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イリヤの空、UFOの夏 (Sky of Iriya, Summer of UFO) Vol. 4Title: イリヤの空、UFOの夏 (Sky of Iriya, Summer of UFO) Vol. 4
Original Creator: 秋山瑞人 (Mizuhito Akiyama)
Volume: 4/6
Catalog No.: BIBA-5404
Release Date: 6/3/05
Rating: 4/4

Again, this episode showed me exactly what I had imagined when I first read the book. The scene at the restaurant is hilarious, especially with the juices squirting out of the super-sized gyoza. This episode did condense the eating contest with Enomoto taking Iriya away, making it part of one scene rather than two. I guess it works out in the end. When Iriya was at the bottom of the stairway, I thought they would have left in her reassuring words, "It's okay, it's okay. It's fine, it's fine" but I guess the scriptwriters skipped over that. Those words left a lasting impression when I read that part in the story.

The video quality in his episode is vastly improved over the previous episode.

4. 水前寺応答せよ (Please Answer, Suizenji)

AIR Vol. 3 LETitle: AIR Vol. 3 LE
Original Creator: Key/Visual Art's
Volume: 3/6
Catalog No.: PCBX-50670
Release Date: 6/1/05
Rating: 4/4

Minagi! Her story is my favorite out of the three present day girls and the two episodes included sum up her story. I thought it was a bit short though and if I didn't play through the game, I probably wouldn't have understood how profound her story is. Actually, one of the best parts about the anime is that I'm finally able to hear her talk in long paragraphs. I don't remember her having many long phrases in the game. I love the prosody of her voice.

Bonus comes with the sleeve case and postcard, like the other LEs. The commentary is done by the continuity directors of episode 5 and 6, as well as the director for episode 5.

5. つばさ〜wing〜
6. ほし〜star〜

サイレン (Psiren) Vol. 1Title: サイレン (Psiren) Vol. 1
Artist/Author: 井原裕士 (Yuji Ihara)
Book Size/Pages: B-6, 194pp., w/o furigana
Original Serialization: Monthly Dengeki Daioh 8/04-3/05
First Printing: 5/15/05
Rating: 3/4

I started by Dengeki Daioh subscription when this series was on its second chapter so I didn't get to read the first chapter until I got this book. The story is about two people who have secret identities. One fights for justice, the other for evil. However, when they're not saving/destroying the world, the two, Soichiro and Meruna, have a romantic relationship with each other. I personally enjoy this series for the dysfunctional romance and humor rather than fighting that happens occasionally.

No bonuses except for a color page. The inside covers also have a some gag comics.

1. 天から降ってくる出会い1 (A Meeting That Came From the Sky, Part 1)
2. 天から降ってくる出会い2 (A Meeting That Came From the Sky, Part 2)
3. 天から降ってくる出会い3 (A Meeting That Came From the Sky, Part 3)
4. アプローチはソフトでね (A Soft Approach, Okay?)
5. 二人には秘密がいっぱい (The Two Have a Lot of Secrets)
6. 星流産業お仕事事情 (The Situation at Hoshito Industries)
7. 蜘蛛女ですよ (Spiderwoman)
8. 彼女のピンチが彼にチャンス (A Girl In Trouble Is a Guy's Chance)

ドラゴンエイジ (Dragon Age) July '05Title: ドラゴンエイジ (Dragon Age) July '05
Issue Date: 7/10/2005
Publisher: Kadokawa (Fujimi Shobo)
Pages: 854

This month's issue is a bohemoth. There's two new series starting, Pixy Gale and The Sea I Saw From Heaven. The first is a more mysterious and mystical story, although not too dark. The second one is daily-life story with a touch of magic, similar to Someday's Dreamers and Nodoka Nobody. Girl Following (Tsuiteru Kanojo) ends this month, rather abruptly. There's also a one-shot war manga.

Bonus this month is a pencil board with Pixy Gale art on one side, FMP Sigma on the other.

* Summaries abbreviated due to backlog (but got carried away again).

