Maid-Sama! vol. 1

Maid-Sama! a.k.a. Kaichou wa Maid-sama! volume 1
Hiro Fujiwara
Tokyopop, 183 pp.

Maid-Sama is the story of Misaki (called Misa-chan here-on), one of the toughtest, most agressive females in an all-b0ys school that has recently gone co-ed. She's the student council president, and pretty much keeps everything in check at the school, making sure the boys look neat and the girls are treated nicely. But what happens when a boy, Usui, finds out that her afterschool job is working at a maid cafe?

And thus starts the shojo romantic-comedy Maid-Sama!. It's formula works for now, which consists of the spats between Usui and Misa-chan, but it seems like it might become a bit repetitive over time. I mean, how long can you drag on keeping a secret? It's going to get out sometime.

There's also an extra story called Transparent World in the back of the book, which takes up roughly 1/4th of the paperback. It's a cute lil' story about a boy that died but comes back as a transparent that only his crush and best friend can see.

The characters are probably one of the strong points of Maid-Sama. At first Misa-chan comes off as a tsundere, but it turns out she's not. She's just really, really aggressive and flips to cute at her job as a maid. Usui is the school's heartthrob, who's naturally turned down every girl who's asked him out and set his sights on Misa, even if it means keeping her maid job a secret. There's also a few side characters, including maid cafe costumers that attempt to kidnap Misa, the "Idiot Trio" who follow Misa around school, and the few girls in the school that Misa protects.

I'm going to be blunt about this: the quality of this manga is crap on Tokyopop's part. One of the first of many of their cheaper-paper manga, it disappointments. It's a pain to read, not unreadable, on darker and thinner paper that's a bit see through. The book's cover is weird feeling and not-sturdy. It isn't bonded well together either, you could bend it in half. Just saying, if you want this manga wait until TP does a reprint of it in better quality.

The art is decent, and adds a bit of life to what would otherwise be an average-shojo. The characters are drawn proportionate and there is little use of chibis. The maid outfits are drawn really nicely, down to every frill and detail.

Art: 4
Characters: 4
Quality: 1
Story: 3.5

Overall: Barely a 3. Probably bought down by TP's quality. If you want a grade for the series alone, I'd give it a B. It's really good, but the publisher could have done a better job on it. It's just a bit tiring with see-through paper and small text.

I'd recommend this to the shojo-crowd looking for something different. The first volume is good, but I'm predicting the series might get a bit formulatic over time. It's a breath of fresh air for those that have read lots of shojo and are looking for something new.

View: Disney gets Naruto Shippuden

So for those who haven't heard yet, Naruto Shippuden is coming to Disney XD. What do I think of that? I'm not exactaly sure if it's a good move for fans of the show, but I think it's going to be good for the business. Read on to hear the pros and cons!

First off, this is an excellent business move. Even though Naruto is pretty popular (from what I hear) it'll get more popular here on. I mean really, it's Disney. You know, those people who make the sitcoms and cartoons that your kids watch? Yeah, it's them. They're slowly (IMO) taking over the entertainment business. I mean they just bought Marvel, people. Now Naruto. What next, something huge like...cable companies? Maybe they won't get that far in the next few years, but look out people. The possibility exists for anything.

Sono-ni, this will get more kids into anime. Which I think is a good and bad thing. That means the US anime companies (Funimation, Sentai, and old Genon) will have lots of business. But you know why this is a bad thing too? Because maybe people will get the wrong idea if they see a hentai and think all anime is that. >< So more people could be against it.

Now onto the cons. This is an obvious one. Censoring. You all saw that coming, right? Yeah. I know that there is going to be some censoring (blood, language, ect.) but hey, this is Disney. And if you can't deal with that, go buy the uncut DVD's that are everywhere. But still, censoring is bad IMO. Even if it's stupid like Citramon (Digimon) or something extreme that ruins a show (Kodomo no Jikan). But than again Disney (from what I know) is aimed at kids, and I don't think people older than say, 12, watch Disney. So kids probably wouldn't even notice it.

So what do you think? Is this good? Bad? I can't really say at this point until I actually see what they do with Naruto. Even though I'm not really a fan of it because it's long and filler, I'll give it a chance. It could be great, it could suck.

Kamichama Karin Chu, vol. 1-3

Kamichama Karin Chu volumes 1-3
Koge-Donbo
Del Rey, somewhere in the 180-190 pp. range.

Ah, Kamichama Karin. I enjoyed this series when I was a bit younger. What made it so good? Was it the mix of magical girl and romance that made me borrow the manga numerous times of the library? Who knows, but all I know for sure is that the sequel thus far does not live up to the previous series.

