Sarashi Asobi
Author: Tobina Touya
Sometimes called Exposing Game (get yer head out of the gutter!)
So I’ve actually reviewed a series by the author before! (Here) So that makes this the first repeat author on this world! Woot!
Ok so to boil the plot down, it’s about a misunderstood girl, a bored shinigami and a little game.
To go into more detail, this shoujo manga starts with Ren Ohba, a girl with a tough stern exterior who just wants to help people but due to the way she acts she is constantly misunderstood. A shinigami is watching her and knowing she doesn’t have long to live, decides to play a game by making it so she shares her inner voice with the world. In other words all the things she thinks, she says aloud. (Trust me when I say this is adorable and hilarious) Anyhoo, wonderful hijinks ensue but it’s not all fun and games… A suffering shinigami, a girl trying to extend her life, and love triangles are also abundant.
I really enjoyed this short series. (I’ve reread it several times… and I’ve made 2 wallapapers for it…) It hits the right balance of adorable fun and heart felt drama. It’s also truly refreshing how the author spins the shinigami and misunderstood girl cliques into a new exciting piece. The characters are well developed and the chapter addressing the love triangle (I call it the creaking chapter) is one of the best portrayals, I’ve seen, of handling rejection and change in shoujo manga.
Anyhow Who’d like this?
Fans of shinigami manga (yes it could be it’s own genre) or fans of shoujo manga. I think even if shoujo isn’t your thing there’s a lot to enjoy here, but if you aren’t in the mood for some romance you might want to skip this one for now.
~Tsu
Ps. No seriously though... there's soooo many shinigami manga...
Maybe I should do a best and worst list of them...
(Also Sarashi Asobi is my favorite by this author)
Mr. Fredward’s Duck
Author: Ushijima Keiko
So this manga… It possibly has the silliest name of any manga I’ve read… (except maybe Banana Bread Pudding…) And it has, if possible, almost as strange a premise.
Ok now bear with me here cause the plot is gonna lose you for a second but this is definitely a series worth a gander. (or two)
So ok this is how it starts, a man named Mr. Fredward (who despite this old man name is a total Bishounen hottie) puts out an ad looking for a housekeeper, and who answers this ad? A talking duck named Rosemary. (Don’t leave me yet!) So long story short, he hires the duck and the story begins. Now instead of being what many of you are probably imaging, this series is not a comedy romp through the happy land of a man and his duck. This is a very intense and surprisingly heart felt manga from the early 90s.
This manga really caught my attention shortly before the main plot started with a well balance plot about animal cruelty from the point of view of Rosemary. It also contains some exciting stories with interesting supernatural twists!
From there the main story arch begins! (Fairly late in the story but its all good! Lol) What is that? Well Fredward ran away from home as a child and lived on the streets in a kind of gang. He visits an old friend from that time and discovers the older boy who protected him, and who he respected, has died from a drug overdose. He also discovers that this friend had a child. Feeling indebted to his friend he begins a quest to search for the boy to make sure that he is ok being taken care of and happy.
Trust me! This is a very bittersweet story that will warm and break your heart! It takes on some extremely difficult topics of the 90s and beyond… SPOILERS (Aids, being homeless, suicide, family etc.) On top of that the 90s shoujo art style is very pretty and nothing makes me smile like Rosemary’s enduring personality!
You would like this if you are a shoujo, josei, or drama fan.
If you’re looking for a man and duck comedy I’m afraid you’ll have to search a little longer. Give it a try its quite a pleasant surprise!
~Tsu
Angel Densetsu
Author: Yagi Norihiro
I love this manga so much! It is hilarious!
A school place martial arts comedy, the story follows a high schooler named Kitano Seiichirou who has the heart of an angel…. But has a super scary face! The manga says it something like “Piercing small eyes, naturally frightening mouth and pale skin like that of a heroin addict.”
Anyways this up and up A student is constantly misunderstood with uproariously funny results! I just love it… its great…. He beats people up without touching them cause he’s so scary, and ends up the leader of the school hoodlums but he’s so innocent that he doesn’t know what’s going on!
“Ohhh poor baby!” But man if I don’t laugh my butt off every time I read this series!
