, very unique character designs, but did so in the most simplistic way possible. The characters look two dimensional, which wouldn’t be a problem, if the background wasn’t done in more three dimensional and computer generated styles. While the character focus tends to be a bit more hyped for their clear lack of fitting into the background, it also makes it look just weird. As if they didn’t have time to make everything match, so they just threw in elements together instead of making it all cohesive. I’m trying hard not to judge it just by the first episode, but it’s iffy.

The OP and EP are amazing though. The songs are well done and the design choices are stunning. Again going with that mismatching of mediums, the background of the OP is obviously doll house furniture but the characters are cardboard cutouts. I didn’t know it at the time, but those design choices does blend into the actual show a lot. The EP shows all the guys made from puzzle pieces with different, red puzzle pieces raining from the sky. It’s clever and very pretty. At least the two design choices for the OP and EP make it seem that the actual animation of the series was a conscious, design decision.

edit: After watching the 2nd episode of Antique Bakery, I have decided that, no matter what, I will enjoy it. Why? Because I'm a "seiyuu whore" and Miyano Mamoru (宮野真守) is the seiyuu of Kanada. Looking past my undying crush for him, he's a very talented VA. Miyano-kun is best known for his role as Tamaki in Ouran High School Host Club and Light in DeathNote. Oddly enough, Miyano-kun's (accurate) portrayal of Kanada is somewhat of a mix of Honey (Ouran) with his love of cake and Tamaki with his flare for the dramatics--now throw in a dash of attitude and toughness (Hikaru and Mori, perhaps) and you have Eiji Kanda in Antique Bakery. (07/13/08)

Are we done talking about slash yet?!

In its manga form, Antique Bakery is a beautiful, fun, and unique story. Hell, I think I even learned some about French pastries from the series. In its anime form, I’m a little nervous. The story, thus far, seems to flow well with the manga, but the animation style may be enough to throw some people off. Junjo Romantica, in both forms, is very excellent and for those who have access to the JP DVDs (and have some extra spending money), support the series and buy them so that we can see more in the future.

And no, we’re not done talking about slash, but for now, I’ll give it a rest.

FUNimation 2008

2008-07-05T15:12:00.002-05:00

I've been watching ANN all weekend, following the announcements of releases and such. And while I have been dismayed to see that Bohra-sensei has once again been neglected to be licensed by any manga company (damn you people!), I've been interested in seeing what FUNi has been up to. Amongst their announcements, the Ouran English VA cast has been released. There is a lot of mixed love over on the Ouran comms. Some love the choices, especially that Vic is Tamaki, and some hate them. My view is, of course, I don't care. I don't plan to watch the dubs, I just want to the pretty, pretty US DVDs that will have the JP VAs (Mamoru-kun!). The release of the pretty, pretty DVDs will start this October and be separated into 2-13 episode box sets.

Earlier last week ANN also noted that FUNi had picked up quite a few Geneon titles but it seems that wasn't the end for FUNi acquisitions. Not only are they grabbing their own, new titles for the coming year, but they're also picking up some of the titles that ADV was forced to drop (due to complications w/ their JP licensing partners, of whom they have now severed relations with). I think this is great that a lot of series are going to be able to stay in the US and to be picked up by FUNi is great b/c they are by far the best anime company in the US (IMO) but what I worry about is the production time that is going to be required for all of these.

Last I heard, FUNi had about 100 people in the US working for them, and at the time I was talking with the representative of the company, most of them were working on the One Piece project. As I've been job hunting in the manga and anime industry as of late, I didn't see any new calls for staff and while that doesn't mean anything (they could be pulling people from other companies--especially ADV who downsized recently) it still worries me. It's one thing to pick up all these new titles, but to not be able to do anything with them is also scary. It makes you begin to question how many of the titles will actually make it to the public and how many will be buried.

We'll see how they go on about things, but here is hoping for the best.

Sand Chronicles, Vol 1

2008-02-22T14:49:00.005-06:00

Sand Chronicles, Vol 1.
砂時計
by, Hinako Ashihara

I picked up this shojo manga by chance in my local bookstore. The art looked pretty, and that was the majority of my reasons for buying it. I'll be the first to admit I'm not as picky on my manga decisions when I go on my manga sprees. My sprees always promise to add at least 10 new volumes to my ever growing library and, of course, put a hefty dent in my pocketbook.

For Sand Chronicles, I was very pleasantly surprised. It's a story that begins with the present and flashes back to the main character's, Ann Uekusa, childhood. This simple literary device immediately sets up the story to an ending that at least I know will leave me in tears.

The Basic Story (thus far):

We meet Ann and her mother after her parents are divorced. While there appears to be some noble intent by her father , who is suffering from a great deal of debt, Ann's mother takes the split very poorly. She starts drinking in her mourning while still trying to hold a job that will support both herself and her twelve year old daughter. Eventually Miwako (Ann's mother) collapses from exhaustion and the mother and daughter pair are forced to return to Shimane (prefecture) and the small, country town where Miwako grew up.

Being from the city and moving to the countryside under rather inauspicious reasons, leaves the transition hard for both Ann and her mother. Her grandmother doesn't help much, trying to help the broken family by pushing both her daughter and granddaughter. It is done with love, not malice, intending to make the two stronger. It doesn't quite have the desired affect all around, however.

Most of Ann's growth from the tragedies that lay before her come from meeting Daigo Kitamura. Daigo would be considered a "good ol' boy", appearing for the first time in the series while hunting rabbit for his family's dinner. His father and grandfather are depicted to be much the same as he. But what can you expect when living in the country? And even though Ann beats the crap out of Daigo the first they meet, the two become fast friends; helped along by the fact that Daigo's mother was a childhood friend of Miwako. Most of the first volume is dedicated to Daigo and Ann's relationship, in one form or another, though two more characters are introduced later (a brother and sister) and Fuji, the eldest son of the town's most prominent family, seems to have also connected with Ann.

Regardless of the frequent humour, this story is no doubt about the hardships in Ann's life and growing up as a girl. There are discussions on loss, puberty, friends, family and love. Like any story of a person growing up, girl or boy, this one is bound to be extremely complicated and difficult. I'm willing to bet there will even be angst--well there already is angst, but specifically also the unique, teenage type of angst.

I can't say I'm one for lots of shojo stories, but this is one that promises both a lot of fun and yet lots of tears. Things appear to get worse for Ann before they get better. And while she is definitely a strong female character -- a quality in any story that I greatly admire -- she's still a teenage girl growing up with all the complications that goes with it. If you're a fan of shojo, this is definitely worth a read. I'm personally awaiting anxiously for the next volume to be released.

Alive: The Final Evolution

2008-02-01T11:34:00.000-06:00

I recently picked up some manga for a convention I'm coordinating. I looked for volumes from various genres that would please a wide range of people. One of the manga I picked up was volume one in a series called Alive: The Final Evolution. It's a very dramatic name, don't you think? The jury is still out on if the volume lives up to its name.

