Monthly Round-up: March

March was a fairly busy month for me real life wise, so anime was a little thin on the ground in the end. Apart from all the Bleach - and I'm still not done with that.

Ongoing Anime I've Watched:

• Bleach so much Bleach.

Manga I've Read:

• Good Ending - There are still a few series left for me to catch up on from the 25 Days of Manga extravanganza, and having dipped into a slight manga slump for a week, I decided to make a comeback by reading Good Ending. The more I read, the more it's turning into a harem series, yet somehow I'm really enjoying it.
• Little Little - Little Little is my first experience of textless manga, and frankly I found myself enthralled. I always find any medium that attempts to communicate without the aid of dialogue intriguing, as sometimes the story can be more poignant. I admit that a couple of times I did lose slightly what was going on, but for the most part, I really enjoyed this beautifully-drawn manga about a sickly girl and her new fox-girl friend.
• Violet Blossoms - I had been looking forward to reading this oneshot for a while since the artwork is from Kaoru Mori, mangaka of Emma. The visuals didn't disappoint, though I can't help but feel that Mori really shines when she gets to recreate a lavish period world. Plot wise, the whole thing was kinda meh. I'm not entirely sure I got what the final few panels were about, but it was an OK manga, for a short read.
• Ibitsu - While I'm not normally one for horror anime, I don't mind the odd scary manga, and Ibitsu had been on my list for a while. I confess now, that I probably shouldn't have read it late at night with the lights off just before going to bed, but I genuinely found it quite creepy. The "Little Sister" character is genuinely eerie with her tattered lolita clothes and gaunt, psychotic face. I won't give too much away on this since I may write more on this at a later date. But seriously, if you like horror, go read. Now.

Ongoing Manga I've Read:

• One Piece
• Naruto
• Bleach
• Gin no Saji
• Bakuman
• Nichijou
• Shinryaku! Ika Musume
• K-On!
• Buyuden
• All Rounder Meguru
• Otoyomegatari
• Beelzebub
• Black Bird
• Hanamaru Youchien

Manga Musings: GE: Good Ending

So my latest read manga-wise has been to catch up on another of my 25 Days of Manga series, GE: Good Ending. Normally, while I don't avoid them per se, I don't tend to actively seek out harem series. They aren't always my favourite of genres, but having been given this as a request, I read a bit and actually enjoyed it.

Initially, Good Ending is a romance story about a regular if not wimpy high school boy, Seiji, who is in love with his upperclassman in the tennis club, Shou. Then in some odd twist, the class beauty, Yuki, decides to help him pluck up the courage to confess to his crush. This section is all rather simple and it's pretty easy to figure out where some of the plot is headed, but it's enjoyable nonetheless. However, as the series goes on, it develops into more and more of a harem series and for me that's when it starts to lose some of its initial sparkle.

My biggest issue with harems is that it always seems to be so wholly unbelievable and Good Ending is no different. Nine times out of ten, the central male is weak and generally naff, something that Seiji fulfils in pretty much every way. Initially, he's an incredibly cowardly and timid guy, and granted in that respect he does mature a little though not all that much. Throughout he suffers from what seems to be a crippling lack of self-confidence and indecision and as a result every little thing gets blown up out of all proportion. Frankly, I have no idea why all the girls seem to flock to him. I mean, Oonuma clearly has some kind of mental issues given her naivety, her history and the way she clings to Seiji like a limpet purely because he's kind to her. About the only thing our central protagonist has going for him is that he's nice and kind to pretty much everyone, but he's not THAT good a guy - especially when his dithering ends up being harmful - and this is where the central problem lies. While in the beginning, I was cheering Seiji on, willing him to overcome his shyness and win over his crush, as time went on I found myself getting frustrated and annoyed. There are only so many times that you can watch one guy hesitate and get into so many misunderstandings that set his relationships back two or three steps.

Girls like me?! Yeah, I know, Seiji. I'm having a hard time believing it too.

Outside of the harem aspect there are certain bits about the story that I do quite like. The history regarding Yuki's past relationship for example, I found quite engaging. For a seemingly long time, the mystery surrounding it kept the interest factor up, and I wanted to keep reading to find out just what happened. Then when all was revealed, the effect that past events had on her current love affair kept the whole thing fresh, and judging by the way things are going, her past will likely return once again. I do like that there are several plot threads running alongside each other at once, but this also works as a double-edged blade. There are certain aspects that feel tacked-on and unfocused; the main one that springs to mind is the whole photography aspect with Seiji. It's introduced as a way for him to move forward and seems like it will help to resolve his lack of motivation for the future as well as potentially adding to the list of females after the hapless teen. However, the whole thing seems pretty half-arsed, and it's fallen by the wayside only to reappear once or twice when it's convenient. Likewise, Touru coming back into the picture has been hinted at for a while but once again seems to have disappeared no doubt to return later on. Sadly, this lack of focus takes a little away from the otherwise well-woven plot threads, like dropping stitches while knitting and ending up with a nice yet rather holey sweater.

