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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 |
花右京メイド隊 (Hanaukyou Maid Tai) Vol. 6
This comic is getting more and more flagrant as I read it. The characters are strong enough to carry the story without having to be pimped out. The chapters this time emphasize the love triange Taro has with Konoe, Ryuka, and Mariel. What surprises me is that Mariel seems to be less naive about her relationship with Taro and I get a feeling that she's somewhat cunning. Anyhow, book ends with some anticipation into the next volume. There's a bonus chapter featuring 杉野アヤ (Aya Sugino), the president of the Go club as well as another Konoe Reena comic. 36. ジィの届け物 (Jia's Present): Jia, Shizuka's personal assistant, has a package for Shizuka. Konoe wants her to show what it is, but Jia runs away and Konoe is on the pursuit. Meanwhile, Ikuyo and Ikuyo have Taro cross-dress again. While he's dressed as a girl, he bumps into Jia and takes her in hiding inside the uniform room. Konoe eventually catches both of them just as Jia accidentally takes off Taro's wig. Taro tells Konoe it's alright if Jia doesn't want to expose the present, which turns out be a cheese cake for Shizuka. To return the favor, Shizuka and Ikuyo plot to have them in a mixed bath. 37. 太郎のお弁当 (Taro's Lunch): Taro has forgotten his lunch and the three girls, Konoe, Ryuka, and Mariel all compete with each other to deliver him some grub. Konoe, accompanied by Yashima, dresses up like a schoolgirl although she's obviously too big for a sailor uniform. Ryuka and her maid groupie try and sneak in while Mariel just shows up. 38. ふさわしいのはだ〜れ！？ (Who's the Suitable One!?): Mariel is cozy with Taro and this bothers both Ryuka and Konoe. Konoe decides to divert Taro's attention by taking him to do some body throw practice, but Mariel defeats Konoe and she ends up practice with Taro. The next activity is swimming where Konoe and Ryuka come in with skimpy 2 piece suits. Taro passes out from the mostly nude women. As he's recovering, Grace comes in and kicks the three girls out and has Taro play some DDR. 39. MEMOL暴走！！ (MEMOL is Out of Control!!)： Grace overhears Ryuka and Konoe talking about how one day, Grace/Cynthia will be a single personality again with Grace being the one that disappears. Grace realizes that with MEMOL completed, there might not be a need for her anymore so she locks herself in the computer room and lets the computer go out of control. Taro eventually sees her and cheers her up a bit. 40. 太郎とシズカ (Taro and Shizuka): As punishment for not playing along with the kissing game, Konoe banishes Taro and Shizuka out to the forest to pick some mushrooms. However, Ryuka isn't comfortable with the fact that they're alone so she goes out there too to prevent them from doing anything. Shizuka and Taro escape her attack and end up on the riverside a ways away. As they're clothes are drying, they have a little talk before they return. 41. さよならを教えて (Teach Me Goodbye): A somewhat sketch person, 泉キョウジ (Kyoji Izumi), shows up suddenly with a note from Taro's grandfather. He's gonna be Taro's private tutor. He takes Taro out to tour Tokyo without consulting the other maids. They come back to Konoe's wrath, but Cynthia explains that MEMOL granted them permission to leave. It seems like there's some between Kyoji and Mariel... |
Title: 花右京メイド隊 (Hanaukyo Maid Tai) Vol. 6 |
Got GMail? A buddy of mine gave me an invitation to use GMail from Google. I'm surprised at how many people have already signed up for it. My first few choices for a username were already taken by other people, this includes my initial+last name@gmail, first.lastname@gmail, and firstlastname@gmail. Fortunately, I got my 3rd choice (firstlastname was just a test), which matches my .mac email. Ah well. I could have used jupiterstar@gmail.com, but I'll save that for when they open it up to the public. The current username I have now might be a little more hard to snag once everyone has access. |
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彼氏彼女の事情 (His and Her Circumstances) Vol. 5
Tsubasa's story is one of my favorites, and probably one of the first serious story that I experience in anime (Sailormoon was moving at the end, but not all that deep). I was nearly cracking up during the picture where Tsubaki is hugging onto Yukino after being slapped by his dad. You can't portray that type of dumbfoundedness with photography. Tsuda Diary bonus mini-comics that have appeared in the other issues also appear in this one.
18. ACT18 SPACE: Tsubaki comes over to the Miyazawa house to beat some sense into Tsubasa and to drag her home. Yukino's parents allow her to stay, so Tsubaki goes him empty handed. Yukino walks Tsubaki home and Tsubaki explains a bit about Tsubaki's personality and Yukino realizes why she's so attached to Arima. Tsubasa's dad comes over later on with his girlfriend and they have a long discussion with Yukino's family. He decided to date after Tsubasa's accident because he was scared he would lose the second member of the family (next to his old wife, Tsubasa's mom) and that he needed some help in raising her. Tsubasa still doesn't accept her soon to be mother and they all agree Tsubasa should sleep over for the night. 19. ACT19 西の少年 東の少女 (Boy of the West, Girl of the East): Tsubasa finally understands and forgives his father. They then arrange a dinner where they can meet his girlfriend's son, 一馬 (Kazuma). Tsubasa storms out after he finds out that she's actually older than he is despite being so tiny. Later on, Kazuma meets her out in the street just in the knick of time as some pervert was trying to lure her in. After the incident, he takes her over to his house to have some grub. They have some chit-chat where he explains how he's always wanted a little sister as he's an only child himself. At the very end, the parents get married. 20. ACT20 Telephone Line: Yukino is talking to Arima on the phone. She talks about when Asaba came over and won over her sisters and her mother, much to the disgust of her dad. Before they finish talking, Arima tells Yukino that he's experienced a growth spurt and is a bit taller than he was when they last met. 21. ここより永遠に (From Here to Eternity): The Miyazawa household goes visits their maternal grandfather who doesn't seem to like his son-in-law. Yukino and her father go take a stroll where he explains how he and her mother met, how he was raised by his grandfather as he didn't have parents and how they eventually met again in high school. |
Title: 彼氏彼女の事情 (His and Her Circumstances) Vol. 5 |
少年マガ (Shonen Magazine), '04 Vol 29 & ヤングマガ (Young Magazine), '04 Vol. 29
Yuuko-rin! So School Rumble is set to be made into an anime. Like I mentioned before, I quit reading School Rumble after the 10th or so chapter. Even though it's supposed to be a romantic comedy, it never appealed to me. I am a little envious that they got Yui Horie and Mamiko Noto to play a few of the main characters. Suzuka: ＃１７片想 (Unrequited Love): It's been a week since Yamato joined the track team. Honoka waits patiently outside everyday for Yamato to leave. Yasunobu suggests that she join the track team, but she can't even outrun elementary school kids. Yuuka spots her and invites her over to the public bath. There, she encounters Yamato unexpectedly. Yamato offers to take her home, but along the way, she stops at a store and buys his favorite treat, croquette. She then tells him she's joining the track team. Negima: ５７時間目 流しましょう 特訓の汗 (Let It Flow, the Sweat From Training): Makie prepares herself for training with Negi early in the morning. She has to prepare for her competition, and he has to prepare for his duel with Chachamaru. Negi has brought a special trainer, Ku Fei to help him train. The next day, with only hours left before his duel, Asuna detects that Negi hasn't taken a shower, so she takes him into the girls shower and washes him. Makie also helps out. Ayaka then walks in to the shower room and the two girls try their best to hide Negi, but they fail. Changing Now: ＃８出現！！もう一人のヒーロー (Birth! Another Hero): Hiroshi is convinced that his dad is a super hero and wants to show his friend. They go to his house and has his dad whip out his superhero suit, but looks more like a villian's suit. Dog Fighter comes after hearing people cry out, but to help Hiroshi out, he offers to be defeated by the dad. Tsubasa: ４８ 夢の終わり (The End of the Dream): Seishirou is in a battle with Kuro. Meanwhile, everyone manages to come out of the dream capsules safely, but Sakura is asleep. During their battle, they complement each other's skills. Suddently, Sakura's memory feathers appears out of Seishirou and is followed by the summoning of the ultimate monster, who happens to be Oruha (from Clover). Hamanaka Ai: ０３９ 少年と牛乳 (Boys and Milk): Nakamura comments on how small Masahiko is and tells him that he should drink more milk. He asks his mom, but they're out right now. Of course the gag that he could also get milk from his mom is used. The next day, he asks Misaki for milk as she doesn't seem to be drinking any. His suggestion that she's "small" because she doesn't drink it is met with a tray to the head.