Alive: The Final Evolution
アライブ最終進化的少年

This manga is a bit unique in the fact that the story is by Tadashi Kawashima but the art is by Adachitoka, a different person. The cover art is very pretty. It's probably what drove me to finally purchase this volume. The art style is also very nice. The main character, Taisuke Kano, sort of reminds me of a high school version of Tadami from Translucent, both in how they're drawn and how they act. Taisuke is a goofy type of character, but a very loyal friend. His parents died when he was young, leaving only his elder sister Yoko Kano, who is also his school's nurse. Taisuke often ends up in the nurse's office due to injuries, mostly caused either by his mouthing off to his friend Ochiai Megumi or by standing up agaisnt persistent bullies who choose to pick on another childhood friend, Yuichi Hirose.

This first volume focuses around the three teens and this extraterrestial phenomenon that falls to Earth. This phenomenon seems to have an intelligence, searching out it's "comrades," as it is translated by DelRey, that have all taken over various humans. It's a lot more than that just aliens/communists taking over someone's body though. Along with these new creatures, a planet-wide plague strikes with over 100,000 people in a mass of unexplained suicides. Scientist, looking for some reason, dub it the "Suicide Virus." The Alien Communists seem to find this term offensive, not wanting to be classified as something so simplistic as a disease.

During the horrific week of suicides, a multiple homicide takes places that causes great surprise amongst the school community that Taisuke attends. It also lands the timid, and docile Hirose in jail. Being the ever dedicated friend, Taisuke goes and camps out in front of the police station until he can see his friend. It is during this time we meet some of the Alien Communists, though no truth about why they came to Earth.

Most of the manga I read I choose because it draws me in instantly. There have been a few series as of recent that I'm not so struck by, but being the consumer whore I am, usually continue to buy the series. Alive is one of those that I just don't feel that passion for like I do with such series like Banya or After School Nightmare; the type of jittery adoration that makes me eagerly countdown the days until the next volume is released. The story is intriguing, I'll admit that, but it seems to be missing something that would normally draw me in to the point of obsession. I've not pinpointed quite yet what it is missing, but I've already bought the second volume to read over and see if this one collects my interest any better.

Unless you're really into the shonen-mystery/horror genre, I'd probably recommend to either pass this manga up or read it in your local bookstore and leave it at that. The characters may be worth a read through, but the story is still not at where it should be by the end of the first volume to make it something I would recommend to other people.

Glass Fleet, DVD 1

2007-12-09T21:39:00.000-06:00

Glass Fleet

ガラスの艦隊
(～La legende du vent de l'univers～)
Has anyone else noticed the recent preoccupation in anime/manga in using French in titles and series? It's an odd, but interesting phenomenon.

If I had to choose a moment in time where my dorkiness hit an all time high, it would have to be in direct relation to Glass Fleet. A friend of mine showed me the first two episodes of this series, which I immediately went and downloaded. Unfortunately, before it could be fansubbed any longer, the series became licensed by FUNimation, and the subbing stopped. The series itself was beautiful and promising, so I waited patiently for FUNimation to release it on DVD so that I could see the rest of the series.

Glass Fleet was licensed in July of 2006, when there had been no updates as of Spring 2007 of even a cast, much less a release date, I decided to write a letter to FUNimation, begging them to not just sit on the license (and hence the height of my dorkiness). I can’t tell you how happy I was when, in the Fall of 2007, the series was ready for market release; especially when not but a few months earlier there hadn’t even been a cast and crew. All I have to say—way to go FUNimation!

I won’t claim to know the ins and outs of the anime industry. While I desire to work in the industry itself, there are so many things I’m unaware of. It is quite possible that my source (AnimeNewsNetwork) was behind on their updates for the series* and there had been a crew for a lot longer than I thought. It is also similarly possible that the DVD itself has been in the works a lot longer than even the VA cast—I just don’t know. I am just extremely happy that this series wasn’t buried, in the end.

As for the basics of the DVD, beyond just the series itself, I am very pleased with the quality. There are 5 episodes on the disc total. Normal pricing for the DVD is a bit high, I felt, but through RightStuf, I was able to get a good deal for less than $20 (not including shipping). I really hate complicated menu systems with pointless animation—of which the Glass Fleet DVD has none of. So kudos points for that. It’s a simple menu that you can get to your options relatively quickly and then jump into the episodes. And of course, the “play all” option, alongside the single episode option, is the best.

I will admit I haven’t listened to the dubbed version yet, and I’m not sure I will. I’m completely in love with the VA for Cleo (Kenjiro Tsuda) and I’m not sure anyone could do him better. But I may give it a shot when the second DVD finally comes in.

After watching all of the episodes on the DVD, my first reaction was “yaoi fangirls paradise,” as all my livejournal friends can contest from my 4 am post synopsis; however, it isn’t just a great show for the girls who like to “squee” at pretty boys and their innuendos. Quick set up of the series: strict, domineering aristocracy lives in space either on their spaceship fleet or on a floating asteroid where the Holy Emperor, Vetti Sforza (picture on the right), has his palace. Tired of Vetti’s tyranny, The People’s Army—led by the gender-ambiguous Michel Vaurban—has risen up to overthrow the government. After one attack on The People’s Army fleet, Michel is left to surrender while the others escape. Enter: The Glass Fleet. Cleo “of the wind” comes strolling along wanting to pirate either ship for fuel and parts, and ends up kicking butt at the same time. Michel, plus his/her maid and butler, are taken on board Cleo’s ship.

The thing is, Cleo is a bored recluse looking to reinstate his family (the former rulers) to power. He’s relaxed about doing it though, having none of the drive that Michel has. Michel, on the other hand, wants Cleo to step up as the “savior of the resistance.” It isn’t until a shirt-exploding sword fight with Vetti that Cleo begins to change his mind about joining up with Michel—but not in a normal way. And yes, I said "shirt-exploding." They go in for the kill, the both of them at the same time, and some how their shirts are ripped from their bodies by some force yet to be explained. It left me laughing until I was nearly in tears.

The animation quality of Glass Fleet is great and just very pretty, though I wasn’t very impressed with the fight scenes. I may have been spoiled after watching Seirei no Moribito, but it could have been smoother. The music too, I’m fond of. A good soundtrack can do wonders for a series and it added nice touches here and there, as applied. As a whole, the series definitely holds promise. I’m expecting a lot from the next DVD, and just for this series in general. If anything, I would definitely cue this DVD on your "to rent" list, and check it out yourself.

*I do want to point out that a lot of the information on ANN is “donated.” It is similar to wikipedia, in ways, that users add information to individual entries. ANN simply can’t update all the anime information possible, so they rely on users.

Banya: The Explosive Deliveryman

2007-12-06T14:59:00.000-06:00

Sometimes obsessions can lead…well to more obsessions. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is one of my favorite anime—top ten, easily. The name of this blog is in reference to the series, and I’ve easily dropped $300 (thus far) into various merchandise, special edition boxes and DVDs, and other related things, including magazines that feature Haruhi.

