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君が望む永遠 (Kimi ga Nozomu Eien) Vol. 3
These two episodes explore more of the history of Mitsuki and Takayuki, as well as some Akane. The story diverts a little bit from the drama CDs, especially in the way that Akane finds out that Mitsuki and Takayuki are going out. There's also some references in the anime that require background knowledge from the video game. Thank goodness I played it before watching. While the animation and everything else is about the same as previous episodes, I love this volume because it includes the concert video of Minami Kuribayashi singing the opening. While I didn't like the intro before, watching her perform it live made me appreciate the song a lot more. She sure can sing (and when I get the concert DVD, I can elaborate more).
5. During a rainy night in the present, Mitsuki has a flashback to how things were the year after Haruka's accident. Takayuki was a complete mess not even taking care of himself. Mitsuki and Akane were getting alone pretty well and Akane asks Mitsuki to take care of Takayuki. However, one thing leads to another and Mitsuki and Takayuki start dating and buy mutual presents for each other, a dolphin and octopus cup. Haruka's parents tell Takayuki not to visit anymore for his own benefit and later that night, he and Mitsuki sleep together. The next morning, Akane walks into Takayuki's apartment to find a naked Mitsuki. 6. Present day again and Takayuki goes to visit Haruka. After he leaves, he meets her parents who appreciate what he's doing despite having his own life. Later, Mitsuki comes to the hospital to talk to Akane, but Akane brushes her off, not allowing her to unload the feelings she's been carrying around on her chest. Takayuki comes to the hospital right afterwards and visits Haruka. After some reservations, they recite their little poem. |
Title: 君が望む永遠 (Kimi ga Nozomu Eien) Vol. 3 |
dear Vol. 2 LE
The author of this manga is only 21 years old (20 when he wrote the note in the book)! That makes me feel a little bad as I haven't reached my fame and glory (even if it's drawing manga). Ah well, we can't all be famous at a young age. This volume continues to be pretty good, especially with the discovery of Chiharu and Kisara's past. The characters look very familiar to the author's earlier work, "My Wolf," but the stories are completely different despite having the same wolf theme. First/limited edition comes with a Chiharu figurine and an extra dust jacket. Like previous volume, there's comics underneath the flap, the back flap, and on the last page of the book. 5. 新しい日々 (A New Day): Kisara, Chiruha, and the captain are going to the captain's house. Along the way, they pass the bun seller that Chiruha met the first day she was in town. Soon after they leave, a monster steals from the seller and runs by Chiruha and gang. Chiruha grabs a hold of it, sprouts ears, and subdues the monster. All of this happens before Kisara and the captain's eyes. 6. 不死の呪い (The Curse of Immortality): At the captain's huge mansion, they have a little party. Later on, Kisara and Chiruha talk on the balcony, only to be interrupted by the captain who offers Chiruha a drink. She drinks and passes out quickly. As she's lying in bed, Kisara wants to murder her, but can't get himself to do it. Chiruha wakes up soon after and there's an alert that monsters are in the area. The captain sends out Kisara. When Chiruha asks why, he tells him that Kisara was cursed with immortality by some Lycanthrope. With this, she goes looking for Kisara. 7. ひとり (Alone): Kisara is equipping himself for battle as Chiruha rushes in. After some talk where Kisara doesn't like her wanting to stop him, he notices that she has a wound which is atypical of Lycanthropes. He then goes out to fight alone. During the fight, he flashes back to when they were young and when he first met Chiruha as a child. She was beaten up by some other kids and Chiruha came to her aid. From then on, they played every day until one night, he found out that Chiruha is constantly abused by older teens. Under a shooting star, they vow to be friends. 8. 夜明けの空に (The Sky at Dawn): Apparently, some people (his step parents?) don't like the fact that Kisara is playing around with Chiruha, a "monster." So some thugs come and beat him up. He's on the verge of death when Chiruha apparently transfered her power of immortality onto him so that he wouldn't die. Flash back to present day. Chiruha finds Kisara in the woods and they talk some more. After the beating incident, Chiruha discovered that she no longer could heal, but was happy that Kisara was alive. They embrace and remind each other of the promise they made to protect each other. 9. 思いのまま (The Way of Thoughts): Kisara no longer has the self-loathing he had before of being an immortal. He and Chiharu talk a bit. He asks what he can do for her, and she responds to be her friend (again). With that, they head back home. 10. やくそく (Promise): Things are settling down at the office where Kisara and Chiharu works. As they are cleaning the place up, the captain comes in with some comic relief. Chapter ends with Kisara and Chiharu talking about the things they want to do together. |
Title: dear Vol. 2 |
少年マガ (Shonen Magazine), '04 Vol 22/23 & ヤングマガ (Young Magazine), '04 Vol. 22/23
Due to Golden Week, this weeks issues are double issues to cover next week. Yuko-rin is featured again! This time, she has photo shoots wearing a bright yellow Kimino and some other pix. Yeow! Oh, there are some other girls, but they can't compare. There's a new series starting this week, チェンジングーナウ (Changing Now). They're short chaptered comedies about a girl and her father, who is a plucky superhero. It's pretty good. Changing Now: １: 藤岡タケコ (Takeko Fujioka) is a regular 13 year old girl who aspires to become an idol. He has two younger brothers, a mother who cooks for her, and salaryman father. However, there's a secret that only her father and her now. It's that when trouble strikes, his father uses his special belt and transforms into Dog Fighter! While no one else knows who Dog Fighter is, he's quite popular among the citizens. However, he's an embarrassment to Takeko. During parents visit night to her school, he gets caught up with a monster. After defeating the enemy, his belt doesn't react. Since he can't miss his daughter's event, he goes still dressed up like Dog Fighter. In front of everyone who thinks his' a cosplayer, he says he's Takeko's boyfriend. Changing Now: ２驚愕！！ 箱男 (Astonishment! Box Man): Flash back to some time ago. The father is at a dinner with his boss and gets extremely drunk. He wakes up to find that he's wearing nothing but a strange looking belt. He tries to get home "wearing" a cardboard box. A monster appears and the citizens cry for help. He activates his belt and a legend is born. Suzuka: ＃１１約束 (Promise): Suzuka has a free day off tomorrow and Yamato is stressing at what he wants to do with her on her day off. A newspaper girl comes trying to sell a subscription. At first he declines, but she tells him she has two passes to Fantasyland. He signs up without a second though. As he comes back later that night, Yuuka and Megumi are drinking in his room. Yuuka teases him about the tickets and before she has a chance to give it back to her, a cat tears it up. Later, Suzuka sees the newspaper and tells Yamato about the newspaper girl that asked her for a subscription. While she didn't subscribe, she got the tickets and nonchalantly invites him to go. Negima: ５２時間目 奇跡の瞬間 (52nd Hour, A Miraculous Moment): Evangeline explains how she was able to leave Mahora. She also shows her immortality when she gets attacked from behind. After all that action, Negi passes out but is revived by Konoka's kiss and they go back to Konoka's house where everyone is okay. The next day, Setsuna tries to leave (since Konoka saw her true self), but everyone prevents her from leaving. Tsubasa: ４３見えない未来 (Unforeseen Future): Sakura is worried about Shaoran which prompts him to have a flashback. Later, he and Kuro leave to City Hall to find out more info about the new monster (Seishirou). The clerk provides no info except to go to this tower where they might get more info. Meanwhile at the cafe, Sakura passes out and Fye takes care of him. Seishirou then shows up at the cafe. At the tower, Kuro and Shaoran seem to be in some trouble with the monsters there. Hamanaka Ai: ０３４中村の歴史 (Nakamura's History): 若田部アヤナ (Ayana Wakatabe), a classmate of Masahiko and Misami, is trying to find out about the school's history. They ask Nakamura sensei, a graduate. She has some nostalgic moments and mentions a blood stain on the floor which belonged to her. Futatsuki: １３口目／濡れ衣 (False Accusation): Futatsuki wants to find out why girls don't like ramen (since the next judges in the competition are idols), so he goes to a local noodle shop and finds out that it's filthy and fattening. He decides that the dish he'll prepare is non-fattening noodles. But nearby, the competition has overheard him and during the cook-off, they trump him by presenting a lean dish made of tofu sliced as noodles.
No need to introduce the feature girls. They're way too recycled. So there's a new series starting this week called "Love Lucky." When I saw the ad for it last week, I thought the title was vaguely familiar. It turns out that I had read it before. Love Lucky was published in three issues several months ago which serves as a prologue to the series. I'm too lazy to find those chapters, but it's basically about a guy who has hots for this idol. One day, a girl with her face all masked up approaches him and starts hanging out. One thing leads to another, and they're dating and get married (secretly). However, during their courtship, she never reveals her face, even if she has no other clothes on. Only after does he find out that she's the idol he has a crush on (and now he's married to her!). I think that's how the story went. Love Lucky: Fuuta and Kirari have been married for less than a day. They spend some time singing together, but before their first night, she gets a call to do a promotion, as she's an idol. The next night, she gets called out again, but feels really bad about it. So he asks Fuuta what she can do for him. He says he wants to see her in her birth suit. Redlight: ５: Chiko is studying for her driver's exam. At the test, she gets into an argument with a lady who accuses her of cheating. When Chiko and Satoshi are donating blood, that lady shows up again. Afterwards, at the park, they see the lady and her boyfriend. There's some misunderstand and Satoshi touches somewhere he shouldn't, so they get in a physical fight. They talk with the police and are released. During their ride home, she says that he's going to quit her job as a traffic director if she gets her license, but that doesn't mean they can't meet like they have been. Chapter ends with her holding her license. Minamike: ７やさしくしよう (Be Nice): A distant uncle has come over because he recently got dumped. While he's allowed in the house, none of the girls really want to talk to him. At dinner, he gets a call from the ex who wants to meet up again and so he quickly leaves. Later that night, he shows up again, apparently rejected. |
Title: 少年マガジン (Shonen Magazine) Vol. 22/23
Title: ヤングマガ (Young Magazine) Vol. 22/23 |
君が望む永遠 (Kimi ga Nozomu Eien) OP Video Clip DVD
This DVD is definitely only for the die hard Kiminozo fan. It has the music video for the intro of Kiminozo anime. It has no clips from the show, though. The video itself is somewhat strange. Half the time she's singing dressed as she is on the cover. The other part is where she's singing with two guitarists. Strange, and it doesn't make me like the song any more than I already do (which is not a lot). There's also a short "Making of" video along with two short commercials for this DVD and the CD single. The disc is only 10 minutes long. One gripe is that it's recorded in Dolby Digital. C'mon, it's 10 minutes, the least they could do is put it in Linear PCM. |
Title: 君が望む永遠 (Kimi ga Nozomu Eien) Precious Memories Video Clip DVD |
ネギま！ ７月：まほらチアリーディング (Negima! July: Mahora Cheerleading) CD Single
Disc 4 of 12 of the Negima series. I don't know why they decided to have this CD be released a week earlier than the drama CD coming out...today! I would imagine it's be better if they were released on the same days, but ah well. This CD has songs and dramas from three of Negi's students, Shina, Misa, and Madoka who are in the cheerleading club. The song they sing is really cute and lively (Ken Akamatsu says it's a lot like Su and Sara's duet in Love Hina). Both the melody and the lyrics are very fitting for three cheerleaders. This is the first Negima CD where I think the original mix is better than the remix. The remix adds more synthesized sounds and also a cheering crowd in the background. The original song is already upbeat enough that I think the remix just makes it more cluttered. The drama track is pretty good. It has the three girls in a little pinch when they find out that they picked up the wrong clothes. Rather than having their cheerleading outfit for a performance coming up, they have some other student's clothes. They try to find it, but can't. Finally, Shina finds some cheerleading outfits lying around. They're a little small, but Shina says for them to go on with the show. While they're performing their song, their outfits start ripping at the seams. The cast talk is pretty boring. First edition comes with a Shina Sakurako tarot card. |
Title: 魔法先生ネギま！ ７月：まほらチアリーディング (Magic Teacher Negima! July: Mahora Cheerleading) |
It's so hot If I don't turn on my air conditioner, the temperature in my apartment soars up to 90 degrees. I've been trying to hold out (still proud that my electricty bill last month was $15) but I don't think I can anymore. There's a certain limit to cheapness and comfort. I set my thermostat at 76 degrees, but it hasn't been able to go below 79. I have been try to keep heat output to a minimum. Haven't watched much stuff since the projector raises the room's temperature by a few degrees. I've been reading mostly under my little flourescent light that has little heat output. But it's still hot. |
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シュガ～のちっちゃな宝石箱 (Sugar's Small Jewel Box)
This book contains several unrelated stories with the characters from Sugar. It's along the same lines as other anthology comics where each chapter is drawn by a different artist. However, according to the publication page, these chapters were published in the monthly magazines, so maybe they're semi-official? Anyhow, there are two chapters by BH SNOW+CLINIC, the artist for the 3 book series. There's also a chapter by Haruak Aoi, but it's basically a bunch of screenshots from the anime. The stories for each chapter are nice. I don't think it has anything to do with the plot (besides the anime chapter), but they're fun to read. In my opinion, the artwork from each of the different artists were superb. While each had his/her individual style, they all stayed very consistent with the original character designs. As bonuses, there are three colored pages drawn by different artists and several pages in the page with comments from each of the illustrators. |
Title: シュガ～のちっちゃな宝石箱 (Sugar's Small Jewel Box) |
シュガ～ (Sugar) Vol. 3
Even in it's manga form, Sugar is waay too sweet. Being the last book in the series, it tied up the story quite nicely. I don't know how the anime turned out, but maybe it's time to break the shrinkwrap and watch it. Anyhow, good stuff. Bonuses include a color page, a mini-comic at the end, and a letter from Haruka Aoi. 10. お母さんのきらめき (Mother's "Twinkles"): After finding her mother's music, she goes to the music shop to play the tune. Paul, inspired by the water-like tune, tells her to go to the river and she'll certainly find her "Twinkles." Saga asks her grandma and is told that her mother used to play around by the river. She goes there and finds an old man who also confirms the story about her mother. After discovering the twinkling pond that leads to the river, she comes back to find that Sugar's flower is rejuvenated. 11. 自分らしく (Being Myself): Saga has a dream about Sugar leaving and wakes up to find Sugar sitting by the flower, which as started wilting again. The music doesn't do anything anymore. The old head fairy arrives and tells them that they need to find the "Twinkle" in each other. At school, Phil suggests their study group travel outside of Germany to gather info for their report. Saga hears them mention Alps and snow and thinks it's a great opportunity to find Sugar and her "Twinkles." 12. アルプスの悲劇 (Tragedy in the Alps): Sugar is awfully tired, but she doesn't want to let Saga know because she'll worry. Most of the parents of the other students in the group don't want them to go on this expedition, but they go anyway. However, things don't go as planned as they take the wrong train and get lost. As they're wandering around, blame gets put on Saga for misguiding them. And not having seen any "Twinkles," Sugar turns into an egg. 13. 本当のきらめき (True "Twinkles"): They camp out and apologize to Saga. They each explain how they snuck out of their houses just to be here. With every story, Saga feels a little better because she realizes they can sympathize with her family troubles, even though they have parents. She tells them about Sugar and asks for their help in finding "Twinkles." It starts to snow and... 14. Suger baby love: Yes, that's how they spelled it. So Sugar re-hatches. They all go home to worried parents. Soon after, Sugar leaves to show how her flower has turned out. But before that, Saga gives her a kiss. The Sugar meets the head fairy, he tells her that they should be leaving back to their homeland. Sugar asks to say goodbye to Saga but she's told that Saga can no longer see her. So as parting gift, she summons some snow for the town. |
Title: シュガ～ (Sugar) Vol. 3 |
君が望む永遠 (Kimi ga Nozomu Eien) Portrait*4
Is there really a following for Ayu that warrants a character image single? I never particularly cared about her. During the game, I pretty much glossed over all the situations in the restaurant and didn't really care about the characters there (MayuMayu was funny on some occasions). So yet again, I'm biased, but this time, against Ayu. The second song isn't that great. Actually, it's pretty bad. I can enjoy the first song though. It's her singing about herself and of course, you can't have Ayu talk without her signature phrase, Neko no Unko Fume! |
Title: 君が望む永遠 Portrait*4 大空寺あゆ (Kimi ga Nozomu Eien Portrait*4 Daikuji Ayu) |
君が望む永遠 (Kimi ga Nozomu Eien) Portrait*3
I really like Akane's voice in all her roles from the video game, anime, and now the character image song. Haruka's voice is too soft (and she usually never speaks in complete sentences). Mitsuki's voice is at times very whiny. But Akane, or rather Tomomi Uehara, has a certain distinction in her voice that makes it interesting to listen to (kinda like Kanako's in Love Hina). So that sense, I'm a little biased. The two songs included are light and upbeat. The lyrics fit well with her personality. I wouldn't mind listening to these songs occasionally, but not as addicting as the theme songs to Kiminozo. |
Title: 君が望む永遠 Portrait*3 凉宮茜 (Kimi ga Nozomu Eien Portrait*3 Suzumiya Akane) |
わたしの狼さん (My Wolf)
This single volume was kinda non-sequitur for me. I had come into it expecting a story that that has a beginning and an end, but for the most part, the chapters were loosely tied together. There was a central theme about the mystery of Subaru's right hand, but I had to read a few pages over before I got everything straight in my head. I don't think "dear" follows the same Lycanthrope situation. I did enjoy the stories though, despite re-reading a bit of it. Bonuses are a color first page, a mini-comic at the end, and a letter from the author to his fans.
