Manga Review: Imawa No Kuni No Alice (Alice In Borderlands)

Title: Imawa No Kuni No Alice (Alice in Borderlands) 
Author: Haro Aso 
Volumes: 18
Chapters: 87
Status: Completed 
Tags: Action, Shonen, Horror 

Summary:

"To be released from the dull routine, escapism, 8th grade disease, peter pan syndrome, it doesn't matter what you call it...It doesn't mater where. Have you ever wanted to go somewhere else? An unknown place" 

And so begins the story of Arisu Ryouhei who, while hanging out with his friends Chota and Karube, notices a flash of light that transports him into the "borderlands." A barren land whose citizens are forced into life or death games based on strength, brains and just a pinch of luck. 

Wdebo's Review: As I have noted numerous times before on this blog I am a sucker for the a good horror story so when I saw the Alice in Borderlands Netflix series I voraciously engulfed it in a few days. Unfortunately, the series ended on a large cliff ending. However, as an impatient person who noticed there was a completed manga it was based on, I knew I had to finish the manga to fill in all of the holes from the show. 

For those (like me) who were scouring the internet trying to figure out where to start in the manga after finishing the Netflix series, I would highly suggest just starting from the first chapter. There are some scenes that are shown in the show as well as many series of events, character utilization and games that are different so you would just get the best understanding of the story by starting from the very beginning. 

I love a good survival game story which we can just blame on my old Battle Royale obsession. Alice in Borderlands thoroughly fulfills that quota. It presents many games and deaths which is sometimes all you need to read after a long hard day of work. I loved the set up of every single game. There were so many loopholes and twists to guess and work out strategies for. Arisu's logic thorough every game was very interesting to see laid out and I just throughly enjoyed reading how he figures out all of the games. 

The characters are interesting as well. You really start cheering for all of them. Additionally, certain situations really surprised me when I realized how expendable some of the characters were. I definitely thought some people would not have been killed off that quickly. 

I also feel like the story helped to tie up all of its strings with a very satisfying conclusion. 

All in all, a highly enjoyable manga for those who love a good survival game story with highly colorful characters to both hate and cheer on. 

Grade: A-

Wdebo :) 

Manga + Movie Review: Doukyuusei

Title: Doukyuusei
Japanese Title: 同級生
Author: Asumiko Nakamura
Published: July 2006 to July 2007
Movie Aired: February 20, 2016
Sequels: Sotsugyousei, Sora to Hara, O.B., Dousoukai
Tags: Slice of Life, Shonen-ai
Extra Info: From MAL



Summary (From manga):
A boy met a boy.
They were in the flush of youth
Their love felt like a dream, like sparkling soda pop. 

Wdebo's Review: I discovered Doukyuusei roughly five years ago and since then this manga has been one of my favorites both as a BL and as a general romance story along with Seven Days. That's why when it was first announced last year that Doukyuusei would be getting an anime movie adaption I could not wait, especially since Seven Days had gotten a two part live action movie earlier that year as well. I have been waiting for the movie to be subbed and posted online for me to watch for a while and finally got around to watching it today and it is still as cute as I remember it to be.

Doukyuusei is the first book in the series and starts out following the two protagonists, Kusakabe and Sajou. Kusakabe is a fluffy-headed, laid back musician who meets his fellow classmate, Sajou, a studious quiet boy with no musical inclination. Kusakabe decides to tutor him to be ready for their class' musical program, but they unwittingly start to fall for one another. The pacing of the story is very important and gives the story a stronger presence. For the first book, it starts out slowly, folling the boys as they fall in love, kiss and gradually develop deeper feelings for one another. Though it is slower, it gives it a very gentle, calm tone that is very sweet to watch. This is especially evident in the movie (which followed the plot of the story well) and its usage of its gentle OST to greatly exemplify that air. What I did love about the story was that it just shows the gradual feelings of the characters intensifying for one another, it does not base its plot on unnecessary drama such as a love rival or gigantic misunderstanding. Additionally, if you continue from Doukyuusei and read more of the books, it adds more to the characters as the protagonists go through school, graduate and start college/post grad life. Also more characters, fellow students and teachers, are added in to the ensemble and the plots follow their love lives as well.

Additionally, one of Doukyuusei's more unique features is the art style. The author is famous of her artwork which uses more feathery and flowy lines that also adds to the gentleness exuded by the story and characters. However, it takes a bit to get into when you first start into the story, the lines seem a little rough and characters a bit strangely proportioned in the manga; however, in the anime movie it was more smoothed out and worked out better than I felt the manga had.

And finally as stated before, the OST for the movie is wonderful. I love its gentle tones which compliment the story perfectly. It can be seen even in the trailer:



All in all, this manga/movie is wonderful and gives such a gentle touch of romance to a simple school based story and is definitely worth a read/watch.

Grade: A

Wdebo :)

Manga Review: Parasyte By: Hitoshi Iwaaki

"Above Earth, someone was thinking...'If half of making disappeared, how many foists would be saved? If 99% of mankind disappeared, would pollution be reduced by 99%?' Above Earth, someone was thinking...Someone was thinking 'If we protected life...'"

