Messages

16

Manga / Re: Krozam's Manga Diary

« on: June 03, 2015, 03:17:52 am »

I just marathoned a manga called Chocolat (by Kubonouchi Eisaku). A night well spent. The first couple of volumes are so-so, but then it gets pretty good. The epilogue chapter is very nice, almost had me tear up. Almost. It's too bad the author didn't quite have what it takes to squeeze the best out of the concept and the characters. Art-wise, the dramatisation is good, but writing-wise, it's a bit lacking, IMO. While I wouldn't really call it a "great" manga, it's still a good one, well worth reading. 3.5/5 stars.

17

Anime / Re: The Season So Far...

« on: April 11, 2015, 08:18:28 pm »

I think I've more or less checked out all the anime I'm interested in this new season. Except Yamada-kun, that one I probably won't watch until the season is complete.

Denpa Kyoushi seems rather meh in terms of production quality, but it's mainly a comedy, so it doesn't matter that much. I've read a few dozen chapters of the manga, so I more or less know what to expect. Should be pretty entertaining througout its run.

Arslan charmed me immediately with its high production quality and beautiful scenery. As I watched the first ep further, I was very inrigued by the premise, which reminds me of the time of the Islamic expansion. The kingdom or Pars might well be based on Persia, and the Lusitanian fanatics might as well be Muslims. I look forward to learning more about the world, seeing how far the similarities extend. On the other hand, I was disappointed by the bland protagonist (but he's only 11 in the first ep, and the next ep takes place 3 years later, so it's possible he's already different in the second ep, and anyway, I expect plenty of character development).

Dungeon Girls seems clichéd as fuck and lacking of anything that could be called plot. Add a meh protagonist and no number of cute girls can save it. I'll give it one more ep, a chance to get started on a plot, but I'm expecting to drop it after that.

Kekkai Sensen has a pretty confusing start, and yet another meh protagonist, so I'm not too impressed. However, on account of the original author (same mangaka who did Trigun), I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt, and at least a couple more eps.

Rinne is off to a decent start. Since it's based on a Takahashi Rumiko series, I'm going to give it a fair chance, even if many who have read the manga tend to say that it's the weakest of her works. I can at least say that I wasn't bored by the first ep, though neither was it particularly interesting.

Re-kan is actually pretty amusing. Amusing enough that I'm watching it even though there are no significant male characters. Girls only -shows aren't usually for me, but this looks like it might be worth making an exception for.

Yahari S2 is, well, more or less the same as the first season. An excellent anime, if perhaps a little bit overrated. Probably the best MC of the season, seeing as this season seems pretty weak in that regard.

I might still check out Ore Monogatari, but otherwise, I don't expect to pick up any more shows. Overall, not a particularly good season, but at least it has Yahari and Denpa Kyoushi, and Arlan seems fairly promising.

18

Anime / Re: What Did You Just Finish?

« on: April 07, 2015, 05:04:29 am »

Magic Kaitou 1412

Delightfully intelligent and well dramatised. I like Kid's style a lot (even if his normal personality is a bit... annoying, even). It suffers from the same problem that plagues Conan - namely, the main plot is slow as fuck - but also enjoys the same strength: the countless "filler cases" are interesting enough that I didn't really miss the main plot often. Perhaps even surprisingly, this is one of the most enjoyable anime for me in the past two seasons. I wish they'd make more anime with concepts like this, they make for a nice break from all the generic harem shit. 4/5 stars.


Absolute Duo

As far as generic LN adaptations go, I'd say that this one is among the best of its kind. It does most things right (apart from, you know, being original). The MC is pretty likeable and reliable, the girls have distinct enough personalities, the fanservice is not too intrusive, the fights and animation are decent, the pacing and comedy work most of the time, and the last two eps are climatic enough. I might even say that the plot holds some minor interest to me. 3.5 stars.

19

Anime / Re: What Did You Just Finish?