2. Komomo and the King are wandering the villages in search of work (Komomo still wants to be a hero). She hears about a girl who is to be wed against her will to a monster. In exchange, the monster will no longer terrorize their village. Komomo offers herself as the bride and at the right moment, defeat the monster. She has some trouble during battle, and so the King helps her out. 3. Komomo tries helping out at a village fesitval and causes a lot of trouble. At the end of the day, she and King spend the night looking at the fireworks. 4. The secret of Lycanthrope is revealed. Lycanthrope is a right arm that gets passed down from generation to generation. Each time a person with the wolf arm dies, the candidates for the successors have their arms chopped off and grafted with this wolf arm. If it's not a match, they turn into monsters, if it is a match, they become the king. However, Lycanthrope lives off blood, the arm is slowly eating away at him. Komomo thinks she sees him die, but in fact, he gets healed by one of this former servants and has a regular arm back. Since he's just a regular person now, he tells her that his name is 昴 (Subaru). 5. This is a one chapter story, isolated from the previous four chapters. It goes through how Subaru has the ability of the wolf. When Komomo gets attacked, saves her and the chapter ends with them in an embrace. |
Title: 私の狼さん (My Wolf) |
妹 (Sister) Vol. 2
Not much plot, but good artwork and entertaining stories which in my opinion are all that's needed. I'm looking forward to reading the next set of books. These first books are titled "Sister." The next books also have the "Sister" kanji, but have Akane in furigana (meaning it should be read "Akane" and that's why I have it sorted under "あ"). There's a color first page which is all for bonuses 7. 義母の浴衣 (Stepmother's Yukata): Marina asks Akane to go to the festival. However, Akane doesn't have a yukata. She talks to Shinpei about this and he brings out her childhood yukata, which has a long history behind it. When she was a child, her mother couldn't afford one, so she would be teased at school. Shinpei, who got a new glove, felt bad for her sister so he returned his glove and gave the money to her to buy a new yukata. After the flashback, he brings out their mother's yukata and she wears it. 8. G線上のアリア (Air on the G Strings): A co-worker of Akane's somewhat likes her. Since he plays the violin, he gives her a classical music CD to listen to. However, he also has a childhood female friend who isn't too pleased with Akane so she gets some hitmen to rough her up a bit. The co-worker goes to save her, but he gets caught up on the brutality. The friend realizes she shouldn't have done such a cruel act and tries to stop it and gets stabbed in the hand. Both the co-worker and friend leave for Germany soon after. (I *really* can't remember names). 9. 芥川さんの事情 (The Situation with Akutagawa): The manager where Shinpei works decides to bring in a tutor to help teach them some things about accounting. However, the tutor, 芥川留之介 (Ryunosuke Akutagawa) is deathly afraid of pretty girls because he's a nerd and has never been able operate when them around. Akutagawa accidentally gropes Akane and later calls to apologize. As he's talking, a group of girls approach him and make him even more depressed about his loner situation. They convince him to jump off a building, but Akane saves him just in time, but not before some beatings by the girls who are wondering why she even bothers with him. 10. チャコ (Chako): Akane is to take charge of a dog, Chako, for a day. However, Shinpei and Tetsu both think Chako is a boyfriend, and go crazy when she talks about his licking. Things clear up at the end. 11. 兄貴失格 (Disqualified Brother): Shinpei gets aroused when Akane is around. Since they're legally brothers and sisters, she feels terrible for feeling that way. 12. 慎平 男を捨てる (Shinpei Discards his Masculinity): To calm his hormones, he tries different techniques to make him stop thinking about her in that way. He finally resorts to asking the doctor to remove his masculinity, but fortunately, he doesn't go through with it because he was too scared of the operating room. 13. なかよし (Good Friends): Marina and Akane have a new friend, Tsukishima. The popular girls in the class don't like that at all, so they dish out some punishment which leaves Tsukishima in crutches and of course, they try to blame Akane. The truth comes out, fortunately, and the main girl in the popular group gets kicked out of school. |
Title: 妹 (Sister) Vol. 2 |
ぴたテン (PitaTEN) Vol. 3
It's been quite a while since I've touched Pitaten that I've pretty much forgotten most of what the story is about. I don't think there's anything too substantial with the plot, so I guess I'll just leave it at that. The summary at the beginning of the book fill me in just enough. Nothing much happened in this volume that really got my attention. There might have been some very subtle foreshadowing, but nothing provocative. For bonuses, there's only a color first page and a summary page. 14. 目を覚まし方 (How to Wake Up): Continuing from the previous chapter, Kotaro and Shia are both passed out. Misha uses her angelic powers to bring them home, but not before Shia's cat sees her true self. In his slumber, Kotaro has a strange dream where he's a child and meets Shia and later, Misha who is bound in thorns. He and Shia recover by the end of the chapter. 15. お屋敷の歩き方 (How to Walk Around a House): Misha and Kotaro head over to Hiroshi's house for group study. While looking for a book, Kotaro gets lost in the large mansion and gets himself into all sorts of strange predicaments. At the end, Misha tells him that she's studying to become an angel. 16. 幸せの感じ方 (How to Feel Happiness): For her preparations to be an angel, Misha tries everything to make Kotaro feel happy. Unfortunately, Kotaro isn't in the mood and all she does is annoy him. At the end of the day up on the roof, Kotaro apologizes and tries to explain what happiness is. Misha leaves the next day for her test, and then another angel appears. 17. 下界の楽しみ方 その１ (How to Have Fun on Earth, Part 1): The newly arrived angel, Sasha, is out and about spreading happiness to the world. She sees Takashi (Ten) with Shia and decides that she wants to give him a boost of confidence. However, Ten sees Shia with Kotaro, which doesn't make him too happy, so Sasha tries to help some more. Kotaro then asks her who she is (she assumes no one can see her). Ten then confesses to Shia. 18. 下界の楽しみ方その２ (How to Have Fun on Earth, Part 2): Afterwards, Sasha chases after Kotaro home and discovers that he's having dinner with Shia. Sasha tries to cleanse them, but that causes Shia to faint. In bed, she wakes up and asks that Kotaru be by her side. 19. お手伝いの仕方 (How to Help Out): Misha has come back from her test, although she doesn't know the results yet. She accompanies Kotaro to school and tries to help him with sports, but being a klutz, she doesn't really help out. |
Title: ぴたテン (PitaTEN) Vol. 3 |
Frickin' #*@^*(
Why do they have to do this? I'm fully aware that by living outside Japan, I don't have all the privileges that a Japanese would have, like watching the newest anime on TV, getting weekly manga magazines for cheap, and special events. That's okay, it's a privilege they have and by living in the US, I have no right to complain nor demand that I get afforded the same benefits (I believe living in the US still is a lot better, at least for my non-anime self). One of the benefits of buying Japanese items is that they sometimes throw in these "campaigns" and other goodies for buying their (overpriced) products. If you collect all X number of DVDs and do a mail-in (automatically ruling out overseas addresses), you can get neat stuff like toy, figurines, and pictures. In this particular case though, they're having a campaign where if you go to any of the stores they have listed and buy a Kiminozo DVD, they'll throw in this bonus DVD disc that contains clips from the Age concert last august and some footage with the seiyuu. I can go without toys, models, or pictures/posters as I'm more interested in items that requires me to use my brain (i.e. needing to parse Japanese). So when they have DVDs and CDs, that's why I start feeling this "want." I've been pretty good about it and have been able to prevent myself from paying an exorbitant amount for non-retail items like the Love Hina "Friendship" CD and even the Kiminozo "Blue Tears" CD. But man, you get the singer who is performing my second most favorite song on stage, and that will power is gone. There is precedence though. I have the DVD of Yui Horie singing my favorite song in concert and a DVD of Junko Iwao singing my favorite non-anime Japanese song in concert as well. Anyhow, expect a review of this DVD in mid-May. I'll probably place it under the music section despite it being a video. |
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Yet another Saturday afternoon My trip to San Diego has been postphoned since the bookstore there doesn't have the new PowerBooks yet. So next week it is. In the meantime, I'm done with reviewing all my manga that are read, but not reviewed/shelved. I've really been taking myself out of the political arena recently. While I keep up with the news and read my Atlantic Monthly and Harper's, I've been trying to keep myself numb from all the asinine decisions made in the government. It's hard trying not to be emotional about it, but I think I'm managing. As long as I keep myself in the make-believe world of manga/anime, I can endure. |
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君が望む永遠 (Kimi ga Nozomu Eien) Portrait*2
I'm very impressed with Minami Kuribayashi. Not only is she a talented singer, she pretty much wrote or co-wrote all the songs from Kiminozo, both anime and game. This CD includes the ending theme plus another character single. Both songs, like Mitsuki's CD, have relevant lyrics. In comparison to the game's ending theme, if you take out the emotional attachment I have to the game's ending, I believe that this song is much more pleasing to my taste. The second song on the CD is good, but it pales in comparison to the first. |
Title: 君が望む永遠 Portrait*2 凉宮遥 (Kimi ga Nozomu Eien Portrait*2 Suzumiya Haruka) |
君が望む永遠 (Kimi ga Nozomu Eien) Portrait*1
This is the first of four character singles from Kiminozo anime. What I like best about these two songs is that the lyrics are actually relevant to the characters, whether it's singing about a summer day or a ring. The first song included is a cute, pop-ish song. The second song is quite slow, but it's appropriate for the things she's singing about. My CD case came slightly cracked. At least it's a just a regular thin CD case that I can get replacements for. |
Title: 君が望む永遠 Portrait*1 速瀬水月 (Kimi ga Nozomu Eien Portrait*1 Hayase Mitsuki) |
君が望む永遠 (Kimi ga Nozomu Eien) OP Single
Of all the intros to Kiminozo that I've heard, the original game, the PS2 game, the Dreamcast game, and the opening to the DVD re-release on PC, this is my least favorite opening of them all. The original, PS2, and DVD intros all had "punch" to them and had high energy. The Dreamcast was a soft melody. This intro is somewhere in-between, and doesn't succeed at doing either. I do appreciate that the lyrics has some relevance to the main story. The other track on this CD probably ranks the same as intro song. It's not bad, but not great either. |
Title: 君が望む永遠 (Kimi ga Nozomu Eien) Precious Memories |
妹 (Sister) Vol. 1
From the back of the book, this series was originally serialized quite sporadically from 1996 to 1998 in Weekly Shonen Jump. Probably one of those special chapters that appear every so often. However, it looks like it got a formal serialization as there's 13 volumes for the second story of this manga. Anyhow, I was able to read a few pages of this manga at Book-off ($4 bucks, not $1) before I got it so I knew it was something that I would end up liking. This story is yet another about brotherly love. Unlike Koi Kaze though, this is more focused on a guy who has saved enough money to finally be able to "buy back" his little sister after they split when their mother died. The character actions remind me of Shamneko's style (which I really like). The drawing varies in detail, but is mostly pretty good. The story itself is pretty funny and has some suggestive themes. Akane, the main character is regularly terrorized by males who try to show their dominance, but is pretty tame for a "Young" comic. There aren't any bonuses in the book except for a color first page. 1. 再会 (Reunion): After their parents died, 雨宮真平 (Shinpei Amamiya, 18) has been trying to reunite himself with his step-sister, Akane (16). After years of working and saving up, he's finally saved up enough to get an apartment and them live in the same place instead of her living at their uncle's. Akane, meanwhile is terrorized by her teachers at school because she's poor and so they feel like they can take advantage of her. They accuse her of theft at which Shinpei offers to pay, even though she didn't actually commit any crimes. Later that night, she goes back to reclaim the money from the teacher. She gets molested, but Shinpei comes in and kicks some butt for the sake of his sister. 2. ひまわり (Sunflower): They are currently living in a temporary place until they can find a new apartment. Through Shinpei's friend, Akane finds out that Shinpei works terribly hard to save money. So, when the apartment broker that Shinpei consulted comes and offers her some money and other favors for a "photo shoot." She goes. She gets abused and yet again, Shinpei comes and saves her. After they're safe, Shinpei starts crying (he's really not a brave fellow, but will do anything to help his sister). 3. 編入試験 (Transfer Student Exam): Shinpei wants Akane to go to school and as he flips through her old report cards, he finds out she's quite smart. He tells her to apply for a private and very prestigious high school and when she gets in, he'll pay tuition. She passes with flying colors, but the teacher there doesn't like her because she's poor. Since the principal already set up an interview, the only way to prevent her from being admitted is if she made a bad impression. So the teacher, 猫田 (Nekota), asks the parent of a denied applicant to kidnap her before the interview in exchange for his daughter's acceptance. She talks her way out of captivity and shows up at the interview ragged. The principal suspects the Nekota had something to do with it. 4. PRIDE: At school, Akane is picked on by the other students because of her social status. As such, she tells Shinpei that she wants to quit. He gets angry and she leaves to stay with a friend. However, the people her friend hangs out with aren't the best of characters and they rob Shinpei as he's desperately trying to find Akane. Akane hears about this, takes back the money, and moves back with Shinpei and learns to tolerate the other school kids. 5. ともだち (Friend): まりな (Marina) is another student picked on by the popular students in class. Akane saves her from being one incident where she was picked on and they quickly become friends. The popular kids don't like this, so they trick Akane into meeting them, have some guys beat and hold her and ask Marina to thump her with a baseball bat. Marina refuses. 6. 兄貴はつらいよ (Brother is Mean): Shinpei's friend, 鉄 (Tetsu), is in love with Akane and isn't doesn't like the fact that Shinpei, who doesn't not share the same blood, is living together with him. So he concocts this plan where he would ask Shinpei to look for a tattoo on her body while she's sleeping. She's supposed to wake up, catch him in the act, and move out. However, things don't go according to plan. Akane catches them, but forgives them. |
Title: 妹 (Sister) Vol. 1 |
dear Vol. 1