Waka is plastered on most of the color pages. I don't like her lips, they seem wrong. There's also a little article on the live action Bebop Highschool, which I have no idea what it's about. Redlight: 11: After the kiss at sunrise, they continue their date by going to aquarium, walking around, and having some lunch. They end up sitting on a outcropping rocks near the shore. Satoshi finds out that Chiko's real name is 智子 (Tomoko) which shares the same kanji as Satoshi's name. He thinks it's fate and accidentally falls asleep (he's been up all night). When Chiko wakes him up, they see that the tide has come so they're stranded on their rock. Satoshi tries to carry Chiko to the shore, but they both get drenched. Love Lucky: ８夢だと思って (Thinking's It's a Dream): Kirari's manager comes and thinks Fuuta is a stalker, but Kirari convinces him otherwise. Unfortunately, the manager drives the point that the relationship isn't good for her career and before taking her away to do a concert, he tells Fuuta to just forget whatever has happened like it was a dream. At the concert, Kirari doesn't seem to be motivated, but when Fuuta shows up and shouts out, she regains her confidence. xxxHolic: 51: The little girl takes Kimihiro to the place where she's afraid to go alone. The place has voices that cry out, "don't come here." At first Kimihiro wants to obey, but the little girl convinces him to go forth. He then suddenly wakes up outside the bush that engulfed him and has brought the little girl with him. He's holding on to a skeletal hand. Minamike: １０がんばれよ (Do Your Best): It's raining outside. Haruka enjoys the sound of rain, but Kana is already sick and tired of having it rain three days in a row. She has Chiaki dressed as a life-sized Rain Charm. Apparently, the charm works for a bit, but the rain eventually comes back. |
Title: 少年マガジン (Shonen Magazine) Vol. 29
Title: ヤングマガジン (Young Magazine) Vol. 29 |
A.I.が止まらない (Love Won't Stop) Vol. 6
I particularly enjoyed chapters 39 and 40 as it provided something a little more profound than the other chapters. Everything else is the usually episodic comedy. With only two more volumes to go, I wonder if anything more is going to happen or if it's just going to end at that. There's a color page, a bonus chapter where the gang is trying to lose some poundage and a few sketches and merchandise gallery. 38. 野性の呼び方 (The Call of the Wild): Hitoshi, Kikuko, and the three AI beings are out skiing. Forty accidentally injures a baby wolf and takes him in to care for him. Later, they hear that there's a reward out for capturing a genuine Japanese wolf and Twenty is up to turn him in to get the 3 million yen reward. However, Forty (male) won't let him go and instead of just releasing him in the wild where he'll be caught again, they figure out a way to transport him out of the area so he won't get captured. 39. 夢で逢えたら（前編） (If I See You In My Dreams, First Part): Hitoshi has been purusing some sketchy Internet sites and downloading the contents. He gets discovered and quits. Later, Twenty starts getting these dreams where it seems like someone is trying to communicate with her. She remembers the URL from her dream and travels there. She finds an old school house and inside, there's a lady that looks just like her. Before she can talk though, she comes out in foreign house where she finds out that the lady, 石橋 (Ishibashi), who she remembers from her dreams has just recently died. Twenty and Hitoshi know that programs can't have dreams and determine that her dreams are because Hitoshi overwrote some of Thirty's files. 40. 夢で逢えたら（後編） (If I See You In My Dreams, Last Part): Thirty wants to find that school house in real life, but has no luck so Hitoshi posts a question on the web. They get a ton of responses, one of which leads them to the school house which they find out is going to be demolished soon. They head over to the school and Thirty finds a diary from the lady who used to be a school teacher there right before the war. Her wish was to be able to have a graduation ceremony for her students since they never had one. Then, the alumni from that school arrive and see Thirty thinking that she's their old school teacher. On Ishibashi's behalf, Thirty gives them their diplomas. 41. 目指せ！格闘王の道！！ (Onward on the Road to Champions): Hitoshi is out of money so he takes up a part time job programming. The girls also work as models and have to be in a convention. When Hitoshi takes over, he accidentally erases the secret fighting game the company has been working on to debut at the convention. With the help of Thirty and gang, he manages to fake out the crowd. 42. マイ・フェア・レディ (My Fair Lady): Cynthia (Cindy) MacDougal comes into to Hitoshi's workplace and asks to buy the most expensive computer. Hitoshi recommends something more model and goes the extra mile in giving her more specific instructions on the setup. Apparently, Cindy is a famous actor and daughter of IBN's chief and happens to be near Hitoshi's house. Thirty bumps into her and they talk a bit before they meet Hitoshi. Cindy asks Hitoshi for more personalized instruction and brings him and Thirty to her house. While giving her instructions, Hitoshi and Cindy accidentally kiss in front of Thirty. 43. フロム・シンディ (From Cindy): In a jealous fit, Thirty sets up a computer and also asks for instructions. After fighting over Hitoshi for a while, Cindy explains that she just wants to email her dad on his birthday (today) and has always been afraid of the computer after she broke her father's. She types really slow and is in danger of missing the midnight deadline. She finish in time, but then doesn't have his email address. Hitoshi help out by having Thirty pretend to be the computer fairy and helps deliver the mail. |
Title: A.I.が止まらない (Love Won't Stop) Vol. 6 |
夏色の砂時計 (Hourglass of Summer Colors) Remix Soundtrack
There's no cover to this CD as it's bundled together as an artbook, so the scan is of that book. Since the CD is part of the book name and not just a bonus item, I might as well review it as such. The artbook itself is superb, as are all fan books, game, manga, or anime. It's loaded with tons of pictures from the games, as well as pictures from the PC version of the game. In addition to interviews and such, it has a complete walkthrough of the game for each ending. So as a book, it's great. The music is lacking though. The CD is titled "Remix Soundtrack" and comprises of 8 BGM remixes and a remix of the ending song. The ending song doesn't get better and while I like the acoustic feel of the BGM remixes (they're all either guitar or piano solos), for a game like this, synthesizers sound a lot better. For my favorite BGM, Ai's theme, I can barely recognize it in the guitar remix. |
Title: 夏色の砂時計 ビジュアルサウンドファンブック (Hourglass of Summer Colors Visual Sound Fan Book) |
花右京メイド隊 (Hanaukyou Maid Tai) Vol. 5
This volume has a lot more revealing scenes than all the other books combined and it's a little strange given this is a young boy's comic. Most critical parts are covered by steam and mist (while they're washing themselves), but there are a few uncensored parts. None of the chapters in this volume really struck me as interesting. Learning a bit about Ryuka's past was insightful, but I could have guessed her childhood based on her attitude and her current status in her family's group. There's a mini-comic and a chapter that doesn't follow the main storyline. Both of them deal with Konoe. There's also the summary page. 30. 不思議の国のシンシア (Cynthia in Wonderland): In Cynthia's dreams, she and Grace goes on a strange adventure much akin to Alice's. Kotaro is the rabbit who they follow into the hole, Ikuyo plays the mad hatter and Ryuka is the evil queen. 31. イクヨの夏 (Ikuyo's Summer): Ikuyo invites the Go Club to make some money by helping her at Comiket selling her doujinshi manga. They're supposed to dress as maids to attract the men, but she doesn't get much sales. However, seeing their effort reminded her of why she started drawing in the first place. 32. 里帰り (Visiting Home): Ryuka gets a little fed up with the other maids at Hanaukyo so she decides that she wants to go home. When she gets home though, she is reminded of how lonely her life has been and how the Hanaukyo's is like a family to her. So she goes back. 33. 初めてのデート (First Date): Taro sneaks out to go on a date with Mariel. They go to the aquarium, go bowling, and have ramen. Taro thinks he's managed to escape, but Hanaukyo security has been tracking his moves and the whole squad appears out of nowhere to help him when he's in danger. 34. 正式訪問 (Formal Visit): Ryuka's sister, Shizuka comes to Hanaukyo mansion to pay a visit to her sister. She takes a tour of the mansion, snuggles up to Taro, pulls the plug out on Grace's mainframe, and loses a fight again Yashima. Before she leaves, she has a talk with Ryuka about her duty as the leader of the family's group. Shizuka later shows up again much to Ryuka's displeasure. 35. お風呂談義 (Bathing Monologue): What starts out first as a private bath with Yashima and Konoe turns into a a party when all the main girls and some other maids join in. They start talking about what kind of guys they like which causes a riot in the outdoor spring. Mariel doesn't reveal her likes. |
Title: 花右京メイド隊 (Hanaukyo Maid Tai) Vol. 5 |
夏色の砂時計 (Hourglass of Summer Colors) LE