There are two different Newtype issues that focus on the series. In the first one I bought, there was a poster for Dark Horse Comics. This issue was bought back in June, and since then I have completely fallen in love with Dark Horse. Not only do they specialize in American comics and Japanese manga, but they also supply a lot of Korean manhwa to the US market. On the poster was a large picture advertising Banya: The Explosive Deliveryman. The title itself is an attention grabber and when I went to Anime Weekend Atlanta (AWA) later in September, one of the titles I actively sought out was Banya. And this is where my Haruhi obsession led me to another.

I could argue, successfully, that my obsession is more over Dark Horse as a whole, because I really do adore them and would pretty much buy anything they publish—or at least give it a try, if not follow the series completely. But Banya is definitely what started it all and is still one of my top ten manga (manhwa) series.

Banya:
The Explosive Deliveryman
폭주배달부 반야

I usually get annoyed with the long-drawn out series that never seem to end, be it anime or manga; however, the opposite seems to be my problem in the case of Banya. This five volume anime definitely left me craving more. I loved the characters, the story was funny and yet serious, and almost always filled with ton of action. There was such a connection with the story for me that I desired to read more, but it certainly doesn't need anything else to make it complete.

Kim Young-Oh, the creator of this series, has done a wonderful job of introducing his story, the characters, the conflict, and then, at the end of the fifth volume, wrapping it up into a mostly neat package so that, even if you want to read more, you don't need to. Too many anime and manga creators don't do this, they leave things open or run out of time/sponsoring/etc to finish their story--so the fans are left with this empty void of "what now?" from the series. Young-Oh obviously had the story already planned out, knew how long it was going to be, and created the story with that plan in mind. And there was only a slight deus ex machina at the end.

Now for the story:

As I mentioned above, Banya is a mix of comedy and action. One of the only downsides of this manga, I feel, is that it is very comedy-heavy at the beginning, and by the fourth volume it almost completely bleeds out of the series, with only a few bits here and there. This does work with how the story progresses, but if you get into the series because it's a comedy, it may throw you some.

The universe Banya is set in seems to be very similar to something from Tolkien's middle-earth, even including Torren, which look suspiciously similar in looks and weaponry to Uruk-hai from Lord of the Rings. There is very little technology in Gaya, human cities are fortified and spread in distances from each other. The only real connection these cities have is the postal service with the infamous motto: "Fast. Precise. Secure."

Banya, the title character, is one of three deliverymen working for the Gaya Desert Post Office, found in what is basically the wastelands. The other two are Mei and Kong. Mei, one of only three repeating female characters in the series, found Banya when he was a boy and brought him into the delivery business. Even though, from the very beginning, we see Banya's strength and clever ability to survive, Mei easily controls him with a strong fist, usually coming down hard on the top of his head. Kong is the youngest of the three. He's strong in his own right and admires Banya to the point of almost hero worship. He's more a deliveryman-in-training, usually having to go along with Banya on delivery missions.

While being more than a little opportunistic, Banya proves time and again that he is dedicated, strong, and reliable. There are many different arcs throughout the five volumes, but all of them have some connection with the larger plot, which is of course the ultimate plot: evil guy trying to take over the world...or destroy it, whichever happens to work for him in the end. And as the series takes a bit of a turn towards darker themes, we find out that Banya is a lot more than the "care-free" deliveryman, having some more sinister connections with the evil-would-be-overlord.

This is a highly entertaining manhwa series and I've highly recommended it to most of my friends. There is no true romance of the story and it does get gory (which is quite obvious on the first couple pages of the first volume), so if either of those things throws you, then this may not be the series for you. Other than that, this series has a lot for it and, if you get a chance, you should definitely check it out. It's short and sweet--and 5 volumes for $13 isn't as bad as some of the longer running series.

Seirei no Moribito

2007-12-04T23:47:00.000-06:00

Seirei no Moribito

Guardian of the Sacred Spirit
精霊の守り人

Never before have I, in just the first five minutes of a series, fallen so madly in love. If only for the animation quality alone, Seirei no Moribito deserves to be honored and admired by all. The absolute fluid quality of the animation, be it just a normal walking scene or a fight scene, is just amazing--something that can be expected from a studio like Production IG. This series also has much more to it than just a pretty face! On top of just the beauty of the series, it has an outstanding plot line and three-dimensional characters.

The series centers around Balsa, a spear-warrior in her early thirties who has been wandering around atoning for the lives that were taken to protect her as a child. Her last act of atonement she finds in the form of the second son of the Emperor, Chagum. Chagum, the only son of the Emperor's second wife, is believed to have been possessed by a water demon. Since it is believed that the Emperor's bloodline is descended from the gods, for one of the Imperial Family to be possessed under minds this holy ancestry. So, given the balance of power, there is "obviously" only one thing left for the emperor--have his son assassinated.

After already saving him from drowning once, Balsa is summoned to the Palace of the Second Wife where she proceeds to ask for the warrior's assistance in saving her son. Eventually Balsa agrees and Chagum's death is faked so that the two can escape away from the city in safety. But the high-skilled assassins of the Emperor are not so easily fooled and they proceed after the fleeing pair.

The story itself has a mix of elements from Balsa's past, Chagum's new future, the joining of old enemies, and the truth behind Chagum's possession.

This is really a series that I'm pushing for everyone to watch and I hope to be able to preview it in my local anime club this coming January. The beauty it possesses, both visually and through it's story, is something everyone can enjoy. 2007 provided us with some high-quality anime series, and of those Seirei no Moribito is arguably the best of the bunch. There is very little that lacks in the series.

The one thing I really fear about is that Seirei no Moribito will fall through the cracks. It was licensed by Geneon, who has pulled out of the US for the moment. Many of their acquired licenses are now in a type of "no-mans-land" and are no longer being released in the US. For the case of Seirei, it never was released, so the chances it'll hit the mainstream market is unknown at this point in time. This is a travesty, in my opinion, because this show is just too good to be buried. If you ever get a chance to watch this series--do it!

Oct. '07 New Anime Series Reviews: In two sentences or less...(Part 2)

2007-12-04T13:38:00.000-06:00

The following is part two (of an undetermined amount) of a long list of new anime series released in October 2007 and my short review (two sentences or less) of each, based on the first episodes only. All of these are my opinions and may not hold true for the entire series. You can find the master list of these series in this thread. Enjoy!

Mobile Suit Gundam 00: A group calling themselves Celestial Being uses "firefly class" gundams to somehow end war in the world with violence. Sestuna (voiced by Mamoru-kun [Light/Tamaki]) is the main, stoic pilot that seems very similar to one Heero Yuy.

Genshiken 2: Things are changing for "The Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture." With a new ambitious president, the Genshiken crew begin their preparation to sale their own doujinshi at ComiFes.

Shugo Chara!: A "punk" girl (read: shoujo version of punk) wants the world to know she really is just a normal, cute girl on the inside. She discovers magical powers through the hatching of three eggs that provide her chibi alternatives of what her character could be...oh, and bishie cat boy!

Bamboo Blade: Toraji Ishida, a broke and hungry teacher/kendo adviser, makes a bet with an old friend that he can win against the other's girl's kendo team. Now he just needs to add onto the kendo club so that he can get the five girl requirement; progress: 1/5--check!

