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Watching Cassini I'm currently sitting here in a conference room at work watching the events as Cassini enters Saturn's orbit. While I don't work directly on that project, I'm privy to some of the data that they're receiving from the spacecraft so it's kinda neat watching the data and then watching it on the TV. It's not as exciting as the two nights for MER, but still a nice experience regardless. It's nice to have a life outside of manga and anime (despite what this journal portrays :)). Cassini should be starting it's ~1:30 burn now... |
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妹 (Akane) Vol. 12
Just two more books to go. Like most stories featuring teens, the fact that they attend school seems to drift into the background. Way back in the earlier volumes, Akane's intelligence and problems at school were a big focus of the story, but that hasn't come up in these later chapters. I do like how the story has turned to Akane and her mother, especially in this volume where she finally gets to meet her and speak her mind. Color page features Akane in a cowgirl outfit to match the bonus chapter that's set in the wild wild west. 119. ミラノの空 (Skies of Milano): Akane lies to her brother telling him that she's going to be studying and staying at Emily's house for a week and doesn't want him to visit nor call. She uses that time to fly to Milano, Italy with Rei to visit her biological mother whose currently hospitalized. 120. 母の訪ねて (Visiting Mother): Akane and Rei ask a local Italian jeweler about the designer of Eriko Brand jewelry they have on display. Word gets to Akane's mom that her daughter has come to see her. 121. すれ違い (Disagreement): Despite the doctor's warnings, the mother leaves her hospital bed temporarily to see her daughter. She expects a pleasant lunch, but Akane just thanks her for giving birth to her and tells her that her mother (Shinpei's) is her real mother and that she doesn't want to live with her. 122. ナミダ・涙 (Tears): After seeing her daughter off at the airport, Eriko collapses. 123. 知らないこと (The Unknown): Eriko requires immediate surgery. Back home, Akane embraces a puzzled Shinpei. Mio then tells Shinpei that she has something important about Akane that he should know. 124. Time limit: Mio informs Shinpei that Akane accidentally found out about her biological mother. Later that day, Eriko's lawyer lets Shinpei know about Eriko's condition. Shinpei then tells Akane the truth about her mother and her terminal illness. He leaves it up to her whether she wants to live with him or her mother. 125. 大切な妹 (Treasured Sister): Akane talks to everything asking what she should do. 126. 兄がしてあげられること (The Thing Brother Can Do For You): Rei has a 15-year old aspiring stylist to give Akane a makeover. Shinpei gets a visit from Aya (the lady at the used car dealership with the brother-complex a few books back) where she talks to Shinpei about Akane's decisions. 127. lovely baby: Akane visits Mio and her baby, "Soul" and has a bath with the infant. She wants to have a baby with Shinpei. Later, Shinpei gets a visit from Eriko's lawyer again and the topic of alimony comes up. Shinpei tells her that he's never seen any of Eriko's money. |
Title: 妹 (Akane) Vol. 12 "Time Limit" |
Vacation This is the last update until Monday as I'll be on a mini-vacation. I'm taking today off from work, so I can afford to stay up this late/early to do summaries. I"ll probably do an all-nighter tonight and crash on the plane flight tomorrow. Sucks that I won't be reading this weekend since I've finally reached <30 books behind schedule. By the time I come back, it'll be 30+ again. |
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君さえも愛の鎖 (Even You, The Chains of Love) Vol. 2
Doesn't that cover look like something CLAMP would do? That's what I thought at first. Anyhow, this story ends with this volume. I had thought it would go on longer, but to my surprise, the story just ended. It had a nice foundation for something that could go on for quite a while, but I guess it wasn't meant to be. There's a summary and character page, along with lots and lots of ads for Mayu Shinjo's other works. A new character arrives, 金夜叉 (Kinyasha) who Ginyasha doesn't particular like. In the past, Kinyasha made advances to Koyasha and was caught by Ginyasha. As the story then explains the their past. There used to be demons (all these -yasha folks) who lived in equilibrium with humans. The humans, becoming ever so scared, had the occult priest, Kaorumaru's ancestor, kill the demons. In Kinyasha's case, he was in love with Koyasha too, but he treasured his friendship with Ginyasha even more, so he never acted upon his love. The occult priest knew this and manipulated him. The next thing Kinyasha knew was that he had Koyasha half naked by his side with Ginyasha looking at them. Not being able to explain himself, he ran off. Meanwhile, Ginyasha, Koyasha and the others were killed and turned into spirits. Kinyasha has come back as a student at the school, but unlike the other -yashas, he's himself as he was never killed. The -yasha's join force and seek revenge on Kaorumaru and after doing so, they let Miono and Kouta live in peace. |
Title: 君さえも愛の鎖 (Even You, The Chains of Love) Vol. 2 |
dear Vol. 4
