Rayearth

Rayearth by CLAMP... :( . First of all, I'm not a fan of CLAMP's artwork, and I found many panels confusing to look at. Second, and more importantly, I found the story EXTREMELY cliche and cheesy. It's about 3 Tokyo junior high girls that get transported to another world where they are the "legendary magic knights" and must save the princess in order to save this world they're in. The girls often mention how this world/legend is a lot like a video game, but the problem is it's TOO much like a video game. It's basically:
1) Get informed that you must save the world to fulfill the prophecy
2) Find the magic weapon-maker who sends you to collect the magic materials for your weapons
3) Fight various enemies that randomly appear in an attempt to stop you along the way
4) Get the materials, get the weapons, then one by one get literally upgraded and increase your friendship along the way
5) Defeat the bad guy in a G-rated manner (there's a bit of a twist but I won't give it away)
I wasn't expecting much judging by the back cover anyway, but still...ugh. There's an anime, but I dare not watch. Sorry CLAMP, sorry Taylor who lent me the book, but Rayearth gets zero stars out of five.

P.S. Please vote on the poll!

Howl's Moving Castle

Finally! My friends told me this was a good Ghibli/Miyazaki movie so we watched it at one their birthday parties on the weekend. It's based off of a novel by Diana Wynne Jones, and it was really quite good. It's about a girl named Sophie that gets a curse from a witch that turns her into an old lady. She ends up in the moving castle (it's what it sounds like) of a wizard named Howl and she and Howl fall in love. It's not the most interesting or exciting film but still pretty entertaining. Markl and Calcifer are my favourites, and Turnip Head was too until that thing that happened to him that I won't give away. Three out of five stars.

Princess Mononoke

Phew, this one was better than Nausicaa! It's seemingly set in feudal Japan and is very good (though quite long). Gods in the form of large animals live in a forest and some can turn into demons that are driven by hate. A boy gets cursed by a demon and goes on a journey to hopefully find a cure, but instead meets humans that are waging war agaist the gods of the forest. The animation in this one seemed a little different to me, but it was still alright. I got confused as to what the wolf girl's name was, Mononoke or Sana or San (it's San for those who are curious), but she was my favourite character besides the cute/creepy little kodama. It also came to my attention that the monk with the red nose held a good resemblance to Wario. Another great film from Hayao Miyazaki and good ol' Studio Ghibli. Four out of five stars.

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

The trailers looked good, the reviews and sumaries sounded good, my friends said it was good...but alas. Nausicaa is about a young princess living in a post-apocalyptic Earth (way in the future) near deadly toxic jungles. The remains of human civilization are fighting each other and the jungle is spreading, so the princess has to get them to make peace and all that jazz. I paid $30 for it and was excited to watch it, but was greatly disappointed. Even though it's a pretty good story, I just found the film a little boring. I'm not sure if it was the pace or what, I just know that I felt a little let down by this so-called masterpiece. Two out of five stars.

P.S. I also purchased Princess Mononoke, so stay tuned for a review.

Mermaid Saga

I didn't like this 13 episode anime, I guess because I thought the story progression was boring, and also it's extremely violent and bloody (and the blood looks really dumb). It's about a man that's immortal because he's eaten mermaid flesh, but the flesh usually kills the eater or turns them into a monster. He meets an immortal girl and they go on a journey together. The last episode is by far the best, and also the scariest, not for the ending of the story but just in general. The last two episodes were apparantly too violent to air on TV, so if you have a weak stomach or a faint heart, think twice before watching this (and apparently the manga is even MORE violent). One out of five stars.

Manga vs. Anime

It's finally on my blog...the eternal question. I have previous posts called Physical vs. Online and Dubs vs. Subs, but this is the ultimate battle (okay, maybe I'm over-doing it). I've read more manga than I have watched anime, and what I prefer about manga is that it contains the original story/dialogue (anime sometimes changes the plot line a little or adds/excludes certain characters). Anime on the other hand is "easier" in my mind because I don't need to go to downtown Victoria and purchase each volume in order to finish the series (as I don't like reading from a screen). Also, the art of anime is often simplified in order for the animation to be easier, although sometimes the art in manga is not very good. It's really all a matter of opinion, so tell me in the comments if you prefer manga ro anime!

Mistress Fortune

At last, I've been waiting for so long! Mistress Fortune is a one volume fantasy/romance manga by Arina Tanemura. I thought it was cute, with lots of laughs. The art is great, and it's a shame it's such a short manga. The end contains two bonus stories which are very funny, as well as a double-sided poster (hooray!). It wasn't that deep or anything, but still very enjoyable. Three and three quarter stars out of five (I've been very fractional with my ratings, haven't I?).

P.S. I updated the poll, please vote!