Jyūshin Enbu -- Hero Tales: Reincarnation of mythical star beasts fight it out with shirt-tearing powers to unshealth excalibur...er, I mean a holy sword that only the destined ruler of world can unshealth.

Oct. '07 New Anime Series Reviews: In two sentences or less...(Part 1)

2007-10-20T00:40:00.000-05:00

The following is part one (of an undetermined amount) of a long list of new anime series released in October 2007 and my short review (two sentences or less) of each, based on the first episodes only. All of these are my opinions and may not hold true for the entire series. You can find the master list of these series in this thread. Enjoy!

Goshuushou-sama Ninomiya-kun: Battle-ready and non-perverted teenaged boy (Shungo) is informed by ultra kick-ass sister (Ryoko) that he must protect pink-haired girl/succubus (Mayu) who is afraid of men and yet turns all men into zombie-like creatures with her ultra-fanservicey good looks. Wait, did I mention fanservice?

Shion no Ou: Murder, mystery, intrigue, cheating, cross-dressing, bishies (only partially associated with the cross dressing), deceit, stalking, kidnapping...and shougi? We've had our series on Go, now it's time for shougi's turn in this murder mystery series about Shion, a 12 year old rising shougi star who witnessed the brutal murder of her parents at age 5 and lost her voice, who was adopted by a shougi master neighbor and is now climbing the ranks in the female shougi league.

Prism Ark: War/harem anime with shoujo elements about knights and magicians battling an evil church entity with things that are at least vaguely reminiscent of all the following series: Lucky Star, Eva, Raxephon, Preater, Card Captor Sakura, Chrno Crusade, and others. Pretty fanservicey and lots of WTF?! moments.

Minami-ke: Anime about three sisters living on their own: Haruka, the eldest, an average (high school?) woman; Kana, the middle sister who is tomboyish and more than just slightly ADHD; and Chiaki, the youngest sister who is monotoned, highly intelligent, and very manipulative of Kana. The series itself runs a bit slow until you get to some FLCL-style cracked out moments and kudos always goes to series that don't take themselves seriously because they are usually much funnier than others.

Moyashimon: One of my favorite opening and ending credits ever, though the premise of the series seems to be a weird rip off of Mushishi. Sawaki was born with the ability to see microbes and becomes the case study of a crazed professor and his goth/punk female assistant when he goes to Agriculture University with his friend Kei (slash, anyone?!).

ef -- a tale of memories: A disjointed series with lots of weird transitions and changes in animation style rapidly and multiple times in the middle of scenes (abrupt changes in colour to black and white, scenery goes black with only the outline of a character coloured in the night's sky, etc), though the sparse humour is real tongue-and-cheek. The story goes back and forth between loosely connected scenes and plot lines (connected in the smallest way by character relationships -- too many for me to list at the moment), and while the animation is pretty, it's also pretty slow and looks to be more "artsy" than anything else (but has possibilities, I think).

Hataraki Man

2007-05-19T22:25:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the "slice of life" genre. Normally I would love to make fun of such series, as they are usually full of unnecessary drama and angst. However, in the case of Hataraki Man, I came out very pleased. It's a short series, only eleven episodes long, so don't expect a heavy plot. In fact, there isn't much of a cohesive plot at all. Instead, each episode is a look into the lives of the "working class." Roughly translates, Hataraki Man means "Business Man," which in itself is a kind of joke. While there are a couple of episodes that are exceptions, most revolve around the lives of the journalist of JIDAI, a weekly magazine publication that covers everything from trendy gossip to political exposés.

The Characters

Matsukata Hiroko is our title character, and the butt of the joke of the series name. This is actually possibly one of the most amusing aspects of the series. It's a long running gag within shounen eries that characters are able to use "power-ups" to do the most mundane of activities. My favorite example is, Prince of Tennis. It doesn't take a long stretch of the imagination to think of how this series applies power-ups to its Tennis-centric plot. The slice-of-life version of this is being applied in Hataraki man, though it is a gag that eventually fades away for some more serious issues.

For now, let me expound further: for Hiroko, being "the working/business man" is a state of mind, and it isn't something she is always with (though I would argue this point to a degree.) There are certain times in the series where Hiroko has reached a deadline or has been given impossible writing tasks for whatever reason. When this happens, she switches to "Hataraki Man" mode. As the series explains, she puts aside all personal care for food, water, sleep, and even personal hygiene in order to get the job done. As I said, it's a state of mind, and she zones in completely on what her tasks is and drowns out the rest of the world until her job is completed.

However, while this ability is downplayed for a large part of the series (it shows up in the first couple of episodes and then only makes an appearance once or twice more in various spots) the concept of Hiroko being called the working man is very important. On the episodes that focus in on her as a career woman, you get to see the problems that arise for her being a woman working in a "man's world." One of the biggest underlying plots/reasons is her relationship with her boyfriend, Yamashiro Shinji (see below.) It's a rare occasion to see the two of them together, just because they're both very dedicated to their jobs. One of the running jokes is how often Hiroko is going without sex, even with her steady boyfriend. More on Shinji below, because his relationship with Hiroko is a rather...odd one, if only for his personal feelings on the situation.

There are other problems that arise for the work ethic Hiroko has. Again, her femininity and womanhood are often questioned by both other members of the JIDAI and by random characters within the series. One of the issues of this series, one that is a fairly serious one considering the medium being used, is: Can a woman, Hiroko, be both dedicated to her job and still be considered a woman? They call her "the working man," but does that title mean that everything associated with being a woman (let's not forget we're in Japan in this series, so there are some cultural aspects to take into consideration) will be sacrificed?

Yamashiro Shinji could be considered the average "Japanese Businessman," except he's not so good at it. While both he and Hiroko are definitely dedicated to their job (as I mentioned above, they hardly see each other due to career obligations), Shinji is definitely less secure about his abilities. He's in the construction business but soon finds himself being transfered to sales, a job he is obviously not happy with. I have to say, I'm definitely getting a bit of a stigma with the name Shinji, as it is often being applied to mostly spineless characters (referencing the famous Ikari Shinji from Neon Genesis Evangelion). This Shinji is pretty voiceless in many areas and this leads to lots of problems with his relationships with Hiroko, who he begins to feel jealous and contempt for as he only sees her succeeding where he is failing. For the most part, though, Shinji takes a backseat to Hiroko and the other members of JIDAI and considering his character, this is probably the most appropriate.

Now for the staff of JIDAI, some are more important than others; but all pretty much get some spotlight or another, so the order I'm going to put them in doesn't make much difference.

Umemiya Tatsuhiko is the chief editor at JIDAI; and don't let the picture confuse you, he has no relation to Major Armstrong at all. The sparkles aren't a regular occurrence either, he's just drunk in this picture and somehow that is equated with sparkles. Makes sense to me...anime physics and all. Tatsuhiko doesn't get a lot of focus. He's an older man who seems to be a bit senile at times. He also gets berated a lot, usually by Nagisa Mayu (see below) for being sexists. While Tatsuhiko seems to take very little serious, there are times where it is very clear why he's the chief editor. He takes responsibility for many of the more controversial articles and by doing that, he allows them to be printed where they were otherwise would not. Watching this series, I often got the impression that he wanted the other editors to take care of business without necessarily having to depend on him; though that backfires a lot as Narita Kimio (see below) often leaves him out of decisions altogether. He is also very susceptible to flattery.

