Archive for the “Manga” Category
It’s been a while since I feel in love with a manga so quickly and after being utterly impressed by the sheer originality of it. Is the Otomen concept completely unique? Not quite, there have been similar concepts, but I can’t think of one that’s this well presented and inter-supported. The fact it turned the traditional shoujo concept box inside out also gained huge points.
 And Asuka-chan is SOOOOOOOOOO MOE~!!!! >.<
Otomen is about a funny yet somewhat serious story of gender role-reversal in the modern world still filled with gender-based stereotypes. It features an original premise, an excellent male lead (main character) with all the quirks of a real human being, and a triangle of bestest friends that fits together so perfectly. Although, the storyline is rather light and predictable though, great for pure enjoyment but not enough to be considered dramatic.
On that note, Viz Media released Otomen volumn 5 this month, and volumn 6 and 7 are due in May and August. I’m so late on this already!!!
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With Sono Hanabira ni Kuchiduke wo translated, I thought back to my fun time with Aoi Shiro and grabbed it in a flash. Well unfortunately things didn’t go as I would like— the game ended up disturbing me in under ten minutes. Why? Because this is no yuri romance story, it’s almost pure yuri H, with two really perverted girls nonetheless and probably more H text than story writing… Really, the cute title and soft color pallette fooled me. But it’s been a long time since I’ve disliked a yuri story and that got me thinking—
 I wish I had an onee-san like Yuki-chan
Most people classify yuri as a primary genre, like romance or action (as opposed to secondary/tertiary genres, like psychological, school, etc, which are more like descriptor tags). This implies it’s amongst the main reasons to watch a show, and that if you don’t love yuri then you can’t enjoy the show. To date I’m still not completely sure of this view. Yes, I’ve picked up yuri for the sake of it being yuri, but is yuri the target that I’m looking for? Or, is yuri merely a medium of delivering what I really sought? I’m reminded of what ETERNAL said:
Yuri, like all settings and devices and what have you, is simply a premise.
Maybe when I sought yuri, I’m simply looking for a really cute romance with an elegantly refined atmosphere.
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Before I get labelled as some Yandere theorist like mefloraine: no, I’m not a Yandere expert. Heck, I’m not even a Yandere fan, even if Kaede from Shuffle sits on my MAL top 10 favorite characters or that I tend to like a lot of yandere characters or that I argue for them when— okay not helping my case.

Of all the character archtypes lying about out there, Yanderes seem to be the most misunderstood and hated, far more than even the most sadistic variation of tsunderes. Obviously, I can’t judge other people’s preferences on the matter, but I always felt like people are taking Yanderes the wrong way. When most people think of yandere they instantly think of “they will murder you! Nice boat style!” Uuuuuu— I feel bad for them already. After all, they just wanted to be your bestest friend for ever and ever and ever. That boxcutter business? It’s not going to happen unless you cheat on or betray them, and in some cases you might be just a bit deserving of what’s coming… I mean, Makoto (School Days) sure does.
But even then, it’s not quite that simple. I knew that Yanderes (and Yangires for that matter, see their MAL club for word breakdown) were on the extreme ends, but even I didn’t quite understand the issue involved until I read this TIME magazine article on Borderline Personality Disorder. Yeah, psychologists once thought of this as a fatal disease, how’s that for you sick-girl Moe lovers, not to mention all the Damaged Goods and Katawa Shoujo fans.
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Posted by Aorii in Anime, Crossvision, Manga, tags: Akagami no Shirayuki hime, Angel Diary, Half Prince, Kaichou wa Maid-sama, Sakura-hime Kaden, Shinshi Doumei Cross, Shoujo, Special A
 Okay, fair reminder. But Japan, you just love to remind us… (Uwasa no Midori-kun by Ikeyamada Go)
When was the last time a shoujo manga lead character was strong and capable, in more than just an emotional/supportive sense? Okay plenty of times, scratch that. When was the last time they were strong and awe-inspiring without being foiled by something else, such as comedic ridicule or consistent overshadowing and sheltering by an even more GAR male? I’m pretty sure I can count my encounters using just my fingers here. The key words here aren’t the ‘GAR male’, as I’m quite fine with the presence of awesome guys who are even better than the heroine; the key terms are ‘overshadowed and sheltered’. I understand that being protected and saved by the classic knight-in-shining-armor is quite romantic, but sometimes, they really do overuse it.
Doesn’t look like it’s a rare feeling of annoyance either, as I loled when Hyper Parfait yelled out:
A CHAPTER WITHOUT KAZUMA PROTECTING FUMIKO!!!! *CELEBRATES*… I’m so sick of her being protected. So Sick. SICK.
Well yeah, I agree, especially given that Fumiko from Faster than a Kiss was suppose to be one of those strong delinquent type characters in the first place.
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Sometimes great drama doesn’t need initial comedy while your audience gets in touch with the characters, or a long and complex buildup to raise the tensions, or fantastic elements and miracles. Sometime all you need is to blend together two characters with unfortunate circumstances and breath life into them. After all, the pie of life is always half sweet and half bitter, and by directly confronting its saddest elements we arrive at something bittersweet, beautiful, and absolutely touching.
Maybe illustrating the manga edition of Voices of a Distant Star instilled her with the same essence that Shinkai Makoto used to author his work; maybe she always had the gift. But either way, Sahara Mizu’s works manage to portray character and relationship development with a depth that few others could reach.
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Posted by Aorii in "Novels", Anime, Fandom General, Games, Manga, tags: Anime Family Project, Chibitalia, Emiya Kiritsugu, Emiya Shirou, Higuchi Ririko, Kudryavka Noumi, Mai Waifu, Nia Teppelin, Otomiya Haine, Potato, Rita Mordio, Shannon Casull, Shiina Mafuyu, Shirakawa Kotori, Shirakawa Nanaka
So Honya finally started the second round to the anime family project. Yay! It also means it’s time for me to publish this post that I started two months ago. About time. There’s been quite a few changes in my anime family, reflecting upon how my views have shifted over the two years since Honya’s first anime family project startup. But I think this time, a few more of the characters have entered the frame to settle down permanently.
 The bestest true end I wish for
The anime family project is, in a nutshell, a selection of characters from anime, manga, visnovs, et cetera, that are assigned to roles in your ideal fictional family.
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A love born from an experimental act, as threats and exploitation from one side meets backstabbing from the other…
As the latest series authored by Tooyama Ema, the mangaka of Hyakuen! and Koko no iru yo! (also known as that Kimi no Todoke alike, which isn’t really true), Watashi ni xx Shinasai sure made huge strides of improvement in breaking out from the stereotypical Shoujo shell. I’d definitely say this is her best work yet.

Though, I have to admit, this manga has one smut-covered title that really gives off the wrong impression. Yet it’s also surprisingly accurate in an different way. The premise may not exactly be original, but it’s uncommon enough to warrant a refreshing read, and the presentation is just wonderful. Thanks goes to Nagareboshi Manga for scanlating it.
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Thanks to Potato-otaku’s relentless translation, Kaichou wa Maid-sama finally brings out the interesting details, after… 45 chapters, forty-five chapters!!! Well, this is assuming that ch46 brings us the goods, seeing as dear 45 left on a cliffhanger.

Dear Fujiwara Hiro, what were you thinking! You’ve tantalized us with this mysterious past of Usui since god knows when. If it weren’t for the fact our dear couple look so cute together I would have dropped this ages ago, and even then reading Kaichou felt almost like a guilty pleasure prior to this chapter. As someone on baka-updates manga put it, Kaichou is like smut without the smut. Read the rest of this entry »
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