[NO SPOILERS IN THIS POST]

Previously I’ve talked about distinguishing the guilt in pleasure from high culture/low culture dichotomies; how one may feel guilty for enjoying say, the fanservice in shows like Kampfer, as if such a one would really prefer to watch Porco Rosso instead (or something more high-brow or culturally significant). This is not the kind of guilt that I prefer to talk about here.

I distinguished one kind of guilt in taking pleasure in empathizing or even rooting for characters who do evil and villainous things — as I have for Ikari Gendo in Neon Genesis Evangelion. This time I want to talk about taking pleasure in witnessing (via media) cruel and terrible things particularly to pre-pubescent girls in Narutaru.

Shouta Trap Rape

I’ve mentioned cruelty in another Kitoh work, Bokurano. 12 year olds are broken before they are killed. Not all of them of course, some triumph in the sense of having a ‘dignified’ death, despite being subject to humiliation and perversion. While it would be easy to claim that I or we don’t take pleasure in the perversions these characters are subjected to, it’s easy to claim that we are repulsed by it– It’s hard not to say that we aren’t gripped by it.

Where do we draw the line between repulsion that begs for release (where release is the actual source of pleasure), and taking actual pleasure in the illustrations of cruelty and sex (in perverted and/or cruel contexts)?

What do I mean by this? I mean we can read or watch a rape scene. Unless we take specific voyeuristic pleasure in witnessing rape in fiction and or illustration, we are probably cringing in a state of suffering at some level. Why? We are upset at what is happening to a character we probably care about. If we don’t care about the character directly, there is some part of us that disagrees with rape and rape of a child. When the scene is over, we are relieved. When the bad guys are punished, we are relieved.

But we feel guilt because some part of us perhaps enjoyed the nasty business. Maybe.

But more importantly, what if the bad guys aren’t punished in the end. Or, what if all the actions for redemption, all the effort and determination meet a nihilistic end? What was their suffering for? What was OUR suffering for?

What if we enjoyed or appreciate the manga or anime anyway despite this? What does it say about us?

Why would we want to experience something like this?

I don’t think I can answer these questions satisfactorily here. I can only speculate. It’s easy enough to reduce us as human beings as biological machines, that are with needs in order to continue our existence. For the purposes of this post I include psychology as part of our biological machinery. We have physical needs such as food, water, and shelter; and we have psychological needs such as pleasure. We may take pleasure in food, water, and shelter — but we take our needs further to desire specifics like sushi, sake, and well-furnished homes.

There are needs, and then there are desires. Needs are a function of lacking something. Desires are active.

Is there a specific desire to empathize with the suffering of others? It seems yes, as I find it difficult to imagine that this is a need. Similar but different to Schadenfreude, that is the pleasure derived from the misfortune of others.

Character A is a villain. She performed cruel acts against our protagonist (bullying, humiliation, violence; all done with obvious malevolence and malice).

Character A is betrayed by Character B who is higher in the food chain of villainy. He rapes her cruelly before finally killing her by carving up her intestines with a small knife.

Can there be Schadenfreude in our experience of her end? Oh yes. But how much of the rape and murder do we enjoy? None of it? Really? But how about Schadenfreude itself? Is it okay to enjoy the untoward end of a character just because such character is evil? Why should we feel guilty about this!? It’s just anime! It’s just entertainment!

Precisely! It’s the idea that we find some things entertaining that can be troubling and disturbing. In Narutaru, very bad things happen to naked little girls. The character design isn’t provocatively cute, compared to the moe loli fare that is prevalent in contemporary anime. I wouldn’t call it realistic either, though in the few months that I’ve read Bokurano and Narutaru I’ve spotted gangly, and oh-so-bony (and not in a supermodel kind of way) young females in and around schools and shopping malls.

I’m sure some readers can get off on this sexually. People have had weirder things as fetish objects I think. In depicting sex scenes, rape scenes, and the like… the panels are composed differently as they would be in hentai doujins. I don’t even think this is fanservice. I think this is something important to clear up. This tells me that it would take effort in getting off on these. But the thresholds are different for each of us. Some of the guilt I feel involves enjoying the manga itself — in that it is something someone really perverted can and will easily get off on.

So what do I make of this Narutaru experience? Whatever high on things like this, I got from Bokurano. But Narutaru feels twice as discomforting, and if there was any pleasure I got from it, I do feel guilty, kind of. This is strange to me, because I actually got to spend more time with Shiina, who is a charming and endearing character, more than any of the characters in Bokurano. But I don’t know. I think I don’t like how it all ends. You’ll just have to make up your own minds.

Further Reading

Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, Anti-Œdipus (1972); specifically the foreword by Michel Foucault. Wikipedia entry [->]

My endorsement of Bokurano [->]

Again, my interpretation of cruelty here is wholly influenced by gaguri in his post on cruel anime (gaguri2008/12/10)

lolikappa crafted this last love song for Bokurano, and Mohiro Kitoh’s other completed manga Narutaru (lolikappa 2009/07/08)

 J’ai remarqué que ces temps-ci, je me suis mise à regarder de nouveaux animés. Et comme je n’ai pas envie de recevoir de reproches pour avoir « caché » des animés, je vais en faire une petite description rapide. Pour la plupart, je n’ai vu que 1 ou 2 épisodes, donc pas assez pour me faire une vraie idée. Mais peut-être (on peut toujours rêver…) que ça va te donner envie de regarder certains de mes spécimens ! :D Je vais les ranger par ordre alphabétique (sinon, je me serais sentie obligée de mettre Code Geass en premier et qu’est-ce que j’aurais entendu… ^.^).

Bokurano (24 épisodes)

« C’est les vacances d’été.  15 jeunes collégiens découvrent une grotte remplie  d’ordinateurs. A l’intérieur de celle-ci, un homme leur propose de jouer à un jeu qu’il a inventé. Ils doivent contrôler un robot géant et sauver la planète. Mais le jeu devient vite réalité… ». Je connais cet anime depuis longtemps et il m’avait toujours attiré. La seule chose que j’ai à dire après avoir regardé les 2 premiers épisodes, c’est que c’est le genre d’anime a être complètement différent de ce à quoi on s’attendait au départ. Je n’ai pas trop envie d’en dire plus (SPOILER !) mais… ça m’a donné le même sentiment qu’Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. O_o J’ai comme l’impression que nos 15 amis (c’est beaucoup de monde tout ça, ça donne mal à la tête…) vont pas s’amuser tous les jours à sauver le monde. Je suppose que je vais bien aimer si ça continue comme ça a commencé…

Code Geass – Hangyaku no Lelouch (25 épisodes)

« … » Pas la peine de donner un résumé, je pense que tu connais l’histoire (même si des fois, je me demande si t’as tout suivi ! XD). Je déteste la façon dont l’anime est dessiné mais… je ne comprenais pas grand-chose quand je le regardais avec toi. J’avoue qu’après avoir regardé le premier épisode, beaucoup de chose sont devenue beaucoup plus claires dans ma tête ! Et j’avoue également qu’il m’a fait assez forte impression (alors que les épisodes qu’on a vu ensemble… heu non). Et puis, c’est un anime très connu et reconnu. Et puis, il faut bien connaître ces ennemis. Et puis, voilà quoi ! ^.^

Kimi-kiss ~ Pure Rouge (24 épisodes)

Je ne comprends pas le « Pure Rouge » du nom de cet anime… Drôle d’entrée en matière, je le reconnais, mais, c’est vrai quoi ! >.< (« On y va faire la fête ? »). Hum, voici le résumé : « Mao Mizusawa, l’amie d’enfance de Kouichi et Kazuki, revient au Japon après quelques années passées en France. » Ils semblent qu’ensuite, chacun s’aide réciproquement avec leurs problèmes de cœur… mais je n’en suis pas sûre ! ^.^ Ce sera mon « anime romantique ». J’aime beaucoup le character design et l’histoire a l’air assez simple, donc pourquoi pas ? Je n’attends pas grand-chose de cet anime, je l’avoue, il servira juste à me faire décompresser après Bokurano et Umineko no Naku Koro ni !

Phantom ~ Requiem for the Phantom (26 épisodes)

Pas encore commencé, mais ça ne va pas tarder ! =D L’histoire, encore une fois, tu l’as connais. Cet anime m’avait fait assez forte impression, je le reconnais tant par les seins de l’héroïne que par ses génériques… Je rigole, je rigole, bien sûr que je vais le regarder juste pour les beaux yeux de Zwei ! XD En tout cas, j’attends ton avis là-dessus quand tu auras fini de le regarder. J’espère que j’arriverais à comprendre l’histoire…  o_o’

Seiken no Blacksmith (12 épisodes)

Et enfin, le fameux anime où l’héroine ne met pas de soutien-gorge sous son armure, j’appelle : Seiken no Blacksmith… >.<° Alala… Si seulement elle avait mis un soutien-gorge, je ne serais certainement pas aussi déprimée en écrivant le nom de cet anime. J’ai la flemme de mettre un résumé, de toute façon, je sens que ça va partir en « Bien vs. Mal ». Franchement, l’animation est pas mal (surtout au moment où Luke « forge » son katana) et les perso’ aussi mais… sans ecchi déplacé ça aurait été mieux (ce moment m’a vraiment traumatisé). Je ne peux même plus regarder Luke normalement ! :( Enfin, enfin, si ça te tente, pourquoi pas ! ^.^

Voilà, voilà ! Bien sûr, je continue de regarder les incontournables tels que : Reborn, Sailor Moon (le dernier épisode que j’ai regardé était trop triste, sniff’), Naruto Shippuden, Zettai Shounen, etc… A plus, pour de nouvelles aventures ! =D

The most annoying type of anime fans out there are the ones that spawn off of franchises that stray from the original source material. A few examples of franchises I’m talking about include things like Berserk, Princess Resurrection, Devilman, Bokurano, etc. Basically franchises that take a different approach with their adaptions from the original source material. Does that mean one is better than the other? No, because in the end it’s your opinion on the matter. However, every discussion I see on a property that strays from the original source material ends up the same. It starts out by someone saying that the original source material is better than the adaption, followed by belittling those that haven’t read the original source material or suggesting that they can’t enjoy the adaption because of the changes. A lot of these “the adaption sucks, the original is better” arguments are really no different than saying “the book is better than the movie.” It just comes off as really obnoxious and it’s like saying you’re better than others because you’ve read the original source. However, what people fail to realize is that people can be fans of one medium or the other (or both) and still be fans of the franchise. The e-penis contest that goes on with fans to see who is a bigger fan is really annoying, and truthfully I think it steers a lot of people away from getting into the original source material. It’s one thing to acknowledge that the original source material is different from a given adaption, but it’s another when you’re suggesting that one can’t enjoy the adaption or implying that they aren’t real fans because of it.