Narita Kimio is the desk editor at JIDAI and the next step down in the editor hierarchy from Tatsuhiko. He's also the series' token gay man, as we find out; though, don't worry, that is brought up once (in response to why he wasn't already married) and never brought up again. Narita is an odd man as he's both rather laid back and a "hard ass" at the same time. Or rather, he knows when to be what: a friend or a boss, and is very good at discerning between the two. I have to say, I would love having him for a boss for that reason.

Narita, too, doesn't get a lot of focus. Both he and Tatsuhiko, I believe, have to approve stories and layouts for the weekly articles and that is basically the only context you really see him on screen. Narita is one of the people that depends on Hiroko the most. He doesn't fall into this issue of questioning womanhood for being a career woman, instead, he sees that she is a dependable, very intelligent writer and he embraces that. In fact, Hiroko is often asked by Narita to pick the slack for other members (see below), as well as giving her opportunities that the others in the editorial department don't get (like a special release magazine that is completely her own to work on, edit, and get published through the company.) He's a very likable guy. He gives Hiroko opportunities without babying or coddling her, and she, in turn, runs with those opportunities and makes the most of it.

Tanaka Kunio is the rookie editor at JIDAI and one of the banes of Hiroko's existence. Kunio is very much in the mindset that one should enjoy life to its fullest, and while working is a requirement of life, that doesn't mean one should only work. This is obviously very contradictory to our "Hataraki Man" who will often put her whole life on hold just for a good story. Kunio is a bit lazy but extremely clever. He never volunteers for extra work, and his finished work gets thrust onto Hiroko's desk more often than not for extra editing. However, his article proposals are usually accepted and his popularity as a writer is high due to the online research he does of past articles written; specifically those written by Hiroko.

Kunio is another person who doesn't get a whole lot of attention (though in the first episode that isn't apparent) but you get enough mention of him due to the things that are given to Hiroko because of him. He's an interesting character, and the show seems to be implying that people like Kunio are the new "working men" of the future and that this lax, laid back attitude will soon become the standard in businesses. It's hard to figure out if they mean this as a bad thing or not. Obviously, Kunio gets reprimanded a lot, but at the same time, he gets his job done and he does it relatively well. I think the focus is probably on the utilization of different technologies to get the same job done. Hiroko is the type of person to jump in head first with tons and tons of research from the stacks; and Kunio just looks up things online. Or, I could just be reading too much into things.

Kobayashi Akihisa is the "porn and food" editor for JIDAI. This amuses me in itself, though Akihisa isn't really what you'd think of him. He and Hiroko joined the magazine at the same time, so there is a bond between them--though whether it's from that fact or the fact that they both have a much stronger work ethic than the younger generations, it isn't clear. Akihisa is often Hiroko's drinking partner, something which lends him to bringing her home drunk. He's a very odd character because he doesn't seem excessively demure, but there does seem to be a quality about him that is more likely to allowed to be used. Though there is some speculation if he is "being used" or just enjoys helping people out. This would certainly explain the relationship between Hiroko and he. Of all the people at JIDAI, he is one of two people that, from start to finish, I can definitely say is Hiroko's friend; and, as we learn, is one of only four friends she has in general. So while he doesn't get a ton of attention, his importance is there.

Nagisa Mayu is also an editor of JIDAI and the other person at the magazine that is Hiroko's friend from start to finish. She's more than just a little obnoxious, and as we find out, a fangirl--though not of anime, but of a particular romance novelists. I can't really think of much to say about Mayu, though I also can't figure out quite why she was able to make an editor position. While she isn't a complete push-over (she's the one who often sticks it to Tatsuhiko for his sexists comments) but she isn't the most competent of people either. This is actually made a point of when the job she really wants, being the personal editor for her favorite author, is given to Hiroko. Hiroko is more able to deal with the author and push her towards her goal (and the deadline). I suppose the point of Mayu is to be the friend and antithesis of Hiroko. Both women do have goals though, and that is probably one of the facts that binds them so closely. Hiroko wants to be the editor of her own magazine, and Mayu wants to write her own fiction with her favorite author. For all the problems she has at the magazine, Mayu can be credited for being very astute and observant. She's possibly the only one who picks up on the issues between Yumi and Maiko (see below) and this is speaking from a group of very highly trained and revered journalists.

Nogawa Yumi is the sports editor at JIDAI, which seems odd in itself as Yumi is considered one of the two very feminine women within the series. She got this position because she became the sole contact of an up-and-coming baseball star. Though this position starts many rumors of how she got this position, one of which was that she was sleeping with the baseball player. This is an even bigger scandal considering Yumi becomes engaged earlier in the series (to her boyfriend whom was earlier dating another woman for 8 years.) Hiroko, however, sticks up for Yumi by putting down the men who are accusing her of such things. This backfires for Hiroko as both the men, and seemingly Yumi, turn against her and do as much as they can to make her life a living hell.

Yumi, like Kunio, seems to have a theory of life that it's better to go with the flow of things. Yumi especially uses this towards being a career woman. Unlike Hiroko, Yumi chose to play up her image as a woman to survive in the career world; and this is something that causes problems with her female coworkers.

Kaji Maiko is, you guessed it, yet another editor at JIDAI. She's also one of the women characters who plays up her image of femininity for her career. Maiko is basically worshiped by the men in the office, something that Hiroko and Mayu get upset over. Why? Well it's pretty obvious that Maiko gets special treatment, and gets away with certain things because she's an attractive woman. While Hiroko and Mayu get yelled at for professional mistakes, Maiko doesn't get reprimanded at all, and that in itself causes problems. Yumi, too, feels that this is inappropriate but she and Maiko often avoid each other.

There is some indication that it is Maiko's boyfriend that Yumi "steals" and eventually becomes engaged too. Maiko is rather detached person, and while we do get to learn more about her, we never see more than that outside appearance she gives. She does end up giving Hiroko some of the best advice that applies to both her life outside of work and within it. (I won't say what it is, you'll have to watch the entire series to find out.)

Sugawara Fumiya is probably my favorite character of the entire series. He's irate, angry, and yet completely dedicated to his job. He has a very gruff personality, and I think that is why I like him so much. He would be considered a paparazzi to us. He finds scandalous scoops and then stakes out at appropriate places to get the picture/story. Sugawara feels very strongly about his job; however, and gets very angry at people who look down on him forit. The various editors have to take turns helping with stake outs, something that often pisses Sugawara off. He especially holds grudges against women joining him, and even more so women like Hiroko. It seems he had bit of a misconception of our "Harataki Man" and they tend to butt heads a lot. However, by the end they seem to be on more acceptable terms.

Overall the series is good. Depending on how you take it, Hataraki Man can be a series filled with lots of underlying plots and issues; or it could be just a light-hearted, "slice-of-life" comedy; and while I may recommend this to some people, I think you really have to enjoy this type of genre to really get into it. I liked it, though I'm not entirely sure if I could rewatch it.