As much as I personally find Good Ending to have its fair share of problems, I still find it an easy read and when all is said and done, I do quite like it; it's just not one of the most incredibly amazing series out there. I'd say that if you like the harem genre, a dash of good humour and a few panty shots then it's worth checking this out.

25 Days of Manga: December 6th - 10th

Another five days, and another five different types of manga. Again this week has provided a mixed bag of titles, from mainstream shounen, to the supernatural, to boy love, so on with the post!

December 6th
Suiiki (2 Vols Complete)
Status: Read

Impressions: Far and away this is the best manga that I've encountered so far during 25 Days. I must say that when I discovered that one of the manga on my list was by Yuki Urushibara (creator of Mushishi) I couldn't wait to read this. Luckily, I was not disappointed. Suiiki follows the story of a long-forgotten village and one family's connection with it. It's very much the sort of manga one would expect from Urushibara, a gentle, supernatural drama with a quiet charm of its own. My only quibble is that there isn't more of her manga out there. If anyone likes the tone of Mushishi, go read this immediately, as I seriously believe you will enjoy it.

Rating: 4.5/5


December 7th

Ge: Good Ending (8+ Vols Ongoing)
Status: Reading at 1 volume

Impressions: Based on a game, Good Ending is about Seiji Utsumi, his affection for his senpai, Iketani, and the help he receives from beautiful classmate, Yuki. I hadn't expected to like this too much, but surprisingly, I found it quite enjoyable. it strikes me as a typical romance based on a game, and I have an idea of how things will eventually turn out, however, currently, I'm enjoying the ride. There's a decent amount of comedy mixed in with the plot and while it's possibly that it'll wear thin, at the moment Utsumi's hapless idiocy is rather amusing. At the moment, I'd say that Good Ending is the ideal thing to open up when you want to switch off and unwind.

Rating: 3.5/5


Bonus: GE: Good Ending Oneshot (Oneshot)
Status: Read

Impressions: Since I'd started to read Good Ending, I decided to take a look at the one shot that started it all. By nature of being so short, there's no time to dwell on events, so everything jumps ahead quickly. However, I did find it interesting as it gives some idea of where the main manga will go from where I am (not that it comes as much of a surprise).

Rating: 3/5



December 8th
Monster Hunter Orage (4 Vols Complete)
Status: Reading at 1 volume

Impressions: I have to admit that when this was requested I smiled as it was already on my want to read list. I do enjoy Hiro mashima's work, and having played a little of Monster Hunter Tri, I was intrigued by a manga based upon the franchise. So far, I'm only a little way in, but it bears all the Mashima hallmarks: the wacky comedy, awesome poses of awesomeness and some kick-arse action. The central concept is certainly engaging enough, but I'm wary of making much more judgement until I'm further in. Definitely can't wait to continue this one.

Rating: 4/5



December 9th
Café Latte Rhapsody (1 Vol Complete)
Status: Read

Impressions: I used to love shounen-ai and yaoi in every form imaginable. Nowadays, while I still enjoy the occasional romp into these genres, I don't tend to gravitate to them so much. Café Latte Rhapsody is a short and sweet tale about two men finding each other and entering into a relationship. The twist this time is that one is younger than the other and despite looking like a harsh and scary man is about as opposite from that image as you can get - he's a timid, caring and horrifically awkward boy. Generally this was an easy-read but I did find myself getting REALLY annoyed at Keito. His excessive clinginess annoyed me to know end as he ended up just seeming like little more than a pitiful puppy taking shelter from the rain. I imagine that anyone who really enjoys this genre will like this title, but I can't say I was blown away by it.

Rating: 3/5


December 10th
Otome no Iroha (1 Vol Complete)
Status: Read

Impressions: Despite having been able to keep up to the at least one post a day deadline, due to a sudden bout of intese but incredibly awesome Anime Planet badge work, I ended up getting a little behind on my 25 days reading. So I decided to pick up an easier one-volume offering for today's submission giving me time to get ahead again. My pick was Otome no Iroha a comic manga about twins whose genders are reversed overnight. In general I found this a bit of a throwaway read. It was good fun - certainly the horror of Iroha waking up with meat and two veg between her legs was pretty damn funny - but far from a masterpiece. Most infuriating of all was the ending, in that it basically didn't. One aspect was wrapped up, but nothing was properly resolved and was left wide open for a sequel that never came. Overall, worth a read if you like gender bender and have a spare half hour or so, but horrifically rushed/lame ending.

Rating: 3/5