Strawberry Panic (manga)

Two volumes now down, finishing the manga. It was discontinued, and the end of volume 2 doesn't provide proper closure, you can tell it was cancelled after volume 2's completion (either that or they just never bothered to give it closure.) It's a shame because it was really picking up and getting interesting, and volume 2 leaves on a note where you really want to know how things go next. Of course, though the manga is incomplete there's still the novels and the anime which tell the whole story, so I'll get around to picking up one of those (or perhaps both?) so I can progress to its proper ending.

For what was there of the manga though, good stuff. Definitely something I would've continued if it weren't cancelled.

Proper Ai-Ren thoughts and purchase splurge :x

Now that a day's past I'm going to go over my thoughts on Ai-Ren in a little more detail. There will be big spoilers.

I'm still thinking about it. Not just the ending, all of it. While at work today it was the most frequent thing on my mind. Yesterday whenever I thought of it tears would start coming up but today I'm fine, which is good, since this is only a manga >_> but the fact that tears came up at all is a true testiment to its effectiveness. When Ai dies, it just hits you like a brick wall. The way it's revealed, too, where in the previous chapter Ai was fine. Then in the next chapter, through conversations of other characters, you realize she's died. It isn't even completely spelled out until it transitions to Ikiru going home, and walking around, its emptiness very evident. A house without Ai. Those scenes now are fighting to well up some tears in me. That was the first point when reading that I cried yesterday. It doesn't stop there of course. Then Ikiru watches the videos he made with Ai... so incredibly sad. Ai was given to him for comfort, he loved her and her him, they lived happy lives and knew of their fates, and now, Ai has passed before Ikiru, and Ikiru is now living a life without Ai. His own condition gets worse, and then he dies in a terrorist attack from the opposing humans from that stupid sub-plot or whatever. His final words, as they extended for pages and pages on a black backdrop, were so hard to read. And then the second to last chapter, Ai's sketches for her diary. And finally, in the end of it all, Ikiru's sensei a year later living in a world without Ai or Ikiru, caring for the child Ikiru and Ai left behind, who's in an irrepairable state... or so thought. At the very end, a miracle happens, and it would seem that the child rivives into consciousness.

That whole last volume had me in tears really. I have never been so struck with emotion when reading anything at all, period. Ai-Ren is a masterpiece. Unquestionably it is my favourite manga of all time. The sub-plots held it back a little and weren't as fun to read as the experiences Ai and Ikiru shared but they had their own sadness to them, and they wound up being an important factor of the story. So, overall, great fucking read.

I also went on a purchase splurge over these past two weeks. Lots of monies down the drain! Here's what I bought;

Love Hina (manga) vols. 2 - 9
Kare First Love vol 2
Strawberry Panic (manga) vol 2
Welcome to the NHK (manga) vols 2 & 3
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Set I
Android Kikaider Complete Series

Love Hina is replacing Strawberry 100% as my light-hearted manga of choice for reading, and is the primary published manga I'll be focusing on. The second volume of Strawberry Panic will wrap up the manga releases for that series, apparently it was discontinued and not actually finished so I'm interested to see how that volume goes. Gundam SEED was kind of an impulse buy because I don't know anything about Gundam, but I want to try a mech anime and apparently that's a damned good one. Kikaider I'm getting because I AM going to watch it eventually, I know I was meh over the first ep but whatever, I'll finish it out at some point.

I just finished Ai-Ren

It is the first time I've cried reading manga. What a brilliant, touching manga.

Candy Boy

That was a cute little series. Basically it's about these twins who're attracted to each other, and they basically agree that they're together and plan to be together forever etc. There isn't much to the story, basically slice-of-life with a little bit of expansion with a stalker-like character who's obsessed with one of the twins and then another character who's the younger sister of the twins. There's some conflict that occurs but it's primarily between the stalker/younger sister and the twins rather than between the twins themselves. Each episode is really short, generally around 10 - 15 mins and at seven eps (excluding the pilot and two specials, though I watched those too) it's a really short series. Definitely worth the watch though, it was fun and cute.

