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Chobits Anime and Manga Review
Apr 14th
Chobits… what to say about Chobits… well, it was written by CLAMP, an army of female mangaka who wrote Card Captor Sakura (which I watched and thought was a very good kiddie-shojo) and Angelic Layer (which I heve never seen, but it does seem like it was aimed at a younger audience). This, though, is not quite as kiddy. It has a message and theme for the reader, and though it uses a fairly large amount ecchi to make the majority of the story funny, the message stands out and will stay with you the rest of your life.
Just so you know, I am going to focus the review on the manga and not the anime, which had a few differences in the first episode (the only episode of the anime I watched) including a scene on the farm where the main character lived before the story began.
Anyway, in summary, Chobits is about a boy who is attending classes because he failed his college entrance exam, named Hideki. He orginally lived on a farm, but for the classes he moved to the unfamiliar city. He is amazed by all the things there, especially the very human like robots everyone owned, called persocoms. Hideki is poor though, and cannot afford one. But one day he finds a perfectly good, cute persocom in a dumpster. He turns it on and takes it home. The only problem is that the only thing it can say is chi! So that’s what he names it, Chi. Soon he realizes that Chi is learning from him; she copies his actions, starts to use words, and gains a personality of her own! But persocoms are supposed to only use pre-programed data, not learn for themselves! And Chi can’t even connect to the internet! What kind of persocom is she? As Hideki curiously searches for these answers, his relationship with the robot changes… but is that okay?
Yeah, I know, lots of questions for you to answer for yourself as you read this 8 manga series published in the US by Tokyopop. As for my final opinion, I say this series is very worth reading. As I have said before, I am a very large fan of shorter series, and this one qualifies. Very good quality all the way through, and lots of questions, twists, and turns. This book is certainly one of the most serious ecchi books I have ever read. Because of that, it would appeal to a very large audience. So, in other words, read it.
Oh, and I almost forgot, inside Chobits is a little picture book called “A City With No People”. It is amazing and theme-rich, as well as trippy and dark. That is one of main reasons I love this series!
WtSB Chapter 7 is Up!
Apr 12th
I just posted chapter 7 of my book When the Sky Bleeds. You can check it out at http://romanceotaku.com/when-the-sky-bleeds-wtsb/ .
Neon Genesis Evangelion: Angelic Days Review
Apr 3rd
In my opinion, the back of the first manga, published in America by ADV, summarized the series the best.
Imagine a Neon Genesis Evangelion in which dating the right girl is more important than saving the world…
That’s right, this 6 manga spinoff of the epic, best selling, super confusing, controversial, emotional, and meaningful mecha anime and manga is 100% shojo. Heck, this is like 200% shojo. Yes, the Eva still make an appearence, but… dude, how the hell… what kind of twisted person would do such a thing (please don’t answer with the author’s name, Fumino Hayashi, because that’s not the point)? Hey guys, guess what? I loved it XD.
Imagine it as a benchmark for your shojo. This book series has all of the stereotypical romanctic scenes, all executed well, as well as adds a little paranormal in there. Heck, the author even gave the characters new backstories! This manga is well written, though a little short. The best part is the last manga, where it goes to each character and shows you how they turned out in the future, as well as adds an unexpected ending twist!
I do not think that most people would say these are worth the ten bucks each, but those of you that love shojo will read this series at least twice, and that alone makes it worth the few extra dollars compared to other manga. Also, you do not need any past Eva knowledge to read these. Actually, if you do, it will just confuse you XD. I know it did me because I read this then read the real manga.
In conclusion, Neon Genesis Evangelion: Angelic Days is nothing like the original series, though it does have Eva in it. It is pure shojo, and only people who like pure or almost pure shojos will find this manga worth their time.
Pretty Face Manga Review
Mar 29th
Pretty Face is a series of six mangas that tells the story of Rando, a short tough guy with a crush on a sweet girl named Rina. One day his school bus falls of a cliff, leaving him unidentifiable, burns covering his skin. A crazy perverted doctor takes a picture out of Rando’s wallet and reconstructs his face perfectly identical to the picture. Now, the only problem is that the picture the doctor found in Rando’s wallet was of the girl Rando liked, not Rando himself! As he runs around, panicking, Rina finds him and mistakes him for her long lost sister. Unable to tell Rena the truth, Rando takes the life of Rina’s sister while attempting to locate the real one.
