Arisa

My sister found this manga in Barnes & Nobles one day. She said she tried it but decided she wasn't interested. She never really was a big manga fan. Anyway, I decided to disregard it. I wanted something Shounen, I though(of course, now it's the total opposite). I have this document on Google Docs of all the manga I want to check out, and it's at the bottom, where the very first mangas I decided I was interested in gathered. I never really planned on it. The plot sounded boring. Now I'm here to tell you, man was I wrong!



Plot: [From Mangareader.net]
Tsubasa and Arisa are twin sisters who have not seen each other for three years due to their parents divorce. They have communicated through letters, but finally decide to meet each other again. Arisa, the more gentle of the twins, suggests that Tsubasa take her place at school for a day, just for fun. However, there are things about Arisa and her school that she has not mentioned to Tsubasa--dangerous things.

Now, this manga is fantastic! I love the story! It seems to be a simple manga. At first I figured Arisa did some inappropriate things(which is why I decided not to read it). Wrong! The school has this mysterious thing called "King's Time" and no one knows who the king is! In fact, the first king was Arisa! After Arisa tries to commit suicide and ends up in a coma, Tsubasa decides to masquerade as her twin sister because Arisa was talking weird(talking about her secret and the secret of the class). She wants to know the secrets! This story, which is drawn well and really knows how to keep a reader going(even though I really want to watch the last two episodes of Hana Yori Dango)! I highly suggest it!

Now, for character reviews:

Tsubasa is the blonde

Tsubasa lived with her father after her parents divorced. She's a tough girl who is always getting into fights(usually over trivial things, like recycling a milk container). Really, I find it hard not to like her. The strong heroine's are the best one! If the main character of a manga is a wimp, it tends to take away from the story. She always needs rescuing, in that case. Tsubasa does her best to be strong, though it's hard since she has to hide herself as Arisa. Really, her devotion to her sister is great! *mumbling to self* Though I can't believe she thought Midori-kun was most important to Arisa...it's obviously going to be Tsubasa, dummy...

Arisa moments before she jumped from the window

Not much is known about Arisa. She seems to have kept her life a secret from Tsubasa, and it makes it hard. It's almost like a mystery manga! She never really hinted at anything with her true life when it came to her letters to Tsubasa. It makes it really hard!

Manabe after he hits Tsubasa

Manabe starts off thinking Arisa is the king. So, he attacks Tsubasa(who is disguised as Arisa). The problem? Tsubasa also suspects him! It takes a bit for them to realize he isn't king, though. He's really a nice person, and he's great when it comes to hacking computers! Even so, he seems not to trust Tsubasa completely, and he does stop for Shizuka that puts Tsubasa in danger(though he goes and saves her in the end *insert heart eyes*)

Takeru

Takeru is Tsubasa's friend from middle school(her only friends are guys). He's extremely friendly. At first, when I saw him, I though "OOH! I'm a Takeru+Tsubasa fan!" (yes, I decided that quick) but by chapter 21 he had been erased in that shipping and replaced with Manabe(it was before that, but I didn't take note of it until then).

[Insert image of Midori here]

They had no image that didn't spoil! I don't want anyone to go all angry at me because I revealed a key piece in plot development!
Anyway, he's really nice. I really liked him in the beginning. And then things went sour...

Shizuka

Shizuka is Manabe's childhood friend. He made a promise to her that he would always be her ally, so she uses that against him. She's not a bad person, though. I was upset when she went to the orphanage. Even so, because of her wish for King to destroy what is most important to Arisa. Tsubasa thought it was Midori, so she went searching for him. Instead it was her, and she ended up getting hurt.

Kudou

Kudou repeatedly calls himself the King. Even so, he is not. Don't be deceived! He's just a boy who fell madly in love with Arisa! He met her on a chat room, and even though his parents abandoned him because of his heart condition he found a reason to live in Arisa. It's really amazing. *insert teary eyes* I thought "I can't hate him!" at first, but then I decided "Forget about it! I hate him!" and then I was back, and then I switched again. *sigh* I can't decide...

Well, that's about it. I know I chose not to review Mariko, but really I wasn't sure about her since I thought she was the king at first. She ended up not lasting long in the manga at all, so I ignored her. If you feel like I should review her, comment and I will edit this post to review her. But as I have mentioned before, I need to finish the last two episodes of Hana Yori Dango! I need to add more reviews to my live-action/drama review blog!