« on: February 10, 2015, 10:13:20 am »

Trinity Seven

Trinity 7 is quite possibly the most faithful anime adaptation I've ever seen, it follows the manga almost 1:1. A few events are reorganised and a few dialogue lines cut or added, but that's it. It neither improves from the original material, nor screws up anything. It ends nicely, at pretty much the exact point where I expected it to end. It could use better musics and dramatisation, but they're not bad by any means. Animation and voice acting are as you could expect from today's anime, neither superb nor bad. Adaptation quality aside... well, I might as well just link my review of the manga:

http://forums.fansub.co/index.php?topic=240.msg8721#msg8721

Long story short, it has one of the most awesome harem leads ever, great comedy, decent but sometimes underwhelming fights (they improve as the story progresses), interesting plot and magic system... The other characters are likeable and all, but unfortunately often defined by their relationship to the male lead. They're slowly gaining depth, though. Overall, not a particularly deep story, but entertaining as fuck. Superbly re-readable/rewatchable. 4.5/5 stars.

20

Manga / Re: Krozam's Manga Diary

« on: January 17, 2015, 10:26:57 pm »

I read Emma several years ago, and it was indeed an enjoyable read. IIRC, I pretty much marathoned the whole thing in one sitting. I don't remember it well enough to rate it (I didn't rate the stuff I read back then, and even if I had, the scale would have shifted since then), but it was good enough to warrant a recommendation. Not a "must read" level recommendation, though.

I've also checked out Yandere Kanojo earlier. I'm not a fan of 4-koma manga (omake are fine, but I find that sort of storytelling far from ideal as the main form of storytelling in a longer story), and I've stalled it indefinitely, but I suppose I found it moderately enjoyable. Recommendable to people who like that sort of thing.

21

Manga / Re: Krozam's Manga Diary

« on: December 14, 2014, 11:59:11 pm »

Yasashii Sekai no Tsukurikata by Takeba Kumiko



http://bato.to/comic/_/comics/a-method-to-make-the-gentle-world-r80
20 ch read.

A young genius is recruited to teach in an all-girls high school. The premise sounds a lot like Denpa Kyoushi. However, the truth is that these two manga have very little in common. Not to say that Denpa Kyoushi isn't good, I found it very entertaining up to where I've read it (ch 46), but I've got to say that Yasashii Sekai completely outclasses it in depth. This is far more realistic, focuses on a smaller cast of very well developed characters, and focuses a fair bit more on romances.

The male lead isn't as good as I had hoped, in terms of likability, but since he has actual depth and dimension, I suppose I shouldn't judge him by the same standards I use on regular harem leads. I suppose, genius or not, he's still only 19 and inexperienced in life, so let's allow him a bit of naïvete and thickheadedness.

The female lead's complexity consists mostly of the discrepancy between her "gal" outer appearance, and her extremely innocent personality. TBH, I think she's among the weaker character in the cast, depth-wise. Which still makes her far deeper than your average romance female lead. Likeable, and kawaii as fuck, too. And maybe the author is saving her arc for the last.

Alone, these two wouldn't carry the manga very well. They could, but not well. Fortunately, the author gives a lot of attention to secondary characters, giving some of them their very own plot threads. The female lead's three friends and two other teachers, as well as some even less prominent characters, are all well defined characters with their own problems, given some development and sometimes romances of their own. Truly, supporting characters are a strong point in this manga.

Another strong point is the art. Even not looking at the author's name (assuming it's not a pen name), I'd guess that she's is female, from the art style, but she sure draws some hot girls, too, even some classy fanservice (which is fairly rare, though). From the start, the art style was top quality, even though this appears to be the mangaka's first series. Overall, very pleasant to the eye, with some attractive characters to ogle at, whether you like guys or girls.

Just like the art, the content of the manga is pretty gender-neutral. By that I mean it contains elements that pander to both genders - and it actually works, maintaining a pretty good balance. I'm not sure if this is serialised in a seinen or josei magazine, but it would fit equally well in both. Due to some mature themes, there's little chance it's shounen or shoujo.

So, as I was saying, I expected a harem, with some Denpa Kyoushi -like elements: the teacher MC helping students resolve their problems with his out-of-the-box thinking, having them fall for him in gratitude. Boy, was I wrong. Sure, the teacher does occasionally help his students with their issues, and one student definitely fell for him for it - but only one. The rest of the students pretty much resolve their issues amongst each other, occasionally with the help of other teachers or outsiders. Although there's a simple romance at the heart of the story, this turned out to be a surprisingly deep and complex story. Woven around that romance, there is a multitude of realistic, painful issues that various characters will have to resolve in order to move forward with their lives. Nothing super heavy, but serious enough to put this manga at least a peg or two above most romance manga I've read, in terms of depth.