This game has quite a seiyuu cast. There's Masayo Kurata (also known as Shinobu and Karinka), Inoue Kikuko (Belldandy), Fumiko Orikasa (Chise), and Nana Mizuki (Nyamo). One of the best things about this game is that it's *fully* voiced. Kiminozo was silent during Takayuki's speech and thoughts. Air is a little better (from what I've played so far as I'm just starting it after this game). In Air, the thoughts are silent, but anything in quotes is spoken by the main character. This game is all voiced, thoughts and speech from all characters. I only played one of the possible endings. The ending I got was the good ending with the main character, Kaho (pictured on the cover). The story is a little confusing at times since it involves time travel and of course, there's always those unresolved paradoxes (unless you assume parallel universes, but that's another topic). So the story starts out as you, being Kotaro, going to sleep sometime in July, near the end of the semester and then all of a sudden waking up in September where you find out that Kaho has been killed. From there, you jump around different times trying to find out how you can prevent her death. The fellow characters include Ai, who is the girl next door that you've grown up with together, Takeshi, who's your senpai in the boxing club, Tomo-chan, one of your teachers, Maya, a freshwoman swimmer who somehow manages to get involved in this whole fiasco, and then there's Regen who is a Time Patroller from somewhere who can travel back and forth through time and is helping you solve this mystery. All the characters above are female except for Takeshi. Like I mentioned, the cast has some heavy hitters. I could recognize Masayo's squeaky voice pretty quickly, but was really surprised with the others. I've never heard Nana talk in soft voice. I'm used to her having that sharp, high pitched, piercing sound. I will always remember Fumiko as the Ultimate Weapon, so I couldn't wrap my head around her playing the happy-go-lucky Regen. The artwork is okay, but not as good as Kiminozo. Maybe I'm just nit-picking, but the characters just don't seem "right." I think their necks are a bit too long. The music, as I mentioned from the CD review, is enjoyable. I don't particularly like the intro and ending songs, but the tunes are pleasant. The first edition comes with a trading card and a bonus drama CD w/the intro song. There's three versions of the intro song, a long (full), short (tv-sized) and the karaoke track. The drama CD has Ai narrating an event that happened a year before this current story takes place. Regen arrives in front of Kotaro's house but Ai catches her and takes her around. Regen meets all the girls will be involved in Kotaro's story. However, after talking to them, she realizes that she came a year too early. Doesn't add much to the main story, but it's an interesting supplemental. During the first part of the game, the story is to figure out that you're involved in this "day-dropping" as they call it. When you go to sleep at night, strange colors and smells come about and that's when you know you've "jumped." The story then moves into you befriending Kaho and eventually making her your girlfriend. Regen arrives and tells you that you need to prevent her death and tells you that she gets in an accident because she wanted to see you and a fellow schoolmate, Mana is involved. So you go and befriend Mana, preventing her from having her own accident. After solving Mana's problems, Regen tells you that Kaho still dies, this time she gets hit by some guy and your teacher, Tomo-chan is in the car. So you help Tomo-chan figure out who's the person that's going to be driving her (turns out to be a stalker). After all that, you're told that she still gets in an accident because she was waiting for you at the train station. You tell her that you don't want to see her until September, thus jeopardizing the relationship but hopefully preventing her from leaving the house on the 8/31st (when the accident will happen). Of course, love has no restraints and Ai accidentally tells her that you want to meet here there...As Kaho is running towards you, a car speeds down the street and the last thing you hear is the screeching of the tires. But of course, you know how this story is going to end. It's a romance story after all. Rating: 3/4 |
After almost 2 months, I've finally finished it. Being a visual novel and all, it takes a while since I can usually dedicate at most 30 minutes per night. |
彼氏彼女の事情 (His and Her Circumstances) Vol. 4
So the story progresses, much as I remember from the anime. I could never remember the names of Tsubasa's three friends when I was watching the show. Hopefully my memory for Japanese names has improved since then. There's a bonus one-shot manga from 1993-ish involving aliens and spaceships. Very strange for it to be included in a manga like this. Like before, there's also letters and some 4 panel comics. 13. ACT13 たたかう女(2) (Fighting Girl 2): In addition to Maho and a class that's giving her the silent treatment, a new girl shows up at school in class "D." Her name is 芝姫つばさ (Tsubasa Shibahime). She's very cute, but is also very evil towards Yukino as she also has a crush on Arima. Yukino finds out that Tsubasa has been in the hospital for a long time and has finally been discharged. Despite having been caught bullying Yukino, Tsubasa continues. Her 3 friends apologize for her and quickly befriend Yukino. Maho sees that Yukino is coming in favor with her schoolmates and isn't happy about it. 14. ACT14 たたかう女(2) (Fighting Girl 3): It's becoming apparent to both her teacher and Arima that there's something strange going on with Yukino and her classmates. Yukino insists that she resolve the issue herself. Again, Tsubasa attacks Yukino, but Yukino is a bit too fast for her. Tsubasa's three friends properly introduce themselves; 佐倉椿 (Tsubaki Sakura), 瀬奈りか (Rika Sena), and 沢田亜弥 (Aya Sawada). Yukino has her confrontation with Maho and gets slapped. Yukino now knows that she has the winning hand. 15. ACT15 たたかう女(2) (Fighting Girl 4): The classmates are slowly realizing that they've been used by Maho. Meanwhile, Arima dropped his id wallet with Yukino's picture in it. Tsubasa finds this and throws the picture in the incinerator waiting to be burned. Yukino finds out about this and goes on a rampage after Tsubasa. Tsubasa finally explains her true feelings for Arima and how he never responded to her come-ons in the past. After this incident, Tsubasa and Yukino are on a little better terms and the class apologizes for ignoring her. Yukino also makes Maho a friend. 16. ACT16 一学期の終わりに (At the End of First Semester): It's the start of summer vacation and Yukino is looking forward to spending her first vacation with a boyfriend. She has various ideas of what she wants to do together, but unfortunately, Arima has an inter-high school kendo competition that he has to go train for so he can't be with her until after the tournament. |
Title: 彼氏彼女の事情 (His and Her Circumstances) Vol. 4 |
花右京メイド隊 (Hanaukyou Maid Tai) Vol. 4
A few good chapters, nothing significant. The softball chapter brings out more of Mariel's character. She's been awfully obedient the past few books, so it's refreshing to see that she can get annoyed at times. There are two bonus chapters, one of which I particularly like as it involves another one of Ikuyo's contraptions, this time a pair of glasses that act as surveillance cameras. The other one might be foreshadowing something in the future, but given that it's not included as part of the storyline, I'm a little wary. There's also a few pages in the back that deal with the mysteries of Hanaukyo Mansion. The cover looks a bit strange, but that's how it is. I bought this book at $1 from Bookoff thinking that it was just a little sunburnt (hence, the reduced price), but then I saw it at a regular bookstore and it looked just the same. 25. 帰ってきた理由 (The Reason for Coming Back): Despite being the head of her corporation, Ryuka has come back to the Hanaukyo house as she doesn't want to be left out of the manga. However, there's no job in the house for her. She tries to find something to do, but gets kicked out of every position she tries out for. Finally, the "yes" maids take her in (I think that's who there job is). 26. 予算争奪戦！！ (Budgetary Contest): It's time for the annual softball game amongst the different groups of maids in the household. Yashima, Taro, and Mariel join the "Go Club" team. As they play against Ikuyo's team, Yashima performs exceptionally well as a pitcher. Ikuyo has her own tricks in pitching, but it's foiled by Mariel who slugs the ball home. 27. コノヱ対マリエル！！ (Konoe Against Mariel): The finals of the tournament is between the "Go Club" and the security team, a la Konoe. After some early runs, Konoe comes to pitch and consistently strikes out the batters, including Mariel who seems to get more and more annoyed that she can't get a hit. During the final inning, Konoe's throws 12 balls leading up to the bases being loaded and Mariel at the plate. She tries to intentionally walk her, but Mariel winds up and slams the out out of the park. Her team wins. 28. １０番勝負 (Tenth Game): Ryuka wonders why Mariel is qualified to be the head maid, so she challenges her to a series of trials. At first, Mariel wins as the content involves typical household activities. However, during the last few contentes, Ryuka wins as they're more involved in attacks and violence. The 10th battle is a struggle in the pool where Ryuka manages to pull Mariel's headband and top off. Mariel accepts defeat, but it's a meaningless victory for Ryuka. 29. コノヱリーナ！！ (Konoe): Yashima, who has a serious crush on Konoe, gets to spend a day shopping with her. Konoe's reveals much of her hidden femininity when they're shopping for clothes. |
Title: 花右京メイド隊 (Hanaukyo Maid Tai) Vol. 4 |
夏色の砂時計 (Hourglass of Summer Colors) Game Sound Collection
This is the soundtrack to the game, PS2 in my case. I spent the past few days playing the game so I could finally finish it. Now that I have, I can finally go through the CDs and stuff. I'll do a review of the game later after I listen to the bonus drama CD that comes with the first edition of the game. The soundtrack has the same problem with Kiminozo where the sound doesn't loop too well in the game. Maybe it's a problem with all romantic adventure games? Dunno. Anyhow, the tunes for this game are pretty well done. All the theme melodies for the different characters stand out. My particular favorites are the theme melodies for Ai and Kaho, both the original and the music box versions...especially Ai's. I could listen to it all day. Only the ending song is provided in this CD. The intro song is provided on the bonus CD with the game. I'm not all that fond of the intro/ending songs though. The packaging is pretty bare too with interviews with the staff as the only feature. |
Title: 夏色の砂時計 サウンドコレクション (Hourglass of Summer Colors, Sound Collection) |
妹 (Akane) Vol. 10
