Shojo A Go-Go: So Cute It Hurts!

Gender bender and cross dressing comedies are something I tend to avoid. Mostly for two reasons, first they tend to rely on gender stereotypes which are not that funny. Second is due to deep seated personal issues that prevent me from not being a sad sack whilst reading them. This is why you'll never see me talk about Kashimashi despite all five volumes occupying space on my shelf. So in an attempt to brave the very depths of my soul,here's So Cute It Hurts!, a cross dressing comedy.

The story follows the twins Megumi and Mitsuru,who couldn't be more different. I mean them having the same personality would be rather boring and give a lack of tension down the road. So Mitsuru is a wannabe playboy while his sister Megumi is a history otaku with an eye patch obsession. She starts out as the more likable of the two,mostly because she's more relate-able if a bit weird and also the fact that everything that happens so far in the plot is a direct result of her brother being an idiot.

The whole cross dressing aspect is for Mitsuru to get out of taking makeup classes so he can continue his dating schedule. His character arc is pretty clearly defined for now as he learns to actually love someone,Shino, instead of just being a skirt chaser. Shino is deaf ,which has tones of being inspirational for the sake of it,but hints at hidden depths and okay character development. Their little relationship is rather cute and solid pillar of the love “V” the story has set up by volumes end. I could say this will add tension down the road but I genuinely don't feel that So Cute! is the kind of manga to defy the norm. It's plot points are easy to guess and has no real shake ups so I just don't see anything crazy happening.

Don't get me wrong I actually enjoyed this first volume,it's rather funny and relies less on gender stereotypes and more on accidental competence for it's comedy. How the twins act in each others situation reflects heavily on them as character. Misturu's school is a crazy place that makes Hekikuu High look normal so when he goes to Megumi's much tamer school he can easily outwit the girls with their smaller time pranks and tricks. Where as Megumi is used to staying out of the way and being in a school that has a semblance of normal order is thrust into crazy land and reacts by legging it to avoid problem.

Despite getting the lion's share of character development,Mitsuru comes off as the weakest character. His character arc is so clearly defined that it's almost painful and his semi-ace status is rather annoying compared to Megumi's fish out of water character. Megumi also has a very well defined “learning to love “arc being set-up but it's slightly more subtle and her Kitano like antics are funnier than Mitsuru's verbal humiliation of nasty girls. The reminder of the cast is pretty okay with hints of actual character development especially those in the six point love “V”.

I'd like to lodge a few annoyances her that may be fixed in a later volume. First is the fact that Megumi's friends really don't notice they've switched. Which is weird as the appear to be rather close to her and would probably notice something is off.  Mitsuru's classmates are a bit forgivable since he tends to stick with girls and is supposed to be the 7th strongest in the school so he may not have many close male friends. Also I know it's common at least in manga and anime for kids to be living on their own but I'd at least like some mention of what there parents are doing,just for context.Again these may come up later and possibly played for drama so for now it just bugs me.

So after that brief soul search,it's about as deep as a kiddy pool, I've learned absolutely nothing other than the fact that I enjoyed this volume. The character development for the leads is rather blatant but has the opportunity to surprise with the decent supporting cast. The crazy love drama may eventually overtake the story but for now it's decent comedic sensibilities and great leading lady make for a fun beginning but I don't put much faith in keeping this momentum going.

Till Next Time: Stay Positive  

Shojo A Go-Go: Wild Ones

I'll admit I have a soft spot for gangsters/punks in anime and manga,especially in comedies. One of my favorite anime is Baccano! due in no small part to most of your characters being crazy mobsters. Maybe it's he mash up of big tough guys doing goofy things or manliness to the point of parody. Either way goofy Yakuza guys are pretty fun and feature prominently in today's work Wild Ones. Though it does deliver on the funny Yakuza front it is DOA on every other count.

The volume's main problem is in its' failure to convey it self properly. We're told everything yet the story does not reflect the facts given. For example,we're told that our lead,Sachie,was chosen by the men of her grandfather's gang but at no time does this seem to be the case. Yes she does show some very admirable traits but this is long after she's gained these men's admiration and most of them only happen in front of her love interest(?), Rakuto. Over all it comes off as a lazy, instead of having events shown that back up your statement,just tell us the statement I mean it's not like we're in a visual medium or anything.

That aside the story doesn't seem to be going anywhere really and seems to be okay with standard plots albeit with a yakuza flavor. Sachie has to deal with moving to a new school and the loss of her mother among some wacky guys who just don't understand women. It's by no means bad and if you're like me and are okay wacky yakuza shenanigans then you'll be fine. It just lacks substance and doesn't seem to be wanting to go much further in terms of plotting or character development

Sachie and Rakuto are the only two characters of any real note her as the rest are either goofy gangsters or shojo stock jerks. If you noticed my confusion about Rakuto being a love interest,it's because the volume doesn't know what Sachie thinks about him either. Sachie constantly calls him weird but he's not that weird. He has a little more formal speech and aside form one instance of personal space invasion is not that bizarre. He's not that interesting so I can see why she falls in and out of love so easily with him;He's the generic cool guy that attracts crazy girls and can do it all.

Sachie on the other hand is the spitfire girl that tougher than she is letting on. When she does go into full on scolding mode it leads to some of the funnier sections as the guys stand bewildered at her. Again it's not exactly ground breaking comedy but it's still enjoyable and works for the most part. Her history with her mother is probably the only thing that has potential to be interesting or it could just turn out to be Tohru Honda's back story but with Yakuza.

I actually enjoyed the Wild Ones quite a bit despite it's laziness and weak story. Does that mean you'll like it,probably not. Unless you're a fan of gangsters and comedy then you'll probably be left wanting,hell I like both of those things and I'm left with that cold emptiness. Though I always feel that so it may not be the book's fault. It offers little incentive to continue and is only worth it if you're desperate for a romance story.

Till Next Time:Stay Positive

Things No One Cares About:Tomodachi No Hanashi

Last time I checked people liked having friends, I mean I'm a bitter anti social misanthrope so I don't but I heard other people do. Many a shojo work likes to explore relationships of a romantic nature usually leaving platonic friendships holding the bags so to speak. Not so much with today's feature, Tomodachi No Hanashi,where friendship is on full blast and the romance is secondary.

Tomodachi No Hanashi or The Secret of Friendship revolves around two girls: The beautiful yet caustic Moe and the plain push over Eiko. Moe easily attracts the boys but most are turned off by her condition for being with her, Eiko must be put first by them. While the book never attempts to portray it as anything but unreasonable it does take the time to flesh out why Moe thinks this is a reasonable request. The story is split into 3 sections each from a different characters perceptive and how they deal with Moe or in the last sections case how Moe sees everything. It still forms a cohesive story that contemplates what friendship means to different people and how it affects them.

The first section follows Eiko as she deals with Moe's relationship with Tsuchida, a guy smitten enough to go along with Moe's requirement. Eiko is really embarrassed by the fact that she's being dragged along but she is way to nice to actually say no. Instead she starts lying to Moe,which is a stride forward in her development to being a stronger person. She's growing because of her friendship's with the other two as the other two learn that they can be themselves around her. Eiko's development after this is rather down played as the story shifts focus to the other characters but it's done rather well regardless. This part ends on Moe dumping Tsuchida for her perceived callousness towards Eiko. The events here do make both girls come of as a bit selfish is some regards but it serves to highlight how deep this relationship really is. This is more deeply explored in chapter three once we get Moe's side of things.

The second part follows Tsuchida's friend Narugami as he deals with the fallout from the previous chapter. His role for most of the part is that of vengeful jerk,the part usually filled by random bitchy girls. However the major difference is that the book explains his feelings, Moe hurt his best friend so he's going to go after her best friend. He has his own hang-ups with women and his arc concerns learning that women are people too and that the way he treated Eiko was wrong.

