Animania

I don't remember where I first heard about the anime series Hell Girl, probably the site formerly known as AnimeOnDVD. I watched it via Netflix back in June 2009, and will be picking it up on DVD soon. The 26 episode series aired back in 2005-2006 in Japan, and they have since made a second and third season. The second season was just licensed by Sentai Filmworks, and will start shipping in May. No word yet on the third season. There are also two manga adaptations for this series, the first spanning nine volumes which is currently being released by Del Rey manga (which has released six volumes so far), and a second which was slated to being in 2008 but I could find little else about it other than it seems to revolve around the events of the second season. So for our purposes, I'll be looking at the first season of the anime, and the first five volumes of the manga.

Both the anime and its manga adaptation follow the same basic premise: if you have a grudge against someone, you can access the Hell Correspondence web site at midnight and enter their name to request they be sent down to hell. If she is willing to hear the request, the Hell Girl, Ai Enma, will appear and offer to avenge you, warning though that the deal is a double edged soul. If you accept the contract, the object of your grudge will be immediately sent down to hell, but in exchange when you die, your soul will also go to hell to suffer eternal torment. In most cases, the requestor is given time to think about the request and given a straw doll with a ribbon. If they decide to accept, they pull the ribbon and the grudge will be carried out. Ai is added in her work by three companions: Wanyūdō, an old man who becomes the straw dolls as well as Ai's carriage; Ren Ichimoku, a seemingly handsome young man who can see anywhere by sending his large eye to the location; and Hone Onna, a sultry woman in a half-falling off kimono.

The first half or so of the series is fairly episodic, featuring a new case of someone wanting to send someone to hell. As the series progresses, two new characters are introduced, Tsugumi Shibata and her father Hajime. Tsugumi meets Ai one day, after which she begins going into trances and seeing Ai performing the contractual offers to her various "clients". Hajime is a reporter who has begun investigating the Hell Girl phenomenon. Hajime makes use of Tsugumi's abilities to try to track down Ai's clients so he can attempt to convince them not to seek revenge, but Tsugumi isn't sure if utilizing Ai's service is all that wrong. I think this is really a core theme and one of the best aspects of this series, beyond its beautiful animation and music. Each story leaves the viewer questioning whether seeking vengeance is right or wrong, if this method of revenge is acceptable in the circumstances, and if the price to pay makes it worth it. Some of the cases are truly horrible circumstances, such a victim of stalking whose stalker is ready to kill her, a young man seeking vengeance for his friend's murder, and a girl enslaved by a murderously disturbed woman after claiming the girl's dogs "bit" her. All of Ai's clients are not "victims" though, as is the case where one simply wants to remove a rival for the spotlight.

As the manga adaptation ran in the shojo magazine Nakayoshi, which is targeted at elementary and middle school readers, it has a somewhat different feel from the anime. It is not as dark as the anime, using primarily original stories rather than the more disturbing originals, but it is still considered to be one of the darkest, most serious series to run in the magazine. It adds in a few stories of more everyday occurrences that inspire folks to seek revenge, which I think really make the question of whether using Ai was the only option or the right choice a tougher one to answer. Some of its stories include a girl being bullied by a classmate under threat of losing her reputation and place in a good high school, a student being sexually harassed by her teacher, a high school girl used and hurt by a boy she liked after she surpasses him in test scores, and a seeming best friend betraying the trust of another out of jealousy. It does also include a four or five stories from the anime, though they each have some significant changes, however the entire subplot around the Shibatas is gone (per an author note, it would have been to dark to try to adapt to the manga without ruining its purpose). While it is certainly enjoyable, it is also almost entirely episodic for the first five volumes, with Ai and her companions having less personality and back story. Where the anime frequently shows them at their "headquarters" and interacting, the manga reduces them almost entirely to just appearing when needing and performing the sendings to hell. However, I have seen brief summaries of volume 6 that indicates that it does start exploring the personalities and backgrounds of Ai's companions, and volume three does present a slightly toned down version of how Ai became the Hell Girl. The artwork is well done, with artist Miyuki Eto doing a particularly nice job of incorporating Ai's floral motif into the series and in having a good varied appearance to the characters in each story.

On the whole, I'd have to say that I would highly recommend the original anime. The stories are thought provoking, if sometimes disturbing, and the thread with the Shibatas is well handled. As I mentioned earlier, the animation is just plain gorgeous, and the healthy production budget is easy to detect. The voice characters all handle their respective roles well, especially Ai's voice actress who states the line "Do you want to see what hell looks like" with the absolute perfect inflection. I hope the second season was able to keep the same cast. If you don't mind the more episodic nature, I also do recommend picking up the manga. The original stories are also well written and in keeping with the general idea of Hell Girl, even if they are somewhat tamer.

