Hello!
Welcome to The Anime & Manga Review!
It has been my dream to create a world on TheO where users can go for anime and manga reviews and finally here it is! I plan to make this world an active, exciting and helpful place for learning about and finding entertaining manga and anime to read/watch.
Haha first off sorry I've been very absent recently… having a work that requires long hours on the computer makes spending more time on the computer slightly less fun.
So, why is my brain exploding?
Well, first I've got the new VHD (Vampire Hunter D) novel sitting next to me right now and that always brings a smile to my face, plus two of my more obscure fandoms are coming to DVD (Mononoke: tv series and Cybersix) And that truly has me excited!
But more than that… I just found the trailer for the next live action Rurouni Kenshin movie that follows the Kyoto Fire Arch (aka the Shishio arch/the arch of awesomeness) Since I really really enjoyed the first movie, I have extremely high hopes for this one!
Ok, putting the fan girl aside for a moment, some comments on the trailer from my film brain critical self.
First off, just like in the first film the action scenes look totally amazing and secondly, just like the first movie, all the real life versions of the manga characters look freaking spot on. If I had any negative comments about costume design, it'd be the dangling bandages on Shishio's head, but I thought those looked silly in the manga too. I just wish they'd used some discretion and cut those off, but thats more personal choice and he still looks cool.
My main concerns stem from wondering how much they're going to cram into this movie. It's clear from the trailer that Kenshin will make it down to Kyoto and at least begin the fight with Shishiou. And I say START the fight because rather like The Hobbit, Twilight and Hunger Games, the plot is going to be split up over two movies. This is a good sign to me, because other than being a cash grab, it also gives a lot of time for the long story arch to unfurl and have good pacing.
After watching this trailer and the teaser trailer it seems like the movie will take Kenshin from Tokyo to Kyoto, have him meet up with the new characters in Kyoto and end somewhere after the first failed attempt to defeat Shishio. To me the most logically place for them to end this first movie would be right after the attempt to smuggle in explosives/guns by ship (the scenes you see near the end of this trailer) This would more or less be the plot of books 7-12 of the manga. (Can you tell I've read the manga more than 5 times?) This leaves part two to cover books 13-17, which pretty neatly splits the plot in half. This is a lot of plot to cram in a 2 hour movie and I'm just worried that the pacing will come off rushed…
Anyhow, those are just some quick thoughts on the trailer. The movie comes out in Japan sometime next month, and I'm sure I'll hear more about it at that time. In the mean time… Rurouni Kenshin is a fun action drama comedy classic, so I highly encourage checking out the manga, anime, or the first live action film. (the last reviewed here earlier)
I plan to have a REAL review up later this week. (I know right?? Its surprising to me too)
Anyhoo…
Thank you so much for reading!
~Tsu
Oh manga, you never let me down when it comes to sheer bizarreness! XD
But first! Last chance to have a say in my special post for 5,000 views! It won’t be up this weekend, but I hope to have it finished for next weekend! So vote or comment!
So yes it’s once again time to celebrate the weird and fun parts of the manga world!
Check out even more Weirdness on past weird this weeks! Week 1, 2,and 0
1. Those are some sweet club moves!
--Or maybe not… Dancing in manga rarely looks very cool but this one is just so funny and awkward to me! Would this dance move even look good in real life?? My guess is probably not… I believe this is from a series called Pathos, but its been awhile and I can’t quite recall… I’ll update if I got the title wrong!
2. A causual lunch with my cronnies
--I don’t know it’s the fact that they’re just chilln’ with their skull masks I think… Just eating their lunch. How are they even eating?! Look! Their cloaks are wrapped around their arms! At any rate it seems like something I’d do. From Tripeace
3. This Face
-- Call it my strange sense of humor but this guy’s facial expression! This is from a particularly weird series I didn’t really care for but had some really cool art so I read more of it than I normally would… At any rate this face is the result of throwing your phone away in a fit of rage and the immediate regret. (Something I have done)
4. Pillow fight from the heavens!
-- This is, I swear, normally a pretty serious plotted manga with lots of sweet action so when I got to this part…. Where, pillows fall and hit people from the sky I just started cracking up! From the series World Embryo (its quite good I recommend it)
Have you come across anything weird this week?