The advantage of his perspective is that we see an outsider's take on Eiko and Moe's friendship. To him it seems terribly lop sided but as he starts to talk to Eiko he sees how similar it is to his friendship with Tsuchida. It fits in with the books theme of friends are forever and to hell with what others think of them. Through out the book the characters are shown as awkward around others but it doesn't matter to them since they have each other. While it does get a little heavy handed it never veers into preachy instead just showing how these friendships affect the characters.

The final part is told from Moe's POV as Narugami attempts to make up with the girls and dealing with his love for Eiko. It is some what side lined as a huge part of it is Moe's perspective on why she is friends with Eiko and why they are so close. With all this back-story laid out it paints the previous parts in a new light. Moe's reasons for her crazy actions are much more clear now: Eiko gets her like nobody else does and she only wants Eiko to be happy because then she'll be happy

It's here where the more yuri inclined fans can read Moe's actions towards Eiko as slightly lesbian in nature. I don't particularly feel that way as its more about Moe reacting to her best friend changing than actual romantic jealously towards Narugami. The romance is playing out and again we are on the outside looking in as Moe struggles with abandonment issues and her friend changing. It gives Moe much more depth as a character and adds an interesting side we don't see that often.

The only real weak point to me is that Tsuchida falls off the face of the earth for most of the final part. Which given how deep his and Narugami's relationship is supposed feels weird. Especially when Narugami is trying to date his ex's best friend. Given that friendship is the major theme and Moe and Eiko's has such much nuance and depth; it's odd that Narugami and Tsuchida's relationship is hardly explored past chapter two. Again more of a nitpick since Narugami's character development is solid on it's own.

There is a side story in the book about a girl trying to catch her friend's boyfriend cheating on her. Along the way she meets the guys friend and it blossoms into to romance. Very sweet navel gazing chapter that ponders how far are people willing to go for friends. A nice compliment to the main story but nothing special over all

Tomodachi No Hanashi is an interesting little book that digs in to the exploration of friendship without being cheesy. The three different perspectives really help make the relationships work and give the story some more interesting facets . Featuring way more character development than I would expect for a manga of this length and a very tight if minuscule cast. It's a sentimental journey that you shouldn't miss out on.

Shojo A Go-Go:Demon Love Spell

I could say Demon Love Spell is a supernatural romance and we could all go home. It has sexy otherworldly guys,girls attuned to that kind of thing and hints of danger. However that's selling it short in a way. The first volume really does show some promise, drawing me in with some okay characters and trying to stand out. Does it maintain this dubious level of quality or go downhill? I don't know and for this post that's not the purpose,since volume one is all that matters.

The story opens up with Miko,a shrine priestess accidentally sealing Kagura due to thinking that he's a demon. Luckily for her he actually is one and after fighting a demon the pair form a relationship mostly because Miko forgot how to unseal Kagura. Other than that the plot goes on about as one would expect,they get into hi-jinx involving demons of the week and start to form a more romantic relationship. Getting there is where things get a little more interesting.

Miko's defining traits for the volume is being accidentally awesome and having a stupid name. It makes for great comedic bits with Kagura and other demons as the can't believe they've been defeated by a girl who can barely see them. After a while Kagura and her father do more of the heavy lifting so to speak as a way to curb the shtick and allow Miko to lay down ground work for her own character development. It would fall into chickfication but it's more taking her pure luck and turning it into talent for latter volumes. Also she is a shrine priestess whose name means shrine priestess,that's like if a plumber was named Piper. It's possible its a nickname for Mikoto but the book never indicates as much so we're left with a really stupid name.

Kagura is an incubus and gets to bypass the genres normal love for girls with that sexy blood and instead has him feed of sexual energy. It's still a Macguffin substance but it fits with the incubus

aspect better. He can really get it from any girl and while it's hinting that Miko's energy is special it's more about forming a deeper bond that her actual energy. Being sealed leaves him to be the butt monkey for Miko and her parents which again leads to some decently funny moments. He's going through a slight character arc here and given time to flesh out his back story as the strongest demon it may have a bit more impact.

It does seem to be keeping with Incubus lore to an extent,making it more than just a simple palate swap for another creature. Such as the aforementioned feeding of sexual energy to survive and being able to enter dreams. Many scene in the book involve Kagura visiting Miko's dreams to garner by making her love him at a subconscious level. It is rather creepy and is treated as such and Miko does put up barriers to prevent it allowing her to decide how much she actually cares for him. The use of his limited powers and Miko sharpening hers could lead to some interesting conflicts.

The only real problem that I see at this time is that the rest of the cast is rather weak. Miko's parents are the only real stand outs by being funny and seem to be subjecting Kagura to humiliating tasks for no real reason .Again more on Kagura's past and possibly Miko's father could help this problem. Her classmates are just sort of there right now with no real defined personalities yet. On the demon side of the cast,we have no one really, most of the demons are just cannon fodder and the only real other creature is a fox spirit that seems to be setting up a love triangle with our leads in the final chapter of the volume.

For a first volume,it put it's best foot forward. The main relationship is rather fun and has potential for some interesting power dynamics. The story is nothing special but it works well enough to keep me interested. Is it going to draw in people who would never read this type of story...probably not. However if you're a fan of the genre then you'll probably enjoy it especially if you enjoyed Kamisama Kiss.

Till Next Time: Stay Positive

Shojo A Go-Go: Phantom Thief Jeanne

Sorry about the delay,I'm a ditz some days,well most days but whatever. 

Arina Tanemura month is off to a rocky start with I.O.N and its' romance overtaking the more interesting aspects of the story. Maybe today will be better with the first volume of Phantom Thief Jeanne. I mean after all today is the greatest day of all. So by this logic this will be the greatest book if today is the greatest day. Though I could be wrong and this is the worst day ever and thus this the worst book ever. I'm not sure really anymore,so lets just start talking about this book and hope I remember which one it is.

Phantom Thief Jeanne was her first work after I.O.N and there is noticeable improvement in the short one year span. The man story is better interlaced with the romance. The love square we seem to be in actually works. Instead of relying on a ton of forgettable characters,she trims it down to three major characters and some hopefully developing supporting cast. Even the one off characters that appear during heist scenes are interesting enough.

The leads of our story are Maron a.k.a Phantom Thief Jeanne and her rival/love interest Chiaki a.k.a Phantom Thief Sinbad. Maron is the reincarnation of the historical figure Jeanne D'Arc and is tasked with exorcising demons from paintings which puts her at odds with Sinbad who is recapturing demons for the Demon Lord. Most of their core problems are laid out on the table over the course of the volume. We learn why these characters are acting the way they do and grow closer to them as a result. Maron's fears of loneliness and abandonment may hit close to home for some people,myself included. Her hesitation to trust Chiaki whose working through his own problems related to being his own person,feels natural. Especially given his devil may care attitude belying his genuine compassion. Their is the possibility that the romance can over take the main plot completely in later volumes but here it works as their tumultuous relationship adds to the plot instead of controlling it.

The rest of the main cast are not as well developed as they could be but given more time they have the potential. Maron's best friend Miyako is constantly trying to outwit and capture her Jeanne persona as an amateur police officer with her police chief father and is pursing Chiaki to no avail. The love square is rounded out by Minazuka,the student council president, who is trying to become a stronger person and maybe capture Maron's heart. Everyone plays off each other in different ways:ranging from playful to hostile to sweetly intimate etc. It also helps that the Maron and Chiaki actually have chemistry as romantic leads compared to the pieces of card board known as Ion and Mikado. Again the aforementioned playing well off themselves and their friends lends the romance some creditably. The only two characters we don't know much about are the angel helpers of Maron and Chiaki,Finn and Access respectively. This works out for the best though as going too deep into their histories may be playing some cards too early in terms of plot.