-Zeki

Grimms Manga

  The classic tales by the Brothers Grimm have been turned to manga! And not the classic version, but rather unique remakes. The remake includes Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel, The Two Brothers, and The Twelve Huntsmen.

Now, each chapter is a separate story. Except the last two, which are two parts of the Two Brothers. I enjoyed reading the manga since I love the stories told by the Brothers Grimm. Of course, I must admit that I only knew 3 of the 5 included. I am unfamiliar with the Two Brothers and The Twelve Huntsmen.

[Note that I will review each individual story rather than characters.]



Those that find themselves familiar with Little Red Riding Hood may know that Little Red gets eaten by the wolf(as does her grandmother) and then cut out by the hunter. A bit violent for a kids story, in my opinion, and I've always heard the version where only the grandmother gets eaten.

Anyway, this story is about Wolflete, a wolf boy who needs to become a true wolf. To do so, he has to kill a virgin. He meets Little Red, but after seeing how lovely she is and hearing about her grandmother, her decides to help his grandmother around the house by doings things like chopping wood(which he does with a bucket on his head so his ears don't show). When Little Red shows up with a hunter, the hunter tries to shoot him but Little Red convinces him otherwise. It then shows the two after some years and reveals that Wolflete has no desire to become a true wolf anymore. Instead he wants to protect Little Red.

Cute or what? Really, this is a nice twist on the classic story. Something I found myself enjoying. Wolflete, in a conversation with what I assume to be talking goats, ending up wondering if he would have to eat them one day(though he talks to them often). It's really a great story since Wolflete is so cute. I mean, when he asks the wolf what a virgin is after being told he had to eat one, he was thrown out and told to just eat a young girl. Lol. :P


This remake caught me off guard. The traditional story of Rapunzel is that she's a girl who is named after the plant her father steal to please her mother while pregnant. In return for the rapunzel, a witch gets her upon birth. Over the years, Rapunzel is raised in a tower with only a window as its entrance. Then she meets a handsome man that she ends up falling in love with. When the witch learns of this, she blinds the man and leaves Rapunzel on her own(or something like that. She ends up wandering around). When Rapunzel once again finds the man she fell in love with, she cries and her tears give him his sight back.

In this remake, Rapunzel is male. His parents were poor, so they stole the rapunzel to get by. Rapunzel's hair was still grown out long, and when he meets a girl who was singing, they end up spending time together and falling in love. Well, the girl ends up feeling ill. Her father discovers Rapunzel is the cause and goes to yell at him. Then the witch shows up. The girl's father yells at the witch who yells at him. In her fury she throw Rapunzel out the window and his hair gets caught in trees. A group of people cut his hair free and end up welcoming them into their village where he starts to grow(guess what?) rapunzel. Then a girl shows up and asks about him. The girl is pregnant with twins, and when she sees Rapunzel she runs to him. It's the girl he met in the tower. (And they lived happily ever after...)

It's a remake that caught me off guard. Let's begin with that. Rapunzel as a guy. Nice way to alter the story since Rapunzel was traditionally female. There really wasn't anything that struck me other than that. Of course, it was funny that the woman yelled at the girl not to run to Rapunzel since she was pregnant(though she ignored her). Other than that...nothing.

In the traditional Hansel and Gretel story, Hansel and Gretel are abandoned by their parents in the forest. They leave a trail of bread crumbs, but the birds eat them. They come upon a gingerbread house and start to eat. And elderly woman welcomes them in and starts to fatten them up in order to eat them. Instead, they push her into the oven. Not as violent as Little Red Riding Hood, but still an example of weird fairy tales...



 If anything, this remake caught me off guard right away. At first I thought: Oh, Hansel must have been working hard, like people expect of someone in a poor family. He is probably the traditional hard-working caring individual with a good personality.
Then he struck a pose and went talking about his complexion and good looks. Well, his stepmother tricks his father into abandoning him and his younger sister Gretel in the forest. He learns of the plan and leaves stones so he can find his way back. They end up lost and come upon the gingerbread house. Only, an old lady does pop out. A young woman comes and yells at them for eating her masterpiece. Turns out she owns the land and is really rich. She ends up furnishing Hansel with many things to help his appearance. Gretel thinks she's a witch and wants to eat him, though(have to connect to the story somehow, right?). So, Gretel tries to get Hansel to leave, but he refuses. So, Gretel is put to work while Hansel lives in luxury. Gretel ends up getting Hansel to go back with her, and the woman gives them money to live. They find their father, who has left their stepmother, and live happily ever after.