I'm pretty pleased with first volume. The character design is great and the story is interesting. I'm going to hold off reading vol. 2 (there's 4 volumes as of 4/27 when vol. 4 is released) and catch up on his older works, My Wolf and The Other Side of Lycanthrope. They seem to be somewhat related, even if it's just using the same wolf-type character, so I might benefit with that background knowledge. There's a color first page, 4 panel comics on the inside front and back covers, another comic on the inside flap, and a mini-comic in the last few pages. 1. あなたと、夜の虹に (With You In the Rainbow at Night): There are two types of people, those who can use magic (monsters) and those who can't (humans). There's a third kind with even more power than the previous two, the Lycanthrope. A monster has attacked the villiage and he is slain by 妃扠 (Kisara). While he looks like a human, he has the ability to heal himself. A young girl, 散葉 (Chiruha) comes into town. She's a Lycanthrope who's been living by herself and has only seen humans on TV. Now that she's in town, he finally gets to mingle with the real thing. As she's resting, she gets accosted by a monster. Kisara comes and help her and they start talking. Later on, the same monster comes, recognizes that she's neither human nor monster, and attacks. She's saved again by Kisara, but this time, with all that stress, she transforms and grows wolf ears. 2. 降り積む思い (Heavy Memories): Chiruha moves in with Kisara and works where he works, and some rumors fly among his co-workers. Her ears sometimes appears and he has to hide them. However, despite his niceness, he talks with his superior about her true identity. 3. あの日の約束 (The Promise That Day): Chiruha is learning more and more about the humans and she collects human junk. As they're walking at night, she promises him that she'll protect him. Monsters appear and they almost get the best of Kisara, but Chiruha is able to keep her promise. Meanwhile, Kisara's superior, the general, is heading to town. 4. 隊長の気持ち (The General's Feelings): The general, ケイン・クレバート (Cane Crevat?) comes to see this Lycanthrope. The two of them go out. Being mesmerized by the water, she falls off a bridge into the river. Cane wants to see her use her powers, but she doesn't and gets washed ashore because she was holding a balloon. |
Title: dear Vol. 1 |
シュガ～ (Sugar) Vol. 2
This is yet another comic where I have to disagree with the cover. Doesn't her eyes just look a little wrong? The drawings inside is better, though. While the series is cute, the plot is very ho-hum. I don't have any emotions either way and can't really relate to the characters. Maybe because this was adapted from the anime and quite short (only 3 volumes long). In comparison to the first book, I like the pianist story in here, but yeah, it's nothing I would really rave about. There's only a colored first page and a mini-comic at the end of the book that's related to the author everyday life. 5. クマのピアニスト (The Bear Pianist): A performing troupe has come into town. In the coffee shop where Saga works at, a customer comes in. He asks for the "blend" but comments that it it has an uneasy taste to it. All the schoolkids (and kid fairies) go to the performance which is love tragedy with a piano playing bear. During the credits, the bears is revealed to be the person, Vincent, who was at the coffee shop. 6. 尊敬するピアニスト (The Respected Pianist): The troupe asks for coffee service and Saga is on the job, partially to prove that her blend does taste well. She talks with Vincent who tells her that he looks up to the famous pianist who used to live in this town, Saga's mother. However, when he's practicing, he seems to abuse the piano and that gets Saga quite annoyed at him. 7. 私のなりたいもの (The Thing I Want to Become): Vincent comes to the piano store and almost touches Saga's mother piano, but she stop him and then runs off. Vincent runs after her, but gets in a car accident. She has angst, but hears of Vincent's condition so she substitutes for him at the next performance and through the process, forgives him. 8. 決めた！！ (I've Decided): Through talking with Vincent, Saga decides that she wants to be a pianist, just like her mother. Meanwhile, Sugar has issues with her plant. It's wilting and she's told that it might be sick. 9. きらめきによせて (Approaching "Twinkles"): Sugar is told that if the flower dies, she'll go back into being in an egg. So she rushes to try and find the "Twinkle" that will save the plant (and her). Saga tries some non-magical remedies, but it isn't until they help out a little girl that they begin to understand what "Twinkles" is. Saga then remembers some musical scores hidden in the attic, one of which is "The Twinkles of Snow." |
Title: シュガ～ (Sugar) Vol. 2 |
A.I.が止まらない (Love Won't Stop) Vol. 2
Another $1 book from Book-off. I'm still not that impressed with this series, sure the story are nice, but they lack impact. I'm still not accustomed to the artwork, however, I did take a sneak peak at volume 8 (I needed to know if there were only 8 volumes), and the artwork there looked a lot more like what I'm used to from Ken Akamatsu. So I expect the artwork to get better. There's a color page and some bonus pages with detailed sketches of the art used in the original release. My lucky number, located on the book cover, is 11160. 8. ハッピーorアンハッピーBirthday (Happy or Unhappy Birthday): Hitoshi's birthday is coming and he is looking forward to sharing the day with Thirty. However, Thirty doesn't seem to notice for most of time on his birthday. Hitoshi mopes, but Thirty comes through and acknowledges the day. 9. 憧れの美食ライフ (A Desired Delectable Life): Being a little fed up with Thirty's inability to cook, Hitoshi sends her to get some training in the culinary arts. After some effort, she can finally make curry that actually taste decent. 10. 嵐を呼ぶ少女 (A Girl Who Summons a Storm): A storm's been giving Thirty abnormal hair growth. As she's flipping through Hitoshi's albums and sketchy books, a floppy disk falls out in which he has labeled forbidden. Despite that, he sticks it into his computer. Storm causes power outages and surges, and just like how Thirty came into being, the program on the disc, Twenty, comes to life. 11. お姉さまはイケイケ娘 (Sister is a Bitchy Girl): Twenty was a previous program Hitoshi created, one whose body is perfect. However, like Thirty, she isn't too bright. In an attempt to repair the leaks in the house, she causes more problems than she fixes. 12. プールサイドでなげキッス (A Thrown Kiss by the Pool): It's opening day at the pool so Hitoshi and his two numbered girls head out. Twenty tries to seduce Hitoshi by pretending to drown, but Thirty is the one who jumps in. She herself gets in trouble (for real) and Hitoshi saves her. Twenty then tells Thirty that Hitoshi has already asked her to be the girlfriend. 13. 恋のトライアングル (Love Triangle): Thirty, feeling like she's not good enough, tries to make herself as pretty as Twenty in an attempt to reclaim Hitoshi. However, Hitoshi tells her that he likes her the way she is. Twenty then abducts Hitoshi. 13. サーティVSトゥエニー (Thirty vs. Twenty): Twenty takes him to an amusement park (it's nighttime, but she turns everything on). Thirty finds them there and while riding the rollercoaster, they get in a predicament where Hitoshi is hanging off the rails with one girl in each hand. He has to decide who to save. Thirty voluntarily lets go, but Twenty prevents her from falling. 14. Mountain Happening: The three of them decide to go to the mountains to watch a meteor shower. They meet Kimika there who doesn't get along with Twenty at all. Some hilarity ensues when Twenty takes advantage of Kimika's family's summer house. 15. 星に願いを！ (Wish on a Star): Kimika has a van-full of equipment to properly view the heavens and take the best picture for the astrophotography contest. Hitoshi only has a telescope. Through of sabotage by Twenty and calculations by Thirty, Hitoshi is able to take the best picture in the competition. |
Title: A.I.が止まらない (Love Won't Stop) Vol. 2 |
Kids these days have it so much better As I drive home, I pass this seemly very wealthy and apparently really good high school (most of the kids who attend are from the area, and that includes a lot of JPL employees...so many it's only natural). Anyhow, as I was driving home today, I saw that they had a carnival going on, and I mean a REAL carnival. They had rented several rides that towered maybe 30-40 feet in the air and looked very professional. This, of course, is in stark contrast to my high school carnivals where the best attractions we had were throwing tennis balls in buckets. Let's see what's to say about this week's roundup. As always, nothing much. I was invited to a gathering tomorrow, but I declined as I have to go to San Diego to get my sister the newly release PowerBook laptops. I started that whole treadmill thing again, but only every other day. It's been 3 months since I was last on it, so I have to get myself back in the mood. Other than that, I'm just chugging along with all my comic books. I made a mistake last time. My goal is to read 366 books, not 365. It's a leap year, you know. |
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まほらば (Mahoraba) Vol. 6
I liked the stories, especially Sayoko's 3 chapter saga. However, I really disagree with the cover art. It looks too bland in comparison to what I'm used to. The artwork inside is topnotch as usual, but there really should have been more detail on the cover. There's a comic where Natsume teaches how to do a card trick as well as a few comics in the back of the book and the back of the covers. 28. step by step: After an explosion from Megumi trying to fix the stove, Kozue becomes the reticent Natsume. While she's friends with Ryuushi, she's still very shy around the other residents. However, she is determined to overcome her bashfulness and make new friends. 29. いくえ (): The residents head out to view some butterflies. Ryuushi and Kozue spend some time together and he notices that while she always smiles, it always seems to carry some melancholy. 30-32. 大事 (Importance): Sayoko's parents come and take her as well as Asami back to their house. While Sayoko is always poor, her family is very well off. Her parents find out that Asami isn't Sayoko's real child, so they want to separate them and give her a proper marriage. They also want her to forget her previous love, someone who has already passed away. However, Sayoko remains firm that she will not betray her former love and Asami, while not her child biologically, is a symbol of her previous love. Asami is what gives her the will to live. The parents let her be and they return to Narutaki Apartments together. |
Title: まほらば (Mahoraba) Vol. 6 |
Who's disrupting my wireless! I'm guessing some guy thought it would be neat to have a wireless access point in his apartment. Unfortunately, there are quite a few around already from what I can see when I look at my AirPort settings. It's been working quite well since I moved in here, but all of a sudden, it just won't work anymore. How annoying. I bet the guy will try a little longer and then return his access point back to wherever he bought it claiming it doesn't work. Ah well, I can also connect a wire to my Powerbook. |
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まほらば (Mahoraba) Vol. 5 LE
It's been a while since I've read this series, mostly because I didn't want to open the limited edition packaging. However, books are to be read, so there's little sense in keeping it shrink-wrapped. This is another fun volume with a semi-serious heartwarming last chapter about how Tamami and Kozue met each other. First edition/LE includes a Sayoko complete with pole and noose and the publication info page specifically states first edition (just to make people feel special, I guess). As before, there are comics on the inside cover and a few Dr. Pink and Brownie Brown comics at the end of the book. It also includes a little "battle" game where you write stats on paper and do all that hit points stuff. 23. てんき (Turning Point): Ryuushi has over-partied with Megumi and Tamami and passed out on the floor. The two girls take this opportunity to dress him up as a girl with all the fixings. When he awakens, he realizes that he's been had and escapes before they can do him any worse (i.e. making him wear underwear). Since the girls are searching for him in the apartment, he has no choice except to head out. 24. 正しい服飾 (Proper Apparel): When he comes back, another one of Kozue's personalities, 千百 (Chiyu) who is obsessed about dressing people up on proper outfits. She's already taken care of Megumi, Asami, and Sayoko (who are all playing possum so they wouldn't be bothered again). Chiyu goes after Ryuushi, thinking that he's a girl. When he reveals that he's actually a male, Chiyu passes out which concludes this personality...for now. 25. ばんらい (Many Visitors): Asami's schoolmates and Ryuushi's schoolmates, along with his teacher, Ms. Shirogane have all come over to Narutaki Apartments. Tamami and the teacher seem to get a long very well as their characters are pretty similar. They play some card games and Kozue calls it a good day. 26. 廊下で見たもの (The Thing Seen in the Hallway): Sayoko has another one of her whacked out dreams again. The serious point is that she seems to encounter a boy from her past before she is awakened by Asami. 27. 熱 (Warmth): This chapter goes through the history of Tamami and Kozue. Tamami was an outstanding student in both academics and athletics. However, she seemed very bored with life. That is, until she met Kozue who was the first person to ever make her feel a rush of emotions. |
Title: まほらば (Mahoraba) Vol. 5 LE |
恋風 (Koi Kaze) Vol. 4
This story in this series just keeps me guessing. I can't say that it gets better as its always been at that level for the most part since book one, but I'm very satisfied in that it can keep that level of intensity for such a long time. While not completely being able to relate to his passion to his sister, the book does a great job in allowing me to empathize with his sense of desperation with love. The artwork is a little different than the previous books. The story starts off with Nanoka being 6 months older, but she shouldn't look that much older. The artwork is a little less consistent, but I don't think it's any worse. 22. 傍観者 (Onlooker): It's been 6 months since Koshiro left and Nanoka has kept her promise of not being in contact with him, although she really wants to be. At school, she talks with a classmate about his crush which just gets her thinking again. 23. ごめんねお兄ちゃん (I'm Sorry, Brother): Nanoka's father gets an invitation to a wedding which, again, makes her start thinking. At school, she's been acting strangely and her friends notice but she wouldn't say anything about it. Later on though, she admits that she has someone she likes but can't meet. However, after she says that, she breaks her promise to Koshiro and takes a train to where he's living. 24. 出口なし (Without an Exit): While coming home from work, Koshiro spots Nanoka in front of his apartment, apparently looking for him. He doesn't have the courage to face her so he hides until she departs. When he gets to his door, she sees that Nanoka left a teddy bear and a letter. 25. 夏・独り・ここにある気持ち (Summer, Alone, The Feeling I Have Here): At work, Koshiro is feeling the pressure to get married especially since he works at a match-making place. His advance to his co-worker gets met with a fist and he goes home depressed. Just as he's about to leave his apartment, he meets Nanoka right outside his door. 26. いつか思い出にかわるなら (Memories Will Change Someday): They have an awkward moment where she gives him a kiss on the lips. A few moments later, Koshiro gets visited by another co-worker who asks for his help. They go to a bridal shop where the storekeeper has Nanoka try on a wedding dress and pose with her brother. 27. 幸せ、どういうこと (What Is Happiness): Koshiro has a nice talk with one of his clients about what is happiness. Nanoka, whose waiting in a cafe, meets Koshiro's female co-worker (the one who gave him a punch) and tells her that she won't lose Koshiro to her. 28. 耕四郎の捨てるもの (The Thing Koshiro Throws Away): Nanoka is told that she's too young to know what she's talking about. As Koshiro and Nanoka walk home, they talk a bit and he gives her a real kiss. |
