Gaba Kawa

First, the results of the poll "What's the most important part of a series?": first place was Art with two votes and second place was Characters with one vote; Storyline and Other didn't get voted for. Vote on the new poll!

Anyway, Gaba Kawa is a one volume manga by Rie Takada about a demon girl named Rara who goes to Earth to cause trouble, but due to her clumsiness and new crush she isn't very succesful. This manga is so hilarious and I totally recommend it. Another fairly short post. Four out of five stars.

Rasetsu

Rasetsu is the spin-off to Yurara, which I talked about in an earlier post. It's seven volumes and ongoing by Chika Shiomi. The main character Rasetsu looks a lot like the spirit Yurara from Yurara (intentionally) and the story includes Yako from the previous series. The artwork is good, but it could be better. I don't really have much to say here, so.....Three out of five stars.

The Gentlemen's Alliance cross

This manga really got my heart going fast. It's got tons of charcters with tons of different relationships (which can sometimes be confusing and/or hard to keep track of), amazing art, and lots of drama (the good kind though....wait, is there good drama? Whatever). It's about a girl named Haine that's been through A LOT of hardship and she attends a school where she's in love with the "emperor" of the school. There are lots of great twists and shocks and it's just awesome! It's by Arina Tanemura and it's 11 volumes (Arina-sensei's longest series yet). The artbook has also been  released in English an it's awesome. Five out of five stars.

Comments

By the way...this might go without saying, but...............please comment if you're reading this :)

Spirited Away

Spirited Away is an incredible animated movie by Hayao Miyazaki that was later made into film comics (basically coloured manga). It's about a young girl that goes to an abandoned theme park of some sort and when night falls her parents are turned into pigs and she's forced to work at a bath house for spirits. It's better than it sounds just in case you didn't like my explanation ;). The character development is good and the story's good and the animation isn't too serious or too cutesy, but rather just in the middle <3. I highly recommend it to anyone and give it five out of five stars.

Ultra Maniac

OK, this one's rated A for All Ages, whereas all my other one's are rated T for Teen or T+ for Older Teen, so this one's a little more...uh, tame....I guess. Anyway, it's a cute fantasy manga that's been made into an anime that just got licensed in English. It's 5 volumes long and it's by Wataru Yoshizumi. It's about a girl who's a failing witch (not evil though) that's an exchange student in the human world and meets another girl and some other people. I made it sound like the witch is the main protagonist, but the MAIN protagonist of the story is more the normal girl, Ayu. So yeah, it's pretty...tame, as said, but it's sweet. Two and three quarter stars out of five.

Death Note

Warning, Death Note, while not so much gory, is very morbid and harsh. I didn't read the 12 volume manga, but I watched the anime and just like I said it was harsh. When I watched the first couple episodes I didn't really like it, but I had to keep watching it because I wanted to see how it ended without looking it up (which I had already done before so I already knew how the story ended T_T). It got much better as it went along, adding more characters and adding more challenges. Oh right, the story. Well, this genius high school boy Light randomly finds a note book that says 'Death Note' and inside it says that any human's name written in it shall die. He thinks it's silly but later tries it and realizes it works. And so starts Light's mission to rid the world of evil. I got so hooked on it, and it has a somewhat shocking ending (or at least it will for you T_T). Three and a half bleeding stars out of five. (See? Morbid.)

P.S. There's also a novel (which I think is a prequel to the series), and three live action movies. I think the first to movies are just the normal story divided in half, and the third is sort of a side story or an unseen happenings. There's also an anime (I think, don't quote me) that's the same story but from a different point of view (the main shinigami, Ryuk). Sorry for the long post :P

One more thing...

Oh yeah, in case you didn't see, the last poll, "What's Your Favourite Genre?", was a tie between comedy, fantasy, slice of life, and other. Vote on the new poll!.......please?

Time Stanger Kyoko

Another one from Arina Tanemura, this three volumer (oh, I seem to have created a word!) is set in the 30th century where all the countries of the world have unified as one country called Earth Nation. The story revolves around Earth Nation's princess, Kyoko, as she bends time to try and awaken her twin sister Ui (and falls in love along the way!) by gathering the other twelve "strangers" (basically people with special powers) and their twelve godstones. It's a really cute story with a major twist in the last volume. The charcters are perfect and diverse and the bonous stories are great (but then again, isn't any story by Arina-sensei great?). Four stars out of five.

Yume Kira Dream Shoppe

Sooo cute! YKDS, as I sometimes abbreviate it, is a single volume with four different stories, but with the same idea. The idea is that there's a person named Rin (the gender is supposed to be unknown, but it's clearly a girl) and her living stuffed rabbit that own and run a shop in the sky that grants wishes to people...but at a price. This fantasy book by Aqua Mizuto is really really sweet and I totally recommend it. Four and a half stars out of five.

Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne

Kaito might actually be Kaitou, I'm not sure. Anyway, this is a great series by Arina Tanemura that is 7 volumes and has been made into an anime (it's fantasy/romance). All I can really say without giving anything away (hey that rhymes!) is that it's about a girl who serves God as Kaito Jeanne, a reincarnation of Joan of Arc (or Jean D'Arc as she's called in the manga since that's her proper French name), by capturing demons that have possessed pieces of art. I didn't watch the anime, but the manga is excellent and has a virtually perfect end (is that saying too much???). Four out of five stars.

Just to my school friends...

