![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
darkelf105Afterschool Charisma, Vol 1. by Kumiko Suekane
The premise of this manga is that there is a school, it is populated by the clones of dead historical figures, such as Freud, Marie Curie, Napoleon, Empress Dowager Cixi, Mozart...and Hitler. There are ominous goings on. Freud in particular seems to either be looking at a lot of porn or ferreting out a nefarious plot, perhaps both.
Some things to be aware of in this manga:
-Hitler is adorable and likes everyone. He makes adorable little religious icons of Dolly the Sheep, the production of which was apparently instigated by Einstein and then turned cultic by Rasputin and Queen Himiko. I liked typing that btw, it made me slightly giddy.
-Although no other clone is referenced with the title Clone before their name, apparently it is the RULE that you must refer to Clone Kennedy as Clone Kennedy. It is essential. Also SOMETHING quite TERRIBLE and perhaps FATED happens to Clone Kennedy and even without reading the manga, you know EXACTLY what it is. He's allergic to Oreos. If you believed that, I have some other stuff to tell you later.
-All clones, despite what logic and DNA might lead you to believe, are either ridiculously good-looking, such as Mozart, pretty good-looking and tall such as Napoleon and Ikkyu, or okay good-looking such as Freud. All female clones are ridiculously cute and have verah, verah perky breasts. I have no real opinions on this, it's mostly just an observation.
-Despite everything I've ever believed about myself and my relationship with Sigmund Freud, I do believe he is my favorite character. Plus, I like it when a bunch of school kids yell things like "Hey Freud!" It soothes me.
This manga made me dizzy and I kinda sorta liked it, a lot, actually, mostly because anything that makes me say WHAT?! For real?!! at least once a page totally has my attention.
Twin Spica, Vol 1. by Kou Yaginuma
Vertical Publishing is my downfall. They package things in such a way that it is impossible for me not to buy their stuff immediately. I usually don't read it, it just sits there, looking pretty on my shelf. I think I'm scared to read it because maybe it will suck, despite all the rave reviews, and then I will be sad.
However, I finally read Twin Spica and was not disappointed. This is a the story of a girl who lives in the not so very distant future who goes to space school. She is going to be an astronaut. Five years before Asumi's entrance into space school, Japan had launched a rocket made completely in Japan. It crashed and killed a bunch of civilians and ruined an entire town. Asumi's story is set against this backdrop. I really, really liked the art and the story-telling was sweet and skillful. I am very much looking forward to the rest of this series. It might become a favorite. This manga expertly exploits the fact that a large chunk of the population, at one point or another, wants to be and astronaut and is completely fascinated with space. The whole thing reeks of bitter-sweet nostalgia and it really, really works. The first volume made me cry.
Kingyo Used Book, Vol 1. by Seimu Yoshizaki
This is excellent. It is about a used manga bookstore and it's theme is about the power of books, manga in particular, of bringing people together and connecting them in important ways. It, like <i>Twin Spica</i> utilizes nostalgia for childhood effectively and is quite good at getting it's point across. It's sweet and soft and needless to say I liked it very much. Like Yoshihiro Tatsumi's <i>Drifting Life</i>, I'm pretty sure I learned a lot of crap and there was lots of insight into Japanese manga culture, but I cannot be sure because my overwhelming ignorance of said culture prevents me from being sure.
Kobato, Vol 1. by CLAMP
Taken from Amazon: Hanato Kobato is on a mission: she has a wish she wants granted. To do this, she has to mend the wounded hearts of the people she meets on her journey and fill up a magical bottle with the suffering she has relieved. The only catch is, she can't fall in love with any of the people she helps. It seems like that's the least of her problems, though; Kobato has no clue how to mend hearts ...especially since each person's heart is different. So what's Kobato to do? Well, she has Ioryogi-san, a cute blue dog with a seriously bad attitude, to help (read: nag and critique) her ...Yikes! Looks like the road to getting her one wish is going to be a long and hard one. Will Kobato get her wish in the end? And just what is it that Kobato wants?
And that exactly what it is. Hanato is adorable, her little doggy demon would be cute if he'd stop screaming. The art is very good, of course, but I only found the first volume so-so. I'm going to reserve judgement until I've read some more.