Volume 3 was a misunderstanding. I should have read the other "My Wolf" book before reading any of the Dear series as the story is now is crystal clear to me. This volume involves the three groups of characters that have appeared in the previous "My Wolf" series and "Dear" books and has them interacting with each other. The author does a pretty good job of tying the characters together. It looks like more is going to happen in the next volume though. There's a bonus comic that serves as a plug for the newly released drama CD as well as comics on the inner covers. 15. おだやかな日／眷眷 (Calm Day/Retrospection): The captain is going to be going to a party and has invited Kisara and Chiruha to go with him. Kisara and Chiruha make the rounds around town. Meanwhile, the captain meets Prin (the klutz general with the dog curse) and is instantly in love. The story then follows Prin to Carol and Kurenai. They are looking for the Lycanthrope to cure Prin's curse. Since they haven't gotten any leads, Carol suggests that they get arrested so they can inspect the jails. They start a ruckus and Kisara comes to see what's going on. Prin gets a strange feeling when Kisara is around. 16. 獄／パーティー／APPROACH (Jail/Party/Approach): Prin, Carol, and Kurenai are in jail. Unfortunately, they are the only ones at that jail. The captain, Kisara, and Chiruha go to the party. Chiruha is pretty happy as that's the first time she's been in a place with so many people. However, she gets squeezed by the crowd and is saved by Subaru (the king with the arm transplant). He knows she's the last living Lycanthrope. 17. APPROACH／知らない私 (Approach/Unknown Me): Flash back to right before the party where Komomo and Subaru express some anxiety over meeting the Lycanthrope (Chiruha) as they don't know what a Lycanthrope looks like. Subaru tells Komomo to stay put as he makes the encounter so she stays in the balcony right below where Subaru and Chiruha are. Subaru and Chiruha talk for a bit before they're attacked by a monster who breaks the balcony causing Chiruha to fall. Komomo sees her falling and dives after her. They end up making a hole in the ground and land in an underground room. Komomo has broken her leg. 18. 仕事。。。／anxiety (Work/Anxiety): The two girls find out that the underground room holds items for auction, including illegal baby monsters (the one that just attacked). The person in charge demands that they pay up. The girls are unable to fight, but the men show up just in time. Komomo and Subaru have a private discussion where Subaru confesses that he'd be lost without her. Kisara and Chiruha have their talk too. 19. 抱える不安と思わぬ出会う (Uneasiness and Unforeseen Encounter): Due to Komomo's leg, she can't leave town for two months, so she stays with Kisara and the captain. Those two also go check out the captives in jail and release them. Prin apparently knows Komomo and as she's helping her, Chiruha walks in and Prin knows there's something strange about Chiruha. |
Title: dear Vol. 4 |
まぶらほ (Maburaho) Vol. 4 LE
Episode 7 is probably one of the better episodes I've seen. I've come to like the ending theme more and more, especially when they used it during the actual episode. Thank goodness I already have the CD (which was a blind purchase even before I saw the anime. It's instinct). Bonus items include a box to hold the 4 DVDs so far, a keyholder case (they never expected anyone to use it, I guess), some cards, and the school newsletter which has summaries and an interview with Kazuki's voice actor. 7. あっちゃった (I Finally Met Him): 山瀬千早 (Chihaya Yamase) is a childhood friend of Kazuki's currently in second year F class. At first, Yuna is a bit jealous that she's so close to him, but she understands why. It's time for the school festival and Chihaya suggests that her class and Kazuki's class join up to do a play. Despite leading them on, most of Kazuki's class ditches the play at the last minute and cause some havoc. During the play, Kazuki saves Chihaya from a real summoned monster. After the festival, Chihaya tells Kazuki that she's going dance with him because she knows she'll never let go. Chihaya transfers schools soon after. 8. やっちゃった (I Did It): One of the schoolmates, Nakamaru, has found some necklaces and it seems like there's a young boy who wants to steal them. They go around finding the boy. Whereas the other students want to dish out punishment, Kazuki tries to use magic to protect the child (but fails). As he's recovering, they find out why he's taking it and the necklaces get returned to their rightful owners. |
Title: まぶらほ (Maburaho) Vol. 4 LE |
鋼鉄天使くるみ (Steel Angel Kurumi) Vol. 1
This is another series that I've seen the anime before reading (first season and OVA only though). I've had the first two books in my backlog for about a year and a half already. After the clearance sale at Nippon Books, I managed to snag most of the remaining books so might as well start it. The anime from what I remember is very in line with the manga. The art-style in the manga could be better, but I like the way it's presented with fighting scenes and then some SD scenes for the humorous portions. There's 4 color pages which includes character introductions and a mini-comic with the characters thanking the readers. 1. くるみ大地に立つ！！ (Kurumi Rises): There's a prologue where 綾小路 (Dr. Ayanokoji) is escaping in his car and drives off a cliff. He was followed by the army and 天城 (Dr. Amagi). 神維仲人 (Nakahito Kagura) doesn't live up the legacy of his family as a young Shinto priest. As he is being ruffled up by his peers, he falls into a secret laboratory where he sees Kurumi. An earthquake causes their lips to make contact. Just then Ayanokoji comes to in and sees Nakahito being abuducted by a huge military machine lead by Amagi. Kurumi comes alive and defeats the army to save Nakahito and the two of them with Ayanokoji escape. Amagi finds another Steel Angel, Saki in the now-abandoned laboratory. 2. サキ襲撃 (Saki Attacks): The army, with the help of a foreign scientist, Brando revive Saki and she performs exceptionally well in training. They send her out to defeat Kurumi. Nakahito and Kurumi are taking a bath when Saki comes. She attacks, but quickly faints into the hot springs. Nakahito tries to revive her with some mouth-to-mouth, but Kurumi would not allow it so she does it instead. Saki comes back to life with feelings for her sister, Kurumi, but has to attack her because Akagi commands her. 3. 愛の狭間で。。。 (In the Valley of Love...): At Nakahito's request, Kurumi doesn't fight. Saki continues to attack as she's ordered despite her feelings telling her not to. To resolve this contraction, she rips out her angel heart and deactivates. After the sisters stop fighting, Brando comes and kidnaps Ayanokoji. 4. 閑話休題 (Back to the Story): It's been a week and Ayanokoji is finally conscious. Brando reveals himself as Waltzki, a rival mad scientist who has created another Steel Angel with two angel hearts. Meanwhile, Kurumi and Saki get fixed by the army and are back up and running. They, along with Nakahito move into Amagi's place. Nakahito gets a visit from his brother there. 5. 参号機出撃す (The Third Machine Battles): Kurumi, Saki, and Nakahito get caught in the rain and take refuge. They encounter a boy named Mikhail who has been waiting for him. Mikhail gets a little too close for Kurumi's taste and Kurumi destroys his house. As the army is repairing it, Mikhail moves in with them at Akagi's. In the dead of night, Saki goes out to find out who Mikhail really is and is met by the third Steel Angel, Karinka, who gives her a nice beating. |
