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.

Kodomo no Jikan OVA

Ah, Kodomo no Jikan. One of the most controversial franchises that I can think of to date. The manga was canceled here in the USA, and the anime has about 4.5% of ever coming here. You know what? Make that a 1%, because the OVA brings the loli goodness (?) that people are looking for.

Rin, Kuro, and Mimi are looking for a birthday present for their teacher, Aoki-sensei. They go to the department stores, but don't find anything they like or that is affordable. Rin has a great idea...to make him something! That way it shows she cares and it saves money! So what to do now? Have a sleepover at Rin's house, that's what!

Rin starts to paint a picture for sensei, but Mimi in her fit of clumsy and lovestruck-ness spills milk over everything. So she cleans it up, but her and Rin are still freaking out! Meanwhile, Kuro is happy because she hates Aoki-sensei for being Rin's crush and makes a voodoo doll of him. ;P But it turns out Mimi got milk in her hair! Oh noes! What to do? Take a bath, that's what. Give the viewers their loli service.

Mimi totally freaks out when she finds out there's no shampoo left. But what to do now? Rin gets her guardian, Reji, to refill the container. So why does Mimi freak out? Because she's naked in front of her crush! After some bonding between Rin and Mimi, they play a game where they stick their hair in between their legs and become "adults". Get it?

So Rin stays up painting a picture for Aoki-sensei while Kuro is fantasizing about herself and Rin. Mimi becomes worried that Reji loves someone already, but little does she know that Reji's love is dead! So she does have a chance!

Cut to the next day at school, where Aoki-sensei opens his phone to see a text from Rin saying "Happy Birthday! I'm your present!" with a picture of Rin wrapped in a bow. Then he get's a text saying "Look down!" and Rin has "I love you Aoki-sensei!" written in the sand, Kuro has "You lolicon teacher!" and Mimi has something, but the I didn't catch what it said. But she looked nervous. ^^; Cut to Aoki sensei running down to Rin, and she surprise glomps him. The end!

I admit I'm not a fan of loli or the target audience. But I enjoyed the Kodomo no Jikan OVA nevertheless. It didn't have as much emotional or psychological depth as the series which was a letdown, but hey, you can't do everything in 23 minutes. *note* this is the DVD version of the OVA so there was no censoring.*

The OP was okay, it was a bit weak compared to Retsu! Ohime-sama Dakko from the TV series. It was performed by Rin, Kuro, and Mimi's voice actors and was called Otome Chikku Shoshinsha Desu. The ED was Aijou Education by Little Non, which was again not as good as Hanamaru Sensation from the TV series. It lacked the extra oomph that made the TV ED song so special and fitting.

The animation quality was okay. The VA were decent. They portrayed their characters well, with Rin being energetic but having some tradgey behind her, Kuro being the yuri rich girl, and Mimi being the worried, shy, and easily scared girl with issues.

The characters are what make this series. So what if they're nine? If they can provide more depth than lets say, a 17 year old character why not? Rin is energetic with a growing crush with Aoki-sensei, Kuro is a rich girl who's madly in love with Rin but rarley shows it in public, and Mimi has issues and is very shy. She's got a chest bigger than most middle-schoolers, is easily scared by what others think about her, and has a shy crush on Reji. You know what? These characters share similarities with those of Lucky Star, with Kona-chan as Rin, Kuro as Kagami, and Miyuki as Mimi.

Characters: 5
Sound: 3.5
Quality: 3.5
Story: 4
VA: 4

Overall: A solid 4. This is a good start for the series, but needs to dig more into the psychological drama and issues rather than light-hearted loli and fanservice. I'd only say this is ages 15+ because of fanservice and suggestive-ness. It's not as good as the TV series, but it's a nice diversion from it with more of the character's narration and depth.

Doujin Work, vol. 1

Doujin Work volume 1 (Packaged with the first DVD)
Media Blasters
HIROYUKI, 118 pp.
Available here.