Title: Parasyte
Author: Hitoshi Iwaaki
Volumes: 10
Chapter: 64
Status: Completed
Chapters Read: 64 (Completed)
Tags: Horror, Seinen
For: Adults (Mature readers only!)
Warnings: Contains a lot of violence/gore and scary-ass aliens
Extra Info: MAL Info HERE


Summary: One night, tiny parasites invaded earth. There was no warning, no one had any idea the sort of horror that was in store for them in the days to come. The parasites invade their human hosts and take on their body and also an insatiable hunger for their fellow humans. They use any means to get the flesh they so crave including transforming into horrific monsters with giant teeth and razor sharp, vine-like ribbon heads. Slowly more and more gruesome murders begin to pop up all over and no one understands what is happening except for one high school student by the name of Shinichi Izumi.

Shin is just an ordinary boy. Compasionate. Not particularly bright. Sweet. Filled with an understanding of what is right and wrong. Nothing about him suggests he could have anything to do with the recent mass murders except for the fact that he is the victim of a botched parasite invasion. Instead of invading his brain like the parasite was supposed to, it invaded his right hand and as a result the parasite (later named Migi) has taken over his right arm. Now Shin needs to learn to coexist with his new partner and to keep his situation a secret in order to protect himself from being turned into a lab rat or worse, to turn up dead. However, what should Shin do when the parasites begin to kill at an alarming rate and even begin to attack those around him?

Wdebo's Review: Even though I am the biggest scaredy-cat on the face of the planet (3D underwater movies scare me really badly...) I have an unnatural love for the horror genre. I love horror movies and horror stories. Therefore, it's no wonder I turned to horror manga to try to find something else I may add to the "Scare myself shitless but enjoy it" list. However, it just seemed like I was constantly looking at the wrong mangas. None of them interested me in the least. I tried out Skin and Bone and found myself disgusted, yes, but not in a good way for I found it too RL Stine-y for my taste, too over-the-top gruesome and also boring. The same went for Yami no Koe.  Mr. Arashi's Amazing Freak Show was better than the others I read but still just not what I was looking for (and it also creeped me out due to the fact that there were basically no boundaries to the whole story). To sum it up, what this long paragraph is trying to say is that all of the horror mangas I read were just not very good. Therefore, I thought PARASYTE would be the same. I thought it would be pretty lame, I mean look at that plot. Even if you ignore my not that exciting writing, it still sounds pretty boring. Alien invasion? Yeah, it's not like I haven't seen that like a bagillion times. But, I was very surprised about how much I enjoyed it.

The storyline is very easy to follow.  (However, I am confused by the fact that the parasite invasion only seemed to have occurred in Japan? Wouldn't aliens want to take over more places than just there?) Protagonist is part of a failed parasite take over and has to work with parasite to protect those around him and try to stop other parasites. But it became so much more than that. It raised good questions even though I personally wasn't paying attention to them until they were bluntly brought up again towards the end of the novel. I was actually pleasantly surprised by the amount of "philosophical" questions it raised (or tried to raise), seeing as how I was only reading for the horror/gore aspect of it.

Also, the characters were nicely developed and enjoyable.  There were also many great characters that filled the story. Shin and Migi were both wonderful protagonists. I loved how as the plot progressed their "humanity" decreased and increased respectively. I do have to admit though that I have a sweet spot for Migi (When you read it, you will understand!). The most disagreeable character for me though is the love interest who gives the protagonist power and desire to protect her because she is too weak to actually do anything apart from being a subconscious mental cheerleader, Satomi.

I also enjoyed the light amount of humor that helped to dispel some of the heaviness of the whole gruesome activities that the parasites were bringing to earth. It was a welcome addition.

Towards the middle; however, it did feel like it was getting repetitive. The fight scenes were beginning to blend in together and nothing truly stood out to me. Thankfully, it shifted gears and I was entertained once again. I did enjoy the fights though. The artwork itself is pretty obviously 90's (which can be a good thing or bad thing, depending on your own stance) and though at times it seems kind of vague, the fighting scenes are very detailed. Including the remaining body parts which at first disturbed me just because they were all completely mutated and butchered and it was just creepy. (Just a warning for readers!) The transformations of the parasites are also very interesting to look at. I have never seen aliens' heads become ribbon-like then slice through the bodies of their enemies. (Or maybe that might just be because I haven't watched a crazy amount of horror movies...maybe it's a common monster attack I am unaware of....) Going off the artwork, I also liked how it was pretty easy to tell who the parasites were by the way that the eyes are drawn.

All in all, a very enjoyable manga that may not be suitable for everybody but will not be a complete waste of time if you just give it a chance. For a story that I thought was going to be lame and boring, it had surprisingly great flow and was really addicting. After reading for a while, I did feel myself getting transported into the story and fearing for the lives of Shin and those around him. It was a scary thought to think what would happen to us if aliens invaded. How would we survive? What would we do? And the most important question of all: Are they the real monsters or are we?

