Bride of the Water God vol.1

Are there any GOOD Korean Manwhas? Are there? It just seems like all the korean manwhas are lacking that certain…je ne sais quoi? Well. This one was no different. The art is pretty, but very dark and the faces look off sometimes. Nothing much happens…or maybe it’s so slow you don’t really notice.  So there’s this girl chosen as a sacrifice to the water god to bring rain. So she’s sent on a boat to the castle of the water god and he’s….shock and surprise…Just a little boy. they don’t get a long. His mom, who’s not pleased that’s he getting mad shows up. She’s scary. he has a secret, she discovers it and then*yawn* and then…*yawn*..sorry excuse me.. i’ll finish this review…just..after…zzzzzzzz

With the Light part 1

For roughly 10$, 200 pages of manga goodness has never seemed enough to me. i always want more. So when i found this dictionary, i mean, manga sitting on the shelf..i knew it would be finding it’s way to MY shelf.

Okay. so this is about one woman’s struggle raising an autistic child. That’s the premise. It is very informative about autism. at times it’s difficult to read..as in..very sad and emotional. The art work is fine. My only complaint is that too many of the problems are resolved too neatly. it’s not realistic. One mother of a classmate of Hikaru is abused by her husband. Her daughter blurts it out to a teacher. and suddenly the Mom, has a change of heart and tells her husband if he ever hits her again she’ll leave him. Yeah, cuz it’s really that simple for abusers to stop. You know how Rainbow bright can sprinkle stardust over anything and solve the problem? Well this manga does that a lot. But, as far as the basic issue of Autism is dealt with, it’s very good. It’s the side characters and problems that need a little dose of realism.

Venus in Love vol.1

In my hunt for more Josei, i picked up this manga thinking that college=Josei. Hmm.. rated Teen though. Drats! Foiled again!

Well, Suzuna is a freshman in College and just getting moved in on her first day. She has two mysterious male  students and basically develops a crush on the dark haired one. However. Eichi her neighbor, has a crush of his own. And of the three people mentioned, it’s not her!

It was a little surprising to not find this one in Boys love section but…this is a surprising little manga and i’m not really sure where it’s going. His Suzuna going to her heart broken? Does the man secretly return Eichi’s feelings?

Haven’t i seen this friendship between and a guy and a girl who like the same guy somewhere before? Yes? Well..it’s done better here and i’m really curious to read the next volume.

The art is cute and simple and it’s typical shojo. Just not boring or difficult to follow. it’s a sweet story and promises to get better!

Fall in love like a Comic! vol.1

Sometimes….you just need manga. It doesn’t really matter what it is. and if it’s cheap…all the better. Well….i was in that kind of situation when i picked up this manga. 

A highschooler is also secretly a mangaka of steamy romance manga which is really popular. But she’s never even had a first kiss, let a lone a boyfriend! One day the boy she’s secretly loved forever, discovers her secret when she leave behind a few of her drafts for a manga.

He laughs at her and says that he’ll be her pretend boyfriend to help her with her stories.

“Does he love me? or is he just being helpful???” Well that’s the major dilemma here. and I figured out that it’s really a one shot manga with another one shot sequel coming in february. The art work is really cutesy and it’s and enjoyable read…if fluff is cool with you. it was with me.

Walkin’ Butterfly volume 1

Walkin’ Butterfly is about a girl who’s very tall and has been frequently been mistreated because of this. However, after several job changes, her current job finds her delivering pizzas. But she takes it to the wrong location and walks into the dressing room of an already inprogress fashion show. Mistaken for a model she is rushed into an outfit and make up…however before she gets a chance to walk, she’s discovered and ridiculed by the Fashion Designer. Enraged she forces herself onto the cat walk and makes a damn fool of herself. She runs in shame. However she is filled with the need to prove the Fashion Designer wrong, she’s not just a tall freak, she can be a model!

The volume ends with her stark naked in front of a prospective agent who is too drunk to know what’s going on.

Upon reflection…this series may move too quickly without proper development…but i enjoyed it. I LIKE THE COVER ART OKAY??? so shoot me!

I really like the artwork. and the whole feel of the manga. This is only the begining and it has time yet to redeem it’self, in the somewhat shallow development.

It has a cool interview with the author at the end, you know, a real bonus, not some stupid picture diary you can’t decipher.

Also, i didn’t like the binding, it’s too tight and doesn’t open easily. Cmx used to have this problem also..hopefully that will change.

Suppli volume 1

My recent purchase of Sugar Sugar Rune, sparked an interest in Moyoco Anno…which then lead to an interest in josei manga. Untill recently, i had been prefectly content reading about highschool romances and fantasy stories. But suddenly i thought, why can’t i read on my age level? And then there came Suppli.

Minami, just broke up with her boyfriend of a very long time. She’s a buisness girl who lives to work. Suddenly, though she finds herself alone. This forces her to really think about herself and what she wants and where she’s going. Basically it’s about her life and her job and it’s….amazing.

 I cannot say enough good things about this manga. It feels so real..and it’s so sad…but you get the feeling that this is the time of her life where she’s going to find herself. She meets a guy at the end of the volume, but he’s got baggage of his own. and there’s also that flirty co-worker who messes with her head…or is he?

Suppli is like a breath of fresh air, the art work is light on the lines and balanced on toner use. It’s not too messy, it’s just right. Also it was in plastic rap. but there’s nothing in this volume that warrants it. however…I’ll keep my fingers crossed. heh heh heh…

Tomoko Taniguchi Express!

My First review! Well…enough with the ceremony! onto the review…

So, i was hunting down Oh My Goddess! vol5 at a little out of the way comic book store…when on a whim i picked up an old-school large manga with a pretty cover, and many pages. Honestly, i liked the feel of the thick paper, kind of chalky, you know?

