Zetsuen no Tempest - Chapter 1

Zetsuen no Tempest
by Saizaki Ren
Iron Illness is an epidemic that has killed almost a thousand people in several towns in Japan. Only one person can stop it: the most powerful sorceress: Hakaze Kusaribe. However, she had been trapped in an island by her own kind. But she had found a boy, named Mahiro Fuwa, to help her in stopping this epidemic and in freeing her from prison. It's now upto Mahiro, and his childhood friend Yoshino Takigawa, to save the world.
(There's already a summary for this at Baka-Updates but . . . it's kinda long. Ehehe)

The pretty chapter cover showing the main characters watching a moon-like heavenly body illustrated artistically already screams that this is my type of series~ Haha! Much more when I saw the raw! I have never seen any other manga that has so many butterflies in just one chapter. And you see, I freakin' love butterflies. I'm incredibly bias to butterflies that I sometimes check out shows or comics that has a butterfly in one of its pictures, in its titles, and so on~

I didn't understand what the hell was going on when I was reading it raw, but I was already so amazed. But now that the translation/scanlation is out, it turned out to be even better than I expected!

The story had been very interesting. Yeah, it's the usual main characters saving the world thing, but there aren't much story cliches or something for that sort. In fact, there are a lot of things have been unusual/different here. Like for instance, one of the main guys is in a canon relationship from the very beginning. Even if their relationship seems to be not doing very well, a main character in an official relationship at the beginning in shounen series are seriously rare. It's also not very usual for me to encounter a story with the "chosen one" thing that starts with the main character discovering the power and has troubles at first try but will later do well on it. We were fast forwarded by one month in this manga, and the discover is just shown through flashback. And speaking of the "chosen one" thing; usually the chosen ones suddenly gain that power because of inheritance (in other words, it's in their blood) or because of an unexpected encounter that they had no choice but to do it. While in this one, the main character who got the power actually has a choice of accepting it or not; and it so happened that he accepted it. He only became a "chosen one" in a way because he's the lucky boy who spotted the magical bottle. So in other words, the main character had a choice on whether he would choose to gain the power and go on with this adventure or not. Wow, I am always impressed when I see something different.

The genres of this manga seems to mainly include: fantasy, supernatural, action, adventure, and mystery. I think it has some comedy and drama too, and maybe even romance. I think the genres have been mixed very well. I wish there had been more silliness in this though . . . so that it'll be more enjoyable. Haha! But there had been so many amazing scenes . . . enough to have me very awed and entertained. Well, yeah, even though it's not funny all the time, it does crack some jokes from time to time. Hakaze's usually responsible for that. Haha! But it knows when to be funny and when to be serious.

As for the art . . . it's really beautiful~ I'm enthralled~ The clothes had been pretty fashionable too~ (at least with the main duo) Action scenes are terrific too! It's kinda one-sided for now, but still, they had been so awesome! Heck, if the story's not your type, but bias to art and/or action stuff, then you might still be able to enjoy this manga~ Hehe!

Now about the characters, I believe the main ones are these three: Hakaze, Mahiro, and Yoshino. I think all three of them had been great~

I include her in the short list of leading ladies that I actually admire~ *usually pissed off with shounen leading ladies* She seems to be the most powerful character in the series, but unlike other leading ladies with great powers, she's not helpless enough to need bodyguards protecting her 24/7. She's a strong woman and didn't go in despair mode when she was imprisoned. She's also smart enough to find a way to save herself and do her job even though she can't exactly use her power. I also think she's a fun character~ Heck, she provides most of the comedy in the series. Haha!

Once you see Mahiro show off his powers, one word best describes him: COOL.
The person whom he loved the most is his younger sister . . . and he's doing anything he can to find her murderer . . . I am seriously a sucker for loving brothers. Hehe.

There's nothing special about Yoshino as of now, aside from the fact that his childhood friend now has extraordinary power and he got somehow involved in the case he's in. But for an ordinary guy, I find it cool that he was able to think calmly and find a way to escape when a gun was pointed at him. I don't think he's the type that does combat sports but he was able to disarm a professional (well, she seems to be). I am very impressed with this boy. He's not only brave, but had brains too. It's totally unlike other ordinary guys in shounen series with guns pointed at their faces.

This manga is totally my kind of thing. And I think that I'll be seeing best friend moments from this as well. I love best friends in anime~ I also love the protagonists very much~ And as if I could resist the butterflies! Hahaha!

I think it's pretty obvious that I'm totally following it! Haha! So of course I highly recommend this awesome new manga~

Bakemonogatari - Episode 4

I love this series but I didn't appreciate this episode much and I admit it's because of my bias (I'm not fond of lolis).
Though this episode didn't make me go hyper like the previous ones, this was still pretty cool.