Grade: A-

Wdebo :)

~~~

Read the manga HERE~
Check out the playlist I made for PARASYTE HERE~
Wanna check out my anime/manga progress? Check out my anime list HERE~

No. 6 (Anime + Manga/Novel) + Happy New Years

HAPPY NEW YEARS!!! Can't believe it's 2012 already. Hope everyone has a good day and year !

Anime

Title: No. 6

Japanese Title: NO.6 ナンバー・シックス

Amount of Episodes: 11

Status: Completed

Tags: Sci-fi, dystopian

For: Teens

Summary: Set in the year 2013, No.6 seems like the perfect place, with all the intellects and people who contribute most to society allowed to live in lavish luxury and everyone else given a chance to live in comfort.

At the age of two, Shion was tested to have the"highest-ranked intelligence" so he and his mother were allowed to live in the highly regarded, luxurious area named "Cronos".

On the rainy night of his twelfth birthday, Shion discovers and aids a runaway by the name of Nezumi who escaped from the City's Special Security Area. And with this simple gesture of goodwill, Shion's life changes forever, as everything that he is given in No. 6 is suddenly ripped away from him as quckly as Nezumi disappears the next day....

Wdebo's Review [This review is for the anime only]: I first discovered No. 6 over Summer, and as a huge fan of dystopians, I was so excited to start watching. When I first saw No. 6's MAL profile, it was when it first started airing and held very high ratings, but when I went back to the page a couple of weeks ago (because that is when I started it), the ratings had dropped considerably. After finishing the show, the ratings make complete sense. Even though the anime started on a high note, it ended flat. After the first couple of episodes, the only thing I was watching for, instead of plot was just the relationship development between Nezumi and Shion.

The first few episodes were absolutely amazing. Each episode was filled was so much action and emotion and there was just so much potential. However, after that block of episodes, the plot started to slip and everything just fell through. There were a lot of plot holes that created confusion and the plot itself seemed to be going no where. However, the last couple of episodes were pretty addicting, I just could not stop watching them, but then it spirled down again and the ending was a huge disappointment. It wasn't because it wasn't an ending I wanted, it was because it just didn't feel like it fit in well. It felt too rushed and there were a few huh? moments.

There were a lot of interesting characters that were thrown into the mix, but, apart from Nezumi and Shion, none of them seemed to be given much development. They just seemed to be placed into the story as decoration, they did not really seem to be doing much to help the plot move along. While the plot and secondary characters were not all that impressive, the protagnoists, Nezumi and Shion, and their relationship with each other was basically the only thing that kept me watching the show.

I absolutely adored the relationship between Nezumi and Shion. And no matter what people say, it was not only "bromance", it was defintely a romantic relationship. Seriously, what pair of best guy friends kiss each other "good night"?

Now that we have that out of the way, the reason I loved their relationship was because the growth of their closeness and realizing how they needed each other in other to survive and also how the other brought out their best side, was just wonderful. It was a very nice little BL undertone to the story.

I am also absolutely in love with the opening and ending. The opening took a bit for me to get used to because the voice was just so high, but the artwork was very well done (As opposed to the art in the actual anime which was just ok) and I loved the effects it utilized. The ending, on the other hand, had me completely hooked from the very beginning. The song is beautiful and the video that accompanied it was so bittersweet.

All in all, even though the plot fell flat, the only redeeming factor of this anime is the relationship between Nezumi and Shion.

Grade: B-/C+

Watch No. 6 HERE

Novel/Manga

Novel~

Volumes: 9
Chapters: 43
Volumes Read: 3
Status: Completed
Translated Source: HERE

Manga~Volume: ?
Chapter: ?
Chapters Read: 7
Status: Ongoing

Wdebo's Review: The novel was the first that appeared and then there was a manga adaption and finally an anime adaption. The novel is definitely the best out of the three, mostly because there is just so much more oppurtunity for there to be more details added.

The storyline of both is so much richer. There is so much more added to Nezumi and Shion, the readers are able to understand what Nezumi and Shion are feeling, it really shows their growth and also their reasoning for their actions. The details also help to explain the progression of events, which the anime failed to at parts.

The secondary characters are also given a better chance to grow and allowed to take on a bigger role in the actual story.

All in all, I highly recommend readers to begin with the novel and manga first, just to get a better understanding of the actual story and then to start on the anime.

[Note: The site I posted only has half of the volumes translated. I don't know if there are any sites out there that have the entire thing translated, just search around! And if you know Chinese, the entire thing is translated to Chinese (The Chinese novel was first published in Taiwan...Hehe I love being Taiwanese ^^)!]

Grade (For Novel): A
Grade (For Manga): A--

Read the manga HERE
Read the novel in Chinese HERE [Chinese Title: 未來都市NO.6]

Wdebo :)

Black Butler (Anime + Manga) + Merry Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS Y'ALL :) Hopefully you all get to spend a wonderful day with your families =] And I also wanna say "Happy Birthday" to my mom =] Happy birthday mommy!!~

And as my Christmas present to you, a "little" Black Butler review for all of you. Enjoy~

Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler)