After the events of Kamichama Karin Kazume, Karin's love intrest and future husband has returned from studying abroad. But what happens when Suzune, Karin and Kazune's child from the future is plopped on the doorstep needing them to get rid of the seeds of chaos? It's time to go into god mode. Karin uses the Chronos Clock to turn into a goddess while Kazune uses a ring to turn into a god. With the help of idol Jin and old friend Michi, can they stop the seeds of chaos before it is too late?

Typing that above summary makes Kamichama Karin Chu sound like it actually has an episodic magical girl formula. But prepare to be disappointed, because Chu is all about Karin's love triangle between Kazune, Jin, and Michi. The story is just light fluff and doesn't really help the series. Not much actual magical girl antics go on, other than the "Love Evolution" between Karin and Kazune which they use to "bond" and stop the seeds of chaos.

Some of the cast returns from the original series, like Mr. Glasses Man, Kazune, Himeka (mentioned), Michi, and (obviously) Karin. They've grown up a bit, but not in a good way. Karin has pretty much gone from hard times to spoiled brat with a choice of men. Kazune is his old self, switching between sexist and perv personality at the drop of a dime. There isn't much to say about Jin or Michi, other than they exist to be Karin's love interests.

That would be okay if the characters actually grew. Karin spends most of her time whining about Kazune, Jin is an idol in love with Karin and is Kazune's rival, and Michi...he doesn't get much screen time. He's usually the one left home stuck with Suzune. The characters don't really care about each other either, which makes the whole point of the series seem stupid because it's about love. It would help if they actually knew something about one another.

The art is the good point in the series. Koge-Donbo is know for her sugary, huge-eyed character designs. But even though that's great, more than half of every volume is filled with chibis. Really, if you're going to make such a mediocre series, you should put some work into the art to at least let readers have something pretty to look at to make them ignore the failing characters and story. Goodness.

Del Rey is wonderful with their publications, as always. Translation notes, a decent sturdy book, and high page count are staples for them.

Art: 2.5
Characters: 2
Quality: 4
Story:1.5

Overall: A 2.5 or D, but you were probably expecting that. Your mileage may vary with this one. I'd say if you're under 12 you'll get more enjoyment from this series than I did, But if you're older than that, it's not so great actually. So if you're looking for a better series (there are lots of them) check out the original Kamichama Karin series or the anime. It's better than this.

Full Metal Panic!, vol. 2

Full Metal Panic! volume 2
Written by Shouji Gatou, art by Retsu Tateo
ADV manga (defunct), 194 pp.

Full Metal Panic is not that hard of a series to jump into. All you need to know is that Sosuke is a undercover agent who's a student by day, Chidori is your not-so-average damsel in distress that kids look up to but don't necessarily want to be around. She's also got some hidden power that makes her a Whispered. Did I mention there were giant robots and lots of action? Read on to see what makes Full Metal Panic! a winner in my book.

The story starts out with Sosuke and his class flying to Okinawa on a field trip. But what happens when the plane is hijacked? We find out that one of the hijackers is Gauron, one of Sosuke's enemies that was supposedly dead. But why is the plane hijacked in the first place? Because everyone wants Chidori! She has the power that they want. But what happens when she's kidnapped and everything doesn't go according to plan? It's Sosuke to the rescue.

It sounds a bit confusing the way I typed things out, but it flows very well. There's a bit of romantic tension between Sosuke and Chidori, complicating this a bit. Even though I feel I missed a bit of something by not reading the first volume in the series, I'm intrigued by the plot. We've still got more to learn about Chidori's power and why it's so important.

The characters are good. Sosuke fits into the stereotypical hero. He's a bit quiet, but he's sort of badass when the time calls for it. Chidori is a Whispered. She seems a bit mysterious but she has her own personality that makes her someone to look up to. Gauron and his team of baddies fit the mold of menacing evil. There's also a whole class of side characters, but they don't do much.

The art is something to write home about. Maybe it's just because of me not reading lots of "action" stuff like this, but it's very good. The characters manage to look realistic while still being manga-ish. The mecha are well drawn along with their attacks and the few explosions in the book.

Quality-wise it's standard ADV. The paper is okay quality, it's a bit on the yellow side. The book's trim size is about two and one-half centimeters taller than regular manga, which will make it stand out on your shelf. If you're looking for comparison, it's the size of Yen Press's manhwa line. The translation was well-written, with no need for translation notes. The only thing that irked me was the occasional bolding of words, but I've seen that in a few of their other titles.

Art: 4.5
Characters: 4
Quality: 3.5
Story:4

Overall: 4. An A-. It's good. I'll hopefully be getting volume three when my friend loans it to me. It's a bit hard to find because ADV isn't publishing manga anymore, but they'd probably have it at the local Borders as long as they didn't pull the manga.