Title: 鋼鉄天使くるみ (Steel Angel Kurumi) Vol. 1 |
少年マガ (Shonen Magazine), '04 Vol 30 & ヤングマガ (Young Magazine), '04 Vol. 30
There's coverage of the latest Harry Potter movie in this week's episode. Besides that, this is just another volume. Suzuka: ＃１８焦心 (Impatience): Honoka has joined the track team as the manager, taking care of washing the uniforms, and in general just helping out with the team. Despite being on the team, she has little time to hang out with Yamato. Miki has noticed that Suzuka has been out of it ever since Yamato joined the team. While she still tries to act cool and constantly ignores him, she can't help but have fond memories of him in private. Negima: ５８時間目 とどけ、一撃 (Hit With One Shot): Negi is ready for the apprenticeship test with Chachamaru. At first he starts off quite even but as the fight goes on, he gets beat up pretty bad without even landing a punch himself. The other girls watch and Asuna is about to jump in to save him when Makie stops her and makes an impassionate speech about how Negi can take care of himself. Chachamaru is distracted by Makie's talk and Negi is able to give her a soft punch to the face as he collapses. Later, Makie has her gymnastics competition. Changing Now: ＃１０瞬殺 パンダ男 (Quick Kill, Panda Man): Dog Fighter quickly disposes of an enemy Panda Man and is then met with a female enemy also dressed in a suit named Crimson Honey. She's winning the battle, but that's because his attention is on her suit. He tells her that she should be embarrassed wearing something so revealing and nags the unconscious panda to concur. Hamanaka Ai: ０４０大学生の頭脳 (The Brain of University Students): The tutors Nakamura and AI have a little competition with the students in math and they both receive slightly lower scores than Misaki. In order to regain their image, they student for the next competition, but fall asleep during the test as they studied all night. Tsubasa: ４９最後の敵 (The Last Enemy): Unlike the other crossover characters, Fye actually mentions that Oruha is from Clover. Oruha explains why she's the final boss and Seishirou asks her if her real name is Subaru. She replies negative and also tells him she doesn't know where the two vampires he's after are either. Having come to a dead end, Seishirou departs and before Shaoran can reach him, he leaves with the feather/Sakura's memory. Mokona uses the powers Seishirou left behind to transport the dimensional travelers to their new destination.
Finally, a respectable cover featuring the 18 year old Aya Matsura. It's also the 24th anniversary of this magazine. As always, Waka finds her way into the back pages. The other series that I follow all took a break this week, so it's only XXXholic this time. Next week is breaktime for both Tsubasa and XXXholic. XXXholic: 52: Kimihiro finds out that he was in the "Underworld" with that girl for the past for the 10 hours. Yuuko explains to him how Doumeki saved him from certain death by lowering a ribbon so he could be pulled out. The rain fairy then shows up again and thanks him for saving the flower bush and demands that he remember her on White Day. |
Title: 少年マガジン (Shonen Magazine) Vol. 30
Title: ヤングマガジン (Young Magazine) Vol. 30 |
彼氏彼女の事情 (His and Her Circumstances) Vol. 7
This volume suffers from the "Star Wars: ATOC" problem, where there's a part of the story I like (Obiwan investigating the clones) and another part that I detest (Luke and Amidala). I like Takefumi's story, but everything else concerning the 14 days before the cultural festival is a drag. It's prolonged and to me, is pretty boring. The author writes in one of the little footnotes that she got caught in an electric sliding door. It's always nice to know that people who write these books are human too. There's also the usual Tsuda diary segment. 27. ACT27 14DAYS 1: Everyone is back at school after summer vacation and there's a new transfer student, 十波健史 (Takefumi Tonami) who is returning to this city after being away for 3 years. Some students, including Rika, recognize him but he tries his hardest to claim that he's a different person. For some reason, he wants to see Tsubaki. It's also two weeks away from the school cultural festival and they decide to do a play written by Aya, the gifted writer. 28. ACT28 14DAYS 少年T (Boy T): Takefumi explains how as a kid all the way up until three years ago, he was short and pudgy. Despite being rich, he was always picked on. Tsubaki helped him out once and he got the impression that she did it out of the goodness of her heart, but right before he transfered, she told him she did so only because she was told to by the teachers. This left a permanent emotional scar and so he has come back, after growing tall and becoming quite athletic, to seek revenge. He also has fond memories of Arima. 29. ACT29 14DAYS 交わる糸 (Intertwined Threads): The class is practicing the play. Takefumi meets with Tsubaki but she doesn't really recognize him as the pudgy guy from elementary school and he doesn't tell her either. Takefumi has also gotten a little close to Yukino and Asaba sees that Arima is a bit concerned. 30. ACT30 14DAYS はじまり (Beginning): More preparations for the play. Yukino tells her family that she's going to be in a play and they're all very excited. Asaba starts to worry a bit about Arima and asks how he's doing. 31. ACT31 14DAYS 放課後 (After School): Things are getting a little more hectic as the festival approaches. Takefumi tells Tsubaki that he hates him (despite the fact that to her, they just met). She brushes it off, which bothers Takefumi even more. 32. ACT32 14DAYS 木漏れ日と月光 (Sunlight and Moonlight): Takefumi is annoyed that she doesn't understand how she feels. After a talk with her, for some reason, he gives her a kiss. Asaba confronts Takefumi later and tells him not to get close to Yukino because Arima is very insecure. Asaba can get close because Arima knows nothing will happen between Asa-pin and Yukino, but it's a problem if someone else gets close. |