Speaking of the plot,it is stranded early magical girl plot with lack of a clear arc. The building blocks are there with a demon lord and God being background players and Sinbad in general. However the plots so far are mostly Jeanne finds demons hiding in paintings and Chiaki and Miyako try to stop her in their own ways because shes an honorable thief that announces her “ heists”. There is interconnection between stories via characters which works to develop them properly,so it's not really boring.

The one major element I'd like to touch on briefly in case I ever do a full review for the series is the concept of demons corrupting people via beautiful paintings. It brings with two possible connotation: that art is of the devil and that humanity is weak. The first one is semi dispelled by the fact that not every painting is evil. However Jeanne replaces the art with the picture of an angel once she takes the demon away. Implying that its the art itself that's demonic which is not a great message in general. Though it may be completely unintentional,as that would be a weird message to put in a book full of drawings.

Alternatively, the idea that humanity is inherently weak gains a little more credibility when realizing that it's the weakness in the human heart that invites the demon in. The obsession with the paintings and our own hang ups are what cause the problems. This is reflected in the main characters that are all hurting but at the same time hopeful that things will become better and they learn to grow. While this does paint humanity in a poor light it does offer hope in that if you can change then things will become better. Again this is more guessing than anything else based off of one volume.

Character development is the name of the game here,along with some fun plots. It does what a good introduction should do, build the characters and their world up. There isn't much in the way of an overarching plot,however there is so much potential for a great story with excellent characters that I can't help but adore it and want to read more. Well this turned out to be a good book so hopefully this correlates to the quality of the day. Hopefully this begins a plateau of better written martial for Arina Tanemura month. Next time Time Stranger Kyoko.

Till next time:Stay Positive

Things No One Cares About: I.O.N

It's time for another theme month. These tend to work out great for me,so this will turn out awesome too. This month I'm looking at Arina Tanemura,whose books keep ending up in my collection by complete accident. So might as well clear out a good chunk of them,before more show up,and the best place to start is the beginning with I.O.N.

I.O.N is Tanemura's first published book and while the story and art are rather strong the romance is lacking. It wouldn't be too bad if the story wasn't solely about the romance. The world is fleshed out rather well for the one volume length and the story is fine till it is derailed by the romance. Enough with broad strokes and romance potshots, lets go more in depth with these potshots.

The story follows Ion Tsuburagi, a girl with minor physic abilities when the story starts. As events progress her powers increase and she gains the attentions of a boy, Mikado. with an interest in physic powers. We've somehow stumbled into the shojo counterpart to Sussano,with less craziness. The central conflict stems less from we can fly/lift objects and those ramifications and more from does Mikado view Ion as a girl or a experiment. I could forgive what seems to be a glorified romance subplot taking over the plot if the main players had any chemistry.

Ion and Mikado really don't play well off each other and seem to be in love because the plot demands it. She claims to love him because he says his mind,no matter how cheesy. He loves her because I guess they worked together for a while and to spite his ex. Once he starts returning her affections,it derails the more interesting physic powers plot,for romance drama. Ion herself is a bit all over the place in terms of her affections,being aggressive but chickening out,then going back to being aggressive in time for Mikado to be stupid.

The other characters fare no better in they all tend to blend into one big forgettable ball. Both main characters have a rival for their partners affections. Kouki is the eternally rejected suitor of Ion and him and his lackey can be funny but add little to the plot outside of drama with club formation that goes away quickly. Mikado's ex,Ai, is nicely realistic for a love rival in that she doesn't try to do anything really crazy to Ion and when she accidentally hurts her feels genuinely remorseful. Her presence does bring up something that infuriates me. She has physic powers as well,weaker ones but still powers. The story brings up the fact that there is research on physic powers and people clearly have them but that is never really addressed in terms of how this could affect the world. I know this is a shojo manga and romance tends to reign supreme but come on don't leave me hanging on the better plot or at least don't let it all crash down.

The final chapter train wreaks due to having to follow the boneheaded rejection that is there to create drama rather than actual add to the story. at the end of chapter five. The plot sets up that a weird substance is amplifying Ion's powers but the final chapter throws in the fact that it is breaking apart and her powers will diminish. I get that it's aiming for a bit of a symbolic loss of her connection to Mikado but the guy just rejected her and she's genuinely heartbroken,so why does she care. Mind you I think the other characters are just as perplexed at her bounce back but the whole chapter seems to be here because we can't have a sad ending.

For her first full book that,going by the author notes, was wrote with very little knowledge of how many chapters she would have;the world is well fleshed out barring that final plot point. The romance could have worked if the leads weren't together solely because of a red noose or the cast wasn't for the most part shojo stock chracters. Arina Tanemura month is off to a poor start but I'm not one to stop after a bad start,I'm kind of stupid that way. So see you next time for the first volume of Phantom Thief Jeanne.

Things No One Cares About:Gaba Kawa

I can be a bit cynical at times,but overall I try to be optimistic and go into everything I do with some semblance of an upbeat attitude. I'm also one for giving people second chances,and usually third and fourth chances because I tend to not learn. This usually extends to my reading as well, everyone has a bad day or in the case of Rie Takada, a few bad volumes. I've already talked about Punch! a few months back. Long story short: it's not very good but there was some potential hiding away. Then one day I stumbled upon a copy of another of her works,Gaba Kawa,and decided that I might as well give her a second shot.

Punch! and Gaba Kawa were published around the same time and as a result they do share some basic similarities in that both have girls giving up one dream in favor of guy related dreams. While Punch!'s Elle was giving up freedom for a cool guy, Gaba Kawa's Rara is giving up on the dreams of one guy for a cooler guy. This does make her seem goofy and flighty at first,she does become grow more and more as she loses her demonic powers,probably should back up for a moment and explain.

This is a supernatural romance story with the nice twist of having the girl be the other worldly entity. Rara is a demon who travels to earth to cause trouble and catch the eye of a supposedly hot demon guy. It does give her the impression of being shallow and vain,which is what we're supposed to be feeling. Once she starts losing powers due to helping a human,she starts to mature and goes through a rather simplistic character arc. She's not giving up independence or a promising career,rather she's changing for the better. Yeah, it's for a guy but the change is for the better and her final sacrifice is genuinely sweet and sad.

The guy she is growing and changing for is Retsu Aku, a jerk with a heart of gold. Yeah he has some similarities to Punch!'s lead guy but with the gold shining through the jerk more clearly. He's the kind of person who just wants to have fun and not be tied down to anything. It's akin to Jotaro Kujo, it's a bit hard to figure him out but he does genuinely care. He does bizarre punk like things but it's for good reasons. Once the love does get confessed,he drops the colder demeanor and is rather sweet. It makes the love all the cuter and his actions in the final pages more believable.

The rest of the characters are there but don't serve any purpose other than to be comic foils or plot exposition. The other demon girl,Bibi, does have a little development in that she changes after she sees Rara's sacrifice but the rest of the cast does not fare as well. Restu's best friend is just sort of there to be an idiot. The guy she's originally pursuing is turned into a one-off joke that Bibi is forced into dating...for some reason. The more minor characters do at least succeed at building the world,it's a bit of an average world but it establishes the rules to an extent. The world is believable and given more time it could have been more interesting.

The ending is sort of a mixed bag in terms of tone and actually trying to make sense. The whole work has a undercurrent of forbidden romance that seems to overtake the plot near the end as Rara is forced to choose between disappearing forever and killing Retsu to stay alive. The whole chapter elicits genuine emotions and I'll admit I was close to actually crying at her final act of sacrifice. Then the final few pages hints at her reincarnation that was never really set up. The page where she does disappear is reminiscent of a ghost going to heaven from earlier in the book. It seems like something that was thought up last minute and minimizes the previous self less act.

