Original.Tough.Adaptable.Keen.Unique

Kinda like Jezus, I'm back from the depths of... THE UNDERWORLD. No, just kidding. I've been really busy lately, though.

*Finals
*Standardized testing

Just to jog your memory, I'm still a full-time student.

Here's what I got a few weeks ago...



and here's another shot (of the sides):



Fairy Tail - Volumes 1 & 2
The Gentlemen's Alliance Cross - Volumes 4 & 5
Alive - Volume 3
Aqua - Volume 2
Spiral - Volume 3
I"S - Volume 15

Now off to watch So You Think You Can Dance.

Today is a sacred day. I recieved an order from BookCloseouts.com today. It was a $40 order for 13 NEW books (about 2.49 ea/all 75% off MSRP) Girl Got Game (vols. 5, 7-10) and the new series Hands Off! (vols 1-8). Altogether, that's about $130 bucks, but I got it for only 38 something... (that's with 5 dollar shipping, too.) Since I've added 13 books to my collection, it's now 301 tankouban!! Yay! My VMB only says 274, but that's because I didn't put in my Naruto books.

I will post pictures as soon as I get the camera back.

~Peace Out,
Kagurazaka

***SPOILERS FOR HOT GIMMICK AHEAD!!

I wish my posts weren't so irregular. Maybe it would teach me discipline.... Nah. Well, this week I've decided to review Hot Gimmick S. For fans of the original series, Hot Gimmick, I'm pretty sure you've debated whether or not to get the novel/alternate ending Hot Gimmick S. For starters, it's just a recap of everything in the manga series. Then it goes into the alternate ending, which instead of picking Ryoki, she ends up going with -ahem, one of the other two... Take your guess (I wonder what the S in Hot Gimmick S stands for?). So for those of you who didn't like Hatsumi ending up with inconsiderate, mental terrorist Ryoki, this book is for you.

The recap part (we'll call it part 1) is subpar to say the least. They're not even completed sentences. Some of the lines are straight from the book. Which is good, but you know how a picture makes a thousand words? Well, I guess that was too hard for Megumi Nishizaki. She basically has the broken conversation in there, expecting any normal, self-respecting human to read it... and understand it. Props to her for making it basically unintelligible. It also bluntly states who she was beat around and who she was almost raped. Seriously... at that point you have to wonder how the hell did series 1 end the way it did? In part 2, we go into alternate-ending land, and experience how it was supposed to be written... without our favorite mental terrorist. Part 2 mainly focuses on Shinogu, his past, and his relationship with Hatsumi. The book is a bit rushed (kind of written for a middle-schooler, despite the obvious adult themes) so you don't really get Shinogu/Hatsumi relationship. You doubt the credibility. The artwork at the end does the work justice, though. For those of you who don't like the simplistic style of Miki Aihara (come on, who doesn't, it doesn't distract from the story!!) this book probably isn't for, Hell, the whole series isn't for you. The story is touching. The way it's told is not.

In a nutshell, this book is hardly worth the 30 minutes it takes to read (seriously, you'll zoom through part 1). If you are a big fan of the original 12-volume Hot Gimmick series, go ahead and buy this just to put yourself at peace, but this... isn't as good as it could have been.

Skip Beat- Yoshiki Nakamura
-Viz, $8.99

Ok, I know I've written about Skip Beat before, but... this time it's different (OK, I really haven't... ). I'm gonna review the entire series today. So you guys are in for a treat. Hopefully. As of last Friday, I own all 11 volumes currently out. I'll start out with a quick overview of the series. Kyoko Mogami is a woman on a mission. A mission for REVENGE! [/eerie sounds] Okay, it's not that serious. But don't doubt the undertones. Kyoko was at one time dating Sho Fuwa (when they were middle schoolers). She was head-over-heels in love with him. But he used her up like a battery. And then just tossed her away when he got his big break (he's an idol). Even though she supported him throughout the time when he was a no one, he still "casted her away when he became famous" [/back of volume 1]. Also stated on the back cover, "Kyoko won't suffer in silence-- She's going to get her sweet revenge by beat Sho in show biz!" Basically put, Kyoko's gonna beat Sho at his own game. She's gonna be a better actor, at a rival agency, than him.

And that's the plot (her extracting her revenge). For the first 2 volumes, at least. She obsesses over getting her revenge so much so, that her "inner demons" (literally) come out. The story is never really about that lame girl, you know, the ones you always see in Shoujo manga. This is a story about a girl who gets past all that he-dumped-me shizz-whiz. And goes on to getting her just rewards by bringing him down. Very quickly, she learns that she can't be very successful if she only works up to bring Sho down.

Throughout Skip Beat, Yoshiki Nakamura wastes no time, getting to a good story. Right after we get past all the Sho-dumps-Kyoko drama, this story gets real good. One of the first dilemmas we see very quickly are problems between the agency and Kyoko's attitude (which is vengeful). After she gets cast and all that, I guess Nakamura goes into auto-drive and writes a bunch of really great short stories about Kyoko while she works as a low-level talento doing some real nitty-gritty jobs (as nitty-gritty as an acting job gets). Then we get to a real story arc. I won't really spoil it for you guys, but all I can say is that, when I read Skip Beat, I forget I'm reading a Shoujo manga. It's so serious, yet, very light-hearted and extremely funny. You'll totally laugh right out of your chair when reading this series.

On a quick note, the artwork is pretty decent. Nothing really extravagant, but Nakamura can really draw, when it comes to those emotional scenes. And she also does this really cute chibi thing, where she just draws this big head and... yeah, you get it. Whatever the art lacks (which isn't much), story definitely makes up for it. This isn't any marginal shoujo, it's completely unique and takes the position of a girl who sees past all the angst and truly blossoms. This series is definitely worth a try. Drop by your local bookstore, and pick up all the volumes. And I'm not asking. I'm telling.