Title: 恋風 (Koi Kaze) Vol. 4 |
君が望む永遠 (Kimi ga Nozomu Eien) Drama Theater Vol. 4
Ahh, the last of the Drama Theater CDs. Unlike the 3 previous CDs in the series, this CD is a compilation of humors short dramas that were, according to the liner notes, aired from July to December of 2002 on Radio Osaka. They're about 8 minutes a piece anf feature characters from the game. As they mention at the end of each and every track, these stories are fiction and have no bearing to the original Kiminozo plot. In order to understand and get some of the jokes, you have to play the game. My favorite part is at the end of track 4 where Manami appears and Takayuki runs off screaming (probably one of the best screams I've heard in a while, even if the sound was tweaked). However, I would classify most stories as good, but nothing extraordinary. 1. すかいてんぷるへようこそ (Welcome to Sukaitenpuru): Takayuki is sick so Mitsuki and Haruka substitute for him at the restaurant where he works in. Haruka and MayuMayu seem to be getting along fine, but Mitsuki, like Takayuki, has conflicts with Ayu. 2. 仁義なき戦い (An Unfair Fight): Akane and Haruka are battling it in a contest where if Haruka looses, the captive Takayuki has to pay for Akane and Mitsuki's trip to the swimming pool. 3. 嵐を呼ぶ男 (A Man Who Causes a Storm): Ken-san is off in Hokkaido so the restaurant has a substitute manager who has an obsession with the female employees. He and Akane apparently know each other, but Akane doesn't particularly like him. 4. そして誰もいなくなった (And Then No One Was Left): Takayuki and Shinji tell the girls some ghost stories and then try to scare them as they're in the hospital at night. However, the girls start acting strange as if were possessed and Takayuki sees Manami Homura who tells him "you need punishment." (relates to her ending in the PC game). 5. チェンジリング (Change Ring): Ayu and Ken-san switch bodies and so Ayu speaks with a slow and deliberate tone and Ken-san uses all of Ayu's catch phrases. They each discuss their experience being in the body of the opposite sex. 6. HANABI: The gang is out playing with fireworks. While Haruka doesn't like the loud ones, she loves sparklers and goes crazy with them. 7. キャットピープル (Cat People): MayuMayu passes out and awakes with another personality. Rather than her timid self, she's an aggressive and rude person, even more than Ayu. 8. 禁じられた遊び (Forbidden Play): Haruka, Takayuki, Haruka, and the gang from the restaurant are having some hot pot/shabu shabu. They have some issues with food that hasn't died yet and later, they try some of Ken-san's mushrooms which give them the giggles. 9. グランプルー (Grand Blue): Takayuki's missing clothes from his bag so he's on a search for his stuff. He slowly finds his stuff in each of the girl's bag. 10. トゥルーライズ (True Lies): An action adventure where Haruka and the other girls lead secret lives as antenna people (people with hair that sticks up) battling Ayu with their "antenna (laser) beam." But, it was just Takayuki's dream. |
Title: 君が望む永遠 (Kimi ga Nozomu Eien) Drama Theater Vol. 4 |
A Real Alumni I got the first of many donation phone calls today from Columbia. I haven't been picking up the phone unless it has caller ID on it, but like always, I was expecting a call so I picked it up without looking. I told the guy to mail me a pledge card instead as I don't like giving out my credit card number over the phone (true). I told him I was going to donate like $50 (false, my limit is $25 in direct donations). But I'll see. If someone from Cornell called, I probably would say the same thing except not donate. My Visa card is already linked to Cornell so probably 1% of all my Visa purchases (namely, anything International, which is *a lot*) goes to the school, so I don't find the need to. I've only read 60 manga books this year according to my chart. That's not good. It's almost four full months and I'm only averaging a book every two days. NOT GOOD ENOUGH! The plan is to read 365 by the end of the year, and to at least clear out my backlog by the end of summer. |
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恋風 (Koi Kaze) Vol. 3
It's become ever more apparent that the affection between brother and sister is mutual, and maybe even more so on the girl's side. This volume ends on a strong, but sad note and the chapters leading up to it build it up very nicely. You know, I really like the artwork in the manga. Not as good as Someday's Dreamers, but pretty in its own style. The book covers are especially nice. Like vol. 2, there's a mini-comic at the end of the book. 15. １２月の温度 (The Temperature in December): It's December and Koshiro and Nanoka are doing what typical people of their age do. Koshiro has his parties and hangs out with her friends. However, they're both still preoccupied with Nanoka's confession. For Christmas, Nanoka wanted to make Koshiro a scarf, but he saw her knitting book and suggested to her that he didn't want a scarf, so she decides to start making him a sweater. 16. 本当はね (In Fact...): Nanoka has started picking up on some of Koshiro's attitude. At school, her friends are checking out the guys in PE, but Nanoka can't stop thinking about her situation with her brother. After school, Koshiro calls her to bring an envelope to his workplace. As they're going back home, she holds his hand. 17. 疾走少女 (Sprinting Girl): Nanoka has a marathon coming up and she's quite a poor running. Meanwhile, at work, one of Koshiro's client is trying for the 20th time to have a successful relationship (he works at what looks to be a match-making business). A parallel is drawn between Nanoka's running and the client's efforts at love. While the client eventually has a happy ending, Nanoka finished in the hundreds when her goal was to be in the top 60. 18. 恋色セーター (Love-Colored Sweater): It's near Valentine's and Nanoka has been working furiously on the sweater. She gets it finished, but falls very sick because of her non-stop work. Koshiro takes the rest of the day off to take care of her and she gives him the sweater. 19. 境界線上のふたり (The Two People at the Cutoff Line): Koshiro knows that he's not supposed to have these types of feelings her his sister, but he does. Chidori, his co-worker gives him a pair of tickets to go the amusement park. When he comes home, he finds that Nanoka has fallen asleep on his bed, so he lies next to it. She wakes up and she tells him again that she loves him. He embraces her, and she then runs off. 20. はつ恋 (First Love): Nanoka is back at her mother's place and Koshiro decides to pay a visit after much thought. After he arrives, he goes out and on the street, he meets her and miraculously, snow starts falling and they embrace. Back at home, Koshiro tells his mom that he's going to move out of his father's house. 21. 告白 (Confession): Nanoka finds out that he's moving out and wants to make sure. He finds Koshiro outside and they go to the amusement park. At the end of the day, Koshiro makes her promise to not see him again. And as a parting wish, she asks for a kiss. He almost does it, but only gives her one on forehead...and leaves. |
Title: 恋風 (Koi Kaze) Vol. 3 |
恋風 (Koi Kaze) Vol. 2
I thought this volume was a bit slow until the very end. A lot of the issues have been established already in the first book, so this just adds a little more to it. Pretty good, but a little weaker than the first. I am, however, pretty intrigued with the story. A slight departure from my usual harem anime/manga/games. There's a mini-comic at the end of the book titled "The Land of Sisters." 8. 夏の休日 (Summer Holiday): It's the dog days of summer. Koshiro is with their father and Nanoka is with their mother. At the mother's request, Koshiro pays a visit to her house. Koshiro and Nanoka go out to the summer evening festivities and come home. Nanoka insists that they sleep in the same room. As Koshiro is tucking her in, he gives her a nice long look. 9. お母さんの恋人 (Mother's Boyfriend): There's been a guy who's been hanging around the mother's hair salon a little too much. So much that rumors are flying that he likes the mother. Nanoka is opposed to it and asks why Koshiro didn't prevent the parents from divorcing. When asked about the supposed boyfriend, the mother comes up with a plan. He dresses up Koshiro and in front of the suitor, exclaims that she already has a lover. 10. かわいいかわいい妹 (Cute, Cute Sister): Koshiro and Nanoka go out eating at a dessert shop which Nanoka talks about at school. Rumors fly as to whether Nanoka has a boyfriend, but the friends find out it's only the brother. After school, she helps out a male classmate so she comes home really late. The classmate walks her home and Koshiro sees them. He gets all huffy and puffy and blurts out that Nanoka might be taken advantage of because she's cute. 11. すき、きらい、すき (Love, Hate, Love): The siblings have little interaction with each other after the incident. Nanoka has to commute to school by herself and gets bumped around in the train car. At school, she's offered a ticket to the school festival for her and her brother; a couple's ticket. The next day, they leave at the same time so Koshiro is able to accompany her on the train. Like a boyfriend, he protects her from the mass crowds. 12. 恋文 (Love Letter): Nanoka gets a love letter from a classmate at school that invites her to the school festival. However, Nanoka is still torn about her brother. She would really love it if Koshiro went, but he has work so he can't go. At the festival, she refuses the boy who wrote the love letter and thinks about her brother. 13. 兄妹になる方法 (The Way of Being Brother and Sister): It's Sunday and Koshiro and Nanoka go out and about. They go to the zoo and spend time in the park. At the end of the day, Nanoka confirms that they have a really good relationship being brothers and sisters. 14. 秋 ロマンチック (Autumn, Romantic): Nanoka tells Koshiro that she loves him. |
Title: 恋風 (Koi Kaze) Vol. 2 |
少年マガ (Shonen Magazine), '04 Vol 21 & ヤングマガ (Young Magazine), '04 Vol. 21
Yuko-rin! Kawaii! Okay, so she does look quite...err...very shallow, but hey, she's eye candy. I haven't heard her CD single yet as I don't want to ruin my impression of her. She'll also be featured in next week's issue too. Yay! Hamanaka Ai: ０３２痴漢撃退しようの会 (The Meeting to Fend Off Perverts): On the train, Ai gets inappropriately touched by a man in the crowd. At the study group, Nakamura tells her what to do in case this happens again and also teachers her some self-defense moves. While they're in an awkward position practicing, Rin walks in. Suzuka: ＃１０恋患 (Lovesickness): Yamato sees a horoscope book at the bookstore and reads that he should confess to the person he loves as he'll certainly get a positive response. He discusses this with Yasunobu and asks what people do when they're going out. He responds that they go shopping together, eat together... all of which Yamato is already doing with Suzuka. He's still hesitant about popping the question though. After school, Suzuka catches up to him and tells him that she wanted to have him accompany her to go shopping. Negima: ５１時間目 再臨・闇の福音 (Second Coming, Dark Evangel): Asuna and Negi defeat their enemy (Chigusa's #2 person, I forgot that boy's his name). Setsuna snags Konoka away from Chigusa. Evangeline appears from no where (she's supposed to be at school) along with her partner, Chachamaru, and defeat the summoned monster. Tsubasa: ４２消せない記憶 (Persistent Memory): Shaoran comes back and informs the people at Fye's Cat's Eye cafe that he saw the new monster. He then has a flashback to when he was in Clow Country and was saved by Seishirou from that world from a bunch of thugs who wanted Shaoran to return a book. At that time, Seishirou was traveling to far off places to search for some enemies (vampires?). Being that he knew about Shaoran's eye, Shaoran asks him to teach him how to fight with the handicap.
Feature girl is 下村真理 (Mari Shimomura). They're certainly don't hide the reason they have her type of girl on the cover. Back cover girl is 平山あや (Aya Hirayama), same girl from Shonen last week and a few pages on some exotic cars. No different than your typical Maxim or FHM. This will be the last XXXholic until May 24th (3 issues after), but starting next week, there's gonna be a new series, Love Lucky. Maybe it'll be clean enough for me to write about. There was a series that started last week that I've been looking though. You really need a sense of humor to read through some of these comics, unfortunately, I don't think the American culture has enough. XXXholic: 48: On his way home from "work" at Yuuko's, he starts seeing this forearm everywhere he goes. He then sees it move at which he dash off into the distance. He takes a break at the park, but the arm is also there. Some other kids see it, approach it, but Kimihiro stops them from touching it, but not before dropping his bag which the hand takes and disappears with. He leaves the area thinking he's safe, but with his back turned, the arm appears again. Redlight: 4: Satoshi finally gets help from Chiko and the guy lets go of him. They all talk for a bit and Satoshi gets beat up some more as the guy doesn't receive his money. After more abuse, Satoshi gets KOed. It's suggested that Chiko give him some mouth to mouth, but he revives just in time. |
Title: 少年マガジン (Shonen Magazine) Vol. 21
Title: ヤングマガジン (Young Magazine) Vol. 21 |
Eva manga vol 9 limited edition
>From amazon, yet another book i won't be reading for a long while |
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君が望む永遠 (Kimi ga Nozomu Eien) Game Arrange Soundtrack
This CD contains re-arranged tracks from the video game. Overall, I don't think any of the tracks really benefitted from getting a makeover. The changes are mostly in instruments, for example, some of the everyday music from the game have a saxophone added to it (which I think makes it sound worse). Some of the slow songs are even slower and more legato. While the instruments are synthesized like the original soundtrack, it's still nice to listen for a variety. |
Title: 君が望む永遠 (Kimi ga Nozomu Eien) Game Arrange Soundtrack |
君が望む永遠 (Kimi ga Nozomu Eien) PS2/Dreamcast OP Single
Rumbling Hearts is still my favorite Kiminozo song by far, but the PS2 opening song on this CD ranks also pretty high...probably on par with the Kiminozo game ending. I think a lot of it has to come from the intro video that comes with the game. After watching it a few times, the song has grown on me. It's a nice up-beat song with a rhythm driven melody. While the lyrics don't have as much relevance than the other game songs, it's still alright. The other song included here is the intro song for the Dreamcast version of the game. It's a bit slow for my taste, but I don't have the game and haven't watched the accompanying video to get a proper perspective for it. |
Title: 風の行方 (The Whereabouts of the Wind) |
Wallpapers I spent two hours today compositing two wallpapers. While they're still rated PG, they're definately not going to be put on my computer that I bring to work. No need for little accidents. Let's see. Nothing much recently. Went to the eye doctor for a contact lense check up. Since I have a new doctor now, she was wondering what contacts I had been using. I tell her some B&L in a blue box, to which she gave me a puzzled look as there's no blue box B&L. They're all white. But I swear there is! And when I looked, sure enough, they rebranded the contact lenses I've been wearing in the past year (I bought yearly supply, and they ran out last August). Checkup is next monday with these new contacts. And I bet you found that all so interesting. |