Title: 彼氏彼女の事情 (His and Her Circumstances) Vol. 7 |
Manga Listings Revised I've just revised the manga category page. I knew that scalability would be an issue, but didn't think I would hit it so fast. Previously, if you wanted to browse the manga archives, it would show you all 144 (as of today) covers. That's defintely not a good thing. It's been changed so that it only starts off with a subset of the Japanese alphabet and you can choose. The "all" viewing mode is still there, but it's no longer default (nor does it have book titles on the screen...put your mouse over the image and it should show you what it is). Implementation wise, it's terribly inefficient, but I'll wait until my hosting service complains. |
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夏色の砂時計 (Hourglass of Summer Colors) Vol. 1 LE
This is the OVA anime based on the game. I thought Kiminozo was fast, but this being only a two series OVA, it goes even faster. In the game, Kotaro only jumps when he sleeps, but in the anime, he jumps whenever, even if it only means spending a few minutes here and there before leaping. I don't think anyone who hasn't played the game would understand what the heck's going on. But since I have background knowledge, it's pretty nice to see the characters actually moving. I'm a little disappointed in the video quality. Having been spoiled by the clean digital transfers of recent series, the quality on this DVD looks like something produced 2-3 years ago. For an $80, 30 minute OVA, it really should have been better. Limited edition comes with a box, a trading card, and a drama CD. The drama CD is relatively short, at 25 minutes. It follows Regen as she tries to prevent Kaho's death, but rather than showing up on 9/1/2002, she ends up on 9/1/1864, during the Edo period. And it just happens that the princess Kaho has just been in a fatal accident and the samurai Kotaro has come too late. So Regen helps Kotaro of that time save Kaho. The first step is to help Maana, the water beast. The second part of the drama is in the next limited edition DVD. 1. 砂に埋れた真実 (The Reality Buried In the Sand): Kotaru wakes up 9/1, the end of summer, to find out that his crush, Kaho, has been killed in a car accident. With the help of Regen, a Time Patroller, he jumps around time to find out how to prevent her death. He manages to prevent one of the causes, the freshman Mana from getting injured which would lead to Kaho missing the train, and then taking the bus which leads to the accident. |
Title: 夏色の砂時計 (Hourglass of Summer Colors) Vol. 1 LE |
君さえも愛の鎖 (Even You, The Chains of Love) Vol. 1
This was a random pick for me as I was browsing the bookstore. I was more attracted to the cover of the second volume, but the little plot summary in the back sounded interesting. I think I'm up for some dark shojo. The author of this series seems to be quite a prolific author, probably a big name among girl's comics (not that I would know). The story's pretty interesting so far, but it just feels a little different. Supernatural and occult themes are appealing to me and this series looks like it's replete with it. Maybe it's shojo or whatnot, but it just isn't enough to get me really excited and to twist my mind. I guess it's personal perference. This volume has no chapter listings and reads like one big chapter. There's a few pages of character intro and illustrations 蓮岡美桜乃 (Miono Hasuoka) and 小石川祥太 (Shota Koshigawa) are next-door childhood friends now attending middle school. There's some hint of romance as Syota feels a little jealous of Miono's close relationship with her chemistry teacher, 薫丸 (Kaorumaru). He even refuses to accept a recuitment offer to play soccer at a private high school because he wants to be with her. After he catches the chemistry teacher getting a little too close (as he's performing some fortune telling, as he's a descendant of an occult family), he runs off. Miono and Shota make up, but as they do, Shota sees a demon, 銀夜叉 (Ginyasha) who posses his body. The demon uses his body to make advances at Miono. He doesn't remember what happens when he's under control, but he goes and asks the professor for some help. He gives Shota some pills that should repress the demon. Meanwhile, he understands that he's now a danger to the person he loves, so he reneges and accepts the invitation to go to the faraway high school. Later, the Ginyasha appears and the reason he's after Miono is revealed. She too has another personality, 光夜叉 (Koyasha), and she used to be Ginyasha's lover in the past. |
Title: 君さえも愛の鎖 (Even You, The Chains of Love) Vol. 1 |
花右京メイド隊 (Hanaukyou Maid Tai) Vol. 7 LE
The first few chapters deal with something a little more profound that the fan-service filled chapters that fill most of the pages. It didn't take me much by surprise though as Ryoshi seemed like a sketchy guy to begin with. The remaining chapters resume their normal light-heartedness and wackiness. This volume, specially chapter 45, has Angel Maid Konoe which was featured in previous volumes as bonus chapters. I don't know why the author put it in here, but it's a nice distraction with everything that goes on in chapter 44. First edition comes with a special cover (pictured) and a bonus booklet featuring color artwork. 42. 最後の遠足 (The Last Excursion): Ryoshi, the visiting tutor, is starting to get on everyone nerves and Taro can sense it. He improves his grades so that Ryoshi can be allowed to go home. Before he departs, he asks to take a little trip with Taro to the beach. Taro says he wants to be just like him as he's such a nice guy. 43. 