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Another programming project As if I can't get enough of doing it 8 hours a day already, I come home to these little personal projects. It's manga related, but I'll give more details as I finish more of it. Estimated time of completion, probably Thursday or Friday. |
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少年マガジン (Shonen Magazine), '04 Vol 39
This week's Negima is probably the best chapter I've read in terms of having a story. Asuna's nekkid for most of it, but that's a side issue. Featured girl is Aya Ueto who occupies quite a many pages and has a pull-out. However, I was more stunned to find out that Yuuko-rin has scored the ending theme in School Rumble anime. Yes, I like Yuuko-rin, but I have doubts about her singing career. She started out as a model, not as a singer and so I consider her to be in the same league as Britney Spears, Mandy Moore, and the likes. This week's issue has a double dose of Hamanaka Ai and Changing Now. Hamanaka Ai: ０４９猛暑による影響 (Effects of Heat): Both the tutors need to take a break, so Ayana and Misaki take over. They end up talking about losing weight and Masahiko says he's lost the most, so the girls wrestle him to the ground to measure him and see if he's telling the truth. Hamanaka Ai: ０５０夏の思い出 (Memories of Summer): The study group goes the summer festival. Masahiko and Ai watch the fireworks from the hill and Ai gets sick. She leans over against a tree while Masahiko is behind her. Misaki sees their silhouettes and passes out. Suzuka: ＃２６矛先 (Direction of Attack): Yamato challenges Arima to a sprint. Suzuka is surprised by Yamato's irrational behavior. Yamato arrives at the field and gets yelled at by the captain for not coming to practice the past few days. As he's getting ready, he's told of Arima's record and he realizes that he has no way of winning. He feels like giving up and apologizing, however, Yasunobu brings Suzuka to watch him and he feels like he has to perform. Negima: ６５時間目 僕だけのスーパーマン (My Own Superman): Negi allows Asuna to go into his memories and be an observer of his past. Eva, using Nodoka's magical book, also peeks into what Asuna is seeing. Six years ago, Negi's sister tells how his dad would come if he were ever in need of help. However, he's also told that his father's dead. Despite that, Negi keeps the dream that his "superman" will come rescue him when he's in trouble. He tried to drown himself once, but his dad didn't come and he was bed strickened with hypothermia. One day, he comes back to his village hoping to see he sister. He finds that it's been attacked by demons, which Asuna feels is very similar to what happened on the Kyoto trip. Just as Negi is about to be attacked by a large beast, someone comes and prevents the blow. Could it be? Changing Now: ＃１６結集！！ 正義の男 (Together!! Men of Justice): The three hapless superfighters, Dog Fighter (who I learn is named Kohei), Machina VV and Daimonji come together and join forces, but really need to work on their presentation. Changing Now: ＃１７閃光！！ ウサギ女 (Flash!! Bunny Girl): Crimson Bunny (enemy) is being forced to become an idol because her boss thinks it'll increase their reputation. She's learned to love the camera. |
Title: 少年マガジン (Shonen Magazine) Vol. 39 |
成恵の世界スペシャル (The World of Narue Special) Drama CD Vol. 1
あなたの胸に直撃よ〜！ I love that phrase. I recently got some used drama CDs, and the Narue no Sekai Special trilogy was in the loot. The cast is pretty similar to the eventual anime show, except that Yagi is played by 渡辺明乃 (Akeno Watanbe) rather that Saeko Chiba. They sound really similar though. This is yet another concert drama CD, similar to the stories in Hand Maid May, Strawberry Eggs, and an earlier Ai yori drama CD. The story has the main characters following the story of Yongo-chan, Kazuto's favorite anime series and character. As they're watching the show, occasionally they would discuss aspects about the Yongo-chan story. Once they get the background out of the way, Narue and Yagi go perform at a karaoke concert. I don't remember this story every being in the manga, so it's probably something new written specially for this drama CD. In addition to the three ~20 minute long drama tracks, there's also a mini-drama track and the Yongo's theme song sung by Narue and Yagi (too bad it wasn't Saeko Chiba). CD comes with a picture card that has the lyrics on back. It also contains mini-summaries of each track (very rare for drama CDs). 1. 恋と平和の魔砲少女 (The Magical Girl of Love and Peace): Kazuto has something to tell Narue and she thinks he's going to confess to her. However, he brings news of a Yongo-chan cosplay karaoke contest where the winner can have her own record deal and thinks she would be great with her homemade costume. At first she refuses, but after a night of thinking, she decides to participate. First though, they have to do some research on Yongo-chan so Yagi, Narue, Maruo, and Kazuya watch some episodes of Yongo-chan. 大当真名花 (Manaka Daito) belongs to a family famous for their archery, however, she doesn't have the motivation to live up to and despises her name. As she is moping, a battle breaks out at the school, Yongo-chan appears, praises her and then gives her a pendant before disappearing. When the opponent, Boljiks (?) appears again and destroys the school trying to find Yongo. Manaka uses the power of the pendant and becomes Yongo-chan and defeats the enemy. 2. 魔砲の力 (The Power of Magic): Kei Shaman senses some new magical force and decides to investigate to see if this is a friend or foe. Meanwhile, Manaka is trying to activate her magical powers again, but can't seem to do it on demand. Kei arrives and Manaka explains to her that she just happened to receive magic. Kei tells her to help her protect the world from Boljiks. Managa responds saying can't they just be friends and spend the day together as regular school girls. When Kei goes back, her mother says that they can't be friends and Kei comes back and tells Manaka to hand over her magic or she'll have to kill her. Later, Kei decides to just run away from home and live with Manaka, eventually becoming her sidekick. 3. スチールハート (Steel Heart): Kei and Manaka face the enemy, Rokugo and Sango. As the fight is starting at school, Manaka sees a police and tells him to run away if he wants to stay alive. The fight continues and the heroines wins, but not before the school buildings become blown to bits. Yongo-chan thinks she failed because she couldn't protect the school, but the policeman comes back and thanks her for saving his life. Yagi and Narue go to the contest and are surprised by the turnout. Like before, they're criticized for their clothing but win anyway. The Inspector arrives and tells Kazuto that Narue can't be allowed to become famous. Fortunately, the presenter for the award is Kirari-chan, who Narue and Yagi detest and don't accept their victory, which works out for everyone. |
Title: 成恵の世界スペシャル (The World of Narue Special) Drama CD Vol. 1: Steel Heart |
魔法騎士レイアース２ (Magic Knight Rayearth 2) Vol. 3
I believe I was in the zen of reading as I went through this book. As I was going page by page, I really could hear all the sound effects and the characters speaking. Very strange, but enjoyable at the same time. The series as a whole surprised me by how short it was. There wasn't much fluff, and every page contributed to the main theme. I really do appreciate it when a story is thought out in its entirety before being put on paper. Bare volume, just the story. Eagle asks each of the other two kingdoms why they want to become the pillar of Cephiro and give each some time to decide if they want to back out. Clef is puzzled about why he can't sense the path to pillarship and Hikaru decides she wants to go out and find it. The three vying kingdoms start fighting each other and suddenly, Mokona shows his true self as the creator. He explains the purpose of creating Cephiro after a failed Earth and allows Eagle and Hikaru to undergo the trials to become the next pillar. As the two of them are fighting, Eagle explains why he wants to be the pillar, but Hikaru explains that it's just the same as Princess Emeraldo before. Hikaru is eventually selected as the new Pillar, but she refuses and manages to bring back Eagle from the trails in Tokyo. The Magic Knights end the pillar tradition. Later, they pay a visit back to Cephiro and in a cheesy ending, allow the reader to choose the name of the new world. |
Title: 魔法騎士レイアース２ (Magic Knight Rayearth 2) Vol. 3 |
Improved Category Generation After that scare with the script taking too long to re-generate this site, I decided to go inside the code to see what I could do to speed it up. It turns out that there was a huge bottleneck in sorting Japanese text with Perl's Unicode::Collator. A little caching using some hashes did the trick so it didn't have to generate a new sort key everytime it needed to do a comparison. It took more than 55 seconds to generate the site before, I nailed it down to about 30 seconds now. It no longer gives me a timeout error. In addition, with the savings in time, I implemented a little counter underneath each section in the manga listings. It now shows the number of books for each hiragana grouping. Hmm...most of my books fall in the "ka-ko" group. I guess I don't need Moveabletype 3.1 after all and can postpone upgrading until I max out the server again. |
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Good News, Bad News I'm finally under the 30 book threshhold, this time hopefully it's permanent. Bad news is that I think I'm maxing out the server everytime I upload a new entry as it has to crunch through the few hundred entries I have and regenerate all the pages (sorting the manga titles in the category pages I think really kills it). Hopefully Moveabletype 3.1 will be released soon. Mao-chan manga just finished today in Magazine Special, according to Ken Akamatsu. I actually had a few issues of Magazine Special before, but stopped reading it when Asahiya closed down in New York. |
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彼氏彼女の事情 (His and Her Circumstances) Vol. 17
I KNEW IT! I'VE LOST ALL RESPECT FOR YUKINO AND ARIMA. (see chapter 81). Bonus is a Tsuda diary. 79. ACT79 プレリュード (Prelude): Yukino is spending some time with Arima at their summer house. They discover some old Jazz records and from the expression on his dad's face, Arima knows they belong to his father. Yukino asks about his dad, but there's not much known about him. They go into another house where they see the piano and Arima remembers more. Meanwhile, Maho meets up with his boyfriend in NY and decide to attend a Reiji Arima piano concert. 80. ACT80 ピアニスト (Pianist): Yuusuke explains to Maho about why Reiji has become an underground cult favorite. After coming back from the house with the piano, they listen to the radio and Reiji's being introduced. Upon just hearing this tune, Arima's (current) dad knows that it's his brother. 81. ACT 81 コンサート (Concert): Yukino's pregnant [!@#(*!]. It just so happens that Yuusuke and Maho meet up with Tsubasa and Kazuma going to the same concert. At the concert, Kazuma suddenly breaks out singing. This gets them into the backroom with Reiji after the concert and which time Tsubasa asks if he knows the boy she has a picture of on her cell phone. He tells him that it's his son. 82. ACT82 テンペスト (Tempest): Reiji is going to pay a visit to Arima. Yukino has been going to Arima's place almost everyday as she doesn't want the same thing to happen that with his biological mom. She bumps into him outside Arima's house and at first, she thinks he's Arima. Arima's current dad comes out and gives Reiji a slap. Reiji goes away, but then accosts Yukino and Arima again, this time having Arima join him on a bike ride and convincing him to do it at gunpoint. 83. ACT83 A BOY AND A MAN: Reiji takes his son around town, dumping his motorcycle in the ocean as they're being followed by the police after his little gun act. He promises this will be the last time they meet. In the hotel, Arima somehow is now uncertain about his feelings for his dad. |
Title: 彼氏彼女の事情 (His and Her Circumstances) Vol. 17 |
愛人 (Ai Ren) Vol. 2
This series is becoming more and more complicated with the plot starting to encompass more and more situations. It makes for a little tougher reading as I like a simple clear-cut storyline, but on the other hand, it keeps things interesting. The themes of love and death are still very strong in this second book. Bonus is a letter from the author explaining the themes in this second volume and other musings. 9. この星の還る (Return to this World): The chapter follows a group of people as they make first contact with the "HITO," a seemly alien race and ultimately die in a large explosion after the encounter [seems to be giving some hints as to Ikuru's past, as the title states]. Chapter ends with Ikuru and Ai enjoying the night sky. 10. スティル・ライフ〜静かな生活〜 (Still Life): Ai and Ikuru enjoy life cooking, playing, and exploring. They also grow a garden. One day, Ikuru sees a tomato plant dead under the heavy rain. He rips it out and throws it aside to get it out of his sight. Several days later, he and Ai notices that it has started growing again. The next heavy rain comes and Ai is out there with an umbrella protecting the plant. 11. ホーム・スウィート・ホーム〜子供たち〜 (Home Sweet Home, Children): More flashbacks to the moment of death in the previous life (?). Ai and Ikuru go to visit Haruka at her place of residence, which is an alien ship. Inside, a lot of children run around, who Ikuru explains are genetic rejects. Ikuru explains his fear of dying before Ai, but Haruka, who's recovering from arm surgery, tells him that he has to keep on living for Ai. Meanwhile, Ai gets in a little scuffle with the kids and walks outside where he sees rows of pods on the ground. 12. ホーム・スウィート・ホームII〜青空と夕やけ〜 (Home Sweet Home, Blue Skies and Sunset): Outside, a caretaker tells Ai that the beings inside the pods are people not yet born. Before they leave, Haruka tells Ikuru that Ai is just an illusion, but all love is an illusion. He has the power to make it real though, into passion. Ikuru and Ai leave and Ai writes in her picture diary about her trip. 13. 思春 (Adolescent): Ai suddenly feels like her body is changing. For some reason now, she feels like her heart aches and yearns for something. 14. 遺言 (Last Words): Ikuru has a seizure where he passes out in the hallway. The next day, Ai finds some tapes of Ikuru's parents and so they watch the home video that his parents made him when he was still in his mother's womb. His dad explains to him what he was going to be named and tell him about the life he's going to start living. Naturally Ikuru ends up with tears rolling down his cheek. 15. 泣く女 (Crying Woman): After Haruka has a visit with Ikuru, she goes back to her base where she's met with two men in suits. After some formalities, she brings them to visit her mom, a supposed "Mother of Humanity." She foils their assassination attempt and after telling them to leave, she breaks down crying in front of her mother's living capsule. 16. ないしょのこと (A Secret): Ikuru notices that Ai seems to be bothered by something as he noticed it in her looks. Outside the bath, Ai explains that one day, she won't be herself anymore. Ikuru brings her in making her pinky-swear to not die and vice-versa. 17. 君と見る青空 (The Blue Sky I Gaze With You): Ikuru has the dream with the goddess of death again, and then another dream where he meets an older Ai who tells him that they're both ghosts now. He wakes up from this nightmare to a teary-eyed Ai who's been trying to wake him up. |
Title: 愛人 (Ai Ren) Vol. 2 |
魔法騎士レイアース２ (Magic Knight Rayearth 2) Vol. 2
There was a lot of action, but I got the feeling like there was a lot more talking in this one compared to the other 4 books that preceded it. The artwork is excellent, especially during the fight scenes. However, there's just something about this part of the story that seemed a bit lacking. There's an afterward from a contemporary, 中田芳樹 (Yoshiki Nakata). Both Tatora/Tarta and Asuka getting in a scuffle with each other. The Chizeta leaders use their two genies to battle Faren's super Sanyun. It's a mutual defeat and both countries withdraw for the time being. Lantis heads out in search of the Pillar so he can eradicate it. Clef tells the story about the time right before Princess Emeraldo summoned the Magic Knights, leaving behind Mokona. Eagle, and the group from Autozam, recall the promise they made to Lantis about destroying the Pillar. However, for the sake of their country, Eagle has to renege on that promise in order to obtain the power of the Pillar. The three countries, along with the Magic Knights start a lengthy duel again. Hikari is injured and Lantis comes to her aid. |