The reason I got into this series was only because I saw how attractive Sebastian was, but once I started the anime and just saw how wonderfully gorgeous the gothic artwork was and found out just how much I enjoyed the storyline, I was instantly addicted and could not stop watching!

Season One:

Title: Kuroshitsuji

Also Known As: Black Butler

Japanese Title: 黒執事

Amount of Episodes: 24 [Watched: 24]

Status: Completed

Tags: Shonen, Supernatural, Dark Comedy, Fanservice
For: Teens (13 +)

In Victorian-era London, the head of the Phantomhive corporation is no ordinary man, in fact he cannot even be considered a man, for he is only a boy of twelve years. This boy's name is Ciel Phantomhive. Ciel is no ordinary boy either, he acts as the Queen's "gaurd dog" and rules his own manor with the help of his four clumsy, airheaded servents and one omnipotent butler, Sebastian. But Sebastian is no mere mortal, in fact he is a demon employed by Ciel who made a pact with him. His soul in exchange for being saved and getting revenge on those who disgraced him and his family name.

Grade: A-

Season 2:

Title: Kuroshitsuji II
Also Known As : Black Butler II
Japanese: 黒執事II
Amount of Episodes: 12 [Watched: 12]
Status: Completed
For: Older Teens (16+)

A year after Black Butler ends, Black Butler II begins and a new butler and master appear. Alois Trancy at first glance appears to be a cheerful, sweet looking fourteen year old boy but at closer inspecition, one can see he is anything but that. Alois is a sadistic, angry, cross dressing little teeange boy, flanked by a servent named Hannah, servent triplets and a stoic demon butler named Claude Faustus, making the Trancy family, one to be feared. Behind Alois' evil demenor though is a dark past, one directing his actions and also his newest wish, that of obtaining the head of the Phantomhive household, Ciel.

Grade: C+

Wdebo's Review: I had no idea what to think when I started this anime, I had never watched anything like this before, I had never read anything by this author before, I barely knew the plot and the only reason I was looking into it was, as stated above, the art, mainly the character of Sebastian. But I was instantly drawn into it. The world, the art, the story, everything was just so intoxicating. I was so addicted to it and just could not stop watching until the very last episode.

However, there were a few fumbles in the plot in the middle of Season one. The story also gets progressively stranger and darker as the episodes continue. (This is something I have to warn my friends about when I show them this series...and make them start from episode one).

I do have to add though that there is a ton of fanservice in season one and about 5000 times more in season two. For season one, it was mainly for the fangirls. Because the author, Yana Toboso, is also a yaoi artist. I also read somewhere that Black Butler was supposed to be a yaoi manga, but I am probably wrong about that. Anywho, there are a bunch of shonen-ai and shota undertones in this story, most likely to keep the fangirls placated. Season two, however, not only includes fanservice for the girls but also for the guys (think abnormally large boobs and clothes being ripped off as though they were made out of paper).

I loved the characters from Season one. There was something about every character that I just feel in love with, even the side characters like Pluto, Drocell, Undertaker, etc. I really enjoyed the relationship between Ciel and Sebastian. There are a lot of fan pairings of Ciel and Sebby and I am totally conflicted as to whether I like them together romantically or just as master and butler.

Season two deserves its own review section. I was completely satisfied with the ending of Season one, so just having a season two there was strange. The only thing I really loved about season two was the introduction of Alois, he was just the most messed up yet awesome character ever. I wasn't sure whether I would like him at all in the beginning, I had crazy conflicted feelings towards him, but at the end, I was in love. Apart from that and also just the whole revisitation of all of the previous characters, this season was absolutely disappointing and just not necessary. However, I guess if you look at it from the view of someone who has never watched season one, it can be considered a pretty decent anime.

I also have to add that I am in love with the very first ending song: "I'm Alive" By: Becca, mostly because Becca's voice reminds me of Hayley Williams' voice =]



Watch Black Butler (Season 1) HERE
Watch Black Butler (Season 2) HERE

The Manga

Title: Kuroshitsuji

Also Known As: Black Butler; Dark Butler
Japanese Title: 黒執事

Author: Toboso, Yana

Status: Ongoing

Current Amount of Volumes: 12 (+ 7 Extra Chapters)

Geared Towards: Teens

Wdebo Notes: The main premise of the manga version is the same as the anime version. However, after the (I can't quite remember, but I think) Prince Soma and Agni storyline, the story goes in a completely different direction. There are many characters that appear in the manga version that are completely absent in the anime version or are very very similar to a character found in the anime series. (IE Drocell and Joker).

Personally, I love the manga series more. However, the anime series has Pluto, so it makes it is difficult to choose which one is the best. Haha. But no, the manga series, has much more action stuffed in it than the anime version. It just seems to have so much more details added in, both art-wise and also story-wise. The art is just so beautiful. I could stare at it all day, or more specifically, I could stare at Sebas-chan all day. I also enjoyed how many of the characters in the anime who only appeared to be side characters are given much larger roles in the manga and so much more depth and background information.

[Note: I have currently finished all of the chapters that have been scanlated already and might I add that I am crazily addicted to this manga and I wish that there was a new chapter everyday. *Sigh* ]