I'm happy I gave Rie Takada a second chance. The jokes more or less work,the characters feel a little more developed and likable. Funnily enough,it has more development in one volume than Punch!'s three. It's rather fun and worth a look.

Till Next Time:Stay Positive 

Shojo A Go-Go: Kiss of the Rose Princess

While I was reading Kiss of The Rose Princess,the phrase “ Diamond in the rough” popped into my head again and again. Every time a cliché event occurred, I felt like the book knew that. The boys had basic personalities but felt they had hidden depths. There just seems to be something more going on just beneath the surface. I should step back for a moment and expand slightly on what I'm talking about instead of making vague allusions.

The story is a reverse harem with a supernatural bent,nothing new. Our main heroine,Anise, gains a foursome of hot guys for her to control and summon at will. They give her a vague goal of defeating a demon lord but she's more concerned with finding a choker that she lost right before she met them. The rest of the volume is more concerned with the latter goal as a means to introduce the boys. The main plot as it were is pushed to the side with only a vague hook for it near the end. The story told in the volume is rather silly but does serve to make the character introduction chapters flow better.

The boys that make up this lovely harem cover your stock personality types: the brooding loner,the sick boy,the class president and the blunt main love interest. The aforementioned introduction chapters are a both a blessing and a curse. On one hand they show off the boy' powers in a bit of a contrived way. On the other hand it also hints at everyone's relationships and gives us an idea of those lovely hidden depths. Yes they are cliché but they still get comedic set pieces that work and the ending whilst ridiculous is over the top enough to make it work. In part because these characters are just fun to watch. The student council president’s over blown mentality on love or the brooding loner's determination to be just that against the more wacky back drop makes them enjoyable.

The art does fall flat in that the eyes on certain characters do not look right. This can range from simply off putting to straight uncanny valley. Also two of the boys,Kaede and Kurama,are somewhat hard to differentiate. On the other hand the rest of the art has a very dream like quality that is drenched in a rose motif. Flower motifs in general are nothing new but the way it's used invokes Revolutionary Girl Utena rather than just a generic shojo story.

Stepping forward again, I really enjoyed this book and I'm excited to see what's to come . The whole volume feels rather silly but not in a “we're a silly gag manga” way. Rather it's setting up everything that it needs to while it's still has time to mess around. Everything seems to be playing at something bigger in an interesting way.

Till Next Time: Stay Positive

Shojo A Go-Go: Black Rose Alice

If you want to know what's going on here,then go here and read that. If you're too lazy to do that then stay confused because I'm not going to explain.

Black Rose Alice is a vampire manga sitting squarely in that stale genre of supernatural romance. I was not going to pick this up because the only genuinely good thing to come out of this craze is Diabolik Lovers. Then I read a short review in a certain magazine that praised this and bashed Diabolik Lovers. In my incredibly petty mind that sounded like a challenge and I was all for accepting it. So I picked this up and was going to give it a fair a chance as I could,. Too bad it's an awful introduction to a series.

The story concerns a very unattractive man,Dmitri, becoming a vampire and him accidentally killing his lover because they need something tragic for him to dwell on for hundreds of years. Then we fast forward to 2008 and get involved in a tragic and dull student/teacher romantic relationship that gets to tie into Dmitri's sure to be convoluted plans.

Dmitri is your brooding anti-hero, that looks conventionally like the teacher's,Azusa, student lover. No doubt this will make events more complicated down the road,if I cared to travel that road. We do learn a bit about the bigger players but nothing suggesting more depth or personalty outside of what we see. I'll give it credit in that it actually starts with Dmitri pre-vampire and explains how we arrived there. However it takes too much time to explain how we got there that Dmitri loses an air of mystery about him that could have kept interest in him. We're left wondering nothing about how Dmitiri become who he is or what makes him tick. We're left with characters that aren't fun to follow and offer nothing to suggest that this will change.

The story as mentioned sucks out what little mystery there is to go on with a dry set-up that just flat out explains everything. From the author's set of vampire rules to Azusa's long drawn out motivations for dating a high school boy. Yeah the whole mess ends on a crazy Faustian bargain that could add something interesting but since everything is laid out clearly it leaves no suspense. You know how this is going to play out,so why read?

Nothing much else to say about this one,it has nothing that hints something interesting is ever going to happen nor does anything interesting happen in it. Diabolk Lovers actually used a vampire plot to showcase the inner workings of abusive relationships. Black Rose Alice does nothing with what could be an okay idea. Go ahead and skip this one.

Shojo a Go-Go Baby!

Frequent readers will know that I am not one for finishing what I start. Maybe this is to do with some deep seated issue or maybe I'm just lazy. Either way I'm starting this new series that takes advantage of said laziness. This also takes advantage of the fact that I frequently buy the first volumes of manga and never buy the remaining volumes.So for this series I get to use my false sense of superiority and cold-heated snark to look at the first volumes of various shojo manga.

Why Shojo manga specifically,because it's how I first got into manga as a whole. I was enthralled with the covers of the very few manga magazines,Shojo Beat and Shonen Jump, that were available to me. While the magazines themselves have disappeared due to a number of reasons Wikipedia can tell you,they still live on as manga publishers. Maybe it's blind nostalgia but that iconic pink “SB” is just that,iconic. It litters the shelves of my local bookstore's manga section and is probably what will be noticed first by most.

With this series,Shojo a Go-Go, I'm taking the first volumes of manga published under the Shojo Beat label and give my thoughts on whether they are worth following up on. Is this a tad bit unfair,probably. I mean some series that turn out great may have a weak start. However,the first volume should get you interested enough to continue reading. The opposite could also be true and a story with a stellar premise could turn into a train wreak. However what happens after the first volume isn't really the point here, that will be covered else where if the need arises.

The few arbitrary rules for what appears here are as follows:

• The manga must be published under the Shojo Beat label

• There is no cut-off date

• No ones shots,I have another series for that.

In short,this is me making educated guesses based on gut feelings and taking pot shots at a major publishing label whilst still avoiding talking about anything of real meaning. Feed back,suggestions and angry rants can be left in the comments below. The first posting should follow shortly after this,but as usual no promises

Things No One Cares About:Punch!

Love can make a person act somewhat crazy,do activities they may otherwise despise,or cause them to hatch extremely convoluted plans,such is the case with today's main event Punch!. It's one of those stories that is actually not that bad but has nothing really special about it either. There is some great comedic moments that aren't that memorable which perfectly compliments the forgettable story . There is effort put into to it but it ultimately fails to leave any impact on the reader

The female lead is Elle,who comes from a family that is involved with boxing and lives in a gym ran by her grandfather. She rejects her arranged marriage based less on the guy being terrible and more on the idea she views him as a brother. A concept neither her grandpa nor her fiance can understand and write off as her being a brat. Which is not surprising because she acts very childish,from her speech to bringing home a street punk archetype who serves as our romantic lead,Kazuki. He's the more mature of the two even if he takes a shine to her because she looks like his family dog. His love for fighting boarders on the fetishistic and he has that jerk with a heart of gold schtick going too. That is really about it for him personality wise,and it's not that interesting. By extension this makes the main romance really uninteresting,as the two leads have no chemistry at all.

Once they start formally dating it's the “I'm a jerk but I love you” routine that doesn't work. They even take the time to flesh out his back story with his blind sister and all these things he's seen and it's still not interesting because he lacks a personality outside of stoic. Elle is a childish idiot but still has personality. The struggles she faces are more relate-able ,i.e trying to forge your own path. However once she starts dating Rugged Mcbland, her desires to leave the gym go clean out the window as now she has a sexy fighter boyfriend to keep her interest as opposed to genuine enjoyment. It's insulting to say the least and kills any chance that Elle had for character development.