夢見る頃を過ぎても (Even Beyond When I Was Dreaming): Using MEMOL, Grace has found out a lot of disturbing things about Ryoshi. Meanwhile, Shizuka takes Taro out to the woods and tries to take him out so that her sister can go home. Taro breaks her determination by saying they're friends. Later, Shizuka saves Taro from Ryoshi when its revealed that he's actually a bad guy coming to rid Taro. Ryoshi then sets off the bombs in the house and it catches on fire. 44. 冬が来る前に (Before Winter Comes): Konoe locks Taro in the underground mansion to keep him safe. There, he finally sees the portrait of black haired Mariel. Outside, Shizuka tries to defeat Ryoshi, but gets wounded. Konoe is about to engage when Taro stops her and pleads with Ryoshi. Ryoshi explains that the Hanaukyo's killed his family, so he's coming to get revenge. Konoe's sister appears to keep Ryoshi occupied and so Konoe is able to take Taro to safety. 45. メイド天使コノヱリーナ (Angel Maid Konoe Rina): Konoe Rina is a little magic user with a magical stick she uses to cast magic. The trio, Ryuka, Mariel, and Ikuyo come and steal the want which causes little Konoe to become full-sized Konoe. They go try and find her magical wand again and find it, at which point she returns to her normal size. At the end of the journal, she uses her magic to erase Taro's memories of her. 46. お手伝いさせてください！！ (Let Me Help!!): Mariel wants to help out in rebuilding the burnt mansion but she isn't cut out for construction labor and just causes problems whenever she tries to assist. She does cook some soup for every, but still has self-doubts about her ability to support Taro. 47. 大切なのはだれ！？ (Who's Most Important!?): Konoe is a little distracted by Taro, as Yashima can detect. He goes to Taro and asks him who's more important, Mariel or Konoe. Taro replies that he cherishes everyone. |
Title: 花右京メイド隊 (Hanaukyo Maid Tai) Vol. 7 LE |
彼氏彼女の事情 (His and Her Circumstances) Vol. 6
I'm surprised that it's only volume 6 and the story corresponds with the last few episodes of the anime. While the entire volume is good overall as has a lot of character development, I've always been against Arima and Yukino in bed. It didn't seem a little forced to me. The best chapter here has to be the one that concerns Yukino's dad. I don't think it ever made the animation, but it provides a lot of insight into her parents and why he stood up for her daughter in front of the school teacher in the previous book. Bonuses are as usual, letters, and a mini-comic. 22. ACT22 ここより永遠に２ (From Here to Eternity, Part 2): Yukino's father recalls the story about how he ended up going to the same high school as Yukino's mother. During his third year in high school, his grandfather passes away and that's when they decided to get married and do so soon after they graduate. 23. ACT23 不在 (Absent): It's coming to the close of summer and Yukino is anticipating Arima's return. As usual, the friends are starting to pester her about homeworks as she's the smart one in the group. As Yukino is walking out the the door one night, a tall fellow waits by the door. It's Arima, a day early. 24. ACT24 恋 (Love): Arima fills her in on his victories at the inter-high school competition. As she looks at him more and more, especially his taller statue, he starts becoming more shy and starts avoiding him. This leads to a semi-confrontation where he tells her that he would never leave her. 25. ACT25 SHINKA (Evolution/Deepen): Yukino offers all her homeworks to him knowing that he probably hasn't been studying. With her kindness, he remembers how his status in his own family is. His biological father is the prodigal son in the family and he ditched Arima with his current uncle and aunt. Because of his dad's behavior, Arima has always been treated a second-rate family member despite his accomplishments. He was always in a state of depression until he met Yukino. 26. ACT26 晴れた日に永遠が見える (On a Clear Day, I Can See Forever): They spend the rest of summer studying, and hanging out, but mostly studying. On night on the way back from studying, it starts pouring, so they seek shelter at Arima's house. The parents are away, so the mice play, in bed. She's feels like a newlywed, but his self doubt grows. |
Title: 彼氏彼女の事情 (His and Her Circumstances) Vol. 6 |
こどものおもちゃ (Child's Toy) Vol. 4
I'm always pretty wary of shojo manga that are 250+ pages long and sometimes dread it as I know it's going to be a long time commitment compared to the more visual boys comics. This volume started out that way where I was crawling along each page. However, it picked up really quickly half way through with Sana's relationship with Naozumi and then with Hayama and led to a pretty interesting story/conflict. There's a ton of color images as shown in the bonus pages of this volume (as well as previous volumes). This volume focuses on the story arc where Sana is out filming a movie with Naozumi. Naozumi has some obsessive fans who at first just dislike Sana, but when the tabloids print that Sana and Naozumi are a couple, they go mafia and beat Sana with sticks causing her to fracture her leg. Meanwhile, Fuuka asks Hayama to pretend to be his boyfriend (in exchange for some sushi) for a day while her old friends from Osaka come and visit. When they read the tabloids, Hayama feels a little dejected and Fuuka formally asks him out, to which he accepts. Sana gets wind of this and becomes very unmotivated at work until she gets a visit from her mother. When filming ends, she tries to be normal at school, but there's always some discomfort knowing that her friend is dating Hayama. |
Title: こどものおもちゃ (Child's Toy) Vol. 4 |
藍より青し〜縁〜 (Ai yori Aoshi~Enishi~) Vol. 6