I've been reading Doujin Work through scanlations before it had came out, so now that it's available in legal English form I scooped it up right away. It came with the first DVD of the Doujin Work anime, which was a good deal for $14.95 at Best Buy. Now, onto the review...

There's no real plot of Doujin Work, it just follows Osana Najimi through her adventures in the Doujin world. It starts out rather comically, with Najimi asking Tsuyuri what perverted thing she does alone and why she's sleeping in class. It starts with "Ma" and Najimi assumes this is something completley different than drawing manga. As soon as Najimi enters the doujin convention, her thoughts change on Doujin and she quickly agrees to make her own in order to make a living. She meets Justice (a lollicon), his lolli Sora, Hoshi (a boy that is crushing on her), and her yet-to-be named rival.

It just follows their Doujin antics in 4koma style. We see Najimi playing an ero game, her first publication, drawing a certain part of the anatomy shown by Justice, and Justice's protectiveness over Najimi. I can't really explain what happens, it's sort of a comedy slice-of-life revolving around doujin, with plenty of perverted humor thrown in for a few good laughs.

The characters are the propelling force of this 4koma, with most of the humor coming from things they do or say. This is especially the case for Najimi, being a newbie to the Doujin world, with her being uncomfortable drawing and reading about hentai. Justice is an overprotective lollicon, who sells his Doujin for next-to-nothing. Tsuyuri is defiantly a pervert, working on sadistic manga and being a gateway to the Doujin World. Sora is a non-innocent lolli, who is madly in love with Justice and draws Doujin despite being about eight years old.

The art is better than your average 4koma, with no use of chibi's or super-deformation. No matter what the characters are doing, they manage to stay looking realistic.

The quality I must say is not so great. I do commend Media Blasters for bringing over such an under-the-radar title, but they could have done a better job with it. The trim size is smaller than your average manga, thus making it look weird next to other manga on your shelf. The paper quality is so-so, but how they printed the text was a bit small and hard to read. They could have done better, but it's (barley) passable for now.

Art: 4
Characters: 5
Four Koma Execution: 5 (for humor)
Quality: 2.5

Total: Rounded to a 4. An A-. It could have been better if the release was more quality, but other than that it's one of the better 4koma on the market. It's genuinely funny, and it tells the Doujin World how it is. It's executed better than the similar title Comic Party. I recommend Doujin Work, but only for those who may have an interest in it, such as people who actually make Doujin or to otakus that want to enjoy a 4koma with good humor.

Amefurashi, vol. 1

Amefurashi The Rain Goddess, volume 1
Atsushi Suzumi
Del Rey, 221 pp.
Available here.

I got this one the day it came out. I'm not sure what it was that made me want to get this...maybe it was the sassy girl on the cover? Or maybe it was the fact that it was by Atsushi Suzumi, the creator of Venus Vs. Virus? Either way, I'm glad I picked this up.

The story is about average. It has it's weaknesses, but manages to be unique in a way. Gimmy is on a mission to save his younger twin brother and sister because they accidentally shipped themselves off to the Rain Goddess. So he has to get them back from the sassy goddess Sora. Along the way, there's another goddess that wants to get in Sora's tree so that she can control the rain.

It works out pretty well, except for the few weaknesses. One of them is Sora's story. There really isn't any reason why they send up gifts to Sora. Yes, after that it does rain but why? Why would you go send dolls up to a goddess? Another is the plot itself. It's fairly predictable.

The characters are great. Gimmy is much like Watanuki from xxxHolic, but isn't the same character. They share similar traits. Sora is a very sassy and somewhat immature goddess. Just about everyone else other than the two main characters is cookie-cutter, from the twins to Daryl, the parental figure in Gimmy's life.

The art is by far the strongest point of the book, which is very good. It's got detail and still fares well during action scenes. The characters are drawn very well, with costume detail and expressions that stand out.

The publication is great, mainly because it's from Del Rey. This book is extra thick, coming in at 221 pages with just the main story and a few notes with sketches. It has the extras, translation notes, and has a decent (but untranslated) look at the next volume. These are the great things that make a worthy publication.