Bokurano; un anime que trata sobre “mechas”(robots). Esa podría ser una descripción,pero yo aquí les daré algo mucho más específico. No les contaré que es lo que pasará al final de este anime,solo lo mas característico,si acaso las explicaciones que se dan a lo largo de los primeros 3 capitulos. Sin embargo,si comenzarán a ver este anime y no quieren absolutamente ningún spoiler,pueden dejar de leer esto enseguida.

El anime de Bokurano trata de 15 niños de secundaria(uno de ellos de primaria,aún)que en sus vacaciones de verano deciden adentrarse en una cueva donde se encuentran a un sujeto viviendo rodeado de computadoras(ordenadores). Mas tarde,luego de aceptar jugar un “juego”,se dan cuenta que ahora deben salvar al mundo pilotando un robot gigante,desgraciadamente,se dan cuenta que el piloto morirá luego de cada batalla.

Debo advertirles,el anime de bokurano sólo le es fiel a lo mucho los primeros 2 capitulos,ya que mas tarde a Gonzo(estudio encargado del anime)les dá por meterle dif. aspectos y detalles a la trama;lo que hizo del anime de Bokurano una obra horrenda que se desea ser olvidada.

Debo admitir,yo ví el anime antes que el manga,me encantaron los ultimos capitulos de este,por lo que me decidí a leer el manga. Yo no domino al 100% el ingles,pero como no había versión en español del manga,me animé a leerlo en onemanga en ingles.

Me impactó bastante todos los cambios que había hecho Gonzo a la historia. Primero,les dió por cambiar el pasado y las familias de algunos niños,meter unas sillas que ni aparecen en el manga,cambiar el orden en que van muriendo los niños,y cambiar las batallas y el final del manga.

Algo lamentable,para mi,Bokurano se encuentra muy por encima de los que hoy en día son los shonen que algunos tanto aclaman;one piece,bleach,naruto,ect. No digo que sean malos,yo leo one piece y Bleach,pero francamente considero Bokurano un mejor manga.

En fin,yo les recomiendo Bokurano al 100%,es una obra maestra(solo el manga) tiene en total 67 capitulos el manga y 24 el anime. Vean el que quieran,pero sé que les gustará.

Mi calificación: 9.5/10

http://www.onemanga.com/Bokurano/

You’ll be pleased to hear that this entry will be considerably shorter than the previous one, because I’ve reviewed both number 8 and number 7 before!  I don’t particularly want to repeat myself so I’ll just be highlighting a few genre specific points in this post.  So without much further space filling – onto number 8 & 7!

8. Macross Frontier:

(For my review of this see Short Reviews: Part 8)

What mecha orientated list would be complete without an entry from the Macross franchise!?  And since Frontier is the only Macross series I’ve actually seen to date of any length (I’ve see Do You Remember Love and Macross Plus)  its the obvious choice for me!

I loved Frontier when I was watching it, and I still have a high opinion of the series as a piece of entertainment.  Macross Frontier isn’t the most original series – as an anniversary piece its more of an homage to the older Macross series and other mecha series.  However as a result the series basically has everything I love about the mecha genre!  Great characters, exciting plot line, a ton of action, excellent soundtrack and wonderful animation – Frontier has it all tied up in a pretty and massively entertaining package!

Filled with cliches, stereotypical characters and plot twists you can see coming a mile off, Frontier is by no means perfect – however as I’ve said in my review, its a series that has entertainment as is sole goal – and I was entertained and remain entertained still!  Of course my opinion may change once I start into the classic Macross series that I plan to watch in the near future, but for now Frontier is my poster child for Macross.

The animation in this series was stunning and the mecha designs were no exception.  I loved the detail and design of the Valkyrie’s, the Macross Quarter and Macross Frontier itself…….the Valkyrie dogfights were jaw-dropping and varied.  The transformable nature of the mecha in this series made for some really stunning transition scenes and massive beam-spamming once the Macross vessels got in on the action!  Frontier really was a visual feast for action scenes.

Of course the other important aspect of a Macross series is its music – and Frontier does not disappoint.  I still regularly listen to the soundtracks and songs like Northern Cross, Diamond Crevasse and Aimo (as well as the awesome Nyan Nyan Service Medley) are fairly high up on my most played list.  Of couse the Kanno Yokou score was also very impressive and worked flawlessly with the animation.

So yeah for pure entertainment value you can’t really go wrong with a bit of Macross Frontier!

7. Bokurano:

(For my review of this see Short Reviews: Part 5)

And now for something completely different!  Bokurano is just about as far from Macross Frontier as you can go within the same genre.  A dark, emotional and often depressing series, Bokurano is more of a deconstruction of the standard mecha series than anything else.

It has the recognisable elements – giant mecha, teenaged pilots, plot where the fate of the world is at risk and a mascot character (although Dungbeetle isnt exactly ‘cute’), but - adds in some decidedly non-standard twists to its plot.  For one we see the actual fall-out of having giant robots battle in urban areas – people die, the damage does not disapear by the next episode, lives are ruined.  The young teen pilots are also not your usual mecha pilots – they are frightenly normal and oh so very scared by what they’re going through; the excitement of being Zearth’s pilots only lasted a single episode.  I can’t really discuss much more about the plot of Bokurano as that takes away from the shock value which was one of the reasons I highly rate this show – whereas with Macross Frontier my genre savy-ness ruined the plot twists, in Bokurano this was made moot as this show goes out of its way to be different so the twists have a lot of impact.

In terms of mecha – its extremely ungainly and odd looking with its ridiculously tall spindly legs – once again adding a unique spin to the typical trappings of the mecha genre.  The conspicuous CGI just adds to the weirdness of the mecha designs and rather vicious battles.

Bokurano is on this list because it made a lasting impression on me – its mecha, but original and really quite dark – very welcome in a genre that is quite saturated in samey shows.

Aqui esta una serie de las mas buenas Bokurano que la disfruten estan en descargas (Megaupload-Rapidshare)

Titulo: Bokurano Género: Acción, Mecha, C.Ficción, Seinen, Tragedia
Categoria: Serie Capitulos: 24 Año: 2007
Compañias: GONZO, Future Vision Music, Victor Entertainment
*Web Oficial: Bokurano Fansub: Nanikano Fansub
*Web: Nanikano Fuente: DVD R2
Duración: 24 min.
Codec Video: x264 Codec Audio: AAC Resolucion: 1024 x 576
Contenedor: MP4 Tamaño: 170 MB
Calidad: Excelente Servidor: Megaupload – Rapidshare

Sinopsis: Bokurano narra la historia de 15 niños, de edades comprendidas entre los 10 y 15 años, que se ven metidos en un “juego” para salvar el planeta de una invasión de monstruos que vienen de una galaxia muy lejana. Para ello cuentan con Zearth, un robot gigante que tendrán que pilotar para luchar.

MEGAUPLOAD-RAPIDSHARE

• [NF] Bokurano 01 – Mirror
• [NF] Bokurano 02 – Mirror
• [NF] Bokurano 03 – Mirror
• [NF] Bokurano 04 – Mirror
• [NF] Bokurano 05 – Mirror
• [NF] Bokurano 06 – Mirror
• [NF] Bokurano 07 – Mirror
• [NF] Bokurano 08 – Mirror
• [NF] Bokurano 09 – Mirror
• [NF] Bokurano 10 – Mirror
• [NF] Bokurano 11 – Mirror
• [NF] Bokurano 12 – Mirror
• [NF] Bokurano 13 – Mirror
• [NF] Bokurano 14 – Mirror
• [NF] Bokurano 15 – Mirror
• [NF] Bokurano 16 – Mirror
• [NF] Bokurano 17 – Mirror
• [NF] Bokurano 18 – Mirror
• [NF] Bokurano 19 – Mirror
• [NF] Bokurano 20 – Mirror
• [NF] Bokurano 21 – Mirror
• [NF] Bokurano 22 – Mirror
• [NF] Bokurano 23 – Mirror
• [NF] Bokurano 24 – Mirror
• Extras
• [OP] Chiaki Ishikawa – Uninstall
• [ED1] Chiaki Ishikawa – Little Bird
• [ED2] Chiaki Ishikawa – Vermillion

Dziś recenzja Bokurano xD A następną notką będzie Sezon jesienny, mam nadzieję, że wyrobię się z tym na niedzielę, ewentualnie poniedziałek:D Ogolnie jestem zła, bo mi roślinki zgniły na zielnik;/ A to trzeba go oddać za niedługo! Wrrr!