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君が望む永遠 (Kimi ga Nozomu Eien) Vol. 2
While the story is pretty much the same, there are more subtle differences that I notice. The game doesn't have the couple looking for a house so seriously and Takayuki gets the phone call while he's alone. I remember this because in the game, you have to make a decision about telling Mitsuki, whether you'll do it yourself (for Mitsuki's ending) or you'll let Shinji tell her (for Haruka's ending). Also, Akane doesn't throw the flowers to the ground. She does something more sneaky. She offers to put the flowers in a vase and leaves, but comes back with different flowers. The artwork is still okay, I didn't notice anything really bad, but it still seems like it could have been better, especially in light of having watched Jubei-chan 2. The one improvement in the animated version is that Haruka is more anatomically correct for someone who has been in a hospital bed for 3 years. The games still has very normal looking Haruka despite the text saying differently. First edition comes with a box to hold all 7 DVDs. A slight annoyance with this, especially since I'm reviewing the DVD is that they made chapter stops at the intro, beginning of episode, and ending. 3. Mitsuki is looking for a place where Takayuki and Mitsuki can live together. We also get a glimpse at Takayuki's workplace, the restaurant with AyuMayu and Ken-san. Mitsuki visits Takayuki and spend the night together. The next day, she gets caught wearing the same clothing. During work, she sees some swimmers and spaces out in thought. That night after dinner together, they bump into Akane who despises them both. 4. All three main characters have flashbacks to when the accident occurred and are all somewhat bothered by it. That night, Takayuki seems to agree that they should live together and forget about Haruka. Some time passes but they still haven't had time to look for a new place. Meanwhile at the hospital as Akane is visiting, Haruka wakes up. She calls Takayuki that night as he's having dinner with Mitsuki. He doesn't pick it up thinking it's Ayu. Akane leaves a message and hangs up before he can pick up. They visit Haruka and are informed by the doctor that she doesn't know that three years have passed. However, he physique show of someone who hasn't been up and about in a long time. Outside, Akane reaffirms her hatred for the Mitsuki and extreme disappointment for Takayuki. |
Title: 君が望む永遠 (Kimi ga Nozomu Eien) Vol. 2 |
君が望む永遠 (Kimi ga Nozomu Eien) Drama Theater Vol. 3
This drama CD pretty much parallels the Mitsuki drama CD in timeframe, but instead follows Akane's trials and tribulations. It starts off probably the spring of 99, several months after the accident when Akane is enrolled in high school and ends with her confrontation with Mitsuki that autumn. This confrontation is the same one as the last track from vol. 2. Having heard Akane's side of the story, I can fully understand why she would be so bitter against Takayuki and Mitsuki. To have your dreams crushed and to be backstabbed is not something anyone would take lightly. The printing on the CD is a little better than vol. 2, but is still monochrome unlike the Haruka picture label on vol. 1. At the end of the last track includes an acoustic version of "Rumbling Hearts" with only Minami Kuribayashi's vocal and a guitar. The song has a different feel to it when it's heard without all the sound engineering that went into the original version (I still like the duet version better). 1. 後輩として 妹として (As a Junior Student, as a Younger Sister): Akane has joined the swim team at her new high school and during her self introduction, she announces that she wants to be like Mitsuki. She is greeted with a lot of gasps (Mitsuki had fallen out of favor with the team last fall). After school, she goes to the hospital and sees Takayuki there. Always being preoccupied, he hasn't noticed her new Hakuryo High School uniform that she got since a week ago. 2. 背負うべきもの (The Thing One Ought to be Burdened With): Akane wants to change seats in class, but she meets resistance from 榊千鶴 (Chizuru Sakaki), the class leader. At swim practice, the upperclasswomen bad-mouth Mitsuki. During her lap, she has flashbacks to when Mitsuki told her that she was quitting and is still in denial about it. After she finishes her swim, she gets an excellent time, but the only thing Akane can think about is that the time is still worse than Mitsuki's old record. 3. 茜の戦い (Akane's Battle): Akane isn't doing so well in English, but she doesn't really care. At swim practice, the upperclasswomen bad-mouth Mitsuki in front of Akane. So they have a race. If Akane wins, they stop talking trash about her idol. If Akane loses, she stops praising the swim team dropout (Akane is still in denial about Mitsuki's quitting). Akane wins...quite easily as she's the strongest swimmer. 4. 千鶴 (Chizuru): During English class, she doses off and has a very happy dream about competing with Mitsuki and having her say that the only rival she has is Akane. Chizuru and Akane get in a little argument over her attitude with the teacher when he woke her from her dream. After class, Chizuru has a heart-to-heart with Akane talking about her dreams and Mitsuki. 5. お兄ちゃんと。。。 (With Takayuki...): Akane wants to cheer up Takayuki, who is always moping in the hospital room. So she suggest they go on a (platonic) date. On the train, Takayuki is reminded of Haruka, which is what Akane doesn't want since those thoughts only make him more depressed. 6. 涙の行方 (The Ways of Tears): Akane falls asleep on the train and Takayuki only wakes her up at the last exit. There, she accidentally buy meatloaves for the two of them. Takayuki starts crying and only then does she remember that Haruka made meatloaf for her date with Takayuki. The date is a failure, but Takayuki forgives her. Back at school, Chizuru brings up the fact that she saw them and asks if Takayuki is her boyfriend. Akane takes offense to this remark saying that she just wants to cheer him up. 7. 震えるこころ (Trembling Heart): It's a while later and Takayuki has stopped coming to the hospital. In the street, she sees Mitsuki and Takayuki together and realizes that Takayuki has chosen Mitsuki and that Mitsuki really did quit for a guy. 8. 激情 (Fury): She appears in front of Takayuki's apartment and confronts Mitsuki. |
Title: 君が望む永遠 (Kimi ga Nozomu Eien) Drama Theater Vol. 3 |
電撃大王 (Dengeki Daioh) May '04
During my little manga run yesterday, I saw that Kino had stacks of these available. Knowing that it had the first episode for Gunslinger Girl, I thought why not. I don't subscribe to this as of now, but it's one of the magazines I'm thinking about switching my Young Magazine subscription to when it runs out because there are a lot of comics in here that I read in tank form. The other magazine I'm interested in is, I believe, Kadokawa Dragon Ace or something like that. But I'll have to wait until August when my subscription expires. Since I don't like starting in a middle of a series, I didn't read any of the comics. However, I did peruse it and it has a lot of titles that I'm either currently reading or currently interested in. The ones that I'm currently reading from this magazine are: Stellvia, With Yotsuba, Gunslinger Girl, and Strawberry Marshmallows. The stuff I'm interested in are: Jubei-chan 2 (last chapter though), Onegai Twins, and much to my surprise, Maburavu. Maburavu is another video game created by Age, the same creators of Kimi ga Nozomu Eien. As I was flipping through, I saw the words "Hakuryo" which is the high school that the Kiminozo characters went to. Interesting, interesting... The Gunglinger Girl DVD is pretty nice for a freebie. It comes in its own thinpak case with cover an everything. Most of it is to pimp the videogame/anime DVD bundle though. It doesn't have the intro or ending, but that's to be expected. The episode pretty much follows the first chapter of the manga with some scenes switched around. Henrietta and the other girls look a lot younger in the anime than they do in the manga, which I believe is a good thing. Her age is one of the factors that she's so attached to her "master." The show is presented in 1.78 aspect anamorphic widescreen, but the sound is still Dolby Digital 2 channel. I don't think I'm going to get the series though. It was one of the series I had thought about getting last year when I saw it in Animage/Newtype, but they didn't get their DVD out in a timely fashion (plus, it's coupled with a game) and by the time the game/dvd came out, I already used the money I reserved for that show for Kiminozo. There will be others...like MADLAX. |
Title: 電撃大王 (Dengeki Daioh) May '04 |
少年マガ (Shonen Magazine), '04 Vol 20 & ヤングマガ (Young Magazine), '04 Vol. 20
Featured girl is 平山あや (Aya Hirayama). She has a photo book set to be released on 4/22. Tsubasa returns with a color page this week. According to the preview, Yuuko-rin will be featured in the next two issues! Joy joy! Negima: ５０時間目 このかのために・・・ (For Konoka...): Negima arrives too late. Using Konoka's powers, Chigusa has summoned a super monster. Asuna and Setsuna, Negi's "partners" come to help, but to no avail. A petrification smoke spell is cast and the three of them get out in the nick of time. However, Negi's right had touched the smoke and is slowing turning into a rock. At this juncture, Setsuna reveals her true self. She sprouts wings and says that she herself is just another monster, like the ones they were battling. She has kept this a secret from everyone, especially Konoka since she might hate her. Asuna refutes that belief and says she's quite cool. Setsuna flies off to save Konoka. Suzuka: ＃９自覚 (Conscientious): Yasunobu and Yamato talk about Yamato's apparent love situation with Suzuka. That night, a storm hits and the lights go out at the apartment. Suzuka crawls over to Yamato's room, quite quickly as he notices. They try lighting candles around the room, but that just makes the mood more scary and occult-like. They resort to having one candle. When banging sounds happen outside, Suzuka grabs on to Yamato, each time claiming that she slipped. From their talking, Yamato infers that she's afraid of the dark, unfitting for someone as strong as she is. The lights come back on and life goes back to normal. Tsubasa: ４１ 永遠の友 (Eternal Friend): Shaoran is training with Kuro and is doing especially well. However, he still has his weakness in his left eye. Kuro tells him to blindfold himself and walk home. This is to train his ability to sense, which is much more important than seeing. So he stumbles home and on his way, he encounters something that's attacking him. Ryuuou jumps in and tells him to take off his blindfold and he sees a monster. They vanquish it. They then take a walk where he explains to Ryuuou what he's doing. Suddenly, the human-like monster appears and it's none other than Seishirou, the person who has the same eye injury from the "X" and Tokyo Babylon stories. Hamanaka Ai: ０３２天野ミサキ (Misaki Amano): On the day of the test, Misaki is sick so she hands over the title of class leader to Ayana because a class can't wait until the next test for a class leader. Even with her abjuration, Ayana still waits for the next test to challenge her. Futatsuki: １２口目／桃色の衝撃 (12th Taste, Pink Shock): For the next competition, it's going to be a 4 way. Futatsuki has 2 opponents and the third opponent is a team that had a bye in the first round. The judges for this competition are 3 idols who won't eat ramen because it's low-class and potentially not good for their slender bodies. So for the next round, they have to think up (and cook up) something that isn't ramen. The other teams have chosen pasta and such. Futatsuki and his two teammates head back to the school where they're welcome with great applause, but they know that they have a serious challenge ahead of them.
Same girl as Shonen, back page girl is 小川すみれ (Sumire Ogawa). Minamike is a once-every-two-week, as I thought it would. Actually, I thought it would disappear quickly, but it doesn't seem to be holding. I still like it though, although it should be in Shonen rather than Young if it wants to stick around. Redlight: 3: Work is finished early, so rather than having Satoshi wait for his ride, Chiko takes him back to her place (on her scooter) for the time being. There, he finds out that her family works in a little factory making nuts and bolts. She's currently studying for her driving test. They take a nap (not together) and eat a meal together with her family. He helps out around the house when some burlish guy comes in collecting some debt. The family members ignore him and when that guy grabs and questions Satoshi, the family doesn't help out either. XXXholic: 47: Kimihiro is chased by another spirit and as he's running away, he sees a boy who tells him to throw some salt on the spirit and it'll disappear. They hang out for a while. From Kimihiro's name, the boy, deduces that his birthday is April 1st. He says that the day is important to him too and tells him to meet him and he'll give Kimihiro a present. On that day, He gives him a present and like a ghost, disappears. He mentions that the day is important because it's the day that he'll have to part from Kimihiro. The present he gives him is his bone...which later turns into Sakura petals.
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Title: 少年マガジン (Shonen Magazine) Vol. 20
Title: ヤングマガジン (Young Magazine) Vol. 20 |
少年マガ (Shonen Magazine), '04 Vol 19 & ヤングマガ (Young Magazine), '04 Vol. 19
A little late this time, but I was busy with a certain video game... It looks like that time of year again when they choose who Miss Magazine is going to be. They have 16 potential candidates. There's minimal biographical information (body measurements being one of them) so judging is completely based on looks. By looks only, I don't think any of them are that pretty. No Tsubasa in this issue. Suzuka: ＃８空転 (Standstill): Yamato is still preoccupied with what Suzuka's embrace from last chapter. However, he overhears Suzuka talking to some other guy with glasses and agrees to accompany him somewhere for something. He frets for a while, but later finds out that the guy is a scout for the men's track and wanted to recruit Yamato for the team and was talking to Suzukua for a recommendation. The scout leaves with telling him that it looks like Yamato is Suzuka's type; a remark to which Suzuka takes some embarrassment to, but one that gets Yamato's head spinning again. Negima: ４９時間目 開放・秘められた力！ (49th Hour, Release - The Hidden Power!): Asuna, Setsuna, as well as the other girls who helped battle the monsters seem to be winning. And despite a little obstacle, Negi is able to reach Chigusa and Konoka. Results are in from the 3rd Negima poll! The two time most popular character, Makie is down to #7, Asuna is now #4 instead of 2). Hamanaka Ai: ０３１初日からの果たし状 (Letter of Challenge from the First Day): It's the start of a new school year and the three students Misaki, Masahiko, and Rin are all together in the same class. Since Misaki was class leader last year, it's only natural that she'll be the leader this year. However, a student that she knows, 若田部アヤナ (Ayana Wakatabe) challenges her to the position with the next test as the duel. Futatsuki: １１口目／ラーメン記念日 (11th Taste/Ramen Memorial Day): Futatsuki's ramen is a hit among the brat judges. He reveals the ingredients as acorn and Amaranthus, which none of the judges could have imagined. He wins the competition with a score of 16-0 which allows him to enter the next round.
