Kaze Hikaru

Sorry for the lack of updates - I had a very hectic schedule. I was going to post a review for One Piece, but I decided to read up about the history of pirates first. So here is Kaze Hikaru

Kaze Hikaru
Rating - 5/10
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance, Shojo

Plot Summary: Kamiya Seizaburo joins the Miburoshi. When she was younger, her father and brother were both killed, and she hopes to use the Miburoshi in order to take revenge and restore her honor. However, theres a slight catch - Seizaburo isn't really Seizaburo, nor is he really a he. In fact, its Tominaga Sei, a girl masquerading as a boy. Her skills parallel that of most males however, and she is able to pull it off ... that is, until she thinks that she can't stand it anymore and tries to run away. She finds a spy and in the process of defeating him, it is revealed that she is a girl to Okita Soji, another member. Soji promises to keep it a secret, and a romance starts to bloom.

Analysis: Its an iffish manga, although it is very true to the Historical Fiction genre. The plot of the manga is basically as follows - open up a japanese history textbook, add a girl masquerading as a boy, and there you go. The Miburoshi are more commonly known as the Shinsengumi, an army for the government that was later used as a scapegoat in order to escape promises. However, its good if you want to learn something about japanese history, as it doesn't change it too much. Part of the manga is dealing with historical events, part of it is slight comedy, and part of it is just girl/romance stuff. Again, as I say with stuff that I rate 5 or lower, read it if you want, but only if you're bored.

Characters: Well, I said who Sei was, and you know the name of the organization ... Everyone else in the manga is a real historical figure. Look it up.


Hopefully later this week I'll have the One Piece review up.

/Vavoysh

Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne

Title: Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne
Author: Tanemura Arina
Length: 30 Chapters compiled in 7 Volumes
Rating: 5/10

Summary: The Phantom Theif [Kaitou], Jeanne, has been stealing art for a month or two. However, not all is as it seems - Jeanne is really Maron, a highschooler, who is the reincarnation of Joan of Arc. She has been selected by Kami-sama [God] to seal the demons in the world. These demons have been placed by Maou in artwork. The person who owns the artwork is possessed, and turns into a cold version of himself. When Maron transforms into Jeanne with the help of her angel, Fin, she can checkmate a spirit and seal it away into a chess piece, stealing the art's deceptive beauty.

However, it all changes when Kaitou Sinbad, appears on the scene, along with the new cute neighbor that moved in, Chiaki. When they are discovered to be the right hand of Maou himself, while Maron falls in love with Chiaki, what will happen?

Analysis: The drawing is typical for a shojo manga. Its also kind of weird seeing the fights, which are kinda just splayed in there.

This manga is more of one for romance and nostalgia-like content. At first, the plot is a bit fuzzy - you really have to read the first volume and a half in order to understand whats going on. Before that, you're just like 'what is going on here?'

Other than that, its got the magic shojo touch of being able to work your emotions into liking the romance plot. This is a manga more about feelings than anything else.

It started to get a bit boring halfway through, but don't give up on it. Theres a major plot twist that is actually pretty cool, that just about changes the entire plot, and the ending is pretty decent.

I didn't write alot for this manga, because quite frankly, there isn't that much to write about. Its not that good a manga. The reason it gets a 5 is because of the plot twist and because of the hooking ness of the romance plot [which has been uverused SO many times but is still addictive ...]. Asides from that, its a quick read - I managed to get through it all, with some breaks, in a couple of hours. It was a good boredome reliever, if for a short time




Hopefully to post again with something a bit better ...
/Vavoysh

Angelic Layer

Hey there.
There is an Angelic Layer Manga and Anime. However, because its been a while since I've read the manga and I just finished the anime, I'm only going to talk about the anime.

Title: Angelic Layer
Genre: Action, Comedy, Shojo-ish
Rating: 6/10

Plot Summary: Suzuhara Misaki moves to Tokyo city in order to attend school and for a hope that she will see her mother, who left 7 years previous to work in Tokyo. After exiting the station, she sees on a big screen two people fighting. However, these are not people - rather they are Angels, which are dolls controlled by a Deus. These dolls are custom made, and they fight in Angelic Layer, which is the name of the sport. She is told all this by the scientist Icchan, who walked up to her and started telling her this stuff. Ignoring the possibibility that he might be a lolicon [AKA, pedophile][He isn't], she followed him into the Anglelic Layer store, where he went and showed her what to buy to create her own angel. After creating her own Angel, who she called Hikaru [which means Light], and making friends, Kotaro and Tamayo, she enters tournaments and goes on to become the Kiseki no Rookie [Miracle Rookie].

Analysis [Contains Spoilers][Highlight to View]: Its a decent enough anime. Its done by CLAMP, which makes some good anime/manga, but I do have some problems with it. Early on in the series, Kotaro developes a crush on Misaki, which is teased upon by Tamayo. However, later on in the series, Tamayo admits that she's had a crush on Kotaro for a long time. If thats the case, why did she even push him onto Misaki to start with? The other thing I can't get around is the fact that she is the Kiseki no Rookie. She starts playing, and then she never looses. She only lost once, and that was too Kotaro's little genius sister, Hatoko. She beat every opponent after that, continuously gaining in strength, without really appearing to. Additionally, the Champion, Shuko, who is her mom, lost to her. When she hadn't lost to 77 or so other players. Finally, there is the matter with her mom. Her mom, quite frankly, is a wuss. A gigantic one. She's afraid to see Misaki, because she's afraid of what Misaki will think of her. She doesn't want Misaki to see her in a wheelchair. However, by postponing it, isn't she just making it worse?

End of Spoilers

Analysis [No Spoilers]: Some of the fights are cool. I think that the plot is a bit iffy, but its a 26 episode show expanded from a 25 or so chapter manga. There really isn't much you can do with it. I think that the comedic moments are great, but sometimes it just pushes it. Some of the fights are good, some are bad. It seems like in order to make a new plot point in the fight, they introduce something, that they can miraculously explain away in all of the previous fights. While sometimes, it works, but other times ... I just can't buy it. Theres only so much you can ignore.
Additionally, when you 'launch' angels onto the layer, you say an opening shpeal. Which is kinda lame. And I really dont see how Hikaru can fall like the way that she does in that.

There isn't really much to the anime except for the tournament. The first 4 or so episodes deal with her starting, and then there is the tournament. The rest of the plot then deals with the tournament. The unimportant matches get an entire episode, and some of the 'big' matches, you never see the character again. If you do, its very very minor.

This is a cute anime, and ok for a laugh. Some of the fights are good, while others are meh. Watch it if you want.


First Image - Icchan talking to Misaki when she buys the Angel Egg.
Second Image - Athena, Angel to the Champion, launching her ultimate attack.


First Image - Hikaru on the Layer, with Misaki sitting in the controlling egg behind her.
Second Image - Hikaru kicking Mao, an opposing angel, during the same fight.

There are better images that I could get, but I have the episodes in .ogm format, which makes them hard to look through.

/Vavoysh