Ale nic przejdźmy do zasadniczej części dzisiejszej notki:D

Streszczenie: Grupa piętnastu nastolatków spędza wakacje na obozie na wyspie. Pewnego dnia odkrywają jaskinię pełną sprzętu komputerowego, spotykają tam też tajemniczego człowieka o imieniu Kokopelli. Mężczyna oferuje im udział w grze polegającej na sterowaniu robotem i przy tym niszczeniu przeciwników. Młodzież podpisuje kontrakt wprowadzający ich do gry. Po kilku dniach zabawa się rozpoczyna. Okazuje się, że muszą oni ochronić ziemię przed inwazją obcych. I nie jest to gra komputerowa, ale gra, w której stawką jest istnienie ziemi oraz ich życie, które tracą po skończonej walce, niezależnie od jej wyniku…

Oklepany temat. Obcy i ludzie walczący w obronie ziemi. No, nie do końca. Po pierwsze tymi ludźmi są dzieci, które przypadkowo znalazły się tam, gdzie nie powinny i podpisały kontrakt. Po drugie początkowo nikt nie wie, że po skończonej walce i tak zginie, niezależnie od jej wyniku.
Seria świetnie obrazuje uczucia każdego z dzieci w momencie, kiedy musi stanąć do walki. Pokazane są problemy, z jakimi borykają się w codziennym życiu, poznajemy ważne dla nich osoby i sprawy, które muszą załatwić, zanim staną do walki i zginą. W pewnym momencie sama zaczęłam się zastanawiać, co bym zrobiła, gdybym wiedziała, że na pewno umrę w przeciągu kilku dni.
Normalne życie każdego z nastolatków zmienia się diametralnie i muszą oni dźwigać brzemię walki o istnienie ziemi. Straszne, co nie?
Zauważyłam, że to kolejna seria, przy której płaczę, ale w pewnych momentach, to po prostu konieczne. I znowu zaczynam się zastanawiać nad życiem, nad rodziną i nad innymi sprawami. Świetna anime, dla tych, którzy nie boją się płakać i nie boją się trudnych pytań.
Początkowo nie podobała mi się grafika, ale po kilku odcinkach można się do niej przyzwyczaić i zaczyna się ją nawet doceniać. Rysunki robotów, czy krajobrazy są tak ładne.
Co się tyczy postaci, to za bardzo na ich temat nie można się wypowiedzieć, bo jak kogoś zaczniemy poznawać bliżej to ginie w tym odcinku, albo następnym. Wszystkie za to posiadają historię, która mogła się wydarzyć w normalnym życiu każdego z nas. Przez to też są bardzo wiarygodni, możemy się z nimi zidentyfikować oraz dobrze poznać ich uczucia i targające nimi emocje.
Niektóre zwroty akcji są zaskakujące. Czasami ogląda się anime przewidując co się zaraz stanie, a nawet domyślając się, co postacie zaraz powiedzą. Tu jest inaczej. Każdy odcinek to coś nowego, a nawet zdumiewającego.
Zakończenie można rozpatrywać w dwojaki sposób, jako to dobre, albo złe. Ocenę pozostawiam Wam, bo nie chcę zdradzać więcej fabuły.
Na koniec zostawiłam sobie muzykę. Opening tej serii jest jednym z najlepszych utworów, jakie słyszałam, a może nawet najlepszym. Sam ten utwór powodował u mnie dreszcze i słysząc go od razu się tak smutno robiło. Pasuje do tej serii idealnie. Często przewijam piosenkę początową, aby skrócić oglądanie, tu nie zdarzyło mi się to raczej nigdy. Mamy dwa endingi, ale nie zrobiły na mnie one takiego wrażenia. Są, bo są i tyle.
Podsumowując, bardzo polecam tą pozycję, aby się wyciszyć, zastanowić i pomyśleć. 24 odcinki ogląda się szybko i z zapartym tchem.  Zapraszam do oglądania i dzielenia się opiniami:)

Teraz screen’y xD

Do pobrania i posłuchania:

OPENING ENDING 1 ENDING 2

^^

Apologies for the late blog, it’s been a hectic week.

These kids are so screwed.

Mecha manga and anime have never been my cup of tea. I’ve had some brief flashes of interest in Gundam Wing and Genesis of Aquarion, but I tired of them rather quickly. Deconstructions of the mecha genre, however, have always been of great interest to me. Neon Genesis Evangelion, in spite of its flaws, is one of my favourite anime series ever, and RahXephon is up there, too. It was with these in mind that I started reading Bokurano. Hoo boy. While its purpose is similar to Eva and RahXephon, Bokurano’s method of deconstruction is quite different.

Explaining the series, unfortunately, gives a lot of the major plot revelations away, but I’ll try to be as spoiler-free as possible. Not explaining it enough forces one to insist that it’s better than it sounds, so here goes: During a special summer science camp, fifteen children who are playing on the beach discover a cave and go in to investigate. They happen upon a hidden room full of computers and other odd contraptions. While they explore, a strange man appears behind them and asks them a simple question: “Do you want to play a game?”

Most of them agree, not knowing the exact nature of the game, and press their hands against a device to sign a contract. No contract, no game.

The children have unwittingly become pilots of a giant robot, and the each have to take a turn at the wheel to do battle and save the world. But piloting the robot comes at a terrible price…

The manga does an amazing job at analyzing and integrating each child into the mix as they take their turns to pilot the robot. Some of the children have pretty typical anime wangst backstories, and some of them have…more complicated issues. Either way, the manga is effective and hard to stop reading one you start. Highly recommended. Go read it!

Oh, yeah, it’s been adapted into anime format, but I hear that it’s heavily censored and Bowdlerized, so I’m not touching it. It does, however, have one of the greatest opening themes I have ever heard:

Mmmm. J-poppy.

El próximo mes se estrenaran varias series relevantes en el canal Animax en Latinoamérica. Habrá cuatro series en total de estreno que serán Bokurano, Black Jack, Fate/Stay Night y Black Cat.

Bokurano irá cada lunes a las 14:30 hrs. Méx.-Vzla./16:30 hrs. Arg., con retransmisiones los domingos a las 20:30 hrs. Méx.-Vzla./22:30 hrs. Arg. y a las 00:30 hrs. Méx.-Vzla./02:30 hrs.Arg.

Black Jack irá de lunes a viernes desde las 11:00 hrs. Méx.-Vzla./13:00 hrs. Arg., retransmitiéndose el capítulo del día a las 18:30 hrs. Méx.-Vzla./20:30 hrs. Arg.

Fate/Stay Night irá cada viernes a las 22:00 hrs Méx.-Vzla./00:00 hrs. Arg., con retransmisiones los sábados desde las 18:00 hrs. Méx.-Vzla./20:00 hrs. Arg.

Black Cat irá los viernes desde las 22:30 hrs Méx.-Vzla./00:30 hrs. Arg., con retransmisiones los sábados desde las 18:30 hrs. Méx.-Vzla./20:30 hrs. Arg.

Right more reviews tonight.  We have – Kaze to Ki no Uta, Blue Sonnet,  Noir, Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge and Bokurano.

Kaze to Ki no Uta (Song of Wind and Trees): An uninspiring early shounen-ai OVA that takes the idea of bishounen to scary extremes – 2.5/5

PLOT: This is a very early shounen-ai OVA based on a long running 1970s manga series of the same name. As such the OVA is really only geared towards those who have read the manga and have an understanding of the characters motivations and relationships. The copy I watched had a preface that gave a basic overview of the setting and main characters, but even this didn’t really help me much when actually watching the OVA. The pace is extremely slow going too, everything is understated and slow to unravel – it’s hard to stay interested. There also seems to be large gaps in the storyline which I assume are covered in the manga – as a result the developing relationship between Serge and Gilbert didn’t really feel realistic to me; I just didn’t get why Serge suddenly cared so much about Gilbert.
Now this is a yaoi OVA and there is nudity and sexual overtones, but its not blatant and is done tastefully as its a major part of the plot – but do not watch this if you are squicky about yaoi.

ANIMATION: The animation is very dated as this OVA dates to 1987 and is based on a 1970s manga. I found the character designs extremely unappealing as lots of the boys look like girls (especially Gilbert) and there really isn’t a lot of detail to them or a lot of facial expression. The colours are muted and predominately on the yellow/brown side of the spectrum which just makes everything all the more dull. The backgrounds are nicely done though – they look like watercolour paintings and the set designs are very true to the time period depicted (1800s).

MUSIC & VOICE ACTING: The score is excellent. Lots of classical piano and harpsichord pieces, which are very in keeping with the time period. I can’t really remember much of the voice acting though, don’t think it was anything spectacular.

Overall Song of Wind and Trees makes for slow paced, melancholic viewing – I’m sure that fans of the manga must have enjoyed it, but without that background this OVA came across as dull with muddled storytelling and much of the subtle nuances and symbolic motifs in the animation where completely lost on me I’m afraid.

