Katsucon :p

KATSUCON WAS AWESOME! ... EXCEPT FOR THAT CREEPY GUY AT THE RAVE! *shudder* Why am I shouting?
I can't wait for Otakon. :D
ONFL ;) Later.

-DeMent

Finally made it on

Finally made it onto the blog site. The one who loses track of everything finally made it on. The best anime out there in my oppiion would have to be the anime Fushigi Yugi which is as good as the manga. I'm waiting for more good anime to watch. I truly love the Cardcaptor Sakura series the most though and can't help but write fanfics of them.
Didn't like the movies for the CCS series but what can you do about that?

Kristen S.

From the Guys who Brought You Death Note...

Bakuman is a relatively new manga by Tsugumi Ooba and Takeshi Obata, the creators of Death Note. It came out last August, and it's still being serialized in the Japanese magazine, Shonen Jump.

Basically, it's a manga about two guys who make a manga.

Moritaka "Saiko" Mashiro is an average 9th grader. He is a good artist, but he doesn't think anything of it. His uncle, a mangaka, worked himself to death (literally) making manga. So, when Akito "Shujin" Takagi sees Saiko's drawings and asks Saiko to collaborate with him on a manga, Saiko isn't exactly eager. But, eventually, Saiko agrees, realizing that he would rather be a mangaka than a bland office worker. Saiko also has a dream of marrying his classmate, Miho Azuki, and they decide that when Saiko and Shujin become famous mangaka, Azuki will become a voice actress in the anime adaptation of their manga and Saiko and Azuki will get married. Until then, Saiko and Azuki will communicate only by letters, as Saiko's uncle did throughout his life with his love interest.

Anyway, I'm not a big fan of this manga. Although it does provide an interesting behind the scenes look into Jump Magazine, the rest of it is a little boring. The romance feels a bit contrived, especially the relationship between Shujin and Miyoshi, one of Azuki's friends. It just doesn't flow naturally.

Perhaps I'm reading a bit too far into it, but I have also found some mildly sexist messages in this manga. For example, in chapter 2, Shujin decides that Azuki, by pretending not to be smart to make herself look cute, is actually a genius, while Iwase, a girl who's proud of her good grades, is a stuck-up idiot. Saiko agrees with him. Later on, when Saiko tells his parents about his plans to make a manga, his mom, remembering what happened to his uncle, says that she doesn't think it's a good idea. Saiko's dad? Well, he tells the mother to be quiet, because according to him, "men have dreams that women can't understand!" One wonders, then, what can be said of all the female mangaka out there.

Although the manga can be a little boring, and, at times, facepalm-worthy, it's not really all that bad. Saiko and Shujin's overzealous enthusiasm is amusing, and I'd say it's worth a read just for the inside look at Jump magazine and the process by which manga is published and serialized.

- Johnson

Hana-Kimi VS Girl Got Game

There are these two manga called Hanazakari no Kimitachi e, or, as people also call it, Hana-Kimi (23 volumes), and Girl Got Game (10 volumes). I have read both, and I LOVE Hana-Kimi. I love it much more than Girl Got Game. Girl Got Game has a VERY similar setting and character design, and it's not as good as Hana-Kimi's. HK's plot is much better, and I like the characters better. Yeah, I guess I really hate Girl Got Game... Also, on Wikipedia (which I know isn't very reliable...>.<' ), it said HK came out before GGG, meaning GGG could've been a copy of HK!!! (>O<) That makes me very angry when I think about it... *scowl* Hana-Kimi's better! Choose Hana-Kimi! Vote for Hana-Kimi! (This is an election?!)

By the way, both stories are about a girl who crossdresses as a boy to sneak into an all-boys school. They also both have sports-related themes too. Hana-Kimi has track, and GGG has basketball. HK is really funny. :)

I wanted this to be a rant, but it's more like a short opinion piece... I think I'm too nice...maybe...

- Dement

Digimon Adventure 01 - A Retrospective

Hey everyone. Six posts later I finally hear about this blog, despite my status as leader of the club. I think I'm getting too old for this. Haha.



I thought I'd start with a review, but I changed my mind and decided to do a retrospective. I recently had a nostalgia kick and decided to re-watch the entire first season of Digimon, also known as Digimon Adventure. For those of you way younger than myself, or just out of touch with Japanese culture, Digimon began as a virtual pet toy, later expanding into an entire franchise that compromises five seasons worth of anime. However, any fan knows the only good seasons were the first two. Ah, but I digress.

Digimon follows the adventures of seven kids from Odaibah, Japan who go from summer camp to a world filled with digital monsters. Although they initially search for a way home, their adventure gets them to save the world a few times, as well as develop as people. My favorite part is how fast paced the series is, as opposed to more popular series of today. (Eg, Naruto. Perfect example.)

For those of you looking for a dose of nostalgia, or something from "back in the day," I highly recommend Digimon. There's also the second season, which follows some years later after the first one, in case you like the first one. Currently watching the second one actually, and it's nice to get the story down again. It's amazing how much you forget over the years.

Well this has gone on for a while, so I'm out.
-Darrell

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni

Higurashi, or, When They Cry, is a fantastic anime full of death and mystery that will hook any anime fan looking for something different to watch. The first season of Higurashi aired between April 4, 2006 and September 26, 2006 in Japan and is now only available on DVD. The second season of the show aired in 2007. This show is NOT for those who have a weak stomach or cannot handle the sight of blood. But if you can handle blood and as much gore as the show can throw at you, then you should definitely check it out. The show can be a bit confusing and is not for those who only use half of their brain. But if you do use your entire brain and actually pay attention to the show, then you shouldn't have a problem watching the twenty-six episode first season of the show, and if you like it, then you shouldn't have a problem watching the second season, which has twenty-four episodes.

- Saede

Absolute Boyfriend

I must say, I didn't really want read any of the Anime stories or movies (I only did it because my friends do), but I was beyond surprised when I actually started to enjoy them. I thought they were stupid comic strips that had no meaning. I had no idea why anyone would like them. I even mocked people for having anything to do with them. I also didn't understand why people would fit like 10 people in a room just to go to Katsucon and have Anime all around you. Then, one day, I gave in and went to a Manga website just to see what everybody was so crazy about. I didn't know anything about Anime, so I tried to find something that I thought I would like. Well, I went to pick a series that I liked, and I ended with Absolute Boyfriend. I thought the series was really good. Well, after I learned how to read it. That kind of made it difficult to know what was going on, but I soon caught on. How was I supposed to know what to read first? I only read the first chapter, but I'm sure I'll soon be addicted (Maybe as much as Twilight).

-Sarah