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Avril Lavigne's Make 5 Wishes Volume 1 - Comic / Manga Review
2007-06-07 18:23:00
Rating: ASynopsis: Hana is a little girl who is spending her life as a hermit. She barely talks to her parents, and at school she refuses to say even one word. The only way Hana spends time with people is by talking to her imaginary friend, Avril Lavigne, and by creating personas online to interact with the people she knows in real life (Bryan, a boy she likes, is into videogames, so she finds him online and talks to him while claiming to be another guy working on game designs). She is miserable in her life, and sees an odd online ad that promises a free mystery gift - she orders it and a small demon arrives promising her five wishes. (Volume 2 available July 3, 2007)I read this comic assuming that it would be horrible. I was surprised by the dark story, and the rich artwork. The plot resembles a children's story from Neil Gaiman. I was also pleased at how little of the story actually involved Avril Lavigne - Hana likes Avril's music a lot, and created an imaginary friend th...
More About: Comic , Manga , Review , Make , Wishes

Paradise Kiss Anime Review
2007-06-04 20:47:00
Overall Rating: ASynopsis: Yukari is an attractive high schooler, but her life consists of traveling from high school to cram school to home, and back again. Her monotonous life gets upturned when she meets a group of fashion design students. They want her to be their model, and after some hesitation, she agrees. Mostly, because she meets their leader, George, who is ridiculously attractive. They give her a makeover that involves cutting her bangs and giving her sexier clothes to wear, and the show is underway.I had heard good things about Paradise Kiss before I got a chance to watch it, but once I sat down (actually laid down in my bed) and started watching it, I quickly fell in love with the series. Of course, I'm predisposed to liking a series about fashion with attractive, androgynous men (One of the main characters, George, who has greyish/green hair, is definitely a bishonen), and adorable Japanese women with pink hair (Miwako is dating Arashi, the blonde punk, and dresses in...
More About: Anime , Review , Arad

Hobotaku Budget Tip #2: Get a Library Card
2007-06-02 17:00:00
If you don't have a lot of time to hang out at the bookstore (or if they've officially begin giving you the evil eye) then a prime way of getting more manga into your daily diet is to get a library card.Most libraries have been stocking up on their manga and graphic novels, as the American Libra ry Association (ALA) has made a lot of effort to appeal to younger readers. The ALA has also created comic lists on age-appropriateness, so young children won't accidentally get Hellsing or Batman: The Killing Joke. On the other hand, this does introduce the difficulty of finding the manga in the library, as manga could be found in three to five different sections.The library sections for manga/comics (and representative comics):- Juvenile Graphic Novels - Babymouse, Owly, Yotsuba, Spiral-Bound- Young Adult Graphic Novels - regular Batman, Ranma 1/2, Elfquest, Inuyasha- Graphic Novel Section (usually near the sci-fi section) - Bleach, Ceres, Sin City- Call Number 741.5 - Dilbert, Mutts, ...
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Voices of a Distant Star (Hoshi No Koe) - Anime Review
2007-06-01 17:00:00
Rating: C- / DSynopsis: In the future, Mikako and Noboru are middle-school sweethearts forced to separate when Mikako is accepted into the interstellar mecha program. Noboru, her boyfriend, is then left on earth to angstily await each message she can send him from space. The 30-minute anime follows their relationship primarily through text messages sent between them on their mobile phones from earth and space.The impressive part of this OVA (original video animation, i.e. straight-to-DVD) is that the creator Makoto Shinkai wrote, directed, and produced the entire thing on his Macintosh (and did half of the original voice-over). The anime is only 30 minutes long, but I can't say I enjoyed that 30 minutes very much.The background animation is beautiful and serene, full of open skies and empty rooms, which gives a bleak feeling to the film. The character design, on the other hand, seems a little half-hearted and sloppy. In its entirety, there are only three people shown at all. ...
More About: Anime , Review , Star , VOIC