Blue Sonnet: Utterly average and despite all the gory violence and action; boring - 3/5

PLOT: Well to be honest I wasn’t really expecting much from this series when I read the synopsis, so I was actually surprised that I quickly became interested in the two main characters Lan and Sonnet – they are both quite well developed despite this only having 5 episodes (well despite this being called ‘Blue Sonnet’ Lan is the true main character). However the plot is a terrible mishmash of scenes and suffers from completely random plot progression. Its like watching a load of disjointed scenes stuck together – there is no real flow to the story. I suppose this is what happens when you attempt to condense 17 vols of manga into 5 OVAs! As such all the characters apart from Lan and Sonnet are terribly shallow, there’s no clear motivation for the villains and no real closure on anything at the end. The random romance thread that was kind of rammed into the last 15mins of the last ep was felt out of place too.  And then there’s the sheer amount of gratuitous and gory violence on display (although if I’m honest those where the bits I enjoyed most :p).  I couldn’t really see what point there was to the long action scenes in the long run other than to show off how powerful the 2 girls were. All in all I just got the impression what stuff was happening way too fast with little to no explanation for anything – a bit of back story and an epilogue would have been nice! But what really surprised me is that Blue Sonnet is based on a shoujo manga published in Hana to Yume! This is definitely not your typical shoujo – there’s no fluffy romance, bubbles or flowers, its actually quite dark, gritty and violent with very few light moments.

ANIMATION: Ah the animation has not dated well – extremely 90s, but not of a high quality. Backgrounds lack detail (the scene in the tanker really highlights this) and the character animation is extremely blocky, although I did quite like the character designs themselves. The action scenes were fun to watch though – seeing someone get their head kicked off or cut to ribbons never gets old! Absolutely no shortage of blood and guts in this OVA, it seems like the animators just had a touch too much fun creating a heap of different ways to kill people off!

MUSIC & VOICE ACTING: I didn’t like the music – the OP & ED don’t appeal to me and the BGM was occasionally too overblown and grandiose. Voice acting was pretty good though.

All in all Blue Sonnet was a bit of a mess – I can see that the would have been potential in the characters but its buried under poor writing, messy storytelling and bad editing and as such this series remains distinctly average.

Noir: An excellent, stylish anime but lacking in blood considering the subject matter – 4.5/5

PLOT: Noir has a very well worked out plotline. The 1st half of the series is quite slow, episodic and ‘assassination of the week’ orientated, but this is necessary in order to properly flesh out the personalities of Mireille & Kirika and develop their relationship to a point were the viewer actually cares about these two assassins. The second half of the series is much quicker paced as Mireille & Kirika delve further into their connected pasts and become entangled with the shadowy organisation Les Soldats. Light viewing Noir is not, as the truth that the two girls seek to find is determined to remain hidden – the viewer is required to think as much as Mireille & Kirika, as we are not given much more information than they are at any one time. The character development is superb and all the named characters introduced are all needed to progress the plot. Noir is an impressive piece of storytelling – not what I was expecting from BEE TRAIN at all.

ANIMATION: Really nice very stylish animation, gorgeous realistic backgrounds accurately depict the various locales that the characters travel to to carry out their missions. The gunfight action is extremely well choreographed and exciting to watch and there is excellent use of lighting effects, unusual camera angles and cuts. Character designs are quite nice, but sometimes there is a lack of proper emotion in the faces in close up shots. The major criticism I have is the completely bloodless violence. You will be hard pressed to find more than a single drop of blood in this entire series! Mireille & Kirika do not hold back on their missions and the death toll is massive, but no one really seems to bleed – all wounds are very clean. It’s irritating as everything else is quite realistically done – a bit more blood would have heightened the drama. Also there’s a bit of James Bond style shooting going on – the girls can stroll through a crowd of machine-gun wielding SPs and never get hit and dispatch their enemies with a single shot from a handgun! But hey they’re the main characters its to be expected, and they look really cool when doing so!

MUSIC & VOICE ACTING: The score deserved especial praise – an absolutely beautiful and very memorable soundtrack that I have downloaded.  I really like Kajiura Yuki’s work and Noir is no exception – grand sweeping melodies, great use of haunting choral pieces, classical scores and thrumming electro perfectly matches the action and intensifies the emotional drama, and all without drowning out the dialogue. The OP is by Ali Project and is quite similar to most of their other songs, but I quite liked it after listening to it a few times (despite the fact I utterly despise Ali Project!), the ED is a nice calm ballad. Voice acting is excellent throughout – a small cast but all are great in their roles.

Overall an extremely good series – highly recommended. Looses 1/2 a point because of the slow start and the bloodless violence.

Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge (The Wallflower/ Perfect Girl Evolution): An excellent reverse-harem comedy series with a nice gothic twist – 4/5

PLOT: Rarely does a show make such a strong impression with its 1st few episodes than Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge does. I laughed till I cried during the 1st episode – think I watched it a few times and then made my sister watch it too.  The show has very strong beginning and end, but the middle is a bit flabby – these are mostly anime original episodes (I follow the manga of this series too), but even the middle episodes are still entertaining. The humour is OTT with lots of slapstick and visual gags, which get recycled quite a bit but still remain funny. There is also a fair bit of character development for the main characters, particularly Sunako & Kyohei throughout the series, but mainly it’s about the lulz.

ANIMATION: The art style takes a while to get used to – the character designs are not standard bishie fare, they look slightly odd and effeminate with their massive pouty lips, but once you get past that its fine – after all its really the reactions of the other characters to the bishies ‘dazzling good looks’ that makes the comedy work.  Sunako herself is very pretty when she’s in lady/kickass mode, but for the majority of the time she’s drawn as a chibi. All the characters are prone to revert to chibi form at the drop of a hat – it can be a bit overused, but normally only heightens the impact of the humour.  Spontaneous showers of rose petals, sparkles & nosebleeds are also normal in Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge to the extent that it’s like a parody of overused shoujo conventions.

MUSIC & VOICE ACTING: I remember that the soundtrack was very rock orientated with great OP & EDs and I also loved the voice cast to bits.  Sunako stands out for me as well due to her dramatic mood swings.

Overall a great comedy series – recommended if you just want to have a good laugh.

Bokurano: An excellent original concept and very thought provoking if quite depressing – 5/5

PLOT: I can’t really say much about the plot without spoiling things completely. Much of the shock value of the early episodes would be lost if I broke down the formula here – but what I can say is that this series displayed excellent, very well balanced storytelling. So many issues are dealt with over the course of this show as each and every one of the 15 children that the plot revolves around are completely different to each other, but somehow they manage not to be stereotypes. All of them are perfectly normal kids with their own problems, family circumstances and ways of thinking – the fact that they are so normal really adds to the emotional impact that Bokurano has. As the story comes from the same manga-ka as Narutaru there are a lot of quite dark themes and issues highlighted over the course of the show, but unlike Narutaru it isn’t all depressing doom and gloom – there are also genuine heart-warming moments and touches of comedy. But the one thing that shines through is the realism – we see the political and military response to the fact a giant robot is destroying massive portions of the city and we also see the destruction this causes in terms of houses, businesses and of course, lives. The anime also has a very satisfying conclusion and for a change I’m not looking for more, nothing more needed to be said really, even though we never discover the complete truth about everything that happened. I was really impressed with this show as just when you felt it was getting a bit formulaic it throws a load of well-timed plot twists at you and reached a natural feeling conclusion.

ANIMATION: This is an example of ‘Good GONZO’ and even the CG for the giant robots isn’t terrible – the fact that it doesn’t really mesh completely with the 2-D backgrounds adds to the otherworldly feel of the mecha. The mecha designs aren’t wonderful, but the fact that they’re so ungainly and oddly proportioned made for interesting fights. Character designs are very simple but this adds to the realistic quality of the children’s characters and they are animated consistently well over the course of the show. In fact the quality was quite consistent over the course of the 24 episodes, I particularly liked the backgrounds as there are a lot different locations covered and each manages to look unique even though its usually the middle of a city.

MUSIC & VOICE ACTING: I loved the OP & EDs, but particularly the OP (which I have downloaded) but the BGM was fairly unremarkable for the most part. Excellent voice cast for this show, it’s hard to pick out particular characters as the show was quite an ensemble piece, but I can say that not a single character was poorly cast.

Overall Bokurano was an excellent anime, I was surprised by how much I liked it. It is a bit on the heavy side though – I really would not recommend watching it as quickly as I did as its really doesn’t pull any punches with the drama. But if you can get past all that Bokurano is a very satisfying watch.

Another mixed lot of reviews – I’m getting through them rightly!  Still have plenty left to post though :p

I’m feeling a lot of distance at the moment. I just feel empty. I have nothing to say. Or if I do, I can’t be bothered to say it. Opinions are worthless, especially on the internet. I might want to say if something is good, is worth tracking down, but it’s too fucking superficial. Everyone has their say, mine is no different, so I’m just abstaining. I’m sick of opinions, mine own especially. Yet here I am. I want to communicate with you. I have this urge to say something, but nothing to say. The internet is full of garbage like this. Faceless words, transient opinions, static noise. I don’t feel happy writing this. It’s more like relief. This is what it means to be alive, I guess. This post has no theme, no intent. It’s just here, a moment in time. Fireworks. Sparkling one moment, gone the next. They were pretty.

http://www.sigikki.com/

Next week, BOKURANO: OURS will premiere on Viz’s SigIkki website. In a press release put out by Viz, it lists the series of titles that will be available to viewers. What caught my eye by surprise is that Bokurano is rated “T+ for older teens.” Now I know for a fact that Bokurano has some risque content, and a lot of the characters are represented as minors. The fact that this title has been rated for older teens has me worried that Viz may censor the manga to appeal to said rating. Viz has been known to do sporadic censorship in the past. Just a few examples at the top of my head include editing one of the later Midori Days volumes, altering one of the colored pages in the Shakugan no Shana series, etc. Fans of Bokurano are well aware of the author Mihiro Kitoh’s use of shock value. If the manga does end up getting edited it may hurt it’s sales potential when it becomes available in print form. Mihiro Kitoh’s works has never been treated well in North America. The most notable example being his series Shadow Star, which was heavily censored in the 7th volume and never fully released in the U.S. I hope that Bokurano doesn’t meet a similar fate.