All in all, a darkly delicous story that I am sure will cause me to develop some kind of strange butler fetish later in life. Not that I mind.

Grade: A

Wdebo :)

Seven Days (Manga)

WARNING: This manga is shonen-ai (Guy X Guy) [But please don't let that be the reason that stops you from reading this manga]

Title: Seven Days

Story By: Tachibana Venio

Art By: Takarai Rihito
PAPERBACK
Amount of Volumes In This Series: 2
Amount Read: 2
Geared Towards: Teens

"[It's Monday], the day he'll definitely say 'yes'. And at the end of the week, he'll tell his partner exactly this: 'I couldn't fall in love with you. Let's break up.'"

Summary: Seryou Touji is a popular first-year student who is known to date anyone who confesses to him first at the beginning of the week and break up with them right after seven days. As a whimful joke, third-year student Shino Yuzuru decides to test if the term "anyone" can include, well, "anyone", more specifically, if it can pertain to him.

Wdebo's Review: (Sorry for the lame summary, haha...but one really doesn't need to know a lot about this story before reading it) Seven Days is definitely a favorite manga of mine. I read it this summer and reread it on the plane a week ago. I found it enjoyable, even the second time around. There is something about this story that is just so captivating, I'm not quite sure what it is.

The plot itself is pretty cliche, I mean from the first few pages it is pretty easy to guess where this story is headed. (Into la-la fluff land, obviously) However, I could not stop myself from being drowned into the story. I loved the chemistry between Seryou and Shino. The only thing that I wasn't 100% satisfied with was how quickly their relationship came about, I thought there would be at least some more confusion and hesitation but maybe that is just how Seryou's personality is. Apart from that, there was something so pure and sweet about the relationship between the two, the tender inching closer towards one another feel that seems to only be present in shonen-ai.

At some parts, the artwork feels, light almost unfinished in a sense but I am still in love with it. There is a beauty and grace to all of the characters, especially Seryou and Shino. They both had this lovely flowyness to them but still had masculine qualities.

I really liked the characters themselves. I loved the contrast between the sweet Seryou and the (In a way) harsh Shino, except I felt Shino's personality changed a little too quickly. I liked the side characters but I wished they could show up in the story more, especially Koike-Chan. I rarely see girls in shonen-ais that I actually like, so Koike was an enjoyable character.

All in all, a wonderful manga that is sure to keep you glued to the pages until the last pannel.

Grade: A-

Wdebo :)

P.S. I absolutely adore this mmv...enjoy!

Read it HERE
Download it HERE

Did you enjoy Seven Days? Check out these titles!

Bokura Ni Matsuwaru etc.

Watashitachi No Shiawase Na Jikan

Doukyuusei

Beast Master By: Kyousuke Motomi

Title: Beast Master
Author: Kyousuke Motomi
PAPERBACK
Publisher: Shojo Beat
Amount of Volumes in this Series: 2
Amount Read: 2
Geared Towards: Teens/Shojo lovers

"Kubozuka Yuiko, High School 2nd year. Animals really hate me, but I love them. The first one who got close to me...is a kind of weird, beast-like guy."

Summary (From myanimelist.net): Yuiko Kubozuka is a high school girl who loves animals. Unfortunately, animals hate her and flee from her whenever possible. So when a new classmate, Leo Aoi, turns out to be a scary guy who resembles a wild animal than anything human, she is intrigued. Not only because Reo has an affinity with animals which she envies, but also because he isn’t the wild animal that he seems to be. He seems to hide a very sweet disposition behind his scary features.

Or so she thought. The truth is revealed when they are attacked and Leo immediately behaves like a wild animal and gets violent like a blood-thirsty animal, just to save Yuiko.

Will Yuiko be able to tame this wildest of all animals or will he be just like the others and flee from her? Or the better question, will she flee from him?

Wdebo's Review: I wasn't really sure what to expect when I first began this manga. The cover art was pretty meh, the title is, to put it simply, pretty stupid, but when I began reading, I for some reason was drawn into the story. Most likely because Yuiko's actions reminded me instantly of my best friend, who like Yuiko, enjoys jumping/attacking animals because she is so in love with them, but animals usually don't return that affection because they are pretty damn freaked out by her.

Though this manga definitely has the cliche aspect to it, in the sense that it is obvious from the very beginning that Yuiko and Leo are going to be together and it also follows many overused elements in Shojo mangas, there is something simple and sweet to the story and artwork that just makes me so happy.

Though I am a sucker for romance and any form of cliche fluffyness makes me happy, there was something about this story that just made me happier then usual and made me unable to put it down until I finished the entire story (Which wasn't that hard seeing as how there were only two volumes, with four chapters each-So I totally finished the entire manga in two hours because I'm cool and have no life like that). I also enjoyed how it wasn't all just "romance" there was darker scenes that were great, hey a girl needs some violence in her life, right?

I really liked all of the characters, there is just something loveable about all of them. (Except for the meanie-faces). You have the heroine, Yuiko, who, though at times is a total spaz and is like a child when she sees animals, she is the strong, mature girl that apparently many manga girls aren't able to become. Leo, the hero, is just the cutest thing ever. Period. GAHHH I love him! But I really shouldn't make this some sort of Wdebo-is-in-love-with-a-cutely-hot-fictional-character essay, so let's just leave it at that. Then there are all of the supporting characters, they were great, especially Taiga, Leo's caretaker. The main reason I like them is because they get really awesome banter.