Title: 魔法騎士レイアース２ (Magic Knight Rayearth 2) Vol. 2 |
美少女戦士セーラームーン (Sailormoon) Vol. 5
Man, how different this is from the anime. I remember Wiseman to be some kooky grandpa leading the Hawkeye, Fisheye, and Tigereye. Since when was he some pile of bones? After a long hiatus, I've decided to continue reading some more Sailormoon. The re-releases are finished now and I have them sitting here, so might as well go through them. I thought this volume was a bit fast in telling the story about Chibiusa's transformation to and from Black Lady, although I probably wouldn't have liked it as much if it got prolonged any longer. At least it ends on a good note and another arc will start up in the next volume. Bonus includes a sticker and according to the ad in the back of the book, a special cover. I can't seem to tell what's so special about the cover (mine's a first printing, too). 22. 思惑 NEMESIS: Chibiusa has stepped to the dark side. Sailormoon miraculously obtains her powers on Nemesis and is able to free the other Sailor Scouts locked up in the dungeon. Meanwhile, Chibiusa seducing Tuxedo Mask, who has come looking for her. Sailor Pluto tells Sailormoon about what has happened to Chibiusa. 23. 暗踊 WISEMAN: . Chibiusa is making a deal with Wiseman in that she'll get him the Crystal's (both of them) while she gets Tuxedo Mask. Sailormoon and the others have a quick respite back on Earth before having to come out again. They see that Chibiusa has turned into an adult, Black Lady. Black Lady then takes Sailormoon's broach. 24. 攻撃 BLACK LADY: Rubules and Prince Demando [they gotta have better names than that in the English translations] reveal that Wiseman is not just a being underneath a robe, but rather, has fused himself with Nemesis and is now an overseeing power. Sailor Pluto can't stand just being a guard at the gates of time and decides to help out. Prince Demando manages to steal the Crystal's from Chibiusa's hands and claims that he now possess the power. 25. 対決 DETH FANTOM: Pluto commits the violation of stopping time right before Demando is about to join the crystals. She saves them, but as a consequence, she herself is going to die. Black Lady sees Pluto dying and suddenly breaks out of her spell and becomes Chibiusa again. Sailormoon and gang then take on Wiseman. 26. 再生 NEVER ENDING: Queen Serenity rises from her sleep and gives the Sailor Scouts new powers before sending them home to their proper time. At home, Chibiusa says she has to return to her own time, causing some sorrow, but comes back almost instantaneously. |
Title: 美少女戦士セーラームーン (Pretty Guardian Sailormoon) Vol. 5 |
フルメタル・パニック！ (Full Metal Panic!) Vol. 1
I guess Dragon Age hasn't been around that much and lived under a different title back in 2000. I'm starting this series so I can finally catch up on my subscription to Dragon Age. Anyhow, I thought this was going to be a mecha series, but there haven't been any giant robots running around just yet. The story is set in this volume, but I still don't have a very clear understanding of what's going on, why she's being protected, and who are the bad guys. Maybe in some later chapters. There's a bonus comic in the end and a few color pages to start the book off. 1. 転校生は危険なソルジャー！？ (The Transfer Student is a Dangerous Soldier!?): 千鳥かなめ (Kaname Chitori) is being protected by a 相良宗介 (Sosuke Sagara), despite her extreme displeasure. He jumps in whenever she screams, even if it's just a cockroach. Detonates her locker because he thinks there's a bomb inside, and harasses her teachers. However, when she comes under attack from overzealous stalkers, he comes to the rescue and she rewards him with a lunch. 2. 至上命令！かなめのヒミツを守れ！！ (The Prime Directive! Protect Kaname's Secret!!): There has been graffiti around in the bathrooms speaking ill of Kaname One of her fans, 白井悟 (Satoru Shirai) asks her for a date, and she promptly refuses, but this is enough to rouse Sosuke's suspicions. He has Satoru tied up in the bathroom under interrogation when one of the girls, 稲葉瑞樹 (Mizuki Inaba) rescues him, lets Kaname know her hate for her, and reveals that she's the one behind all the graffiti. 3. はじめてのおつかい刺客と百人組手!! (The First Hitmen and Hundred Person Kumite): Kaname is entrusted with some secret documents to bring to another school. Before they're delivered though, she gets accosted by the boys of that school who asks her to hand the papers over as they show an embarrassing aspect of their school. Sosuke quickly disposes of them with a flash grenade. Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, a group of officers receive news from Sosuke that Kaname is fine. 4. パンと弾丸（ブレット＆ブレッド） (Bread and Bullet): After an incident at the bread counter at school, Kaname and Sosuke take charge of the shop. Their PE teacher opposes students engaged in commercial activity at school and so he tries to ensnare them in traps. However, he himself falls for traps set by Sosuke including electrocution, tear gas, and finally, he gets caught by the principal as he tries to taint the bread. 5. 悪夢の胎動 (The Signs of a Nightmare): An order has been given to launch a cruise missile from the submarine in the ocean (now in the Japan seas?). 6. かなめの受難 陣代高校危機一髪！ (Kaname's Passion, Critical Moment at Jinshiro High): Sosuke has been acting even more high strung than usual, so Kaname has a talk with him atop the school roof. He explains she's is in even more danger now and that he's a special agent dispatched by Mythril to protect her. She leaves without much thought, gets him called to the office while she sneaks out. She then encounters someone. 7. 戦友来襲！？勘違いの午後 (Comrade Attack!? A Misunderstanding in the Afternoon): In the time Kaname was away, she partied with some foreigner she met. Sosuke finds out that two more agents have been sent to help him out, Kurutsu and Mao. During their perimeter search, they find a classmate going through Kaname's laundry, but then Kaname catches Sosuke clinging on to her underwear too. Sosuke admits he's a bit concerned about Kaname hating him. |
Title: フルメタル・パニック！ (Full Metal Panic!) Vol. 1 |
フルーツバスケット (Fruits Basket) Vol. 4
Re-starting another series that I've put off for a while. Haven't watched past the fourth episode of the anime, so this is all new to me. There didn't seem to be a lot going on in this volume. A lot of Tohru reflecting back on the relationship between her mom and some more info and more characters introduced, but it isn't until the last chapter that there's some interaction between the main characters. Just 10 more books to go as of now. There's a bonus comic plugging the non-retail drama CD. 19. It's the start of a new school year and two other Souma's have transferred in, Momiji and Hatsuharu. The student class president has issues with Hatsuharu's white hair, but gets show that Hatsuharu really is born with hair of that color. Word has also gotten out that Akito is visiting the school. 20. Tohru meets Akito, first being a little scared, but finds out that he's not such a bad guy. That is until he meets Yuki and reminds him that he missed him when he didn't show up at New Years. Tohru breaks up their tense moment and has the school kids play badminton while Akito has a talk with Shigure. 21. A new member, Ayano, the snake appears. Unlike the others, he turns into a zodiac animal form whenever it gets cold. In human form, he looks a lot like Yuki's older brother, but in fact, there's some tension between the two. Ayano takes Tohru out to dinner, much to Yuki's disdain, and talks to her a bit about Yuki. 22. They dig out some old photographs and there's one of Shigure, Hattori, and Ayano. They comment on his hair followed by a recanting of his days in school with long hair. Hattori suddenly arrives to bring Ayano home. 23. At work, Momiji bumps into his mother. He explains how his has a mother and a little sister. However, the mother doesn't know who he is as she got her memory erased when she knew that Momiji was cursed. However, Momiji still loiters around her, watching over her. 24. The Sohma's and Tohru's regular friends make the trip to her mom's gravesite. All the while, Kyou is trying to come to terms with his feelings. |
Title: フルーツバスケット (Fruits Basket) Vol. 4 |
ちびまる子ちゃん (Chibimaruko-chan) Vol. 2
While I like fantasy and adventures stories, there's always room for some clever real-life humor. Like the previous volume, this volume took me a while to finish, but also had me cracking up for most of the time as there events that I could personally relate to growing up. The print and paper quality is excellent, but on a few pages, it looks like the text and artwork aren't as sharp as the regular pages. Maybe it's a printing error or whatnot. It's noticeable, but doesn't inhibit my reading. Bonus includes a postcard and a mini-comic in the back. Some of the chapters I liked in this volume are where she goes to visit a grandmother with the sole intention of getting some money from her, but then getting lost on the way there. Her attempt to get pet birds and then having it fly away just as her friends are coming over to see them. And the time she received an award and during the presentation, had to go to the bathroom. She did the math of counting how many students would come after her and figured that she'd have to hold it for another 10 minutes. Punchline comes as she realized she brought her certificate into the bathroom with her. |
Title: ちびまる子ちゃん (Chibimaruko-chan) Vol. 2 |
せんせいのお時間 (Doki Doki School Hours) Vol. 4
I've stop regarding this as a consecutive story as it seems like they're in high school forever. After 4 books, I feel like I'm finally coming to know each of the characters and their individual quirks. Being a 4 panel comic without a continuous plot, it's a bit difficult but I've seen so many of their gags that I'm finally remembering the characters. There are a few more bonus comic strips at the end of the book and like before, a quick on the inside cover. As I can't do a plot summary, here are some highlights from the volume that I thought were hilarious. Watanabe's doodles on his tests seem to get better and better. Mika gazes at the stars, enthusiastic like a little child, but gets a neck cramp like an old lady. Mika's problems when she tries to swim and the problems she has with the backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle. On a snowy day, Mika takes care to look at her feet so that she doesn't slip but runs into a tree branch (I can attest to that). And finally, Mika having impressive dribbling skills, but not being able to walk at the same time. |
Title: せんせいのお時間 (Doki Doki School Hours) Vol. 4 |
彼氏彼女の事情 (His and Her Circumstances) Vol. 16
Yet another volume with a lot of talk. When pages turn into these long winded chatters, my mind blanks out and I end up just skimming through the story rather than actually paying attention. However, the chapter where the other characters get involved in helping Arima escape school was pretty clever and I had a good laugh with that one. Bonus is a Tsuda diary where she talks about a novel, actors, and clothing. 74. ACT74 夢の日々 (The Days in Dreams): In his dreams, Arima remembers to when he first moved in with his current parents. At first he was still afraid of them and was wary about any signs of generosity. As he got used to it though, he still had a longing for his biological mother and on the street, mistakenly comes up to someone who looks like her. He ends up sealing his feelings and only now, does he want to let it all out. He starts telling Yukino. 75. ACT75 回帰 (Regression): Arima tells Yukino his story. Later, he tells his parents the whole truth. Arima tells Yukino that he doesn't want to be a doctor anymore, but his new pursuit is a secret. 76. ACT76 光の道 (Roads of Light): Arima and Yukino spot his biological mother waiting outside and ask their friends for some help in avoiding her. 77. ACT77 MOTHER: They hatch up plans like having a group of students run in front of the mother, having a lot of students dress up like Arima, and having Rika and Tsubasa accompany him and scaring her off with their innocence. Eventually Ryoko gets a clue and doesn't come to the school anymore. She instead waits for him outside his house. They get in an argument and just as Ryoko is about to slap Arima again, his (surrogate) mom comes to his aid and slaps her back. 78. ACT78 闇を切って飛ぶ鳥 (The Bird That Zips Through the Darkness): Yukino has a talk with Asaba what he has known about Arima being his best friend and all. She thanks him for protecting her boyfriend through his troubles. |
Title: 彼氏彼女の事情 (His and Her Circumstances) Vol. 16 |
Gunslinger Girl Vol. 2
After a lukewarm first volume, I'm starting to like the story. The artwork still has that aura surrounding it, perfectly compatible with the plot. There's a lot of underlying meanings on humanity in each of the chapters dealing with the half-human child assassins. The bonus is only a colored first page with Toriella and Henrietta. 6. A kitchen garden: Claes gets paired up with Robaro, an ex-military person the company has recruited back. As Claes is training, he pulls her out and talks to her about books and planting a garden. He also takes her out fishing. While he's strict and doesn't talk to her while training, they jabber when they take these fishing trips. After a failed live-training accident and almost having Claes kill Henrietta, he decides to quit. As he's leaving, he gives her the keys to his hut saying that she can borrow books anytime. Later, she learns that Robaro has been killed. While it's contemplated on, the company decides to keep her despite not having a master for her. 7. Ice cream in the Spanish open space: Joze and Henrietta listen in on Enrico, their next target who is involved in a revolt against the government. Like before, Henrietta walks around innocently with her violin case. The next day, with the help of Toriella and Rico, they capture Enrico. As they're walking away from the crime scene, one of Enrico's rivals in his organization (I think) sees Henrietta with the violin case and says that's what the revolution is about, protecting kids like her. 8. 歓びの歌 (Pleasurable Song): Toriella visits Angelica in the hospital ward and brings her a gun so she can play around with it and remember it's feel [that's messed up]. She then invites her to go watch the shooting stars with the other girls, but she can't leave. The other girls go atop a hill and watch the meteorites and start singing to Beethoven's 9th. 9. How beautiful my Florence is!: Joze and Henrietta meet Fililpo, an accountant on vacation and enjoying the arts around the city. They present themselves as normal people at first, but in fact, they're trying to protect him from the anarchists. When Filipo gets surrounded by the bad guys, Henrietta and Joze reveal themselves and scurry off with him. Unfortunately, he and Henrietta get shot. He won't make it, but Henrietta tells him that it's a shame for him to die as he would have been a good painter. 10. パスタの国の王子様（前編） (The Prince of Pasta Country, First Part): The girls are checking up with Dr. Bianki. First Henrietta, and then Angelica. With Angelica, the doctor tests who she remembers with a photo album. Then, he recites a story about the Prince in Pasta Country to see if she remembers. She doesn't. Afterwards, she asks her master, Marco whether they have any jobs to do. He tells her she's not ready and then makes her run laps around the campus. 11. パスタの国の王子様（後編） (The Prince of Pasta Country, Last Part): A flashback to when Angelica and Marco first met. Angelica was murdered by her own dad for insurance money. Marco started taking care of her in the hospital and made up a story about Prince Pasta and Pizza Princess. It is this story that she has now forgotten. |
Title: Gunslinger Girl Vol. 2 |
鋼鉄天使くるみ (Steel Angel Kurumi) Vol. 8
