It's that time again...to rid myself of the tower of Amazon (boxes acquired since 9/03)

Title: 君が望む永遠 (Kimi ga Nozomu Eien) Anthology Comics Vol. 2
Artist/Author: Various
Original Creator: Age
Book Size/Pages: A-5, 148pp., w/furigana
Volume: 2/2
First Printing: 8/12/2002
Rating: 3/4

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) Drama Theater Vol. 2
Original Creator: Age
Release Date: 12/05/01
Catalog No.: LACA-9007~8
Rating: 4/4

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: こどものおもちゃ (Child's Toy) Vol. 1
Artist/Author: 小花美穂 (Miho Obana)
Book Size/Pages: A-5, 276pp., w/furigana
Volume: 1/7
Original Serialization: Monthly Ribon 8/94-2/95
First Printing: 7/20/03
Rating: 4/4

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: 藍より青し〜縁〜 (Ai yori Aoshi~Enishi~) Vol. 4
Original Creator: 文月晃 (Kou Fumizuki)
Volume: 4/6
Catalog No.: GNBA-1010
Release Date: 3/23/04
Rating: 3/4

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:　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
Original Creator: 大地丙太郎 (Akitarou Daichi)
Catalog No.: KIBA-1018
Release Date: 3/24/04
Rating: 4/4

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.