Strawberry 100% & future endeavors

I have now read up to and completed Volume 9 of Strawberry 100%. That catches me up to the official releases thus far, with Volume 10 coming in October IIRC. So, my thoughts thus far. I really like this series. At first, I was sort of indifferent to it, it was the sort of thing I might've dropped. The characters grew on me though. Junpei was frustratingly indecisive, and he still is, but since he's always been that way and since it's a trait that furthers plot development I've come to sort of accept it, that is to say, it isn't so frustrating anymore. Just a slight annoyance. In addition, I really like most of the characters, which makes it fun to follow along with them. I've already determined who I want Junpei to end up with - that'd be Aya. Even though a recent development *potential spoilers here* made apparent that Tsukasa had her eye on Junpei since before Junpei even asked her out, it's clear as hell that the one Junpei's meant to be with is Aya. He seems the most comfortable around her and her personality isn't one which causes any friction with him (like Satsuki's.) So I'll be reading this through and they'd better wind up together in the end. This manga better not pull a Kashimashi and pair Junpei up with Tsukasa >=O

I've also decided that I won't be waiting on the official releases of the series to continue reading. Whenever I feel like hitting the next chapter I'll do so via scanlations, and I'll probably finish the rest of the series that way since it'll be ages before Viz finishes it. I'll still buy the volumes as they're released of course.

I've also decided that I'm going to try and finish out most of the series I started buying in physical manga format. I have a lot of just like, single volumes of different manga so rather than buying more single volumes I'm gonna hunker down and focus on individual series one at a time. So the way I'm working this is I'll be reading several mangas online and then one officially published manga which I'll purchase several volumes of on a bi-weekly basis. Or perhaps that'll become weekly, I dunno. At any rate, I've already set an order of series to conquer via this manner. So, in order, I will continue these series in physical format:

- Love Hina
- Kare First Love
- Eureka Seven
- Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei
- Fullmetal Alchemist
- Trigun
- Hellsing
- Tail of the Moon
- GTO
- Gantz
- Love Attack
- Gacha Gacha

Then there are a couple series that I haven't decided on whether or not I'll continue them;

- Berserk
- Bleach
- Dragon Ball Z
- Excel Saga
- InuYasha
- Naruto
- One Piece
- Yu Yu Hakusho

And the reason for that is either because there's too many damn volumes (Berserk, all those shonens) or because I'm just not interested (Excel Saga.) We'll see though.

Progress report! Still reading Ai-Ren, I'm approaching the half-way mark in the series. Picked up Kagijin and Midnight Secretary. For anime I'm watching Azumanga Daioh and Candy Boy on the PC, and then Berserk on physical DVD since I figure it's about time I actually watched the damn series lest my purchase go to waste. Candy Boy is really short and there's only a couple chapters of Kagijin so far so I'll be done with those soon.

Monster, Death Note, Kagijin, Azumanga Daioh...

Monster is FINISHED. This portion of the post will contain SPOILERS, until I state otherwise down this post in caps. So, the ending. I know what people mean when they say it's anticlimatic now. I don't mind though. I think the ending works well for the manga. Tenma couldn't have been the one to shoot Johan, I'm happy he wasn't the one to do it. I'm even happier that he wound up operating on him and actually saving his life again, even after all that effort he put towards hunting him down and killing him... yeah, that really is anticlimatic, isn't it? Great read at any rate, definitely one of the top thriller stories I've ever read, kept me constantly engaged and it's been one of the most engrossing experiences I've had with regards to manga. THAT'S IT FOR MONSTER SPOILERS.

NOW WE GET DEATH NOTE SPOILERS. I read the one shot earlier today, the one that takes place three years after the end of the Death Note story. At first I thought it was pretty horrible, there were some comic moments (Near with his fucking empire of tarot cards that he tells Rester not to knock over, or he will be pissed, when dealing with the new Kira's killings.) Overall though it was weak, the new Kira ended just like that, there was really nothing much to it. However, someone else put it in a different light, and said that the story strengthend (did I spell that right? :x) Light's and L's character by showing how a "normal" person would react to the death note. And in that light, indeed it does work and that's given me a different appreciation of the one shot. So now I don't think it's that bad at all. END DEATH NOTE SPOILERS.

I read the one shot for Kagijin a bit ago and I really liked it, I thought it was great to have someone who seemed like somewhat of an anti-hero, near the end of the one shot when the kills the general or whoever he was the way he did, it rung as very effective, I thought it was great. The first chapter of the serialization, I think is quite a bit worse. Protagonist dude has changed a bit, personality-wise and looks-wise, and he hasn't had a moment yet where we can see how he values the lives of his enemies, as his one enemy thus far has been a mythical sand monster. However, it was still an entertaining read and it's enough to make me want to continue it, so if these next four chapters are just as good as this first one then I'll be following this manga along with Bakuman as far as weekly manga is concerned.