Nothing in particular stood out in this volume for me. The story is progressing, but nothing too spectacular. There are some good action sequences here though. There are two bonus chapters included. One is a one-shot "Dreaming Angel Saki" and the other has the main characters visiting the studio where the live action Kurumi is being filmed. The back of the dust jacket bonus is the page from the comic Kurumi was reading in vol. 7. 41. 愛のエプロン (Love's Apron): Steel Angel Sela arrives wanting to be a cook at Reiko's cafe. Her master wants to know a bit more about Nakahito so he has her infiltrate by becoming the cook. Sela challenges Kurumi to a cook-off, which Sela wins easily. However, Reiko can't afford another worker. Kurumi and the girls think they're going to be fired, but Reiko says that this is a cafe and a cook can't just displace a waitress. 42. ３人目のエンゼル・オブ・エンゼル (3 Person Angel of Angels): 4 Angels try to gang up on Steel Angel Aoi whose mediating in a remote temple, but quickly get defeated. After Aoi's victory, she realizes that it's that time again for the Steel Angel fight. 43. 卒業事変（前編） (Graduation Incident, First Part): Nakahito with Kurumi get called into the shrine deep inside the school where he meets Jinkuji-sensei and Amato. Amato explains to him about the dispersal of the Angels after graduation and how they're going to be transformed with their memories erased. Meanwhile, outside the school a group of Steel Angels are preparing to attack the school, protesting the custom of graduation. 44. 卒業事変（中編） (Graduation Incident, Middle Part): As the two teachers and Nakahito are performing the ritual to rid him of the curse, fighting goes on outside. When the infiltrators close in on the shrine, Excelia is called to fight them. She unleashes the power of her two Angel Hearts and gets a little carried away before Karinka jumps in. 45. 卒業事変（後編） (Graduation Incident, Last Part): As Excelia and Karinka are scrapping it out, the exorcism unleashes powers that blow the roof off of the shrine. Nakahito is suffering and Kurumi wants to stop the procedure, but she's told not to interfere. The other Angels see the evil that been unleashed and give up their little revolt. Things settle down again, but Nakahito isn't cured. 46. １００年の終焉 (100 Year's End): Amato reveals to an international council of Nakahito's true self, that he's a Kagura. Back at the restuarant, Reiko gives Nakahito some words of encouragement. The 3 Angels try to find Jinkuji to get some help into defeating the devil, but as they're running to the school, they miss Jinkuji who arrives at the restuarant and talks to Nakahito. The last page gives an foreboding warning that the peace is about to end. |
Title: 鋼鉄天使くるみ (Steel Angel Kurumi) Vol. 8 |
藍より青し〜秋冬〜 (Ai yori Aoshi ~Fall, Winter~) Game
The music used in the game sounds like it's from season 1, but maybe it has some from season two. There were moments in the game I felt like I was watching the anime again because it seemed so familiar (this is actually a rag on the low quality pan and scan animes that are being produced). First edition includes 8 post cards, and a pretty rugged and heavy picture frame with Aoi picture inside it. Like the first volume, this also includes various wallpapers and 5 screensavers (just slideshows). Rating: 2/4 3. 秋 (Fall): Tina and the photo club are going to Kyoto to take pictures of the fall leaves and drags the other members, Kaoru and Taeko along. Eventually everyone in the Sakuraba household goes on this day trip. After spending a day in the city where Kaoru gets split up from his group and ends with Tina alone, they head towards the [Kiyomizu Shinre | Arashi Mountain]. Tina takes some pictures with her photographer's camera as well as her polaroid. After she's finished, they head back to the train station where she shows them the polaroids. The pictures are all candid shots of the group. As they're about to leave, she gives Aoi a candid picture of her and Kaoru. Aoi cherishes the picture. 4. 冬 (Winter): The gang is in Hokkaido for the annual Snow Festival. Before the evening though, they do some activities. They go [skiing | to a (famous?) church]. On the skiing story, Kaoru teaches Aoi how to ski and the church story has Mayu living out her dream being a bride. They go the festival and see the various scultures on display and come back to a fancy hotel where they take a bath in the outdoor hot springs. Kaoru hears Tina doing her usually funny business with the other girls. They fly home the next day. At the mansion after they all go to their respective rooms, Aoi comes knocking on Kaoru's door and tells him that she's a bit envious of Mayu, at least during the vacation. |
The second game is along the same lines as the first. The box it comes in is significantly thicker and heavier, but the game still leaves much to be desired. I took a clue and read through the game rather than wait for them to voice it out. I'm a slow Japanese reader, but still can read faster than their speaking. It only took me half the time to finish the two games, so 1 hour instead of 2. |
かりん (Karin) Drama CD LE
I thought Sailor Jupiter (Emi Shinohara) had retired, but she comes back as Karin's mother in this drama CD. The main lead, 広橋涼 (Ryo Hirohashi), I remember played a minor character in the Ichigo 100% Drama CD 1 and now has a larger role. The Love Hina link here is Yukie Maeda who plays Karin's and Kenta's teacher. The voice acting fits very well to what I imagined the voices should be. The story on the drama CD is a little different than the manga. There are two new characters, Kamisato and Fujimura, who weren't in the manga. Karin's first attack in the manga is the same guy who she meets at the restaurant, which is similar to the drama CD. However, in the manga, Kenta doesn't find out about Karin's true self until much later. This story is a little more light-hearted than I thought it would be. There are two tunes, the intro and ending, that I love because they set the theme very well. They're light and upbeat and makes the rest of the story have the same feel. The only gripe I had was the sound effect when Karin bites down on her victims. In the story, it's pretty crunchy/fleshy which doesn't really go with the humorous atmosphere. In the bonus CD though, on the second track, it's more comical which is how it should be. The main CD itself contains 7 tracks and the limited edition comes with an extra CD that has 10 mini-tracks, about 5 minutes each, and has a 17 minute cast free talk track. Each cast member, even the minor characters, has a chance to talk about their impressions of the story. I always love these impromptu talks as it usually contains unscripted humor. Karin's voice actress accidentally introduces herself as "Karin" and gets laughed at by the rest of the cast before properly introducing herself as Ryo Hirohashi. 1. Karin explains that she's a vampire, but one that fills blood rather than suck. She gets her cravings when there's someone unhappy around and after her attack, they feel better, so being a vampire might not be such a bad thing. When Kenta transfers into her class, she heartbeat beats faster and she passes out in class. She concludes that maybe Kenta might be depressed in some way and it'll be a problem if she gets too close to her. 2. Their class leader, Kamisato, tries to confiscate Karin's cell phone as it's not allowed in class. However, Karin needs it to call Anjyu, her sister, if anything happens so she won't let go. Kenta steps in and convinces Kamisato to let her have it (she apparently likes him). After the incident, Kamisato goes to the class occultist Fujimura to have him find out some dirt about Karin. At the restaurant where Karin and Kenta works, Karin meets a man who's really bummed about something. Fujimura sees Karin turn red at the sight of this man and takes some photos. As he follows Karin, he gets a sense that there's something supernatural about Karin. 3. At school the next day, they peep on Karin as she's recuperating in the nurse's office. Kenta comes in to the nurse's office and Karin first tells him to leave, but explains that the reason is because she'll burst with blood if he comes closer. To make up for her sudden yelling, she offers him her lunch as she hears his stomach rumble. Kamisato gets envious at the sight. Later that day, she sees the depressed man from the restaurant again and can't restrain herself anymore. Thinking that they're alone, she has a bite. Kamisato and Fujimura see this and take pictures, catching Karin in an embrace with a business man. She's ecstatic as this will get Karin kicked out of school. 4. Rumor's spreading around school that Karin is cheating with some older man. Karin's friend, Mari, says it's highly improbably. Kamisato tries to have Kenta turn on Karin on this news, but it just worries Kenta thinking that she was seen in the act. Karin gets called into the office with Kenta and they have a discussion with her parents. They conclude that they only saw her hugging, so it's not a big deal. Kenta wants to find who's the one spreading the rumors as it has to be someone in their class. No other class knows about it. 5. Karin and Kenta talk about who could be up to trying to defame her. At Karin's household, they talk about how they knew about the photographer when Karin made her attack and how to deal with the two people. Karin finds out that one of the person there was Fujimura and Kenta tries to find more about it. 6. Fujimura breaks ranks with Kamisato as he's more interested in finding out about Karin's family. Kamisato is loses respect of her teacher and the students she's supposed to manage. She also reveals to Kenta that she's the one spreading the rumors. Anjyu meets the curious Fujimura and Karin's family give him the scare of his life. Ren meets up with Kamisato. 7. After Ren has her way with Kamisato, she becomes of the popular girls at school. Kenta and Karin still have to maintain their (physical) distance, but are still on good terms. |
Title: かりん (Karin) Drama CD LE |
愛人 (Ai Ren) Vol. 1
This is only my second Young Animal series after Ai yori. I got this first book for $1 Book-Off again. I read the first few pages and flipped through the rest of the book at the bookstore and it seemed like something I might like (and for $1, why not?). While there are a lot of fun moments, much of this story deals with the more serious matter of life and death as the main character has to deal with that, whether it's himself or Ai. It's definitely a more solemn story than what I've been reading, but it does pretty well at setting the mood, especially during the nights when he's dreaming of being taken away by the goddess of death. It strikes a pretty good balance between the joys of everyday life and the harsh reality the characters have to face. Bonus comes a letter from the author as to why he chose the title, which actually originates in Chinese. 1. 春の日に、君と帰る (On a Spring Day, I Come Home With You): Ikuru Yoshizumi application for an "Ai Ren" went through without a hitch. An "Ai Ren" is a genetically created being to accompany someone with a terminal illness. Ikuru's situation is that when he was just a toddler, he and his parents were in an accident. He should have died, but miraculously was saved by a lot of grafts and transplants. Since half his body isn't his, what's keeping him alive is what's also killing him and his outlook is very bleak. He takes his "Ai Ren," who he name "Ai" home. Since she was just born, she can't speak much yet and acts very childish. At night, he imagines the goddess of death visiting him again, but it's just Ai. The next day he gives her a haircut. 1.5 どうぞ、よろしく (Thanks): Ikuru calls the doctor who gave him Ai as she's not developing intelluctually. The doctor tells him that after 30 hours, she should have reached a level a maturity and so maybe she's just a little late. Ikuru makes her dinner and weeps while watching her eat. 2. ごはんが、できたよ (I Made Dinner): The next morning, he makes her breakfast and upon inquiry, he explains that he doesn't usually eat as he's fed intravenously. They spend the day about town playing and buying her clothes. In the bath, he falls into depression about his harsh life. Ai jumps in and offers to breast feed him, and he realizes that living also means taking life from another (i.e. milk from a mother). 3. AGH-RMS あい (AGH-RMS Ai): Ikuru's visiting doctor, Haruka, comes and explains to him about Ai, an AGH-RMS (Artificial Genes Human Regeneration for Mental Support). She tells him that he should return her since her lifespan is less than his and he'll be left broken hearted. After she leaves, Ikuru embraces Ai and makes her promise to live a long life. 4. LIVING WITH GHOSTS 〜ヒトの宮み〜 (Person's Life): On a cold and rainy night, the lights go out and they go into the attic. Ikuru explains that the house used to be a rehabilitation center, but people have died there too so rumor has it that ghosts walk about. He explains to Ai that ghosts are people who have died, but don't want to disappear. Ai tells him that she doesn't want Ikuru nor herself to disappear so she wants them to be ghosts when they die. 5. １００万年のピクニック (Million Years Picnic): Ai is preparing to go to the beach the next day. That night, Ikuru thinks he's being visited by the goddess of death again, but wakes up. They spend the next day at the beach and the amusement park beside it. 6. 先生とボク (The Teacher and I): Haruka is one of the "sixes," a super-human. She helps Ikuru rehabilitate and also teaches him about human sexuality. Eventually, she is the one who sees him off to live at his current place and promises to visit. Despite Ikuru's unwillingness to be weaned, she tells him that he's graduated from her training. 7. あいの絵日記I 〜たのしいまいにち〜 (Ai's Picture Diary, Everyday Fun): Ai draws about how she got drunk, when she got a cold and got visited by Haruka, and when they went out to the movies. She also remarks about how she knows that she used to be someone else. 8. 初恋 (First Love): Ikuru goes back to the Ai's doctor and asks if her lifespan is what Haruka told him. He tells him it's true and she'll probably only live for 8-10 months and can't be revived. Ikuru goes home crying, but finds a cheerful Ai waiting for him. They have cake and Ikuru tells her that he wants to be with her (for the time she has remaining). |
Title: 愛人 (Ai Ren) Vol. 1 |
彼氏彼女の事情 (His and Her Circumstances) Vol. 15
Finally, it looks this Arima foolishness is coming to an end. Much of this volume does contain more of Arima's psychological problems, but it looks like it's over by the last chapter. There was also a particular scene in here that startled me the first time I read it. This is probably the first time I've been shocked by a scene in a comic book. Bonus is a couple pages of Tsuka diary. 69. ACT69 彼のソネート (His Sonnet): Arima recalls when he was a kid being brused and busted up by his mother and comes leaves his biological mother's apartment, running out into the rain. He goes by Yukino's house before stopping at home where he takes a hot bath. His parents ask about his interactions with his mother, but Arima runs away again. 70. ACT70 もうひとりの彼のソネート (His Other Self's Sonnet): Arima arrives at Asaba's place. Asaba mentions that Yukino knows that's he's lying and gets a punch to the face. Asaba passes out and Arima waits until he wakes up, just to be polite. Yukino arrives at Asaba's place and takes notice of Arima's shoes. Arima comes out and tells her that he doesn't want to see her. 71. ACT71 彼女のソネート (Her Sonnet): At school, Arima's past comes to haunt him again. Yukino traps him, blocks the door, and gives him an ultimatum. He can either tell her the truth or end the relationship by moving her and walking out. He starts going crazy again before Asaba gives him a slap. Yukino and Asaba walk home and he tells her it's not going to be easy saving Arima. 72. ACT72 彼と彼女のソネート (His and Her Sonnet): Kazuma drives by and witnesses Yukino and Arima walking to school and gets a bad feeling, but his story in New York is for later. Yukino tells him more about what she's learned from Asaba about his mother. In the library, they try to talk, but she feels distant. He goes in a fit of rage blaming her before embracing her and doing it on the floor. A flashback sequence where Arima falls down the stars. Afterwards, Arima stabs himself in the hand and Yukino clutches her abdomen (hmm...). 73. ACT73 夜の終わり (End of Night): Arima arrives at school with a bandaged hand and Yukino sees this. She slaps him and then makes a blood pact by injuring her own hand. She reminds him that he used to like people, and with that, his nightmares disappear and has a new outlook on life. |
Title: 彼氏彼女の事情 (His and Her Circumstances) Vol. 15 |
藍より青し〜春夏〜 (Ai yori Aoshi ~Spring, Summer~) Game