The rest of the cast is a collection of idiot meat heads and female shojo archetypes. Her fiance does have a jerk side that shows more as the plot goes on that becomes over the top. He gets his own side plot where he decides to get back at Kazuki by wooing his sister. It's really enjoyable watching this guy try to be sinister while paying for this girl's eye surgery and leads to a really funny title drop. There is also this nice twist to the crazy admirer's trope in that Elle promptly curb stomps them because she remembers she actually is a great athlete.

The plot itself acts like a shonen sports manga but focusing on the lead character’s girlfriend instead. This has potential to be rather funny but it forgoes that in place of shojo melodrama. The events these characters get into are not boring and stay with in the realm of plausibility but because the charters are bland and uninteresting you don't care what happens to them. The latter half of the plot deals with Kazuki potentially not being able to box ever again but Kazuki is a poor character so I couldn't give less of a darn. Then the story has the guts to time skip to a completely bland match up between the main two boys in Elle's life that no one was asking for.

There is a rather well paced and decent plot barring that time skip hiding in these pages but alas it also has terrible characters hiding with it as well. As stated above there was genuine effort put into this series but it's not enough to make up for it's problems.

Till Next Time: Stay Positive

Things No One Cares About:Princess Knight

Osamu Tezuka is a name in manga that I love yet hate. On one hand he is the godfather of manga,responsible for classics like Astroboy and Blackjack. On the other hand I have a really hard time spelling his name. Joking aside I really do enjoy the man's work and acknowledge their influence on manga as an art form. Determined to be known as the Japanese Walt Disney,he wrote a multitude of different series and stories that spoke to all demographics. He also wrote what can be considered one of the first shojo manga:Princess Knight.

Princess Knight ran in Shojo club from 1953-1956.It 's a classic tale of fantasy adventure with a heavy undertone of romance that is prevalent in stories written for girls. Taking the time to address gender politics,what it truly means to love and that angels can sometimes be really stupid. So lets see if this classic holds up to the test of time or have I just been using ind words to soften the blow.

The story follows Sapphire as she starts the fine tradition of Shojo heroines being menaced by ugly people. Seriously the story starts out fairly happy with some light antics then takes a turn right into horrid town as tragedy upon tragedy is heaped on Sapphire. Just when something finally does go right,there is another villain or event that just comes back to smack her down. It'd be comical if it wasn't handled so well. The awful things are always within in the realm of possibility and there is an undercurrent of hope that kept me going.

Before I go on and discuss the plot in more detail,we need to get a core concept out of the way. The idea is that at birth God(who may or may not be Zeus,more on the later) assigns every child a boy or girl heart that defines their gender. This is where most of my real gripes are found in the book. Disbarring the vastness of the gender spectrum and various gender issues that arise from this idea. I can't really be pissed about that as it was early the fifties when these concepts were not exactly at the forefront of the public mind. It's just not a well explained concept,Sapphire is born with both due to a trickster angel and goes to either extreme of the spectrum when she loses one of them. Yet it seems that everyone else's heart does not cause that affect in them that way. King Plastic is an annoying brat who doesn't truly mature till he swallows Sapphire's male heart. Maybe Sapphire's hearts are special but this is never really established.

This could be a statement on the fact that regardless of what gender we are born as,we all have traits of what would be consider the gender norm for the opposite gender. The book constantly criticizes the idea that only men can rule and women should be in supporting roles exclusively. It's fairly progressive for it's time and does help it avoid the embarrassment that plague some older works. That being said,I believe I get what Tezuka is trying to get at but the heart concept is poorly explained and leads to some possibly unintentional sexist moments.

Princess Knight also has a weird concept of religion. It tends to stick to a general outline of Christian beliefs in that there is a God who watch over us and Satan(who is fabulous by the way). However Venus the goddess of beauty shows up and also controls life and death. She refers to God as father,which would make him either Uranus' private parts,which is unlikely as he is drawn like Sunday school God. More likely this makes him Zeus which explains his pulling a major jerk move during a pivotal fight scene. Either way she's more than perfect to serve as an antagonist to Sapphire and her prince's love. Calling back to Circe the with also from the same mythology. It's not really a mark against it as the whole story never really establish it one way or another, I just though it was worth mentioning.

The villains in the story are all fairly one note and simplistic however it's that simplicity that makes them enjoyable. They all mostly desire power(excluding Venus) and will be as evil as humanly possible to reach that goal. It's entertaining in the same way Dio form the Jojo series is. They are all easy to hate and make Sapphire much more likable.

Not that Sapphire has to try that hard to be likable,as she is a kind heart ed person who truly believes in love and doing good. We could call that mary-sue and to some extent it really is but her purity and goodness comes back to bite her in the rear. Her own naivete and inability to explain herself cause many of her problems.You think she sits back and lets her love interest solve things?Hell no,she's out thwarting schemes and proving herself capable and heroic. You want her to see her triumph over evil and finally ascend to her rightful place in life.

Her love interest Franz is no less likable but could stand to learn to pay attention as all it takes is a wig to fool the poor guy. A noble man who truly does love Sapphire once he wraps his head around the various conspiracies going on. Her secondary love interest is a pirate named Blood who gets what is honestly one of the weirdest adventures (I can't really do it justice)in the plot all to himself. The rest of the supporting cast is nothing special though Sapphire's nurse gets points for being utterly entertaining. Tink,the angel who started this whole mess is one of the more complex side characters. His trickster nature developing into something outside of being a jerk and helping get Sapphire out of many late story binds.

The plot itself is complex enough to be interesting without getting overly dense. It can be broken down into three intertwining plots all involving various factions needing Sapphire dead. The antagonists of each plot tend to come and go as the plot demands. The witch,Hell, leaves the main plot halfway through to pursue her own slightly related plot. It sort of helps the story feel slightly grander as there are these various plots going on while Sapphire is pursuing her own agenda. I'll admit that the third act feels slightly tacked on but includes enough awesome scenes that this hardly becomes an issue.

The art work her is either love it or hate it. It's very reminiscent of older Disney style shorts,with exaggerated features and funny background events going on constantly. Special note should go to the animals,as they are wholly awesome. This series is the gold standard for horse drawing,there is a horse early who is just plain great. I'd put his picture here just for everyone to bask in his glory but the internet lacks his picture and that's a damn shame.

Wrapping up Princess Knight has earned it's place as a classic that has stood the test of time. Being a fairly progressive work that highlights that women can be just as strong as men while still telling an exciting story. It is a fairly simple story but it has enough twists and turns to keep you wanting to read just to see how Sapphire will emerge victorious. Also I know I just mentioned it but that horse is worth buying the first book alone for.

Holiday Things No One Cares About: Sweet Rein

This is the time of the year that everyone looks at Christmas related media and me being the eternal tag along I guess I should too. However to be original I shall do the whole review in rhyme. Oh wait, that is about as original as Doug Walker's It's a Wonderful Life parody and it's be totally annoying to boot. So on second though I will not be doing that. Anyway,what was I talking about,Sweet Rein...let's go with that

Sweet Rein is a shojo manga by Sakura Tsukuba recently released overseas to capitalize on the Christmas season. Tsukuba is probably better known for Penguin Revolution,a manga about the weirdest talent agency ever. My Anime List classifies this as a spin off of that manga but that's only due to a side chapter in the last volume. So for all two of you that were fearful that this story would not make sense without having read Penguin Revolution,rest easy.

