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千葉紗子：everything (Saeko Chiba)
I'm pretty sure that I knew about Saeko well before The World of Narue, but I can't really where. Anyhow, she sings the ending to Narue no Sekai, which I enjoyed very much. All the music in here is composed by Yuki Kajiura, the composer of BGM for Noir, .hack, Madlax, etc... Yuki plays the keyboard in all the songs and for some, she does even more. All the songs here show Yuki's style of music with heavy use of keyboard synthesizers, echoes, and reverbs and give a sense of presence (i.e. isn't elevator music). I really like Saeko's voice. It's not too squeaky and soft, but still very feminine despite the energetic songs that Yuki writes for her. My favorite songs on here is of course, the ending to Narue no Sekai which is included, track 2 which is epitome Yuki with heavy echoes and reverbs, and the last track which I though was cute with the sound effects that make the song seem very impromptu and informal. The CD comes with a special cardboard sleeve. I don't think it's a first pressing bonus like other CDs as it doesn't say on the sticker, but I'm not sure. |
Title: 千葉紗子：everything (Saeko Chiba) |
妹 (Akane) Vol. 14
The series is finally over, and it finished in a way that I thought was appropriate and not too artificial. Akane was one of those rare finds for me as I was walking through Bookoff a few months ago. Having known nothing about the author, I took a glance at the first two books and knew it was something I would enjoy. Now it has become a favorite of mine. I also found out that this is the same author who wrote "If I See You In My Dreams," something I vaguely heard about in the R1 DVD world. Maybe I'll see what that's about. The author has a letter in which explains the motivation for writing this manga. 137. 願い、何ですか？ (What is Your Wish?): The girls are all studying for their final exams. In the library, Akane meets with the friend who looks like his father. In particular, he's carrying a book by Kenji Miyazawa. He tells her that if he were her father, he would support her relationship. But Akane doesn't him to say things like that, given his appearance and pays a visit to her father's grave. 138. お父さん (Father): At the grave, she imagines being visited by her father. Then, an old friend of her father's comes by to tidy his grave. Akane asks who his father's favorite author was and she responds with Kenji Miyazawa. Akane then knows that she's got her father's blessing. 139. Valentine's Day: Akane brings Shinpei chocolates, but he denies them and tells her (lies) that she has a girlfriend and will be busy for the night. 140. answer: After her entrance exam, she and Shinpei go on a date. She later calls her biological mother in Milano. 141. yell: Akane tells her that she can't go because she loves Shinpei and asks her to promise not to die. Eriko tells her that she will see her get married and her grandchild. 142. 発表 (Results): Akane is accepted into the nursing school of her choice, but she has made up her mind: she's going to go live with her mom in Italy (yes, it's a 180 from previous chapter). 143. 小さな頃から (Since I Was Little): Rei finds out from Shinpei that Akane has decided. She then takes Akane shopping and in the end, Akane thanks her for her friendship. 144. 涙の夕焼け (Sunset of Tears): Nanako comes back for a visit and Shinpei tells her that he can't imagine life without Akane. 145. 卒業 (Graduation): After graduation ceremonies, Shinpei tells Akane that she's graduated from calling him "brother." 146. LOVE LOVE LOVE: Replay of her "graduation" from sister-ship. Begin sex scene. 147. 妹・あかね (Sister, Akane): Continue sex scene. The next day, he takes her to the airport where all their friends are waiting. Last: そしてミラノへ (And Then To Milano): She goes to Milano, but not after a touch goodbye at the airport. Three years later, Akane receives a letter from him saying he's now an engineer for Ferrari. He gives Shinpei a call at the shop, but he's out for the time being. He's enjoying the day holding a box with a wedding ring inside. |
Title: 妹 (Akane) Vol. 14 "卒業" (Graduation) |
こどものおもちゃ (Child's Toy) Vol. 5
The story in this volume was longer than necessary. There are little advancements with the relationships between Sana, Hayama, and Fuuka, but nothing exciting happens until the end with Hayama and the neurotic friend. There's a bonus chapter concerning Hayama's childhood and how he's become so calloused as well as many color pages and memos from the author. The bulk of this volume focuses on the love triangle between Sana, Hayama, and Fuuka. Naozumi accidentally reveals on TV that Sana has someone she likes and gives a small clue. This clue is enough for Hayama to figure out that it's him. She tries to avoid him the next day but they eventually meet. Sana cuts off ties with Naozumi for his actions and decides to take a break from school to dedicate herself in her work. Meanwhile, Hayama and Fuuka's relationship has gone quite cold. Hayama acts very isolated during Sana's absence. In the meanwhile, he meets a teacher who hates him because he reminds him of his bullies in grade school. He also has an incident with another loony classmate who wants to kill himself because Hayama doesn't like him as a friend. |
Title: こどものおもちゃ (Child's Toy) Vol. 4 |
少年マガ (Shonen Magazine), '04 Vol 32 & ヤングマガ (Young Magazine), '04 Vol. 32