This, as the title says, is just to my school friends: if whichever one of you that got me for secret Santa wants to get me manga, I'm picky. So here's a list: Vampire Knight volume 11 (dosen't come out till Dec. 7), Cactus's Secret volume 2, Chibi Vampire volume 5, Rasetsu volume 6, Black Bird volume 6.
Of course, there's always the other things I listed for you today. That's all ;)

Inuyasha

This was the first anime I ever watched and the first manga I ever read. My neighbor got me hooked on it in grade 4 or 5. It's about a "sacred" girl who falls through a well that transports her to feudal Japan where she meets a half-demon guy and they have to collect the sacred jewel shards. It's a very long elaborate story T_T. It's by Rumiko Takahashi and it's 57 volumes (that's right, 57 volumes. I didn't finish it T_T), an action/fantasy/romance. Three out of five stars.

Dubs vs. Subs

Let's change it up a bit :D

Pretty staraight forward...do you prefer English dubs or English subtitles? Personally I very much prefer dubs because with subs you have to read, which takes away from watching, so sometimes you miss something visual or the words dissappear before you finish reading them. However I can see why some people would prefer subs: you get the original Japanese voices and sometimes the wording of dubs are different. I also prefer dubs because you can tell where the voice rises and falls, whereas in the Japanese you can't really tell which part of the sentence the character is at.......Does that make sense???

Anywho, leave a comment saying if you prefer dubs or subs!

Vampire Knight

Once again, not all the volumes have been released in English yet so I haven't read the whole series, just the first 10 volumes. Vampire Knight is basically about an academy that has the Day Class, for humans, and the Night Class, for vampires. Don't worry it's nothing like Twilight, though it does have a little romance. There are a few really good twists too (yay!).

By the way, do you think vampires would be considered fantasy? Probably. Comment!

Anyway, I haven't watched the anime because the art dosen't look...good enough. Plus I tend not to watch anime if I've already read the manga. This series is by Matsuri Hino, and I believe it's 12 volumes and ongoing. Four out of five stars.

Oh, and if you find something called Vampire Knight Guilty, that's just the name of the second season of the anime ;)

Black Bird

I haven't finished this one yet because not all the volumes have been released in English yet, but judging by the first five volumes, it's excellent! It's about a girl who can see the supernatural (that seems to be going around quite a bit huh?) and now that she's sixteen demons are hunting her and her childhood friend/love Kyo (who is a demon) has come for her. Some parts can be a little dirty but other parts make up for it in comedy. I can't wait to finish it. Four out of five stars.

Heaven's Will

Heaven's Will is way too short (one volume!) because it's so sweet! It's a supernatural shojo sort of manga, about a girl who can see ghosts and HATES scary things, then she meets a cross-dresser who can banish the ghosts and has a "pet" vampire. I know the summary sounds somewhat like Yurara, but it's completley different, not to mention better. The characters suit their roles so well and are so diverse, and the ending isn't the typical "happy ever after" wrap-up, but instead it's just right (and not really what you expect). A must-read. Five out of five stars.

Yurara

My very second Shojo manga! This is about a girl who can see supernatural stuff and she meets two guys who can see them and also banish them. It's (obviously) a supernatural manga with a little romance and a few laughs...5 volumes...by Chika Shiomi. There's also a spin-off to Yurara called Rasetsu, but I'll cover that in a later post. Two and three quarter stars out of five.

Oh by the way...I just realized that I haven't been telling you what the stories are, just what I think of them........................................sorry. I'll try to remember to do that from now on T_T

Soul Eater

Soul Eater is a really awesome series. I watched the anime rather than reading the manga. It's an action/fantasy sort of thing. Be warned, once the anime reaches a certain point, it changes the story a lot...like a lot...so the manga and the anime have slightly different endings. The moral of the story is really nice and the characters are perfect (I LOVE Death the Kid and Crona!) and there's plenty of laughs to go around. Another warning, the two episodes dedicated completeley to Excalibur are boring and have nothing to do with the story, so unless you're an Excalibur fan, skip them.

I MIGHT like to read the manga to see the original ending, but I'm still satisfied with the anime one. Four stars out of five.

Beast Master

One of the cutest manga I've ever read. Unfortunatley, it's only two volumes, but Beast Master is still really funny and sweet. I don't have a lot to say about this manga, just that, well...it's funny...and sweet...and cute...and awesome! It's by Kyousuke Motomi and I highly recommend it. Five out of five stars.

Hmm...this was a short post huh? Maybe I'll do another one later...but maybe not...but maybe ;)

Full Moon wo Sagashite

Full Moon is my favourite manga and the first Shojo manga I ever read. It's a seven volume fantasy/romance series by Arina Tanemura (my favourite mangaka). For anyone who's lost an old love, you can probably really connect with the main character, Mitsuki. Full Moon has great artwork, a great story, great characters, and I found it really inspiring. It's also got some good funny parts :D

I haven't watched the anime, but I know someone who has and really loved it. Five out of five stars.

P.S. The artbook for Full Moon has also been released in English. I have it and I really love it. It's beautiful and has art from some of Arina-sensei's other series too <3

Well, Hello There!

As you probably guessed, this is my manga and anime blog. I plan on using it to review and recommend various mangas and animes. Pretty simple. Feel free to leave comments stating your opinions, asking questions, and recommending other series.

Oh, and Nicole, if you're reading this, then HAHAHAHAHAHA! Yes Nicole, I'm proud of this and you'll just have to cope! :P