If so share and let the world know!
~Tsu
Oh where to start about this review? First off I think a liiiiittle personal background about myself is needed… XD I am a panel geek. Nothing gets me more excited than when a comic book or manga has amazing panel arrangement! (I have mentioned this in the past, but I’ve written a 10 page research paper on the subject)
So needless to say this manga has really cool page layouts. The author really enhances the story through those choices and I love it.
Moving on from my obsession with panels… The story is about a mysterious young man who is a necromancer. Of course there’s a price to be paid for these services, and that just so happens to be three years of a living person. Oh but that’s not all! A resurrected soul’s essence, or “special characteristics” are enhanced through this process and its impossible to predict how much or what will happen. Interesting right?
Like many manga the basic premise itself is fairly simple, but I just adore the bitter sweet stories and the main character (the necromancer) has such a straight forward and sometimes brutal views on death and resurrection that he’s really interesting to learn more about as the series goes on. To top it off, the other main character who is a female cop trying to find some kind of evidence that the necromancer is up to no good, adds a really fun element and lets some of the stories take on mystery element.
Truly though, I must say I really like the art work in this series! This is a horror manga but the actual characters have a very sweet, elegant smoothness to the way they’re drawn. This style with its cute characters and stark black and white contrast makes for a unique look that oddly compliments the horror nature of the series very well. (my friends and I were just talking about sweet and evil things today and decided it’s “swevil” or sweet and evil)
While this is classified as a shounen manga, I think that shoujo fans would really like this one. And of course if you’re into bitter sweet horror stories or want to try something just a little bit different this is the perfect choice. It's a fun read, with some great mysteries and thrills.
Hey all! I surpassed 5,000 views on this world!
Whaaaaat??
Even though I’ve been so darned inactive lately… You guys are freaking awesome! Seriously thanks to all of you guys who have supported me, read these reviews and commented!
And as I promised a while back, once I hit 5,000 plus views I’d do something special, while this review isn’t that something special, I really want to do something super cool and fun and so I’m going to let you guys pick from some options!
SO! Which review do you want to see as a Special? (I’ll do a video and have writing and go all out for this one!)
1. Full Metal Alchemist: Manga vs. Anime vs. Anime
2. The top ten best manga I’ve ever read
3. The top 10 weirdest manga I’ve read
4. My theories on the differences between manga and comics
5. Top 10 saddest series
6. I will explain where the ‘hand to the mouth shoujo gasp’ came from and other fun manga history facts.
So there you go! Take a vote and let me know what you’d like to see as a (hopefully) exciting special!
The Ongoing Manga You Should Definitely Be Reading
Hello all! Sorry it’s been so very very very long… (Link to why I’ve been insanely busy for those interested) But for the rest of you I’ll sum it up with work… so much work… (Deadlines suck man!) and so this post is coming to you! (Thanks to my needing an excuse to take a break from mindlessly converting footage from an H264 to AppProRes 422)
Anyways, have you been looking for a new good series to get into but just don’t know where to start looking? Well search no more my friend! The answer is upon you!
I have searched the internet for you! Read hundreds of series! All the work has been done! Here are some ongoing manga that you should really already be reading. For this list I have tried to pick a series from every genre so both shoujo and seinen, Josei and shounen, horror and romance, can all find a new series to throw their passion wildly behind! I have also ruled out the popular popular ones that you already know exsist. Although seriously… Attack on Titan is just… so freaking awesome you really should give it a gander if you haven’t already, but that's for another day, today lets take a look at some lesser know gems! (some are more well known than others)
So here’s the results of my digging through the internet and tentacles to find you the good series!
And now onto
Ongoing Manga You Should Definitely Be Reading Already!!!