Buddha - Manga Review
2007-05-31 17:40:00
Rating: A+Synopsis: Following the lives of several different people from a variety of castes, the story intertwines historical lore in ancient India to tell the tale of Buddha 's life. Though many of the tales involve severe violence and the crushing reality of the unfair caste system, the stories are told with child-like humor and the drawing style is lighthearted and cartoony.The Buddha volumes were originally published 1974 - 1984, and were translated into English re-published in American 2003 - 2005.It seems strange to review momentous books from Osamu Tezuka - the grandfather of manga. Just picking up one of the eight Buddha volumes seems to be an action laden with meaning, they are that freakin' epic. But the strange thing is how personable and light-hearted they are at the same time. Tezuka's ability to render 400 pages (per volume) of historical fiction a quick read is amazing. The little-boy humor is carefully balanced weighty situations (Chapra's mother is sold into...
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Negima!
2007-05-30 22:15:00
Overall Rating: ?Synopsis: 10 year old child wizard/genius Negi Springfield has to teach English at an all-girls boarding school. Magic and fan-service ensue. The reason I put a ? for Overall Rating is I have no idea what to think about this series. Both the manga and the anime seem to focus more on fan-service involving middle school girls than on plot or magic. I was tempted to rate it a D, but I have only seen the first disc of the anime, and read the first volume of manga, so maybe it gets better. I wouldn't count on it though.Both seem to be closer to a male's first wet dream than anything resembling plot, with panty shots and barely clad schoolgirls thrown in at every opportunity. I originally picked up the series because I like magic, and I like manga, and I thought this might be along the lines of Harry Potter. It was closer to being along the lines of a bad romance novel. A bad romance novel that makes you feel like a dirty old man.For example, one novel side-effect of Ne...
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Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service
2007-05-29 01:02:00
Overall Rating: ASynopsis: Your body is their business! From writer, Eiji Otsuka, and artist, Housui Yamazaki, Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service is a manga that combines horror, and humor. The surprising thing about the series is that it does a good job at both. The story follows five Buddhist college students as they start up a unique service, one that serves the dead. Using unique skills, like dowsing and speaking to the dead, they find the dead and help them free their souls for reincarnation. Oh, and did I mention one of them speaks to aliens through the puppet on his hand? Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service follows Kuro Karatsu, an average student at an average Buddhist college. Kuro is trying to find a job, but his grades aren't good enough to get anything good. Fortunately for Kuro, he has a skill the other students don't, he can also speak to the dead. After getting roped into some volunteer service where he meets other specialists like himself, who can find dead bodies using...
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God Child Volume 1
2007-05-25 21:49:00
Overall Rating: C+Synopsis: Victorian mystery starring a young, attractive count named Cain, who investigates supernatural mystery. How could I not love this? The story starts in another series called "Count Cain", but that isn't made clear until you get into the manga, it's a collection of short stories with no connection, and the characters seem shallow at best.When I first read a description of God Child , I thought I had found a new favorite. The description read, "Deep in the heart of 19th Century London, a young nobleman named Cain walks the shadowy cobblestone streets of the aristocratic society into which he was born. Yet beneath his regal bearing lies a pained existence that haunts his very soul. Forced to become an Earl upon the untimely death of his father, Cain assumes the role of head of the Hargreaves, a noble family with a dark past. With Riff, his faithful manservant, Cain investigates his father's alleged involvement with a secret organization known as Delilah". I...
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Chevalier D'eon - Anime Review
2007-05-22 22:04:00
Overall Rating: B+Synopsis: D'eon Beaumont is an attractive young nobleman whose normal days of hanging out at Versailles just ended - the story starts with his sister's body pumped full of mercury, floating in a coffin down the Seine River. D'eon falls into the dangers and intricacies of his sister's spy duties as her spirit inhabits his body and assists in searching for her killer. Far superior to the American movie Marie Antoinette, this show immerses the viewer 18th century France Versailles, and keeps it interesting. D'eon's accomplices include Robin (gunslinging pageboy), Durand (seemingly shifty swordsman), and Teillagory (master swordsman). And, lest we forget, he is also accompanied by his sister's vengeful spirit, who occasionally takes over his body during crisis scenes and commits ultra-violence (it's a lot like he goes Saiyan - his voice gets high-pitched, glowing red text appears on his sword and he's suddenly a bad-ass).Here are the reasons you should watc...
More About: Anime , Review , Chevalier , Lier , Vali