Anime Rating: A

Manga Rating: B+

I first encountered Kitchen Princess while browsing the manga shelves at Barnes and Noble. I picked up volume 6, which contains a critical turning point of the story, and was hooked. As soon as possible, I acquired the first five volumes, and I got the remaining ones for Christmas. Written and illustrated by Miyuki Kobayashi, this ten volume shojo series was originally published by Kodansha from 2005 through 2008. The English translated version was released by Del Rey Manga, from 2007 through 2009. In addition to the ten manga volumes, there is a light novel follow up that I intend to read at some point. The series introduces Najika, a girl with an absolute sense of taste and an amazing cooking ability. In search of her "Flan Prince", a boy who rescued her as a child, she transfers to the prestigious Seika Academy where she is placed in the A class, a class where everyone has a special talent. There she befriends two brothers, Sora and Daichi, who barely speak to one another, while being ostracized by her classmates who don't think she belongs there. This sets up a fairly obvious love triangle, as both brothers vie for Najika's attention, while one classmate who loves Daichi is determined to destroy her. As the series progresses, Najika enters a multi-stage cooking competition that will have a dramatic affect on the story, and the appearance of a third rival brings to question just which guy really is Najika's "Flan Prince" and which will she love?

This is an all around great series that I really enjoyed reading. Najika is absolutely adorable, with a cute design and a sweet personality and abundance of optimism, and a hint of naivety. That doesn't mean she is a pushover though, not by a long shot, and she has no problem telling her stuck up classmates just what brats they are. The child of two famous chefs, she has an amazing talent for not just cooking, but eating as well, able to remember any taste, even years later, and replicate it perfectly. Najika finds her place in Fujita Diner, a run down second cafeteria on campus that she turns around with her amazing food and winning personality, eventually winning the respect her of classmates. Daichi and Sora are as different as night and day, and barely get along. Sora seems like an ideal prince, but he has secrets and underneath the surface he has a bit of a ruthless side, having no qualms about lying to get what he wants. Dauchi is more of an average, awkward, if handsome, guy with a strained relationship with his family out of hatred over his father's remarrying. I also really liked Akane, who wasn't afraid to fight dirty for Daichi, but was also not so proud that she couldn't admit she was wrong, and clearly felt some guilt over her inappropriate actions.

On the whole the series is well-written and well drawn. The characters are very distinguishable, and some of the twists done in this story were unexpected and well played. I love that all of Najika's recipes used for the titles of the chapters volume are included at the end of each volume. Del Rey seemed to do a good job with the release. I noticed no issues with typos nor the printing. Like most publishers, we get no color pages, despite the $10.95 price tag per volume, but they did license and release the follow up light novel, Kitchen Princess: Search for the Angel Cake, which is set after the end of the series. Probably my only complaints about the series is that the ending felt somewhat rushed, and the whole introduction and gimmick with Seiya was a bit contrived. I also felt Daichi and Sora's father's change in nature a bit unbelievable, for the short time frame in.

Kitchen Princess is a combination of sweet romance, comedy, and drama wrapped in an adorable and delicious package. At ten volumes, its a fairly fast read and short commitment, and I highly recommend it.

Rating: A-

I'm not dead, I swear, and neither is this blog. I have some big plans for reviving things this year, after the long hiatus while I dealt with the loss of my database, and finally accepted that it will be ages before I get the desktop back online and its archive recovered, then my DB resynched. My lack of commentary lately was also caused by a lack of reading of late. I haven't lost my love of manga, of course, I just hadn't been able to buy much with the holidays and making the hard decision to focus more on paying down debt versus spoiling myself with manga. I also realized I was putting way too much pressure on myself by trying to get a new review/commentary type entry per week, so now I'm going for one per month. Most of the coming reviews will be a mix of older titles, and some of the newer stuff I started reading last year before my self-imposed manga hiatus.

Meanwhile, I've received my first new manga volumes for 2010! These are all Christmas gifts (I have an awesome best friend, eh) and include several titles I plan to review in the coming year.