Last on the list is Azumanga Daioh. I'm putting Android Kikaider on hold because frankly I'm not very interested in it, Azumanga is the next anime I'm pursuing. I saw about six of its episodes a while ago and I watched another three today, and I'm right back into it. Funny as hell, of course I knew this before from the first six eps and of course it's to be expected from the mangaka of Yotsuba. 24 or so episodes so I'm a fair ways off from completion, but I'll almost definitely be buying the physical copy of this once I finish the series. This should be a fun watch.

I initially was going to post about Strawberry 100% as well but I've yet to finish volumes eight and nine. When I finish those I'll be all caught up with the current releases and then I'll post my thoughts thus far. I haven't decided yet whether or not I'll continue the series past volume nine via scanlations. It'd mean I'd get to finish the story soon rather than a couple years from now or whenever they finish releasing the manga. On the flip-side, I like nothing better than to get a new volume of manga in the mail not knowing what the contents will be. I'll see, there's certainly plenty of other manga that can take its place should I put it on hiatus.

*EDIT* I forgot, I found this cool site called My Anime List and I've got myself completely set up on it now. Links:

http://myanimelist.net/mangalist/Hexrapper
http://myanimelist.net/animelist/Hexrapper

I know I've read more manga and seen more anime than that, but I can't remember any more specifics than I have listed. I'll add them as I remember them. I'll keep track of series progress there and keep a database of all manga and anime I have an interest in reading/watching on there as well.

Love Attack & Otomen

Another batch of manga arrived today and with it arrived my first volume of Love Attack. I'd heard good of Love Attack from someone who was into romance manga, said that it put a unique spin on the genre with the character's personalities, and indeed it made for a fun first volume. Essentially what it is is this girl who gets into lots of fights is asked to try and stop a guy who is infamous for fighting and skipping class etc from continuing to be a delinquint. She accepts, kicks him in the face, and he asks her out. Begin series of fun happinings =D

For me the manga wouldn't have worked if the characters weren't likable, so it's good that they are. They aren't school bullies, on the contrary, the female lead actually fights for the better of those being picked on, and the guy only fights those who start them against him. He's also got explanations for his absence from school, and the two really aren't what they'd appear to be from the outside, which makes it enjoyable to follow along with them because you can like them and root for them. Overall it was a good first volume, and I definitely have in interest in picking up the next one at some point.


Otomen I started reading a while ago, in some random issue of Shojo Beat, where it was advertised as a new series and they ran the first chapter. The concept caught me right off the bat, manly man Asuka is top of the Kendo club at his school and is everything a guy could want to be... but secretly, his true passion is for the most girly of activities (i.e. sewing, cooking, shojo manga etc etc.) He meets Ryo, who isn't good at all at girly things like sewing and who likes manly men. The dynamic implied there doesn't really go anywhere, pretty much right off Ryo finds out that Asuka's actually really girly but it's a very fun read, with likable characters.

Volume 3 just came out and it's a good volume. It's frustrating that the series continues to keep Asuka and Ryo strictly on friends terms but the third volume sort of makes up for lack of development relationship-wise by further developing Asuka's relationship with the other dude instead. What was his name. w/e, the secret Shojo artist. He's tagged along this whole time but there's been barely anything with him and Asuka besides him coaxing Asuka into being more confrontational about wanting to start a relationship, so it's interesting to read Asuka trying to pry into other dude's personal life, where his secret hobby is at risk of being discovered. This only goes on for one chapter but it's a nice change of pace.

The next batch of manga I have arriving will bring me up to date on the latest releases of Strawberry 100% with Volume 9 (I already have all the previous ones) and it'll also round off my collection of Monster, so those two will be popping up here soon when that package arrives. I have a lot to say about them :x

Yotsuba, Ai-Ren and Android Kikaider

Yotsuba is ridiculously funny, super cute, and something I wish had more chapters than it currently does, because I'm all caught up already. So many hilarious moments, seriously, there is no reason not to read this one. I'm sure anyone could enjoy this manga. It's just this little girl and her dad living in Japan and with Yotsuba's personality it makes for a very entertaining read. I like it better than Azumanga Diaoh as well, not to knock that one since Azumanga is great as well, but Yotsuba, man, funny and feel-good through and through. Can't wait 'till the mangaka gets back to this.