Hellsing - Anime/Manga/Anime
2007-05-21 19:20:00
Overall Rating: Manga - A+Original anime series - BNew anime series - A+Summary: Hellsing is a manga series by Kouta Hirano. Hellsing chronicles the efforts of the mysterious and secret Royal Order of Protestant Knights, Hellsing, as it combats vampires, ghouls, and other supernatural foes who threaten the kingdom of England. The main character, Alucard (Dracula cleverly spelled backwards), is used to kill other supernatural creatures, and makes Seras Victoria (a cop he shoots to kill another vampire) into a vampire early on in the series and we get to watch her deal with her new life as a blood drinker with some hilarious (and sometimes creepy results).I love vampires, so it's not much of a surprise that I like Hellsing, a series based around vampires and supernatural organizations. So, why does the series get three separate ratings? It boils down to the fact that the first anime series is a lot different than the manga and the second series. I was first introduced to Hellsing wit...
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Hobotaku Budget Tip #1: Read Manga at the Bookstore
2007-05-16 22:04:00
This is the most obvious and fundamental defining features of being a hobotaku - reading books at the bookstore. It also dovetails nicely into the other attributes of being Hobotaku:- living in the States- being economically unable to purchase all the manga you want to readThere are a few things you can do to make this experience more pleasant for you and others:1. Plan the manga you're going to read for immediate pickup2. Go with other people, that way if one of you purchases something, you won't get dirty looks (also, you won't have to sit by yourself)3. Sit someplace out of the way, like under a table, or in the cafe section of the bookstore4. Get a couple of manga for perusing, as soon as you're done with them, replace them back on the shelves (to benefit the store, and any other hobotaku in the area)5. Be courteous - it is the Hobotaku way!
More About: Manga , Read , Budget , E Book , Bookstore

Gothic Sports
2007-05-15 03:00:00
Overall Rating: A+Synopsis: It's a classic tale of girl goes to new elite high school. Girl then wants to join mostly boys soccer team before tournament. Drama ensues. Girl decides to form her own team. Only a couple of her friends want to join. Girl decides to make team more interesting. Fortunately, one of her friends is a gothic lolita. Hrm... Hilarity and cute uniforms ensue. Boys join and whine about skirts. Boys uniforms are made. Team has to prove itself against aforementioned soccer team. Dun Dunnn DUNNNN!I read the back of Goth ic Spor ts and had to pick it up. I'm not a big sports guy, but when I read the sentence "Say hello to the world's first Gothic-Lolita soccer team!", I knew I had to check it out. I wasn't disappointed. The manga follows Anya, the new girl at Lucrece High School, who wants to join one of their elite sports teams before a big tournament. She meets some other misfits, including the gothic lolita character I mentioned above, develops a rival, and ther...
More About: Ports

YOTSUBA&! Volumes 1 - 3
2007-05-13 22:58:00
Rating: A+Synopsis: Ongoing manga by Kiyohiko Azuma (creator of Azumanga Daioh). Yotsuba is an adorable and eternally cheerful adopted girl with green hair. The manga has no plotline other than following Yotsuba around on her daily adventures to discover new things (her discovers even include things that should be familiar to children, like playground swings and air conditioners). Volume s 1 - 3 are currently available in English, with 4 and 5 shipping later this year.Yotsuba is a five-year-old girl, and she is very curious. And very strange. She is a lot like the character GIR from Invader Zim but EVEN MORE ADORABLE. Yotsuba yells a lot, punches a goat, and is so full of wonder that you want to hug her. I think my favorite part may have been her unsolicited cicada impression - she climbs a telephone pole mid-town yelling "ZREE! ZREE!" Though this slice-of-life manga is all ages, I really enjoyed its cuteness and look forward to reading 4 and 5 when they come out. It's a grea...
More About: Suba

Genshiken
2007-05-10 18:51:00
Overall Rating: A+Synopsis: Written by Kio Shimoku, the manga version of Genshiken is nine volumes long. It covers the lives of a college club of Otaku, but does it in a way that makes them seem real and interesting instead of the usual stereotypes.One of the reasons I love this series so much is the remarkable number of similarities between the Genshiken club, and the club I helped found at Guilford College, the Yachting Club. Granted, we didn't really have a Saki (who hates geeks and is only in the club because her hot boyfriend, Kousaka, is an otaku), and we had secret rituals, but otherwise very similar. What really made me fall in love with the series though was how it focuses on the lives of the otaku, and their relationships. When I read volume 8, I started running around wildly clapping (a habit I have when I am excited) until Leah read it, so I could gush about what happened. When you're that devoted to the characters, you are either insane or the book is really fucking g...
More About: Hike