I love reading this book because it goes by so fast. Little bite-sized chapters that are quick to finish. However, the story seems to be stuck at this point where Akane and Shinpei can't progress in their relationship. The next big event that going to happen is with Mio's pregnancy and eventually Akane's return to her biological mom. But as it is now, nothing much is happening except for some funny episodes. The color page in front has Akane in a cheerleading outfit. 100. あの人ほ姿を。。。 (That Person's Figure): There are little lizards running around the house. Meanwhile, Shinpei has received an invitation to Nanako's concert (remember her?) that she's performing back in Japan. As Akane tries to dress, the lizards crawl into the underwear she's wearing. They manage to attend the concert though. 101. 菜々子のキモチ (Nanako's Feelings): After the concert, Nanako talks to them and explains that she's on a world tour. After they go home, Akane teases Shinpei about still having feelings for Nanako. 102. A Mother's Day: In Italy, Akane's biological mother is spending mother's day thinking of the day she'll be reunited with Akane. At home, Rei plays around with Akane and makes her dress in an apron...only. Afterwards, Shinpei and Akane go get flowers to put at their mom's grave. Akane says that the only mother she has is buried there. 103. エステでスリム！ (Slim at the Beauty Salon): A little disturbed that Shinpei doesn't take notice of her, Akane asks Rei for some help and so Rei hires two Chinese masseuse to come and give Akane a full body job. Those two girls however, get too carried away with Akane's nice body. 104. 追憶の雨の中 (In the Reminiscent Rain): Shinpei, Akane, and the gang from work are out camping. Akane and Shinpei see that a little girl has dropped her hat into the river, so they go after it. They finally catch it, but then it starts raining so they find some shelter. Akane then remembers that they had this type of situation before and even though she was afraid of thunder at the time, she felt safe with him. 105. ヤキモチの贈り物 (Gift of Jealousy): Shinpei suddenly has colon problems and is hospitalized. At the hospital, he can't seem to take his eyes off the nurse and gets markedly excited when he sees the nurses underwear. Akane sees this and dresses like like a nurse. When she's caught causing too much of a ruckus, she takes her underwear off and gives it to Shinpei. 106. チュー 夏ぱ〜てぃ！ (Kiss, Summer Party!): Rei takes Akane to find some new bathing suits and brings Shinpei along. Later, Shinpei has a talk with Mio and asks that she allow Akane to witness the childbirth so that she'll understand how a mother feels when giving birth and the love she gives to the baby. 107. Baby A (Baby Akane): Being a little envious of Mio, Akane says she wants a baby. She tries to get Shinpei to help her have a baby, but of course she gets denied so she has Shinpei dress as a baby. Things fall apart when she wants to experience breast feeding. 108. Loving 夏祭 (Loving Summer Festival): They all go to the summer festival. Akane and Shinpei play with some firecrackers in their back yard where she gives him a kiss. 109. Heart Beat: Shinpei gets himself a little hurt outside the school while fixing a car, so Akane secretly brings him into the nurses room at the all-girls school for some bandages. There, she has Shinpei use the stethoscope on her. |
Title: 妹 (Akane) Vol. 10 "Loving 夏祭 (Summer Festival)" |
A.I.が止まらない (Love Won't Stop) Vol. 5
I would have really hated to read this in weekly magazine form. It looks like they jumped to different publications for these few chapters from the weekly to the monthly version. It was because of this that I stopped reading School Rumble. This volume was entertaining. No plot advances, but some cute situations with Hitoshi and the gang. There's a special chapter in here that I accidentally wrote up (I usually only do numbered chapters). There's also a bunch of commentary by Ken Akamatsu along with a new sketch of the librarian, Yuko. Special Program: 憧れのハワイ航路 (The Cherished Path to Hawaii): Hitoshi and his programs go to the beach. He finds out about a competition where the winner will get something that has the word "Hawaii" in it. He assumes that it's a trip to the island, so he participates with Thirty. Twenty also has her own ambitions and joins the competition with the male version of Forty. The two couples become finalists and Twenty/Forty get disqualified after Forty transforms into a girl. Hitoshi wins some Hawaiian chocolates. 32. 失恋に乾杯？ (Cheers to Unrequited Love?): Twenty hasn't been having the best of luck with guys lately and has come home drunk in despair. To lift her spirits, Hitoshi dresses Thirty to look like a guy and have her date Twenty to raise her confidence. Everything seems to go well until Twenty gets Thirty drunk and she reveals all. 33. 小さな胸を痛めて (My Small Chest Pains): The school's student librarian, 渡辺裕子 (Yuko Watanabe) asks Hitoshi to help her fix a little data mishap. Hitoshi sends Thirty inside the computer network while testing his new VR glasses and glove. The next day though, a virus has taken over the school's computer system. The culprit is the librarian who injected the virus so that it would inflate her body stats in the school records (i.e. making her bust a bigger). 34. 愛していると言ってくれ！？ (Tell Me That You Love Me!?): Thirty and Twenty aren't around so Hitoshi convinces Forty (male) to participate in the dating sim that he's currently playing. Things start acting strange as weird things happen just as Forty is having encounters with the various CG girls. Finally, Thirty appears in the game and the two guys are caught red-handed. 35. ただ今 修行中 (In the Midst of Training): Because of Hitoshi's perverted attitude, Twenty attaches this belt that automatically detects his sexual thoughts and gives him a whacking right between the legs. He's allotted 30 thoughts/whackings before the thing just explodes. He doesn't even go through the whole day before he's at 29. He begs Twenty to remove it because he doesn't want to be blown up, so Twenty tells him that the key to the belt is somewhere on Thirty's body and that he has to feel around blindfolded to get it. There's an explosion and Hitoshi ends up in the hospital bed. 36. ひさしぶりの I miss you (Long Awaited I miss you): It's Christmas Eve and Hitoshi doesn't get presents as none of the girls requested it. However, he gets a dating sim for himself along with other computer parts from Akihabara. He excuses himself early from the dinner table to go to his room and Thirty concludes that he's there to play his perverted games rather than given presents and spending time with him. She kicks him out of the house on Christmas Eve. Come midnight, Twenty finds Hitoshi outside and gives him a laptop which he uses to communicate with Thirty. He's forgiven and he gives Thirty some jewelry upgrades, which was what he was working on, not playing his game (the game was never opened, they later found). 37. 許されざる者達 (Unforgiven People): Thirty and Hitoshi go to their relatives Shrine. Forty and Twenty say they're at home, but actually sneak to the Shrine to help Thirty and Hitoshi gets some love love action. Their original plan was to film them, but eventually get the trick played on them as the population at the Shrine decide to play a prank and scare them with the legend of the black cat. |
Title: A.I.が止まらない (Love Won't Stop) Vol. 5 |
少年マガ (Shonen Magazine), '04 Vol 28 & ヤングマガ (Young Magazine), '04 Vol. 28
No Tsubasa in this week's issue, but they promise a full color page next week. No women in this week's issue either. Negima: ５６時間目 ネギとまき絵と弟子入りテスト (Negi, Makie, and Apprenticeship test): Makie daydreams about winning the national championships. However, she motivation is crushed when she overhears Sizuna and another teacher, 二ノ宮 (Ninomiya) talk about how she dances like a child on the mat. The next morning as she does her jog, she spots Negi practicing Kung Fu. Eva and her robotic partner appear and she issues a test in order for Negi to be her apprentice. He has to lay a punch of her partner, Chachamaru. Negi loses the first time and he's given a second chance on Sunday and midnight. Hearing this, Makie tries to help him. She first brings him lunch, but Negi get's too fat for his own good. Thinking that she's not good at anything, she explains to them about her child-like appearance. Asuna and friends asks to see the routine, and are thoroughly impressed. With renewed confidence, both Makie and Negi look forward to their challenges. Suzuka: ＃１６距離 (Distance): Yamato is at the track practice. He meets a fellow teammate, 羽柴美紀 (Miki Hashiba) who explains how she's heard a lot about him through Suzuka. While he starts really strong, the first day of practice wears him out to where he has to be carried off by Yasunobu and Honoka. Meanwhile, Suzuka acts as if she expected him not to be able to handle it. Changing Now: ＃７恐怖 悪魔の棲む家 (Fear, The Place Where the Devil Lives): Takeko has managed to invite over the boy she likes to watch a movie at her place. She comes home early to clean up, only to find that her dad, Dog Fighter has invited the English-Speaking baddie. During the boy's stay, the two scare the heck out of him. Hamanaka Ai: ０３８ ８年くらい前の告白 (Confession From About 8 Years Ago): Misaki and Ayana get their results, and they have a tie. Nakamura suggests that for a tie breaker, they reveal who their first loves were. Masahiko tells them that Misaki's first love was her father.
3 of the series that I follow didn't show up this week, so there's only one summary here. Fortunately, there are a few 4 panel comics and my other un-written series that I follow so this magazine isn't that much of a waste. This issue finishes the Morning Musume card set and provides a little fold-up box to store them in. Feature girl is 柴田あゆみ (Ayumi Shibata) along with a healthy serving of 岩佐真悠子 (Mayuko Iwasa). Redlight: 10: Chiko comes by in a rented truck and takes Satoshi on a mini-trip to the oceanside to the sunrise. Satoshi tells her that he's been here during one of his school trips in the past. Chiko tells him that she never went on the trip because she got in a fight with another kid the day before. They watch the sun rise hand-in-hand and kiss each other. |
Title: 少年マガジン (Shonen Magazine) Vol. 28
Title: ヤングマガジン (Young Magazine) Vol. 28 |
魔法遣いに大切なこと２ (Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto 2) Vol. 1
Finally, a "sequel" to Someday Dreamers. The title no longer sports the English title though, so I can't call it that, but it's from the same author and artist as the original. The characters are completely different in this series. Rather than having Yume (trans. "Dream"), we have Nami (trans. "Wave"). And like Yume, Nami also speaks with an accent. The story is set in Nagasaki, so I guess that's the accent she speaks with. The story I feel is a little slower that the previous. Rather than making magic the focus, it focuses a lot on the relationships between the people. Hopefully magic will become a bigger factor in the second volume. Bonuses are 4 color pages in the front, and then a map of the real life places that this story takes place. This volume is also size B-6 rather than the A-5 of the first series. I don't mind, but I would have very much like it to be consistent. 1. 光と風と夢 (The Light, Wind, and Dreams): 松尾ナミ (Nami Matsuo) is entering her last year of high school. She not all that great in academics, but she loves photography. Lost amist the cherry blossoms she's taking pictures of, a motorcycle comes zooming by and the driver wipes out to avoid her. Being a mage, she also has magic abilities, but she's not good at it and fails when she tries repairing the bike. As the driver leaves, he drops his student id. At home, she lives with her mom, her dad (who sometime is on vacation), and her brother, 秀樹 (Hideki). She doesn't seem to have an interest in becoming a professional, licensed mage despite her abilities. At school, she's been elected class leader and has an array of friends, 森山理恵子 (Rieko Moriyama), 渡辺千花 (Chika Watanabe) and 林田康平 (Kohei Hayashida, fellow photographer). She also has an apparent rival, 浜浦香代子 (Kayoko Hamaura). There's also a new student in class, 富永龍太郎 (Ryutaro Tominaga) who Nami recognizes as the biker. When Kohei tries to take a picture of him, Ryutaro grabs the camera and rips out the film. 2. 