The Twelve Huntsmen is a story I find myself unfamiliar with, so I do not know the remake or anything like that. If anything, I can say it was a fantastic love story in this manga version and I really loved it. It's something Shojo obsessers like myself can truly love.

Really, there's nothing I can say about this. My apologies. I would be able to say more if I was familiar with the traditional story.

I believe this was for part 1.

This was for part 2

In terms of The Two Brothers, it is another story I find myself unfamiliar with. I did enjoy it, though. I must say that I found the fight scenes especially confusing, but all fight scenes in manga tend to confuse me(that's why I like watching Shounen anime rather than reading the manga). Also, I was confused at first as to who Anna ends up with(I was like: Does she end up with Walter or that dude whose name starts with V?) That is all I can say on it, though. My apologies. It's upsetting for anyone who is unable to tell which brother is which.


 -Zeki


 

Koi Dano Ai Dano

The sequel for Warau Kanoko-sama. Sadly I can only find where they have raw scans for chapters 10 and 11, so this review is for up to chapter 9.


Plot: [From Mangareader.net]
Aside from being transferred from school to school during her middle school years, Kanoko has entered Takara no Tani High School with Tsubaki. For some reason, she becomes the “Strategist” for Cultural Affairs Department in reference to the Three Kingdoms and ends up joining the Newspaper Club….?!


Now, I really like this sequel. It continues Tsubaki's quest to get Kanoko realize that he likes her. It's quite a quest with Kanoko. I mean, the manga plays him doing things to be close with her so well. For example, her refusing to quit the newspaper club until she figures out while Tsubaki joined while, at the same moment, he is thinking that he has to stay in it longer because Kanoko won't quit. Also, the fact that he bites her neck and she says "I have no time to play vampire games with you." *dies of laughter* I mean, his first attempt at getting her to realize his feelings was an epic fail, and even he states that she was dense.


At some stories that are inserted though they have no relation to the actual story, Kanoko was compared to Tsubaki's cat Ketchup. So I figure it's a nice touch that the creator of the manga had Kanoko drawn as Ketchup-Kanoko(as in, Kanoko in cat version) when Tsubaki pulled her off Okyou-sempai.



Rofl. The dude that likes Hanai wants to be Kanoko because Hanai said that she likes Kanoko the most.
It’s nice that they include students from various other schools that Kanoko attended.


Nogiku Noriko thinks everyone is blackmailed by Kanoko, huh? It just shows how different a page she is on from the girl who thinks Tsubaki and Kanoko are "tangled in the red thread of love" (or something like that...)


And it’s nice that they include students from various other schools that Kanoko attended.



For character reviews, I couldn't find pictures of all the characters. So, if you are able to send me a message with a picture of one, I'd greatly appreciate it so I could update this with all the reviews. (Like Okyou-sempai, the presidents of different clubs, the clubs in general, etc.)

Kanoko

Kanoko previously lived the life of a transfer student. Now she has decided to be a "refreshing girl" in high school. Since she often talks to herself, Tsubaki hears her and says "Impossible for you." I must say I agree, especially after she shouts out "I can hear people's thoughts!"
Kanoko is still her trouble-loving self. If the author had changed that, the story itself would have been a failure. With how dense Kanoko is, it's quite impossible for her to realize Tsubaki's feelings, and she actually says that she would love to see the girl who could make Tsubaki fall in love. Ah, and she always believes he hugs and kisses her in a friendly way and accuses him of acting like a Westerner. [He should just kiss her on the lips...] A Kanoko that isn't dense is not a Kanoko at all...

What Tsubaki wants for the culture festival.