Black Lagoon

2007-03-19T14:11:00.000-05:00

It's never a good thing when you can miss three episodes in a series, not pay attention to another nine, and still feel that you got the basics of the anime. For that reason though--I may not be the most qualified to give a review over Black Lagoon. Now granted, I did watch all of season one, it was season two that decided to quickly take a turn for the WTF?! For one thing, I'm glad I missed the transvestite vampire arc, I hear it was even more odd than the mushroom episode of Samurai Champloo--and that was quite the mind trip.

Just a quick note before I get started: I'm trying to supply pictures for each character; however, there is a slight problem with Black Lagoon. That would be, unless it's Revy showing off her butt in near obscene cut-off shorts (really, even Daisy Duke would be agasped), it seems that the images for the characters in this series are near to none. I'll try to supply what I can, I apologize ahead of time if the quality is poor.

So here are the basics you should know (i.e. the main characters & such):

The actual Black Lagoon is a boat, owned by Dutch; and I'm sorry to disappoint those old, horror movie fans (or just Mystery Science Theatre 3000 fans) there are no "creatures" from this Black Lagoon...unless you count Revy. Dutch, for all intensive purposes, is this ship's captain. Benny, the blond, nerdy looking fellow is in charge of communications and other technological business and Revy is the fighter (aka the "muscle".) Rock is...well, Rock is a Japanese salaryman and remains so pretty much the entire time. The only really good part of season two, I think, is that Rock has to begin rethinking who he is while onboard the Black Lagoon. His ultimate conclusion is very...well, Rock like.

I believe the crew of the Black Lagoon would protest being called pirates, instead they're a "delivery" crew (think: Futurama, if you so desire) who work, for the most part, on orders of the seedy Hotel Moscow.

Rock: While Revy often steals the show with her sheer bad assery, the main focal point of the series is definitely, in my opinion, Rock. To begin with he's just an "average" salaryman. He gets walked over by his bosses and really is just the typical doormat character; and seems to remain so through many of the first few episodes. He finds himself on the Black Lagoon after being kidnapped for transporting a disc for his company, one that Hotel Moscow wants. We find out quickly how out of place Rock is on a ship (or in any fighting situation) when he throws a gun at a helicopter--as if that would actually hit the enemy. It's amusing, to the say the least, but Rock angry and upset doesn't seem to be the most practical of thinkers. However, he turns out to be just what the Black Lagoon needs--a pragmatic strategist--or well, a "people person" really; because let's face it--Revy sure as heck isn't. She'd just as soon shoot you than deal with you. But Rock proves his usefulness on several occasions during the first two arcs, and slowly builds relationships with the other crew.

The downside about Rock, but probably a plus for the series, is that Rock is very hard to give up his old ways. He always wears his salaryman outfit (and not Revy's gift of Hawaiian shirts) and that, to me, symbolizes a lot of how attached to the person he was before the Black Lagoon. In the second season, they often mention the fact that Rock is in the "twilight," a fact that is important to who Rock is. He, and Benny to a degree, aren't the type of people Revy and Dutch are. They both have a conscience, and while Benny seems to be a bit more laid back about ignoring his, Rock time and time again remains steadfast in his beliefs; even to his hatred of guns, no matter the business he found himself in.

This attachment to his salaryman past can make him a frustrating character, as it makes it seem that he has little character development; but he actually does. There are several occasions where he stands up for what he believes against some very fierce, scary people (including Revy and the head of Hotel Moscow--someone even Revy doesn't seem too eager to go against.) So he does change, a bit, it's just slow. However, I think Rock changing to be a master of bad assery like Revy and Dutch would be wrong, and so I appreciate this series for the fact that they kept Rock who he is. He's not infuriatingly wimpy, like a lot of people find Shinji from Neon Genesis Evangelion (something I don't agree with, but I won't go into that); instead he stays true to his nickname (Rock isn't his real name, it's what the Black Lagoon crew end up calling him.) For the most part, I have to say I'm quite the fan of Rock. He reminds me some of Seras Victoria in Hellsing; they're both in a position where change for the worse is quite possible, but they both want to hold onto their humanity as long as possible. It makes you wonder what would happen if those two bred. Or maybe just fight. My prediction: they'd call a truce and have a smoke. (There is a lot of smoking in this series; the opening credits by itself is probably filled half with just images of them with cigarettes.)

Revy: Otherwise known as "two hands,"for her ability to sharpshoot with both hands. Revy, one of the characters who uses the obscene excuse for English [see below] in the second season, is a skilled fighter. Her main weapons are two pistols, complete with little pirate emblems, she keeps holstered on the side of her chest. (I would like to point out right now that I know nothing of guns. So if I greatly butcher something, I apologize.) Revy, we know, comes from a rather messed up past. She grew up, I believe, in New York and lived in such a state of poverty that, in order to survive, crime was her only option. She is the way she is, supposedly, because of her harsh childhood. Seems like a poor excuse, if you ask me, I mean come on--Naruto had a pretty horrible childhood but do you see him going out fighting on any occasion possible...oh wait, er--scratch that.

So Revy is the muscle of the Black Lagoon. She can take out six boats by herself, not to mention a ship brimming with Nazi soldiers. She has a bit more trouble with an overprotective nanny/maid and an one-eyed nun, but she's bad ass all the way despite those difficulties. You do get a glimpse into her life on many occasions, but her one of her many role seems to be for fanservice. She does wear, as mentioned earlier, short-shorts (which miraculously stays on even when not fastened in anyway...yeah, I know "anime physics") and a cut off shirt. She can also shoot a clip each from her pistols and take out everyone; while the other guys can't seem to hit a thing remotely close to their targets with their machine guns. She does have some relationship breakthroughs during the course of the series. She and Rock reach an...understanding, if you will. Revy isn't really a "dating" type of person, nor are there any real indications that such a relationship would occur between the two; but there does seem to be some level of attachment between them, even as just "partners" in crime. She also becomes rather sadistic friends with the gun-toting nuns--but that relationship is a bit rocky at best.

I have to note, a good thing about season two is that she does put on more clothes (a full, though still form fitting sweater, a skirt with leggings underneath, and cowboy boots) and her accuracy seems to go down to a little bit more realistic rate. This leads me to believe that Revy's god-like accuracy is directly connected with the amount of clothing she has on. Obviously, no one could stop her if she went around completely naked...but that would make for a completely different series (and genre) and so we'll stick with what we have.

Dutch: For all intensive purpose, you could say Dutch (often called Dutchy) is the "token black man." He's an awesome character and is probably the only person to really be able to connect and dominate over Revy. He keeps her in line and it seems that he is also the only one who would hire her (she does tend to go insane). Unfortunately, Dutchy doesn't make a huge appearance in the second season--something I was quite sad over, as I love Dutch (his Japanese VA just makes me want to drool.) And while he is the boss of the Black Lagoon, he doesn't have as much background (or characterization) as Rock, or even Revy. So while you can appreciate the large, black man kickin' butt and taking charge, as a character--he's incomplete.