Seinen
Ajin
Author: Miura Tsuina
Artist: Sakurai Gamon
I love this series, I love this series!!! So far it’s a hard hitter that's still fun and exciting! I already talked about this series a bit on Thiefspawn’s world IDefyn (so I’m gonna paraphrase myself a bit)
I love the premise~! Ajin is written 亜人 and translates as something like Sub Human. And yeah that’s what this series is about. There’s this new being called an Ajin that can’t die, nobody quite knows what they are, and there don’t seem to be very many of them. Typically nobody even knows that the person they knew was an ajin until they don’t die when they should have.
And in the first chapter our protagonist meets with an accident… And it’s totally awesome! The characters are brutal in their logic and the art style matches that gritty mood as well. Definitely a worth while action series! Plus the series has been quickly gaining popularity and for a reason! Seinen fans, action fans, don’t miss out!
Shoujo
Koushin Ouji
Author/artist: Kuwahara Souta
So cute. Sooooo very cute! Plus it falls into the Supernatural category, which I am a huuuuge fan of! (I may have been part of a paranormal investigation group back in college) Basically it’s about a demon (the demon prince actually) who has come to our earth in order to collect souls and to discover the secret of the Kuronai, which is a power that will allow him to inherit the throne. There, one thing leads to another… and now he’s living at this very optimistic girls home with her and her grandma. I know that basic plot makes it seem run of the mill, but between an adorable shoujo art style and some genuinely heart felt moments, I think this series stands strong. The love interest has real problems, and the prince has a determination to his duty that lets me buy the “drama of will he collect her soul?” Seriously shoujo fans, why aren’t you already reading this? It’s great so far!
Ok I already did a full review for this series so I’ll keep it brief. (read the full review for a complete synopsis, and my awesome personality XD) This is currently one of my absolute must read as it updates manga. Its got what I love, action, comedy, and suspension of drama that makes me want to know whats gonna happen next!!!
To boil the plot down, the story follows a trouble class at an elite school that has been selected to assassinate their teacher, who is an alien, who announced he will destroy the world within a year and as proof he can do it he puts a big hole in the moon. As part of a deal with the Japanese government he will be the teacher of a high school class but the students are the ones who have to kill him. Its silly, its sweet, its actiony and I love it! If you dig comedy and action you really should be reading this!
Seinen/shounen
Spirit Circle
Author/artist: Mizukami Satoshi
I don’t curse much, but damn… just this manga… It seems really silly at a glance and the art is cutesy, but I know what to expect from this author. (The author of one of the personal top ten manga I’ve ever read which I reviewed in an earlier post) And what to expect from this series is one that has equal parts fun, cute and truly sweet moments, and brutal, sad and touching moments. And just… damn this manga is shaping up to truly be something great. Again I HATE jumping to conclusions, manga often get ruined by bad endings, but really this is worth a read. This is a story about a middle school boy who is one day confronted by the new transfer girl, and she says she hates him and proceeds to wack him in the face. There he relives a past life and the revelation of an unbreakable reincarnation cycle between him and the girl begins to real itself. Seriously, give it a try! I personally cannot wait to see where is goes! Give it the first two chapters, if you’re anything like me, you’ll be completely hooked.
And since I don’t have any Josei I’m currently reading…
Another shoujo!
Akatsuki No Yona
Author/artist: Kusanagi Mizuho
Anyone remember that “Top Female Leads in Shoujo” review? I totally would have put the lead, Yona, from this series, on that list I had known of her at the time! Such a fun fantasy shoujo! Has that delightful “red haired princess with problems” clique. (Isn’t that such a random clique?! But seriously, I know like. Over 5 manga in that genre) Anyhoo, follows the story of a princess who has to grow stronger as a person and complete a quest in order to reunite the country and regain the thrown. I love it because she does grow as a character and is, I feel, pretty awesome that way. I totally believe her emotions and can relate to them. I don’t even mind that is has a reverse harem (one girl with tons of guys) which usually is a deal breaker for me. It’s just a very interesting story and I want to see what happens next, what more can you ask for?
Anyways, I hope that this list helps you find that new special manga in your heart!
Let me know if you give it a read! I’m always curious to see what other people think!
And in between now and my last post feel free to browse my other entries! Maybe you'll find more than one series to love. ^-^