Apart from the awkward start (with some stupid misunderstandings that almost made me give up after only 2 chapters), this feels very much like a story written by a professional with clear goals where the story is heading. The author has excellent control over her plot threads, and I get the feeling that this is one story which won't be dragged on beyond its natural lifespan. The dialogue is good: sufficiently entertaining, and carries the story onward at a deliberately controlled pace, neither too slow nor too fast. The drama so far has maintained precarious balance between touching and frustrating. In a story like this, there is alaways a danger of too much melodrama, but so far the author has avoided it, so I'm quite hopeful regarding the last (probably 2) volumes.

In conclusion, this is a manga I could recommend to anyone with a taste for good, serious but not overdone drama, and some sweet romance. I'll give this 4/5 stars, dropping half a star each for the not quite good enough mains and the weak beginning. Might raise it to 4.5 later, if the rest of the manga keeps being great.

Music: Marija Serifovic - Molitva https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlCafldxv1E
A beautiful song, won ESC 2007 completely deservedly.

22

Manga / Re: Krozam's Manga Diary

« on: November 12, 2014, 03:20:42 pm »

It's been a while since my last entry. It's not like I haven't been reading manga, I've just been too lazy to write reviews...

World Trigger by Ashihara Daisuke



I have to say, the first episode of the anime is rather underwhelming, I considered dropping it right there. However, I continued. After 5 eps, it's still an unimpressive beginning, but it has started to show some promise. I'm not sure what it was, maybe it was just Yuuma's character with his unusual thought patterns, but I was intrigued enough to check out the manga. Can't say I regret it.

The setup is pretty clichéd for a shounen manga: an organisation of superpowered people protect the Earth from otherworldly intruders. It's supposedly scifi, the powers they use are not magic, but advanced technology stolen from the invaders, but in effect it's almost indistinguishable from magic. The setup is probably the weakest point of this manga, but once you get over it, there's a decent story underneath. Not plot-wise, the plot so far is as simple and straightforward as they get, and shrouding the enemies' motivations in mystery isn't anywhere near enough to change that fact. But, sometimes simple and straightforward is enough, particularly in a shounen battle manga.

The MC, Osamu, is your usual heroic goody-two-shoes shounen MC who can't leave anyone in trouble, even if he clearly understands he's putting his life in considerable risk by helping them. There's just one thing: he's pretty normal. And I mean that: he's actually within normal parameters when it comes to power or brain. No hidden talents, no genius tactical thinking, just a mediocre ability to use the alien technology, a decent head on his shoulders, and a protective instinct so strong it frequently leads him to downright reckless actions. Surprisingly, the manga actually makes it work. He's not as boring as he seems at first, nor is he by any means useless, despite having to be frequently saved by his far stronger friends. His circumstances remind me a little of Mx0, as he has unintentionally gathered quite a reputation just by being in the right/wrong place in the right/wrong time and associating with far more powerful characters, and he's often misunderstood to be stronger than he is.

The other MC, Yuuma, is far more interesting at the start. His foreign way of thinking and unfamiliarity with our world's ways makes for quite interesting dialogue with the "normal" Osamu, right from the beginning. Later on, the roots of his foreign thought pattern are explored, and he's also influenced by Osamu, so the intrigue I felt at first is more or less gone now, but he's still a fairly good character overall.

There are a LOT of supporting characters, some of them pretty interesting and possessing considerable potential, but amidst all the action, not many of them have yet had much character development. Still, the cast is lively and diverse, as good as you can expect from a shounen battle manga.

The action gets a lot better after a while. There is logic and diversity in abilities, and the battles get much more exciting and intelligent, quite comparable to some of the better shounen battle manga I've read. Right now, that might be the greatest strength of this manga, keeping my interest alive and well.