It's so cute that even though Koyomi and Mayoi didn't exactly have a friendly first meeting (she had been very very rude to him), she's sooo attached to him~ She's being tsundere about it but she's obviously very close to Koyomi now. Haha! Seems like Koyomi does know how to handle little girls.

He was able to get information from his younger sisters by just flattering them, but it didn't work on Mayoi. He though of another way: through money. And she was under his command at once. Haha!
She had been stupid as he had expected.
Of course Hitagi still considers him an idiot . . . to the point of calling him incapable and miserable. Oh she's so evil to him. That's my girl. Hahahaha!

Koyomi had expected that Hitagi isn't fond of kids; and Mayoi thinks that Hitagi hates her so much to the point she'd kill her . . . and she was right. Hitagi apparently loathes kids for . . .actually a pretty simple reason.
I understand her. I can relate.
Okay, in my case, it's not that I hate kids . . . .I just don't really know how to get along with them. I guess it's more like I'm scared of them. I like watching them, but I feel uneasy when they're interacting with me. I also freak out when they stare at me . . .
Anyway, when they found out that Mayoi's problem is something that Oshino can do about, one of them has to go to the dude. Hitagi volunteers . . .for obvious reasons. Haha!
But hey, at least she took role in helping out even if she hates the kid. So this shows that she's doing it for Koyomi, right?~~~~~

When Hitagi left, Hanekawa appeared later. It seems to me that her trouble at home is similar to Koyomi's. Koyomi had a hard time disciplining Mayoi while Hanekawa did it so easily~ She really seems so perfect . . . but as she says, she's not exactly someone who knows everything. Ah, well, I just like seeing the imperfection of characters that seem too perfect. Ehehe.

When Hanekawa left, Koyomi's phone rang. He even noted the date when he first got Hitagi's number. Haha! (He's obviously crazy about her already to the point that he takes note of such simple things~). But it was Oshino talking, just using Hitagi's cellphone. He explained the problem through the phone, but he'll be explaining how to solve it to Hitagi instead since he says that he's not that good with phones. While they were talking, I can't help giggling at Oshino for being so scared of Hitagi! Hahahaha! Looks like he was also threatened with a stapler! LOLz~
By the way, I like how the cellphone conversation was presented. I mean, on the screen there were some random games, then Oshino's pixeled face, and the hand on the phone was real. I find it weird yet creative~

So that wraps up the episode. The supernatural case this time is basically about Mayoi not being able to find her way. She always gets lost when she tries to go to her mother's place. It seems to have started after her parents have divorced. It hasn't been shown how exactly she encountered the snail. So most probably, like Hitagi Crab, how she got that curse and how they'll be able to solve it will be shown on the last part of this arc. Can't wait to see it~

Oh yeah, there's a new OP and ED (scenes only on ED) in this story arc:

The OP is cute, I admit, but I'm not fond of "loli cuteness" and seeing too many lolis is a big eyesore to me.

But I love the new ED animation~ Hitagi looks pretty in the previous ED but seeing only one picture in the whole ED theme really bores me. Now I get to enjoy the song more, with the new dark and twisted animation~ To be honest, I don't get its connection to the story arc (or maybe this is the final ED? From what I've heard only the OP's are supposed to change) but it's cool~

And of course, how could I forget my number one source of amusement in this show:

THE AHOGE HAS MULTIPLIED???!!!!!!!!!!
BWAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!!

Bloody Monday - Chapters 37, 38, 39, & 40

Bloody Monday everyday . . . it was like a dream come true. And it get more and more bloody awesome. J is the star of the chapters for me. He had been so amazing and so evil~

[ Bloody Monday - Chapter 37 ]

J isn't really the top leader but he had sure fooled and had seen through Fujimaru~ J's the better actor too. I guess when it comes to psychological stuff, J is the better guy.
I think J is totally aware that Fujimaru is stalling them but . . . he just agreed to meet him because he's been wanting to meet Falcon. Hehe~
Oh J is so evil and awesome~
Lucky for Fujimaru, Third-i has contacted him and he doesn't need to worry about his sister anymore. But he had been too obvious. He made that news known to the enemy.