The plot is a series of loosely connected one-shots about a girl,Kurumi becoming a Santa and her magical transforming reindeer partner,Kaito. Despite being a Christmas themed book,half the stories take place in the summer. They tend to involve Kurumi and Kaito helping fulfill a child's wish and Kurumi denying her feelings for Kaito. It also does play up the master/slave relationship the couple have and how the power dynamic affects said relationship.

It does toy with Santa tropes by making Santa follow a magical girl route and being more of a group of people rather than one old portly gentleman. It's interesting to see a different take on becoming a Santa that's not just a "oh god we have to save Christmas because Santa is a klutz" plot. It really doesn't use the magical girl tropes though that would have been kind of funny. Instead focusing on more of a child of the week structure in lieu of a monster. I feel there is more they could have done with that premise alone but they don't so the potential is out there lurking.

The plot introduces black reindeer who have hurt their masters and therefore are sentenced to live forever. Introduced in book two it really doesn't come back up till the final chapters of volume three. It doesn't do much for those chapters and is really just an excuse to do a redemption story for a new character. I could also nit pick about how Kurumi doesn't age past seventeen despite this taking place over three different Christmas. However the minor issues are lampshaded by the manga-ka. It does set the tone of this story as a silly little adventure that isn't letting little things like time get in the way. This also extends to the characters that are written with love.

Kurumi has the typical shojo protagonist problems of a dead mother and a workaholic dad. While she does not exactly jump at the opportunity to be a Santa by the end ff the first chapter she accepts it. So when it comes to actually letting go off the position till next year she's hesitant. There could be the underlying question of is she doing this out of the goodness of her heart or just to stave off the loneliness. However, she clearly enjoys the job so that angle is dropped pretty early on. She also really doesn't jump right into the relationship with Kaito despite his obvious affection. Their relationship grows as she realizes that his devotion has less to due with his servant like position and more with actual feelings for her.

Kaito himself is less complex but it is funny to try and figure out who is more desperate for this relationship to continue. He is an idiot to the extreme but he is also honest and his love is pure. His love and devotion to Kurumi is heavily influenced by his grandfather's own relationship with a Santa. While he doesn't have the (relative) depth Kurumi has,he is just a happy guy that you can't help but like. Plus he gets to be the receiver of most of the slapstick which can negate any ill will you have towards him.

The rest of the cast are unremarkable with the exception of the character who tests Santas to see if they are worthy and Katio's older brother. He get's his own Santa and the few chapters focusing on them are some of the funniest parts of the manga. Kurumi's friends are pretty blatant stock shojo characters that add nothing to the plot outside of being "like OMG you should totally hook up with him". Also they seem to take the fact that Katio is a magical transforming reindeer pretty well. In fact everybody's only reaction to him and Kurumi being a Santa is mild surprise. It is not a real problem,just rather weird.

The art is your typical Shojo style with beautiful people and sparkles everywhere. The author admits to really liking to draw naked people and animals,hence why there are quite a few beach chapters. Luckily she happens to be good at drawing what she likes as the art is fantastic. Special mention to Kaito as a reindeer as it's is very well drawn. He also has the happiest look on his face at all times as a reindeer He looks so happy that I wish I could be a reindeer just to look that happy.

As mentioned early there are a few side stories that are added to each volume that are mostly okay. There is a vampire story that plays like Usagi Drop as told by an idiot and seems to be here because the manga-ka wanted to draw a sexy vampire. The second one being about the Kurumi and Katio which is labeled a side story for some reason. Then there is the aforementioned Penguin Revolution story that I didn't read because I want to read that series first.

I'm going to be honest here for a moment this is cheesy as all get-out. The characters are not that complex and the plots make the third season of Hell Girl look brilliant. However the whole series is written with love and it shows. To me that,the constant poking fun at itself and the creative take on Santa mythology make up for all the cliches. It is something you will enjoy as you are reading it and then probably forget abut a few days later. Weather that makes it worth a read is up to you but I had fun with it.

Till Next Time:Stay Positive

Things No One Cares About: Requiem in Phony Brian

R.I.P or Requiem in Phony Brian is a one volume shojo manga by "Goth queen" Mitsuzaku Mihara. This is what happens when you let a goth kid try to write Hell Girl and this is their very first writing assignment after suffering a concussion at Hot Topic. It's not very good is what I'm trying to get at. I picked this up a used bookstore based on it's ridiculous sounding back blurb. It sounded so terrible that I just had to read it and now you get to suffer with me.

The plot follows an angel named Transylvania Rose,yes really, who I'll call TR for short taking a suicidal undertaker as a pet after he makes good on the suicide part. What follows is an angst ridden journey about why the undertaker is the way he is. Every other chapter is about getting TR to go back to Heaven or what appears to be heaven. It seems to be only populated by four people total so I can understand why they'd be lonely without her. The undertaker can purify suicides for no apparent reasons. However up till about chapter seven or eight it all basically works as a poor man's Hell Girl without the revenge. However once it goes full into the Undertaker's, Phony Brian, back story do things just get silly. His parents named him that because he was born out of wedlock and his dead girlfriend killed herself by drinking her own I.V fluid. I'd actually like this if it didn't take itself so seriously because this would be a decent black comedy. The book likes to think that it's smarter than it is dropping lines like: Who takes care of the undertaker when he's dead? All in all the plot is a sham that thinks otherwise.

The characters are not much better,all of the angel characters are flatter than my chest and are all unlikable and selfish. Phony Brian and his girlfriend have the chemistry of dead fish and are in an eternal angst off. I will admit that Brian does have at least reasonable reactions about being forced into being TR's pet,though he may be using that as an excuse to just mope some more. TR is again wholly unlikable and never seems to learn anything. I do understand her though when heaven is populated by a clingy valley girl and Mr. tall ,dark and brooding,I'd get out of there as often as possible. So,yeah the characters are a sham too.

Then there is the art which succeeds by being average. It's all very elaborate and flowing without being overwhelming. The character models are distinct enough that I can tell everyone apart and their outfits do look nice. For some reason TR's hair changes for no reason in the finale and it took me a minute to realize it was her. It's all just your bog standard Gothic art work,not great but not horrid either. It's a manga so I can't talk out the soundtrack but I'd imagine it being done by a garage band who goes on about how life is pain because the singer's boy/girlfriend of two days didn't text them good morning.

In the end we have poor characters in a poor plot that is at least drawn well. It barely edges into so bad it's good territory but it still falls short of that. Avoid this little train wreak and go watch Hell Girl since I can't stop bringing it up. Alternatively check out Mihara's other one shots,Slice of Black Chocolate is pretty good. Till next time: Stay Positive

Things No One Cares About:Himeyuka & Rozione's Story

Today I'm looking at some more short stories because apparently I can't be asked to read anything longer than twenty pages. This collection is known as Himeyuka & Rozione's story(H&R) and consist of four stories that are either boring or just confusing. Well that's about it for me so till next time stay positive.









Oh,you are still here. Well I can talk about this book if you want,it's fairly poor. The entire afterword of it is just the author apologizing for the book. I guess since you insist I'll go ahead and talk about it.
The art is nice enough with some average character design and some decent costume designs especially for the witch in the third story. It has the same problem as Glass Wings in that it sacrifices style over good story telling. So enough of trying to make the art feel good about itself,let's talk about the stories cause they are bad and should feel bad.

The first is the titular story as is usually the case with these collections. It involves a girl who looks like Loki circa Persona 4 and an inconsiderate young child that is supposed to be her childhood personified. To be fair this one actually works for the most part with the twist being cleverly revealed. Its still a typical don't grow up too fast story. This one manages to be at least memorable which is more than I can say for the next two stories.

