fantasy ↘↖
Manga Review: Magi
Magic comes in the form of magoi and blesses only a select few. These people blessed by magoi have the capacity to not only successfully traverse through one of the mysterious dungeons and reach the riches within, which is called capturing a dungeon, but also to be deemed worthy by the dungeon’s djinn. Upon being deemed worthy, the djinn lends his or her power to the one who captured the dungeon by possessing an object, called djinn containers. Djinn containers grants the wielder the immense powers of the djinn held within. As such, many try to capture dungeons but few survive and even few succeed. These few often have the mysterious capacity to be kings. A candidate is chosen by a magi, a being who can interact with rukh, collections of souls that guide the living in the form of fate, and produce infinite magoi, and is led on the path of the King. But a king of what?
Manhwa Review: Ciel: The Last Autumn Story
In the world of Ciel: The Last Autumn Story Arc Dragons are linked to the forces of nature. They are, in essence, nature personified. The Fire Dragon gave humans language and magic. Now some of the dragons regret this decision as they now fear for the planet’s future. Upon his birth, the Sky Dragon, who can predict the future, predicted that the world would become a barren waste land. The dragons can’t help but think that this will be due to humans. With the turmoil between dragons and the political turbulence linked with having magic power Yvienne, her partner Lariatte, and their friends Daughter and January must do more than just study in the Lockwood Institute, a school for wizards and witches. They must battle demons, monsters, and other fowl creatures while being socially and politically active.
MangaLog: Hotel
From the same mangaka that brought us Sun-ken Rock, Boichi, comes a collection of five oneshots.
In general these oneshots have amazingly detailed drawings. Seeing how most of these oneshots have a sci-fi theme to them pictures can become quite grand, to have such images as detailed, crisp, and clear as these is quite the accomplishment. The facial expressions on the people here are of the most expressive I have ever seen in a manga. Boichi-sensei also shows off his ability as a writer. Together, the drawing and the writing act as an efficient conductor of emotion. The emotion Boichi-sensei put in is the emotion you receive, no less but everything more.
Click the break to read a summery of each oneshot and my thoughts on them.
I started making a post about every chapter of manga chapter I read. I called it MangaLog and I started off strong with a collection of oneshots.
Manga Review: Kamisama Hajimemashita
I have a weakness for Japanese superstition and religion. Kamisama Hajimemashita fills my need for this and my need for romance. This fantastic romance, pun very much intended, follows Nanami Momozono as she grows into her job as a Land God and as a God of Marriage. A mortal god is rare but not unheard of, they are rarely acknowledged by immortal gods and often fall pray to yokai. Luckily, Nanami has Tomoe, her familiar and ex-yokai, to protect her and teacher her. This manga follows the adventures of Nanami as she tries to prove herself to other gods, does her duties as Land God, and gets involved with the affairs of yokai. The taboo relationship between yokai and human is also explored, even by just reading this paragraph it is quite obvious who the yokai and human in question are. If you still don’t know who the character in question are I will give you a hint: I only introduced two characters so far.
Manga Review: Dragon Warrior: Dai’s Great Adventure
A rather old manga, Dragon Warrior: Dai’s Great Adventure is based in the world of the video game series Dragon Quest. This story stays true to the game to such an extent that even the manga feels like a RPG (Role Playing Game); the characters level up, learn new spells, and change classes. As you can tell from the manga’s title the manga is about Dai, a Dragon Knight, who goes on an adventure with fellow Disciples of Avan and other friends to defeat the Great Demon King Vearn.
Manhwa Review: Id
Some times we stumble across stories of fantastic lands, mystical creatures, and epic battles. Other times we come across stories like Id. Id has everything I mentioned, fantastic lands, mystical creatures, epic battles but it has a few things that make it different from the rest of the crowd. This manga has amazing art, a great story, and an even better entertainment value.
Manga Review: Mushishi
What is like a plant and like an animal but neither? What is a mirage but also physical? The answer is mushi. Mushi are a third type of being. They are not plants they are not animals but a little of both. Few people can see these creatures and even fewer of these become mushishi, wanderers who protect the balance between Mushi and humans. It is best to think of them as wandering healers who are both in tune with humans and mushi. The mangaka often bases the mushi after folk lore and superstitions. By borrowing from such lore we get creatures who have evolved and ripened for countless generations before being used in this work.
Manga Review: Edens Bowy
Available here
“In a world with floating cities know as Eden, a young boy named Jorrne attempts to return to Eden to be reunited with his mother. Born with the destiny of bearing god-killing powers, he is the object of Eden’s attention—both as something to study, and something to destroy. Aided by a young magic-wielding girl named Elisiss, her sister Enefeaa, and a swordsman sent from Eden, Jorrne travels to find his way home and to discover the truth behind his power.” - Mangafox.com
Manga Review: Brave Story - Shinsetsu
Available here
“From Tokyopop:
When 14-year-old middle-schooler Wataru’s father leaves home and his mother is taken ill to hospital, he decides to change his fate by traveling through the magical door shown to him by his mysterious classmate Mitsuru. In a land of magic and monsters, Wataru must summon all his courage and embark on a journey with several comrades to meet the Goddess of Destiny and change this ‘mistaken fate.’“-Mangafox.com