見えない明日 (Unforeseeable Tomorrow): Ryutaro doesn't show up to class most of the time, but shows up when there's an individual meeting with the teacher to talk about after-high school plans. Ryutaro explains that he just wants to find a job, despite his teacher saying that he should think about college as he has good grades. The other students have their own ambitions, all except for Nami who still doesn't know what she wants to do. 3. １８歳の地図 (18-Year-Old Map): It's Nami's 18th birthday and friends and family celebrate. However, Nami doesn't like this day as her parents have always given her presents that concern magic. Whether it's a how-to guide to becoming a mage, a video, or even a toy ring. She leaves her family's celebration to go to her secret place and finds that Ryutaro is there. She discovers he's not at school because he's working to pay for the repairs to his bike. She explains to him her situation. As they're leaving, he tells her to take care of her mother. 4. 愚図 (Fret): Nami, being the class leader, is called to bring Ryutaro's returned papers to his house. She goes there and finds that no one is home. She looks at his marks, all of which are in the high 80s and 90s. She goes to a church nearby and sees girl, すもも (Sumomo), who draws very well. The nun explains that she's mute so that's why she keeps to herself. Back at school, Ryutaro shows up again, this time hiding a puppy in his backpack. He found it injured on the way to school, so he thought he would take care of him. When he first came to class, he was pretty violent (with the film thing and all), but now classmates realize that he's quite a gentle person. Kayoko talks with him, and Nami feels uneasy seeing the two of them. 5. 心からの言葉 (Words From the Heart): As always, Kayoko picks on Nami and teases her about her magical abilities. Nami returns to the church to be with Sumomo. While playing with her, Sumomo almost drowns. As Nami is taking Sumomo back to the church, she meets Ryutaro and finds out that Sumomo is his little sister. Ryutaro becomes all huffy and tells Nami never to visit them again. Nami is left brokenhearted as she realizes she's in love with Ryutaro. |
Title: 魔法遣いに大切なこと: 太陽と風の坂道 (Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto: The Sun and the Breezy Hill Road) Vol. 1 |
Quantum Leap Such memories. I got the first season box for Quantum Leap today and started watching the first episode. It's so 80's but that gives it a good sense of nostalgia. Having it projected in my theater with a 100" screen and surround sound (psuedo, since this is stereo source) made the experience pretty incredible. I really have to finish Natsuiro PS2. That thing's holding me up from opening the anime OVA DVD, a soundtrack CD, two drama CDs, and a manga that I've had since March or so. |
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彼氏彼女の事情 (His and Her Circumstances) Vol. 3
The volume spent an awful lot of pages on just a little conference with the teacher. I guess it's important, but it kinda dragged on and on. Meanwhile, Maho is introduced, which signals the part in the anime where it started going downhill. It looks pretty similar right now, but I hope the degradation was because the anime veered away from the manga. Bonus includes letters and some 4 panel comics. 4. ACT8 カミナリ鳴って（１） (The Thunder Sounds, 1): In the exams, Arima has dropped to #3 but Yukino suffers a bigger drop, all the way down to #13 in her class. Because of their sudden shortcomings, the teacher calls both of them into the office to let them know that they shouldn't date as it looks like it's affecting their grades. 5. ACT9 カミナリ鳴って（２） (The Thunder Sounds, 2): During the conference, the teacher tells them that they should date when they're in college. Right now, it's too much of a risk. Arima assures him that they'll do better next time. However, the teacher is quite persistent and calls a parent-teacher meeting. 6. ACT10 カミナリ鳴って（３） (The Thunder Sounds, 3): The Arima Family and the Miyazawa Family meet at school. The teacher repeats the same thing. Yukino's father tells him that he doesn't mind Yukino's actions as she's been independent all her life. The same goes with Arima's parents. 7. ACT11 その日、宮沢雪野は (On That Day, Yukino Miyazawa...): Arima has the house all to himself, or so Yukino thinks, and they arrange a study session. Asaba is there initially, but he gets kicked out pretty soon. In the house, after some studying, they're alone and Arima shows Yukino how much he loves her and gives her a kiss. 8. ACT12 たたかう女 (Fighting Girl): One of the girls in class, 真帆 (Maho), makes the girls second doubt Yukino. She makes them turn against her by making them realize that Yukino is occupying two of the most popular guys in class. While Yukino at first bears this, she resolves to settle the score, even if it means not playing nice. |
Title: 彼氏彼女の事情 (His and Her Circumstances) Vol. 3 |
こどものおもちゃ (Child's Toy) Vol. 3
Pretty good volume. The mystery surrounding Sana's mother has been revealed and we find out who Sana ultimately decides to stay with. The introduction of a new character adds a little humor into Sana's and Hayama's relationship as the friend is best friends with Sana, but enemy with Hayama. These re-releases contain are plenty of colorful artwork used in the magazine throughout the years. There's a few bonus comics and an interview with the author about the uniforms in the story. Major events in this chapter are that Sana's true mom comes forth and meets the daughter she left behind. They talk a bit and Sana finds out that she has a real family now with kids. In the end though, Sana decides to stay with her adopted mom. Meanwhile, the kids are now going onto middle school. It's an escalator school, so she's set all the way up to college. Most of her classmates are familiar, but there's a new student, 松井風花 (Fuka Matsui) from Western Japan (Osaka maybe?). Apparently she used to live in the area but moved. However, she has clear memories of her time here and remembers how Hayama stole her first kiss. Hayama later decides to go train in the martial arts and at the end of the volume, departs to go train for a few months. |
Title: こどものおもちゃ (Child's Toy) Vol. 3 |
妹 (Akane) Vol. 9
This series became a little more "revealing." For the most part, the character Akane has been quite covered, but in this volume, every other chapter seems to have a chest-shot. It is a seinen manga after all, but I don't think it's that necessary. The story is holding steady with no major surprises. There's a color page of Akane in underwear on the first page. 90. あふたーすくーる (After School): Shinpei mistakenly comes to school thinking it's parents visit day. Akane's teacher allows her to give Shinpei a tour of the girl's school regardless and the tour ends with the two of them almost kissing in the library. 91. レイ・センセーション (Rei Sensation): Akira takes Shinpei to a gentlemen's club where Shinpei sees a girl named "Akane." She turns out to be Rei, who used to be a childhood friend of Shinpei and Akane and uses the nickname "Akane" at work. Apparently, the two girls have had a rocky relationship and it still persists today. 92. レイにお・ま・か・せ (Leave it to Rei): It's been six years since Rei has been in contact so she doesn't know about Shinpei and Akane's mother's death. She stays over at their house and discusses a little history. Rei comments on how sexy Akane has become. 93. あかねを。。。 (To Akane...): Rei brings over some old video tapes with all of them together. This gets Akane interested in filming their current lives. Later that night when she falls asleep, Shinpei puts in their newly recorded tape to find a message from Akane saying that she wants the two of them to always be together. Shinpei cries because he knows they can't. 94. Innocent You〜無邪気な君〜: Shinpei and Akane go strawberry picking and then at the beach alone. 95. 女の子の思い (A Little Girl's Memory): Mio and her husband give Shinpei some advice about Akane and how he should go for it. At home, Rei is playing around with Akane teasing her about her crush. 96. Kissの世界 (A World of Kiss): Akane has fallen asleep on the front porch. When Shinpei came back, he sees her and is tempted to kiss her, but stops just a few centimeters short of her lips. 97. ナナホシテントウ (Ladybug): Akane tells Shinpei that she wants a kiss from him. He refuses the first time. Later, Akane has a talk with Rei and discuss their childhood when Akane told her that she wanted to be Shinpei's bride. Afterwards at at picnic, Akane steals a kiss from Shinpei. 98. Dear My Angel: Akane, Emily, and Marina are shopping and see a ring designed by Akane's biological mom. Marina is still naive to the whole situation, but when Emily sees that Akane pays no attention to it, she knows that Akane must know and not really like her mom. 99. イジラレたいの (I Want to be Teased): A racer, 速見光司 (Koji Hayami) drops by the shop and spots Akane. He immediately falls in love with her and asks that she be the race queen for his team. He has her dress in skimpy race queen outfits. |
Title: 妹 (Akane) Vol. 9 "Dear My Angel" |
マブラヴ (Muv-Luv) OP Single
This CD comes with 2 songs and their respective karaoke tracks. I wasn't all that interested in the MuvLuv theme as I've never played the game before. It sounds okay, but without knowing the context, it's hard to appreciate the song. The other song on the CD is what I bought it for. It has Haruka's version of the game ending theme. As much as I like rino (original vocalist) and her songs she does as the group CooRie (Narue, Nanaka 6/17, etc...), Minami's version is a step above. rino has a somewhat dry and wispy voice whereas Minami's is quite strong, and for this song, it really drives the emotions through. Now if they would only release the intro theme with the karaoke version... |
Title: マブラヴ (Muv-Luv) OP Single |
私の狼さん (My Wolf) The Other Side of Lycanthorpe
I really should have read this volume before I read Dear vol. 3. This volume ties together the characters of My Wolf and Dear (early volumes). It doesn't add to the stories in the other books, but utilizes the characters so at least I know they're living in the same world. There's two bonus 1-chapter stories, a color page, and a letter from the author, who I believe was still a teenage the time he wrote this volume. 1. プリノ (Prino), the general but a klutz at that, has just been exposed to the mummy of Lycanthrope (with only the decomposed hand showing) and is now cursed and will turn into a puppy if she's not cured. Occasionally she will start barking and then the next moment, she'll return not remember what just happened. So Kurenai and Carol (from the first My Wolf) take her to see the king (Subaru from the early volumes of Dear). 2. They go to the place the king is supposed to be, but he's not there so the three of them head into town. There, they hear about a Snow Witch who is causing some trouble. Prino wanders and gets lost. While she's lost, she gets lost in her thoughts remembering how much of a klutz she is. She meets Komomo and initially thinks she's the witch, but later finds out that she's a hero in training. The real witch shows up and Subaru defeats her. 3. Currently, Prino is in her puppy state, so they have to wait for her to return before Subaru can cure her. They wait and wait, but she doesn't return. They wonder if she doesn't want to come back. We then get a glimpse into her mind where she feels like she doesn't want to return to reality. Kurenai and Carol are able to call out to her and rescue her from the depths of her conscience. When she returns, Subaru cures her with a tap of his hand. |