Cover girl is Mayuko Iwasa (again) and like its little brother magazine, this issue also has the 16 contestants for Miss Magazine. The age range for the girls are as old as 19 to as young as 14. Sketchy. XXXholic: 46: This arc comes to a close. The older sister is literally "bound" by her "words." Yuuko interrupts their lunch at the restuarant and frees her from the string that entangles her. Redlight: 2: Chiko tells Satoshi to be more steadfast in his direction of traffic, but when he does so, he causes a car accident. Meanwhile, Chiko seems to have gotten sick, so Satoshi gives her a milk tea to drink and tells her to rest. When she wakes, she gives her thanks which gets his head spinning in love. |
Title: 少年マガジン (Shonen Magazine) Vol. 19
Title: ヤングマガジン (Young Magazine) Vol. 19 |
Spring Cleaning, Part 2 I'm finally done with cleaning. The good thing about having a 1 bedroom apartment is that there's not much to clean. Had a lot of boxes to throw out, but that's about it. Wipe down the bathroom and kitchen counter, whip out some swiffers and my lint remover/vacuum. Pika pika desu! I spent this evening traversing town. I usually have a ban on shopping at anime stores, especially if they're outside a Japanese community, but I made an exception today and went to AnimeGamers. The reason I boycott most anime stores is because most of them sell bootlegs this and that, not something I want to support. Animegamers, I believe, has ties to a Japanese corporation, so I guess it's still okay for me. It's no different than AnimeJungle in downtown LA. Anyhow, I am very impressed with their store. I had expected them to cater to western audiences only, but I was happily surprised when I saw that they had a nice selection of Japanese manga there. While still more expensive than Asahiya, they're a bit cheaper than Kino. On top of that, they have a bunch of limited edition items that are out of print elsewhere. I came out of that store with the limited edition volume #25 of Ah My Goddess. I have books 1 and 2 of that series, but haven't even started yet. Their location is okay as I can park in the shopping mall across the street (which has a big Barnes and Noble, where I also bought another Al Franken book today). Good stuff. Will return to buy things someday...it's kinda out of the way for me as they're closer to West Hollywood though. |
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Spring Cleaning Time
It's that time again...to rid myself of the tower of Amazon (boxes acquired since 9/03) |
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君が望む永遠 (Kimi ga Nozomu Eien) Vol. 2
I've been reading and it turns out that these "anthology" comics are actually doujinshi. Given that this collection of comics (including first volume) is very clean, I would have never imagined. I always thought that the doujinshi were a lot more sketchy than the original product, not the other way around, but I guess that's how it is. When I read the first volume, I didn't know what the story was about, so it was pretty meaningless to me. However, since I now know the Kiminozo saga, the comics in here made a lot more sense. There are some more serious stories like Haruka and Takayuki waiting for Mitsuki (based on Haruka's ending) as well as some off the wall gag comics which are equally as enjoyable. Some of the artwork is poor, but some others are very impressive. In addition to the comics, there are some color pages of fan-drawn art. I guess every artist adds their interpretation to how the chracters should be. Overall, I still like the video game graphics over any manga or anime. |
Title: 君が望む永遠 (Kimi ga Nozomu Eien) Anthology Comics Vol. 2 |
君が望む永遠 (Kimi ga Nozomu Eien) Drama Theater Vol. 2
Another great CD that presents parts of the untold story. This CD features Mitsuki and tells how she quit the swim team to be with Takayuki and gives insight on why she feels so badly. The first and last track occur a year after the accident, which the middle tracks cover the time shortly after the accident. This is a double CD set. The first CD has the drama tracks, the second CD has an original vocal song by Haruka's seiyuu, the game version of "Rumbling Hearts," some BGM including unused ones, and another mini drama track featuring Ayu and Mayumayu. Unlike the first CD, the picture label on the CD only has line art rather than full color. If you haven't noticed already, you can join the cover art from the first and second drama CDs to make a complete picture. Disc 1: 1. プロローグ・終わらない夏 (Prologue, Endless Summer): It's been more than a year since the accident and Mitsuki is living with Takayuki. She having thoughts about how if the accident didn't happen, she wouldn't be in this relationship with Takayuki. One one hand, she's happy about her current situation, but on the other, she still has some remorse about the accident, since she held up Takayuki that fateful day. 2. 時のない部屋 (A Room Removed From Time): Flash back to 2 weeks after the accident. In Haruka's hospital room, Takayuki, Mitsuki, and Shinji are visiting Haruka with Akane in the room. Everyone is still on good terms. Mitsuki dozes off and has a dream where she tells Takayuki that she feels that it's her fault, but she can't bring herself to do that in real life. 3. 囚われた心 (A Seized Heart): It's October and at school, Mitsuki is having problems keep up her level of performance at swimming. They visit the hospital. Takayuki dozes off and has a dream where Haruka appears and then disappears. Takayuki starts crying (he does this a lot in the dramas). Mitsuki is determined to support Takayuki. 4. 約束 (Promise): Mitsuki still has problems at swimming, but now there are rumors flying that it's because she's hanging out with Takayuki too much. She asks herself why she's doing this, and says it's because she made a promise to Haruka. Flashback to their high school days when Mitsuki told Haruka that she would always support their relationship. 5. 通り雨 (Passing Rain): The police return Haruka's possessions that they collected as evidence at the scene of the accident. One of the possessions is a hair clip without the attached flower petal, one which Haruka really liked. Takayuki, in some crazed act of desperation, thinks that if he finds the flower petal that Haruka will wake up. So in the rain, he runs off to look for it. Akane finds him there without the petal and comments on how cruel life is since Takayuki got a high fever afterwards. God makes the lives of those already miserable even more miserable. 6. 流れ落ちる思い (Memories that Flow Down): Mitsuki is taking care of the Takayuki. In the shower, she has thoughts again, but this time, she is having an inner battle with another voice in her head that tells her that she staying with Takayuki to help him and support his relationship, but for her own self reasons. 7. 禁じられた言葉 (Forbidden Words): Akane comes to her asking if the rumors that she's hearing is true and how she's thinking about quitting. She skirts the question and rudely answers with superficial responses. Shinji also asks her the same questions and she breaks down and tells him how she really feels, and how she feels like the accident was her fault because she made Takayuki buy her a brithday present on the day of the accident and made him late. 8. 残されたもの (Things Left Behind): Mitsuki officially quits the swim team. 9. エンディング・いつか終わる夏 (Ending, A Summer That Will End Someday): Flash back to a year later where she's has graduated and taken a job as an office lady. Akane comes to Takayuki's apartment to find them living together. They take their argument outside where Akane tells her that she hates her and Takayuki. However, no matter what anyone else says, Mitsuki says she will be with Takayuki. |
Title: 君が望む永遠 (Kimi ga Nozomu Eien) Drama Theater Vol. 2 |
こどものおもちゃ (Child's Toy) Vol. 1
I didn't plan on reading this series, but as I was browsing Book-off, I saw the first three volumes sitting there. Upon inspection, they looked basically new and even had the questionnaire cards inside. However, rather than selling them at $13-$14 for the new price (that's how much they were at Kinokuniya), they were going for $5 a piece. I eventually got the rest of the series from Amazon and given the weight and Amazon's fixed shipping price, it was still probably a good deal. I knew a little bit about the series as I encountered it after I got interested in Jubei-chan since the director for Jubei is the same as the one for the anime version of this story. The adjectives used were things like hyper, crazy, frenzy. So that's how I approached it, not expecting too much. I was pleasantly surprised by some of the more serious matters that I encountered, especially near the end of the book. So it looks like this is a re-release, and given it's thickness and pages and pages of full-color pictures/cover art, it probably has more information than the original release. The book doesn't have chapter titles, so as always, I'll do a whirlwind summary. The story centers around a child TV star 倉田紗南 (Sana Kurata). Her mom is an eccentric lady who has a squirrel living in her hairdo and she also has a manager, a former homeless bum who she labels as her pimp. While she has a professional life, she also attends school where there's a boy, 羽山秋人 (Akito Hayama), that she particularly despise because he always causes trouble for her and her class. At first, Sana tries everything to take control away from Hayama, including challenging him to a test of nerves, and later trying to blackmail him with photos. However, she learns that while he may be a tough guy at school, he has some serious family issues and because his sister blames him for the death of their mom while giving birth to him. From their, their relationship slowly develops into something more amiable and this volume ends with him giving her an unexpected kiss. |
Title: こどものおもちゃ (Child's Toy) Vol. 1 |
藍より青し～縁～ (Ai yori Aoshi ~Enishi~) Vol. 4
I give up on any hope that season two will have a cohesive story, which was my biggest rant for the first 3 discs. At least I have the manga to fall back on. So without any expectations for plot, the two episodes were fun. The first one on the disc seems very very familiar, say, much like a few episodes from the first season. The gang goes out and has fun, but Aoi falls in the background as the other girls fight over Kaoru until the end when they're alone and are able to share some smooches together. First edition includes Tina postcard and a box to hold the remainder of the series. There's a creditless ending and a few trailers on the disc, and the liner notes include profiles of Mayu, Chika, and notes from the script writer of the series, as well as episode summaries. 7. 避暑〜ひしょ〜 (Summer Vacationing): The gang goes to the mountains to spend some vacation time. While Mayu wasn't invited, she encounters them there and join in the fun. While the other girls all want Kaoru's attention, Aoi refuses to be as aggressive. During an evening game, she gets picked on to confess who her first love is. Since they're still putting on the show that she and Kaoru are just friends, she can't tell and she becomes depressed over it. That night, she and Kaoru spend some time at the hot springs and kiss through the little window that separates the male and female sections of the bath. 8. 水魚〜すいぎょ〜 (Fish/Friendship, a play on words): Chizuru, Natsuki, and Chika have been selected to compete in a swimming relay together. However, Chizuru still can't swim. So with the help of Tina and a summer vacation's worth of time, she learns how to swim. They compete, but don't win, but it's all good. Afterwards, Tina reflects on her time left in Japan. |
Title: 藍より青し〜縁〜 (Ai yori Aoshi~Enishi~) Vol. 4 |
十兵衛ちゃん２ (Jubei-chan 2) Preview Disc
Let's see, they have Yuji Ueda and Yui Horie partnered up again in an anime featuring music from Ho-chan, Ritsuko Okazaki, and Matsuda Toshio. This series has all the signs of a winner for me, and that's disregarding the fact that I enjoyed first season. The artwork is very representative of the director and creator. It ranges from very crude sketches for the comical parts to fast and detailed action scenes during the fighting scenes. I was impressed with the first season's work, and the fighting scene in this first episode is even better. The music has the same feel as first season, but the in response to the theme song from my review of the single, I do like it more now that I've seen the visuals that go with it. The packaging is pretty bare, given that this is a preview disc. The cover has art on both sides, but it doesn't even have liner notes. The animation is presented in anamorphic widescreen, but everything else is standard 4x3. There's a bonus 10 minute or so segement where Yui Horie takes on the Jubei-chan challenge. In the segments, there's footage of her learning how to use a kendo stick and how to perform the tea ceremony from the time of Yagyu Jubei. She's not good at any of it. 1. 地球のどこかがとけていた (It Had Thawed Somewhere on Earth): It's been 6 months since the end of the first story and Jiyu is now in her last year of middle school. Everyone's pretty much the same. Jiyu bikes to school and gets lost in the forest again where she sees a SD Koinosuke with an eyepatch. She avoids him like the plague. At school, a new student has transfered, Felicia Yagyu. Through various slips of the tongue, she reveals that she's not as naive as she looks. After school when she's hanging out Felicia, enemies come after Jiyu. SD Koinosuke slips on the eyepatch, Jiyu becomes Jubei and defeats the enemy. However, this time, there's another girl with an eyepatch calling Jiyu/Jubei an imposter. |
Title: 十兵衛ちゃん２〜シベリア柳生の逆襲〜 (Jyubei-chan 2~The Counterattack of Siberia Yagyu) Preview Disc |
I don't understand spammers I get a ton of junk mail in my email account. But I can't make heads or tails at to what the people are trying to sell me. I have images diabled on my email client (Mozilla and Apple Mail), so I can't see images. The result of this is that half the spam I get have no text in them! The rest of the mails I get are so convoluted with letters, numbers, and random words mixed together (to get pass spam filters), that I don't know what I would be buying if I were even interested. Gah. |
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君が望む永遠 (Kimi ga Nozomu Eien) Drama Theater Vol. 1
What a pretty CD cover! The CD itself also has the same image as a picture label which also looks incredible. It doesn't appear to be a first pressing, so I guess all CDs have it. The story included here pretty music follows the Haruka ending of the game and has some dialog between the characters that occurred when Takayuki wasn't around. These dialogues give more insight into the characters motives and thoughts which lead to their actions. There's a duet version of the theme song on this disc. When I first heard the song while playing the game, I was thinking that this would be a perfect song for the two main females, Mitsuki and Haruka, to sing together. And guess what? The creators of the game thought of it already. I personally would have changed the places where each seiyuu sings, but the song is still incredible. The song has a very forceful and powerful beat. It starts out sounding mysterious but ends with resolution. This feeling I get when listening reflects the same feeling I got while playing the game and having the two main leads singing emphasizes how strong the character's personalities carried through the game. Awesome song. 1. ゆめ (Dream): It starts with loud screeching and then Haruka goes into a soliloquy. It then proceeds into various scenes at the hospital after she awakens, her interactions as well as her thoughts. Akane also appears and gives her thoughts of the situation as well as her hatred for Takayuki and Mitsuki, or as she says, "That Person." 3. おまじない (Good Luck Charm): Haruka and Takayuki perform their charm and recite the poem. Each giving thoughts about what they think about the current situation. 4. マヤウルのおくりもの (The Gift of Mayauru): Akane gives Takayuki an earful of hateful words. Afterwards, while Haruka is reading the picture book, Takayuki explains the history of the book. How she was looking for it at the bookstore, how he didn't get a chance to give it to her, and what he's done with it and how he wants to give it to her now. 5. 三年前の写真 (The Photo From Three Year Ago): There's some monologues by Akane and Takayuki. Despite being sick, Takayuki brings the picture book and the old photo to Haruka's hospital bed. He gets caught by Mitsuki and Haruka sees the picture which makes her realize that something is wrong with this time and place. 6. 夏の記憶 (Memories of Summer): Flashback to when the picture is taken. Come back to real life where Haruka is freaking out. She finds out that Takayuki has been dating Mitsuki. She falls back into a deep sleep from shock. There's a monologue by the doctor and then by Mitsuki. 7. つみかさねた思い (Piled Up Memories): Takayuki takes Haruka out to the beach and tells his true feelings to her. He chooses her over Mitsuki. 8. 見送るもの (Going Away Present): Atop the hospital, Takayuki has angst over why he's in this situation where he has to hurt Mitsuki in order to be with Haruka. 9. おかえる (Welcome Back): Haruka formally welcomes Takayuki back to her. Akane also has a monologue at the end where she forgives Takayuki and Mitsuki. 10. きっとかなう夢 (The Dream That Will Certainly Come True): It has the dialogue between Mitsuki and Haruka during her last day at the hospital where she explains that she's leaving town because she can't stand seeing Takayuki suffering because she's around. The last few minutes of this track contains the ending song to the game. This ending is always a tear-jerker for me. |
Title: 君が望む永遠 (Kimi ga Nozomu Eien) Drama Theater Vol. 1 |
君が望む永遠 (Kimi ga Nozomu Eien) Vol. 1 LE
These past two weeks have been almost nothing but Kiminozo. Despite having this DVD for a while now, I had to wait until I finished the game to watch it. And as predicted, the anime isn't as good as the game. The first two episodes cover the first chapter of the game. Whereas the anime only takes 40 minutes to get there, the game took me about 10 hours. As you can expect, the game had a lot more exposition and flesh out a lot more of the story. The anime is very rushed and before you now it, Takayuki is in bed with Haruka. Hmm. Story elements are similar, but some things are left out, such as the whole incident with fireworks and some scenes are shuffled around (i.e. the game starts with Takayuki on the hill looking up at Mitsuki, whereas in the anime, it happens a little later). The artwork in the anime is so so. At some points, it really looks terrible and rushed. If it looks this bad starting next disc, I'll have to take it into account for ratings. The only character I thought was better was Akane, who looks more like her age. The music inherits a lot from the game, but sounds a little different. I'll do more of a comparison with the OST. I'm still quite moved when "Rumbling Hearts" plays at the end of second disc. This also plays at the same point in the game. This limited first edition includes the actual picture book that Haruka was looking for in the bookstore. The reversible cover is good too as the anime art isn't as good as the original creator's artwork on the reverse side. 1. Mitsuki introduces Haruka to Takayuki. The next day, Mitsuki tells Takayuki to go to the hill after class, but that's just a setup as she has Haruka go and confess her love to Takayuki. Takayuki accepts her proposal and dates her, but they don't really do things that boyfriends/girlfriends do in a relationship, like hold hands. Haruka calls him and he admits he doesn't know if he likes her, so they break up. Mitsuki has a talk with Takayuki and pretty soon, Haruka and Takayuki are dating again. 2. Haruka and Takayuki go out on a date where he meets her little sister Akane. They go out and have a picnic. when they return, Takayuki joins Haruka's family for dinner. They make plans to attend the summer festival, but ends up talking to Mitsuki about her relationship issues. Shinji comes with Haruka, storming to where the two are yelling at Takayuki for leaving Haruka alone waiting, but he's forgiven for helping Mitsuki. Since the four of them are atop the hill, they decide to take a picture. Afterwards, Takayuki goes to Haruka's place and they mess around. The next day (or few days after), he has a date with Haruka. Due to being delayed by Shinji and Mitsuki (it's her birthday and he buys her a ring), he reaches the station late for the date and finds out that Haruka's been in a serious car accident. |
Title: 君が望む永遠 (Kimi ga Nozomu Eien) Vol. 1 LE |
まぶらほ (Maburaho) Vol. 1 LE
I read about this series a while ago in Animage/Newtype and knew that it was something I wanted to watch. The manga is a little different than the anime, it turns out. I'm guessing that the manga is moving a little faster than the anime so a lot of the stories in the manga occur in later DVDs. Just have to wait and find out. The story is pretty good. It didn't seem as "filling" as it could have, but it has plenty of fan service and the story is light and whimsical. The prologue reminds me a lot of Love Hina, and Kazuki's apartment manager reminds me of Chobits, but the story is very different from the two. The DVD has an insane number of corporate logos when you first put the disc in. Good thing is that you can skip them, but man, they have like half a dozen or so. The whole series is going to be 12 discs long, which is not going to be pleasant for my wallet. But it has a lot of bonuses, which satisfies the collector in me (which I'm always trying to suppress) and Amazon's 20% off pre-order discount helps out. There are two editions, regular and limited edition. The limited edition, as mentioned before, has a lot of stuff. Volume 1 has a keyholder (Yuna), a few cards, a voice CD with the seiyuu saying little soundbites, an album for the cards, a mini cloth/tapestry, liner notes in the form of a school newsletter, and a picture label. This is all contained in a colorful tin case. 1. きっちゃた (I came): A slient prologue where child 式森和樹 (Kazuki Shikimori) shows another child magic. Kazuki leaves for the school where he is the only person who doesn't have any usable magic. Meanwhile, two of his schoolmates, Kuriko and Rin both start taking notice of him. When he goes back home, a girl, Yuuna is waiting for him at his apartment saying that she's his fiance. The next day, she properly transfers into his class where the three girls fight over her. A professor explains that Kazuki has a special magical gene that the girls want (for their child). 2. ふっちゃた (It Snowed): Kazuki has nightmares about the girls chasing him, but remembers the little girl that he made a promise to to be his fiance. He heads off to school where the three girls fight over him. When he arrives in class, his classmates put him on trial being so popular with the girls and for having the special gene. He gets sick of being the center of attention and tells Yuna to leave, but he sees her pendant and remembers that she was the girl from his childhood who me made a promise to. |