There were also two one-shots included in this manga series. One story was called FLY which was featured in the first volume and the second was called CACTUS SUMMER SURPRISE which was featured in the second volume. I definitely loved the cactus one more then the other story, but I enjoyed both of them.

All in all, a very enjoyable little manga story that is perfect for a nice summer read.

Grade: A-

Wdebo :)

Socrates In Love By: Kazumi Kazui

Title: Socrates In Love
Author: Kazumi Kazui
PAPERBACK
Publisher: Shojo Beat
Amount of Volumes in Series: 1
Amount of Pages: approx 200
Geared Towards: Older Teens
Extra Info: This manga was adapted from the story by Kyoichi Katayama.

"In a world without Aki...

I was truely alone"

Summary: Sakutaro Matsumoto and Aki Hirose had been friends everysince they were paired up as Class Reps in middle school. Aki is a very shy girl, but when she is around Sakutaro, who she lovingly calls Saku-Chan, she becomes very outgoing.

After Aki's favorite teacher dies, and she opens up herself to Saku-Chan, Saku finds that his feelings for Aki aren't friendship but more towards love.

They spend many memorable times together, but without warning, Aki falls ill with lukemia, and this sweetly/funny manga turns to bittersweet. Saku wants them to have just one more moment; a moment in Australia.

Wdebo's Review: I first heard about this manga from Diana's review of it. This manga was bittersweet, but amazing at the same time.

This manga, just twisted my feelings all over the place. The first part of the manga was all happy and silly, showing the friendship blosom between Saku and Aki. Then it gets sweet, when Saku finds out how much he loved Aki, and confesses. Finally, it makes you super melancholy after Aki is diagnosed with lukemia.

I knew exactly what was going to happen in the end, she dies, since it said it in the very first page of the manga, yet, I couldn't stop the tears from flowing. Well, I actually did, because I was riding the train, so I think I might have scared the riders around me if I started bawling, but I did get teary eyed, so I had to set the book down, from time to time to make sure I didn't cry.

I loved all of the characters, well mostly just Saku and Aki, cuz all the other characters aren't all that developed. Saku is so awkward and shy and sweet to Aki, and Aki is just adorable. So, I guess that's why it hurt so much when she died, you see her go from this upbeat girl then all of a sudden you see her on her deadbed, and Saku's tears just made me teary-eyed.

The storyline totally made me think about A Walk to Remember, guy falls in love with girl, girl dies, guy is heart broken. Except what's diffrent is *Spoiler Alert* Saku gets married to another girl, which is diffrent from A Walk to Remember, cuz he never gets married, since he's already married to Jamie. I wonder what it would be like to be the girl Saku gets married to. What would I do if I knew that my husband who I love deeply is in love with a dead girl, he might love me, but most of his heart is given to the dead girl. I think it's sweet how she understands so well, and still loves him so whole heartedly. That my friends, is true love. *Spoiler Ended*

In the manga, there was an excerpt for the english translated version of the novel. I read it, and it was yucky, the writing felt more like it was geared towards elementry school students, yet you know it isn't cuz what happens in the story. I seriously wish I could read Japanese, because this story is a bestseller in Japan, so it much be a lot better then the english version. A lot of times, the translated version just isn't as good as the original one.

All in all, an amazing manga, for those who don't mind heartbreak, in the midst of happiness. Even though I am a total comedy/romance manga lover, I immensly enjoyed this manga, and I hope you will too!!

Grade: A

Wdebo :)

Nana By: Ai Yazawa (Manga)

Title: NANA

Author: Ai Yazawa

PAPERBACK

Publisher: Shojo Beat

Amount of books in series: 21

Amount of Pages: approx. 200

Geared Towards: Older Teens

Extra Info: Has been made into a live action film and an anime

Summary (From B.O.B): Nana Komatsu is a young woman who's endured an unending string of boyfriend problems. Moving to Tokyo, she's hoping to take control of her life, and put all those messy misadventures behind her. She's looking for love and she's hoping to fit in.

Nana Osaki, on the other hand, is cool, confident and focused. She swaggers into town and proceeds to kick down the doors to Tokyo's underground punk scene. She's got a dream and won't give up until she becomes Japan's No. 1 rock'n'roll superstar.

This is the story of two 20-year-old women who share the same name. Even though they came from completly different backgrounds, they somehow meet and become best friends. The world of NANA is a world exploding with sex, music, fashion, gossip and all-night parties.

Wdebo's Review: (I've only read the first volume so far so I can't say all that much :D ) The cover at first threw me off and I didn't feel like reading it at all. It looked like a manga for ghost stories or something...old, and I couldn't read the back at all because there was a GIANT LABEL BLOCKING IT! Doesn't that just piss you off when that happens?

So, when I started it, I found it weird and everything, then when I started reading it, it got better and better. I really got into both of the stories and was cheering on both Nanas until the end. Both Nana's stories were very raw and true. I really loved the characters and feel what they were feeling.

I really love Shoji Endo, at the beginning he's such a yuck but after he gets better <3>

All in all, for all manga lovers Nana is just PERFECT for you!

Grade: A

Wdebo :)

Love★Com By: Aya Nakahara

Series Name: Love★Com (Lovely★Complex)

Author: Aya Nakahara

PAPERBACK

Publisher: Shojo Beat

Amount of volumes in series: 17