Benny: Often referred to as Benny-Boy, this geeky looking blond is the technician for the Black Lagoon. He is much more suited to the Hawaiian shirts than Rock. He, like Dutch, doesn't get a lot of background or characterization; though we do find out in the Nazi arc that he is Jewish. Like Rock, however, Benny doesn't really seem to belong on the Black Lagoon. He isn't a fighter, something he states at the beginning, but he also is by no means a character who is in-between worlds, like Rock. He is fully immersed in the underground world the Black Lagoon works in, and that is the main difference between he and our Japanese salaryman. Benny doesn't have much air time during the second season either, though he does find himself a girlfriend--one who is surprisingly similar to him, actually.

For season two, there are some different characters that become more...important, but I'm leaving that season alone. For one--an excessive use of Engrish made it very hard to take anything serious. Though, if anything, one of the draws of this series is that it isn't a serious, action anime. Yes, there is a lot of shoot outs, car chases, and open sea battles, but there is also a lot of comedy that cuts between the action that makes it more enjoyable and easier to watch.

Another draw is that this series doesn't have one long, continuous plot; instead, there are small three to four episode arcs. While there are general consistencies, and reoccurring characters from certain arcs, for the most part each storyline can be taken completely separate from each other. It is much easier to swallow all the craziness that happens when it is done that way; though, again, the vampire arc seems to be the exception to that rule.

Overall, this series is...interesting. I enjoyed the first season, though I did watch it with my local anime club and that made it all the more fun. For a series with very little plot and character development, it's decent. It's not one of my top ten (or top 100, even) but if you're ever just in the mood for some action and very little deep character or plot development, then I would check out this series. If anything, season one is definitely worth the laughs you get.

Ouran High School Host Club

2007-03-15T13:23:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the Host Club.
(Warning: Contains spoilers for the first episode)

From one Haruhi to another, Ouran's Fujioka Haruhi is much less odd. In fact, while Haruhi is definitely quirky, she is one of the more normal characters within the whole series. The series is set around the premise of a high school host club, an extracurricular set up to entertain the wealthy, impassioned, and bored female population of the school.

The club contains seven functioning members whose soul purpose as hosts is to charm, bewitch, and sweep their customers off their feet. Each member, save the twins, has a unique style that is attributed to them, or rather, is marketed to the girls/women. One of the great things about this series is that each "style" is actually a parody of anime genres. Indeed, for fans of the series Fruits Basket, you'll notice the same voice actor (Ayaka Saito) is being used for both Honey and Momiji. The parodying aspect of this series is one of the reasons why it rates easily in my top ten.

The Host Club sets themes and moods for each day they host their customers (remember: they're extremely rich!) From a police station to a tropical island, the Host Club cares not for the expense of their endeavors for their customers (though certainly Kyouya knows every cent being spent, and knows where all that money is coming from too). As long as the girls are happy, Tamaki's motto would be, than no cost is too great.

Let's meet the characters (and their host club style):

Fujioka Haruhi: Our seemingly androgynous main character, Haruhi is the "special student" (read: on scholarship) who has entered the prestigious (and expensive) Ouran High School so that she can "meet her goals." Haruhi is a bit of a paradox. She repeatedly proves herself to be very perceptive. She is one of maybe a handful who can tell the twins apart [see below] and she can pick up on things around her that others are completely oblivious to. However, on the flip side, she is also extremely dense--hence the paradox. It's usually when things have to do with her, especially people's feelings/affection towards her, that Haruhi seems to be utterly clueless. Beyond the paradox, Haruhi is a very strong, sarcastic character. Her mother died when she was much younger, leaving her to take care of her cross-dressing father, Ranka. Her father's occupation (an okama) leaves Haruhi less self-conscious of her gender than most--which is why in the first episode, she is mistaken for a guy. She joins up with the Host Club after incurring a debt by breaking a vase. After it is found out that she makes a cute guy, she's put to work as a host to help pay off her debt. She is the "natural rookie." (And yes--Haruhi's gender is kept a secret, since playing host is more advantageous for paying off her debt.)

Suou Tamaki: Enter the Host Club founder, president, and self-declared "king." Tamaki is obnoxious, suave, and delusional. He has a way with women that makes him the most requested host in the club. He seems like a very shallow person, but throughout the series there are glimpses that this half-French, half-Japanese teenager has more depth than most of the other characters in the series. He has an unhealthy obsession with Haruhi, though he's a bit blind to his true feelings for her. Instead, he uses the misnomer of his feelings being of a "father and daughter" type. Throughout the series, Tamaki refers to himself as "Daddy," the role of mother is assigned to the Host Club's vice-president, Ootori Kyouya (he takes it much less seriously than the melodramatic Tamaki). After adding Haruhi to the host club, a "commoner" by all means compared to the elegant population of Ouran, Tamaki becomes enamored with the ways of the "commoner," including instant coffee (inevitably the official drink of the Host Club), and simple games like kick the can. Tamaki is the "prince."

Ootori Kyouya: Tamaki's best friend, co-founder of the Host Club, the vice-president, and the "shadow king." As Haruhi finds out quickly, while Tamaki is the president of the Host Club, it is Kyouya who really runs the Club (and suggests many of the themes used). The "glasses character" is the third son of a wealthy family that deals with medicine, hospitals, and secret police. Kyouya can rarely be found without his notebook, where he seems to keep information on every person in the school (family business, family, likes and dislikes, etc; probably even down to colour underwear their have on that day--he does have an army of secret police at his disposal). Like Haruhi, Kyouya is very good at observing his surroundings, and it is he, from the beginning, that knows of Haruhi's true gender (the others figure it out on the way, with Tamaki being the last). There seems to be a lot of unrest with Kyouya. As stated above, he is the third son and due to this will not inherit anything; instead he's expected to back up his older brothers in their endeavors. This is something that never sits well with him and it is through his friendship with Tamaki that he begins to see beyond this set design for him. Kyouya seems to have an interior design for everything he does, including the friends he keeps, but it is both Tamaki and Haruhi that question this idea (and make him question it too). Kyouya is the "cool" type.

Hitachiin Hikaru and Hitachiin Kaoru: I feel bad just lumping these two together, especially since there is a big deal made about their being separate people. As you can see they're identical twins. They are the two characters that I find the most humorous, mostly due to fans response to them. Their selling point is "brotherly-love;" and yes, that means shonen-ai but for those people who are already freaked out, remember this is a parody of genres. The twins are off in their own world, they treat life as a game and when they get bored with certain things (or people) they simply toss them away. They have little regard to anyone's feelings outside of their own. Similar to Kyouya's attitude, the world outside of their existence together is simply there to amuse and entertain them. Separately, the twins have subtle differences (other than just their hair and voice actors.) Kaoru, "the uke," seems to be more aware that their walls are beginning to crumble within the Host Club (especially around Haruhi--the only one, save maybe Kyouya, who can tell them apart easily). He also seems to be more accepting of this change. I would also venture to say that Kaoru is the kinder of the two. On the other hand, Hikaru, the "seme," is abrasive, oblivious, and crass. There are also hints that it is Hikaru who, even though both twins mess with Haruhi, has a possible crush on the only female host. The twins are devious and love messing with people, but like most people in the club, there are deeper parts to them: reasons why they are the way they are, and, through the course of the series, one begins to understand more about them. The Twins are the "little devils."