Tsubaki gets jealous easily. It's not shown much in Warau Kanoko-sama, but it really is shown here. When Kanoko says that Hanai's brother texted her, he gets so jealous! And in chapter four when Yamada says that Kanoko has gotten cuter, he seems really angry and is probably thinking "Must...Kill...Yamada...!"
Ah, and I remember when one of the club members(I can never remember his name, but he's in the first picture in this review with Kanoko and Tsubaki) threatened to tell Kanoko that Tsubaki liked her, he said it would be a favor and that if he told Kanoko she would likely still not understand.
This manga, just like Warau Kanoko-sama, would be a lot less without Tsubaki. His jealousy and acting as a way for Kanoko to move around freely for spying are fantastic tools in the manga.

Kanoko and Hanai

Hanai is referred to as Kanoko's middle school friend that got accepted into a school that you get accepted into just by writing your name. It says its acceptance rate is 120% That tells you Hanai's problems. She takes cram school when school first starts. Haha.

I hate these two...they are annoying...

The cast of our fantastic manga!

The flags are mentioned in the manga. Tsubaki gets whatever he wants, but it's troublesome for Kanoko.

The chapter about Kanoko's birthday

Really bad way to make a good impression...

Kanoko and Tsubaki sporting their new High School uniforms!

-Zeki

Warau Kanoko-sama

I started this manga in the bookstore but never saw anything past chapter 4. Mangareader.net never had anything past chapter 4. So, I decided to do a review. Then I found chapter 5 on Mangafox!


Plot[From Mangafox]
Although she doesn't get along with people very well Kanoko considers herself a perfect "observer". Her hobby is observing the students in her third year junior high class and keeping a journal of the classroom drama. But what will happen when Kanoko becomes involved with some of her classmates?

I like the story itself. It's fun and actual unique. It repeats the same "I am the class's one and only observer" thing, but it's okay. I just skim through that. Since there's not much of a continued story, there's no recap every chapter. Just an introduction for each character. Each chapter is its own story, except the last two which continue off one another.

Kanoko

Kanoko is an honest character who enjoys observing human nature. At first I was curious as to how she keeps up with people from each school if she writes it all in one notebook, but in a later chapter I learned that she has notebooks for each school. However, because of her choice of solitude, she's unbelievably dense when someone tells her he likes her. A.K.A she says "Of course I'm the only one! If there's another girl who switches schools as much as me, I'd like to meet her!"

Tsubaki

Tsubaki is cool. He always laughs at Kanoko and helps her out. Quite frankly, after he showed up the second time I started to piece him together with Kanoko in my mind. And then...well, see Kanoko's review for the result. T.T

I just learned their is a sequel to this manga called Koi Dano Ai Dano. I plan on checking it out to see if my hopes of Tsubaki+Kanoko are achieved!!!

Hanai

Hanai is a nice girl. She's really stupid, though. Of course, what is a manga without a stupid character? My only question is: Is the person she likes instead of Tsubaki actually Natsukusa???

Natsukusa

Natsukusa likes Hanai. I am cheering for him! As usual, I came up with my shippings rather quickly. In this case, I am for Hanai(Momoko)+Natsukusa!

I think he's a good character and is actually nice to have.

That is all for this. I will start reading Koi Dano Ai Dano if I can find it online so as to give you a review of the sequel! (Of course...I have purely selfish reasons for reading it. *stares at Tsubaki and Kanoko*)

And please accept my apologies for not giving more detailed reviews of Natsukusa and Hanai! It's almost 1:00 a.m. where I am, and that's my weekend bedtime! By!

-Zeki

Ao Haru Ride

Okay, this manga is just so fantastic. I ended up taking notes as I read it(on my opinion, that is). I must say that I'm upset that mangareader.net only goes up to chapter 13, though. It had such a nice ending chapter, but I want chapter 14!



Plot [From Mangareader.net]
Yoshioka Futaba has a few reasons why she wants to “reset” her image and life as a new high-school student. Because she’s cute, she was ostracized by her female friends in junior high, and because of a misunderstanding, she couldn’t get her feeling across to the one boy she has always liked, Tanaka-kun. Now in high school, she is determined to be as unladylike as possible so that her friends won’t be jealous of her. While living her life this way contentedly, she meets Tanaka-kun again, but he now goes under the name of Mabuchi Kou. He tells her that he felt the same way as she did when they were younger, but now things can never be the same again. Will Futaba be able to continue her love that never even started from three years ago?







