Shakugan no Shana

Shakugan no Shana...oh, what a dissapointment. I thought this story looked really good: A boy who's city is suddenly attacked by ominous beings and he's saved by a girl with a sword named Shana and must now figure out what in the world is going on and also stay alive; However, I read only the first of twenty-four books (at the time there was only four) because I found it very confusing to follow, and also a little weird. I mean, maybe it gets better down the road, but something inside is telling me not to read any further! There's also an anime, but I don't plan to watch it. Zero out of five stars. T_T

Short-Tempered Melancholic and Other Stories

This book contains the first four manga ever released by Arina Tanemura. The last story is the oldest and the first story is the most recent of the four (strange, isn't it?). The first story is split into two parts: Short-Tempered Melancholic and Short-Tempered Melancholic Without You. It's about a teenaged female ninja who has the duty of protecting her family's secret weapon. It's a good story and it's a quick read. The second story is called This Love Is Non-Fiction, about a girl named Yuri who has a male penpal (Ryo), and instead of sending a picture of herself, she sent a picture of her prettier friend Karen. But now Ryo wants to meet Yuri (dramatic sound effects). It's a really cute and sweet story with a great ending. The third story, Rainy Afternoons Are For Romantic Heroines, is about a girl who always "forgets" her umbrella so she can walk home with her crush (who always has an umbrella). A pretty basic idea, but it has a twist in it (hooray for twists!). The final story is Arian-sensei's 1996 debut work, The Style Of The Second Love. It's about a girl who has a crush on her best friend's boyfriend and a boy (who's a year younger than her) that has a crush on her. The artwork is so different from what Arina-sensei does now, it's very interesting to compare. Overall, this whole book, four out of five stars.

(once again I apologize for the lack of picture)

New Blog: Red Rhythms

If you go to the bottom of my blog, you'll see a link on the right to my new music blog called Red Rhythms. It'll be used to recommend artists and review albums and music videos. If you don't like rock/alternative/indie music than you probably won't be interested, but please check it out. I'll put up another post later today, so stay tuned!

Cardcaptor Sakura

This manga is 12 volumes long and it's by the mangaka group known as Clamp. It's about a fourth-grade girl named Sakura who opens a magical book and out of it comes a creature that tells her she must collect the Clow Cards in order to save the world from darkness. Sounds cliche, I know T_T. But it's actually not that bad. I've only read volume one because the only place I could find the books was in Vancouver. I remember seeing it on TV a couple times aa a kid, but I don't think it's broadcasted anymore. If I was to compare it to something else, I'd say it's like two thirds Mewmew Power and one third Pokemon (don't let that turn you off). The artwork could be better, but it's funny and I'd be interested in reading further into it. Three out of five stars.

My Neighbor Totoro

This Miyazaki film is pretty popular, so I was excited to watch it. It was supposed to be about two young sisters who find a creature called a "totoro", and he takes them on an incredible journey. But after I'd been watching it for half an hour (it's less than two hours long) nothing really interesting happened, and I thought it was taking a really long time to get going. When the movie ended I realized there really was no "incredible journey", just a new friend. I was dissappointed. At least the ending theme song was pretty good. One out of five stars.

(sorry for the lack of picture)

Kimi Ni Todoke

Kimi Ni Todoke (From Me To You)...I have mixed feelings about it I guess. It's about a very shy girl who looks a lot like an evil character from a horror movie, and because of that everyone is scared of her so she doesn't have any friends. The girl, named Sawako, is actually very kind and loving and sweet but no one takes the time to get to know her...except for the popular boy she has a crush on. I thought the story was sweet and I guess I liked it, but I found it a little boring to read (does that make sense???). But then again, I've only read the first of eight volumes, so maybe it gets better. This manga has an anime but I don't think it has an English dubb...at least not yet ;). So if you like slice of life stories with some romance, you might like this manga. One out of five stars.

Cactus's Secret

Results for the last poll, 'Does manga paneling confuse you?', was 'Sometimes' with, wait for it...ONE VOTE. Come on people vote on the polls!

So, Cactus's Secret by Nana Haruta has four volumes, but I've only read the first one (side note: it's not divided into chapters?!). It's funny and cute, and I really like the guy...whatever his name is. It's about a girl who is in love with a boy in her class but he's too stupid to realize it, even when she virtually confesses to him. Because of that the girl starts acting "prickly" around him so he calls her a "cactus alien". I'm looking forward to finishing the series. Three out of five stars.

I.O.N

I.O.N., while not the first manga of hers, is the first BOOK ever released by Arina Tanemura. It's  a supernatural/romance about a high school girl that touches a strange substance, which gives her telekinetic powers whenever she spells her name aloud (which is Ion). It's sweet and it's funny and it's just good. It's interesting to see how Arina-sensei's art has changed and improved over the years. Three and a half stars out of five.

Kiki's Delivery Service

This is a Hayao Miyazaki film that's really cute and sweet. It's about a young witch named Kiki that leaves home to work on her magic. To make money she starts a delivery service by flying on her broom with her talking cat Jiji. My description makes it sound kind of boring but it's good. I recommend it to all Miyazaki fans. Three and a half stars out of five.

P.S. The results of the last poll "Have you ever been to an anime convention?" had two votes for No. I haven't been to one either. VOTE ON THE NEW POLL PLEASE!

Chibi Vampire

I haven't seen the anime (or at least not yet), but the manga is really funny. So funny that the chapters aren't called 'chapters', but 'embarassments'. It's a comedy about a teenaged vampire named Karin who is practically an anti-vampire (for example, rather than needing to drink blood, Karin-chan needs to pump it INTO humans to get rid of it) and her life pretty much sucks (no pun intended...I swear it was an accident T_T). It's fourteen volumes long, but I've only read the first four and am planning on reading the rest. If you're constantly embarrasing yourself or you don't fit into your family (or you're just looking for a laugh), then this is the series for you. Two and three quarter stars out of five .

P.S. Sorry for the crappy quality on all the pics I post T_T

Ouran High School Host Club

Just finished the anime a minute ago, Ouran as I call it is absolutely hilarious. The characters are so diverse and funny (my faves are Hikaru, Kaoru, and Hunny)! Although, the ending could've been a little better, mainly the relationship between Haruhi and Tamaki, and it seems the manga has more to offer (I haven't read it though). I know people that DON'T like anime that DO like Ouran so I totally recommend it. It's a (romantic) comedy by Bisco Hatori and it's 17 volumes and 26 episodes. Four out of five stars.

Physical vs. Online

Another versus! So, do you prefer to read manga online or to read the actual physical book. I really don't like reading online manga because I don't like:
-Staring at a screen
-When loading takes a long time
-Waiting to read if someone else is on the computer
I really like reading manga in book form because:
-I like being able to flip freely through pages
-Having the books on hand for reference or something
-Having the front covers

How about you? Comment (please)!