I'm going to just combine the next two into one paragraph cause my grievances with them are basically the same and I'll be done faster. The stories are The Princess of Kikouya in District 1 and My Very Own Shalala. These are just forgettable,seriously. I read them then twenty minutes later could not remember a single thing outside of the title. Both are utterly generic love stories with nothing interesting about them. They do have some nice costume design for our leads but I still had to work hard to remember even that. The Princess story is abut a yakuza girl who hides that side of her for the boy she loves and you can guess the rest. Shalala is about a witch who needs a boy's tears and ends up in love with the boy she targets. It's not even a bad love story but there are miles of better romance manga out there . This is what happens when enough issues of Shojo Beat form together:bland garbage. Moving on.

The last story is ROBOT and no that is not an acronym,the Manga-ka just forgot to turn of caps lock for a minute. I'm probably going to reveal my ignorance here but I honestly didn't understand this story. It's after the Apocalypse and people keep getting there minds re uploaded to new bodies..I think. There are also robots(shocking I know) that the government views as a threat but don't seem to do anything about it. The main robot boy just mopes around for most of the time then randomly kicks people's asses. Then the plot starts going bananas and I stopped trying to understand it. It's like the the author got hammered and watched Ghost in the Shell and decided that being logical was for the weak. Like H&R,it manages to be at least memorable even if it's wants to just be confusing.

You are still here,you really are a persistent one aren't you. What more can I say it's a generic book with pedestrian characters(seriously not one character drives a car in this book) and pretty art. There is nothing to it and I'll probably forget about it completely come this time next week You satisfied invisible reader whom I'll never see? Good,till Next time Stay Positive.

Things No One Cares About: Otona Ni Nuts

About seven days ago, I told you about my fictional train ride through a fictional land. I also mentioned my childhood friend was a manga and I'm pretty sure everyone thinks I am a nutter now. Well this story of said visit with Otona Ni Nuts will do nothing to dispel that notion.

As we talked on the way back from the station to her parent's home,I saw she was still the silly immature girl I'd always known. Loving the attention from boys even though they only wanted her for her body. She wasn't very interesting to begin with so maybe this was for the best .

Her parent's weren't there when we arrived. Though now that I think about it I'd only ever caught glimpses of them and didn't even know their names. As we sat down on the couch to catch up a little more she started telling me about the time she at some nuts that made her into an adult. I vaguely remembered the events because they sounded like wacky hijinks and I was determined to stay out of that . I think I started playing acoustic guitar at that time,it was an odd few years.

Either way just as I thought she was finishing her story, she just keep going. I thought she trying to tell me that she learned a valuable lesson about maturity but she keep going on about other topics. From men trying to marry her to some woman challenging her to beauty contests. I try to forget the early 2000's and their rash of impromptu beauty contests. I think she went of on a couple weird tangents about bears and her summer vacations. Near the end I think she started making parts up to see if I was paying attention(fun fact: I wasn't). I say this because she started talking about helping some kid but I'm pretty sure she was talking about a GTO episode. Also the way she talked about nuts was just disturbing.

She kept bringing up our other friend Asuma who decided to not forgo said hijinks and stick around with her to play straight man. It wasn’t that surprising,as he was the only guy who actually liked her as a person,so they were pretty close. He was always dependable and they grew even closer during those events. Our group had a betting pool on when they would finally start dating,that I lost forty bucks in. Everyone else in her story was either bizarre or lecherous and I decided to call her out on her cock and bull. I used the ancient method of calling a bluff:pics or it didn't happen. Unfortunately she had four whole albums of the events and showed me all of them.

There were the pictures of her and Asuma looking like typical Shojo people(Shojoites?) and everyone looked like normal people. The other people I didn't recognize looked odd and the pictures were a little blurry so I couldn't quite make if they were male or female. It didn't help that many of the pictures were jumbled around on the page. Their were also a alarming number of shots of her teddy bear underwear and some fetishistic outfits that would make Amu blush. I decided not to question those pictures and conceded that her story was true. I would have brought up the fact that you think people would have heard about nuts that could turn you into adults. However she's was always pretty stubborn,so I dropped the subject.

She was disappointed that I had to leave again so soon, failing to notice that she had been talking for about eighteen hours. On our way out we passed her younger sister who spoke a language I couldn't understand,so I payed her no mind. We walked back to the station only to find it shut down due to an accident and being slightly cliché. She offered to let me stay with her for a few more days but I had to get to Seinen to see the new play Waiting for Miura. So I decided to commandeered a boat to get there in time and to have an easier segue into the next review. It was a nice visit but even as I relate this story to you I've already forgotten most of it.

Next time:Probably not this again

As always comments,requests and death threats are welcome.

Things No One Cares About: Pretear

Originally published May 1st 2013'

This is the last re posted review for this series,so next time will be something wholly new. I try and put a review out every Wednesday but that is subject to change due to real life.

For all five of you who read the last review no doubt are wondering something(maybe) and that is Pretear is a weird way to spell Gata-Pishi. Don't worry I haven't had a massive brain hemorrhage and forgotten how to spell,yet. No, apparently Glass Wings is the only one of Misuzu Asaoka's works that has any form of translation and I can't read Japanese. So instead we'll continue our journey through the land of Shojo with Pretear.

Pretear comes to us courtesy of Junichi Sato who serves as the manga's writer and Chief Director. He's probably better know for his work on fellow Magical girl shows Sailor Moon and Princess Tutu. Though he had no part in writing those books. He's also responsible for great comedies like Sgt Frog and abysmal ones like Slayers Premium.

The show is loosely based on the legend of Snow White and asks what if the seven dwarfs were good looking men. Hey get back here,I know that does sound a little silly but I swear it's not what you think.The story has some surprising depth dealing with loss of a parent and identity in ways I would not think a show like this would handle it. Sadly it is marred by some shallow ends,which you will see as we go on. So is Pretear worth your time or did I waste twenty bucks at a used bookstore?

As I mentioned about three sentences ago,the story does get some depth but sadly it's mostly on the character side and leaves the story to play out as a typical magical girl show. It follows the monster of the week plot,introduces a dark magical girl and then ramps up for a decent ending. It actually flows well and while it is a bit by the numbers it manages to be interesting. The big hook is the transformations which are done by combining with one of the seven bishonen knights. This gives her a separate costume and power. It's similar to the later(and decidedly more sexual) Uta Kata .The different costumes do lead to a few scenes that scream we wanted to show this costume off this episode.. Love is a big component  in this show and as such it contains a few love triangles. To the shows credit, it is worked seamlessly into the story and adds to some characters.

The Snow White connections are are more thematic and character based than truly story based(with exceptions). There is the obvious seven dwarfs to knights all with a predominant element as opposed to a temperament. Sato himself compared the life force,Leafe,to the poison apple from the original story with one half of the apple giving and the other half  taking life. The other ties to the plot and characters will come up later in the review.   

The plot doesn't pull any real horse hockey outside of the ending. Even then it comes of as more of the didn't say it couldn't happen or makes sense if you remember Snow White. The show does shine in it's more comedic moments with some great running jokes,slapstick and refuge in audacity. A particularly great moment is the chauffeur taking casually to these massive animals while everyone else is panicking. Though maybe only I find that funny. However it does go into the darker elements with little mood whiplash. Overall it's entertaining and serves as a nice backdrop for the much better characters.

Himeno is our leading lady and predictably is one of the more developed characters. She's fairly mature for a sixteen year old but they characterize her as odd any way so that just adds to it. She's also given above average strength and uses it to great comedic effect .Her willingness to take up the Pretear mantle does show how much she wants to be needed. As the series progresses she does cling to this role(detrimentally)and her short depowering gives her perspective on family and her own self worth. By the end she becomes the strong person she was destined to be and fulfills her role as a Pretear..