I was at first put off by some aspects of the art... namely, the character designs of some of the younger cast... namely, Yuuma and Chika (who'll be properly introduced in the next ep of the anime). Well, I got over it. Overall, the art is quite decent for a shounen battle manga: the action is well done and most of the numerous characters are easy to differentiate by looks.

In conclusion, World Trigger still isn't good enough that I'd go out of my way to recommend it, but I have to say I personally enjoyed it quite a bit. It's nothing amazing, but if you feel like reading a shounen battle manga, here's a decent candidate with slightly better MC than I'm used to seeing in this genre. 3.5 stars.

Music: Anything that goes well with action, really. Usually something heavier rather than lighter, but the tone isn't ultra-dark or anything, so I tried to find the middle road.

23

Manga / Re: My Translations

« on: September 26, 2014, 11:16:15 am »

Childhood Princess ch 1, by Komiya Yuuta. I have a weakness for blonde ojou-samas...
http://g.e-hentai.org/g/742642/bbf0b0d294
Dropbox DL link: http://goo.gl/GfRRuw
There is a sequel, and I'll be working on it next.

24

Anime / Re: What Did You Just Finish?

« on: August 01, 2014, 02:14:27 am »

Kanojo ga Flag o Oraretara

Hmm... The comedy is mostly too over-the top silly to hit me, but it has occasional funny moments. The dialogue often feels unnatural, though not all the time. The personalities of the girls are usually either too over-the-top or too generic for me, but at least their designs are cute, and the male lead plays a decent tsukkomi. The storyflow is messy and disoriented till the end, but the mystery/plot is actually pretty interesting. The resolution must be anime-original, because it is a definite ending, while the light novel series is still ongoing after 10 volumes - but it's not a bad ending, it's actually better than I expected from such a mediocre anime. Overall, it was just interesting enough to keep me watching, mainly due to the intriguing mystery. 2.5 stars.

25

Anime / Re: What Did You Just Finish?

« on: July 29, 2014, 07:38:54 pm »

Ryuugajou Nanana no Maizoukin

I liked this a lot from the start. An interesting concept combined with excellent characters. I particularly like Juugo, the male lead, who is a decent guy, but makes a point not to be a dreamer or selfless. Many characters in the story are well fleshed out, dodge archetypes, and develop nicely considering the anime is pretty short. The comedy is my type and the production quality quite nice. Overall, there's nothing I dislike about the anime, and plenty I like.

However, it still feels like it failed to entirely achieve its potential. Maybe it's just too short and incomplete, at 11 episodes that seem to barely scratch the surface of a much larger story. This could well be the start of a good plot, but as weird as it feels to say this after an entire season, it's still too early to say. I wouldn't say the impression it left is lukewarm, but it's not as strong as it should be. Despite being entertaining, well balanced and strong across the field, I feel like it's not worth more than a "mere" 4 stars.

26

Anime / Re: What Did You Just Finish?

« on: July 28, 2014, 09:06:02 pm »

No Game No Life

I'm really tired, so I'll make this relatively brief. A really good anime, surprisingly so. I liked it form the start, but the comedy didn't really hit me in the first few eps, so I was expecting to rate this 4 stars or so. However, it kept getting better, some episodes were downright hilarious. The intelligent main characters are pretty interesting, though a bit lacking in development. The other characters are unfortunately often given comedy relief duties, but every once in a while they all get their chance to shine. The settings and concept reminded me of Mondaiji-tachi at first, but they are pretty interesting, and in many way different, after all. The plot is pretty intelligent, though usually there is too little foreshadowing, the rules of magic aren't well enough known, and the main characters' mental abilities are just too extraordinary, it's a bit disappointing how out of this world the ways with which the MC's win their games are. Luckily, the main game of the last arc somewhat avoids the worst of these problems, making the otherwise worthy climax for the series even better. The hilariously creative fanservice deserves a special mention.

The thing that stands out about this series is its dramatisation. It supports this highly creative fantasy story - with a multitude of out-of-the-box ideas - in a way that not only pleases the eye, it actually makes this anime much more emotionally intensive than it would probably be in its original LN form. I haven't read the LN's, so I don't know that for sure, but seriously, the dramatisation is simply breathtaking at times.