The game engine itself sucks compared to other adventure games. You can't scroll back through the text and there's barely any choices to make in the game. Each chapter takes about an hour to complete and doesn't even have an intro nor ending movie. The stories are what I've come accustomed to Ai yori post-season 1. Short, episodic, and not much substance with a little sentimental scene between Kaoru and Aoi at the end. I really hope the manga can make up for the serious shortfall of the anime. The only redeeming factor is that the CDs come with a bunch of wallpapers of previously published Ai yori images. I don't know how complete they are, but I remember seeing all of them somewhere before, many from the artbook and media covers. At least I don't have to scan pictures in anymore as I have the direct digital transfers I can use for wallpapers. First edition of this game comes with postcards of previously used pictures as well as a pack of cards with previously used pictures. There's a special mail-in offer for those two bought both games but the deadline was end of July. The box is gigantic but the packaging comes in regular shrinkwrap instead of a resealable plastic, so I had to scan it with the sticker on. Rating: 2/4 1. 春 (Spring): It's a spring day and the Sakura leaves are falling. Since it's so busy during the day, Kaoru and Aoi decide to invite everyone to visit the park at night. They arrive only to find that it's as crowded as it was during the day. After some searching, they find a spot to sit and enjoy the night singing, drinking, and playing card games. Chizuru and Natsuki come visit too. Aoi and Kaoru manage to find some time alone, only to be interrupted by a drunk Tina. Kaoru carries Tina home and Aoi remarks that she's a bit jealous of Tina. 2. 夏 (Summer): Kaoru has been assigned summer vacation homework to do some research in Okinawa. It just so happens that the Sakuraba group has a beach house there, so the gang heads to Okinawa. They play at the beach and visit some of the historical landmarks there. That night, Aoi accompanies Kaoru as he's writing up his report and ends up falling asleep on his shoulders. |
Moo... Still milking the Ai yori Aoshi cow. This is the first game released after the second season was finished. It had an original release date of 4/29/04, but was delayed until 5/20/04. And believe it or not, they're still milking it with the upcoming release of another drama CD at the end of September. |
えんxむす (En x Musu) Vol. 6
A prime example of a series that was forced to be cut short. I liked the stories in this volume up to chapter 50. Starting 51 to the end, it seemed really obvious that the author knew the series was coming to an end and had to end it soon. He starts throwing in things like DNA clones and such, much of which I'm still confused by, and then proceeds to eliminate each character one by one. The ending was a cop-out, but I guess there was no other choice. There's the usual (incomplete) summary of characters but no letter from the author after the series has finished. 46. 久保直巳 (Naomi Kubo): Asuka plans to overthrow Koan by doing a hostile takeover with the remaining stockholders. The first target is Naomi Kubo with a 10% stake in company. Naomi runs an amusement park that's lacking in business. Sonya accidentally appears in one of the shows and becomes very popular. Word travels fast and people are flocking to the park. Naomi offers his stake if Sonya will keep performing and keep the customers coming. 47. 色仕掛け (Trap): The next two people are the current president, Koan's father, and 服部寛二 (Kanji Hattori, VP?). They get won over when Gisuke visits the grave of the president's late wife/Koan's mother. The president remembers when Koan made a desperate call to his father when his mother was going to die, but got a cold response and so Koan has blamed his father for the death. Gisuke says he can do a better job and gets the support of the two of them. The tally is now 46% Gisuke, 35% Koan, 10% Yanagi, and 9% others. Later, Gisuke tells Yanagi about their plan as he trusts her. 48. 役員会 (Director's Meeting): At the meeting, they do a count, but Koan seems to already know what they are up to and says that he's arranged it so that he'll get the 9% others in addition to Yanagi's share. But at the last moment, after Yanagi has a flashback to when she had a talk with Koan's maid, she breaks free from Koan's charm and gives her share to Gisuke. 49. 休みスタート (Vacation Start): Yanagi has a nightmare again about being left alone by her parents. Gisuke and gang go on vacation and stay in a fancy resort as he's the president of the company now. While everyone else is playing, Yanagi is doing everyone's homework. She falls asleep and has the dream again, but wakes up to see all her friends. 50. ビーチでSOS (SOS at the Beach): Asuka and Sonya have a swimming competition and Sonya gets lost in the currents. Without thinking, Gisuke swims out to the sea to rescue her, but also gets in trouble and passes out. They get picked up by Tendo in his motorboat. Ritsuko (company subordinate) scolds Gisuke for being so reckless. 51. 祭りの夜 (Night of Festival): At the summer festival, Kyosuke gets attacked by Genichiro's maid, Sayoko. Possessing the invicibility charm, he has his own maid, Rose, shoot her. She misses and surprisingly kills her master. When the police come, Rose kills herself knowing that it wasn't Sayoko who pulled the trigger but her. 52. 帝王のDNA (King's DNA): Genichiro talks about how Gisuke is a clone of the the previous head of Dragon. Gisuke gets news of Kyosuke's death and later gets a pummeled by Tendo, but claims that his injuries are from an accident. From the beating, he realizes what he must do and proposes to Yanagi. 53. ダスビターニャ (Goodbye [Russian]): Sonya stays behind for a bit to prepare for the reception at the house later. Tendo and Genichiro have a duel, and Tendo comes out on top, thereby removing one more successor (last one?). As Sonya is taking a taxi to the wedding, she gets killed underneath a rock slide. 54. 最後の選択 (The Last Choice): Gisuke leaves Yanagi at the alter and finds out that Sonya has died. He offers his body up to save her. 55. 伝説 (Legend): Afterwards, Gisuke is no longer alive (maybe?) and a statue is erected in his name. Sonya has a short monologue. |
Title: 恋愛出世絵巻えんxむす (En x Musu) Vol. 6 |
マブラヴ (Muv-Luv) Vol. 2
The more I'm in contact with this game, the more I want to play it. First it was volume 1 of this manga, then it was the bonus story on the Kiminozo fan disc, and now it's volume 2. There's also a new series starting in this month's Dengeki Daioh (I started my subscription just in time!). Anyhow, even if I didn't have the game, this volume was pretty good as it finished a coherent story. This volume has two primary stories, the first two chapters is one plot, and the other chapters make up the 2nd plot. I'm getting a feel of what the characters are like, but I'll probably know them better once I start the game. There's a bonus 2 chapter manga where the Takero dreams of a mecha battle. 7. Episode 7: 珠瀬壬姫 (Miki Tamase) has been challenged 天野原水子 (Harasuiko Amano), mostly because their fathers have a long grudge and are title with 99 victories a piece in head to head competitions. The challenge this time is in archery. Takero, Meiya, and Takero help her train, but she's very self-conscious and can't perform while people are watching her. Takero gets the idea of using dolls facing her, but even with that, Miki still obstructs the dolls view. 8. Episode 8: With the help of some more dolls, including a cursed one stolen from Mana, Meiya's maid, Miki enters the competition. They end up tying with the parents declaring the next competition being which daughter gets married earlier. 9. Episode 9: In an argument with Kei, Chizuru falls from the stairs onto Akane, seriously injuring her. Being the popular person Akane is, the other students blame Chizuru for hurting Akane. At the hospital, Akane's doctor seems to know Kei, and Kei dashes off immediately. They don't listen to her even though she's the class leader and spread rumors about her, 10. Episode 10: Takero bumps into Kei on the street while looking for Chizuru and takes her to see Akane in the hospital. Kei asks Takero to be her boyfriend as the doctor is a stalker, or so she says. After Kei disappears again, Takero and the doctor have a talk and Takero finds out that the doctor had a relationship with Kei's mom when she was a nurse previously, so that's why Kei is so bitter. Takero goes to Chizuru's house just as she's about to leave home. He tells her that her mom is worried about her, but Chizuru gives him a slap saying that her mom doesn't care. He later sees Kei and tells him what the doctor said and he gets slapped again for meddling in other people's business. 11. Episode 11: Kei apologizes to Takero the next day, and sorta accepts the doctor's explanation. In front of the hospital, Takero notices Chizuru's mom walking by. She says she's just out shopping, but in the hospital a few minutes later, they see her being wheeled through. Akane, who's awake, hears the story about Chizuru and the abuse she got from her classmates as well as Chizuru's mom searching all night for her and finally collapsed. Akane gets enraged by this news. Takero asks Suzumiya and others to try and find Chizuru. They find her in a sketchy part of town being dragged into a love hotel. 12. Episode 12: They save Chizuru and Akane goes to class and yells at the classmates. Things are back to normal and friends are friends again. |
Title: マブラヴ (Muv-Luv) Vol. 2 |
魔法騎士レイアース２ (Magic Knight Rayearth 2) Vol. 1
More of the same good stuff. From what I remember of the anime (yet again, long time ago. I bought both R1 boxes at the and just marathoned through them), this season was pretty unartistic. Nothing but interiors and any outside shot was pretty dull. What I'm surprised was that this second series was published immediately after the first one ended. I guess they didn't need for an outcry for a sequel to start this one. Bonus contains an interview with 山之内秀樹 (Hideki Yamanouchi) who's worked with Kodansha in the girl's comics division as well as Young Magazine. The three girls are still bummed about what they did in Cephiro at meet back at Tokyo Tower where they are summoned back to the distant land. They arrive to find a barren planet. They meet people they befriended during their last adventure, including Prescia, Ferio (who they find out was Emeraldo's brother), Alcone, Ascot (who has grown), and of course Clef. Clef informs them that since there's no pillar praying for Cephiro's prosperity and protection, 3 competition worlds have built roads to come and take over. As the Magic Knights are fighting against Eagle from Autozam, a man on a steed with a fairy appears and interrupts them. They come back and LaFalga tells them that it's Lantis (and fairy, Primera), Zagato's brother who left for Autozam and came back right after the Magic Knight did their business. Hikaru tries to apologize to him. Afterwards, the two other competing countries are introduced, Asuka of Faren wants to become the next pillar and there's also Tarta and Tatora from Chizeta. Cephiro continues to crumble and the volume ends with Lantis saying that he wants to rid the Magic Knight legend. |
Title: 魔法騎士レイアース２ (Magic Knight Rayearth 2) Vol. 1 |
鋼鉄天使くるみ (Steel Angel Kurumi) Vol. 7
Looks like Karinka's going to be featured a little more as the fact that she has two Angel Hearts has some relevance in the future. The last two stories were pretty good as it was a whole story, not just an chapter long short episode like the others. Bonus includes a mini-comic with a tour of Kaishaku's new studio and the back of the cover has a maze. 35. 真・鋼鉄天使 (True Steel Angel): Kurumi has become super/true Kurumi. To counter, Amato asks Excelia to show him how much he loves him by cutting his own wrist and telling her that he'll die if she doesn't win. She loses regardless and Amato asks for her to use her latent power, the Karinka System. They get stopped before she's activated by a teacher who Nakahito thinks is one of Shinobu's descendants. 36. 天城零子の裏（表！？）仕事 (Reiko Amagi's Other Job): Kurumi is reading manga on the job and has gotten Karinka and Saki interested in it. They find out that the author is their own Reiko. Reiko explains that the restaurant is actually her secondary job. Kurumi and Karinka try to draw the comic. Despite their artist skill, they get booted because of their fighting. Nakahito is at Jinkuji-sensei's house where he's asked to take off his clothes. 37. うるか参上! (Uruka Visits!): Uruka, Jinkuji-sensei's little sister, arrives just in time to stop her older sister from her little fetish with Nakahito. She tells Nakahito to stay away from their house. Back at the restaurant, Kurumi and gang have been featured in a magazine, so the restaurant is jam-packed with fans. They ask to take a picture of Kurumi, but she won't smile for anyone but Nakahito and causes another explosion at the restaurant. Soon after, Nakahito sees that Reiko's helper is Uruka. 38. カリンカのなかよし大作戦 (Karinka's Big Strategy): With her two Angel Hearts, Karinka saves Excelia from a couple of bullies. Karinka invites Excelia home to take a bath and tries to build a better relationship with her. 39. 鋼鉄戦艦（上） (Steel Battleship, First): The school has been attacked by a battleship/Steel Angel without a master, "Odin." The school sends it's Steel Angels with their power limiters disabled, but only have 2 hours to defeat the enemy before they themselves wear out. 40. 鋼鉄戦艦（下） (Steel Battleship, Last): The Steel Angel trio, Maki, Megumi, and Asuka defeat the Steel Battleship's sister, Ein who explains to Saki that she just wants to protect her sibling as she's lost yearning for her master. Hearing this tale and being able to sympathize with the sisterly love, Saki tries to protect the ship, but the school's defenders destroy the ship. All is not lost though, as Odin's Angel Heart is recovered. |
Title: 鋼鉄天使くるみ (Steel Angel Kurumi) Vol. 7 |
Crap, A Dent... I'm calling it a day. I dropped my (work) laptop from about 10 inches high today. Everything still functions correctly, except now there's a big dent in the lower right corner of the laptop. Even though it's not technically mine, I still feel really bad for doing it and so I'm going to sleep on it and hopefully feel better in the morning. |
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少年マガ (Shonen Magazine), '04 Vol 38 & ヤングマガ (Young Magazine), '04 Vol. 37/38
Yuuko-rin! There's a tear-out photo booklet of Yuuko, much like what's usually included in Young. Damn...<drool> I received this week's issue really early. Since there wasn't an issue last week, they probably had this week's on the printing press ready. Even the Japanese bookstores (or at least the ones that keep street dates) won't have this issue until tomorrow (= Wednesday Japan Time). In addition to Yuuko, this week's features another olympic-inspired manga in wrestling. Tsubasa's cover page features Kotono and Sumomo. This week has the last chapter of "Aji no Tasuke" so hopefully something new is in the works. Suzuka: ＃２５挑発 (Provocation): Yamato is skipping his meet and drags Yasunobu around town. Meanwhile at the meet, a rival from the other school, エメルソン有馬 (Arima Emelson) shows up at the meet. Suzuka's coach reminds her that in middle school, Arima always came in second to Kazuki. Suzuka blurts out that if Kazuki were alive, he'd win this competition too. Arima overhears her boast. Yasunobu leads the unsuspecting Yamato to the stadium where they see Arima confronting Suzuka and reminds her that Kazuki's dead. Yamato, seeing her abused this way, steps in saying that he's the fastest runner. Negima: ６４時間目 魔法先生を追いかける (Chase the Magic Teacher): Natsumi and Chizuru discover a naked wolf-like boy (Kotaro, although they don't know that) appear in their room. As they're trying to get some help, Kotaro jumps up and has Natsumi by the throat. Chizuru, through her experience dealing with kids at school, calms him down and he passes out again. Meanwhile at Eva's place, Negi tries to some of the students simple magic. After everyone's asleep, Asuna walks out to see Negi training. Negi talks with her and beings to explain to her why he's training and hints at something that happened 6 years ago when he met his dad. Back at the school, some blob appears from the ground looking for Negi. Hamanaka Ai: ０４７少女的自由研究 (Girlish Self-Study) (Girlish Self-Study): The students are almost done with their summer homework except for their self-study/research. Namamura disapproves of Masahiko's idea of downloading something off the Internet. Meanwhile, Rin is already done, but Nakamura thinks her diary with a dog is pretty bland and asks her to re-do it. The revision isn't that much more interesting. Tsubasa: ５４二人の神 (Two Person's God): Kuro and Fye meet the leader of the gang they're currently fighting, 倉石 (Souseki). She had set up a barrier around the shrine and so the guards (I guess) were surprised that Kuro and Fye appeared. She tells them that the shrine was built to protect people. She leads them into a room and starts to tell them about Yasha (RG Veda). Shaoran and Sakura witness Karen do a flame dance. Suzuran tells them that they can't get burned by the fire it's given by their god, Ashura (RG Veda). Changing Now: ＃１５出現！！ クワガタ男 (Appearance!! Stag Man): As Dog Fighter is fighting, another character, Bigban Sigma appears claiming to be the hero and fighting Dog Fighter. As their argument prolongs, the real villain asks to go home.