Como puderam reparar, estamos postando hoje tudo que não postamos nos últimos dias. Pedimos desculpas aos nossos leitores por isso, a Staff do blog está em uma espécie de “crise” somos burros e tiramos notas baixas e não pudemos postar nos últimos tempos. Porém, temos alguns projetos bem grandes para o blog, não deixem de nos visitar.

Começando o assunto deste post, temos algumas estréias no canal Animax, que não anunciava nada de novo há alguns meses, e agora apresenta 4 animes novos, são eles:

Bokurano:

Episódios: 24

Estúdio: Gonzo

Estréia dia 3 de Agosto, Segunda-Feira, às 14:30. Reprises aos Domingos às 20:30

Sinopse: Durante um acampamento de verão, 15 crianças, 8 meninos e 7 meninas, descobrem uma gruta próxima ao mar. No fundo dela eles descobrem uma rede de computadores funcionando e alguns equipamentos eletrônicos, e mais tarde encontram o dono daquelas coisas. Seu nome é Kokopelli, que clama ser o inventor de um novo jogo, onde rôbos devem defender a Terra contra quinze invasões alienigenas. Ele convence as crianças a testarem o jogo e assinarem um contrato. Todos exceto um deles assina o contrato, momentos depois eles acordam próximos a uma enseada, acreditando que tudo aquilo havia sido apenas um sonho.

Black Jack

Episódios: 62

Estúdio: Tezuka Productions

Estréia dia 3 de Agosto, Segunda-Feira, às 11:00. Reprises de segunda à sexta às 18:30

Sinopse: Black Jack é um conhecido doutor “não-licenciado”, que tem um passado misterioso. Trabalha com sua pequena assistente Pinoko (que sente uma forte atração pelo doutor), lidando com casos poucos conhecidos, que podem ser estranhos ou muito perigosos. Jack Black é um homem da ciência, que não crê nas coisas que não vê, embora é frequentemente surpreendido pelo amor.

Fate/Stay Night

Episódios: 24

Estúdio: Studio Deen

Estréia dia 6 de agosto, Quinta-Feira, às 21h30. Reprises às Quintas às 1h30, Domingos às 22h30 e 4h30

Sinopse: Na cidade japonesa Fuyuki acontece uma guerra chamada Seihai Sensou, na qual sete magos, que possuem a habilidade de invocar os seus servos (que possuem almas que viveram no passado como heróis), batalham entre si pelo Cálice Sagrado, um artefato que possui poderes para realizar qualquer desejo do mago e do servo que o conseguirem.

Black Cat

Episódios: 23

Estúdio: Gonzo

Estréia dia 6 de Agosto, Quinta-feira às 22:30. Reprises às Quintas às 2:30, Domingos às 23:30 e 5:30.

Sinopse: O mundo está sendo controlado por uma organização secreta chamada “Chronus”. No comando desta misteriosa organização estão os “Chrono Numbers”, um grupo de assassinos que matam pela vontade da organização. Um dos assassinos mais fortes é “Número XIII”, Train Hartnett ou apenas Black Cat. Black Cat sempre fora um assassino frio e cruel, até que encontrou uma caçadora de recompensas que mudou-o completamente. Então passa a agir como caçador de recompensas, e viaja com seus parceiros caçando criminosos procurados.

]]> http://lahabitaciondesimoun.wordpress.com/2009/06/26/descarga-de-anime-bokurano/ Fri, 26 Jun 2009 22:57:41 +0000 Simoun http://lahabitaciondesimoun.wordpress.com/2009/06/26/descarga-de-anime-bokurano/ http://shiningblaze.wordpress.com/2009/06/25/news-mix/ Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:58:07 +0000 seraphy http://shiningblaze.wordpress.com/2009/06/25/news-mix/ http://takoluka.wordpress.com/2009/06/21/three-shows-that-should-have-been-licensed-by-now/ Sun, 21 Jun 2009 07:34:08 +0000 takoluka http://takoluka.wordpress.com/2009/06/21/three-shows-that-should-have-been-licensed-by-now/

Kara no Kyoukai – This is a no brainer. It’s Type Moon, has tons of action, high production value, etc. I’m surprised this hasn’t been released in North America . It’s already premiered at Anime Boston so I assume that the Japanese have some interest in marketing it around here. Also the light novel is licensed by Del Ray so there’s more incentive since it has some presence and exposure.

Rosario to Vampire – Another no brainer. There’s already 7 volumes out of the manga in North America with more on it’s way, so it already has huge exposure here in the States. It’s also a vampire and a harem title, which are both popular genres among western fans. It sold well enough in Japan to warrant a second season (sales figs don’t lie). And finally, it’s one of the few GONZO shows left that hasn’t been licensed. I don’t know why a company like FUNimation hasn’t picked this up yet (maybe they just have too much on their plate?)

Bokurano – Another GONZO title that begs to be picked up. Now that the manga has been licensed by Viz, there’s no excuse as to why this isn’t licensed yet.

Kitoh ended the main Bokurano manga story after five years in Shogakukan’s Monthly Ikki magazine this past June, but the magazine had announced that it would publish the “Bokurano Tokubetsu-hen” one-shot spinoff in July. The one-shot story is not related to the main manga storyline, but features the same characters in a “what-if” situation. However, Kitoh reported in two blog entries in July that Shogakukan would not publish the spinoff in either book or magazine form. Shogakukan has since decided to include the “Bokurano Tokubetsu-hen: Kitoh Mohiro to Ashi Star” spinoff in the last book volume’s limited first edition.

The wraparound jacket band on the final book volume will also include a quote from Hideaki Anno, the director of the Evangelion franchise. Kitoh contributed some design work to Evangelion: 2.0 You Can [Not] Advance (Evangelion Shin Gekijōban: Ha), the second film in Anno and Khara’s four-part theatrical remake of Gainax’s Neon Genesis Evangelion anime series.

The North American publisher Viz Media revealed in May that it is releasing the main Bokurano manga in its new online English version of Ikki magazine. The first English book volume will ship next February. Bokurano tells the story of 15 children who unsuspectedly agree to test a real-life robot battle — in which the ironic price of victory is death.

The Bokurano manga inspired Gonzo’s 2007 television anime series by the same name, although director Hiroyuki Morita acknowledged that he disliked the original manga and changed the story with the permission of Kitoh. Kitoh also created the Shadow Star Narutaru and Vendemiaire no Tsubasa manga. Dark Horse Comics released Shadow Star in North America. Kitoh launched a new series called Nanikamo Chigattemasu ka? in Kodansha’s good! Afternoon magazine last month, and Kodansha’s Evening magazine announced that Kitoh will launch a cycling manga called Noririn this winter.

Source: ANN

First off, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone else in the States!! Second off, I totally forgot my blog anniversary two days ago (even though warriorhope reminded me a couple times, I’m just way too forgetful for my own good…). xD So I guess we’ll just consider this as the celebration for that… Thirdly, sorry this took so long, I got caught up in school work and other real life things, so it took a whole lot longer than I expected it to. :[ Let’s see…other things, I have at least 3 more of these posts planned, one for more shojo that I accidentally passed over the first time (whoops), another for other manga to be excited about (like series finales, omnibus editions, etc), and one for Japanese/light novels. Hope you enjoy! : D Oh, and if you have any more series you know of that you’d like added to the series, please let me know! : D

Black Butler (Kuroshitsuji) by: Yana Toboso
Ongoing with 7+ volumes
US publisher: Yen Press
Volume 1 January 2010, Volume 2 May 2010, Volume 3 October 2010
Price: US $10.99
From the publisher: When a terrible fire claims his parents, Ciel Phantomhive must step up as the head of his father’s company and as Earl of Phantomhive Manor. It would be a lot for the young boy to handle were it not for his faithful butler, Sebastian. Ever at Ciel’s side, it seems there’s little Sebastian can’t do, whether it’s saving a dinner party gone awry or probing the dark secrets of London’s underbelly. He’s almost too good to be true…or at least, too good to be human…
My ramblings: The anime for this series is great, so I’m excited to be able to check out the manga, and the fact that Yen Press is handling it is another plus.

not simple by: Natsume Ono
Complete at 1 volume
US publisher: Viz Media – Viz Signature imprint
January 2010
Price: US $14.99
From the publisher: Ian, a young man with a fractured family history, travels from Australia to England to America in the hope of realizing his dreams and reuniting with his beloved sister. His story unfolds backwards through the framing narrative of Jim, a reporter driven to capture Ian’s experiences in a novel: not simple.
My ramblings: This seems to be a series that Viz was fairly happy about acquiring, and it looks interesting. Most of the Viz Signature series are really fantastic, so it’s probably worth checking out.