The premise of this manga is that there is a school, it is populated by the clones of dead historical figures, such as Freud, Marie Curie, Napoleon, Empress Dowager Cixi, Mozart...and Hitler. There are ominous goings on. Freud in particular seems to either be looking at a lot of porn or ferreting out a nefarious plot, perhaps both.
Some things to be aware of in this manga:
-Hitler is adorable and likes everyone. He makes adorable little religious icons of Dolly the Sheep, the production of which was apparently instigated by Einstein and then turned cultic by Rasputin and Queen Himiko. I liked typing that btw, it made me slightly giddy.
-Although no other clone is referenced with the title Clone before their name, apparently it is the RULE that you must refer to Clone Kennedy as Clone Kennedy. It is essential. Also SOMETHING quite TERRIBLE and perhaps FATED happens to Clone Kennedy and even without reading the manga, you know EXACTLY what it is. He's allergic to Oreos. If you believed that, I have some other stuff to tell you later.
-All clones, despite what logic and DNA might lead you to believe, are either ridiculously good-looking, such as Mozart, pretty good-looking and tall such as Napoleon and Ikkyu, or okay good-looking such as Freud. All female clones are ridiculously cute and have verah, verah perky breasts. I have no real opinions on this, it's mostly just an observation.
-Despite everything I've ever believed about myself and my relationship with Sigmund Freud, I do believe he is my favorite character. Plus, I like it when a bunch of school kids yell things like "Hey Freud!" It soothes me.
This manga made me dizzy and I kinda sorta liked it, a lot, actually, mostly because anything that makes me say WHAT?! For real?!! at least once a page totally has my attention.
Twin Spica, Vol 1. by Kou Yaginuma
Vertical Publishing is my downfall. They package things in such a way that it is impossible for me not to buy their stuff immediately. I usually don't read it, it just sits there, looking pretty on my shelf. I think I'm scared to read it because maybe it will suck, despite all the rave reviews, and then I will be sad.
However, I finally read Twin Spica and was not disappointed. This is a the story of a girl who lives in the not so very distant future who goes to space school. She is going to be an astronaut. Five years before Asumi's entrance into space school, Japan had launched a rocket made completely in Japan. It crashed and killed a bunch of civilians and ruined an entire town. Asumi's story is set against this backdrop. I really, really liked the art and the story-telling was sweet and skillful. I am very much looking forward to the rest of this series. It might become a favorite. This manga expertly exploits the fact that a large chunk of the population, at one point or another, wants to be and astronaut and is completely fascinated with space. The whole thing reeks of bitter-sweet nostalgia and it really, really works. The first volume made me cry.
Kingyo Used Book, Vol 1. by Seimu Yoshizaki
This is excellent. It is about a used manga bookstore and it's theme is about the power of books, manga in particular, of bringing people together and connecting them in important ways. It, like <i>Twin Spica</i> utilizes nostalgia for childhood effectively and is quite good at getting it's point across. It's sweet and soft and needless to say I liked it very much. Like Yoshihiro Tatsumi's <i>Drifting Life</i>, I'm pretty sure I learned a lot of crap and there was lots of insight into Japanese manga culture, but I cannot be sure because my overwhelming ignorance of said culture prevents me from being sure.
Kobato, Vol 1. by CLAMP
Taken from Amazon: Hanato Kobato is on a mission: she has a wish she wants granted. To do this, she has to mend the wounded hearts of the people she meets on her journey and fill up a magical bottle with the suffering she has relieved. The only catch is, she can't fall in love with any of the people she helps. It seems like that's the least of her problems, though; Kobato has no clue how to mend hearts ...especially since each person's heart is different. So what's Kobato to do? Well, she has Ioryogi-san, a cute blue dog with a seriously bad attitude, to help (read: nag and critique) her ...Yikes! Looks like the road to getting her one wish is going to be a long and hard one. Will Kobato get her wish in the end? And just what is it that Kobato wants?
And that exactly what it is. Hanato is adorable, her little doggy demon would be cute if he'd stop screaming. The art is very good, of course, but I only found the first volume so-so. I'm going to reserve judgement until I've read some more.