Pixy Gale: 1: Rikano has just received a heart transplant from a young priest. As part of the agreement for his organ, she has to be his successor in the church. Soon after she awakes from surgery, she meets Yan, one of former priests disciples. Apparently, Rikano has a few enemies, but Yan protects her. There's also a little more to the master/disciple relationship.

Karin: 恥の27「落ち込む雨水君と果林のカミングアウト〜coming out〜」 (A Depressed Kenta and Karin's Coming Out): Karin goes to Maki's house and Maki is able to guess the reason for Karin's sorrow quite easily. Kenta realizes that he really shouldn't have pushed Karin away like that and blames his father. Karin then bumps into Kenta's father and screams at him. The father is surprisingly nice and gives her a nikuman to calm her down.

Zero In: Piece 21: Turkey Shoot: Kou has another admirer, Nomihara, who lets him eat a bento that took three days in the making. He gets an upset stomach and as Ayuna helps walk him back home, he notices that she seems like she wants to talk with him about something. He lets her know, and she starts crying because her brother knows her so well. A stalker then sees Kou make Ayuna cry and maims him.

FMP Sigma: mission 003 (Black and White): Sosuke has a heated discussion with Tessa about his reassignment. Afterwards, Sosuke and Kurz are at the bar and a new face comes in and sits in the seat of a fallen comrade. A scuffle ensues and Sosuke is challenged to a mecha battle. The guy is Belfanga Kuruzo (?) and he pilots the M-9 that Sosuke and gang saw in Sicily.

Maburaho Colorful: 第6話「くりこ、ワインレッドの夢」の巻 ("Kuriko, Wine-Red Dream" Chapter): Kuriko has an opportunity to go to Hollywood, and asks Kazuki whether he wants her to go or not (it'll be a long trip). She basically forces him to say that he wants her to stay, and so she does just that.

Tsubame Syndrome: ACT18[濡れた翼] (Soaked Wings): The love triangle between Haruka and Tsubame is too much for Taiga and his origin heart takes over, turning him into a Phantom that attacks Haruka. Tsubame comes just in time to subdue him.

Maid Guy: 8: Naeka wants to abstain from the prefecture kendo competition because she knows that there's another girl participating who is seeking revenge on her for something that happened years ago. Kogarashi has her train in the mountains and she competes. Kogarashi uses some illusion tricks on Naeka's opponent allowing Naeka to win.

Dorothea: 第2話「無垢の瞳」 (Innocent Eyes): Gyuruku is opposed to having Dorothea accompany him in returning to the army because of the way she looks, being an albino female and that he doesn't think she's prepared for it. However, she is insistent on going.

Kiyoshirou: 2: Kyoshiro and Miki go into a secluded village where he thinks the scroll may be. The locals don't like strangers around, but the village chief talks to them and explains that he doesn't have the picture anymore. Kyoshiro tells him his mother's name and it turns out that it's the same name as the miko, Yuki, in the village. The next morning, they find Yuki seriously injured from an attack.

Sea From Heaven: 1st Album「今宵あなたと」 (Tonight With You): Mito is a freshman starting at a university in Tokyo. Being from the countryside, she has to get accustomed to life in the city. She makes friends with Ayami, a fellow freshman also interested in the film club. She gets a part time job in a coffee shop and discovers a talking cat which she names "Cross" after "Bing Crosby."

Love Dog: 第9話「天音、青春真っ盛り!」 (Amane, At the Peak of Adolescence!): Because she's part dog, Amane is worried that she doesn't know what is. After talking to Yoneda, she comes to understand that the feelings she has for Soichiro are what other girls would have on their crush.

Taisetsu na Koto: Step 17: 初めてのデート (First Date): A few days after Christmas, Ryutaro has some free time so Nami and him go on their first date. After dinner, they find a motorcycle that seems to be stolen and Nami is able to use her magic to bring it to the police station. As Ryutaro drops her off and leaves, she realizes that she forgot to take a picture of him.

