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This blog was relaunched recently. Some elements might not be fully working yet while others might be completely missing at the moment but will be added soon. Thank you for your patience!
My fresh copy of Asuka 12 just got here. I’m really really enjoying Yasei no Bara by Katsumoto Kasane-sensei. But why is it that all the series I like end up being too short? Even though it just started a couple of issues ago, Yasei no bara finishes in Asuka 1/03 which means only one more chapter ;_;
Reading the Akuma de sourou yomikiri by Takanashi Mitsuba in Betsuma 8 was really strange. Having the story told from a totally different perspective, through the eyes of Kayano’s and Takeru’s little brother, made both Kayano and Takeru look so different. Kayano didn’t feel like the warm, caring person we know from the ‘normal’ story… she seemed so distant and cold *shudders* Well, that story is the epilogue of Akusou which means it’s finished now. Over and out.
Kazune Kawahara, known for the popular series ‘Sensei!’, has a nice long yomikiri in Betsuma 9. It’s nice to read something else than Sensei! by her. The story is so cute, I felt all fuzzy inside after reading it ^^;;;
Kasane Katsumoto’s new series starts in the latest issue of Asuka (10/02). I swear that everytime I’ve finally decided to drop Asuka, a few new cool series pop up and force me to buy it for a couple months longer. So yes, Katsumoto-sensei is back with a series titled Yasei no Bara. I loooved the first chapter… Superplants! Faito! (-_-;;) No, seriously, it’s a good combination of the usual Katsumoto weirdness, Boy meets Boy cuteness and teenage angst. One thing that bothers me, though, is that on the Asuka enquete postcard they ask whether you would like to see that series tend to be more comical or serious. What if all the Japanese girls want it to be some slapstick series? >_< Argh no. But I think that all Katsumoto fans will vote for a more serious direction. Oh and Clamp's Gouhou Drug/Legal Drug will be continued starting with Asuka 11. There will also be a Gouhou Drug clear postcard coming with that issue. That means no Asuka-dropping till the end of this year... (And a new chapter of Onodera Akira's Hayabusa will be in there, too!)
I managed to get a copy of Asuka 8 after all! X is briliant as always. There was nothing else that caught my attention, unfortunately, besides Onodera Akira’s Hayabusa, but that series is being released every 3 months only which makes it quite hard to follow.
Kazumi Yuana’s new series started in this issue. I haven’t read the chapter yet, just flipped through it. It’s called Fukai nemuri no hana and it has that very same weakness that all of Kazumi-sensei’s manga seem to have: It’s the same character scheme/set-up, again and again – two guys, one blond (usually the nice guy), the other with darker hair and a girl with long curly hair. Aaaa, boring.
I looooove Onodera Akira’s Hayabusa though. He mixes traditional Japanese settings and clothes with bits of modern fashion so well and thus creates a whole new version of the supposed ‘future’. The characters are all gorgeous (bishounen anyone?), I just wish that the series appeared more often than just once every three months.
I think I’m going to stop buying Asuka nevertheless. Unless Gouhou Drug returns this autumn (which it is supposed to, but you never know…), it’s goodbye to the glorious Asuka times. I always loved the fantasy stories in it but as I might have complained about earlier, the characters in most of the series are getting younger and younger and I just don’t like manga centering around 12-year-olds.
In other news, I got the OVA that came with the .hack game for PS2. .hack//LIMINALITY is the OVA’s title, it runs 45 minutes and the quality is awesome! I only managed to get a raw copy of it (I think no one has subbed it yet) and I only had the time to watch the first 10 minutes of it but I’m so amazed by its quality. The chara design is quite a bit different from the one in the game and the TV series but it’s the first time you get a view of the outside world, the real world, as the TV series concentrates on what’s happening with the characters in the game and you pretty rarely get to know what’s happening in the real world (but that’s part of the mystery, isn’t it). Speaking of which, .hack//SIGN 13 ranks number 2 of things to watch (it’s on my HD, ah), right after .hack//LIMINALITY so I better stop here ^-^