Title: 私の狼さん (My Wolf) The Other Side of Lycanthorpe |
まぶらほ (Maburaho) Vol. 3 LE
After 3 weeks without watching anime, this episode made me realize how much I love this stuff. The two episodes included are typical harem/love comedy episodes, but pretty good ones at that. The bonus items in this LE include a Rin keyholder, picture cards, a puzzle, school newsletter, and a drama CD. The drama CD is a 10 minute talk by the classmates who are happy that they finally get some attention, but they squander the time arguing who should be the main character in the CD. 5. できちゃった (I Could Do It): A classmate who Rin seems to like is moving away so as a parting gift, she wants to make him a lunch. She has observed that he likes "proper" girls so the night before, she seeks some help from Kuriko and Yuna to become a regular girl who can cook. 6. ばれちゃった (Revealed): Apparently, Kazuki's parents are coming over to visit him so the three girls think this is their chance to impress them. The parents like eel, so Kuriko and Yuna try to prepare some eel dishes while Rin tries her best to be a Yamatonadeshiko (traditional Japanese women). Yuna is afraid of eels though, but gets support from Kazuki in dealing with her fears. Unfortunately, the parents can't make it this time. |
Title: まぶらほ (Maburaho) Vol. 3 LE |
花右京メイド隊 (Hanaukyou Maid Tai) Vol. 3
A fun volume, nothing really deep except for maybe the foreshadowing that goes on with Mariel near the end of the book. There are a bunch of character profiles interspersed throughout the book as well as a summary of the story so far. 18. とってもお似合いですわ (It Really Suits You): Ikuyo thinks that Taro doesn't appreciate the hardships of being a maid so she makes him dress up as a maid and do some chores. He passes off very well as a female worker but eventually gets caught as an unknown employee. He tries to run again, but is saved by Mariel who recognizes him immediately. Soon after, the other girls catch him red-handed in a woman's uniform. 19. 早苗が名字で八島名前です（前編） (Last Name is Sanae, First Name is Yashima, First Part): 早苗八島 (Yashima Sanae) was in charge of security during Konoe's recovery from her injuries at the end of last book. She's apparently very protective of Konoe and when she hears that Konoe is taking Taro go the mountains to train, she ditches her post and sneaks off to keep an eye on Taro. She does her best to hide from Konoe and Taro, but gets caught. 20. 早苗が名字で八島が名前です （後編） (Last Name is Sanae, First Name is Yashima, Last Part): Yashima lets Konoe train alone as she offers to "take care" of Taro. She makes him go many crazy things, but he doesn't seem care. Her attitude changes when she sees how dedicated he is when he refuses to leave her behind on the mountainside. 21. 耳寄りなお話 (Words of Encouragement): Ikuyo is a little fed up with Taro's non-progress in romance, so she zaps him with a little gun she made which makes him act like a love-sick and perverted monkey. While she scares the wits out of the other maids, Mariel apparently has the power to charm him and make him return to normal. 22. 未確認生体 (Unidentified Creature): In the basement where Ikuyo lives and studies, she's discovered a hairy 4-eyed monster roaming around. The guards, lead by Konoe, explore and find out that it's only Cynthia (without her bonnet) holding a little puppy. 23. 黒髪のマリエル！？ (Black Haired Mariel!?): As Konoe explores some more, she finds a secret underground house that has a large portrait of a black-haired girl that looks awfully like Mariel. She asks Grace to investigate. Meanwhile, as Taro is spending time with Mariel, she falls into this blank stare and then snaps out of it. 24. ムニュムニュうりゅうりゅ (Squeeze, Squeeze): The other maids "play" with Yashima in the hot springs because she's different; she has red eyes, silver hair, and dark skin. Ryuka has ascended to the top of her company and pays Taro a visit. |
Title: 花右京メイド隊 (Hanaukyo Maid Tai) Vol. 3 |
ネギま！ ８月：長谷川千雨 (Negima! August: Hasegawa Chisame) CD Single
This CD is quite interesting. The two sides of Chisame (the serious recluse) and her other life, Chiu (the Internet Idol). The seiyuu, Yumi, performs her two personalities with completely different voices. As Chisame, her voice is low and serious, at times it sounds evil. But when she's Chiu, it's high pitched and cute. The first track has disgrunted Chisame showing contempt towards the previous character CDs. The song included this time is okay. The song is sung as Chiu, so it's supposed to be really cute. The tune is good, but the lyrics seem kinda dull. Like the others, they describe the character. The remixed version is about the same in my opinion. The drama is where this CD shines. It has Chisame coming home from school with her new costume (which was accidentally switched with the cheerleading uniforms from last CD). She answers fan-email given comments as Chisame, but responding as Chiu. As she's taking pictures of herself to post on her web page, Sakurako comes by to see if Chisame has her uniform. Chisame tries to pretend that she's not home so she won't be discovered as having this alternative lifestyle. In her panic to hide, she messes up her computer and related equipment. The cast talk has only Yumi, so she has a more personal message much like Akemi's and Ai's for Asuna and Konoka. She sounds very "valley-ish" (if that word even applies to Japanese speakers). First edition comes with a Chisame tarot card. |
Title: 魔法先生ネギま！ ８月：長谷川千雨 (Magic Teacher Negima! August: Hasegawa Chisame) |
彼氏彼女の事情 (His and Her Circumstances) Vol. 2
The manga hasn't strayed much from the anime yet. One thing that I get bogged down with is all the little text outside the text bubbles. They're usually using handwritten fonts or just handwriting themselves, which makes it a little harder for me to read. I do enjoy them though, since that's almost like how I write. I like to write a lot of parenthetical text (for context, just like this) which I believe is what those handwriting texts do for manga. There are little letters from the author interspersed in the book as well as a comic at the end. There's also a full alternate story chapter with the characters. 4. ACT4 恋になる日 (The Day We Fell In Love): Yukino is having regrets about not responding to Arima's confession. She loves him, but hasn't told him. So, she tries various ways to get him alone so she can confess to him, but her plans are always thwarted. When she's finally asked, Yukino for some reason can't answer and just runs away. The next day in homeroom though, Arima grabs her hand and that's when she knew they started dating. 5. ACT5 学校迷路 (School Maze): Although they're going out, Yukino hasn't seen much of Arima so she tries to find him. Since the school athletic festival is just a few days away, he's been real busy and is hard to get a hold of. She is finally able to spot him a day before the festival and they spend some time on the roof where he gives her a kiss. 6. ACT6 彼の野望 (Ambition): 浅葉秀明 (Hideaki Asaba) and Arima are buddies as well as being the most popular guys at school (according to the girls). Yukino however, gets a lot of bad vibes from Asaba. At first, they're constantly bickering and fighting as they fight for Arima's attention, but eventually, Asaba becomes one of her best allies. 7. ACT7 クレイジー・フォー・ユー (Crazy For You): A short chapter where the same events are shown from both Arima's and Yukino's perspective. It's after school and the both of them meet up after doing school chores. As they wait inside due to the rain, they almost kiss. This gets Yukino's head spinning. |
Title: 彼氏彼女の事情 (His and Her Circumstances) Vol. 2 |
少年マガ (Shonen Magazine), '04 Vol 27 & ヤングマガ (Young Magazine), '04 Vol. 27
Well, Futatsuki is ending this week. It's not that surprising though, I can't really imagine what else the author could have done with it (although there's another cooking manga running and that seems to have gone on for a while). The color pages are adorned with the finalists for Miss Magazine. Suzuka: ＃１５決意 (Determination): After being rejected by Suzuka, Yamato decides to join the track team so he can be with her. At first, Suzuka is against the idea as she doesn't think he can cut it. She finds out later that Yamato is actually very talented in running. Negima: ５５時間目 恋のトライアングル・マッチ！ (Love's Triangle Match): It's the first day back at school and Negi arrives to find Kufei in an altercation. She defeats all the boys who were attacking her as well as saves Negi from a blow. After homeroom, he asks to meet with her privately. This raises the suspicions of some girls, especially Ayaka. That afternoon, Asuna and others invite them to go bowling. Ayaka, thinking that Negi is going to confess to Kufei suggests that they have a bowling contest to determine who will go out with Negi. Kufei scores a perfect 300. At the end, he reveals that he just wants to learn Kufei's chinese martial arts. Tsubasa: 47遠き落日 (The Distant Setting Sun): The gang, Kuro, Sakura, Kusanagi, Yuzuriha, Souma, and Ryuou, finally exit to find that the monsters also exist in reality. Chitose explains that Seishirou must be stopped otherwise the monsters will be a permanent fixture outside the game. Kuro spots Seishirou and prepares to battle. Changing Now: ＃６再戦 髭男の秘密兵器 (Rematch, Mustache Man's Secret Weapon): Dog Fighter meets the English speaking enemy again, whose secret weapon now is a machine translator which he can't properly use. Meanwhile, another enemy is prepping at the hideout. Hamanaka Ai: ０３７あらためて天野VS若田部 (Tenno vs Wakatabe Again): Ayana Tenno, who became class leader by default for the first test reminds Misaki that they had promised to have another battle of the wits during midterms, which is now. They have their test and the others comment about why their doing it. Futatsuki: １７口目／キング・オヴ・ラメン (King of Ramen): Futatsuki is back at the school making ramen for the students. He's visited by his grampa who inspired him to become a ramen chef. He serves his ramen to him and it's met with approval (he drinks the broth dry). Later, all his competitors from the MK competition come and set up shop outside to keep the pressure on him. Futatsuki welcomes this challenge and finally he's presented with his MK first place metal.