Now, I really love the drawing style. I love the story, though the "start fresh in high school" thing got boring after I saw it in more than one manga. Anyway, I must admit that I really love the shading and detail I see in the chapters. I also loved in chapter 6 when Kou and Yoshioka were saying the same thing, the bubbles were layered. So, you see both shout lines from Yoshioka and a regular speech bubble from Kou. It's really nice.

For characters...

Yay! Found a profile for Yoshioka!

Yoshioko is a nice character to have. I enjoy how she had the past of being disliked by the girls in her class and then became friends with a girl who was having the same problem. I also enjoy how she is always thinking about how his neck looks. It's cute. ^.^
She also seems to have the problem of questioning whether she should do something. Like speak up for someone or volunteer for a position. I have the same problem, and usually the coward half of me wins. So, it's nice to see her fight off the coward side enough to do something. ^.^

I suggest anyone interested in learning about Kou drag this to the bar at the top to see its full size!

Kou had a childish touch that was really sweet when he was in middle school. And then his parents divorced and his mother died. He changed his name and seemed to change his personality in general. Even so, his kindness peeks out. I really love that. I mean, I imagine his life was nice up until the ground collapsed from under him. I also love how he held in his problems, not letting anyone know of how he felt. Not letting anyone know about the sadness he had when he learned his mom had cancer. And then he just let it out in chapter 13(nice spot for Mangareader.net to run out of chapters...)

Yuuri

Yuuri is okay. I guess her personality was confusing to me at first. I ended up guessing "Loner who is really sad but doesn't have the guts to be any different." I was really close. She enjoys having friends, so she's not really a loner. Other than that, I don't really have much to say on her. Though, I like how small she is. That adds to the cute look that she had in her first year of high school.

Murao

Murao isn't really introduced. All of a sudden she is there. So, I was confused what exactly she would have a role of. I guessed rival, but then I realized her role wasn't that at all. I actually enjoy her being in the manga. It's a nice touch.

Kaminato

Finally, Kaminato. I really love how he is always talking about how he wouldn't be rude to girls or make them do things. And then with how he is so friendly. Finally, when a few guys say that they thought Kou only got into advanced classes because of his brother(who is a teacher) and Kaminato flipped out, I decided he is definitely one of my fave characters! Actually...at this point, he's the only character I can honestly call a favorite. :P

Fave scene in the manga by far!!!

Love So Life

So, mangareader's chapters don't go past chapter 33, so I have to wait. So, why not review it?

[Plot: From Mangareader.net]


Shiharu is a high school student who loves kids, lives in an orphanage, and works at a daycare... Until the handsome uncle of two-year-old twins offers her a raise if she’ll be their babysitter. Often relying on memories of her mother’s actions for guidance, Shiharu quickly finds herself falling in love with her new makeshift family.

Okay, the drawing is nice. I really enjoyed reading it. As usual, the explanation of the main character's story at the beginning of each chapter was tiring. I ended up skimming over it most of the time.

Other than that, it's really fun to read it. I love the characters and how their roles play out. I really have my favorites, and even though I'm a fan of Nao-kun, I'm still cheering for Matsunaga-san!

Character reviews:

Shiharu-chan

Shiharu-chan is really nice. I enjoy her character. And how it shows that, while little, she tried putting on a brave face. I especially enjoyed the two chapters spent on her and Nao-kun's past. It was nice. I enjoy how she talks about the smallest things in life that make her happy, and I have to agree. Also, her reaction to the key was so funny! And how she acts almost every time she sees the kids is amazing! *SOOO CUTE!*=reaction

Matsunaga-san, Akane, and Aoi

Matsunaga-san is the one I'm cheering for! Sorry, Nao-kun! He's great to have in the manga and it's fun to see the difference between his television mode and home mode! ^.^ It makes it all the funnier. And how he's always going on to himself how he is not allowed to like Shiharu, but he was actually thinking how nice it would be if he got to kiss her(when Shiharu taught them what a kiss was)

Akane

Aoi

Akane-chan and Aoi-kun are so cute! I love it when they talk! It's the cutest thing ever! And they wear the cutest outfits and do the cutest things!!!