[ Bloody Monday - Chapter 38 ]

Falcon . . . being able to find a way to have himself tracked in such a situation . . . genius. Even J had been so impressed.
J is also a genius, his surrendering gesture is an obvious bluff. He's so awesome for not underestimating Fujimaru so he was able to plan an escape route. And it was bloody~

[ Bloody Monday - Chapter 39 ]

Cain and Abel were women in this series? Oooo~
Good that Fujimaru had calmed down and able to realize that the enemies are just bluffing and they don't plan on killing him yet. (The virus being fake thing is like what happened in the first episode of the Bloody Monday Drama. Cool~ but aaaaahhh!!! It's reminding me to marathon the drama already!)
That part of Fujimaru shooting J . . . . I want his hands to remain clean . . . but him killing with a gun would be cool . . . .but I don't want J to die either.
Anyway, enemies have successfully escaped. Oh villains in this series are so awesome~
Of course I won't fail to notice Otoya! Haha! He still wants to go help his best friend even if there were terrorists and a dangerous virus around~

[ Bloody Monday - Chapter 40 ]

Best friend moment . . . I can't help myself from going KYAAAAAAAAAAAAA~
It seems that J was scolded. Cute~
Fujimaru has a female bodyguard again? It's cool but . . . I want more guys as cute as Kirishima. Hahahaha!
A surprise that Kanou was able to get under the van! Good luck to him. So sweet that he still hasn't forgotten about Hoshou~

07-Ghost - Episode 17

This episode isn't exactly action-packed. More on character background and some plot twists. And it had been very very awesome~

[ RECAP + OVERALL THOUGHTS ]

This episode tells us more about Frau's past through Bastien, the one who looked after him. We learn that Frau has been naughty since childhood. LOLz~ But he had also been a lonely boy . . . that thinks of helping others more than saving himself. Such a kindhearted lad. It's very obvious that with the way Bastien talks about Frau, he totally loves his baby boy.
But surprise! Bastien turns out to be a Warsfile (or Warsphile? Whatever's the spelling). Awesome to see an evil dude within the church~ He wants to save his baby boy, but he also has to capture the favorite of his baby boy~ Teito and Hakuren (and Burupya!) are in big trouble~

[ FAVORITE MOMENTS ]

OH I LOVE THE MOMENTS BETWEEN BASTIEN AND CHIBI FRAU!!! They are so cute~
Frau was such a bad boy while Bastien's so strict.
Yet they're so close~
But I really love it most when he punishes Frau~ Wahahahahaha!
Oh that part of Bastien saying he'll stay by Frau's side forever . . .I can't help but go: DAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWW

Oh they didn't change when they grew older! Wahahaha!!!
I was giggling when of all times for Bastien to compliment Frau, it's in that serious situation. Hahahaha!
And that scene of Bastien blessing Frau . . . oh Frau is still a baby boy to him. Hahahahahah!!!
Oh damn, I remember Arthur and Alfred from Hetalia. They have a similar relationship (Alfred was behaved when young though). Hehe~

Hakuren and Teito had been really cute in this episode!

[ FAVORITE SREENSHOTS ]
Click thumbnail to see bigger version for staring pleasure. LOLz~

== BURUPYA ==

FREAKIN' ADORABLE AS USUAL~

== TEITO and BURUPYA ==

I am really always amused when they have a similar expression~

KYAA! Burupya panicking!

Oh the little darling~

I'm looking at Burupya

Okay, both of them look cute here~

== HAKUREN ==

pretty as ever~

always so pretty~

so so pretty~

he is drool material~

== HAKUREN and TEITO ==

I love these two~

Hakuren's expression when thinking Teito's trying to scare him . . .LOLz~

Teito looks okay, while Hakuren . . .pretty~

I can't stop looking at Hakuren's prettiness~

Hakuren really wins in prettiness . . .and height. LOLz~

== FRAU ==

Young Frau is already a bishie

I like it when Frau's being treated like a little boy~

== BASTIEN ==

He is the star of the episode for me~

Young Bastien is sooooooooooo goodlooking~

His most gorgeous look!!!! *faints from so much brightness*

He's still cute even when he got a little older~

Really~

Even in evil mode~

Ah such beautiful eyes~

Oh yay to evil Bastien~

He looks most awesome in this scene~

He's kinda like Aya-tan in that look~

I love evil eyes with reddish glow~

== FRAU & BASTIEN ==

DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWW

[ NEXT EPISODE ]
LOOK WHO'S SHOWING UP AGAIN NEXT EPISODE:

OMGKYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
*EXCITEMENT OVERLOAD*
MY BELOVED MIKHAIL!!!!!!!! I MISS YOU!!!!!!! I AM TOTALLY WATCHING THIS SERIES RAW AGAIN BECAUSE I NEED TO SEE YOU AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!!!!!!!!!! *HUGGLES HER CRACKAWESOME ANGEL*