Again, the magazine is continuing with its four week run of the Morning Musume girls. It also has more of the Miss Magazine girls. Love Lucky: 3: Fuuta turns flaccid as he remembers how he used to be like the other fans who like Kirari because she's pure and innocent. Kirari tries to figure out to get him "excited" again and suggests that he wear a bra and panties. While he finds this mildly entertaining, it doesn't do much for him. The next thing he knows is that Kirari is asleep, so he lets her be. Meanwhile, her manager comes to the apartment suspecting that something is wrong and sees Futta wearing women's underwear. Minamike: ９説明せよ (Explain!): Chiaki is trying to study but Kana bothers her and asks various questions to test her. They eventually get caught up on asking inane/trick questions to each other. Redlight: 9: Satoshi is still very stoked that Chiko confessed to him. They go to work again and after she leaves, his boss tells him that she quit her job. He tries to find her in the following days, but her sister tells him that she hasn't been around. One night at work, Chiko shows up driving a truck. XXXholic: 50: Kimihiro and Toumeki are walking back after encountering that mysterious girl. Kimihiro takes notice of a hydrangea bush and suddenly gets captured by in. Inside (I think), he meets this young girl who tells him that she has to go somewhere she doesn't want to and asks if he wants to go with her. |
Title: 少年マガジン (Shonen Magazine) Vol. 27
Title: ヤングマガジン (Young Magazine) Vol. 27 |
Blunt I was reading CNN.com this morning and the headline in large bold print was "Reagan Dies." Could they be more blunt? Maybe I've just been reading too much Japanese lately, but there has to be more polite ways of saying it, like "Reagan Passes Away." I guess that would take too many letters. I have to admit I'm a little burnt out from all the manga reading, so I spent most of today playing video games and watching anime. Anime seems pretty entertaining after spending almost 3 weeks without watching. Shrek 2 was pretty good too, although I don't know why it's so popular. I didn't think that it warranted a sequel after the first movie. My normal reading pattern will return starting tomorrow...but that means I'm a few more books behind my goal of 366 books by end of December. I should be at 156 (it's the 156 day of the year) but am only at 117. |
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妹 (Akane) Vol. 8
Looks like what I wanted came true. There's no more pesky third girl that has Shinpei's attention. It's just Akane and Shinpei now. I think the attention is now more on the fact that Akane will have to leave soon, but both do not seem to want to let go of each other. The color first page is a pullout with a nice illustration of Akane, Marina, and Emily. 81. white lovers: Akane comes to the dealership where Shinpei is fixing cars on Christmas eve. 82. 雪の日はあなたのことを (To You On a Snowy Day): Tetsu and Akira offer to do the work so that he can be with his sister on this special night. Akane gives Shinpei her hand-knit sweater and tells him that she loves him as a girl. 83. Love Love Snow: It's New Year's Eve and they go shopping as well as visit their mom's grave. That night, Akane enters the new year with Shinpei in his arms. 84. 今年もナ・カ・ヨ・シ (Being "Close" This Year Too): Akane borrows one of Mio's kimonos to wear on new years. During their trip to the shrine, Akane needs to go to the bathroom but is unwilling to take off her kimono as she can't put it back on. While Shinpei is helping her, he accidentally gropes her. 85. リンクの王子様 (The Prince at the Rink): Shinpei, Akane, and friends go skating. Akane really can't skate and falls a few times, each time she gets the attention of the guys around her as she's wearing a mini-skirt. Eventually, Shinpei, who also can't skate that well, carries her off. Later that night, Emily calls Shinpei asking him to meet up with her. 86. とまどいセブンティーン (Confusion at 17): Emily is stuck with a date that she really doesn't like so she calls Shinpei over, pretending that he's her brother and using him as an excuse to leave the date. Emily tells him to keep this a secret from Akane. 87. よこうれんしゅう！ (Rehearsal): On the drive back, Emily and Shinpei talk about Akane's real mother, her illness and how Akane will be returned to her after she graduates. Back home, Akane is dressed up as a nurse. She tries playing around with Shinpei, but her uniform rips because it's too tight. 88. あったかいよ、お兄ちゃん (It's Warm, Big Brother): Shinpei and Akane are out and about when they meet an old friend. Akane's quite excited to meet someone from her past and the three of them go hang out, but Shinpei isn't all that happy. When he leaves, Shinpei tells Akane that he's afraid of losing her. 89. ドキドキしたいValentine (I Want an Exciting Valentine): Marina has waited in line to get Akane some erotic chocolates. Akane gives these to Shinpei. These chocolates little messages inside (like fortune cookies) that give suggestions like doing certain things and touching certain parts of the body. |
Title: 妹 (Akane) Vol. 8 "Love Love Show" |
A.I.が止まらない (Love Won't Stop) Vol. 4
This volume was significantly longer than the previous ones, and it kinda felt that way. There's a new member in the family, Forty, who has multiple personalities. She's cute and all (when she's nice), but doesn't add much to the story. Bonus is a color page, some sketches, an interview, and a gallery of Ai Toma phone cards. 25. Touch me!: Hitoshi shows Twenty and Thirty their predecessors, but accidentally releases them into the real world. The girls manage to capture all of them except for #29 who looks exactly like Thirty and only has one little flaw. Hitoshi has to figure out who is who and does so by finding the girl that feels embarrassment. 26. 第３のオトコ！？ (The Third Boy!?): Thirty would like to have an obiedient little sister. Twenty would like to have a rambunctious little brother. They go Hitoshi asking for a sibling. He declines, but Twenty ties him up and the two girls program the computer to produce the sibling, Forty, they want. What they end up with is a boy who loves cleaning. However, Hitoshi finds out as he's taking a bath that he's actually a she. The boy then changes personality to a girl. 27. 蒼い体験 (Immature): As a girl, Forty is quite the troublemaker. Hearing that Hitoshi has never had a girlfriend, she goes and tries to teach him a thing or two about females. Through some clever thinking, Hitoshi discovers that the keyword to change Forty's personality is just to say "boy" or "girl." 28. 端午の節句は女のコの日！？ (Boy's Day Is a Day For Girls!?): It's 5/5, Boy's Day but Twenty says that they never celebrated 3/3, Doll's Festival Day. She tricks Forty into becoming a girl and they create life-sized dolls that cause some trouble for Hitoshi. 29. 初めてのおつかい (The First Errand): Thirty has forgotten to pay Hitoshi's bill, so Forty (as a girl) decides to swim through the networks to the bank. She then wanders off in cyberspace and finds herself caught in an online dating-sim with a player having great interest in her. Eventually Thirty comes and saves her from the otaku. 30. 思い過ごしも恋のうち (In The Mind and In the Heart): It's the first day of school for Forty (as a boy) and he's fallen in love with his homeroom teacher. His teacher gives him some kind words which he takes as encouragement. Later, he figures out his plan and wants to confess his love for her only to find out that she's getting married and retiring. At first he has anger but eventually forgives her. 31. チャイルド・プレイ (Child Play): Both Twenty and Forty are out for the day. Twenty decides that since Hitoshi hasn't had a maternal figure, she'll be his mother for a day. She treats him like a little baby the whole day and eventually decides that she needs to breast feed him. Hitoshi passes out (from his cold) just as he's about to suck. |
Title: A.I.が止まらない (Love Won't Stop) Vol. 4 |
マブラヴ (Muv-Luv) Vol. 1
Muv-Luv is created by the same people who did Kiminozo. I want to get the game, but I'm kinda behind. On top of that, I wanted to know a little bit about the story to see if I'm interested or not. Unlike the Kiminozo manga, this is actually a story rather than a collection of doujinshi. The artwork is pretty good, mostly because I like the Age character designs. The story itself is pretty good. I don't know how much it follows the game (doesn't seem like it does), but I find the characters likeable. I don't know if I can deal with them in a dating-sim though. There's a color page and two "prologue" chapters that deal a little with the history of Sumika and Meiya. 1. Episode 1: 鑑純夏 (Sumika Kagami) and 白銀威 (Takero Shirogane) are childhood friends. While his parents are out of town, Sumika has been entrusted to take care of Takeru. On her first day, she finds that he's been sleeping with 御剣冥夜 (Meiya Mitsurigi). He is just as surprised as she is. Meiya is a new student in Takeru and Sumika's class, despite being the second semester of their last year there. The next day, Meiya is again in Takeru's bed. It is later revealed that she's the heir to the Mitsurugi group. 2. Episode 2: Both Sumika and Meiya are now competiting for Takeru. They both make him lunches and forces him to choose (he runs away instead). Later, Meiya has a large mansion constructed right next to Takeru and Sumika's houses so she can live closer to him. 3. Episode 3: Some of Meiya's servants try to kidnap Sumika so that she doesn't get in the way of Takeru and Meiya's relationship. They're not the smartest bunch of girls though. 4. Episode 4: 榊千鶴 (Chizuru Sakaki) is the class leader and former lacrosse captain. In order to win back some respect for the lacrosse club, she decides to enter a competition where she'll face Akane (from Kiminozo). She tries to recruit 5 teammates. She gets 4, but the last one, 彩峰慧 (Kei Ayamine) who is the best athlete of them all, isn't really interested despite Takeru's pleading. 5. Episode 5: Kei reluctantly agrees, so the girls practice for the next few days. On the day of the tournament though, Kei doesn't show up. 6. Episode 6: Takeru tries to find a replacement so they won't be disqualified, but fortunately, he's able to get Kei back on the team to play. They win against Akane's team. |
Title: マブラヴ (Muv-Luv) Vol. 1 |
花右京メイド隊 (Hanaukyou Maid Tai) Vol. 2