Art: 5
Characters: 3.5 (Bought up to four point five by the mains, but taken down by the cookie-cutter side characters)
Quality: 5
Story: 3

Overall: Rounded to a 4. It's an A. It's a good, short shonen story that's only two volumes long. Your mileage may vary if you're used to reading long shonen and don't enjoy short ones. If that is the case, you man not enjoy this title to it's full extent.

Aria, vol. 1

Aria volume one
Kozue Amano
ADV manga, 176 pp.


Grade: A
On the planet Aqua, a world once known as Mars, Akari Mizunashi has just made her home in the town of Neo-VENEZIA, a futuristic imitation of the ancient city of Venice. The technology of "Man Home" (formerly Earth) has not entirely reached this planet, and Akari is alone, having no contact with family or friends. Nonetheless, the town, with its charming labyrinths of rivers and canals, becomes Akari's new infatuation, along with the dream of becoming a full-fledged gondolier. Reverting to a more "primitive" lifestyle and pursuing a new trade, the character of Akari becomes both adventurous and heartwarming all at once.

Actually, I don't think Aria needs a summary. It's a good ol' slice-of-life manga about gondoliers in an incarnation of Vince set in the future.

Aria follows Akari, an undine in training. For those not in the know, an undine in this series is an in-training gondolier. It follows events in Akari's life, such as gondola races, waiting at the Bridge of Sighs for a friend and a trip to the shrine where she witnesses a sun shower. It's very simple and relaxing, and is meant to point out to you that there are some magical times in life and to enjoy them.

Akari isn't smart, and she isn't supposed to be. She's kind-hearted, ready to stop a race just to pick up some fruits that a woman dropped in the water and is naive. Her friend Akia is level-headed and is competitive, and one of the more experienced undines Alicia is kind and caring. Along with the cat (?) President Aria, they make up a perfect slice-of-life crew who live out the most enjoyable moments in life.

The art looks better in black and white then in color I must say. The cover really didn't hook me into reading this manga because of the coloring. But once inside and reading, the art was pure wonderful, with several somewhat-detailed two page spreads.

It's okay quality wise. The cover feels a bit weird, and is marked and dented easily. This particular volume comes with a few helpful translation notes in the back. I must note, this is the ADV version, not the Tokyopop version. ADV version is rated all ages while Tokyopop's is OT. Why? I have no clue, because I didn't see one objectionable thing in this whole volume.

Art: 4
Characters: 4
Quality: 3.5
Story (charm): 5

Overall: A 4.2. I must say that I keep the .2 in there because this is a noteworthy book that almost anyone can enjoy. It's got those qualities that really make a slice of life manga, with likable characters, a good setting, and charm. I think also the older you are the more you can appreciate it. A and recommended.

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, vol. 2

Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei: The power of negative thinking volume 2

Meet the most melancholy high school teacher in Japan: Nozomu Itoshiki, whose fashion sense is strictly nineteenth-century, whose personal goal is self-annihilation, and whose signature phrase is “I’m in despair!” He’s similar to Franz Kafka and Jean-Paul Sartre–if Kafka and Sartre had had to deal with a classroom of short-skirted, lovesick students. And to make matters worse, Itoshiki’s family wants him to get married. Forget the bride, here comes the gloom!

Hands down, this is one of the most enjoyable manga I've read in a long time.

The manga Sayonara, Zetsubou sensei revolves around Nozomu Itoshiki, a.k.a Despair-sensei, and his life as a teacher. But wait, he is no ordinary teacher, being suicidal and constantly in despair from trivial things to mannerisms to anything else in between. He teaches his class full of crazy students, from the overly positive Kafuka Fuura to illegal immigrant Maria to the "I'll sue!" double personality Kaere.

