I was channel surfing last weekend, and happened upon the first episode of Buso Renkin on the Funimation Channel. I like to see manga I’ve read as anime. Reading static action scenes are okay, but seeing them move can really bring it to life. So, I try to at least see some episodes of an anime. I stopped to check out the first episode and see how Viz did with it. I have a habit of hoping for the best about these things. Sometimes I’m rewarded, sometimes not. The opening started as a good sign. It was the original Japanese opening “Makka Na Chikai” with subtitles. I liked the opening song, and the animation was well done. I especially liked at the end of the opening with Kazuki and Tokiko holding the Sunlight Slasher, and it switching from color and then to black and white with speed lines. Like a switch between anime and manga.
Mamotte! Lollipop Volume 4 By Michiyo Kikuta Publisher: Del Rey Manga Age Rating: Teen Genre: Romance Price: $10.95 Rating: The Magic Exams have arrived and changes are on the way. Nina will no longer have the cute boys Zero and Ichi to look after her. What’s a girl to do–perhaps go out for a lollipop? But which flavor should she choose? It’s the end of the Magic Exams, and everyone and their brother (or sister) is after Zero and Ichi. Nina finally gets the potion to remove the Crystal Pearl, but because she doesn’t want to be separated from Zero and Ichi, chooses not to drink it. She has second thoughts as the competition stiffens. She stays with them to end though, with new complications arising. The light-hearted romance of the last volume gets tossed out the window, as the final days of the Magic Exam grow closer. The first half of this volume shows that the Magic Exam isn’t supposed to the game the first three volumes made it out to be. Examinees get tougher, and no one is pulling punches. The entire end of the Magic Exam feels completely different from the story so far, and very out…
Amazon.com isn’t resting on it’s laurels with the Kindle. The Kindle 2.0 was only just releases in February, but less than 3 months later, they already have a new model out, the Kindle DX. It features a larger screen, 9.75 in, integrated PDF support and auto rotating from portrait to landscape.
Stacymay asks: Do manga have to have a complex plot? If someone is trying to write a romance manga, does there have to be fantasy and stuff in it or can it just be a love story? Thanks! That’s a great question! When looking at shojo or romance manga, there does seem to be a lot of fantasy themed stories. But they aren’t all like that. There are plenty of titles that are based in reality. Nana, Sand Chronicles, and Honey and Clover for older readers and Monkey High and High School Debut for teens are some examples. A well written love story is a perfect theme for a manga. As for how complex the plot is, well, that up to the writer and the plot. A story can have several twists and turns to keep the reader engaged, but if there are too many, the story can become too confusing. A frustrated reader will not continue reading the story. It’s best to keep the story relatively simple with just a twist or turn here and there to keep the reader interested enough to read the end. Keep those questions coming!
It’s that time of year, when you get the itch to clean out closets, move furniture and change up your wordpress website. Well, the last wasn’t exactly on my list, but thanks to Kate Dacey’s new site Tha Manga Critic, I got the itch to change mine around. Half of my weekend gone later, and I have a new theme up as you can see. I’ve simplified things as much as possible, hopefully making navigation easier and cleaner. The All Ages Manga page has been updated with the new titles, though Previews has shown me more, so expect more updates on that page soon. I debated this for a long time, but a look around the mangasphere has convinced me that I should put links for all my reviews for other sites, so the Reviews Archive will be getting a major update as well.