Also, they make the cutest faces!!! And I love how Aoi always bites everyone! (Not that you should go around biting people...)

Riho is the one freaking out.

Riho-chan is a really good friend. I enjoy watching chapters with her in them! Especially the festival chapter!

Takeru is on the left. I dunno the name of the guy on the right, but I hate him.

Takeru-san is nice. He's a good character to have in the manga. I especially love how he is with his siblings. It's fun to watch him since he acts a bit childish. Go Takeru-san! Fourth fave character! ^.^

Nao-kun and Shiharu

I love Nao-kun! Especially with how he's jealous of Matsunaga(he says that Matsunaga isn't gonna take away all the hard work he's put into the relationship he has with Shiharu...he obviously likes her.)

Sorry, Nao-kun, but I'm cheering for Matsunaga Sei. *huggles* But you're still my fave charrie!!! You and the twins!

Rockin Heaven

Rockin Heaven is a manga i just reached chapter 21 of.


[Plot from MangaReader.net]
Sawa applies to Heaven’s Wing Academy, thinking she would look cute in the uniform. But she never expected the academy to be a previously all-boys’ school! And the head honcho of the school, the class president himself—Ran—doesn’t seem to like her one bit and takes no pains to hide it. At first, adjusting to life at the academy is tough. Sawa is bullied and teased, and the boys in the class even throw her new shoes in the water. While attempting to retrieve her shoes, she falls into the water and is unexpectedly saved by Ran, who up until this point has made her life hell. The newfound gentleness in Ran intrigues her—and she finds herself falling for him. What will her days be like for the rest of her school life?




Now, I love the story. Of course, the "two guys fighting over one girl" thing is getting kind of old... It's a little cliche' at this point. I think it's a nice manga, and I'm having fun reading it(sadly Mangareader doesn't go past chapter 21 yet...). Also, considering the fact that Ran and Konishi got together really early in the manga(chapter 15. That is early) I knew there would be rocks. They shouldn't have thrown one in righta way, though...

Konishi Sawa

Konishi is okay. She has a typical romance-filled mind kind of feel. What you expect from most teenage girls. So, it makes it easier for me to like her(unlike Yuuki Cross who just has the "Complete Idiotic Mind" kind of feel). I think it's nice how happy she is. And how determined she is to make everyone enjoy the school. Oh, and how she picked the school based on the uniform, not even knowing that it used to be an all boys' school...

Ran

Ran honestly is like a spoiled child. There's not much I can say about him, really. All I can say is the scene of him with Konishi on Christmas(when he kissed her instead of giving her a bite of cake) was SOOOO romantic! *eyes turn to hearts* Of course, I wouldn't pick him as my fave charrie.

Akira, future Manga artist

Akira is an otaku with few friends. Hm...makes me think of me(of course, I have more friends than here, but I had VERY LITTLE last year when I first started at my first school). I think it's really cool that she likes Tsubaki(I'm totally for Tsubaki+Akira) but sadly Tsubaki seems to have a girlfriend... I would hunt her down and beat her up so Akira could have him, but I can't...she's not real(or so my sister says. I was so shocked! XD)

Tsubaki

Tsubaki is "Mr. Friendly." He was the third character whose name I learned. Mainly cuz I like a guy with glasses. :P Of course, his personality also gives him positives. ^.^ I'm so upset that he has a girlfriend! I so want him to be with Akira! T.T Of course, you shouldn't even know about this since chapter 21...

Kido!!!

Kido is actually my fave character(he even beats Tsubaki). The moment he said he liked Konishi, I knew he wouldn't get her. So I wanted to scream "I love you, Kido!!!!" Of course...there aren't that many guys I don't love(*huggles Lavi, Ryuu(Kimi Ni Todoke), Hitsugaya, Renji, and Shino* Did I forget someone?)

Ogawa

When I think of Ogawa, I think of that thing on his head. He almost always has it on...I thought it was cool at first, though! I don't have much of an opinion otherwise...

Taguchi

To tell the truth...I didn't know who Taguchi was until Kido's little sister called him an Otaku. :P Then I started to remember. *Hee-hee* I don't have much of an opinion of him otherwise, though...

Okay, tell me these guys don't look good in tuxedos1 (What guy doesn't...)

I like this picture of everyone...

-Zeki