Featured girls are 19 year old 小坂由佳 (Yuka Kosaka), winner of Miss Magazine 2004 and 17 year old 星野飛鳥 (Asuka Hoshino). There's also a new series starting this week, M.I.Q. about money (gambling maybe?). In any case, doesn't really look like something I'm interested in. Negima is off this week, but Tsubasa is back with a very pretty color title page. Suzuka: ＃２０相似 (Similarity): Yamato has thoughts about quitting since his purpose for joining track has disappeared. However, Suzuka's track friend, Hashiba tells him that she'll hate him even more if he's a quitter. At weight training, Yamato has become quite popular with the teammates. The captain remarks to Suzuka that he's a bit like 津田和輝 (Kazuki Tsuda), previous track member. Suzuka denies it, but there seems to be something between Kazuki and Suzuka that has happened in the past. Hamanaka Ai: ０４２学校の怪談めぐり (The Ghost Stories at School): Rinko, Misaki, and Ayana go investigate the 7 mysteries of the school including the missing step, the hand in the swimming pool...etc. Ayana is the only one rational, but gets scared when she sees the skeleton move, but it's only Masahiko carrying it. Changing Now: ＃１２その名はマシンナー (The Name is "Machina"): Machina saves Takeko, much to the digust of her dad. However, Machina apparently has some times with the (what looks to be) nameless arch-enemy. Tsubasa: ５０偶像の国 (A Country of Icons): Sakura wakes up deep in the woods. Shaoran quickly shows up when she awakens and tells her that they warped again, but this time, they didn't get her memories from the previous word (Seishirou escaped with it). Suddenly, they get pelted with tree fruits and Shaoran is knocked out and dragged away. Sakura tells Kuro, Fye, and Mokona, who were exploring at the time, and they look for Shaoran. They find him among a group of friendly anthropomorphic rabbits who tell them about a monster nearby. Sakura, Kuro, and Shaoran go hunt it.
小坂由佳 (Yuka Kosaka) is featured as the front and back girl. XXXholic is still off this week. Only 4 more issues to go before my subscription for this magazine runs out. Hopefully I'll get a few more XXXholic chapters in. Redlight: 12: Satoshi is in nirvana now that he has Chiko as a girlfriend. Not even the most obnoxious drivers he meets at work can bring him down. He's also dyed his hair blonde. Satoshi then arranges a date with Chiko at a fast-food joint. Before he meets Chiko, he meets some of his friends who don't believe that he has a girlfriend, but eventually meets Chiko. Satoshi and Chiko then spend the rest of the day around time and after Chiko's remark, he decides to dye his hair color back (with her help). |
Title: 少年マガジン (Shonen Magazine) Vol. 32
Title: ヤングマガジン (Young Magazine) Vol. 32 |
少年マガ (Shonen Magazine), '04 Vol 31 & ヤングマガ (Young Magazine), '04 Vol. 31
This issue sports coverage of Spiderman 2 and features idol (熊田曜子) Yoko Kumada. Tsubasa is off this week and the people who made the table of contents messed up with Negima's page. The TOC says page 145, but Negima actually start on 279, which they listed as the GetBacker's page. Suzuka: ＃１９拒絶 (Rejection): Continuing from last chapter, Suzuka has started turning cool towards Yamato. Yamato thinks he can win back her heart by excelling in his race, the 100m dash. He runs in in under 11 seconds, much to the awe of his teammates, but when he meets with Suzuka again, she tells him that she hates him. Hamanaka Ai: ０４１家庭科３を目指す少女 (The Girl Aiming for Home Economics 3): Misaki is terrible at cooking, so Masahiko's mom allows her to practice in her kitchen with Ai. Despite their assistant, she is still helpless. Negima: ５9時間目 テガカリをキミに (A Clue for You): After being treated for his wounds, Negi takes a look at the map that Konoka's father gave to him that's supposed to have clues about the whereabouts of his dad. Yue and Konoka, the library explorers help out and tell him that they know he's a mage. Negi and the two girls go the library island, but meet a dragon guarding the gate. Chachamaru arrives just in time to whisk them away. Yue wants revenge on that monster. Changing Now: ＃１１危機！！ 親子断絶！！ (Crisis!! Parent-Child Separation): Fukuoka gets no respect from his daughter Takeko. However, when Takeko gets attacked, he makes her say that he's a good guy in order to receive help. After she says it, he realizes he doesn't have his transformation belt. As Takeko is about to be attacked, she gets rescued by Machina Double-V, another hero, who she truthfully thinks is awesome.
Featured girl is 下村真理 (Mari Shimomura) and also features a very mature 14 year old, Kyoko Kamidozono. Ms. J-cup also has a few pages (one where she's seen in a bikini milking a cow...that's just wrong). Love Lucky: ９離婚なんてしない (I Won't Divorce): Kirari has a concert and afterwords, she secretly meets with Fuuta. They almost get caught by her manager, but manage to slip by. That night, she comes home quite late. Kirari starts making him some ramen, and while they're waiting, they start getting it on, but get interrupted by the boiling water. As they eat dinner, Fuuta tells her that he wants to see the president of her agency the next day to receive his blessings. Minamike: １１すごい好きだ (I Really Love You): Kana gets told by a classmate, Fujioka, that he really likes her. She has some angst over it and talks about it with her older sister, Chiaki. Chiaki convinces her that he didn't actually say "I Really Love You" but rather, "You're Full of Love." |
Title: 少年マガジン (Shonen Magazine) Vol. 31
Title: ヤングマガジン (Young Magazine) Vol. 31
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