romance ↘↖
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.
Manga Review: Karakuri Odette
Odette Yoshizawa can be best described by her classmate’s reaction, “She looks like a doll.” In one sense of the meaning Odette is very beautiful. However, in the other sense of the meaning she looks like a doll, this is because she is an android. Created by the renown Professor Yoshizawa, Odette is the closest thing machines have ever become to humans. She can express all human behaviors and movements, is intelligent, and has great physical prowess. To an untrained eye she is the perfect human. But there is something that Odette is missing. To find out what is different between her and human girls she convinces the Professor to let her go to school. In school she makes friends, develops a sense of right and wrong, learns about human society, and slowly becomes more like a human.
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: Tomehane!
Returnee Yukari Oe has been in school for a week now, he has no friends but isn’t bullied either. He yearns for something more. Fate answers his call, in a way Oe would never expect, by getting him threatened to join the calligraphy club. Still needing one more member, the club tricks Yuki Mochizuki into joining by playing the responsibility card as she accidentally broke Oe’s dominant hand. The addition of these two eager first years drives the tepid calligraphy club to new heights. This manga explores the many different types of Japanese calligraphy, how to draw it, its modern applications, and its history.
Manga Review: King of Thorns
People often ask: “If you could have one superpower what would it be?” One day I decided to sit down and plan out what would be the best superpower so that I would be prepared should someone ask. After brainstorming I came up with two superpowers that were tied for my favorite. One of them is turning what I imagine into reality. Just like any superpower this one has flaws. This manga explores what happens if someone tries to utilize this great power in order to take over the world. In this manga the so called, “Medusa virus,” has started to infect humans. The result? People slowly turn in stone. Huge power awaits those who can control the Medusa virus.
Manga Review: Sangatsu No Lion
It is a hard life for a professional shogi player. Winning a match means everything. Dropping down a rank is extremely challenging to rectify. But what if that proffesional shogi player is only a teenager? Kiriyama Rei is that shogi player. His father was a shogi player, and the only way Rei got his father to play with him was to challenge him with shogi. Now he is all alone and has a past that is too much for him to bare. All he has is shogi and the Kawamoto family. Fortunately, the Kawamoto family is really all Rei needs.
Manga Review: Otoyomegatari
Set in pre-modern days, in the time of the silk road, Otoyomegatari follows the married lives of Amira and Karluk. Amira was sent by her village to marry Karluk, a boy eight years younger than her, in an arranged marriage. In this new village, the culture is different and at times strange for Amira. Among this village filled with the decedents of nomadic herders Amira’s upbringing in semi-nomadic tribe shows, however she is not alone and she has all the support she could wish for. Amira now has a family based on a marriage based on love, respect, and trust. What more could anyone want?
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: Defense Devil
Available here
“Adapted from the oneshot Akuma Bengoshi Kukabara, Mephisto Bart Kucabara is a devil lawyer. In order to return to the demon world that he was exiled from he needs to collect enough Dark Matter. To do so he creates a plan to claim the Dark Matter from the souls of sinners sentenced to hell. Prove the soul’s innocence and the Dark Matter becomes his.
But how can he gather enough Dark Matter when his kind personality causes him to continually use it up in order to defend the soul from the Shinigami that has come to take them to hell?” - Mangafox.com