Amount of pages: approx 200

Geared Towards: Teens (13+)

Extra Info: Diana also reviewed it!!

Summary: Risa Koizumi is the tallest girl in her class, while Atsushi Ôtani is the shortest guy in her class. Their class has already put them together as the "All Hanshin-Kyojin" (A Japanese comedy duo featuring a really short guy and a really tall guy).

Because of this reason both of them hate each other. But during Summer, both are stuck in the same summer school and Risa falls in love with a guy taller then her and extremly good looking, Suzuki. Determined to get chummy with him, Risa joins forces with Ôtani (who also likes her friend, Chiharu Tanaka). Soon their budding friendship becomes something else, something they can't fight even if they tried.

Wdebo's Review: The only reason I read this book was because I just finished Hana Kimi and I had a void in my heart from it. So when I read Diana's post for it I was like sure it sounds ok and she had given a 4.5/5 on it so I decided to read it. I am so glad I did, because once I started to read it, I just COULDN'T put it down I just feel in love with it, with the story line, the characters (especially Ôtani-I know its weird when people say manga characters are cute, but he is totally adorable!), and just the dialogue and just everything! Such a good book!

Pros: It has just this Shojo charm, and its so sweet and cute. You can dive right into the book (except the first page was weird) and get into it right away, not like Hands Off! Which I found hard to understand and hard to get into. Even thogh at the end I also fell in love with it.

I love the character of Risa she is such a memorable character and so real, even though she is so dumb that *spolier warning* she couldn't figure out that she likes Ôtani and Ôtani couldn't figure out he likes her *spoiler ended!* (Just a min would that be counted as a con?)

I don't really have any cons so I'll talk about the characters...

Risa Kozumi: (Pictured) Our heronie of the story. The tallest girl of the class and just looking for love from someone who is taller then her.

Atsushi Ôtani: (Pictured) The hero of our story. The shortest guy of the class, looking for a girl who doesn't care that he's short. He's also a amazing basketball player.

Chiharu Tanaka: The friend of Risa and the object of Ôtani's affection. She is also totally afraid of guys.

All in all, if you've never read shojo or are a shojo vetren I highly reccomend that you read Love★Com, it's highly entertaining and sweet!

Grade: A

Wdebo :)

P.S. I've never watched the anime but I am going to, if you have can you tell me how it is?

Hands Off! By: Kasane Katsumoto

Title: Hands Off!
Author: Kasane Katsumoto
PAPERBACK
Publisher: Tokyopop
Geared towards: Teens (14+)
Amount of volumes in series: 8 (?-I think)





Summary: Kotarou Oohira's life was nothing but misery in his old boy school, since he has such feminine qualities, the other guys at his school would torture him a lot about it. So when he finally gets to his new school he feels like he can have a better life, except for one thing, his cousin, Tatsuki Oohira is also in that school, and Kotarou is pretty sure Tatsuki hates him.

That is not the case however, because Kotarou has an ESP (special power) that he gave to Tatsuki when they were kids, Tatsuki has always been able to have postcognition after that, which intensifies whenever he is around Kotarou.

Through this whole mess another guy with ESP, Yuuto Urushiyama comes in. He has the ability of reading other people's auras and is a total playboy/goofball. (Also my favorite character because he is just so funnny and you can tell he has a really good heart.) Through the story, Kotarou realizes just how special his power is.

Wdebo's Review: Actually the only reason I picked up this book was because I was in this giant mood to read a good manga book, but all the manga books I wanted to read/put on hold were still on hold for like EVER, so I randomly picked up a manga book and began reading it. At first it was really hard to get into, the language was rough, the pictures felt rough to me (As a Shoju vetren but having never read anything outside of that it was WEIRD), and the words just didn't really seem to fit the characters, but until the middle I finally got into it, after I finished it I re-read it like a gazillion times and I am finally in love with this series.

Pro: The characters are well developed, they all have their diffrent personalities and looks (a big part of manga), it wasn't all cutsey and showed off how wonderful and fluffy the world is, it was more down to earth and relistic. The storyline is also really interesting and original and it is very funny.

Con: It does take a while to get used to, or maybe it might be because I've never read anything like it, but I really liked it after I got used to it. Also the scenes can get a little um rough and the language is also really rough for such girlish guy characters lol.

All in all, if you enjoy manga books that aren't always, everyone has a really good looking partner (AKA Shoju- which I love, FYI) like, you will defidently fall in love with this book!

Grade: B++ (Not an A yet, but I mean its too good just for a B+)

Wdebo :)

Hana Kimi By: Hisaya Nakajo

Title of Manga: Hana Kimi: For you In Full Blossom
Author: Hisaya Nakajo
PAPERBACK
Amount of Pages: Varied usually around 100
Copyright date: Varied
Amount of books in series: 23
Geared Towards: Teens (13+)
Extra Info: Has been made into a Taiwanese Drama! (Super cute!)


Summary: Mizuki Ashiya a Japanese girl who lives in America has fallen in love with Izumi Sano, a Japanese high jumper who goes to the all boy high school Osaka Gakuen. So what's a smitten teenage girl to do? Dress up like a guy and hope you can get into the school of course!
When she gets there, the biggest shock of her life is that she and Sano are going to be room mates! Then begins the cutest love story of the ages while other guys start to question their own sexualtiy.