This particular volume starts out with wishes, which Zetsubou-sensei quickly points out that most don't come true. Then we have Commodore Perry come to the school and open everything, even though he's not truly Commodore Perry. Then we have commentary on some things aren't reported, even though people want to know, in this case the students wanting to know their grades. And then there is a chapter about shadowy outcasts.

The second half of the book deals with the "On-Edge" school, where everything would crack at any moment if someone burst a fuse. We also see Sensei and Fujiyoshi-san's passions for Doujinshi, even though they both have different visions of what doujinshi is. Then Sensei is arranged to marry-to anyone he makes eye contact with! And finally, the characters go through criticism training.

Usually, those things would only be worth a chuckle if performed normally. But this manga is satire, with some of the most funny and strange characters you'd ever meet. Everyone, from Sensei to Meru, the cute-but-nasty mute, pipe in on the situations in this book. It's funny. It's even funnier from the skewed perspective of Zetsubou-sensei.

As mentioned before, the characters are top-notch. You have to love them. They're all archtypes-the illegal immigrant, the hikikomori, the fujiyoshi, the positive one, the fanservice girl, and the balding one- would be boring usually, but Koji Kumeta makes them something special by having the comedy play off their archetypes. An example of this is Maria, the illegal immigrant, being a newbie to Japan and imitating others behaviors and not quite understanding everything completely.

The art is very simple, and it has it's own distinct style.

The quality is over the top, with pages of translation notes explaining pop culture references, Kanji jokes that American readers might not get, and chapter title meanings. The cover is so nice feeling and smooth, it makes you wonder why other companies aren't as good publishers as Del Rey. They also get bonus points for picking up this niche title.

This book really caters to the Otaku, Hikikomori, and Weeaboo, with lots of Japanese references and language puns. Most people will not enjoy this unless they are one of the aforementioned types, but those who will love it.

Art: 4.5
Characters: 5
Quality: 5 (Del Rey really went the extra mile)
Story (satire and comedy): 5

Overall: A 4.8. This is an A+ all the way. Highly recommended.

Mamotte Lollipop, vol. 1

Mamotte! Lollipop volume 1
Michiyo Kikuta
Del Rey, 208 pp.
Junior high schooler Nina is ready to fall in love. She's looking for a boy who's cute and sweet and strong enough to support her when the chips are down. But what happens when Nina's dream comes true…twice? One day, two cute boys literally fall from the sky: they're both wizards and they've come to the Human World to take the Magic Exam. Their success on this test depends on protecting Nina from evil, so now Nina has a pair of cute magical boys chasing her everywhere she goes! One of these wizards just might be the boy of her dreams…but which one?

I admit when I first got this, I really didn't have high expectations. From hearing the premise this sounded like it would be an average mixed magical girl shojo. But it turned out to be a nice romantic comedy with a bit of magic thrown in.

The premise sounds a bit silly at first. Two boys falling from the sky? Really? Having to protect the girl that likes them because she accidentally swallowed the item for a magical exam? It's all too perfect. But it makes a great starting point for a solid romantic comedy.

We go through Nina meeting Zero and Ichi, the two main wizards that she is crushing on, meeting rival wizards-in-training Forte and Sun, we get to see them got to the hot springs (which has censored parts!), Nina as a baby, and mid-terms. These are all things that happen in regular shojo, except there are twists such as using magic and the other wizards coming and trying to kidnap Nina because she has the crystal pearl.

The characters are average at times, but overall you feel like you get to know them more over the course of the book. The releatinship between Nina and her two potential boyfriends grow, and the rivalry between the wizards and other love rivals grow. The characters that are focused on are Nina, Zero, and Ichi, but there are also some recurring characters like Rokka (who loves Ichi but is 5), Go (Rokka's butler/gigolo), Forte (Sun's partner), and Sun (the crossdresser).

The art is great, surpassing my shojo standards. Yes, the characters have huge eyes, but who cares if it adds to their design?

The quality is top notch, which is pretty much a standard for Del Rey. One complaint: why did they censor one panel in the hot springs chapter? Goodness, it couldn't haven been that bad. Otherwise, I commend them for the translation notes, translating sidebars, and including an extra story Magical Medical in the back.