• Kitchen Princess 7 & 10 (6, 8-9 backordered and will ship when back in stock) - I flipped through volume six of this ten volume series at Barnes and Noble random volume of this and read a huge plot spoiler that actually made me go "wow!". After glancing at the rest of the volume and seeing the cute artwork and getting the gist of the premise, I decided to start reading it. I have 1-5 already and am loving it; it is sweet and sad, and in some ways reminds me of Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne. As soon as the other volumes get in, I'll be rereading the whole thing and reviewing it here!
• Magic Touch 3 (4 & 5 on backorder) - previewed this one in Shojo Beat before its unfortunately demise, and I liked the unusual set up for the romance and characters, and Chiaki is just too adorable! Looks like it is a 9 volume series in all, with the English release of vol 6 coming in February. From the release schedule, the last volumes should all come out this year, so I'll probably wait till then to review.
• Bleach 28-29 - still enjoying this series, as noted in my earlier review of volumes 1-25, which is still on-going in Japan and up to 42 volumes there. Unlike some other series *cough*Inuyasha*cough* it is still managing to maintain some freshness with the volumes I've read. We'll see if I say the same when we hit the mid 30s though
• We Were There 6-7 - though this is a shojo series, in some ways its as mature as Tramps Like Us in its focus on a serious train-wreck of a relationship between one seriously screwed up guy, and immature, insecure girl who finds herself having to grow up fast because of this relationship; I've been spoiled to most of the ending but still enjoying reading how things get to that point. It is actually at 13 volumes in Japan and apparently still on-going, so will be curious to see how they take it from the point I know of. Planning to review the first seven volumes this year.
• Ouran High School Host Club 13 - bulk bought most of this in February 09 because it is seriously hilarious, while also being touching and sweet. Its still on-going in Japan with 15 volumes out so far, so will likely review after reading 13.
• Hot Gimmick Big Edition 3 - interestingly, I never had any interest in the series before, but after reading a bit of it, I got hooked. Ryoki and Azusa, the leading males are just so screwed up! Since Viz is doing the Big Editions, I decided to buy it that way, making it my first manga series I've bought in this format. The final volume, 4, will be out in March, covering the 12 original volumes. May also pick up the novelization, which goes for an apparent fan favorite ending :-D

So those are the new additions to my bulging bookcases! What about anime? None yet, but I suspect it will be Romeo x Juliet having enjoyed watching it on Funimation.com already and quite liking it.

Looking back at an older series, Mars is a shojo series written by Fuyumi Soryo. Spanning fifteen volumes, plus a "prequel" volume, the series first premiered in the Japanese anthology Bessatsu Friend in the late 1990s through till 2000, with the prequel chapters actually being released before the series finished. Tokyopop picked this one up in 2003 and has since released the entire series. At first, Mars seems like the classic "good girl with a bad boy" story, with high schooler Kira Aso as a shy, withdrawn painter meeting Rei Kashino, a popular school skipping, seemingly rough thug who rides a motorcycle.

In the first volume, we are introduced to these two as they meet unexpectedly at a park when Rei asks for directions and Kira, without answering, quickly sketches some on the back of a picture she drew. When Rei later sees the picture, he keeps it thinking its beautiful, then realizing Kira is in her class, he starts bothering her until she answers wanting to know more about her art. It also introduces Harumi, another classmate who wants Rei for herself and quickly is infuriated by Kira being the new object of his attention, and Tatsuya, Rei's best friend. Of course, Harumi resorts to bullying as the two grow closer, while Tatsuya deals with his own crush on Kira while realizing Rei is falling for her.

As the series progresses, though, each of these seeming "stereotypical" characters branch into conflicted, multi-dimensional characters. Rei is rough, he can be violent, and is a known player, but with Kira he finds the gentler side of himself and a sense of peace as he struggles to remember, then face, the multiple tragedies in past and the deaths of his mother and brother. He also quickly is shown to not just be someone motorcycle hobbyist, but a professional racer with both the ambition and skills to become a world class champion. Through their sometimes rocky relationship, Kira not only comes to terms with her own haunted past, she finally mends the part of herself broken long ago and finds her own inner strength in her love for Rei. Of course, things aren't completely easy, as not only do they have to deal with Harumi, though she quickly turns around and becomes Kira's best friend after seeing just how strong the quiet girl can be, but also a thieving upper classman, disapproving parents and teachers, and a downright psychotic kid from Rei's past who doesn't like seeing Rei changing. As noted earlier, the main series is 15 volumes long. There is also a sixteenth volume, Mars: A Horse With No Name, which is a "prequel" story in that it tells how Rei and Tatsuya first met, but it really is best read after the main series.

Mars is one of my absolute favorite shojo series. I honestly re-read it 2-3 times a year, or more. The story has a lot of depth, with interesting twists and turns that are, at times seemingly over the top, and yet amazingly realistic. While Soryo does include some "standard" elements of this type of story, she also avoids taking the easy way out of situations, and doesn't wrap up many of the subplots in neat little bows. Her art is well done, with a wonderful range of expressions in her characters and an amazing attention to detail in scenery and, particularly, the many motorcycles seen throughout the series. She also does well in including just enough information within scenes to explain the motorcycle world to those who may not understand it, without overloading. Tokyopop's translation of the series is not bad. There are a one or two places with pretty obvious grammar errors that make sentences awkward, and I suspect they tried to "Americanize" a little, but for the most part, its well done. It is easy, to me, to see how this series was one of the top selling ones in Japan when it was released, and as all of it is still available, I still highly recommend it.

