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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. |