I actually considered full stars, but in the end, the weaknesses are a bit too severe, and there isn't quite enough depth, to justify that. So, 4.5 stars it is.

27

Manga / Re: Krozam's Manga Diary

« on: June 02, 2014, 12:22:27 am »

So far, there haven't been other Tohgarashi Hideyu works that have raised my interest sufficiently, but who knows, maybe some day. I'm currently working on a Kamiya Zuzu manga - slowly.

28

Anime / Re: The Season So Far...

« on: April 12, 2014, 04:40:24 am »

Hitsugi no Chaika: No better or worse than I expected. Lacks some good scenes that are in the manga adaptation, and overall feels more fast-paced, but not to a degree where I'd judge it "rushed". Probably wouldn't notice had I not read the manga. Anyway, this was one of my most anticipated anime in this season, and it looks good so far.

No Game No Life: I originally discarded this based on a summary I read, but Dasuu got me interested, so I checked it out. It turned out to be quite okay. The male lead is pretty cool. The main characters remind me of Keima from TWGOK, and the concept reminds me of Mondaiji-tachi, but I think this'll be quite different from both.

Ryuugajou Nanana no Maizoukin: A very enjoyable first episode, even more so than Chaika and Brynhildr, making this my initial second favourite of the season. The characters are fun, the comedy is pretty good, there are some quite interesting mysteries, and the concept doesn't remind me of anything I've watched/read before. Er... except the To Arus, just a little, because of the academy island settings.

Escha & Logy no Atelier: Moderately interesting, I suppose. Better not expect much action or humour, but the settings are interesting and there's good romance potential. I lol'd when I actually found a Finnish sub of this before any other language subs were available... it was pretty weird, since I don't watch TV, it's been ages since I've watched anything subbed in my mother tongue... but those subs are actually quite good.

That completes my first round of this season'a anime, no shows left that I'm interested in checking out. This season looks quite okay. Mushishi alone raises the season's level quite a bit, but Chaika, Brynhildr and Ryuugajou are very promising as well. Isshuukan, Flag, Mahouka, No Game and Atelier have some potential.

29

Anime / Re: The Season So Far...

« on: April 09, 2014, 01:32:58 am »

Not all the shows I'm planning to check out have started yet, but here are my first impressions on a few shows:

Black Bullet: Decent. Don't really like most of the humour, this is another scifi series that craps all over the laws of physics, and the premise isn't really my thing anyway, but it was still somewhat entertaining, so I'll give it at least one more ep. Oh, and there's a cute loli, for those who might be interested. In my case, it barely even enters the calculation.

Blade and Soul: Again, decent. I can't really point my finger on what is wrong with it, it just somehow feels cheap and soulless. Will give it at least another ep.

Gokukoku no Brynhildr: My second favourite show so far. One of the few in this season with a shred of intelligence in it. Nice OP and interesting mysteries.

Isshuukan Friends: Quite nice. Very nice, atmospheric art style. A sickness causing one to selectively lose one's memories relating to any friends and excluding family members every monday is of course completely unrealistic, but it opens up interesting possiblities for the story.

Kanojo ga Flag wo Oraretara: Quite hilarious, actually, with its totally exaggerated characters and parodied up clichés. The flashbacks, and in places the dialogue as well, feel pretty forced, so this wouldn't really work if the story took itself seriously. Fortunately, it doesn't. There are serious elements, but even those feel parodied up.

Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei: Not a bad first ep, somewhat promising start. I've heard both good and bad things about the novels, so we'll see.

Mangaka-san to Assistant-san to: Dropped at the halfway point. Couldn't bear the sheer idiocy.

Mushishi Zoku Shou: As expected, brilliant from the first ep. Without doubt, my favourite of the season.

Seikoku no Dragonar: Decent. I was disappointed to find that the art style is nowhere near as good as in the manga, of which I've read a few chapters. The premise holds some potential, but honestly, I don't expect much.