So I lied. The receipt from last week's issue said "1" and I assume that meant "last one" rather than "1 more remaining." It now says "0" so I'm sure this is the last one. Front page girl is Yoko Kumada, back page girl is Haruka Tanabe. Redlight: 17: Satoshi and Chiko need more money now that they're living alone. Chiko tries to find a job driving, but most require her to have her license for more than a year. She finally finds a job being a hostess at a sketchy restaurant for just tonight. At first Satoshi isn't worried, but later goes to visit her. He gets dragged into another similar restuarant, so while Chiko is entertaining a customer, Satoshi himself is being entertained. Love Lucky: 12: Kirari invites Fuuta to the amusement park for a date. Of course, she wears a ski mask to conceal her real identity as she accompanies him. Problem is, she looks awfully conspicuous and gets the attention of a Paparazzi-like photographer who she recognize and runs away from, adding to the photographer's suspicions. They eventually escape to the ferris wheel and half a kiss alone. The photographer has a photograph of the couple and says he'll find out who that girl in the ski mask is. Minamike: 15: The three girls realize that they've outgrown their one-piece swim suits so they go out to buy new ones. To anticipate the embarrassment of not being able to fit into the new swimsuits due to fatness, they buy Haruka something that's wearable even if the person grows taller or wider, in other words, a two piece string bikini. |
Title: 少年マガジン (Shonen Magazine) Vol. 38
Title: ヤングマガジン (Young Magazine) Vol. 37/38 |
恋風サウンドトラック (Koi Kaze Soundtrack)
I wasn't originally planning on getting this CD, rather I had pre-ordered the drama CD that was supposed to be released on the day. Unfortunately, they scrapped the plans for the drama CD, so I ordered this instead. The first thing that struck me was the packaging. The first edition sleeve is made of very thick textured-paper, even better than those used in Someday's Dreamers packaging. I had a tough time figuring out which picture to scan, the outside sleeve or inside cover. I ended up with the inside cover as it's a bit more colorful. The outside sleeve is better for showing in person. This series, with it's art style, reminds me a lot of Someday's Dreamers and I had expected the music to be in a similar manner. But it turns out that this soundtrack is a lot more mellow as compared to being "bright." I'm not a big fan of very slow acoustic guitars and this CD is replete with that instrument. Many tracks also feature slow piano too. In a surprising move, the full-length intro is included on the soundtrack itself rather than a separate single. The ending is only TV-sized, but I like the intro a lot better as it was composed by the late Ritsuko Okazaki, composer of the music to many other series that I love (including, of course, Love Hina). First edition comes with a very nice textured-paper sleeve, stickers, and photo card of Koshiro (maybe? or is it Nanoka?). These match the bonuses with the first edition of the first DVD. |
Title: 恋風サウンドトラック (Koi Kaze Soundtrack) |
恋風 (Koi Kaze) Vol. 1
I'm really surprised at Nanoka's voice. Being so young, I thought they would have casted someone with a younger (read: higher pitched) voice. However, as I watched the show, it seemed like her voice is appropriate for her character. In comparison to the manga, the anime really sets the atmosphere to enjoy the show. When I was reading the books, I had a little more energy while reading it. The show, however, really put me in a serious and somber mood. It's not a bad thing, just a little different than I had expected. The video is anamorphic and looks superb. I'll save the background music discussion for the soundtrack, but I love the intro (being a Ritsuko Okazaki tune, not hard to imagine why). First pressing comes with a standee with the same image as the DVD cover, a few stickers, and a photo of Nanoka as a toddler. The liner notes have an interview with Yuki Nakamura, the voice actress for Nanoka. DVD bonus is just a commercial. 1. 初花 (First Bloom): 耕四郎 (Koshiro) has just been dumped by his girlfriend. As he's going to work, he notices a young girl. She drops her student ID, so he picks it up and gives it to her. At home, he finds out that his younger sister, 七夏 (Nanoka), is going to move in with her. At work, Koshiro receives some tickets to the amusement park. He meets the young girl again and invites her there. On the ferris wheel, she tells him about the failed love story behind the button she carries around and he breaks down crying about his troubled love life. After they leave, his father shows up surprised that the siblings have already gotten to know each other. |
Title: 恋風 (Koi Kaze) Vol. 1 |
がぁ～でぃあん Hearts (Guardian Hearts) Vol. 6
I didn't realize this volume was already out as I only finished vol. 5 not too long ago. The stories aren't spectacular, but it's easy to follow. They seem to be starting a new story arc (and finishes with a cliffhanger!) in this volume, so it'll be interesting to see what's next. There's supposed to be the second OVA series coming out, but I'm not that interested in this series to watch the anime. There's a bonus chapter with manga the author did previously as well as the usual letter from the author on the back cover. 38. 忍びの追っ手、紅の綾 参上！ (Shinobi Pursuer, Crimson Aya Visits!): 紅の綾 (Crimson Aya) appears and Kazuya takes her in to his crowded house. She comes from the same village as Maya and used to be her childhood friend. She has the task of finding the other outcast from her villiage, Shizu (former leader of BURN). She hears about Maya having been kissed and seen naked by Kazuya and gives her blessings, despite Maya's and Hina's objection. Soon after, they're terrorized by the nameless pirate, who is after their weapons. Shizu also appears. Aya joins power with Maya and defeat the two enemies. 39. 海賊会議は伊達じゃない (Isn't the Pirate Meeting Showy): A short chapter where the pirate comes up with a name for herself, ラミエル (Ramielle). 40. 同じシマで二つの組織はいらんのや (No Need For Two Factions on the Same Island): Ramielle gets on Kurusu's case about how there can't be two theives running around. Kurusu convinces her that she's no competition and only steals clothing. Ramielle then goes after Princess Satsuki (introduced last volume), but her servant saves the day. After Ramielle is defeated, Hina, as a Guardian Heart, comes around not knowing that there was fighting. 41. 恋に生きて、掟に死ぬの (Live By Love, Die By Law): Another short chapter where Aya tries to clear the path for Maya and Kazuya by getting rid of the other girls in the house. She doesn't get very far in her plans. 42. 抑えきれない気持ちを (Inextinguishable Feelings): It's Hina's birthday and she asks for a date with Kazuya. They enjoy their day, but of course, some other girls are following. Hina tells Kazuya about her mom, and the fact that she never knew her as she went missing in battle shortly after giving birth. That evening, they kiss and Princess Satsuki sees their embrace. 43. ネコは大切に (Take Care of the Cat): Short chapter where Daisy explains why she likes bathing, but can't stand the water (as all cats do). 44. 覚醒、ガッーツの宿敵ソウド現る！ (Awakening, The Old Enemy of Gattsu Appears): The Princess asks why Kazuya likes Hina and leaves dejected. Meanwhile, Ramielle tells Shizu that a powerful leader, even more powerful than the Guardian Hearts, is going to appear. When she confronts Kazuya and gang, Princess transforms into that powerful entity and is now ソウドチェーンド (Chendo Sood (?)). 45. 戦慄、大切な人が最大な敵に (Shudder, The Most Important Person Becomes the Greatest Enemy): Hina remembers back to when Len told her about why the Gattsu are archenemies of the Sood. The Sood are a race that can't reproduce, so they become parasites in some other host and when the time is right, they transform into Sood. Chendo tells Hina that her previous self was always suffering as she couldn't be with Kazuya. Hina transforms into Guardian Hearts, finally revealing the secret to everyone. However, it's too late as Chendo has kissed Kazuya and Kazuya has become a Sood himself. As they're leaving, she says that Maya, Kurusu, Chelsea, and Kotono all have Sood in them. Hina feels left out as she's the only pure-blood. The other girls say that they'll never become Sood, but Maya, who can emphasize with Princess, departs and leaves a note behind saying she's sorry. |
Title: がぁ～でぃあん Hearts (Guardian Hearts) Vol. 6 |
彼氏彼女の事情 (His and Her Circumstances) Vol. 14
Arima still has emotional issues, and now has been suckered. And is this story now a flashback? Arima has a scene where he several years older regretting that he had "yes." Bonus is another Tsuda diary. 64. ACT64 破綻 (Failure): Arima loves Yukino but can't tell her about his true self. He returns home to find a women, Ryoko, who claims to be his true mother. In an instant, he feels like he's on the verge of re-opening his past, but he dismisses her and claims that his adopted parents are his true parents. The next day, Ryoko shows herself at Arima's school. 65. ACT65 序 (Preface): Arima tells his friends, including Yukino to go on ahead while he deals with Ryoko. Despite not wanting to see her, he eventually gets sucked in and accmopanies her. Ryoko tells Arima about his dad's trouble past and shows him a photo of him which reminds him of his evil/other/true self. Conflicted with the fact that he wants to understand his past, he reluctantly agrees to meet her the next day. But he also realizes that Ryoko, being his mother, may also be as deceptive as he is in hiding his true self. 66. ACT66 破 (Tear): Arima spends the night at Asaba's and only arrives home in the morning. At school, Yukino asks him who that woman, Ryoko, was. He responds by saying she's just a relative. Yukino is suspicious of his answer. That night, he meets with Ryoko with the intention of telling her he's not interested anymore, but she hooks him in by telling him to accompany her just tonight, as a parting gesture. He agrees, but there's a flash-forward where he regrets saying those words. Arima and Ryoko have their date and she gets drunk and tells him that she'll come after him, even at school, if he doesn't want to acknowledge her. 67. ACT67 急 (Rush): Arima's mom (adopted) realizes that he's been seeing Ryoko after smelling the perfume on his handkerchief. She calls Ryoko, but Ryoko says it's Arima who's after her. On the street, Arima meets some of Ryoko's fellow employees who tell him not to get close to Ryoko because Ryoko may be motivated by greed as her store is going to close. Yukino consults with Asaba about Arima. 68. パンドラ (Pandora): Yukino is worried and tries to look for Arima at his house, but he's not there. In fact, he's currently at Ryoko's place. He brings up the rumor he's heard and they start a little battle with words where he ends up on the ground being smacked by Ryoko. He is suddenly reminded of his childhood when this used to happen. |
Title: 彼氏彼女の事情 (His and Her Circumstances) Vol. 14 |
君が望む永遠 (Kimi ga Nozomu Eien) Special Concert DVD 2
The second bonus concert DVD that came with vol. 6 of Kiminozo. This time, it's only Minami singing. The songs included are the intros to the different variations of Kiminozo including the PS2 version, Dreamcast version, and the re-released DVD version. It also includes an encore where she sings Rumbling Hearts again and a short commercial. Like with the first concert DVD, I had to listen to her singing live a few times before I could get used to it. Much of Kiminozo vocal music is digitally enhanced, so when she sings it live, it sounds different. Regardless, the songs were top notch. She performs one of my favorites, the PS2 intro, very well. The background music sounded a bit different and I prefer the original, but the vocals were terrific. The encore version of Rumbling Hearts is how it's supposed to be. The first thing I noticed from the first concert DVD is that the audience was pretty dead when she was singing. Having other concert DVDs, the audience were always on their feet waving their hands and singing along. They finally did that when she sang the encore. I have to say I like the version on the first DVD though, simply because of the outfit. While she looks good in the white dress, the purple school uniform fit the story. |
Title: 君が望む永遠〜凉宮家の決気祝い〜 (Kimi ga Nozomu Eien, Suzumiya's Recovery Celebration) |
ドラゴンエイジ (Dragon Age) August '04
[8/11/04] As expected, there's a ton of stories in here that I'm interested in. Since I'm starting in the middle of some stories, I'm going to wait until I read the tanks until I can write a good summary of it. Bonuses for this month include a card, and more importantly, a sample of the Karin drama CD (this is the reason why I needed to start this subscription this month). The included CD contains two tracks similar to the tracks on the extra disc included with the LE version of the real drama CD. The first track has Karin making lunch for Kenta. What took her 2+ hours to make takes him 5 minutes to finish. The second track has Karin's parents taking her and Kenta on a picnic at midnight in the woods. Karin says that this isn't what a humans call a normal picnic. While I like many of the stories, there are some that I'm going to refrain from. Right now, the list includes: New Tenchi Muyo! (don't really care, this series has been milked to death), Slayers (CPM's R1 DVD release still leaves a bad aftertaste), and the manga featured on the cover, Variante (too dark for me). Karin: 恥の１６「かりんの後悔と健太のユウウツ〜Uneasy〜」 (Karin's Regret and Kenta's Gloom): Karin finds herself almost sinking her teeth into Kenta but stops herself at the last moment. Since she wasn't able to, she has a mass nosebleed. The next day, she calls in sick to work, but sneaks near the restuarant to speak to Kenta and to apologize for her actions. Soon after, she realizes that she's forgotten about Fumio, who has just been accosted by Ren. Tsubame Syndrome: ACT8「守るべき”価値”あるもの」 (The Valuable I Ought to Protect): I'll wait until I get the first volume of the tank to start reading this series, but it seems interesting. From the brief summary, it's about a boy named 倉敷敦河 (Taiga Kurashiki) who several years ago lost his memory and now possess a mysterious item, the Origin Heart. Current chapter has him fighting some monster and getting help from a few girls who I guess are on the journal with him. Full Metal Panic: Mission 50 居場所のない世界 (Unknown World): By the time I get the next issue, I will have finished all 7 volumes of FMP. Supa Supa: SPAS-PA 21「託される想い」(Entrusted Feelings): This looks like a cute 1 boy, many girls type manga. Currently has two volumes out with 3rd coming out in September. Kannagi: 柱之二 神宿る玉の契 (2, The Pledge of the Pendant Housed By The Gods): I guess I can start from chapter 2. 神崎深緑 (Shinryoku Kanzaki) looks in the mirror in the school's bathroom at his green glass eye. He doesn't remember much about yesterday, but has a feeling that it has something to do with it. In the hallway, a female friend (?), 七海 (Nanami) tells him that he's wanted in the student lounge. There, he meets 天野功一 (Koichi Amano), 西條寛 (Hiroshi Saijo), and 深沢静香 (Shizuka Fukazawa), and another student, all of who have a glass eye. With the eyes and a pendant they all have, Koichi tells Shinryoku that it's his duty to protect humans from some sort of bugs that feast upon normal people. He refuses and later in the day, he is attacked by some mean looking guy and his pendant turns into a sword. After the battle, he starts crying wishing that people would just leave him alone. Taisetu na Koto: Step 7 駆ける少年 (Running Boy): Nami and friends are on Watashigo island to watch 光明 (Mitsuaki) compete in the triathalon. It is their last summer in high school and as he's doing the cycling leg of the competition, he remembers back to when he was a freshman. His goal was to be an olympic triathlete and Nami was the only person who supported him. Meanwhile, Nami is preparing to take pictures of him when he suddenly cycles up to her and swerves just in time to miss her. He falls, gets all scuffed up, and the handles on his bike break, but he's fine otherwise. Rieko, Nami's classmate who's also there, implores that Nami use magic to get Mitsukaki back on his feet. Mitsukaki says he'll finish the race and does so, but dead last. That night, Mitsuaki tells Nami that he likes her and Rieko overhears this. |