Wdebo's Review: Haha this is one of my favorite mangas and the very first manga I read, I read it because of watching my first Taiwanese Drama, 花樣少年少女, such a cute drama! The characters are so sweet and cute!!

Pro: Good characters that you just fall in love with! <3


Characters: Mizuki: The heroine of the story
Sano: The heroine's affection
Nakatsu: Mizuki and Sano's friend, who falls in love with Mizuki and believes he himself is gay.


All in all, if you have never seen a manga I believe this one should be the very first one you read!


Grade: A


Wdebo :)

Pearl Pink By: Meca Tanaka (Manga)

Title: Pearl Pink

Author: Meca Tanaka

PAPERBACK

Amount of Pages: ?? (Diff amount per book)

Geared Towards: Teen (13+)

Extra Info: I'm pretty sure there are four books in this series

Summary (From my old manga spotlight): Tamako Momono has been dreaming about being Kanji Inui's wife since she was three and he was seven, when he promised her that he would marry her when she became strong and brave and not a cry-baby (because her mom had to leave her). Now ten years later, her mom is a famous pop star with a super famous show called "Idol P.I." and must keep her child, Tamako, a secret because her image is based on purness- while she had little Tamako when she was a teenager. Now, Kanji must remember that promise he gave to her and find out just how love can blossom.

Wdebo's Review: I LOVE LOVE this manga! (Currently waiting on the 4th/last book :( Why does it have to end??!!) Like I say for some of my other book reviews, there is something about books that guys write, they just don't have this line that they are not allowed to cross, books written by guys are just more uninhibited then girl books.

Pro: Funny! That's what this manga is based around love and comedy, my two favorite things to read about. The characters are well developed and have their own personalities. (My fav is Hisame, even though he doesn't talk and all he does is eat.)

Characters:

Tamako Momono (Pictured): The eigth grade heronie, she is living with the Inui family, she is in love with Kanji and is doing whatever she can to become his "Perfect woman." She is an quick and limber as a monkey.

Kanji Inui (Pictured): The eleventh grader that is the object of our heronie's affections. His family owns the Dog Run agency Scout. He is a whiz at finding fresh faces and has an unhealthy obsession over make-up.

Kanta (Pictured): Tamako's cute monkey sidekick.

Raizo Hishikawa: A member of the boy band Rain, which Kanji helped get him into. Raizo has pledged his life to pleasing Raizo (not as weird as it sounds)

Shinju Momono: Tamako's mom and the star of "Idol P.I."

Kinichi Inui: Kanji's perverted yet hillarious father. He is the owner of Dog Run and though he is weird and can be kinda creepy is is a really nice, middle-aged guy.

Grade: A

Wdebo :)

Another manga Spotlight!!!

I know I said I would post when I would post another, I am sorry I didn't, I didn't know I would. lol!

Manga Spotlight

Pearl Pink~

Summary: Tamako has been dreaming about being Kan-chan's wife since she was three and he was seven when he promised her that he would marry her when she became strong and brave and not a cry-baby (because her mom had to leave her). Now ten years later, her mom has just become a super pop star and must keep her child a secret because her image was based on purness- while she had little Tamako when she was a teenager. Now, Kan-Chan must remember that promise he gave to her and find out just how love can blossom.

Wdebo's Review: I loved this manga it is so cute and sweet! It really made me cheer on for Kan-Chan and Tamako, he shows just how hard love is but how great it can be! My favorite character is Kanta the monkey! 9/10

Boys Over Flowers (Hana Yori Dango)~

Summary: Even though Tsukushi Makino is from a poor family she attends a school that was made specially for rich people (she got in on a scholarship), when her life becomes intertwined with the F4 (the leaders of the school) her life turns upside down, when the leader, the hard faced, Tsukasa. (He's the guy with the pineapple head lol)

Wdebo's Review: I do love the story it is so cute(on volume 13 now!) anyways, I first wanted to read this after i read the taiwanese drama counterpart, Meteor Garden, it was so cute and sweet. It is kind of hard to get into the drawing but I liked it. 8/10

C U l8r

wdebo

Yes..yes..its here!

Manga Spotlight!!!

So I have decided to dedicate this one all for manga!

Hana Kimi: So you heard me talk (well actually read me write) about this manga/ Taiwanese Drama. The drama is based entirely on the manga so everything is the same (except for the names of course-one's Japanese (manga) the other is chinese (Taiwanese Drama)) Mizuki Ashiya is Lu Rui xi and Izumi Sano is Quan, also Nakatsu is Xiu Yi, the plot is the same (but the manga has more detail- has 23 volumes).

Fun little story, its so cute and sweet I hearted it! 10/10

Fruits Basket: It follows Thoru Honda, who's mom just died, who lives in a tent in the forest. It just happens that this forest belongs to Yuki Sohma, the "prince" of her school. She goes and lives with him and his cousin Shigure Sohma. After being with them for a while she figures out their secret, when someone from the opposite gender hugs them they turn into one of the animals from the chinese zodiac.

Such an adorable story! I totally fell in love with the characters. 9/10


Guru Guru Pon-Chan: Ponta is a lab and when the grandpa creates a bone that can make her into a human. She can't wait for her grandpa to give her the "yummy-yet-incredibly- tasteless-bone", so she decides to chow down on it. Then she becomes human without even noticing. When she gets saved by the handsom Mirai Iwaki, when he saves her from being hit by the car. Can their love survive even though his mom hates dogs?

Hehe, I loved this because it combines all of my love, cute storyline, DOGS and a healthy dose of MANGA!! 8.5/10 (P.S. I just finished this whole voume - 9 books- and it is just so great and cute <3>

More coming later (Date to be announced!)