Art: 4.5
Characters: 3.5
Quality: 4.5
Story: 3.5 (Works out surprisingly well despite the average premise.

Overall: A solid 4. Or an A-. Recommended to most shojo fans looking for something fresh and appealing.

Rozen Maiden DVD 1

Rozen Maiden DVD 1: Doll House Limited Edition with box
Original Concept by PEACH-PIT
Geneon, 13+

"This is the story of one young boy who couldn't get along with his classmates and decided to drop out and never return...
This is the story of an exquisite doll who wished to one day become a normal human girl...
This is the story of one young boy and an exquisite doll and their adventures as they strive to help each other in overcoming their fears and the very real dangers of the Alice Game. However, in order to do that, they must overcome their distrust of each other."

Story
Jun is a hikikomori. He buys weird cursed and voodoo items online, and then when they arrive he mails them back before the grace period ends. One day, he receives a card asking To wind or not to wind. He circles to wind, figuring that it can't hurt him. Slipping it in his desk drawer, he goes to bed, only the next day to find a case containing a delicate doll that looks like a human girl...

And so starts Rozen Maiden. Many say it's similar in concept to Highlander, but I've never seen any of those movies/series so I can't really comment. Shinku, the doll that Jun finds, commands him to be her servant and protect her Rosa Mystica. The dolls play the Alice Game, in which the last doll surviving becomes the next Alice. 3/5 It's a unique idea, but it needs to be expanded on more and we need to learn more about the Alice Game.

Characters
In this volume, we meet Shinku, the 5th Rozen Maiden Doll, Hinaichigo, the 6th doll, and Suiseiseki, the 3rd doll. Shinku is very commanding of Jun, Hinaichigo is like that annoying little cousin who wants to play with you, and Suiseiseki is a timid, shy girl who is still warming up to Jun. We also meet Nori, Jun's over concerned sister.

Thoughts: Jun is portrayed more childish in the dub than in the sub. He says things like "This is going to be the bestests!" and acts very immature. Shinku is a very demanding little doll, and relies on Jun to move from room to room because of her lack of height to reach doorhandles. Hinaichigo is childish, and needs more attention. Suiseiseki is very, very timid, and needs to come out of her shell. Nori seems like she's there for comic relief sometimes, acting like a grown up. Their personalities are portrayed well in this volume, but they've still got room for growth. 4/5

Episodes
The first episode is just to introduce Shinku and how she came to be Jun's doll. The second episode is meeting Hinaichigo, and her becoming part of Jun's household. The third episode introduce Suigintou, but she is only on-screen for about 5 minutes. The forth, and final episode on this disc introduce Suiseiseki, who enters Jun's dream world.

Out of those four episodes, the 2nd and 4th shined the most. In the second, we see inside what's called the N-Field, where Hinaichigo has taken residence for a short time to battle Shinku. It's very bright and colorful, and the battle is animated greatly. It's very smooth and isn't stiff. The fourth episode is where we enter Jun's dream world, which is full of school items, ranging from study guides to flowers that talk and behave like Jun's classmates would. 5/5 for being interesting and symbolic.

Animation
As aforementioned, the animation is very good. Bright colors, and a nice rendering of the doll's antique looking clothing. The human characters are somewhat less detailed from the dolls, and sometimes look messy. But that's okay, because the one-and-a-half fight scenes we have make up for it. It's smooth, and isn't choppy. 4/5

Presentation
The DVD has nice packaging, with a reversible cover and a clear package. This particular DVD came in the limited edition box, which the rest of the series can be stored in. The box is red velvet on the outside, with two golden pictures of Shinku and Suigintou on the side of it. The DVD menu is standard Geneon, with a the cover image on the left and the functions on the right.

The dub was done good, other than Jun sounding younger than an 8th grader. It stayed very close to the JP script, some things were just phrased differently. 4/5 EP's 1-3 were watched in English, with EP 4 in JP to hear "Desu."

