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

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

Toradora

So, my way of Toradora mustn't have all the available chapters because it only goes up to 33 and the anime has them kissing(T.T I wanna see that!)

Anyway, on with the plot[From Mangareader.net]
Toradora's story begins with the male protagonist Ryuuji Takasu who is frustrated at trying to look his best as he enters his second year of high school. Despite his gentle personality, he has a natural outer-appearance which makes him look like an intimidating delinquent so he is utterly hopeless about his chances of getting a girlfriend anytime soon, and does not have many close friends either. After being greeted by his hungover mother in the morning, Ryuuji goes to school and is happy to find that he gets to be in the same class as his best friend, Yasuke Kitamura, and crush, Minori Kushieda. However, it is then that he unexpectedly knocks into the schools most dangerous animal of the highest risk level — Taiga Aisaka — who just happens to also be in his class.


Neat, huh? And it's fun to read with how childish Aisaka is.


Anyway, the manga itself has drawings a lot better than what you see on the cover(his nose never looks pointy...except maybe once). I really love the story itself. The characters are interesting and fun to watch go on. So, here are some reviews.

Ryuuji and Taiga(this review's about Ryuuji, though)

I wish I had a better picture to give you, but I don't. This one, at least, shows his eyes. I don't see how people can call them scary...

Anyway, I think Ryuuji's cool. He is the main male character and therefor you know more about him than Aisaka(Taiga). I really think he's nice. I know(I would know even without watching the anime scene of them k***ing<---Not a cuss word) that she likes him back! She has to of given up on Kitamura!

Taiga...in the anime because I couldn't find a manga pic

So, Taiga Aisaka is SO cute. She's like a child. And when I learned why she's living alone, I felt like I wanted to...HUG HER! (I want to hug almost everyone, though...). It's cute how she calls Ryuuji her dog and how she acts towards people that make the mistake of guessing that she is dating Ryuuji. It's also awesome that she shows hatred towards being called the "Palmtop Tiger" like most people would.

Typical Minorin picture...

Kushieda, in my opinion, is a genuine airhead. Just how she acts. She jokes around a lot and acts idiotic, but she's fun to have in the manga. I guess that's all I can really say on her.

Kitamura

So, yeah, he really makes me want to say Idiot. But really, I'm not sure if he rejected Aisaka or just though she was saying she liked Ryuuji(Though my money's on the second. :P) So, yeah, he's busy and complicates the whole series(with the help of Kushieda) but he's o.k. to have around.

I find a manga scene...and it's for HER!?!?!?!?

I don't really like Ami. She's not the kind of person I really like. I made a video about her though! It uses the song Misery Business. The video isn't completed, but I put a sample on YouTube.

*Ahem* Anyway, she really is not someone I like. She is determined to anger Aisaka and it's ridiculous. She's also obnoxious. I dislike her.

Now, for random pictures! But first, a video by 4EverZekiVK about Ami, Ryuuji, and Aisaka! (Made by me!)

Hope you like it! I worked REALLY hard on it and Windows Movie Maker kept spazzing out on me...

I think Kushieda's pose is very typical of her...

Fitting face on Aisaka. If she's not making this face, she's pouting or crying...

Obviously these scenes happen in the anime, but if they happen in the manga I have yet to see them...

And that's all for now. See ya later!

-Zeki