After being MIA for a month or so, I've returned from the castle to which I was whisked away (or as you call it, kidnapped) Anyways, The last week was really crazy, because we had exchange students at our school, so... yeah. I would do another review for you but, I really don't have the time this monday morning. So I'll just update you on my newest manga:

Candidate for Goddess- v.1-5 (Complete)
A Perfect Day for Love Letters- v.1-2 (Complete)
Pastel v.9
Tsubasa Chronicle v. 16
Negima v.17
translucent v.2-3
Skip Beat v.11
and... gahhh, a bunch of other stuff. Since my last video, I got 27 more books. You can keep track of my collection at my VMB (linkage!) Remember to add 27 for my Naruto books!!

~Happy Spring Break guys, I'll update later this week!!

Sorry for the delay guys, I've had a busy week. It's almost the fun month of MARCH! (Jeez, who am I kidding?)

Recently, my friend forwarded me a blogger contest, which, when I saw the prize, I just had to join. Business Blogger is apparently having a February giveaway contest, where they're giving away $500 via Paypal (Man, am I glad I made that account *whew*) for the grand prize winner, or a BFG NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT OC 512MB PCIe with ThermoIntelligence Graphics Card (damn, that was long). I'm guessing that's good, cause my Graphics card is only like 1200 or something... Basically, on they're blog they're giving out these prizes. They're parent company (Business+Directory), or at least that's what I think it is, is having a promotion where they're giving away free reviews for the month of February! That's a great V-Day present. Everybody, link out these pages and BLOG!!

Just letting you know,

I want that $500 bucks!

I really do... So, hear me now, and hear me well... Sign up for a blog, join the contest, spread the news! Because, that's apparently how you win. By blogging about it. The contest lasts throught all of February and then in March, the winners will be announced. Also, to get the 500 Gs (just kidding) you need a Paypal account, so sign up for one. (It's Free!) Their specs said 500 or so words (is this it?) This is a great chance to get that PS7 or whatever they have out now. I'm so short on cash, after buying all the volumes of Card Captor Sakura (*shifty eyes*) Well, if I win, I'm getting a new Wii. Or something like that :D. Or a computer.

Again, read it, learn it, and pass it on.

That's right, it's Superbowl Sunday today, and I barely have any time to write this, so I'll make it quick.
Yesterday, I got:

Pastel 9
Spiral 2
translucent 2
Life 3
Hana-Kimi 21
Crossroad 7

BTW,
Go GIANTS!!

Well, I haven't been on in a while (well, not since last Sunday) but I do have a review for you.
Aqua vol. 1
Kozue Amano
Now, I've had a loooong week. But I picked up this book (which I bought like 2 weeks ago, too) and started to read. The back of the book read...

"Akari Mizunashi is a new arrival in the gorgeous Martian city of Neo-Venezia. She becomes a gondolier tour guide and begins her training to become an Undine, the most coveted job on Aqua. Follow Akari's adventures as she discovers the wonders of Aria in this prequel to the popular anime and manga series. "

Now, the manga does go according to the story. We first find Akari on a, ehm, "plane" or spaceship of some sort going to Neo-Venezia a city on the planet formerly known as Mars. After 150 years of terraforming, the planet is now habitable for humans. First, that would be wonderful, if we began terraforming. It always seemed like a wonderful... futuristic thing to do. Terraforming a planet to be like Earth. Well, anyways, Akari wants to become a gondolier for the Aria company. Neo-Venezia is a city modeled after Venice, Italy which is famous for being underwater. So people use gondolas to travel around. The first volume is a great start to the series. Even if the series is only 2 volumes long... It's pretty packed. We learn a lot about the Aria Company as well as the gondoliers themselves. The translation and art are top notch, which is a surprise from Tokyopop. One complaint, I don't like the way Tokyopop released these series (Aria & Aqua) They released the first volume of Aqua then the first volume of Aria. They should have finished Aqua first. Pick up this volume. It'll be worth your while. If you don't fancy it, the series is only 2 volumes. So you can chill. This series is definitely worth it, and I look forward to volume 2.

Here's an update of my current manga count: 261

I started listening to a bit more J-Pop and J-Rock recently. I just found out I'm going to Japan for the summer. Yay! Anyways, there's this one song.... well, two. Tip Taps Tip by HALCALI and Look by HALCALI. They both have addicting beats are really mellow. I love them. They are the pure definietion of J-Pop. I know I still haven't posted up those pictures, but I'll get to it. Soon. (ごめんなさいよ！) To make things better, I have to read the "Odyssey", possibly the most confusing book to ever be written.

I remember the first HALCALI song I heard, Tandem on the Mr. Junk -or-whatever commercial. It was a momentous day indeed.

Okay, this is momentous. This is the first blog post recording my first manga haul in 2007. I went to Books-A-Million today and took advantage of their 3-for-2 manga sale. In alphabetical order:

Aqua vol. 1
Aria vol. 1
Life vol. 5
Negima vol. 16
Shakugan no SHANA vol. 2
Skip Beat vol. 10
The Wallflower vol. 13

That's right seven amazing books to start off the year with... yay! I'll post up pictures once I find that camera.... grr. Happy Sunday, folks!

Well, I thought I'd post this before 10.30 and I did! Yay, happy new years lolz. As a memoir of all our happy times, I've got a holiday cwalk for ya'll. Have fun & sleep well!