Mitsukuni (Honey) Haninozuka: Now just try and tell me you don't coo over that face? Or you would, until you found out that was the face belong to a high school senior. Oh yeah. Honey (called Mitsukuni by only Mori [see below]) is one of two seniors in the club, though his appearance far from agrees with that. He is also possibly one of the strongest people in Japan, in the Ouran-verse; having already surpassed his father's strength as the head of his family's martial arts dojo. Honey loves anything cute and sweet--including but not limited to his constant companion: his stuffed, pink bunny, and cake. And more cake. And even more cake! He really likes his cake. So much that his own brother thinks he is an alien for eating so much cake (seven, multi-layer cakes in one sitting...that's not strange, is it?). However, don't let the sweet facade fool you. Honey can be quite scary, especially in the morning (similar to Kyouya, in that aspect). He is also very perceptive. While he rarely gets to show it, there are moments where it is Honey who seems to be the only one (save maybe Mori) who can see the maze of relationships within the Host Club. Honey is the "loli-shota" type.

Takashi (Mori) Morinozuka: Mori is the other senior in the Host Club. Like Honey, Mori is also a martial arts expert, though not nearly as strong as Honey. The two seniors have an interesting relationship, to say the least. Mori's family had been servants of Honey's for a long time and somewhere along the way, they became intertwined. Mori and Honey are actually cousins, though the "servant bloodline" still seems to run through Mori, as he is often looking out for Honey. The silent, gentle Mori can rarely be found without his cousin, in fact, he doesn't do much of anything without Honey in mind. There is little doubt that Mori would have not joined the Host Club had it not been for Honey wanting to join. Mori is my favorite Host (there is another character in this series I adore, but you'll have to watch to find out about him.) He is, however, probably the most shallow of characters--not because his personality is like that, more because he is one of the few that never really got any character development. Though, I suppose you could say, all there is to Mori is Honey--though certain actions from the tall senior hint that he has affection (platonic or otherwise) for Haruhi. She certainly is one of the few to figure him out--but she does seem to do that with many of the characters. Mori is the "wild" type.

Those are the main characters, though certainly not the only. I've mentioned Fujioka Ranka (Haruhi's father), but there are also reoccurring characters like Houshakuji Renge (the otaku/host club manager), Umehito Nekozawa (the acting president of the Dark Arts Club), and the rivaling Zuka Club from the all girls school: St. Lobelia. The cast, both major and minor, all have little quirks that fills this show with its combination of both side-splitting humor and serious undertones. Oh--and beware banana peels.

Some of my info came from the site, For Richer or Poorer. This site, completely dedicated to Ouran, is very well done. While I recommend the Anime News Network and Wikipedia articles as well, this fan site has an in-depth collection of information that I highly recommend anyone interested (or current fans) checking out.

Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

2007-03-14T11:32:00.000-05:00

Personally, this series is one of my top ten favorite anime; a bit strange since another of my top ten [Ouran High School Host Club] has a main character of the same name. This rather...odd anime series is actually based off a "light novel" series called Haruhi Suzumiya and is translated over to a 13 episode format that is anything but boring. I will warn, if you're easily confused, this may not be the series for you.

It's hard, I have found, to come across a 13 episode series that is able to pull off good character development, and plot development within the small time alloted them. I'm not saying that Melancholy actually accomplished both of these, but the craziness of Haruhi more than makes up for that fact.

The title character of this series is a high school girl who is anything but normal. On her first day of school, she declares, in front of her entire class, that she will only associate with "aliens, time travelers, and espers" only. This is a surprise to the entire class, especially Kyon [another one of our main characters] who has just declared at the beginning of the episode that he no longer believes in any of those things.

It turns out Haruhi is a bit of a hypocrite in her words, as she eventually befriends her classmate, the ever sarcastic Kyon. Possibly one of my favorite anime characters in any series, Kyon often does voice overs on his views on the oddity that is Haruhi. He is usually embarrassed by the things he gets dragged into because of her, but--while he does protest--he never actively tries to get out of the club or to disassociate himself with her.

Eventually Haruhi ends up dragging Kyon into creating a club. Enter: The SOS Brigade! The SOS is actually an acronym of "Sekai wo Ooini Moriagerutame no Suzumiya Haruhi no Dan" [translated to: "Haruhi Suzumiya's Brigade to Greatly Enliven the World."] Sound like a good idea, ne? Except that no one, not even Haruhi, exactly knows what the SOS Brigade does.

There end up being five members of the SOS Brigade, including Haruhi and Kyon.

Yuki Nagato is roped into the club by pure misfortune of location. The literature club only has one member, Yuki, and Haruhi confiscates their club room, its member and all, for the uses of the SOS Brigade. The silent Yuki doesn't protest, no matter what Haruhi cooks up for them all.

The next is Mikuru Asahina. A slightly annoying character with big breasts, she is brought into club to attract people--especially guys. She's older than the other members of club, but her rather weak personality makes her a victim to all of Haruhi's desires--including dressing her up in just about everything under the sun from a bunny girl to a frog.

There is a bit of a dual relationship with Kyon and Mikuru. While there is obvious attraction from "episode one" of this series on Kyon's side, there is a competing relationship between Haruhi and Kyon, from Haruhi's side. It's an odd triangle, and by the end, [if you go chronologically, see below] there are still some things that aren't quite clear on who Kyon actually "likes." However, this complexity adds to the characters and plot a bit, so it's a welcome confusion, in my opinion.

The last member to join the SOS Brigade is the "mysterious transfer student." Koizumi Itsuki is a rather pleasant man, described by some as being a "yes man" to Haruhi. True, he very rarely goes against anything she says [unlike Kyon who is usually the first to protest the minute an idea comes out of her mouth.] Koizumi is a pretty laid back guy, he seems to be always smiling and a rather fun personality. Of all the members, it is only he that seems to willingly be in the club and enjoying it--minus Haruhi, of course.

While these characters are all very important to the universe that is Haruhi, it's Haruhi herself that makes this series what it is. Think of her as an ultimate rejector of realities. I can't explain too much without giving away some fun spoilers, but it is important to remember, Haruhi is very specific about who she hangs out with, and while Kyon may be an exception the others may not be.

Haruhi's outlook on life is unusual and life around her tends to be the same, something all of the SOS Brigade finds out. Life is never dull with this quirky high schooler around, or possibly because she is around. This series may be filled with a series off odd events, people, and circumstances; but the one key factor to them all is always Haruhi.

It's important to note that the series doesn't actually go in chronological order. The "first episode (labeled episode 00) is actually the 11th episode, chronologically speaking. Due to this fact, I recommend watching through the first and second episode (the second is chronologically the first) before deciding on continuing the series or not. Episode 00 is strange, to say the least, and not an accurate representation of the entire series. For a complete list of the airing order and the chronological order, go here. Anime News Network, has kindly listed it out for anyone who is curious (or just confused.)