Title: 双恋 (Futakoi) character song series #1: Sakurazuki Kira & Yura
Vocals: 伊月ゆい (Yui Itsuki) & 綱掛裕美 (Hiromi Tsunakake)
Release Date: 8/4/04
Catalog No.: LACA-4139
Rating: 4/4

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: 魔法騎士レイアース (Magic Knight Rayearth) Vol. 2
Artist/Author: CLAMP
Book Size/Pages: B-6, 202pp., w/furigana
Volume: 2/3
Original Serialization: Nakayoshi 5/94-9/94
First Printing: 12/17/02
Rating: 4/4

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: 少年マガジン (Shonen Magazine) Vol. 36/37
Issue Date: 8/25/2004
Publisher: Kodansha
Pages: 588

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].

Title: ヤングマガジン (Young Magazine) Vol. 36
Issue Date: 8/15/2004
Publisher: Kodansha
Pages: 474

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.

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.