Girl Following (Last): 第8話「空へーー」 (To the Sky--): In order to exorcise the spirit within Miori, she and Eitaro are taken to a shrine deep in the mountains. Despite all that, Miori runs away with Eitaro from the ritual. As they're along in a hut at night, Natsuru comes back into Miori's body. She wants to fulfil the promise of being his wife, but Eitaro refuses because it's not Natsuru's body. Natsuru comes to terms with her situation and finally leaves Miori's body.

Nodoka Nobody: 拾弐ノ湯「明日への迷路(前編)」 (The Maze Towards Tomorrow, First Part): Nodoka is going to help renovate a hot springs deep in the mountains of Nagasaki. The fiance of the son of the owner is very depressed and decides to call off the wedding. Nodoka gets an idea of how to get them together.

Unlimited Wings: #3<Storm piercer>: Elizabeth and Tetsuya are back in Nevada racing. After a race, Elizabeth collapses. Because there's a storm going on, it'll take a while to get her to the hospital. Tetsuya decides to fly her with his racing plane.

少年マガジン (Shonen Magazine), 05 Vol 32Title: 少年マガジン (Shonen Magazine) Vol. 32
Issue Date: 7/20/05
Publisher: Kodansha
Pages: 482

Because the anime is starting, Suzuka has a rather large feature in this week's issue. There's a story on the 5 girl singing group, COACH, each of whom also plays a role in the anime. First it was DROPS with Negima, now this.

* Summaries abbreviated due to backlog.

Suzuka: #67失踪 (Disappearance): After having Yamato profess his love for her, Suzuka leaves the apartment. Realizing that Suzuka has been away for a little too long, Yamato goes out looking for her. Meanwhile, at the shrine, Honoka finds a weeping Suzuka.

Overdrive: 9 I was not born yesterday: Mikoto exhausts himself out to find the guy who dismissed his captain, Yosuke, 3 days ago atop the hill that Mikoto finally rode up (from last chapter).

Hamanaka Ai: 093面接日和 (Interview Weather): Nakamura teaches Masahiko to be more "unique" in his interview for high school admission.

Rose Hip Zero: 10: Kai has a gunfight with Kasumi and blames her for the death of his brother, Yuji. When things start looking bad for Kasumi, Kyouji comes crashing into their building in an ambulance.

Negima: 101時間目 体力バカのホントの力 (The True Strength of the Powerful Baka): The mysterious person is Kunel Sanders (alias), friend of Negi's father. He blesses Asuna and during the battle with Setsuna, she's able to summon magic again, similar to what she was able to do as a child.

Full Spec: 5 Over Take: Chinta jumps out of the car too, leaving Arata as the driver. With the shortcut, the race is now neck and neck. However, Kitazato's team realizes that they may have underestimated the engine in Arata's car.

Tsubasa: 84心の眼 (Eye of the Heart): Only 5 racers remain after the run through the gorge. Sakura has now caught up to second place, just behind Kuro.

Student Council: #29遠目の鏡 (Farsighted Mirror): As the members walk through alternate passageway to find Akane, Mami and Musashi encounter more enemies and dispose of them. Kaoru is paired up with Hitsuji and the two of them have a battle with a demon too.

Changing Now: #58敗北!? 力無き正義 (Loss!? Justice Without Strength): Just when it looks like the end for Machina and Velveteen Rose, Big Ben and Dog Fighter appear!

Zetsubou-sensei: 11今月今夜のこの月が僕の涙で曇りますように (Hoping for the Moon on This Night of This Month To Be Clouded By My Tears): During Tanabata, Nozomu comments on all the inane wishes people hang on the trees. In the end, he hangs himself on a branch.

Toto: 28ワンダーー家と兎銃曾 (Wonder, Us and the Rabbit-Gun Gang): Kakashi hears about the reason for this opposition gang, the one against the Rabbit Group. Turns out that the young female leader, Alice, had close ties with the Man-Chicken gang, the same group that perished during Kakashi's first trip off his island.

Lunar Scribbles