What a disappointing series. I purposely delayed watching this last DVD because I didn't want it to end and feared that they wouldn't end it appropriately. But alas, I finally saw the last two episodes and of course, they didn't. The last two episodes focused on Tina. The previous 10 episodes before this didn't really emphasize the fact that she was returning, so using this situation to end the series didn't seem to do it justice. Or maybe it did as this second season didn't have any structure. I still like Ai yori in general. I'll just kindly push season two to the back of my mind like how I did Kaoru and Aoi's character image song from this season too. Here's volume 14 of the manga in September (and maybe the 2 PC games recently released). First edition includes a postcard. This time it's Aoi (proper) wearing her signature purple Kimono. 11. 月光 (Moonlight): Tina tries to make her returning to America sound temporary as to not worry everyone else. Before she goes, she says she's trying to get pictures for her parents to see. And on the day of her departure, she leaves early in the morning so that she doesn't bother anyone. 12. 絆 (Bonds): It's been a while since they've gotten word from Tina. She left a note saying "Thanks" on her door, but no one has bothered going in. Finally, Aoi and Kaoru go in to find that Tina's left all the pictures of them behind. Meanwhile in America, Tina's not too happy. So, she comes back and the gang is reunited. |
Title: 藍より青し〜縁〜 (Ai yori Aoshi~Enishi~) Vol. 6 |
夏色の砂時計 (Hourglass of Summer Colors) Anthology Comics
This is another collection of fan-made comics. It seems like video game series have a bunch of these doujinshi volumes. I know Kanon and Air have at least twenty each. Fortunately for me, Natsuiro only has this one volume. The cover art is probably the best one I've seen so far in that the characters are pretty close to how the original character designer created them. There are a few more color pages inside, but each shows a little interpretation of the original character designs. As with the Kiminozo comics, the stories in here vary. Since this game wasn't as deep nor serious as Kiminozo, the chapters tend to be pretty light. My favorite one in here would be the chapter where Tomo-chan goes on and on about her interest in the supernatural and the occult. When Kotaro finally gets the courage to tell her about his experiences (thinking that she's more likely to understand and believe him), she just calls him an idiot. Okay, so it wasn't that funny explaining it, but I had a good laugh. |
Title: 夏色の砂時計 (Hourglass of Summer Colors) Anthology Comics |
妹 (Akane) Vol. 11
Well, Akane finally figures out that she's going to be sent back to her mothers, and for the most part, she handles it pretty well despite being deceived this whole time. But her calmness yields a pretty uninteresting story. The best few chapters in this volume have to be the ones that deal with Mio giving birth and how she tries to make Akane understand that her mother went through the same thing. A little seriousness amongst pages of fanservice is a good thing. There's a bonus chapter with Mecha-Akane and the cover art features a full frontal of the heroine. 110. リトルデイト (Little Date): Emily finally informs Marina that Akane is in love with her brother. In order to support their relationship, Marina along with Emily invite Shinpei out on a date to teach him a few things about being a good boyfriend. 111. スペシャル デコレーション！？ (Special Decoration): For Shinpei's 21st birthday, Rei has a crooked idea of having Akane be smothered in whip cream and presenting herself as the birthday cake. Of course it goes afoul. Shinpei then gets a call that Mio's in labor. 112. 17 Years Ago: With Akane watching Mio at the hospital, there's a flashback to when Akane was born. Despite being pregant with Akane, her biological mother would still work late nights. Back to present day, Mio gives birth. 113. 私のお母さん (My Mother): Later, Mio tries to tell Akane that her mother must have looked at her the same way as she does her new born child. Akane still doesn't recognize her biological mother though. At the end, Shinpei mentions that there's 227 days before Akane graduates. 114. かきこうしゅう (Summer Session): The guys at the auto shop aren't the sharpest bunch and so the boss asks Akane to tutor them. During the study session, everyone else gets bored and secretly leaves, leaving her and Shinpei. She trips, rips her pantyhose and then more nose-bleed scenes. 115. 告白旅行 (Confession Vacation): Akane and Shinpei go to the beach. In the hotel they're staying in, they're stuck with a single and no other rooms available. 116. 愛が止まらない (Love Won't Stop): That night, Shinpei hugs Akane in bed. The next day, Akane overhears Mio telling Tetsu about Akane going back to her mother's. 117. 止めたい言葉 (Words I Want to Stop): Being the first time she hears that she's being handed back, she doesn't accept it and says that Shinpei promised her that he'd never leave her. 118. もう、離れられない (I Can't Let Go Anymore): Akane decides to take a plane to to Italy to confront her mother and she looks for a job at the club where Rei works at to earn some travel money. |
Title: 妹 (Akane) Vol. 11 "17 Years Ago" |
A.I.が止まらない (Love Won't Stop) Vol. 8
I guess this is one way to end the story. I didn't particularly like the ending because everything just happened so abruptly. Not to mention that at the very end, it does a quick 180 just so the characters can be together again. In the included interview with Ken Akamatsu, he says that there's an epilogue to the story that's on the CD-ROM. The nice thing about this series is that you can see how Ken Akamatsu's art style changes as he draws. I think I've mentioned that I didn't like the artwork in the first few volumes, but this and last volume's artworks were pretty superb. Like Cindy, the new character Yayoi, also sports a design that rivals Love Hina, which according to the magazine release, would start almost a year later. Overall, this series is pretty average but shows how Ken Akamatsu got his start (after his doujinshis). Bonuses are the interview and new sketches of Yayoi and Maa-kun. 49. I LOVE トゥエニー (I Love Twenty): Hitoshi explains to Forty how he created Twenty and eventually sealed her up in a floppy. During the days when his family hadn't moved to America yet, Hitoshi had been working on AI programs. He succeeded in creating Twenty and wanted her to have a girlfriend personality. However, she started becoming a bit too risque and wanted to take over the world. At that time, he had the pre-nascent Thirty trick her into being captured. 50. フォーティのキモチ (Forty's Feelings): Twenty and Thirty are up for their routine software maintenance. During their hiatus, Forty offers to do the chores around the house and help out. She transforms herself into the same age as Twenty. Despite being the same age, her skills are terrible and messes up everything. Hitoshi tells her not to be depressed as she's still just a young girl. 51. 