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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
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