Going to watch or check out:
Hitsugi no Chaika - Having read the manga as far as it's out, and knowing who the original author is, I have quite high expectations.
Escha & Logy no Atelier
Ryuugajou Nanana no Maizoukin

30

Manga / Re: Krozam's Manga Diary

« on: April 05, 2014, 05:45:49 am »

Monkey High by Akira Shouko



http://www.mangapanda.com/1229/monkey-high.html

Yesterday I randomly remembered this manga, which I years ago read up to where it was translated back then - around the 6th or 7th volume out of the total of 8. I remembered it was a good shoujo romance. Well, I remembered wrong. It is a fantastic shoujo romance.

Haruna, the protagonist, is the daughter of a politician who recently fell from grace, and as a result she had to change schools. She's smart, beautiful, and a bit of a cynic. She compares the rowdy bunch in her new school to a mountain monkey community. (The original name of the series is "Saruyama", which translates to "monkey mountain".) And the baby monkey, Masaru, aka. "Macharu", is the silliest of them all.

Yet it is his bright smile and straightforward kindness that so easily breaches the walls she has built around herself, and drags her along to their pace, as a member of the monkey community. Contrary to her expectations, she quickly begins to enjoy her new school life, and by the end of the first volume, the two are officially going out.

So the beginning advances relatively fast. After that, the pace slows down, and while it never feels like it completely stops, their relationship keeps developing for 7 more volumes, spanning over two years of their high school life. The result is one of the most complete, touching, emotionally fulfilling romances I've ever had the pleasure of reading.

There is just the right amount of drama. I've never been a fan of heavy drama, but at the same time, too light makes the romance lose emotional impact. Perhaps with the exception of my all-time favourite romance, Maison Ikkoku, Monkey High is the manga that most perfectly maintains that precarious balance. Some of the conflicts come from external sources, most notably from Macharu's best friend, the bishie Atsuyuki, and Haruna's disapproving father. A more or less equal amount of conflicts stem from the couple's own inner insecurities and growth pains.

Comedy is always a matter of taste, but I found Monkey High mostly quite a hilarious read. Much like in Maison Ikkoku, a big part of a the humour comes from their friends teasing the couple. It's also quite amusing how the comparison of Macharu to a little monkey stays in the series as a constant source of friendly jokes. Made all the more funny by the constant reminders that it was this childish baby monkey who scored the hot girlfriend.

Central characters are definitely one of the strongest points in this story. As a shoujo lead, the sensible Haruna is at the very top of my list, along with Misaki from Kaichou wa Maid-sama. Macharu is a weird one for a shoujo male lead as well, as he's the hot guy's silly friend, who'd normally be the supporting character. Atsu, the aforementioned hot guy, is easily understood and occasionally not very likeable, but nevertheless not a simple character. Besides a romance, Monkey High is also a coming-of-age story: in falling in love and growing up, each of these characters gains a significant amount of very realistic character development. Everyone else, however... get zero character deepening. Which, in my view, is the most serious flaw in this story.

The art is a bit amateurish at first... it develops a moderate amount during the course of the series. There is one thing, however, where this mangaka absolutely excels as an artist, from the start: atmosphere. There are beautiful, touching scenes in practically every chapter (far more than in any other manga I've read - perhaps too many, resulting in weakened impact), made so much more so by the beautiful art (and fitting music). She might be even better with those than Akamatsu Ken, whose atmospheric panels in Love Hina have so far been unrivalled in my mind.

Usually, as a male, it is difficult to identify with a female protagonist, so shoujo romances are naturally somewhat dulled in their emotional impact. In this case, I believe the fact that the author frequently let the reader inside her heroine's thoughts and made her so relatable to anyone who's once been a teenager in love, may have helped. And Macharu is quite a likeable and relatable character as well. But, ultimately, it's just such a good romance, and the touching scenes are so well drawn and narrated.

I believe I have a new addition to my previously Holy Duality of romances, Maison Ikkoku and Love Hina. Now it's the Holy Trinity. I spent some 15-20 minutes crying after finishing the manga, before I started writing this review. However, like all of these three manga, Monkey High as well has a serious weakness that drops it to 4.5 stars - that being the lack of love for the supporting characters.

Music: Okuda Miwako - Shizuku. Occasionally the effect of its beauty weakened due to looping it for too long (I did marathon the whole manga in one night), so I had to switch to Makino Yui - Yuo Are My Love, but Shizuku is definitely the most fitting song I could find.