Title: ドラゴンエイジ (Dragon Age) August '04 |
君が望む永遠 (Kimi ga Nozomu Eien) Vol. 6
Manami has no voice in the anime show! Everytime she appears, she just stands there and smiles. Hmm. I wonder why that is. I'm actually really curious as to what the ending is going to be. I know that the limited edition of the last volume of the DVD has the book that's associated with Mitsuki's ending, but it really seems like Takayuki's going to choose Haruka in the anime. Hmm. Not much bonuses this time (besides the concert DVD). Just a reversible cover that has Haruka sitting on the beach in the sunset. 11. Haruka is back in a coma after coming to realize that she's been sleeping for 3 years. Akane takes timeout to have a heart to heart talk with Takayuki where she reveals that a bit of her motivation to keep Haruka company is to see Takayuki happy. Meanwhile, Mitsuki isn't doing so well. She's lost all self-esteem, slept with Shinji out of desperation and is pretty much in the dumps. Takayuki overexerts himself looking after Haruka and gets ill. He comes home and slumps on the floor. 12. Mitsuki comes to Takayuki's looking for the bag that he picked up from her office and finds him passed out. Taking care of him rejunivates her, but she still knows he likes Haruka. Haruka slowly wakes up from her coma and Takayuki recovers from his illness. He returns to work and meets Shinji there who gives him a nice beating for neglecting Mitsuki. |
Title: 君が望む永遠 (Kimi ga Nozomu Eien) Vol. 6 |
魔法騎士レイアース (Magic Knight Rayearth) Vol. 3
This story is a lot faster than I had expected after knowing what happens in the anime. Having already known what happens at the end, I wasn't too surprised the second time around, but it was still a good adventure to re-live again. There's just the story in this volume, no essays or anything else. The three girls meet and acquire the "machines" but not before having to undergo trails to show they are strong-willed enough to handle the power. Umi acquires Seles after defeating Ascot, Fuu acquires Windam after defeating Caldena, and Hikaru defeats Princess Emeraldo's guard, Lafalga who was controlled by Zagato. The three girls defeat Zagato only to find out that Zagato was actually in love with Emeraldo (and vice versa). Their true goal was to kill princess Emeraldo since she no longer has the will to keep praying in Cephilo. The girls were summoned since no one in Cephiro could kill her. After they reunite the two lovebirds in death, they return to Tokyo Tower. |
Title: 魔法騎士レイアース (Magic Knight Rayearth) Vol. 3 |
いちご１００％ (Strawberry 100%) Drama CD 2
One of the first things I noticed here is that when they announce the title, "Ichigo 100%," they add a pause between the first word and the number. They didn't do that in the first drama CD. There's no bonus track here like last time where the girls talked in various accents, but the story itself is still well acted as well as the music. The story included in this CD covers most of volume 2 of the manga. While it only uses three of the titles in the manga, those tracks contain the stories from multiple chapters. Bonuses include a post card and a hologram card. It changes pictures when you look at it from a different angle and has the girls clothed and then in bikinis. 1. オープニング (Opening): Satsuki and Yui introduce the show as they're noticeably absent from the actual drama tracks since they're late arrivers in the series. They then switch to Tsukasa's room and try to liven the place up with some remodeling. Tsukasa comes in saying that Junpei is outside the door waiting to come in. 2. 第４話 「暴走得意真中号」 (#4 Manaka's Wild Express Line): Covers manga 10-11. Junpei gets invited to Tsukasa's house when her parents aren't around. They go into her room where he starts getting dirty thoughts. She seems fine but he's a bit out of control. One thing leads to another and he finds himself drenched. Outside, he thinks he's using a towel, but is actually underwear and gets caught by Tsukasa's neighbor who's been wary about recent reports with an underwear thief. At school the next day, he has thoughts about Aya. Aya invites him to the roof, but their meeting is broken up when Tsukasa shows up returning Junpei's underwear that she cleaned for him. 3. SS1 「唯 meets 綾」 (Short Story 1, Yui Meets Aya): Yui and a friend has attended a wedding and Yui caught the bride's bouquet. As they're talking, the friend suggests that she's going to be the next to be married. Yui accidentally bumps into Aya. 4. 第５話 「幻の美少女再び！！」 (#5 The Mysterious Girl, Revisited): Covers manga 12-14. Aya reveals that she's wants to go to Izumisaka high. At the entrance exam for high school, Junpei sees the girl with the strawberry patterned underwear again. He doesn't realize it later until she shows up late at the exam room that it's Aya. She sits behind him and during the entire test, he's there dreaming about their future and doesn't realize that the clock is ticking. 5. SS2 「さつき meets つかさ」 (Short Story 2, Satsuki Meets Tsukasa): Satsuki is worried about being able to pass the entrance exam. Her friend recommends that she cheat. The two of them then see Tsukasa running past them laughing so hard that tears are coming out. [I'm guessing this happened right after Junpei confessed to her]. 6. 第６話 「つかさStyle」 (#6 Tsukasa Style): Covers 15-17. Tsukasa invites Junpei on a date. The highlight is when they're trapped in the elevator where she reveals that she knows Junpei likes someone else. He also has a talk with Aya the next day. At the results of the exam, both Aya and Tsukasa have passed. Junpei made it on the backup list. Tsukasa assures them that they'll get in as she's going to attend the private girl's school. As Junpei is going home, he meets Satsuki. 7. エンディング (Ending): The girls are preparing for the photo shoot for the cover of this drama CD. They all gang up on Aya to wear a bikini. 8. クレジット (Credit): Cast introduce themselves. |
Title: いちご１００％ (Strawberry 100%) Drama CD 2 |
かりん (Karin) Vol. 3
This may be the last tank of Karin I do a review for. I have a subscription to Dragon Age now so I'll do a review from the magazine. I currently do this for Negima, Tsubasa, and Suzuka where I buy the tanks, but don't review them as I've already do it weekly. I didn't realize that vol. 3 had already been published. I was under the impression it would be released 8/10 (today), but that's for the 3rd Karin novel. The comic was released last month. Nothing terribly exciting happens in this volume, but I realized how much I had forgotten since I read it last. Had to do a little refresher from reading what I wrote up for vol. 2. As I read more of this series, it reminds me a lot of Narue no Sekai, despite the completely different scenario. Bonus is a couple of 4 panel comics with the author. 7. かりんの進歩と煉の微笑み〜Smile〜 (Karin's Progress and Ren's Smile): Karin and Kenta are studying together for her makeup exam. They're a bit uneasy as Kenta knows her true vampire self and that if he gets too close, her blood might swell up and she may have the urge to fight. As they call it quits, she gives him a bento. After class at work, Karin is surprised that she hasn't had the urge just yet and thinks it might be the box lunch that she gave Kenta which removed his unhappiness and in effect, removed her urgings. Working at the love hotel, Kenta's mom, Fumio, meets Ren, Karin's brother. Karin and Kenta meet Ren and he tells them that he hasn't seen his mom, but has a mysterious smile. Back at the love hotel, Kenta's mom is cleaning out a room she thinks is empty and sees a girl's school uniform. She tries it on and then gets caught by the guest. 8. かりんの思案と微妙な２人〜Thought〜 (Karin's Thoughts and the Touchy Couple): Karin asks her little sister, Anjyu, whether Ren was lying. They conclude he was and that he's after Fumio, which Karin won't allow. Meanwhile, the girl living in the love hotel is Miharu, the girl who Karin was "filling" when Kenta discovered her. She had run away from home because of her parents divorce. Due to Karin, she's living by herself and according to Fumio, she's working as a call girl living in the love hotel. However, she waits for her dad's phone call. 9. 文緒の選択と晴美の決意〜Resolution〜 (Fumio's Choice and Miharu's Determination): Karin gets picked on by her brother for trying to prevent him going after Fumio. At work, Karin sees Miharu's dad sobbing. Meanwhile, Fumio takes it upon herself to expose the love hotel management providing lodings for these young girls and tells Miharu to go home. Miharu has a heartful reunion with her dad, but Fumio is now tired and Karin's effect has worn off on her. Special Chapter 1. 杏樹の学校とブギーくんの帰還〜Anjyu's Special〜 (Anjyu's School and Boogie's Return): One of Anjyu's classmates, Teranishi, takes one of Anjyu's dolls, Boogie. Teranishi refuses to return it and takes it home. At home, the evil spirit that inhabits the doll is released and terrorizes the family until Anjyu comes and puts the spirit back inside the doll. 10. 一家のナイショと”のけもの”かりん (A Family's Secret and "Outcast" Karin): Karin comes back home from work reeking of garlic. She can't smell it, but her parents tell her to take a bath. After she's done, she takes out the leftover gyoza but that contains garlic too. Karin decides to give it to Kenta and leaves it on his doorstep. At home, Anjyu helps Ren take some books to the basement and asks whether Ren is going after Fumio. He is. The next day at work, Kenta thanks Karin and suddenly, she has urges again. |
Title: かりん (Karin) Vol. 3 |
まぶらほ (Maburaho) Vol. 6 LE
I really liked how the second episode on this disc ended, but then they had to ruin it by showing more after the credits were run. Everytime I watch this series, I get the urge to start reading the novels that the anime was based off of. Bonuses include a evil Yuna keyholder, postcards, photo sleeves (wrapped in plastic so they don't all fall out), a mini-tapestry as they call it, and picture labeled disc with a school newsletter (liner notes). 11. あけちゃった (I Opened It): Yuna accidentally opens a vile that she thinks contains something that will increase Kazumi's magic usage, but instead it contains a virus that has resulted in an evil clone of Yuna roaming around. The clone defeats Kazumi's classmates in bets and is starts to fight Kuriko and Rin when Kazumi uses his magic to defeat it. He's now left with two. 12. きえちゃった (He Disappeared): Yuna has started coughing and has a terminal sickness. Everytime she coughs, her magic usage goes down a notch. Kazuki tries to save her one, but fails. He now has only one usage left. Despite promising not to use up all his powers, he does so to save Yuna. Yuna is fine, but Kazuki has disappeared and now appears as a ghost. |
Title: まぶらほ (Maburaho) Vol. 6 LE |
鋼鉄天使くるみ (Steel Angel Kurumi) Vol. 6
Time traveling...always sometime I enjoy if it's done correctly. As of this volume, no serious paradoxes exists that bothers me too much. There are some things though that I don't get, as to why Kirigakure is here in the future too, but I'll attribute that to my stupidity. Bonus includes a few 4 panel comics and behind the dust jacket is a cutout where you can put different expressions to make Kurumi's face. 29. 旅立ち (Travel): The Devil (for lack of a better name, I guess) decides that this isn't the best place to fight, so she(?) travels back through time, but not before leaving a curse with Nakahito. In order to get cured, he's going to have to follow her into the future and defeat her. 30. 刻の異邦人 (Time Traveler): The three girls, Kaga, and Nakahito go 100 years into the future. One thing Nakahito notices is that there's no trace of his shrine nor his name. They find a descendant of Dr. Amagi and take employment at her shop. Kurumi accidentally spills a drink on a guest who turns out to also be a steel angel herself. Her master looks a lot like Nakahito's brother, but is very abusive towards her. They wonder what has become of the relationship between steel angels and their masters. 31. エンゼル・オブ・エンゼル (Angel of Angels): Kaga has accompanied Kurumi, et al. to protect them in this future. She learns that history is different from the one that she remembered. Kurumi and gang are now supposed to be attending the "Steel" school. There's apparently an "Angel of Angels," none other than Kirigakure who had been trying to chase down Kurumi in the past. Like before, Kurumi arrives and unknowingly bumps her aside. 32. 未来の遺産 (Future's Legacy): The girls at the school become infatuated with Nakahito and kidnap him, causing Kurumi to give chase. After falling for some traps, she manages to save him. Meanwhile, the Academy appears, but Kaga finds out that it's now called "Mahoroba" and realizes that they can't rely on it for help. Meanwhile, the guy who looks like Nakahito's brother decides to challenge Nakahito and Kurumi. 33. 鋼鉄ファイト (Steel Fight): 神威天人 (Amato Kamui) is his name and エクセリア(Excelia) is his steel angel that he's going to pit against Kurumi. Kurumi starts out with the upper hand until Excelia uses the powers of her shadow to fight her. 34. エンゼル・フォース (Angel Force): Nakahito manages to awake the Kurumi's true powers when he tells her that she doesn't need to fight for him. Kaga's theory is that Kurumi's and Nakahito's affection for each other are now more intertwined than ever, allowing her to show her true form. |