Title: まぶらほ (Maburaho) Vol. 1 LE |
成恵の世界 (The World of Narue) Vol. 6
Another one of my more anticipated releases. I read volumes 1-5 before the anime came out, and it's been more than 6 months since the last volume of the DVD was released, so it's been a long wait to say the least. From the publications, it looks like the author took a 3 month break, which can explain the delay. This volume did not disappoint. At first, I had hoped that there would be more of a overall plot, but the stories have turned out to be isolated by chapter. I may have given a lower rating at first, but now that I'm used to the series, it's okay. The short stories are very entertaining and stick with the theme of being a "Heart-warming story." In addition to the chapters, there are two mini chapters, each 5 pages each and 2 gag comics at the end. 38. 江戸のハイエナ (Hyena of the Edo Period): The gang is supposed to be studying, especially since Narue did poorly on her test. However, as they're waiting for Yagi to show up, they take a break with Kanaka's PlayDimension and join an intergalactic online game. Yagi shows up and logs in to see what's going on. She appears as a rare character and quickly gets attacked by the other players before she gets rescued. Since she's not supposed to know Narue's family are aliens, the other characters play it off as if she had a dream. 39. Why Can't We Be Friends?: A new student, 白石幹夫 (Mikio Shiraishi) transfered into Narue and Kazuto's school. Having suckered Kazuto into joining his new anime drawing group, he reveals that he started drawing because on the day he moved, he saw a spaceship in the sky. However, he becomes discouraged and quits drawing because of a mean club president. He then has to transfer school again, and as he's on the plane, the gang show up in a spaceship and he sees it, thereby regaining his interest and dream. 40. ご冗談でしょう監察官さん (It's a Joke, Isn't It Mr. Inspector?): The Inspector comes and tells how much trouble it is to keep the world in order, and to hide the fact that there are aliens on Earth. This leads to Bachiscaph leaving and Narue wanting to throw away her headband. However, Kanaka prevents Bachiscaph from leaving and the Inspector prevents Narue from throwing her headband into the sea. 41. 宇宙先生 (Ms. Sora): Narue gets a warning message that someone's after her. That same day, a new teacher arrives at her school, Ms. Sora. They suspect that she may be the assasin, but it turns out that she's actually there to protect Narue. 41. ママのたずねて（前編）(Mama's Visit, First Part): It's parent visit time at school and Kanaka really wants her mom to visit rather than having Bachiscaph substitute. Without telling anyone, she uses her communicator and is able to be there (via holography) talk with her mom who's far away commanding a battleship. She comes back, happier than ever thinking that her mom will come. She makes a communication link the next day and while she's with her mom, the fleet is called into action. 42. ママのたずねて （後編） (Mama's Visit, Last Part): Her mom engages and her ship goes too far that the communication link between Kanaka is broken. Kanaka worries about her mom in war, but is told later on that fighting didn't occur. Bachiscaph goes to the parent visit day. 43. TKO: One of the teachers, Mr. Kanehara has a crush on Ms. Sora, so the kids decide to have him go swimming at a water amusement park with her. There, the gang remembers that Mr. Kanehara wears a wig, so they spend the entire day looking out for him and is toupee. Kanehara has to cut the "date" short because one of his students go injured. Despite leaving his date behind, he scores some points with her by showing her that he's a genuine teacher who cares about his students. |
Title: 成恵の世界 (The World of Narue) Vol. 6 |
美少女戦士セーラームーン (Sailormoon) Vol. 4
(Currently listening to selections from the 12 CD Music Box set to get me back in the mood). Chibiusa isn't as annoying in the manga as she is in the anime. SuperS is my least favorite season, mostly due to that annoying brat. So the scouts are currently fighting against the Black Moon fellows and it looks like they're having a tough time. I hope it doesn't turn out like this for each group of baddies. They start out strong, slowly get abducted each and every one, and at the end are saved by a miracle. Lather, rinse, repeat. But as for this volume, the inclusion of Sailor Pluto and a more detailed explanation about how she fits into the whole picture make the reading pretty enjoyable. There's a sticker page like in all the previous volumes and a few extra bonus comics at the end drawn by Naoko herself reflecting on the work she did years ago. 17. 秘密SAILORJUPITER (Secret, Sailor Jupiter): There's still some doubt among the Scouts and Tuxedo Mask as to whether Chibiusa is a friend or foe. Meanwhile, Jupiter has fallen sick and during a fight, she gets kidnapped. 18. 侵略SAILORVENUS (Invasion, Sailor Venus): During the previous battle where Jupiter was abducted, a earring was dropped by the enemy. Luna and Artemis are on it and discover it's dark powers. The members of Black Moon are using various means of media to get their evil message out to the public to help in the master plan. When Sailormoon is about to battle, she finds out that Chibiusa has taken her broach. Chibiusa explains that she wants help to save the 30th century Earth. 19. タイム・ワープSAILORPLUTO (Time Warp, Sailor Pluto): Usagi and Mamoru have some rabu-rabu scenes before Chibiusa takes them to Sailor Pluto at the time gate to have them go to 30th century Crystal Tokyo. They have a little misunderstanding at the time gate, but eventually Pluto lets them through where they see the remains of the kingdom, encounter the sleeping queen, and meet the Tuxedo Mask aka King Endymion of that age. 20. クリスタル・トーキョーKING ENDYMION (Crystal Tokyo, King Endymion): The king explains the history of the place including the fact that Chibiusa is his and Sailormoon's child (Diana is also introduced as Luna's and Artemis's). They leave for present time, but Chibusa goes back where she gets attacked. Being the keep people they are, Sailormoon, Tuxedo Mask, and Venus rescue her in time. However, Sailormoon gets herself captured. 21. 錯綜NEMESIS (Complication, Nemesis): Sailormoon is taken to the place where the three other captured scouts are. She is told what will happen from now on and left there. The other scouts awake and explore their location. On Chibiusa's side, there's a long exposition about how she ended up meeting Pluto and going back in time. |
Title: 美少女戦士セーラームーン (Pretty Guardian Sailormoon) Vol. 4 |
Suckered I always seem to get suckered. So today was supposed to be a UPS delivery day for my magazines, and there have been times in the past where the guy came pretty late, like at 7pm. So a few minutes ago, I heard a knock on my door and not being careful I opened it. It was a high school student doing a magazine drive for school. Man, if you get my attention, odds are that you got me sold. The guy was really talkative, so I would have felt bad for saying no. Plus, the money's going towards his school, so I decided to get one. Popular Science. The toughest thing was keeping my door mostly closed while I talked to him. I know that if he saw my screen, which is plainly visible if the door is fully open, it would be ALL over. |
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君が望む永遠 (Kimi ga Nozomu Eien) Soundtrack Plus
The gripe I have with the music, as I described with the game, is that it starts and ends. I'm used to game music where there's no distinction between start and end, and it just loops without any pauses. But besides that little nit-picky issue, the soundtrack is quite good, good enough to carry me through the game. If I listen to any song, I can probably give a setting where it was played and remember the feeling that accompanied the tune. My favorite tracks are probably track 3, which is played during the "everyday" situations, and most of the songs played during the climaxes and emotional moments. The CD also includes the intro, Rumbling hearts and the ending, both of which I love. However, the best part about this CD is the last two tracks on the CD. They're monologue tracks, one for Mitsuki and one for Haruka where each character verbalizes their thoughts during the 15 minutes between when Takayuki leaves Mitsuki after buying her the ring, and when he arrives at where Haruka is supposed to be. It gives some insight to what the characters where thinking about at that point. Mitsuki shows that she already has a little regret for keeping making him late, but is extremely happy about the ring. Haruka, her usual self, is nervous about why Takayuki is late and counts off the minutes. Her monologue ends with an acoustic version of Rumbling hearts (this is also in drama CD #3, so I'll comment about it there). The CD itself has a very nice picture label with a montage of all the relevant girls to the story. The liner notes includes messages from the script writer for the two dramas, the composer of the BGMs, and from Minami Kuribayashi, the seiyuu for Haruka. |
Title: 君が望む永遠 (Kimi ga Nozomu Eien) Soundtrack Plus |
えんxむす (En x Musu) Vol. 3
Since when did this comic get so violent? It's been a while since I read vol. 2, and even more so for vol. 1, but I don't remember it ever having so much death and carnage. My impression of it is that this is a slightly dark manga, but for the most part, it circles around a big, dumb, Russian maid and his master, a little 18 year old boy who holds one of the luck charms that is required to inherit a large corporation. Maybe I'm getting old, but that's all I remember. The stories used to be cute and funny, with some parts of it being a little suspenseful, but nothing that involves maiming a person to death with a spear nor placing an "obedience ring" on someone's artery. There's a summary page, a little essay on why the author chose this title, and a few mini comics at the end of the book. 8. 薬師寺侠介 (Kyosuke Yakushiji): Kyosuke comes and challenges Gisuke to a brawl. With one punch, he causes some serious damage to our plucky hero's internal organs. However, Gisuke manages to survive the attack, much to Kyosuke's surprise. Because of this, he uses his charm, immortality, and revives Gisuke and tells him that he admires his strong will and determination in just wanting to protect Sonya and won't bother him again. 9. ピクニック (Picnic): Sonya, Shizuku, and Gisuke go off to a butterfly viewing tour. They get gassed on the train and pass out. Meanwhile, 円光寺櫻 (Sakura Enkoji), another one of the lucky charm holders, has gathered a few of the potential successors and tells them that they can go out hunting for Gisuke in the woods surround his mansion. Gisuke wakes up to find that he's out in the middle of nowhere, dressed like a forest dweller. 10. 人間狩り (Human Hunting): Hunting starts. Gisuke is alone, separated from Sonya and Shizuku. He gets found, gets shot in the shoulder by members driving a jeep around the woods. Rather than just finishing him off, they let him walk away injured, waiting for him to collapse on his own volition. However, just as he does so, he gets saved by two masked people. 11. ユニオン (Union): One of the masked saviors doesn't get away and dies a painful death. The other takes Gisuke away. There are many of these masked people around in the woods, but from the radio, it seems that the hunters have caught on and are killing them off. At the end, the masked person who saved Gisuke explains that they're against the Dragon members. The two form a union and she reveals herself as Asuka Hyojo. 12. 北条あすか (Asuka Hyojo): The two of them are discovered by the members who killed her comrade. Using some fast thinking, they manage to trick them into driving over a bridge which she later destorys, sending them plunging down the deep ravine. 13. 悪夢 (Bad Dream): Sonya and Shizuku have been neglected for the time being, but now they're caught by two enemy maids. They put the girls to sleep with tranquilizers which causes Sonya to have a dream about good times she's had with Gisuke. When she wakes up, she has extreme chest pains when she has happy thoughts about him. An "obedience ring" has been placed around her artery which constricts blood flow (i.e. so she can't get too happy and have her blood race). 14. 罪と罰 (Crime and Punishment): The maids explain to Sonya that she's a low ranking maid and hence the ring. Gisuke and Asuka arrive and try to save the two girls, but the maids are a bit too much. Kyosuke arrives out of the blue and helps them out. 15. 不死身VS奇跡 (Immorality vs. Miracle): Kyosuke has some trouble with the maids, but with his charm, he is able to finish one of them off. The other escapes. 16. ソーニャのお弁当 (Sonya's Lunch): After all is said an done, they have a picnic out there with the lunch Sonya originally brought for the butterfly tour. |
Title: 恋愛出世絵巻えんxむす (En x Musu) Vol. 3 |
3 and a Half Hours! What regularly would have taken one and a half hours became a three hour stop and go drive from San Diego back here to Pasadena. En route, I saw no less than 3 accidents and a bunch of pricks who weaved in and out of traffic thinking they could shave a significant portion of their driving time, but just ended up causing more delays. Bastards. However, as I passed by the "Happiest Place On Earth," they had a bunch of fireworks going. Neat. Although I paid more attention to the road, unlike the prick in front of me who slowed down to a crawl rather than just pull over. |
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君が望む永遠 (Kimi ga Nozomu Eien) LE
Now for the good stuff. First of all, this is a romantic adventure game (a.k.a. dating sim). It's more akin to a novel or a drama CD rather than a game because you spend the entire time reading text on the screen. While your alter ego's lines are silent (I usually provide the audio for him :) ), the other characters are voiced by voice actors/resses. In fact, I have the two novels that I believe comprise much of the text with some more exposition. I haven't read them yet in their entirety, but I was able to use them to look up what characters had said earlier in the game. This is the second time I've forayed into these types of games, the first being the Ai yori Aoshi PS2 game which was a bit short. Man, I was not expecting anything like this. Unlike the PC versions of the game, the PS2 version is rated G. There's not even a little underwear lining in any of the images and the most explicit description of romance is "kissed...and kissed some more." At times, it seemed pretty obvious where the censors were because people do much more than kissing, especially when passions run high, but that's okay. The story carries the game very well. With the exception to the looping issue in the soundtrack, everything else about this game was more than perfect. What attracted me to the game was the character design. I think highly of Ken Akamatsu, but Mr. Stupid Prince's (バカ王子) designs are just perfect, the epitome of what appeals to me. Haruka is perfect, Mitsuki's perfect, Akane's perfect, everybody. The voice acting was top notch. Given that you're presented with still images only, the voice acting needs to be good enough to convey emotions without much visual cues, much like drama CDs. At first, I didn't like Haruka's speaking style because she... never... spoke... in... complete... sentences. But as she became less shy, she started to speak more and I quickly forgave her. The theme songs were great too. They added a new song to the PS2 version, which is pretty good. However, the original 2 songs, the intro and ending, are my favorites. The intro song, Rumbling Hearts, has quickly become my second most favorite Japanese song, just under Naru's idol song. I'm particular fond of the duet version of that song sung by Haruka and Mitsuki's voice actresses. The ending song always makes me reflect on the 2 endings of the game, especially the Haruka ending. The story is about your alter ego, 鳴海孝之 (Takayuki Narumi), and your relationship with two girls, 速瀬水月 (Mitsuki Hayase) and 凉宮遥 (Haruka Suzumiya). During high school, Takayuki dates Haruka, Mitsuki's best friend. She gets in an accident and falls in a coma for three years. When she awakes, Takayuki is dating Mitsuki and now he has to make a decision about who to be with, whether it's the original love or the new love. The decision isn't easy though and the decisions you make affect who you'll end up with (and who you'll have to dump). I played the game to two primary endings out of the many possible (>12, but some are bad endings) ones. The usually emotionally stable self almost broke down into tears after finishing the game with Haruka's ending (when Mitsuki said, "I'll keep the promise, someday. But for now, please let me wear this ring a little longer" I felt my eyes starting to swell up). I don't think I've ever been so shaken up from anything cartoon or game related. And from reading the customer review on Amazon Japan, I don't think it's all that strange for people to cry at the end of this game. The second ending, which I believe is the one used in the anime because of the bonus book that comes with the last DVD, is very emotional and in some respects is probably a better ending because it provides and epilogue. However, my first impression is Haruka's ending and that's what I think of when I listen to the end song now. Playing the game twice removes some of the emotional impact. This game has changed the way I look at a few things in life. First off, I'm not going to deride people who watch soap operas because this game's story is pretty much a soap opera. Secondly, I have much more respect for non-Japanese people who play dating sims and can understand what they're doing rather than just looking at the pictures. It requires some level of competence in Japanese to play these games, and that skill is not something to be taken for granted. And if I ever have a girlfriend who falls in a coma, I know exactly what to do. The game is given a rating of 4/4 because giving it a 5/4 would crash my automated rating system, but it really holds to a class of its own. I just hope now that the anime series can reproduce the same effect, but I have my doubts because like almost all series, the original form (usually manga) is almost always better. But we'll see. Ah, almost forgot. First edition of the game comes in a box (pictured) and includes a handkerchief. Rating: 4/4 |
I'll start with the bad part of this game. The soundtrack, while the tunes are good, don't seem to be made well for a video game. From the games that I've played, the BGM is supposed to be designed to loop; you're not supposed to be able to tell too distinctly when the music ends or starts when they repeat the song. In this game though, there's about 2 seconds of silence when the song repeats itself. For a game that took me well over 30 hours of "playing," that was a minor irritation. |
It's a Small State I'm in San Diego for the weekend. At the costco here, I met up with one of my best friends from jr. high. His name is Jim and we went to the same jr. high and high school together in Santa Cruz, 400 miles away from here. We drifted apart during high school, but we were always in contact since he worked at the Costco there in Santa Cruz. Last year, he said that he was going to leave Santa Cruz to go to a vocational school and we parted ways. He never did tell me where he was going. Anyhow, he's found a job down here, probably because he has a lot of history with the company. He says that he was in school, but couldn't afford the rent, so he had to come back and work. In related news, kinda, I find out that a guy on my floor freshman year at Cornell (NY) is good friends with a person I knew from Stanford (CA) who is now at Harvard (MA). It's amazing what's on TV now, having been exposed to it. The winner of tonights Iron Chef is...things aren't looking good for Iron Chef French...the Challenger wins! SNL tonight features Janet Jackson, and they make a special note that it wasn't tape delayed. It's kinda sad that they have to warn people whenever she makes an appearance. |
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Done with Kiminozo PS2! What a story. I finished the game twice, finishing with Haruka's and Mitsuki's endings. Will write up review soon, so I'll save the comments until then. Ever since mid-last week, this "game" has been taking up all of my time. With the exception of Ai yori #13, I've put everything else on hold. In the meantime, things have been accumulating. Since mid-last week, these have come in the mail: Manga and Books:
Games (PS2): And one wonders why I'm always backlogged. |
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藍より青し (Ai yori Aoshi) Vol. 13
While I have a long list of backlogs, Ai yori is one of the few title that will preempt the list. Aiao has always been very fast reads for me, and this one was no exception. It probably took me half an hour to finish it since there is one long plot rather than several short stories. I have mixed opinions about the artwork though. The anime is definitely better, but I've gotten used to the manga. However, it seems like the art has gotten worse in this book. There are a few panels where my instinct tells me that there's something really different. While the title pages for each chapter are excellently drawn, some of the contents are questionable. There are two Aiao 4 panel comics and a nice summary at the beginning of the book. The advertisement insert, at least in my book, describes the limited edition Vol. 14 and the upcoming Young Animal issue with the alternative Vol. 13 cover. The story this time is very linear and quick to summarize, so I'll skip the chapter listings since the titles might be longer than the summary. Tina invites the whole gang, Natsuki and Chizuru included, to vacation at Kyuushuu. They have a few awkward situation at the hot-springs, but the primary focus is on Tina who will soon be going back to America. Tina tries to thank Mayu for being her counterpoint, but Mayu rejects it, not wanting to make it easy for her to say farewell. Tina's main purpose in coming to Kyuushuu, the place where she was raised, was to spent some time alone with Kaoru...as a boyfriend, even if it's just for a day. She takes him to her old school where she digs up an old time capsule full of her childhood photos where she promised herself she would bring her boyfriend one day. |
Title: 藍より青し (Ai yori Aoshi) Vol. 13 |
Emotionally Drained I just finished that "game," finishing with one of the good endings, and damn, I am so emotionally wasted. I'll try to get some more endings tomorrow before I do a review. It's already has a rating of 4/4, just to say beforehand. |
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MPG Baby!