Ai-Ren on the other hand feels like it's gonna become depressing. Well, I already know it is, it was recommended when I was seeking similar series to Bokurano with regards to character circumstance. A guy who's gonna die gets this person who's had their personality modified to be supportive of someone and help them live out their final days. It's kinda sad reading it, it's fun following the protagonist and Ai-Ren through the different things they do but Ai-Ren is definitely artificial and of course for the protagonist to be spending his final days like this... well, we'll see where it goes. Only thing I'm not digging is this futuristic bs they're kinda interweaving into the story, about how civilization has advanced so that breeding is no longer necessary and just all this nonsense that really is not interesting in the least. It could do without that.

Android Kikaider is probably my next anime. I haven't watched an anime through in a while and this doesn't seem like a bad place to start again, it doesn't really have an anime art style but the first episode is intriguing, apparently it's actually quite a sad series so I'm sure depressing times are ahead for me in this one. I'm not totally into it yet, also I'm not huge on robots and stuff so the fact that this centers on one is somewhat of a turn-off but I'm holding out, it's a short series so even if it gets stale it won't be so bad. The first episode at least gives the series promising potential.

Bokurano

I started this a while ago but I just finally finished it after putting it off. For the record this will contan spoilers.

Hmm. Well, it was definitely a good read. At times it was quite depressing. The final battle certainly was quite a depressing way to end it, Ushiro forced to wipe out the entire enemy planet to find and kill the sole enemy pilot who ran... but it was effective. The characters were all interesting but I find that it's very difficult to remember their names, or at least most of them. Some characters stand out more than others (I still remember Kako), but most I just can't remember. I suppose its only natural when dealing with a cast of about fourteen main characters.

There was enough unexpected stuff to keep it interesting. Machi's sudden death at the hands of the stranger caught me off guard, and frustrated me. I'd grown to like her as a character, and especially in that moment, when she was bonding with Ushiro... how terribly unfortunate. Of course for most of the manga I absolutely hated Ushiro, with his constant abuse of his little sister. He won a lot of respect from me after his sister's death though, when he actually started showing some human emotion and when he signed the contact. A fitting final pilot.

Only real flaw is that it gets kind of stale at around the mid-point, not to say necessarily that those characters are less interesting but the manga basically has its routine, and it can really only be repeated so many times before you need something else, regardless how different each character's individual story is. I had to take a break from it, but after the break I was right back into it and ready to plow through to the finish. I'd say it's a good read if you take it like, a couple chapters a week. Not the kind of thing you should read too fast.

I'm happy with it though. It was worth looking into. It wasn't too mech-focused either, which is a personal plus being someone not really into mechs at all. Definitely more a human-driven story. Anyway, if it's ever released in translated physical manga format I'll definitely be picking the series up.

Oh, I have a blog, k.

I forgot I had one of these. It is now my life's goal to pursue this blog and fill it with all of my intellectual findings! One day, one day! It is soon to come, with electricity! And power sockets!

Today, however, I am going to talk about Kashimashi and Welcome to the NHK.

I recently finished Kashimashi. This is going to contain KASHIMASHI SPOILERS BE WAREEEEEEEEEEYYYYYY so! What the FUCK do you mean Hazumu ends up with Tomari. The whole manga up 'till then was pointing towards Yasuna. First off, Hazumu digs Yasuna from the very beginning, even asks her out, I know he's turned down, but um it's because he's a guy and she's gay and then WHAM he gets turned into a girl so problem solved I can't wait to see those two holding each other while in a relationship so roll on the chapters 'till it happens.

But Tomari? Seriously? The way she acted, the way Hazumu acted towards her, it doesn't make any sense! I mean, maybe this is just me seeing what I want to see, because I reeeeaaaalllllyyyy wanted it to be Hazumu and Yasuna, I mean, maybe I just wasn't seeing the development. But there wasn't any! I mean, relationship-wise, Tomari went through a lot mentally but nothing really was going on on the outside between them. It was so gonna be Hazumu and Yasuna. I'm disappointed.

Next up: Welcome to the NHK. My new favourite manga. I love Satou, and I love Misaki. Even if Misaki's a little twisted, and perhaps has the wrong intentions... ok, definitely has the wrong intentions. But I can't help but feel that there's a shred of genuine love in her, for Satou. She needs him not only to feel superior, but because she loves him. Maybe? Maybe I'm just hoping that's the case, because I love her character, and I don't want her to be completely unlikable. I dunno. But I love Satou too. I see a lot of myself in him. Probably that isn't a good thing. He's fast becoming one of my favourite manga characters though.

I'm pretty far into it, on Chapter 31. Just nine more chapters to go, I'm kinda sad that it'll be ending so soon, but I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes. It's been a great read so far.