Rating: A+

Usually when I think of the big shōnen series like Dragon Ball, Naruto, and InuYasha, I generally think they are long, boring, ridiculously repetitive, with no actual progression towards the supposed goal and containing excessively drawn out fights. They also, of course, tend to leave romances unresolved, which aggravates this shojo loving girl. The problems are even worse in the anime adaptations of such manga series, but suffice to say, I generally won't read those series. I did try InuYasha, having enjoyed at least some of the anime episodes before getting bored with the same old, same old in the second season. Having caught some episodes of the Bleach anime adaptation on Cartoon Network and worked on its Wikipedia article, it seemed a bit better plot wise, except it still suffered from fights being drawn out a ridiculous number of episodes and filler crap. So while at the library back in August I decided to pick up a few volumes of its source manga, written by Tite Kubo, and give it whirl. Since then, I've purchased all 25 volumes currently available and am eagerly awaiting volume 26, due in March.

In Bleach, high school freshman Ichigo Kurosaki has always been able to see ghosts, to his own annoyance. One day, he meets Rukia Kuchiki, a "Soul Reaper", as she is working on battling a menacing spirit called a hollow that preys on regular spirits. Injured while protecting Ichigo during the fight, she tries to transfers half her power to him but he ends up taking all of them. After battling and defeating the hollow, Ichigo begins training as a Soul Reaper to complete Rukia's duties while she recovers from the power transfer and attempts to integrate herself into human life by disguising herself as a student at Ichigo's school. However, her giving him her powers is claimed to be illegal, so months later she is arrested, returned to the Soul Society, and sentenced to execution. Ichigo sets out to rescue her, with help from several of his classmates who begin to discover they have their own unique powers as well. As they work towards where Rukia is being held, they encounter a variety of Soul Reaper captains and learn that Rukia's reason for execution may not be what it seems.

On the face of it, Bleach has the trappings of a typical extended shōnen series: a group of characters forms around a powerful central character (Ichigo), they must battle various enemies with each battle generally leading to an increase in strength, skill, or a personal improvement/revelation, while the enemies grow more powerful as they leading group does. No matter how strong the group gets, they are never as strong as the main character and depend on him in the end. However to me, Bleach manages to take these stereotypes and make them unique and interesting. While Ichigo is the most powerful of the "good guys", the others do grow strong without him rather than having to depend exclusively on him to save their butts and while Ichigo is physical strong, they aid him battle inner demons. The battles are varied and, quite frequently, its hard to decide if the bad guys are really all that bad. The whole world of hollows, Soul Reapers, and the Soul Society is richly and deeply developed. The plot twists are excellently executed and plausible without being easy to see coming from a mile away. And, despite its length, the series is thus far managing to avoid being repetitive nor redundant, as it moves into its second (or third, depending on your point of view) major arc with the introduction of a new kind of enemy and Ichigo's growing semi-desperate battle with his self. It certainly doesn't hurt that the characters are all unique, well developed, and just plain interesting. Their back-stories are, again, well-crafted. There too the series bucks some trends. Orihime may have an overly developed bust and initially comes off as an air head, but as the series progresses, her intelligence and warm personality shine through, and while often subtle, she is shown to perhaps be one of the wisest of the group.

I may be a "girl" and I normally pass on this type of series, but Bleach just plain rocks. It has made me laugh, cry, and yell out loud (always a good thing). I think its a great series for both male and female readers (even if its probably that the romance between Ichigo and Rukia will never actually be bluntly declared. Now, Bleach is certainly a serious investment for anyone interested in reading it, with 25 volumes released here, 37 currently in Japan, and it is still on-going. So I'm not about to just say "go grab it all." I would suggest doing like I did and checking your local library and reading maybe the first 4-5 volumes of the series, up through 10. If you are still wanting more, then buy them. Fortunately, Viz does seem to realize the series is a bit hefty for getting into later in the game, and they released a box set containing the first 21 volumes of the series. It has an MSRP of $150, but Amazon has it for $102) , which works out to less than $5 a volume. Can also check eBay (which is how I bought most of my volumes). If you can spare the coin, I do recommend picking it up, because despite its length, it has plenty of rereading value.

Rating: A+