This story is at it’s core about not judging by looks and letting the heart shine through, but its done in a not too heavy handed and very humorous way!
The fight scenes are great and fun to read, and I always love a good fighting manga! ^-^
This comedy is perfect for fans of school comedies or somebody looking for interesting take on the school gang fight genre.
~Tsu
Sorry this review is so short!!! I manage the editing for a horror movie review channel on youtube and we were having our annual horror movie party and top 10.
Next up to review is one of my ten anime! (that or I’m gonna be making wallies for all the commenters on Bebop…)
Tista
Author: Endou Tatsuya
Hello!
Today’s manga series is Tista! A psychological, action, drama and one of my favorites! When I was browsing through series trying to figure out what I should share with you this week, I came across an old top ten list of mine and Tista was number 8 on my list. “Oooooh! I forgot how much I like this one!” I thought and promptly reread it so I could talk about it properly.
Oh man! This is a great short series! While it is only 9 chapters long and is a “young assassin associated with the church” manga it is really really good! The plot follows Tista a college student/assassin who inadvertently becomes friends with a senior at her school who dreams of becoming a big time artist.
Where this series sets itself apart from some others in its genre is in how the mind of Tista is show in the series. What she’s thinking and feeling and seeing is all very cleverly (And coolly!) shown through visual metaphor and literal hallucinations. It’s really fun to read and watch this character just struggle with morals and her feelings of revenge mixed with guilt and obligation. (Trust me its awesome!)
The artwork is nice too and filled with dark thick lines and moody shading. ^-^
This is just such a cool series! And it’s nice to see a female killer with practical clothes! Lol This series is emotional and hard hitting without being a downer and I highly recommend giving it a try!
Sorry this review is short, but I don’t want to give spoilers as it is a good read!
Also thank you once again for the views!
Got something you want me to review?
Leave me a comment or pm me!
I shall watch or read the series and before you know it you’ll have someone to talk to about that obscure thing you love!
~Tsu
Banana Bread Pudding
Genre: Shoujo
Ok… Right off I'm going to let you know I enjoy weird things. I enjoy listening to unusual songs, going on odd adventures but, most of all, I enjoy reading weird manga.
And this innocent sounding title of Banana Bread Pudding is by far one of the strangest series I've ever read.
At 5 chapters long, Banana Bread Pudding is a short, bizarre creation by the mangaka Ooshima Yumiko. With chapter titles like "Before I Become Instant Coffee" this series is just so… very, very odd.
Here I feel the need to share part of the disruption from mangafox that got me to read it… "Now that Ira's older sister is getting married, who will take her to the bathroom after ten p.m. and sing 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star' outside the bathroom door in order to protect her from the beautiful, androgynous, child-eating clown?"
Now tell me, How could I resist a description like that?!
Ok more into detail, Ira, the female lead who badly needs mental help, talks to a friend about her fears of being eaten by a clown. Now a good friend would tell her she should maybe see a shrink, but nope! Let's get Ira a boyfriend to distract her from her troubles! Thats all you need to make the crazy go away! And guess what kind of man Ira wants? No lies I am writing this word by word from the first chapter, Ira wants "A gay man who feels too guilty to reveal his secret to society." And does her friend tell her "No, thats silly and he'd never really love you back!" Nope! She goes off to start finding a gay boyfriend for her friend…
*Palm Head*
And yeah… it gets weirder from there, if that's even possible.
(and as it turns out… is)
Trust me when I say the story spirals quickly into crazy land…
I would not say this manga is good… but I wouldn't say its bad either.
It has this strange magic about it. Like those 'so bad its good' movies like Plan 9 From Outer Space, this manga has that crazy charm of watching a train wreck and just enjoying how very weird things can get.
Nobody in this series uses their common sense or gets the help and mental support they need but even as it frustrates me, I can never look away. I really enjoy sharing this with people and have found that it is a fun one to read with friends! (Just bundle yourselves around the computer and read it together! Trust me good times and conversations will start!)
Also the artwork in this manga is really quite lovely! And the fact that its drawn in that soft 70s shoujo style only adds to the bizarre nature of the story, in addition to making it pretty to look at!
If you are a lover of the weird, or just want a day trip from reality, you can never go wrong trying some Banana Bread Pudding!
~Tsu