劣等感ガール１ (The Girl With An Inferiority Complex, Part 1): 弥生 (Yayoi), Hitoshi younger sister comes to visit. Because she's insecure about her own appearance, she has a tendency to fondle other women. She's also quite a computer geek and has her own AI comrade, Maa-kun, who is just like a Tamogachi. She has come to ask Hitoshi to go back with her to Amerca. Hitoshi, however, says he can't. 52. 劣等感ガール２ (The Girl With An Inferiority Complex, Part 2): Hitoshi, Yayoi, and the 3 girls go to a hot springs resort. They find out that there's a Ms. Hot Springs contest going on. Yayoi doesn't think she has a figure to compete. The other girls try to help her with some padding, but they don't work. With some programming magic from Maa-kun, she has a bigger bust. However, it disappears right before she goes on stage without her knowing. Only until she wins 1st place does she find out that she's back to her normal small self. Afterwards, Maa-kun explains to her that Twenty, Thirty, and Forty are all computer programs. 53. 実体化パニック (Materializer Panic): Yayoi gets pretty excited that his brother has come up with a materializer that brings AI to life. She wants to spread the word, but Hitoshi tells her not to. He then brings them down to the basement of the house where he reveals the mainframe where the AI girls' program core is. There's also a program Zero, created by his father. Yayoi thinks that if she can bring Zero to life, it might convince Hitoshi to want to move to America. However, she accidentally injects a computer virus into it and Zero comes to life as a deranged fellow wanting to destroy the world's computer systems. He first takes out Twenty and has Thirty in his grasps. 54. こころ (Heart): Forty tries to save her sister, but also gets defeated. While Twenty and Forty all go limp, Thirty for some reason is still very much alive. She tries to go into the networks to save her siblings, but just conks herself out with the glass on the screen. Maa-kun reports that program 30 is already inactive, but she still can move around. Could it be the pinocchio syndrome? Meanwhile, Zero is causing havoc around the world and is about to deal the finish blows to Twenty and Forty. Maa-kun tries to help out, but he gets wiped out too. Hitoshi prevents her from going, but with his words, the program aspect of Thirty gets revived and she goes anyways. 55. SAYONARAは言わないで (Don't Say Goodbye): Thirty puts up a good fight on the screens of everyone's monitor and TV sets, but Zero is too much for her to handle. Just as she's going down, she sees another like her float down from the sky. Peter G., that hacker from so long ago has written his own program, #31 who saves the day. Thirty says her goodbye to Hitoshi. Next thing we know, the programs have all be revived and Hitoshi leaves his home in Japan. |
Title: A.I.が止まらない (Love Won't Stop) Vol. 8 |
夏色の砂時計 (Hourglass of Summer Colors) Drama CD
This story takes place a few weeks after the end of the game and provides an little extra episode that deals with Kaho's and Kotaro's relationship (I assuming this is an extension of Kaho's good ending, which is the only one I played). The voice acting is pretty good for a drama CD and is a big improvement over the segmented speech that appears in video games. The romance portion of the story is nice, but the whole premise of them going to the beach house doesn't really make sense. There's no mention of a first edition, but I got a Y200 phone card with it. The liners features comments from the voice cast. 1. ９月１２日 昼 ～あの長い夏休みが終わって・・・～ (9/12 Noon, That Long Summer Has Ended): Kotaro explains that it's been two weeks since saving Kaho and introduces the drama CD. 2. ９月１２日 昼 ～補習と旅行、どっちがいい？～ (9/12 Noon, Summer School or Travel, Which is Better?): His teacher Tomo-chan wants him to come with her to her beach house to do some research. If he doesn't come, she'll make him do a report to make up for his poor test. Between those two choices, he chooses the vacation. However, he asks that Kaho be able to come along and she agrees. 3. ９月１３日 夜 ～ごめんね、コータロ！～ (9/13 Night, Sorry, Kotaro!): Kotaro is preparing to depart and is quite happy about it. Regen then appears and starts apologizing profusely without explaining too much about why, and then leaves. Kotaro gets a bad feeling thinking something's going to happen. 4. ９月１５日 夜 ～耕太郎うんなんか、嫌い～ (9/15 Night, I Hate You Kotaro): After falling asleep, Kotaro wakes up on the beach with Kaho. Kaho tells him to close his eyes and then slaps him, tells him that she hates him, and runs away. 5. ９月１４日 朝 ～あいも一緒にいくね！～ (9/14 Morning, I (Ai) Will Come With You Too!): Kotaro thinks that he getting another glimpse of the future. To prevent that future, he thinks he can just ditch the vacation but apparently Tomo-chan is in his room and overhears his plan. She drags him out of bed. As they're leaving, he finds out that Kaho also invited Ai. 6. ９月１４日 昼 〜渡しの手料理、たべて欲しいの～ (9/14 Noon, I Want You To Taste My Home Cooking): Around the beach house, Kotaro meets Mana whose parents live in the area. The three girls now start cooking some lunch of Kotaro. Kotaro tries to figure out why Kaho would hate her and thinks that it's because he's going to comment on her bad cooking. So when the girls present their food, he gives complements despite it tasting terrible. He passes out from eating all that food. 7. ９月１４日 夕 ～旅行の真の目的は―――？！～ (9/14 Evening, The Real Reason For This Trip Is...?!): Tomo-chan reveals that it's not really her beach house, but she got to stay there for free because there's rumors that there are ghosts around. Tomo-chan suits up in a mecha suit and goes to research the ghosts. 