Bokurano: Ours by: Moiro Kitoh
Complete with 11 volumes
US publisher: Viz Media – Viz Signature imprint
Volume 1 February 2010
Price: US $ 12.99
From the publisher: One summer, fifteen kids innocently wander into a nearby seaside cave. There they meet a strange man who invites them to play an exciting new video game. This game, he explains, pits one lone giant robot against a horde of alien invaders. To play the game, all they have to do is sign a simple contract. The game stops being fun when the kids find out the true purpose of their pact.
My ramblings: The first 5 chapters are already on sigikki.com, so I checked out the first chapter and it seems rather interesting. Seems like a slightly different take on the whole teens use giant robots theme.

Deadman Wonderland by: Jinsei Kataoka and Kazuma Kondou
Ongoing with 6+ volumes
US publisher: Tokyopop
Volume 1 February 2010, Volume 1 June 2010
Price: US $10.99
From the publisher: Ten years have passed since the Great Tokyo Earthquake, and the people’s memories of the disaster have faded. Ganta Igarashi, a middle school evacuee, has finally begun to live a normal life…That is, until the day “Red Man” appears at his school and Ganta’s fate is changed forever. His entire class is brutally murdered, and although innocent of the crime, Ganta is sentenced to death and sent to the bizarre prison known as “Deadman Wonderland.” An insane and brutal game of prison survival begins!
My ramblings: I myself am probably not going to be checking this out, since I’m not really all for blood and gore (which I’ve heard there’s quite a bit of), but it seems like a really interesting concept, and I’m guessing it’ll be at least somewhat of a hit for Tokyopop.

Arata: The Legend (Arata Kangatari) by: Yuu Watase
Ongoing with 4+ volumes
US publisher: Viz Media – Shonen Sunday imprint
Volume 1 March 2010, Volume 2 June 2010, Volume 3 September 2010
Price: US $9.99
From the publisher: An action-packed shonen fantasy from the acclaimed author of Fushigi Yûgi! In a mythical world where humans and gods co-exist, Arata has the unfortunate honor of being the successor to the matriarchal Hime Clan. This means he has to pretend to be a girl or face death if his true gender is discovered! On the day of his inauguration, an assassination plot forces him to flee—and he somehow winds up in modern-day Japan! Meanwhile, a boy named Arata Hinohara gets sucked into the first Arata’s world and finds himself dealing with people after his life!
My ramblings: Yuu Watase was one of the first mangaka that I started to follow (I have most of her works in English), so I’m really excited that Viz picked this up. I’ve read what’s up on shonensunday.com already and it’s lots of fun. It’s a little different from normal Watase stuff, since it’s shonen, but it’s still great.

Hanako and the Terror of Allegory by: Sakae Esuno
Complete at 4 volumes
US publisher: Tokyopop
Volume 1 March 2010, Volume 2 August 2010
Price: US $10.99
From the publisher: The “No-mouth Woman,” “The Man Under the Bed,” and the “Human Faced Fish” are supposedly urban legends. But what few people know is that just at the moment when someone believes them to be true, they become reality and appear before them! Enter Daisuke Asou, a folklore detective who deals with such cases. He calls these fantastic creatures “allegories.” What’s a folklore detective to do?
My ramblings: This series seems rather strange, but kind of interesting at the same time. The story is definitely off the wall, but it seems like the kind of story that gets convoluted and loses itself, but since it’s already complete at just 4 volumes, maybe that’s not the case for this series.
EDIT: The first 17 pages of this series are up on Tokyopop’s site (at least for now).

Ristorante Paradiso by: Natsume Ono
complete at 1 volume
US publisher: Viz Media – Signature imprint
March 2010
Price: US $12.99
From the publisher: At the age of 21, Nicoletta travels to Rome to find her mother, Olga, who abandoned her long ago. Nicoletta finds her at Casetta dell’Orso, a charming little restaurant owned by Olga’s husband. The staff of bespectacled gentlemen welcomes Nicoletta warmly, but Olga’s reception is not so pleasant. Olga has never told her husband that she ever had children–and he must never know.
My ramblings: Since this was apparently popular enough to get an anime adaptation (now on Crunchyroll), I figure it must be pretty good (granted, that could be off, but…). There’s also quite a few of Natsume Ono’s works on this list (Viz has picked up 4 of them lately), so they must be pretty confident about her works. Natsume Ono’s art style seems interesting, and a little more graphic/cartoony that a lot of other works.

.hack//4Koma by: Koichi Sumimaru
Complete at 1 volume
US publisher: Tokyopop
April 2010
Price: US $12.99
From Mangaupdates: A collection of .hack parody in 4 koma format.
Serialized in .hack//GU The World Magazine.
My ramblings: 4koma are usually cute, and .hack is a franchise that seems to do well for Tokyopop most of the time.

Diamond Girl by: Takanori Yamazaki
Ongoing with 3+ volumes
US publisher: CMX
Volume 1 April 2010, Volume 2 August 2010
Price: US $9.99
From the publisher: To seek a quieter and happier life as an ordinary high school girl, Tsubura’s just moved from a big city to her grandmother’s house in the countryside. On the first day at her new school, she gets through an awkward introduction to her class, when, an errant baseball shatters the window from outside. To everyone’s surprise, Tsubura leaps into action, catching it and whipping it into the mitt of the pitcher below. Her rather acrobatic catch-and-throw makes boy students get down on their hands and knees and beg Tsubura to join their school’s baseball team. Although the boys have tried to get into the division championships, the team is too weak. For Tsubura, baseball is exactly what she wanted to avoid, so she flat out refuses to join the team. Will Tsubura bow to peer pressure and ultimately take the pitcher’s mound?
My ramblings: This reminds me of a mix of Saki and Taisho Yakyuu Musume, so I’m not too sure how it will turn out, but it looks at least somewhat interesting.

House of Five Leaves (Saraiya Goyou) by: Natsume Ono
Ongoing with 6+ volumes
US publisher: Viz Media – Viz Signature imprint
Volume 1 April 2010
Price: US $ 12.99
From the publisher: Masterless samurai Akitsu Masanosuke is a skilled and loyal swordsman, but his naïve, diffident nature has time and again caused him to be let go by the lords who have employed him. Hungry and desperate, he agrees to becomes a bodyguard for Yaichi, the charismatic leader of a gang called “Five Leaves.” Although disturbed by the gang’s sinister activities, Masa begins to suspect that Yaichi’s motivations are not what they seem. And despite his misgivings, the deeper he’s drawn into the world of the Five Leaves, the more he finds himself fascinated by these devious, mysterious outlaws.
My ramblings: Another of Ono’s works, this one is already up on sigikki.com, so I checked out the first few chapters and was definitely intrigued. The art is kind of hard to get used to, but the story is definitely interesting, and I’ll definitely keep reading. Oh, and damn good timing on the part of Viz, since this recently had an anime adaptation announced.

Kingyo Used Books (Kingyoya Koshoten) by: Seimu Yoshizaki
Ongoing with 7+ volumes
US publisher: Viz Media – Viz Signature imprint
Volume 1 April 2010, Volume 2 October 2010
Price: US $12.99
From the publisher: A businessman discovers how his childhood memories can brighten his day. An art student finds inspiration. An archer hits a surprising bull’s eye. A housewife rediscovers romance. A teenager discovers his true self in the pages of a manga magazine. Welcome to Kingyo Used Books, a place where people find their dreams in manga…
My ramblings: I love reading this on sigikki. I’m afraid it’s the kind of series that might get repetitive, but right now I just love it!

Spice and Wolf (Ookami to Koushinryou) by: Isuna Hasekura and Keito Koume
Ongoing at 3+ volumes
US publisher: Yen Press
Volume 1 April 2010
Price: US $10.99
From the publisher: Kraft Lawrence has been walking the lonely path of the itinerant merchant for seven years. His life changes forever when he meets Horo, the wolf-god of the harvest, and the two begin traveling together. Soon they discover a unique opportunity to exploit the depreciating silver currency of the kingdom of Trenni, but their plans go awry when a competing organization captures Holo and threatens to turn her over to the oppressive, monotheistic Church.
My ramblings: Again, I haven’t read or seen the novel, manga, or anime for this series yet, but I’m assuming that there’s a reason for the two seasons of the anime and how much people love it.

I’ll give It My All…Tomorrow by: Shunju Aono
Ongoing with 2+ volumes
US publisher: Viz Media – Viz Signature imprint
Volume 1 May 2010
Price: US $12.99
From the publisher: Shizuo Oguro is living his dreams… sort of. A complete waste of a human life until now, 40-year-old Shizuo breaks free from the corporate rat race and charts himself a fairly random and new career course: to become a published manga artist. Sure, he lacks the talent, discipline, or any other skill necessary to become a success in the manga industry–but that’s not enough to stop Shizuo!
My ramblings: This series is a little too slice of life for my tastes, and I’m not really in the target demographic at all, but it’s alright for what it is.

KOBATO. by: CLAMP
Ongoing with 4+ volumes
US publisher: Yen Press
Volume 1 May 2010, Volume 2 May 2010, Volume 3 August 2010
Price: US $11.99
From the publisher: Hanato Kobato is on a mission: she has a wish she wants granted. To do this, she has to mend the wounded hearts of the people she meets on her journey and fill up a magical bottle with the suffering she has relieved. The only catch is, she can’t fall in love with any of the people she helps. It seems like that’s the least of her problems, though; Kobato has no clue how to mend hearts…especially since each person’s heart is different. So what’s Kobato to do? Well, she has Ioryogi-san, a cute blue dog with a seriously bad attitude, to help (read: nag and critique) her… Yikes! Looks like the road to getting her one wish is going to be a long and hard one. Will Kobato get her wish in the end? And just what is it that Kobato wants?
My ramblings: Kobato. is love! The character herself is adorable, and so far the series too is adorable! It’s more of the Cardcaptor Sakura-type CLAMP than series like Tsubasa or RG Veda, but it’s certainly got that sadness to it like the later series.