This ecchi-romantic-comedy is full of great adventures, and has a perfectly written ending to top it off. I laughed my ass off at some parts. At others I felt the intensity and seriousness of the moment. The events in the story can be related to by teens on a universal level, unlike some ecchi comedies that rely on pure perverted humor that a fairly large percentage would think are disgusting.
The real reason I love the manga is because it is quality-over-quantity. The author even tells you (in some inserts in the manga) of some not-so-good stories that just didn’t make the cut, especially ending wise. Many mangas of this quality go on for twenty or more volumes, and every volume has a part where you just wonder why you paid for this. Pretty Face, on the other hand, is short and sweet, and only one or two chapters made me feel like I was being cheated out of a good read. The rest were all amazingly hilarious and totally worth paying for to read again and again.
In conclusion, this is the best comedy series I ever read, and I am proud to say I own them all (unlike those other people that have other ecchi comedy books). If you have a few extra bucks on one of your manga-buying expeditions, pick up the first book. I am sure you will be hooked. (I just rhymed XD).
Percy Jackson and the Olympians The Lightning Thief Movie?!
Jan 6th
So I sit down with my girlfriend at the movies playing with funny 3D glasses, getting ready to watch Avatar when a preview comes up. It takes me about fifteen seconds to know that it was based on Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, the first book in the “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” book series.
The book series is about a boy, named Percy Jackson if you didn’t guess, whose school is attacked by a weird creature out of the blue that nobody else seems to be able to see. He soon learns that he is a Demigod, or a half god-half human hybrid, and once his powers come out (or start to come out), mythological beasts begin to become attracted to him (not in the good way, mind you). He is forced to run away to a camp made by the Greek Gods for both protection and training. He makes friends, as well as enemies there. But soon Percy gets accused by Zeus that he stole something very valuable from him. In order to clear his name he goes on an epic quest.
Oh, and here’s some text from http://www.rickriordan.com/children.htm about the book.
What if the gods of Olympus were alive in the 21st Century? What if they still fell in love with mortals and had children who might become great heroes — like Theseus, Jason and Hercules?
What if you were one of those children?
Such is the discovery that launches twelve-year-old Percy Jackson on the most dangerous quest of his life. With the help of a satyr and a daughter of Athena, Percy must journey across the United States to catch a thief who has stolen the original weapon of mass destruction – Zeus’ master bolt. Along the way, he must face a host of mythological enemies determined to stop him. Most of all, he must come to terms with a father he has never known, and an Oracle that has warned him of betrayal by a friend.
Seems a bit dull, no? Well, guess what, it isn’t. You need no Greek god knowledge at all to enjoy this book series (but a little bit helps). Rick Riordan (the author) is fast paced and knows how to make you laugh, especially when the mood in the book is intense. If you would like to check it out, the first chapter is available to read on the official site http://www.percyjacksonbooks.com/.
As for the movie, the first part of “Trailer 1″ is made up for the movie as it is not in any part of the book that I recall (but, then again, my memory is not the best). The actors look a few years older than what the book describes, but look at Twilight; they did the same thing. The acting does not seem bad from what I can tell, but I’m no movie critic. Decide for yourself by watching the two videos at the official website http://www.percyjacksonthemovie.com/.
Oh, and the date on the site says Febuary 12, 2010.
EDIT:
Actor, director, and other more specific information: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0814255/ , http://www.themovieinsider.com/m2153/percy-jackson-and-the-lightning-thief/
Yet another official website (there’s like five) that his home to yet another trailer and links to social sites: http://www.foxinternational.com/percyjackson/
Download all of the trailers both in high quality for your computer and for your iPod at: http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox/percyjacksontheolympianslightningthief/
EDIT x2:
A Percy Jackson ad campaign has recently hit TV. I personally only saw about 6 seconds of it (I don’t watch TV), but I guess I will post links to various trailers.
HD teaser: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENbdfvMJaL8&feature=related
Supposedly the TV trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrD33MWmA28
Youtube search results for “Percy Jackson TV tairler”: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=percy+jackson+tv+trailer&search_type=&aq=f