8. ９月１４日 夜 ～酔っ払い教師と温泉の夜～ (9/14 Night, The Drunk Teacher and Hot Spring at Night): The investigation is a failure. The drunk Tomo-chan and Kotaro start talking. Kotaro explains his situation, and Tomo-chan reassures him. Later, the 3 girls are in the hot springs and start talking about what a nice guy Kotaro is. 9. ９月１５日 夕 ～全ては未来を変えるために・・・～ (9/15 Evening, In Order to Completely Change the Future...): Kotaro decides to stay in his room all day today so that he won't do anything stupid. However, Kaho is saddened by his staying in his room. Tomo-chan comes in and beats some sense into him by telling him that he's a fool for ignoring Kaho and making her cry. Kotaro meets up with Kaho and the other girls. As they're going to watch the fireworks, Ai recommends that Mana and her leave the lovebirds alone, although she's a bit sad in saying that. 10. ９月１５日 夜 ～二人で未来を描いていこう～ (9/15 Night, Let's Create Our Future Together): Kotaro and Kaho are on the beach alone. Kaho tells him to close his eyes, but rather than slapping him, she kisses him. She explains that the only summer homework she could never complete was the summer diary because her summer days were always the same. However, today's entry will be filled with various activities. 11. ９月１５日 夜 ～素敵な明日が、待っている～ (9/15 Night, A Wonder Tomorrow Is Waiting): Regen appears at the beach house. Kotaro asks her what that day drop was about and she explains that it was probably a dream because she didn't register any abnormalities in the time-space continuum. She reminds him that the future is something that hasn't been decided yet. 12. キャストロール (Cast Roll): The cast give their names and characters they voice while the ending song to the game is playing in the background. |
Title: 夏色の砂時計 CDドラマ「夏の終わりに・・・」 (Hourglass of Summer Colors, CD Drama, "At the End of Summer...") |
A.I.が止まらない (Love Won't Stop) Vol. 7
The artwork in this volume is significantly better than the first volume. While the character design is the same, it looks like it's slowly progressing to Love Hina quality. For all purposes, Cindy could be in Love Hina and I wouldn't know the difference. In addition, the Naru punching theme is starting to show itself here with Thirty becoming more and more violent in that sense. The 3 chapter long mermaid story is probably the best "arc" so far out of the 7 volumes. The only gripe I have is that Cindy is introduced a little late for how much she loves Hitoshi. There is a gallery of merchandise, mostly telephone cards and a few pages of Ken Akamatsu interview where he has some comparisons with Love Hina. 44. 海の女王の恋人は？ (The Beach Queen Girlfriend Is?): Hitoshi, the three AI girls, and Cindy go to the beach for a summer vacation. The girls enter a beach queen contest with Hitoshi as the judge. Thirty and Cindy end up as the last two finalists and have to do a limbo contest with Hitoshi as the bar. Thirty loses, but there are no bitterness and they enjoy a night of fireworks. 45. ゴンドラの誘惑 (Temptation of the Gondola): Cindy tricks Hitoshi into going to the amusement park to discuss their plans for the cultural festival at school. Thirty gets wind of this and sneaks around to spy on them with them while they enjoy the various rides. Cindy and Hitoshi go in a ferris wheel, which like all love stories, gets stuck. Since Thirty can't be there, she sends herself to Hitoshi's PDA and sees them almost kiss before the ride starts up again. When Hitoshi and Cindy leave and go their separate ways home, Cindy reveals that she knew Thirty was spying on her and says she's serious about Hitoshi too. 46. ラストシーンは私に１ (The Last Scene, For Me..., Part 1): Instead of the dance party, Cindy decides that the class should put on a play for the festival and chooses the little mermaid. Hitoshi reads the script and notices that the screenplay doesn't have an ending. Meanwhile, Thirty reads the original story (to remind us what it's about). While Cindy wants to be the mermaid, she finds out that the mermaid isn't allowed to talk once she's human. In exchange for legs, the mermaid had to give up her voice. And if she were to marry the prince, she would disappear into a bubble. So, Cindy plays the princess who's the mermaid's rival for love. As the play starts, Cindy tells Thirty there's no ending because Hitoshi, the prince, has to choose who he wants to be with. 47. ラストシーンは私に２ (The Last Scene, For Me..., Part 2): Thirty realizes that the little mermaid is an allegory of her existence. The play finishes and Hitoshi kisses Cindy. He doesn't know that Cindy and Thirty are taking his choice serious, and so when he kisses Cindy, Thirty resigns and disappears. Forty and Twenty find out that she has rebooted herself, but instead of reloading her memories from backup, she decides to take them and leave. Hitoshi comes back home to find that the floppies are gone and Cindy realizes that Thirty wasn't real. Hitoshi goes out and finds Thirty just as she hurls the last of the backups into the river. He jumps in to save them. 47. ラストシーンは私に３ (The Last Scene, For Me..., Part 3): Hitoshi manages to keep two of the floppies from touching the water, but is now being swept away by the currents. At first, Thirty can't use any of her Program Options. Cindy tries to save Hitoshi, but gets caught in the water too. Miraculously, Thirty pulls through with some magic/Program Option and saves them. Hitoshi and Thirty make up. |
Title: A.I.が止まらない (Love Won't Stop) Vol. 7 |
せんせいのお時間 (Doki Doki School Hours) Vol. 2
I still haven't gotten into this series yet. While there are funny moments, I can't get myself involved in the story. It's a bit like reading Garfield or Peanuts, and even Calvin and Hobbes. Sometimes there are laughs, but for the most part, the most I get is a smile. Ah well, still three more books in this series to go. Bonus includes a few color pages in front and a few bonus chapters, both special chapters not relating to the main "story line" as well as chapters that only appear in book form. I may be wrong on this, but I think this volume takes place roughly from September of her students 2nd year to September of her student's third year. Along the way, there are several gags that involve homosexuality (i.e receiving a chocolate banana from a fellow male classmate), diet and dieting, and of course, picking on Mika for her size. While the students are growing, she stays the same, tiny size, and occasionally still needs her dad to drive her to work. |
Title: せんせいのお時間 (Doki Doki School Hours) Vol. 2 |