Extras, Opening and Closing
For extras, we have the creditless OP and ED, along with translated credits. We also have trailers.

The OP is performed by Ali Project, Kinjirareta Asobi, and is a nice song. The ED, Tomei Shelter, performed by refio + Haruka Shimotsuki, is a relaxing song that fits the mood of Rozen Maiden. It's a bit on the slow side, but it'd defiantly MP3 player worthy. 5/5

Overall
This DVD gets a 4.2, or an A-. It's a good, solid start to the series, but there's still more story to explore and character personalities to be fleshed out.

Original post here.

Disgaea 2, vol. 1

Disgaea 2, volume 1
By Hekaton
Publisher: Broccoli Books

Adell is the lone human being in a world of humans-turned-demons, made by Overlord Zenon. It's Adell's task - and burden - to defeat Zenon and restore his friends and family to their normal selves.

But summoning an Overlord is not easy.

When Adell tries to call Zenon, he ends up with his daughter, Rozalin. Now, bound by contract, Adell promises to take Rozalin back to her father.

However, it will take much more than blind courage to defeat her all-powerful father and save the world. From Broccoli's website.

The manga starts out with Flonne talking about how the Netherworld is at peace now, and how Laharl is making the "heroes" of the Netherworld pay to fight him. So I guess this takes the good ending from the first Disgaea game, where Laharl survives and Flonne is reincarnated as a fallen angel. Etna, bored with Laharl not doing much, sets out on a quest to be an overlord, which involves going to the Dark Assembly, forming her army of Prinnies, those cute-but-exploding penguins, and fighting someone known as Adell, the human champion, and maybe after that fight the overlord Zenon.

About halfway through the book, we meet up with Adell, the primary hero of the second series. He's sworn to brake his family from Overlord Zenon's curse, which turned them part demon. His mother was trying to summon the overlord when Rozalin, the overlord's daughter, comes flying from the sky. Adell and Rozalin pledge to journey together to return her to the overlord's castle. Not much journeying happens in this volume, though. We get to see glimpses of Axel, the Dark Hero who is planning his rock-star comeback. Rozalin and Adell do some venturing in a forest, but they end up returning home for dinner and a good night's sleep.

I guess the manga will stick closely to the plot of the game, but I can't tell you at this point. I only have two of the volumes because that's all that came out here before Broccoli closed down. But this is very good as a video game to manga adaption. The characters aren't boring, cookie-cutter characters like most most of these conversions. Laharl is a spoiled brat, Etna is the strong, selfish, and feisty demon, and Flonne is the sweet and ditzy fallen angel. Adell is the caring hero, who wants to help his family and doesn't care that much about impressing girls, while Rozalin is the spoiled, busty daughter of the all-powerful overlord who makes Adell do most things for her.

And by busty, there is a lot of Rozalin fanservice. Lots and lots. Any panel with Rozalin=instant service. You can tell by opening the book, because the first thing you see is Rozalin, in full color, with her huge chest. I don't recall her having that in the game. :sweatdrop: There's also a three-page bath scene with her and Hanako, but it's not explicit or anything(It's only rated T).

Overall, this is very good. It's way better than the original Disgaea manga, also published by Broccoli. The art done by Hekaton sticks close to the original game art by Takehido Hatada, but it still has it's own style. The book overall is good quality, with nice, sturdy white paper and a non-flimsy cover. I'd recommend this to fans of Disgaea, and just to those who like action/comedy like this.

Art: 5 (Clean, and looks like the game's art)
Characters: 5 (Developed and likable)
Story: 4
Quality: 5 (Broccoli's books are very good quality compared to others.)

Total: 4.75/5 Very good! Or an A. Could be a bit higher/lower for you depending on your opinion of the game franchise.

One of the better video game-to-manga transitions out there. Likable, well-developed characters and a familiar franchise.

Originally published @ http://xxxprincess-cosmos13.deviantart.com/journal/25811408/