Well, the publish copyright was 2003, so the out-of-print junkie i am impulse bought it knowing nothing of the story. i got even more excited when i saw the original publish year was 1994. what i bought was

Princess Prince. A manga that by all means, is too crazy to exist. I was instantly struck by the absurdity of it all within the first couple of pages.  Well…maybe the first one. “In the Kingdom of Gemstone…” You know that board game where you move your piece around the board so that, should you land on the right square, you may slowly begin to don the rings, necklaces, bracelets , feather boas and finally the crown to become….a princess?

I can’t even remember what it’s called. but that game instantly popped into my head. I felt 5 again and continued to read. The plot…doesn’t really matter. But if you must know, here is a summary about as brief as it’s mention in the actual manga.

Two princes live in Gemstone, the Queen dies, so the Distraught King raises the one son who looks like his wife as a girl.

Tada!! Basically that’s the tissue paper contrivance of a plot so that the author may draw boys who look like women. And then create plots that revolve around relationships complicated by the gender ambiguity. There are two other short storys completely unrelated, maybe with better plots..but personally i wanted resolution…but it never comes. There is plenty that it still left hanging in the air, as the manga concludes and you really hope that there is a second volume. but there isn’t. this.is.it.

I liked the artwork cuz it made me think of Sailor Moon. I was not bored once reading this manga. It’s pure bubble-gum. But it’s so silly and out there…if you love shojo…you’ll find yourself enjoying this odd jelly bean of a comic.

Bottomline: tacky, overly simplistic, silly, lacking depth, lot’s of fun for those willing to  be mindlessly enterained. 

Not for most people. I loved it!

Now , upon reading this volume, i decided to hunt down anything and everything Tomoko Taniguchi has ever had published. Thankfully, my handy dandy hole in the wall comic book store had more old nuggets that Borders chucked to the curb a long time ago. Next i read

Call me princess! : Yes i was begining to notice a theme here…but i was undaunted. I mean, are there really other options for women out there to be other than princess? I’m not so sure. However. this manga would only agree with me.

So, a girl who’s name is not worth remembering, we’ll call her Princess. Princess is very envious of her older sister. Her older sister is happily married some ten years and her husband treats her like a princess. Her husband is Princess’ ideal man. She longs for the day when someone will pamper her and call her princess in earnest!

Unfortunately, a bloke we’ll call, Sap #1, isn’t cutting it. He’s a school chum who courts her the school yard way, by being mean. Basically this confused soul is road block #1 to Princess hooking up with Mr. Dark tall and handsome who suddenly pops up to help Princess out of a sticky situation. Mr. Dark tall and handsome conviently dissapears immediately, allowing our Herione to idealize him in all ways possible..untill the simple plot twist reveals him to be of a relation to her she wasn’t quite expecting. Oh yea roadblock #2 is her jealous bestfriend who plays her part and then is quickly resolved.

Half-hearted angst and misery insues…but ofcourse there’s a happy ending.

BOTTOMLINE: I Like her drawings and the story, though not innovative, or very creative, is again, enjoyable. That’s really Tomoko Taniguchi in one word. I liked it. Flaws and all.

Next i read

Aquarium: This is a collection of 3 short stories. The second one is about a flight attendant unsure of a guy’s reasons for liking her *lawn*. The third story is a run of the mill “i have a crush on you but can’t say cuz i’m insecure about myself” story. You’ve read it hundreds of times and this one is instantly forgetable. Now. all is not lost. The first short story is the keeper here. It’s also much longer then the last 2.

Basically Aquarium (the short story) is a about a girl who is seriously depressed about not making it into the school of choice. She resorts to very drastic measures to deal with her pain and, for once, it really resonates. She meets a guy at the aquarium she frequents who does his best to cheer her up, and regardless his intentions to her, it’s not about that. As depressing as it is, it’s also very inspiring. The metaphor of the imprisioned marine animals and her own feeling of entrapment at her new school is very effective. Don’t give up and believe in yourself, you can still change things. That’s the message of the story and it’s works so well, without comming off phony or forced.

BOTTOMLINE : One short story saves this volume, it’s her best and worth buying. really stellar.

Finally, my review will conclude with the final volume i manged to purchase

Popcorn Romance : This. is.horrible. I hated this entire volume. Both stories included. One is kind of interesting (at least it isn’t so contrived) a girl feels insecure about her acne…while i can relate..it’s not incredible. That’s why this volume gets any points with me. But that’s where it ends. The main story is about saving the enviorment. Not a bad message but it’s how it gets there that just boggles my mind.

Two pop stars on the rise, (who are boys but one looks like a girl) are forced to return to their grandfather’s farm when the girl-looking boy collaspes on stage. They are returning for a little R&R, but walk into a whole mess. Gramps has no one to inherit the farm and a development company wants to buy it and turn it into a golf club. However, all the cute little animals will lose their homes. It then comes out that the girl-looking boy has  a chronic disease and a normal touring schedule would kill him. So, he falls in love with the farm and decides to inherit it and perform there and build a hotel and and…omg whatever. Swallow that pill i dare you. Oh there’s  another brother i haven’t mentioned yet because there’s this poorly underdeveloped love story between him and some local chick. BUt that’s not the point of this story and it fades in and out like poor reception, most likely a point used to drag us along so we’ll keep reading, through a story that otherwise doesn’t interest us. All in all, a story that makes no logical sense. It’s just stupid beyond enjoyment.

BOTTOMLINE: Bad art, poor character development, horribly contrived plot. Skip this one!

And that’s all folks!

Hallo

This is my place where I intend to review manga and japanese music too i think. Either way i intend to share my opinion with all you of you and i hope to be fair and informative…err…whatever. isn’t my header picture pretty? i drew it!