Maoh: Juvenile Remix by: Kotaro Isaka and Megumi Osuga
Complete at 10 volumes
US publisher: Viz Media – Shonen Sunday imprint
Volume 1 May 2010, Volume 2 August 2010
Price: US $9.99
From the publisher: High school student Ando has the special ability to make others say out loud what he’s thinking. But will this be enough to uncover Inukai’s secrets and stop the plot to control the city?
My ramblings: I read the first chapter on shonensunday.com and it was a whole lot more violent that I expected it to be, but it was also really, really interesting.

Polyphonica: Cardinal Crimson (Shinkyoku Soukai Polyphonica – Cardinal Crimson) by: Ichiro Sakaki and Tomo Hirokawa
Ongoing with 3+ volumes
US publisher: CMX
Volume 1 May 2010
Price: US $9.99
From the publisher: In Earth’s parallel world, Polyphonica, spirits and humans live together. Spirits survive on the music played by “Dantis”, humans who have the ability to play special music that summon the spirits. Dantis are highly respected in Polyphonica, and the higher the skills of a Dantist, the more powerful and obedient spirit can be summoned to serve the Dantist.
One day, a female spirit, Corticarte hears a song being sung by a young orphan named Phoron. She appears before Phoron and makes him a deal: the next time Phoron sings the song; she’ll appear and protect him from all manner of evil beasts and wickedness to come. Years later, Phoron attends Commandia Academy, a prestigious music school for Dantists, but he is a mediocre Dantist who has not been successful summoning spirits. Feeling melancholy, he offhandedly sings the song that called Corticarte years before, but his unconfident singing voice summons a bad-tempered, insanely jealous Corticarte that causes all kinds of problems around him at school!
My ramblings: OK, this one might just be me, but I really enjoy the Polyphonica anime, so I’m really excited about finally seeing some of the manga over here too!

Ratman by: Inui Sekihiko
Ongoing with 5+ volumes
US publisher: Tokyopop
Volume 1 May 2010
Price: US $10.99
From Deb Aoki of manga.about.com (here): Ultimo and the X-Men aren’t the only manga-superhero comics combos out there. Sekihiko Inui, the creator of Comic Party and Murder Princess puts his own hilarious / action-packed manga spin on superheroes in this new 4-volume series. Ratman about a high school guy who gains superpowers thanks to some medical experiments gone awry. Will his new powers help him win the heart of the girl of his dreams, or will his numerous encounters with bumbling super-villains make him regret his transformation?
My ramblings: I don’t really know much about this series, but the title sure is interesting… I might just have the check out the first volume to see what in the world it’s about just because of the title.

Sasameke by: Ryuji Gotsubo
Complete at 5 volumes
US publisher: Yen Press
Volume 1 May 2010, Volume 2 September 2010, Volume 3 December 2010, Volume 4 March 2011, Volume 5 July 2011
Price: US $10.99
From the publisher: Rakuichi Nagahama, age sixteen, is a former soccer whiz, back from three years in Italy and now attending Chikubushima Public High School. Rakuichi thinks he’s quit soccer for good, but reunions with childhood friends, chance encounters with gorgeous blonde girls, and other events of this nature get him back on the field…or not…
My ramblings: I really, really like the style based on the cover, and I don’t really have anything against sports manga (though I know a lot of people do), so I’m pretty sure to check this one out.

Saturn Apartments by: Hisae Iwaoka
Ongoing with 4+ volumes
US publisher: Viz Media – Viz Signature imprint
Volume 1 May 2010
Price: US $12.99
From the publisher: Far in the future, humankind has evacuated the earth in order to preserve it. Humans now reside in a gigantic structure that forms a ring around the earth, thirty-five kilometers up in the sky. The society of the Ring System is highly stratified: the higher the floor, the greater the status. Mitsu, the lowly son of a window washer, has just graduated junior high. Five years after his father disappeared and was assumed dead, Mitsu must take on his father’s occupation. As he struggles with the transition to working life, Mitsu’s job treats him to an outsider’s view into the living-room dioramas of the Saturn Apartments.
My ramblings: Another of the series already up on sigikki.com, this one is kind of sad…The first chapter alone gives off an air of sadness, but it was really interesting. I’m curious as to whether or not the volume will have the color pages.

Twin Spica (Futatsu no Spica) by: Kou Yaginuma
Complete at 16 volumes
US publisher: Vertical
Volume 1 May 2010, Volume 2 July 2010, Volume 3 September 2010
Price: US $10.95
From the publisher: In a Tokyo in the not too distant future, a young girl studies deligently with ambitions of soon attending space academy. And yet, everytime she looks up to the stars with tremendous hope for the future, there is a sense of melancholy in her heart. A sadness surrounds Asumi, as the very concept of space exploration has profoundly changed her life for as long as she can remember. But she is not alone. A young man wearing a lion’s mask is always beside her. He speaks of the constellations and galaxies as if he they were home. He knows what it is like to love the stars. Now in spirit he will forever be with Asumi guiding her on her path to space where she hopes to be reunited with the spirits of not only her space traveler friend, but the mother she lost more than ten years ago.
My ramblings: This series sounds sweet and Vertical always picks up things they think are the cream of the crop, so it’s probably definitely worth picking up.

Chi’s Sweet Home by: Kanata Konami
Ongoing with 6+ volumes
US publisher: Vertical
Volume 1 June 2010, Volume 2 August 2010
Price: US $13.95
From mangaupdates: The adventures of Chi, a lost kitten taken in by a young couple with a toddler. While the family never intended to keep the kitten, Chi slowly claws herself a niche in their family: winning over everyone with her kitten idiocy and charm.
My ramblings: I didn’t watch the anime on Crunchyroll, since I thought it sounded kind of silly, but everyone seems to love this series, so maybe I was wrong. Vertical always does a good job with their works, so this is probably worth purchasing. And holy crap that proposed cover is adorable!!!!

Neko Ramen by: Kenji Sonishi
Ongoing with 4+ volumes
US publisher: Tokyopop
Volume 1 (Hey! Order Up!) June 2010
Price: US $10.99
From mangaupdates: International chain? Instant packaged cup-noodles? No chance! “Taishou” the cat is going to run a first-class noodle shop in this 4koma or die trying. But first, Taishou has to make ramen soup people can actually eat…! Will the taste improve? Can Taishou find hired help who will actually serve water, not just drink it? Could it be the Matrix Move will do the trick? And who is this new “cook”  Taishou has hired…?
My ramblings: Apparently this has just been listed on Amazon, and hasn’t been announced by Tokyopop, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they really have it. The anime is another on Crunchyroll, and I did watch this one, and I can say that it was rather amusing. A cat fixing ramen sounds silly, and well, it was silly, but silly in a good, funny way.

.hack//Link by: Megane Kikya and Cyberconnect2
Complete at 1 volume
US publisher: Tokyopop
June 2010
Price: US $10.99
From mangaupdates: The story takes place in the year 2020, just three years after the events of .hack//G.U.. The story will take place not only in the new version of “The World” known as “The World R:X” but in the real world as well. The lead character is a middle school student named Tokio Kuryuu. He lives a normal life as a gamer until a mysterious girl named Ayaka Amagi transfers to his school.
My ramblings: More .hack from Tokyopop, and really who’s surprised anymore? It looks interesting, and really, look at the creator’s name.

Omamori Himari by: Milan Matra
Ongoing with 6+ volumes
US publisher: Yen Press
Volume 1 June 2010, Volume 2 September 2010, Volume 3 December 2010
Price: US $10.99
From the publisher: Sixteen-year-old orphan Yuuto Amakawa has terrible cat allergies. So when he finds himself suddenly face to face with a beautiful girl who makes those allergies act up one morning, he’s left wondering about her identity. And when she saves Yuuto and his friends from a demon spirit with a very real, very sharp sword, she reveals herself as a sworn protector of the Amakawa family and a demon spirit to boot! Poor Yuuto, now that he’s living with an otherworldy samurai catgirl, his runny nose is the least of his worries!
My ramblings: This series certainly sounds interesting enough, and the anime is supposed to start sometime in January in Japan, so I think I’ll try to check this one out too.

Code: Breaker by: Akimine Kamijyo
Ongoing with 7+ volumes
US publisher: Del Rey
Volume 1 July 2010
Price: US $10.99
From mangaupdates: Sakurakouji Sakura is a girl who appears modest and graceful but in reality is skilled in martial arts. After witnessing a boy burning people with his blue flame, she is startled to see that the same boy is a transfer student, Oogami Rei. Oogami is a Code Breaker, one who “does not exist”. He is a seemingly cold-blooded killer who follows the principle of “an eye for an eye”, to “use evil against evil”. Convinced that killing is not right, Sakurakouji sets out to stop him and penetrate his icy heart.
My ramblings: I almost always love Del Rey’s manga, though they seem to be going down lately, so hopefully they’ll do well with this one.  This is the most recent work from Samurai Deeper Kyo author, so it should do fairly well.