Credit: Jeff-chan for loaning me the volume for today's review.

Manga that should be licensed here: part 1

After reading loads of scanlations over time, I think it's about time I made a list of which ones I think should be licensed here for distribution here in the US. First off is an obvious choice...

Hetalia Axis Powers
Hidekaz Himaruya
Gentosha Comics
Possible Audience: 13+ girls
Chance of being licensed: 65% Pretty good, has a devoted fanbase.
Possible Liscensor: 1) Bandai, 2)Media Blasters, 3) Yen Press

Hetalia is a 4koma historical-comedy manga taking place in between World War 1 and World War 2. It mainly follows Italy, Germany, and Japan, the "Axis Powers".

Why? Because it's popular. It has two anime seasons, coming in at a planned 52 episodes. It has 4 drama CD's, and has a devoted fanbase. Also, most of the characters are male so it's fodder for Doujinshi and Fujoshi.

Chu Chu Chu a.k.a C<3C<3C<3 or Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!
Nakashima Tsubaki
Shueisha
Possible Audience: 15+ girls or 18+ men
Chance of being licensed: 15% Not well known
Possible Liscensor: Del Rey or DrMaster

A supernatural romance following Honey, a girl who looks like she's 6 but in middle school. She wants to be an adult, so while saving a bat stuck in a window a vampire rewards her. She grows the body of an adult. I really think this one appeals to younger readers, but with the constant clothes-falling-off Honey or the age changing, it ups the rating. It's either aimed at younger girls or older men. I'd say more towards older men because of the loli main character.

Why? Because it appeals to two different demographics. Teen girls and older men. Can't go wrong.

Amanchu!
Amano Kozue (Aria, Aqua)
Mag Garden
Possible Audience: Everyone
Chance: 50%
Liscensor: Tokyopop or Yen Press

Amanchu is the story of two girls who become best friends and enjoy the ocean. It's a slice-of-life with slight shojo-ai undertones.

Why? Because it's Amano. Both Aria and Aqua are published here by Tokyopop, even though I disagree with their 16+ and 13+ ratings. It's a good (from the few chapters I've read) slice of life that most people can enjoy. I'd say it's a Y 10+ at most.

And that concludes part 1 of my choices of unlicensed manga. After seeing Zetsubou-sensei and Doujin Work get published here, I know the possiblity exists for almost anything to hit the US shores.

REC Impressions

Scanlations are a hard thing to review. Their chatper count is hard to divide into actual volumes, and they may or may not be legal to read depending if they're licensed in the states or not. So when I review scanlations or raws, I'll just put "Impressions" in the title of the post. Got it? Good.

One of today's featured scanations is REC, a story about an aspiring voice actress who has no home and moves in with a man she randomly went to the movies with.

REC
Q-Tarou Hanamizawa
Chapters read: 2/40, ongoing

Quite an interesting story, to say the least. We start out with an unnamed girl, who bumps into a man who has been stood up. Taking somewhat of an advantage of him, she goes with him to the movies. The girl is quite strange, reading the movie's subtitles out loud. Later the man finds out that this girl, Aka, wants to become a voice actress.

After bringing her home for a night, she "does it" with him but quickly runs off after they've finished. Cut to the next morning when the man comes looking for her. He finds out that the place she lived has been burnt down! Oh noes! So what to do? Take her in, that's what. Being the good guy he is, he offers her to let her live in his apartment. After this, he goes to his new job which is advertising for a snack food company. He dresses up as the snack company mascot, Neko-san, while Aka does the voices.

After a few standard antics of living in someplace new (such as walking in on her changing) and some banter, we're back at the jobs of the two. The guy runs into a young girl who loves the Neko-san character, and Aka is delighted that someone likes her talents.

Thoughts
The premise sounds a bit average. It's fairly decent, and you can see the relationship between Aka and the man growing little by little even if she wants them to be just friends. But I'm really not sure if it's going to work out with Aka being a tsundere and all. One minute she's angry, and the next she's in tears over someone liking her work!

REC isn't groundbreaking, and it isn't going to win any awards. But it's a good way to kill some time if you're looking for a good seinin manga with two characters in a more mature relationship.

Companies that could possibly license this:
I'm going to say possibly Media Blasters (Anime Works), because they could release the manga along with the short, 12-minutes-an-episode anime and OVA all in one package for a good price.

As a second choice, I'd say Yen Press. They look like they'd be ones to take a risk and publish more "mature" stuff. If both those fail, I'd say CMX because they pick up "smaller" titles like this one.