Title: 鋼鉄天使くるみ (Steel Angel Kurumi) Vol. 6 |
いちご１００％ (Strawberry 100%) Vol. 11
Tally for this volume, by number of chapters: Aya 2.5, Tsukasa 1.5, Satsuki, 1, Yui 1, and the rest has Junpei making a fool of himself as always. A lot of short stories, but no major plot advancements. I thought Satsuki might have had one, but that was a fake. I'm (still) hedging my money that Junpei is going to choose Tsukasa at the end, whenever that is. Bonus is just a helpful summary, similar to the ones included in previous volumes. 90. サンタクロースがいっぱい (Filled With Santas): Hiroshi gets an idea to sell Christmas cakes from the theater that Junpei works at and recruits Aya, Chinami, Yui, and Satsuki to be skimpily dressed Santas to attract customers. The plan works too well and there's almost a riot. The girls run off and hide while the customers chase after. After a few attempts to break down the door, the building starts to creak and everyone runs away thinking it'll collapse. It does, but Tsukasa who works at the nearby cake store isn't too happy about this and gives Junpei a pie to the face. 91. 触ってみる？ (Wanna Feel?): Junpei and his rival in love (for Aya), Amachi, spot Aya on the way to the store in a kimono. They get invited over to her house where they see Aya's collegiate cousin, Haruka, who looks very much like her but is a lot more brazen and have an interesting day with the usual misunderstanding when Aya catches Haruka and Junpei in an awkward position (he had just fallen down and Haruka was on top asking if he was alright). 92. ナンバー１ (Number 1): On her birthday, Aya receives presents from Amachi and Junpei. Amachi manages to give it to her first and is an expensive watch. Junpei just gives her a DVD of his favorite movie and she treasures that more than the expensive item. 93. さつきタイムリミット！！ (Satsuki's Deadline): Junpei's parents argue about dinner and Junpei sarcastically makes the suggestion that they divorce. The next day, Satsuki tells him that her parents are divorcing and she'll have to move away. She tells everyone at school, all of whom shed tears for her as they prepare to part. However, her parents decide not to at the last minute and so Satsuki shows up at school the next day. Everyone's surprised and jokingly demand that she return their tears. 94. 届く気持ち、届かない想い (Conveyed Feelings, Unconveyed Thoughts): It's Valentine's and everyone gives chocolates to Junpei. Even Yui brings chocolates from her school where the girls there are giving to Junpei. The only person missing is Tsukasa who's tried calling and hasn't been able to reach him. 95. SWEET GIRL BITTER LOVE: Junpei bumps into Aya as he's trying to find Tsukasa after work. Aya tells him that she wants to go the same college he's going to. That night, he finds Tsukasa who gives him chocolates and tells him that she's going to Paris after graduating to study culinary arts in sweets. 96. 恋愛射程距離 (Range of Love): Tsukasa and Junpei talk it over. He comes home to a chocolate-craving Yui, who's staying the night. The next day, Satsuki mentions that she wants to be a wife. Junpei tells Hiroshi about what Aya hold him, and he tells him not to think about it and party. He's arranged a karaoke party with a few friends and some first year girls from the all girls school that Tsukasa attends. There's one girl missing though. 97. 遅れて来た女 (Late-Arriving Girl): That one girl is none other than Yui. One of the other guys is a little rough on Yui so Junpei steps in. Hiroshi explains that they're brothers and sisters. A little later, Junpei's boss brings Tsukasa in and catch Junpei in a bad position as one of the first year girls is encroaching on him. 98. このままずっと (Always Like This): Yui, Okusa, Junpei, and Tsukasa go on a double date. Junpei and Tsukasa eventually become alone and ride the ferris wheel together. Tsukasa tells him that she wants to be like this forever, and her wish is then granted. The electricity stops while they're on the ride. |
Title: いちご１００％ (Strawberry 100%) Vol. 11 |
夏色の砂時計 (Hourglass of Summer Colors) Vol. 2 LE
Much like the first volume, they crammed a lot of story into only 30 minutes. People who haven't played the game will be more lost than ever. While watching the series, I must have anticipated a couple of lines. I think it's because I've been watching too much of this genre that I pretty much know what the characters will say before they say it. Despite the brevity, I liked Regen a lot better in the anime than the game. She seems to be a little more affectionate than what I remember, but then again, I didn't choose Regen's route. Limited edition comes with a Regen card, post card, and a drama CD which concludes the story from last time. In the drama CD, Kotaro saves Mana, but Regen tells him that history has turned for the worse and that Kaho will still die and and Kotaro will die with under Takeshinosuke's blade. Takeshinosuke comes after Kotaro because of what has happened to the then-Tomo-chan. Kotaro prevents Tomo-chan from being taken by the stalker. He writes a letter to Kaho, but it gets intercepted by the evil father. Kotaro arrives on the 31st just a bit too late, but in this story, the father saves Kaho from certain death. 2. その永遠の１秒に (One Second in Eternity): Despite having saved Mana, Kaho's future is still unchanged. Kotaro solves the mystery of Tomo-chan's stalker (rather quickly) but she still has the accident. He tries to tell her father, but gets his lights knocked out of him. So he resorts to giving Ai a letter to hand to Kaho. However, on the 31st of August, Ai admits that she didn't get the letter because she has a crush on him and wanted to split the two of them up. In a surprise change, Ai is the one who saves Kaho from the speeding car instead of Kaho's father (as it was in the game). Regen leaves, but not before giving Kotaro a kiss. Some time later, a girl who looks a lot like Regen shows up as a regular citizen. |
Title: 夏色の砂時計 (Hourglass of Summer Colors) Vol. 2 LE |
千葉紗子：melody (Saeko Chiba)
Turning back the hands of time for a bit... I finally was able to pick up her first CD soon (from Jungle) after I got the second album. In general, the songs included here were above average. Nothing really stands out for me unlike a few tracks from her second album. If I really had to choose, I'd say that track 2 and 9 are my favorites so far, but it's on a lesser level of "favoritism." From the liner notes, Yuki Kajiura was also heavily involved in each track on this CD and her influences definitely show. First edition comes in a digipack. It comes with liner notes and a little booklet where she documents the production her CD. There's also a little coupon included to redeem for a DVD full of her promotional videos. Too bad it's long expired. |
Title: 千葉紗子：melody (Saeko Chiba) |
彼氏彼女の事情 (His and Her Circumstances) Vol. 13
Arima has some emotional issues. Yes, we already knew that. Please stop dwelling on it for so long. Bonus is a short Tsuda dairy. 59. ACT59 そして時は流れ (And Then, Time Passes): Kano, a freshman, introduces her sister Yukino along with her friends. The seniors then talk about what they're going to do after graduation. Arima and Maho are planning on med school, Rika in the garment industry, Aya take a break from work to go to college, Tsubasa aspires to be Kazuma's wife, and Tsubaki and Takefumi will skip college. 60. ACT60 "I": Arima is pretty popular among the girls, even those at other high schools. He scores pretty high in the national prep exams, much to Yukino's jealously. He also does an television interview with a news program for his accomplishments in the inter-high school competition. He later tells Yukino that his true self is when he's with her, not when he's on TV. 61. ACT61 Perfect World: Everyone's proud of Arima, especially his parents. Classmates are even honored to receive his broken mechanical pencils. However, as he's talking to Yukino, he remembers his abused childhood. When he unexpected arrives at a relative's wedding, he boasts a bit to his cousins who used to abuse him. 62. 足音 (Footsteps): Arima's parents ask whether he wants to be a doctor because he feels obligated to or whether he wants to as it's a serious decision. His cousins arrive at school to try and apologize to him, but Arima doesn't accept and they leave sneering. At the Miyazawa house, he arrives and the father tells him that he's gonna record the interview when it's aired. Arima takes note that Pero Pero is a huge dog now. 63. 君を離れ (Separating You): Arima and Yukino play hooky, Arima has issues again and is afraid to tell Yukino. The interview airs and some lady claims Arima is her child. |
Title: 彼氏彼女の事情 (His and Her Circumstances) Vol. 13 |
双恋 (Futakoi) Character Single #1
I got wind of this series from July Animage and with my anime instincts, decided that this would be something I'll pursue. Looks my premonitions were correct yet again as I love this CD. From the little of what I've read, this series first started in Dengeki G Magazine almost two years ago. There's no manga for it and the game and anime are currently in development. This CD would be the first (of many) media items for the show. Off the bat, I admit I know almost nothing about the series. It's from a bishojo game magazine and involves a several sets of twin girls. I'll be playing the game when it comes out in November and of course, watching the anime once they release it on DVD. So, for the songs on this CD. I've always been a sucker for duets, so it already has some points for that. The two songs are cute tunes singing about love (of course). It's also one of the rarer singles that I enjoy both songs equally as much. The voices for the two characters are similar but it's possible to tell when they switch off in the song. Sometimes one would be singing in the left channel and the other in the channel. They sing the songs in a high pitch, but at a comfortable level, not annoyingly high. The two songs are very upbeat, but the first one a little more than the second one, mostly because the lyrics in the first are more cheery than the second one. |
Title: 双恋 (Futakoi) character song series #1: Sakurazuki Kira & Yura |
魔法騎士レイアース (Magic Knight Rayearth) Vol. 2
So the adventures of the three girls go on in Cephiro. This is the type of girl's comics that I like -- adventure stories (I'm saying this because the other one I'm reading, Karekano, has degraded into monotonous brain picking and psychological musings). There are some things that are different than the anime, but like I mention from the previous book, it's been so long that I can't describe the difference. There are some scenes that I just remember happening differently. The bonus is an essay 山谷奈久留 (Nakuru Yamatani) who worked for Nakayoshi when Rayearth was being published and later helped with the TV series. So, the girls meet Ferio and make a promise with him. He'll be their bodyguard and they'll (actually Mokona) will take him out of the Silent Woods. As they're traveling, they have a few battles. At the exit, Umi rushes out only to be ambushed by Alcone. Hikaru defeats her and Fuu heals. Ferio leaves them, but not before giving Fuu a communicator. The girls then continue to look for Eternal Springs where they can get Escudo. They find the odd pool of water and jump in. They are challenged with fighting the things they love best, Hikaru and her pet dog, Umi and her parents, and Fuu vs. Fuu. They overcome their hestiation to fight once they realize that they're not the read beings and obtain Esculdo. Prescia makes their new weapons and they head off. They arrive at an underground base where Umi meets a dragon, her "Beast?" [I forgot the translated names for all these from the anime]. |
Title: 魔法騎士レイアース (Magic Knight Rayearth) Vol. 2 |
少年マガ (Shonen Magazine), '04 Vol 36/37 & ヤングマガ (Young Magazine), '04 Vol. 36
More coverage on the Olympics with coverage on the volleyball team, with a special volleyball manga chapter, and judo athletes. This week's Tsubasa color page is pretty nice. According to a little logo on the cover of both magazines, it's "Magazine Reading Month." Suzuka: ＃２４馬鹿 (Idiot): Yamato has been missing from practice and the captain is getting a little worried that he won't show up for the preliminary heats in the next few days. When confronted by Suzuka, he tells her that he don't want to be compared Kazuki. Suzuka slaps him good. On the day of the competition, Kazuki is loitering in his room. Negima: ６３時間目 二人っきりの秘密の塔 (The Secret Tower for the Two of Them): Negi is training with Eva and despite spending only two hours after class, he comes home exhausted. Asuna decides to find out why and is accompanied by a few other classmates. They follow Negi and Eva into her log house. Inside, Asuna can't find them and only sees a minature tower. Suddenly, all the girls are transported there. They see Eva sucking on Negi's arm. In exchange for training, he allows Eva to feed on him. Eva explains that inside this minature model where they were transported to, time slows down to where one day inside is the same as one hour outside. Back at the dorm, Natsumi discovers a naked Kotaro (wolf boy from Kyoto) laying there. Changing Now: ＃１４凶暴！！ 謎のコート男 (Brutal!! Mysterious Coat Man): Fujioka (father) invites the cool Machina hero to his house and ends up getting all the attention. Once Fujioka is asleep, Machina tells Takeko that he admires her father. Just then, Fujioka accidentally activates his secret belt while he's asleep, almost spoiling his superhero identity. Tsubasa: 二つの力 (Two Powers): Shaoran has a bad dream and wakes up in Sakura's arms. They've leaped into a new world, 紗羅ノ国 (Syarano). Kuro and Fye arrived at a different location, but according to Mokona, they're in the same world. Meanwhile, Shaoran sees that they're in a bustling and lively house with women only. The owner is a girl by the name of 鈴蘭 (Suzuran) but she is superseded by 火煉 (Karen, from X). Outside, Kuro and Fye are wandering and talking. Fye thinks there's something strange about this world. Suddenly, a bunch of guys starts attacking them. Kuro fends off the first wave. The second wave comes, but a lady stops them (chapter ends with "who's this lady?" I don't know either). Hamanaka Ai: ０４６夏期合宿ファイナル (Summer Training, Final): The gang spends the last days of their camp at a summer festival. [I didn't get the punchline in this chapter].