Gente (Gente – Ristorante no Hitobito) by: Natsume Ono
complete at 3 volumes
US publisher: Viz Media – Viz Signature imprint
Volume 1 July 2010
Price: US $12.99
From the publisher: Welcome to Casetta dell’Orso, a quaint little restaurant in the heart of Rome. The food’s delicious, but the handsome staff of bespectacled gentlemen is the real draw. Follow these dashing men home and witness their romances, heartaches, hopes and dreams in this delightfully whimsical continuation of Natsume Ono’s beloved Ristorante Paradiso.
My ramblings: I think it’s great that Viz picked up the sequel to Ristorante Paradiso so quickly, and that there really won’t be any lag between the two series, since the original volume will be out in March and then the first volume of the sequel series comes out in July.

Nyankoi! by: Sato Fujiwara
Ongoing with 4+ volumes
US publisher: CMX
Volume 1 July 2010
Price: US $9.99
From the publisher: Since the day that Junpei kicked a soda can and accidentally knocked the head off of a cat statue on his way home from school, he’s been cursed with a spell that transforms him into a cat. The only chance he has to break the curse is by carrying out one hundred good deeds protecting cats in his town. To make matters worse Junpei is allergic to cats! The curse also allows him to hear conversations between his and other cats. Although he is ridiculed by his classmates for being able to “hear cats’ conversations,” it also brings him closer to Mizuno, a cute classmate that he has a crush on. Later, Junpei learns from a priest’s cat that he must not let any others know of his curse. The results would be two-fold: the bearer of the news would also be cursed and the curse would spread at a faster rate!
My ramblings: The anime  for this series is also adorable. It’s sort of a harem, but only in so much as there are quite a few girls. Junpei only really has his sights set on Mizuno, so in that sense it’s not really a harem, which is nice. And really, the cats are all just so much fun!

Peepo Choo by: Felipe Smith
Ongoing with 2+ volumes
US publisher: Vertical
Volume 1 July 2010
Price: US $12.95
From mangaupdates: Milton, who lives in downtown Chicago, is a hardcore otaku. He admires Japan for producing his favorite manga. Gill spent his time in prison, and now he is a comic shop owner with an attitude in the town. Morimoto, a young yakuza called “Rockstar,” is a rising star of the yakuza world in Japan. He is addicted to American TV dramas. One day, Milton wins a chance to go to his dreamland Japan.
My ramblings: I looked into this series a little bit, and basically it’s the ultimate otaku series…and I’m not kidding, just look at that summary! I think it will most certainly be interesting, but with the cover, I’m not sure how well it will sell…

Shisso Holiday by: OSTUICHI and Hiro Kiyohara
Complete at 1 volume
US publisher: CMX
July 2010
Price: US $9.99
From the publisher: Mystery, intrigue, deceit and humor combine in this twisted tale of fake kidnapping plot gone awry. Young Nao’s widowed mother marries a rich husband. Things are looking up until her mother unexpectedly passes away. Nao’s situation turns even bleaker when her stepfather remarries a younger woman. Concerned about her standing with her new parents, Nao tests their level of commitment to her with a daring scheme: she’ll fake her own kidnapping! With the help of Kuniko, the new family maid, with her plot work? Will her stepparents make every effort to get her back? Or should Nao be more concerned about Kuniko? You’ll be guessing until the very end!
My ramblings: This is just a oneshot, and since OTSUICHI is the author, I’m definitely going to try and check it out. I actually haven’t read any of his works yet (I’m hopefully getting ZOO for Christmas), but everyone seems to love them, and I’m glad this little known work is getting published.

Bakuman. by: Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata
Ongoing with 5+ volumes
US publisher: Viz Media – Shonen Jump imprint
Starting in Shonen Jump in May 2009 issue, Volume 1 August 2010
Price: US $9.99
From the publisher: Average student Moritaka Mashiro enjoys drawing for fun. When his classmate and aspiring writer Akito Takagi discovers his talent, he begs Moritaka to team up with him as a manga-creating duo. But what exactly does it take to make it in the manga-publishing world? Moritaka is hesitant to seriously consider Akito’s proposal because he knows how difficult reaching the professional level can be. Still, encouragement from persistent Akito and motivation from his crush push Moritaka to test his limits!
My ramblings: Bakuman. is a lot of fun, from what I’ve seen of it, and I definitely suggest it! Super glad that Viz picked this one up. Though I’m sure it was kind of a no-brainer, since it’s from the creators of Death Note. And again, great timing with the recent announcement of the anime.

World Embryo by: Daisuke Moriyama
Ongoing with 5+ volumes
US publisher: Dark Horse
Volume 1 August 2010
Price: US $10.95
From mangaupdates: A deadly virus is spreading across mankind, turning humans into gruesome monsters known as ‘Kanshu’. Yet no one knows of their existence, except for the organization called ‘F.L.A.G.’, dedicated to hunting down and destroying the source of the infection. Its members possess extraordinary powers, capable of unleashing righteous fury on their enemies.
One day, a cell phone message from a dead relative leads estranged youth Riku Amami unwittingly into the conflict between F.L.A.G. and Kanshu – and to a mysterious cocoon that would change his life forever, for better or worse…
My ramblings: This one seems to be a fairly typical scifi story, but interesting none-the-less, and Dark Horse usually takes great care in their titles.

51 Ways to Save Her by: Usamaru Furuya
Complete at 5 volumes
US publisher: CMX
Volume 1 September 2010
Price: US $9.99
From ANN: February 23rd, 20XX. Looking for a job in the famous TV station at Odaiba, college senior Jin Mishima attended the recruitment orientation. Not far away from the station, Nanako Okano, a gothic lolita trying to attend a concert, found out that her friends tricked her about the concert ticket because of jealousy. The two bumped into each other and “reunited” — they were junior high classmates — moments before an earthquake of Richter Scale 8.1 turned the island (the entire metropolitan area, in fact) into ruins.
My ramblings: The art (from the cover at least) kind of reminds me of Death Note, but I’m not sure how far the similarities go.

Déjà deux mois depuis la première partie de cette magnifique rubrique ! Petits changements dans la playlist, de nouveaux amis sont arrivés, certaines valeurs sûres sont restées (d’autres sont partis :p) et la K-Pop se fait toujours aussi puissante ! Let’s go !

• Heartbreaker – G-Dragon

Ouais, je sais. Je n’aime pas G-Dragon en tant que bishie. Mais il n’y a pas que l’apparence extérieure qui compte, non ? Je ne sais pas trop pourquoi, mais j’aime bien cette chanson alors que ce n’est pas VRAIMENT mon type de musique. En fait, c’est ce petit « anyo~ » que je ne comprends absolument pas à 0:31 qui me fait craquer ! ^.^ La chanson est plutôt triste en elle-même mais le rythme est sympa. Je crois que je suis encore trop jeune pour pouvoir écouter cet album~ Ah, les coréens. Le clip est plutôt sympa mais ça ne m’étonne pas qu’il se fasse censurer. PS : G-Dragon, change de nom (et de lunettes)…

• Hearbeat – 2PM

Il me semble avoir déjà évoqué mon amour (transformé en passion débordante aujourd’hui) pour cette jolie chanson de 2PM ! =) Pas la peine donc de mettre un gros pavé, je sais que je n’arriverais pas à te faire changer d’avis. Dommage, car franchement… Enfin si tu penses qu’ils n’ont pas de personnalité… C’est mieux que Beast quand même, non ? :( Dis-moi qu’ils sont meilleurs que Beast !

• Uninstall – Chiaki Ishikawa

Ahah, je ne sors que des choses que tu connais, cette rubrique n’a vraiment aucun intérêt ! XD Voici donc enfin un peu de japonais. J’adore le côté un peu mystique de cette chanson, avec les « OooOooh » du début. J’avoue l’avoir téléchargé dès le premier épisode. Tout comme l’anime, cet opening est unique, n’est-ce pas ? ^.^ Il y quelque chose que j’aime bien, je ne sais pas trop, je trouve que la chanteuse a une drôle voix mais que ça donne quelque chose de sympa. Uninstall…

• SHINee Girl – SHINee

Ah~ Du SHInee. Une valeur sûre, une vraie. Je n’ai pas parlé une seule fois du nouvel album de SHINee, c’est une honte ! Que suis-je, vraiment ?! Pourquoi SHINee Girl ? Et bien, je pense que j’ai écouté autant chacune des chansons de l’album et je ne savais pas laquelle mettre. J’allais pas mettre « Get Down » ou « The Name I Loved » ça aurait fait prise de position (lol), et « Ring Ding Dong » est trop populaire. Alors, c’est SHINee Girl ! =D Cette chanson bouge bien, et même si ce n’est pas la meilleure, ce n’est pas la pire ! Vive SHINee, et ce nouvel album que j’adore ! « Jojo » est enfin dans le top 25 de mon Ipod ! J’ai cité le nom de toutes les chansons de l’album, c’est cool ! You~

• Without Words – 9th Street

Je trouve que pour l’instant les chansons de « You’re Beautiful » sont réussis. Alors oui, je suis une victime de la société de consommation coréenne avec leur dramas à deux balles mais quand même… Elles sont bien ces chansons ! Without Word est une des « tristes ». Mais, elle n’est pas trop triste non plus. En fait, quand je suis heureuse, je trouve cette chanson heureuse et quand je suis triste… je la trouve triste ! ^^’ L’OST est plutôt bon, je te conseille aussi « Promise » et « As Ever » ! =)