Gotta love a hybrid especially with these gas prices. (Result not typical. i got on the freeway immediately after fill up, traveling from pasadena to gardena.) |
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Final Fantasy X-2 Piano Collections
Unlike the other piano collections, they went with a ragtime look to the cover. The CD itself is black as to mimick an LP record, but still comes in a regular case unlike the Chobits OSTs which came with plastic inner sleeves and a cardboard outer sleeve (for those of you who know what a LP record actually looks like). The first pressing includes a sleeve and my favorite type of packaging, resealable plastic. I think they should have gone with their look of their other piano collections as ragtime isn't representative of the contents, but that's just my opinion. The most anticipated track for me on this CD is obviously the main theme to X-2. That was the only minor letdown of the CD. The song itself has a lot of instruments and is a blend of many notes from many instruments. Unfortunately, it can't be captured with only 10 fingers. It also sounds like they tried to keep the song from getting too cluttered, which is a respectable goal. At more than 6 minutes, It's significantly longer than the original tune. The other songs on here are better than I had imagined. There's a total of 12 tracks, include a few songs from Final Fantasy Internation + Last Mission. The theme song for Last Mission sounds a lot better than the original mix. I didn't like the selection of instruments in the original, but having it all on piano just sounds right. 1000 Words sounds very much like the in-game music after you defeat the final boss and he gets reunited. The epilogue theme from X-2 is good, but I liked the original very much too. Oh, they have the tune that Shuin plays atop the Vegna Gun, but it's pretty short. Now if only they would release it on regular CDs rather than copy-protected CDs. Damn AVEX...again. |
Title: Final Fantasy X-2 Piano Collections |
Time to Wake Up Eariler In a few hours, I will have one less hour to play my video game. Kiminozo is incredible. Granted, I'm playing the rated "G" Playstation version, the story is strong enough to keep me playing/reading for hours on end (the computer version of the game is rather, umm, provocative, but that's what a little bird told me...I have absolutely no first-hand experience and if I didn't, you'd never be able to prove it). Of course, the game taken up more than 25 hours already, if I remember correctly. Which means that my other games I have backlogged, all in the same style as Kiminozo, namely being romance simulations (and massive reading), "Memories Off" "Snow" "Aikagi" "Kanon" "Air" and "Sakura: Yuki Gekka" will take the same. I'll never finish... Tomorrow, USPS will hopefully do a Sunday EMS deliver of *all* the retail Kiminozo CDs. All 13 of them (I already have the anime OST, which would make it 14). |
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Another Japanese Bookstore Bites the Dust When I was in New York, I had to go through the closing of Asahiya Bookstore, which affected me as I had to get a subscription from the much more expensive Kinokuniya. Then, I had to go through the closing of the LA Asahiya. While my magazines are being mailed to me for the remainder of the subscription (4 more months), I have to settle with the more expensive Kino or drive twice as far to the Asahiya in Torrance. (good news is that the New York Asahiya re-opened in a new location). But now, I find out that Sasuga Bookstore in Boston is being relegated to a warehouse. This is their front page message: After more than a decade in our Cambridge store, we are packing up and moving to a new location. Our new digs will be a spacious warehouse in Waltham, MA, approximately 15 minutes outside of Boston. From our new location we will focus on our internet business, anime conventions, and wholesale operations. We will be open to the public every Saturday from 12:00pm - 6:00pm. We will continue to carry a wide variety of Japanese books and magazines, anime goodies, DVDs, origami books and paper, electronic dictionaries and more. As always, we will be doing magazine subscriptions, special orders and selling a limited selection of used books. While I've never been to their store in person, I've done subscriptions with them and had pretty good service. There's a part of me that believes that the volitility is due to the obscene number of manga and books being translated into English as companies try to ride the current Japanese manga/anime fad. Why would a new fan want to learn Japanese and buy authentic Japanese comics if there's a re-packaged English translation readily available from B&N? Given the rat-race mentality of most fans, I doubt many of them are going to sacrifice years to learn Japanese only to find out that their peers have already read years worth of manga in English. It's capitalism, I guess...and a reflection of the mentality of a certain portion of the population. |
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少年マガ (Shonen Magazine), '04 Vol 18 & ヤングマガ (Young Magazine), '04 Vol. 18
A new "Get Backers?" The chapter title is starting at #1, so I imagine it's a new series/story. I believe it's popular, but I haven't caught on. There's also that new dog sled manga too. Negima: ４８時間目 行動の時 (48th Hour, Time for Action): Wolf Boy, Kotarou, has come to prevent Negi from interfering with Monkey Lady, Chigusa's summoning. Meanwhile, Asuna (still without underwear) and Setsuna are having difficulties fending off the monsters. However, when things look bleak, they get saved by the other school girls. Negi gets saved by the Ninja in his class, Kaede, and the two girls get saved by sharp shooter student #18, Mana Tatsumiya. Suzuka: ＃７秘密 (Secret): Back home, Yamato is ecstatic as he remembers Suzuka's embrace out in the rain. Meanwhile, during a group bathing session, the other girls talk and they seem to sense something about Suzuka also. Later that night, Suzuka comes into Yamato's room and brings him a simple homemade dinner (same egg concoction she gave him a few chapters back). Tsubasa: ４０炎の剣 (Sword of Fire): Fye has a terrible hangover from the party. Kuro takes Shaoran out to get a sword and at the store, he meets someone Masayoshi from a previous world, and obviously, it's a different person. They train and Shaoran comes home pretty beat up. Meanwhile, outside one of the monsters attacks a regular person (even though they're supposed to only attack the hunters). Hamanaka Ai: ０３０母親はエロ本の隠し場所を知っている (Mom Knows Where The Erotic Books are Hidden): Being spring, Ai goes to Masahiko's house and decides to clean his room. After a thorough cleaning, she reports to his mom that she didn't find any sketchy books. Futatsuki: １０口目／はじめてのそば (Tenth Taste/The First Soba): The competition has started and Futatsuki is competing to make some noodles for those pesky kids who are allergic to flour. His opponent, a descendant from a very famous chef lineage, makes a secret snow-white soba that the kid judges enjoy. Futatsuki reveals his noodle, which is completely black. When one of the kid judge eats it, the noodle expands in his mouth.
In comparison to the other girls they feature, this week's covergirl, 上野樹里 (Juri Ueno) seems a bit plain. However, the back of the magazine model, 水谷さくら (Sakura Mizutani) could possibly rival Yuuko Ogura in my opinion. In the center pages, Waka is there doing some kendo in a bikini. In addition to the girls, there's a special "Appleseed" pullout. There's a new series starting, titled 赤灯えれじい (Redlight Elegy). I don't know if I'm going to follow it, but maybe. It's romantic comedy revolving around a 19 year old traffic director, 柳川サトシ (Satoshi Yanagawa). He's pretty much a loser, his younger brother gets laid more than he does, and he can't even please himself without being caught by his mom. At work, a new girl, チーコ (Chiko) arrives. She's quite rough and tough, but she protects him from a driver who disrespects Satoshi. Not really too special, but since it's new... Minamike: ４「チリトリをしてください」 (Please Hold the Dustpan): During the afterschool cleanup, Chiaki's classmate Makoto (male) seems overly enthusiastic about cleaning the classroom. Chiaki asks for his help in holding the the dustpan while she sweeps, but he's inept at that. She then has him sweep and her holding the dustpan, but he doesn't do that right either. When he offers to help take out the garbage, Chiaki tells him to stay put. XXXholic: 45: It's White Day and Kimihiro gives Himawari a box of Mokona chocolates, complete with the black and white variety. The older twin (the abnormal one) comes, and surprising is very lively, and invites them to come to the bakery where she now has a part time job. At the store, she's back to her old depressed self and drops a cup of tea. The younger sister is there and tells her that she shouldn't be working. |
Title: 少年マガジン (Shonen Magazine) Vol. 18
Title: ヤングマガジン (Young Magazine) Vol. 18 |
Final Fantasy Song Book まほろば (Mahoroba)
Strange, with Digicube bankrupt and recent FFX-2 releases being AVEX titles, I thought this would also be another copy-protected AVEX CD. But instead, it's released by Universal Music (yes, I'm supporting the RIAA, so sue me...wait...). Much to my surprise, all the songs on here are original. I had thought they were going to pack in previously released tracks with the only special track being the Japanese version of "Eyes on Me." All the songs here are re-arranged by Yuji Hasegawa, and all the songs have a very soothing acoustic feel to them. Some of them are purely instrumental, but most of them have vocals to them. The vocals are all sung by Manami Kiyota. The main reason I got this CD was because of the Japanese version of "Eyes on Me" which is renamed as "Summer's Album." The lyrics aren't a translation of Faye Wong's English and doesn't seem to have much meaning in regards to the game like its English counterpart, but it's a really pleasant song to listen to. I think this song works very well with acoustic instruments (or rather, synthesized acoustic instruments). The other song I really enjoy on this CD is the vocalized version of Yuffie's theme from FFVII. Again, the lyrics don't really have any relevance to the game or even to her character, but a good song is a good song, regardless. The barbershop quartet action in the background is a nice touch. I'll probably bring this CD with me to the Final Fantasy concert in May (3rd row from front, baby!). Uematsu-san, sumimasen ga, kore sign shite kudasaimasen ka? (one can only hope!). |
Title: Final Fantasy Song Book まほろば (Mahoroba) |
十兵衛ちゃん (Jubei-chan) Return
Since the second season of Jubei is going to be released on DVD soon (actually, I have the preview disc right beside me), I though I might refresh myself with the Jubei story. I've had this manga for quite some time now, ever since it first came out (8/15/2002), but never got around to reading it. Oh, I may be a little biased. The story follows the first seasons pretty well, although it's a condensed and places more focus on character development, especially that of Mikage and Jiyu's family. Koinosuke also has a different fate in this story. There are various jokes in the manga that you would only understand if you watched the anime first. Overall, I believe it's an improvement. I don't know if it's a first edition bonus, but my first edition copy comes with an extra booklet, "Jubei-chan Secrets Book" which has 30 some pages of rough sketches and some 4 panel comics. 一の太刀 出会えた二代目強かった。(First Sword, The Successor I Was Able to Meet Was Strong): This chapter pretty much follows the first episode (if I remember correctly) of the anime. Jiyu is heading off to school and meets Shiro, and then Koinosuke who wants to hand her the eyepatch. After school, she defeats her teacher as Jubei II. 二の太刀 さっそく弱点バレちゃった。 (Second Sword, At Once, Her Weakness Was Revealed): This chapter has Jiyu's first encounter with Mikage, who is first known as Francoise, wife of Mick. She sneaks into the Nanohana household, abducts Koinosuke and Jiyu's father. Jiyu hands Francoise the eyepatch in exchange for the hostages, but she can't handle its powers. 三の太刀 恋の告白、決闘だった。 (Third Sword, The Confession of Love was a Duel): Shiro and Jiyu duel for the eyepatch, with Jiyu letting Shiro win. Noticeably absent is the whole scene where Jiyu and Mikage read letters from the enemies that she has defeated and the whole fighting with a sword. 四の太刀 ラブリー眼帯、燃えていた。 (Fourth Sword, The Lovely Eyepatch Had Burned): This chapter had the best improvement as it focused on Mikage and how she could have been a possible replacement for Jiyu's mom. The anime stressed that she looked like her, but in the manga, Mikage is the one who applies the body-to-body cold treatment to Jiyu. Her dad sees this and starts to see how she could be a mother. Chapter ends with Hattori attacking. 五の太刀 乙女の悩みは戦いだった。 (Fifth Sword, The Maiden's Suffering Was a Battle): Jiyu defeats Hattori and his gang, but with only her fury, not a pots and pan costume. Meanwhile, Hajime is planning the final assault on Jiyu. 六の太刀 斬られた敵はいい人だった。 (Sixth Sword, The Enemy Defeated was a Good Person): In the final showdown, she frees everyone from Daigo's clutches, but not before his spirit inhabits Shiro and makes him Dark Shiro. 七の太刀 心の剣で黒帯斬った。 (Seventh Sword, With The Heart's Sword, The Black Belt Was Cut): Jiyu defeats the evil spirit. Rather than seeing old Jubei, Jiyu sees her alter ego as her alter ego disappears. Jiyu asks for Koinosuke to stay. |
Title: 十兵衛ちゃん〜ラブリー眼帯の秘密〜レターン (Jubei-chan~Secret of the Lovely Eyepatch~Return)
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