Tag: Manga

Review

Searching for the Full Moon: Magic and Fantasy in Shoujo

Suspension of disbelief is a tricky phenomenon. It isn’t always easy to willfully suspend one’s disbelief, especially not at the whim of the writer. It’s for reasons like this that the use of fantasy elements in otherwise realistic stories can be jarring. What does it take for a work of non-fantasy fiction to use fantasy to its advantage, and where do you draw the line between acceptable plot twists and flat-out deus ex machine?

Full Moon o Sagashite is a perfect example of fantasy in manga done right. As opposed to getting in the way of the plot, the magic weaves itself into the story, working itself into the symbols and plot devices. It provides thematic structure to an otherwise simplistic tale, and it makes the presentation that much more – you guessed it – magical.

(Note: this post is on the manga version of the story, which is apparently different from anime adaptation. Read with caution.)

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

Editorial

Shoujo Through the Eyes of a Bishoujo Fan

[tsubaki ki]

There was once a time when I called myself a fan of “romance” anime. As I know now, romance is not as useful a category in anime as it is in some other mediums, since anything from Love Hina to Inuyasha could fall under its umbrella. However, even as a dedicated fan of one of Japan’s greatest inventions – the 2D girl – my taste in anime often returns to the central premise of romance. My interests often fit closely with bluemist‘s old tagline – where shoujo and bishoujo meet.

The interesting thing about viewing a very gender-targeted genre through the eyes of the opposite gender is that some tropes and clichés have a completely different effect. Here are some of my observations of the shoujo genre that have allowed me to experience the stories from a personal level as well as from a third-person level.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

Review

The World God Only Knows and the Art of Love

Love is War, as they say. Fighting on the battlefield of love requires not only the guts and courage of a shounen hero, but also the level-headed tactical prowess of a military commander. Keima Katsuragi is one such warrior who, having distanced himself from the frailty of human emotion, fights with his life on the line against impossible odds. Armed only with his wit and intellect, he stands proudly as a one-man army against thousands of escaped spirits from Hell who hide within human hosts and absorb their energy. His dramatic tale of love and loss is one that has won the hearts of countless fans, including my own. It comes as no surprise that he will one day become the protagonist of his own anime series.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

Review

Victorian Slice-of-Life Shirley


[shima]

Kaoru Mori should be a familiar name among manga fans, known for her unorthodox – or is it completely orthodox? – depiction of the life of a maid. The TV series for the Emma manga aired a few years ago, which happens to be her most famous story, but I opted into buying the one volume Shirley since it seemed like less of a commitment.

Indeed, Shirley isn’t much of a commitment at all: it took me all of an hour to finish the book, cover to cover. It’s a fairly simplistic story about a thirteen year old maid in Victorian England, doing what normal maids do. Shirley is a maid, not a meido, if you know what I mean. Of course, being a manga character, she also possesses enough youthful charm to not bore you to death with 150 pages on the art of housework. You could say that Shirley has as much to do with housework as it has to do with otaku pandering.

Anyway, Shirley’s story might not be particularly memorable, but it makes for a pleasant afternoon read – preferably with a serving of crumpets and tea.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

Review

Bitter Virgin: An Uninhibited Tale

bitter-virgin-1

It’s an interesting phenomenon when a fictional story makes you figuratively cringe with pain. No, not the kind of cringing that seems to so often occur while watching the likes of Akikan or hundredth filler episode of Naruto: I’m talking about a reaction to real pain, pain that goes beyond 22 minutes of poor animation.

Bitter Virgin, however, is not entirely about pain. It’s as much a dark story as it is a hopeful one, and it juxtaposes an improbable cruelty with an equally improbable shoujo romance in a manner that’s somewhat plausible – and most importantly, effective. It isn’t without its flaws, but looking back, this simple four volume manga series invoked more emotion – and more dark emotion – from me than a fictional story has for a long, long time.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

Review

Blood Alone Volume 1: A Vampire is Fine Too

blood-alone

Blood Alone is an obscure manga about a loli vampire living with a young male novelist, with an air of mystery and intrigue woven into the densely implicit romance. That’s it, in a nutshell: a random purchase made on my last Amazon shopping spree because the cover art looked nice. Was I disappointed? Not in the least. Read on to hear more about this little gem of a series that I hadn’t so much as heard of until a month ago.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.