The secondary female role is played by our dark magic girl,The Princess of Destruction. She plays the evil queen analogue here with a more tragic bent. Right now I'm going to just throw up a spoiler warning for this entire part because to talk about her is massive spoiler territory. I'll mark when they end for the people who don't want the story ruined.
Spoilers





The Princess of Destruction is actually the last Pretear, Takako, and is a frank look at what happens when you entrust the world's safety to a teenage girl. The inherent closeness and sexuality in regards to the transformations really does screw her up and her unrequited love for Hayate,the main knight,does drive her over the edge. That love still never falters and even up till the end she has a hard time killing Hayate,often regulating that to her own knight. It gives her character a sad edge that the original queen lacked.





End Spoilers


Now we come to the Seven Knights who are the protectors of life and help Himeno along the way. They are Hayate,Sasame,Go, Kei, Mannen,Shin and Hajime all with various degrees of characterization. The main two are Hayate and Sasame who are interconnected in terms of powers wind and sound respectively. They are also a big part of the love connections that run through out the show.  They are a shining example of what the anime excels at and that is personal relationships. Without the show saying anything it is easy to tell that these two are close friends. However they are used to show how you can not truly know somebody even if you think you do. They do have the more angsty of the back stories being involved in a love triangle with a former Pretear. However I still liked them as they felt like people and it never felt melodramatic. The remaining 5 knights have base personalities and their interactions are nice if lacking. They all play off of Himeno well enough that this isn't a huge issue. I guess it's the curse of not being a true lead of which only Mawata escapes.

Speaking of Mawata,Himeno's family also plays a mid-sized role in this tale. Her father,step mother, and stepsisters along with a chauffeur and a maid comprise the household. I will say those last two are more comic relief and semi-mentor respectively and leave it at that. The older stepsister,Mayune, gets nothing in personalty besides being a jealous jerk  Her father and mother bring more of the great relationship pie to the table playing the part of love struck newly weds. It is sadly under utilized as we see some hints of bigger issues that are never explored. They are a good example of how broken their family is literally and figuratively. They are never abusive just stupid,failing to realize that their daughters are hurting.  Himeno also has this friend who is a romance novel otaku and her silly theories on love are actually pretty funny,nothing else to say about her.
Moving on...wait I'm forgetting something,eh probably nothing.

Oh yeah Mawata the best supporting character in this show. She gets to deal with the death of her father and what happens when you try and be the emotional rock  for too long. Her struggle with grief and identity are central to the show. Even when she begins to open up to Himeno, a relatively minor incident sends her off the edge. This along with her inability to communicate with her family and never properly grieving her father opens her up to manipulation by the Princess of Destruction. Her attraction to Sasame is lovely as they both have the same problems but fall into the same pitfalls due to their own stoic traits.

There isn't much to say about the art: The girls are cute,the guys are hot and the monsters are terrifying. It's animated well and looks good for a 2001 anime  The various costumes worn by Himeno are great looking and not to ostentatious,Ice and Sound being my personal favorites. They reflect the person she combined with wonderfully and her last dress is fantastic in it's simplicity. Even her regular casual wear is really nice with the colors complimenting each other. The rest of the cast dress like you'd expect them to with the knights getting suitable  fighting clothes based on their role and element. There is also a subtle nod to the original story's dwarf house that I thought was clever despite it being a tad out of place. 

What have we learned today besides useless trivia about a director? That Pretear is actually an enjoyable watch and a great entry into the Magical Girl genre. That aside if you like magical girl then go out and find this sucker and if you hate it then you probably haven't read all the way down here, you losers. Oh and this probably won't endear you to the genre.If you're neutral to this type of show then also check it out.
Till next time: Don't die.

As always comments,requests and death threats are welcome and encouraged
Next time:Something completely different

Things No One Cares About:Glass Wings

Orginally Published: April 24th 2013

For most of the inconsequential things I reviewed up to this point they fall into the major categories of Shonen and Seinen. Genres where I'd be considered the periphery demographic but love none the less. So today we are taking a walk on the girly side with Glass Wings. This is the 2003 debut of Misuzu Asaoka better known for...nothing else really, moving on. This is a short anthology series containing 3 stories: the titular Glass Wings,Firefly and Jion Princess. They are all connected with the theme of love conquers all. For a change of pace we'll dissect art before everything just so my comments don't become redundant when talking about the stories.

The art here is actually pretty nice: the characters look nice and the backgrounds are beautiful. However they are in a constant war to out dazzle each other and as a result everyone loses. Scenery blends together in ways that shouldn't be possible. Speech bubbles pop in like an annoying kid brother trying to see what's going on. It makes the first story an incomprehensible mess and muddles the other two stories. Which is pretty sad because the character design is very pleasing to the eyes with nice if elaborate costumes. That's all I'm going to say about the art for now. Moving on to the stories;first on the chopping block, Glass Wings itself.

Glass wings to put it bluntly is a mess that makes the remaining chapters seem better by comparison. To sum it up in short: A boy(Hagane)with deadly blood is abused by his mother (Tsubaki)and falls in love with his sister(Ruriha). They escape and are assaulted by a kid whose sister Hagane killed. They kill him then are back with Tsubaki and escape again while she sets their home on fire... I think. Everything is so abstract and confusing that it's like an episode of Revolutionary Girl Utena written by an idiot. It doesn't help that the first chapter explains very little and nothing else gets explained much later. The chapters flow with the grace of a dead swan,so good luck getting your head around it before it changes settings again. The main leads are decent in a traditional sort of way,drawn together by their cursed blood. Tsubaki is fairly sympathetic and I did feel a little bad for her at the end. Overall this story feels like it could be so much more but cripples it self at the first hurdle. Moving on to Firefly.

This story fairs somewhat better than its predecessor but only slightly. This one is much less muddled and doesn't feel like I started reading halfway through. The plot concerns a demon(Yuinne) fleeing his clan and living in a village. Sadly it doesn't take clairvoyance to figure out that this plan goes south quick and people try to murder him for being a demon. It works for the mot part however the romance in this one is pretty weak. It wants to focus on our lead brooding rather than giving him a decent romance. Which when your wanting to convey true love,is a bad thing. Yuinne and the girl(Mia) share about 3 panels before she's killed off in the mob scene about 20 pages later. The designs are again nice and the demon tattoos are cool. The climax does drop the ball hard enough to kill though mostly because of the art. The mob tries to kill Yuinne but somehow Mia takes the blow then his old boss shows up. It happens so fast that I'm left with whiplash trying to figure out where the humans went and what Aion  is doing here. The ending is lovely even if Mia sucks. So overall a story about true love redeeming marred by a poor love interest,time for some yuri.

The final story is Jion Princess, the best of the three. It's about a girl (Soyogi)whose a magical net for a princess'(Yura)bad luck and sickness because they look alike. The eventually fall in love and then tragedy strikes. The main girls are actually pretty interesting and their relationship is realistic. It tackles proximity love and self worth in a interesting way. It's also one of the rare times I've seen a lesbian tsundere so that's neat.The art has reached a truce here and flows well.There is a scene with the two in dresses that just looks really nice and emphasizes how alike the girls look.If I have to gripe and I will,it's that somehow Yura gets sick at one point despite Soyogi being a barrier to catch that. It's still mediocre but looks better in comparison to the previous two stories.

Ok,overall we have muddled stories that are trying to say something but the art is too busy having a civil war to let that happen. It has potential and the stories did keep getting better to the point of making sense. The book is bad but the little nuggets of good really do shine. Still if your going through the used bookstore and see this avoid it. Try to find Skip Beat instead, a much better series.

The book did get me interested enough to check out her other work. So next time, we'll keep on with Asaoka's work and look at Gata-Pishi.

As always comments,criticism and death threats are welcome.