D. Gray-man Volume 1
2007-05-07 19:02:00
Overall Rating: B-Synopsis: The plot revolves around Allen Walker, an Exorcist, in the end of the 19th century Europe. Allen is a member of the Dark Order, a group of Exorcists connected with the Vatican. Their mission is to stop The Millennium Earl, an evil ghoul intending to cleanse the world by destroying all the humans in the manner of Noah's great flood. In the first volume, we get some back story, learn that exorcists kick ass, have a clubhouse, and don't play well with others. D. Gray -man is written by Hoshino Katsura, and shows a lot of promise. I knew I was going to like the book when I immediately began considering cosplay options for the main character, Allen Walker. In the world of D. Grayman, apparently there are ghosts, ghouls and more, and the only thing that can fight them is an Exorcist. As mentioned in the synopsis, there is a clubhouse of Exorcists who are pretty much a bunch of pricks, but they have special powers and wear cool outfits. The plot isn't bad, but...
More About: Volume

Ergo Proxy
2007-05-04 19:40:00
Overall Rating: A Synopsis: Ergo Proxy has it all. The main character looks like Evanescence's lead singer with awesome blue eyeshadow, there's a virus that causes robots to become homicidal, a domed city in the future, an Orwellian society, and an adorable little robot named Pino.I can tell you this, I Ergo Proxy. The why of my love is a little harder to detail. I like fake equations though, so in that sense, it breaks down as Philosophy + Science Fiction + Amazing Animation + Cosplay Potential (yes, I want to cosplay Re-L, she has a great outfit) = why I like this series. It certainly doesn't hurt that it reminds me a lot of Ghost in the Shell with a dash of 1984. So, unless you're one of those hobotaku who doesn't like to think when they watch anime, I highly recommend adding the first disc to your Netflix queue.

Kamikaze Girls - Manga/Movie
2007-05-03 19:09:00
Overall Rating: A++ Synopsis: A story about a Lolita and a Yanki who become friends despite both of them thinking the other is weird. Hilarity ensues.Ok, this is a little complicated, but bear with me. Kami kaze Girls started out as a book by Novala Takemoto titled Shimotsuma Monogatari, which was translated to the English title Kamikaze Girls for the movie adaptation. The Manga is a series of stories set in the same world as the movie, adapting some of it for manga, adding some new stories, and even some new characters.I haven't read the novel, but the movie is amazing. I can sum it up with the following equation: Rococo Lolita + Bikergirl Headbutts = Everything Good About Japan! A more detailed description might be "Kamikaze Girls centers around two students, Momoko Ryugasaki and Ichigo "Ichiko" Shirayuri, who are from completely different backgrounds: one is a Lolita girl, the other a Yankī," but who cares about details? After you watch the movie, pick up the manga. It's not a...
More About: Movie

All Hobotaku Reviews/Ratings
2007-05-02 18:23:00
Ordered by English Title Alphabetically** Manga **Avril Lavigne's Make 5 Wishes: ABleach: A+Buddha : A+D. Gray-man: B-Dramacon: CGacha Gacha (Capsule): DGenshiken : A+God Child Vol. 1: C+Gothic Sports: A+Hellsing: A+Kamikaze Girls : A++Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service: AMonster Book of Manga ; Draw Like the Experts: DVampire Knight Volume 1: B+Yotsuba&!: A+** Anime/Animation **Chevalier D'Eon: B+Ergo Proxy: AHellsing (original): BHellsing (new): AThe Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya: A++Millenium Actress: B+Paprika: A+++Paradise Kiss: AVoices of a Distant Star: C-/D** Videogames **Super Paper Mario (Wii): B-/C** Miscellaneous **Kamikaze Girls (movie) : A++Hobotaku Budget Tip #1: Read Manga at the BookstoreHobotaku Budget Tip #2: Get a Library Card
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