MY LAST ISSUE OF YOUNG! I'm not too sad though, I've got others now to keep me busy. Cover girl is 副下恵美 (Megumi Fukushita), back page girl is 森下真理 (Mari Morishita). Waka is in here to. Redlight: 16: Satoshi and Chiko finally find an apartment and are moving in. They unload there stuff, buy a washer, and wander their surroundings. They find a bathing house and have a bath and drink the night away (they're only 19). Satoshi gets sick and then falls asleep. He wakes up and gives Chiko a hug when he sees her. xxxHolic: 56: Kimihiro watches the winged boy run away and notices that they're still getting bigger. The next day as he's talking to Doumeki, the boy appears and demands that Kimihiro apologizes for staring at him the night before. When he doesn't, the boy becomes violent. Doumeki stops the boy and suddently his wings separate. The "tube wolf" that Kimihiro has goes after the pair of wings. |
Title: 少年マガジン (Shonen Magazine) Vol. 36/37
Title: ヤングマガジン (Young Magazine) Vol. 36 |
End of an Era I picked up my last issue of Young Magazine today, capping off almost two years of subscriptions. In the picture, they're currently piled up in a corner of my closet (left-most pile, the other two are Shonen Magazine which I'm continuing). I'm thinking of throwing them away (and really should since they're supposed to be disposable items), but the packrat in me still wants to keep them. When I'm done saving Shonen Magazine, I can probably sell them on ebay as I have Tsubasa and Negima from start (and eventually to finish) and Shonen actually has good covers. Young Magazine on the other hand always features some slutty idols.
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君が望む永遠 (Kimi ga Nozomu Eien) Special FanDisk
The game contains a re-telling of the first chapter of Kiminozo where you're given choices that weren't available in the original game which ultimately prevented "something" from happening and allowed you to choose different routes, a "what if" scenario as they advertise. You ultimately have 4 alternate routes to pick, Haruka, Mitsuki, Akane, and Manami. When you finish all 4 stories, an "extra" chapter is revealed. This extra chapter is a parody of Kiminozo and Muv-Luv, titled "Muv-Nozo" and has the cast of Kiminozo telling their story with heavy influences from Muv-Luv. In addition, as you finish each of the endings, interviews with the voice actors/actresses are unlocked. There's also a collection of 10 short stories which they call "Another Episode Collection." 9 of these stories are told from the perspective of characters other than Takayuki. They're the game version of the stories originally posted on Age's web site under each character's description. The last one is an extension of the radio drama that was included in the Dramatheater Vol. 4 CD. They bundle in a bonus mini-game/puzzle with Ayu rearranging things at the Sky Temple restaurant, a remake of the one with Age Maniax and to top of this CD, they throw in two dramas, encoded in MP3 format -- one is a short 10 minute story, the other is a full episode of Kiminozo radio. Included with the disc is a Rumbling Angel card of Haruka's parents, a bunch of ads, and the manual. Included on the disc are sound files for your cell phone (cell phones in the US can't really do that) where the different characters announce that you have a call, and such. There's also a collection of really high resolution wallpapers. The game isn't as long as the original, obviously, but was longer than I had expected. The first chapter with Haruka took me almost 8-10 hours (same as original). From there, the difference between the main storyline and alternate routes took me about 2-3 hours a piece. I managed to finish all of the "Another Episode Collection" in 2-3 hours The game engine is improved from the original and they use some of the scrolling and panning features. The music is the same as from the original game. The endings to Mitsuki and Akane use songs from their character single. Haruka's has a new song, "The Courage From Just A Word" which I love (it's not out on a CD though, unfortunately). The ending to "True Lies" also has a song, but I'm not sure whether it's original or from Muv-Luv/Akane Maniax. There are new pictures in the game, but a lot of it is taken from the original. Overall, I enjoyed all the stories, many of which provided some more background stories to what was in the whole game. I love the radio dramas and if I were only in Japan, I could listen to it every week... While a lot of Kiminozo is based on off-color sexual humor, it's kept in check. I could have done *without* the sex scenes though, especially Akane's biologically correct one. Rating: 4/4 The interviews had the 5 main characters in this game, Takayuki, Haruka, Mitsuki, Akane, and Manami give some thoughts after they finished recording in the studio. One of the questions the girls were asked was that if they were a guy, who would they date. All of them except for Tomo-rin (Mitsuki) picked Haruka and consensus was that Mitsuki was too brutish, Akane was too young, and Minami said she still has a negative impression of Manami [I would too!]. The radio drama MP3s are: すかいてんぷるメイプル支店 (Sky Temple Maple Branch): Before the store opens, the store owner, Joy, has two of his employees, Mitsuki and Haruka sample some phallic-shaped pudding. As they're slurping it up without spoons, Joy and Takayuki are peeping and Joy gets horny observing. The second half occurs after the store closes and Joy asks each of them for ideas to show customers their appreciation. They come up with various food items to give them [yawn...boring]. 君のぞらじお出張版 (Kiminozo Radio Business Trip Version): The 45 minute long program first starts off with Joymax as a teacher teaching his students, Haruka, Mitsuki, Takayuki, and Akane english conversation. He has Akane say "sex," Haruka moan "oh, man," [that's what it sound like to me] and Mitsuki say "penis." To end the scene, Akane fires her Antenna Beam to get rid of Joy. The next portion introduces Tomomi Uehara, the voice of Akane, as the special guest. The first half of the conversation, about 20 minutes, is devoted to the seiyuu talking about their first impressions of each other. Interesting enough, Tomomi thinks Minami as a "dark aura." I kinda got that sense too from Minami's interviews. The next section has the seiyuu doing silly inpromptu songs. Ironically, Haruka is the only one who's shy about singing. [While I don't like her singing that much, Akane, to me still has a very unique voice]. The "Another Episode Collection" consists of stories originally from the character descriptions on Age's web page that they put into the game. 桜散る丘で（前編） (At the Hill Where Sakura Leaves Fall, First Part): Tells, from Haruka's point of view, the first time she finds out about Takayuki's special place atop the hill and also when she first tells Mitsuki that she likes him. 桜散る丘で（後編） (At the Hill Where Sakura Leaves Fall, Last Part): Similar story as the first, except this time, it's told from Mitsuki's point of view and her thoughts about helping her hook up with Takayuki. 風に揺れる水面 (The Water That Ripples in the Wind): From Mitsuki's point of view, it tells about the day that Takayuki said that she would look nice having short hair. She ponders about it as she's taking a shower after practice and ultimately realizes that she has some feelings for him too, even if it means betraying Haruka. いつか、きっと。。。 (Someday, Certainly...): At a swim meet, young Akane watches Mitsuki win and tells about how she wants to one day be in Mitsuki's shoes. 胸の奥の忘れ物 (The Forgotten Item in My Heart): Manami is packing up to leave for her relatives. She only has limited space, so a lot of items are left behind. At first, she leaves behind a picture of Takayuki. However, she turns around having just closed the door to retrieve the picture. まけないもんっ！ (I Won't Give Up): MayuMayu is being a klutz at work and has thoughts about how she can't do anything right and might get fired. She confidence returns after helping feed a stray cat. [I'm impressed that MayuMayu has more complex thoughts than what she projects]. 大空寺降臨 (The Coming of Daikuji's): The story tells about how Ayu was told by her dad to work at the Sky Temple to mingle with normal people and her first day on the job having to deal with the fat otaku owner (store manager?) and Takayuki [She speaks to her father in an extremely polite tone, something I've never heard before]. 君のためにできること (What I Can Do For You): After Haruka's accident, Shinji observes Mitsuki's downfall as she starts losing motivation in swimming and in life. がんばろう (I'll Do My Best): Hotaru wants to do something special for the graduates of the nursing academy and decides to make dolls in their likeness. She thinks that she doesn't have any help, but her roomie, Hoshino makes some for her and tells her that she doesn't have to do everything herself. True Lies: The first half of this story is the same as the last track in Dramatheater Vol. 4 where Takuyuki finds out that he and the other girls (except for Ayu) are "antenna people" denoted by some hair that sticks up. Ayu attacks them and using their "antennas" they fire off laser beams to fight. Sumika has a cameo in this game version, but the dialogue is pretty much the same regardless. The drama extends with Joji (Akane Maniax, I believe) and some Muv-Luv characters that I'm not too familiar with. To my surprise, Umeda, one of the characters I haven't seen before, is voice by Yuji Ueda, also the voice of Keitaro in Love Hina. Everything is linked to Love Hina, isn't it? So finally, the four endings are as follows: Haruka - When Mitsuki is nagging Takayuki to buy her a gift, a choice shows up where you can choose to go with the original route, at which point it shows the original intro to the game and ends. The other option is if you brush her off and head to where Haruka is. Takayuki makes it before Haruka gets run over and gives her the book. They spend the rest of the day hanging out. They also go to the museum, where they see the original "Mayaru" painting. Three years later, Takayuki is at Hakuryo University with Haruka and Shinji. Mitsuki is looking forward to the Olympics in Athens this year. Mitsuki - Takayuki rejects Haruka when she confesses to him on the hill. A little later, Haruka tells Takayuki that she knows that Mitsuki and Takayuki have feelings for each other and wants to help. Takayuki accepts her support. At a swim meet, Takayuki meets Akane but doesn't know who she is and doesn't bother pursuing her. On the day they originally took the picture on the hill (day of the summer festival), Haruka invites Takayuki and Mitsuki to the festival. However, Haruka doesn't show up saying she's sick, leaving Takayuki and Mitsuki alone. They bump into Akane who tells them a conflicting story, so they know something is wrong and find Haruka on the hill and her plan is revealed. Three years later, all of them are attending Hakuryo University. Akane - Takayuki rejects Haruka and doesn't accept her help in trying to hook up with Mitsuki. At the swim meet from Mitsuki's route, Takayuki starts hanging out with Akane (but doesn't know who she is). Akane tells her about her sister's love problems and Takayuki gives advice without knowing he's the person in question. Takayuki finally finds out on the day of the festival that Akane is Haruka's sister. Aftewards, Haruka finds out about their relationship when Akane announces it to the world after she finishes a swimming competition. Three years later, Mitsuki is the only one not at Hakuryo University, but she's still involved in swimming and competes with her at a meet. Manami (I kinda rushed through this one) - Takayuki sees Manami at a store and decides to say "hi" rather than just ignore her as in the other three routes. Takayuki wants to get closer, but Manami is terribly shy even though she also loves Takayuki. Takayuki gets hurt running after her and gets hurt. Manami, feeling a bit guilty, comes to his house and helps out with housework as he's a bit incapacitated. Things seem okay until Manami's grandmother, who she lives with, passes away. Manami is forced to move to her relatives in Hokkaido (I think, but regardless, far away). She wants to stay at Takayuki's, but he says she can't be so childish. Three years later, Takayuki moves out of his apartment and flies to where Manami is to attend college there. After finishing all 4 stories, an "Extra" appears in the menu. The "extra" story starts off on Aug. 6th, where Takayuki wakes up to find Mitsuki sleeping next to him. Haruka comes into the house to see them and knocks the lights out of Takayuki. At school, Mitsuki is a new transfer student and is already trying to get close to Takayuki. Both Mitsuki and Haruka demand your attention and you're given a choice (it also tells you the result): 1) Eat Haruka's Lunch (Bad Ending) Choose 3. After school, Haruka gets run over by Dr. Kozuki in her busted down yellow sports car. Takayuki returns to find that the hospital bed is in his room and Akane there waiting. Akane draws graffiti on Haruka's face. Haruka wakes up and freaks out, thinking it's been 3 years and also about her face. Takayuki wakes up from this dream...or was it... |
There's a lot of extra/alternate stories in this game for diehard fans of Kiminozo and those who follow Age in general. I, unfortunately, am not one those diehard fans as there are some elements and characters they added in there from other series that I didn't know about. There was more than enough to keep me entertained. |
Ai yori Aoshi Boxes, Redux Still playing the Kiminozo game, finished with Haruka's and Mitsuki's stories, *will* finish Akane's and Manami's story tonight, plus bonus. In the meantime, here's some more eyecandy.
Someone please stop the insanity, all those honkin' media boxes just for one series! Recently got the two new Ai yori Aoshi PC games. Surprised I got first editions as I ordered late, but regardless. They're pictured on the left side of the photo. They're significantly larger in height and width compared to a DVD, and weight a ton (especially second volume, bottom). According to the stickers, first edition of vol. 1 comes with postcards and a trump/card game. Vol. 2 comes with postcards and a photo stand. I still haven't decided if I should play them now or wait since I'm getting behind in my readings. Anyhow, back to Kiminozo. |
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Progress (or lack thereof) It never seems like I'm getting anywhere with manga and am always hovering between 30 and 40 books behind. Technically, I could cheat and give myself an extra 20 books as I didn't (re-)start this journal until January 20th, but I'd only be cheating myself. I've still got 5 full months to catch up.
Mitsuki~~! I finished the first story to "Air" and I find out that I need to complete the stories for all three girls before unlocking another story which will then lead me to the true story of "Air." I'll do it later, Kiminozo calls. Since the Fan Disc isn't a PS2 game, I had to do disconnect my DVD player to get the laptop hooked up to the projector. No DVDs for me while I'm playing, but I don't intend this to be a long term thing. Kiminozo gets my full attention until I'm done with it, and then back to some DVDs and Quantum Leap. Such nostalgia, playing Kiminozo again... |
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