When I read the first book, I wasn't all that impressed. This volume, on the other hand, perked my interest a bit as Mariel's true identity is revealed. I don't know about Taro though. For most of the manga, he seems quite passive, allowing himself to be kicked around and played with. Yeah, it's funny at times, but I hope he doesn't remain so wishy-washy. The only bonus is a summary page. 9. ２人きり！？ (Both of Us Alone!?): It's Christmas time and all the maids throw him a party. They then all leave to go back home for the holidays, leaving Taro and Mariel at the house. Taro thinks they're alone, but in fact, Konoe and Grace are also there. Taro does spend some time alone with Mariel until they're interrupted by the maids who come back soon after New Year's. 10. 太郎の結婚！？ (Taro's Wedding!?): In order for Taro's rival, Ryuka, to inherit her estate, she has to marry Taro. So she goes over to his place and becomes a maid so that he can get to know her better. Meanwhile, there are some questions surrounding Mariel's history and Grace uses her computer skills to find out. She discovers Mariel doesn't have a record on file. 11. バレンタインデー (Valentine's Day): All the maids give Taro chocolates. All except for Mariel. She starts worrying, but at the very end of the day, Mariel comes through with the gift. 12. 異変！？ (Accident!?): While watching Cherry Blossoms, Taro confronts Mariel and asks her for her true feelings. However, to every prompt, Mariel responds that she'll do anything he wishes for, even if it means leaving him. Taro storms off. Soon after, Grace gets a message from her alter ego, Cynthia saying that something has happened to Mariel. She and Taro find Mariel collapsed on the ground. 13. 青き沈黙の鐘 (Blue Silence Bell): A group of masked soldiers come into Mariel's bed and take her away. It is later revealed that Mariel is genetically engineered to be a maid and is going back to get "fixed." Not wanting to allow that, Taro and the other main girls decide to rescue her. 14. 強行突破 (Forceful Attack): They infiltrate the compound where Mariel is being held. Konoe helps fend off the guards while the others find Mariel inside a capsule. Konoe then meets the elite guards. 15. 赤色王旗 (Red King Flag): Konoe can't hold off the stronger guards, and eventually Taro gets captured. While he's being roughed up, Mariel's suddenly shows some activity. 16. 脱出 (Escape): The capsule suddenly breaks allowing them to make a run for it. Outside, the other maids have already assembled to take them away. 17. シンシアとグレース (Cynthia and Grace): Mariel talks about Grace/Cynthia's history and how she developed a split personality. He later invites Grace to the amusement park to celebrate her birthday, the day that the Grace personality appeared. |
Title: 花右京メイド隊 (Hanaukyo Maid Tai) Vol. 2 |
いちご１００％ (Strawberry 100%) Vol. 10
That's strange, apparently, they used the chapters from vol. 4 and 5 of the magazine in the previous volume, so the chapters are arranged a little differently. Hmm. I don't know about this volume. I really like Yui, but she's out of the picture so we have a replacement, Chinami. She's very much like Yui in many ways, but nothing beats the original. The story was kinda ho-hum this time too. Rather than just focusing on one relationship, all the girls had their moments. No bonuses, not even a color page. 81. WONDERFUL TONIGHT: At the nurse's office at their old high school, Junpei almost lets his urges get the best of him, but he gets interrupted by Tsukasa's cell phone. Her parents found out that she lied about where she was and want her home immediately. Before they leave, Junpei gives her a birthday present. 82. 文化祭パニック！！ (Panic at the Cultural Festival): At the school festival, both Aya and Satsuki get kidnapped by rival clubs before their movie, Chelsea's (sp?) Angels featuring those two and Tsukasa is to be presented. Junpei has a run-in with a girl who is being pursued by another guy. She hugs Junpei claims that he's her boyfriend so Junpei can pay the guy back. 83. 第４の天使 (The Fourth Angel): The girl, 端本ちなみ (Chinami Hashimoto) owes about $2000 to her ex-boyfriend. Junpei offers to help pay it back, much to the surprise of Chinami. He tells her that he's doing it for the ex-boyfriend so that he can finally dump her. To make sure Junpei is good on his promise, she decides to stick with him until he pays. Meanwhile, Satsuki and Aya are made to promote other clubs so they're not available when the movie is about to start. Since the crowd came to see the girls, they start getting more rowdy. Junpei has Chinami be the fourth Chelsea's Angel and she becomes a hit among the audience. 84. ちなみFEVER (Chinami Fever): Despite the popularity of their club, they didn't get first place and only got about $1000 in prize money. Junpei had hoped to get first prize as that would have been enough to pay Chinami's debt, but he has to deal with only half that. The ex doesn't take the money and lives with the loss. However, when he sees Chinami flirting with the guys, he goes on a rage and causes property damage. As such, Chinami is made to pay to fix it. She gets a job at Junpei's work place and as they're working, Tsukasa catches him and Chinami in an awkward situation and storms off. 85. 急・転・直・下 (A Sudden Turn): With Satsuki and Chinami taking up most of Junpei's attention, Aya has been feeling a little left out. She meets Junpei atop the roof in the same manner as they first met (she falls on him, revealing her strawberrypatterned underwear). They have some quality time together until they get interrupted by Chinami. Later, Junpei learns that Tsukasa is also going on a school trip at the same time he is. They're going in the same direction, but might not meet each other along the way. 86. 湯けむりの向こう側へ (Beyond the Cloud of Steam): Although Chinami is in another class, she manages to sneak on train with Junpei's class to Kyoto (with the help of Rikiya and Hiroshi, Junpei's buddies). At the lodge, it's revealed to the other guys that she's on the trip, but not to Junpei. When he does find out, she grabs her, but gets caught by a teacher chaperone who thinks he's molesting one of his students. He hides in the bath where Satsuki just happens to be bathing since the girl's bath was locked. After he's inside, his door gets locked 87. 恋愛交差点 (The Intersection of Love): Satsuki tries to make her moves on him, but steps on a piece of soap and gets herself conked out. Being locked in, he bangs on the door for some help. Fortunately Chinami has snuck out to take a bath and finds him and the naked and unconscious Satsuki. The next day as they're visiting the temples, Aya and Junpei almost kiss. And as luck would have it, Tsukasa happens to be in the same place at the same time. 88. ただ君に会いたい (I Still Want to See You): Junpei sees her witness what he's about to do and tries to talk to her, but she runs off. Later, with Yui's help, he manages to get in contact with her and resolve some things. She tells him that she would have really loved to be able to go on a school trip with him. 89. 抱いてアンダーワールド (Embracing Underworld): The next day, Tsukasa sneaks out from her group to spend some time with Junpei. At the shrine, one of Tsukasa's teachers comes so they have to hide under the building. |
Title: いちご１００％ (Strawberry 100%) Vol. 10 |
Shoji screen
The blinds didn't like to stay closed especially with my ceiling fan on. so now instead of me, my neighbors get to see my silhouette. |
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A.I.が止まらない (Love Won't Stop) Vol. 3
Ken Akamatsu introduces a pre-cursor to Love Hina in this volume with the main character making a promise to another. Overall, the story seems to be a little more interesting. I didn't have the urge to put down the book while I was reading it (unlike the last two). Still pretty typical romantic comedy stuff, though. This re-release version has a color page (same as cover), interview with Ken Akamatsu, some sketches for the original art, and a few character intros between chapters with new art. 17. サーティ危険一髪 (Thirty in Slight Danger): Twenty has been participating in a pyramid scheme. When Hitoshi tells her that it's illegal, she goes through the computer to try and catch the perpetrator but ends up in trouble so Thirty goes after her. The girl's travels in cyberspace are monitored by a computer genius boy who is working with two cronies in the scheme. After going through some traps, she finds Twenty. 18. デス・トラップ (Death Trap): After finding Twenty, she is accosted by PETER4, the same virus that terrorized her at the end of volume 1. After some fighting, she and Twenty come out victorious. They emerge out of the computer into the room with the two cronies and get them apprehended. Meanwhile, genius boy makes an escape, but not before witnessing the girls materialize out of the computer. 19. 狙われたA・I (Targeted A.I.): Computer boy manipulates police files to release his two partners in crime on the condition that they help him capture Thirty. The two guys manage to get Thirty in a room before she realizes what's wrong. She tries to escape through the computer in the room, but that's a trap which gets her programmed compressed onto a floppy. Hitoshi traces down where Thirty disappeared and meets the boy, codename Billy G, the creator of the virus. When Thirty comes out of the computer again, she has been reprogrammed to dislike Hitoshi. 20. 蘇れA・Iの記憶 (Resurrected Memory): Billy G has apparently extracted the software module that allows the girls to come into the real world. He summons a fire breathing dragon program to attack Hitoshi. Twenty decides to delete the monster and Thirty, but Hitoshi grabs Thirty and gives her a kiss which brings back her memory. The dragon goes berserk and burns the room down. Hitoshi and Thirty thinks that the software module has been destroyed, but no self-respecting computer programmer would do without a backup. 21. 突撃取材にご用心 (Caution With the News Flash): 宮原貴子 (Takako Miyahara) from the school newspaper has witnessed Thirty emerging from the computer, so she wants to investigate and see what she really is for her news scoop. She follows them to his house, but bumps into a underwear thief who's been in the area. She accidentally takes a picture of him. The next day, she pretends to be in love with Hitoshi (sends a love letter) to try and sucker him in into talking. She manages to get mingled with that pervert again, who this time demands that roll of film. Hitoshi and the girls come to the rescue and while Takako is still suspicious, she stops following them around and releases a news scoop on the underwear robber. 22. パピーのいる日常 (Life With Puppy): Thirty and Hitoshi find a lost puppy and they take him in. The puppy has a collar though, so eventually they would have to return him. When they do so, Thirty is reluctant to and feels like she's malfunctioning, but Hitoshi assures her that letting go is part of being a human. 23. 聖なる夜に２人は・・・・ (The Couple on a Sacred Night): It's Christmas Eve and Twenty wants Thirty and Hitoshi to spend a romantic night together. She primes Thirty by showing her some adult videos and then proceeds to make arrangements so that Thirty and Hitoshi can spend the night in an expensive hotel (with her monitoring the situation, of course). Unfortunately, the night doesn't turn out as Twenty expects. 24. 吹雪の夜に山小屋で (At the Mountain Hut in a Blizzard): 神戸紀久子 (Kikuko Koube) is Hitoshi's cousin whose parents are in charge of a ski resort. There's also a little tension between her and Thirty as Kikuko has a crush on his cousin (as a child, he promised Kikuko that they'd get married and she still remembers). Kikuko and Hitoshi get lost in the hills and end up in a mountain hut for a while before getting saved by Thirty. Kikuko realizes that Thirty is more appropriate for Hitoshi and wishes them well. |
Title: A.I.が止まらない (Love Won't Stop) Vol. 3
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